Running Numbers: Fifty-Four Days

Dan Levy of On the DL brings us a new edition of Running Numbers. He also chatted with ESPN's Jayson Stark earlier in the week. Enjoy.

Fifty-four days.  That’s how long the Phillies were in first place.  At least according to my math.  Fifty-four fan-freaking-tastic days.  On June 1, the Fightins were 33-25 and moved ahead of the Marlins in the standings.  The Fish were 31-24 and in the middle of a 2-8 road trip that would see their division lead disappear and their season begin to bleaken.   The Mets were a paltry 28-27 at the time, fighting for division mediocrity with the Braves (29-28) and seemed to be so far out of the standings, their management was already figuring out the most creative way to fire Willie Randolph.  (Yes, it took 18 days to come up with a 3:00 am email.  Good thing they thought it out, as the plan on the 17th was seventh-inning stretch text message).

Fifty-four glorious days.

Fifty-four days ago, things were looking pretty sweet in the city of Brotherly Love...

Summer was just about to start which meant my lawn was still green and not twelve different shades of brown. People were thinking of vacation plans, not dreading the fact that their next extended break from the daily grind won’t come for another 46 weeks from now. Yep, 54 days ago things were pretty damn swell.

But since that day the Phils are 21-22 and now find themselves in second place. They could easily be in third by tomorrow.  All of the sudden, one of the top hitting teams in the league can’t drive in runs. In May, the Phils drove in 170 runs in 29 games (5.86 RPG). Since June 1, they’ve knocked in 184 in 44 games (4.18 RPG). In April and May, the Phils bopped 81 home runs while in the last 54 days that number is just 56.

Hmm, maybe the last 54 days haven’t been that great. Maybe it’s been smoke and mirrors and it was just a matter of time.  But being number one has been way better than being number two. Number two stinks. When you’re number two, the best you can hope for now is another Mets collapse at some point in the next 54 days. 

This could be a long 54 days ahead.

I know this Phils team will bounce back.  They have to.  But if they don’t…the calendar is a cruel temptress.  Fifty-four days from today – Eagles vs. Cowboys.  Monday Night. In Dallas.  Get your popcorn ready.

Comments

[Zack]

the first half of that was really sweet

then we hit interleague play

[David]

What the hell is with the doom and gloom? There is a long way to go in the season and last time I checked the Phils are just a game back of first. If we were way back in third, or in last maybe I'd understand this but not now.

But that's ok, go ahead and jump off the bandwagon just like all those pathetic mutts fans out there. It'll just make you look like an idiot later. The pessimism in this city towards its sports teams needs to stop. It's just getting ridiculous now.

[Dan Levy]

Come on....we can be morose for one day. Tomorrow....fire back up the bandwagon! I still think the Phils will win the division, so no told you so's necessary for me.

[John]

"The pessimism in this city towards its sports teams needs to stop. It's just getting ridiculous now."

The 100 seasons of not winning a championship needs to stop. It's just getting ridiculous now.

[GreggyD]

@ Dan

It's not a matter of jumping off the bandwagon. You sound like one of those people from the media who criticizes this fanbase for being upset with our team. Pardon me for being pissed about a team that has one of the best lineups in the league and can't hit. Excuse me for getting irate at the fact that Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer pitch gems over and over and the team does nothing to support them. I'm sorry that Jimmy Rollins' lack of caring on the field irks me. Tell me he even looked like he tried in his AB today, and that he showed any emotion in his post game interview. What is with this "we [he and Manuel] don't agree on this" and what is with the driving 10 minutes behind the team bus crap? What gives him the right? His MVP award?

I am not jumping off of any bandwagon, but I'm allowed to be pissed that this team looks lazy. Granted, they had a hell of a comeback on Friday night, but to follow that up with two games of mediocre baseball is inexcusable. And for you to compare us to Mets fans is disgusting. They don't jump off the bandwagon, they simply shut up and don't say anything. Yeah, the fans here might yell, scream, and sometimes go over the top, but you can never say we're not 100% in. If we didn't care and were jumping off the bridge, we wouldn't show this kind of passion.

Some of the guys that post here and thousands of fans live and die by the Phillies so give them a break and get off your high horse.

[GreggyD]

Sorry Dan, my post was not directed at you. That would be directed at David's comments.

[DSD]

Let's face facts here...The Phils starting pitching, with the exception of Myers, has been a pleasant surprise. The offense, which everybody still seems to think of as some kind of awesome force, is nearly invisible.I hate to bring it up, but this team really, REALLY misses Rowand. Not only for his leadership, but he was a legitimate contact .300 hitter batting after Howard. There is no one on this team even batting .300, That's why, when I heard the rumurs about possibly landing Holliday, I was real excited. I understand that it fell through, but the way the lineup is set up right now, you've got no real legitimate contact hitters, except maybe Utley who is playing a little below his normal standards. You've got a lineup that strikes out an unacceptable amount of times. Howard and Burrell need to be seperated in the lineup. I almost wet my pants thinking of a Phils lineup with Holliday in it. Rollins bats 1st, followed by Werth, than Holliday, than howard, than utley, than burrell. I thought it was laughable when everyone was saying they needed pitching...uh, the pitching for the most part has held up their end of the bargain throughout the season. This offense needs to get its head out of its ass and start playing sound offensive baseball

[tb]

GreggyD, you write: "Pardon me for being pissed about a team that has one of the best lineups in the league and can't hit."

