Apter Hours
By Brandon Apter
http://www.phillysportsport.blogspot.com

It's times like these where I keep telling myself that it is only mid-June and the Phillies (32-30) have a slump like this every year. But have any of those slumps been this bad in the past? Let's investigate, shall we?

In 2007, the Phils went into June 16th with a record of 36-32, only four games above .500. On July 7th, the Fightins fell to 43-44. They picked up their game and finished the season strong at 89-73 to win the NL East after an epic Mets collapse.

In 2008, the Phillies found themselves at 41-30 going into June 16th. On July 25th, they were 54-49, only five games over .500 on July 25th. Oh and we can't forget the Phillies memorable comeback along with another Mets choke act that propelled them to finish 92-70 and eventually win the Fall Classic.

In '09, the Phillies had a better record than in their championship year, 93-69. The Phils struggled in June, compiling a mediocre 10-16 record after a 17-11 May and an 11-9 April. They then went on to go 20-7 in July and ended up winning the NL East for the 3rd straight year and retaining their NL Pennant before losing to the Yanks in the World Series.

This season, the Phils finished April at 12-10 but found themselves struggling offensively come end May and June. They were held scoreless for 46 of 47 innings through six games. It finally ended after 30 consecutive scoreless innings in a 3-2 win over the Marlins. Roy Halladay then tossed a perfect game which was only a 1-0 win after the Phillies offense mustered only one unearned run off of Josh Johnson. After coming off losing two of three to Boston in embarassing fashion, the Phillies continued their struggles in an 8-3 loss to Sabathia and the Yanks. Roy Halladay was off his game and the offense failed to get any consistent rallies going at all.

So, history has shown that the Phillies do indeed slump. There is no offensive slump as bad throughout the previous years like this one though. Chase Utley is hitting .260 and Ryan Howard (.283) has gone back to swinging at outside breaking balls. Jayson Werth (.281) still cannot hit consistently and Jimmy Rollins and J.A. Happ are still nursing injuries. Rollins is a huge asset to this team and I believe once he returns, they Phillies will come around. Happ should provide some much needed spark to an inconsistent back end of the rotation. Placido Polanco (.318) seems to be the lone bright spot for the struggling Phils.

While most people are focused on the lack of offense, I am also starting to think that this hitting plague is starting to curse the pitching. Sure, Halladay cannot be perfect every time out there and Hamels looks to have finally turned the corner on his struggles. But the other guys? Not so good...

Jamie Moyer is sitting at 6-6 with a terrible 5.03 ERA. Though Moyer has looked great in two complete games, one a shutout, this year, this ageless vet should not be used for nine innings if he gives up even one run. You have to preserve his arm or he is going to get burnt out before we know it. According to Phillies.com Moyer allowed nine runs in one-plus inning in a 12-2 loss Friday to the Boston Red Sox, his worst start since he allowed 11 runs in 3 2/3 innings on Aug. 9, 2000, against the Chicago White Sox. Moyer's ERA jumped from 3.98 to 5.03.  Should be interesting to see if he is at all effective against the Yankees. Phillies fan love this guy when he is good but it doesn't seem like they give him a hard time at all when he gets shelled. Will he be the one to slide out of the rotation when Happ returns or will it be....Kyle Kendrick, who has a winning record of 3-2 but has an ERA of 4.80. His ERA is a little higher and definitely does not . He allowed six hits, six runs, one walk and two home runs in just five innings in his last start against the Marlins after previously posting a 2.79 ERA in his previous six. Kyle has looked sharp as of late not counting his most recent start and he will square off against Andy Pettitte and the Yanks in the final game of their series. Kendrick has definitely looked better than Joe Blanton, who has not been anything of what we all expected this season. Joe was a pitcher that has kept the team in games but has not done that since coming back from injury. Blanton is a horrific 1-5 and is sporting an unacceptable 7.28 ERA. He allowed nine runs in four innings Saturday in a 10-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Phillies.com has an interesting scouting report though..."Interestingly, he was 2-3 with a 7.11 ERA through eight starts last season. He went 10-5 with a 3.16 ERA in his final 23 starts, which is a silver lining for Blanton. He has been in dire straits before." Hopefully last year's trend will come to life again this year because having a 7.28 ERA in eight starts is not good at all.

Hopefully this slump ends soon because both the Braves and the Mets are playing well. The Phillies find themselves looking for answers, 3.5 games back, going into the final two games in their series against the Yanks before traveling to Minnesota to square off against the AL Central leading Twins.