Los Phillies es muy mal. No, seriously, we suck. After a losing week against mediocre to poor competition, the Phillies come home to play the Nats. That should, um, be exciting.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS (34-34, NL East-2) @PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (33-37, NL East-3)
WHEN: Monday-Wednesday, 7:05
WHERE: CITIZENS BANK PARK, Philadelphia
TV: CSN Monday and Wednesday, PHL 17 Tuesday
PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
Monday- Danny Haren (4-8, 5.70) vs. John Lannan (0-1, 6.14)
Tuesday- Ross Detweiler (2-4, 3.02) vs. Cliff Lee (8-2, 2.55)
Wednesday- Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 3.40) vs. Kyle Kendrick (6-4, 3.76)
ON THE NATS- Well, they're the biggest disappointment in the NL this year so far, and they're just 2 games ahead of the Phillies. Their offense is putrid. With that said, they should be a lot better than this, and did beat the Phillies 2 of 3 in their only meeting.
ON THE PHILLIES- We're counting down to the sell-off in South Philly. This series, which was supposed to be fun and matter, is just a couple of disappointments.
PREDICTIONS- Well, first off, the Nats still have a shot this year, despite only being two games better. The Nats haven't hit well at all, but with a younger team, you can hope. With that said, they've sucked too. The first game should be a slugfest, then the teams split. I'll be wrong on that though, of course. Either way, NATS 2 OF 3.
NEW YORK METS (25-39, NL East-4) vs. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
WHEN: Friday 7:05, Saturday 4:35, Sunday 1:05
WHERE: CITIZENS BANK PARK, Philadelphia
TV: PHL 17 Friday and Monday, CSN Saturday
PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
Friday- Jeremy Hefner (1-6, 3.96) vs. Jon Pettibone (3-3, 4.40)
Saturday- Dillon Gee (5-6, 4.84) vs. Cole Hamels (2-10, 4.40)
Sunday- Matt Harvey (5-1, 2.04) vs. Lannan
ON THE METS- Yes, their season is hopeless, but this week marks the arrival of one of their top prospects (Wheeler), and so it's a big week. He and Harvey are supposed to be their future.
ON THE PHILLIES- Newsflash- they play a team in the division worse than them.
PREDICTIONS: Well, someone has to win. It's going to be fun getting to see Harvey this weekend, he's as good as advertised (although teams will inevitably hit him better the second time by, good teams at least). The Mets are really bad, so although i'm down on the Phillies, PHILLIES 2 OF 3.
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I just want to offer an aside about the season going forward, or whatever you want to call the rest of this summer. Yes, I know that this team is not in the hunt, and they're not good, and it's disappointing. A week with the hated Nats and hated Mets coming to town should be more exciting than this, but this is the reality, the cards, we've been dealt now. As much as I hate to watch bad baseball, it's still professional baseball, nice weather, and fun times. I hope we can all deal, and still enjoy the road forward.
