Bad news is flooding Philadelphia dugout

By ROGER MILLS and Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 5, 2000

They have had key injuries. They play in a cemetery-like stadium. They are so many games behind that 10 consecutive wins probably would make only a dent in the deficit.

Heck, the Phillies have only two wins more than Tampa Bay.

The long faces in the home dugout at Veterans Stadium can be summed up as the predictable reaction to failing to meet expectations.

Manager Terry Francona's club is 14th out of 16 NL teams in batting average. The Phillies are last in home runs (53) and runs scored (225).

First baseman Rico Brogna broke his forearm May 10 and third baseman Scott Rolen (sprained left ankle) has been on the disabled list since May 25. And that is the good news.

The pitching? Even worse.

Starters Curt Schilling, Paul Byrd and Andy Ashby, All-Stars last season, are 4-14 with a combined ERA of 6.55. The team's ERA is 5.01.

"There's no joy in not playing up to expectations," general manager Ed Wade told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "But I still think we're capable of playing good baseball. We can't change the fact that we're (15) out in one night. We have to pitch better. We have to hit better. And we're capable of doing both."

What has made matters worse is the people Wade brought in during the off-season to help lift the Phillies, such as Ashby, haven't done so.

Closer Mike Jackson, for example, is out for the season with a shoulder injury.

"There's nothing more I can do than I'm doing right now," Wade said. "I think I'm doing everything I can to give us the best chance to win, and sometimes that means being patient. If there are other ways I can play an active role in getting us better, I'll do it."

With a 21-33 record, the Phillies understand why fans are begging for change and that usually evolves into talk about trades.

"I won't make a cosmetic deal just so people can say we did something," Wade said. "I think right now we have a greater chance of making a trade that would set us back in the long run, and I won't do that."

INTERLEAGUE SMACK: Francona had a diplomatic take on interleague play, saying: "If the people who are running baseball think it's good for the game, then I'm for it."

But that doesn't mean the Phillies are doing cartwheels every time they get set to face an AL team. In fact, Francona and some of his players have made it clear that the AL teams have an advantage because of the quality players who fill the DH spot.

"Some of it's not real fair," Francona told the Philadelphia Daily News. "Those (AL) teams usually pay a lot of money for their DH and then they come in here and they can't play. And most DH's are middle-of-the-order guys, but we'll have to use one of our extra men.

"That doesn't mean Rob Ducey or Kevin Sefcik can't do a good job. But I don't think they'd be full-time designated hitters in the other league, either."

There is also the issue of how the interleague games affects the schedule by enabling some teams to play more games against teams in a weaker division.

"That probably bothers me more than anything," Francona said. "You'd hate to get nosed out if you were playing the Yankees and Red Sox and Blue Jays and the Orioles if they were good while the other team was playing teams that weren't as good. But I don't know if it's ever going to be completely even."

Added second baseman Mickey Morandini, who was with the White Sox last season: "There are certain rivalries where I think it's great. Cubs-White Sox. Yankees-Mets. The excitement in those games is unbelievable. But a lot of the other series are, like, so what? And I don't like that because it takes away games against teams in your own division. When I came up, we played the teams in our own division 18 times. I think that's the way it should be."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

Headlines

Americans Lose in 1st Round of Davis Cup

---