Good to be home

Man, I figured I would always be able to think of something to write about in these italicized unrelated introductions, since they're not limited to baseball. I guess I was wrong...

Just like Mr. Ozzie Smith told that high school auditorium full of fans in Cooperstown, "It's all about timing."

It didn't matter that Jimmy Rollins was hitless in his first eight at-bats since coming off the DL. The only important thing is what took place in his crucial ninth trip to the plate tonight with his team down a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to the Cleveland Indians.

First of all, the Phillies are lucky that with a runner at first and nobody out, pinch-hitter Ben Francisco's ground ball didn't result in a double play. That left the tying run on base and gave J-Roll a chance to be a hero.

And I don't think I've ever seen Jimmy hit a ball that hard. All I can say is thank goodness it stayed fair.

It was the first walk-off blast of Rollins' long career, and the Wizard of Oz was sure on to something when he talked about timing. To get a big hit like that just after returning to the club provided his teammates with a glaring example of why he's so vital to their success. J-Roll not only came through in the clutch but also right after committing an error that allowed the go-ahead run to score a half-inning earlier. Maybe the presence of Rollins really can help the Phillies get back on track, or at least not dwell so much on how far they've fallen in recent weeks.

Before I move on to my next topic, I must mention how I "saw" J-Roll's shot. With no access to the live game, I was watching it using Gameday on mlb.com. It's a three-dimensional simulation of the live game, showing the trajectory, speed and break of each pitch right after its thrown. Despite Indians closer Kerry Wood's great difficulty with staying healthy during his career, it was impressive to see that his fastball was still reaching the mid-to-upper 90s.

It's also impressive that no matter how hard a ball is thrown, if it's right down the middle, a professional hitter will crush the hell out of it. Wood's 1-1 fastball to Rollins clocked in at 95 miles per hour, but he could not have hit the center of the strike zone so precisely again if he tried, and Jimmy knew exactly what to do with it. The hit reminded me of J-Roll's walk-off triple in Game 4 of last year's NLCS off Dodgers closer Jonahtan Broxton. That fastball was thrown at 99 mph.

Tonight's win gave the Phillies their sixth win in their last nine games, believe it or not, and many of those games have been against the best teams in the AL. With four Interleague games left, Philly already has more wins than it did in IP last year and in 2008.

The victory also guaranteed the Phils a home series win, something they haven't pulled off since taking two out of three at home against the Braves May 7-9 (it was also their first Interleague home series win in three years). This is the second time I'm referencing the 1997 Phillies since starting this blog, and I hope it's the last. That was the last time Philadelphia played six straight home series without winning one of them. It's a good thing they've thrown in a few road series wins or else they'd need binoculars to catch a glimpse of first place in the East.

Dramatic victories are always fun for a team and after the Phillies' only other walk-off win on May 4, they won nine of their next 11. If that's what's in store for them in the next two weeks, it's going to be a relaxing All-Star Break.

Wake me when it's the All-Star Break

As far as I'm concerned, my word is absolute law when I say that "Cause and Effect" is the best episode of Star Trek the Next Generation. None of you could dare debate me on such a concrete fact because you have no clue what the hell I'm talking about.

"Just get on with the blog, you big Trekkie dork!"

Very well, Number One. Engage...

I'd feel worse about tonight's pathetic loss if Josh Johnson wasn't on my Fantasy Team. That performance may have just propelled me out of second-to-last place. With Interleague Play upon us, that just may be where the Phillies are heading.

Consider that since 2004, the Phillies have managed a .500 record in Interleague Play just once (8-7 in 2007). They've played particularly poorly against the AL during the regular season recently. In 2008 and 2009 combined, only the San Diego Padres (8-23) had a worse Interleague record than the Phils (10-23). Their three-game set with Boston last month was the beginning of this present breadown, which leaves little room for optimism about the next few weeks.

As recent All-Star Games and World Series have further proved, the AL generally dominates the NL in head-to-head matchups (that's a topic I'll explore in greater detail as the Mid-Summer Classic draws closer). Sub-par teams like the A's and Orioles are beating up on solid clubs like the Giants and Braves.

Looking at Philly's upcoming series, it has to get through New York, Boston and Minnesota before even seeing a sub-.500 AL team (Cleveland). Given that daunting challenge, it's hard to see a road series against the Blue Jays getting moved to Philadelphia as an advantage.

The past month, the Phils have traveled down a path marred with potholes and speed bumps, and now it looks like they're going to crash through the final warning sign and drive right off the cliff (or dare I say, their starship's warp core is about to breech). They haven't been hitting against pitchers they're familiar with, so what happens when they face a bunch of arms they don't usually see?

My only hope is that the two players who recently joined the team after spending significant time in the AL, Roy Halladay and Placido Polanco, can somehow lend some advice and guide them through the rough seas ahead. The duo presently represents the best pictcher and hitter on the team, respetively, so they better start doing some talking. Getting Jimmy Rollins and J.A. Happ back as well wouldn't hurt.