Lots to say about tonight's game, and not much space in the $0.50 edition of The News Journal to say it. So, without further ado, leftovers from another night at the Bank ...* Big two-out RBI double by Pat Burrell in the sixth to bring the Phillies within 3-2. Even bigger that it came after Ryan Howard drew a walk. Burrell is 5-for-10 with four walks after Howard walks. Wes Helms is 1-for-2, Chase Utley is 1-for-3 and Michael Bourn is 0-for-1. Still don't think Burrell is the Phillies' best option to bat behind Howard?
* Big seventh inning for Ryan Madson. After giving up a leadoff single to Felipe Lopez, he got Ronnie Belliard to ground to second and Ryan Zimmerman to line into a double play. Very quietly, Madson hasn't allowed a run in his last 5-2/3 innings and lowered his ERA to 4.26.
* Big two-strike hit by Helms to break the 3-3 tie in the eighth. Very quietly, he's batting .308 with nine RBIs. He doesn't have a home run, although that isn't bothering him. "I try to take home runs out of my mind," Helms said. "I'd rather drive in the runs and hit .330 than try to hit a homer." Don't know about you, but I like that attitude.
* Helms will never be confused with Brooks Robinson at third base. He made an error in the ninth inning, and I'm sure Abraham Nunez would've been in the game had he not been used as a pinch-hitter in the seventh (Nunez dropped a nice sacrifice bunt). "Third base is still a transition for me," said Helms, who hasn't played third regularly since 2004. "I'm going to get better at it everyday. I'll make my share of mistakes, but I want to do my share over there to help us win. I feel that I can only get better."
* Could Antonio Alfonseca be pitching any better? After his scoreless eighth ining, his ERA is a miniscule 0.77.* Tom Gordon (right) looked a bit better in the ninth inning. Lots of great comments on the previous post about Gordon vs. Myers, so keep 'em coming. Let's try to break a record and get 15-20 comments in there. I know you have an opinion, so let's hear it.
* Finally, like me, Nationals starter Jason Bergmann is a graduate of Manalapan (N.J.) High School. Bergmann pitched well tonight (three hits, one earned run in six innings) and has a respectable 3.27 ERA in four starts for the Nats. Nice to see a fellow Brave (Manalapan, not Atlanta) make good.
4 comments:
There are a lot of people who give Wheels a lot of gripe, but he was right on it when he said Moyer shouldn't be throwing anything close to Schneider w/ 2 down, the man on third, and the pitcher up next. Good thing that run didn't end up mattering in the end.
Maybe he just made a bad pitch, but Moyer should know better in that spot.
I think a healthy Myers in the 8th means a better Gordon in the 9th. I'd like to see Flash for as long as he can go.
Jason Bergman is a nice pitcher and he had it going vs. the Phils. Thankfully Acta was smart enough to take him out in time for the Phils to make a comeback on that bullpen. Why doesn't Manuel move Rowand ahead of Helms and behind Burrell? With his hot streak with RISP doesn't that make sense?
Chris: Manuel hates fooling around with the lineup. how long was ryan howard batting 5th and 6th again last year? answer: way too long. he's very slow to make adjustments. but i'm not gonna fault him too much. baseball is a game of routine.
Chris: Great question about Rowand moving out of the 7-hole. I asked Charlie Manuel about it the other day and wrote it in the paper but it got cut for space. Basically, Manuel said he's reluctant to move Rowand out of the No. 7 spot because he's hitting so well there. But he also mentioned that Rowand is the type of player who has hit in so many spots in the order for the White Sox and Phillies that he isn't afraid to move him, if necessary. For now, though, with Helms producing in the 6-hole, they'll probably leave Rowand where he is.
Also, astute observation about Manalapan High's Jason Bergmann getting pulled early by Manny Acta. Bergmann threw only 89 pitches, and several Phillies remarked that they were surprised to see him lifted so soon. None of them were complaining, though. Wes Helms said he even did a little cheer. Presumably, he kept that to himself!
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