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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 2 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 14650 |
| Visitors Out: 932 |
| Total Visitors Out: 2642 |
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| Starting Over. |
| 2008-03-05 16:22:37 |
It's been almost a year since I abandoned Ashburn Alley. I left it mostly due to a family medical problem.My grandfather, who for the 29 years I had him, taught me to love the game of baseball. At 82 he saw more than his share of games, and being a Phillies fan suffered his share of heartache. And in June after a short and relatively painless battle with brain and lung cancer he passed away.This will be the first summer of my life where I won't see my grandfather sitting in his recliner, eating a pint of Wawa chocolate and vanilla ice cream watching a Phillies' night game. It'll be the first year I won't hear him ask me "What the hell is wrong with Lee Elia/Nick Leyva/Jim Fregosi/Terry Franconia/Larry Bowa/Charlie Manuel."And I remember last fall watching the Phillies play the National...
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| Good guys win. |
| 2007-04-14 22:44:12 |
I ended up hitting Frawley Stadium with my buddy Nelson, who works for the Philadelphia Soul as "Soulman". We got there just as the bottom of the first got rolling. And we got there just in time. The Rocks batted around in the first and hung a five spot on Avalanche starter Brian Bogusevic, and that's all Wilimington would need, or get. Bogusevic only lasted four in the bitterly cold giving up six hits and give walks, only one of his five runs was earned.Aside from some fielding bobbles - Salem committed three errors, Wilmington just one - the game was excellent. The Avalanche stole three bases, laid down some excellent bunts, and were aggressive on the base paths. They fought back and scored three in the middle innings, but Just Barnes came in and locked down a four inning save givi...
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| Retooling. |
| 2007-04-12 11:30:31 |
As part of our five year rebuilding plan...Wait a minute.Actually, I'm thinking of refocusing on writing editorials as opposed to adding to the polluted waters of blogs reporting news.Look for that soon.In the meantime, seriously, go join the damn message board, you jerks.Pine Tar Nation...
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| New Message Board |
| 2007-04-09 19:48:21 |
Just put a message board online for all you baseball fans (is this what Comcast means when they talk about targeted ads?).Pine Tar NationI just finished putting it together, so there's not much. But it's like a game of Katamari Damacy. Big balls of junk start with a little piece of...some wierd small Japanese thing....
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| Killer Instinct. |
| 2007-04-09 13:28:22 |
The Phillies just don't have that killer instinct. They just don't play like champions. We can talk all day about who the Phillies should get, about what holes they have in their line-up. But the bottom line is that the biggest hole is in their heart. They're not playing with any tenacity. They're not aggressive on the base paths, they're not getting pissed off when they strike out. They're settling for being one and five. ONE AND FIVE. This team was predicted to contend for the pennant, and they're tied with a team that hasn't lead in any of their at bats this season.All winter we said, "The Phillies have to get out of the gate quickly. They need to make April count. They can't fall behind New York or Atlanta." What have they done? They've fal...
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| Phillies Break into the Win Column, Spoil Fish Home Opener |
| 2007-04-07 13:56:15 |
Pat De La Bat dropped a 4 for 4 day, including a three run homer off Ricky Nolasco, in an 8-2 win over the Marlins last night. J-Roll hung his second souvenir of the season, and A-Row got an outfield assist banging Miguel Olivo at the plate. Jamie Moyer went six plus with three strike outs, but the 44 year old wasn't impressed with his own stuff.I didn't think I threw the ball well. I wasn't sharp with the ball. It wasn't a battle, but it was one of those nights where I was in between with everything.Yeah, well, we'll take it.Today, the number 1's face off with Brett Myers taking on Dontrelle Willis....
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| Phils Grab Another Arm |
| 2007-04-06 16:32:45 |
The Beerleaguer breaks the newest Phillies signee, Rick Bauer. Hey, isn't that guy from the TV show 24 named Bauer? Start making your jokes now......
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| Rollins, Others to Wear 42. |
| 2007-04-06 13:27:13 |
Jimmy Rollins, Ken Griffey, Jr., and other ball players will be wearing the league-wide retired number 42 on the 15th. The event will commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the baseball color barrier.It's an honor. I'm glad MLB approved it. It's just a way for us to remember what he did for everybody...Eventually, [baseball] was going to change, but it was going to take a special person to kick the door down. He was the appointed one, and he did a hell of a job representing himself and African-Americans. He was called on for something special and he accomplished it....
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| Oh, This is Encouraging, Thanks Tom. |
| 2007-04-06 12:11:37 |
Tom (from BS&S) reports via MLB Trade Rumors that the Phillies have bought a bullpen arm for "future considerations" from Toronto. The would be saviour, Francisco Rosario who posted an ERA north of 6 and a half last season in seventeen appearances. Expect Joe Bisenius or Clay Condrey to be sent to Ottawa later on today....
