Tonight, the confluence of baseball pennant races, the Internet, the ethernet and the television networks made for a perfect multitasking scene for baseball fans in St. Louis.
As the Cardinals were finishing off the Padres in the top of the ninth inning last night to snap a seven-game losing streak, their celebratory but still-anxious fans sitting in front of the press box at Busch Stadium kept alternating their cheers with quick peeks over their shoulders.
What were they watching to the rear? The press-box TV monitors, half of which were tuned into the Astros-Pirates game being beamed by ESPN from Pittsburgh, where the 'Stros were trying to win an eighth straight game. Do that and the heat would remain on St. Louis, who'd seen Houston pull to within 1 1/2 games of their NL Central lead.
While that drama was unfolding in front and back of the Cards fans, another was playing out in the press box. For the visiting writers from San Diego were tracking the Dodgers' game in Colorado with the help of an XM-radio feed and other Internet outlets.
Why? The Padres came into the game in St. Louis needing a combination of four wins/Dodgers losses to clinch the NL West.
Meanwhile this writer, too, was tracking the Dodgers-Rockies via the ESPN Gamecast graphics on the Internet - while listening to the Phillies' game against the Nationals in Washington, D.C., via the MLB.com Gameday online audio feed. Why? Another inextricable link across the miles, as the Dodgers attempted to maintain their one-game lead over the Phightens' in the NL wildcard race.
The final results: the Cards, Dodgers won early, while Houston and the Phillies played late into the night before winning, too, in 15 and 14 innings, respectively.
Winners, all, to be sure. But the ultimate victors, though, had to be any thoroughly wired fan, and 21st century technology.
Talk about a global village, wireless and electrifying all at once.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Cards hard-pressed to fight jitters
ST. LOUIS - You want to know just how surreal what should have been a celebratory September for the St. Louis Cardinals has turned?
Before last night's game, Cards manager Tony La Russa weighed his team's six-game losing streak against the ace he had in one hand in the form of Chris Carpenter and the slowly reviving offense he had in the other and declared:
"I'd like to get five tonight for Carp and take my chances."
The Cards did get five runs. Problem is, the Padres got six off Carpenter.
Before you could say implosion, the Cardinals had lost, again, their 7-5 defeat another lesson in how to lose a grip on what had once seemed a sure National League Central title.
With five games left, the Cardinals, who led the division by as many as seven games as recently as last Wednesday, now hold but a 11/2-game lead over piping-hot Houston.
"We're not OK because we can't make enough happen to win some games," said La Russa, no longer content to sugarcoat things. "But," he added, "we're still alive. Understand that... . You play hard, you turn things around. And we're playing hard."
The Astros, winners of seven straight after a 7-4 victory in Pittsburgh last night, have chopped five games off the Cardinals' lead since Friday. If that weren't alarming enough for the Cards, their miseries have allowed the Cincinnati Reds - winners of six of 10 - to climb to within 21/2 games.
Cardinals losses. Astros wins. A Reds revival. It's the stuff legendary comebacks and collapses are made of. And all are fueling concerns hereabouts the way oxygen feeds fire.
"One of the toughest parts about this game is the harder you try, the less you perform," catcher Gary Bennett said.
"We have one of two choices: Push back harder or give up. I don't think there's any give-up in this clubhouse."
Still, you can't blame Cardinals fans if they want to know: What in the name of Gene Mauch is going on here?
Yes. The 1964 Phillies and their skipper's name are being invoked in the St. Louis media for reasons other than fond memories of the Cardinals team that took advantage of that historic collapse. All because of an 8-15 September free fall.
Carpenter (15-8) was supposed to end all that. And he seemed braced to, carrying a 5-2 lead into the top of the seventh. It was a lead the ace, who had gone 5-0 with an 0.90 ERA in his previous six home starts, could not hold.
When he gave up four in the seventh, the team that was shaken by four straight losses in Houston over the weekend was left even woozier. Comebacks and close games (the Cards have lost eight of their last nine one-run games) are taking a toll.
Witness La Russa after Monday's 6-5 heartbreaker to the Padres: "It's a really rough stretch. We're so close to breaking through."
Or breaking down.
Third baseman Scott Rolen, for instance, continued to struggle, his slump stretching to 2 for his last 28 last night.
"He can't be asked any more often by trainers and coaches if he's OK," La Russa said before Rolen went 1 for 4. "Some people say he's tired. Some people say he's hurt."
"I'm OK," Rolen quietly declared before the game. "We're getting down to the end, but I am going to go out there and keep grinding, and hopefully good things will happen."
Rolen had been charged with protecting Albert Pujols - until last night, when La Russa dropped Rolen from cleanup to fifth behind Pujols and Juan Encarnacion.
"Fourth is an extra responsibility he doesn't need right now," La Russa said.
Just trying to win a game is responsibility enough. Right now, even that seems more than any Cardinal can handle.
Before last night's game, Cards manager Tony La Russa weighed his team's six-game losing streak against the ace he had in one hand in the form of Chris Carpenter and the slowly reviving offense he had in the other and declared:
"I'd like to get five tonight for Carp and take my chances."
The Cards did get five runs. Problem is, the Padres got six off Carpenter.
Before you could say implosion, the Cardinals had lost, again, their 7-5 defeat another lesson in how to lose a grip on what had once seemed a sure National League Central title.
With five games left, the Cardinals, who led the division by as many as seven games as recently as last Wednesday, now hold but a 11/2-game lead over piping-hot Houston.
"We're not OK because we can't make enough happen to win some games," said La Russa, no longer content to sugarcoat things. "But," he added, "we're still alive. Understand that... . You play hard, you turn things around. And we're playing hard."
The Astros, winners of seven straight after a 7-4 victory in Pittsburgh last night, have chopped five games off the Cardinals' lead since Friday. If that weren't alarming enough for the Cards, their miseries have allowed the Cincinnati Reds - winners of six of 10 - to climb to within 21/2 games.
Cardinals losses. Astros wins. A Reds revival. It's the stuff legendary comebacks and collapses are made of. And all are fueling concerns hereabouts the way oxygen feeds fire.
"One of the toughest parts about this game is the harder you try, the less you perform," catcher Gary Bennett said.
"We have one of two choices: Push back harder or give up. I don't think there's any give-up in this clubhouse."
Still, you can't blame Cardinals fans if they want to know: What in the name of Gene Mauch is going on here?
Yes. The 1964 Phillies and their skipper's name are being invoked in the St. Louis media for reasons other than fond memories of the Cardinals team that took advantage of that historic collapse. All because of an 8-15 September free fall.
Carpenter (15-8) was supposed to end all that. And he seemed braced to, carrying a 5-2 lead into the top of the seventh. It was a lead the ace, who had gone 5-0 with an 0.90 ERA in his previous six home starts, could not hold.
When he gave up four in the seventh, the team that was shaken by four straight losses in Houston over the weekend was left even woozier. Comebacks and close games (the Cards have lost eight of their last nine one-run games) are taking a toll.
Witness La Russa after Monday's 6-5 heartbreaker to the Padres: "It's a really rough stretch. We're so close to breaking through."
Or breaking down.
Third baseman Scott Rolen, for instance, continued to struggle, his slump stretching to 2 for his last 28 last night.
"He can't be asked any more often by trainers and coaches if he's OK," La Russa said before Rolen went 1 for 4. "Some people say he's tired. Some people say he's hurt."
"I'm OK," Rolen quietly declared before the game. "We're getting down to the end, but I am going to go out there and keep grinding, and hopefully good things will happen."
Rolen had been charged with protecting Albert Pujols - until last night, when La Russa dropped Rolen from cleanup to fifth behind Pujols and Juan Encarnacion.
"Fourth is an extra responsibility he doesn't need right now," La Russa said.
Just trying to win a game is responsibility enough. Right now, even that seems more than any Cardinal can handle.
Monday, September 25, 2006
RIP, Braves Dynasty
On Sunday, the Atlanta Braves were eliminated from the National League wild-card race. Thus, their dynasty ends. Again, a job well-done. Time will tell if the absence of Ted Turner's money - and Time Warner's interest - will allow this team to rebuild anytime in the near-future.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Wild for the Phils?
By Claire Smith,
For The Inquirer
There's an adage in baseball that while players crave long-term contracts, endorsements, home-run records and the like, what they really want is to still be around when the leaves turn brown.
With 152 games down and only 10 regular-season games to go, the Phillies are very much still around.
Nine wins in 13 games - leaving them a half-game behind the National League wild-card leading Los Angeles Dodgers - ensured that.
Now, the Phillies enter the final weekend of their final regular-season homestand tantalizingly close to their first postseason since 1993.
Four games. And every single one will mean something, beginning with Florida tonight and ending Monday night with a makeup game against Houston.
Florida, desperately clinging to its own wild-card dream, threw crucial defeats at the playoff-hungry 2005 Phillies.
