Phillies Sweep Nationals

It was a good weekend for the Phillies as they pulled off a feat as easy as tying your shoes: sweeping the Nationals. They out pitched and out slugged them, taking advantage of their poor fielding all weekend to improve their record to 28-20. Brad Lidge saved every game, showing signs of his 2008 form.

They opened the series Friday with JA Happ on the mound. He earned his first win as a starter for the 2009 season. Happ (3-0) went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on as many hits. He got plenty of help with 16 hits even though the offense could only cross the plate five runs. Shane Victorino had four hits and Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz added a pair of doubles each.

Saturday's game featured some fire works from Ryan Howard. After trailing early 3-0, Howard stepped up and belted a solo homer to the 2nd level in right field in the second. He then came up in the 3rd with the bases loaded. He jacked a shot over the "Powerade" sign on the 3rd porch 475 feet) for his 3rd grand slam of the season and 8th in his career, a new Phillies record. Cole Hamels (3-2) got the win despite giving up six runs in six innings as the Phillies won 9-6.

Jamie Moyer (4-5) finally got win #250 in his 6th try, pitching six strong innings, giving up one run on three hits as the Phillies won 4-2. He got help from Chase Utley when he drove in Victorino in the first and from Chris Coste's solo shot in the 2nd. He gave up a home run to Josh Willingham in the 4th. Willingham added another in the 7th off of Clay Condrey. Howard hit an RBI triple in the 8th for insurance.

Series MVP: Howard (4 for 13 with 2 homers, double, triple, 6 RBI's)

Next Series: @ San Diego Padres

6/1 - Blanton (3-3, 6.14), Correia (1-3, 5.11)

6/2 - Bastardo (0-0, -.--), Peavy* (5-5, 3.67)

6/3 - Happ (3-0, 3.00), Young (4-3, 4.45)

*Would love to see him in a Phillies uniform.

Bastardo to Start Tuesday in Place of Myers

Brett Myers will have surgery next week and his season is about 99.9% over. The Phillies will call up Antonio Bastardo to start in Myers' spot on Tuesday Comcast Sportsnet just reported. He will face the San Diego Padres. A roster move will be made by tomorrow.

FIM #1: Your 2008 World Champions

Sitting on the edge of my couch I watched on as Brad Lidge had a man on second with 2 outs. Up to the plate stepped Eric Hinske. The first pitch slider was fouled off. The second pitch was also a slider and was swung at. With his deadly slider working like it has all year, the same slider that saved 41 games in 41 chances in the regular season and another perfect 6 in the playoffs, Lidge decided to go with it one more time to get one more save.

To tell you the truth, Hinske didn't stand a chance.

Hinske couldn't touch it and at that moment, a lot happened. Lidge fell to his knees, Carlos Ruiz rushed him, Ryan Howard completely flattened him, and 50,000 people in attendance at CBP got on their feet and cheered. Thousands of others rejoiced around the country as their Phillies did what teams before them couldn't do and that was win the World Series.

I sat there, staring at the TV. My roommate, who doesn't like baseball that much was watching with me and rambling on and on. I turned to him and told him to shut up as a soaked in the glory of finally watching a team and city I followed for 15 years finally win.

The whole series, just like the playoffs, was one sided for the Phillies. After dominating the Brewers in four games and the Dodgers in five, a series versus the virgin Rays would be tough but in the end, it didn't appear that way.

Game one was held in Tampa because the American League won the all star game on a Billy Wagner blown save and Brad Lidge loss (his only of the year). They got the game started early as Chase Utley hit a two-run homer in the first. Ruiz had an RBI in the 4th to make it 3-0. Tampa was able to add a run in the 4th and 5th but that was it. Cole Hamels was dominant as he allowed the only two runs the Rays could muster. Lidge got the save in the 3-2 win for Philadelphia.

Game two was the only game where the Rays had hope. They got two early runs in the 4th and added a couple more later in the game. The Phillies could get a run in the 8th and 9th and would lose 4-2.

Game three was a dramatic one and was where all the momentum became Philadelphia's. With the game tied at 4 in the bottom of the 9th, Eric Bruntlett was hit by a pitch. He moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a throwing error. Tampa Bay intentionally walked the next two batters to load the bases. Bruntlett scored the winning run on Carlos Ruiz's 45-foot infield single.

Game four was complete and utter dominance as Ryan Howard hit two homers, Jayson Werth hit a shot, and Joe Blanton hit his first career home run while pitching a dominant game. The Phillies went on to win 10-2.

Game five was the screwiest game in the history of the World Series. They got things going early again as Shane Victorino drove in two runs in the first. The game got suspended after the top of the 6th inning due to heavy rain. The game was moved to two days later, where they resumed it in the bottom of the 6th.

Geoff Jenkins led off with a double and was bunted to third. Werth then drove in Jenkins to take the lead for the Phillies, 3–2. In the top of the 7th inning, Rocco Baldelli re-tied the game with a solo home run. Later in the inning, Utley faked a throw to first, then threw Bartlett out at home for the third out in a play later described as having saved the Series for the Phillies. In the bottom of the seventh, Pat Burrell led off with a double. Bruntlett, pinch-running for Burrell, scored on a single by Pedro Feliz to put the Phillies up by a run again, 4–3.

Now we move to the top of the 9th, with an 0-2 count to Hinske. Tell it to us one more time, Harry:

One strike away; nothing-and-two, the count to Hinske. Fans on
the their feet; rally towels are being waved. Brad Lidge stretches.
The 0-2 pitch — swing and a miss, struck him out! The Philadelphia
Phillies are 2008 World Champions of baseball! Brad Lidge does it
again, and stays perfect for the 2008 season! 48-for-48 in save
opportunities, and watch the city celebrate! Don't let the 48-hour
wait diminish the euphoria of this moment, and the celebration.
And it has been 28 years since the Phillies have enjoyed a World
Championship; 25 years in this city with a team that has enjoyed
a World Championship, and the fans are ready to celebrate. What a
night!

FIM Recap

I'm still up for absolutely no reason whatsoever so I decided to recap moment 15-2 of the Famous/Infamous Moment series. Tomorrow morning I will post #1 which is pretty obvious as to what it is. Here is the list:

#15 - Steve Cartlon (1994), Mike Schmidt and Richie Ashburn (1995), and Jim Bunning (1996) get inducted into the Hall of Fame.

#14 - The 2007 run when the Phillies helped the Mets create the biggest choke in baseball.

#13 - The birth of our beloved Phillie Phanatic.

#12 - The Phillies record career loss #10,000 versus the Cardinals in 2006.

#11 - Veterans Stadium is imploded.

#10 - Ryan Howard wins the Rookie of the Year and MVP in back-to-back seasons.

#9 - The departure of Harry Kalas and Whitey Asburn.

#8 - The Phillies trade Larry Bowa and Ryne Sandberg for Ivan DeJesus.

#7 - The collapse in 1964.

#6 - Schmidt hits his 500th homer.

#5 - The Whiz Kids win the 1950 pennant.

#4 - Jim Bunning goes perfect in 1964.

#3 - The Phillies win their first world championship in 1980.

#2 - Joe Carter breaks our hearts.

I wonder what #1 will be.....

FIM #2: Joe Carter....

...That's all I needed to really type for a title. You say his name and every Phillie fan will instantly remember 1993 and the Phillies being one out away from forcing a game 7 with Toronto. Instead, Joe Carter belts a game winning 3-run homer that won the World Series. He became the 2nd player in the history of baseball to win the World Series for his team via air mail. The first being Bill Mazeroski of the 1960 Pirates when he hit "The Shot Heard 'Round the World."

After taking a commanding 3-1 series lead, Curt Schilling stepped on the mound for Philadelphia in game five and shut out the Blue Jays 2-0 to pull Philadelphia within one game. Terry Mulholland took the mound for Philadelphia and Dave Bush pitched for Toronto in Game 6. After being down 5-1, Philadelphia scored five runs in the top of the 7th.

