Cole on Fire: Phillies 3, Braves 1
by dajafi on Sep 20, 2010 11:04 PM EDT
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PrintIf Cole Hamels' absurd run of greatness over the last two months plus wasn't enough to banish forever the doubts about his toughness and composure that arose late in the 2009 season, his performance Monday night in the second inning against the Braves in the opener of a huge showdown series hopefully did the trick. After Derrek Lee led off with a single, Brian McCann broke a scoreless tie with an RBI double. Matt Diaz followed with a single to left to give Atlanta runners at the corners with no outs and a chance to put an early stamp on their biggest game of the season.
Hamels calmly struck out Alex Gonzalez swinging, then induced a double play grounder--one of three he got on the night--from Melky Cabrera. Side retired, damage minimized. The Phillies evened the score in the bottom of the inning against Braves rookie Brandon Beachy when Ryan Howard led off with a double and came in on a two-out two-bagger from ever-clutch Carlos Ruiz. They took the lead in the fifth when all-world rookie Jason Heyward watched Shane Victorino's deep fly ball clank off his glove for a three-base error and Placido Polanco followed with an RBI groundout. Chase Utley singled, stole second and went to third as McCann's throw bounced away from second base; two batters later, he scored on a Raul Ibanez RBI groundout.
The Phillies had other chances which they couldn't cash in, but with Hamels dealing, they didn't need them. Despite a tight strike zone by home plate ump Mark Carlson, he was in control all night: starting with the Gonzalez strikeout, Hamels set down nine in a row. After Gonzalez doubled with one out in the fifth--cursing himself the whole way to second, probably thinking about his previous at-bat--he struck out Cabrera and Beachy to retire the side. After Lee singled to lead off the seventh, Hamels retired the last six batters he faced. His final line: eight innings, six hits, one run, one walk, six strikeouts, 117 pitches.
Brad Lidge came on in the ninth and showed the Slider of Doom: he started the inning by striking out Heyward on three pitches, got Martin Prado on a pop fly to center, and struck out Lee on another slider to close it out for the Phils' 90th win of the season and a four-game lead in the NL East. Their magic number is now at 8.
Roy Halladay tries to shrink it by another two tomorrow night, facing Braves rookie Mike Minor.
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Does the magic number decrease by two every time we beat the Braves or just one?
by Eaglesadvocate on Sep 20, 2010 11:11 PM EDT reply actions
Um...
Sorry, but this recap was not good enough!
Let me try:
1. Cole Hamels only pitched well because CBP is a high school field.
2. Brandon Beachy was not told he’d be starting in a high school field.
3. Jason Heyward was not used to the dimensions of a high school field.
4. Redman only got caught because there wasn’t enough space in this high school field.
by ajay on Sep 20, 2010 11:11 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
didn’t show up a lot in the chatter tonight…couple additional observations (some made earlier).
Really thought Cole got squeezed, more so than Beachy did, which I had a hard time understanding. That being said, Cole dealt with it very well, and when Heyward drew a gift walk, he just got a GIDP from the next batter anyway. Take that home ump!
Really impressed with how he handled it and didn’t let it affect him.
Lots of hard hit balls against Beachy, BABIP fairy wasn’t smiling.
Lidge looked sick. I missed that guy.
Lidge vs. Heyward was pwnage.
Heyward’s a great young player but he had an awful game today. I wouldn’t say he singlehandedly cost the Braves the game, but he was maybe responsible for 50%.
Shane’s 3-base error was worth .122 WPA. Heyward accrued .007. Only two other Braves had positive WPA values tonight. Melky had -.193, which is good, ’cause I hate that guy.
by ThinMountainAir on Sep 20, 2010 11:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Does that mean Heyward nets out as -.115, or is the error included in the .007?
I love Melky, personally. He’s a huge asset to our team.
