Lieber Smushed by Giants

The Phils lost last night 5-0 to open their 12 game road trip.  Jon Lieber, like in so many other recent starts, experienced a one inning meltdown and gave up 4 runs.  To his credit, he was missing his spots all game, really rendering David Bell’s fielding positioning useless.  Two weeks ago he gave up 9 runs in an inning, which was as much Manuel’s fault as his.  His pitching is approaching ridiculous.  Maybe they need to dump Lieber in the bullpen for a while and keep Brito starting every fifth day or even Aquilino Lopez, the new callup in place of playboy Geoff Geary

On the flip side, the Phils bats were equally as ineffective.  The strikeout bug is spreading up and down the lineup.  There are just way too many by this lineup.  Even Chase Utley and Bobby Abreu are having trouble hitting with two strikes. 

The Phils are a long way from home.