Philadelphia Phillies: Will Injuries Derail the Phils’ Season?

As of May 13, 2011, the Phillies are 25-13 and two games ahead of the Florida Marlins for first place in the NL East. 

However, Phillies players are dropping like flies. Can they maintain this pace in spite of all the injuries?

So far, the Phillies have lost their starting shortstop, both catchers, two starting pitchers, a bunch of relief pitchers and more.

Starter Joe Blanton came off the DL but looks like he needs to go back as he is still in pain and losing speed on his pitches. Starter Roy Oswalt is coming back this week, but also looks like he is not 100 percent after a rehab start on Thursday.

Then in Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Braves, center fielder Shane Victorino left the game early with a hamstring pull. It ended his 15-game hitting streak.

The Phillies’ anemic offense managed only three hits in the game, a trend which has continued throughout the season so far. The pitching has helped the Phillies win games, but the loses due to a lack of hitting are starting to pile up.

At the same time, the pitchers are now coming up lame. If the injuries continue and the Phillies wind up with both weak pitching and weak hitting at the same time, this spells trouble.

If Victorino winds up on the DL, the Phillies may have been able to fill the roster spot by calling Domonic Brown back up since he has recovered from hand surgery. However, earlier in the week, Brown sprained the thumb on the same hand he had surgery on and is unavailable to play right now.

Currently in right field, Ben Francisco has been terrible in the month of May. He is hitting just .071 since May 1. Ryan Howard is hitting .217 in May. Placido Polanco’s May numbers are down as well, hitting .234. Brian Schneider’s bat was starting to heat up when he got hurt and was sent to the DL. Carlos Ruiz is back, but rusty and he is still looking for his first hit this month.

The bench players have filled in admirably where they are able to. But if this trend continues where the offense slumps and the pitching can no longer bail them out, the Phillies could lose their grasp on first place quickly.

The Phillies season is at a crossroads now. Either they will be able to continue to battle through the injuries or they will not.

But this is an issue they have dealt with for many years running now. This Phillies team knows how to carry on when star players hit the skids.

Hopefully, knowing that they have overcome injuries in the past will be enough to propel them into the future as a winning team.

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