Dare I say...

by jonk on Jun 8, 2007 2:08 AM EDT in News

Looking good? The Phils have been more agonizing this year than they have been in previous years. The bad start was, well, bad. But then they got back into it and got us feeling good about them. The sweep of the Braves really got the fanbase energized and then the sweep by the DBacks really took the wind out of our sails. Well, the wind is back after an excellent 3 game sweep of the Mets.

Hightlights include:

Alfonseca with 3 saves (the new smoke and mirrors).
Pat with a clutch game tying homerun off of Billy Wagner in the 9th. It may get people off of his back, but Pat really has to hit the ball out of the ballpark a bit more. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
Bullpen was rock solid.
Starting pitching was rock solid. When Hamels is the pitcher who gives up the most runs, you know you are doing well. 7 runs in 3 games.
Phils made a couple of nice comebacks which definitely makes you smile more as a fan.

I am looking forward to Myers and Gordon coming back. Myers as the closer is a collasal mistake, but one that may be overcome if Lieber holds up. I'd much rather see Myers in the role of stopper when the team need him to come in and strikeout 2 batters with the bases loaded. Assuming both come back and are effective (pretty please), our bullpen is looking pretty good.

The hitting is coming around (Howard and hopefully Burrell).

The starting pitching really can't get any worse, can it (I am talking to you Eaton and Garcia).

They better not effin lose 8 of the next 10 after I wrote all of this.

Tweet Comment 10 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

You know

Wagner had to be extra upset that he gave up the bomb to Burrell of all people...

Bleeding Green Nation Philadelphia Eagles Blog

by JasonB on Jun 8, 2007 9:51 AM EDT reply actions

Re: You know

We can only hope that Pat will pick it up some now with Ryan being back. Maybe...maybe...last night was a sign. Since Ryan got back, Chase is up about 20 points on average. Ryan's up about 40 points on his average since his trough below .200. Ryan just has such a huge impact. Clearly, Pat is not going to carry the team ever, but maybe he'll get some better situations with Chase and a healthy Ryan in front of him (and Rowand, now, too). I like him hitting 6th -- there's less pressure and he has some great bats in front of him. Clearly, he's not worth the contract, but nobody is going to take him without the Phils having to eat almost all of the money, so the best hope is probably to ride it out and get what they can from him.

All in all, I was thrilled for Pat last night, and I'd like to see more of that. Heck, even if he could just pitch in at .270 and hit a homer every 24 at bats or so, it'd be a huge bonus.

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on Jun 8, 2007 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Re: You know

His AB against Wagner was terrific--and you know he loved sticking it to Bigmouth Billy. Burrell's approach is always the key. I love his selectivity, but as with Abreu there are times when it's a fine line between accepting the free pass and maybe looking a little too hard for it.

I suspect he's going to be okay. Even after the HR, his splits for the year against lefties are terrible: .155/.306/.293 in 58 AB. For his career, he's .272/.403/.528 vs. LHP. Odds are that the bad start is the aberration, and that he comes around to do his usual thing.

Agree that #6 is where he should be in the order right now, unless/until he gets hot and Rowand cools off.

by dajafi on Jun 8, 2007 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions

Re: You know

Did you see Wagner's comments after the game? Apparently the Phillies swept his team just because "they caught us at a good time." And on Burrell: "He has a one-path swing and I threw it in his path."

You stay classy, Billy.

by taco pal on Jun 8, 2007 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Re: You know

Wagner's first comment about "catching us at the right time" is pathetic. However, I think he was right on about throwing it in Burrell's path. Burrell has been awful for over a month a got a 94 mph fastball, belt high, middle in. Now granted, he usually would foul this pitch off instead of hammering it, but for a power hitter, you couldn't ask for a better pitch to hit. I thought it was more of a mistake pitch than a great hit, but in the end, it really doesn't matter. But to expect Burrell to all of the sudden come around with his fundamentally flawed swing and lack of agressiveness is asking a bit much. He's had an awful year, except when he was hitting a lot of singles in April to boost his average a bit. The fact that it took this long to drop him to 6th in the order is a joke with the way Rowand has hit all year. Manuel drives me nuts. For a month, he defends Burrell constantly saying he wants a power hitter behind Howard when Burrell was not providing said power, and then once he drops him to 6th, he says Burrell has to work his way back to 5th. Thanks Charlie. You could have saved us the grief if you had done this three weeks ago! The amount of times Burrell has come up with multiple runners on and failed is ridiculous, especially when Rowand has been effective in the same situations all year long. His loyalty to certain players is ridiculous and unwarranted. Heck, he practically buried Burrell at the end of last season because he was so awful, so why all of the sudden did he earn some free pass this year? Burrell has been bad for almost a year now, if you count from the All-Star Break last year up till now. Stop making excuses for this guy. He's been in the league a number of years now. He's not going to change. He's an all or nothing hitter, whose power numbers are now even diminishing, which make him a liability in the lineup.

by delb3175 on Jun 8, 2007 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: You know

Lineup orders don't really matter.

by taco pal on Jun 8, 2007 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Dare I say...

I have to disagree with Jonk's assertion that Eaton is not doing well. I was at Shea on Wed and he was great. Also, it helps that is a lifetime 5-0 against the Mets. He has got to be more consistent but he's got the right make-up. Going after Reyes, an excellent brush back, and nailing Beltran shows me has guts. Now he just needs to put it all together.

AS for your assertion about Garcia, I agree. He has been a disappointment. Get it together Freddy!

by Erufus on Jun 8, 2007 10:21 AM EDT reply actions

Re: Dare I say...

How can you defend Eaton? His E.R.A. is right around 6! Without massive run support he should be about 3-8 right now. I think he has 5 quality starts all year, which is not a good ratio for what they are paying him. Yes, he has pitched well in his career against the Mets, but they are one team. Too many times this year he has gotten absolutely bombed. He has been consistently inconsistent all year. Both he and Garcia have been five inning pitchers most of the time, which is not good for 18 million dollars of salary.

by delb3175 on Jun 8, 2007 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Dare I say...

This weekend should be pretty telling. The Royals are terrible at home (9-21, I think), and they don't have anything to play for. Garcia certainly knows them well, and Moyer should be able to do his bedeviling thing against a team of young hitters. Two of three is a necessity, and another sweep obviously should be the goal.

Of course, this being the Phillies, a face-plant wouldn't surprise me. But this June at least is looking a lot better than last year's, thus far.

by dajafi on Jun 8, 2007 11:12 AM EDT reply actions