If Anything, Don't Stand Pat

To clear up any speculation of bias, we at Phillyist absolutely love the Phillies. Pat Burrell? Not so much.

After reading enough recap articles about Phillies games, you might notice that Pat Burrell’s name is frequently preceded by an ‘until,’ or ‘but,’ followed by a phrase similar to “deflating effort.” And if you’ve seen “Pat the Bat (on his shoulders)” up with two strikes, ‘but’ is only one letter short from what you’ll usually see out of him.

In yesterday’s 11-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phillies briefly had a chance to take control of the game. When they were down 5-1 in the seventh inning, Chase Utley doubled in two runs, bringing the game to a 5-3 score, and swinging the momentum in the Phillies’ favor. With one out and a man in scoring position, it felt like those Fightin’ Phils were going to live up to the name. Enter Pat Burrell.

You'd think there might be some chance of redemption in a month where Burrell saw his batting average diminish from .280 to .225 (May isn’t quite over yet). But ‘redemption’ and ‘Burrell’ go together like ‘Phillies bullpen’ and ‘elite.’ With two strikes, and a backwards K waiting to happen, Burrell defied the odds and made contact. He grounded into a 5-3 double play, effectively ending the inning.

Burrell must accept blame for his own failures. But his impact on the outcome of a game has to be cushioned. Charlie Manuel has stuck with players who have struggled throughout the year. If not for that, we wouldn't have Adam Eaton or Greg Dobbs making huge contributions to the club. But why is someone hitting anywhere close to .225 batting fifth?

Manuel wants to balance his lineup with left- and right-handers batting consecutively, but with Aaron Rowand having a career year offensively, there are questions and options to be pondered. With Ryan Howard back and healthy, the door is more open than ever to move Burrell down in the lineup and Rowand and Dobbs into the meat of the lineup.

Burrell should be played frequently, but time split with Jason Werth could pay dividends for everyone. Baseball is a game of “what have you done for me lately.” Now’s the time for the lineup card to reflect that - not how much someone’s confidence would suffer if they batted seventh.

Image Credit: Flickr user sfink16