Running Diary

It’s the middle of a playoff race, and so I wanted to do a running diary
of a game. I’ve just been waiting for the right opportunity.
Then it hits me: Sunday afternoon’s game against the Nationals.
Cole Hamels making his second start back from the DL. The final
game ever played in RFK Stadium. It just made so much sense.

Then I thought about it, and I realized the Phils would be playing at the
same time as the Eagles, and that I’d want to flip back and forth.
Plus, combine all of that with managing three fantasy football leagues
(I like to keep up with the live scoring), and it all would have been
too much. So I decided to do a diary of tonight’s game instead.

The Mets already won, which makes tonight’s Phils game important.
If the Mets win, the Phillies have to win to keep the pace. If
the Mets lose, the Phillies have to win to pick up the game. It’s
a tough situation, but the Phils did it to themselves. So on that
note, Phillies baseball.

7:05 - First pitch to Rollins
is a strike, and we’re underway.

7:06 - Paul Aspan of Phillydugout.com
likes to make a note of Sarge’s keys to the game. Tonight, “Keep
the same intensity and score runs early.” That’s a lot better
than his normal keys of “Hit well and pitch well”, but it’s not
all that far off.

7:08 - Chase Utley just tattooed
a ball to right field, 1-0 Phillies. He extends his hitting streak
to 17 games in style. One day people are going to realize that
you can’t sneak an inside fastball past Chase, but apparently today
is not that day.

7:16 - Dobbs strikes out
looking to end the inning. This umpire has the most exaggerated
strikeout call I’ve ever heard. It’s going to drive me insane
by the end of the night.

7:18 - Kyle Kendrick is on
the mound and going for win number 10. That’s amazing to think
about, considering he was a Double A call-up who came to this team in
the middle of the season. But he needs to give them some innings
tonight. This bullpen needs a break in the worst way. Oliver
Perez gave the Mets 8 innings earlier, and they needed it just as badly.
Now it’s Kendrick’s turn.

7:19 - Kendrick starts the
game with a 3-pitch strikeout. So far, so good.

7:22 - Another strikeout
for Kendrick. I enjoyed the strikeout call that time. A
great, quick 1-2-3 inning for Kyle.

7:25 - Let’s see if Kendrick
can get this bunt down and move Jayson Werth to second.

7:26 - UNBELIEVABLE.
Kendrick lays the bunt down, and the Nationals are taking their time
throwing him out at first. So Werth moves all the way from first
to third. Great baserunning. Now Rollins comes to the plate
to chants of MVP! For the third straight game, it sounds like
there are more Phillies fans down there than Nationals fans.

7:28 - Our pick for MVP is
now just 2-13 lifetime against Nats starter Tim Redding. We go
to the bottom of the second.

7:31 - Kendrick stabs a grounder
up the middle and throws to first for the out to start the second inning.
So far he’s gotten everyone out, laid down a bunt, and made a nice
defensive play. There are worse starts to a game.

7:32 - Aaron Rowand tracks
down a tough fly ball and catches it over his shoulder on the warning
track. It’s a nice play and it saves extra bases, but even better,
Kendrick gets to face Ronnie Belliard with two outs and nobody on.
Belliard is probably the most dangerous hitter in this lineup.

7:35 - Belliard grounds one
up the middle and beats Utley’s throw by a step. Judging by
the boos, the Phils fans in attendance disagreed with the call.
There goes the no-hitter.

7:37 - Robert Fick singles
to left, and the Nats have two on with two outs. You sure don’t
want to give up a run here. I’m almost tempted to make a mound
visit if I’m Rich Dubee.

7:39 - Kendrick gets a groundball
and the Phils are out of the inning. In other news, that “1-2-3-4″
song by Feist is still in my head.

7:43 - Utley leads off the
third with a hit. The only problem is they scored it an error.
I have to think they’ll change that. Utley smoked that ball
past two Nats fielders, and it took a bad hop. That’s a tough
error if it stands.

7:48 - Ryan Howard strikes
out for the second time tonight. When he gets behind in the count,
I’m always convinced he is going to strikeout. That’s just
not what you want out of your cleanup hitter. But he’s striking
out at an alarming rate. He’s probably going to set the National
League record for K’s in a season. And keep in mind: He missed
about 5 weeks.

7:54 - Dobbs strikes out
for the third out of the inning. He’s now personally left 4
runners on base through three innings. 3 more and he gets a set
of steak knives like Dan Kaffee in “A Few Good Men”.

8:00 - Another 1-2-3 inning
for Kendrick. So far, he’s been just what the doctor ordered.

8:02 - Chris Wheeler tells
me that Phils third base coach Steve Smith used to be an actor and was
in Die Hard 2. Are you serious? Sarge says Smith was voted
Sexiest Man by People Magazine at one point. That one just can’t
be true. All of this still just makes me sure that Smith isn’t
qualified to be a third base coach.

8:04 - On a related note,
the Phils are advertising that People Magazine is running a “World’s
Sexiest Fan” competition. Wheeler wants to know if Smith is
eligible, and Sarge is trying to convince Wheels to enter. This
whole game just deteriorated so quickly, I’m struggling to even understand
it.

8:08 - I just saw a preview
for the new Iron Man movie coming out next year. I don’t even
like Iron Man as a character, but this preview looks amazing.
Check it out online if you haven’t seen it. Trust me.

8:11 - Kendrick strikes out
Zimmerman to start the bottom of the fourth. His stuff is filthy
tonight.

8:18 - An excuse me hit for
Belliard on the hit and run, and now it’s first and third for the
Nats with 2 outs. Utley was covering second on the stolen base;
otherwise he would have gotten that ball. I never understood why
you would have the second baseman covering on a play like that.
You know Belliard likes to shoot it through the hole anyway, and with
Howard holding the runner on first, Jimmy should’ve covered the bag.

8:23 - Kendrick gets a fly
ball and he’s out of the inning. He’s thrown 64 pitches already,
but he’s kept the Nats off the board. If he can throw 3 more
innings, it will only be the third time a Phillies starter has gone
7 in the last 40 starts or so.

8:25 - Rollins flies out
to fall to 0-3 on the night. It’s no wonder this team isn’t
scoring runs tonight. This offense is completely different when
Rollins isn’t setting the table.

8:29 - The Phils go down
in order again after Burrell strikes out. I have a craving for
a turkey sandwich, but the second I go to get it is when something exciting
will finally happen in this game. So that being the case, I’m
going to wait until the Phillies are batting again.

8:33 - The pitcher hits a
fly ball to left field that goes off of Burrell’s glove for a double.
No matter how much he does offensively, he never seems to let you forget
what an incredible liability he is defensively. This is the most
trouble Kendrick has been in all night, but maybe it’s good to have
Redding running the bases instead of sitting down.

8:37 - You’ve gotta be
kidding me. Aaron Rowand just saved a run with a phenomenal catch
off his shoestrings. He’s made a few amazing catches in this
game, but that one saved the tying run. 1-0 Phillies as the game
is now official.

8:38 - “1-2-3-4, tell me
that you love me more.” Our first IPod commercial of the night.
This reminds me. What’s the point in advertising for IPods at
this point? Are there really people out there who aren’t aware
of the product? Is someone sitting on their couch watching this
thinking to themselves, “Wait, you’re telling me you can listen
to music on a little player….almost like something portable that you
can take with you when you leave your house?” I just feel like
Apple is wasting money here. We’re already slaves to you.
You don’t need to rub it in our faces.

8:42 - Howard strikes out
for the third time tonight. He’s been incredibly inconsistent
this year. He has been killing the ball lately, and all of the
sudden he’s back to looking completely lost at the plate. I
don’t get it. I really don’t. Either way, he’s only
two strikeouts shy of the all-time record of 195.

8:43 - Rowand crushes a ground-rule
double to right-center. Is there nothing he can’t do?
You know, other than sign on the dotted line to come back next year.

8:45 - Dobbs leaves another
man in scoring position. This won’t be one of those games he
tells his kids about.

8:48 - As Werth flies out
to left field, I realize that I forgot to make my turkey sandwich.
So not only do I take full responsibility for the fact that the Phils
didn’t pick up that run, but now I have to wait another inning before
I eat my sandwich. It’s a cruel, cruel world we’re living
in.

8:51 - Abraham Nunez comes
in to replace Dobbs at third. What can you say? It just
wasn’t Dobbs’ night.

8:53 - Kendrick strikes out
Austin Kearns for his sixth K on the night. That’s a new career
high for Kyle.

8:54 - He just keeps throwing
sinkers with a runner on first. All anyone is going to do is ground
that ball into a double play. The fact that he is throwing that
for a strike is such an asset tonight.

8:57 - Ryan Church hits a
1-2 pitch into center for a base hit. It’s first and second
again for the Nats, and the Phils have bullpen action for the first
time tonight. Kendrick has to get out of this inning. He
can’t give the Phillies 5+ tonight. He has to give them 6 or
more, especially considering how well he’s pitched.