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| 8-4...Well, at Least we Can't Blame the Bullpen. |
| 2007-04-06 11:59:10 |
The Braves beat up on the Fightin's winning get-away day 8-4 in the cold. I just don't even want to watch the condensed game on MLB.tv. We all know what happened. Here's the problem, fellas. The Phillies don't have the killer instinct. They don't have a "go for the throat" mentality. In the first two games they had the chance to win. They were up going into the 9th inning on day 1, and choked. They were up in game 2 and choked. They left runners on second and third with no outs. They left runners on base. You leave ducks on the pond, and you're going to get shit on.Honestly, the bullpen ate the first two losses. But the team, the guys that get paid to swing the bat, they should have the L's hung on them. There's no question we need to find an...
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| Around the Minors |
| 2007-04-06 10:27:31 |
I didn't see last night's game. I know that Adam Eaton basically shit the bed and the Braves swept the series. I'll get more into that in my next post. But for now, let's take a look at what the other local teams are doing.Tonight's Ottawa Lynx season opener versus the Rochester RedWings was postponed due to snow. Sucks to be Canadian.Phillies Win! Okay, it's the Reading Phillies. But charged with a first-AA-at-bat homer from Mike "Don't Call Me George" Castanza, the R-Phils beat Harrisburg at home 4-1 in their season opener.The BlueClaws start their title defense tonight at First Energy Park, they'll host Greensboro.The Threshers won their season opener against the Dunedin BlueJays.The Norfolk Tides rallied in Scranton to beat the Yankees 7-5. Rudy Yan of the Tides stole four bases...
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| Link Backs |
| 2007-04-05 13:20:24 |
Before we get started. Tonight the Phillies wrap up their opening series against the Braves. Scheduled starting pitchers: Adam Eaton (0-0) vs. Chuck James (0-0)It's been a minute since I've done one of these. Let's see what the blogosphere is saying in day three of the '07 baseball season.Mike at ACB is saddling last night's loss on Madson and Gordon. And comes up with a reference to the 'scoring matrix'. Bee-tee-dubaya, Madson's the first pitcher since '77 to lose the first two games of a season for his team.Skeeter goes Same shit, different day with his first two games. Carson's comment is classic. It needs to be added to someone's sig.file on a message board somewhere.John Finger throws some quotes out there from Pop-Pop Manuel.The Flow drops an awesome entry title on a really go...
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| Oh God, the Nightmares... |
| 2007-04-05 12:04:30 |
I had to, I fell asleep with the Phillies up 1 - nil in the seventh. Big Daddy Graham broke the news on the way to work. 3 - 2 loss in extra frames. What a pity. Cole Hamels came out and pitched a great game, was in line for a 2-0 win, and guess what? The bullpen blew it.Quick, somebody stop the presses.But what I wasn't expecting was the dumb base running. Why didn't Shane Victorino get a big, fat, glowing red light when he reached second? And who waved Ryan Howard around? RYAN HOWARD?!? Hell of a ball player, but if I need to get from second to home in a hurry, I'm not going to be climbing on his back.If you don't make those two mistakes, you've got a 3-0 lead with no outs (Victorino would have easily scored on the double to right). Now you've still got some outs to play with t...
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| Devils v. Senators |
| 2007-04-03 12:47:33 |
Spending today at a hockey game. Last minute seats at the Meadowlands opened up. Better than half off. Haven't been to a hockey game in years. Going to be rad. Long day ahead.Check out the links to the right for any and all baseball news....
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| Recap |
| 2007-04-02 19:12:43 |
I'm going to be keeping track of the games I watch this year. Just to see how much of my life I spend on watching baseball.Today:Braves 5 v. Phillies 3 (10)CBS 3 (game blacked out on mlb.tv)Brett Myers pitched well until, Edgar Renteria made an early bid for this year's Phillie Killer of the Year award.Royals 7 v. RedSox 1ESPNGil Meche and Alex Gordon ate up Curt Schilling and spit him out.Orioles 3 v. Twins 2 (^4)Twins came out early, back to back homeruns. But Tejada led a three run charge in the top of the 4th and B-more's back in the game.I have to be at work at 0430, and I'm running out of gas. I'm going to eat a sandwich, watch another couple innings of O's v. Twins and call it a day.On a related note, I just bought an eight game Sunday package for the BlueRocks this year. There ...
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| Minor League Rosters Released. |
| 2007-04-02 17:14:02 |
Some players to watch:Phillies' system:Ottawa - J.A. Happ, ranked as Phillies' #8 prospect, control pitcher with a better than 9k's per game average.Lakewood - Kyle Drabek, the #1 draft pick will start in the SALLY league.Local Teams:Scranton/Wilkes-Barre - Phil Hughes, making a pitstop in NEPA on his way to anchoring the roation at The Stadium. "A Carl Pavano hangnail is all it may take to get him to the bigs." -- Benjamin Hill, MiLB.comTrenton - Cody Ehlers, .298 18HR's, 106 RBI's ('06 w/ Tampa)Wilmington - Carlos Rosa, Royals' minor league pitcher of the year ('06). Rowdy Hardy, Midwest League Pitcher of the Year ('06)Camden - Bobby Abreu's brother Danny is returning to the Riversharks as the defending Atlantic L...
