Yeah, that's right. Exclamation point!

So I was browsing MLB.com yesterday and saw a headline: Billy Wagner to have MRI.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! (THUD)

After I awoke, I read the article and they said it was just due to some inflammation in his left middle finger, and they're keeping him off the mound for a week. They really shouldn't scare me like that!

Go read this about Larry Bowa's hip-hop makeover and Mike Lieberthal's wig!


[Thread title modified for case. - Outsports moderator]

[ August 25, 2004, 05:57 PM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

Damn. The Phillies thread got the team name in all capital letters, plus an exclamation point. Curses.

Oh, did I say that outloud? Oh my... well, ahem... I like the retro-style script that they use on the Phillies' team logo. And that article about the hip-hop makeover... good stuff, fun times.

Really, I like the Phillies. Braves suck.

Did I mention that I'm a little bit drunk? I shouldn't be allowed near the computer.

Joe, I knew you wouldn't let us down and start this thread pronto. They showed Leiby tonight on Comcast wearing the wig doing a "Hans impersonation" (from SNL) saying he was going to pump up as he entered the weight room.

Oh enough of this nonsense. Let's get to what's important: Thome--goatee or not?

From recent photos I've just looked at from Yahoo, he appears to be clean-shaven.

And thought the question was going to be pants or no pants? wink

Found this note at Phillies.com:

wink

WARNING: This article about David Bell discusses Bill W's favorite topic... intangibles! wink

Meanwhile, the Phillies' opening day payroll is projected to be....$93,907,500 eek! according to figures compiled by the Phila. Daily News. And that's still only about half of the Yankees' payroll!

Finally, thanks in part to Justin Timberlake, this morning I came up with my nickname for the new park. That's right, Justin Timberlake. True story. I'm on the bus and a guy has loud music coming out of his headphones. It seemed to be a constant beat, like a mix tape, and I glanced at him and watched as he bobbed his head up and down, seemingly oblivious to everything around him. It put me in the mind of a remix of Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" (aka the song they sang when he undressed Janet) that I heard last night. I then remembered that the first time I heard this remixed version was last summer at the Vet, when they played it between innings at a game. And at the same time, they put up a little message with a cartoon DJ spinning at a couple of turntables, saying "Vet DJ is now playing..." followed by the artist and song title. They did that sporadically through the summer with various songs. So I said to myself, "Self...are they going to have a 'Citizens Bank Park DJ' this year and if so, what do they call him or her? 'Citizens Bank Park DJ' is too long." And Self replied, "Maybe they could call it...The Vault. It's a reminder of the corporate name without using that name. And, it sounds very much like The Vet. So it's perfect!" I happily agreed with Self, so that's the name I'll use from now on. At least until they come to their senses and rename it Rich Ashburn Stadium...or at least Tastykake Park. wink See you at the Outsports Convention game this May down at The Vault!

Who's this Salazar guy behind the plate? I'm getting a vibe off him...

Hey Joe in Philly--
Who the HECk are these hot Philly's dudes Cole Hamels and Chase Utley? I knew you guys had some hot guys there--and I've planned a trip to Philly this summer to catch the team--but tell me what you know bout them...

I really have no idea who Salazar is. Todd Pratt is hurt and out for about 4 weeks and Mike Lieberthal is only going to DH for the first couple of weeks.

Cole Hamels is 17th on the list of Baseball America's top 100 prospects. 1st round draft pick in 2002. We ought to see him at The Vault in a couple of years. And Chase Utley was with the Phils much of last year, so where have you been? wink I don't know if he's going to be on the team this year. He may go back to the minors to play full-time at second rather than sit on the bench, or he may be part of a trade.

Uh oh...

Jeebus. Thome had better be back by the time the Convention happens or there's going to be HELL to pay.

On a trip to Britain, I passed up an extra day in glorious Edinburgh just to go to dreary Middlesbrough in the hopes of meeting one of my favorite players/lust objects, Gary Pallister. I'd been out of Internet contact so I had no clue he was suspended; I went to the players entrance and was told "Oh no, lad, he's not 'ere today". f**k. Thome better not pull the same shit on me.

I don't think you've got anything to worry about as far as Thome not being back by mid-May, Jim....as the ESPN column (and the post that Joe in Philly referred to) mentioned, the Anaconda expects to be back in time for the Phils opener April 5th in Pittsburgh.

A happy update for Jim Allen, after the Anaconda sees the specialist:

Re: the last sentence in the article Joe posted: aw, don't field ground balls! You're going to break your thumb (see: Sheffield) and then I'll have to get mad at you, Anaconda.

Is Randy Wolf healthy and expected to have a good year? I've been following him since he was a freshman phenom at El Camino Real High School, so I like to see him do well.

He is healthy and they're counting on him to continue to show improvement...maybe he'll step up and be the ace of the staff.