It’s the bottom of the 9th of and Mitch Williams stands on the mound. The Philadelphia Phillies, trailing 3-2 in the series, are leading the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 in Toronto. All Williams needs is three more outs and the Phillies take Toronto to game seven.

It’s now the 9th inning. Ricky Henderson steps in and is walked. Devon White comes up to the plate next and hits a pop fly for out number one. Paul Molitor then singles to put runners on first and second with one out. Joe Carter steps up to the plate and has a 2-2 count on him.

Carter has been ineffective all series, and is looking to get a hit off of Williams. Williams knows Carter is a dangerous hitter, despite his cold spell. He also has Henderson standing on second, waiting to take third at any given moment. Carter steps in. The 2-2 pitch, and Carter hits a shot deep to left field that made the city of Philadelphia moan and mumble to themselves, "maybe next year."

There's Good News and Then There's Bad

I'll start with the bad news. Brett Myers' season may be done. Even worse, he may never be a Philly again neither. This was his contract year and it may be going right down the tubes. He sustained a hip injury on Wednesday's loss to Florida and after x-rays revealed some jaggedness, it just didn't look good.


"It sounds like surgery is almost 100 percent from the first opinion," Myers told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. If the Phillies were to trade for another pitcher, they would most likely go for Eric Bedard of Seattle, Colorado starter Jason Marquis, Houston star Roy Oswalt and unsigned free agent Pedro Martinez. Also Jake Peavy is a great option because the Padres owe him a ton of money.

Now to some good news. On August 7, the Phillies have one more honor in store for the late great Harry Kalas. He will be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame that's located in Ashburn Alley behind the batter's eye in center field. This will be the first ceremony Kalas has not emceed.

Wall of Famers who are expected to participate in the ceremonies include Robin Roberts (first inductee, 1978), Jim Bunning (1984), Steve Carlton (1989), Mike Schmidt (1990), Dick Allen (1994), Greg Luzinski (1998), Garry Maddox (2001), Tony Taylor (2002), Bob Boone (2005) and Dallas Green (2006). Kalas broadcast games involving all of these players.

Non-Phillies: ESPN Spoofs a Manny Press Conference

This was written by DJ Gallo of "ESPN Magazine." I thought this was absolutley hilarious!

I am Manny, hear me roar!

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has spoken with Manny Ramirez. Now he wants the disgraced slugger to speak to the team.

Turns out it already happened -- and Page 2 was able to receive the exclusive transcript of Ramirez's address.

(Scene: Dodgers clubhouse)

Frank McCourt: "Gentlemen, I know we're all still kind of reeling over the recent news. So I have asked Manny here today to speak to the team. Manny, the floor is yours."

Manny Ramirez: "Thanks, boss. I'm not used to giving speeches. So I looked on the Internet for tips and they said I should start with a joke to loosen up the audience. OK? You ready? What is Manny Ramirez's new nickname?"

Juan Pierre: "Womanny Ramirez."

Andre Ethier: "Ma'am Ram."

Joe Torre: "That's just mammaries being mammaries."

Ramirez: "So you've heard most of them already."

Russell Martin: "We have. We even thought up many of them ourselves."

James Loney: "Some long before this news came out, actually."

Ramirez: "I see. OK, let me try another one. A priest, a rabbi and Manny Ramirez walk into a bar."

Torre: "Just a second, Manny. I don't mean to interrupt. But do you mind if I record all of this?"

Ramirez: "Umm, I guess not. Why?"

Torre: "Oh, you know. In case I would, say ... write a book about my Dodgers years or something. Not that I have any plans to do that, of course, guys. What is said inside the clubhouse stays inside the clubhouse. That's an unwritten rule of baseball, am I right? But when I write the book, I don't want to misquote you."

Ramirez: "Sure. Whatever."

Torre: "Fantastic. OK, let me press 'record' ... and continue. Oh, and feel free to talk #$%^ about A-Rod, if you'd like. Readers eat that stuff up."

Ramirez: "OK, where was I?"

Chad Billingsley: "A priest, a rabbi and Manny Ramirez were walking into a bar..."

READ THE REST HERE...

FIM #3: 1980 World Champions

It only took 95 years for it to happen. Hell even Cubs fans wish it would have only taken 95 years but they're still working on 100 right now. It took three Hall of Famers and a great supporting cast of great players to finally get the Phillies over the top. Before then, they had only reached the World Series two times: losing in 1915 and 1950. The year was 1980 and it will be the year that Phillies fans would never forget.

The Phillies won their division. They finished the year 91-71, just a game ahead of Montreal. The would play and beat the Houston Astros in the NLCS and then take out the Kansas City Royals in 6 games to win the World Series.

This team was perfect in the eyes of the fans. They had an experienced skipper in Dallas Green to go along with their veteran-filled team. They were led by MVP Mike Schmidt (.286, 48 homers, and 121 RBI's) and Cy Young winner Steve Carlton (24-9, 2.34 ERA, 286 strike outs). Pete Rose led the team with 185 hits and 42 doubles as well. They also got plenty of stolen bases from Gary Maddox in centerfield. Carlton was supported by Dick Ruthven's 17-10 record and 3.55 ERA. In the pen, Tug McGraw tallied 20 saves and held a 1.46 ERA in 92.1 innings of work.

Other key offensive members included Manny Trillo, who batted .292, Bake McBride with his .309 average and 87 RBI's, and Greg Luzinski's 19 home runs. Larry Bowa, Maddox, and Bob Boone were all big contributers defensivley.

In game one of the World Series, the Phillieswere down 4-0 going into the bottom of the third. They got a lot of support from McBride's 3-run homer that set up the 5-run innings that put the Phillies ahead for good. The added on a run in the 4th and 5th to make it 7-4 and then surrendered two in the 9th but held on to win game 1.

In game two, the Phillies were down 4-2 going into the 8th inning where timely hitting scored them four runs to permanently go ahead 6-4 and win.

Game three was won in extra innings by the Royals 4-3, halting the Phillies come-from-behind magic temperarily. The Phillies tied it up on Schmidt's solo shot in the 8th but the Royals scored on an RBI single in the 10th to win game three.

Game four didn't look good for the Phillies as they trailed all day. The Royals scored four runs in the 1st and added a run in the second to own a 5-1 lead on the Phillies. The Phillies would add 2 runs in the game but lose 5-3.

Game five was scoreless until when in the 4th, Schmidt jacked a 2-run shot. The Royals would then add a run in the 5th and two in the 6th to go up 4-3. In the top of the 9th, the Phillies magic woke back up as Schmidt led off with a single and Del Unser drove him home on a double to tie it up. Trillo then stepped in and drove in Unser for the go ahead and potential game winner as the Phillies took game five by a score of 4-3.

Game six was the first game the Phillies never trailed. The got two runs from a single by Schmidt in the 3rd and tacked on 2 more runs later in the game. Carlton pitched until McGraw came in to close it out. With the bases loaded and Willie Wilson at the plate, I hand it over to the late Harry Kalas:

65,000 plus on their feet here at Veterans Stadium. The Tugger needs one
more...Swing and a miss! Yes, he struck him out! Yes, they did it! The Phillies
are world champions! World champions of baseball! It's pandemonium at Veterans
Stadium! All of the fans are on their feet. This city has come together behind a
baseball team!...Phillies are world champions! This city knows it! This city
loves it!

Schmidt won the series MVP and McGraw won the Babe Ruth Award (best performance).

Phils Lose Series to Fish

Series recap:
Monday - L 3-5
Tuesday - W 5-3
Wednesday - L 2-6

The series started on Monday, back in Philly. After a very successful 8-2 road trip that ended with a series win at Yankee Stadium, the Phillies would face the Marlins for three. After sweeping the first series in Florida, they were hoping for at least another series win. They didn't get that.

