A Close One

The decision to carry only 4 outfielders was justified a bit more tonight. Placido Polanco made his first career start in left field tonight in place of the injured Pat Burrell. So while Burrell and Lofton were both nursed leg injuries, the Phillies outfield read Polanco-Michaels-Abreu (and their boxscore read 3 for 14). But it was a division win against a team they should beat. The decision to bring in Wagner, as always, was a good one. His inning and a third was the best pitching in the game, despite earning the 5-4 save with a man on third. Tomorrow the Phils look to take further advantage of my lucky presence as ace Jon Lieber takes the mound opposite the Nats John Patterson. They need to get hot for their weekend series home against the Marlins.

P.S. Watch how shallow David Bell and the rest of the team plays against Christian Guzman. It’s embarassing.