135 games into the season the Philadelphia Phillie's are 2 games back of their National League East rival, the New York Met's. Normally the strongest division, it's looking like the runner up in the East this season will be sitting at home come October. It's the National League Central that appears to be the best division with the Milwaukee Brewers leading the wild card race and the St. Louis Cardinals just 4 1/2 games behind. (The Phillie's are currently 5 1/2 games behind the Brewers for the wild card spot)
So what can Philadelphia do to make up ground on the Met's? There were numerous Phillie's trade rumors just before the deadline, but they wound up not making any moves. There were a number of relievers on the Phillie's radar, including Rockies closer Brian Fuentes and Royals setup man Ron Mahay, but both stayed put. Philadelphia also lost out to the Dodgers in the Manny Ramirez sweepstakes. They have been helped strong pitching from Brett Myers and an awful Met's bullpen, but so far that has not been enough.
Since the trading deadline has passed, the Phillie's trade rumors have all but ceased, but there are still a few players that might eventually wind up helping the squad down the stretch. There is a possibility that a deal could get done with the Tigers for veteran reliever Kyle Farnsworth, which would help out a bullpen that has blown the lead five times in the eighth inning over the last two weeks.
The Phillie's are also looking at former Reds catcher Dave Ross, released by Cincinnati and about to clear waivers. Ross is a career .223 hitter but might have a chance to challenge Ruiz and Coste for playing time behind the plate.
Aside from that, the Phillies really need last year's League MVP Jimmy Rollins to close out his disappointing season with a bang, which seems more like a possibility now that he is 10 for 20 over his last five games, with two doubles, a triple, a home run, and five stolen bases. Rollins is hitting just .266 with 9 home runs on the season, which is way off pace of his career year in '07 which had him knocking 30 homers at a .296 clip.
Rollins also did not do much to help his cause by calling out Philly fans last month when he appeared on The Best Damn Sports Show and said, in reference to the fans of Philadelphia, "I might catch some flack for saying this, but, you know, they're front-runners. When you're doing good, they're on your side. When you're doing bad, they're completely against you." He and Philly fans both are hoping they are back on his side sooner rather than later.
Until then, baseball fans from the City of Brotherly Love will just have to cross their fingers and remain hopeful that the Phillie's trade rumors might pan out and Rollins' recent hot streak will continue so that their ball club can catch the Met's.