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| Bonus Baseball. |
| 2007-04-02 14:56:03 |
How about that? It's been a good ball game so far. I'm jealous of the people at the ball park, though. 70 degrees on a Monday and you're at The Bank enjoying bonus baseball.Brett pitched a great game, went toe to toe with John Smoltz and didn't back down. One mistake got plinked off that centerfield brick, but three earned in an eight inning outing isn't that bad, especially against the Braves.Of course as I write that, Edgar Renteria puts on his Jeff Conine mask and goes Phillie killing again.Put your rally caps on, boys. And while you're here, go read WSBGM's, Corey and Carson are hilarious....
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| Harry Kalas Rings Opening Bell |
| 2007-04-02 14:39:12 |
Two Phillies ball girls and some old guys open up the Philadelphia Stock Exchange today to mark Phillies' opening day....
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| Pop-Pop Manuel is Crazy! |
| 2007-04-02 10:55:00 |
Just saw this on Larry Shenk's blog. Pop-Pop Manuel posted his opening day line-up, and...well, let's see if you see what I see:Jimmy Rollins, SSShane Victorino, RFRyan Howard, 1BChase Utley, 2BPat Burrell, LFWes Helms, 3BAaron Rowand, CFRod Barajas, CBrett Myers, PsourceI don't know, I see a lot of RBI's left on the bases if Pop-Pop uses this as his every day line-up. Talk radio the last few days has been swamped with "where to hit Burrell" chatter. But I don't think any of the armchair managers mentioned moving Howard to 3 and hitting Clutchley in the 4. Or if they did, they were snickered at.But nevertheless, boys. Today's the day we've been writing about for a month or two. It's the day we've been waiting for since early November. In just over an hour the Fightins', led onto the...
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| Now they count. |
| 2007-04-01 10:22:14 |
I just didn't have the heart to post another week's worth of, "These pitchers make me nervous".Just some personal thoughts on the season.Don't worry about Jamie Moyer. He's a 'crafty veteran', ignore his age.Worry about Freddie Garcia. If his arm is still dead after 2005, he might just be done.Cole Hamels is going to get lit up early in the season. He'll settle in because he's a professional.Jon Lieber will end up starting a bunch of games.Matt Smith is your only lefty in the pen. Nervous? Yeah, me too.Ryan Howard will find his sea legs, Pat Burrell will not. Another year with a whole in the five spot.Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins will end the year as a third party ticket for the '08 Campaign...they'll get votes.Aaron Rowand and Tom Gordon will either not finish '07, or not start '08...
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| Blame Carson... |
| 2007-03-26 21:33:06 |
He asked in the last post about the movie I'm making.You may have picked up that I'm a volunteer fire fighter. Last year my roommate (who's an EMT) and I wrote a mockumentary called Vollies. It's basically Reno911 with cool helmets.We filmed back in October at an active station. Actually the station was being closed for budgetary reasons by the state. Two of the craziest days of my life, to be honest. But I loved the whole experience.Here's a scene.Teasing, Not HazingAdd to My Profile | More Videos...
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| Back |
| 2007-03-26 13:13:23 |
I was offline most of the weekend working with my editor on a movie I made a few months ago. It's going to be good. It's going to be funny.Anyway, Brett Myers was named the opening day starter, Jon Lieber is not coming out of the pen, and we still don't have a very warm fuzzy feeling about pitching.Nothing's changed.Phillies have a couple more games before they bring it back to the Bank for the useless "On Deck Series" versus the beaneaters of Boston, and their red colored hose....
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| Disastrous Wednesday Turns into Decent Thursday |
| 2007-03-22 18:08:34 |
Freddie Garcia and Carlos Ruiz, the beat-up battery, both received good news in exams conducted today by an associate of team physician Michael Ciccoti.Garcia's tender right bicep will keep him inactive for a few days. Ruben Amaro's magic 8 ball was in the shop for repairs, and no team officials are giving a schedule for Garcia's return. The team is optimistic, saying he had built his velocity from 80 to 88. But even 88 isn't considered Major League heat. So the blogosphere remains pessimistic.Carlos Ruiz got everybody yelling "OMG! Our catcher's hurt! We have no depth behind the plate! Sky = falling!" His prognosis is just as good as Garcia's. Tender right shoulder. Day to day status....
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| Settle Down Everybody (with a dose of Link Backs) |
| 2007-03-22 11:56:50 |
Ah, screw it. Somebody hit the panic button. Freddie Garcia went down last night with an injury. After throwing just 32 pitches, none of which were very impressive, Garcia left the mound with Lynx trainer Shawn Fcasni.Update expected sometime today.With this news, Jon Lieber is expected to return to the starting rotation. But for those fourteen hours he was in the 'pen, they sure looked good, didn't they?Brett Myers got scratched from a start against the Braves. Instead, he'll throw to some AAA guys in his last spring training start. This adds to the speculation that Pop-Pop Manuel has tapped him for the Opening Day start, which happens to be against the Braves.Elsewhere:ACB, esq is predicting a Phillies NL East win. Of course, Mike predicted the Cubs coming out of the NL Central la...
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