Bob Ford: Counting the possible reasons the Phillies have gone flat

The Phillies have displayed a frustrating and frequent habit this season of slumping on offense at the least likely times and for much longer than anyone would have ever expected.

It is often as if the ghosts from the Veterans Stadium parking lot rise up from the asphalt and inhabit the current team. There was nothing unusual about a lack of production from teams throughout the Phillies' mostly disappointing history, but this impressive offensive team - trying to make its third straight World Series - has set records, raised the level of expectation, and earned its reputation.

So, how is it that the Phillies can drift through a series like the one against Houston that ended their homestand last week, scoring just seven runs in four games and wasting a lot of good pitching in the process? It isn't as if the Astros are very good. They aren't. But it isn't about the opponent with the Phils. That they turned around and swept the Padres in San Diego over the weekend, scoring 11 whole runs in the process says less about the Padres than it does about the Phillies.

In some ways, it hasn't mattered drastically in the standings, because the pitching is far better this season. In 2008, the Phils won 92 games. In 2009, it was 93. Even with their slumps this season, they are on a pace to win 91 games. Going into last night's game against Los Angeles, the Phils had won 25 of their last 36 games without an appreciable increase in offense.

Still, it would be nice if they cut it out and started hitting the ball all around the yard again. To help figure out the solution, let's take a look at the popular theories for the cause of the offensive letdown.

1. Time, time, time. See what's become of me. In 2007, when the Phillies began a streak of making the postseason, a streak that could be extended to four seasons this time around, the average age of their offensive players was 28.8.

This year, the average offensive age is 31.9. It's not that old, but it represents a significant difference. Seven of the eight regular position players are at least 30 years old and the other, Shane Victorino, turns 30 in November.

Baseball players all age differently, but since the game became more suspicious of the vitamins being used, the mid-to-late 30s is more of a wall than it was a decade or two ago.