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The point of no return when approaching a black hole is the "event horizon." Nothing that comes any closer can escape, even light. Well, maybe Hawking Radiation, but nothing else. When 2012 started, little did the casual fan realize that the Phillies were actually red matter that would form into a black hole and eat the Earth.
If you prefer Phillies Physics that does not come from the Star Trek universe, consider simply the Laws of Thermodynamics:
- You must play the game
- You can't win
- You can't break even
- You can't quit the game
Because of the zeroth law of Thermodynamics ("You must play the game"), the Phillies baseballed with the Atlanta Braves tonight in Philadelphia on national TV with Joseph Blanton hurling for the Phillies against one Thomas Hanson of the Braves. It was a sweltering night on the heels of a 1 - 8 stretch of baseball coming in, despite the recent returns of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.
(SPOILER ALERT) Knowing from the title of this recap that this was surely another wretched loss for the wretched Phillies, click through the link to learn how they lost. I can assure you that at least the team did not crash its airplane in the Andes and then resort to cannibalism to survive -- this could not have happened, as it was a home game tonight, and they did not travel. So the recap won't contain a true, compelling account of failure or tragedy, just the ordinary kind, routinely seen again and again during the 2012 season, and a descent to a record of 1 - 9 over the last ten.
Joe Blanton went 6.1 innings tonight, giving up 5 runs. He walked one, struck out 6, and gave up one home run. He was staked to a 3 - 1 lead in the second inning (helping himself along the way with an RBI single), but couldn't hang on, giving up runs in the second, third, and two in the fourth, the latter horking up the lead for good.
Tommy Hanson went for the Braves, and he was more effective with similar peripherals: 7.0 innings, 6K, 1BB, 3 earned runs. No homers and fewer hits helped him, as well as good defensive catching. Hanson escaped the second inning in part because Jimmy Rollins was thrown out trying to steal, and the Braves benefited from four stolen bases on the evening.
While the game was over in the seventh, it was still annoying to see Jake Diekman strike out Jason Heyward, only to have the ball get away from Carlos Ruiz. On the throw to first to get Heyward out, Michael Bourne stole home. Maddening, but typical. As was a Hunter Pence error. And the rally-killing double plays in the seventh and eighth. Hunter Pence and Juan Samuel provided some excitement when the former ran over the latter while scoring in the second.
The final game of the series, and the last before the ASB, is tomorrow with Jair Jurrjens facing Vance Worley.
Fangraph of Resignation:
Source: FanGraphs