The Astros? They filleted the 2005 Phils, winning six of six, then won the wild card by one game over, yep, Philly.
Fish vs. Phils. Ryan Howard's power vs. an old nemesis.
What Phillies fan, what Phillies player, could have asked for more?
"It's huge, just what you want," Pat Burrell said. "We've had a kind of inconsistent year, but we've somehow managed to stay in this thing, and now is the time when guys have got to get hot and do their thing. And, hopefully, that will happen."
Indeed, when the Phils get to Fan Appreciation Day on Sunday, they pray they will have given away something more precious than prizes by then.
The real prize fans crave is hope.
Hope that the "no game today" postings that follow homestands won't stand until April but rather only until October.
Hope that the baby-faced home-run basher, Howard, gathers enough strength to return to being, as catcher Mike Lieberthal dubbed him, "the X-factor." In the wild-card chase. In the MVP race. Heck, even in the spirited debate about true home-run records (the purists' 61 hit by Roger Maris or Barry Bonds' unbeloved 73).
Finally, the Phillies are holding hope that at long last the fans who cautiously have been driving up the box-office numbers and TV ratings placed their faith in the right pews.
"It definitely feels different. At this time of the year, in the past, we'd draw about 20,000 fans," said Lieberthal, a veteran of 12 Phillies seasons - some of which played out in Septembers so somber and devoid of meaning that barren, old Veterans Stadium resembled Siberia.
"But it just seems like fans are more into it now," Lieberthal said. "Games may not be sold out, and school is back in, but it seems like the fans are more into it now. There's definitely more excitement."
That can be measured among TV viewers, who drove the Phillies' audience share to double digits five times in the last eight broadcasts. That included an 11 share, or 11 percent of those watching television at the time, for Wednesday's game.
The 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs drew a 6.7 rating on CSN - the third such 6-plus rating in eight games. (Each ratings point in the region represents about 30,000 homes.)
As for the box office sales, the Phillies have yet to sell out a game during the homestand that began Monday. Attendance did edge up from 31,100 to 31,500 to 35,000 as the now-completed three-game series against the Cubs progressed.
Initially, the team expected similar crowds for the games tonight and tomorrow at Citizens Bank Park, then 40,000-plus for Fan Appreciation Day.
No more.
"We've moved our projections up," John Weber, the Phillies' director of ticket sales, said yesterday. "We're now hoping to get above 40,000 [tonight], in the mid- to high 30s on Saturday. We are expecting to sell out our game Sunday.
"Monday is still up in the air," Weber said. "It is our last home game... and, hopefully, Howard will be going for a little higher of a number. But the low 30s would be our projection right now."
When walk-up ticket sales projections become as riveting as actual wins and losses, you know there's pennant fever in the air.
Home-run fever could be an added lure, thanks to Howard, a likable, larger-than-life figure who has given this city its first truly Ruthian home-run king.
Howard will enter play tonight against Florida righthander Ricky Nolasco (11-9, 4.56 ERA) with 57 homers.
But having gone without one since Sunday, Howard was very much looking ahead - to the needed off-day yesterday.
"I'm trying to be more comfortable at the plate - and trying to go into this day off not thinking about anything," said Howard, who is sitting on major-league-leading totals in home runs and RBIs (140). "I'm just going to try to forget everything. That's definitely, definitely important."
Getting one's mind right and rested is critical, agreed lefthander Jamie Moyer, a veteran brought in late-season to lend the value of stretch-drive experience to a young team. And, said Moyer, "since I've been here, I've seen guys that are hungry and who want to play the game.
"Some are still learning how - and that's a process that can go on for a long time. But it's important to stay in character, to bring [something] every single day to the ballpark that will help you win games."
Veterans Burrell, Randy Wolf and Lieberthal know that these four games might represent the final times they appear in Phillies home uniforms.
"But when we finally leave here [Monday], I don't think anybody's going to be too emotional thinking this could be their last game played here," Lieberthal said, "because I think everybody believes we're going to be in the playoffs, and that we're going to be back."
For The Inquirer
There's an adage in baseball that while players crave long-term contracts, endorsements, home-run records and the like, what they really want is to still be around when the leaves turn brown.
With 152 games down and only 10 regular-season games to go, the Phillies are very much still around.
Nine wins in 13 games - leaving them a half-game behind the National League wild-card leading Los Angeles Dodgers - ensured that.
Now, the Phillies enter the final weekend of their final regular-season homestand tantalizingly close to their first postseason since 1993.
Four games. And every single one will mean something, beginning with Florida tonight and ending Monday night with a makeup game against Houston.
Florida, desperately clinging to its own wild-card dream, threw crucial defeats at the playoff-hungry 2005 Phillies.
The Astros? They filleted the 2005 Phils, winning six of six, then won the wild card by one game over, yep, Philly.
Fish vs. Phils. Ryan Howard's power vs. an old nemesis.
What Phillies fan, what Phillies player, could have asked for more?
"It's huge, just what you want," Pat Burrell said. "We've had a kind of inconsistent year, but we've somehow managed to stay in this thing, and now is the time when guys have got to get hot and do their thing. And, hopefully, that will happen."
Indeed, when the Phils get to Fan Appreciation Day on Sunday, they pray they will have given away something more precious than prizes by then.
The real prize fans crave is hope.
Hope that the "no game today" postings that follow homestands won't stand until April but rather only until October.
Hope that the baby-faced home-run basher, Howard, gathers enough strength to return to being, as catcher Mike Lieberthal dubbed him, "the X-factor." In the wild-card chase. In the MVP race. Heck, even in the spirited debate about true home-run records (the purists' 61 hit by Roger Maris or Barry Bonds' unbeloved 73).
Finally, the Phillies are holding hope that at long last the fans who cautiously have been driving up the box-office numbers and TV ratings placed their faith in the right pews.
"It definitely feels different. At this time of the year, in the past, we'd draw about 20,000 fans," said Lieberthal, a veteran of 12 Phillies seasons - some of which played out in Septembers so somber and devoid of meaning that barren, old Veterans Stadium resembled Siberia.
"But it just seems like fans are more into it now," Lieberthal said. "Games may not be sold out, and school is back in, but it seems like the fans are more into it now. There's definitely more excitement."
That can be measured among TV viewers, who drove the Phillies' audience share to double digits five times in the last eight broadcasts. That included an 11 share, or 11 percent of those watching television at the time, for Wednesday's game.
The 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs drew a 6.7 rating on CSN - the third such 6-plus rating in eight games. (Each ratings point in the region represents about 30,000 homes.)
As for the box office sales, the Phillies have yet to sell out a game during the homestand that began Monday. Attendance did edge up from 31,100 to 31,500 to 35,000 as the now-completed three-game series against the Cubs progressed.
Initially, the team expected similar crowds for the games tonight and tomorrow at Citizens Bank Park, then 40,000-plus for Fan Appreciation Day.
No more.
"We've moved our projections up," John Weber, the Phillies' director of ticket sales, said yesterday. "We're now hoping to get above 40,000 [tonight], in the mid- to high 30s on Saturday. We are expecting to sell out our game Sunday.
"Monday is still up in the air," Weber said. "It is our last home game... and, hopefully, Howard will be going for a little higher of a number. But the low 30s would be our projection right now."
When walk-up ticket sales projections become as riveting as actual wins and losses, you know there's pennant fever in the air.
Home-run fever could be an added lure, thanks to Howard, a likable, larger-than-life figure who has given this city its first truly Ruthian home-run king.
Howard will enter play tonight against Florida righthander Ricky Nolasco (11-9, 4.56 ERA) with 57 homers.
But having gone without one since Sunday, Howard was very much looking ahead - to the needed off-day yesterday.
"I'm trying to be more comfortable at the plate - and trying to go into this day off not thinking about anything," said Howard, who is sitting on major-league-leading totals in home runs and RBIs (140). "I'm just going to try to forget everything. That's definitely, definitely important."
Getting one's mind right and rested is critical, agreed lefthander Jamie Moyer, a veteran brought in late-season to lend the value of stretch-drive experience to a young team. And, said Moyer, "since I've been here, I've seen guys that are hungry and who want to play the game.
"Some are still learning how - and that's a process that can go on for a long time. But it's important to stay in character, to bring [something] every single day to the ballpark that will help you win games."
Veterans Burrell, Randy Wolf and Lieberthal know that these four games might represent the final times they appear in Phillies home uniforms.
"But when we finally leave here [Monday], I don't think anybody's going to be too emotional thinking this could be their last game played here," Lieberthal said, "because I think everybody believes we're going to be in the playoffs, and that we're going to be back."
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Dusty Likes Phillies' "Big Boy"
For two days, Dusty Baker - who once managed Barry Bonds - had watched how Ryan Howard, like Bonds, could send a buzz through a crowd just by stepping to the plate.The Chicago Cubs manager also marveled at how Howard was already seasoned enough to relinquish his slugger's credentials when needed and intelligently chip in a two-out, opposite-field hit.
