CSzem has ducked yet another Monday morning podcast. This time his reasoning was that he had to go to work early. This time I actually believe the excuse, but I think it’s less that he had to go to work early and more that he was forced out of the house by Mrs. CSzem by losing another mortgage payment betting on the anemic Dallas Cowboys to win a game. The ‘Boys are now 1-4. Yikes. America’s team, my ass.
Plus, I’m sure he’s not looking forward to our next conversation where I upbraid him once again for the idiotic decision to bypass Lincecum and keep him away from Halladay. I went to a party with my baseball team on Saturday and mentioned CSzem’s theory: he would have been laughed out of the room.
And I know he will never agree on this point due to the fact he’s not an athlete and will never understand how an athlete’s mind works. Professional or otherwise.
I really want to hate Cody Ross, but I cannot. There’s nothing I can’t stand more as a pitcher than seeing an under-talented scrub guess correctly on a pitch, swing with his eyes closed, and hit one out of the park.
But then Ross took Halladay deep twice on Saturday night, shocking a nation. Then he hit another one last night against Roy Oswalt breaking up his no-hitter in the fifth inning. What’s more impressive is the circumstances in which Ross hit the solo shot.
In his first at-bat, Oswalt buzzed Ross high and tight with a fastball, which was fantastic to see from a pitcher’s perspective. Ross obviously had a lot of confidence going into the game (who wouldn’t be after hitting two jacks off the best pitcher in the game) and looked way too comfortable at the plate. Oswalt just wanted to make his feet move a bit and be worried about a beaning instead of hitting another home run.
I have to give Ross credit. He took the inside pitch in stride and took revenge on Oswalt by hammering a pitch in his next at-bat into the left field bleachers. I would suggest Phillies pitchers stop throwing inside fastballs to Ross in the same, exact location.
Last night was the first time I’ve watched Oswalt pitch for an extended period of time and I was very impressed. His delivery reminds me of a smaller, whiter, righthanded version of David Price. Oswalt’s fastball explodes out of his hand, but he can also locate the pitch down in the zone. Filthy stuff.
Kudos to Oswalt for hustling around the bases and scoring on a single from second base last night, showing that pitchers can be athletes too. I did not like how Joe Buck and Tim McCarver acted like they’ve never seen a pitcher who had the ability to run before. Not all pitchers are fat tubs of lard who possess one athletic skill. McCarver even had the audacity to ask if Oswalt would be ok to go out and pitch the next inning, in case he was too tired from running 360 feet over the course of ten minutes.
This is going to be a great series.
Tomorrow will be a special Tuesday podcast celebrating left-handed greatness with Cliff Lee and Andy Petitte on the mound in Game 3 and Tewks watching at home in his underwear.
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2 comments:
Instead of asking more baseball players about my suggestion, why don't you ask some people that HAVE the capacity for rational thoughts and strategic thinking?
Did it blow up in my face? Yes (that's what she said). But I maintain that my idea had merit, and was (at the very least) worth a discussion. You (and your cronies) continually dismissing what I suggested is indicative of the narrow-minded, elitist, "baseball"-thinking that handcuffs the game's ability to make positive changes moving forward (ie. the institution of instant replay, so y'know, a bunch of fat morons stop erroneously deciding playoff games).
not even a mention about the bronx bombers from Friday night.
god i love the boys in pinstripes...
who needs pitching when can hit bombs.
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