Pat Burrell performed as anticipated last night, stuttering a bit before continuing to display the hottest bat in the Phillies lineup, and arguably in the Major Leagues. Shut down by Chacon for the majority of the game, Pat’s Bat came alive in the 9th against the Astro’s bullpen. Chacon struck out Burrell twice and got him to fly out to his former teammate Micheal Bourn in the bottom of the 5th. Pat looked more like Pedro Cerrano than an MVP candidate up until his 9th inning at bat, but he then would remind us of why some question whether he’s Man or Machine…

In the bottom of the 9th, trailing by 2, Pat tied it up with a 2 run blast to right field against the closer Valverde. Pat drove the ball to the opposite field, a sight rarely seen from Pat in the past, tying him for 2nd in the league in both HR’s and RBI’s and extending his lead in Slugging and OPS. Pat’s recent display of late inning clutch performances is going to start people thinking he stole David Ortiz’s mojo.

Just as impressive as his play is his enthusiasm for his fellow teammates. Pat was one of the first out of the dugout to congratulate Jenkins after scoring, portraying shades of the NL Clinching celebration from last September. We love to see that type of emotion out of Burrell. It’s this passion for the game that convinces us he’s more then just a homerun hitting machine.

Pats Line for last night:

Tonights Matchup:

Pat tonight faces another Houston starter of which he has had little success against. Pat is a career 0-9 against Roy Oswalt with 2 walks and 3 Strikeouts. He hasnt faced oswalt since 2005 however, so here’s hoping he can step up his game. Again we should hope for Oswalt to be out of the game early so that Pat can continue to beat up on the Astro’s bullpen.

As Pat Burrell and the Phillies gear up for a 3 game series at home vs the Houston Astros, we take a quick look back at Pat’s history against Houston Astros.

Pat has done well vs the Astros as a whole, batting .327 in 68 plate appearances but with a 1.005 OPS!

Against tonights starter in particular his stats have been a bit less stellar…. hitting only .143 lifetime against Chacon and a .400 on base percentage.

Our only hope for Pat tonight is for the rest of the team to beat up Chacon and get him out so Burrell can have more shots at the Astros middle relievers, on which he has hit much better (roughly .400 avg).

Go Burrell And Go Phils!

June 8, 2007

Shea Stadium

An MVP moment in Pat Burrell history

It’s a dark New York night.  The Philadelphia Phillies are trying to dig themselves out of their annual losing quagmire. They’re close, but it’s only June and the Phils have a long way to go before even thinking about the playoffs.  Their opponents, however, are a different story.  The New York Mets were riding high atop the National League East.  The playoffs were a given, a guarantee.  Mets fans weren’t worried about a game against lowly Philadelphia.  No, Mets fans were more interested in discussing which New York team has the best third-baseman.

The game was a slow, back-and-forth affair until New York took the lead in the bottom of the sixth.  The 3-2 score carried into the top of the ninth inning when the Mets brought in their perfect closer, Billy Wagner, to shut down the inning and seal the deal.  Billy hadn’t blown a save all season.  In fact, he hadn’t blown a save since the middle of 2006.  The Phils were desperately watching the playoffs slip away and anticipating another autumn of despair.  Then Pat Burrell stepped to the plate.

With a swing of the bat, Pat Burrell turned around Philly’s season.  He gave hope to those who so sorely needed it.  He showed the mighty Mets what it meant to be a champion.  The Phillies went on to win the game and set the foundation in place for a playoff push.  Indeed, with a swing of the bat, Pat Burrell hit one out of the park… and into our hearts. 

Pat’s attack on the MVP prize moved into the Blitzkrieg stage over the weekend. Saturday he went 2-1 at the plate with two walks and Sunday he had two more walks and a sac fly. But it was Pat’s passion in left field that showcased his MVP worthiness. First was his rage induced streak from left field to third base umpire Adrian Johnson after Johnson wrongly declared Mark DeRosa’s long foul ball to left a home run. It was the fastest Pat has looked all season. Next came Pat’s amazing back handed grab in foul territory to end the inning.

Also, has anyone else noticed Pat’s fielding percentage this year? 98 innings, 20 chances, 20 put outs…he’s catching 1000!

Pat Burrell has started off the 2008 campaign hitting like he’s 25 again. Pat has started the season off batting .387 after 10 games with a .774 slugging percentage and a .513 obp.

Pat comes off a huge night in Philly vs the Cubbies. A game in which he recorded 3 RBI’s including a 2 run blast in the 4th to tie up the game on his 4th HR to tie him for 2nd in the league. Burrell’s go ahead RBI off his 6th inning double brought his RBI total to 12, placing him second in the majors.

Pat has shown he is well on his way to winning 1st MVP of his career. We here at Burrellmvp.com will continue to follow Pat the Bats progress on his campaign and will provide summary’s and comments on his play after each game, including editorials and further posts on Pat and his fightin Phils.

Pats line for 4/11/2008:

Pat the Bat will Win MVP! More to come as the site is fleshed out!