Game 103: Braves at Phillies (1/3)

Atlanta Braves: 48-53
Philadelphia Phillies: 54-48

Jair Jurrjens (9-5 3.22 ERA, 0-1 5.14 ERA)
Kyle Kendrick (8-4 4.87 ERA, 3-0 4.13 ERA)

Projected lineups

Blanco LF 1/4, .250/.625/.250
Escobar SS 1/8, .125/.125/.125
Jones 3B 6/12, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .500/.600/1.167
Teixeira 1B 1/9, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .111/.273/.444
McCann C 3/13, .231/.286/.308
Johnson 2B 4/13, .308/.357/.385
Francoeur RF 5/14, 2 RBI, .357/.357/.357
Kotsay CF 0/5, .000/.167/.000
Jurrjens P

Rollins SS 1/3, .333/.500/1.000
Victorino CF 0/4
Utley 2B 1/3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .333/.333/1.333
Howard 1B 1/3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .333/.333/1.333
Burrell LF 2/3, .667/.667/1.000
Jenkins RF 0/3
Feliz 3B 3/3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1.000/1.000/2.000
Ruiz C 0/3
Kendrick P

Losing first place is kind of lame, but first place only matters on one day of the year. The Phillies have plenty of time to get hot and play their best baseball. This prolonged slump is very disappointing. What's even more disappointing is Jimmy Rollins, the guy who's supposed to be the team leader, showing up an hour late and saying he doesn't think it was fair to remove him from the lineup. I think that Rollins is a fine player and one of the leaders on this team, but this is inexcusable. Every other player had no problem getting to Shea on time, and this is the second run-in Rollins has had with Manuel's two rules: show up on time and hustle.

The Phillies need to take advantage of this home series to get the offense going again. The walls are a bit closer to home plate than the last couple places they've played in, so if some guys find their stroke, runs could be put up in bunches. Team wide slumps are tough, but this is a resilient team that should be able to fight through it.