Posts Tagged ‘Pat Burrell’
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Square Pegs in Round HolesMay 22nd, 2008
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Over 400 years ago, William Shakespeare warned his audience in As You Like It of the excesses of “too much of a good thing.” Amazingly, nearly half a millennium later and a continent away, the same holds true in professional baseball. While GMs, managers, and players almost always try and spin excess as a “good problem,” conventional wisdom would hold that a solid, stated, and reliable starting lineup is a key ingredient in stimulating the intangible chemistry possessed by every championship team. Currently, the Phillies are plagued with four outfielders and too many cooks can ruin the broth.
Pat Burrell, Shane Victorian, Geoff Jenkins, and Jayson Werth all bring different skill sets, attitudes, and liabilities to the team. But who deserves to play everyday? Who would make the best role player? Who is willing to accept a lesser role for the greater good of the team? By mid-May, these answers sometimes become obvious, but in 2008, their performances have made these issues all the more confusing.
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Happy May Day!May 2nd, 2008
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Happy May Day! In all honesty, I have no idea what May Day is really about. It has something to do with a pole, maybe? Regardless, I am celebrating all the same. You see, there’s something happening in Philadelphia today that baseball fans haven’t seen in quite some time. The Philies –wait for it- have actually managed to finish an April with a wining record. In the immortal words of Dizzy Dean, “Who’d have thunk it?”
You might ask why I’m excited over a team posting a 16-13 record in one month of a marathon season. I’ll give you that, on paper, 16-13 is not the most impressive baseball a team can play. However, in light of seasons past and a plethora of injuries, question marks, and slow starts, the Phillies have accomplished something here, if only psychologically, that could reverberate through the entire season.
As it stands of this writing, the Phillies are a half-game ahead of the second place Florida Marlins. Considering the Marlins are in fact the Marlins and will certainly fall off the pace at some point, lets celebrate the Philies sole possession of first-place in the NL East. They are a full game up on the Mets and three ahead of Atlanta. While both teams still pose serious threats, a lead is a lead is a lead. Perhaps most impressive of all though, the Phillies have managed all this despite both predictive and situational odds.
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Another One Bites The DustApril 20th, 2008
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It’s a sight Phillies’ fans have come to all but expect: a player steps into the box in a critical situation, hacks at the first few offerings, finds himself behind in the count, and finally walks away empty-handed, the proud owner of a strikeout. If this lineup has a weakness, it’s its propensity, almost affection, for the whiff; last night’s 4-2 loss to the Mets was no exception.
It’s the bottom of the eight and the Phillies trail by 3 runs. After Carlos Ruiz’s single scores Pat Burrell, the Phillies have the bases loaded with only one out– a prime opportunity to at least tie the game heading into the ninth, but these are the Phillies we’re talking about. Geoff Jenkins swings for the fences on two consecutive fastballs but misses both. Two down. Jayson Werth, after battling Aaron Heilman and fouling off a number of pitches finally offers at a tailing fastball that is just out of reach. Inning over, three men left on base including the tying and go-ahead runs.
It may sound cliché but simply putting the ball in play is vital for this team. We could discuss working counts, but it’s baby steps with this organization. The beauty of baseball is the infinite number of things that can happen by forcing the defense to make a play on the ball. Instead, the Phillies too often do that work for them by practicing that long walk from the dugout to home plate and then back again.