The Bats Have Gone Quiet

For the past several games, an alarming season-long problem has become much more significant. All season long, the Phillies have stranded too many runners in scoring position, instead relying upon the long ball to win games. They got shut out 4-0 last night by Brad Penny, who came into the game with an ERA in excess of 5.0. The night before, they got Cole Hamels only one run. They've certainly had plenty of opportunities to score runs in these situations, but they have failed miserably to deliver in the clutch, stranding runner after runner in scoring position.

Again, this sort of impotence is going to make it really difficult for this team to repeat as World Series champions. It's very alarming, and it needs to end very soon. I don't know what can be done about it, but Chollie needs to do something to light a fire under these guys soon before they begin to fritter away that comfortable lead that they've built up.