Injuries, slumps hamper Phillies

The Phillies were seven games behind Atlanta entering this weekend.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The chant started quietly in the left-field bleachers and got louder as it went around the stadium: "E-A-G-L-E-S!"
Only problem, the Phillies were playing the Colorado Rockies.
By this time most years, fans in championship-starved Philadelphia have already given up on the Phillies and turned their attention to football and their beloved Eagles.
It wasn't supposed to happen again this year -- in the Phillies' first season at Citizens Bank Park.
With a $93 million payroll that included a new All-Star closer, a revamped bullpen and a promising starting rotation, the Phillies were favorites to finally overtake Atlanta in the NL East.
But injuries and inconsistency have left manager Larry Bowa's bunch in a familiar spot: looking up at the Braves, who have won an unprecedented 12 straight division titles.
The Phillies were seven games behind Atlanta going into the weekend. They were fourth in the NL wild-card race, trailing the Chicago Cubs by 31/2 games.
"We're looking just to get in," All-Star first baseman Jim Thome said. "Once you get in, anything can happen. We're not counting the division out, but we're just trying to get in."
High expectations
Expectations were high coming into the season, especially after the Phillies added pitchers Billy Wagner, Tim Worrell and Eric Milton, and the rest of the division lost star players. Greg Maddux, Gary Sheffield, Javy Lopez and Vinny Castilla left the Braves. World Series champion Florida didn't retain Ivan Rodriguez, Ugueth Urbina, Derrek Lee and Juan Encarnacion.
Right from the start, though, the Phillies failed to live up to their hype. They lost six of their first seven games, and didn't go over .500 until improving to 15-14 on May 9. Only a mediocre division kept Philadelphia from falling out of the race early.
"We're still looking for a hot streak," said Worrell, twice forced to move into the closer's role because of injuries to Wagner. "We haven't had one all year."
Injuries are a major reason the Phillies haven't put together a winning streak longer than four games. The pitching staff has been affected most.
An opening day rotation that consisted of four former All-Stars hasn't been intact since May 29. Randy Wolf missed four starts, Vicente Padilla was out two months and Kevin Millwood could be sidelined the rest of the season with an elbow injury.
The bullpen is without its two most reliable relievers. Wagner, who has converted 16 saves in 18 chances, again went on the disabled list on July 30 with a strained rotator cuff. His return is uncertain. Rookie Ryan Madson, who has a 1.19 ERA as a reliever and 2.07 overall, is out with a finger injury.
The offense took a hit when slugger Pat Burrell went down with a wrist injury that could require season-ending surgery. Third baseman David Bell also is out with a back injury.
"We can't use injuries as an excuse," Bowa said.
Bad start
If the Phillies hadn't underachieved when they were relatively healthy the first two months of the season, they might be trying to hold off the Braves instead of hoping to catch them.
Instead, they never led the division by more than three games, and lost 61/2 games in the standings in a span of 16 games, beginning July 25.
"You can't dwell on injuries," Thome said. "We have to keep fighting, keep battling, keep trying to gain ground. You keep your spirits up because we know we have a good club and we want to get to the postseason. We had a lot of high expectations coming in. We have to find that momentum."
Another disappointing finish might cost Bowa his job. During a recent road trip that began with six losses in seven games, there was speculation general manager Ed Wade would make a change. But the fiery Bowa, unpopular among some of his players, survived the 13-game trip after the Phillies won five of their last six games.
It'll take more to keep the fans happy.
Upset by Wade's inability to make a major move -- relievers Felix Rodriguez and Todd Jones and starter Cory Lidle were acquired in separate deals -- and frustrated by the team's long history of failure -- the Phillies have lost more games than any franchise in sports -- fans are expressing their disappointment by cheering for the Eagles, who enter the NFL season with Super Bowl aspirations after losing three straight NFC championship games.
"They expected more from us," Bowa said.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.