I loved it in April and May, June's been horrible. I'm a Phillies fan. Lifelong. They are in such a tailspin I can hardly bring myself to watch.

As for baseball in general, I have mixed feelings. Maybe a bit of a purist, but I'm not a fan of the sabermetric trend. Too many shifts, not enough small ball. Stolen bases, hit and run and many of the traditional fundamentals are being phased out in favor of the home run. A new MLB home run record will be made this season, and it won't even be close. Did I read that MLB is on pace to break the old season record by 1000 homers? That's crazy.

I like home runs, but baseball is trending toward that being what it's all about, not unlike how the mid-range jumper in basketball is archaic and only threes and dunks matter. And it's gone so far that it's not even really about the home-run. Solo homers are nothing to worry about, just the multi-run homers matter to a pitcher and his team.

To tie it all in, the Phillies have a manager (Gabe Kapler) who is deeply rooted in the analytics. I can't say it's the cause of their funk, but watching them every day I don't think it helps them all that much either. They've been hit hard by injuries, especially strains for their bullpen. I think Kapler babies them. A couple of weeks ago a reporter asked why a certain reliever wasn't used and Kapler (with a straight face) said he didn't use the pitcher since he had warmed up the day before. Warmed up! Are you kidding me? So when these guys actually go to throw hard in a game they are getting hurt. Overthinking it all has cost them in my opinion.

That, and they forgot how to hit. So yeah.

As for random MLB thoughts...

Trout is wasted on the Angels. What a shame.

BoSox need to get it together. That rotten start will cost them. That division has three good teams and you can't afford such a bad start. They've righted the ship, have gone 8-2 in their past 10 and are still like 7 games back.

Dodgers are far and away the best NL team. Not even close.

Chase Utley night last night was great. One of my favorite Phillies ever and I went to the game to applaud him off. They managed to lose to the Marlins, stranding 11, to ruin it smile


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!