Becker Preserves Win Streak

The Philadelphia Flash won their 5th game in a row, all on the road, in a seesaw affair against the Washington D.C. Senators today. Richard McMasters, who was told he would split time with Wallace McIntyre at 1B earlier this week, put the Flash up for good in the 7th inning with an RBI double, plating Richard Takada.

Gail Becker, signed earlier this week, collected the win in his debut for Philadelphia. He cleaned up Jose Maduro's mess in the 6th inning and then pitched 2 additional scoreless innings of his own. In accumulating 3 strikeouts and allowing only 1 hit, he became the first non-starter to earn a win on the road trip.

Carl Oliver, tonight's starter, had a second consecutive poor start. He gave up 5 ER over 5.0 innings, ballooning his ERA to 8.04 on the young season. After throwing an unheard of 144 pitches in his first start, he hasn't looked the same since. He's allowed a shocking 30 hits during his 15.2 IP for a 2.30 WHIP.

Luckily the offense has found their stroke on this road trip, getting Oliver off the hook. Amidst their 5-game winning streak, they are averaging 8.2 runs per game, a far cry from the 4.0 runs per game they averaged on the season-opening homestand.

Quick Hits: Henry Wyatt's 0-for-4 performance lowered his batting average to .135...Lyle Herzner, who entered the game as a defensive replacement for Wyatt, hit a solo HR in his only at-bat...William Saitou stole 3 bases in the game, upping his season total to 12.

Gail Becker Added to Pen

The Flash tightened the drawstrings on their bullpen before heading out to San Fransisco by signing 36-year-old left-hander Gail Becker to a 1-year deal worth $312K, a pro-rated amount.

Becker went 3-1 with a 3.30 ERA in 46.1 innings of work last season with Colorado Springs. The Flash are hoping the finesse-styled veteran can be an asset to the bullpen on days Jose Maduro is unavailable. In essence, the secondary Set-Up position will be platooned between Becker and Maduro, as neither is an "every day" type of pitcher.

Xavier Brooks, a promising right-hander, was sent down to AAA to make room for Becker. Brooks did not make an appearance in his 7-game stint with the big league club, but if anyone goes down to injury in the 'pen, he'll be the first call up. And considering the biggest concern with Becker is whether or not he can stay healthy, Brooks may yet make his debut this season.

Opening Week in Review

Here's a quick statistical analysis of the opening homestand, during which Philadelphia accumulated a 4-3 record.

Record: 4-3
NL East Standing: T-1st
Runs per game: 4.0
Runs against per game: 4.7

Wins: Donovan Leiter (SP3), Willie Rodriguez (SP4), Chief Webster (SP5), Duke Monroe (ClA)
Losses: Carl Oliver x2 (SP2), Jose Maduro (SuA)

It was not the opening week the Flash had hoped for, but coming away with the division lead means it's hard to complain too much. Getting shelled in back-to-back games to drop the Charlotte series was deeply upsetting, but Philly now has the San Fransisco punching bag to look forward to. The first road trip of the year this upcoming week is a cross-country affair, with a stop in Washington, D.C. after the Slingers series. Each set is 3 games.

Bullpen, Offense, Cause for Concern?

The sputtering offense may have fans bored when they come to the games, but Sour Surfer says he isn't worried about the poor performance.

"Well, not everyone has an established role on this team yet. The batting order will shuffle a bit once we better see where Hodges and Clontz fit into our plans. McMasters and Wyatt won't bat below the Mendoza line all year, either."

However, the bullpen does have the manager atwitter. With a collective ERA of 5.06 (that jumps to 6.08 without the work of stud closer Duke Monroe), Sour Surfer has expressed concern.

"Relievers are kind of a craps shoot anyway. Unless you've got an all-star, they're all prone to giving up runs. A roster move in the 'pen is not out of the question."

Flash Make Opening Day Dramatic

Perhaps because Louie Dali was left on the mound too long, the Flash needed 3 more outs than they thought they would to win on Opening Day. After Dali pitched to 8 batters in the 1st inning, allowing 2 runs, he faced just 4 over the minimum the rest of the way through the 8th inning.

