Philadelphia Phillies Have Gone to the Dogs

After their team lost two out of three over the weekend to the Miami Marlins (and they’re not looking much better this week against the Los Angeles Dodgers), Philadelphia Phillies fans could sure use something to smile about.  

Maybe this will help.

Thanks to the kindness (and wackiness) of some readers who love their pets almost as much as their baseball (OK, they probably love their pets a little more), I bring you a slide show bound to cheer you up, even as our Phillies keep moving down in the standings.  

After all, cheering up is what man’s—and woman’s—best friend does best.

Begin Slideshow

Peyton Manning and the Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins: What’s the Connection?

The biggest story in sports today, as it will be for many days to come, of course, is that after months of speculation, the Indianapolis Colts have decided to part ways with their superstar quarterback Peyton Manning, according to ESPN. 

The four-time NFL MVP has played his entire 14-year career with the Colts.  He led the team to 11 playoff berths, two conference championships and one Super Bowl victory.  Peyton was the city’s shining star, the Colts’ savior, the face of their franchise. 

In short, Peyton Manning was the Indianapolis Colts.  In fact, he was so much the key to their success that without him last year (he was recovering from a serious neck injury), the team, his team, went 2-14.

OK, so what does this have to do with the Phillies?  

If you had asked most football fans and analysts even a year ago they would have said, without a doubt, that Peyton Manning would play his entire career and retire as an Indianapolis Colt.  It would have been unthinkable to most Colts fans that they would ever have to watch their superstar quarterback wearing the uniform of another team.  Even Peyton himself said that he hoped to retire as a Colt.  

But that was not to be.  If Peyton Manning can be let go by the Colts, is nothing sacred in the world of sports?  Yes, I know in the end all sports is a business, ruled by the mighty dollar.  I saw Moneyball.

But what does this have to do with the Phillies? OK, be patient.  It’s coming. 

The thought I’ve had this morning watching all the “where will Peyton go” coverage and seeing the incredible highlights of his storied career is that I’m truly glad that the Phillies re-signed Jimmy Rollins this offseason.

I know the situations are not identical.  And I know that there are many Phillies fans who think Rollins is past his prime, that he’s a lousy leadoff hitter or just that it was time for a change.  I get that, and those arguments can be made.  But there’s another argument that can be made as well. 

That there is something to be said for making that extra effort to keep the face of your franchise. 

That there is something special, especially these days, to see an athlete spend his entire career in one city, with one team.

That there is a place for tradition, even emotion, in sports.

Yes, it’s an intangible, not necessarily a dollars-and-cents decision.  Billy Beane would not approve.

But I do, wholeheartedly.  And on Opening Day when I hear, “Leading off for the Phillies, at shortstop, Jimmy Rollins,” I, for one, will be proudly standing and cheering in my living room glad to see J-Roll back where he belongs. 

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

NLDS Preview: 5 Keys to the Phillies Beating the Cardinals

After a wild and crazy final day of the regular season, the Philadelphia Phillies finally learned who their NLDS opponent would be:  the St. Louis Cardinals.  In fact, the Phillies played a part in the drama that night as they beat the Atlanta Braves in 13 innings, helping the Cardinals to complete their incredible climb from 8.5 games back to beat out the Braves for the National League Wild Card. The Cardinals prize?  Facing the Phillies, the team with the best record in baseball, in the NLDS.

But many experts believe that the Cardinals, especially with their hot finish, may pose a challenge to the Phillies in a short series.  The Cardinals were 6-3 against the Phillies in the regular season making them one of only three teams to post a winning record against the NL East winner.

In a short series unexpected things can and often do happen.  The Cardinals, having worked so hard to get to the playoffs, would like nothing more than to knock off the favorites.  As for the Phillies, they need to keep doing what they’ve been doing all year.  And what might that be?  Here are the five keys to the Phillies taking care of business and beating the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS.   

Begin Slideshow

Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Unexpected Obstacles to Their World Series Hopes

The 2011 season for the Philadelphia Phillies has been a joyride for most of the year. Their much-hyped starting rotation actually lived up to the hype, some unknown names at the start of the season became bullpen stalwarts and with the acquisition of Hunter Pence at the trade deadline even their on-again off-again offense seemed to hit its stride. 