And when he ran the bases well enough to score from first on a two-out double to left in a 4-1 Phillies victory Tuesday? "Big Boy can roll," marveled Baker.
What Baker didn't see in this three-game Cubs-Phillies series is what pleased him most.Baker did not see Howard's signature play - the howitzer home run - a now-storied shot that has made the Phillies first baseman the most feared long-ball threat in the game.
Fifty-seven times opposition managers have seen the bolts; Baker did once when Howard homered at Wrigley Field last month. But not in this series.
"Hopefully," Baker said before last night's game, "we can get out of here tonight and deal with Howard next year."
In a way, baseball men like Baker are as curious about all of Howard's tomorrows as they are cautious about his todays.
"You'd better hope you have a lefthander ready, and really hope you have two to increase your odds," Baker said. "There's no guarantee either way, but when you're facing this team and you have to face [Chase] Utley and Howard, back to back? You've got to have more than one lefty during the course of the game.
"For two games, Cubs reliever Will Ohman - with two confrontations and two strikeouts of Howard - seemed to be that lefty. "It was very impressive, but you don't want to be in that situation too often," Baker said with a chuckle. "I don't care how good he's done against him. Every time Will gets him out, the law of averages is on Howard's side."
Howard proved Baker right when he faced Ohman in the fifth and raked a double last night.
"He just kind of left the pitch up, and you've just got to jump on it sometimes," said Howard, who went on to score in that inning, paving the way to a 6-2 Phillies victory.
So he is dangerous. But as dangerous as Bonds?
"Not yet," Baker said, "because look how long it took for Barry to get to that point."In the first four or five years, you could pitch to Barry. After that, Barry went to that next level."
Howard's first two-at bats against relative unknown lefty Les Walrond last night (strikeout swinging on a breaking ball, groundout) illustrated how difficult finding that level is in the face of increasingly stealthy pitches."
And that will be tougher this next week, because there's a lot at stake and he's no longer a secret," said Baker, referring to the Phillies' chase for the wild card."
Right now, you can probably pitch to him a little bit and he can get himself out, but after a while, he's going to stop swinging at the balls that he's swinging at. Then you're really going to be in trouble."
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Homestretch Triumph
By Claire Smith
In today's Inquirer
Citizens Bank Park - home, sweet home or house of horrors?
The Phillies, running out of time in their quest to close the deal on the National League wild card, entered last night's game against the visiting Chicago Cubs needing to decide which it is.
After struggling initially, the Phillies finally settled on the latter, thanks to the pitching savvy of veteran Jamie Moyer and just enough offense to win, 4-1.
The victory ensured that the Phillies would remain, at worst, 11/2 games behind San Diego in the wild-card chase. The Padres played later against visiting Arizona.
Fortunately for the Phillies, Moyer was obviously as at home as a Phillie could hope to be while making only his second start at Citizens Bank since being acquired Aug. 19 from Seattle.
The 43-year-old lefthander, 3-2 as a Phillie, pitched seven innings of six-hit, one-run ball to improve to 1-0 at the Bank.
The Phillies? They are 37-39 here. But at least the win quieted for a night questions about why the Phillies remain the only big-league club with a winning record on the road and a losing mark at home.
It also allowed the team that entered play three games under .500 at Citizens Bank to reclaim the momentum built on a 7-3 trip.
That trip had made it possible for Phillies fans to care about what happens on this crucial - and final - homestand of the year.
"Three or four more games [won] at home and - who knows? - maybe we'd be leading the wild-card division," reliever Tom Gordon said after pitching a scoreless ninth for his 32d save. "But these games are really, really key games for us, and we've just got to fight.
"And," the veteran of many a pennant-stretch run noted, "the important thing is we've put ourselves in a situation to fight - and a good team will prevail. And the way we've played the last two months, we're that good team."
The Phillies needed to show that very much after the 11-6 debacle of a loss in the series opener Monday, a loss that had brought Charlie Manuel back to his season-long position of having to explain this peculiar home-field "disadvantage."
"I don't even know the answer to that," the manager said before the game. "I have thought about it and thought about it... . We just need to be a little more alert and cool."
Cool? Last night the Phillies needed to act as if they understood that there were only 12 games remaining in their season, and half of those to be played - here - by Monday.
Initially, only Moyer, a St. Joseph's product, seemed a sea of calm as he and the Cubs' Wade Miller, a Reading native, traded scoreless innings through four.
The Phillies' awkwardness at the plate was evident, and the uneasy crowd of 31,892 picked up on that immediately.
Ask Pat Burrell.
Miller, a rebuilt righthander making only his third appearance of the year after off-season shoulder surgery, snaked a slow curve past the hesitant Burrell for a called third strike to end a bases-loaded, first-inning threat. The boos rained on Burrell.
Failure to pounce on Miller (0-2) was a group effort from the start. He struck out eight through the first four innings, and the Phillies stranded seven; shortstop Jimmy Rollins' strikeout in the fourth stranded three alone.
Still, it was Burrell's first-inning strikeout - his sixth in three-plus games - that filled the park with that famed Philly venom.
Increasingly targeted by boo birds waiting to jump on what goes wrong, Burrell could not respond. Fortunately for him, his teammates did.
In the bottom of the fifth, with two outs, Howard singled, then churned home on a double by David Dellucci - the designated Howard protector of the day.
One Cubs error and a two-run bloop single off the bat of Abraham Nunez gave the Phillies a 3-0 edge after five.
A Rollins' home run in the eighth sealed the deal and restored what the Phillies needed most - their taste for home cooking.
See a photo gallery at http://go.philly.com/photos.
In today's Inquirer
Citizens Bank Park - home, sweet home or house of horrors?
The Phillies, running out of time in their quest to close the deal on the National League wild card, entered last night's game against the visiting Chicago Cubs needing to decide which it is.
After struggling initially, the Phillies finally settled on the latter, thanks to the pitching savvy of veteran Jamie Moyer and just enough offense to win, 4-1.
The victory ensured that the Phillies would remain, at worst, 11/2 games behind San Diego in the wild-card chase. The Padres played later against visiting Arizona.
Fortunately for the Phillies, Moyer was obviously as at home as a Phillie could hope to be while making only his second start at Citizens Bank since being acquired Aug. 19 from Seattle.
The 43-year-old lefthander, 3-2 as a Phillie, pitched seven innings of six-hit, one-run ball to improve to 1-0 at the Bank.
The Phillies? They are 37-39 here. But at least the win quieted for a night questions about why the Phillies remain the only big-league club with a winning record on the road and a losing mark at home.
It also allowed the team that entered play three games under .500 at Citizens Bank to reclaim the momentum built on a 7-3 trip.
That trip had made it possible for Phillies fans to care about what happens on this crucial - and final - homestand of the year.
"Three or four more games [won] at home and - who knows? - maybe we'd be leading the wild-card division," reliever Tom Gordon said after pitching a scoreless ninth for his 32d save. "But these games are really, really key games for us, and we've just got to fight.
"And," the veteran of many a pennant-stretch run noted, "the important thing is we've put ourselves in a situation to fight - and a good team will prevail. And the way we've played the last two months, we're that good team."
The Phillies needed to show that very much after the 11-6 debacle of a loss in the series opener Monday, a loss that had brought Charlie Manuel back to his season-long position of having to explain this peculiar home-field "disadvantage."
"I don't even know the answer to that," the manager said before the game. "I have thought about it and thought about it... . We just need to be a little more alert and cool."
Cool? Last night the Phillies needed to act as if they understood that there were only 12 games remaining in their season, and half of those to be played - here - by Monday.
Initially, only Moyer, a St. Joseph's product, seemed a sea of calm as he and the Cubs' Wade Miller, a Reading native, traded scoreless innings through four.
The Phillies' awkwardness at the plate was evident, and the uneasy crowd of 31,892 picked up on that immediately.
Ask Pat Burrell.
Miller, a rebuilt righthander making only his third appearance of the year after off-season shoulder surgery, snaked a slow curve past the hesitant Burrell for a called third strike to end a bases-loaded, first-inning threat. The boos rained on Burrell.
Failure to pounce on Miller (0-2) was a group effort from the start. He struck out eight through the first four innings, and the Phillies stranded seven; shortstop Jimmy Rollins' strikeout in the fourth stranded three alone.
Still, it was Burrell's first-inning strikeout - his sixth in three-plus games - that filled the park with that famed Philly venom.
Increasingly targeted by boo birds waiting to jump on what goes wrong, Burrell could not respond. Fortunately for him, his teammates did.
In the bottom of the fifth, with two outs, Howard singled, then churned home on a double by David Dellucci - the designated Howard protector of the day.
One Cubs error and a two-run bloop single off the bat of Abraham Nunez gave the Phillies a 3-0 edge after five.
A Rollins' home run in the eighth sealed the deal and restored what the Phillies needed most - their taste for home cooking.
