It's Phils' turn to smack D-Backs
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 27, 2005 12:00 AM
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]If the madness doesn't stop soon, Luis Gonzalez' playful little mock rage before Friday's latest loss could turn into daily reality.
Even though the star left fielder cleverly tried to illustrate to anyone who would listen that it doesn't take angry ballplayers or fiery managers to get out of a funk, the Diamondbacks' 11-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies might have been the last straw.
Arizona has been outscored by 47 runs (63-16) during its season-high, six-game skid. Even the woeful Kansas City Royals, who recently lost 19 in a row, never had a six-game stretch this bad. advertisement
"Horrible. Just like the last couple of nights," Gonzalez said when asked to put this loss into perspective after a 4-8 trip and a four-game sweep by the New York Mets. "Frustrating, whatever you want to call it. It's just been tough, man.
"We've got to figure out a way to avoid the big inning. It's five here, six there, 10, eight, you name it. You look up at the National League scoreboard and every game it's 2-1, 3-2. There might be one or two blowouts, but the last three or four nights, we've been in that one or two blowouts."
The Phillies got two home runs from second baseman Chase Utley, the second of which came during a six-run seventh highlighted by Bobby Abreu's third grand slam of the season.
Philadelphia, which has won 11 of 14 on the road and is on the second leg of a four-city, 12-game trip, moved to within 2 1/2 games of first-place Atlanta in the National League East and maintained a 1 1/2-game lead in the wild-card race.
The Diamondbacks had a chance to get out of the inning relatively unscathed, but shortstop Royce Clayton couldn't come up with what would have been a defensive gem off the bat of Jason Michaels, and Abreu hit a 3-1 pitch from reliever Tim Worrell to put the game out of reach.
"I fell behind and made a bad pitch, up and over the plate," said Worrell, who was facing his former team for the first time since being traded on July 21.
Brad Halsey (8-11) ran out of gas in the inning, and Brandon Lyon only made things more difficult for Worrell.
"I know it's getting old," said Gonzalez, who went 1 for 4 and made a baserunning gaffe in the third. "It's getting old for the players, for the fans, everybody. There's really not many answers we can give you guys. We just have to go out there and play."
Before the game, Gonzalez tried relieving some stress by being mischievous inside the clubhouse and out on the field during pregame workouts. He yelled and screamed - with a trace of a smile. He kicked at the dirt. He attacked an unmanned television camera.
He was trying to convey that loud and silly actions aren't going to get the Diamondbacks back on track. He asked for and received radio time on KTAR after the game to discuss that point with callers and the show's host, Dave Burns.
"Right now, we're all trying a little bit too hard," Gonzalez said on the show. "Call it selfishness or call it greedy . . . I think the last few nights we've all been trying (too hard) to make something happen." View from the Press Box
It's hard to remember another stretch when the Diamondbacks have looked this bad. Ever. They lost 14 consecutive games last season, but at no point were the games this uncompetitive. During their six-game losing streak, opponents have outscored them 63-16. They were bad last year, but never this bad for a weeklong stretch.
- Nick Piecoro [/font]
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Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 27, 2005 12:00 AM
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]If the madness doesn't stop soon, Luis Gonzalez' playful little mock rage before Friday's latest loss could turn into daily reality.
Even though the star left fielder cleverly tried to illustrate to anyone who would listen that it doesn't take angry ballplayers or fiery managers to get out of a funk, the Diamondbacks' 11-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies might have been the last straw.
Arizona has been outscored by 47 runs (63-16) during its season-high, six-game skid. Even the woeful Kansas City Royals, who recently lost 19 in a row, never had a six-game stretch this bad. advertisement
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"Horrible. Just like the last couple of nights," Gonzalez said when asked to put this loss into perspective after a 4-8 trip and a four-game sweep by the New York Mets. "Frustrating, whatever you want to call it. It's just been tough, man.
"We've got to figure out a way to avoid the big inning. It's five here, six there, 10, eight, you name it. You look up at the National League scoreboard and every game it's 2-1, 3-2. There might be one or two blowouts, but the last three or four nights, we've been in that one or two blowouts."
The Phillies got two home runs from second baseman Chase Utley, the second of which came during a six-run seventh highlighted by Bobby Abreu's third grand slam of the season.
Philadelphia, which has won 11 of 14 on the road and is on the second leg of a four-city, 12-game trip, moved to within 2 1/2 games of first-place Atlanta in the National League East and maintained a 1 1/2-game lead in the wild-card race.
The Diamondbacks had a chance to get out of the inning relatively unscathed, but shortstop Royce Clayton couldn't come up with what would have been a defensive gem off the bat of Jason Michaels, and Abreu hit a 3-1 pitch from reliever Tim Worrell to put the game out of reach.
"I fell behind and made a bad pitch, up and over the plate," said Worrell, who was facing his former team for the first time since being traded on July 21.
Brad Halsey (8-11) ran out of gas in the inning, and Brandon Lyon only made things more difficult for Worrell.
"I know it's getting old," said Gonzalez, who went 1 for 4 and made a baserunning gaffe in the third. "It's getting old for the players, for the fans, everybody. There's really not many answers we can give you guys. We just have to go out there and play."
Before the game, Gonzalez tried relieving some stress by being mischievous inside the clubhouse and out on the field during pregame workouts. He yelled and screamed - with a trace of a smile. He kicked at the dirt. He attacked an unmanned television camera.
He was trying to convey that loud and silly actions aren't going to get the Diamondbacks back on track. He asked for and received radio time on KTAR after the game to discuss that point with callers and the show's host, Dave Burns.
"Right now, we're all trying a little bit too hard," Gonzalez said on the show. "Call it selfishness or call it greedy . . . I think the last few nights we've all been trying (too hard) to make something happen." View from the Press Box
It's hard to remember another stretch when the Diamondbacks have looked this bad. Ever. They lost 14 consecutive games last season, but at no point were the games this uncompetitive. During their six-game losing streak, opponents have outscored them 63-16. They were bad last year, but never this bad for a weeklong stretch.
- Nick Piecoro [/font]
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