In light of Pedro Feliz's line drive that caromed off the glove of Astros closer Jose Valverde before it deflected off his cheekbone on Friday, a lot of the pregame talk Saturday centered around the danger a pitcher is in on the mound.

Feliz felt terrible - not that he could control where the ball was headed.

But don't think a batter never has control in such a situation. Just check out the story Charlie Manuel told the media before Saturday night's game at Minute Maid Park.

"I was playing Double-A baseball and there was a (pitcher) who liked to knock guys down... I was hitting good... I was the third hitter in the lineup. And he knocked me down. And you know how you get back up mad and real ticked off?

I got back up...I knew he threw a changeup, and I said (to myself), he’s gonna throw a change up right here. So I said, I’m going to try to hit this ball back right off his head.

I ended up hitting the ball (back at him) and the ball shot into center field and a guy named Sweet Pea Davis picked it up. That’s a true story.

I was trying to hit it back, to tell you the truth. I hit it right off his head."


Manuel told another tale of when he played in Japan and sent a line drive that broke the collarbone of a left-handed pitcher. The pitcher missed nearly two years recovering from the injury.

And what did the pitcher do when he was healthy again? He beaned Manuel.

Although the benches didn't clear, a running match between big Charlie Manuel and the little, skinny lefty ensued, with the Japanese pitcher running for cover...

"He ran into our dugout," Manuel said.

"My manager told me he said, 'You tell Charlie he's already scared.'

I told him him, 'If you don't get out of the way, I'm going to knock the hell out of you.'

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The Archive Files

Adam Eaton takes a big step forward in the Phillies defeat Friday.

In the notebook, Jayson Werth's oblique strain earns him a trip on the DL.