The Flash had supplied him with a 4-2 lead, and Dali was so fired up about it being Opening Day that he took the mound again in the 9th, trying for the Complete Game. He got Cesar Fernandez to ground out, but then a pair of singles signaled the end of his day.

Coming in to seal the deal was Duke Monroe, last year's league-leader in saves. But he looked uncharacteristically shaky in his first outing of Season 2. He allowed two more singles and a fielder's choice RBI, blowing his first save opportunity even though the runs that scored were Dali's responsibility.

Upset by the missed opportunity to end the game, the Flash got their bats back out and went to work. They put 2 men on with 2 out, and asked newcomer Lefty Hodges to be their Opening Day hero. He answered the call with a single to left center, allowing the Philly faithful to go home happy.

Quick Hits: Campos and Wyatt both blasted their first long balls of the year, Campos' of the 2-run variety...Dali allowed 8 hits over 8.1 innings, struck out 6, and walked 1...Pat Robertson, who played AAA ball last year, had a key PH single in the 9th inning...Michael Staley took the loss for Buffalo.

Flash Win the NL East!...

...well, in terms of Spring Training record, anyway. With a gritty, impressive, come-from-behind win over the Come From Behinders, the Flash secured the NL East's best record in spring ball at 13-5. The entire division should be pleased entering the regular season, as each team finished with a winning record. Even the "worst" team in the division, Washington D.C., finished only 3 games back.

Of course all this means it's now full steam ahead toward the monumental homestand to open the season, in which the Flash greet the Buffalo Hot Wings for 4, and the Charlotte Webs for 3. Jumping out of the gate hot against divisional opponents is something Sour Surfer has stressed to his team ever since the schedule's release.

Rumor Mill

Lineup Shuffle: The media has been abuzz lately, asking about whether or not Jerome Clontz will bat 9th, meaning the pitcher would bat 8th. Sour Surfer has said he has given it some thought, the rationale being that it would reduce Clontz's chance of grounding into double plays, something he seemed to have a penchant for doing in Spring Training.

"If we do it, it will be on a trail basis. We don't want to cripple our offense and put extra strain on our starting rotation. They already do enough for our team."

Starting Rotation: Still no official word on the starting rotation, other than the fact that Willie Rodriguez, the Flash's most expensive pitcher, may slide all the way to the 4th start. Philadelphia loves his ability to eat innings, but his inability to pitch up to the level of his talent has frustrated the higher-ups. With enough strong arms behind him in Louie Dali, Donovan Leiter, and Chief Webster, the move is perhaps not as difficult as Rodriguez's paycheck would make it seem.

"I'm not sure I'll have made the final decision until Opening Day," said Sour Surfer. "But I'm not going to lose sleep over it either, as all of these guys can get the job done."

Mad Dogs Win Small Ball Affair

The Atlanta Mad Dogs are making a statement in Spring Training, and they added a nice exclamation mark to their resume by handling all the Flash could throw at them. In a game featuring no home runs, the Mad Dogs never trailed en route to a 6-3 win.

Chief Webster made a good start for the Flash. He retired the first 9 batters he faced, but allowed a walk, stolen base, and single in the 4th inning for the game's first run. The Flash tied it in the bottom of the 5th, when Saitou plated a run with an RBI groundout. His good fortune didn't last long, however, as he committed an error in the 6th inning that led to 2 Mad Dog runs.

Despite the loss, there were some positives. Newcomer Lefty Hodges had an RBI triple and a stolen base. Both were good signs, as his top-of-the-order speed is going to be needed to set up the power bats in the rest of the order all season long.

First Look at Regulars Proves Promising

Bench coach Lariel Trajano requested to manager Sour Surfer that the team play its starters for its Spring Training games against the Colorado Springs Cricket Club and Atlanta Mad Dogs, two teams considered to be front runners in the NL, just as they were last year.

Though it's bad practice to read too much into one game (most of all a Spring Training game), the starters sure do look like they're in midseason form. Of the 8 positional players, 7 drove in at least one run. The lone exception was leadoff man William Saitou, who made his own contributions by stealing 2 bases and scoring 2 runs.

