Insight, observations (and whatever else comes to mind) on the trails of the first team in professional sports to reach 10,000 losses and the latest Philly team to make the playoffs - the Philadelphia Phillies.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Phils reportedly acquire Matt Stairs
Yes, Matt Stairs.
He's not the latter-day Jeremy Giambi or Tyler Houston or Russell Branyan.
But it sort of feels that way, huh?
Let's face it, though: he's an upgrade to a bench that is sorely lacking a big left-handed bat off the bench, especially on the days Greg Dobbs starts at third.
(Seriously, when Dobbs starts, who is the left-handed bat off the bench? Cole Hamels?)
Okay, here's the skinny on this Stairs thing. Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal broke this story about an hour after the Phils-Cubs game ended.
The Phils have made no bones about their need for another bat. They missed on Mark Kotsay and reportedly (ESPN.com) were interested in former Astro/Twin Mike Lamb.
Stairs fits the same bill as those guys... and could bring some pop off the bench. Phils assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said earlier this week that the Phils were looking for that kind of help... especially after Geoff Jenkins was placed on the DL last weekend.
The 40-year-old Stairs was hitting .250 with 11 home runs and 44 RBIs in 105 games with Toronto this season. He's mainly been a DH for the Jays, but he's played some in both corner infield spots.
According to Rosenthal, the Phils got Stairs for an unnamed prospect. Phils fans, I wouldn't fret: I don't think your team had to part with a Jason Donald or J.A. Happ to get Stairs.
The journeyman Stairs - he was with three teams in 2006, and eight different teams since 2000 - may still have some power. In addition to his 11 bombs last year, Stairs slugged 21 home runs in 125 games with the Blue Jays last season.
The Phils will most likely send Fabio Castro back to the minors to make room for Stairs.
I'll steal that line (and change the state) from the flick "Field of Dreams."
It works anytime you step into Wrigley Field.
This is THE place to be if you're a serious baseball fan, no matter what Barack Obama says. Sure you can have a good time (isn't that part of being a sports fan?).
But you can also enjoy baseball as it's meant to be watched. No overbearing advertisements/eyesores on the field or fence, ballpark music (read: the old-fashioned organ, not Top 40 hits blaring down you ears as you try to discuss the game with your dad/buddy/girlfriend) and the rooftop bleachers, the "L" humming in the background with fans pouring off the red line, the ivy, Murphy's Bleachers, the Cubby Bear, the bullpens right along the foul lines....
The best part is you feel like you've just jumped out of a time machine. With the exception of the very small, horizontal digital scoreboard below the bigger, old-fashioned scoreboard, watching a game at Wrigley is the same way now as it was in 1945, the last time the Cubs made a World Series.
So am I writing this to rub it in, that I'm here and you're most likely still in the Philadelphia area? Nah.
The point is this: if you've never been to Wrigley, book your flight now. Scour stubhub.com for tickets.
If you're a baseball fan and there is only one place to cross off your checklist before you die (on your bucket list), this is the place to go.
And if you're girlfriend/wife is sick of hot dogs, there's a pretty nice Italian restaurant (Tuscany) just beyond left field.
Jimmy Rollins and Barack Obama need to seek shelter
Way back in April, I wrote about Jimmy Rollins' interest in Barack Obama for a Sunday column, which you can find here. Well it turns out the reigning NL MVP and the presidential hopeful have more in common that politics.
I just arrived to Chicago today (yeah, I'm a day early) and I didn't get too far into my Chicago Sun-Times. On the inside of the back page, Rick Telander, one of the best sports columnists around, wrote about recent comments Illinois-native Obama made about Cubs fans.
Like Rollins, Obama made the comments before a national audience. Rollins called Phils fans "front runners" on The Best Damn Sports Show Period.
On ESPN, Obama, a White Sox fan, said the following about Cubs fans:
"The Cubs... they're nice. You go to Wrigley Field, you have a beer... there are beautiful people out there, people aren't watching the game.
"That's not serious. White Sox, that's baseball... South Side."
A presidential candidate take a shot at the fan base of one of the biggest sports franchises in America.... yikes.
Just as with Rollins, I don't necessarily get the timing here. Obama probably would have been better served to bite his lip and offer up the typical, politically-correct crap his peers are famous for using to squirm out of tough queries.
So, in a way, I guess I respect Obama for being truthful.
