Good weekend for the phils, taking 2 of 3 games against the giants.

A good weekend for Burrell as well as he put up 4 RBI’s, 1 Home Run and 2 Doubles. Burrell has continued his hot start of the season into May. With the type of numbers he’s putting up he’s a shoe in for the All-Star game, the first step on his road to his MVP trophy. Make sure you click the link at the top of the page, to vote for Burrell for this years All-Star game.

Phils Vs. Diamondbacks Burrell Preview:

This week Pat and the Phils take on the Arizona D-Backs with some of the hottest arms in the majors. Pat has a .185 average against the DBacks lifetime. He has not faced Monday’s starting pitcher Max Scherzer, but he has faced Randy Johnson, tuesday’s starter, 26 times with a HR and 3 RBI’s. Pat has struck out 12 times to Johnson with a career batting avg of .211 against him. He has not fared much better against Wednesday’s starter, Micah Owings, with only 1 walk and 0 hits in 6 plate appearances against him.

Hopefully Pat’s rebirth at the plate over the past year or so will change his fate against the D-Backs this week.

With those words, the greatest announcer of the greatest game, gave the call of yet another Pat Burrell game winning Home Run. Pat battled San Francisco’s hard throwing Brian Wilson (not the Beach Boy) who regularly hit the upper 90’s on the radar gun, to a full count after jumping ahead 3-0. Pat who was given the green light, took 2 ferocious cuts at the 4th and 5th straight fastball of the at bat, and then took the 6th pitch, also a fastball, deep into the left field bleachers.

Pat, ever the modest one… gave credit to his fellow mvp candidate Chase Utley, “it dosent happen if Chase dosent get on base”.

Yet Pat said it all in his post game comments.. “I was letting it rip man…”.

Yes Pat.. you were letting it rip.. and you’ve been doing so all season. Keep it up man.

Sorry for the break in posting. It’s been a quiet weekend on the Burrell Front. Burrell has ratcheted down his production for the end of april, as he prefers to allow his teammates the spotlight on weekend games. But he came back full force last night with a game tying double to help the phils overtake the rubber match vs the padres and move into 1st place in the NL East.

We here at burrellmvp.com liken Burrell to a cobra.. coiling and biding his time before striking at the throat of the MVP trophy competition and put it down for the count.

On his road to excellence this season, Pat has made a strong case in a fantastic April for his first All Star appearance. So make sure you Vote For Pat for the all star game!

Quick Update on Burrell and the Phils… playing padres tonite at CBP. More to come after the game.

Plus All Star Balloting has begun for the 2008 season.. Burrell is a leading favorite to start left field at the mid-summer classic.. Vote Today!

All Star Ballot

Pat the Bat put in another stellar performance this afternoon in an early game vs the Brewers as the Phils split the series in Milwaukee.

Burrell hit a game winning double which drove in 2 RBI’s to break a 1-1 tie in the 8th inning.

This increased Burrell’s commanding lead in RBI’s to 25 passing Von Hayes for the Phillies franchise record in RBI’s in the month of April.

Pat also picked up an Outfield assist in the game, throwing out Corey Hart (not the 80’s heartthrob) at 3rd.

This spring training the Phillies sported T-Shirts featuring this portrait of Pat Burrell with the caption ‘Man or Machine?’. On the back was the phrase “WINNING STARTS NOW.”

Could this T-Shirt be foreshadowing to Pat’s MVP Trophy or an attempt at a career move at the end of the season? You be the judge.

If the half naked men T-Shirt strategies could work for Burrel then perhaps Howard, Bruntlett, and even Charlie Manuel should all get to stripping in the clubhouse.

After a stirring finish to last nights game (read colin’s post from last night if you havnt yet… poetic burrell brilliance) Pat and the Fightins’ take on the Brewers in the first game of a short 2 game series in Milwaukee . Pitching for the brew crew is David Bush, who has taken a beating from Pat in the past.

Burrell is hittig .429 off Bush in 8 plate appearances with a 2 Home Runs and 4 RBI’s. Bush’s 6.23 ERA against the Phils bodes well for the ball club.

