Aybar Laughs About Wild 2 Days

SP Benny Aybar endured an old lesson in baseball over the past 2 days: every time you come to the ballpark, you've got a chance to see something new. One day after Aybar failed to record an out en route to allowing 7 of the 11 first-inning runs the Atlanta Mad Dogs used to drub Philadelphia 12-0, Aybar recorded his first save. We sat down with the young, rising star to discuss the improbable set of games in which he recorded very different results.

Philly NewsFlash: First off, thanks for being here.

Benny Aybar: My pleasure, any time.

PNF: Alright, tell us about your start the other day. What goes through a pitcher's mind when he's enduring a start like that? (0.0 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB)

BA: It's so frustrating. Honestly, you take 4 days off between starts and get so revved up to take the ball again, then the whole thing blows up in your face. I have one job on this team and that's to record outs. To exit an outing with 0 outs in the 1st...it's as if I called in sick. No, it's worse than that, because it was 7-0 already. I can't even come up with an analogy for that.

PNF: Who do you feel you let down the most? Manager [Lawrence] McIntyre, or the bullpen?

BA: Oh, the bullpen, definitely. McIntyre just sits in the shade all day...[laughter] But yeah, those guys in the bullpen are so important to us, and they needed a day off. It certainly doesn't increase my stock in McIntyre's eyes to come up lame in a crucial start like that, though.

PNF: Speaking of the bullpen, though, you got a little taste of that yourself, didn't you?

BA: Yeah. [laughter] McIntyre comes up to me the next day and goes, "How's your arm?" I think I'd only thrown 25, 26 pitches the day before. So it felt pretty live. "Get out to the bullpen, then." [laughter] It was a totally new role for me, but honestly I really wanted to get in that next game and get the bitter taste out of my mouth.

PNF: Understandable. You would go on to record the final out of a 5-3 win, notching your first career save and sealing up a series win against a tough NL foe. Was that vengeance enough for the previous day?

BA: Well, I only recorded one out on a handful of pitches, but it still felt good. That save's something I can tell my grandkids about. [laughter] It worked out for the best though. I helped protect some of those arms in the bullpen I tore up the day before, and I'll make my next start easy. So all in all, a pretty good deal I ended up with.

PNF: Well, again, thanks for taking the time out to talk with us. Good luck the rest of the way. Bring the pennant home!

BA: Oh, you know I want one. I'm still a rookie after all.