The Phillies won their record fifth straight NL East title faster than they ever have in team history and clinched home field throughout the playoffs. And what did they do for an encore? They haven’t won a game since.

Yes, it might be expected that the Phillies would have a bit of a letdown after their champagne-clinching celebration. Yes, it’s true that the team really doesn’t have a lot left to play for. Yes, it has been a long season and maybe they are conserving their energy for a long playoff run.

But whatever the cause, the Phillies have picked a bad time to start looking less like a juggernaut and more like the team that got unceremoniously bumped in the second round of the 2010 playoffs. A temporary setback? Maybe. But here are five obstacles the Phillies must overcome to keep their championship dreams alive.

Begin Slideshow

Philadelphia Phillies: ‘Vanimal’ and the 20 Coolest Nicknames in Team History

There’s nothing like a perfect nickname.  Some of the best ones can  replace a player’s actual name.  I mean how many people call “Cookie” Rojas, Octavio Victor?

 

But is “Cookie” a cool nickname?  And what criteria should be used to determine if a nickname passes the “cool” test?  That’s the question for this list.  After much thought, I decided that perhaps I was not the best judge of ‘cool’ so I turned off my Barry Manilow 8-track and went in search of my teenage son, the coolest person I know.  I read out some nicknames and the ones he judged “awesome,” “nasty” or my favorite, “sick” made the list.

 

So here they are:  the 20 sickest, I mean coolest, nicknames in Phillies history.  And if you don’t agree?  Don’t blame me.  Do what I did.  Ask the nearest teenager.

Begin Slideshow

Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Surprising Similarities Between 2008 and 2011

When the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series in 2008, it was a bit of a surprise.  No one had picked them to win it all when the season began.  In fact, Las Vegas odds had the Phillies at 20-1 making them a distant 10th overall.

2011, however, is a different story.  The day that GM Ruben Amaro stunned the baseball world by acquiring pitcher Cliff Lee, his Phillies instantly became the odds on favorite to win it all.

Unlike the 2008 Phillies, the 2011 team has had title expectations from the start.  There would be no sneaking up on anyone this year.  In fact, to many without a World Series Championship, this season will not be considered a success no matter how many regular season games the Phillies win.

We have all heard about the differences between these two teams, mainly that the 2011 team wins with their starting pitching while in 2008 they did it largely with their bats.  So this stat might surprise you:  The 2011 Phillies current team batting average is .253.  What was the regular season team batting average for that high-scoring, World Series winning 2008 team?  It was .255.

Surprised?  Well here are five more surprising similarities between the 2008 world champs and the 2011 wannabes.  

Begin Slideshow

Philadelphia Phillies: Roy Oswalt, Hunter Pence Go Home to Houston

There was a baseball game in Houston last night. The Astros beat the Phillies 5-1, temporarily stalling the Phillies’ division-clinching march. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins returned to the starting lineup for Philadelphia, and Houston pitcher Brett Myers got the best of his former team.

But just recounting the score, the hits and the runs doesn’t tell the whole story of this night.

There is another story to tell. It’s a story both powerful and poignant.

It’s a story about coming home.

Yes, I know that they say you can’t go home again, but don’t tell Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence. They returned to Houston last night, the city where they both got their starts.

For Oswalt, it has been over a year since he left the Astros to join the Phillies, and most of his former teammates are now gone. But Houston will always be the place where it all began:

“The team is a little bit different but it’s still Houston. They gave me a chance coming out of junior college to play, so it’s kind of special to go back.”

Back to the place where Oswalt started his career in 2001 and developed into one of the best pitchers in baseball, winning 143 games. Oswalt still leads all Astros pitchers in winning percentage and remains second in wins and strikeouts. But after 10 years in Houston, Oswalt wanted one more chance to try for a ring and the Phillies were happy to oblige.

For Hunter Pence, the departure was much more recent, the feelings closer to the surface. He was an extremely popular player, a rising star in Houston, where he spent his entire career before being traded to the Phillies just six weeks ago.

“The whole thing was weird, coming in and saying, ‘Man I’m playing against these guys.’ It’s an eerie feeling,” Pence said.

