Why Pat Is Back
The Inquirer's Jim Salisbury takes a look at why Pat Burrell off to such a hot start this season.
Why Pat Is Back
Todd Zolecki
So what has gotten into Pat Burrell?
Is it his stance? Pitch selection? Health? Does he smell the money that comes in a free agent year?
"To be honest, when people write stories about it and analyze it, they make more of it than it really is," Burrell said. "What it comes down to, simply, is confidence. Confidence can take you a long way, especially in this game."
Jim Salisbury writes that Burrell hit .326 in 28 games in the first month. He set a team record for RBIs in April with 25. Entering last night, he led the National League in batting average with runners in scoring position (.480), was tied for second in RBIs (30) and walks (26), and was tied for third in homers (9). He ranked third in on-base percentage (.459) and fourth in slugging (.689).
From July 1 through May 4, Burrell ranked third in the majors with an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of 1.070 among players with over 400 plate appearances. Only Chipper Jones, at 1.079, and Albert Pujols, at 1.071, were better.
"I don't know if he'd admit it, but I think he feels healthier," Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "That has allowed him to feel more comfortable with his stance and approach. He can have a wider base, and that has helped him stay on the ball."
"He's matured," Charlie Manuel said. "He's gotten older. He's found out what's best for him. The greatest hitting coach you can have is yourself. Learn your swing. Know what you hit good. Improve your mechanics. Sometimes it takes a long time."
Could it lead to a new contract with the Phillies?
Maybe.
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Jamie Moyer outpitched a kid last night at Chase Field.
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In the Phillies Notebook, should Manuel move Ryan Howard down in the lineup until he finds his stroke? He could, but he won't. Not right now anyway. Manuel still wants Howard hitting fourth and Burrell hitting fifth.
marty.......I usually ignore Truth's posts, too. But sometimes it's just plain fun giving it back to him. LOL!— Norma- Deb......I was just about to tell Truth the same thing. I've had *polite* comments that never made it to the blog either. Just his paranoia coming out. LOL!— Norma
- Or maybe you're just a blowhard...— John in LA
- Truth, it seems the problem is not in what you write (as on content) but as in formating. Someone before having returns in the message seems to cause problems. I too have had posts not appear. Don't take it personally.— Deb in Dixie
- Onca again in this supposed bastion of democracy the Truth is silenced. i attempted to answer Debs question w/out vulgarity in any way. i guess those that head this newspaper have decided its okay to limit speech.— Truth
- I think, frankly, Howard is great at one thing - power numbers. What we are seeing is he is probably a .275 hitter. Not the worst thing in the world - and better than Burrell's numbers. Unfortunately, he had that one off-the chart year and that sets the bar. What I hate in professional athletes is a lack of discipline, poor fundamentals. Nice guy or not, he really can't field, throw or run. Big men like him (with a few exceptions) generally don't last very long. The problem is, he seems to think otherwise. Would anybody deny that he probably wants $25 mil a year? I also think the fact that he has had more agents than full years in MLB is a bad sign. Am I wrong about that? My beef goes back to last year when he came to camp fat and distracted from all the off-season press/awards - which he admitted - slogged thru the first 2 months, and then got hurt. Spent the rest of the year catching up. Sorry. No passes here. At this rate, again, Marty, I don't see how he gets an increase in arbitration next year. And they are winning without him.— John in LA
- Norma et al, you should learn to do like me. I check the post names first, and if it says Truth, I don't read it anymore. John, I mostly agree with you, but am bothered by the "he's about to find out" comment. As a Phan, I admit to being bothered by the attitude so many Phans take, to wit: take a player who's done magic for the team, give him a month of slump, and suddenly he's a chump. I'm not saying you do that regularly, and maybe you don't mean it here; but that statement sounds like it in this case. RE: Burrell: he won't be back next year. If he ends up doing poorly, the team won't bring him back; if he does great (as he's doing now), he'll get so much as a FA (probably ARod or Manny money) that the Phils won't be able to afford him.— marty
