Man, it’s been a while!


untitled.jpgYa, it’s been a while since I last posted.  It was kind of a disappointing end to the season, seeing that the Giants are probably the worst team ever to win a World Series.  But if you’re a baseball Phan, particulary a Phillies Phan, we have a lot to be excited about this year.  Here’s a quick list of things I’m excited about…
 

  1. R2C2:  Roy, Roy, Cliff, and Cole are going to be awesome to watch this year.  I’m a realist, so I don’t expect all of these guys to throw up 20 win seasons, but I think if any year, this could be the year for it to happen because of one thing… Pitching order.  Halladay will be going up against everyone’s number one.  Cliff will be dominating everyone’s number two, Little Roy will be destroying everyone’s number three, and Cole will probably win 35 starts against some of the dirtbags teams have for their number four starters.
  2.  No-No:  I’m looking forward to possible back-to-back No-No’s from Roy and Cliff.
  3.  Mets:  Watching the Mets be awful once again.
  4. Uggla:  Watching Uggla see what it’s like to play in a stadium with 15,000 fans (Atlanta) as opposed to 1,200 fans like he had in Florida.  Good luck putting up those numbers in ATL. Won’t happen.
  5. #4:  just a quick reference to #4, the Phillies sell out every home game and usually come close to selling out the Nationals stadium when we play down their against their triple A team.
  6. Jimmy Rollins:  The guy says he’s coming in to camp in the best shape of his life this year.  Thanks Jimmy, we paid you all that money the past three years to come into camp out of shape and lazy…  Let’s see what you can do in a contract year.  Everyone knows of my dislike for LazyRoll.
  7. Lidge:  WTF are we going to get out of him this year.  Every 9th inning is a mystery.
  8. Carlos:  Carlos Ruiz in the 5 hole behind Howard until Utley gets back.  That should be interesting.
  9. Braves:  Watching the Braves finish behind the Phillies yet again.  Nice offseason move (Uggla) and nothing else.
  10. Cox:  I’m excited that I don’t have to worry about Bobby Cox having a heart attack on the field this year when he walks out to the mound to take out a Braves Pitcher.  Love the guy, but now he will be in the booth with his stack of Double-Stuffed Oreos and a cold one making decisions.

2 Questions

wallss.JPG

Impressive win last night especially since Roy Halladay and the rest of the pen stepped it up.  Speaking of the Pen, Why didn’t the MLB network show “The Pen” this year?  I was drawn to it for obvious reasons and I still would have tuned in to watch the Yankees Pen in their everyday life routines.  Best part from last season was easily all of the outfits that JC Romero showed up in from episode to episode.  Getting back to the Postseason,  Madson was very impressive last night with his three up three down performance, striking out all three.  Hopefully we’ll see him Saturday and Sunday as we head to the World Series.  But here’s the second question… What in the world was he doing standing on the line during Werth’s homerun in the 9th?  And what would have happened if it hit him? You got to love Mad Dog taunting the Giant fans as we take a 4-2 lead. 

Wake Up Manuel!


 
 
J Roll2.JPGCharlie, I’m going to help you out a little, but first I got to find out what you’re thinking.  Why did you move Jimmy Rollins out of the lead-off spot?  Answer:  Because he sucks.  Legitimate reason there Charlie, but here’s what I really want to know, Why in the world do you have him hitting above Raul Ibanez and Carlos Ruiz.  I’ll even debate even putting him in hte line up at all! Let’s take a look at the second half numbers:

 

Rollins- .237 B.A., .303 OBP, 4 HR, 27 RBI

Ibanez- .302 B.A., 370 OBP, 10 HR, 46 RBI

Ruiz- .321 B.A., 401 OBP, 6 HR, 40 RBI

 

And just for fun Valdez batted .260 (with only 76 less at bats in the second half than Rollins)

 

Again Charlie, I ask you why in the world is Rollins in the six hole and not in the eight spot?  Is it because he’s a switch hitter?  Or is it because you think you owe him something for helping you win a World Series? 

Rollins has nothing but a nonchalant type attitude since he signed his extension… Now we have to see his lazy butt in the lineup through 2011.  He plays great defense and can steal bases when he’s not hurt, but the lazy, I’m better than everyone attitude has worn its welcome in Philly.  We got rid of McNabb last year for the same style of play from time to time and now it looks like it’s time for Rollins to do the same.

Philly Phans, Listen up… After speaking from a source close to the team, Amaro has discussed moving Rollins in the off-season to the Boston Red Sox to free up money to sign Jayson Werth.  This is a great move when you think about who you would rather in your line-up next year Rollins or Werth? 

