Up and Adam
Adam Eaton had his third quality start in a row. Too good to be true? Or a sign of things to come?
Up and Adam
Todd Zolecki
What's up with Adam Eaton?
He is 2-1 with a 2.29 ERA in his last three starts, which included last night's 3-2 victory over the Reds at Citizens Bank Park. Eaton has not had a three-start stretch like that since May 8-20, 2007, when he went 1-1 with a 1.74 ERA. I wrote today the Phillies have the best bullpen and second-best offense in the National League. You can imagine the possibilities this season if Eaton continues to pitch like this, Brett Myers returns to prior form and Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick continue doing what they've been doing (save Hamels' last two starts, of course).
"It all starts with starting pitching," Pat Burrell said. "That sets the tone for the whole game. Their guy did pretty good; our guy did great. And our bullpen was great. With pitching like that, it's possible to win games with three runs. We've got a good thing going right now. We need to continue it."
Eaton has three-straight quality starts, but his next start will be a big one. He hasn't put together four-straight quality starts (three earned runs or fewer in six or more innings) since he had six-straight quality starts June 6 - July 3, 2004, with the San Diego Padres. He went 3-1 with a 1.83 ERA in that stretch. So while Eaton's last three starts have been encouraging, it's much, much too early to say he has turned a corner -- although the Phillies certainly hope that he has. Eaton has had flashes like this in the past, but his inconsistencies have caught up to him.
Maybe this time is different. Maybe it's not.
If it is different, the Phillies have one less worry in their rotation.
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In the Phillies Notebook, this year's draft is the most significant one for the Phillies in the last 16 years ... at least.
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Last night was Dollar Dog Night at the ballpark, which means one thing: Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
Got a call from a friend in Section 309, who couldn't believe the chaos up there. He said there were at least three fights in his section alone. The moral of the story? Idiots love cheap hot dogs.
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Jim Salisbury says Phillies fans should be eager to see Ken Griffey Jr. play tonight or tomorrow afternoon at the Bank. This could be their last chance to see one of baseball's all-time greats.
MATT: I get the frustration with Howard, but his salary was determined by arbitration based on his past performance. Look, you can whine all you want about him getting $10 mil this year and not producing enough to warrant it, but you've got to look at both sides of it. The Phils got a ROY 2005 from Howard for which he was paid the prorated league minimum. They got an MVP 2006 for which he was paid $500,000. They got a very good 2007 and paid $900,000 for it. The Phils have gotten tremendous production over the last 2+ years for very little coin. This past production is what got Howard his $10 mil. That's why I'm ok with keeping him through his arbitration years. In order for him to win his arbitration cases, he's going to have to continue putting up monster numbers. Even if he does and he wins his cases, he will be paid a fair market value for his production. When it is all said and done, the Phils will get 5+ years of production from Howard at a very good overall value. Let the next couple years play out. See if we can agree to a reasonable deal with Howard. If not, we can look to move him in a couple years, unless we need to make room for a dynamite prospect sooner. The only problem scenario is if the Phils get stupid and sign him to a Cabrera-like deal of 8 years and 150+ million, which I can't see happening for many reasons.— bski- Hey Leron...just to be clear...when we traded Abreu, what we got out of the deal was...RID OF BOBBY ABREU. A team that became ripe for new leadership...leadership that wasn't afraid of walls. Leadership that wants to win. Leadership that lead to a vibrant clubhouse. Good guy, very good player, but someone who was holding this team back. Glad he is doing well in NY...even more glad he isn't doing it here. By the way, how has his addition worked out for that clubhouse, and their record.— phillybob
- You know what? I was at CBP tonight, and despite the outcome, it was a GREAT game! I don't usually care for *pitcher's duels*. But both Myers and Volquez were brilliant! To see Brett flirt with a no-no, after all he's been through this year, was great. He got a great ovation when he walked off the field. And this "phenom", Bruce, was an 0-fer! The Phils have gotten his avg. below 500! Too bad Votto got 2 of the Reds hits. I was hoping he'd line all his hits to Chase like he did the other night. LOL!— Norma
- Actually, Howard is hitting bettter with men on base than without. Not that .250 is good, but it's a lot better than the sub-.200 level he hits when there's no one on. (Source, ESPN baseball stats)— judas_priest
