Phillies vs. Braves in Atlanta
Strike!
Cory Lidle appeared close to getting knocked out of the game before the fifth inning, and though he gave up 10 hits -- five for extra bases -- the cagy veteran cruised through his final two innings.
Know how? He threw strikes. In the fifth and sixth innings, Lidle threw 17 pitches and only one of them was a ball. It sounds so easy, but often it's so difficult -- throw strikes. Trust your fielders. Believe it or not, the Phillies are pretty strong defensively, so throwing strikes should not be a problem. Lidle didn't have a problem in throwing strikes -- of his 89 pitches, 62 were strikes and he didn't walk anyone.
Besides, Bill James' 10th idiom of his 15 virtues of sabermetic knowledge is: A great deal of what is perceived as being pitching is in fact defense.
So pitchers, take heed from Cory Lidle's final two innings of Wednesday night's start in Atlanta. Throw strikes. It will make you look good.
***
Maybe it's me, but those baggy uniforms with the bloused pants the Braves are wearing really look silly.
***
Since I questioned Charlie Manuel's decision to put Aaron Rowand in the No. 2 spot in the batting order, the center fielder is 4-for-10 with a homer, a stolen base, and two RBIs. Better yet, he's only whiffed once.
The Phillies lineup would still be better with Chase Utley batting second.
***
The Phillies' starting lineup came into Wednesday night's game with a .156 batting average against Braves' starter Jorge Sosa. In four innings, the Phils went 4-for-17 with an error and three walks off the young righty.
***
A trend continues: the Braves bottom third of the batting order went 7-for-12 with five extra-base hits. This season, the 7, 8 and 9 hitters are 37-for-93 (.398) with 21 RBIs.
That can't continue.
***
Here's a fun fact: Jimmy Rollins has a hit in 25 straight road games. Since 1990, 12 men have hit in 25 straight games on the road.
***
It's hard to have a must-win in April, but the Phillies certainly picked one up on Wednesday night to improve to 2-6. Aside from Lidle's outing, closer Tom Gordon looked particulary sharp using just a cutter and a changeup.
Pat Burrell snapped an 0-for-10 skid with a homer in the seventh, while every starter reached base... hard to complain about that.
So what is there to complain about? Well, neither Geoff Geary nor Rheal Cormier could get out of the eighth. Plus, Manuel still had Rowand hitting second.
Cory Lidle appeared close to getting knocked out of the game before the fifth inning, and though he gave up 10 hits -- five for extra bases -- the cagy veteran cruised through his final two innings.
Know how? He threw strikes. In the fifth and sixth innings, Lidle threw 17 pitches and only one of them was a ball. It sounds so easy, but often it's so difficult -- throw strikes. Trust your fielders. Believe it or not, the Phillies are pretty strong defensively, so throwing strikes should not be a problem. Lidle didn't have a problem in throwing strikes -- of his 89 pitches, 62 were strikes and he didn't walk anyone.
Besides, Bill James' 10th idiom of his 15 virtues of sabermetic knowledge is: A great deal of what is perceived as being pitching is in fact defense.
So pitchers, take heed from Cory Lidle's final two innings of Wednesday night's start in Atlanta. Throw strikes. It will make you look good.
***
Maybe it's me, but those baggy uniforms with the bloused pants the Braves are wearing really look silly.
***
Since I questioned Charlie Manuel's decision to put Aaron Rowand in the No. 2 spot in the batting order, the center fielder is 4-for-10 with a homer, a stolen base, and two RBIs. Better yet, he's only whiffed once.
The Phillies lineup would still be better with Chase Utley batting second.
***
The Phillies' starting lineup came into Wednesday night's game with a .156 batting average against Braves' starter Jorge Sosa. In four innings, the Phils went 4-for-17 with an error and three walks off the young righty.
***
A trend continues: the Braves bottom third of the batting order went 7-for-12 with five extra-base hits. This season, the 7, 8 and 9 hitters are 37-for-93 (.398) with 21 RBIs.
That can't continue.
***
Here's a fun fact: Jimmy Rollins has a hit in 25 straight road games. Since 1990, 12 men have hit in 25 straight games on the road.
***
It's hard to have a must-win in April, but the Phillies certainly picked one up on Wednesday night to improve to 2-6. Aside from Lidle's outing, closer Tom Gordon looked particulary sharp using just a cutter and a changeup.
Pat Burrell snapped an 0-for-10 skid with a homer in the seventh, while every starter reached base... hard to complain about that.
So what is there to complain about? Well, neither Geoff Geary nor Rheal Cormier could get out of the eighth. Plus, Manuel still had Rowand hitting second.
posted by Motorboat Jones at 10:14 PM
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