The catch
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The catch
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Greg Dobbs said it felt like hitting a home run. And, when you really think about it, his racing stab of a line drive by Chris Young in the second inning might have been worth more than a dinger. After all, the Padres had the bases loaded and with two outs all three runners were going on contact, leading to the likelihood that a double would have scored three runs. Dobbs broke down his catch after the game: Off the bat, he knew that the ball had been well hit, and that it had a good chance of going over his head. In that situation, outfielders are taught to sprint to a spot, taking their first five or six sprinted steps with their head down in order to keep their momentum going in the right direction. Turn your head too early, and your pace is slowed, and the likelihood of the ball getting by you increases. Dobbs said he watched the play several times on video during the game, and he was satisfied with how he executed his jump and route. Playing for the first time in right field since spring training, it was impressive how he was able to get himself into a position to make a play. At the last instant, he was forced to pick between diving or reaching up with his arm. He felt like he could do the latter, and he did.
The moment the ball hit the pocket?
"A great feeling," Dobbs said.
So too was the feeling when he arrived at the dugout after trotting in from right field. Lefthander J.A. Happ, who went on to pitch seven scoreless innings, greeted him at the top step with a high five and a smack on the rump. In the clubhouse after the game, Happ walked by Dobbs with a smile on his face and said, "What a catch."
"Dobber turned the game around right there," Happ said earlier.
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An impressive performance by the Phillies fans who made the trek here to San Diego. I counted at least three E-A-G-L-E-S chants during the series. But the loudest cheers were reserved for Raul Ibanez, and for lefthander J.C. Romero, who allowed one unearned run in 1 1/3 innings in his first appearance since being activated from his suspension earlier Wednesday. The fans behind the visitor's dugout gave him a standing ovation as he left the field with one out in the ninth. Romero responded by tipping his cap.
"Just showing them how I appreciated the support they gave me throughout the whole 50-game thing," Romero said. "They embraced me today, and that was nice."
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Don't look now, but Phillies starters have recorded a victory in each of these six straight wins. Since a win over Washington on May 18th when Chan Ho Park allowed five runs in 1 1/3 innings and lost his spot in the rotation, Phillies starters have an ERA just over 4.00, which is nearly two and a half runs better than the 6.35 ERA they posted in the first 36 games of the season.
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I'm very interested to see how this team takes its momentum into this four-game series at Dodgers Stadium. They got swept there last season. Even if they get swept this time around, they'll still be seven games over .500. Winning the series, conversely, would give them a remarkable opportunity to put some serious distance between themselves and the Mets next week at Citi Field.
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No news to report on Shane Victorino. He told Charlie Manuel during the game that he was having a problem with his hip and lower back. Manuel said the condition has been on the injury report that the Phillies training staff gives him each day. He said he does not know how serious it is. We should find out more tomorrow in L.A.
EZ, Donald and Durbin for Snell and a prospect would work.— mick314- enough with the Eagles chants at Phils games... silly...— Sillies
- enough with the Eagles chants at Phils games... silly...— Sillies
- Sorry Mick. BTW, I like Snell too, kind of a young-veteran pitcher with still lot of promise. Maybe our old friend John Russell can convince the Pirates management to trade for one of the Phillies Minor Leaguers he was familiar with (Donald?). He already got Jaramillo so Marson is out of the question. BTW, Jaramillo did a number on the Mets. Pirates won again, thanks to him.— EL Zorro
- i let an E-A-G-L-E-S out whenever i get the urge. i've E-A-G-L-E-S'd in restaurants, bowling alley's, marathons, and many different countries... so why not a baseball game? especially an out-of-town baseball game. it's like Marco-Polo for Philadelphians.— ill-eagles
- ElZorro old buddy. Dont go messing with Jesus, HE is a PhillyFan and we will need HIM in LA. Amen— mick314
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Zach Duke is another lefty. I'd rather see the Phils go for Pirates RHSP Ian Snell to replace Myers. I've always thought highly of him even though he's played for a lousy team. Any takers?— RAS- Pratt, you just double posted your comment.— EL Zorro
- Why not, Pratt. I won't have a problem if you do it. Some people are so whiners. They criticize writers, players and now posters. Jesus!— EL Zorro
- Is it neccessary for Todd Pratt to care what other posters do? NO IT ISN'T. Is it neccessary for Todd Pratt to not spell correctly or to post twice? NO IT ISN'T.— jimmymack
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- Does anyone know where I can see a video of Dobbs' catch? I missed the game last night and for some reason it's not a part of mlb.com highlights.— betsy72
- OKay, everyone all together now: "Coste had a passed ball which is why the run was unearned". Can we now move on? Poor Preserve Jon asked a legit question and got 2.5 million responces. Let's read teh entire comment list before answering, especially if you're only logging in after lunch— fan_in_jerusalem
- Passed ball.— NovaCheatsintheClassroom
- Preserve Jon...Chris C. had a passed ball on the pitch that got the runner to 2nd.— storourke
- Chris Coste had a passed ball leading to the unearned run. I dont know why passes balls dont count as errors, but a separate stat for catchers.— Flackattack
- Moyer, Blanton, Bastardo and Happ. The last four starts have been more than just quality starts they have been great starts. If you take out the Chen Ho meltdown the Phils have given up 7 runs in the last 4 games. Get the same performances against the Dodger and Mets and we'll be sitting pretty.— towman
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oops - guess that has been answered a few times!- Preserve - Passed ball on Coste.
