00:00Two finals, though, today. St. Louis handling Zach Wheeler in Philadelphia. This was a little surprising. What is this, the
00:09third outing in a row for Zach Wheeler that has not gone well for him or the Phillies here?
00:16It hasn't. And listen, when you are dealing with a team, you know, we were just talking about mediocrity in
00:22the last segment about the NFL. The Cardinals embody mediocre when it comes to the MLB. And you have back
00:28-to-back starts with Chris Sanchez and Zach Wheeler for the Phillies. And you lose both of them. That is
00:35a bad sign for the Phillies.
00:37They've had some trouble on offense. And there were some rumblings before the trade deadline of, you know, Bryce Harper
00:43saying that they need help and this, that, the other thing. But, man, losing back-to-back games with your
00:48two aces against a mediocre team is a sign of things to come.
00:53And, again, I'd still say that the Phillies have one of the best pitching staffs. They can go toe-to
00:58-toe with the Dodgers, at least when it comes to pitching. But they're never on the same page. The hitting
01:01is never on the same page as the pitching.
01:03The pitching is never, you know, peaking at the same time as the hitting. And I'm starting to lose hope
01:07that the Phillies may even make the playoffs. Like, they are clinging to an NL wild-card spot right now.
01:13And it's amazing to me the games that he has pitched Wheeler against some of the most mediocre offenses. Miami,
01:22he lasted three innings, gave up five earned.
01:25Then Toronto, he gave up four earned. And now St. Louis, he's given up four earned in an effort today.
01:32I mean, he is – it feels like maybe starting to slow down here a little bit. Maybe the innings
01:38are getting up there.
01:39And, listen, if Paul Skeens can't win a game, should we really be shocked that Wheeler is slowing down a
01:45little bit here?
01:45And that's not a great sign for the postseason. Supposed to be ramping up, not ramping down here at this
01:52point, Tom.
01:52I think that could be – it could be an issue here in Philly for sure.
01:58Ken, you've got to remember, Zach Wheeler started the season late from dating back to last season when he had
02:03thoracic outlet syndrome.
02:05And he started the year late. He came back and he looked pretty good right when he immediately came back
02:11and up until recently.
02:12But, you know, I don't want to say the wheels are falling off for the Phillies, but they need to
02:16get the boat turned quickly because this NL wild-card race is extremely tight.
02:21Now, granted, some of the other teams around them are also faltering, so, you know, they're still in it and
02:26we've still got, you know, six weeks left to play.
02:29But if you were to ask me right now, I would say the Phillies can make the playoffs, but they
02:33just wouldn't go anywhere, you know, anywhere deep into it.
02:38Yeah, it's not good there.
Comments