Hearts and prayers go out to Davey Lopes, ex-Dodger and current first base coach with the Phillies. The Phillies announced yesterday that a routine exam in spring training had revealed prostrate cancer. Lopes will have an operation later this month and is expected to be back with the team after a 6-week recovery. Get well and hurry on back, Davey! You are the best at 1st! And a cool old-school baseball dude!
Under Davey Lopes, a master of the steal, the Phillies last year recorded a 89.7 per cent success rate for stolen bases. That's a major league record. Ex-pitching coach Joe Kerrigan was on TV yesterday, wearing some heavy-duty Buddy Holly glasses and putting out some different numbers. Kerrigan had been breaking down the Phillies hitting and found that last year the team offered at the first pitch only 20 per cent of the time. Comcast then posted some awesome numbers for 2007. With the count 1-0, as a team the Phillies hit .390, at 2-0, .358, at 2-1, .355, and at 3-1, .392. Credit was given to hitting coach Milt Thompson and to those players, not all, who had bought into his teaching. Hope they're buying this year, too.
Seeing Kerrigan made me think about others not yet in the game. Pitching guru Leo Mazzone was on the radio the other day talking about being at home, ordering the MLB package on TV and waiting for a call. Barry Bonds' agent is touting his client. Mike Piazza is pondering retirement. Kyle Lohse and his agent seem to have lowered their financial expectations, as perhaps have Eric Milton, Jose Mesa, and a handful of other pitchers out there still looking for a team.
