Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Going Pigeon: Braves at Phillies - 9/22/10: djpigeon@comcast.net





Pre-game:
One of my son’s all-time favorite XBOX games is Gears of War. It’s a shooter game with aliens batting humans; very violent and very popular.
The best finishing move in the game is the CURB STOMP. One player wounds another, and as the fallen player is dying, his opponent will crush his neck to finish him off.

Tonight, the Phils have a chance to curb stomp the Atlanta Braves. Roy Oswalt (13-13, 2.90 ERA) goes for the Phils against Braves right-hander Tommy Hanson (10-11, 3.62 ERA).

I like the Phils chances.

Top 1st:
Roy Oswalt came here to win a World Series. He isn’t about to let a thundershower get in his way.
Omar Infante makes solid contact with an 0-1 change-up, but he sends the ball straight at Chase Utley.
Jason Heyward nearly face-plants after sending a soft grounder to first, and Martin Prado taps out to Oswalt to end inning.

Bottom 1st: 0-0
Good news/Bad news – The Phils know Tommy Hanson and he is a hard thrower, but he has top-of-the rotation stuff and he commands it well in the first inning.
Victorino, Polanco and Utley ground out softly.

Top 2nd: 0-0
Brian McCann and Derrick Lee go down swinging, and Nate McLouth fouls five pitches before grounding out to first.

Bottom 2nd: 0-0
Jayson Werth works a walk, steals second with two outs and moves to third when McCann throws well behind the runner.
But Ruiz is fooled on a changeup and flies weakly to right to end the inning.

Top 3rd: 0-0
Roy Oswalt takes Hanson’s challenge and dominates the bottom of the Braves order: striking out Alex Gonzalez and Rick Ankiel while forcing Hanson into a 6-3 groundout.

Bottom 3rd: 0-0
Wilson Valdez bids for a line single to leadoff the third, but the wicked liner finds Martin Prado’s glove for the first out.
Roy Oswalt shatters his bat on a change-up and Shane Victorino grounds softly to first.

GOING PIGEON PRESENTS: NOTHING FUNNY HERE
During Victorino’s at-bat, Tom McCarthy announces that Shane Victorino made a Public Service appearance at Pennridge HS this afternoon to warn against texting while driving.
Given every current Phillie to choose from, I would think Shane Victorino is ‘Most Likely to Text while driving’.
Sorry folks, that’s the best I’ve got so far . . .

Top 4th: 0-0
After starting the game perfect through 11 batters, Roy Oswalt makes a decent pitch with a 94-mph outside fastball. But Martin Prado makes a better swing, staying back and launching a double to the warning track in right center.
But Brian McCann falls victim to an Oswalt change-up, grounding softly to Ryan Howard.

Bottom 4th: 0-0
Placido Polanco works a 3-2 count and chases ball four, popping up to Derrick Lee in foul ground.

GOING PIGEON PRESENTS: DO AS I SAY; NOT AS I DO
During one of Chase Utley’s at-bats on Tuesday night, Tommy Hanson was seen in the Atlanta dugout warning teammates about how Utley leans in to collect HBP.
Naturally, Hanson’s first pitch to Utley smacks off his left hip.

On Monday afternoon, Braves GM John Scherholz whined about how small Citizens Bank Park plays for opposing pitchers. But the left-field corner plays big enough for Nate McLouth to catch Ryan Howard’s fly ball for the second out.

Top 5th: 0-0
If CBP plays big enough for Tommy Hanson, then Roy Oswalt figures it can play big for him too.
Derrick Lee, Nate McLouth and Alex Gonzalez each send can-of-corn fly balls to Shane Victorino.

Bottom 5th: 0-0
Raul Ibanez grounds weakly to Omar Infante on a 3-2 slider for the first out, but Carlos Ruiz ends Hanson’s no-hit bid with a liner to the gap in left-center. Nate McLouth charges and appears to have a chance, but instead of sliding to the ball he slides under it, allowing Ruiz to chug into second with a double.

