The Branyan Era Begins

(originally posted 8/10/07)
Things were very different on the first of September in 2006. Male pandas weren't giving birth. The musical excellence of Speaking to Stones was not yet common knowledge. Chocolate milk was within the financial grasp of middle class bloggers. The Phillies were in the midst of making an acquisition that would shock the baseball world, and bring their National League opponents to their knees.

Before the memorable Phillies playoff run of 2006, Randall Simon was best known for his batting prowess when facing mascots. Pat Gillick acquired Simon from the Texas Rangers for the pocket change he had left over after lunch at McFadden's. Simon rewarded the Phillies with a downright Milletian combo of a .238 batting average and a .238 slugging percentage. Without that level of production, the Phillies would not have finished as close to the playoffs as they did.

Pat Gillick made another Simonesque move when he acquired Russell Oles Branyan this week. Branyan doesn't mess around with things like "singles" and "fly outs" and other stuff. When he goes up to the plate, he's going up there to whiff, walk, or hit the ball out of the plate. None of that other nonsense. More than 50% of his plate appearances result in one of those three outcomes. With Branyan and Abraham Orlando Nunez both available as options coming off the Phillies bench, Manager Charlie Manuel can't go wrong. Their presence will create many late inning matchup problems for those teams unfortunate enough to face the Phillies.

The Phillies failed in their attempt to sweep the Marlins, losing the finale of their three game series, 4-2. A more fortuitous bounce on a Wes Helms ground-rule double, or a better choice of an entrance song by Brett Myers, and the result could have been very different. Why Myers didn't enter to KC and the Sunshine Band, after utilizing it the night before to incredible (3 Ks!) effect, remains a question even today. The Phillies have a crucial series against the Atlanta Braves this weekend, and desperately need to get Myers' entrance music sorted out. But now that the Branyan Era has started in Philly, good fortune is not something that the Phillies need to worry about anymore. Russell Oles Branyan is THAT good. And it doesn't hurt to have Colbert Michael Hamels on the mound tonight.