Placido Polanco shows class as he finds control on the plate after an injury-plagued last year-MLB
As part of the plan to use him in the season, manager Charlie Manuel has been giving Placido Polanco occasional times on the plate. Conscious of his injury-prone body, the idea is to keep him away from the danger zone at the start.
Once he starts getting right swings consistency without any sign of a potential injury, management believes, he will be given chances regularly.
Height of patience management accorded to him is reflected from the un-availability of their star hitters Ryan Howard and Chase Utley and thus a grave need for having him in the line-up.
It is harder to resist temptation of having a solid hitter in the ranks especially when the rest of the offence is poor.
Eventually the Phillies included him in the line-up after keeping him out for eight games on Wednesday. From the first sight of his display on the plate, it looks as if he is at his best.
With his inclusion, a side which toiled for hits in the season suddenly appeared in different shape.
Traversing bases five times and three hits he found in the game were something the Philadelphia Phillies have been unaccustomed to in the season. Certainly, his addition marks the beginning of a new direction the Phillies are taking.
Commenting on his time on the plate, Polanco suggested that he was lucky enough to get those swings early in comeback games.
The moment he says one can locate the right position on the plate is a moment one can feel confident about ones’ performance ahead.
“Sometimes you make adjustments in a day or two days, sometimes it takes longer,” Polanco said. “You want to find a point where you stay steady and have good at-bats every day.”
The fact Utley is making big strides in recovery and Howard showing signs of improvements on his infectious wounds signals a great positive for the Phillies ahead.
Who knows, with their pitchers performing the way they are at the moment and the offence starting to back them up regularly, the Phillies have the possibility of going on to surge to a tremendous winning momentum during the season.
Certainly, Polanco is going to be a strong link if this happens.
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