Amber Alert: Phillies Offense Missing

When you’re hot you’re hot and when you’re not, well, the Phillies batsmen know all too well. After winning their first eight of ten games to start the 2010 season, the roaring offensive firepower that fueled this effort appears to have petered out.

The Phils explosive power was last seen on the 16th of April in Citizens Bank Park in an 8-3 victory over the Florida Marlins, when both newcomer Placido Polanco and Chase Utley belted homers and Jayson Werth chipped in with two doubles.

Then, just like that, the bats went silent.

Yes, the Phils did score eight runs in a win against the Braves the following week, but they recorded only one extra-base hit and has to resort to the lowly “small ball” in order to get the win.

Yes, Jimmy Rollins, the perennial leadoff man has not played a game in over two weeks.

Yes, nobody stays hot forever.

But the Phillies have found themselves in uncharted territory thanks to this recent slump, second place in the NL East. That is not a typo. Second.

The Phillies have been outscored 16-28 in their last five games, and although the numbers aren’t terrible, they usually can rely on their strong lineup to give their starting pitchers plenty of run support and are sorely struggling without.

Roy Halladay can’t pitch every game (or so they say) and the Phillies, who were favored to be NL Champions at the start of the season, look more like a team struggling to stay above .500 without their timber arsenal firing on all cylinders.

So please, if you’ve seen the Phillies offense, corner it, give it some treats to calm it down, and call Charlie Manuel immediately.

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