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philadelphia phillies Archive

BIGGEST LOSER: CHARLIE MANUEL DROPS MAJOR LB’S

By
theOCD
Published: 19 January 2010 9:29 AM ESTPosted in: MLB

Charlie Manuel is best known as the portly manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. It’s been many, many years since Manuel was as fit as his playing days as Chuck Manuel. But he recently signed on with NUTRISYSTEM and lost a bunch of weight.

Manuel used to tip the scales at 274 but now comes in at 215. That’s downsized his jersey from a 60 to a 52. So he’s about halfway back to being Chuck again. I dunno… the “after” picture kind of looks photoshopped.  It wouldn’t be surprising if they shaved off a few extra pounds that way.

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UTLEY, HOWARD SET RECORDS IN PHILLIES’ GAME 5 WIN

By
theOCD
Published: 03 November 2009 6:09 AM ESTPosted in: MLB

58806289

Unfortunately, Bad A.J. picked a bad time to show up for the Yankees. The Yankees #2 starter had an awful performance on Monday night as the Yankees dropped Game 5 of the World Series.

Cliff Lee overcame a rocky start before the Bombers were able to get to him in the 8th inning. At that point it was too little too late since the Phillies had put up eight runs. The Yankees did have a chance to tie the game in the ninth inning but Derek Jeter grounded into a double play and Mark Teixeira struck out to end the game. Most Yankee fans were understandably disappointed at the early effort but the team showed resilience yet again. Winning the World Series isn’t supposed to be easy and the Yankees should be locked in on Wednesday. The biggest question mark will be how Andy Pettitte fares on short rest.

Chase Utley continued his jack-happy ways and blasted two bombs. Utley tied Reggie Jackson’s record of five homers in the World Series. On the other end of the spectrum, Ryan Howard tied a record futility. The big man recorded his 12th strikeout in the series to tie Willie Wilson’s World Series record. Howard managed to accomplish the feat in one less game than Wilson.

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YANKEES TRIUMPH OVER CHRISTIAN MAN, PHILLIES

By
theOCD
Published: 30 October 2009 12:45 PM EDTPosted in: MLB

BASEBALL/

I hope you caught Pedro’s press conference the day before his start. The guy went on a rant with very little provocation. It was almost as if this was the final cathartic moment of his return to baseball.

Pedro was ready to deal when he took the mount on Thursday. Twitter was abuzz about his dominance until he finally gave up a solo shot to Mark Teixeira. Still, Yankee fans, the twitter universe, and the announcers had pretty much given Martinez the win. Too bad there was more game to be played. Pedro later yielded another solo homer to Hideki Matsui. With the score tied at one, Martinez got into trouble in the 7th inning when Hairston and Melky Cabrera started the inning with back-to-back singles.

Joe Girardi then replaced Jose Molina with Jorge Posada while Pedro was replaced by Chan Ho Park. Posada singled to put the Yankees up 3-1. After the seventh, Mariano Rivera came in to shut the door and the Yankees tied the series at one game apiece. Unfortunately, the umpires blew a couple of calls again — which is becoming a disturbing trend.

It was nice to see Mark Teixeira start hitting again. His power has been sorely missed during his mini-slump. Hideki Matsui continued his massive tear that started mid-summer (in July/August/September he hit .293/.281/.325 with 18 homers). Alex Rodriguez continues to be a non-factor in the World Series. However, we won’t get down on the guy. The guy came back (too) early from hip surgery and it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s finally dealing with fatigue.

World Series Phillies Yankees Baseball

Game 3 of the series is Saturday night in Philadelphia. You can bet that Citizen’s Bank Park will be rocking this weekend. There might even be a stabbing or two on Sunday since the Giants play the Eagles on Sunday Night Football at the same time as the Yankees play the Phillies in Game 4. The police better start charging their tasers now.

Just a reminder: Philadelphia has the least attractive people in America according to Travel & Leisure. Are we biased? Maybe. But Philadelphia residents also voted themselves second to last in attractiveness. Burn.

philadelphia_least_attractive_city

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POLITICIANS MAKE MEANINGLESS WORLD SERIES BETS

By
theOCD
Published: 29 October 2009 9:30 AM EDTPosted in: MLB

USA-CATHOLICS/

It’s that time of year: World Series time! That means city and state officials have made meaningless wagers on the championship series. So you know that Mike Bloomberg, who is seeking re-election next week, and David Paterson had to get in on that action.