Jamie Moyer took the mound on Monday, taking his 5th stab at career win #250. He pitched well until he gave up a 3-run homer to Wes Helms. Ryan Howard teed off that game, hitting a 2-run shot off the top of the batters eye in center field and a solo homer to left center. He was really the only offense as the Phillies could only muster six hits.

Tuesday was a much better game as Joe Blanton went seven shut out innings, striking out 11 total. The Phillies took a 5-0 game into the 9th and after Howard's first error of the season forced 2 runs in, Brad Lidge came in to get the save after blowing two in New York. They got things going early in the first with base hits that were stretched and good base running, the complete opposite of Monday's game.

On Wednesday, they couldn't do much at all... against a reliever! Brett Myers pitched solid until the 6th where he got in serious trouble. Down 2-1, he surrendered back to back doubles to make it 3-1 and the surrendered a 2-run homer. He then left in the 6th with soreness in his right hip. X-rays revealed some jaggedness.

This could be bad news for both Myers in the Phillies. If he is out for a period of time, more pressure will be put on Cole Hamels, JA Happ, Blanton and Moyer. Hamels has been stellar and Myers has been drastically getting better. Blanton showed some life and Moyer is still awful. Not much can be said for Happ yet as he will be making his 2nd start on Friday.

Next will be home versus the Nationals:
5/28 - off
5/29 - Detwiler (0-0, 2.45), Happ (2-0, 2.60)
5/30 - Martis (5-0, 4.86), Hamels (2-2, 4.68)
5/31 - Lannan (2-4, 4.11), Moyer (3-5, 7.42)

FIM #4: Bunning Goes Perfect

1964 was one of the most memorable seasons in Phillies history. It was full of highs and ended in disaster. One of those special moments came on June 21 versus the Mets at Shea Stadium. It was also Father's Day (ironically this year Father's Day falls on June 21 again) and Jim Bunning would throw the greatest game any pitcher in a Phillies uniform ever threw.

Johnny Stephenson steps up to the play with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th. Bunning, who already dropped the first 26 batters, makes Stephenson his next victim as he strikes him out. That's what we like to call perfection.

Bunning went 9 complete innings, striking out 10 and giving up no runs, hits, or errors. 27 men stepped to the plate and 27 men couldn't reach first base. Bunning only threw 90 pitches, 79 of them were strikes. His perfect game was the first one the National League had seen in 84 years. Basically a perfect game in the NL was like a World Series to the Cubs (ouch!).

Bunning also helped his own cause offensively as he drove in two runs with a double that game and got offensive support from Johnny Callison's solo home run.

Here is the box score of that amazing day:

FIM #5: The Whiz Kids

Almost 60 years ago, we remember one of the most exciting and memorable teams in Philadelphia history: the Whiz Kids. Known for their youth and energetic play, the Whiz Kids took the Phillies all the way to the World Series, only to lose to the New York Yankees.

The Whiz Kids were comprised of a bunch of young players who were trained through their farm system. The Phillies haven't made the World Series in 35 years and had to get through the defending champions to win their first title. Unfortunately, they were swept in four games, losing the first three by a run and game 4 by a score of 5-2.

Their youth was really evadable. Their oldest starer in the field was Eddie Waitkus at 30 and the second oldest starting pitcher was Russ Meyer, 26 (the oldest was 34).

The Whiz Kids featured two future Hall of Famers in center fielder Richie Asburn and pitcher Robin Roberts. Ashburn batted .303 that year with an OBP of .372, great numbers for a lead off hitter. Roberts was their ace pitcher, going 20-11 with a 3.02 ERA. He threw 21 complete games, five of which were shut outs.

Del Ennis led the team in batting, homers, and RBI's (.311/31/126). Other power numbers came from Dick Sisler (.297/13/83), Andy Seminick (.288/24/68), and Willie Jones (.267/25/88). Granny Hamner also drove in 82 runs.

The pitching was also phenomenal. Roberts was supported by Curt Simmons (17-8; 3.40), Bob Miller (11-6; 3.57) and their closer Jim Konstanty (16-7; 2.66; 22 saves). The closer role was different back then as Konstanty racked up a ton of wins. He would actually get the start in game 1 of the World Series, going 8 innings and allowed a run on four hits. The Phils were shut out 1-0.

This team would have been exciting to watch. I love baseball like this. Guys who hit, run well, get dirty, and play the game the right way. Today you see pimped out home runs, guys coming up short on fly balls, and guys who don't run out ground balls. Baseball turned from an art form to a joke. There was no steroids and there was no media hype. It was just baseball and the fans, just winning and losing.

Happy Memorial Day To All

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day. A day of family, cook outs, beer, and baseball. For me, it's been a day of work as I'm going back to the family liquor store in an hour for the rest of the night.

The Phillies will play the Marlins tonight and will be putting Jamie Moyer on the mound versus Chris Volstad of the Marlins. Hopeful the old man will notch win #250.

I noticed some teams wore red hats today with the American flag design similar to last year's 4th of July hats. They looked cool and I hope to see the Phillies and Marlins sporting those too.

FIM #6: Schmidt Hits #500

Harry Kalas couldn't have said it any better:

"The 3-0 pitch... Swing and a long drive, there it is, number 500! The career 500th home run for Michael Jack Schmidt!"

Mike Schmidt stood in against Don Robinson of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Down 6-5 in the top of the 9th, Schmidt had 2 men on with 2 outs. He took Robinson's 3-0 pitch 360 feet deep to left field, becoming the 14th player in league history to hit 500 home runs.

With that home run, Schmidt put the Phillies ahead for good as they went on to win 8-6. That home run not only signified a win but it also symbolized what he did his entire career for this city. Schmidt is considered the greatest Phillie of all time and the greatest 3rd baseman in the history of the game.

It was the perfect scenario for Schmidt. His team was trailing and they were down to their final out and the hero was at the plate. He delivers the heroic home run and we all live happily ever after. There was one tiny flaw to that moment though. ''It didn't happen at Veterans Stadium, and that's unfortunate,'' Schmidt said in the article I found.

Here is the article from the New York Times the next day.

Phils Take 2 in the Bronx

The Phillies capped a 10 game road trip with a series win at Yankee Stadium. They went 8-2, starting the trip with a 4-game sweep of Washington. They won Friday night 7-3, lost 5-4 on Saturday, and won 4-3 on Sunday.

Friday's game featured a slug fest as the Phillies used 4 home runs to out muscle the AJ Burnett and the Yankees' high powered offense. The Yankees posted 3 solo shots of their own but weren't nearly enough to beat Philadelphia. Brett Myers got the start, going 8 innings and giving up 3 runs with 5 strike outs. He pitched well but is still giving up too many homers.

The offense Jimmy Rollins' 2-hit day including his first pitch lead off homer. Raul "the Animal" Ibanez added another homer to his ridiculous season. Carlos Ruiz also hit his first homer of the season.

On Saturday, the Yankees magic struck again as they earned their league leading 17th come-from-behind win. Up 4-2 in the bottom of the 9th, Brad Lidge surrendered a walk to Johnny Damon and watched Alex Rodriguez go yard as the Yankees tied it up. A couple batters later and Melky Cabrera is driving in Robinson Cano for the win.

A couple of positive notes included John Mayberry Jr's first career hit being a 3-run homer, Ibanez tacking on another homer, and JA Happ doing great in his debut.

On Sunday, Lidge struck again as he gave up a no outs RBI single to allow the Yankees to tie it up at 3. The Phillies would get a 2-out RBI double from Ruiz to go ahead and win.

Series MVP: Ruiz (6-8 with 3 RBI's, a homer, and a game winning double)

Next series vs. Florida:
Monday: Volstad (3-3, 3.64), Moyer (3-4, 7.62)
Tuesday: Miller, A (1-1, 4.94), Blanton (2-3, 7.11)
Wednesday: TBA

Anyone Seen the Lidge?

