July 23, 2008
Phillies' So Taguchi Beneficiary Of Famous Reverse PW Cover Jinx
How about that? After new acquisition Joe Blanton set a Phillies record on the day off (with 7 cheesesteaks eaten in one trip to Pat's), he pitched last night in typical fashion: 6 innings, 5 runs, an impressive 1:3 strikeout:walk ratio. The Phillies, though, rallied in the ninth inning -- and they weren't even facing this year's
Least Deserving All-Star and Worst All-Star Ever, Billy Wagner.
After the Phillies loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, Carlos Ruiz was in prime position to make another rally-killing double play but managed to hit the ball high enough to make it just a fielder's choice; he got an added bonus when Jose Reyes screwed up and got nobody out. So Taguchi, 0-for-16 as a pinch hitter this year, came up to the plate. The recent PW cover story subject hit one over the head of (who else?) Inning-Endy Chavez -- who was thrown out twice at home last night -- and the Phils tied the game. Jimmy Rollins doubled in two more runs and the Phillies eventually won, 8-6.
After the jump, So Taguchi's game-tying hit. I have a request: Watch the Redlasso video (it's crashing my Firefox 3, so standard warning applies) and listen if you hear Sarge cheering in the background during the play. It could just be a fan, but it didn't show up on the Mets broadcast I saw in highlights.
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Posted by D-Mac at 10:35 AM
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June 02, 2008
Phillies In First In NL East
Hey, how 'bout them Fightin' Phils? It's June 2 and they're in first place in the NL East, albeit only a half-game up. The local nine
slaughtered Florida on Friday night, lost on Saturday night but
at least nobody on the Phils got hit in the groin and then
rallied from a 5-1 deficit to beat the Marlins yesterday and reclaim first place.
And, Mike Lieberthal signed a one-day contract worth $4 to retire as a Phillie, plus the Reds' Junior Griffey is in town for a four-game series with 599 homers. (Will a fan throw it back if he catches it?) Ahh, but after the jump, my favorite part of the weekend: Jimmy Rollins scores on an error after a pickoff throw attempt and Harry Kalas (and the viewing audience) is utterly confused as to what just happened.
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Posted by D-Mac at 08:30 AM
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May 10, 2008
Phillies Somehow Not On TV Today
Yes, we can put a man on the moon -- or we could, at one time -- and we can order cable with 1000 channels but we can't get the Phillies on TV today. Jason Weitzel notes
it's the first non-televised game since June 10, 2006; the game isn't on TV today because it's during the window on Saturdays when Fox has exclusive broadcast rights. Fox isn't televising the exciting Phillies-Giants matchup, naturally, so we're all out of luck here in Philly.
So you'll have to kick it old school: Baseball on the radio! 1210 AM at 4 p.m. The Phils are a game back in the division still, but Jimmy Rollins returned last night. True to form, the reigning MVP hit a two-run homer and an RBI double as the Phils rallied for a 7-4 win.
Update: Ah, you didn't want to see this one anyway.
Posted by D-Mac at 01:47 PM
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January 28, 2008
Jimmy Rollins' Mom A Lot Like Mine
Jimmy Rollins picked up his National League MVP award last night at the New York baseball writers' dinner, and naturally he gave an acceptance speech.
Guess what he thanked his mom for?
"I'd like to thank my parents -- my dad for taking the line drives off the elbow and my mom for teaching me how to talk trash," he said.
Aw, Mrs. Rollins totally helped out her son the same way my mom helped out me. Unfortunately for me, I happened to be good at cross country, a sport where you have to talk trash while breathing heavily. It's just not the same.
Damon honored by writers group for work with wounded soldiers [AP/ESPN.com]
Posted by D-Mac at 12:07 PM
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November 20, 2007
ROLLINS IS MVP
Hooray!
Update: Phillies.com article here.
Posted by D-Mac at 01:41 PM
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D-Day For Jimmy Rollins
Today at 2 p.m., the National League MVP will be announced. Can
Jimmy Rollins actually win the MVP?
