The Cruelest Month?

T.S. Eliot seems to have pegged it when talking about April, at least from the Phillies perspective, that is.  With another miserable start (their third 1-5 start in four years), the Phils are left asking why MLB can't hold off the start of the season until May 1.

What is it about April and the Phils?  Ever since they got off to a torrid 17-5 start in 1993, they've had 3 winning months of April (over 13 seasons).  This year's 1-5 start doesn't bode well for increasing that number to 4.

The numbers are below for your review.  Not including 1993 (the chart includes it at the top just for comparison, not in the totals), the Phils have won 44% of their March and April games, compared to 49% of their May through October games.  They have broken even twice before May, had winning records 3 times, and had 9 seasons (including this one so far) of losing records.

I have no answers, so I'm opening up the floor.  Why are the Phils so bad in April?  Does the instructional staff do something wrong in Clearwater to prepare them?  Is it just a fluke?  Is there a weather problem going from sunny Clearwater to chilly Philadelphia?  (If that's the case, does it affect other teams in a similar situation?)  I really don't know, but it seems like something bad is happening here.

And, needless to say, from a fan's perspective, I'm sick of it.