Oswalt's fastball, etc.
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Oswalt's fastball, etc.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
For a team that had won its previous seven games and was facing a pretty tough pitcher, the Phillies had a surprisingly bitter vibe flowing through the clubhouse after a 4-2 loss to the Mariners Friday night.
I'm guessing it had something to do with Doug Eddings strike zone, which did not appear to be the most consistent piece of open space in the Pacific Northwest (I'm guessing because few of the key players were interested in speaking to the media). In the sixth inning, normally mild-mannered third baseman Placido Polanco got into a heated confrontation with Eddings after he was called out on a check swing. The root of the dispute probably lay in a called first strike that appeared to be well up and out of the zone. The bases were loaded at the time. At point point during the confrontation, Polanco pointed his finger in Eddings face. Shane Victorino dashed in to separate the two, probably saving Polanco from an ejection.
There were other pivotal moments that could have at least prolonged defeat, if not avoided it. In the fifth inning Chase Utley chased down a pop fly from Justin Smoak in foul territory in shallow right field. But the time it took him to turn around and throw home was enough for Ichiro Suzuki to score from third base. Right fielder Domonic Brown was in the vicinity of the play.
Manager Charlie Manuel had not seen a replay when he spoke to the media. In that situation, the right fielder is supposed to call off the second baseman if he has a play on the ball.
"The guy probably gained at least a step-and-a-half, two steps on the run to the plate," Manuel said of Suzuki, who slid home ahead of Utley's throw.
Suzuki scored three of the Mariners' four runs.
"You've got to keep him off the bases," Manuel said. "We weren't able to do that."
In the past, though, Oswalt has been able to strike batters and limit the damage of men on base. Last season, he averaged a strikeout every 3.72 at-bats with runners in scoring position. This year, he has recorded just nine strikeouts in 60 at-bats with RISP, an average of one every 6.67 at-bats. That's probably the result of a fastball that has consistenly sat a couple miles per hour slower than usual. Oswalt uses his fastball more than anybody else on the pitching staff. It's a strikeout pitch for him. So while he has been generally effective since returning from the disabled list, he hasn't been the same dominant pitcher the Phillies saw at the end of last season, when he was able to get out of jams like the ones he faced on Friday night.
Asked if Oswalt is a different pitcher now than he was last year, Manuel said, "I think about that sometimes, but I don't really think so. I think you'll see him come out pretty soon and his fastball will be back where it was. There comes a time when your fastball, not all of it is there. It's just kind of how your arm feels and how you are throwing at the time. Kind of like a hitter not hitting. I think it's just a matter of time before you see his fastball jump up."
Oswalt has consistently brushed off talk about his decreased strikeout total and seemingly less effective fastball.
"I felt pretty good early," Oswalt said. "I was throwing the normal speed I always throw. Just left the ball over the plate (on a home run to Miguel) Olivo. Thought I had (Justin) Smoak popped up on the infield, went a little further than I thought it was going to go (on the sacrifice fly). Other than that, not too bad."
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Oswalt Disabled list!— Kevinmac
I always got the feeling the Oswalt was less than enthusiastic about coming to the Phillies. He's still a quality major league starter, but not the pitcher he was. It will be interesting what happens between now and the end of the season. Hopefully, he'll realize how lucky he is to be playing for a major contender as opposed to what the Astros have become.— PhillyRules- Oswalt's career Won/Lost percentage and ERA:
1st half of season: .550 3.35
2nd half: .755 2.96
Critics, do your homework.— Bob1 - Trade him for a bat. Three aces and Blanton/KK/Vance.— Philly Fan in Kuwait
Comment removed.- I agree....HIS BACK!!! But, don't forget he made noises in Spring Training that this might be his last year.— Edae
- If Oswalt is your 4th best starter that's the least of your concerns. Focus on a lineup that features both Ibanez's and Francisco's rally-killing at-bats.— dasher
- Roy O is fine. He has always been a second half pitcher. Now his run support is something we can talk about. How many pitchers in the league are able to hold the other team under 2 runs a game, NONE. Give Roy 4 or 5 runs a game and we're all talking about what a great year he is having.— bigtbone
- The ball and strike calling was horrible. I hope the league evaluates Eddings. Oswalt pitched well enough to win. A few posters seem to mistake Oswalt's cool, calm demeanor for a lack of intensity. That just shows they have't paid attention to him throughout his career.— Chainsaw
- Oswalt is fine. This discussion would be moot if the offense (and the defense--to a lesser extent) was consistently putting up a 5-spot.— Seegs
- Interesting debate and the tornado time might have made the comments about Oswalt playing out his contract reasonable but I saw some fastballs at 93 last night and I'd agree the story was us not scoring against a very good rookie who had us no-hit into the 6th. This man has great pride and personally I think he likes this team. Who wouldn't in his situation love being part of a historically good rotation?— PhillySubsMac
- It's hard to pinpoint what's missing from his game. He hasn't been bad this year, but he certainly does instill the same confidence that he did when he took the mound last year. His fastball is only slightly off where it was when he went on that big run last year. Last night he was consistently 91/92 and touched 93 a few times. I pulled his pitch-by-pitch logs on a couple of his best games toward last year and against the Mets he pitched a shutout and had one pitch at 94. The rest were 91/92. Against the Dodgers in late August he limited them to one run and had one inning where he threw a few 94mph fastball and one that hit 95 but the rest of the game he was at 90 to 93 with his FB. If he can get that high rising heater back when he needs it, he'll be alright.— guyguy4
- I think that Roy Oswalt will be fine. He has pitched well enough since coming back from the back issue, although he is not the same guy who pulled up lame in his last game with the back issue. Let's not become the Yankees here. We have the best pitching staff around bar none. Roy will get you another 10 plus wins..and pitch well enough to get you more. Problem is we have to pull him to pinch hit so often. Lots of baseball left to play. I for one am sticking with Roy!— kprunner
- Oswalt could have used a couple of strikes that weren't called due to that bizarre strike zone last night. Seems he's actually cranked up the velocity a bit, but is missing his location. I wouldn't throw in the towel with him just yet. Cliff Lee didn't look so good a few weeks ago, and he seems fine now, and there's still 90 games left. Every game pitched can't be a masterpiece, even from this rotation. The befuddled hitting bothered me more.— ijj
- MLB.COM"s graphic showed the first pitch to Polanco hit the top part of the strikezone, I doubted a lot of the called strikes but the graphics showed the close calls to be strikes. Not that the graphics are gospel, but you have to give the Umps credit sometimes too.— marcards