See a photo gallery at http://go.philly.com/photos.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
A tough loss, but good possibilities remain
No other team gained ground on the Phillies, and the wild card is within reach - especially with Howard's big bat.
By Claire Smith
For the Inquirer
When the Phillies took the field last night, the upper decks in right field and down the left-field line were sparsely populated.
Citizens Bank Park is not yet the place you absolutely have to be. But as fans started to drift in to fill the lower left-field bleachers with their fannies and the air with their cheers, you couldn't help but imagine the possibilities.
Do things right, the Phillies had to know, and the days of ambiguity might end, in the National League wild-card race in which they hovered one game out of first at the start of play last night. And in the hearts and minds of reticent Philadelphia sports fans.
All it would take was... what?
One more gutsy postseason guarantee by Mike Lieberthal?
One more series victory over a team the Phillies not only have to beat, but should beat?
One more gargantuan, game-winning blow by Ryan Howard during his march toward the still-magical 61-homer mark?
Someone to take charge after a tough loss - like last night's 11-6 pasting by the visiting Chicago Cubs?
A rare clunker from a starter (Jon Lieber, 21/3 innings, five earned runs, two incredibly hard-hit homers by Aramis Ramirez) sent most of the starting nine home without comment, including Lieber.
Makes you wonder about pressure, from within and without.
Still, the Phillies had to know, even in defeat that the signs remain good.
No team closed ground on them, nor do many seem to remain serious threats to their second-place wild-card standing.
Second, the Phillies did not go quietly, especially after Howard was plunked by Cubs starter Sean Marshall in the fourth inning.
That ignited the crowd of 31,101, which included about 4,000 walk-ups. For a time it ignited something within the Phillies, too, who closed within two runs after a pinch-hit grand slam by Jose Hernandez topped a six-run fourth.
It proved to be not enough. As Charlie Manuel reminded during batting practice, "We've got to go out there and take care of our business." Last night that did not happen. Not against a team thriving in the role of spoiler.
The Cubs, after all, took four of six from the wild-card-contending Dodgers and Reds last week. "They've been playing good ball, if I am not mistaken," centerfielder Shane Victorino said.
Still, even after rampaging around the bases, Chicago did not trample the Phillies' shot at October. And that goes a long way, even when you lose by five.
Possibilities buy you time.
Howard alone has the potential to form a one-man brass band down the stretch. That much was clear before the game when the Cubs' dugout, filled with players and coaches and the likes of former Phillies outfielders Garry Maddox and Gary Matthews, marveled at the major-league home-run leader during batting practice.
"Fifty-seven home runs - you've got to give him the MVP just because of that," said Matthews, a coach with the Cubs.
"I was getting a haircut today and they were calling Ryan Howard the black Babe Ruth," said Maddox. "And this was over in Camden, where there hasn't been much outreach.
"But when somebody puts up stats like that, everybody's paying attention."
Even after the big guy went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, the Phillies are still so counting on that. And still expecting more
By Claire Smith
For the Inquirer
When the Phillies took the field last night, the upper decks in right field and down the left-field line were sparsely populated.
Citizens Bank Park is not yet the place you absolutely have to be. But as fans started to drift in to fill the lower left-field bleachers with their fannies and the air with their cheers, you couldn't help but imagine the possibilities.
Do things right, the Phillies had to know, and the days of ambiguity might end, in the National League wild-card race in which they hovered one game out of first at the start of play last night. And in the hearts and minds of reticent Philadelphia sports fans.
All it would take was... what?
One more gutsy postseason guarantee by Mike Lieberthal?
One more series victory over a team the Phillies not only have to beat, but should beat?
One more gargantuan, game-winning blow by Ryan Howard during his march toward the still-magical 61-homer mark?
Someone to take charge after a tough loss - like last night's 11-6 pasting by the visiting Chicago Cubs?
A rare clunker from a starter (Jon Lieber, 21/3 innings, five earned runs, two incredibly hard-hit homers by Aramis Ramirez) sent most of the starting nine home without comment, including Lieber.
Makes you wonder about pressure, from within and without.
Still, the Phillies had to know, even in defeat that the signs remain good.
No team closed ground on them, nor do many seem to remain serious threats to their second-place wild-card standing.
Second, the Phillies did not go quietly, especially after Howard was plunked by Cubs starter Sean Marshall in the fourth inning.
That ignited the crowd of 31,101, which included about 4,000 walk-ups. For a time it ignited something within the Phillies, too, who closed within two runs after a pinch-hit grand slam by Jose Hernandez topped a six-run fourth.
It proved to be not enough. As Charlie Manuel reminded during batting practice, "We've got to go out there and take care of our business." Last night that did not happen. Not against a team thriving in the role of spoiler.
The Cubs, after all, took four of six from the wild-card-contending Dodgers and Reds last week. "They've been playing good ball, if I am not mistaken," centerfielder Shane Victorino said.
Still, even after rampaging around the bases, Chicago did not trample the Phillies' shot at October. And that goes a long way, even when you lose by five.
Possibilities buy you time.
Howard alone has the potential to form a one-man brass band down the stretch. That much was clear before the game when the Cubs' dugout, filled with players and coaches and the likes of former Phillies outfielders Garry Maddox and Gary Matthews, marveled at the major-league home-run leader during batting practice.
"Fifty-seven home runs - you've got to give him the MVP just because of that," said Matthews, a coach with the Cubs.
"I was getting a haircut today and they were calling Ryan Howard the black Babe Ruth," said Maddox. "And this was over in Camden, where there hasn't been much outreach.
"But when somebody puts up stats like that, everybody's paying attention."
Even after the big guy went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, the Phillies are still so counting on that. And still expecting more
Integrating past into the present
Tribute to Murtaugh raises money for future.
The Pittsburgh Pirates proved that good things can - and do - happen at a confluence when they brought home a World Series championship to Three Rivers Stadium in 1971.
Yesterday, the Phillies and Delaware County sought to borrow from that trailblazing team's legacy. The Pirates' cross-state rivals joined with the Delaware County Athletes Sports Hall of Fame to bring three good causes together when they gathered at the Renaissance Airport Hotel to honor Danny Murtaugh, the Chester native who managed the '71 Bucs, and raise money to revive baseball in inner cities, in general, and Murtaugh's hometown, in particular.
Murtaugh, who died in 1976, was feted for his vision, as well as a career that was comparable to Hall of Fame managers Tommy Lasorda and Earl Weaver.
"He led the Pirates to two World Series [titles] the Pirates had no business winning," said Bruce Markusen, author of 1971 Pirates, the Team that Changed Baseball.
Aside from the upsets of the Yankees in 1960 and the Orioles in '71, Murtaugh was also remembered for his refusal to bow to the unspoken belief that a preponderance of minorities should not be fielded on any given day.
For those reasons, Markusen declared: "Danny Murtaugh deserves to be in the Hall of Fame."
Murtaugh's son, Tim, recalling Sept. 1, 1971, the historic day when his father fielded an all-minority lineup, against the Phillies, amused the sold-out luncheon when he revealed that his father was color-blind - literally.
"It must have been an omen of things to come," Tim Murtaugh said after telling how his father's medical affliction was discovered when he attempted to become a pilot in the Army Air Corps in World War II.
All who gathered agreed that Murtaugh would have applauded the effort to revitalize youth ball in cities such as Chester. The Phillies were applauded for their work, especially when Rob Holiday, the Phillies' assistant director of scouting, told of the growth of the team's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities initiative, which is known as RBI.
When the Phillies' RBI branch started in 1989, 200 children participated in what was then a neighborhood Puerto Rican Rookie League.
The Phillies now promote and sponsor RBI teams and leagues in which up to 7,500 children participate throughout the Delaware Valley.
"Baseball is a wonderful game," Dick Allen, the former Phillies slugger who is part of the Phillies' RBI vanguard, told the audience.
"To see kids having fun playing with one little baseball - no guns, no shootings, no knives... . When they're started young, they're on their way," Allen said.
Then, nodding toward a table filled with members of the Chester Red Sox - the only youth team in Chester and the beneficiary of the fund-raiser - Allen said, "When they get to these fellas' age, they're well on their way."
Fifteen-year-old Keyon Staples, an outfielder with the Red Sox, agreed.
"Some people don't understand why we play," he said. "They say baseball is a white person's sport, that blacks should play football and basketball. But they don't know about it. Baseball is fun, too, and I love it."
The Pittsburgh Pirates proved that good things can - and do - happen at a confluence when they brought home a World Series championship to Three Rivers Stadium in 1971.
Yesterday, the Phillies and Delaware County sought to borrow from that trailblazing team's legacy. The Pirates' cross-state rivals joined with the Delaware County Athletes Sports Hall of Fame to bring three good causes together when they gathered at the Renaissance Airport Hotel to honor Danny Murtaugh, the Chester native who managed the '71 Bucs, and raise money to revive baseball in inner cities, in general, and Murtaugh's hometown, in particular.
