PHILADELPHIA -- During the fifth inning of each game, David Dellucci, Alex Gonzalez and the Phillies’ other backups descend into the hallway between the dugout and the clubhouse to stretch, take extra swings in the batting cage, and generally prepare to play.
The routine hasn’t worked.
Through 18 games, the Phillies’ main bench players – Dellucci, Gonzalez, Abraham Nunez and Shane Victorino – were batting .141 (9-for-64) with one RBI. In pinch-hitting situations, they were a combined 3-for-27 (.111).
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has chalked up their ineffectiveness to a lack of experience as backups. Dellucci and Gonzalez, in particular, have been everyday players for their previous teams.
“As a starter, I always respected guys that had to come in cold and have good at-bats,” Gonzalez said before Tuesday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies. “It’s a new role. I’m definitely getting used to having to get ready late in the ballgame.
“You have to do stuff in [batting practice]. You get loose differently. You weight train differently. Mentally, you have to know who’s in the bullpen, who’s coming up. You have to prepare yourself for the exact situation.”
As a player with the Minnesota Twins from 1969-72, Manuel often came off the bench, and therefore, he’s sympathetic to the struggles of Gonzalez and Dellucci.
Pinch-hitting is such a specialty that Manuel said former Twins manager Billy Martin often sent him to the plate ahead of stars like Rod Carew and Tony Oliva on rare days they didn’t start.
“[Hall of Fame Los Angeles Dodgers manager] Walter Alston used to say he never looked at averages,” Manuel said. “He looked at the end of the year, and if you won two or three games, or tied up two or three games, you did your job [as a pinch-hitter].
“Once they get used to what pinch-hitting is about, they’ll do fine.”
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More after the game.
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