Things are bad. Things are really bad.
The Phillies were swept in Miami over the weekend, falling to 36-45, 11 games behind Washington and 7.5 games behind the fourth place Marlins.
For the second straight time, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels pitched in back-to-back games yet yielded no victories. Lee remains winless on the season at 0-5 with a 4.13 ERA.
Jim Thome was traded to Baltimore to two prospects (good for big Jim, he deserves to play for a decent team and DH) and they're shopping Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino. Hamels' departure would be even more depressing than their record, but better to bring in a package of prospects for him to restock the farm system than let him walk in the off-season. It's becoming more and more clear that Hamels won't want to sign a long term deal worth less money to stay with a last place team.
Waiting for Chase Utley's return doesn't appear to be the boost everyone thought it would be. They're winless in the five games since his return.
This certainly could be more than a down year. It could be the start of a rebuilding period. Ruben Amaro Jr.'s next few moves will be crucial in deciding that.
On the bright side, Hamels, Carlos Ruiz and Jonathan Papelbon were all selected to this year's All-Star game. Great to see Chooch going for the first time, even know he should have been voted in as the starter.
The Phillies open a series at New York starting tomorrow. The next few weeks should be interesting. The team needs to make some moves, whether they decide to be buyers or sellers remains to be seen. But this team isn't going to capture a playoff spot.
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