Billy Paultz Reconsidered

August…. the storylines of the baseball season are already old enough to be tiresome, but we’re still a ways from anything decisive. There’s so much failure in baseball that when it isn’t quite leading to anything, it’s tough to take. And everybody knows football is coming. This is a tough time of year to follow baseball even if your favorite team is watchable.

Of course, it’s worse if your team isn’t watchable. Which brings us to the Phillies. Who among their position players is having a good year, in light of their track record and a reasonable expectation given what they’re clearly capable of? Howard? No. Utley? No. Rollins? Please. Feliz, Ruiz, Jenkins, Werth? No, no, no, no. Of their 13 position players, only Burrell gets a clear yes. Victorino and Dobbs (in a very limited role) get qualified yesses. That’s it.

The reality is the way the Phils have pitched, the division race ought to be just about over. It’s ridiculous that they’re not on a 95-100-win pace, and that might be conservative. Adjusted for the home ballpark, they’ve probably only been the fifth- or sixth-best offense in the league, and it has nothing to do with “clutch,” or “situational” hitting. Consider some of these on-base percentages- Utley .367 (ought to be at minimum 30 points higher), Rollins .333, Howard an abysmal .321, Felix .304, and Jenkins .300 (lower than Adam Eaton).

Ugh.