Now, we all know that I can be a bit reactionary (I would argue that baseball fans have to be because of the length of the season), so I am not going to pretend that I am not being so today.
That being said, I believe that tonight’s start by Antonio Bastardo–the second of his Major League career–may be one of those games that we look to at the end of the season as being worth significantly more than 1/162nd of the regular season. So, it is all on you, Mr. Bastardo.
The Phils swept three from the lowly Nationals last weekend, went straight to sunny San Diego and took three more from the Pads (who has a 10-game home winning streak before the sweep), and then got an incredibly pitching performance from their ace to win the first game of a 4-game set in LA Thursday night. That 7-game winning streak would be a 9-game winning streak today if Brad Lidge were still perfect. But, Lidge blew back-to-back saves, with Andre Ethier hitting a walkoff double and a walkoff homer in two nights and now the Phils need a win in a random June game.
The baseball season is a marathon–we all know this–and the good teams will probably still be alive in one race or another come September, so the season will be judged by how you play then. But, there are also significant ebbs and flows that can, in the end, but a subtle difference between a playoff berth and a “wait til next year.” This game could be the flower or the ebber of this part of the season.
A win tonight for the Phils (hopefully, with a Lidge save) will give them a split in LA–a pretty decent result, considering the Dodgers have the best record in baseball. But, it will also give them confidence because they should have won all 4. But, a loss will be a series loss and will probably bring back up the questions about whether or not the Phillies are true contenders or just merciless brutes who destroy bad teams, but can’t beat good teams. And, all of this will fester on a Monday off day and a cross-country flight, to prepare for a three-game set with…
The Mets. That is right. The Phils get a three-game tilt with the arch-rivals from the north Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. So, this game is even bigger because this week could be huge in the NL East standings. The Mets are beat up. Delgado is probably done for the year (and has not yet been replaced by Nick Johnson); Ryan Church is out for a while; Reyes is questionable for the series; and, surprisingly, the 40+ year old Sheffield is banged up, as well. This is the time for the Phils to take some momentum into this series, win the series convincingly, and put some distance between them and the rest of the division.
But, that momentum must start with tonight’s game and, more appropriately, it starts with tonight’s starter, Antonio Bastardo. With a World Series MVP, a 250-game winner, a veteran, and a highly-touted prospect in the other four positions of the rotation, it should not come down to a one-pitch marginal prospect making his second ML start on June 7th to throw a “big game.”
But, it has…
he looked pretty good last night. slowly started working on more pitches. let’s hope the progress continues. oh, and i was out in LA for the two blown lidge games – friends were merciless!