You mean, Millwood isn't the de-facto ace? [ducking and running to avoid The Wrath of Joe]

[ March 09, 2004, 12:54 PM: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]

Well, he's generally referred to (particularly by the team) as the ace but he certainly didn't prove it last year.

Millwood had not been in the ace position before, and he said one of things that impacted his performance last year was being the perceived ace and taking on other people's problems - he said he needs to spend more time focusing on his performance.

I think this year, any of the Phillies starting pitchers have the potential to be the "ace".

Speaking of Millwood...

Thome hurt fielding grounders, Millwood hurt in a fielding drill....that's it, no more practices! (Allen Iverson's dream come true.)

[ March 09, 2004, 07:16 PM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

David Bell has a hurting shoulder. An MRI indicates tendinitis. He's coming back to Philadelphia for an exam by the team physician. Last year he missed so much time with his back. That seems to be healthy but he's had a sore knee and now this. It's going to be a problem if he can't play. The infield was not what it should be defensively last year with Polanco moved to third.

Philly.com has a Q&A forum where you can post questions for the Phila. Inquirer's music and movie critics, and their Phillies beat writer. So here are two Q's along with the writer's A's that appear back-to-back on the forum:

Meanwhile, the new ballpark will open on time...but the Phillies finally admit that some parts of it won't...
Portable concession stands?

[ March 17, 2004, 07:13 PM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

Here's a good article about Pat Burrell and his battle to regain his hitting stroke. So far it's good news...

"Mystery balls" in Philadelphia. One of you guys in the city of brotherly love can corroborate the fundraiser Philly wives will host. In it, they will sell giftwrapped "mystery balls," baseballs signed by team members. I can see it now:

People looking at one of the packages and saying "That looks like Jim Thome's balls." Only to have some smart alec respond: "Nah. That looks a lot more like [retired Philly] Darren Daulton's balls."

~Adam

They sold them at one of the games in Clearwater. I'm not sure that it's an ongoing thing or not. I think they did something similar last year at the Vet a time or two.

But there's something enticing about Adam talking about looking at the package to see whose balls they are. wink

You know, I never hated the Vet like so many others claim to, but the new ballpark is tremendous. Once they get some of the bugs worked out (like the out-of-town scoreboard and the Liberty Bell home run display, as well as getting lines moving more quickly at some of the more popular concession stands) it'll be near perfect. The seats are so much closer to the field no matter where you sit, and are angled so you're facing the infield all around, instead of having to sit with your head turned to watch each pitch. The left field scoreboard and video screen are huge.

It promises to be a tremendous time when we're there for the Outsports Convention.

It's still a shame they didn't get it built closer to downtown, though. The skyline view could've been spectacular. Instead, sitting in the top level as phillyrunner and I were, you get a lovely view of a parking lot and a factory and a street, a dull-looking Holiday Inn, and a nearby highway. Way off in the distance is the center city skyline.

Meanwhile, who comes up in the first inning and smacks the ball into the second deck in right field? You guessed it. The Anaconda Strikes! wink

What a total freakin' stud he is. No pressure on him, but he needs to launch one in to Section 103 on May 22nd.

Maybe he'll be like the mythic Babe Ruth and point to you with his bat before hitting one out.

Saw the new park on ESPN--it looks really good. Joe, thanks for nice descrpition of the seating arrangements; the fact the seats are angled to give optimal views of the infield is a very nice touch.

~Adam

Heh heh heh heh heh Adam said "point his bat" heh heh heh heh.

That was one of the revelations when I went to Camden Yards in 1993--my friend and I were in the last two seats in the upper deck and the seats swiveled, so that we didn't get a Linda Blair-esque neck strain. Very cool.

I wonder if one of the artsy types in the gang going to the Convention game in May can do up something:
I saw this on a blog:
f**king hippies and their food!

I'm looking forward to this place:


[ April 05, 2004, 11:46 AM: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]

Dang, the one time Mesa doesn't blow a save. Oh well, it's been a weird day for baseball: Brewers beat the Cards, Detroit shuts out Toronto, the Royals score six in the ninth.


Phillies question: What's with the shamrocks on the sleeves?

There is a patch on this year's uniform that is a combined tribute to Paul Owens and Tug McGraw. The shamrock is for the McGraw portion.

Mesa getting a save today brings one phrase to mind...oh, the humanity! wink

First Phillies save for Billy Wagner. Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!

Pat Burrell went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. So far this season he is 5-for-8, .625. It's just too bad it's entirely meaningless since his career has already been ruined, according to some observer.

[ April 07, 2004, 07:26 PM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

So far just 4 games into the season the unexpected becomes the norm which is not a good thing for the Phillies.

1) Jose Mesa gets two saves against his former team.

2) Armando Benitez gets a save against Phils. He was blowing them as bad as Mesa last year and has three saves already.

3) Bobby Abreu who is a career .300 hitter is batting .067 coming up small with runners on base.

4) The Phils strength the bullpen, lets a 3 -0 lead disappear into defeat.

