Eaton Shocks, Old Lefties Await

Win number two couldn't have felt any better. I never thought having a 2-6 record could feel so good. Maybe it is because it was against our hated rivals. Maybe it was because it broke a 3 game losing streak. Or maybe it was because 2 and 6 are the numbers Chase Utley wears. But within the three hour game last night, Phillies fans witnessed many promising signs.

• The first being that Eaton has the ability to throw a quality start. We aren't going to get Lidle-like consistency each game from Eaton, but last night showed that while he can blow a game like last Wednesday, he can control one as well.
  
• The second sign of promise was 2 innings of scoreless relief. Alfonseca and Gordon shut down the Mets from Jose Reyes to Shawn Green. I'm not going to say our bullpen worries are over and that Alfonseca will be the best set-up man in the National League, but it was a huge weight off of Philadelphia's shoulders.
• The third aspect of last night's game that should be considered is the pitching of Oliver Perez. It doesn't seem like he will be reverting back to 2004 any time soon. He still has no control and may become a hole in the Mets' rotation. It is still early, so I'm not casting a comeback year totally out of the question. But seven walks is a horrible sign. Anything that leads to a weakness on the Mets team is fine by me.

Tonight's Game
Two aging, veteran, crafty, savvy, calm, controlling, classic, baseball-smart lefties face off in what could be the most boring pitching match-up of all time. Glavine will only throw junk on the corners and will somehow get the calls from the umpire. And Moyer will take 25 minutes to pitch an inning, especially when Jose Reyes is on base. I am looking forward to the game, however, I am not in any way excited about hearing Wheeler talk about these pitchers. All those horribly cliche adjectives I said in the beginning of this paragraph are sure to come out of his mouth throughout the entire game....

"You see Sarge, he just plays the game the right way. He is baseball smart. He is a typical lefty. A veteran. He's all class. He is a dirtball type of player. He has the Phillies' number."




"Yea. Well now you see, what Glavine was trying to do there was pitch the ball to the batter, Ron Howard, and get him to miss the pitch with his bat after he swings at the baseball with it. He throws the ball with his left hand, you see, which puts Howard at a disadvantage. The pitch was pitched by the pitcher and the hitter didn't hit the baseball with the bat...which is just bad hitting. Overall it was a good strategy that worked in the favor of the opposing team."


"Would you guys shut the fuck up." (holds gun to his head) "Hold on Whitey I'm coming."





.
.
.
.
.
Oh, the good old days: