The Return of Rolen

I am very excited for this three game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. For the sixth time, I will get to see my favorite Phillie return home to with stand the boos and idiots who didn't appreciate what he brought to this franchise. Scott Rolen is still a true Phillie in my book.

Rolen had a remarkable career in Philaldelphia, batting a career .281, 150 homers, and 559 RBI's in seven seasons. He won the rookie of the year in 1997 and tallied four of his seven Gold Gloves while here. He was also an all star in his final year in Philly and added four more in St. Louis.

After his feud with the Phillies front office, mainly Dallas Green who said he was trying to be better than he really was, and was upset at the Phillies lack of urgency to win, Rolen refused to sign a contract extension in his final year. He wasn't being greedy and he wasn't sticking it to the city he loved to play for, he just hated his boss and the situation he was in. Rolen was traded to the Cardinals along with a prospect for Placido Polanco, Bud Smith, and Mike Timlin.

Rolen went to St. Louis from 2002 until 2007 and won a World Series there in 2006. Along with Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds, he helped form a dangerous 3-4-5 spot in the lineup. He was then traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Troy Glaus.

Rolen has had to battle injuries he sustained while playing in Veterans Stadium for most of his career. His aggressive play, tenacity in the field, and amazing skill with the glove at third base wore him down as he would dive along the rock-hard surface in the Vet. He would continue to struggle with injuries after leaving Philly with the torn shoulder labrum he sustained in Philly along with his constant sore lower back.

Rolen has played some great baseball this year for Toronto, hitting .320 in 54 games. His power numbers have dropped as he has only three homers and 18 doubles with 19 RBI's.

I'll be at Wednesday's game wearing my Rolen #17 Phillies jersey and cheering hard for him in full force.

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.