Being a glass-half-empty leaning sort of guy, I thought to myself after the Phils swept the Astros this weekend, "Well, pretty good start but they really only faced one good pitcher, Brett Myers, and he stymied them."
Then I thought to myself, "Yeah, but these guys swept them four straight last summer and have the best record against the Phils of any NL team over the last several years."
So, you negative so-and-so, lighten up!
These were good wins on many fronts. Three-quarters of the Four Aces more than lived up to expectations. Ben Francisco had a few adventures in right field, but he was very solid at the plate and, one hopes, with more regular playing time will get the hang of the defense. He made a real nice albeit awkward catch against the fence yesterday.
Ryan Howard is off to a torrid start and the doubters who think he's become a singles hitter must have been at the concession stands when he homered in the first inning. Jimmy Rollins is also off to a torrid start.
Shane Victorino injured a calf and came back a day later to play half a game very well...at bat and in the field.
Minny Mart, as Jason Weitzel calls him, got his first big league start and first big league hit.
Placido Polanco was his usual solid self. Kyle Kendrick was not. (Just in case you were beginning to think this entire post was beer and skittles.)
The Mets come to town tomorrow. They'll be fired up to derail the Phils opening week express. Having taken two of three from the Marlins in Florida, the Mets would like to think they're pretty good. They aren't.
The pressure is now on Cole Hamels to keep up the pace of the first three starters.
1 comment:
It's still too early to call the glass anything, but it sure is a nice start.
Kendrick proved my point about the 9th inning. I'm still waiting for a 1-2-3 9th by ANY Phillies pitcher.
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