Sharp on mound and at the plate, Blanton puts Phillies up 3-1
I don't know about you, but I'd call that a slugfest, even if Tampa Bay didn't join the party. So the only thing left to do is for Cole Hamels to go out and clinch this thing at home. The Phillies will have their World Championship and I will have pulled off one hell of a trifecta, prediction-wise.
But first we wait, which won't be easy. In fact, I'm sure the only reason I'll be able to fall asleep tonight is because I'm still so tired from staying up for Game Three. And speaking of exhaustion, as much as I would love to spend some time nitpicking Buck McCarver and the Fox Traveling Circus, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to bed. Monday is shaping up to be a pretty big day.
But before I do, I thought you might appreciate some haikus inspired by tonight's game. Enjoy:
---
He of dirty hat
Whether with one arm or two
Blanton is the man
---
Dearest Jimmy-legs
Crack crack crack and run run run
When you score we win
---
One, two, three runs home
When Ryan swings mighty bat
Oh! Oppo poppo
---
Huh? No hits, two runs
Worry not for Utley, still
Quite a strange boxscore
---
Big blow by Jayson
So welcome to the party
Could you stay a while?
---
Ryan in the eighth
Still holding mighty bat - oops!
He did it again
---
Say it ain't so Pat
Will he stay, will he go, or
Will he get a hit?
---
Steely-eyed is he
Our Hamels will take the ball
One more win to go
---
Showing posts with label joe blanton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joe blanton. Show all posts
Monday, October 27, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
World Series Game Two - Rays 4, Phillies 2
Rays even series on errors by Werth, home plate umpire
It's time for some straight talk, my friends.
That was a terrible game - and a bullshit win. Can I say "bullshit" here? It doesn't matter, nobody's reading this. As great a game as game one was, this game was the total opposite - and not because the Phillies lost, but because the home plate umpire couldn't get out of his own way. Yet despite their failure (on a mammoth scale) to hit with runners in scoring position, the Phillies still had the tying run at the plate in the ninth.
On the other hand, because of their youth, it's likely the Rays have no clue how truly lucky they were to win that game. There is no arguing the fact that if Jayson Werth fields B.J. Upton's single in the first inning cleanly, then the Rays don't score on any of the next three ground ball outs (one of which might have been a double play). You could also make a good argument that if Kerwin Danley had the balls to continue with the strike out call on Rocco Baldelli that he started, which would have been the second out of the second inning, then the Rays don't score there either and the game is scoreless instead of 3-0, Rays. The run they scored in the fourth was just good baseball.
But none of this matters - not even the ridiculous "nope, sorry Jimmy, that ball didn't hit you" call by Danley with nobody out in the ninth - when the Phillies are 1-28 with runners in scoring position in these two games. That is truly inexplicable.
The bright spots were obvious - if few and far between. Carlos Ruiz turned in some truly remarkable at-bats Wednesday night, which could be a great sign not only for this series, but for next year as well. Shane Victorino continued to collect hits, which may put him back in the two-spot on Saturday. Plus, it is truly a pleasure to welcome the real Ryan Howard back. You were missed. If you have any information on the location of the real Jimmy Rollins, please let us know. By the way, I contacted the authorities about Pat Burrell and I was told I had to wait 48 more hours before filing a missing hitter report.
So what have we learned after these first two games? It's hard to say. Most of the "experts" felt that game one was a must win for the Phillies with Cole Hamels on the mound - and they won. These same experts then proclaimed game two a must win for the Rays because they couldn't afford to leave Tampa down 0-2 - and they won. I'm going to guess that game three will now be a must win for the Phillies so they don't relinquish home-field advantage and they might be right.
At the end of the day - or the beginning of this one - mrs. tmmullen and I both knew that if we wanted to attend a World Series game this year, the Phillies would have to lose at least once (we have tickets for game five). She commented on how odd it was to secretly hope that they would lose one just for that reason and I felt that same way. But I also confided in her - before the series started - that I thought the Rays might feast on a pitcher with a style like Brett Myers and that the Phillies might lose game two. Well, the bad news is that they lost game two, but the good news is that, well, Myers didn't pitch poorly at all. So if he needs to come back for a game six, I will have plenty of confidence in him.
