GaryMrMets
06-06-2004, 01:19 AM
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/8834946.htm
Posted on Fri, Jun. 04, 2004
Hancock is rocked by Braves
The fill-in starter gave up a grand slam to 45-year-old Julio Franco in the first.
By Jim Salisbury
Inquirer Staff Writer
ATLANTA - The Phillies didn't have to worry about Todd Zeile last night.
Nope. Josh Hancock was their problem.
Up from triple A to take injured Vicente Padilla's spot in the rotation, Hancock may have earned a quick trip back to the minors with an eyesore of an outing against the Atlanta Braves.
The righthander was tagged for six runs in two innings as the Braves went on to beat the sagging Phillies, 8-4, at Turner Field.
"Nothing worked," Hancock said afterward. "It was a bad start from the first pitch."
How bad?
Hancock threw 55 pitches in two innings.
He faced 15 batters. Nine reached base - eight with hits, one with a walk.
He gave up a grand slam to a 45-year-old man.
It was still light out when Hancock left the game - and this was a late-starting 7:35 p.m. contest.
"He was up and in the middle of the plate," manager Larry Bowa said. "You're not going to get too many people out at this level like that.
"But you can't blame the guy. He's up here filling in. He did the best he could."
Just when it looked as if the Phillies were hitting a stride in a productive month of May, they've hit a major snag. That's not good when you have three more games against the warming Braves followed by six interleague games with the two best teams in the American League Central.
Now just two games over .500, the Phillies have lost four in a row, five of six and eight of 12. Their hitting with runners in scoring position (14 for 100) over that span has been abysmal, and they've endured the wrath of a hot hitter like Zeile, the New York Mets veteran who almost single-handedly beat the Phillies with late-game home runs Tuesday and Wednesday.
There was no late-inning heartbreak for the Phillies last night.
They were never in this game because of poor starting pitching. Nothing is more dispiriting to an offense.
A good outing would have earned Hancock a second start on this road trip. Now, you have to wonder if he'll get that chance.
"I have no idea," Bowa said. "That's the least of my worries right now."
Who'll be next to fill in for Padilla? Elizardo Ramirez? There are some in the organization who would like the youngster to get a start. But Ramirez is here before his time. Would starting him be overly greedy?
Brian Powell and Clay Condrey would be possibilities. Condrey, however, is not on the 40-man roster.
The Phillies have several days to sort out this pitching riddle, which gets even more complicated when Randy Wolf's elbow tendinitis is factored in. He is not supposed to miss time, but the Phils are concerned about him nonetheless.
Injuries have hit this staff hard. In addition to Padilla, closer Billy Wagner is still out and his absence has thrown the bullpen out of balance. Maybe Zeile wouldn't have hit that three-run home run in the eighth inning Wednesday night if Todd Worrell had been on the mound. Usually the Phils' eighth-inning setup man, Worrell has been serving as the closer recently.
"We were lucky last year [avoiding significant pitching injuries]," Bowa said. "This year we're being punished. You're going to have problems when you lose your closer and a starting pitcher."
Hancock was mugged for five hits (one when he botched an attempt at fielding a bunt) in the first inning, three for extra bases. With one out and two men on base, Hancock walked Andruw Jones, and pitching coach Joe Kerrigan visited the mound.
Up came Julio Franco. The wise old veteran knew Hancock wanted to throw a strike. Franco got one - a belt-high fastball - on the first pitch and drove it over the right-field wall for a grand slam and a 5-0 Atlanta lead.
At 45 years, 284 days, Franco topped Carlton Fisk (43 years, 282 days) as the oldest player to hit a grand slam. Fisk did it for the White Sox in 1991.
The Braves scored another run off Hancock in the second. Johnny Estrada's two-run homer off Ramirez gave the Braves an 8-1 lead in the bottom of fourth, just moments after Jim Thome got the Phils on the board with his 13th homer, a solo shot off John Thomson, who rode the early lead to his fifth win. That was the only run Thomson allowed in seven innings.
"Right now, a lot of pitchers are pitching good against us," Bowa moaned. "Any pitcher will tell you, it's nice to get early runs, and they got him six."
With the help of Chase Utley's two-run homer off Chris Reitsma, the Phils cut Atlanta's lead to 8-4 in the eighth. It made the score more respectable, but there was no fooling reality: The Phils were never in this one.
http://www.philly.com/images/philly/inquirer/8832/78009822488.jpg
Phillies' pitcher Josh Hancock collects himself on the mound during first inning action in Atlanta. The Braves beat the Phillies 8-4.
