SWEEP

No one likes to lose on Opening Day, especially at home, but being swept to start the season in consecutive seasons isn’t a good way to start. Let’s take a look at why they may be struggling so far. Of course, this is only one series out of several that will be played this season, so even if some of these guys are playing poorly now, it doesn’t mean they still will be down the stretch.

Sitting at 9 runs, the Phillies aren’t scoring enough. At the top of the lineup, I think Rollins is doing his job. His patience at the plate during March has continued into games that count early on, and that’s important for leadoff hitters. He’s giving the heart of the order a chance to drive in runs, something they just haven’t done so far. Rollins’ patience is going to lead to a career year if it keeps up. He’ll be getting on base more, giving him more chances to steal bases and score runs, and if he’s only swinging at the better pitches he sees, he’ll be getting his hits too.

Shane Victorino could be hitting better. With the small sample size (Shane didn’t start today’s game, Werth batted in the #2 hole instead,) Vic’s OPS is very misleading. His two hits have been doubles, and a walk he drew upped his OBP. I expect the OPS to stay about the same as it is now, except more of his OBP will become hits than walks. He’s swinging very aggressively at the moment, and he needs to be more patient. He needs to wait for his pitches and the hits will come. The steal attempt definitely hurt in game two.

Chase Utley and Pat Burrell, as much as people don’t like to hear it, are hitting well. Burrell could stand to strike out a bit less, but he’s always been a guy that gets rung up a lot. He is not the problem, has not been the problem this season, and will not be the problem this season. Let’s get that on record right now.

Aaron Rowand has totaled a bunch of hits so far, and it’s good to see him making contact early. He was a disappointment at the plate last season, injury or not. He’s even taken a couple of walks, something he’s not known for. He had a pretty rough spring, so getting off to a fast start is good for him.

Ruiz’ only game at C so far was a pleasant surprise. He hasn’t shown much power in his career, but he’s one of two Phillies to hit a home run this season. Barajas has literally done nothing, which is pretty much what everyone expected of him.

That leaves two regulars in the lineup: Wes Helms and Ryan Howard. Helms has struggled early, with only two hits and four strikeouts in three starts. I expect him to improve on his numbers and be a decent contributor. He can’t be any worse than Nunez, right?

If I had to pick one guy who you could point the finger at for the offensive problems so far, and I hate to do this, but it has to be Ryan Howard. I know he won MVP last year and he hit 58 home runs and all that, but he just didn’t hit anything against Atlanta. The Braves definitely pitched to him carefully, which can be seen with the four walks, but he’s not making contact like he can. He didn’t get a single hit with RISP, and as much as I hate using that split, Ryan simply had runners to drive in this series and he didn’t. When he clicks, the offense will click, and become dangerous again.

In general, the lineup didn’t have much pop. Guys like Utley, Rowand, Helms and obviously Howard didn’t reach SLG% levels fans should expect, and our only home runs came from Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz, not exactly big sluggers. Atlanta used the long ball to kill the Phillies, and they couldn’t use it themselves to battle back. They’re not going to be getting any breaks at Dolphin Stadium this weekend, but hopefully we’ll start seeing some more extra base hits.

In terms of starting pitching, I haven’t seen anything that worries me. Eaton’s start obviously sucked, but after his spring, that’s probably what we should have expected. His career numbers don’t indicate that he’s this bad, but I’m definitely questioning the logic in a possible Lieber trade if Eaton continues to pitch poorly.

It’s a shame that Brett Myers and Cole Hamels had great starts wasted by the bullpen. I’m confident with those two at the top of the rotation for the next ten years. Myers has been improving every year in his career, and after working hard in the offseason to be in better shape and being rewarded with a contract extension, he should gain more consistency start to start this year and have a breakout season.

Hamels will probably have a few bumps in the road as a sophomore pitcher, but he ceiling is high. He already has one of the best changeups in the league, and when he’s in command of all of his pitches, he’s deadly. Even though this will only be his second year in the league, he’s already top of the rotation material.

Speaking of the bullpen, in the understatement of the year, they need to pitch better. They need to execute better and hit their spots with their pitches. Leaving breaking balls inside and over the plate is a big no-no, especially when you’re being counted on to hang onto a small lead. Tom Gordon is getting paid big bucks to finish games, and it’s just not acceptable to come out on your first save opportunity and give up a double and home run immediately.

Why not shake things up in the pen? It was nice showing confidence in Madson by running him out there a second game, but he couldn’t handle it again. We know what Gordon and Alfonseca bring. Why not let Geary get some save opportunities? Why not put in Bisenius or Condrey when the game’s on the line? Maybe we can catch lightning in a bottle and one of them can make a difference. Something needs to be done.

This weekend, the Phillies will take on the Marlins in their first series at home. Moyer vs. Mitre, Myers vs. Willis and Segovia vs. Olsen are the pitching matchups for this early season weekend series.

I expect the first win to come on the shoulders of a good Moyer start tomorrow. It’s too early to press the panic button, let’s see how they respond against the fish.