Phils manager Larry Bowa (right) and scout Bob Boone look on during spring workouts. (Rusty Kennedy/AP)
CLEARWATER, FLA. -- Doing this successfully likely won't elicit a roar from a sold-out crowd followed by a demand for a curtain call.
It almost certainly won't be cited during an arbitration hearing as a reason for
a significant pay hike.
But it is a "vital part of the game," according to new first-base coach Milt Thompson, and large chunks of time during pitching drills have been dedicated
toward improving it.
It's the art of the sacrifice bunt, an area in which the Phillies were severely lacking last season, the worst team at it in the Majors. One of Thompson's
responsibilities is to change that.
"We're spending a lot of extra time on it," said Thompson, a brilliant bunter in his day. They're going to be tired of it, but it's the one-run games during the course of a season that make all the difference. You look back on the tight games where you're not able to execute the little things. We're putting a lot of emphasis on that.
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