Words To Remember - Wednesday, June 11, 2008
337 Views :: 0 Comments ::  :: Michael Bradley David Montgomery has gone and done it. Gone and given Phillies fans the hope that this organization realizes that sweeping the Braves doesn't guarantee a pennant. Doesn't even punch the division title ticket. Nope, it's a long season, and the Phils still have plenty of work to do. That means the front office, too. This team is on a great roll, but at some point, the starting pitching situation has to be addressed. It may be good enough right now to take two of three from most opponents, but it's not strong enough to line up in a five or seven-game series and hang through tight games. Cole Hamels can do it, but after that, it's a complete mystery. We saw why Tuesday night in Miami, when Brett Myers had another poor outing. Everybody is rooting for Myers, but he is hurting the team with his erratic pitching. He's walking too many. He's giving up too many long balls. The man who was supposed to be 1A to Hamels' ace is not getting it done. As we all know, sending an unreliable starter to the mound in the playoffs is a bad idea, especially if the bats aren't booming, and they rarely do in the post-season crucible. Enter Montgomery. Yesterday, he said, "Shame on us if we sit back and say, 'Everything is going fine. There's no area where we can improve.'" Write it down, folks, because there is an area. The starting pitching needs to be upgraded. The Phillies can't continue to get 5-6 innings from the majority of their staff and be considered threats to win a playoff series -- if they get that far. Montgomery can't honestly say Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton are reliable enough to send to the hill in a big game, when they aren't even money to get out of the sixth. Add in Myers and his poor start, and there is real reason for concern. But Montgomery has promised the organization will do what it takes to upgrade. To improve. He has either given fans real hope or has spouted the party line in order to keep the tickets flying off the shelves. We'll see what happens, but there can be no doubting there is work to be done. Montgomery and his people have to do it. |