Chooch, You are the Man! Sure there were other contenders, Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, maybe even Shane Victorino, but you stand out. While being brilliant behind the plate as always, you’ve found the time to be red hot at the plate. After having a great post season last year, I guess batting .625 against the Dodgers this NLCS is the start of your encore performance. So far you’ve topped it off by recording the final out Sunday night in true Chooch fashion, in foul territory reaching into the Phils dugout.
Carlos you play true Philly style ball. You have helped lead Phils starters to great starts virtually the entire playoffs. Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Pedro all showed great stuff, but you were calling the games. Contributing a little from the 8 hole would be a pleasant surprise, in fact if given the chance most managers would be thrilled with average production. However, you’ve shown you want to shine under the big lights of Post Season Baseball. It’s true the Phils are filled with superstars, but your role is never over looked, and you haven’t allowed it to be these Playoffs.
When you take a look at Chooch’s numbers, they really speak for themselves.
AB: 8
Hits: 5
HR: 1
RBI: 4
AVG: .625
SO: 0
BB: 3
SB: 1
SLG. 1. 125
OBP: .727
Not to be forgotten is how clutch Ryan Howard has been lately. He showed it yet again in the first Inning of Sunday nights Game 3 against the Dodgers at CBP with a two run double. When Howard is going like he’s going now, batting .400, it makes the rest of the vaunted Phillies offense that much tougher to contain. What really brings it all together is the production from Carlos Ruiz out of the 8 hole. Howard and the others aside, if Chooch is putting up the kind of production he is now, the job of containing this offense becomes nearly impossible.
So you see, there were plenty of other worthy choices for “You are the Man!” this week, but Chooch takes it. Looking at things objectively, Carlos Ruiz means an awful lot to this team. Being known for his steadiness during the regular season, Chooch seems to turn it up a notch during the Post Season, and believe me that suits the Phils just fine.
-Mike Santa Barbara
*** Follow me on Twitter @Mike__SB ***
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