The long, slow descent of your Philadelphia Phillies continues.
Yesterday they lost their seventh in a row, looking for the most part moribund in getting swept by the Rockies.
I liked the hiring of Ryne Sandberg, but this team is giving every indication of having no particular interest in playing hard, or much of any sign of a spark.
Granted, Sandberg does not have much to work with.
After a hot start, Odubel Herrera is certainly coming back to earth. The same can be said for Freddy Galvis, who after a sizzling April that saw him hitting .350 is now in the much more familiar territory of .289. Actually is you have said before the season that the perennially light-hitting Galvis would be hitting almost .290, you'd probably take it.
Bottom line is this team needs some kind of a jolt. And it's not going to be Maikel Franco, who is now hitting a less than lusty .194.
They still don't know what to do with Darin Ruf; Dom Brown is still Dom Brown; Cody Asche is now an outfielder.
The Phils' lineup continues to show the same undisciplined ways that the team has been saying they are going to correct for years now.
And that's before you get to the pitching, where everyone is waiting for Ruben Amaro Jr. to pull the trigger on a deal for Cole Hamels.
Here's a suggestion for Amaro to first pull the trigger on something else.
Let Sandberg go. Much of this is not his fault, but his deadpan expression and lifeless demeanor appears to be rubbing off on the team.
These guys need a spark, and I think I have the guy to do it.
Name Mike Schmidt the manager.
Schmidt has been doing color commentary on the weekends and has something that Sandberg does not - some ideas on how to make something out of this lineup.
I know that Schmidt once talked about managing, but balked when the Phils organization appeared to want him to put in some time in the minors, "paying his dues," if you will.
This team - and this season - probably is beyond repair.
So why not try to salvage something with a tie to one of the greatest players in team history. The one thing everything remembers about Sandberg is that he represents one of the worst trades in Phillies' history.
The Phillies are close to hitting bottom. They don't have a lot else to lose, although looking at the numbers of people actually going through the turnstiles at Citizens Bank Park may suggest otherwise.
Much of last week embattled GM Ruben Amaro Jr. was the face of the franchise. That's not a good thing. Neither is the bland Sandberg. The Phillies desperately need a new face for this sad-sack franchise.
I can't think of a better one that Schmidt.
I don't have any idea if he'd be interested. But I think the Phils should find out.
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