All Things Bubba

June 19, 2006: Philadelphia 4, N.Y. Yankees 2

At long last, Bubba got a start last night. I was really surprised; I thought he'd be riding pine until the NL games were over.

Unfortunately, he didn't do much with the opportunity he was given (unless you count nailing the umpire in the cup with a foul ball). I had a feeling Bubba might be a bit rusty, not getting an AB since Thursday. And the Phillies pitcher, Brett Myers, was on his game and pitched extremely well. He had a sharp breaking ball that buckled batters' knees or had them swinging at air. Bubba struck out twice, then grounded out. It was sort of a productive out; he moved Cano over. Probably would have been a DP, except Bubba's speed made the fielder nervous.

Randy Johnson was the next batter, and he almost got a single and brought Cano home, but was robbed by the Phillies second baseman.

Bernie pinch-hit for Bubba his next time up...and hacked at the first pitch, grounding out weakly to 2B.

Melky Cabrera was 0-for-5 for the night, and is now hitting .169 for the month of June.

Joe said Melky's swing is "getting a little long" and that he thinks he could use a rest. People are beginning to talk about sending Melky back to Columbus to mature more.

This could have been a golden opportunity for Bubba, if he'd hit, but he didn't, so Joe is starting Kevin Reese in LF tonight. Bernie's in right; Bubba's on the bench.

Sigh. Poor Bubba just can't catch a break.

I wish Joe would give Bubba the same chance he gave Melky. If he got a chance to play every day, he'd hit.