But I'm thinking there won't be a game six: Jamie Moyer returns to form, Joe Blanton wins a slugfest, and then Hamels clinches it at home. Yeah, I'll say it: Phils in five.
---
It's time for some straight talk, my friends.
That was a terrible game - and a bullshit win. Can I say "bullshit" here? It doesn't matter, nobody's reading this. As great a game as game one was, this game was the total opposite - and not because the Phillies lost, but because the home plate umpire couldn't get out of his own way. Yet despite their failure (on a mammoth scale) to hit with runners in scoring position, the Phillies still had the tying run at the plate in the ninth.
On the other hand, because of their youth, it's likely the Rays have no clue how truly lucky they were to win that game. There is no arguing the fact that if Jayson Werth fields B.J. Upton's single in the first inning cleanly, then the Rays don't score on any of the next three ground ball outs (one of which might have been a double play). You could also make a good argument that if Kerwin Danley had the balls to continue with the strike out call on Rocco Baldelli that he started, which would have been the second out of the second inning, then the Rays don't score there either and the game is scoreless instead of 3-0, Rays. The run they scored in the fourth was just good baseball.
But none of this matters - not even the ridiculous "nope, sorry Jimmy, that ball didn't hit you" call by Danley with nobody out in the ninth - when the Phillies are 1-28 with runners in scoring position in these two games. That is truly inexplicable.
The bright spots were obvious - if few and far between. Carlos Ruiz turned in some truly remarkable at-bats Wednesday night, which could be a great sign not only for this series, but for next year as well. Shane Victorino continued to collect hits, which may put him back in the two-spot on Saturday. Plus, it is truly a pleasure to welcome the real Ryan Howard back. You were missed. If you have any information on the location of the real Jimmy Rollins, please let us know. By the way, I contacted the authorities about Pat Burrell and I was told I had to wait 48 more hours before filing a missing hitter report.
So what have we learned after these first two games? It's hard to say. Most of the "experts" felt that game one was a must win for the Phillies with Cole Hamels on the mound - and they won. These same experts then proclaimed game two a must win for the Rays because they couldn't afford to leave Tampa down 0-2 - and they won. I'm going to guess that game three will now be a must win for the Phillies so they don't relinquish home-field advantage and they might be right.
At the end of the day - or the beginning of this one - mrs. tmmullen and I both knew that if we wanted to attend a World Series game this year, the Phillies would have to lose at least once (we have tickets for game five). She commented on how odd it was to secretly hope that they would lose one just for that reason and I felt that same way. But I also confided in her - before the series started - that I thought the Rays might feast on a pitcher with a style like Brett Myers and that the Phillies might lose game two. Well, the bad news is that they lost game two, but the good news is that, well, Myers didn't pitch poorly at all. So if he needs to come back for a game six, I will have plenty of confidence in him.
But I'm thinking there won't be a game six: Jamie Moyer returns to form, Joe Blanton wins a slugfest, and then Hamels clinches it at home. Yeah, I'll say it: Phils in five.
---
Sunday, October 5, 2008
NLDS Game Three - Brewers 4, Phillies 1
Blanton set to start game four
That was tough to watch.
Something I may not have ever mentioned here is that I am a certified PIAA basketball official. I share this with you for two reasons. First, I will be at Kutztown University all day today for the second day of a two-day officials clinic, which means I will not be able to watch Game Four [I literally arrived home from day one of the clinic just in time to see the first pitch on Saturday].
More importantly, it gives me some credibility when I say that the most important thing that players, coaches, and managers want from officials and umpires is for them to be consistent. If it's a foul in the first quarter, it needs to be a foul in the fourth. Or, in this case, if it's a strike to one hitter, it needs to be a strike to another hitter.
I think there are few people who would disagree that the home plate umpire was inconsistent last night - and it killed Jamie Moyer. Some might argue that Jamie needs an umpire who will give him a little off that plate and I will admit that certainly helps him. But what is more important for him is to find that spot that the umpire will call a strike and keep pounding it in there until the hitter has to swing at it. Moyer couldn't do that on Saturday because the umpire was inconsistent.
