I think I've seen this movie before. There are plenty of ways to dissect Wednesday's 19-inning loss to Philadelphia. The missed opportunities to score off Roy Halladay, the blown save by Francisco Cordero after Jay Bruce's HR have the Reds a one-run lead in the 10th, but Brandon Phillips brain cramp that led to his getting picked off second base in the 11th really sticks out.
The sad thing is you could see it coming as Phillips was getting a big lead and focused more on talking with Jimmy Rollins than the pitcher, J.C. Romero. The mental lapse is flat out inexcusable and Phillips knows it. To his credit he took full blame for the loss after the game. However, the team and the fans have to be getting sick of these mental hiccups with its gold-glove winning second baseman. The last several years Dusty Baker had to get on him for not hustling out of the box.
Wednesday's misscue, perhaps, is more damning because it likely cost the team a win. Romero picked Phillips off second with one out and Votto at first and Scott Rolen at the plate. Rolen later walked and Romero did the same to Jay Bruce. Had Phillips not been picked off, he would have scored the go-ahead run and thus saved the Reds bullpen and we'd be talking about a two-game winning streak.
As it stands, the Reds are now 1-5 on the road trip. They face Cliff Lee in the series finale versus the Phillies before jetting off to Atlanta to face the Braves' Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe and Jair Jurrjens. I'm not advocating benching Phillips or trading him or not picking up his contract option for next year, but that kind of mental lapse in an extra inning tie game just can't happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment