Posts tagged ‘ryan howard’

Every once in a while, something happens to remind us all that baseball is really a simple game.  If you do the little things and play the game the right way, good things will happen.

Take a look at last night’s win in St. Louis.  It was the 8th inning, and Jayson Werth was on first base with one out and Chase Utley at the plate.  Utley hits a smash to first, but Albert Pujols makes a nice play on the ball.  It could be a double play, leaving the Phillies with just three outs to make a comeback.

Instead of the Cardinals turning two, here’s what actually happened.

Werth makes a nice takeout slide at second, making it harder for the Cards to make the turn.  Utley hustles down the line and ends up beating the throw.  There’s two outs, but the inning is still alive.  It’s still alive because the Phillies did two things right on one play.  They hustled, and they played hard.

The end result is a hit by Ryan Howard, a game-tying hit by Pat Burrell, and a rally-capping homer by Shane Victorino.  The Phillies plate four in the 8th, all with two outs, and all because Werth and Utley decided to hustle to keep the inning alive.  It’s funny, but as crazy as this game can be, sometimes it’s incredibly simple.  If you do things the right way, good things happen.

One other thought about last night’s game.  I really liked seeing Burrell get the hit off Russ Springer, even when the Cards brought him in specifically just to get Pat.  It says a lot about a hitter when he can come through even when the other team dictates the match-up.  Pat deserves some praise for a nice at-bat that resulted in the game tying RBI.  Good teams do these kinds of things, and so it’s nice to see the Phils playing this way.

I’m frustrated.  Not because the Phils just blew a golden opportunity to hurt the Mets in the early part of this 18 round boxing match.  Not because I’m still convinced Jose Reyes never touched home plate.  Not even because the Phils find themselves below .500 again.  No, I’m frustrated because I feel like I keep repeating myself.

Once again it wasn’t the pitching staff that lost this game.  Actually, they were remarkable.  I’ve been no friend of Adam Eaton, but I have to hand it to him.  He’s been the second best pitcher on this team behind Cole Hamels so far this year.  Give credit where credit is due.  Eaton is stepping up big time right now.

It wasn’t even the lack of Jimmy Rollins in the lineup, although watching Eric Bruntlett at the plate is a little bit like rubbing sandpaper in your eyes.  This guy is going to hit .167 AND make errors in the field?  Yeah, the fans in Philly will give him some leeway when he comes back.

No, they lost two games to the Mets for the same reasons they lost two to the Nationals and two to the Reds.  Whether it’s defense (four errors in a game for the second time this young season on Wednesday night) or a lack of run production (0-12 with runners in scoring position Thursday, including not being able to score when they had two on and nobody out in the top of the 11th), they’re losing because their biggest weaknesses have been the things that are supposed to be their biggest strengths.

4-6 doesn’t worry me.  .243 team batting average does.  2.5 games out first doesn’t even phase me at this point.  But 13 errors in 10 games, that’s just plain startling.  Geoff Jenkins, Pedro Feliz, and Bruntlett are a combined 2 for 22 with runners in scoring position.  That’s a problem, regardless of the month on the calender.

Oh, and Ryan Howard has 14 strikeouts through 10 games.  So to everyone who said they were glad Howard won his arbitration hearing, know this: He’s on pace to break his own record for strikeouts in a season that he set way back in…oh wait, 2007.  And Howard and his agent are rumored to be asking for 7 years, 150 million?  Really?

Some people will try to convince you that pitching wins championships, and most times they’d be right.  Some people will tell you that if you score enough runs, you can win any ballgame.  History has certainly proven that school of thought true as well.  Here’s the one thing both theories have in common.  At the end of the day, in any sport, winning teams have one thing that they do better than anyone else.  Maybe it’s as simple as running the bases well, but it’s something they can hang their hat on.

This team was supposed to be an offensive machine, and they were supposed to be one of the best defensive teams in the league.  As it stands right now, 10 games in, they are one of the worst defensive teams I’ve ever seen, and once runners get on base, they couldn’t hit off a little leaguer.  It’s one thing to have a weakness exploited by an opponent.  It’s another thing entirely to let your strengths become your weaknesses.  This team needs to shape up soon, because this “We don’t play until the middle of the summer” stuff is getting really old.