Close Call, Blown Opportunities
Third base umpire Adrian Johnson blew a home run call in yesterday's 6-5 loss to the Cubs, but the Phillies still had chances to win.
Close Call, Blown Opportunities
Todd Zolecki
Charlie Manuel earned an ejection from third base umpire Adrian Johnson yesterday for his choice words in a 6-5 loss to the Cubs.
(Nobody ejected Johnson for his clearly blown home run call.)
But Manuel could have been plenty steamed about other things:
- His team blew a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning.
- They were 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
- They left 15 runners on base.
- They committed two more errors, giving them 15 in 13 games.
The Phillies dropped to 6-7, the third time this season they have been unable to climb over .500. But that shouldn't be much of a surprise, should it? This is how the Phillies play in April. They didn't get over .500 until May 26 last season, and they needed five attempts to do it. They didn't get over .500 until May 5 in 2006, either. For whatever reasons, this team starts slowly. Every year. They haven't had a winning April since 2003. That's a lot of bad baseball in Aprils since.
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In the Phillies Notebook, Jimmy Rollins could play tomorrow night while Shane Victorino is optimistic he'll be back in 15 days.
Comments (33)
Comment removed.
I have attended spring training a number of times (back to the Jack Russel Stadium days). I have seen some players at Frenchy's after games, first it's not that many and second, they are being constantly mobbed by fans, so the opportunity to "pound" down a number of beers is limited. They usuallly don't stay very long. To broad brush players with the claim that they are drinking excessively after the game is just plain wrong.— jimmymack- The Philles are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get...— roque32
- Zo, I liked the article today that you did with Jim. Cool idea to take two sports and fuse the replay issue together.— timm
- Dudes, chill out on the "team's a bunch of drunks" stuff. Aside from consistent, quality pitching, the Phil's biggest problem is consistent hitting. Not only hitting with RISP, but sometimes it's just hitting overall. This offense getting 3 or 4 hits a game is ridiculous. Don't know what the stats are, but I'd bet the Phils are in the bottom third in all of MLB in batting avg with RISP over the past three seasons. I love the Phils but I really think their offense is somewhat overrated.— MrPhillie
- Does it matter if there is a Tiki Bar in the stadium that the players frequent? Don't you think they'd all be somewhere else if it wasn't there. Don't you think all of the players from all of the MLB teams are at some bar in FL everynight during Spring Training. Or at least the one's that want to be? Not sure, but I bet if you went to the archives, you could find a similar assertion in each of the decades beginning with the 20's or 30's from each major city's paper of record in March.— phillybob
- Now back to baseball, the Phils will be fine. They are slow starters, alot of cool weather teams are. My cousin plays hardball, and he said it sucks when its this cold, its just hard to get going, both in the field and at the plate. As long as they hover around .500 for a month or so, and obviously above is better, they will start tearing sh!t up by the end of May or so. I think Pitching may somehow turn into a strength of the team!— Clinton, NJ
- truth you wanna talk about classless franchises, look at St. Louis! Larussa is a drunk and got cuaght with a DUI, and I know at least one, if not more, ball players have DIED from drinking/drug related crashes and or problems. Nothing gets done about it in ST. Loius cause it keeps happening. Get a clue truth!!!!— Clinton, NJ
- Comment removed.
Oh yeah, one more, we had Jason Michaels assaulting a Philly poilce officer in Old City, thus ending his undistinguished Phillies career.— RAS- I'd like to get an observation from someone else who has been down there recently (Clearwater Complex Tiki Bar). In the meantime, all we have to go on is young Hamels breaking his hand on someone's face a couple of years ago down in Clearwater, the Myers clan rolling around the streets of Boston after a few too many, and of course Bill Giles' inebriated rebuttal shortly thereafter. Did I leave anything out? And these guys are tame compared to the '93 hooligans. But at least they got us to the World Series. I'm all for a good time for everybody, but I think a little more adult supervision in spring training might buy the team a few more wins in April.— RAS
- All right, guys. Let's get real! I'm sure the guys have a beer or two on occasion. I think I've heard that beer is even served post-game. As long as no one is intoxicated during a game; or making a public spectacle of themselves; or driving drunk, I'm fine with that. And Truth......Don't start going on a tangent about Brett Myers!— Norma
- Actually, they were my observations while I was there in Clearwater. My opinion is that this may be the reason they are getting off to a slow start every year.— RAS
- RAS an opinion is not I saw Worrell stumbling and bumbling in the stands, so drunk that he could not find his back to the field. That you saw the players flirting with 'gourgeous" women at the field. That you saw the players pounding beers while mingling with the fans. If they are facts say they are facts.— Truth
- I have actually heard a rumor that some of the Phillies do, in fact, drink beer. As do some of the Mets. And the Brewers. And Red Sox. And the Indians... Zo, can you confirm this????— John in LA
- To clarify for Truth. Todd's column today had ended with "For whatever reasons, this team starts slowly. Every year." which I began my previous post with. The editorial after that in my post was soley my opinion and not that of Mr. Zolecki or Phils management. Sorry for the lack of whitespace in the post and subsequent confusion.— RAS
- I stand corrected I didn't see quotation marks. Either way I still would like an answer from this blogs authority. Are RAS' stmts true if so have you noticed these antics taking place Zo'.— Truth