In one at-bat in the second inning I watched Moyer throw four straight pitches in virtually the exact spot after which the count was 2-2. I said to mrs. tmmullen, "This is not going to be good." Unfortunately, it wasn't.
The good news is that the Phillies hitters will face Jeff Suppan today. He is 0-2 in his last three starts with an ERA north of 10.00. Even better, in their careers, the Phillies are hitting .307 as a team against him with good numbers from Utley (.474), Burrell (.429), Rollins (.333), and Howard (.300) - the four guys who need to start hitting right now (although Howard looked good last night).
The Phils counter with Joe Blanton, who is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last three starts. Milwaukee hitters, as a team, have only had 40 plate appearances against him, so, despite their .297 average, that could work in his favor.
There you have it. I'm off to Kutztown and I'll hear the good news - or the bad news - on the radio on the way home. Although I've told Mike in the past that "hope is not analysis," I do hope the Phillies clinch today. I'm going to predict a 6-3 Phillies win.
Then bring on the Dodgers.
---
That was tough to watch.
Something I may not have ever mentioned here is that I am a certified PIAA basketball official. I share this with you for two reasons. First, I will be at Kutztown University all day today for the second day of a two-day officials clinic, which means I will not be able to watch Game Four [I literally arrived home from day one of the clinic just in time to see the first pitch on Saturday].
More importantly, it gives me some credibility when I say that the most important thing that players, coaches, and managers want from officials and umpires is for them to be consistent. If it's a foul in the first quarter, it needs to be a foul in the fourth. Or, in this case, if it's a strike to one hitter, it needs to be a strike to another hitter.
I think there are few people who would disagree that the home plate umpire was inconsistent last night - and it killed Jamie Moyer. Some might argue that Jamie needs an umpire who will give him a little off that plate and I will admit that certainly helps him. But what is more important for him is to find that spot that the umpire will call a strike and keep pounding it in there until the hitter has to swing at it. Moyer couldn't do that on Saturday because the umpire was inconsistent.
In one at-bat in the second inning I watched Moyer throw four straight pitches in virtually the exact spot after which the count was 2-2. I said to mrs. tmmullen, "This is not going to be good." Unfortunately, it wasn't.
The good news is that the Phillies hitters will face Jeff Suppan today. He is 0-2 in his last three starts with an ERA north of 10.00. Even better, in their careers, the Phillies are hitting .307 as a team against him with good numbers from Utley (.474), Burrell (.429), Rollins (.333), and Howard (.300) - the four guys who need to start hitting right now (although Howard looked good last night).
The Phils counter with Joe Blanton, who is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last three starts. Milwaukee hitters, as a team, have only had 40 plate appearances against him, so, despite their .297 average, that could work in his favor.
There you have it. I'm off to Kutztown and I'll hear the good news - or the bad news - on the radio on the way home. Although I've told Mike in the past that "hope is not analysis," I do hope the Phillies clinch today. I'm going to predict a 6-3 Phillies win.
Then bring on the Dodgers.
---
Saturday, August 23, 2008
It's Pat!
I never thought Bill Conlin would go Hollywood. After reading this, I'm confident he never will.
The 2008 Phillies are a Hollywood movie set of a baseball team.
Because they have lots of stars? Two MVPs (Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins), a future MVP in Chase Utley, a future Cy Young in Cole Hamels, and a lights-out closer in Brad Lidge?
Cecil B. De Mille [sic] would have been proud of the facade they present.
Okay, nice head fake. Still, he's going with DeMille? Really? Maybe it's because you can get a guy's name wrong when his last picture premiered 50 years ago (that's right, I said 50). Geez, DeMille died almost ten years before I was born - and I'm the old Mike here. Okay, let's just slog along.
What the camera sees is the Roman Forum in all its marble-faced grandeur. Walk behind the set, however, and it is the clever handiwork of skilled carpenters, propped up by timbers, a plywood, styrofoam and plastic edifice that can be broken down in moments and configured into a gracious plantation manor.
