Phils Lose Opener, 4-1

Those gold-tinged uniforms are to blame for the Phillies' 4-1 Opening Night loss to Atlanta. The Baseball Gods do not look kindly upon hubris and/or unbalanced lineups, and have been known to smite those who transgress with unsightly BABIPs. Of course, a superb performance by Braves starter Derek Lowe may also have been a factor in the Phillies' loss.

Lowe held the Phils to only a pair of hits over eight scoreless innings. The Phillies showed some life in the bottom of the ninth, bringing the tying run to the plate against Braves closer Mike Gonzalez. But the southpaw closer herked-and-jerked his way through the lefty-friendly heart of the Phillies order, retiring Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez on strikes to end the threat. (Ibanez did have an .866 OPS against LHP in 2008, but, if you happen to be one of those people who think 1270 ABs is a better sample size than 197 ABs, his lifetime OPS against LHP is only .733. Howard has now managed 288 K's in 713 AB against LHP, which is depressingly impressive.)
The Phillies' 3-7 hitters went a combined 0 for 17 on the night, which is not exactly a recipe for success. At least not in games not started by Cole Hamels.

Contract-Year Brett Myers' performance was almost a microcosm of last season. He started the defense of his 2008 Most HR Allowed in the First Inning Title by allowing a HR to Braves C Brian McCann in the opening frame. The now-lean Myers struggled with his command and velocity, and didn't seem to trust the game plan for facing the Braves' bats, shaking off C Carlos Ruiz' pitch calls numerous times early in the game. In the second inning, Myers allowed another HR, to Braves OF Jeff Francoeur. (If you missed the game, Francoeur has a new batting stance this season. However, if you tuned into the ESPN broadcast, at any point in the game, for more than four seconds, you are likely aware.)
Also in the second inning, Atlanta rookie OF Jordan Schafer homered in his first MLB AB, joining Phillies greats Bill Duggleby, Ed Sanicki, and Ricky Jordan in the exclusive club. (ESPN announcer Jon Miller celebrated Schafer's accomplishment by referring to him as "Logan" Schafer throughout the night.)
After the inning, and, possibly, threats of an encore of his 2008 AAA Excursion, Myers settled down, holding the Braves scoreless for the next four innings. But the Phillies' absent offense was unable to make up the early 4-1 deficit.

New Phillies reliever Jack Taschner made his long-awaited regular season debut for the club in the seventh. While Taschner's community service stats are quite impressive, his lifetime 4.26 FIP is somewhat less so. Taschner did well, pitching a scoreless, hitless inning. Taschner has had some difficulties when facing right-handed and left-handed batters throughout his career, but if he could just get a handle on those issues, he might stick around long enough to appear in the reality show on the Phillies' bullpen. He probably should wait a bit before springing for some new outfits, though.

Philadelphia will send Jamie Moyer to the mound Tuesday night, as they attempt to pick up their first 2009 win, as well as improve their .129 team batting average. When the Phillies win the final 2009 game that counts (the final World Series game, if that wasn't clear), Opening Night will be forgotten. Except, maybe, as an anecdote in "Logan" Schafer's Cooperstown speech.