Can Ruben Amaro Afford To Play the Waiting Game?

It’s July 2. Currently, the Philadelphia Phillies sit in first place in NL east.

Read the last sentence alone, and it’s exactly what you would want as the GM.

Now let’s add in some more facts. The Florida Marlins are only a half game back, the New York Mets are hanging around at two games back, and the surprising Atlanta Braves are only three games back. One bad weekend and the Phils might be fighting for the wild card.

Sprinkle in some misfortune; Brett Myers unexpected injury has affected the entire pitching staff, and not in a good way.

And finish it off with a touch of sub-par performances; Cole Hamels not pitching anything like last year, Jimmy Rollins could easily guest star on Without A Trace (playing the role of the missing person), and the bullpen being asked to “take the ugly friend” like a good wing man, as the starting pitchers remain inconsistent.

If it wasn’t for Raul Ibanez having an MVP-type season so far, this team would be in dire straits.

That’s a good recipe for disaster. So far the Phils are standing pat, content to let the cold hitters work their way out of slumps, and for the current pitchers to find a groove. So far, J.A. Happ has filled in for Myers, but Jaime Moyer is looking his age. In fairness, he had a bad first half last year, and they won the series.

This feels different. I worry that the Phils are blinded by last year’s success, and they think that this will all work out if given time. They can always come back with the overused excuse, “Look what happened last year.”

My fear is this little bruise will grow into a full blown infection very quickly. This team isn’t showing any concern, and I’m afraid that will not change as the losses continue to pile up.

The fan base has given this team a free pass because of the world series win, so pressure is no excuse for a National League worst 13-22 record at home.

Ok, that’s not fair. The Nationals are 13-25 at home, so the Phils are only TIED for NL worst record at home.

I think it’s time for Ruben Amaro to make a trade. We need a starting pitcher or a bat to help jump start this lineup.

Most importantly, this team needs a spark to inject a little desperation, to remind this team they ARE defending champions.