Lidge watches Damon after A-Rod's game tying homer Saturday evening

I'm sorry for the Dave Matthews Band reference in the title but I mean come the f*ck on, Brad Lidge. You're terrible! 8 saves in 12 chances and he's blown back to back versus the Yankees, including a loss on Saturday.

I thought you were Mr. Perfect! I'm not expecting you to be 12/12 with a 1.00 ERA but all kidding aside, your pitching sucks and your head isn't on straight. Lidge this year is 0-2 with a 9.38 ERA and a putrid 2.03 WHIP. in only 19.2 innings of work. He has also struck out 20.

I don't know if he's hurt or not but I seriously think a trip to the DL and the calling up of Sergio Escalona would be best. If that's the case, who would close? The obvious choice seems like it could be Ryan Madson. Another choice could be Clay Condrey but he would likely set up Madson.

If you remember, Lidge had arthroscopic surgery in his right knee back in November and had to miss some regular season game time. I don't think he's healthy and it has to be his knee. His slider is not going where he wants it to and his fastball is all over the place.

Whatever it is, Charlie Manuel needs to make a decision or Lidge needs to come clean. We are past the point where we thought Lidge would pitch out of his slump. There is something wrong and we can't afford to lose games because of it.

A few notes

A few things while I sit here watching the Phillies vs. Yankees:

-First thing I want to say is congratulations to John Mayberry Jr. In his first big league game, he went 2-3 with a 3-run homer and a double. The homer was his first career hit. His team mates gave him the silent treatment and then walked over towards him in the dugout to congratulate Shane Victorino first, who was on base when Mayberry hit his shot.

-I'm also not going to be posting the FIM moment today. I simply didn't feel like it plus I want to relax today. Moment #6 will be up tomorrow morning.

-I'm also going to try a new thing. Instead of doing weekly recaps, I'll just do a series summary and preview for the next one. After the Phillies game, I'll sum up their series versus the Yankees and do a preview of their series coming up versus the Marlins.

-And my last thought: You're scaring me, Brad Lidge. Please return to 2008 form.

Mayberry Jr. Called Up

John Mayberry Jr. was brought up to the Phillies last night from AAA Lehigh Valley. They will send Sergio Escalona back down to AAA. Mayberry was hitting .277 with 8 HR and 25 RBI for the Iron Pigs this season.

This is great news. He should be starting today and tomorrow. As a right handed bat, he will be facing two very good lefties in Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia respectively. It isn't known how long his stay will last up in the majors after these two games, especially because he won't see starting time over Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, or Raul Ibanez any time soon when they go back to the NL.

Other News:
Mayberry won't be the only one to make some kind of debut. JA Happ will be set to take the mound today versus Pettitte in his first start of the 2009 season. He was moved from the bull pen to the rotation in place of Chan Ho Park, who was dropped to the pen.

And former Phillies Adam Eaton was dropped by the Orioles after they figured out he is absolutely useless. He pitched 2-5 with an 8.56 ERA. He allowed nine homers and 19 walks in 41 innings, and lasted longer than six innings only once. "The way he pitched made this move self-evident," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "I just didn't see him being able to locate his pitches on a regular basis."

FIM #7: The Phold

The Reds' Chico Ruiz steals home

1964 was supposed to be a great year for the Phillies. They already saw a no hitter from Jim Bunning and they were in the clear to take the division. Well with a 6 1/2 game lead, they blew the last 12 games to miss the playoffs. Known as the "Phold," this was originally the worst collapse until 2007 when the Mets choked worse than this team.

They couldn't ask for a better season from Bunning, who went 19-8 with a 2.63 ERA that year. Chris Short also helped Bunning support the pitching. They even got some help from third baseman Dick Allen, who had an excellent rookie season. Manager Gene Mauch knew this team was going to win it's first world championship.

Starting on September 21, the Phillies went on a ten game losing streak, and the Cincinnati Reds went on to win nine in a row. The turning point in that September 21 game was when Chico Ruiz stole home in the bottom of the 6th inning. The game ended with a Reds victory of 1-0. This began the Phillies 10 game slide.

The crucial series came when Phillies were in 2nd place. They traveled to St. Louis to play the Cardinals after their losing home stand. They dropped the first game of the series to Bob Gibson by a 5-1 score, their eighth loss in a row, dropping them to third place. The Cardinals would sweep the three-game set and assume first place for good. The Reds would catch up and tie the Phillies for second, winning thanks to a tie breaker.

In an interview with the NY Post back in 2007 about the Mets collapse, Bunning talked about his collapse: "The one thing we never got in '64," Bunning said, "was the one performance, the one big hit, the one huge pitching performance that could have stopped the bleeding."

It's an image that only a few still remember. Like many of the other bad moments in Phillies history, this wiped out by the 2 world championships won in 1980 and 2008.

FIM #8: The Worst Trade In the History of the Phillies

The Red Sox may have their Babe Ruth, who was traded to the dreaded New York Yankees for cash in the worst trade ever in baseball. But the Phillies will always remember what happened in 1982 as the worst trade in their history.

I found this article in the Baltimore Sun archives as reference and I was crying while reading this the entire time. What jumped out at me? Dallas Green, the manager of their 1980 championship team, was the new general manager of the Cubs. He robbed his former team blind.

A quote from Green in the article: "I know some people have criticized us because we've made so many deals with the Phillies. They've called us the Phillies West. That doesn't bother me. It so happens I know the Phillies' organization best. And I'll tell you this, the players that we've got all have good heart and they'll be bringing that to Chicago."

The Phillies had their eyes set on a young short stop from the Chicago Cubs, Ivan DeJesus. The Phillies wanted to offer Larry Bowa up but the Cubs would not budge unless the Phillies added a prospect they coveted, Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg was a 22 year old untested middle infielder.

It was your typical deal of two bottom teams trying to rebuild. The Cubs wanted to give up a proven starter for two players. In order for the deal to have panned out, Sandberg needed to win a starting spot by next season.

Here is a look at what DeJesus and Sandberg did after the trade:

DeJesus: Lasted 3 years with the Phillies. He batted .228 for the Phillies, totaling 7 homers and 134 RBI's. He then played 4 more seasons with 4 different teams, playing a total of 80 games.

Sandberg: He played the rest of his career in Chicago, 16 total seasons. He had a career batting average of .285 with 282 homers, 2386 hits, 1318 runs scored, and 1061 RBI's. He led the league in runs scored 3 times, and in triples and home runs 1 time. He was a 10 time all star, 9 time gold glover, 7 time silver slugger, 1984 NL MVP and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

I don't need to say any more after what I typed about Sandberg. He was the real deal and DeJesus was one of the biggest jokes in Phillies history. Congrats Phillies. You got hustled.

FIM #9: Harry and Whitey

One dazzled people with his play on the field. The other dazzled them with his amazing voice. But what made them so special was their friendship and team work in the broadcast booth years after the former retired. Richie Ashburn and Harry Kalas were two of the greatest broadcasting duos in all of sports and captured so many hearts in Philadelphia. Moment #9 will be when they died at their respective ages.

Ashburn was as smooth in the box as he was in center field when he played in the 40's and 50's. When I look back at baseball history, there are a few players who I would love to have seen play. Sure I want to see Babe Ruth, Micky Mantle, Willie Mays or Joe DiMaggio but when it comes to watching a Phillie play, Ashburn is the type of player I want to see. He could hit, play defense, steal bases, and just simply hustle.

In 1963, Ashburn worked along side By Saam in the broadcast booth. In 1971, Kalas joined the duo and when Saam retired in 1976, "Harry and Whitey" would broadcast together for 21 more years. Ashburn had the honor of being inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1995 for his service to baseball on and off the field. Ashburn planned on retiring after the 1997 season but suddenly died of a heart attack after a Mets/Phillies game. In honor of Ashburn, the center field pavillion in the new Citizens Bank Park was named "Ashburn Alley."