Pence hasn’t missed a beat since joining the Phillies. His .320 batting average, eight homers and 24 RBI has quickly made him a fan favorite with his new team as well, but Pence still has friends, family and a home in Houston.

“I love Houston, and I get to go home and see some of my family,” Pence said. “I think the reason I was appreciated so much by the fans was the way I played on the field. I’m going to give you everything I’ve got. I’m going to continue to do that. I’m grateful for the opportunity I had there in Houston and I’m just going to go enjoy it.”

In the end it was the Astros who enjoyed last night’s game more than Pence and his Phillies, but the Houston fans did welcome him back with a warm standing ovation and he slept in his own bed for the first time in quite a while. Pence is happy with his new team and excited about his first chance to play in the postseason, but for both Pence and Oswalt, it’s nice to be home again, if only for a couple of days.

Yes, I know that they say there’s no place like home, but here’s the deal: Roy, Hunter—we hope you have a nice time in Houston, but don’t miss the team’s return charter to Philadelphia! And when you get back here, we promise that the city of brotherly love will make you feel right at home.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies’ Charlie Manuel: From Hayseed to Hero

The Philadelphia Phillies won another game last night beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3.  It was their 93rd win of the year.  Roy Halladay was… well Roy Halladay as he allowed only 4 hits, one run and had nine strikeouts through eight innings.  He is now 17-5 with a 2.44 ERA.

Ryan Howard provided almost all the offense the Phillies would need with his three-run home run in the first giving Halladay the lead before he even threw his first pitch.  Howard now has 32 home run and a league-leading 111 RBI.

And Phillies manager Charlie Manuel got his 637th win last night moving him to second place in all-time franchise wins.  Soon he will surpass Gene Mauch, at 646 wins, to become the winningest manager in Phillies history.  And since Phillies wins are becoming as commonplace these days as Cliff Lee shut-outs, today’s post is devoted to the unlikely story of the homespun manager who became a hometown hero.  Who woulda thunk it?

Certainly not me.  Although I have long since happily jumped aboard the Charlie Manuel hayride, I mean bandwagon, I was not in favor of his hiring back in 2005.  While I certainly wasn’t alone, I am not too proud to admit that I was wrong.  Dead wrong.  So today I issue my personal apology to Charlie Manuel. But first, a look back at how it all started.

At the time I had my reasons.  After all, Charlie was chosen to be the new Phillies manager from a field that included acknowledged baseball genius Jim Leyland (my choice for the job.)  And it didn’t help matters that he would be replacing my favorite all-time Phillie, the always-outspoken and too often quick-tempered Larry Bowa who was fired after four relatively successful but tumultuous seasons.  

Bowa’s anything to win attitude which fans loved, did not sit well in the Phillies clubhouse, particularly when it involved public criticism of his team.  By the end of the 2004 season things had turned ugly. Disgruntled players complained bitterly both internally and publicly, something had to give and, even after 3 out of 4 winning seasons, Bowa was shown the clubhouse door.

Enter Charlie Manuel.  With his slow West Virginia drawl and laid back style, he was Bowa’s opposite in every way.  While Bowa was known as a meticulous student of the game, fans were dumbstruck when it looked like Manuel didn’t know how to properly execute a double switch. And his accent and now-familiar stammer made his post game press conferences punch lines for Philadelphia’s rabid sports talk radio hosts.  In short, it seemed the tough-minded fans and writers of Philadelphia would eat Charlie alive.

But again I was wrong.

Because just when it seemed like things couldn’t possibly get any worse, a funny thing happened. The Phillies started winning.

Manuel’s laid back style and overwhelming public and private loyalty to his players did wonders for a Phillies clubhouse formerly filled with bickering and discontent.  The team followed their manager’s lead and began to support each other both on and off the field.  They played hard, they played with intensity, they played to win.

And win they did.  637 times as of last night.

It turns out that this baseball lifer who many wrote off  as just a good old country boy knew more about the game of baseball and the men who play it than any of us gave him credit for.  And while he still may not be the most seasoned at the sound bite, his record speaks for itself.  In his first six seasons as Phillies manager, Manuel has guided his team to the best overall record in the National League.  And that doesn’t even count the league-leading 93 wins they have already racked up this year!