8:59 - So unfortunate.
Kendrick gets the ground ball he needed. Nunez throws to second
for one, but Utley’s relay gets past Howard and the tying run scores.
They probably weren’t going to get the double play anyway, but Sarge
makes the point that Howard has to stop that ball. He’s absolutely
right. That run shouldn’t have scored, and even though the error
goes to Utley, Howard is the one to blame there. 1-1 ballgame.

9:02 - Kendrick gets out
of the inning after just giving up one. He’s thrown 96 pitches
through 6, and if they take him out before the seventh, I’ll scream.
He is due up. If it’s me, I bunt Kendrick regardless of the
situation. Charlie is the type that will play for the big inning
and pinch hit for his pitcher. We’ll see what happens.
Turkey time.

9:05 - So of course, Charlie
pinch hits for Kendrick. His final line: 6 innings, 1 unearned
run, 6 hits, 6 strikeouts, 0 walks. He deserved another inning,
especially considering pinch hitter Pete LaForest made an out on 3 pitches.

9:06 - It took them forever,
but they finally gave Utley a hit on that play in the third.

9:09 - It took Rollins forever,
but he finally got himself a hit. That’ll chase Reading from
the game, although no pun intended with Utley coming up to bat.

9:10 - While I eat my delicious
turkey sandwich during the pitching change, I can’t help but think
about what a mistake it was to take Kendrick out of the game.
He was pitching an absolute gem. When was the last time you uttered
that sentence to yourself? “Wow, (Phillies starter) is pitching
a gem tonight.” It’s been a while. I would have given
him one more inning.

9:15 - Chase grounds out,
inning over.

9:17 - J.C. Romero will be
the new pitcher for the Phils. He’s been great, don’t get
me wrong. But this will be the fifth straight day they have used
him. I would have just as soon left Kendrick out there.
I really think this is going to bite them.

9:21 - Brian Schneider laces
a ball to center field and Rowand can’t get this one. It gets
by him and rolls all the way back to the fence. Schneider is on
third now with nobody out. “Gonna Fly Now” is playing in RFK.
Won’t that just pump up the Phillies?

9:23 - They gave Rowand an
error for not coming up with a diving catch. So it’s a single
and a two-base error. Rowand should have just kept that ball in
front of him, but that’s a tough error. It’s also the third
error of the night for the Phils, who are doing their best New York
Mets impression.

9:25 - Romero walks Tony
Bautista. Rich Dubee comes out to buy some time while the Phils
get somebody up. I hate to say I told you so…

9:27 - Nook Logan hits a
liner right at Rollins for the first out. Nobody advances, and
now a ground ball gets the Phils out of the inning. We can hope,
can’t we?

9:28 - Now the Nats are going
to pinch run for Schneider. This smells like a suicide squeeze
to me with Felipe Lopez at the plate.

9:29 - Romero gets a grounder
to second, and Utley tries to tag Bautista. He misses him, so
he rifles the ball home and they get the out. So now it’s first
and second with two outs. That’ll be it for Romero, and as they
show the replay, the Phillies caught a huge break on that play.
Guzman was safe by a mile at home.

9:32 - Geoff Geary will come
on to face Ryan Zimmerman in a huge spot. But again, Geary pitched
an inning and two thirds last night. These guys are tired.
None of this would be happening if they would have left Kendrick in
the game. In the worst case scenario, Romero would just be coming
in now.

9:36 - Nunez fields a grounder
cleanly and steps on the bag at third and walks off the field.
The only problem is that it was a foul ball. Nunez looked a little
silly, although the Phillies fans in attendance backed him up.

9:37 - Geary strikes out
Zimmerman, inning over. I’ll say this for the Phillies: They
are incredibly resourceful. That’s not at all how I would have
managed that situation. But people are doing their jobs, especially
in that bullpen right now. Now they need to take the lead against
the Nats relievers.

9:40 - So far, so good for
that whole “Take the lead” thing. Burrell goes down swinging,
and now Howard and his 3 strikeouts come to the plate. He’s
either going to embarrass himself or crush a ball somewhere.

9:44 - Howard looks at three
perfect strikes. What in the world is he thinking? These
balls are right down the middle, and the bat never even leaves his shoulders.
Remember that time when I said he is probably going to break the strikeout
record before the season is over? I think he might do it tonight.

9:47 - Rowand singled into
center for his fourth hit of the night. He’s done everything
he’s physically capable of to help the Phillies win this game.
Now Nunez comes up in place of Dobbs. What are the chances he
picks up right where Dobbs left off?

