Phillies Notes: Taguchi's at-bat in ninth questioned

The flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco must have seemed longer than usual for the Phillies last night. Particularly for So Taguchi. With his team down by a run with two outs in the ninth inning and runners on first and second, Taguchi was sent to pinch-hit against Los Angeles Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez.

Taguchi took two balls, then swung at a curveball that was up and out of the strike zone. He popped it to third, finalizing the Phils' fifth straight loss as Chase Utley stood in the on-deck circle. Several questions lingered after the at-bat. Why, with Utley up next, did Taguchi swing at a pitch that would have run the count to 3-0? Taguchi, who acknowledged that the pitch would have been a ball, said he thought he had a chance to drive Rodriguez's hanging breaking ball. OK. Why didn't manager Charlie Manuel give Taguchi the take ...