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We here at BSB have always believed that there is a fine line between courage and stupidity, between guts and foolishness.\u00a0 The Phillies toed that line a couple of times tonight in Queens and,\u00a0after they came out on top,\u00a0the game will go down as\u00a0a “gutty win” rather than a “stupid loss”.\u00a0 When it comes to\u00a0this rivalry, it seems to be the common theme:\u00a0both teams have talent, but only one has moxie to go with it.<\/p>\n
This\u00a0first cropped up tonight in the 6th inning, when Mike Pelfrey took exception to Chase Utley stepping out of the box before a pitch.\u00a0 Pelfrey reminded me of a weakling in a movie that decides\u00a0he’s finally going to stand up to the big bully but can’t come close to following through.\u00a0 He was so rattled after his verbal exchange with Utley that he forgot all about Shane Victorino on 1st base, and Victorino promptly stole second.\u00a0 That only\u00a0shook Pelfrey’s focus more, and David Wright\u00a0had to go have an animated talk to calm him down, followed by Jerry Manuel coming from the dugout to also have a talk\u00a0with him.\u00a0\u00a0It was a pretty sorry display all around by Pelfrey.\u00a0 He did get Utley to ground out to end the inning, but he came out for the 7th and gave up three straight singles before\u00a0leaving the game.<\/p>\n
In the bottom of the 8th, J.C. Romero came on and\u00a0allowed two baserunners with one out\u00a0before Gary Sheffield came up.\u00a0 With the red-hot David Wright on deck, Romero decided on a 3-1 curveball to Sheffield.\u00a0 Ballsy, or dumb?\u00a0 Either way, Sheffield took it for a strike, and Romero followed up with a perfect fastball, painting the inside corner at the knees.\u00a0 An incredible pair of pitches.<\/p>\n
And the most courageous (or foolish, of course) play of the game came with the game tied\u00a0in the\u00a0bottom of the 10th.\u00a0 Fernando Martinez was on 1st base, representing the winning run, and\u00a0Wright was\u00a0the batter with two outs.\u00a0 The game would be over with any extra-base hit.\u00a0 Wright lined the ball into right-center, and Jayson Werth ranged over toward it.\u00a0 He could have easily just let the ball drop in front of him and the Phils would just have to get Fernando Tatis out.\u00a0 Instead, Werth dove for the ball, making a fantastic catch that ended the inning.\u00a0 If I could freeze that play with the ball in the air and talk to Jayson about it, I would still tell him to let it drop.\u00a0 I’d ask him, why dive for that ball and put the game on the line?\u00a0 I think he would answer:\u00a0 because we play to win, and when the stakes are highest, we’re at our best.\u00a0 That is the difference between these teams.\u00a0 Ryan Church probably lets that ball drop and watches Pedro Feliz knock in the game-winning run as the next batter.\u00a0 So, gutsy or\u00a0foolish, call them what you will, just don’t forget to add “champions”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We here at BSB have always believed that there is a fine line between courage and stupidity, between guts and foolishness.\u00a0 The Phillies toed that line a couple of times tonight in Queens and,\u00a0after they came out on top,\u00a0the game … Continue reading