When will normalcy return? Maybe when the Tigers start losing again.

Another oddity: in all 3 losses, the final out of the game was made by Placido Polanco -- with Jim Thome on deck. And until tonight Polanco's been hitting well. :confused:

Pat Burrell had 2 more hits and drove in all 3 runs tonight. So far he's 7 for 15, a .467 average. But again, his career has already been ruined so it's meaningless.

Why did the Marlins wait until tonight to give out their championship rings? Usually teams do it on the day of their home opener, which for the Marlins was Tuesday. :confused:

I don't know about "normalcy" returning but I think the team will be more stable and productive when Bowa is fired which should be pretty soon.

Don't hold your breath waiting for that.

So with 2 outs in the 9th tonight Jimmy Rollins manages to get a hit, which sets up that bizarre situation again. Sure enough, for the fourth time this week Placido Polanco makes the final out with Jim Thome on deck. How is such a thing possible??

I assume the Marlins did that to create two separate events for their Opening Week celebration they've been having. (Saturday night's game was followed by fireworks.) This week has seen the largest and fourth largest regular season crowds in franchise history. Either that or they thought since the rings were so unique that they deserved their own night. I'm sure glad they did; if they had given out the rings on Tuesday, I wouldn't have been able to go to the game because I'm home from college for the holiday, though I DID go to the Twins game on Tuesday (see Twins 2004 thread).

I would make the same assumption. The Marlin organination is doing everything it can to keep attendance up. They are trying hard to make a May deadline for financing a new stadium. It is still a very real possibility that this great Marlin team may be forced to relocate to another city.

I just bought tickets to see the Dodgers when they visit in May. I wasn't able to get the seats right behind the home plate like I did last year. But, I'm still lower level on the first base side.

I caught the end of last night's game. And it's becoming almost Rod Serling like to see Thome standing at the on deck circle at the end of the game.

Maybe Ken Rosenthal's prediction that Charlie Manuel will win NL Manager of the Year wasn't so crazy after all. How much longer will Phillies management allow this to go on before Bowa gets canned? Only 1 HR and 14 runs scored through 6 games. Makes last year's Dodgers offense look like Murderer's Row.

I know it's only 1 week in, but if they have a similarly inept week 2, do you think Bowa is out?

Not a chance.

Why do you say this?

I think Bowa is an awful Manager who alienates his players, sucks all of the energy out of the team, makes poor game decisions and is in way over his head. I can't imagine the front office putting up with a team that is running on anyhting less than all cylinders.

It's time for Bowa to go.

Who's alienated? Those who may have complained in the past have either come to terms with him, grown up, or gone (and what roster is Tyler Houston on, anyway? Last I heard some team cut him during spring training--so much for the greatest pinch-hitter ever, or whatever). What energy has been sucked out? What evidence is there that he sucks the energy out of the team? And what bad decisions have been made during the course of these games? I haven't seen him pull Thome for a pinch-hitter or not bring in Billy Wagner to get a save (not that there have been many opportunities for THAT). Which bad moves do you refer to?

He can't hit or pitch for the players. That's what's been missing--hitting and (to a lesser extent) pitching.

On to the ballpark for the official opening -- without FeverDog, who had to cancel. frown

[ April 12, 2004, 08:35 AM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

...and the Phillies got SWEPT by the Fish! Looks like they'll have to get through Miami to win the division! GO MARLINS!

So if the Phils are 2-10 this time next week, you don't think Bowa will be on the chopping block? I guess my question is how bad will management allow things to get before letting Bowa go?

That's true whenever a manager gets canned. He can't perform, but the blame for the won-loss record is his. The Phillies didn't really live up to expectations last year. Given that, I think any hint that that trend will continue this year is going to result in Bowa getting canned. I'm sure you disagree, but it might wind up up being the best thing for the team.

Phillies lose park opener, 4-1 to the Reds.

Record falls to 1-6, worst in baseball.

Let the Larry Bowa death watch begin!

Over/under on Bowa getting fired: April 28.

JIP - I feel that my comments about Bowa are accurate.

If the only thing he did was run Scott Rolen (one of the most unselfish baseball players around) out of town -- that would be enough for him to be fired. But the guy has a history of "it's all about me".

I remember back to June of 2000 when the Phils brought the ENTIRE 1980 team back for a reunion. Other than Rose (who couldn't be there for obvious reasons) the only guy not to show was "it's all about me" Baby Bowa. He refused to appear because he had some bullcrap feud with someone in the Phils front office.

Despite attending two anger management courses recently the guy still has a violent temper. It might be fun for some of the rabid Phillies fans to see the whack job blow his cork regularly but it fosters an atmosphere of instability.

Larry Bowa may have been a great player but he sucks as a Manager. Unfortunately, most Phillies fans have elevated the guy to Sainthood -- I just don't get it.

BOWA NEEDS TO GO!