:: Phillies Blog :: Thoughts, theories, and other Philly sports trivia.

Saturday, November 1

posted at 5:13 PM

2008 World Champions

Friday, October 17

posted at 9:57 AM

Phillies: Homegrown Heroes

You'd think, after a while, I'd stop posting New York Times articles in favor of the Inquirer or the Daily News. But no, here's another great piece from NYT on how the Phillies build their farm system for long-term payoff ...

Read: Phillies Looked Within for a Long-Sought Pennant

An excerpt:

[Phillies' scout Mike Arbuckle's] scouting philosophy is entrenched within the organization, and it is the foundation of the team's success. Arbuckle is content to let other teams seek polished college products with impressive statistics.

The Phillies, like the Braves years ago, take a different approach.

The ideal Phillies draft choice is a high school senior with raw skills -- foot speed, arm speed, home run power -- that cannot be easily taught. The player then joins the organization at a younger age, where his skills can be honed by Phillies coaches.

Read the article

2 comments

Tuesday, October 7

posted at 10:58 PM

'Manny and Charlie Being Manny and Charlie'

Good article in the NY Times today about Manny Ramirez 'reuniting' with Charlie Manuel in the NLCS.

Small snippet:

It would have been captivating television, if only someone had used a video camera to follow around the folksy West Virginia-born hitting coach and his flaky Dominican pupil through minor league outposts and on to Cleveland, their profiles soaring together. They could have called the video "Manny and Charlie Being Manny and Charlie."

But even without such footage, the real-life narrative that links the unlikely pair of Manny Ramirez and Charlie Manuel continues to be a fascinating one. For all their differences, each man knows how it feels to be underestimated.

... Perhaps some of the misunderstandings about Ramirez and Manuel helped create a bond between them; they remain friends more than 15 years after their paths first crossed. With the Dodgers and the Phillies set to meet in the National League Championship Series, in a reprise of playoff matchups from 1977, '78 and '83, there may be no subplot as intriguing or as strategically important as the one involving Manuel and Ramirez.

2 comments

Saturday, September 27

posted at 6:56 PM

NL EAST CHAMPS!

1 comments

Thursday, September 4

posted at 7:37 PM

Mike Schmidt on Philly Fans

Good piece in today's Daily News that quotes Schmidty on his (past and present) feelings toward Philly fans.

Here's an excerpt:

"Philly fans are very passionate about their time at the ballpark," [Schmidt] wrote. "They want to be in a dominant winning environment. Their sports teams and those team's players are a large part of their daily existence. Kids watch and listen as their fathers live and die with their teams.

"They don the jersey of their favorite player. They hear cheering, and that ugly sound of booing that becomes a normal, accepted element of their sports lives. The sports teams in Philly offer an escape from the daily grind of Philly life. A high percentage of the population of Philly read the sports section, listen to talk radio, and react accordingly at the games.

"The reason why [Angelo] Cataldi and [Howard] Eskin and others make a good living is because they know how to push the 'hot' buttons. Most times, this is at the expense of those on the field who all, no matter what the sport, work their tails off behind the scenes, like no fan could imagine, to bring them a winner."

1 comments

Thursday, August 28

posted at 8:46 AM

Good article in today's New York Times about Shane Victorino.

Little snippet:

"Last season, the Phillies released a Victorino bobblehead doll with a twist. It actually had bobble hips instead, and Victorino, a native of Wailuku, Hawaii, was wearing a hula skirt and playing a ukulele. When fans stuck it to their car dashboards, it would dance. In this season’s version, Victorino's figurine was stretched out horizontally to make a diving catch. He was wearing a cape and a lei."

1 comments

Sunday, July 27

posted at 9:41 PM

Manny Ramirez joining the Phillies?

Doubt it, but here's the Inquirer article anyway.

1 comments

Sunday, June 8

posted at 6:34 PM

"Utley Is Mr. Everything, but Egotistical He's Not"

Another great article in today's New York Times, this one on Chase Utley, his work ethic, and his intense attitude on the field.

Check out the full article here.

Here's an excerpt:

With a .317 average, a major league-best 21 homers, 56 runs batted in and a .405 on-base percentage as of Saturday, Utley has some of the meatiest statistics in the majors. He marches to the plate as if he is marching in a military formation, looking like the purposeful player that he is. He is the leader for the first-place Phillies, a guy of no frills, few words and many actions.

"He's been Mr. Everything," Rollins said. "He's been Mr. Baseball."

6 comments

Monday, June 2

posted at 10:13 PM

He's done it again!

Utley homers for 5th straight game, the second time this season. Only other Phillies to homer in 5 straight games:

Bobby Abreu (May 8-12, 2005)
Mike Schmidt (July 6-10, 1979)
Dick Allen (May 27-June 1, 1969)

Chase Utley's stats on MLB
Utley wins NL Player of the Week

0 comments

Saturday, May 31

posted at 9:05 AM

Manuel: "[Utley] is the best player I've been around, ever."

Check out today's Phillies Notes in the Inquirer

0 comments

Sunday, May 25

posted at 9:19 AM

Mitch Williams hosts his own radio show?

Living in NYC, I had no idea Mitchy-poo was all over Philly sports radio and TV these days. I'm glad though; I've always been a fan -- even after he crushed all my teenage hopes and dreams in '93.

Here's a great article about Wild Thing in today's New York Times:

Williams, Former Goat for Phillies, Is Now Fan Favorite

2 comments

Sunday, May 18

posted at 4:51 PM

Famous Phillies Batting Stances

This is pretty good ...

These guys do other teams too, if you want to check it out. (Thanks to Roydell for emailing the link.)

1 comments

Friday, May 16

posted at 10:43 PM

Jason Werth hits 3 homers, knocks in 8 runs

From AP: "The eight RBIs tied a franchise record held by four players, most recently accomplished by Mike Schmidt in a 10-inning game at Chicago on April 17, 1976. The others are Kitty Bransfeld (1910), Gavvy Cravath (1915) and Willie Jones (1958)."

Full article

0 comments

Thursday, May 15

posted at 4:48 PM

President Bush wants Chase Utley!

George W. was asked who he would pick as his first position player, if he owned an MLB team. His answer?

"I like Utley from the Philadelphia Phillies ... he's a middle infielder, which is always, you know, they say strength up the middle. There's nothing better than having a good person up the middle that can hit."

Check out the full story on Yahoo Sports.

2 comments

Mike Schmidt: Chase Ultley is a 'Diamond Rat'

Hall-of-famer calls Utley the best player in MLB right now. Read his full editorial here.

Here's a little snippet:

Utley is the heart and soul, their leader, their "diamond rat." He's the perfect player for the city...

To be a "rat," an endearing term to an athlete, means you are consumed by the game. Basketball has the "gym rat," a kid who lives in the gym with his basketball. Every free moment he's working his game—hundreds of jump shots, free throws, drills, in most cases in quiet solitude, as he enjoys being by himself.

Chase is baseball's version, generally early to the park, where the routine starts. He's quiet, but aware of his teammates and interacts as needed. He steadily works into his daily pregame schedule, studying video and moving to the batting tee and soft toss in the cages.

This routine seldom varies. He's not unique in this, as most players today have a similar physical pregame regimen, but my sense is that Chase is not only grooving a swing, but a plan of attack for that particular night, not just going through the motions of batting cage repetition, but seeing the game before it's played.

Therein is the difference.

0 comments