Woe is Philly

We all know the Philadelphia Phillies can score runs. Lots and lots of runs. Last year, the Phils paced the National League with 892 runs scores, 32 more than the thin-air bombers in Denver.

What we also know is, the city of Philadelphia could be in for a long year if their pitching continues the way it has for the first week of the season.

With the exception of the second game of the year against Washington in which the staff gave up just one run in a loss, they have give up at least four runs each of the others.

Staff ace Brett Myers has struggled with his control, walking five batters in 10 innings while giving up seven earned runs. For the Phillies to put fear into their competition, Myers will need to find his location on the fastball and go deeper into games as to not wear down the bullpen.

Cole Hamels looked great in his debut this season, going eight innings in a 1-0 loss to Washington. His incredible effort was outdone by the Nationals Tim Redding who gave up just one hit to the vaunted Phils lineup.

Hamels needs to stay the course after a beautiful 2007 season, and maybe even take the next step towards becoming an elite pitcher in the National League.

As of Monday, before the Phillies afternoon match against the Reds, only the Marlins pitching staff has given up more runs than the Phillies. Granted, the Phils play in the bandbox known at Citizens Bank Park, but that can no longer be an excuse.

One pitcher who is looking for a huge turnaround is Adam Eaton. After being the recipient of boos on opening day, Eaton started off the season with a nice outing. He went 7 2/3 innings giving up three earned runs and six hits.

That is a far cry from last years debacle of a season for Eaton who had a 6.29 ERA in 30 starts, somehow managing a 10-10 record. They need a just-above-average season from Eaton and if his first start is any indication of his season, he might give them just that.

Kyle Kendrick and Jaime Moyer round out the rotation and both had shaky outings to open up their year. Moyer allowed six earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings and was saved by the offense as the Phils came from behind to win 8-7. Moyer needs to be efficient as he was in ’07, or it could spell trouble for the ageless wonder.

Kendrick went five innings in his opener and hopes to build on a rookie season in which he went 10-4 with a 3.87 ERA in 20 starts. You can’t ask for much more than that from a guy who was in Double-A to start the year. Building on a year like that might be too much to ask from Kendrick, but it would be nice to see a steady performance this year.

The biggest problems lie in the later innings. The bullpen has been notoriously shaky in recent seasons, and it is no different in the early stages of 2008.

Tom Gordon, now 40, has started the year off with a 27.00 ERA, blowing a game in the first week for the Phillies, something fans have become accustom to. Whether his shoulder is not healed, or it simply his age catching up to him, he is not the same pitcher as he was before joining the Phils. He has a lot of mileage on the arm and may be nearing the end of a long career.

The rest of the bullpen needs to band together behind the obvious leader, JC Romero. His incredible 2007 led to a contract extension with the team and might now be the right choice to set up for Brad Lidge.

Speaking of Lidge, after coming over from the Astros for Michael Bourn and others, he started the first few games on the disabled list while rehabbing a knee injury. This may be a bit of a stretch, but the season may hinge on the arm of Lidge. He needs to hold down the fort when the Phillies have the lead.

Other pieces of the bullpen are vital as well, even though the average fan may not know them. Names like Seanez, Madson, Durbin and Condrey make up the rest of the unstable stable of arms.

Sure, the offense will explode at any moment. Yes, the staff may implode at any time as well.

For an encore of 2007 to occur, the there can be no implosion.

But is that possible? Only time will tell.