Game 108 - Thursday Night, August 1st in Philadelphia
Record - 50-58, 3rd Place, 13 1/2 games behind the Braves
Another Massive, Post-Vacation, Why Do I Even Bother Catch-Up, Part 5 of 8
One Sentence Summary: Jonathan Papelbon, easily the most unpopular Phillie in years, blew his sixth save, wasting Cole Hamels' best performance of the season.
What It Means: My dislike of Papelbon continues to grow. Following Sunday's embarrassing loss to the Tigers, Papelbon was quoted as saying that, "I definitely didn’t come here for this." The thing that Papelbon seems to fail to acknowledge is that he's been part of the problem.
What Went Wrong: Hamels pitched eight shutout innings and drove in the Phillies sole run. There's not much more he could have done.
Featured Card: There couldn't be a bigger personality gap between Papelbon and well-liked and well respected former Phillies closer, Brad Lidge. Lidge officially retired as a Phillie on Thursday night, and he walked in from the bullpen in a pre-game ceremony prior to throwing out the first pitch. It was a classy move and a fantastic gesture for a classy player.
Paps is a BIG part of the problem.
ReplyDeleteI wish the Phils had signed Lidge to longer than a one-day contract.