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With Fish Like These ...

The prospect of snaring home-run balls was at the forefront of my mind when my brother and I changed our season tickets to seven rows up from the left-field wall. And, indeed, last night the Marlins tagged Randy Wolf for a pair of dingers in the early innings. But the fact that I had absolutely no chance on either round-tripper tells you a bit about the kind of game Wolf and the Phillies had.

Damon Easley's first-inning blast made it to the back of the section, about 15 rows or so behind me. Miguel Cabrera's cannon shot in the third reached the upper deck. Throw in a Juan Encarnacion homer, also in the first, and the Phils were in a 4-0 hole out of which they never could climb. A late charge, spurred no doubt by the rally cap I wore in the eighth and ninth, made the score close, but Florida hung on for a 6-4 win.

After the Phillies' unimpressive 2-4 road trip, the Citizens Bank Park crowd's restlessness deepened last night. Struggling Jim Thome was booed quite a bit, at least until he laced a bases-loaded double to the track in center in the eighth inning. You might think I simply copied and pasted this from posts in 2003 and 2004, but, no, this is fresh content: Once again the Phils squandered substantial scoring chances, and each wasted opportunity brought fresh abuse from the crowd. Everyone came alive as the Phillies rallied late, but overall the fans, their optimism dulled by over two years of unfulfilled expectations, have lost their ability to give this team the benefit of the doubt. And it's starting to show more and more -- in the increasing numbers of empty blue seats, and in the harsher and harsher treatment of previous untouchables such as Thome.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Turns out the writers in the blogosphere aren't the only ones noticing the Phillies' lackadaisical start. The Inquirer goes front page today -- of the paper, not the sports page -- with a piece by Jim Salisbury on plunging attendance at Citizens Bank Park. Salisbury writes that the drop is "probably a combination of both ... another slow start [and] the newness of the park" wearing off. According to the story, though, the decrease averages nearly 11,000 seats per game, and if you can recall the last time the Phillies truly contended, in 1993, the team drew more than 3 million fans to the toilet they used to play in. That tells me that it's the losing, not the ballpark factor, that is most affecting attendance. Salisbury writes:

The team has had rising payrolls and increases in talent in recent years, but there hasn't been a postseason appearance since 1993. Through 22 games, the 2005 club has been inconsistent, adding to the frustration fans have felt for years.

Throw in the previous two seasons of fumbling, and you have massive, maddening inconsistency through 346 games. At the beginning of each year of 2003, 2004, and 2005 -- we've been told that, no, really, we're finally ready to win now. And the entire team, from the roster to the front office, has then proceeded to fall into a deep slumber once Opening Day rolled around.

On Wednesday, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark took advantage of his intimate familiarity with Philadelphia baseball to file a long, critical look at why things are so backward around here. "The most puzzling team in baseball," noted Stark, has a huge payroll, insists it's completely relaxed now that Larry Bowa has joined the talking heads, and boasts a roster loaded with potential All-Stars:

So obviously, lack of talent isn't the problem. But do the offensive pieces fit? Is the starting pitching good enough or deep enough? Is the age of this bullpen starting to show up all at once?

These are questions the Phillies need to sort out in the next few months. They committed millions of bucks to these players before this group had ever won anything. Now it's time for those players to demonstrate they're as good as they think they are. ...

But after all those years of blaming their ex-manager for their problems, now there's no one left for these players to point fingers at but themselves. They continue to talk the talk. But sooner or later, it comes time to do it.

And, finally, the Daily News' Paul Hagen checks in today with what looks like a reliable prediction for the perpetually (and frustratingly) slow-to-act Phillies:

The Phillies have asked for patience. And while that's sometimes been a difficult wish to grant in the first few weeks of the season, the guess here is that there will be no major shakeups of any kind until at least Memorial Day.

Reason: After this weekend, they have only seven more home games until the last day of May. At that point, though, they open a 13-game homestand that lasts through June 12. Then they play 16 of their first 20 games in July at Citizens Bank Park.

If they haven't turned it around by then, there will be tremendous pressure to do something, anything to keep the attendance from sagging even more drastically than it already has.

You know what? Screw patience. I'm tired of being patient. Patience is for losers. Gimme a winner now, and if you can't, then get the hell out of the way and give the team to someone who can. So pick it up, Dave and Ed and Charlie, and Jim and Bobby and Wags and Lieby and J-Roll. Pick it the hell up.

