When a team goes bad, there are always a variety of reasons. Still, by the time the a 2-0 loss to the Cardinals ended last night at Citizens Bank Park - St. Louis starter Joel Pineiro earned his first win since May - even Manuel was in no mood to blow smoke about the team's lack of production.
It was the sixth time this season - and the fourth time in their last 31 games - that the Phillies have been blanked. In 2007, on their way to the organization's first playoff appearance since 1993, they were shut out just three times all year.
It took 17 minutes for the manager to show up for his postgame press conference, an interlude that he could have spent in a team meeting to point out the team's offensive deficiencies.
"I guess we have to give their guys some credit for shutting us down," he said when he eventually arrived at the podium. "At the same time, we're not generating much offense."
When he was done, Manuel didn't make himself available for followup questions as he customarily does.
The Phillies haven't generated much offense for most of the last month. First the explanation was they were facing American League hitters. Then it was that this team has problems with pitchers it's unfamiliar with.
Those reasons no longer apply. Now the Phillies are starting to face NL pitchers who they have some history with. And they're still not hitting.
Since completing a three-game sweep of the Braves in Atlanta on June 8, they are 9-17. And a lot of that can be attributed to a lack of consistent hitting.
"We've got to be able to score a few more runs," said leftfielder Pat Burrell. "I think everybody is frustrated. We're not getting guys on. And when we do, we're not getting them in. You go through ruts like this."
You get the feeling, the way things are going, that Bob Feller could take the mound now and throw a blanket over the Phillies' offense. And Rapid Robert is 89 years old.
