I don't think anyone expected that! How about 8 shutout innings in a small ball park against the defending World Series Champion Phillies! And it was the real line-up too: Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, Werth, Ibanez. How many all-stars and/or MVP's are in that batting order? Penny looked comfortable, and was surprisingly NOT rusty at all, throwing an easy 94 MPH as late as the 8th-inning. His last start for Boston was August 21st when he allowed 8 earned runs to the Yankees in just four innings of work. Wednesday, it was some timely double plays, good defense, and plenty of composure from a 10-year vet. This was A BIT of an upgrade over Joe Martinez and Ryan Sadowski. (By the way, sorry to see the team designate the "Big Sadowski" for assignment - we barely knew you.
Back to the present...Penny had all of his pitches, fiddled with the curve ball to steal a few strikes here and there. Good slider and very well placed fast ball at varying speeds. The line on Penny: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 BB and 2 K's in just over a hundred pitches thrown. He struck out Victorino on a down-and-in 97 MPH "see ya" fastball early in the game. I think he got the Phillies attention with that pitch, and another called strike three on Ryan Howard - but Howard strikes out so much that his teammates must be numb to it by now and just look at the positives (37 homers and 112 ribbies). I also like Penny's attitude on the mound. Can we call him a "red ass" and mean that in a good way? He has maturity, has pitched in big games, AND HE CAN'T WAIT TO PITCH AGAINST HIS OLD TEAM THE DODGERS, YES!...
As surprising as Penny's debut, how about back-to-back jacks to provide some comfort for the big man? Juan Uribe and Aaron Rowand both went deep -- Rowand had a big year with Philly in '07 with 27 homers, 89 RBI's, and 105 runs scored -- it must have felt good to unload one (his 13th on the year, matching his total for all of '08 with S.F.). Uribe was on base four times with three hits and a walk, and has played very well in place of the "MIA" Freddy Sanchez. Sanchez has finally begun a minor-league rehab assignment, and should be back around Labor Day.
