Just how tough is it to be a Phillies fan these days? Well, they have lost 19 out of the last 22 games. They are in last place in the division by a mile. Cole Hamels for some reason still is here, and Chase Utley looks like he should have retired before the season even started. Still, the most embarrassing thing of this year could have happened Tuesday night when Jeff Francouer came in as a relief pitcher.

It’s not that he pitched that bad. In fact, he only allowed two runs, which was the lowest number among all of the Phillies pitchers who played that night. No, the problem was that he had to pitch two innings instead of one because Pitching Coach Bob McClure couldn’t contact the bullpen. Why you may ask? Because the phone was off the hook. It appears that nobody wanted to pitch that game. McClure even tried to wave a white towel to get the bullpen’s attention. It might be a good idea to wave a white towel for the Phillies for the entire season.

Hussain al Nowais has been a Phillies fan all of his life, but even he is starting to get restless thinking about the team’s prospects. Cliff Lee is still a month away from throwing at all. Dominic Brown is struggling again. The team’s nucleus is aging and not aging well at that. The General Manager inspires confidence to nobody with his decision making. And the manager, himself, looks lost and really has not brought any fire to the team whatsoever.

But still, Nowais urges, fans must remember that the Phillies brought us a championship, which no other Philadelphia team has since 1983. 2008 was a magical year, and some of the players on our current team were part of that team. Although fans may want to boo, those players should get a pass for life. Utley, Howard, Ruiz, and Hamels were a major reason why we won that year, and fans should never forget that.

So even though this year may be rough, Hussain al Nowais wants you to remember that it’s just baseball. There’s nothing better than a game on a warm summer afternoon, so although we won’t be playing in October, that doesn’t mean you can’t fun at a game. Oh and Amaro needs to go as soon as possible.