But there's a rather big difference between truthful and smart. As much as we like to act like we're a smart society that is above letting throw-away comments affect us, a large contingent of us red-blooded Americans don't like when you attack our team and our fanhood.
So, yes, I think Mr. Obama could lose some votes. Seriously.
Imagine if Obama said Eagles fans were front runners. See what I mean?
Anyway, since Philadelphia is as parochial as any big city in America (it's why national sports radio shows don't work), I thought I'd share this bit of news from the Windy City.
Apparently Jimmy Rollins isn't the only famous face who's set off a baseball fan base.
There's quite a bit going on at the park today (instant replay goes into effect Thursday, the Phils were rumored to have interest in Mark Kotsay and, oh by the way, the first-place Mets are in town).
So I have to get to writing all of that for your Daily Times paper. But while surfing the wide world web, I came across this pretty good one-on-one with J-Roll on ESPN.com.
The closer we get to Tuesday, the more the Mets are on the collective minds of seamheads in Philadelphia.
Phils skipper Charlie Manuel faced a barrage of Mets questions - their maligned bullpen, the psychological advantage (or lack thereof), the difficulties of facing Pedro and Santana in a two-game series.
But everyone can answer all of the questions in the world until they're blue in the face and it won't really matter. It's all about what goes on between the white lines.
So far, the Mets hold the advantage there. They've won 9 of 14 games between the two NL East foes.
But there are five games left. And the two teams are virtually in a dead heat (entering Monday night's games, New York is a 1/2 game ahead).
The Phillies won eight straight over the Mets last year, which helped pave way to the New Yorkers historic collapse.
If they win three or four of the remaining games, it could go a long way in helping the Phillies secure their second straight NL East crown.
In his first 19 games with the Dodgers, Red Sox castoff Manny Ramirez hit a Ted Williams-like .406 with six home runs and 21 RBIs. But that was before he came to Citizens Bank Park Friday. Manny hasn't been Manny in Philly.
In the first three games of the Dodgers-Phils series, Ramirez is just 2-for-10 (.200).
When asked about the suddenly slumping Dodgers slugger, Manuel knocked on the wooden bench inside the home team's dugout.
Phillies fans get buried in the national media, sometimes a heck of a lot more than they deserve. They have been back in the spotlight recently, when Jimmy Rollins called the local fan base "frontrunners."
But how do you begin to explain how they've accepted Mitch Williams back into town?
Here is your Daily Times Sunday baseball column, which focuses on the Wild Thing's Philly revival.
Phillies outfielder Geoff Jenkins was placed on the 15-day disabled list prior to Saturday's game against the Dodgers.
Jenkins (right hip flexor strain) suffered the injury while running to first base on an infield single Friday night. He was replaced with Jayson Werth when the innings ended.
The Phillies purchased the contract of Lehigh Valley first baseman Andy Tracy to take Jenkins' place on the 25-man roster.
Jenkins, who was hitting .246 with nine home runs and 29 RBI in 108 games while splitting time with Werth in right field, could miss up to three weeks with the injury. An MRI Saturday morning confirmed the severity of the injury.
Jenkins signed a two-year, $13 million deal as a free agent with the Phillies in December. A veteran of 11 major league seasons, Jenkins has never played in the playoffs, and thus, hopes to return next month to help the Phillies make a return trip to the postseason.
"I want to get there pretty badly and be a part of it," Jenkins said.
Anyone else find it curious/ominous that the Phillies decide to celebrates "70s Night" on a Friday night, late in the season, against the Dodgers?
Okay, it's not Black Friday. But what about Blue Friday?
As I'm listening to some groovy music up here in the press box on 70s Retro night: the grounds crew guys are wearing throw back gear... ditto the ballgirls (I like their look).... but the players?
Unless they're switching uniforms before the game, they're wearing their current duds.
Why?
Break out the powder blues.
Hey, I understand their are far bigger things going on with this team than coordinating with everyone else on 70s night, but I sure bet the marketing department wouldn't mind selling more powder blue gear, which would happen if the team wore it.
Born in Philadelphia and raised in South Jersey, Ryan joined the Delaware County Daily Times staff in January of 2008.
He previously worked at the Camden (N.J.) Courier-Post where he was the 76ers beat writer and backed up the Phillies beat.
Ryan, a Clemson University grad who received his masters at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, has been following baseball one way or another for 25 years.
