Let’s look at the facts. Andy Pettitte will be opposed by Pedro Martinez tonight. It is true that Pedro has more rest than Pettitte (which would seem to be an advantage for the Phillies right hander) but let’s not forget the fact that Pedro is no spring chicken himself. In fact, he’s older than Pettitte. I would be more comfortable with the anti-Pettitte argument if he’s been going on short rest consistently but the fact is that tonight will be the first start he will have had all season with fewer than 4-days rest.
What’s more, Pettitte’s start in Game 3 (let’s not forget he won that game) only saw him pitch 6 innings and throw 104 pitches, hardly a herculean effort. In his last 3 starts including Saturday’s game, he’s thrown 95, 99 and 104 pitches. None of those outings would suggest that Pettitte over-exerted himself. If anything, he may be the most reliable Yankees starter after having recorded 3 wins in his 4 playoff starts this year (including an 81-pitch win against the Twins in the ALDS). And let’s also keep one other small thing in mind: Andy Pettitte has won more postseason games than any pitcher in baseball history.
I’m not trying to suggest that Pettitte is in line for a magnificent start or even that the Yankees will win the game. I certainly hope A.P. goes out there and gets rocked by the Phillies. But without even talking about Pedro Martinez and what he’ll bring tonight, I make this point simply to show why mortgaging the house on the assumption that Andy Pettitte is pitching on short rest is probably making a mountain out of a molehill.
The Post quotes some nincompoop man-on-the-street as saying “Philly fans are a bunch of whiners and should learn how to dress. They should try reading GQ.” As far as I can tell, Yankees fans either dress like sophomores at Penn or blinged-out clowns with their caps at a 30 degree tilt. I’d like to see a comparison of the sartorial failures of Yankees fans vs. Mets fans. We know the preferred costume of the Mets fan: white sneakers, tube socks, jeans shorts and neck hair. Is that better or worse than the Yankees fan uniform which is just a facsimile of whatever hip hop video is currently in vogue?
I will give this to the Post: their headline after Tupac got shot: “It’s a Rap.”
Growing up in Buffalo, I’ve seen my share of snow. That’s why I always get a kick out of the hysteria that grips the Delaware Valley when more than one millimeter of snow is forecast. It amuses me to see people stocking their nuclear fallout shelters when there’s an inch of accumulation. It’s funny.
Suffice it to say the good people of Denver are not snow-averse. In fact, there must really be some wintery stuff in the works for the Mile High City for MLB to have cancelled tonight’s scheduled 2:17 a.m. start. I’m kidding, of course, about the start time. There is a strong possibility nonetheless that we could be awake at that hour on Monday morning if Game 3 goes extra innings. Not to be outdone by their decision to have World Series games spill into November, MLB took it a step further by scheduling a game at 10 p.m. on a Sunday night. Holiday or not Monday, that’s just too late for sober, red-blooded Americans to be expected to follow their team.
Of course, the postponement of today’s game due to snow is good news for the Phillies as it gives all the starting pitchers another day’s rest. As they were all inserted into Game 2 in various capacities (with the exception of Pedro; which tells us whom Charlie Manuel had already decided was going to start Game 3 before Game 2 began, though he has since reconsidered, as JA Happ is now scheduled to start Sunday night), this means they’ll have an extra day to chill out. Ha!
We have the 700level.com to thank for this picture of a pre-facial pubescent Jayson Werth. Nowadays he’s armed with a mean landing strip on his chin. I don’t know, I guess he thinks it looks good. In any event, Werth’s 34th homer of the year was of the 4-bag variety last night as he and Joe Blanton (6 scoreless innings) propelled the Phils to a 6-1 victory over the hapless embarrassment that is the Washington Nationals. The Phillies’ magic number is now 11 with 18 games to play.
We’ve all heard it before: the Phillies are an all-or-nothing team, meaning their offense is predicated on the long ball. Traditionally this is not the way that successful playoff teams win largely because their opponents in the playoffs trot-out higher quality pitching than the average seasonal opponent. Whether this holds true this postseason is anyone’s guess. In a season when the 5 teams that comprise the N.L. pennant chase (Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, Rockies and Giants) have starting pitching better than most years’ playoffs, the home run ball may be at more of a premium this October.
What is going to matter for the Phillies is their pitching. The mid-season turmoil surrounding Cole Hamels’ sub-par season and the Moyer vs. Pedro storyline seems to have disappeared as every starting pitcher has thrown extremely well of late and it looks like J.A. Happ will be back as he’s slated to start on Friday night against Atlanta. As the bullpen’s well-documented problems go, Chan Ho Park left the game last night after a scoreless 8th with a hamstring problem though J.C. Romero’s much-needed left arm looks like it’ll be back in form for the playoffs. According to espn.com, Romero says he’ll make 5 appearances before the end of the season.
