This team is clearly in a free-fall and the arrival of the best team in the NL this weekend could either fix problems or make things worse.
The Philadelphia Phillies (28-24) fell again on Wednesday by a score of 2-1 to Atlanta, which completed the three-game sweep for the first-place Braves.
Derek Lowe got the start for the Braves and went eight innings allowing sit hits and only one Philadelphia run.
The run came courtesy an RBI single by Jayson Werth, who is one of the biggest faces of Philadelphia's current struggles.
The Phils have lost four games in a row and nine out of 11. They haven't scored more than three runs in any game during this span of losing. They've scored only 14 runs in the last 11 games which is historic for all the wrong reasons. The Phils finished their road trip with a 2-7 mark which is their worst mark in four years. And it goes on and on.
The losing has clearly gotten to Charlie Manuel, as he made a statement following Thursday's loss.
"It's hard for a manager to kick all the complacency out," Manuel said.
That's one way to look at this team, but another way would be to say that they just aren't as focused as they were earlier in the season to make a point. Whether the loss of Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco has affected the teams focus can't be truly measured. But what can be measured is the teams win-loss record since they've left and it isn't good.
One can only hope that this team is ready for the 32-21 San Diego Padres for a huge 4-game series this weekend at the Bank. 'What's Ill' will be there for the games for complete coverage.
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