What else is there in baseball?  Maybe a bit of running, but pitching, hitting and fielding are about 99% of the game.  12 games into the season, the Phils are actually performing quite well on two out of the three.  for the most part, we expected above average play on two of the three, but not exactly how it has played out right now.

In MLB:

Hitting:

Phillies: 7th with an OPS of .776 (just 1 point behind Atlanta)

Pitching:

Phillies: 11th with an ERA of 3.63 (a sliver behind San Diego!!!)

Fielding:

Phillies: 28th .13 errors

The key stat: 56 runs against, 44 earned runs against, 12 unearned runs or 22% of the total

That is ridiculously bad.  To put it even more into perspective:

ERA: 3.63

RA: 4.62

We have given up exactly one run per game *mostly* because of our defense.  Mostly may even be a bad word to use and maybe partly would be better because many of those runs scored on legit hits after an error was made and it is impossible to ascertain whether those runs would have scored the next inning or not.  But that does't change the fact that the Phils have played some piss poor defense. 

Tonight's game was the shining example of what you can do when you catch the ball.  Bruntlett made a very nice diving catch.  Werth made a nice running grab in the field and Victorino made an excellent catch right up against the wall in centerfield.  I am not extolling the virtues of good defense (which is often over rated).  I am talking about the positive effect of playing standard defense.  Exceptional plays are for the Web Gems and saving a run or two every week or two.  Routine plays can often save games and seasons.  We don't need a superstar defender at every position, but a defender that can make almost all of the regular plays is needed.