Kalas had to move on but could never stop grieving the death of his best friend. When he took over, he was joined by many guys including former pitcher and member of the 1993 team, Larry Anderson, Tom McCarthy, and Chris Wheeler. In 2008, Kalas was sideline for a few games due to a detached retina. Kalas was named to the baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Then on April 8, 2009, Kalas partook in the opening ceremonies in which the Phillies were handed their championship rings. It was his last home game. On April 13, he collapsed in the broadcast booth in Washington hours before the Phillies played the Nationals. He died 90 minutes later.

The city was hit so hard when Ashburn died and was hit even harder after Kalas passed. The city, not even through the 1964 collapse or Joe Carter's home run or anything the other 3 professional teams did hit the city like the deaths of our greatest voices. They were the voice of the Phillies and the voice of the city of Philadelphia. Now they're calling the Phillies games from the heavens.

FIM #10: Ryan Howard Wins ROY/MVP

The Phillies have not seen hitters like Mike Schmidt or Pete Rose since 1990 and 1983 respectively. They wait no more as we have another pair of amazing hitters that my generation's children wish they would have seen in their prime: Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Moment #10 will be dedicated to Ryan Howard and his history making first two seasons.

Howard saw some playing time while Jim Thome was still in town, playing a majority of the games at first base. It wasn't until an injury to Thome in 2005 that people got a taste of Howard's potential.

In 2005, Howard replaced Thome and played in 88 games total, hitting 22 homers with a .288 average. He also recorded 63 RBI's and 52 runs scored, sweltering numbers for half a season, especially by a rookie. He would win Rookie of the Year and Jim Thome would be traded along with $22 million in cash to the Chicago White Sox for Aaron Rowand and two pitchers. It was Howard's time to shine.

In 2006, Howard made history. No player in the National League has ever won Rookie of the Year and then followed it up with an MVP award. Only one player has done it in the history of the game and that was Cal Ripken Jr., winning the ROY in 1982 and MVP in 1983 for the Baltimore Orioles.

Howard's season was highlighted with 2 ridiculous homers, the first being the first ever to be hit into Ashburn Alley in center field which traveled 496 feet and the other was the first home run hit into the 3rd deck, a 381 foot shot.

Howard finished his MVP campaign with a .313 batting average, 58 homers and 149 RBI's. He shattered Schmidt's record in Philadelphia of 48 homers. He beat out Albert Pujols in the MVP balloting, who argued that he should have won because his team won the World Series and the Phillies missed the playoffs. Unfortunately for Pujols, post season doesn't mean a thing to the regular season.

Howard's power numbers never died off but his batting average sure did drop. He's a career .270 hitter which is not bad just as long as he hits 40 homers a year. He is going to keep doing this for a very long time we hope, especially batting behind a guy who gets on base like Utley.

Happ Replaces Park

JA Happ will now get his opportunity. Chan Ho Park finally got put in the bull pen, a move I expected by June. I was hoping Happ would start in the pen and work his way up to starting and that is exactly what happened. Park is not the decent starter he used to be but will go back to pen, a place he was familiar with last season.

Happ went 2-0 with a 2.49 ERA in 12 appearances and Park started 7 games, going 1-1 with a 7.08 ERA. I believe both will excel in their new roles, especially when JC Romero returns in 15 games to take pressure off the entire bull pen. Having a long reliever like park will allow Scott Eyre to have a good compliment.

Park will be eligible to pitch in the bull pen on Wednesday and Happ will start versus the Yankees on Saturday, who are going to throw lefty veteran Andy Pettitte.

FIM #11: Goodbye Vet

A brand new era deserves a brand new stadium. But with bringing in a newer, fresher experience for the fans and players comes the sacrifices of memories and traditions. Moment #11 is the destruction of our beloved Veterans Stadium.

Built in 1971, The Vet was home to the infamous "Boo Birds" (Eagles fans) and the rowdy Phillies fans in the 700 level. Whether it was fights, flashings, or pure vulgar banter, the 700 level was one of the most infamous group of fans in all of sports. The fans were so bad that a municipal court was installed in the stadium for fans who were ejected from the game.

The stadium was famous for it's terrible field conditions such as a concrete like playing surface and poor draining. The AstroTurf would also act as an oven for baseball and football players, reaching up to 120 degrees on hot July, August, and September days.

The Vet was home to two MLB All Star games: the first in 1976 during the nations bicentennial and again in 1996. The Phillies won their first championship in 1980 there. Players like Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton to Lenny Dykstra and John Kruk to Jim Thome and Scott Rolen all played in this stadium.

There were so many great Phillies moments that occurred here. Game 6 of the 1980 World Series was won here when Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson of the Kansas City Royals in front of about 66,000 fans to win their first championship.

The latest game in MLB history was played their. The Phillies and Padres started a double header on July 2nd, 1993 and due to rain outs and delays all day, they didn't complete the second game until 4:40 in the morning on July 3rd. Mitch Williams drove in Pete Incaviglia to win the game in the 10th.

Kevin Millwood and Terry Mulholland own the only 2 9-inning no-hitters in The Vet's history. Mullholland did his in 1990 and Millwood did his in 2003. Both were ironically against the Sn Francisco Giants.

In 2004, Phillies fans threw D-cell batteries at St. Louis Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew after when drafted by the Phillies, said he would never play for Philadelphia, re-entered the draft next year and was picked by the Cardinals.

After it's demolition in 2004, Citizen Bank Park used the area where The Vet stood as an additional parking lot. Fans will never forget The Vet nor the memories left in it. But there are new ones to be made at CBP, including a World Championship and seeing guys like Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, and Chase Utley represent the new home of the Phillies.

The implosion

My ticket stubs throughout the years at The Vet

Bako Signed/Ibanez Honored/Romero Ready

The Phillies signed veteran catcher Paul Bako to a minor league contract where he will be assigned to an extended spring training. He will then have to go through the minor league system. I really don't care about this signing at all. He's 36 and not that good. He's batting .231 with 21 homers and 186 RBI's in 745 games for his career.

In other positive news, Raul Ibanez won the NL Player of the Week honors. He tied for the league lead with 12 RBIs and nine runs scored, and tied for second in the league with four home runs and 13 hits. He hit .481 (13 for 27) with a .963 slugging percentage and a .576 on-base percentage. Pat who?

And the best news I have, JC Romero is only 16 games away from helping this bull pen tremendously. He was suspended 50 days for using a banned substance. He will be able to take the late innings role from Scott Eyre and will take a lot of the load off of Clay Condrey and Chad Durbin. His return should get the bull pen back on track.

FIM #12: 10,000 Losses

No team has ever done it. No team will never want to reach it. Unfortunately, your beloved Phillies reached it. In 2007, the Phillies lost their 10,000th game versus the Cardinals 10-2. For 125 years, the Phillies franchise has faced nothing but agonizing defeats, last place finishes, chokes, and just pure embarrassment. This is the image of a Philadelphia team: heart break. We are a troubled sports nation and this is the perfect example of our heart break.

This is a theme that reoccurred far too many times. Let's face it. Our franchise sucks, okay, but that doesn't mean there was ever any quit in the players and especially not in the fans. Larry Bowa and Charlie Manuel brought winning seasons to Philadelphia. Manuel brought the second ever consecutive division win in 2008 and the second World Series championship in Phillies history.

This loss was like the thousands that preceded it. Bad pitching, no offense, and a whole lot of booing from the Phillies Phaithful. Albert Pujols hit 2 home runs in the game and what better pitcher for the Phillies to record the loss than Adam Eaton. It was going to be a shut out but Michael Bourn hit a solo homer in the 9th and Chase Utley hit a double that scored Chris Coste.

The best part about this moment though is that a year later, everyone in Philadelphia forgot about it. Why? Because we are World Champs. Keep your heads high Phillies fans. I'll take 10,000 losses over 100 years without a championship any day.