This is a good time to discuss Philadelphia sports fans. On our fantasy football mailing list, we've already discussed the chances of the Phillies winning three straight MVPs with three different players (i.e. Rollins wins it this year, Chase Utley wins it next year).
After the Eagles beat Washington, we discussed the chances of the Eagles making the playoffs. In that discussion, if the Eagles could sneak in to a playoff spot, the possibility of them beating the division champ they play, then upsetting cancer- and addiction-beating St. Brett Favre in Green Bay to make it to the NFC Championship. There was even talk of "nobody in the NFC" being unbeatable. So, yeah, Eagles in the Super Bowl.
I guess it's sports in general that makes a person go from completely pessimistic in one week to completely optimistic the next, but I like to think it has a particular irony (possibly, nobody knows what this word means really) in Philadelphia, where nobody's won a title since 1983. But, hey, who knows?
NL MVP announced today [Inquirer]
[Photo via Flickr user sparklemotion315. I love Flickr.]
Posted by D-Mac at 11:00 AM
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October 02, 2007
Breaking: Phillies On Cover Of 'SI'
Repeat after me: There is no such thing as the SI cover jinx. There is no such thing as the SI cover jinx.
Posted by D-Mac at 04:30 PM
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October 01, 2007
John Street Booed At Rally Monday™!
Near the end of the ridiculously-attended Rally Monday™ outside City Hall at noon, Phillies PR guy Scott Palmer said the had checked the statistics and it was the largest rally in the history of Dilworth Plaza. While I'm not quite sure they actually keep statistics on things like that, but it was a pretty good crowd. I'm no good at estimating crowds, but let's say there were thousands of people there.
The highlight of the day was the lusty boo Mayor John Street received when he went up to give some sort of Phillies speech. Sadly, he cut it short. Also booed: Adam Eaton and, to a lesser extent, Rod Barajas. And Bill Giles and David Montgomery by the more knowledgeable, angrier fans.
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Posted by D-Mac at 03:14 PM
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June 29, 2007
J-Roll Would Like You To See The Simpsons Movie
A commenter posted this ad for baseball's All-Star Game yesterday, and it's worth watching. It's a pretty cute ad, with the baseball players riding San Francisco's cable cars. At about the 30 second mark, it gets good. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley laugh maniacally as the cable car nearly kills a marching band, and then Jimmy Rollins randomly eats a donut, mimicking an ad for the Simpsons movie. Coincidentally, Jimmy Rollins will be home eating donuts during the All-Star Break this year.
2007 MLB All Star Game "Cable Car" Ad [YouTube]
Posted by D-Mac at 08:23 AM
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April 13, 2007
Road To 10,000 Losses: 160-Pound Man Blasts Two Homers, Phils Lose Anyway
Road to 10,000 Losses is a countdown to the Phillies' 10,000th Loss, coming sometime later this year. With a 5-3 loss to the Mets yesterday, the Phillies stand at 9962 losses, only 38 away from 10,000.
When your 160-pound leadoff man, who came into the season with 84 career home runs, cracks two homers in the first two innings of your game against a division rival, you think your team would have a pretty decent shot at winning.
Oh, the team's the Phillies. Right. Yes, Jimmy Rollins hit a pair of homers last night, raising his season total to 5 -- second in the major leagues. But after Rollins' homer in the second inning last night gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead, the Fightins went just 3-for-22 from there on out.
Fireballer Billy Wagner, an ex-Phillies closer, is a successful closer because of his near 100 mile per hour fastball. And last night he was topping out at 94. Only Ryan Howard got a hit off of him. Chase Utley and Pat Burrell only took one pitch each and flew out.
The Phillies are now 2-7 this year, and look to get to 10,000 losses sooner rather than later. But, hey, the Phillies are still on pace to set a major league record for walks in a season! See: This year's local nine might do something special after all.
