Good News, Bad News

By Amy McCormick

The good news … The Phillies pulled off an 8-4 victory over Arizona this afternoon, giving Cole Hamels his third win of the season.  The Phils’ offense woke up for the final game of the series.  Rollins, Victorino and Howard each homered and Francisco and Polanco each doubled.  After two dismal losses to the Diamondbacks, it was nice to see some of the bats wake up.

The bad news … Today, the Phillies announced that ace pitcher Roy Oswalt will be leaving for his home in Mississippi to tend to personal matters.  When the news came out, a reason wasn’t really given, and the timeline is still indefinite. 

On Tuesday night, Oswalt pitched three innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks and left the clubhouse well before the game’s end.  We fans assumed that he was just having an off night; at the time, we didn’t know what was weighing on his mind.

About a year ago, Oswalt’s parents’ Mississippi home was destroyed by storms.  With the recent tornadoes near his home, our #3 starter chose to go home to ensure that his wife and children were safe.  Ruben Amaro, Jr. announced that the Phillies organization hopes to have Oswalt back before his next start but admits that they will continue to “take that day by day.”  We’ll continue to keep Roy Oswalt and his family in our thoughts.

In unrelated news, Carlos Ruiz left during the first inning today with lower back pain.  While this doesn’t sound serious, when asked if he was concerned, Ruiz answered, “Yeah.”  He is scheduled to visit a doctor tomorrow, and we’ll know more then.  Brian Schneider filled in this afternoon, and will likely do so if Chooch needs to miss any more  playing time.

Hopefully, our team will be intact and healthy by mid-May, when we’ll oppose the Cardinals, the Rockies, the Rangers and the Reds in the span of eleven days.  Fingers crossed.