Pat has hit 7 HR’s against the Brewers with a 1.037 OPS lifetime. Expect Pat to continue his tear against this team.

Winning an MVP award takes supreme talent, unwavering focus, and the will to be the best.  But it also takes something else.  It takes sacrifice.  Pat Burrell, clearly the favorite for the 2008 NL MVP, won’t hesitate to make sacrifices for the betterment of the team.  He won’t think twice about doing whatever necessary to help his teammates.  To prove the point, consider this:

You’ve probably heard the silly rumor that Pat Burrell is taken out of late-inning Phils-led games because he’s a defensive liability.  This ludicrous assumption couldn’t be farther from the truth.  In fact, Pat removes himself from the game, when he decides he’s ready, to let seldom used bench players experience the thrill of playing left field.  It is the talent, focus, and will that make Pat Burrell a great player.  It is the sacrifices that make Pat Burrell a hero.

Recently, Pat made his biggest sacrifice yet on his journey to NL MVP.  Last week, in an effort to promote teamwork and unity, Pat Burrell generously offered Chase Utley the opportunity to carry the MVP torch.  Utley graciously accepted and immediately turned in the best performance of his career by hitting a home run in five straight games.  However, he knew that he was not meant to carry the torch, not this year, not just yet.  Chase Utley would soon pass the torch back to its rightful keeper.

Tuesday night, April 22, with the Phillies down 6 - 5 in the top of the ninth, Pat Burrell hit what would be a game-winning bases-clearing double.  The crack of his bat was an explosive reminder that we are watching something special.  We are witnessing Pat Burrell present his strong case to the most harsh judgements of sports writers.  We are watching Pat Burrell fight through the 2008 season with the MVP torch held high.

                                     Jamie Moyer
                         What are you doin’ there, Pat?

                                     Pat Burrell
                         Bats. They are sick.

                                     Ryan Howard
                         So are mine. Is somethin’ goin’
                         around?

                                     Pat Burrell
                         No hit curve ball. Straight ball,
                         hit it very much. Curve ball, bats
                         are afraid. I ask Jo-Buu to come.
                         Take fear from bats.

                                     Chase Utley
                         Jo-Buu?

                                     Ryan Howard
                         Maybe he’s the pagan saint of
                         baseball.

                                     Pat Burrell
                         I offer him cigars and gin. He will
                         come.

                                     Jamie Moyer
                         I wouldn’t leave this gin sittin’
                         around out here with this group.

                                     Pat Burrell
                         Is very bad to steal Jo-Buu’s gin.
                         Is very bad.

Looks like the whole team has been stealing Jo-Buu’s gin.  Pat went 0-4 with a walk in yesterday’s loss, and is 1-8 against the Mets during this series.  Howard is 0-9. Don’t worry, Jo-Buu will come around and the Phils bats will get well once the Mets leave town today.

On a beautiful day in beautiful South Philly, Burrell and the boys took the rubber game against the ‘Stros with a 10-2 smack down. Burrell’s MVP swagger proved to be contagious as Brett Myeres went for 7 strong innings, striking out 8 and only allowing 1 earned run. In honor of Houston’s namesake, the Phils turned Citizen’s Bank Park into a launching pad as they sent 4 balls into orbit.

Burrell went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs, a walk, and a home run. Burrell looked to be saying “anything you can do, I can do better” as Burrell’s HR followed Ryan Howard’s as they went back to back in the 6th off of Oscar Villareal. Burrell’s home run was actually an elevator shaft pop-up, but the ball went so high that is surpassed the elevation of Sputnik, the ball then waited for the earth to rotate and then re-entered earth’s atmosphere, landing in the left field seats.

In English, Oscar’s last name means “real house”. In two innings pitched he gave up three hits, two of them being home runs, it is safe to say Oscar, and the rest of the Astros, got really housed in the city of brotherly love.

Burrell is 7th in average, 3rd in On Base Percentage, 3rd in RBIs, and 1st in HRs and slugging. Last time a Phil was first in slugging was Brett Myers on a street corner in Boston two seasons ago. Remember, hugs are better than slugs.

Pats Line for last night:

Time to Meet the Mets!