May 18, 2008

May 16 - a good day for Stockman

Before we start, let's pause to reflect on May 16, courtesy of Lagwagon:



The good folk at Flintoff & Dunn's Australian Major League Baseball beat me to the punch on this one; Phil Stockman has been called up from the Richmond Braves to their Major League affiliate Atlanta. Bobby Cox and the Braves must be avid readers of OzMLBPlayers, as it was suggested here on 7 May that Stockman would be a more than capable replacement for Peter Moylan, who underwent season-ending surgery. Things didnt quite work out exactly this way, but there are a few reasons that combined to see Stockman earn the call up:
  1. Braves reliever and fellow Aussie Peter Moylan was forced to have season-ending surgery
  2. Braves starter Chuck James has had it rough this year, going 2-3 from 5 starts with an 8.22 ERA, and was optioned to the AAA Braves on May 16
  3. It is likely that one of the current Braves relievers, probably Jeff Bennett or Jorge Campillo, will move into James' spot in the rotation, which opens up a spot in the bullpen
  4. Stockman has posted shit-hot numbers in AAA this year, over 14 appearances this year he pitched 17.1 innings and has not given up a single run. He has allowed just 4 hits and 6 walks, while striking out 12

So congrats to Phil, good to get the numbers up to 3 active players in the majors again.

Stockman made his first appearance for the Atlanta Braves today against the Oakland A's. He was solid, battling hard against a couple of hitters and throwing plenty of strikes. He retired the side in order, with one strike out against Rajai Davis.

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