Buckle your seat belts, Phillies fans. The season starts tonight.
Or at least their attempt to salvage it.
Look, the first 68 games haven’t exactly gone as planned. The Phils, minus the heart of their lineup in Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, and with Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay both spending time on the shelf, have limped to a 31-37 mark, mired in last place in the NL East, nine games behind the Nats. And that would likely be even worse if the Nationals had not been swept over the weekend by the Yankees.
If the Phillies have any thought of delaying Eagles season among the faithful, they need to start tonight. They kick off a 10-game home stand vs. the Colorado Rockies, who at 25-40 are in even more dire straits than the Phils.
Cole Hamels takes the hill tonight, and if a team ever needed a pitcher to step up, it is tonight. The Phils need Hamels to seize control of the game and not let go. This team has watched too many games slip away after their starter exited in the 7th and 8th innings.
Hamels and the Phillies still have not resolved their contract issues. The left-hander could put an exclamation point on his pitch with a solid effort tonight.
And those guys behind him? They need to show up as well. That means no more sloppy play in the field. No more base-running gaffes.
The season starts tonight. The Phillies have dug themselves a huge hole.
Hand the Phanatic a shovel.
The digging starts tonight.
CLICK HERE for Phillies beat writer Ryan Lawrence's take on whether the Phils should be buyers or sellers as the trade deadline looms off in the distance.
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