Yeah, we get it. He could have just called the 2008 team a Potemkin Village. Sure, it's still a relatively obscure reference, but it would saved us a lot of time and trouble.
General manager Pat Gillick will understand the analogy, even if he does not agree with it.
Plus he's old enough to connect the reference, unlike most of Conlin's readers.
After all, he grew up in Southern California and knows how things work in Hollywood.
Sure, just like if you grow up in Hershey, you automatically know how things work in a chocolate factory.
This team can and should win the East. But it is a one-take team. One major setback and the Phillies are out of film.
Fuck the heck?
The reality of the economic handcuffs slapped on Pat when he was hired to replace Ed Wade by the limited partnership that runs baseball's Comfort Inn has never been any clearer than it was last Thursday. The trade deadline passed and all the Phillies had to show for the month of rumor, conjecture and wild surmise was a sideways move. Gillick acquired Oakland's Joe Blanton in hopes the hulking righthander could become what an expensive bust named Adam Eaton failed to be.
I'm not sure I understand your point [shocker - does hand signal]. Hey, I agree with questioning ownership. But I don't understand the "Comfort Inn" reference and, his last start notwithstanding, I think even the most irascible resident of Negadelphia would agree that Blanton is an upgrade over Eaton.
It was a sidestep worthy of Fred Astaire . . .
For the love . . . Astaire died more than 20 years ago and his last film was more than 30 years ago (although I must admit that I remember him in this and thought he was great). I wonder if Conlin has been exposed to any pop culture since the Phillies won the World Series in 1980.
The reality is, deadline fans, teams moving the Griffeys, Mannys and CCs, high-priced stars nearing their expiration dates, are not looking for "prospects" in the classic sense. What would a Carlos Carrasco, just promoted to Triple A with less-than-stellar Double A numbers, have done for a contender playing in the present tense? Ditto Double A all-stars Lou Marson, the Phils' catcher of the future, and Jason Donald, the Phils' Eric Bruntlett of the future. Both are playing for the U.S. Olympic team.
The sellers giving up future Hall of Famers on career down-ticks want major league-ready prospects who have survived the high-minors crucible. They want them gifted and they want to have those golden years before arbitration and free agency. That left the Phillies with one realistic, tradeable, option from the varsity - Shane Victorino. Fans, you didn't want to see a Phillies outfield next month without him in it. Nor did you want to go into a stretch drive with untested Greg Golson and his high strikeout ratio as your centerfield anchor.
I told you a stopped clock is right twice a day. So while I would have said it more concisely and I might quibble with a detail here or there, I agree with the overall logic of this point.
Pat is a brilliant baseball man who won back-to-back World Series titles in Toronto and revived moribund Baltimore and Seattle. Baseball's Great Oz has done excellent work behind the curtain. He knows talent. And when he has the money and the parts to trade, he knows how to acquire it. But that has not happened here.
Agreed. So why hasn't anyone asked him why? Is there no professional baseball reporter who will ask that question and push for an honest answer?
His masterpieces are Aaron Rowand, Jamie Moyer, Jayson Werth and Brad Lidge.
Nice list. He had foresight to bring Rowand in and the courage to let him leave, and he was right. He thought Moyer still had something to offer, and he was right. He felt if Werth could get healthy, he could contribute, and he was right. He traded for Brad Lidge, and (even though I thought he was wrong) he was right. And let's not forget the he brought us Greg Dobbs, the best pinch-hitter in baseball this year.
But you'll most likely remember Pat for Adam Eaton and Freddy Garcia, for signing Tom Gordon instead of Billy Wagner, and for not re-signing Kyle Lohse and Rowand.
Agree on Eaton, who was signed shortly after Wes Helms, and on Lohse who, credit where credit is due, he brought to Philadelphia in the first place. As for the others:
(1) I'll give him a pass on Garcia. Even if he was duped, which I'm not convinced he was, he brought in Tadahito Iguchi when Utley got hurt and there are whispers that the White Sox did that deal, in part, to make up for the Garcia bust and to ensure the two clubs could still trust each other enough to work together in the future.
(2) I'm not Tom Gordon's biggest fan, but between him and Wagner, I'll take Gordon. At this point in their careers, they aren't as far apart in talent - or durability - as you might think. Plus Gordon doesn't run his mouth like Wagner does. QED.
