Waiting for the Vogelsong to end
I said it a couple months ago, and I will say it again now: the curious case of Ryan Vogelsong is the reason why every culture since the inception of human civilization has held Sport in a regard that is entirely disproportionate to its actual contributions to the betterment of society.
Waiting for the Vogelsong to end
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
I said it a couple months ago, and I will say it again now: the curious case of Ryan Vogelsong is the reason every culture since the inception of human civilization has held Sport in a regard that is entirely disproportionate to its actual contributions to the betterment of society. The Phillies will not face the farmhand they released last summer in their four-game series against the Giants this weekend, and that's a shame, because all he has done since the last time we checked in on him is go 5-0 with a 2.64 ERA in 61 1/3 innings over 10 starts. Five of the National League's Top 10 leaders in ERA are members of one of the two teams that will square off at ATT Park starting tonight, a fact that might have been expected at the start of the season, except for the part about the leader of all them being a 34-year-old righthander whose most significant professional success came in Japan and whose last big league game before this season came in 2006, when he allowed at least one run in seven consecutive relief appearances before the Pirates mercifully bid him adieu.
Vogelsong will not pitch this weekend because he pitched yesterday, which was good news for the Giants, because they needed a stopper, and that is what Vogelsong has been for them ever since he entered the rotation on April 28 for what was supposed to be a brief stint precipitated by a lack of palatable options. As Scott Ostler points out in his column today in the San Francisco Chronicle, Vogelsong has started a game following a Giants loss nine times this season. Yesterday's 8-1 victory over the red-hot Diamondbacks was the eighth time San Francisco has won one one of those games. Vogelsong is 6-1 in those performances, including his quality start against Arizona, which saw him strike out seven and allow one run in six-plus innings. For comparison's sake, Phillies pitchers have allowed 15 earned runs in 25 innings against the Diamondbacks this season. That's worth noting because when you talk to folks in the Phillies organization about Vogelsong's twilight renaissance, there is still a degree of disbelief, a reluctance to offer much more than a shake of the head, as if the second shoe is not only hanging over Vogelsong's head, but their own.
After all, the National League's ERA leader was under their control for the bulk of last season, when nine different pitchers not named Vogelsong started games for them. But the remarkable performance of the Octorara grad is no more an indictment of the Phillies than it is of the Pirates before them, or the hundred-some-odd Division I college baseball coaches who allowed him to pitch at Kutztown University, where the top two sports are football and drinking.
Rather, Vogelsong's astonishing season is an indictment of our cynicism, and a reminder of the reason we watch athletes and not mathematicians: when you assign the human mind and body a set of parameters and challenge it to achieve a specific goal, the result is often one that defies the baselines we have established as the norm for achievement. The beauty of Sport is the Outlier, the anomaly, the athlete who produces something that historical precedent and statistical evidence and sheer logic suggest should not have occurred, and will not continue to occur. We do not watch sports for the hard fall back to Earth, for the regression to the mean, for the resumption of reality. We watch sports because at any given moment, a Frank Wycheck can throw a ball aback to Kevin Dyson and leave us standing on our couches, because in any given game a Dallas Braden can transform from mediocre to perfect in a span of nine innings, because in any given season a has-been or never-was like Ryan Vogelsong can find that metaphysical zone that he has spent an entire career in search of.
The essence of Sport lies in the suspension of belief, and the greatest sportsmen are the ones who suspend that belief throughout their entire careers.
In his column today, Ostler notes that "a lot of smart baseball people are waiting for Vogelsong to return to Earth."
And at some point, that wait could be rewarded.
In the meantime, a host of other smart people will be enjoying his time in orbit.
