Sports: Baseball: Phillies launch baseball season with 5 wins out of 7 games

The 2005 baseball season is looking really great for a Phillies fan like myself. Besides the 5 wins out of 7 games played, a good-go streak to be sure, there's that impressive win yesterday due in good part to the pitching of Cory Lidle (on whom the Phillies "bestowed a 2-year, $6.3 million contract extension after last season, despite the myriads of Naysayers"). Lidle opened lots of negative eyes yesterday when he had "a 99-pitch complete game over Baltimore," holding "the American League's best hitting team to six hits" in the Phillies 7-2 win in Baltimore's own Oriole Park at Camden Yards. So far this season, Lidle is "4-3 with a 3.75 earned run average," according to the Philadelphia Daily News sportswriter, Paul Hagen.

Also watch lead-off hitter, shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Lead-off hitting allows things to start well just by getting the player on first base. Then the second hitter has a chance to drive his predecessor forward, and even if the first guy gets bonked out between first and second, it keeps things busy for the opposing team's basemen, the shortstop, and the pitcher. So, at minimum, if there's any run at all, with someone again on first, your team has a similar chance to where you started. But, if your second hitter does better than a mere 1-base run, then you get a man each on second and third; with a 3-base run, a you get a man into homeplate and one onto third base. That's the math of the strategy of picking very wisely your lead-off hitter and I follow Hagen in saying these stats for Rollins warrant our keeping him in view when the game starts: "Over the last two seasons, the Phillies are 69-37 (.651) when he scores at least one run, and [only!] 33-58 (.363) when he doesn't."
Go figure!

Oh yeah, I've got some affinity for the Toronto Blue Jays too!- Owlb

Tonite & next 6 games: any momentum?