Where is Francisco?

My Fellow Phillies Phans,

I know it’s been awhile since we last spoke. A lot has changed since my last post here. The Phillies very impressively, yet expectedly, finished off a sweep of the Brewers at Miller Park last weekend. They returned to Philly and gave a 12-2 beat down of the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. However our last two games have gave me a slight cause for concern. After scoring 12 runs on Monday, we have managed a meager 2 runs in these past two games; both while facing average left-handed pitchers. Neither Zack Duke nor Tom Gorzelanny are what we would call “elite” pitchers, but somehow we struggled tremendously against both pitchers these past two nights.

I’m sure you all remember the smacking we gave Johan a couple of weeks back on Sunday night. If we can knock around one of the best left handed pitchers in the game today, why cannot we score multiple runs off of lesser caliber pitching? This is what frightens me about this team; its struggles against left-handed pitching. We need to shape it up.

This leads me into my next issue; Ben Francisco. I am sure not the only one that is a fan of what this young man did last season after coming over with Cliff Lee. However, I am disappointed with the lack of playing time. One wonders how much it would hurt to give him some at bats against some of these left handed pitchers. He is a right-handed hitter after all and should have a better chance against these lefties. Francisco has had only 24 at bats this year! Only 24 and you wonder why his average is a meager .167. He has had less at-bat than Roy Halladay has! Yes, I know Halladay has thrown a lot of innings, but he plays every 5 days and Francisco could play daily! The longer he sits on the bench, the rustier he will get and it will take him even longer to start hitting normally again. Last season, he played in 37 games for the Phillies and amounted 97 at bats. This year, we sit roughly ¼ of the way through the year and he is on pace for 96 at bats this entire season. 96! That is less than he had with us last year for just half a season.

I’m just curious as to what it would hurt to give Ben some starts against left-handed pitching. Ibanez is only hitting .200 against lefties this year so maybe it would be helpful to dispel him in the lineup sometimes when a tough lefty comes calling. What would be the harm? Is there any? He is a talented player and needs his at-bats like everyone else to stay sharp during the season.

I just hope the Phillies shape up before this weekend with the Red Soxs coming to town.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!