Murtaugh, who died in 1976, was feted for his vision, as well as a career that was comparable to Hall of Fame managers Tommy Lasorda and Earl Weaver.
"He led the Pirates to two World Series [titles] the Pirates had no business winning," said Bruce Markusen, author of 1971 Pirates, the Team that Changed Baseball.
Aside from the upsets of the Yankees in 1960 and the Orioles in '71, Murtaugh was also remembered for his refusal to bow to the unspoken belief that a preponderance of minorities should not be fielded on any given day.
For those reasons, Markusen declared: "Danny Murtaugh deserves to be in the Hall of Fame."
Murtaugh's son, Tim, recalling Sept. 1, 1971, the historic day when his father fielded an all-minority lineup, against the Phillies, amused the sold-out luncheon when he revealed that his father was color-blind - literally.
"It must have been an omen of things to come," Tim Murtaugh said after telling how his father's medical affliction was discovered when he attempted to become a pilot in the Army Air Corps in World War II.
All who gathered agreed that Murtaugh would have applauded the effort to revitalize youth ball in cities such as Chester. The Phillies were applauded for their work, especially when Rob Holiday, the Phillies' assistant director of scouting, told of the growth of the team's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities initiative, which is known as RBI.
When the Phillies' RBI branch started in 1989, 200 children participated in what was then a neighborhood Puerto Rican Rookie League.
The Phillies now promote and sponsor RBI teams and leagues in which up to 7,500 children participate throughout the Delaware Valley.
"Baseball is a wonderful game," Dick Allen, the former Phillies slugger who is part of the Phillies' RBI vanguard, told the audience.
"To see kids having fun playing with one little baseball - no guns, no shootings, no knives... . When they're started young, they're on their way," Allen said.
Then, nodding toward a table filled with members of the Chester Red Sox - the only youth team in Chester and the beneficiary of the fund-raiser - Allen said, "When they get to these fellas' age, they're well on their way."
Fifteen-year-old Keyon Staples, an outfielder with the Red Sox, agreed.
"Some people don't understand why we play," he said. "They say baseball is a white person's sport, that blacks should play football and basketball. But they don't know about it. Baseball is fun, too, and I love it."
Friday, September 15, 2006
Treadmill frustrations
When Phillies manager Charlie Manuel complained that his yo-yoing team "can't get something going" shortly after the Phils' 4-1 loss to Atlanta Thursday, six other managers dying to see their teams launch a wholehearted run at the wild-card could relate.
As the seven wild-card contender/pretenders headed into play Friday night, only two - San Diego and San Francisco - could claim to have won more games then they had lost in their previous 10 games. SD and SF won seven of their previous 10. The Phillies, Marlins, Astros and Braves had slogged into action at 5-5 in their previous 10. The Reds had faltered along at 4-6.
Friday, the Reds, Phillies and Fish won while the Astros and Braves lost.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, the team leading the NL West, but definitely feeling the hot breath of the torrid Giants and relentless Padres, had also lost 6 of their previous 10, not great momentum heading into this weekend's showdown with the Pods. Continue playing like that, the Dodgers had to know, would likely dump them from the top of the NL West and into the ranks of the Seven Dwarf minions, suspect company, indeed.
Here is a look at the teams limping into crucial weekend series:
Los Angeles: 77-69, following 6-5 loss at Chicago Thursday.
Games left: 16 - 10 home, six road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. San Diego)
San Diego: 76-69, following 4-2 win at Cincinnati Thursday.
Games left: 17 - Six home, 11 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (Four at L.A., three at St. Louis)
San Francisco: 74-73, following 14-4 loss at St. Louis Friday.
Games left: 15 - Seven home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (two at St. Louis, three vs. L.A.)
Florida: 74-73, following 6-4 victory at Atlanta Friday.
Games left: 15 - Six home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (at Mets)
Philadelphia: 75-72, following a 4-3 victory at Houston Friday.
Games left: 15 - Seven home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero
Cincinnati: 73-74 following 4-0 victory at Chicago Friday.
Games left: 15 - Four home, 11 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero
Houston: 71-75. following a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia Friday.
Games left: 16 - Nine home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. St. Louis)
Atlanta: 70-77, following 6-4 loss to Florida Friday.
Games left: 15 - eight home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. Mets)
As the seven wild-card contender/pretenders headed into play Friday night, only two - San Diego and San Francisco - could claim to have won more games then they had lost in their previous 10 games. SD and SF won seven of their previous 10. The Phillies, Marlins, Astros and Braves had slogged into action at 5-5 in their previous 10. The Reds had faltered along at 4-6.
Friday, the Reds, Phillies and Fish won while the Astros and Braves lost.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, the team leading the NL West, but definitely feeling the hot breath of the torrid Giants and relentless Padres, had also lost 6 of their previous 10, not great momentum heading into this weekend's showdown with the Pods. Continue playing like that, the Dodgers had to know, would likely dump them from the top of the NL West and into the ranks of the Seven Dwarf minions, suspect company, indeed.
Here is a look at the teams limping into crucial weekend series:
Los Angeles: 77-69, following 6-5 loss at Chicago Thursday.
Games left: 16 - 10 home, six road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. San Diego)
San Diego: 76-69, following 4-2 win at Cincinnati Thursday.
Games left: 17 - Six home, 11 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (Four at L.A., three at St. Louis)
San Francisco: 74-73, following 14-4 loss at St. Louis Friday.
Games left: 15 - Seven home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (two at St. Louis, three vs. L.A.)
Florida: 74-73, following 6-4 victory at Atlanta Friday.
Games left: 15 - Six home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (at Mets)
Philadelphia: 75-72, following a 4-3 victory at Houston Friday.
Games left: 15 - Seven home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero
Cincinnati: 73-74 following 4-0 victory at Chicago Friday.
Games left: 15 - Four home, 11 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero
Houston: 71-75. following a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia Friday.
Games left: 16 - Nine home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. St. Louis)
Atlanta: 70-77, following 6-4 loss to Florida Friday.
Games left: 15 - eight home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. Mets)
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Wild-card mania, continued...
The Bums are bumming.
L.A. dropped two of three in Wrigley Field, a continuation of a road trip in which the Dodgers lost two of three in Milwaukee and split four in New York. L.A.'s life on the treadmill has allowed San Diego to pull with a half-game of the flagging NL West leaders. It has allowed the Giants to crawl back to within reach of the division lead. And it has muddled the league wild-card race.
Streaking the other way - the Phillies, who held a clubhouse meeting on Tuesday after a game in Atlanta was washed out. The Phillies then held sway over the all-but-dead Braves Wednesday, sweeping a pair to pull within 1 1/2 games of the wild-card leading Padres.
Got all that?
Here is another wild-card update, made necessary by decreased seperation of the contenders/pretenders:
Los Angeles: 77-69, following 6-5 loss at Chicago Thursday.
Games left: 16 - 10 home, six road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. San Diego)
San Diego: 76-69, following 4-2 win at Cincinnati Thursday.
Games left: 17 - Six home, 11 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (Four at L.A., three at St. Louis)
San Francisco: 73-72 (33-39, road)
Games left: 17 Eight home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (three at St. Louis, three vs. L.A.)
Florida: 73-73 (33-38, road)
Games left: 16 Six home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (four at Mets)
Philadelphia: 74-71 (38-33, road)
Games left: 17 Seven home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero
Cincinnati: 72-74 following 4-2 loss to San Diego Thursday.
Games left: 16 Four home, 12 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero
Houston: 71-74
Games left: 17 Ten home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. St. Louis)
Atlanta: 69-76
Games left: 17 10 home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. Mets)
L.A. dropped two of three in Wrigley Field, a continuation of a road trip in which the Dodgers lost two of three in Milwaukee and split four in New York. L.A.'s life on the treadmill has allowed San Diego to pull with a half-game of the flagging NL West leaders. It has allowed the Giants to crawl back to within reach of the division lead. And it has muddled the league wild-card race.
Streaking the other way - the Phillies, who held a clubhouse meeting on Tuesday after a game in Atlanta was washed out. The Phillies then held sway over the all-but-dead Braves Wednesday, sweeping a pair to pull within 1 1/2 games of the wild-card leading Padres.
Got all that?
Here is another wild-card update, made necessary by decreased seperation of the contenders/pretenders:
Los Angeles: 77-69, following 6-5 loss at Chicago Thursday.
Games left: 16 - 10 home, six road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. San Diego)
San Diego: 76-69, following 4-2 win at Cincinnati Thursday.
Games left: 17 - Six home, 11 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (Four at L.A., three at St. Louis)
San Francisco: 73-72 (33-39, road)
Games left: 17 Eight home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (three at St. Louis, three vs. L.A.)