These weren’t your run of the mill political wagers. This year, nobody put the typical “basket of apples” (or some other random locally-themed item) on the line. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter made “a first-of-its kind wager” that involved community service. If the Yankees win, Nutter will have to help re-paint a school. Conversely, Bloomberg will have to assist in the painting of a mural in Philadelphia if the Yankees lose. It’s an interesting bet but I have to believe that Bloomberg’s re-election played into the unique terms of the bet. It would also be more entertaining if they did something a bit more demeaning such as picking up trash or cleaning toilets.

The New York and Pennsylvania governors also made a bet. Their bet isn’t a run-of-the-mill wager either. In the bet between New York Governor David Paterson and Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell, the losing state will host a contest winner for a vacation. A New York winner would stay at the Park Hyatt in Bellvue, PA while a Pennsylvia winner would stay at the Sheraton New York in midtown Manhattan. You can enter the contest at http://www.iloveny.com.

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NUTS & BOLTS: IT’S ALWAYS SUNNIER IN NEW YORK

By
John
Published: 27 October 2009 10:49 AM EDTPosted in: Nuts & Bolts

Here come Chase Utley and the Phillies

Here come Chase Utley, the Phillies, and some more throwing errors.

The NY Post ran some serious smack talk quotes from Yankees fans and NYers against Philly, their culture, and even Rocky. (NY Post)

Hal and Hank Steinbrenner are continuing their father’s legacy in building winners. (NY Daily News)

The “Marian Gaborik Hat Trick”: a goal, assist and an injury. This writer can drop dead. (NY Times)

Leon Washington’s nasty injury leaves gaping hole in running game. Shonn Greene looks to step up. (NY Daily News)

Titans owner tells 0-6 coach Jeff Fisher to make QB change to Vince Young. (Tennessean)

Tim Tebow may be wilting under intense spotlight of National Championship/Heisman race. (RealClearSports)

***

If you have any links you’d like to share with BLS for Nuts & Bolts or even an original post email them to me at john@bigleaguescrew.com

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VIDEO: PAVEMENT TEACHES PHILLIES FAN A LESSON

By
theOCD
Published: 23 October 2009 10:49 AM EDTPosted in: MLB

phillies_fan_falling_off_cab

From the fans that brought you “guy getting hit by Grey Goose bottle and falling off of a traffic light”… comes “guy jumps on cab until it starts driving away and smacks the pavement.”

At this point, there’s no denying that Philadelphia sports fans are a consistent source of idiocy. But we can’t be as harsh this time around.  As long as they stick to making fools of themselves on YouTube rather than beatings and stabbings, we’re cool with that.  These dudes tried to show just how much they loved the Phillies by treating a red taxi cab like a trampoline. At first, it was triumphant but then it ended in shame.

It’s also most sad that only one out of three guys jumping on the cab went down. That’s what happens when you mug for the camera. Sorry, White Pants Red Shirt.

Via WithLeather:

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MANNY WAS SHOWERING DURING PHILLY COMEBACK

By
theOCD
Published: 21 October 2009 5:37 AM EDTPosted in: MLB

NLCS Dodgers Baseball

Manny Ramirez has gotten in trouble for not caring about baseball. Years ago, he met Enrique Wilson at a hotel bar when he missed a game due to sickness. Some people think he actually listens to music in his Oakley Thumps.

Well, Manny got himself more press for being kind of a jackass. During the Phillies’ 9th inning comeback in Game 4 of the NLCS, Ramirez was not in the dugout. Instead, ManRam was showering up since he’d been taken out of the game. He wasn’t going to play anymore, but give me a break. Did he have dinner reservations?  Joe Torre was unfazed saying that Manny missed the end of the game because he “has so much confidence.”

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BRETT MYERS SUFFERS BLACK EYE TO REPUTATION

By
theOCD
Published: 15 August 2009 10:06 PM EDTPosted in: MLB

Brett Myers is a wild card. He allows a ton of bombs and he strikes a ton of guys out. It’s always been tough to judge what you’ll get out of Myers. Unfortunately, Myers has had issues off the field as well. Way back when, he was in an altercation with his girlfriend. More recently, he had to miss a rehab start due to an eye injury. He hurt himself getting out of a car but first blamed it on his son throwing a ball at his face. Note to Myers: come up with a believable excuse first and stick with it. Now everybody thinks you got drunk and fell down.