Phils squander Rollins homers[Inquirer]
Walkie No-Talkie [Mike's Baseball Rants]
Posted by D-Mac at 04:25 PM
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February 21, 2007
Reason #59 To Love Philadelphia: Jimmy Rollins
As Spring Training begins to get into full swing, it's time to start actually getting excited about the Phillies. And, as much as we should all love Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, etc., by far the
coolest guy on the Phillies is Jimmy Rollins.
And not only is he the coolest guy on the Phillies, he's going to make the 19 games between the Phillies and Mets this season even more awesome than usual.
It was Rollins who repeatedly has said that the Phillies, not the Mets, who finished 12 games ahead of them last season, are the team to beat in the East thanks to their improved starting rotation. Mets third baseman David Wright said he was irked by Rollins' confidence.
After he took part in the team's first full-squad workout, he reiterated those feelings and dismissed Wright's concerns.
"If they needed motivation to play this game, then they're playing the wrong game," Rollins said. "They had a chance last year to get to the World Series. Last year's over."
And this is the Phillies' year?
"I want to put that pressure on [his teammates]. And myself."
Might that not have an adverse effect?
"If you're afraid, then I don't want you on this team, anyway."
Oh wah wah wah, David Wright. How dare a guy on the Phillies be confident!
This season can't come fast enough.
Rollins embraces leadership role [Daily News]
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April 06, 2006
At This Point, 0-162 Seems More Likely Than The Playoffs
Oh, and Jimmy Rollins went 0-4.
Posted by D-Mac at 06:20 PM
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Quickies: Gay Bar
• In legal news, the Philadelphia Bar Association has come out against the PIMP Act -- that's the "Pennsylvania Marriage Protection Act" -- which would ban same-sex marriages in the commonwealth. Good for them. It's hard out here for a PIMP Act, &c. [KYW 1060]
• So why did the cops shut down a party at Transit two hours early? Nobody seems to know. [fiftyone:fiftyone]
• The New York Sun -- kind of the Evening Bulletin of New York -- reports that Scooter Libby testified President Bush okayed a leak to the New York Times, putting Bush directly in the chain of events that led to the leaking of Valerie Plame's name. Like, whoa. [Gawker (the Sun website is down)]
• Can someone (seriously) explain this anti-Jeopardy! piece? I'm totally baffled. [Early Word]
• In honor of Jimmy Rollins' 38-game hitting streak, here's a statheaded look at both his and Joe DiMaggio's streaks. Very good piece. [Sportszilla]
• City Council President Anna Verna is the first person to get angry at Rick Mariano! Of course, she's just mad that he sent a letter home saying his office would be "fully staffed." Guess the councilwoman doesn't want people to know that you can do her job from prison. [KYW 1060]
Posted by D-Mac at 10:40 AM
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April 05, 2006
Blogicized: Call Me Al
• Some people in Philadelphia apparently get calls from people running Italian elections and those seeking blood. This is why I don't have a land line. [Starting A Landslide In My Ego]
• I don't know if Dann Cuellar's daughter gave a statement to the police when she was arrested, but if she did, she totally enunciated words very loudly! [TinaPoPo]
• Everything you really could ever want to know about how Jimmy Rollins has improved as a hitter during the streak. Let's keep it going tonight, Jimmy! [Balls, Sticks & Stuff]
• I get all my front-page breaking news from commenters, too -- they're extra juicy when they're on a subject I've been wrong about before and I make giant leaps, &c. [MyDD]
Posted by D-Mac at 04:02 PM
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April 04, 2006
Ugh.
Back in 2002, I was a sophomore in college and I was extremely excited about the upcoming Phillies season. The Phils had missed the playoffs by just two games the season before -- a surprising finish, to put it lightly. The Phils had Bowa managing, Rolen at third, Bobby and Pat in the outfield and things were looking up.
I rushed home that April 1 from class to catch the beginning of the game, and when I came in, the Phillies were already down 6-0. I declared the season over. They'd go on to lose, 7-2, and a sub-.500 season had begun.
Before some late spring optimism, this year's Phillies squad wasn't really expected to do much damage. Even with that, though, yesterday's Phillies game was pretty much the worst opening to a baseball season possible.
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Posted by D-Mac at 10:00 AM
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