Hopefully The Phillies Can Clean Up What Ails Them -- Themselves
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Regardless of what happens to the Phillies in these next two months, it's a young team that's taken an enormous step in a good direction. The 2018 Phillies are at least two years ahead of where anyone thought they would be, with the possible exception of Gabe Kapler, who despite his own awful start, is a strong candidate for National League Manager of the Year.
The Phillies proved, with Aaron Nola and the right version of Jake Arrieta on the mound, it's a team that can compete with anyone in baseball.
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What nipped the Phillies in their two-game stint in Boston against the best team in baseball will continue to haunt them and possibly lead to their demise this season. The fact is, the Phillies should have taken both games against the Red Sox, because center fielder Odubel Herrera should have caught a line drive to center in the fifth in Monday's 2-1 loss, instead of the Little League move of rushing in while the ball flew over his head.
The Phillies are getting great starting and relief pitching. They're getting timely hits. They just have a collective attitude, it seems, that sometimes catching the ball is not a big priority.
The Phils are ranked No. 28 out of 30 in Major League Baseball in team defense, with a .980 fielding percentage. They've committed 79 errors, which is the third-highest figure in MLB, behind only St. Louis (87) and Texas (83). Last year, the 2017 Phillies, a team that finished 66-96, made 83 errors. This team has 55 more games to play.
And as the season progresses, the strikeout problem remains an issue. The Phillies' 1,028 strikeouts places them third overall in Major League Baseball, and makes this team almost certain to break the team strikeout record of 1,155 in 2003.
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Despite all of that, the Phillies sit 59-48 through 107 games and half-game in first place over Atlanta, and five games ahead of the Washington Nationals.
Catching the ball could help the Phillies remain in contention into September and October. Maybe it's time the Phillies help themselves.
