Roy Oswalt in left field batting clean up

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

I watched the Astros/Phillies game last night to the 13th inning and decided it was time to call it a night. Because of that I missed the wild finish.

In the 16th, because of the long game, some ejections, and the fact that the Phillies were running out of players, Roy Oswalt was asked to come in and play left field and, incidentally, ended up batting 4th.

Apparently, the crowd, what was left of them in this 5+ hour marathon, began chanting Oswalt's name. He made the only play he had in the field and then batted, yielding the final out of the "morning."

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/...to_Astros.html

[David Troxler]

He came in after Ryan Howard was ejected for arguing a check-swing call on his 5th strike out of the night in the 14th inning. Howard went 0-7 for the game.

[Shea Zellweger]

I watched the Astros/Phillies game last night to the 13th inning and decided it was time to call it a night. Because of that I missed the wild finish.

In the 16th, because of the long game, some ejections, and the fact that the Phillies were running out of players, Roy Oswalt was asked to come in and play left field and, incidentally, ended up batting 4th.

Apparently, the crowd, what was left of them in this 5+ hour marathon, began chanting Oswalt's name. He made the only play he had in the field and then batted, yielding the final out of the "morning."

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/...to_Astros.html

He also tracked a foul ball up to the fence and looked like he was going to make an attempt on the play if it was in reach

He came in after Ryan Howard was ejected for arguing a check-swing call on his 5th strike out of the night in the 14th inning. Howard went 0-7 for the game.

yeah... that call was pretty bogus. Not the check swing part, but the ejection part. Howard threw his bat in frustration after the strikeout, and the ump tossed him for "arguing." That may be what he was doing, but it's equally possible that he was frustrated with himself for the 0-7 performance.

[Mike Schutz]

The frustrating thing was that it was the second check swing strike call of the at bat. On the first one, the 3rd base umpire stared at Howard after making the call. On the second check swing, which was the strike out, the umpire again stared at Howard. The appropriate thing for the umpire would have been to make the call, and then turn his back and walk down the line. He did not need to stare at Howard, waiting for something to happen.

And yes, I did watch the entire game.

[Shea Zellweger]

The frustrating thing was that it was the second check swing strike call of the at bat. On the first one, the 3rd base umpire stared at Howard after making the call. On the second check swing, which was the strike out, the umpire again stared at Howard. The appropriate thing for the umpire would have been to make the call, and then turn his back and walk down the line. He did not need to stare at Howard, waiting for something to happen.

And yes, I did watch the entire game.

I tuned in in the 12th inning or so, but it was enough to see what happened, and it appeared that the ump was looking for an excuse. Your assessment sounds pretty solid to me.

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

Philly fans must be pretty happy with Oswalt. He's 6-1 and today pitched a complete game 4 hitter. All the Astros fans I know wish him the best...he's a class act and a terrific ball player.