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-- At .402, Todd Helton’s batting average is the highest among all players vs. the Phillies since the franchise began in 1883, according to the Colorado pregame notes. During his career, Helton has hit .402 (96-for-239) with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs against the Phils, hitting safely in 57 of 68 games.
-- Mark Redman (2-1, 4.60 ERA) may be a mediocre commodity, but the Phillies lineup hasn’t had a whole lot of success against him. Pat Burrell is the only Phillies' hitter who's taken him deep, but overall he’s just 4-for19 against Redman. Ryan Howard is 0-for-5. Pedro Feliz is 1-for-12. Geoff Jenkins is 3-for-19 with eight strikeouts. Nevertheless, the Phils faced Redman once last season – when he was with Atlanta – and he was downright awful. The Braves released him soon after.
-- The Phillies were 3-4 against the Rockies in regular-season play and obviously 0-3 in the playoffs. Kyle Kendrick was part of a very ugly 12-0 loss last season in which he was knocked out of the game early after taking a line drive off the knee. With Kendrick down, it was arguably the lowest point of the season for the Phils, looking as though the season was lost. Then the Mets started losing.
Helton is undoubtedly a Phillie-killer, but he's off to a relatively slow start this season. In any case, you have to expect a lot of runs in that open outfield.
Posted by: Sophist | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 07:30 PM
Well, nothing like the Phils rolling into town to get Helton out of his slump!
Posted by: Mike | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 08:01 PM
One non-move that appears to be paying off is not giving a long-term deal to Tadahito Iguchi to play third base. He's off to a horrible start.
Posted by: J. Weitzel | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 08:05 PM
True, Mike. The Rockies also haven't had a home game since the 9th, I think.
Posted by: Sophist | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 08:05 PM
Tad is 0 for his last 21, although he has been walked 7 times in that period (spanning 6 games.)
Posted by: Sophist | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 08:10 PM
Helton always seems to hit well against this team. Definitely on the short list of "Phillies-killers."
I don't care if the Phils hitters haven't really had a track record of success against Redman. He used to be a serviceable starter three or four years ago but those days are lone gone. He is the classic definition of a "stiff."
If the Phils get shutdown by him tonight, it won't be because Redman is making good pitches. It will be a lot of swinging at garbage out of the zone and first-pitches.
Posted by: MG | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 08:13 PM
I'm feelin' a Jenkins HR tonight.
Posted by: NCPhilly81 | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 08:13 PM
Atlanta looking good to win their 5th straight. Their actual record looks nothing like a team that has out-scored their opponents by 31 already (and is already up by 6 tonight.)
Posted by: Sophist | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 08:16 PM
Marty Biron looking reaaal good tonight.
Posted by: NCPhilly81 | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 08:18 PM
Atlanta looking good to win their 5th straight. Their actual record looks nothing like a team that has out-scored their opponents by 31 already (and is already up by 6 tonight.)
surprising stat: Braves are 0-7 in one-run games.
Posted by: ae | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 08:19 PM
That's odd; their key bullpen guys seem to be pitching well.
Posted by: Tray | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 08:23 PM
haha bruntley
Posted by: NCPhilly81 | Monday, April 21, 2008 at 08:47 PM
unrelated note. ive recently moved to yokohama japan and get this. their team moto on all their adds for this season is "baystars 08, move on!" its even more amazing when you consider the fact that they are the worst team in japan.
Posted by: mayornutter | Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 09:05 AM