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| Image courtesy of AP |
The Philadelphia Phillies came
into this season with some question marks... how will the offense fare without
Ryan Howard and Chase Utley? How will John Mayberry do as a full time starter?
Will Jonathan Papelbon pitch as well as Ruben Amaro valued him? Jimmy Rollins
is getting old... will his production drop off even more this year? With these
questions and more, there was one constant in the minds of the Phillies: their
rotation. And on Opening Day, their best starter showed why, as Roy
"Doc" Halladay pitched eight shutout innings, recording five
strikeouts in the Phillies 1-0 victory.
Halladay's start to the game may
have had some wondering if his not-so-normal Spring Training statistics were
about to become a reality. But after giving up two hits to the first two
batters, it was clear that Doc was in form, retiring the next three and going
the rest of the game without giving up a hit. He hit two batters, but those
were the only two base runners he'd allow the rest of his start. Phillies
play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy even called Halladay's 8th inning, where he
hit Clint Barmes with two outs, a jam... one baserunner with two outs. I guess
McCarthy just wasn’t used to seeing anybody on base with Doc on the mound,
which is pretty understandable...
Papelbon came on and pitched a
1-2-3 ninth inning, notching his first save of the season. He's been a target
of some criticism since he was signed to a 4 year/$50 million contract back in
December, but he seemed on point today, finishing the ninth on 10 pitches, 9 of
them strikes.
Erik Bedard did his best
Halladay impression, nearly matching him inning for inning, but the Phillies
broke through in the top of the seventh, with Ty Wigginton scoring on a
sacrifice fly by Carlos Ruiz, who ended the day 3-for-3 along with the
sacrifice.
Manager Charlie Manuel argued
what many thought was an infield single by Ty Wigginton in the top of the
second, but getting ejected in the second inning of his team’s opening game was
not something he wanted to do, so he backed off more than he should have.
Still, it was good to see him go out there because, from every angle I saw,
Wigginton was safe and that out followed with two base hits, so who knows what
could’ve happened. But I digress.
The Phillies had some offense
today, but they left seven men on base, three in scoring position. This was
more of a pitching duel, so it’s easy to give them a pass, but this was a consistent
problem last season and, while it’s only the first game, it’s something that
could haunt the team going forward.
Freddy Galvis was a rally-killer
today for Philly, grounding into two double plays and ending the day 0-for-4.
His defense is nothing to complain about, but his offensive showing, or lack
thereof, today reminded many of the Wilson Valdez days and I’m sure it had many
wishing it was Utley out there instead. Even so, he’s a good, young second
baseman and should see his offense improve as time goes by. It was a bad game,
but it didn’t end up being costly and I’m hopeful that he’ll rebound.
Jimmy Rollins’ bunt single in
the first inning was something of a rarity. I don’t remember the last time I saw
him do that leading off, much less at the 3-spot. It was good to see him take
advantage of his legs again rather than trying to be a 30-homerun player. He
just needs to get on base and let the team and his legs do the rest and he
should be fine.
The most impressive Phillies
today were Chooch, anchoring the team’s pitching and hitting, and Halladay, who was the same Roy Halladay baseball
fans have grown to know over the past ten years. Papelbon, if for a day, proved
his critics wrong.
But, like I said, it’s only one
day, only one game. Nothing can be fully evaluated on any team’s first game, especially
a team that’s not at full strength. It’s a long road, one that I will surely
enjoy for the next six months. Baseball is back, folks.
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