Florida: 73-73 (33-38, road)
Games left: 16 Six home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (four at Mets)
Philadelphia: 74-71 (38-33, road)
Games left: 17 Seven home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero
Cincinnati: 72-74 following 4-2 loss to San Diego Thursday.
Games left: 16 Four home, 12 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero
Houston: 71-74
Games left: 17 Ten home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. St. Louis)
Atlanta: 69-76
Games left: 17 10 home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. Mets)
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Braves' run over; Yankees' up next
A Mets' victory or a Braves' loss tonight will bring to an end Atlanta's major-league record-run of 14 straight division titles.
Once that is a done-deal, the team with the longest current streak of consecutive division titles won will be the Yankees, with eight. Not-so-bold prediction: the Bombers' Their streak will stretch to nine since 10 1/2-game leads in mid-September are rarely blown.
Especially not when you field a lineup of the sort the Yankees are sporting these days. With the return of Hideki Matsui, the addition of Bobby Abreu and the pending activation of Gary Sheffield, the Yankees will have current or one-time all-stars at every position except second.
Joe Torre's toughest decision of the day is who to sit, not who to play. An embarrassment of riches? To some. To Torre, it's a window to a world of possibilities - not to mention the expensive pieces that could make a run at the division title-champion Braves possible.
Once that is a done-deal, the team with the longest current streak of consecutive division titles won will be the Yankees, with eight. Not-so-bold prediction: the Bombers' Their streak will stretch to nine since 10 1/2-game leads in mid-September are rarely blown.
Especially not when you field a lineup of the sort the Yankees are sporting these days. With the return of Hideki Matsui, the addition of Bobby Abreu and the pending activation of Gary Sheffield, the Yankees will have current or one-time all-stars at every position except second.
Joe Torre's toughest decision of the day is who to sit, not who to play. An embarrassment of riches? To some. To Torre, it's a window to a world of possibilities - not to mention the expensive pieces that could make a run at the division title-champion Braves possible.
Braves' run over; Yankees' up next
A Mets' victory or a Braves' loss tonight will bring to an end Atlanta's major-league record-run of 14 straight division titles.
Once that is a done-deal, the team with the longest current streak of consecutive division titles won will be the Yankees, with eight. Not-so-bold prediction: the Bombers' Their streak will stretch to nine since 10 1/2-game leads in mid-September are rarely blown.
Especially not when you field a lineup of the sort the Yankees are sporting these days. With the return of Hideki Matsui, the addition of Bobby Abreu and the pending activation of Gary Sheffield, the Yankees will have current or one-time all-stars at every position except second.
Joe Torre's toughest decision of the day is who to sit, not who to play. An embarrassment of riches? To some. To Torre, it's a window to a world of possibilities - not to mention the expensive pieces that could make a run at the division title-champion Braves possible.
Once that is a done-deal, the team with the longest current streak of consecutive division titles won will be the Yankees, with eight. Not-so-bold prediction: the Bombers' Their streak will stretch to nine since 10 1/2-game leads in mid-September are rarely blown.
Especially not when you field a lineup of the sort the Yankees are sporting these days. With the return of Hideki Matsui, the addition of Bobby Abreu and the pending activation of Gary Sheffield, the Yankees will have current or one-time all-stars at every position except second.
Joe Torre's toughest decision of the day is who to sit, not who to play. An embarrassment of riches? To some. To Torre, it's a window to a world of possibilities - not to mention the expensive pieces that could make a run at the division title-champion Braves possible.
Wild Card Update
Thank the Dodgers for making this 7 Dwarfs+1 race so much fun.
A disastrous loss in Chicago assured three things: L.A.'s presumed win in the NL West is anything but assured. Two, the Padres' late-inning stumble in Cincinnati cost San Diego a day off the calendar but not a game in the standings. Meanwhile, the ancient Giants are like sharks sniffing for blood in the water out west. Faster than you can say Bobby Thomson, the franchise most hated by the Bums is creeping closer to the top of the division.
Out in middle America, you just know that the Cardinals will find it very sweet to put another nail in the fast-fading Astros' coffin by completing a three-game sweep tonight.
You remember the 'Stros, the team Houston manager Phil Garner said could not afford to lose another game this season - three losses ago!
The Phillies, the team that still has the easiest path to the playoffs because of the poor records of the teams left on their schedule, could help themselves tremendously with a doubleheader sweep tonight, but won't do it if the offense does not wake up.
Sure, Pat Burrell and his bat are toast, but can somebody else please step up! Ryan Howard cannot do it alone.
Here is the tale of the tape heading into tonight's games:
Los Angeles: 76-68 (32-41, road) Games left: 18 10 home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. San Diego)
San Diego: 74-69 (36-32, road) Games left: 19 Six home, 13 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (Four at L.A., three at St. Louis)
San Francisco 73-71 (33-39, road) Games left: 18 Nine home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (three at St. Louis, three vs. L.A.)
Florida 73-72 (33-38, road) Games left: 17 Seven home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Five (one vs. Mets, four at Mets)
Philadelphia 72-71 (36-33, road) Games left: 19 Seven home, 12 road Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero
Cincinnati 72-72 (33-26, road) Games left: 18 Six home, 12 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Two (vs. San Diego)
Houston 70-74 (32-41, road) Games left: 18 Ten home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Five (one at St. Louis, four vs. St. Louis)
Atlanta 69-74 (36-38, road) Games left: 19 12 home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. Mets)
A disastrous loss in Chicago assured three things: L.A.'s presumed win in the NL West is anything but assured. Two, the Padres' late-inning stumble in Cincinnati cost San Diego a day off the calendar but not a game in the standings. Meanwhile, the ancient Giants are like sharks sniffing for blood in the water out west. Faster than you can say Bobby Thomson, the franchise most hated by the Bums is creeping closer to the top of the division.
Out in middle America, you just know that the Cardinals will find it very sweet to put another nail in the fast-fading Astros' coffin by completing a three-game sweep tonight.
You remember the 'Stros, the team Houston manager Phil Garner said could not afford to lose another game this season - three losses ago!
The Phillies, the team that still has the easiest path to the playoffs because of the poor records of the teams left on their schedule, could help themselves tremendously with a doubleheader sweep tonight, but won't do it if the offense does not wake up.
Sure, Pat Burrell and his bat are toast, but can somebody else please step up! Ryan Howard cannot do it alone.
Here is the tale of the tape heading into tonight's games:
Los Angeles: 76-68 (32-41, road) Games left: 18 10 home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. San Diego)
San Diego: 74-69 (36-32, road) Games left: 19 Six home, 13 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (Four at L.A., three at St. Louis)
San Francisco 73-71 (33-39, road) Games left: 18 Nine home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (three at St. Louis, three vs. L.A.)
Florida 73-72 (33-38, road) Games left: 17 Seven home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Five (one vs. Mets, four at Mets)
Philadelphia 72-71 (36-33, road) Games left: 19 Seven home, 12 road Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero
Cincinnati 72-72 (33-26, road) Games left: 18 Six home, 12 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Two (vs. San Diego)
Houston 70-74 (32-41, road) Games left: 18 Ten home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Five (one at St. Louis, four vs. St. Louis)
Atlanta 69-74 (36-38, road) Games left: 19 12 home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. Mets)
Monday, September 11, 2006
What, did they expect a medal?
PITTSBURGH (ASSOCIATED PRESS) - A T-ball coach accused of offering an 8-year-old boy $25 to bean a disabled teammate is unlikely to receive a fair trial because of intense media coverage, the man's lawyer said.
Mark R. Downs Jr., 29, of Dunbar, was scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in Fayette County on a string of charges, including solicitation, corruption of minors and reckless endangerment. He refused a plea agreement in December.
The charges against Downs drew the attention of media outlets around the world. Many columnists expressed disgust at what they considered adult corruption of a child's sport.
"We feel he's been persecuted by the media," defense attorney Thomas Shaffer said. "[The case] was on from the nightly news in Japan to every syndicated network broadcast across the country."
***This guy is lucky the charges don't carry death threat implications ***
Mark R. Downs Jr., 29, of Dunbar, was scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in Fayette County on a string of charges, including solicitation, corruption of minors and reckless endangerment. He refused a plea agreement in December.
The charges against Downs drew the attention of media outlets around the world. Many columnists expressed disgust at what they considered adult corruption of a child's sport.
"We feel he's been persecuted by the media," defense attorney Thomas Shaffer said. "[The case] was on from the nightly news in Japan to every syndicated network broadcast across the country."
***This guy is lucky the charges don't carry death threat implications ***
Wild, wild Wild Card Race
Ah, the National League Wild Card - 20 games to go and still as clear as mud, what with eight teams fighting for one playoff invitation (yes, that eight includes Los Angeles, because of the Dodgers' failure to shake the Padres and assure that the NL West flag is truly their own). Which team will prove to be the mudder, the horse with the best kick left in this wacky stretch drive?