9:51 - Nunez draws a walk
after being down in the count 0-2. I don’t think I have ever
seen him be that patient at the plate. Now Werth comes to the
plate with a chance to do some damage.

9:55 - Werth goes down swinging,
and we move to the bottom of the eighth.

10:04 - Boy, Flash Gordon
has looked sharp these last few weeks. Another 1-2-3 inning for
him, and the Phils will have another chance at the lead in the top of
ninth.

10:06 - The Nats bring in
Chad Cordero for the ninth. I don’t know why, but I have a good
feeling about this.

10:07 - Chris Coste drills
the first pitch to left field, but it dies at the track for the first
out. He JUST missed that one. Now Iguchi will pinch hit
for Gordon.

10:09 - Iguchi flies out
to center. It’s down to JRoll.

10:10 - MVP chants aside,
Jimmy hasn’t had a great night. He flies out to left, inning
over. Brett Myers is coming into the game, and just like Romero
and Gordon, this will be his fifth straight game. The Phils have
an off day on Monday. I’ll bet the pitching staff can’t wait.

10:18 - And we’re going
extras.

10:21 - I’ve got a feeling
Utley is going to get a huge hit here to start things off.

10:22 - Nothing Earth-shattering,
but Chase starts it with a single.

10:23 - Just a thought: Howard
was having an awful game a few months ago against the Nats before he
clobbered a walk-off homer in the fourteenth inning. Just a thought.

10:24 - Burrell walks on
four pitches. Michael Bourn will pinch run. Howard is so
unbelievably due.

10:25 - As Howard takes strike
one, I think to myself that one more strikeout would tie him for the
record.

10:27 - As Howard swings
through strike two, I start to think this at bat is a lost cause.
Remember what I said earlier about how he hits when he’s behind in
the count. Three strikeouts is a hat trick, and four is called
the Golden Sombrero. I wonder what five is called.

10:28 - Doesn’t matter
now, does it? Howard lines a ball into center for a base hit,
and there’s pandemonium among the Phillies fans in attendance.
That pitch was supposed to be over Howard’s head. It came down
the middle of the plate. 2-1 Phillies, and a pitching change for
the Nationals. It’s still first and third with nobody out.
Incidentally, that was the first hit for either team with runners in
scoring position in 15 combined tries.

10:33 - Phillies fans start
a “This is our house” chant. What a dagger that is.
This is the second to last game in the history of this great stadium.
Imagine if Braves fans outnumbered Phillies fans in the last series
at the Vet and started chanting “This is our house”. That
hurts my feelings just thinking about it. But maybe that’s the
point. We’d never let that happen in Philadelphia. Where
are the Nats fans anyway?

10:34 - Rowand grounds a
ball to Zimmerman who comes home to get Bourn. Bourn almost beat
the throw anyway, but Flores did a great job to block the plate.
So now it’s first and second with one out. Victorino is pinch
hitting for Nunez. Remember Victorino? I guess he still
does play for this team…

10:37 - Victorino grounds
a ball to first base, but nobody covered and everybody is safe.
What happened there? Bases loaded now for Werth. Incidentally,
Wes Helms is pinch running for Victorino. Isn’t that the most
backwards sentence you’ve ever read?

10:41 - Werth draws a four
pitch walk to force in a run, 3-1 Phils. That will force a pitching
change. A base hit here, or especially anything for extra bases,
would be huge. Clay Condrey is going to pitch the tenth, and so
the more runs, the better.

10:48 - In response to the
Rockies taking a lead on the Padres, Phils fans get a “Let’s go
Rockies” chant going. Now that, I love. Admit it: This
is more fun than your standard “E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES” chant.

10:50 - Carlos Ruiz singles
in a run, and for some reason Steve Smith sends Wes Helms, who is out
by a mile at home plate. At least Smith is still in the running
for Sexiest Man awards, because he stinks as a third base coach.
What business does he have sending one of the slowest guys on the team
with two outs and Rollins coming to bat? Just miserable.
Either way, 4-1 Phils. It’s all up to Condrey now. But
should this game continue past this inning, you can blame Steve Smith.

10:55 - Nook Logan leads
it off with another infield single. He’s fast, but I don’t
think they’ll bother holding him on here with a three run lead.

11:01 - Condrey gets his
second save, and the Phils take game three of this series 4-1.
The Phillies are on an 8-1 road trip right now. That’s the kind
of run it was always going to take. Now we just need the Rockies
to hang on against the Padres and it will be a half game in the wild
card race.