GaryMrMets
07-01-2004, 03:00 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/9053226.htm
Posted on Thu, Jul. 01, 2004
Compact swings get job done
By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com
Greg Gross could hardly be happier.
Gross likes it when the Phillies score lots of runs. After all, he's the hitting coach.
He absolutely loved not only that the Phillies rolled for 31 runs Monday and Tuesday, but how. They hit seven home runs, but they were the rising-line-drive type from smooth, compact swings, not the lift-it-into-the-jet-stream sort from looping, long swings that many of the Phillies had fallen into taking after playing home run derby in batting practice.
"In the first couple of homestands we had uncommonly warm weather. Balls were flying," Gross said. "We might have gotten caught up in that a little bit."
So much so that they entered this 14-game homestand with a .243 batting average at Citizens Bank Park. That was 28 points lower than their road average. The poor swings manifested themselves Friday in Boston, too, as the Green Monster loomed and Pedro Martinez hung pitch after pitch. Nine of the 21 outs Martinez recorded went to leftfield, most of them softly. The Phils finished with 16 fly ball outs, most in the season - a more telling stat in that the rain-shortened game gave them only 24 outs that night.
Those swings were shortened up the next day, in a 9-2 win. The Phillies retained that approach and managed three early runs against Curt Schilling on Sunday, then exploded for 14 on Monday and 17 on Tuesday.
"I can see it, definitely," said second baseman Placido Polanco, the only Phillie who didn't pop out against Martinez (he lined out in the sixth). Polanco spent time in the dangerous Cardinals lineup before a midseason trade made him a Phillie in 2002. "Every time you try to hit a home run, you won't. We've been having good approaches."
And when you don't, you get runs.
The intimidator
Entering last night, closer Billy Wagner's earned-run average in close games in which every pitch counts is 2.00; that's what matters, said manager Larry Bowa. Wagner's ERA in the five games in which he has pitched when the game was one-sided was 14.4, but Bowa doesn't much care about that. He understands that Wagner, like most closers, isn't the same pitcher in blowouts that he is in tight spots.
"I'm not like most closers," Wagner seethed.
His two four-run innings among the five meaningless appearances made his overall ERA a hefty 4.70, and that, he said, affects his profile. Hitters don't care that your ERA jumped because you were making your first appearance off the disabled list or you were working on throwing your slider or everybody in the yard knew a fastball was coming because you had a big lead.
"What makes a team respect you is your numbers. They see a 4.70, they're not intimidated" even if you throw 100 mph, said Wagner. "They say, 'We can get to him.' It gives them confidence."
Not that it has mattered much with games on the line. Wagner, who missed a month with a groin strain, is 11-for-13 in save opportunities.
What's in a name?
Phillies radio voice Scott Graham hammed it up last night at the unveiling of Turkey Hill's new flavor, Phillies Graham Slam, at the expense of TV broadcasters Harry Kalas and Larry Andersen.
"They could have called it 'Kalas Slam'. They could have called it 'Andersen Slam,' " said an overwhelmed Graham.
A Turkey Hill representative quickly refuted Graham's notion that the moniker is a tribute; rather, it is simply the flavor's name, which, coincidentally, also belongs to Graham.
Proceeds from the seasonal flavor will go to Phillies Charities, Inc.
Posted on Thu, Jul. 01, 2004
Compact swings get job done
By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com
Greg Gross could hardly be happier.
Gross likes it when the Phillies score lots of runs. After all, he's the hitting coach.
He absolutely loved not only that the Phillies rolled for 31 runs Monday and Tuesday, but how. They hit seven home runs, but they were the rising-line-drive type from smooth, compact swings, not the lift-it-into-the-jet-stream sort from looping, long swings that many of the Phillies had fallen into taking after playing home run derby in batting practice.
"In the first couple of homestands we had uncommonly warm weather. Balls were flying," Gross said. "We might have gotten caught up in that a little bit."
So much so that they entered this 14-game homestand with a .243 batting average at Citizens Bank Park. That was 28 points lower than their road average. The poor swings manifested themselves Friday in Boston, too, as the Green Monster loomed and Pedro Martinez hung pitch after pitch. Nine of the 21 outs Martinez recorded went to leftfield, most of them softly. The Phils finished with 16 fly ball outs, most in the season - a more telling stat in that the rain-shortened game gave them only 24 outs that night.
Those swings were shortened up the next day, in a 9-2 win. The Phillies retained that approach and managed three early runs against Curt Schilling on Sunday, then exploded for 14 on Monday and 17 on Tuesday.
"I can see it, definitely," said second baseman Placido Polanco, the only Phillie who didn't pop out against Martinez (he lined out in the sixth). Polanco spent time in the dangerous Cardinals lineup before a midseason trade made him a Phillie in 2002. "Every time you try to hit a home run, you won't. We've been having good approaches."
And when you don't, you get runs.
The intimidator
Entering last night, closer Billy Wagner's earned-run average in close games in which every pitch counts is 2.00; that's what matters, said manager Larry Bowa. Wagner's ERA in the five games in which he has pitched when the game was one-sided was 14.4, but Bowa doesn't much care about that. He understands that Wagner, like most closers, isn't the same pitcher in blowouts that he is in tight spots.
"I'm not like most closers," Wagner seethed.
His two four-run innings among the five meaningless appearances made his overall ERA a hefty 4.70, and that, he said, affects his profile. Hitters don't care that your ERA jumped because you were making your first appearance off the disabled list or you were working on throwing your slider or everybody in the yard knew a fastball was coming because you had a big lead.
"What makes a team respect you is your numbers. They see a 4.70, they're not intimidated" even if you throw 100 mph, said Wagner. "They say, 'We can get to him.' It gives them confidence."
Not that it has mattered much with games on the line. Wagner, who missed a month with a groin strain, is 11-for-13 in save opportunities.
What's in a name?
Phillies radio voice Scott Graham hammed it up last night at the unveiling of Turkey Hill's new flavor, Phillies Graham Slam, at the expense of TV broadcasters Harry Kalas and Larry Andersen.
"They could have called it 'Kalas Slam'. They could have called it 'Andersen Slam,' " said an overwhelmed Graham.
A Turkey Hill representative quickly refuted Graham's notion that the moniker is a tribute; rather, it is simply the flavor's name, which, coincidentally, also belongs to Graham.
Proceeds from the seasonal flavor will go to Phillies Charities, Inc.