Wednesday, May 16, 2007
In Praise of Adam Eaton...
There was a lot to be happy about the Phillies last night. Last night was their fourth victory in their last five games since they ended their road-stand in San Francisco and Arizona. The win notches the Phillies record at 19-20, just a game away from .500 baseball. Here are a few thoughts I had:
-Nice walk-off trot from Carlos Ruiz. Lots of energy! Nice hit to close out the game. This is the reason why the Phillies are so high on him...
-Hmm, Phillies won without that Howard guy again. They are 4-1 since he hit that grand slam on May 9 against the D-backs. Nice to see that your team isn't reliant on a single player.
-Okay, so Brett Myers blew his first save. The fact remains that he’s been pitching very well in relief:
Starter / Relief
ERA: 9.39 / 1.08
WHIP: 1.56 / 1.29
HR/9: 2.93 / 0.54
BB/9: 5.28 / 2.70
K/9: 11.11 / 12.96
In fact, last night was just the second earned run Myers has allowed since becoming a relief pitcher. I think the Phillies have finally gotten some stability in the pen and have the ability to close a game out. I do understand that not many people would agree with my argument after last evening, but I think the proof is in the numbers.
-Lots in the drama of the finish obscured the fact that Adam Eaton had a very strong outing, allowing just one earned run – the home run to Prince Fielder in the eighth inning – while shutting the Brewers powerful attack down, allowing just four hits and two walks last night. Eaton should be commended for how he’s been turning himself around of late on the mound. He’s doing a great job.
Eaton’s performance illustrates how misleading those pitcher win-loss records can be … Since defeating the San Francisco Giants 9-7 on the third – a game in which he “won” despite allowing six runs in five innings – Eaton has given up five earned runs in fourteen and two-thirds innings, in a pair of outings that ended with a 3-2 loss to the D-backs and a no-decision last night. As a result of the last two outings, Eaton’s ERA has declined a run and a half.
Tonight, Cole Hamels vs. Jeff Suppan as both teams send their aces to the mound. The Phillies are playing with a little momentum right now and look poised to continue tonight. Hamels has a clear edge over the finesse-oriented Suppan. With the Brewers swinging aggressively for the fences, expect to see Cole Hamels wrack up a lot of strikeouts this evening. And expect to see the Phillies even up at 20-20.
-Nice walk-off trot from Carlos Ruiz. Lots of energy! Nice hit to close out the game. This is the reason why the Phillies are so high on him...
-Hmm, Phillies won without that Howard guy again. They are 4-1 since he hit that grand slam on May 9 against the D-backs. Nice to see that your team isn't reliant on a single player.
-Okay, so Brett Myers blew his first save. The fact remains that he’s been pitching very well in relief:
Starter / Relief
ERA: 9.39 / 1.08
WHIP: 1.56 / 1.29
HR/9: 2.93 / 0.54
BB/9: 5.28 / 2.70
K/9: 11.11 / 12.96
In fact, last night was just the second earned run Myers has allowed since becoming a relief pitcher. I think the Phillies have finally gotten some stability in the pen and have the ability to close a game out. I do understand that not many people would agree with my argument after last evening, but I think the proof is in the numbers.
-Lots in the drama of the finish obscured the fact that Adam Eaton had a very strong outing, allowing just one earned run – the home run to Prince Fielder in the eighth inning – while shutting the Brewers powerful attack down, allowing just four hits and two walks last night. Eaton should be commended for how he’s been turning himself around of late on the mound. He’s doing a great job.
Eaton’s performance illustrates how misleading those pitcher win-loss records can be … Since defeating the San Francisco Giants 9-7 on the third – a game in which he “won” despite allowing six runs in five innings – Eaton has given up five earned runs in fourteen and two-thirds innings, in a pair of outings that ended with a 3-2 loss to the D-backs and a no-decision last night. As a result of the last two outings, Eaton’s ERA has declined a run and a half.
Tonight, Cole Hamels vs. Jeff Suppan as both teams send their aces to the mound. The Phillies are playing with a little momentum right now and look poised to continue tonight. Hamels has a clear edge over the finesse-oriented Suppan. With the Brewers swinging aggressively for the fences, expect to see Cole Hamels wrack up a lot of strikeouts this evening. And expect to see the Phillies even up at 20-20.
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