- I wanna see who is "shocked" again when the Phils win it again. Let them keep talking Boston, LA and NY...they can have the press and we will take the trophy. Doing all this with a below .500 record at home? Can you say juggernaut?— jburd641
- Fan_in_Jerusalem (Jeff), how can you compare Gorkys Hernandez (the best prospect the Pirates got in the McLouth trade) to Dominic Brown? They don’t compare in nothing. Hernandez is a 6’’, 170 lbs speedy outfielder and Brown is a powerful 6’’ 4’’ 5-tool outfielder who is batting .329 with 9 HR and 38 RBI. He also has 12 SB. Hernandez has 10 and a carrer Avg of .293. He projects to be maybe a little better than Willie Taveras. Brown is being compare to Darryl Strawberry. And Tom Hanson is the best pitching prospect in baseball while Bastardo, as promising as he looks, is not even the best pitching prospect in the Phillies organization.— EL Zorro
- Preserve Jon: Coste allowed a runner to advance to second base on a passed ball. That runner then scored on a single. He would not have scored without the passed ball. Even though it is not scored as an error, a passed ball is figured in the official scoring in the same manner— PSU DEJA BLUE
- I agree with you about getting Zach from the Bucs, only problem is they ain't trading him. They just traded thier best (only) OF for more pitching help and are determined to keep their pitching as in house as possible. AS for Zorro's comment" Yes, the braves didn't give up their top prospect (equivelent to Bastardo) but gave up thier equivilent to Browne (top ranked OF in A ball)We have tree top ranked prospects in the OF(Mayberry, Taylor and Browne) we also have 2 young talented OF on the team (Victorino and Werth) for the forseeable future you only have room for 1-2 of your prospects, and one of the places is on the bench as the 4th guy. Therefore if moving one of them gets you a stud pitcher to be used now, it's worth it. The problem is that the stud pitchers a) don't want to come her, orB) aren't available or c) really aren't studs any more— fan_in_jerusalem
- Yampy, Zach Duke is a nice looking pitcher, but I would not trade Taylor for him either. I know you said you would trade for him prospect besides Drabek, Bastardo and Brown. You have to include Taylor on the list.— EL Zorro
- I was in NYC yesterday and heard on radio that Padilla was a cancer in Rangers clubhouse and front office bowed to demands of players to dump him. Phils are a cohesive bunch and would most likely not welcome this thug back.— mick314
- Jon, Passed ball by COste (if someone else hasn't alredy answered)— fan_in_jerusalem
- Yampy, or those who want the Phillies to trade their best prospects (Brown, Drabek or Taylor) for Peavy, Oswalt or Bedard or Zach Duke?, the Braves got great looking 27-year-old center fielder Nate McLouth, already an All Star player and Gold Glover, without giving top prospect Tommy Hanson. Heck, they did not even give the Pirates their second or third best prospects for a 5-tool everyday player. They gave the Pirates a 25 year old AAA pitcher, a Class A pitcher and speedy outfielder Gorky Perez. Instead, Hanson was called up and will pitch against the Brewers this weekend.— EL Zorro
- passed ball = unearned run.— vinni
- Jon, Passed ball by Coste, I believe.— letsgoflyers18
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- yahmpy - You are right on with the Duke idea, much more in line with what the Phils are known to do. Especially since the Bucos would probably trade their team bus for 3 'good prospects'.— fcskills
- Preserve Jon, Coste had a Passed ball.— rhcjr2
- yahmpy - nice idea on Duke.— 1flyfan
Hey, Tomahawk37, that would be "it's" not "its". And "Eagles" is a proper name so it is capitalized. Any more "lessons" you'd like to give us?— DaveCicc- Passed ball by Coste allowed the runner to move into scoring position.— Mark1npt
- passed ball— abnrgr
- Passed ball— unclecharlie
- PJ - two hits, a walk and a passed ball.— Steve2181
- Also, quick question - I just caught the boxscore and saw that Romero allowed an unearned run but that no error was committed. Can anyone explain that?— Preserve Jon
- i promise to be nicest, how would you know?— Neal Obstat
- Mostly because to be an eagles fan you can't have too many brain cells...and its a difficult word to spell— Tomahawk37
- I think the proliferation of hip problems has to do with training techniques implemented by physical therapists. The kinesiologists and training professionals design workout programs to strengthen legs and arms and mitigate potential injuries in those areas. The unfortunate side effect is injuries in other vulnerable areas. Anatomically, hip injuries make sense when you consider the amount of torque required to drive a ball or throw one 100-300 times a day.— Preserve Jon
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- wtf— Serge_Matthews
- I hate people doing an eagle chant on a baseball game. That is plain stupid IMO.— z03mbm
- Fla, not to worry about IP, school bus arrives at 8:00AM and its likely he will show up at 7th grade without completed homework.— mick314
- Yo nicest, your therapist is right dude. You're just not funny.— fla
- Hip problems= playing the game hard and the right way— dakind
- What's with the hip conditions? Startin to get a little contagious!!— SAILOR7175
- I hope vic is OK. If not, it's a good chance for Mayberry to show what he's got.— Souf Phil