A few notes

I'll start this off with saying that Andrew Carpenter, the 24-year old called up to make his first career start last night versus the Nationals, wound up getting the win. He originally wouldn't have recorded the win because he didn't go 5 innings but the MLB said because the game was ended in the top of the 6th, Carpenter pitched enough to earn the win. He went 4 1/3 innings, giving up 5 runs on 8 hits and striking out 4. Clay Condrey picked up the save.

In other news, the Phillies sent Carpenter to the minors, calling up Sergio Escalona from AA Reading. He had a 2.08 ERA with 10 saves in 17 1/3 innings. He pitched today, going 1 inning and giving a hit and striking out 1. Ryan Howard flipped him the ball after the inning, giving Escalona a souvenir.

With the call ups/downs of the pitches, Miguel Cairo became the odd man out. He got optioned to AAA Lehigh for assignment, which will lead to the Phillies either trading or releasing him, if he isn't signed by another team first.

FIM #13: The Birth of the Phillie Phanatic

He's from the Galapagos Islands. He warms our hearts. He's big, green, and furry. He resembles a character Dr. Suess would have invented. He is the Phillie Phanatic and he is by far the coolest mascot in all of professionial sports. Moment #13 is when he was introduced back in 1978. Sports Illustrated voted the Phanatic as the best mascot in all of sports only a few years ago.

Dave Raymond was the original mascot, donning the costume from 1978-1993. Tom Burgoyne currently wears the costume. Raymond invented the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2005, makin the Phanatic a charter memember. Along with the San Diego Chicken, the Phanatic has helped revolutionize the sports mascot with their silly antics and hilarious pranks.

Some of the Phanatics normal pranks include his provacative dancing and shaking his belly, his giant kiss, and the infamous "Whammy Hand" while he stands on the Phillies dug out in late innings. He also is known for his pregame antics of teasing opposing players as they warm up and riding his ATV, the first mascot to ever do so.

His most famous and proud moment has to be making Tommy Lasorda snap. In a game years ago when the Phillies were playing the Dodgers, the Phanatic hopped on his ATV and ran over a dummy wearing a Lasorda Jersey. It enraged Lasorda who actually attacked the Phanatic. People thought it was in good fun but in fact, Lasorda really hates the Phanatic. "I hate the Phillie Phanatic. That type of a display should not be shown in ballparks, especially in front of children. It exhibits violence and disrespect," said the hypocritical Lasorda who actually body slammed the lovable mascot.

He's the best mascot in all of sports bar none. It's not even being a biased fan. Ask any fan in the world who the best mascot in all of sports is and they will say the big furry green guy in Philly. Well except Mets fans of course who think their stupid baseball-headed Mr. Met is more entertaining than the Phanatic. It's hard to go to a Phillies game and not watch the Phanatic. Keep on whammying, big fella.

Weekly Recap: 5/10-5/16

Standings:
Mets 21-15 --
Phillies 19-16; -1.5
Marlins 18-18; -3
Braves 18-19; -3.5
Nationals 11-24; -9.5

Week record: 4-3

POSITIVES:
- Brett Myers has been a lot better since his terrible start. In his 2 starts this past week, he went 6 innings, giving up 1 run on Sunday and went 7 innings, giving up 2 and striking out 8.

-Raul Ibanez has been absolutely phenomenal! He went 11-24 with 4 homers and 12 RBI's.

-The offense has heated up versus the Nationals, hitting plenty of dingers in the pitcher-friendly park. They hope to continue it despite being in a current rain delay in the 2nd half of the double header.

NEGATIVES:
-Only a 3-3 record as they lost their series versus Los Angeles. They don’t have Manny Ramirez and the Phillies still failed to at least win the series. The offense was absolutely pitiful in that series

-Brad Lidge blew another save versus the Nationals but fortunately for him, the team scored 4 runs in the top of the 12th Friday night.

-Rollins is still batting terrible. As I said, he vowed to bat .400 for the month of May and is only batting .206 for the month despite being on a current 5 game hit streak.

Upcoming schedule:
5/17 – @WAS
5/19-21 – @ CIN
5/22-23 - @ NYY

FIM #14: The 2007 Run

This moment in Phillies history will be one of the few I will never forget. Mainly because I was at the last game (the above photo was taken by me) which I luckily got Standing Room Only tickets to.

With just 17 games to go, the Mets were 7 games ahead of the 2nd place Phillies. The Phillies finished the season 13-4 while the Mets went 5-12. The momentum shifted when the Phillies swept the Mets in New York.

It was the last series of the season for both teams. The Phillies were up a game on New York. The Mets played and beat the Florida Marlins in their first 2 games. The Phillies were playing the Washington Nationals and split the first 2 games. The division was tied going into the last game of the season.

I get to the stadium and the Marlins/Mets game started a half hour earlier than the Phillies. Everyone is following the out of town score board and on their phones and after the first inning of that game, the Marlins were winning 7-1. Florida added a run in the 5th and the Phillies rolled over the Nationals 6-1.

Jimmy Rollins got that game going right away with a lead off triple, his 20th of the season. That hit was just a small piece of the kind of finish he had for the season, leading to his MVP honors. No one picked up a team like he did and he was able to beat out Matt Holiday of the Rockies, who played a similar role for the Rockies, who made the Wild Card.

The Phillies made the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, winning the division for the first time in 14 years as well. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Rockies in 3 games. We know what happened next year.

Phillies Visit Obama

The Phillies made their visit to the White House today before their game against the Nationals. They were scheduled to meet President Barack Obama last month but after the unfortunate death of Harry Kalas, they had to cancel.

They presented the president with a #44 jersey with the gold trim from Opening Night, signifying him being the 44th president of the United States and a signed ball. Reading Obama's lips, he asked Jimmy Rollins if he could have the World Series ring as well.

Raul Ibanez, Jack Taschner, Chan Ho Park, and Miguel Cairo were not invited because they were not a part of the championship team.

The full speech by President Obama can be read at the bottom of this blog post in the Philadelphia Inquirer

FIM #15: Three Straight Years of HOFers

It was in the wake of a World Series run that ended in heart break. But fans were soon reminded of the great players that have worn the Phillies jersey in years past. 1994 was the first of three consecutive years a Phillie would get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

In 1994, Steve Carlton was inducted. He is considered one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game. Carlton came over to Philadelphia in the “greatest trade in Phillies history” for Rick Wise in 1972. He continued to be the dominatne pitcher he was in St. Louis, helping the Phillies win their first World Series in 1980. Carlton won 329 games in his career with 254 complete games, 55 of those were shut outs.

In 1995, the Phillies were treated with 2 HOFers: Mike Schmidt and the late Richie Ashburn. Schmidt is considered the greatest third basemen ever. He was a Phillie his whole career and was a 9-time Gold Glover, 12-time All Star, 6-time Silver Slugger, and 1-time world champion.

Ashburn was a member of the 1950 pennant winning team nicknamed the “Whiz Kids” and became one half of the famous Harry and Whitey broadcasting team. He could hit, get on base and steal then would steal them. He is 3rd in Phillies history in runs scored. He is also a 5-time All Star. He passed away on September 9, 1997.

Lastly, in 1996, Jim Bunning was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Bunning was famous for throwing the only perfect game in Phillies history in 1964, the same year they had their monumental collapse. Bunning was excellent his whole career, winning 224 games and striking out 2855 batters.

All four players have had their numbers retired by the Phillies. Surely it was a wonderful consolation prize after losing the heart breaker in 1993.

Top 15 Famous/Infamous Moments in Phillies History

Over the next 2 weeks, I will be posting daily (hopefully) my top 15 Phillies moments of all time, both the good, the bad, and the ugly. I will start at 15 and make my way to 1, highlighting some of the greatest moments that made you proud to be a Phillies fan to some of the moments that made you shake your head and utter the infamous 3 words every Philadelphia fan knows: "Maybe next year."

