Swing and a Miss

Jonathan Papelbon blew the save Wednesday night as the Phils dropped the finale of their season-opening series against the Texas Rangers.  The Phils won the first game of the set but the bullpen blew the next two games.

Papelbon was horrible.  All of the questions about his velocity and command from last year resurfaced in one ugly inning in which seven of eight batters he faced reached base including the final hitter, who drew a bases loaded walk.  After the game Papelbon complained about the defensive alignment in that fatal ninth inning. Interestingly, not one of his teammates or coaches had anything to say about his pitching.

Then, again, what could they say?

What's all this hand-wringing about?

Too old?  Too impatient?  Too selfish?

Stop worrying, Phillies' fans, there's much to be happy about:

Cliff Lee finally got run support.

J-Roll leads the league in rbi's.

Ryan Howard's OBP is great.

Cody Asche can hit.

Marlon Byrd's revival continues.

Jonathan Papelbon can pitch in a non-save situation.

Ryne Sandberg pulled all the right levers.

So, why worry?