WANK'S WORLD: It's Never That Easy, Is It?

Well, so much for those good vibes from two days ago, huh? After squeaking out a Memorial Day win, the Phillies decided to take the next two days off, dropping the final two games in Washington. And they certainly earned those losses, playing like … how can I describe it?

Nevermind. The words I would use are likely not suitable for this space, so we'll skip that.

Despite the poor play fans witnessed this week, I urge everyone to take some solace in the fact that, frankly, Major League Baseball stinks this season. Through 56 games, there is no team in baseball that sets up better than the Phillies.  

I mean, who’s better, seriously? The Indians? Please. If the Phillies and Indians matched up right now, there’s no chance that Cleveland could win a seven-game series. Oswalt vs. Talbot. Be there!

Outside of the “Win-dians” (that’s cute, right?), there’s not a team that could sniff the Phillies right now. Still, the Phillies missed a golden opportunity to extend their division lead as the Marlins and Braves also continued to struggle this week. Game recaps aren’t timely at this point, so here are some points to discuss as the Phillies take (another) day off.

Why I’m not necessarily concerned about a series loss in Washington:

1. John Lannan, despite what we’ve seen in the past, is not a terrible pitcher. Lannan was winless in his previous 13 starts against the Phillies, compiling a 6.44 ERA in the process. He’s clearly not that bad against the rest of the league, or he wouldn’t still be pitching at this level. At some point Lannan was going to beat the Phillies. Fine.

2. The Werth effect and motivation. Frankly, motivation plays a bigger role in sports than we sometimes want to admit. The Phillies were playing the last game of a brutal 20-games-in-20-days stretch. The Nationals were trying to win a series against a team that they almost never beat, coming just days after Jayson Werth’s critical comments last week. I think the Nationals were fired up and caught this team sleeping a bit. At least that’s what I’m telling myself so I can sleep in peace tonight.

Now, here some things that I’m not pleased with:

1. Dom Brown. I get it. Dom Brown is young and raw and they are trying to build his confidence against right-handed pitching before giving him some starts against lefties. Blah, blah, blah. That’s fine, but here’s the only problem with that logic—Brown isn’t ready to face mediocre lefties like John Lannan, but he’s ready to face a viable left-handed reliever at a critical juncture of the game? The logic contradicts itself. Yet, that’s precisely what Charlie Manuel did Wednesday.

Granted, Brown appeared ready to take on a lefty as he hit a sinking liner into left field, but was robbed by Lance Nix of a hit that would have likely given the Phillies the lead. And if you don’t like my logic, how about this: Ben Francisco. I’d rather drink rubbing alcohol than watch this guy start another game in right field. Righties, lefties, undies, guys with no arms–it doesn't matter. He's not hitting anyone, so why don’t we let the kid give it a shot, k?

2. Cliff Lee. I can live with a 4-5 record and an ERA just a shade under 4.00—from Joe Blanton. Not Cliff Lee. He’s striking hitters out at an increased rate. Awesome. He’s also walking hitters at a much increased rate, fat in the zone, and looks generally uncomfortable on the mound. You can manipulate stats and facts in all sorts of ways to help prove a point, so that’s what I’ll do here. Kyle Kendrick and Vance Worley have more wins combined than Lee an entire two months into the season. That’s not going to work for me. Lee has had his games this season, but he needs to find some level of consistency. He’s making $11 million this season (not $20+million–look it up–that doesn’t happen until next year) and hasn’t earned his paycheck to this point. I believe he will before things are all said and done, but I’m certainly more skeptical now than I was a month ago.

Moving forward, the Phillies still maintain a two-game lead over Florida who came back to earth this week in Arizona, with the Braves lurking close behind. Fine. But let’s play a game this weekend. It’s called: beat the Pirates. It’s fun for kids of all ages. Adults, too.

For whatever reason, the Phillies have had a heck of a time solving the Pirates at PNC Park over the last few seasons, and that needs to end starting Friday night. Pittsburgh is a much improved team, so maybe the Phillies won’t “play down” to their level. Probably not. If they want to win the series, then Cole Hamels, who has been by far the team’s best pitcher over the last four weeks, needs to get a win, particularly with a Kyle Kendrick start looming Saturday.