- Somebody explain to Truth what quotation marks are (re-read above, dude). Musta hit his head falling off his soapbox. And he's right, Howard is a gem in the field.— John in LA
- 'Zo said these Phillies are a bunch of drunks? Is that what you're saying RAS? Worrell's personal reasons were related to alcoholism, very interesting. I've said it once and will say it again this is about as classless a bunch as you can get. This applies to the ownership for allowing and condoning such actions to the players for being so immature. Like I said this mgmt is more concerned about the players having an image than winning. So Sad. Old men trying to relive their fraternity days vicariously through these players. If Ras is reposting correctly I must say; great reporting Zo'. Can you tell us if similar behavior took place this yr? Thanks in adv.— Truth
- Most definately a blown call but it seemed to put a spark into the Phillies the next inning. The Phillies are a streaky team that needs to have a chip on their shoulder to perform. This trait is what makes them so exciting and frustrating at the same time. It's almost like you have to knock them down in order for them to rise up and win. I don't know if this has been said before but I'm calling it the "Rocky Curse" and this applies to all Philadelphia sport teams. In yesterday's case, the missed called sparked the team to rally but it wasn't enough to win the game. Even in the Rocky movies, Rocky got slapped around a lot before winning the fight. That said, I think it is way too early to push the panic button for the Phillies yet. As far as I see it, it's an improvement that they didn't start 4-11. Furthermore, April is only half over. There is still a chance that they Phillies could actually open with a winning April.— roque32
- Let's face it, the team is playing like crap right now and they are right in the mix. The NL lEAST can forgat about winning the Wild Card. The NL West is strong! The goal should be to win the next series, continue to take 2 of 3 and hope to stay healthy. I agree with John, I don't mind a couple weeks of Werth in CF. Shane needs to get re-focused, he's now an everyday player.— Casey
- Speener is absolutely right. If the ump would admit that the ball was close to the pole, then it would have to be foul or else it would hit the screen. Was he saying it was fair by 3 feet (the width of the screen)? Ridiculous. Certainly not the reason for the Phils losing the game but, at the major league level, it is absolutely inexcusable for that call to be missed. And no overruling from the home plate umpire?— Tinman
- Zo writes: "..For whatever reasons, this team starts slowly. Every year..." I believe the problem is the Tiki Bar in left field at the Clearwater Spring training complex. We went down there a few years ago, and I was surprised at how many brewskies the palyers were pounding after every game. Had the amusement (at the time) of seeing Todd Worrell stumbling around in the stands trying to get back to the field. He went on the DL for personal problems only a month or so later. It's great for the fans like us to be able to mingle so freely with the players and have a beer with them. It was really cool. But let's face it, most of these guys are only in their 20s to early 30s, and there's no question guys that age can drink their asses off. How many of us can tie a load on (and flirt with gorgeous babes) BEFORE we even leave our place of employment? Fame and fortune has it's priviledge, but going to the ballpark everyday with a hangover from the previous night's activities will take its toll on athletic performance and so on... I believe that's why our Phils start out so flat each spring. The Phillies will utimately have to decide if they want to party in March or win in April.— RAS
- To answer your question John in LA(couldn't handle Philly?) Howard appears normal. He doesn't appear tight like a Myers or an Utley. He doesn't have to state that tonight he is going to "bring it". He strikes out (so did the Babe and Aaron)he hits HR'S and drives in RBI's its his game. How many errors does he have this year J in LA?— Truth
- I thought that Utley and Myers prospered under pressure pretty well last year in the stretch drive. Of course if our stars batting under .200 would step up and hit, not strike out at a record pace and field their position, our record might be better. Just saying...— jimmymack
- Comment removed.
- Appears my previous post has been removed...— John in LA
- My one thing about that blown call - if it's that close to the pole, and doesn't hit the net or the pole, doesn't that mean it has to be a foul ball? Just saying.— speener
- So where does Mr. One-tool fit in with all that brilliant analysis? Talk about wilting under pressure. 2 years ago you expected a HR every time he came to the plate, the last 2 it's a SO...— John in LA
- RISP will haunt this team again this year. Bowa knew this a few years ago. They are too laid back, they think practical jokes after loses are O.K. They can't handle criticism, they are okay with 85-88 wins. Those few that are aggressive ae too aggressive like Myers and Utley. Myers is a bad play/pitch away from losing his cool. Utley is like a Hermit in a shell that appears to be contemplation or something. They simply do not prosper under pressure, case and point, last years non competitive play off series.— Truth
- We deserved that loss, regardless of the bad call. The weather, umpiring, hitting with RISP, and fielding sucked. On the bright side, the crab fries were particularly well seasoned and we are not 1-12.— jimmymack
- The call definitely didn't lose the game. And I have absolutely no problem with Werth getting a chance to show his stuff for the next 2 weeks in CF. Too many walks, errors, and no clutch hitting...— John in LA
- The call was bad enough but it was the sloppy play that really hurt. Utley is a wonder but he rushed the throw because supposedly Zam. was a good runner. If the throw had been bounced in front of Howard, the DP would have been completed. Still, the Phils are an exciting bunch and seeing Werth hit now is really something.— KGKoons
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