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I want to know how much (and what) you drink before and during the writing of snippets like this, Murph... it must be Genius Juice!— ksam- Murph, you just landed right side up. Nice post. As for releasing guys like this, sometimes a different coach means all the difference in the world. You can ask 24.— Dadof24
- Great story and super insight...never say never.— bearsfriend
- Nice Wycheck reference. Almost as good as your Limp Bizkit "Break Stuff" reference a few months ago. Wycheck...philly born and bred!— bigguy34
- Kind of like Cody Ross in the postseason last year. It seems Vogelsong stole that fairy dust away from "The Boss". On a side note, 10:15 pm start time to the game tonight? I hope Cliff makes quick work of the Giants so I can get a decent amount of sleep!— grales
- Good Defense, Huge ballpark where almost every pitcher puts up serviceable numbers, and an unknown quantity. It'll pass.— staup640
- One of the perks of being retired is not having a set time to go to bed. I LOVE the late games! I DVR the contest, then watch it when I want to, while squeezing out the commercial. Voila! A 3 hour contest becomes about two hours...I LOVE it. But ever since Comcast went to a different type of doing their recording, there does not seem to be the same amount of recording space. Gotta find out about that. GO PHILLIES!!!— TBear
- The Kutztown gag is classic, Murph. In my college days, I knew a few girls who went to Kutztown, and a few were not enough...— Chris Garrity
- Great article cheese. As much as the sports world loves to see how the mighty have fallen, they love just as much the wanna be that makes good in this world. I root for Vogelsong like he WAS a Phillie because the human heart needs uplifting and to believe.— Trot
- By the way this is also the reason I wait for your column. I am sooo tired of the endless BS to fill the papers. A writer should aspire to bring thought provoking words and emotional respose to his prose. It is the oath of a good sports writer and I see you choose to carry that torch. Keep up the good work. There are many of us who need this sort of reporting.— Trot
- Aspire not just for an "emotional response", but a positive one.
I, too, "do not watch sports for the hard fall back to Earth, for the regression to the mean, for the resumption of reality", but some journalists seem to have lost objectivity and prefer to stir up negativity to sell "news" or get quoted (see 95% of recent LeBron articles).
Loved this article on Vogey.
— MisfitOfScience - NIce writing Murph, very well thought out, constructed and entertaining.....excuse me now, I have to go watch Rudy, followed by The Miracle......lol....I bet you pounded your chest and screamed to the gods the minute you hit the "submit" button on this one Murph, didn't you?— Mark1npt
- By the way no reference to VINCE PAPALE????— Trot
- NIce piece, Murph.— andrewfrombrooklyn
- All the haters must be sleeping it off this afternoon...somehow it just doesn't seem the same without them...maybe I logged on the wrong site...where are you negadelphians...— stan the man too
- HGH?— Truth B. Told
- TBear: re DVR/recording space -- if ur DVR'n/recording programs in HD that would explain the capacity issue - HD takes up more DVR memory. Oh, and GO PHILS, shut down those pesky (ahem, Champs) West Coast Giants!— Dave Kane
- Thanks - I already used up my Vince Papale reference for the week. I think it was in a Hunter Pence story.— David_Murphy
- Isn't life nice.— Joe at the shore
Comment removed.- Murph I am currently a student at Kutztown and you're 100% correct. Drinking is number 1 while football is a distant second. Our baseball program is actually pretty good but its not as important as drinking.
- Giants own the Phillies.The end.— HippieKiller
- Isn't HippieKiller cute? Well, no, but anyway- Murph, very nice writing today! Too much topical drivel from so many writers; refreshing to see a nice positive piece that celebrates sports, rather than the many that only focus on the negative aspects. Well done!— verve
- Vogelsong will come back to Earth soon enough. Nobody in the majors has seen the guy pitch. Once everyone's seen him, his magic act will be over.— JimG
- "Nobody in the majors..."? Did you mean "Not everyone..."? 'Cuz the last time I checked, the D-backs, Pirates, Rox & Twins, etc., were in the majors...
And besides that, a lot of people have seen the likes of Sabathia and Lee and Lincecum, and it's kinda still working for them. It might not always be magical, but that's when experience starts helping you get through rough patches.— MisfitOfScience - vogelsons peripherals are dipping but he keeps winning....much like Alexi Ogando of the Rangers who the experts keep expecting to fade away, but there was again today winning again..
this is the second time Vogelsong has helped SF...they made the incredible of Vogelsong for jason Schmidt in 2002 from Pittsburgh...— jim715 - the Vogelsong remains the same— ned folk
- Yo Murph OUTSTANDING Work. Big Bill would Be Proud......Make mine wiz AND american!.....Represent!!!— bigmic
- You know the old saying, what's on the back of his baseball card?— DennisAtwell
- Where have you gone Ryan Vogelsong, the nation turns it lonely eyes to you. Woo ooh hooo!
Great story, Murph! Your story reminds me a bit of Jamie Moyer and his "scary" 82 mph fastball and ability to fool most of the people most of the time.— GHK - Absolutely the best sports article I have ever read. Great job. I was riveted on every word. All I can say is.....best sports article I have EVER read. I stand in awe.— JimSeitz
- great article— thefadd
- Good article about a great pitcher. Have any more castoffs, Philly? We'll take them and turn them into stars.— sf1234