Rocking RFK

Robert F. Kennedy Stadium is the ultimate baseball placeholder, a temporary, three-year home while the Washington Nationals await the construction of their new ballpark, and it looks every bit the part. The concourses are narrow and dingy, the food options are lame, and the outfield mezzanine facing comprises a handful of hastily hung plastic tarps.

And yet Nats fans don't care about any of that. Their support of their team is heartfelt and enthusiastic, free of cynicism and nastiness, a bit of a surprise considering it's Washington, D.C. I'd like to say it's charming and cute -- you know, act all condescending -- but the truth is I'm a bit envious. The crowd at RFK yesterday was on every pitch, much as they are at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, gearing up whenever Esteban Loaiza hung two strikes on a Phillie -- which was often -- and exploding when the Phils made their third out. Philadelphia is too far gone ever to reach that level of starry-eyed love again, and that's kind of a shame.

As for the game, the Phillies showed up for just one of its nine innings, but that was enough. Brett Myers and Rheal Cormier matched Loaiza inning for shutout inning, and Jimmy Rollins sparked a three-run ninth with a solo shot to right. Billy Wagner was lights out in the bottom of the ninth, making the Metroliner ride home a fun one indeed.

Seeking the Old-Fashioned Way

Just over 20 games into the season, and we're a shade under .500, and if you're looking for a reason why I haven't written in a week, that about sums it up. No matter who sits in the manager's office, it seems, the Phillies just sort of meander along, mumbling that they need to play better and that it's a long season, and then they reach a point when it's too late. Last weekend I was in the hills of western Connecticut with some dear friends who don't have cable or even an antenna for their TV, don't have broadband, and don't get a daily paper, and I have to admit that I didn't miss the day-to-day baseball coverage much.

I'm not giving up, mind you, just trying to keep my expectations managed. Not to sound selfish or like a bandwagon-jumper, but I've got plenty of things happening in my life these days. If the Phillies want to command more of my attention than they're getting now, frankly, they're going to have to earn it.

At Least the Beer Was Cold

It's been a long, long time since I left a game as early as the end of the fifth. Last night, with both Vicente Padilla and Gavin Floyd getting torched by the Mets, I had seen enough, and my brother-in-law and I headed for a fantastic Center City watering hole to drown our sorrows. The Phillies had kept up with New York for a couple of innings, but by the middle innings this one was quite over. It's bad enough to get blasted by 12 runs, but when it's the Mets doing the stomping, that means you have to put up with the jeers of the obnoxious New Yorkers who make the drive down the New Jersey Turnpike for the game. About the only good things to say were that the weather was just perfect, a startlingly fair mid-April night, and the refreshments -- in this case, a Schmitter, a slice of Peace a Pizza, and the Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale -- were outstanding.

Making Me a BeLieber

So ... Jon Lieber.

Dude's signing gets trashed by me and about a zillion other folks who are upset that his name isn't Pedro Martinez. He doesn't complain about it, doesn't resent those of us not excited by his acquisition. He just goes about and pitches, with professionalism and competence. Lieber's stuff moves nicely, and he smartly carves out the corners with his pitches. Importantly, he works quickly, keeping his fielders in the game. He's the anti-Millwood.

And now he's 3-0, 2.49, and every bit as impressive as the numbers.

So ... Brett Myers.

Dude spends last season looking like the real-life Nuke LaLoosh -- million-dollar arm, 10-cent head -- prompting me and about a zillion other folks to wonder why the hell the Phillies want to hold onto him so bad. And, well, he does complain about it, telling anyone who will listen that his struggles last year were due to Joe Kerrigan messing with his mind. New manager, new pitching coach, and suddenly he looks like the untouchable he was touted to be.

And now he's 1-0, 0.44, and every bit as impressive as the numbers.

And the Phils are 6-6, which doesn't sound so hot, except that they're only two games out, they rebounded from a tough series in Florida by grittily taking two of three from the Braves, and they seem to have considerably more gumption than last year's spineless bunch. If the starters remain as strong as they've been, the hitting and bullpen should come around, keeping the Phillies in the race throughout the year.

Maybe I owe Ed Wade an apology.

K.O.'d by T.O.

