The AHL proved to be a lot more bloody than I imagined last night. The Philadelphia Phantoms and Norfolk Admirals, playing a meaningless game late in the season prior to the start of the AHL Playoffs, combined to have five players thrown off the ice after three major brawls. The crowd was delighted, if not at the 4-2 win by Norfolk, at least at the sheer animosity displayed by the two teams. They even failed to do the traditional hockey line-up handshake after the game, which may or may not be traditional in the AHL. I don't know, I don't go to enough games.
Keeping with the hockey theme, the Phils sent their very own "Golden Brett", Brett Myers to the hill to face enigmatic lefty Mike Hamptom. Hampton had a brilliant start to his career, and then decided to cash in with the Rockies a couple of seasons back, leaving the New York Mets and inking a huge contract with the Mile High Maulers. It didn't work out, to say the least. Hampton's sinker didn't sink at altitude, and he posted a couple of ungodly ERA's before escaping to the pitcher's haven of Atlanta. He's had moderate success as a Brave, but it wasn't until the second half of last season that he started to return to his earlier form. He came into tonight's game 12-1 in his last 16 starts, and 1-0 so far this year with a 1.29 ERA.
Myers has looked even better so far, 1-0 with a 0.73 ERA. The game started as we were pulling out of the Wachovia Spectrum parking lot, which is kind of like a rugby scrum with cars. Neither team did much of anything until we got home, when Marcus Giles laced a one-out double in the 4th off the wall over Bobby Abreu's glove. Giles was stranded, however, and neither team advanced a runner past second base until the 8th. In the 8th, Myers retired Jordan and Mondesi before our boy, Johnny Estrada, pinch-hitting for starting catcher Eddie Perez, ripped a two out hit into left-center. Pat Burrell made a nice play to hold Estrada to a single, which would be important later. Bobby Cox didn't have any lefty pinch-hitters on the bench who were any better than Hampton, he of the 14 career homers, so he let the pitcher swing. Hampton bashed the first pitch past Jason Michaels in center all the way to the wall. Abreu made a strong throw to cut-off man Placido Polanco, who wheeled and fired to the plate to get the piano-toting Estrada at the plate. It was a good play all-around, albeit kind of odd. Cox had to hit Estrada in that spot, because Perez is not much of a bat, and he couldn't pinch-run because he wouldn't have any catchers left. Charlie Manuel did well to leave Myers in against Hampton, who, after all, is a pitcher. Michaels took a bad angle on the ball, but he was playing in with the pitcher up, and Abreu and Polanco played it just like you draw it up in Spring Training. It was a very satisfying play, especially since it ended the inning with no score.
The Phils went in order in the 8th, and then Billy Wagner made another appearance. Giles hit another one-out double to right, and then stole third. Wagner came through in the clutch, though, throwing two blazers past Chipper (I Still Hate You) Jones to get him looking, and getting Andruw Jones to ground to third. On came the Braves closer, Danny Kolb, who had a few problems with the middle of the Phillies order before getting yesterday's man, Chase Utley, to bounce out to end regulation.
Ryan Madson, last year's bullpen revelation, started the 10th. Madson has been awful so far this year, and his struggles continued last night. Adam La Roche led off with a single, and in keeping with tonight's theme, was pinch-run for by a gentlemen from Canada by the name of Orr. Well, it was Pete Orr, not Bobby, but close enough. Brian Jordan (who else) singled Orr over to third, and then, the lights went out. Literally. Not at the stadium, but in my subdivision. You've got to be kidding me! NO! I guess if I was a real fan, I'd have gone out to the car to hear the rest of the game, but I said the hell with it and went to bed. I didn't see any way the Braves wouldn't get Orr home from third, and with the way Madson's been throwing, it might get ugly quickly.
As it turned out, from reading the Delaware County Daily Times (Slogan: Don't mind the typos, substandard English, and huge ink splotches -- they give the paper character!) Bobby, I mean Pete Orr, did score the game's first run on a sac fly by Raul Mondesi. Bobby Cox then decided to stick with his closer Kolb, letting him bat, and of course, strike out, to end the inning. Bobby will wish he had that one back.
From what I read of the bottom of the 10th, it sounded pretty exciting. I haven't been able to fire up MLB.TV yet today, but I will when I get home. Kolb walked Bell and Lieberthal to start things off, and after Lofton laid down a nice bunt, Kolb threw the ball away to allow pinch runner Tomas Perez to score the tying run. Lieberthal apparently stayed on second (I guess he was using Estrada's piano), which brought Jimmy Rollins up in another bunting situation. Rollins bunted, and then beat the throw from Kolb, loading the bases with nobody out and the winning run now on third. Finally, Cox replaced the frazzled Kolb with Kevin Gryboski (a defenseman from Medicine Hat?). It didn't help, as Placido Polanco quickly sent the crowd into their own parking lot rugby scrum with a clean base-hit down the left-field line, giving the Phillies a big early-season come-from-behind extra-inning 2-1 victory, and a 2-1 series win over the defending division champs.
Sure, it's only game 12 of the season, but this one could reverberate for a while. Cox has to be getting nervous about Kolb, who's blown two games in spectacular fashion already this year. They have Smoltz, but if they move him out the rotation, that would leave a gaping hole. Too bad for them. On the Phils side, they're back at .500, in a second place tie with everyone but the still-drunk-on-having-Tim-Russert-in-the-front-row Nationals. The Delco Times is quoting Kenny Lofton crowing about "little ball", but the bunts wouldn't have mattered if Bell and Lieberthal hadn't drawn those walks, and if Myers and Wagner hadn't thrown nine rows of zeroes. That's Moneyball, and here's hoping the Fightin's keep cashing in.
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