Phils Don't Sweep, But They Take Out the Trash

By Amy McCormick

Thursday, August 4^th began a four game series against the Giants in San Francisco.  Aside from the late start times, the series promised to be a good one.  Here’s a rundown of what happened.

Thursday.  Cliff Lee was matched up with Madison “My Parents Clearly Wanted a Girl” Bumgarner.  Lee pitched well; half of his eight strikeouts belonged to Cody Ross.  “That’s probably the best game I’ve had as far as commanding the ball,” Lee said.  “I was getting ahead of the hitters and staying away from the middle of the plate.  I felt like I could throw any pitch at any time to any location.” Can you ask anything more of a pitcher?  Phils took the first game with a score of 3-0, which is Lee’s fifth shutout of the season.  Hunter Pence and John Mayberry, Jr. had back-to-back homers in the 2^nd inning.  Bumgarner stated, “That second inning cost me I guess.  The way he [Lee] was throwing, he looked like he could throw about fourteen innings out there.” After the end of the game, of course, tragedy stuck not far from AT&T Park.  Ryan White, 9, of Yardley, had attended the game to cheer on the Phillies.  A drunken jerk of a Giants fan managed to mow White down with a car, putting him in critical condition.  Luckily, the suspect was caught not much later. 

Friday.  Wonder why fans in San Francisco act like reckless criminals? Well, the top of the sixth inning in Friday’s game is an indication of what the fanbase seems to aspire to.  Vance Worley and Jonathan Sanchez were the starting pitchers, and the Phils won 9-2; not a whole lot else matters, considering all anyone has been talking about is the brawl that ensued on the field.  In the top of the sixth, Ramon Ramirez quite obviously hit Shane Victorino in the back intentionally with a pitch.  When asked if he thought Ramirez hit him deliberately, Victorino said, “Yeah, absolutely, I think he did.”  Vic started toward the mound, which caused Giants’ catcher Eli Whiteside to jump around like a lunatic.  Placido Polanco came to back up Victorino, and Whiteside tackled him.  Benches cleared; teammates and coaches from both sides poured onto the field.  The bullpens emptied.  It was one of those fights you can’t wait to see again in the highlights after the game.  Bruce Bochy remarked, “It’s baseball and things happen fast.  Tempers flare.  It’s part of the game … it’s competition.  Things aren’t going well for us.  It happens and you deal with it … I thought it was fairly clean out there.” Um, I assume he was talking about the Phillies’ involvement, because the Giants instigated the brawl from the get-go.  The Phils merely reacted.  Whiteside, Ramirez, and Victorino were ejected.  Charlie defends Victorino, because his reaction was pretty appropriate.  Ramirez wasn’t pitching well and it looked as if he just wanted to nail a batter with a pitch.  The Giants’ lowly tactics couldn’t land them a win.

Saturday. Cole Hamels started for the Phils, and the Giants sent Matt Cain to the hill.  A lot of fans expected a repeat of the previous night’s fight.  Not only did we not see such action, the game didn’t last much more than two hours.  Phils won, 2-1.  Hamels said, “I was one out away from a shutout.” It was 2-0 going into the bottom of the ninth, but Pablo “I Shouldn’t Be Playing in This Game Because I Choked Chooch Last Night” Sandoval hit a two-out homer.  Bochy, when asked about the Giants’ lethargic offense, said, “You don’t win the World Series unless you can beat good pitching.  Right now, we’re not doing that.” Yeah, no kidding.  Even your fans agree.  Aubrey Huff, a fan favorite in San Francisco, was booed when he grounded out to Ryan Howard.  Like I said, the fans in San Francisco are suitable for their classless team.

Sunday. Today’s broadcast began with Tim Lincecum on the mound, the breeze flowing through his long (and disgusting) hair.  I hate to say it, but Lincecum pitched well.  He kept the Phils’ offense at one run; the Giants ruined Philadelphia’s attempt at a sweep and won 3-1.  It was “Little” Roy Oswalt’s return to the bigs after being absent more than six weeks.  He looked healthy, and his velocity was fine.  He just seemed a little rusty.  He let up twelve hits in six innings, getting himself into jams and working his way out of them.  Oswalt scored the Phils’ only run, and said, “It’s good to be on the field.  It’s good to be well again.” Though Philly suffered the loss, it is nice to have #44 back in the rotation.  The Phillies played a great series, and I hated to see it end on a Brian Wilson note. 

Here’s what the series means to me: the Giants aren’t the contender they might think they are.  We are 74-40 (34 games above .500).  San Francisco is 63-52 (11 games above .500).  I used to view them as a tough team to beat, but they’re hanging onto the lead in the West by a thread.  (Meanwhile, the Phils are up 8 ½ games over Atlanta in the East.)   I used to see San Francisco as just a team with terrible hair (facial and otherwise) and a bunch of girls’ first names.  Now, thanks to poor behavior and poor sportsmanship, I see them for what they are: a team with trashy players and a trashy fanbase.  This I know: we will be seeing Phillies baseball well into October.  If the Giants would like to join us in the postseason, they’ll need to get their act together.