You know things are bad with your baseball team when a congressman feels the need to intervene.
After a dramatic turn of events late Tuesday night, the Phillies seemed on their way to a feel-good, comeback win over the Orioles at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies had a chance to forget the bullpen allowing two more runs in the seventh: they had a 6-5 lead and just needed three outs from Hector Neris in the top of the ninth.
Instead, they entered the bottom of the ninth down, 8-6, and things were once again harder than they needed to be.
Things have reached the point where U.S. Representative Brendan Boyle (D, PA-2), who represents Northeast Philadelphia, took to Twitter on Tuesday night to lambast the team's inability to get through the seventh and eighth innings without completely falling apart.
Boyle's solution? It's gonna take some lawmaking to fix the Phillies' pen:
A congressman from the top rope! You hate to see it.
The Phillies' bullpen has somehow allowed 38 runs so far this year, just a brutal showing from a crucial part of this team, and there doesn't seem to be any indication that things will improve.
MLB
So it's time for Boyle to take matters into his own hands.
Maybe Boyle can add extra money to the congressional district's budget, so Phillies ownership isn't worried about the luxury tax and they can finally address the team's glaring flaw.
Or maybe Boyle can change the Major League Baseball rulebook, so runs in the seventh and eighth innings only count for half. That might help stop the bleeding.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
And the Phillies' bullpen has officially reached desperation mode.
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