My vote would be to go with Valdez at short for the rest of the post-season.  Use Rollins as a pinch hitter from here on out.  There is too much at stake.  Nice job Jimmy with your 0-4 with 3 Ks tonight in NLCS Game 1.  I fast forward through every one of your at bats because you are awful.  In case you missed the game, Rollins popped out to second with Howard on second with one out in the second inning, struck out in the 4th after a lead-off walk to Werth, struck out after Werth’s momentum shifting 2-run bomb in the 6th while lollygagging down to first with out even dropping the bat when the catcher dropped the ball, and struck out in the 8th after Werth’s two-out base hit.  Way to completely kill us tonight J-Roll.

What I’m excited about in the NLCS

utleyhomer.jpgThere’s a lot of hype around the NLCS with all the pitching matchups, but I want to remind everyone of July 30, 2009 when Chase Utley came to the plate against Jonathan Sanchez in the sixth inning of a 7-1 game.  Sanchez let the first pitch sail over Utley’s head as the catcher set up on the outside corner.  Utley gave him a glare and took one step toward the mound to show his unappreciation.  Before the next pitch, Utley called time and stepped out when Sanchez was in his wind-up.  Utley got the last laugh by crushing a solo-shot way out of the yard to close out the at-bat.  I guess you could say the Phills got their revenge by hitting Ryan Garko later in the game, but that’s kind of like sending a nasty e-mail to your neighbor after he backed into your new Corvette…  I’m looking forward to Utley’s glare out to the mound on Sunday which will be followed by pee running down Sanchez’s leg.

Poor Roy

I feel bad for Roy… but not Roy Halladay, That guy is awesome.  I feel bad for Roy Oswalt.  The guy has thrown 12 innings this year in two starts with 11 K’s and a 3.75 ERA and he’s also got an 0-2 record.  How do you get motivated to pitch for the 0-6 Astros let alone knowing your going up against the top two pitchers in Baseball (Tim Lincecum in Game 1 and Roy Halladay in Game 2).  He should be able to get a weaker opponent in the Cubs later this week.  I still love you Roy and would love to see you in a Phillies Uniform in late July.  We’ll pay you and you can enjoy winning again without having steroid users Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite in your rotation.  Can you imagine having a Roy, Roy, Hamels, Blanton, Happ rotation!!!  I sure can.

I love watching him pitch, almost as much as I like watching Roy Halladay.  The guy goes out there every 5th day and gives you a chance to win.

Top 5 Pitchers I’d like to see in a Phillies Uniform in 2010 because they are horses and they might just come off the mound and punch you in the face if it means helping the team win.

  1. Roy Oswalt
  2. Tim Hudson
  3. Mark Buehrle
  4. Carlos Zambrano
  5. Justin Verlander

A matured Kevin Millwood would be on this list, but he’s burned his bridge in Philly already.

Spring Training Day 4

Day 4: Blue Jays vs Phillies

Day four… I can’t believe the trip is over.  I’m writing this entry from SC instead of sunny Clearwater.  We got to the park early to see about 50 guys in Phillies Uniforms walking down the street to another facility across the street.  It was a sight to see and hear as these guys went crackleing down the sidewalk in their spikes.  There wasn’t much going on at Carpenter’s complex this morning, so after stopping by for a few minutes to chat with a Clubhouse attendent, we headed over to Brighthouse Field to watch the Phills take batting practice.  With gloves in hand we ran all over the berm catching homers by Howard, Werth, Utley, and Ibanez.  These guys were lighting it up.  I got in a mini altercation with an out-of-shape old guy about not letting the kids catch the balls.  Honestly, I doubt a 10 year-old is going to have much of a chance catching a 400 foot bomb by Chase Utley with a plastic glove without breaking their nose.  The guy was just pissed because I’m 6’4″ and he couldn’t catch any.  We did give the balls to the kids after we caught them, the thrill for us was catching them.  We got a great look at Roy Halladay, even though he gave up a few hits, the guy looked awesome and I’m pumped about having him in Red this year.

 

Phills.jpgI was able to snap a photo of the above Phillies.  These guys need to step up this year in order for the Phillies to be successful.  The rest of the guys will take care of business.  If you can’t tell, its Madson, Durbin, Lidge, Hamels, and Happ from left to right.  These guys have to start the game well and end the game well this year.  Either way, they’re a fine bunch.  I think Happ may be a bit of an outsider.  Madson is just a goof. 

The game was great, the girl sitting next to us that watched our bags while we hit up the concession stand, told us that she had to give a guy a round-house while we were gone for stealing our stuff.  It didn’t really happen, but wouldn’t that be awesome if it it did!  Just thought I’d throw that in.

We stopped by Outback on the way back, and made it back to SC around 2:30am. 