Wilson Valdez works a walk to put runners on first and second.
Roy Oswalt fouls two bunt attempts but places his third pitch in front of the plate, forcing McCann to throw to first as the runners advance.

Shane Victorino wades through a series of sliders before fouling off a 2-2 fastball.
The Flyin’ Hawaiian doesn’t expect another fastball, but there’s no excuse for him to watch one sail down the middle for a called third strike.

Top 6th: 0-0
Moments after Tommy Hanson survives a 27-pitch fifth inning, Roy Oswalt sets the Braves down with just 8 pitches – including three pitch strikeouts of Ankiel and Hanson

Bottom 6th: 0-0
Placido Polanco battles Hanson but grounds to second on a 2-2 sinker.
Chase Utley then battles back from a 0-2 count to line a 3-2 fastball to center.

GOING PIGEON PRESENTS: HELPING HAND
Tommy Hanson has pitched a tremendous game through 5.1 innings. But after Utley’s single, home plate umpire Larry Vanover decides that Hanson needs some extra help.

Hanson tries to finish Ryan Howard off with a 1-2 curveball, but the pitch sails past Howard’s elbows – making it a ball in the 21st century.  But Vanover rings up the Big Piece for the second out.

Jayson Werth then watches a 0-1 fastball sail a foot outside. Vanover decides that Hanson needs help against the Big Bad Phillies, so he buries Werth 0-2.

Werth fights his way back to draw a walk, but Raul Ibanez falls victim to yet another change-up as he grounds out 4-3.

Top 7th: 0-0
As the thunderstorms that have surrounded Philadelphia all evening creep into Citizens Bank Park, Roy Oswalt concludes his outing by striking out Jason Heyward, jamming Martin Prado into a groundout and striking out Derrick Lee to strand Brian McCann (two-out walk) at first.

Bottom 7th: 0-0
Carlos Ruiz greets reliever Peter Moylan with a single to center, and Wilson Valdez bunts him to second.
With the potential go-ahead run on second with one out, Charlie Manual decides to replace Roy Oswalt (.145 batting average) with Greg Dobbs (.128 batting average as a pinch-hitter).

Dobbs - a dead-red fastball hitter – watches Craig Kimrbel fire a 96-mph fastball down the middle for strike three.

Shane Victorino draws a walk – with Ruiz advancing to third on a wild pitch, but Placido Polanco pops a 2-0 fastball along the rail in shallow right. Omar Infante ends the inning with a legitimate web-gem sliding catch at the rail.

Top 8th: 0-0
Ryan Madson overpowers Nate McLouth (4-3 groundout), Alex Gonzalez (fly to center) and Rick Ankiel (pop to short).

Bottom 8th: 0-0
Facing Jonny Venters, Chase Utley draws his second HBP of the night, but is erased on Ryan Howard’s double-play grounder.
The left-handed Venters pitches carefully to Jayson Werth , knowing that another left-handed hitter follows in Raul Ibanez.
Venters walks Werth and falls behind Ibanez 2-0, before firing a fastball on the outside corner. Ibanez takes the laser to the right-field corner, and Jayson Werth starts thinking home plate.

GOING PIGEON PRESENTS: NO CRYING IN BASEBALL
In the classic film, A League of their Own, Rockford Peaches manager Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) brings his left-fielder to tears because she repeatedly missed the cutoff man at third.
Tonight, Atlanta left-fielder Nate McLouth brings Bobby Cox to tears by missing cutoff man Alex Gonzalez at third and allowing Jayson Werth to score the first run of the night.

Top 9th: PHI 1 – ATL 0
Brad Lidge hangs a slider to Freddie Freeman, but the rookie flies softly to right-field.

Lidge then sends Infante off-balance with a better slider, and the second baseman flies to center.

Following a walk to Jason Heyward, Lidge falls behind Martin Prado 3-2. But Lidge fools Prado with another slider, and Jayson Werth squeezes the final out.

Final score: Phillies 1 – Braves 0

Magic number to clinch NL East title: 4

Can the Phils clinch against the Mets this weekend?

Stay tuned . . .

I am Don Pigeon and I am OUT!!!


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