Cole Hamels will go tonight in the final sleeper against Washington. This weekend promises to see a better opponent (as least in the pitching department) as the Phils go to Atlanta for 3. Their bats will be tested by Tim Hudson, Javier Vasquez and Tommy Hanson which should provide for a few games more similar to a playoff series than the last 3 outings against the team from Chinese Taipei. The playoffs are right around the corner and assuming the Phillies win tonight against the Nationals, they will have taken 8 of their last 10. Playing well going in is key, and it looks like the Phillies should have some momentum heading into the home stretch
Pedro Martinez Cockfight Video – kewego
It’s interesting, given the furor that has surrounded the Michael Vick signing, that I have not heard a single person mention this video, which was taken a few years ago, of Pedro Martinez at a cockfight. He and former San Francisco Giant Juan Marichal were honorary soltadores, the people who throw the animals into the ring. Here is what Pedro had to say about it: “I understand that people are upset, but this is part of our Dominican culture and is legal in the Dominican Republic. I was invited by my idol, Juan Marichal, to attend the event as a spectator, not as a participant.” RELATED: A history of Philly athletes who were cruel to animals.
Tonight in Boston Josh Beckett and C.C. Sabathia will go head-to-head for a 15th win of the season which would be tops in the Majors (both Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals have 14 in the N.L. as does Jason Marquis of the Rockies). Sure, the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is the most over-hyped matchup in all of sports but at least the two teams are always good and something’s always at stake.
Back in April when Sox and Yankees fans were circling their calendars for this weekend in August, Mets and Phillies fans were doing the same thing. Well, we all know what’s become of the Mets season and after watching 3 games against the team from Queens, all I’m hoping for is a quick and painless conclusion to the rest of the Phillies season.
I honestly don’t know if I can watch tomorrow’s afternoon wrap-up to the series. After the three-game set against Arizona, this weekend series at New York and next week’s affair with the Pirates, I’m losing confidence that MLB is putting a legitimate product on the field. Sure, the Phillies are as good as it gets in the N.L. and they beat up on bad teams like a defending Champs should. But the quality of play of the competition is so low, so pitifully-inept I’m not sure I can open my eyes until next weekend’s series against Atlanta.
Before they play the Braves, they will have just completed a 10-game run against teams with a combined record of 45 games under .500. Watching the D-Backs play defense was like watching Mel Gibson act. Oliver Perez’s performance today was not something that should be allowed in Major League Baseball: 6 earned runs on 47 pitches in .2 innings and a exit-stage-left after his 8th batter to save him the embarrassment of giving up a hit to Pedro Martinez. And who knows what abyssmal, self-inflicted wound the Pirates will score against themselves this week.
The Braves and Giants are on the schedule within the next week and although neither team can bat their way out of the basement, they’re interesting to watch because their starting pitching is so good. And then back to the doldrums again: a 3-game set against the Astros, 4 against the Mets and 3 against the Nationals. Yuck.
I suppose I shouldn’t complain about the Phillies prospects looking so good but as a baseball fan it’s hard to watch these games. I mean, these opponents are so bad they’re even hitting into unassisted triple plays against (of all people) Eric Bruntlett. And tomorrow’s pitching matchup may be the worst of all: the hottest pitcher in baseball, Cliff Lee, goes against Bobby Parnell, a guy who gave up 9 earned runs in 3 innings in his last start. Against Atlanta.
How much longer do we have to entertain the idea that Brett Myers is an integral part of this team? Everyone seems willing to cut him slack when he’s acting like a Northern Floridian (wife beating, rednecking, bar brawling) but the thing that amazes me is how people seem to always think he’s going to be the answer to the Phillies’ pitching woes. For a guy with a career ERA of 4.39 (4.43 in the playoffs), he’s a pitcher I’d just assume let drift off to sea quietly.
For all the fanfare surrounding Pedro Martinez’s start against the Cubs last Wednesday (7 hits, 5 IP, 3 ER), he offered little more than a Jamie Moyer start. The big knock against Moyer has been his inability to go late into games; this is exactly the same m.o. Pedro has (remember how Grady Little’s decision to keep a tired Pedro in too long in Game 7 cost Boston the 2003 ALCS, and Little his job?). Here’s to hoping his performance tonight against Jon Garland and the D-Backs tonight shows some improvement.
For the first time in the past 4 seasons, Ryan Howard is not leading the National League in any significant category (including strikeouts, though he’s on pace to K 199 times this year, matching his career high from 2007). The good news: in the past 2 series (6 games against the Cubs and Braves), Howard is hitting .381 with 4 home runs in 24 at-bats with only 5 strikeouts. And he also has a triple on his card during this stretch, helping to give him an unwordly 1.548 OPS.