Gavin Floyd got abused by the Braves last night, Dontrelle Willis flummoxed the Phillies' hitters the night before, and Randy Wolf couldn't hold an early lead on Tuesday night. The Phils now have lost three straight twice in the young season, and are already in last place just 10 games in. Granted, they're only two out, but still. Already Citizens Bank Park is showing lots of empty seats, and the team is being relegated to below-the-fold coverage in the Inquirer, underneath stories about Terrell Owens's contract haggling -- and the Eagles, mind you, don't play a real game for five more months.

Troublingly, all of the previous two seasons' crippling inconsistency seems to have returned with full force. As Tom Goodman observes in Swing and a Miss:

One more thing is already clear about the 2005 Phillies: they cannot sustain a high level of intensity or focus for more than a day or two. In other words, they are destined to be a .500 club, up one day and down the next.

I do think the Phillies will be better than .500, but they don't seem to be in any particular hurry to prove me right.

Beating the Busch

Man, that glass turned half-full awfully quick. Then again, the Phillies of the last few seasons have been a team of mood swings, so perhaps it's not so surprising that they could follow up a trio of especially galling losses with two well played blowouts over a good St. Louis team. In other words, in the space of a week we've gotten a good look at what will, for the rest of the season, thrill us beyond words -- competent starting pitching and an explosive lineup without any easy outs -- and frustrate us beyond belief -- lots of runners left on and wobbly relief pitching until the closer's appearance. Good thing it's a long season.

National Tragedies and Cardinal Sins

Needing desperately to burst from the gate strong, the Phillies instead dropped two of three to the thought-to-be-lowly Nationals, then coughed up another one in St. Louis before finally getting a win yesterday behind Gavin Floyd. In all three of the Phils' losses, the bullpen surrendered late leads, and you could see the drool on Ed Wade's lips as he contemplated which prospects to trade to secure the services of a mediocre middle reliever.

The crowd at Citizens Bank Park for Opening Day was notably restless, and more critical than usual. Even little mistakes, usually forgiven, even by Philadelphians, brought grumbles of disenchantment, and the boo-birds were in mid-season form. Game No. 2 brought the smallest crowd in the ballpark's history, and for Game No. 3 the place was half-empty. Do the Phillies realize how short a leash they're on right now? The new stadium honeymoon is over. Yes, the place is still grand, and I love going to games there, but Phillies City-State wants a winner -- now. We've been promised one for each of the last two seasons, and we all know how that turned out. The Phils are in serious danger of turning CBP into PNC Park or Miller Park, a grand, empty palace whose vast swaths of empty seats are the result of team incompetence and an abject failure to win. But do they get that?

For Openers ...

The Phillies have insisted to all who will listen that things are different this year. During the new pregame program on the big-screen TV at Citizens Bank Park, Charlie Manuel is heard drawling, "We're in the business of winning," which would represent a marked change for this chronically losing franchise. Anyway, if my experience at CBP for Monday's opener can be seen as any sort of harbinger -- admittedly a long shot for the inconsistent, clueless Phils -- change just might be in the air after all.

The 2004 opener was a rain-soaked buzzkill in which the Phillies' play was as soggy as the weather, and proved prescient of the coming misery. On Monday the Phils, though hardly crisp, downed the Nationals, 8-4, under a cloudless sky that stretched blue forever. Last year the tightly wound hometown nine squeezed sawdust out of their bats and fell apart at the first sign of trouble. The other day they managed to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position, and tacked on insurance runs when Washington started to threaten. Pat Burrell looked like a real hitter Monday. And Billy Wagner, pitching in a non-save situation, was just fine. The ballpark itself felt, I don't know, a little looser, a little more comfy. The lines were long where expected, but unlike last Opening Day, crowds moved fairly easily once you were out of Ashburn Alley.

Of course, some things, distressingly, have remained the same. The Phillies left quite a few runners on base. Heralded starter Jon Lieber couldn't make it out of the sixth. Middle relief, in the form of Rheal Cormier and Ryan Madson, was a bit wobbly. And Bobby Abreu -- yes, yes, I know, criminally underrated; look at how good his stats are! -- loafed after soft flies in the first and sixth, allowing them to plop to the grass not far in front of his jogging feet. Diving, obviously, was out of the question.

So, hey, it was a win, and here's hoping for lots more. But let's also realize that Washington is hardly the class of the division. As a friend of mine said today, you get the feeling that there may be a lot of 8-4 games in the Phillies' future this season; regardless, they'll need to be sharper than they were Monday to give me substantial hope of meaningful late-season baseball.