At the heart of the Phillies’ 81-81 season, there was the late-inning struggles of the bullpen.
Any sport involves a lot of hindsight. What would have been if not for that ninth-inning meltdown?
They are questions that go unanswered.
In the early going of the 2013 season, the Phillies are once again struggling to move above the .500 mark.
Why? The answer is familiar.
The Phillies are 6-7 after 13 games in 2013. Two of the losses fall on Cole Hamels, who has struggled out of the gate. Two also fall on Roy Halladay.
And yes, the starting pitching has not performed all that well either. But there is little or no relief from the bullpen, especially in the games where the starters have struggled.
Jeremy Horst has pitched in five games as a middle reliever. He is 0-1 and the Phillies have lost all five games in which he’s appeared. He has allowed six earned runs and four of five inherited baserunners to score as well.
Chad Durbin has been equally as terrible. He has allowed all seven inherited runners he has taken to score.
The bullpen has not been an area of strength. That can only hurt the Phillies at this point. As the old adage goes, you can’t win a pennant in April, but you can lose it.
Relief pitching will truly be the make or break aspect of the Phillies’ season. Make the pitches necessary and get out of the jams they are presented, and the Phillies can probably perform on a level that may be good enough for the Postseason.
But if they don’t, they could be finished before the season even gets into the dog days of summer. And that would mean another season of frustration for Phillies fans.
It wouldn’t be near the desired result but would be more than fitting for the Philly sports timeline of 2013.
Let’s all hope the bullpen gets it together.
