Spring is Coming

I think that all of this snow is ridiculous. Apparently, we are supposed to get a lot more snow over the weekend and next week. That is also ridiculous. Anyway, you can listen to the news if you want to hear that stuff, so that is not why you're here. You're here to listen to me talk about something that I'm avoiding talking about right now because I am still thinking about what I should write. I think I'm going to write about how I was very excited to see my homework level slowly dropping. Along with this snow, I think that the homework is also ridiculous. There are a lot of ridiculous things in the world apparently, and another one will be if the Phillies do not win the World Series this year. Of course, we can't talk like that because we know they're going to win the World Series anyway, so it is pointless to speculate otherwise. I think that this team has the best pitching they have ever had, so even though the Bank is a hitter's ballpark, that does not discount the fact that these pitchers will do better than anyone else even if they do give up more runs than they would if they played in a giant ballpark because the opposing pitchers have to come to Philadelphia as well. It will be a fun year I have no doubt!

Disappointment

I think that is pretty crazy how the Phillies managed to lose last night. It is very difficult to win if you don't score any runs. However, we are down, but I am hoping that Joe Blanton will be able to eat some innings tonight with minimal damage or preferably no damage. Our bullpen hasn't been heavily used, but Blanton is known for going deep into games, so I prefer not to use the bullpen in case we really do need them in the future. Incidentally, I find it very funny that I refer to myself as a member of the Phillies. I'm a very influential fan apparently. Anyway, I would like to see our offense come alive. Raul Ibanez is 0-10 recently. Not that he is all to blame, but he is the most dramatic example. The team needs to pick up on the whole. The only player who has been hitting well is Jimmy Rollins, but one man cannot carry the team. Hopefully, tonight will look different than last night, but I also hope that Texas can finish off New York tonight. The Rangers have been playing excellent ball, so I think that they deserve the trip to the World Series.

Add a Win!

For any Phillies fans who are reading my blog, you must have been excited about Roy Oswalt last night. He was in top form and outdueled Jonathan Sanchez which was impressive. I will say though I was slightly confused when I saw the lineup card. It seemed so weird to see Chase Utley batting second and Placido Polanco batting third. Of course, it does make sense because of Sanchez being a left-handed pitcher and this lineup split up the left-handed bats of Utley and Ryan Howard. I guess that is why Charlie Manuel is manager and not me. When he leads us to another National League Championship, we will be only the fifth team in National League history to win three in a row. How awesome would that be? Not only would we have one of the only two no-hitters in postseason history, but we would also be seen as one of the best teams over a period of three years in National League history. Of course, we have a ways to go before we finish off this series. We still have to get through at least Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum again everyone to finish off this. However, I know we can do it!

Preview

So now it is official, but I would go even farther to say that it is Facebook official because I have seen it on Facebook. The Phillies are playing the Reds starting on Wednesday at 5:07. You know, I wouldn't have believed ESPN when they said it, but when I saw that on Facebook I knew it had to be true. The question now changes to who will win? Well, my totally biased opinion is that the Phillies will win simply on the strength of our pitching. I know that Roy Oswalt had a tough day yesterday, but I'm not too worried about him because it is always different for a starting pitcher to come out of the bullpen. Hamels, Oswalt, and Halladay can match anyone the Reds will throw. Then, you have to look at the offense where the Phillies have power throughout the lineup. Personally, I'm hoping that Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz can get their elbows straightened out. So, I definitely feel like the Phillies have the upper hand in this matchup, but you have to remember my bias. I always encourage everyone to look at the primary source, so go look at the stats so that you can make your own position.

To Keep 5 or Keep 4, That's the Question

I have mixed feelings right now about what the Phillies should do. If I were Charlie Manuel, I'm not sure if I would go to a four man rotation right now, or if I would keep Kyle Kendrick in the rotation. Proponents of keeping the five man rotation would say that they would not want to wear out the front four. I totally understand this, but I also know that we have every Thursday off for the rest of the year. Because of this, each starter would only need to pitch on short rest once while every other start would be at full rest. Dropping Kyle from the rotation would be a tough call because even though he has had some great starts throughout the year, he has had a lot of trouble lately getting outs and getting very deep into games. Another consideration is how well Kendrick may pitch out of the bullpen. Some pitchers just can't do it, so maybe he does not have the proper mindset for the bullpen. I'm not sure about this though, so he may be very good and have no problem adapting to a different role. If I were Charlie, I would probably drop down to the four man rotation right now. That would give Kendrick to adapt to a new role while it will also get our aces out there more often.
Photo by redjar on Flickr

