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Thursday, May 15, 2008
Can Chuck keep it in the park tonight?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Philadelphia _ A few words while attempt to digest this Tony DiNic’s Italian-style pulled-pork sandwich before heading to the ballpark for the rubber game in this first Braves-Phillies series of the season, which has been typical of the never-boring matchups between these teams in recent years.
By the way, when in Philly I’d highly recommend the DiNic’s sandwich counter in the Reading Terminal. Just wish we were here another day so I could get the roast pork. The Salumeria deli about 30 feet away from DiNic’s is equally terrific, with gut-busting hoagies piled high with fresh everything.
Anyway … Chuck James at Citizens Bank Park. Strap yourselves in, folks, we could be in for a bumpy ride.
Hopefully Chuck can remember to keep the ball down tonight against Utley, Howard, Burrell and the boys at the banking bandbox, where the balls were carrying like crazy last night. (Of course, Brett Myers’ pitches didn’t hurt the Braves’ long-ball cause, either. That dude really started opening day? Yikes.)
Chuck’s been solid this season … in Triple-A, that is.
If he’s going to help the Braves this season, now would be an awful good time to step up and get ‘er done (why I just slipped into Larry the Cable Guy mode, I have no earthly idea. Maybe because I was talking about Chuck? That or the fact I just ran into Bowman on the sidewalk as I was walking back from Reading Terminal).
Anyway, here are the concerns about Chuck and tonight’s start: He’s allowed 10 hits, nine runs and nine walks in 11 innings over his past two starts. He’s 0-2 with an 11.00 ERA in two road starts this season, and 0-3 with a 7.81 ERA and eight homers allowed in six road starts (27-2/3 innings) since July 25.
He is unbeaten (2-0) with a 4.08 ERA in seven career games against the Phillies, including 1-0 in three starts at this park. But he has a 5.52 ERA in those three games, with four homers allowed in 14-2/3 innings. Jimmy Rollins is 9-for-18 with a home run against him, Burrell is 6-for-16 with two homers, and Ryan Howard is 2-for-16 with two homers.
Please stow your tray tables and fasten your seatbelts….
By the way, Chuck has a 6.50 ERA in 13 starts since July 31, with just two quality starts (six innings or more, three earned runs or fewer). It’s 19 homers he’s given up in 63-2/3 innings in that stretch. But he’s 6-5 in those games, thanks in large part to 6-1/2 support runs per nine innings pitched.
His counterpart tonight is Phillies ace-of-sorts Cole Hamels. Another lefty. A good one. But the Braves do have a way of surprising you, now don’t they? By that I mean, struggling against a pitcher they should destroy, and then knocking around a far better pitcher?
Hamels is 2-2 with a 4.98 in his past five starts, after posting an 0.82 ERA in his first three. But he’s 2-2 with a 2.80 ERA and .203 opponents’ average in five home starts this season, and 9-3 with a 2.87 ERA in his past 14 home starts since May 2007. The dude knows how to pitch at the banking center.
He’s 3-2 with a 4.42 ERA in six starts against the Braves. Hoss is 3-for-9 with two homers against him, Matt Diaz is 5-for-18 with a homer, and Brian McCann is 4-for-9.
So there’s your preview.
Now, back to Myers a moment. Braves fans don’t have a corner on the frustration market this early season. Myers was booed (again) lustily last night when he served up three homers in the first two innings and was slapped around for nine hits, eight runs (six earned) in 4-1/3 innings, is ERA climbing to 5.91.
Here’s what the Inquirer’s Todd Zolecki wrote about him today: “Myers pitched horribly in an 8-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves, and his latest performance was cause for legitimate concern. The Phillies have entered the second quarter of their season with three starting pitchers carrying ERAs of 5.02 or higher, and one of those pitchers was their opening-day starter.”
The new-look lineup: The Braves have 21 hits and 12 runs in two games since Yunel Escobar was moved to the leadoff spot and Mark Kotsay was moved from the bottom third of the order into the No. 2 spot in place of Kelly Johnson.
They did that despite cleanup hitter Mark Teixeira missing Tuesday’s game with back spasms and going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Wednesday.
Johnson has produced back-to-back two-hit games since the change and had a home run Wednesday Escobar led off Tuesday’s game with a hit and scored in the inning, and then homered to start Wednesday’s game.
Kotsay had two hits and two runs last night and has hit .357 (30-for-84) with five doubles, two homers, 15 RBI and a .919 OPS (.407 OBP) in his past 22 games.
“This little lineup adjustment, I think it’s going to help us,” said Chipper Jones, who has been a house afire regardless of ballpark, pitcher or what those around him are doing.
But he’s said since the Braves traded for Kotsay that he thought he’d be a good fit in the 2-hole. Now he’s there.
“Hopefully this sparks us a little,” Chipper said of the lineup changes, after last night’s game. “We’re swinging the bats well the last couple of games.”
All Chipper has done is hit .437 in his past 27 games with eight doubles, 10 homers, 23 RBI, 22 runs, 17 walks and a .512 OBP and .806 slugging percentage (1.318 OPS).
The Braves will start an 11-game homestand Friday, and it’ll be interesting to see if Chipper can sustain this absurdly hot streak for the next week and a half. He’s hit .451 with a 1.224 OPS at Turner Field this season, including .519 (14-for-27) with three homers and nine RBI in his past seven games.
Keep it civil: A couple of our regulars can’t seem to avoid resorting to the late-night mudslinging and junior-high namecalling. Fellas, I ask nicely: Can you two (and others, occasionally) avoid letting it degenerate to levels we’ve fortunately been able to avoid for many months now?
Or, in the immortal words of Walter Sobchak: “Smokey, this is not ‘Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.”
And here’s a tune: This won Bobby Bare a Grammy for Song of the Year in 1963, the year I was born. It was also covered masterfully by George Jones on the Possum’s 2005 album, “Hits I Missed … and One I Didn’t.” Both versions are terrific.
”DETROIT CITY” by Mel Tillis
I want to go home, I want to go home.
Oh Lord, I want to go home.
Last night I went to sleep in Detroit city.
And I dreamed about those cotton fields and home.
I dreamed about my mother,
dear old papa, sister and brother.
And I dreamed about that girl,
whose been waitin’ for so long.
I want to go home, I want to go home.
Oh Lord, I want to go home.
Home folks think I’m big in Detroit city.
From the letters that I write they think I’m fine.
But by day I make the cars,
by night I make the bars,
If only they could read between the lines.
I want to go home, I want to go home.
Oh Lord, I want to go home,
I rode a freight train north to Detroit city.
After all these years I’ve been wasting my time,
I’ll take my foolish pride,
on a southbound freight and ride.
Go on back to the ones,
I’ve left waitin’ so far behind.
I want to go home, I want to go home.
Oh Lord, I want to go home.
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