Thursday, October 29, 2009

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK


With Halloween two days away, it looked like Pedro Martinez would bewitch the bats in the Bronx but A.J. Burnett was able to do just a little bit better, tricking Phillies hitters all night long.

Phillies went down 1-2-3 in the top of the first after A.J. Burnett threw a first pitch strike to each batter. Pedro started off by striking out Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon while Yankee fans obnoxiously chanted, "Who's your daddy."

Let me comment on that chant by the way...Pedro came up with it and it does not bother him so please be quite. Come up with something original. The Wolf Pack, Duck Pond, Howard's Homers, Coste Guards, Padilla Floatia, Cole Miners, Burrell's Girls, RAAAAUUULLL, and the Philly Phanatic are all original ideas New York Yankee fans cannot possibly conceive by themselves.

Excuse the little tangent...back to the game:

Raul Ibanez came up big again, scoring the first run and making a nice diving catch in the 2nd inning. Remember that this guy was leading all of MLB in AVG, HR, and RBI over the first few months of the season.

Burnett started to unravel in the third like a tempestuous teenage boy and I enjoyed every second of it. He was too focused on Jimmy Rollins on first base, got stuck in a battle with Shane Victorino, and when Chase Utley came to the plate Burnett missed the strike zone badly. Oh sureeee he was worth every penny Yankee fans...in typical NY fashion--over pay for something of low quality because of the hype.

(Martinez, World Series Champion, 3 Cy Young's, 8 time All-Star, 1 year deal $1.4 million---Burnett, ...?..., 5 year deal $85 million.)

Unfortunately, Ryan Howard was unable to kick the door open in the third, especially when considering how poorly the Yankees bullpen has been pitching. Burnett buckled down and got through 7 innings.

Even after Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui hit solo shots, there was no sense of panic from the Phillies and no energy from the Yankee fans. Martinez must have put a spell on them.

Eventually the Yankees were able to tack on another run but the Phillies continued to fight til the final strike.

This series features the two most talented teams in baseball...the teams I predicted to be in the series together...and so far it has lived up to the hype. At some point I would like to see a double digit sluggfest. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy some masterful pitching.

Looking ahead to a big day at Broad and Pattison:
SUNDAY, NOV. 1

GIANTS VS. EAGLES 1PM

YANKEES VS. PHILLIES 8:20PM

SIXERS: They opened the season against the defending Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic and lost by more than 20 points. Marreese Speights went 10-11 from the field for a career high 26 points.

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