NEW YORK -- Sorry for the lack of afternoon bloggage, but I was stuck in New York City traffic for about two hours. A backup at the George Washington Bridge necessitated a cross-town drive through Manhattan, and well, if you've ever driven in Manhattan, you know there's no such thing as an easy trip across town.Anyway, I still made it to Shea Stadium in plenty of time to see the Phillies draft left-hander Joe Savery in the first round. Kind of a funny scene in the clubhouse while the Phillies were on the clock. Brett Myers, seated on a clubhouse couch, was scanning the latest issue of Baseball America to try to predict who the Phils would pick. He didn't get it right. Listened to a conference call with Savery, and it was clear that he's an intelligent, well-spoken kid. He's also less than two seasons removed from surgery on his left shoulder. Geoff Mosher will have more on Savery and catcher Travis D’Arnaud, taken by the Phillies in the supplemental round, in tomorrow's 50-cent edition.
Meanwhile, the big news here is that slumping Pat Burrell was finally dropped to sixth in the lineup. It marks the first time Burrell isn't batting fourth or fifth. Asked to discuss the move, manager Charlie Manuel said, "We want to get him going." Asked if Aaron Rowand may be better protection for Ryan Howard, Manuel said, "I don't know. We're going to find out. He's got a better batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage right now." Obviously, Manuel didn't consult Jamie, The Blog's resident Burrell defender, before he made the move.
Full lineup: SS Jimmy Rollins, RF Shane Victorino, 2B Chase Utley, 1B Ryan Howard, CF Aaron Rowand, LF Pat Burrell, 3B Abraham Nunez, C Carlos Ruiz, LHP Cole Hamels. Pitching tonight for the Mets, right-hander John Maine.
More later.
3 comments:
Is there a reason the Mets need to showboat after every home run?
It's like watching a junior high team with all their matching haircuts and their juvenile handshakes.
Well, I guess bumping Burrell down in the lineup shook him up enough to make him come through in the clutch late. The 6th inning looked like the Phillies would only take 2 of 3 but give the Phillies credit for getting clutch hits and GREAT relief pitching in every game in this series. I only hope this team cannot have a letdown against the lowly KC Royals. NJ writers please correct me but is this the first meeting of KC and Philly since the 1980 World Series?? With interleague play they must have met in the last 10-15 years.
FYI, i woulda had pat bumped down in the lineup a long time ago. if he's not slugging then you gotta move him out of the fifth slot. since he's getting on base, eh would still be useful for a 6/7 slot to help turn the lineup over.
great ending to the game, too.
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