Road To 10,000 Losses: #@@$&(#^#!!!

Road to 10,000 Losses is a countdown to the Phillies’ 10,000th loss, coming sometime later this year. With a 5-4 loss to the Marlins last night, the Phillies stand at 9979 losses, only 21 away from 10,000.

The Phillies lost again, dropping their record to 23-24 and once again failing to improve to better than .500. But they way they lost it was distressing. Shall we do a little recap?

• Phillies got on the board early and led 2-1. A Jeremy Hermida two-run double put the Marlins on top, but the Phillies tied the score on a J-Roll sac fly in the top of the sixth. Oh, yea, and before that the teams almost got into a fight. Both benches cleared, supposedly somebody on the Marlins threw a punch, but nothing major.
• Miguel Olivo tripled to lead off the bottom of the 6th. Joe Borchard grounded right to first-baseman Chris Coste — who scored on the sac fly earlier. Coste fired it to Rod Barajas, who had Olivo out at home. Then he swung his glove over lazily and Olivo kicked the ball out and the Marlins regained the lead. Yes, Rod Barajas made two terrible plays at the plate in consecutive games.
• In the top of the 8th, Chris Coste walked. Michael Bourn pinch-ran for Coste, who went 2-for-3 in his first start of the season. Pinch hitter Greg Dobbs doubled, and with no outs, third base coach Steve Smith sent Bourn home. He was out by a mile. Shane Victorino then singled to score Dobbs and tie the game.
• The game ended up going to extra innings, of course, and the Phillies loaded the bases in the top of the 11th but didn’t score anybody. The Marlins won in the bottom of the 11th.

I apologize if I got any of that wrong, but it was a bit of a frustrating game. Plus it’s 3:30 on the Friday afternoon before a three-day weekend.

After the jump, the beginnings of a bit of a trend.

Reader Burt Rublin did some nice work, perusing Daily News accounts of Phillies games earlier this season and noticed a bit of a trend:

April 13–During Friday night’s game, in which the Phils were mounting a comeback from an 8-3 deficit, the team had pulled to within 8-6 by the eighth inning. Shane Victorino singled and Chase Utley walked, putting the tying run on base with no outs. Ryan Howard then laced a base hit to right field, and Smith waved Victorino around third. Astros right fielder Luke Scott charged quickly and made a perfect throw to catcher Brad Ausmus, who endured a collision with Victorino and held onto the ball. With no outs, Smith’s actions left him open for second-guessing. “I told myself I was going to be aggressive and get things going,” Smith said. “You tell these guys to play the game and don’t overdo it, and I overdid it.” Wes Helms then hit into a doubleplay to end the rally.

May 4–The Phillies ran themselves out of a possible run in the sixth when, with two on and no out, third-base coach Steve Smith sent Ryan Howard from second base on Rowand’s single to centerfield - a similar scenario to Bonds being held at third in the seventh by coach Tim Flannery. Giants centerfielder Dave Roberts has a lousy arm, but Howard, a lumbering runner at best, is still hobbled by a knee sprain suffered April 18. Second baseman Kevin Frandsen’s relay came in plenty of time, and Howard was out. “It’s a judgment call,” Manuel said. “The second baseman made a helluva throw.” Wes Helms then grounded into a doubleplay, third to second to first.

May 24– Last night, the Phillies’ disappointment could be directed at third-base coach Steve Smith, who might have cost them the lead in the eighth. With no outs, pinch-runner Michael Bourn was on first, replacing Chris Coste, who had walked after collecting two hits in his first start. Pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs ripped a drive to rightfield off reliever Matt Lidstrom. Hermida gave chase. Bourn paused at second base, in case Hermida caught it. He did not catch it. Bourn turned on the jets. With no outs, with runners at least going to be on second and third, Smith waved Bourn home. Oops. Bourn was out by four steps.Smith looked to the heavens, spread his arms, looked into the dugout and patted his chest with both hands, taking responsibility for the error in judgment. “Fucked up,” Smith said later. “No outs. Caught up in it. Adrenaline going. The fight. I made up my mind before.”

Hmm. I have an idea: Let’s never send anyone with no outs again unless the ball was hit over the fence.

The Phillies play three in Atlanta this weekend. A sweep would put them two behind the Braves for second in the NL East. Uh, yeah. Hey, somebody told me I should be more optimistic.