Posted on Fri, Jun. 04, 2004
Hancock is rocked by Braves
The fill-in starter gave up a grand slam to 45-year-old Julio Franco in the first.
By Jim Salisbury
Inquirer Staff Writer
ATLANTA - The Phillies didn't have to worry about Todd Zeile last night.
Nope. Josh Hancock was their problem.
Up from triple A to take injured Vicente Padilla's spot in the rotation, Hancock may have earned a quick trip back to the minors with an eyesore of an outing against the Atlanta Braves.
The righthander was tagged for six runs in two innings as the Braves went on to beat the sagging Phillies, 8-4, at Turner Field.
"Nothing worked," Hancock said afterward. "It was a bad start from the first pitch."
How bad?
Hancock threw 55 pitches in two innings.
He faced 15 batters. Nine reached base - eight with hits, one with a walk.
He gave up a grand slam to a 45-year-old man.
It was still light out when Hancock left the game - and this was a late-starting 7:35 p.m. contest.
"He was up and in the middle of the plate," manager Larry Bowa said. "You're not going to get too many people out at this level like that.
"But you can't blame the guy. He's up here filling in. He did the best he could."
Just when it looked as if the Phillies were hitting a stride in a productive month of May, they've hit a major snag. That's not good when you have three more games against the warming Braves followed by six interleague games with the two best teams in the American League Central.
Now just two games over .500, the Phillies have lost four in a row, five of six and eight of 12. Their hitting with runners in scoring position (14 for 100) over that span has been abysmal, and they've endured the wrath of a hot hitter like Zeile, the New York Mets veteran who almost single-handedly beat the Phillies with late-game home runs Tuesday and Wednesday.
There was no late-inning heartbreak for the Phillies last night.
They were never in this game because of poor starting pitching. Nothing is more dispiriting to an offense.
A good outing would have earned Hancock a second start on this road trip. Now, you have to wonder if he'll get that chance.
"I have no idea," Bowa said. "That's the least of my worries right now."
Who'll be next to fill in for Padilla? Elizardo Ramirez? There are some in the organization who would like the youngster to get a start. But Ramirez is here before his time. Would starting him be overly greedy?
Brian Powell and Clay Condrey would be possibilities. Condrey, however, is not on the 40-man roster.
The Phillies have several days to sort out this pitching riddle, which gets even more complicated when Randy Wolf's elbow tendinitis is factored in. He is not supposed to miss time, but the Phils are concerned about him nonetheless.
Injuries have hit this staff hard. In addition to Padilla, closer Billy Wagner is still out and his absence has thrown the bullpen out of balance. Maybe Zeile wouldn't have hit that three-run home run in the eighth inning Wednesday night if Todd Worrell had been on the mound. Usually the Phils' eighth-inning setup man, Worrell has been serving as the closer recently.
"We were lucky last year [avoiding significant pitching injuries]," Bowa said. "This year we're being punished. You're going to have problems when you lose your closer and a starting pitcher."
Hancock was mugged for five hits (one when he botched an attempt at fielding a bunt) in the first inning, three for extra bases. With one out and two men on base, Hancock walked Andruw Jones, and pitching coach Joe Kerrigan visited the mound.
Up came Julio Franco. The wise old veteran knew Hancock wanted to throw a strike. Franco got one - a belt-high fastball - on the first pitch and drove it over the right-field wall for a grand slam and a 5-0 Atlanta lead.
At 45 years, 284 days, Franco topped Carlton Fisk (43 years, 282 days) as the oldest player to hit a grand slam. Fisk did it for the White Sox in 1991.
The Braves scored another run off Hancock in the second. Johnny Estrada's two-run homer off Ramirez gave the Braves an 8-1 lead in the bottom of fourth, just moments after Jim Thome got the Phils on the board with his 13th homer, a solo shot off John Thomson, who rode the early lead to his fifth win. That was the only run Thomson allowed in seven innings.
"Right now, a lot of pitchers are pitching good against us," Bowa moaned. "Any pitcher will tell you, it's nice to get early runs, and they got him six."
With the help of Chase Utley's two-run homer off Chris Reitsma, the Phils cut Atlanta's lead to 8-4 in the eighth. It made the score more respectable, but there was no fooling reality: The Phils were never in this one.
http://www.philly.com/images/philly/inquirer/8832/78009822488.jpg
Phillies' pitcher Josh Hancock collects himself on the mound during first inning action in Atlanta. The Braves beat the Phillies 8-4.