I stated in a column last season that I don't believe in negative journalism. I also don't believe in sugar-coating the facts, even if they are unpleasant.
Although I had previously advised against it, fans who want to push the panic button should now feel free to do so. The Phillies had a 5-6 record two weeks ago and then lost 11 of the next 13 games. Sunday's 4-3 loss dropped them to 7-17, the worst April in team history.
The starting pitching has held up relatively well, although the bullpen hasn't, and the defense has been excellent. The real culprit is the offense. Bobby Abreu has a .352 batting average. Take his bat away, and the rest of the squad is hitting for a .218 average. (All statistics are through April 30.) It's hard to win when nobody is hitting.
As expected, the St. Louis Cardinals brought in a few fans to boost what had been some anemic attendance figures, some of them due to the miserable weather in April. Nearly 85,000 people turned out for the weekend series.
Mark McGwire was the main attraction, and this time, ticket holders got their money's worth. Last season, St. Louis was in Philadelphia for just one series. The Big Mac played one game and one inning of another before being sidelined with an injury.
Although he's been battling back problems for much of this season and has already missed nine games, McGwire played in all three contests at the Vet. He drove in the winning runs on Friday (two-run double) and Saturday (sacrifice fly) and blasted a home run off the facing of the 400 level in left field in Sunday's game. The Cardinals return once more on May 16 for a three-game set.
Sunday's game also marked the return of pitcher Curt Schilling. The staff ace gave up seven hits and four runs in six innings and absorbed the loss. He also had eight strikeouts in his six frames. The right-hander was disappointed in the loss and didn't take any consolation in the fact that he seems to have returned to form.
"It was spotty," Schilling said when asked about his control. "I gave up four runs, so it wasn't that good. I had the stuff to get the job done (on Sunday). I just didn't do it. If I don't give up that home run to McGwire, we win the game, 3-2."
Cardinals fans will look at that homer as poetic justice because Schilling has owned McGwire since the slugger arrived in the National League in 1997. Going into Sunday's game, Mac had one hit in 12 at-bats against Schilling, the one hit being a four-bagger. In his first two trips to the plate, McGwire fanned, but he continued his hitting pattern with a two-run shot in the sixth inning.
"In that situation, I should have stuck with what I had done in his first two at-bats, but I made an adjustment, and I just didn't throw a good pitch," said Schilling. "I had started him off with a good slider, and then I tried to come back with it."
"He's always been tough on me," McGwire said of Schilling. "He throws ninety-five, ninety-eight (miles per hour), whatever, and the ball is never straight. It's always moving. You think you're on it, and then it moves, and you either foul it off or you swing through it.
"I was just lucky that I got a slider that was on the plate. When the ball left my bat, I thought I hit it straight up in the air, but there was some wind out there, and it carried (the ball) out."
And even though he took the pitcher downtown, the Big Mac didn't think Schilling looked like he was coming off of surgery.
"He looked the same to me," said McGwire. "He didn't look like he had been off for a while. As far as I'm concerned, he's back."
That should be good news for Phillies fans. Bring on the rematch.
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