Signing Burrell should be a priority

PHILADELPHIA — It wasn't exactly Carlton Fisk waving the ball fair in the 1975 World Series. It was just Pat Burrell putting some body English on a ball down the left-field line in the seventh inning -- and Burrell kept the ball barely fair, breaking a 5-5 tie with a two-out double, helping the Phillies beat Florida 7-5 and move back into first place.

In the Phillies' dugout, manager Charlie Manuel had a great view, and he felt pretty confident it would stay fair. And he also saw Burrell, still holding the bat in his right hand, kind of twisting and gesturing rather than running full-out.

"I thought it would stay fair -- and I also thought: Run, dammit," Manuel said, laughing.

These days, Burrell is having more success getting the ball to do what he wants. He's hitting .355 in the late innings of close games, he's hitting .318 with runners in scoring position and .320 with runners in scoring position and two outs.

In the previous three seasons, Burrell batted just .236 in the late innings of close games and .240 with runners in scoring position and two outs. When Burrell hit a game-winning homer May 2 against the Giants, it was his first walk-off homer since 2002.

Burrell works very hard at this, even if he's never gotten enough credit for that part of his game. He's always among the first players to the ballpark, he hits a ton, he works hard on his game. And he's recently begun to embrace video and studying pitchers more.

"He's serious as hell," Manuel said. "As far as some of his thinking about hitting, he's more prepared now. He works hard, and he's always worked hard. But he's changed some of his thinking about video, studying the pitchers, what they've got. He gathers a lot of information, and I think that's helped.

"He's always cared. He's always taken things serious. If people don't know that, then they've got a bad read on him. He's always worked hard, and he's always cared."

Burrell faced Logan Kensing in the seventh. He had just four career at-bats against Kensing entering Sunday (0-for-2 with two walks), but he was ready.

"That guy throws pretty hard, so you have to be ready for the fastball in," Burrell said. "He threw one kind of down, but I was able to squeak one down the line."

Burrell broke his bat on the swing.

"I'd rather have it break on a hit, though," Burrell said.

It was fitting that Sunday the Phillies threw a party for Mike Lieberthal's retirement. The catcher probably wasn't greatly appreciated when he was here, but he got a nice ovation Sunday. Historians will look back on Lieberthal's career and wonder what the problem was -- Lieberthal owns almost every franchise record for catchers.

Someday, people may look back on Burrell's career here and notice that one awful year in 2003 -- but then notice that overall he's been a remarkably consistent player who's always hit for power and driven in runs. The question is how long that career lasts -- because the Phillies really have to start working on bringing Burrell back.

That's a little difficult at the moment, with the weirdness of the Phillies' GM situation. Pat Gillick is leaving after the year, and while the conventional wisdom is that Ruben Amaro will replace him, there's no concrete succession plan. And decisions have to be made -- is Brett Myers a starter or reliever, which impacts whether they bring Brad Lidge back, and can they extend Burrell?

Next year's GM has to decide that stuff -- and right now there isn't one.

The Phillies really ought to get on this. Players who reach the market tend to leave; it's the nature of the business (like, for example, Aaron Rowand). Burrell has said he'd like to stay, and today it is glaringly obvious that the Phillies need to keep him. He's an important part of this thing.

"I don't know if the fans really see what he brings to the park every day," Chase Utley said. "He gets here early, he studies, he works extremely hard to get ready to play -- and it shows.

"He's a very important part of our lineup. And he's a great guy to have on the team. He's always having fun, he keeps it loose when need be. I definitely enjoy being around him. He's been here the longest out of anybody, and he's seen his share of different teams."

It once seemed a sure thing that Burrell would end a largely disappointing Phillies career this season. But today Burrell is an important part of a winning team, and the Phillies need to keep it that way.

(courierpostonline.com)