BY SCOTT LAUBERFORT LAUDERDALE -- Hello from Gate E3 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. It's 4:57 a.m., and like the rest of the Phillies' traveling press corps, I'm awaiting a 6 a.m. flight home.
Talk about having a case of the Mondays.
Anyway, a few bleary-eyed thoughts on what went down here yesterday:
1. Neither Jamie Moyer nor Chad Durbin nor J.A. Happ allowed a home run in the 13-2 drubbing over the Marlins, marking the first time in 17 games to open the season that the Phillies didn't give up a long ball. That was a major-league record, by the way, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. "Woooo-hoooo!" Moyer said. "Now I can sleep tonight."
2. Moyer's seemingly hypnotic mastery of the Marlins continued. In 13 career starts against Florida, he's 12-1 with a 3.17 ERA. And every time he beats the Marlins, I -- or another of the reporters who covers the game -- inevitably asks Moyer about why he dominates the Fish. His answer is always the same: No clue. But as long as it keeps going, he doesn't really care either.
3. For me, though, the biggest thing that came out of the postgame conversation was a noticeable change in Charlie Manuel's mood. It was only a week ago, before a rainout at the Bank, that Manuel said he had noticed "some difference in guys" after the Phillies won the World Series. He didn't name names, but he wondered if some players were getting "too big for their britches." Told about Manuel's comments, several players either flat-out disagreed with his assessment or didn't know what he was talking about.
But after a sweep of the Marlins, Manuel couldn't be happier with the Phillies.
"I like the attitude on our team," he said yesterday, rocking back in a chair behind his desk at Dolphin Stadium.
So, what changed? Was it simply a matter of winning three straight games?
"Some good self-evaluation sometimes takes care of that," Manuel said. "Also, all you've got to do is have some 0-for-4s, or have your pitchers get banged around a little bit. That'll wake you up."
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Here's a preview of the series that starts tonight at the Bank.
NATIONALS (4-13) at PHILLIES (9-8)
Tonight, 7:05: RHP Shairon Martis (2-0, 4.11) vs. RHP Joe Blanton (0-2, 7.31)
Tuesday, 7:05: LHP John Lannan (0-2, 4.43) vs. LHP Cole Hamels (0-2, 9.69)
Wednesday, 7:05: LHP Scott Olsen (0-3, 7.29) vs. RHP Brett Myers (1-1, 4.91)
Hot: Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman is batting .308 (20-for-65) with 10 RBIs during his 15-game hitting streak, the majors’ longest; Nationals C Jesus Flores is 11-for-27 (.407) with nine RBIs in his last eight games; Phillies 1B Ryan Howard is 5-for-15 (.333) in his last three games; Phillies RF Jayson Werth is batting .333 (17-for-54) with two home runs and nine RBIs after starting the season 1-for-11.
Not: Nationals OF Josh Willingham went hitless in seven at-bats over the weekend against the Mets; Nationals 2B Anderson Hernandez has three hits in his last 20 at-bats (.150); Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins is batting .162 (11-for-68) with a .205 on-base percentage; Phillies C Chris Coste is 5-for-30 (.167) with nine strikeouts since Carlos Ruiz went on the disabled list April 11.
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Programming note: I'll be hosting another live chat at delawareonline.com at noon on Wednesday. Stop by. We'll talk. No big whoop.
Programming note II: Calling all Twitterers. Come Tweet with me. Also, Philled In is now on Facebook, too.
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OK, about to board. More later from home.
1 comment:
Interesting to note after Ruiz's last game the Phils were 4 games under .500. With Coste/Marson catching in the interim they are now one game over. The role of a strong bench is for the replacements not to hurt the team when a starter goes on the DL. Certainly the catching position is the least of the team's problems. Hitting is only a bonus with the catching position.
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