I think the error is included in Shane’s WPA instead.
by ThinMountainAir on Sep 20, 2010 11:33 PM EDT up reply actions
i thought
the announcers sold shane short on that hit, it did glance off heywards glove, but shane absolutely ripped that ball, it probably was an error, but not that obvious in my opinion
by PhilsForever on Sep 21, 2010 12:45 AM EDT up reply actions
Lidge looked insane in the 9th tonight. He really has turned it around in a remarkable way this year. That slider is unhittable.
by David S. Cohen on Sep 20, 2010 11:18 PM EDT reply actions
Two pitches to Prado were the game tonight. On the first, the game was nearly tied. On the second, double play, end of inning.
That was a wild thirty seconds or so.
by dajafi on Sep 20, 2010 11:32 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Phillies science
Sept.28.Oct.27.Dec.28.2008 gave me the idea
2005 Chicago White Sox. 2006 Chicago Rush. 2008 Philadelphia Phillies. 2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks. CHAMPIONS.
by HappyHuman on Sep 20, 2010 11:29 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Are you calling Oswalt fat?
"I remember being three and I wanted to be a baseball player, that's all I ever really wanted to be. That and Spider Man." -Raul Ibanez
by Jose and the Contrarians on Sep 20, 2010 11:30 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
worse, he’s calling him inherently (electro)negative
by Bilzo on Sep 20, 2010 11:30 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
All together they can be quite polarizing
by Sept.28.Oct.27.Dec.28.2008 on Sep 20, 2010 11:31 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Hamels and Halladay are positive this joke has been killed now.
by Bilzo on Sep 20, 2010 11:39 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Thanks for raising the (surface) tension
by Sept.28.Oct.27.Dec.28.2008 on Sep 20, 2010 11:42 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
ha good one, I’m liking this (hydrogen) bond we’re forming
by Sept.28.Oct.27.Dec.28.2008 on Sep 20, 2010 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Wow....
Not just puns… but atomic structure puns…
Most people would make fun of this.
Some people would call you nerds.
THIS guy’s doing the slow clap.
by Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed on Sep 21, 2010 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions
I’d like to rec the whole thread.
Remember the Phitans
by RememberthePhitans on Sep 21, 2010 7:12 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
The braves have got to be feeling the (hyrdrostatic) pressure even more now.
K swear I’m done
by Sept.28.Oct.27.Dec.28.2008 on Sep 21, 2010 7:18 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I’ll just rec RTP’s comment to express the same thought.
by Wet Luzinski on Sep 21, 2010 7:59 AM EDT up reply actions
Let me see you “Oh!” face…
Remember the Phitans
by RememberthePhitans on Sep 21, 2010 7:12 AM EDT up reply actions
Ah you’ve made me very Happy. Thanks for the shop skillz
by Sept.28.Oct.27.Dec.28.2008 on Sep 20, 2010 11:31 PM EDT up reply actions
…and just like that, Cool Standings has our playoff odds up to 99.9%. Crazy ride these past few weeks, huh?
Hell of an outing from Cole tonight, but then again, seems like we’ve been saying that a lot lately.
Always nice to be coming off a big win and get to hand the ball to Leroy the next day.
I'm supprised Chuck wasn't thrown out of the game tonight
Watching the game and MLB live i can give 3 reasons I know the ump was out to get Cole tonight
1. Cole had 6 SOs not 1 was looking
2. Cole was thrown out of a game by this dousche in a game in toronto
3. Pitches that were balls to Braves hitters were balled strikes to Phillies. Outside corner comes sticks out and the strike at the knees.
Hey Dez, it's 2am do you know where your mother is?
by sowhatifitisasportste on Sep 20, 2010 11:33 PM EDT reply actions
- Outside corner sticks out in my minde and….
Hey Dez, it's 2am do you know where your mother is?
by sowhatifitisasportste on Sep 20, 2010 11:34 PM EDT up reply actions
I get the gist, but I think it’s an apples to oranges comparison.
Beachy’s stats showed him to be wild in AA/AAA. Cole Hamels, not exactly the paradigm of scatter-shot pitching. Trying to validate Hamel’s squeezage with Beachy’s K/BB isn’t accurate in this case I don’t think.