But the highlight, of course, was that magical 2008 season when Manuel led the Phillies to their first World Series Championship in 28 years and only the second in franchise history.  At the love fest that followed, no one got a bigger ovation than the man once disparagingly referred to as “Uncle Charlie.”

And what did Charlie say at that great moment of personal victory and vindication?  Did he hold a grudge against the city that had disparaged and underestimated him?  The fans who had publicly second-guessed and mocked him from the day he was hired?  Here was his well-deserved “I told you so” moment at last.

Wrong again.

Charlie Manuel grabbed that World Series trophy, held it high for the fans in the stands to see and yelled,

“This is for Philadelphia!  This is for our fans!  I look around here and who’s the World Champions?  I thank you!”

No, Charlie.  We thank you.  So I’ll finish with the apology I promised at the start.  And this is said with the utmost respect and appreciation.

“Sorry Cholly.”

Now get back to work and bring us home another one!  Please?

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: A Sweep of the Braves, but a Headache for Chase Utley

The Braves came, the Phillies conquered. The Phils needed one win. They probably hoped for two. Three is almost an embarrassment of riches. But unfortunately that’s not the real story from last night’s 3-2 Phillies win over the Braves.

It’s not even Ross Gload’s league-leading 17th pinch hit, a walk-off ninth inning single that drove in the winning run.

Or Roy Oswalt looking like the Oswalt of old, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth and throwing a fastball that averaged 92.2 mph.

No, it wasn’t Raul Ibanez continuing his hot streak, slamming the 250th home run of his career in the second inning.

Unfortunately, the story as we wake up on this rainy Thursday morning is the 90-plus-mile-per-hour fastball that hit Chase Utley square in the back of the helmet, so hard it left a mark. Utley didn’t seem to duck or flinch, leading some to think that it was the old Utley “taking one for the team,” anything to get on base.  But according to Charlie Manuel after the game, Utley didn’t see the ball coming toward his head.

Although he initially stayed in the game, Utley started to develop a headache while in the field in the seventh and was taken out for a pinch hitter in the eighth. Team doctors decided late last night that Utley would not fly with the team to Milwaukee, where his Phillies will begin a four-game series against the Central Division-leading Brewers. Instead, he will consult with doctors about a possible concussion.

Utley will have to wait several days before taking what is called the ImPACT concussion test. Those results will then be compared with a baseline test given to all players in spring training. That will determine when Utley can return to playing baseball. According to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, the Phillies don’t want to take any chances:

“We think it’s very, very mild, but we’re going to be cautious with him, obviously.  You don’t want to mess with the head,” Amaro said.

No, you don’t. We’ve all heard those stories by now of athletes who suffer from concussions and can never quite seem to make it back all the way. They most often happen in the high contact sports of football or hockey where fear of a repeat hit remains —not so much in baseball where the odds of a 90 mph fastball hitting you in the odd are not high at all.

But unfortunately it does happen. Just ask Chase Utley, who has a grey mark on his batting helmet and a headache to prove it.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: The Ten September Call-Ups Fans Are Most Excited To See

As of September 1st, every Major League team was allowed to expand its playing roster from the normal regular season limit of 25 players to an expanded roster of 40.  The annual September call-ups are viewed as an opportunity for teams that are out of contention in their divisional races to get a good look at some of their top  minor league prospects and see how they fare at the major league level. 

 

For teams that are still in the race, it is a chance to bring up some young players to give some of their veteran everyday players a chance to get a game off now and then as they prepare hopefully for a play-off run.  While the Philadelphia Phillies definitely fall into the latter category, it is curious that they have yet to make any September call-ups.

 

Part of the reason is that the Phillies’ triple-A minor league team, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs are in the play-offs for the first time in their four year existence.  Phillies GM, Ruben Amaro Jr.  hopes to be able to let the Iron Pigs play out their season unless the Phillies find themselves with any unexpected urgent needs.

 

That being said, the minor leagues season will be over soon one way or the other so Phillies fans should get ready to see some familiar, and not so familiar, faces on the field and in the dugout.  To help you keep track of all the comings and goings here are the possible top ten exciting players coming soon to a ballpark near you.

Begin Slideshow

Next Page »