It felt like 2007 all over again as the Phils pulled off a 4-run ninth inning rally last night at the Bank.
The unpredictable Shawn Chacon dominated the Phils for 8 but he was removed for Valverde the closer for bottom 9. (I don't know Chacon's pitch count at that time but he induced a couple double plays and was not laboring in the least; you pay big money for a closer so I guess you're obligated to use him?)
Anyway, Pat 'The Bat' Burrell tied it 3-3 with a two-run homer that sent the crowd into hysterics. Announced at 33K, there were probably not more than 25 at any point but by bottom nine it was REALLY thin. ( I guess having the best offense in the NL, the heart of the order coming up and 58 come-from-behind wins last year was not enough to risk braving the 48 degree chill and the 9:30 hour for the Phillies' 'faithful'). Geoff Jenkins ran through a stop sign to score the winning run on a close play at the plate.
I'm counting on Steve to find us some data on performance during so-called 'contract years' among MLB players. Pat the Bat, in his own contract year, is on a tear to start out the season.
Game notes:
Special shout out to Harsha who got the tickets at the Greenfield Elementary (Owen's school!) silent auction last Thursday. And to Melissa and Abhi for not asking to leave the game. And to Dollar Dog night (I had three). And to Julie for being on the silent auction committee.
2 comments:
Hey, do you have an update on the AL East standings? Just curious, since I'm not watching sports anymore....Thx
Look, do you think that I like trotting Steve Trachsel out every five days (and he's our #3 starter) while the r$d s$x pay $50 million for the rights to negotiate w/ Dice-K? But pretty soon the 'we're just happy to be here' lustre will wear off and sox fans will be expecting a championship every other year. That's when we'll swoop back in to the free agent market : the top talent realizes playing in the cancerous yanker/sox environments leads to early burn-out (D. Ortiz, latest victim).
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