I think the problem is, they used to have one of the best lineups in the league.

What they have right now isn't even close to that. They have two players batting over .280 (Chase at .290 and Dobbs, who isn't even a starter). On any given day, half the lineup consists of guys who are terrible and shouldn't reasonably be expected to produce (Jenkins, Ruiz, Feliz, Bruntlett, etc.). These are guys we knew were terrible before this season. The only way the lineup could be salvaged is if the 4 stars (Rollins, Burrell, Utley, Howard) played at their peaks, as they did for much of last year. Unfortunately, that's not happening. But even if it were, they'd just be disguising what is clearly a terribly flawed lineup.

[Joe]

Optimism makes victory sweeter. Pessimism makes the beer taste better.

[GreggyD]

You're very right tb. This was at one time one of the best lineups, which means that they have the talent to do it again. I'm not knocking any of your points because they are all legit and I agree. But to know that this lineup has huge potential and fails to come through nearly night after night is frustrating as hell. I wish I could go along with everyone else that seems to think that this team will flip a switch and go into overdrive, but who are they kidding? Rollins looks like a quitter, Ryan (despite his improving numbers) is still going to probably end up with over 200 strikeouts which is unheard of, and even our best hitter is sucking it up big time. I don't see any switch being flipped and I wouldn't be surprised if this is the team we see the rest of the way out. This isn't me jumping off the bandwagon, I'll be right there with them the whole way, but it sucks.

[John]

@ DSD

Myers has been a surprise this season, surprisingly awful that is

[Joe]

Well, in some slightly less depressing news, the Phils, according to Jayson Stark, are looking at Casey Blake (well, he says Casey Blake-type). This would be a good upgrade at 3B as opposed to Pedro "Swing at Every Fucking Pitch" Feliz as Blake is hitting around .290. Granted, he isn't that outfielder we need.

Oh, and an important thing to remember: the players on Philadelphia teams are not the life-long Philly phans that we are. They don't share in our pain. They aren't dying for a championship like we are. Sure, they're competitive, but in the end, we don't make $30 million playing the sport we love and get to retire at 38. And they can always be traded to a better team.

[David]

GreggyD,

First let me clarify that my problem with Dan's post involved his apporach to the whole situation: I just felt it was overly-dramatic given the point in the season we are at. I definitely wasn't comparing the whole Phillies' fan base to that of the mutts...I would never disrespect my hometown team's followers like that. My point was New York fans are so up and down that it's ridiculous. One loss to the pPils and they are calling for blood. One win and they are making plans for the Series.

My point is there is a long way to go, and we need to just avoid over-reacting and continue to back this team. Yes 100 years is a long time, and I still haven't lived down the whole 10,000 loss thing with all my non-Philly friends, but placing too much importance on one (or three) games out of 162 just doesn't make sense to me.

Dan,

Definitely nothing personal...we all have a right to be upset with an under-achieving team. But there's no need for negativity like this, not yet at least.

[David]

Excuse the spelling errors. I'm nothing without spellcheck!

[Mr. Butthole]

What scares me is that the bad play over the last month from this team has now shown up in the little things they do. MVP of the team setting a really bad example for everyone and someone needs to step up and challenge Jimmy for the spot. Were are you Utley??????? Chase does not look good at all, though his D has picked up a little when his bat went to sleep.

Im jst like a lot of Philly fans and want to win a championship. I go to about 10 Phils games, 3 Eagles games and 10 Flyers games a year and watch every single televised game. Lets do the math, im from out of town so my travel cost is a lot.
1. Gas (13 round trips) $4,000
2. Tickets to all games $950
3. Parking $130
Total=$5,080
This does not even include the money spent on food, drinks and merchandise at the events. This also does not reflect the time invested in these teams. If each event is roughly 3 hours and you watch say 140 phils games, 16 eagles games and 80 flyers games thats 708 hours of team dedication(or 29.5 days of your life each year). That doesnt even include playoffs, reading the internet sights like a nerd, watching DNL or whatever else. Dont know why i wrote all that out. Guess I get pissed when I make such an effort to support my team and they show up late, dont hustle or look like they flat out dont care.

[Dan Levy]

@David,

Obviously it was over-the-top, so I'm glad you picked up on that. To be honest, I just needed to figure out a way to get the Count as 'Big Red' as the graphic. I love that guy.

[johndewar]

"Optimism makes victory sweeter. Pessimism makes the beer taste better."

@Joe: I'm thinking of getting that embroidered on a pillow or something. Good stuff.