Every post related to this will be labeled “FIM” and each title will read “FIM:…”

Manuel Chooses Torre For NL All Star Staff

I saw this on Comcast Sports Net this morning and Todd Zolecki posted it on the Zo Zone:

One of the perks of being the National League Champion is that the manager gets to coach his respective league the following year. Charlie Manuel will do such when the NL plays the AL on July 14 in St. Louis. Joe Maddon of Tampa Bay will coach the AL.

Each manager gets to choose 2 managers from their league to be on their staff. Manuel already made one selection, choosing Joe Torre of the Dodgers to be one of his assistants. A little fun fact: Torre chose Manuel as one of his coaches in the infamous tie in the 2002 game in Milwaukee.

Wolf Dominates Old Team

Last night was just awful to watch. Well the last 6 innings were. The Phillies lost 9-2 and Jamie Moyer got roughed up, lasting only 4.1 innings and gave up 7 runs on 8 hits. The Phillies offense managed to only get 2 runs on 5 hits, both being solo home runs but Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez.

For the first 3 innings, it was going smooth. Rollins hit a solo home run to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning and Moyer pitched 1-hit ball. The it went down hill as Rafael Furcal led off the 2nd with a double, which was followed up by another double by Orlando Hudson, scoring Furcal. The Dodgers then had runners on the corners and Andre Ethier skied what looked like a routine fly ball that just carried over the fence for a 3 run shot, putting LA up 4-1. And when it rains, it pours.

The Phillies only got offense from Rollins, Ibanuez, Carlos Ruiz (2 doubles), and Jayson Werth (reached base all 4 times). Randy Wolf (2-1) schooled his former team, going 6-strong while giving up 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 8. Ryan Howard was absolutely terrible, striking out his first 3 AB's and then lined out to center.

Three Stars:
-Wolf
-James Loney (3-5, HR, 4 RBI's
-Matt Kemp (2-4, 2 R, great plays in CF)

Shades of Little League

I can still remember some of the finest and not so finest moments of my Little League days. I would remember seeing the kids on my team hit monstrous home runs and the coaches on the other team want to see their Babe Ruth cards. I would remember winning tournaments and getting awesome trophies that now collect dust in my room.

But I would also remember a few things that would make me cringe. I played baseball in Atlantic City where I grew up and I won't go into those details because they weren't relevant to baseball. If you remember the Toms River, NJ team that won the Little League World Series in 1998, you would remember Casey Gaynor who would terrorize the hitters in that tournament, let alone terrorize our team in the championship game of a tournament (especially me).

But there is one moment I still remember that is so embarrassing. I went to Holy Spirit High School in Absecon and became friends with a kid named Andrew Richard. He reminded me of a play when Chelsea (my team) played Absecon in a tournament and Richard stole home. He would continue to remind me of this in high school.

Well I didn't need Richard to remind me of that play because last night, Jayson Werth made me look back at that moment versus the Dodgers. Werth stole second with Jimmy Rollins at the plate and then took third with Raul Ibanez up to bat. Werth is now standing on third with Pedro Feliz up to bat.

Richard stood on third and was watching the pitcher. He knew that he was unfocused. After the pitcher threw to the plate, Richard took his usual lead off third base but kept walking. As the catcher lazily tossed the ball back to the pitcher who then turned his back, Richard bolted. Chelsea's pitcher couldn't get the throw home in time as Richard slid in safe. Werth did the same thing to Ronald Belisario and Russell Martin.

I still laugh when I see major leaguers do stupid things like not pay attention to runners. I also love it when runners play the game with that extra edge. It makes you wonder why some of these athletes get payed to make the same mistakes a 12 year old would make. It also makes you wonder why the guys who go out there, play hard, and have fun get over shadowed by stuff Manny Ramirez or other players do.

Todd Zolecki Revisits the Top 10 Moments of the NLCS

I gave this a read and thought it was very cool. Todd Zolecki made a list of his top 10 moments of the Phillies 4-1 series win over the Dodgers in the NLCS. Here is his Top 10:

10. Rollins's lead off homer in Game 5

9. Victorino honors his grandmother.

8. Myers goes 3-for-3 with three RBIs.

7. Hamels in Game 1.

6. Pitchers brushing back batters.

5. Hamels is the MVP.

4. Utley and Burrell homer in Game 1.

3. Victorino ties game 5.

2. The final out.

1. The Shot.

2 Stand Tall

The Phillies are sitting a game and a half out of first, Jimmy Rollins can't hit for the life of him, and the pitching is as big a mystery as to who shot JFK but there are 2 things the Phillies can count on. Or should I say people. Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez have been freakishly amazing thus far.

We'll start with the new guy. After we saw Pat Burrell fly down to Tampa Bay, the Phillies signed Ibanez. Now I was one of them many people who were not only skeptical of the signing but against the letting go of Burrell. Here is a little comparison of the two:

Burrell: .250 average, 1 home run, 17 RBI's, and only 5 extra base hits.

Ibanez: .327 average, 9 home runs, 23 RBI's, and has struck out 7 less times. He is also 1st on the team in hits with Utley.

It's amazing what Ibanez has brought to the table this year. He hit his first homer during the World Series ring ceremony, erasing any memory of Pat Burrell's shots from the other side of the plate and then he hit a game winning grand slam. He's a smart hitter and he doesn't seem to be affected by batting either 5th or 6th in the order.

Now to the second lone ranger. Utley erased any doubts about his injured right hip with his tremendous start. He is batting .309 with 10 homers and 23 RBI's. He is also 4th in hits, 1st in homers, and tied for 1st (with Ibanez) in RBI's on the team. But Utley is more than just an offensive force. He is the leader of the team both vocally and in his play.

As the late Harry the K once said, "Chase Utley, you are the man!"

Hey J-Roll. When can I write a post like this about you? It's May 11th and .171 is nowhere near .400 for the month of May.

Weekly Recap: 5/3-5/9

Week record: 3-3
Standings:
Mets 16-13 --
Phillies 15-13 .5
Marlins 16-14 .5
Braves 14-16 2.5
Nationals 9-18 6

POSITIVES:
-Hamels’ return: Cole Hamels pitched amazing in his return to action on Friday, going 6 strong innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out 6. He isn’t back to regular form but he is on the right pace.

-Cardinals Sweep: Yea it was only two games but they won both games on the road. They scored 16 runs in both games combined, hitting 4 homers with 2 coming from Jayson Werth.

-Chan Ho Park: He pitched an amazing game versus the Mets but couldn’t get any run support or defense as the Phillies fell 1-0. He went 6 innings giving up no runs on 1 hit and striking out 5.

NEGATIVES:
-Mets Sweep: After taking both in St. Louis, the Phillies fell both times to New York, allowing them to eventually gain momentum and take first in the division by half a game.

-Lidge: He has been terrible in the pen. In 2 games and 2 innings, he’s given up 4 runs (3 earned) and only struck out 3. He has also recorded no saves.

-Rollins: He vowed to bat .400 in May and is only 6-28 so far, a measly .222. I hope he picks his game up because as our lead off guy, he has to be getting on base a lot more.

Upcoming schedule:
5/10 – ATL
5/12-14 – LAD
5/15-15 - @WAS

Phillies Speak Out About Manny

This was posted on Phillies Nation and I wanted to reiterate it here as well. I really sympathize with Charlie Manuel the most because he was close to Manny Ramirez and was probably one of the most hurt:

Brad Lidge
”It makes you wonder, was he doing it last year? Every time something like this happens, you feel cheated a bit. Was he on the substance when I had to pitch against him in the postseason? Naturally, it makes you feel upset."

Matt Stairs
“Another one bites the dust... If you know the stuff isn’t on the list, why take it? I know I’m not very smart, but I know I can figure that one out. There are a bunch of guys who are going to have to stop taking all this health [stuff] and go back to being chubby and having fun.”

Shane Victorino
“It’s sad. I feel bad for him, but I guess he brought it on himself.”

Charlie Manuel
“I used to do a lot of work with him as a hitter. I knew how good he was. He’s a great hitter. I know his talent. I’m sad. I don’t know what to say. I’m just sad.”