(3) Sorry, but I have to put letting Rowand go in the plus column. Compare his numbers from last year to this year and ask yourself if he was worth the money. I've got no beef with Aaron, but I say no.
Pat Gillick left Toronto after the 1994 season. In the next 3 years, the Blue Jays were 56 games under .500, including 56-88 in 1995, just 2 years after a world championship. Pat Gillick took the revived Orioles to the postseason, but left when his contract expired in 1998. In the next three seasons, the O's were 55 games under .500. Pat Gillick's 2001 Mariners juggernaut won a record-tying 116 regular-season games, despite trading away superstars like Ken Griffey Jr. He left his GM position after the 2003 season and stayed on as a special adviser. In the three seasons after he stepped down, the Mariners were a staggering 66 games under .500.
Yikes. Those declines were both swift and significant. I was not aware of those numbers and I'm now officially a little worried about next year. I guess what Conlin is saying is that, despite being financially hamstrung by the owners, Pat has done as good a job with this team as he has with the previous clubs.
Sounds about right for teams put together like a Hollywood movie set.
What? He's blaming Pat for what happened to teams after he left? That's insane. That would be like the Bush Administration blaming the Clinton Administration for the projected 2009 federal budget deficit. But that couldn't actually happen, could it?
Cut . . . Print . . . And, tell the set carpenters to start hammering. Cecil B. Gillick will be shooting on location back in Seattle next spring.
At least he ended as incoherently as he began. He certainly gets my Oscar vote.
---
The 2008 Phillies are a Hollywood movie set of a baseball team.
Because they have lots of stars? Two MVPs (Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins), a future MVP in Chase Utley, a future Cy Young in Cole Hamels, and a lights-out closer in Brad Lidge?
Cecil B. De Mille [sic] would have been proud of the facade they present.
Okay, nice head fake. Still, he's going with DeMille? Really? Maybe it's because you can get a guy's name wrong when his last picture premiered 50 years ago (that's right, I said 50). Geez, DeMille died almost ten years before I was born - and I'm the old Mike here. Okay, let's just slog along.
What the camera sees is the Roman Forum in all its marble-faced grandeur. Walk behind the set, however, and it is the clever handiwork of skilled carpenters, propped up by timbers, a plywood, styrofoam and plastic edifice that can be broken down in moments and configured into a gracious plantation manor.
Yeah, we get it. He could have just called the 2008 team a Potemkin Village. Sure, it's still a relatively obscure reference, but it would saved us a lot of time and trouble.
General manager Pat Gillick will understand the analogy, even if he does not agree with it.
Plus he's old enough to connect the reference, unlike most of Conlin's readers.
After all, he grew up in Southern California and knows how things work in Hollywood.
Sure, just like if you grow up in Hershey, you automatically know how things work in a chocolate factory.
This team can and should win the East. But it is a one-take team. One major setback and the Phillies are out of film.
Fuck the heck?
The reality of the economic handcuffs slapped on Pat when he was hired to replace Ed Wade by the limited partnership that runs baseball's Comfort Inn has never been any clearer than it was last Thursday. The trade deadline passed and all the Phillies had to show for the month of rumor, conjecture and wild surmise was a sideways move. Gillick acquired Oakland's Joe Blanton in hopes the hulking righthander could become what an expensive bust named Adam Eaton failed to be.
I'm not sure I understand your point [shocker - does hand signal]. Hey, I agree with questioning ownership. But I don't understand the "Comfort Inn" reference and, his last start notwithstanding, I think even the most irascible resident of Negadelphia would agree that Blanton is an upgrade over Eaton.
It was a sidestep worthy of Fred Astaire . . .
For the love . . . Astaire died more than 20 years ago and his last film was more than 30 years ago (although I must admit that I remember him in this and thought he was great). I wonder if Conlin has been exposed to any pop culture since the Phillies won the World Series in 1980.
