Viewing entries tagged
Cory Lidle

Comment

Ex-Phillie alert

Ice cream and online-poker lover, and budding pilot, Cory Lidle made his Yankees debut this afternoon and turned in another decent performance in the Bombers' 8-1 victory over Toronto. Lidle's line: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 1 WP, 1 HBP on 80 pitches.

Lidle's batterymate was Sal Fasano, who went 0-for-4 at the plate with three strikeouts to help his batting average dip to a not-so robust .111. Can't say we're surprised.

On another note, Bobby Abreu was flip-flopped in the batting order with Jason Giambi, going from fifth to third, and responded by going 3-for-5 with his second double (padding?) with a pair of runs. In the three games since joining the Yankees, Abreu is hitting .385 and has only walked once.

I suggest you check out Dan McQuade's "Ex-Phillie Watch" page on his trenchant site, Philadelphia Will Do.

According to the page, it appears as if Abraham Nunez has performed a little better than David Bell since last week's deal with the Brewers.

On another note, here's why the Yankees are a great organization as written in the Associated Press recap of the game:

The gametime temperature was 97 degrees as much of the East and Midwest continued to deal with a stifling heat wave. The Yankees offered free water at various points throughout the stadium, opened some air-conditioned suites to use as cooling rooms and aired public address announcements from manager Joe Torre and pitcher Mike Mussina urging fans to stay hydrated.

It should also be noted that the Yankees did not use the big jumbotron in the stadium to further conserve energy.

Who says the Yankees are wasteful? They're green, too!

Comment

Comment

Phillies vs. Braves in Atlanta

Strike!Cory Lidle appeared close to getting knocked out of the game before the fifth inning, and though he gave up 10 hits -- five for extra bases -- the cagy veteran cruised through his final two innings.

Know how? He threw strikes. In the fifth and sixth innings, Lidle threw 17 pitches and only one of them was a ball. It sounds so easy, but often it's so difficult -- throw strikes. Trust your fielders. Believe it or not, the Phillies are pretty strong defensively, so throwing strikes should not be a problem. Lidle didn't have a problem in throwing strikes -- of his 89 pitches, 62 were strikes and he didn't walk anyone.

Besides, Bill James' 10th idiom of his 15 virtues of sabermetic knowledge is: A great deal of what is perceived as being pitching is in fact defense.

So pitchers, take heed from Cory Lidle's final two innings of Wednesday night's start in Atlanta. Throw strikes. It will make you look good.

*** Maybe it's me, but those baggy uniforms with the bloused pants the Braves are wearing really look silly.

*** Since I questioned Charlie Manuel's decision to put Aaron Rowand in the No. 2 spot in the batting order, the center fielder is 4-for-10 with a homer, a stolen base, and two RBIs. Better yet, he's only whiffed once.

The Phillies lineup would still be better with Chase Utley batting second.

*** The Phillies' starting lineup came into Wednesday night's game with a .156 batting average against Braves' starter Jorge Sosa. In four innings, the Phils went 4-for-17 with an error and three walks off the young righty.

*** A trend continues: the Braves bottom third of the batting order went 7-for-12 with five extra-base hits. This season, the 7, 8 and 9 hitters are 37-for-93 (.398) with 21 RBIs.

That can't continue.

*** Here's a fun fact: Jimmy Rollins has a hit in 25 straight road games. Since 1990, 12 men have hit in 25 straight games on the road.

*** It's hard to have a must-win in April, but the Phillies certainly picked one up on Wednesday night to improve to 2-6. Aside from Lidle's outing, closer Tom Gordon looked particulary sharp using just a cutter and a changeup.

Pat Burrell snapped an 0-for-10 skid with a homer in the seventh, while every starter reached base... hard to complain about that.

So what is there to complain about? Well, neither Geoff Geary nor Rheal Cormier could get out of the eighth. Plus, Manuel still had Rowand hitting second.

Comment