Hamels to Pitch Tonight

Cole Hamels will be making his first start since spraining his ankle on April 28. Before that start he took a line drive off his left shoulder from Prince Fielder. It hasn't been just the regular season as Hamels has also missed time in Spring Training due to inflammation in his left elbow, forcing Brett Myers to take the opening day spot.

"We'll see how far he can go," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "Once his
pitch count gets up there, we'll see. He might be able to go 85 or 90 [pitches],
maybe more. I don't know."

Hamels is a great pitcher and I know he will come around. He has battled through injuries before and this is nothing new to him. He will catch fire mid-season and finish strong, returning to World Series MVP form.

Hamels has made four starts and is 0-2 with a 7.27 ERA. He has struck out 15 batter in 17.1 innings pitched. He will face Jo-Jo Reyes (0-1; 5.00) of the Braves tonight.

Danny Ozark: 1923-2009

Former Phillies manager Danny Ozark died today. He was 85. He managed the team from 1973-1979 and compiled a record of 594-510. He led the Phillies to 3 straight NL East championships from '76-'78 but failed to reach the World Series.

Non-Phillies: Manny Ramirez Busted!

Another shocker (kinda) in the baseball world just occurred today. A few months after finding out about Alex Rodriguez's steroid use from 2001-2003, Manny Ramirez was suspended 50 games for using an illegal substance, reported ESPN. He denied knowing he took steroids, saying he was prescribed medicine by a doctor that contained the banned substance.

Two sources told ESPN's T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada that the drug used by Ramirez is HCG -- human chorionic gonadotropin. HCG is a women's fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It is similar to Clomid, the drug Bonds, Giambi and others used as clients of BALCO.

This is incredible! I bet you Boston fans everywhere are laughing their butts off. I am actually upset only because I'm going to the Phillies/Dodgers game May 13th. Honestly, I'd rather see the Phillies beat Los Angeles than see Ramirez play. I saw him play last year for both Boston and LA when they came to town and years before that.

A new face!

Here it is! The new blog. It's got a nice sexy feel to it. A little bad ass in my opinion. Now to make it even better I will do a good job at keeping this bad boy up and running.

Again, I am John Russo and I'm going to be a Junior at Rowan University in the fall. I am a journalism major and I want to be a sports writer. I'm a Philadelphia fan but I am also a fan of the game. This is the "Team to Beat."

Michael Jack Schmidt!!

After beating Chase Utley easily in the March Madness Finals, Mike Schmidt became the ultimate Phillie. Here is the bracket tracking the entire tournament.

From the World Series to the Mets Series

With two outs in the top of the 9th, the Brad Lidge stared down Eric Hinske.

Three straight sliders resulting in three straight strikes brought the Phillies and their fans to euphoria: a World Series championship.

“I felt like the hole in my sports life that was missing finally was filled,” said Steve Grande, a Senior at Rowan.

“Since I started watching sports I always wondered what it would be like. It was such a good and different feeling.”

It was a proud day indeed for Philadelphia fans everywhere. A city that has been in a title drought for 25 years was finally relieved.

The city couldn’t celebrate for long. They knew that the Phillies would truly be the team to beat now and the title defense would be a task.

The Phillies knew this too and they had to retool. One of the major offseason moves was Pat Burrell. After being unable to sign him, they had to look in a different direction.

“I think Pat Burrell was a monumental piece of the Phillies making and winning the World Series,” said Jay Del Duke, a sophomore at Rowan.

“I was sad to see Pat go mainly because he is the right handed bat we need.”

The Phillies found a replacement in Raul Ibanez, who will be 37 in June.

“I love Raul,” said Del Duke. “I think everyone was skeptic about him being a lefty but he has proven that he can hit lefties and be productive even when the lineup is (Chase) Utley, (Ryan) Howard, then Ibanez.”

The Phillies also needed a 5th starting pitcher in the rotation. They only used four in the playoffs because the fifth guy was so bad. They can’t do that all season though.

They had Carlos Carrasco, JA Happ, and Kyle Kendrick to fight for the last spot and signed Chan Ho Park as a guy to compete with not only the starting spot but also in the rotation.

“He’s ok,” said Grande. “Out of all of their pitchers he’s my least favorite. I still want Happ to be the 5th man.”

“I also wanted Happ to be the fifth guy but obviously they went with Park,” said Anthony Medio, another Rowan sophomore.

The fifth spot wasn’t the only problem as was also whether or not to keep Moyer. Philadelphia actually chose to keep him, signing him to a 2 year contract worth $16 million.

“I love the fact that the Phillies kept Moyer on the team,” said Patrick Rush, a senior. “He is a solid pitcher and can serve as a senior leader. Plus he's from Philly.”

The Phillies set their 25 man roster with a few new guys such as Park, Ibanez, Miguel Cairo for utility help, Jack Taschner for left-handed relief pitching, and let go of Geoff Jenkins.

The other big concern was Utley’s hip. He had surgery back in November and they feared he would not be able to make Opening Day. That was not the case as he played only 10 games in Spring Training but there was still worry that he may not be in top form.

“I was concerned but obviously not anymore,” said Medio, referring to Utley’s start of .346 average, 8 homers, and 21 RBI’s.

The season started once again with Brett Myers on the hill due to Cole Hamels being injured. Myers got roughed up, which became a trend for all pitching, even when Hamels returned.

The Phillies hit a slow start all the way up to May 4 with a 13-10 record. Rush thinks it may be due to the pitching.

“Their ERAs are through the roof and they are giving up ridiculous amounts of homeruns,” he said.

Another factor may be Jimmy Rollins’ slow start. He’s only batting .200 as the leadoff guy and has an OBP of .245, a terrible number for his spot in the lineup.

Rollins has been known for bold predictions as he he said he would bat .400 in the month of May.

“I think that he will not reach .400 but he can be productive,” said Del Duke.

The injuries to Carlos Ruiz and Cole Hamels have been problems but Grande isn’t worried.

“I think the Phils will be fine with injuries,” said Grande. They’re so deep, they don’t have to rely on just one player.”

They brought up Lou Marson to fill in for the injured Ruiz and he as filled in nice. As far as prospects to be called up, he has become the first to be brought into action and may become the most effective.

“They have to keep Marson up,” said Medio.

I believe not just him but Jason Donald and John Mayberry Jr. will eventually get some significant playing time. Carrasco may as well.

Distractions have also affected this start. Longtime broadcaster Harry Kalas died last month and the team and fans are still reeling from his loss.

“His voice will forever ring in my ears when I see a Phillies homerun,” said Del Duke.

“I grew up listening to Harry. Games just won’t be the same,” said Grande.

Their season isn’t anywhere near a bust and this team always fires up by May.

Is a repeat evitable?

“I sure hope so,” said Rush. “But the way the starting pitching has been… not a chance.”

Team to Beat - Just Your Typical Phillies Blog

Team to Beat

It has a nice ring to it. That's the new name of the blog and will be officially changed before Sunday. "It's Outta Here" was the runner up idea that I had.

After this semester ends (Wednesday), I'll be looking into changing the face, name, and direction of the blog. I will have my final project posted by tomorrow. Here are the features of the new blog:

-New name.
-New background.
-New picture.
-Weekly recap posts: best game, weekly star which I'll try to keep track of throughout the season, etc.
-Monthly recap posts like the one I did for April.
-I'll try to speak with Justin and ask him to contribute a bit to my blog. I'll be linking to his quite often because I used to write for it.
-I'll also do some other stuff like important news in the team, division, and even around the league.

Here are some of my favorite posts from this past semester:
-Beating a Dead Horse: the verbal battle between the Phillies and Mets.
-Phillies Tailgate
-My 25-man roster prediction and official roster
-The March Madness: the champion will be announced tomorrow as well
-Anthony Medio interview
-Me vs. Mets fan
-Ring ceremony slide show
-Harry Kalas: 1936-2009