The reality is, deadline fans, teams moving the Griffeys, Mannys and CCs, high-priced stars nearing their expiration dates, are not looking for "prospects" in the classic sense. What would a Carlos Carrasco, just promoted to Triple A with less-than-stellar Double A numbers, have done for a contender playing in the present tense? Ditto Double A all-stars Lou Marson, the Phils' catcher of the future, and Jason Donald, the Phils' Eric Bruntlett of the future. Both are playing for the U.S. Olympic team.
The sellers giving up future Hall of Famers on career down-ticks want major league-ready prospects who have survived the high-minors crucible. They want them gifted and they want to have those golden years before arbitration and free agency. That left the Phillies with one realistic, tradeable, option from the varsity - Shane Victorino. Fans, you didn't want to see a Phillies outfield next month without him in it. Nor did you want to go into a stretch drive with untested Greg Golson and his high strikeout ratio as your centerfield anchor.
I told you a stopped clock is right twice a day. So while I would have said it more concisely and I might quibble with a detail here or there, I agree with the overall logic of this point.
Pat is a brilliant baseball man who won back-to-back World Series titles in Toronto and revived moribund Baltimore and Seattle. Baseball's Great Oz has done excellent work behind the curtain. He knows talent. And when he has the money and the parts to trade, he knows how to acquire it. But that has not happened here.
Agreed. So why hasn't anyone asked him why? Is there no professional baseball reporter who will ask that question and push for an honest answer?
His masterpieces are Aaron Rowand, Jamie Moyer, Jayson Werth and Brad Lidge.
Nice list. He had foresight to bring Rowand in and the courage to let him leave, and he was right. He thought Moyer still had something to offer, and he was right. He felt if Werth could get healthy, he could contribute, and he was right. He traded for Brad Lidge, and (even though I thought he was wrong) he was right. And let's not forget the he brought us Greg Dobbs, the best pinch-hitter in baseball this year.
But you'll most likely remember Pat for Adam Eaton and Freddy Garcia, for signing Tom Gordon instead of Billy Wagner, and for not re-signing Kyle Lohse and Rowand.
Agree on Eaton, who was signed shortly after Wes Helms, and on Lohse who, credit where credit is due, he brought to Philadelphia in the first place. As for the others:
(1) I'll give him a pass on Garcia. Even if he was duped, which I'm not convinced he was, he brought in Tadahito Iguchi when Utley got hurt and there are whispers that the White Sox did that deal, in part, to make up for the Garcia bust and to ensure the two clubs could still trust each other enough to work together in the future.
(2) I'm not Tom Gordon's biggest fan, but between him and Wagner, I'll take Gordon. At this point in their careers, they aren't as far apart in talent - or durability - as you might think. Plus Gordon doesn't run his mouth like Wagner does. QED.
(3) Sorry, but I have to put letting Rowand go in the plus column. Compare his numbers from last year to this year and ask yourself if he was worth the money. I've got no beef with Aaron, but I say no.
Pat Gillick left Toronto after the 1994 season. In the next 3 years, the Blue Jays were 56 games under .500, including 56-88 in 1995, just 2 years after a world championship. Pat Gillick took the revived Orioles to the postseason, but left when his contract expired in 1998. In the next three seasons, the O's were 55 games under .500. Pat Gillick's 2001 Mariners juggernaut won a record-tying 116 regular-season games, despite trading away superstars like Ken Griffey Jr. He left his GM position after the 2003 season and stayed on as a special adviser. In the three seasons after he stepped down, the Mariners were a staggering 66 games under .500.
Yikes. Those declines were both swift and significant. I was not aware of those numbers and I'm now officially a little worried about next year. I guess what Conlin is saying is that, despite being financially hamstrung by the owners, Pat has done as good a job with this team as he has with the previous clubs.
Sounds about right for teams put together like a Hollywood movie set.
What? He's blaming Pat for what happened to teams after he left? That's insane. That would be like the Bush Administration blaming the Clinton Administration for the projected 2009 federal budget deficit. But that couldn't actually happen, could it?
Cut . . . Print . . . And, tell the set carpenters to start hammering. Cecil B. Gillick will be shooting on location back in Seattle next spring.
At least he ended as incoherently as he began. He certainly gets my Oscar vote.
---
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