My only prediction: The Phillies - the team with the most obvious Mvp candidate (Ryan Howard, left) and the easiest remaining schedule - have the path of least resistence of the brood and, therefore, the least amount of excuses not to win advancement to the playoffs. If you think not, take a look at what faces the contenders, and the pretenders, in the final three weeks of the regular season as they head into play today (Sept. 11):
Los Angeles: 76-67 (32-40, road)
Games left: 19
10 home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. San Diego)
San Diego: 74-68 (36-31, road)
Games left: 20
Six home, 14 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (Four at L.A., three at St. Louis)
San Francisco 72-71 (32-39, road)
Games left: 19
Nine home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (three at St. Louis, three vs. L.A.)
Philadelphia 72-71 (36-33, road)
Games left: 19
Seven home, 12 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero
Florida 73-71, after 16-5 victory over Mets Monday (33-38, road)
Games left: 18
Eight home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (two vs. Mets, four at Mets)
Cincinnati 71-72 (33-26, road)
Games left: 19
Seven home, 12 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. San Diego)
Houston 70-73 after 7-0 loss at Cardinals Monday night (32-40, road)
Games left: 19
Ten home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (Two at St. Louis, four vs. St. Louis)
Atlanta 69-74 after 8-3 loss to Cubs Monday night (36-38, road)
Games left: 19
12 home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. Mets)
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Dynasty Well Done: An Appreciation
. By Claire Smith, for The Philadelphia InquirerTo their credit, the New York Mets came to bury the Atlanta Braves last week and did.
To their discredit, New York fans came to taunt, mocking visiting Atlanta with the Braves fans’ own signature tomahawk-chop chant during a doubleheader sweep on Wednesday.
Tom Glavine/
David L. Pokress/Newsday/MCT)
Photo via NewsCom
The two victories reemphasized the obvious. The Mets are going to win the National League East running away. The Braves won’t, ending a 14-year run as division champions.
Atlanta’s dream of a wild-card berth also likely ended that night, as the Braves fell off the pace by 6 1/2games in that race.
So Mets fans should have celebrated. But to dance on the dugout roofs at Shea and mock? The home team — arguably the best in the National League — deserved better from its fans. So, too, did the Braves.
There are classic dynasties and then there are classy dynasties. And the Atlanta Braves’ dynasty (1991-2005) had class.
The most arrogant thing about the franchise’s storied run was the chop.
That chant might have been as insufferable as it was insensitive, but not so the product on the field, for no one other than the rock-headed John Rocker ever demeaned the Atlanta uniform, belittled the opposition, or singlehandedly put an ugly face on the era.
Not Tom Glavine. Not Greg Maddux. And certainly not manager Bobby Cox.
Those guys were all too busy taking care of business.
They laid the groundwork for Hall of Fame berths for Maddux, Glavine and Cox, and maybe even for Atlanta’s third Cy Young’un — John Smoltz.
They won not only three NL West and 11 NL East flags, but also five pennants, the 1995 World Series, and so many Cy Young Awards, MVPs and manager-of-the-year trophies, you lose count.
And they did all of the above with less arrogance in their 14-year run than some losing teams exhibit in one forgettable season.
That down-to-earth approach may not have made the Braves the postseason constant they were. It did make them a welcome one.
It all started with Cox, the three-time NL manager of the year and arguably the league’s manager of the last decade.
Cox, a four-time manager of the year overall, could have big-leagued[/ITALIC] writers, players, and even others in his fraternity as he solidified his Cooperstown credentials since 1991. When you’re the only manager in baseball history other than Hall of Famers with fourteen 90-win seasons, after John McGraw (16) and Joe McCarthy (15), an inflated ego is all but expected.
Yet no cottage industry for books about the brilliance of being him has ever sprang up around Cox. He doesn’t pretend to be Abner Doubleday or try to reinvent the game daily. Most important, Cox has remained consistent in areas where it has counted the most: accessibility, civility, humility.
As Cox showed how it’s done in the manager’s office, he was blessed with a stellar supporting cast: a master architect in general manager John Schuerholz, and key veterans aligned not only as stars, but as team leaders as well.
Terry Pendleton, tantamount to a player-manager, policed the clubhouse. Brian Jordan, Chipper Jones and Javy Lopez made for a formidable posse.
Then there was Glavine, the lefthanded Michelangelo to Maddux’s Da Vinci.
How different might things have been for the Phillies — a team desperate for veteran leadership the last two seasons — if Glavine had signed here instead of with the Mets.
Glavine, like Derek Jeter and old-schoolers Willie Stargell, Don Baylor, and Brooks and Frank Robinson before him, defines clubhouse presence.
Glavine’s comportment and his intelligent approach to all things baseball showed one young Brave after another the meaning of professionalism and responsibility.
After Glavine and Maddux departed, Smoltz stood in their stead.
Before the 2005 season started, Smoltz gathered his teammates to explain what was expected: courtesy and accountability rather than condescension when dealing with the media; dealing with rather than ducking defeat; honoring rather than embarrassing the organization.
The conglomeration of kids took Smoltz’s advice, then took the NL East — again.
You cannot manufacture that kind of character. Most teams are just grateful to stumble onto it one or two players at a time in any one cycle.
The Braves overflowed with it for 14 years.
Now the race, well-run, is over.
So celebrate, Mets. Consider the possibilities, Phillies, Marlins, Nationals.
But remember, before you mock the dying dynasty as it exits stage right, before you even think about topping it, try emulating it first.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Fly, Phillies, Fly?
By Claire Smith, in the Inquirer
If Jimmy Rollins was joking, he's got a better deadpan delivery than Bob Newhart.
The veteran shortstop, who has logged enough time in these parts to vote in the election, paused the other day to assess whether the Phillies are making any inroads into the heart of Eagles country.
"I don't think they really care about baseball," Rollins said. "It's football season."
In Philadelphia, that's all that usually needs be said for someone to break out in an E-A-G-L-E-S chant - which is exactly what happened Monday, before the Phillies defeated the Houston Astros and Rollins offered his frank opinion.
Rollins, both resigned and ready for the inevitable, brushed off the "but you're in a wild-card race" rebuttal by reminding folks what happened a year ago.
"Shoot, I remember when we were sitting a game out, a half-game out, and we had 10,000 people here for the last day of the season," Rollins said.
Actually, the crowd for the finale was not nearly that bad. Still ...
Just for argument's sake, haven't the Phillies captured some attention around here because of a spirited MVP chase by home-run king Ryan Howard and a feverish wild-card race by the team? Or have generation after generation of Philly fans - indoctrinated into thinking this town isn't big enough for two passions - forgotten how or why their forefathers once stoked their pennant fever?
Well, Rollins, noted for his dry wit, was asked yesterday if he'd been joshing the day before. "Nope, dead serious," he said before a rainout spoiled the Phillies' chance to see whether a 16th victory in 24 games could move the needle on the interest meter all the more.
Jeff Conine, the recently acquired outfielder, doesn't sense a preoccupation among his teammates on whether it's the Eagles or Phillies winning the hearts and minds of fans. But the veteran Conine also knows that sometimes it takes more than just winning to seize the day.
Conine was on the Florida Marlins teams that won wild-card berths in 1997 and 2003. And even though those two teams went on to win world championships, "in Florida they never cared about the whole wild-card thing and didn't show up there," Conine conceded.
Here, the walk-up crowd of 10,000 that had Citizens Bank Park jumping on Labor Day suggested there might be room for a groundswell even as the Eagles limber up for their season opener.
Unfortunately, rainy Scottish moor dreariness has not allowed much chance to gauge whether the Phils can even move the ball against the Eagles, let alone sustain a drive into October.
Still, there is optimism. "With what Ryan is doing and what Chase Utley has done with his 35-game hit streak, I don't think there's any question they've helped rejuvenate interest," Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas said.
Those two, along with Cole Hamels, represent the new face and phase here, enough so, Kalas believes, to make a difference between this year's stretch drive and last year's.
Phillies coach Milt Thompson agreed. "They're making inroads, they really are," he said.
Having the big boomer chasing 60 home runs in the middle of the lineup can't hurt. "I'd pay to come see him," Thompson said.
And if thousands of others agree, and stumble into a wild-card race while searching for a home run chase? The P-H-I-L-L-I-E-S will take whatever you've got.
If Jimmy Rollins was joking, he's got a better deadpan delivery than Bob Newhart.
The veteran shortstop, who has logged enough time in these parts to vote in the election, paused the other day to assess whether the Phillies are making any inroads into the heart of Eagles country.
"I don't think they really care about baseball," Rollins said. "It's football season."
In Philadelphia, that's all that usually needs be said for someone to break out in an E-A-G-L-E-S chant - which is exactly what happened Monday, before the Phillies defeated the Houston Astros and Rollins offered his frank opinion.
Rollins, both resigned and ready for the inevitable, brushed off the "but you're in a wild-card race" rebuttal by reminding folks what happened a year ago.
