Pat Burrell found a seat on the bench against hard-throwing right-hander John Smoltz not just because he was 1-for-19 during his career against the veteran, but also because his legs and surgically repaired foot.
"Everyday when he plays, he has some pain in his foot. When he swings on his back leg, and when he has to turn in the outfield," manager Charlie Manuel said about Burrell.
Anyone who has watched Burrell play this season has seen how noticeably slower he is. Like Bob Boone and Johnny Estrada type slow. Burrell was also fitted with new orthodics to go inside of his baseball spikes, and as anyone who has had to wear custom orthodics knows, they can sometimes take a little while to get used to.
Nevertheless, Burrell has been pretty solid at the plate and has solidified the middle of the order to help Manuel break up the lefties with a little more ease. He leads the team with eight homers and 22 RBIs to go with a very solid .400 on-base percentage and a .609 slugging percentage.
Better yet, Burrell has hit lefties at a .305 clip.
"He definitely wants to play. Last year he played through it and knows what it's all about. That's what he's planning on doing this year. Anytime I can give him a blow, that might help him," Manuel said.
Meanwhile, it all works out well for Manuel who gets a chance to give David Dellucci some much-needed playing time. A season ago, the left-handed swinging Dellucci slugged 28 of his 29 homers against righties, so a start against Smoltz makes sense.
It's not exactly the easiest guy to hit against, but Dellucci really needs some action.
"If you expect to get something out of your bench, you have to play them. It's important to get these guys at-bats and keep them as sharp as we can," Manuel said.
How about a wake up call? Manuel's very public airing out of his team in the dugout during the middle of Monday night's game seems to have had a positive affect on the Phillies. Starting with that rant and the skipper's subsequent ejection, the Phillies have become the Comeback Kids by rallying for three straight wins in the late innings.
Coincidence?
"The last two nights, I think we've been playing with more intensity as far as staying in the game," Manuel said. "I'm not a guy who likes to get on players in front of anybody. I like to take them in my office, look him in the eye and tell him exactly what I think, and give them a chance to tell them what I think."
Ready for some football? Here's the trailer for the upcoming movie about former Eagles Vince Papale, starring Mark Wahlberg. Based on emails from friends and Internet chatter, it seems as if Eagles fans will be camping out for tickets.