Last August I wrote the following:
For the better part of the last seven years, the Phillies have followed the same routine. Slump horribly in April. Play en fuego throughout May. Swoon rhymes with June for a reason. July brings an improbable hint of life. The last few sputters in the playoff engine burn out in the first days of August as the team pulls itself back into contention. Playoff optimism fever strikes the Phandom. …
The Phillies are idle today, but last time I checked, we’re losing to the off day. Such is our fate in June. We finished the month 12-13, but that lies because we’ve played at a nice 3-11 clip since June 14th. Somehow we still lead the N.L. East. That’s an improvement over the rest of this decade, but so far, the first half of the season is going exactly as expected. Here’s to a better, more-consistent second half.