PHOENIX -- Woke up this morning (it's still morning here on the Left Coast) and had a message from a friend back home, wondering how on earth the Phillies won last night. He stayed up late, watched the game, and saw the eighth-inning comeback with his own eyes. But at no point in the game did he really believe the Phillies were going to win.That's what made Shane Victorino's collision with Conor Jackson so important.
By that point, with the Phils trailing 4-3, they need something, anything, to spark their offense. So, after he struck out and the ball skidded away from D-backs catcher Chris Snyder, Victorino sprinted toward first base. "The Flyin' Hawaiian" was a punt returner on his high school football team, so he's used to taking (and sometimes giving) hits to players twice his size. Giving up some height (six inches) and weight (about 30 pounds) to Jackson, Victorino smashed into the Arizona first baseman, who had stepped into the base line to catch Snyder's throw, sending him pin-wheeling into the air. Jackson got the worst of the collision, possibly suffering a minor concussion. Victorino stayed in the game and scored one batter later on Eric Bruntlett's double. One batter after that, Bruntlett scored on Chase Utley's single.
And that, my friends, was how the Phillies pulled out that game.
Said Victorino, "That'll leave a dent. I didn't feel good at the time. Now I feel good. When I saw [Snyder] miss the ball, I just wanted to hustle down the line. Get a runner on base, you never know, maybe you can manufacture a run."
Said manager Charlie Manuel: "When I came out and saw [Victorino] on the ground giggling, I knew he was all right. He looked up and said, 'I'm going to get up and steal a base.'"
***Speaking of Bruntlett, Jimmy Rollins' impending return will send him back to the bench. But after batting .293 (17-for-58) with a homer, 10 RBIs and one error in his last 15 games, Bruntlett deserves to keep playing (at third base?) as much as possible until he cools off. Doesn't it seem like his two-error debut in New York was eons ago.
***
Within the notebook, there's news of Rollins' latest rehab start for Class A Clearwater. I should have a more detailed update on him today, although I'm still betting we'll see him tomorrow in the Bay Area. Can't wait to get to San Francisco, by the way. It may be my favorite city in the National League.
For now, we're going to hunt down details on the Phillies' apparent acquisition of Class AAA lefty reliever Stephen Randolph from the Astros. The clubhouse will open to the media in about 40 minutes, so we should have more information at that time.
More later.
4 comments:
I don't get it. I think Vic is a great player, but from what I saw last night he veered from the running lane, crossed over the foul line and crashed right into the guy. Was that legal?
I don't know what you saw. Vic stayed in the lane the entire time. The throw was supposed to go to the outside of the base and it went to the inside, causing the first basemen to cross over into Vic's running path. Nothing illegal about the play, just a bad throw by the catcher.
I think your idea about playing Bruntlett at 3rd is great.
Matt: Victorino was well within his right to run where he did last night. I've seen the replay a few times, and it looked to me like he ran in the baseline. Jackson had to come across the bag to catch the throw from Snyder. Thus, the collision. But I don't think Vic did anything wrong in that situation.
Anon: I asked Charlie Manuel today about the possibility of using Bruntlett at third base, and while he wouldn't say he'll definitely do it, he did say he'd like to keep getting at-bats for Bruntlett once Rollins comes back. Unless Feliz and Dobbs completely fall apart, I can't see Bruntlett getting the bulk of the time at third. But an occasional start? Based on what Charlie said today, that's entirely possible.
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