Maybe He's an Alien

Okay, I realized that I am a day late, but how awesome was that when Bill "Spaceman" Lee came back as the 63-year-old to start a baseball game? When I first heard he was doing it, I honestly thought it would be nothing more than a few pitches for the publicity and then be done. However, it is very impressive that he got the win by pitching 5 1/3 innings and only giving up three hits and one run. That isn't a bad day for most major-league starters, but when you are 63, I think that is even more impressive. Of course, you have to take note that this was in an independent league in Massachusetts, but I do not think that that should diminish his accomplishment at all. He still had to throw good pitches in good spots to get outs. He still had to get lucky like all pitchers do on those few hard-hit balls that are seemingly magnetically attracted to the fielders. Bill Lee did everything a pitcher is supposed to do, so I am very impressed that he was able to pull this off. Most people at his age would throw out a first pitch. I guess he did a lot more than that.
Photo by mistycabal on Flickr

Baseball Trade Rumors Revealed!

Since the trade deadline is rapidly approaching, I wonder if there will be any major moves. Certainly, Cliff Lee being traded for the second year in a row at the deadline is significant as well as Dan Haren moving to the Angels. I have heard about a few other rumors as well. There has been talk about Prince Fielder, but I do not think that he would move midseason if ever. He is a franchise player, so I would be surprised anyway if he moved. Adam Dunn has also been rumored to leave the Nationals, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Nationals indeed trade him away to build a younger core that will complement Stephen Strasburg in the future. Another rumor that I am particularly excited about is Roy Oswalt leaving the Astros. Why am I excited? Because according to what I read on MLBtraderumors.com, several media sources say that Oswalt is headed to the Phillies. Of course, making this trade would mean parting ways with most likely JA Happ, but I think that Oswalt could be a major part of our rotation for the rest of the season and has options in his contract so we can keep him for longer if we want to. All in all, I don't think that this year will get much busier on the trade deadline, but I have been known to be wrong, so we will see.
Photo by Aidan Jones on Flickr

My Weakness

Whatever the reason, I couldn't get my mind off of that pitch. I could hit a fastball, curveball, even knuckleball (although I had never faced a Tim Wakefield caliber one), but I could not handle the crazy change up. There was something deceptive about that pitch, a thinly disguised fastball. However, I just couldn't handle it. I guess it was one of those things that no matter how many hours I spent in the batting cage or how many hitting camps I went to with how many retired professionals I just could never figure out.

I think something had to do with tension. When I stepped up to the plate, I was grabbed by a desire to swing. Something in my arm muscles or perhaps everything in my body wanted me to jump on every pitch. I guess when you are jumping on every pitch, it makes sense that a change up would be your downfall. I would step up to plate telling myself to be patient and to sit back on the inevitable pitch that I knew had to be coming. But the result was always the same, it had always been and always would be my downfall, but I tried to hide it as best I could and go on bashing fastballs.
Photo by parent5446 on Flickr

Roughed Up on the Mound

Since today is Friday, as I have done customarily, I will write fiction.

Despite the fact that the sun was shining and a nice breeze was blowing in from left field, it was difficult to get comfortable on the pitcher's mound. For some reason, I couldn't find my footing along the rubber. If that wasn't enough of a problem, I also couldn't grip the seams well, and my curveball looked more like an underhanded lob because I couldn't get any snap on it.

I had struggled for the first three innings scattering five hits, four walks, and three runs around me. Having an ERA for the game of nine and a WHIP of three isn't too great, but entering the fourth inning, I started to see the hope for a change. I'm not sure what it was that all of a sudden made me feel so comfortable, but I knew I had to take advantage of it while it lasted because surely it couldn't last forever. Among my teammates, I was a notoriously fast worker not wanting to waste any daylight between pitches. However, this day by began to kick it into overdrive. No sooner had I gotten the ball back then I was already up on the mound delivering the next one. Again, when the flow comes you don't argue, you go with it. All of a sudden, I thought I might survive the game.
Photo by DJ Anto D on Flickr