DENVER -- Greetings from the Rockies (the mountain range, not the baseball team). Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July. I spent last night in Houston, stuffing my face here. If you like Mexican food and you're ever in Houston, it's the best. But, I digress ...Phillies are off tonight, but I wanted to update you on Tom Gordon's first minor-league rehab start, which, after being delayed by rain yesterday, went down today in Lakeland, Fla. Pitching for single-A Clearwater, Gordon started and tossed a scoreless first inning, pitching around a one-out walk to William Rhymes and completing the inning by striking out Michael Hernandez. He threw 17 pitches, 12 for strikes. According to GM Pat Gillick, Gordon's velocity was in the 90-93 mph range.
So, what's next? Well, assuming Gordon's right shoulder feels OK today, manager Charlie Manuel said he'll pitch again for Clearwater in about two days. After that, Gordon may get back-to-back outings. After that, he'll rejoin the Phillies. Best-case scenario looks like he could be back for the Cardinals series at the Bank next weekend.
That said, I'll throw out this question: What do you expect from Gordon in the second half? Do you think he can pitch effectively, either as a setup man or closer?
A few last words on the Houston series:* Give Lance Barksdale credit for apologizing to Manuel. I know it's little consolation for helping to cost the Phillies a win, but a lot of umpires wouldn't have owned up to their mistake, trust me.
* Hunter Pence gets my early nod for NL Rookie of the Year. After going 7-for-16 with three homers and four RBIs and scaling the hill in center field at Minute Maid to steal at least a double from Ryan Howard, I'm sure he gets the Phillies' votes, too.
* Wes Helms had a big series (6-for-8, homer, three RBIs) and said he made a mechanical adjustment to quicken his bat speed. The Phils desperately need their right-handed boppers (i.e., Helms and Pat Burrell) to get hot. Seeing them combine for three homers against the Astros was encouraging.
* Didn't realize there was so much debate back home about whether Shane Victorino's lunge into the stands Monday night would've been a catch. Here's the bottom line: If he'd have caught the ball, it would've been a judgment call as to whether his feet were in the field of play when he made the catch. That said, it's hard to fathom any umpire in his right mind wouldn't have ruled it a catch. Not after Victorino nearly killed himself.
2 comments:
You forget that Barksdale was one of the umpires. If Victorino had made the catch Barksdale would have ruled it out of play, regardless how hard the catch was. This isn't the first time he's screwed up a call. A few years back he did the same thing (last out in the ninth) in a Bluejays - Royals game if I remember right. He's had more than his share of screwups. There are many pitchers that find his strike zone rather small! Maybe he needs to go back to AAA ball and hone his skills. This umpire seems to have more than his share of problems. The point is the Umpires will protect their own, even one like Barksdale. If he worked in another industry his screwups would get him demoted or fired. I know it's only a game but with the injured staff, the Phillies need every win they can muster.
Lance deserves credit for apologizing. It's probably happened many times with umpires giving apologies and it wasn't made public.
I like that it is still a human game with umpires making the final call, but in the case of playoffs it may be a great thing to integrate technology on certain close plays. Not only does it make for a correct call, but it let's fans know that the call will be correct and gives them so confidence in the game.
Imagine NFL football before the days of instant replay. Mistakes are made all the time, but they are corrected quickly and the game moves on.
We discuss instant replay on our podcast, click on my name to go to our podcast page!
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