Apparently Jamie Moyer is unhappy with the fact he’s been demoted to the bullpen. Of the impression he had that his starting spot in the rotation was guaranteed, Moyer said the following:
Ultimately, I’m a little disheartened because I know this past winter, when I was negotiating with the Phillies, this was a sore thumb, if you will, about this potentially happening. You can’t promise anything in this game, but I really feel like Ruben kind of parlayed to me that this type of situation would not happen.
In response, Ruben Amaro said “and you and your agent assured me and my staff that you wouldn’t suck.”
Of course Amaro didn’t say that but perhaps he should have. Obviously, the contract negotiations included the part about how the Phillies would intend to continue using Moyer as he’s always been used: as a starter. But nowhere is it written that he is inked-in for 40 starts during the season. Especially when his ERA ranks 91st in the N.L. among all pitchers who’ve started a game this year.
On one hand, I feel bad for Moyer because his benching really doesn’t accomplish anything. His replacement, Pedro Martinez, is most-likely not going to pitch his way into the playoff rotation so Moyer’s being cooled for a long shot. But on the other hand, Moyer has been around long enough to realize that performance dictates playing time. At some point (Brad Lidge) the manager has to make a change when something isn’t working (Brad Lidge) regardless of how dear the player is to the team’s soul.
It’s that time of year when Phillies fans have the chance to take the road trip of a lifetime to Wrigley Field and watch the Phillies destroy the perenially-lifeless Cubs. At 6 games over .500 and 33-19 at home, the Cubs are theoretically in the playoff hunt. But when you look a little closer, you realize the Cubs have players like Alfonso Soriano (a worse and more disinterested defensive left fielder than Manny Ramirez) and Milton Bradley (crazier than Teddy Duchamp’s dad in “Stand by Me”). Coupled with pitching staffs historically-riddled by injury (Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Rich Harden, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster) and mental midgets like Carlos Zambrano and Lou Piniella and it’s no wonder the product on the field at Wrigley makes the park little more than the “bar” that Ozzie Guillen so accurately described it as.
Don’t get me wrong, Wrigley is a great place to watch a game (especially if you’re a fan of the visiting team). Things like what you see to the left are to be had in abundance and you don’t have to walk through 10 miles of concrete parking lots outside the park in order to get to a bar. Wrigley Field is a model of what an urban ballpark and its immediate surrounding can do for the vivacity and excitement of a city and its fans. And it’s especially wonderful for all the Cubs fans to have so many distractions outside and in the park since nothing on the field is ever worth looking at.
Anyway, Phils win all three. Tonight: J.A. Happ (8-2, 2.74) vs Rich Harden (7-7, 4.41). Tomorrow: Pedro Martinez vs. Jeff Samardzija (their closer is starting? 1-1, 6.29). Thursday: Cliff Lee (9-9, 2.95) vs. Ryan Dempster (6-5, 4.04).
It’s official: Jamie Moyer has been moved to the bullpen and Pedro Martinez will make his debut on Wednesday night against the Cubs. J.A. Happ will start tomorrow in the first game against Chicago. In other pitching news, the Phils have activated Chad Durbin from the D.L.
My colleague, Johnny Goodtimes, is among a group of misguided optimists who believe that because Andy Pettitte is pitching on 3-days rest tonight he will be ineffective. It’s an easy storyline to get behind: “37-year old man pitches on short rest;” think about it, the old fogie goes out there with a tired arm, both because of his age and the fact that he’s only had 3 days to digest all his geritol. In reality, this assumption is at best wishful thinking and at worst, the sports equivalent of jingoistic thinking.
We have the 
Apparently Jamie Moyer is unhappy with the fact he’s been demoted to the bullpen. Of the impression he had that his starting spot in the rotation was guaranteed, Moyer said the following:
It’s that time of year when Phillies fans have the chance to take the road trip of a lifetime to Wrigley Field and watch the Phillies destroy the perenially-lifeless Cubs. At 6 games over .500 and 33-19 at home, the Cubs are theoretically in the playoff hunt. But when you look a little closer, you realize the Cubs have players like Alfonso Soriano (a worse and more disinterested defensive left fielder than Manny Ramirez) and Milton Bradley (crazier than Teddy Duchamp’s dad in “Stand by Me”). Coupled with pitching staffs historically-riddled by injury (Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Rich Harden, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster) and mental midgets like Carlos Zambrano and Lou Piniella and it’s no wonder the product on the field at Wrigley makes the park little more than the “bar” that Ozzie Guillen so accurately described it as.