600_MyersNLDS

Via Scott Lauber:

ATLANTA — So, Brett Myers won’t pitch tonight at Class A Clearwater, after all, because he was hit in the eye by a baseball while playing catch with his 4-year-old son Kolt. No word yet on the severity of the injury, but according to a team spokesman, more details will be forthcoming today from Ruben Amaro Jr.

Stay tuned.

For more on what had been an accelerated rehab for Myers from June 5 hip surgery, please click here and check out the Phillies notebook in today’s News Journal. We’ll have more information on Myers’ eye injury throughout the day as it becomes available.

(Updated, 3:45 p.m.): OK, here’s a Myers update, and the story keeps getting stranger. According to Amaro, through a team spokesman, Myers initially misinformed the Phillies about the cause of his injury. According to the spokesman, Myers slipped getting out of his truck last night, hit his face and suffered significant swelling around his eye. He’s icing it today and will see the Phillies’ medical staff in Clearwater tomorrow. The spokesman said Myers initially told the Phillies that he was hit by a throw from his son, then changed his story.

Still trying to unearth more details.

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PEDRO: WHO IS OMAR MINAYA?

By
John
Published: 06 August 2009 12:33 PM EDTPosted in: MLB

Okay, so he didn’t really say that. But you might expect Pedro to have a little incentive to bring it to the Mets when he eventually faces them in the near future.  He’s clearly not the same player he was 4 years ago, but he seemed to recapture some of that magic last night against the Yanks’ Trenton Double-A affiliate striking out 11 batters over 6 IP. Honestly, at this point both The Mets and Yankees could use Pedro Martinez. The Mets have had countless (literally, I don’t even know how many there have been) injuries, while the Yankees are trying to make the playoffs  handing the ball to Sergio Mitre every 5 days. It would be impossible to look into a crystal ball three weeks ago and know that both teams would probably have this need there, but you’d have to wonder if the Yankees would have taken Pedro a little more seriously knowing Sergio Mitre is the only thing standing in the way of Josh Towers/Jason Hirsh or even a Sidney Ponson sighting (3rd times a charm, right?). All things considered, there’s no way to know how Pedro will perform at the major league level or what kind of durability he has this late in his career but hey, he’s gotta be better than Mitre or any Mets starter not named “Johan”. Check out the AP’s coverage of Pedro’s start after the jump.

Pedro will have to wait another year to go back to sitting under a mango tree

Pedro will have to wait another year to go back to sitting under a mango tree

Via Associated Press:

READING, Pa. — Pedro Martinez recorded nine of his first 12 outs by strikeout and worked six innings for the Double-A Reading last night, in what could have been his final rehab start before joining the Philadelphia Phillies.

“I hope so,” Martinez said. “It’s not up to me to decide that. I hope this is my last one, and I hope that I am able to make improvements from here to the bullpen session.”

In his best start since signing a one-year deal on July 15, the 37-year-old Martinez allowed three runs and five hits without walking a batter against the New York Yankees’ Trenton affiliate. He finished with 11 strikeouts.

“I’m making improvements as I go on, and that’s what we want. Health-wise, my shoulder is fine, my arm is fine. I’m responding good between starts,” he said.

In that first four-inning span in which he struck out nine, Martinez gave up two hits, including a home run to shortstop Eduardo Nunez.

Overall he looked free and easy, recording first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 23 batters he faced. He threw 82 pitches — 60 strikes.

In three starts for Class A Clearwater, Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Reading, Martinez has given up seven earned runs and nine hits in 12 1/3 innings.

Martinez went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts for the Mets last season. In March, he pitched for the Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic, working six innings of scoreless relief in two games but went unsigned.

The Phillies immediately placed Martinez on the disabled list due to a right shoulder strain after signing him and has since traded for 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee. Adding Martinez, a three-time Cy Young winner, will force Philadelphia to adjust a rotation that includes Lee, World Series MVP Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ and Jamie Moyer. Though he began the season in relief, Happ has been one of the Phillies most effective starters this season.

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