Beachy posted a 148-to-28 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 119.1 innings this year, so he was actually anything but wild in the minors. Of course, his command was a bit off tonight (probably due to some combination of nerves and not pitching in a game for over two weeks).
Great Game
This is the second year for MLB Network, I believe, and I’ve seen a few games involving the Phillies on it, but I think this was the first time I had the Phillies broadcasters instead of the opponents’. It made for an interesting way of following the game and took me back to days many years ago when I would watch on Channel 17, or Channel 6 on Sunday afternoons. Tomorrow night I’m hoping I get the same thing, at least that’s what my cable schedule shows, but you never know if they’ll choose the Yankees instead.
by phillyinportland on Sep 20, 2010 11:34 PM EDT reply actions
Hola Phillies fans, thought I'd share this.
Just because its awesome.
That officially made Diaz the recipient of the second most unlikely standing ovation given to a left fielder in Citizen’s Bank Park this year.
In order, least to most likely
1. Roy Oswalt
2. Matt Diaz
3. Pat Burrell
Missing anyone?
by philsandthrills on Sep 21, 2010 1:32 AM EDT up reply actions
The sheer amount of froth this drives me too makes me do my best imitation of a rabid dog.
"I remember being three and I wanted to be a baseball player, that's all I ever really wanted to be. That and Spider Man." -Raul Ibanez
by Jose and the Contrarians on Sep 21, 2010 1:57 AM EDT up reply actions
I hated then at first
But now rather enjoy them (unlike the WB Mason ads, which I initially hated with the burning intensity of a thousand suns and now cause me to black out, wake up, head aching, with several hours missing and blood on my hands).
I especially like his quizzical, bemused reaction to the Phanatic in the radio spot and the TV ad with quick shot of the Fathers pounding the table and screaming, in unison, “YES!”
by Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed on Sep 21, 2010 4:56 AM EDT up reply actions
I don’t think that Pat Burrell’s standing ovation was all that unexpected- considering his history with the Phillies, I really expected that he would be received warmly when he returned.
That would be why he is the most likely ovation on that list.
I don’t really remember any other ones occuring.
by philsandthrills on Sep 21, 2010 2:11 AM EDT up reply actions
Is the guy supposed to be some sort of takeoff on the green man from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? I also saw/heard someone refer to him as the guy in the Spiderman costume. Kind of makes you wonder who he was sitting with until that inning and whether he was getting any funny looks.
by phillyinportland on Sep 21, 2010 2:03 AM EDT up reply actions
It was indeed awesome. I actually give Diaz credit for that, because he could have hurt himself, or worse, hurt the fan who like a typical douche would then try and sue Diaz and the Phillies and who knows who else.
Diaz is still a douche though.
Looking forward to the Kevin Kolb era.
5-8-10...the day the Purdue Boilermakers basketball team won the 2011 NCAA Championship!!
Diaz just gave him a cautious leg swipe. There was no intent to injure there, and the fan was trespassing. I may be a frozen caveman lawyer, but I think his actions were pretty safe from litigation, and it improved my opinion of him greatly.
Yeah I wasn’t implying that Diaz was trying to hurt the fan, I don’t think he was. But there is always the possibility that the fan could have been injured, as well as Diaz. Not to mention people sue for just about anything they can think of and although Diaz is guilt free in this incident, that doesn’t mean that the little red man can’t waste time and money, both his and Diaz in a law suit.
Looking forward to the Kevin Kolb era.
5-8-10...the day the Purdue Boilermakers basketball team won the 2011 NCAA Championship!!
I just checked ERA post ASB, just to see how ridiculous Cole has been.
Unfortunately, I found a shocking discovery.
A certain former Phillie is above him, and 2nd in ERA post ASB, with very solid peripherals.
Must be something in the water down in Houston, as Wandy Rodriguez is 4th, right after Cole and right above Oswalt.
by philsandthrills on Sep 21, 2010 3:02 AM EDT reply actions
Cole on fire…
New name?
CENTRALIA, baby!
Remember the Phitans
by RememberthePhitans on Sep 21, 2010 7:14 AM EDT reply actions
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