Prepare for a Down-tick: Interleague Play

Written by Mike Mariano | 23 May 2010

The current series against the Red Sox is the opening Interleague play match-up for the Phillies.  Things have gotten off to an up and down start, predictably, for the team.  The Phillies have a lifetime (since 1997) .442 winning percentage in Interleague play -- including a 6-12 record last year and a 4-11 record in 2008.  It's not unreasonable to think that over the next few weeks the Phillies will drop a few games.

One reason the Phillies have struggled in recent years can be attributed to the increased role of the bullpen in games against the American League.  AL lineups are normally full of bigger bats and overall more powerful offenses.  The "take and rake" approach is extremely popular in the AL, where working deep counts leads to starters not working as far into ballgames.  This year and the past two the Phillies have hardly had a dominant pitching staff either in the front or back end.  In 2008, the bullpen was a large reason that the Phillies went to and won the World Series, however it came on strong largely at the end of the year.  Last year, well Brad Lidge redefined the phrase "mental midget".  And this year, day in-day out you're not really sure what you're going to get out of this bullpen.

The first two games of this Red Sox series are most likely indicative of what the Phillies will get out of Interleague play.  Monday, Hamels threw well and the bullpen was solid -- a good win.  Tuesday, Kendrick was terrible and the offense sputtered a little -- a loss.  It didn't help that Dice-K took a no-no into the eighth inning, but hitting is volatile, you never know what you're going to get.  Today, Halladay is throwing (actually losing 1-0 in the third as a write this), so hopefully we can keep the bullpen out of it, get strong starting pitching and a win.  However, it's a windy day at the park and Wakefield's knuckleball should be dancing.  Stay tuned.