- Seems like Truth and his clone,the Philly Monkee, have a serious deficiency with posting anything coherent. Course, Truth's "cupcake" ( R. Howard), is hardly worth 1MM for his production so far (as John keeps pointing out) so he has real anxiety issues right now. And his cellmate Monkee can't get past 7th grade insults. Perfect together, don't ya think?— jimmymack
- This is Pat Burrell's first contract year - he was never a free agent before. He was signed to a long term deal - as are most valued young players - prior to reaching a "contract year".— Gary Varsho
- I'd like to hear from Truth why he's a cupcake..I have my own theories...— Deb in Dixie
- Do not be fooled by this great start by Burrell. If you look at the years he has played his only good years were contract years. Don't get me wrong I think it's great that he's doing well for the Phillies now. But, the Phillies shoud trade him by the deadline because he will be back to the 200 hitting Burrell we love to hate if the Phillies even think of signing him to a contract. Now is the time to get some good prospects while he's hot. He plays for himself and the money and he has proven nothing else. I have a Pat Burrell jersey hung up at home in my closet. I bought it during his last contract year. It's been there since as I am no longer a fan of this money hungry, ice-waggon running, defensive liability. Cut the cancer out now!— bennetll
- Oh, Deb....It's just out of Truth's twisted little mind. LOL!— Norma
- $$$— Leron
- And Truth.....As I keep reminding you, PLEASE read the other posts. Maybe you'll learn something. And it certainly seems like it's OK for YOU to slam every other Philly. But YOU can't tolerate any criticism of your *boy friend*, Howard.— Norma
- Just out of curiosity, why is John in LA a cupcake?— Deb in Dixie
- jimmymack.....I TOTALLY agree about Pat's foot issues. I've been saying that all along.— Norma
- Cupcake in LA is such a LOSER...."great idea JM!" Is the exclamation point really necessary? JM makes valid pts every so often. Cupcake in LA your just a pathetic piggybacking loser.... 8.3 million a bargain? The guy has had a good half season. He did didly squat w/runners in scoring position for 3 consecutive years. Are you kidding or are you just a LOSER?— Truth
- Cupcake in LA is such a LOSER...."great idea JM!" Is the exclamation point really necessary? JM makes valid pts every so often. Cupcake in LA your just a pathetic piggybacking loser.... 8.3 million a bargain? The guy has had a good half season. He did didly squat w/runners in scoring position for 3 consecutive years. Are you kidding or are you just a LOSER?— Truth
The big difference in Pat Burrell was my phone call. That's right. I called and said, Hey, Pat. You'd better get on the stick or I'm gonna have to muss ya up, real bad like. See?" The rest, as they say, is history.— mkat33- Great idea, JM! Is it possible to do down in arbitartaion #s... I guess Howard is about to find out. And for the record, Burrell made 50 mil over 6 years - that's 8.3 mil a year. That's a lot of money, but not huge numbers. Sorry. It was backloaded, but the total number is still the same. And if you look at his career numbers and say a guy like that was getting 8 and change a year, you'd say that was a bargain.— John in LA
- I'm assuming it's because his foot issues are behind him and he can now push off. Not to sound like Wheels, but he is hanging back and not lunging anymore, even his outs are being hit hard. Whatever it is, he sure has been in a zones since last summer. Good for him. He carries this all season, I'm ok with bringing him back at a sensible number. Maybe we can use the extra money that Howard won't make next year, when he only gets 2MM in arbitration....LOL— jimmymack
- I am a Pat Burrell fan and the biggest problem he has is that (throughout his career) he is not a leader but a follower. Early in his career he had success and thus admiration from the fans and a huge contract. When he hit his first patch of problems, he showed that it bothered him and he worked hard to overcome it. Unfortunately he played for a Phillies team at that time who showed complete indifference towards their profession and just showed up to the park (see Abreu, Lieberthal, Lee, Wolf and others). Pat's biggest problem is that he soon took that approach and found himself lost at the plate and a new "oh well" attitude which was not very popular with fans. With this new team/attitude, you can tell he is having fun, playing relaxed and having success.— rvb2321
