A Thing of Beauty: Phillies 3, Braves 1

by David S. Cohen on Jul 5, 2010 11:06 PM EDT

When the Phillies acquired Roy Halladay, tonight is what they dreamed of. With the team in a tailspin and starting a three game series against the division leader, Halladay pitched an absolute beauty. He needed only 93 pitches to finish off the Braves. The only blemish on his otherwise incredible scorecard was a first inning home run by Chipper Jones, the only Brave to ever score or drive in a run against Halladay (now two solo home runs).

Derek Lowe looked for a while like he was going to better Halladay, as he took a shutout into the sixth. However, a two-run home run by Greg Dobbs, his first since late April, sealed the victory. With a 2-1 lead, Halladay made the Braves feel as if they were down by 100 instead of just 1. Juan Castro put the icing on the cake with a 2-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth. At that point, the Braves might as well have just forfeited.

One last point: another great night for Cerberus, as all three runs were driven in by fill-in third basemen. I'll have a summary of Cerberus again tomorrow, and I'll predict this much - it's not going to be pretty for Utley, Polanco, and Ruiz. (The flipside of that good news is what the hell is wrong with the regulars in the lineup?!)

via www.fangraphs.com

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So are you trying to say that I miss Utley, Polanco, and Ruiz far more than their effectiveness over replacement warrants?

by dannijd on Jul 5, 2010 11:56 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

I think that he is what he means.. but I’m taking those three you named every single day.

"I'd like to thank my hands for being so great." (Freddie Mitchell)

by PhillySportsDave on Jul 6, 2010 12:31 AM EDT up reply actions

So would I… I am just beginning to wonder if it would be the wrong move (although the sample size is small enough to make the analysis questionable— I am sure that week long stretches could be found where Utley, Polanco, and Ruiz out performed Cerberus).

by dannijd on Jul 6, 2010 12:35 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I would ALWAYS take Utley, Polanco, and Ruiz over the group now playing for the Phils. However, any offensive problems the Phils have been having over the past week have not been attributable to their absence. Those are two different things.

by David S. Cohen on Jul 6, 2010 7:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Agreed— I think that may be one of the more frustrating things about how the Phillies have played over the past week— the injuries and the offensive problems have not been located in the same place (defensively, the injuries may be a little more evidently causing problems— I think all but one of the fielding errors over this time period have been charged to replacement players.

by dannijd on Jul 6, 2010 9:08 AM EDT up reply actions

I saw the headline and immediately thought of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPMGRo-h1C4

Equivalent is Matt Stairs’ homerun versus the Dodgers.

This is the new/current account of RyanGiggs11
"College is only 4 years, but the Eagles are for life." - Ironhank

by Scott Kessler on Jul 6, 2010 12:21 AM EDT reply actions

It’s like Dobbs lit the flaming pile and Castro rang the doorbell. Either way, it’s an offensive showing.

by Wet Luzinski on Jul 6, 2010 12:40 AM EDT reply actions

A thing of beauty is a Roy forever.

by Wet Luzinski on Jul 6, 2010 12:49 AM EDT reply actions

Also, amazing how the Braves didn’t whine about the “Little League park” on Chipper’s home run…

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Jul 6, 2010 10:20 AM EDT reply actions

What— they did not tell you about how the walls move in and out according to who is hitting?

by dannijd on Jul 6, 2010 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions

You are not the only one seeing it...

In his column this morning, Paul Hagan discussed the fact that the problem with these Phillies is NOT the injuries— as injuries do not explain why the top four in the Phillies rotation went a combined 2-14 last night against Braves Starter Derek Lowe, and that only one of the outs left the infield. As much as I miss the starters, it does not matter if the starters who are still standing do not show up.

by dannijd on Jul 6, 2010 11:40 AM EDT reply actions

One last thing to add.. those late-game curveballs were like what Halladay used to pitch around 2003, just going straight down rather than breaking away. I haven’t seen that pitch much at all in the last three or four years.

by Shazbot on Jul 6, 2010 11:42 AM EDT reply actions

Is that good news or bad?

by dannijd on Jul 6, 2010 12:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Dunno. That was his out-pitch during his Cy Young year, and he would throw it to drop into the zone or drop down to the ground. Or throw the other one to go outside. He phased it out in favor of more break, but maybe he wants more groundballs.

I’ll have to do some digging to see if he’s been throwing it more this year, although I know he wasn’t in the perfect game. Nothing wrong with it, it’s just a slightly different curveball.

You gotta remember, every few years he looks a fair bit different. 2010 Halladay isn’t 2007 Halladay isn’t 2005 Halladay. It might turn into something, or it might not. Or he’ll start throwing both.

by Shazbot on Jul 6, 2010 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions