Recent slide is not encouraging

The Phillies have not been playing very good baseball recently. The last few games have not technically mattered since the Phillies have clinched the division and have now secured the #2 seed in the National League playoffs and will host the Colorado Rockies in the National League Divisional Series (I will cover the first round matchup in a later post). However, this slump is still problematic for the Phillies.
Since the Phillies clinched the division, they have dropped four straight games. While benchwarmers such as Miguel Cairo and Andy Tracy have been seeing some playing time, most of the regulars are still in the starting lineup. Even though Charlie Manuel has been pulling his starting pitchers early in games, none of the starters has impressed lately. The last time a member of their current starting rotation had a quality start was back on September 22nd when Joe Blanton threw seven shutout innings to beat the Florida Marlins 9-3.
These performances may not make a difference for the standings but teams that have had to coast for awhile have not done well in the playoffs. Last season, the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Angels had been assured playoff spots well in advance of the postseason and those two teams managed to win just one playoff game between the two of them. While it is tough to simply turn a team around, the Phillies will be fortunate that the Rockies assured themselves of a playoff spot a few days ago.