Spring Training Day 3

Day 3:  Phillies @ Astros

By far the sunniest day we’ve had so far in Florida.  Today we left bright and early and headed to Kissammee, Florida to Astros stadium.  We were able t upgrade our tickets with a scalper in the parking lot to land us in the fourth row behind home plate.  Sadly we lost a valuable member of the Phillies on this day… Jayson Werth’s beard.  Yep it’s gone, he surprised everyone with the trim this morning. 

JaysonWerth.jpgKendrick threw OK today but was taken out early.  Moyer will be the 5th guy in the rotation.  We got a good look at David Herndon, new guy in the pen.  After watching the Phills lose, we watched Charlie Manuel walk out of the clubhouse into the public parking lot and get into his SUV and drive away in full uniform.  Kind of wierd to see the big guy park with the common folk, but hey, that’s Charlie for you. 

After the game, we headed back to Tampa and caught the Yankees vs. Blue Jays game at George S. Stadium.  We were able to pick up tickets for 20 bucks.  It was great to see two games in one day.  Tomorrow, we’ll check out Roy Halladay on our last day in Clearwater. 

Spring Training Day 2

Day 2 Phillies vs Braves

What a day!  We got the day started off with a trip to IHOP.  Bananna Strawberry Pancakes never tasted so good.  After a trip to Starbucks, we headed over to Carpenter’s Complex around 10am.  When we arrived there were many players going through drills on two of the fields.  Got to see D. Brown and the rumors are true that he looks like Darryl Strawberry.  We were able to get about a foot away from P. Aumont, T. Gillies, JC Rameriz, J. Savery and many of the other Phuture Phillies.  Funny Story, JC Rameriz actually asked me for a few pitching tips… Ya right, but we did snap a photo.

 

JC Rameriz.jpgWe headed over to the game to watch JA Happ get in a little trouble, but still have a productive outing.  All the guys were on the field against the Braves.  The Braves sent McCann, Glaus, Melky, Prado, McClouth, and Hinske.  The rest were all scrub players.  I guess I’ll have to wait till the season to check out Heyward.  After the game we got some wings and headed to Derby Lanes Dog Track.  We gambled till around 11pm (I lost 20 bucks) and headed back to the hotel to find the biggest cop I’ve ever seen standing outside our room.  He was talkind to a homeless drunk guy from what we gathered.  All in all, it was a great day despite the 5-4 loss and the 0-5 day by Jayson Werth.  Poor Jayson, he destroyed his helmet after his last at bat.  Houstan tomorrow!

Spring Training Day 1

Day 1 Pirates vs Phillies

Everything was set to go.  We ate some breakfast at Dunkin Donuts, got to the stadium early, and made small talk with the Phillies Phans sitting next to us.  The only thing that didn’t cooperate was the weather.  We hung around till around 2:30 before they cancelled the game.  The Phillies workers were very nice as we were able to grab free hot dogs, pretzals, and bottled water.  Wouldn’t get that treatment in Atlanta!.  The most important part of a rain out is getting phans to give you their ticket stubs so you can turn them in for free tickets next season.  We got plenty.  We used garbage bags to serve as ponchos for our walk back to the car. The two of us were the last to leave the stadium and headed back to the Economy Inn to grab a nap.  After dinner at the Tilted Kilt, we swung by Carpenter’s Complex to find one guy cleaning the offices.
   We pulled into Charlie Manuel’s parking spot and started talking to this guy.

 
Manuel.jpgWe offered him $50 bucks to walk around in the clubhouse for 5 minutes.  He declined and went back inside.  We walked around for a bit only to notice the cleaning guy coming back out with a bat.  I could tell he felt uncomfortable so after he declined our offer again we took off.  We went back to the hotel to read some blogs and get ready for the Braves in the morning.

 

The 9 H Club…

Normal
0

false
false
false

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

Look for Ruben to look to his 9 H’s to step up big in 2010.  I feel that these are going to be the most important pieces to the Phillies success.  If these guys step up in a big way, we’ll be seeing another ring soon.  We lost one of our biggest H’s in 09 when Harry Kalas left us.Hopefully we’ll see Mike ScHmidt back in spring training this year as a guest instructor.

Ryan Howard (look for another 40+ bombs)

JA Happ(look for a 12+ Win season)

Cole Hamels (look for a possible Cy Young sighting with 18 Wins)

Roy Halladay (look for him winning the Roy Halladay award this year… 22 Wins)

CHase Utley (look for 2010 MVP  35 Bombs 100 + RBI, .315 avg)

Jayson WertH (look for Jason Bay type numbers and about 13 million next year)

SHane Victorino (look for another gold glove and another allstar selection)

JosepH Blanton (Look for 14 wins, ERA under 3.80)

CHarlie Manual (Look for skinnier pants… The guys lost a ton of weight.  Manager of the year!)

Also, look for the Phillies to bring in Either Tim Hudson or Dan Haren at the allstar break.