"Shoot, I remember when we were sitting a game out, a half-game out, and we had 10,000 people here for the last day of the season," Rollins said.
Actually, the crowd for the finale was not nearly that bad. Still ...
Just for argument's sake, haven't the Phillies captured some attention around here because of a spirited MVP chase by home-run king Ryan Howard and a feverish wild-card race by the team? Or have generation after generation of Philly fans - indoctrinated into thinking this town isn't big enough for two passions - forgotten how or why their forefathers once stoked their pennant fever?
Well, Rollins, noted for his dry wit, was asked yesterday if he'd been joshing the day before. "Nope, dead serious," he said before a rainout spoiled the Phillies' chance to see whether a 16th victory in 24 games could move the needle on the interest meter all the more.
Jeff Conine, the recently acquired outfielder, doesn't sense a preoccupation among his teammates on whether it's the Eagles or Phillies winning the hearts and minds of fans. But the veteran Conine also knows that sometimes it takes more than just winning to seize the day.
Conine was on the Florida Marlins teams that won wild-card berths in 1997 and 2003. And even though those two teams went on to win world championships, "in Florida they never cared about the whole wild-card thing and didn't show up there," Conine conceded.
Here, the walk-up crowd of 10,000 that had Citizens Bank Park jumping on Labor Day suggested there might be room for a groundswell even as the Eagles limber up for their season opener.
Unfortunately, rainy Scottish moor dreariness has not allowed much chance to gauge whether the Phils can even move the ball against the Eagles, let alone sustain a drive into October.
Still, there is optimism. "With what Ryan is doing and what Chase Utley has done with his 35-game hit streak, I don't think there's any question they've helped rejuvenate interest," Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas said.
Those two, along with Cole Hamels, represent the new face and phase here, enough so, Kalas believes, to make a difference between this year's stretch drive and last year's.
Phillies coach Milt Thompson agreed. "They're making inroads, they really are," he said.
Having the big boomer chasing 60 home runs in the middle of the lineup can't hurt. "I'd pay to come see him," Thompson said.
And if thousands of others agree, and stumble into a wild-card race while searching for a home run chase? The P-H-I-L-L-I-E-S will take whatever you've got.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Calling All You Einsteins
The Phillies, at 70-68, are in the thick of the National League wild-card race. So, too, are the Padres, Braves, Astros, Marlins, Reds. None of these teams are necessarily thriving. Rather, they're either fighting to get to .500 or barely holding on to winning records.
So here is the question: How many wins will it take to win the NL Wild Card?
Unrelenting War of Nerves
By Claire Smith
Inquirer Staff Writer
Ty Cobb never participated in a wild-card race. But baseball's original Mr. Intensity must have been wishing for something like the insanity that is the 2006 scramble for the National League's backdoor entry into the postseason when he said that the national pastime "should be an unrelenting war of nerves."
Unrelenting?
Try divvying up the one playoff position still up for grabs in the league by seven desperate teams. Six teams, led by the Phillies, began play yesterday within five games of the wild-card-leading San Diego Padres.
That makes seven teams in the scramble for October by any means other than a division title.
Seven. That's insanity and intensity rolled into one. And not Stephen Hawking, Las Vegas oddsmakers, Carnac the Magnificent, or any fingernail-biting player in this race knows how this will all play out.
All that is known is that the ingredients for ultimate victory must include, well, a lot more victories than any of these teams currently have.
"Who knows what it will take?" said Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies shortstop, after watching his team outlast the Houston Astros, 3-2, yesterday to improve to 70-68. "I have no idea, but it's going to take some wins, that's for sure."
The Phillies stayed above .500 because Chase Utley hit a walk-off home run off Dave Borkowski in the bottom of the 10th inning.
The victory assured that the Phillies, at worst, would remain 11/2 games behind the Padres and stay ahead of Florida, Cincinnati, San Francisco, the Astros and Atlanta entering play today.
More important, the win also allowed the Phillies to climb one more rung closer to that 85-, 88- or, heck, even 83-win total it might take move into the postseason.
Not knowing exactly the magic number of victories required is what is magical about all this, of course.
No one knows.
Not Utley nor yesterday's other long-ball hero, Ryan Howard, as they try to find their way to their first postseason.
Not future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, who would likely have to add a wing to his home should he collect any more postseason bling.
"I don't know what the numbers are if you're trying to get to 88, 85 wins to get this done," said the veteran Astros righthander, who was forced from yesterday's pitching duel with Cole Hamels by a strained right groin.
"And who knows?" Clemens added. "If someone goes on a little run, [those totals] might not be good enough, either."
Anyone familiar with the seven gnarled contenders will probably chuckle at the thought of one catching fire.
The Phillies? Bullpen woes. San Diego? Can't hit. Houston? Can't jell. The Braves? Too little, too late. Florida? Too much inconsistency from Dontrelle Willis. The Giants? Too ancient.
For all but one of the above, there is soon to be another problem as well: too little time.
Ask Phil Garner, the harried Astros manager.
"We're down to no games left," Garner said. "We have to win them all. We don't have much room to play with here."
The Astros do have 24 games left. Still, logic, not numbers, suggests that Garner has reason to be concerned.
Even if the league meets the most mediocre of standards and hands its wild card to a team that wins merely 83 games, the Astros would have to go 16-8 the rest of the way, which is tough for a team that is 67-71.
"We've got to get to .500, and if we can't get to .500, we can't even put it in our vocabulary, talking about the playoffs," Garner said.
The Phillies are above .500 - barely. Getting to 83, 85, 88 victories or beyond? A good start would be to put away one rival at a time, starting with the Astros tonight and tomorrow.
"Running the table, that would make it a lot easier," Rollins said, smiling while crunching the numbers and considering all the possible routes to postseason play.
Inquirer Staff Writer
Ty Cobb never participated in a wild-card race. But baseball's original Mr. Intensity must have been wishing for something like the insanity that is the 2006 scramble for the National League's backdoor entry into the postseason when he said that the national pastime "should be an unrelenting war of nerves."
Unrelenting?
Try divvying up the one playoff position still up for grabs in the league by seven desperate teams. Six teams, led by the Phillies, began play yesterday within five games of the wild-card-leading San Diego Padres.
That makes seven teams in the scramble for October by any means other than a division title.
Seven. That's insanity and intensity rolled into one. And not Stephen Hawking, Las Vegas oddsmakers, Carnac the Magnificent, or any fingernail-biting player in this race knows how this will all play out.
All that is known is that the ingredients for ultimate victory must include, well, a lot more victories than any of these teams currently have.
"Who knows what it will take?" said Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies shortstop, after watching his team outlast the Houston Astros, 3-2, yesterday to improve to 70-68. "I have no idea, but it's going to take some wins, that's for sure."
The Phillies stayed above .500 because Chase Utley hit a walk-off home run off Dave Borkowski in the bottom of the 10th inning.
The victory assured that the Phillies, at worst, would remain 11/2 games behind the Padres and stay ahead of Florida, Cincinnati, San Francisco, the Astros and Atlanta entering play today.
More important, the win also allowed the Phillies to climb one more rung closer to that 85-, 88- or, heck, even 83-win total it might take move into the postseason.
Not knowing exactly the magic number of victories required is what is magical about all this, of course.
No one knows.
Not Utley nor yesterday's other long-ball hero, Ryan Howard, as they try to find their way to their first postseason.
Not future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, who would likely have to add a wing to his home should he collect any more postseason bling.
"I don't know what the numbers are if you're trying to get to 88, 85 wins to get this done," said the veteran Astros righthander, who was forced from yesterday's pitching duel with Cole Hamels by a strained right groin.
"And who knows?" Clemens added. "If someone goes on a little run, [those totals] might not be good enough, either."
Anyone familiar with the seven gnarled contenders will probably chuckle at the thought of one catching fire.
The Phillies? Bullpen woes. San Diego? Can't hit. Houston? Can't jell. The Braves? Too little, too late. Florida? Too much inconsistency from Dontrelle Willis. The Giants? Too ancient.
For all but one of the above, there is soon to be another problem as well: too little time.
Ask Phil Garner, the harried Astros manager.
"We're down to no games left," Garner said. "We have to win them all. We don't have much room to play with here."
The Astros do have 24 games left. Still, logic, not numbers, suggests that Garner has reason to be concerned.
Even if the league meets the most mediocre of standards and hands its wild card to a team that wins merely 83 games, the Astros would have to go 16-8 the rest of the way, which is tough for a team that is 67-71.
"We've got to get to .500, and if we can't get to .500, we can't even put it in our vocabulary, talking about the playoffs," Garner said.
The Phillies are above .500 - barely. Getting to 83, 85, 88 victories or beyond? A good start would be to put away one rival at a time, starting with the Astros tonight and tomorrow.
"Running the table, that would make it a lot easier," Rollins said, smiling while crunching the numbers and considering all the possible routes to postseason play.
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