Add to that the strong start from Donovan Leiter (8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO), and it's pretty easy to see why the Flash brought home such a convincing 11-3 win.

Tomorrow's game is the big one, though, as the Atlanta Mad Dogs come in at 14-1 in Spring Training games. The defending NL Champs look as unstoppable as any team can get, so the added Spring at-bats for the Flash starters may be required simply to keep the game close.

The Philly NewsFlash will have full coverage for just about the only Spring Training game ever worth getting excited for tomorrow morning.

Flash Enjoy Watching Prospect Pitch

Benny Aybar, who many consider to be an essential cog to Philly's starting rotations in years to come, is getting a chance to flash his stuff this spring. Aybar has made 2 starts thus far, both wins, and is expected to make one more before returning to AAA to start the regular season.

Though his ERA is not as low as he'd like (4.15), he possesses a shining 1.08 WHIP and has gone at least 6 innings in each outing. His first start, against the Monterrey Sand Dawgs, was the more impressive of the two. He worked 7 innings in just 78 pitches, striking out 10 and allowing only 2 runs. The one sore spot thus far for Aybar has been the long ball: 3 allowed in his 2 outings.

While he likely won't see much playing time this season unless 2 key starters fall to injury, Aybar is just another reason Flash fans should be excited.

Soursurfer Reveals Lineup Card

At the halfway point of Spring Training, manager Soursurfer revealed his ideal batting order for the regular season today, barring injury.

1 - (R) William Saitou, 2B
.282 AVG, .371 OBP, 5 HR, 46 RBI, 104 SB
-> Everyone knows what Saitou's mindset is offensively. Get on anyway possible, then steal and steal some more. Saitou is a pretty good table-setter, and those 104 stolen bases puts him in a class of his own.

2 - (L) Lefty Hodges, RF
.314 AVG, .384 OBP, 8 HR, 58 RBI, 57 SB
-> More speed at the top of the order. He's not here to replace Al Ward, that much is clear. But, none of the Flash regulars hit more than .300 last year, so that stat alone is an improvement in some sense. This also allows Campos to hit in a more premiere position, vacated by Ward.

3 - (R) Willie Campos, CF
.294 AVG, .368 OBP, 25 HR, 112 RBI, 22 SB
-> It's hard to remember Campos is only 27 years old. His plate discipline and run-production are going to be key for this team, as he and 25-year-old Richard Takada will try to give the intimidating starting rotation enough offense to work with.

4 - (L) Richard Takada, SS
.272 AVG, .355 OBP, 44 HR, 126 RBI, 0 SB
-> This Japanese import gives Philly a luxury few other teams have: eye-popping offensive production out of the short stop position. The scary thing is, at 25 years of age, he's destined for even bigger things. Now that he'll be batting clean up all year, he expects an even bigger year in terms of RBIs.

5 - (R) Ramon Martin, 3B
.272 AVG, .351 OBP, 57 HR, 135 RBI, 0 SB
-> From the same city as Takada, and with eerily similar numbers from a year ago. He begins a string of power hitters in the back half of Philadelphia's order.

6 - (L) Richard McMasters, 1B
.252 AVG, .325 OBP, 48 HR, 100 RBI, 0 SB
-> Part of the home run quartet of a year ago, McMasters will bat from the 6-hole this year, a key spot in the order, and one that McMasters is certainly not guaranteed to hold on to.

7 - (L) Henry Wyatt, C
.260 AVG, .338 OBP, 44 HR, 100 RBI, 0 SB
-> Another young stud, Wyatt ends the alternating of left- and right-handers in the Philly lineup. He cooled off toward the end of last year, as young players are prone to do, so hopefully having that year of experience under his belt will keep him hot year round this time.

8 - (S) Jerome Clontz, LF
.259 AVG, .303 OBP, 43 HR, 98 RBI, 0 SB
-> Nothing but a big stick at the back of the order. He may not hit for average, but hey, that's Flash baseball. Besides, 43 HRs out of the 8-spot has gotta count for something.

No word on the starting rotation yet, Soursurfer says not to hold your breath if you were waiting for it to be revealed.