Saturday, March 30, 2013
The Philadelphia Phillies open 2013 on road against rival Atlanta Braves with lots of questions.
They're calling this the possible Last Waltz. It's the title of the last performance by the late great The Band, which decided to retire from the road and end its successful run. But is this the end for the band of Philadelphia Phillies still left from the World Championship team of 2008? Big Boppers Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are finally healthy and they join the aging Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz as the core of champions past. Throw in Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee as staff anchors and Jonathan Papelbon and Mike Adams as bullpen stabilizers and you've got the makings of a strong nucleus. But can these Phils—who are wealthy—can also be healthy and wise too? Do they have what it takes to take on the rising Washington Nationals and the always…
Saturday, March 9, 2013
The Philadelphia Phillies won't have Shane Victorino or Hunter Pence to solidify the outfield this year.
Philadelphia Phillies fans are getting hopeful this spring that the team might be able to turn it around after an off-year. They're hopeful that Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Roy Halliday will rebound from injuries and that Cliff Lee will return to form. They're hopeful that Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz will have eben bigger seasons than 2012. And that some key additions in the bullpen like Mike Adams and Chad Durbin will provide some balance. But who is going to play the outfield? That is possibly the biggest question mark facing the Phillies this spring training. No longer does the team have Shane Victorino or Hunter Pence in the fold. In fact, the Phils have questions at all three positions. Centerfield does have a player. …
Friday, February 22, 2013
Spring training games start Saturday for the Philadelphia Phillies.
They may not be like the 1983 team dubbed "The Wheeze Kids." But the Philadelphia Phillies squad that takes the field Saturday to start a month's worth of spring training games before Opening Day is getting a little grayer around the edges. These aren't your World Champion Phillies of five years ago. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz and Cole Hamels are seasoned veterans now who have gone through the past few years nursing injuries and massaging egos after a season last year that put them out of playoff contention for the first time in a half-dozen years. Throw in Roy Halliday and Cliff Lee and this roster is really starting to look on the long side of 30. But don't tell Ryan Howard that. The Big Fella basically has been…
Friday, February 8, 2013
Philadelphia Phillies' pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater to start spring training in Florida on Wednesday.
This news for sports fans beats news that any groundhog could deliver. It's the sound of a baseball pounding a catcher's mitt with a solid thud that makes most of us feel warmer than any sunny day. On Wednesday, hope springs eternal when pitchers and catchers report to camp in Clearwater, Fla., for the start of spring training. After a dismal season last year, it's time to wipe the slate clean for Manager Charlie Manuel and company. Every team in Major League Baseball gets a new lease on life. And the Phillies could certainly use one after not making the playoffs for the first time in a half-dozen years. This spring training will be very interesting. There are so many questions for a team that didn't do as much as its competitors to …
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Most fans hoped Philadelphia Phillies would make a big splash with a major free agent signing or big name in trade. Hasn't happened yet.
It's hard to get excited about the offseason moves by the Philadelphia Phillies so far. After years in which the team picked up big names like Cliff Lee and Roy Halliday through big trades, Thursday's trade to acquire a centerfielder doesn't draw lots of excitement. Where's the big free agent signing? With a team that sputtered to .500 last year and didn't make the playoffs, Phillies fans expected General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. to make a big splash. B.J. Upton. Michael Bourn. Josh Hamilton. One of those names. But now instead we have Ben Revere. With unproven outfielders like Domonic Brown, Darrin Ruf and John Mayberry Jr., adding a youngster like Revere -- who may have all the potential in the world -- doesn't look like a stroke of …
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Season ends with Philadelphia Phillies not in playoffs for first time in over half a decade. Can team bounce back to winning ways in 2013?
The Philadelphia Phillies 2012 season ended with a thud. They watched the Washington Nationals celebrate winning the NL East crown, a crown that the Phillies wore for the past half dozen years. Those were the days my friends... This year, the Phils floundered, crippled by injuries and inconsistency. It wasn't until after the All-Star break that the Phillies got a shot in the arm, a shot of youth that helped the club make a playoff Wild Card run that eventually fell short. So where do the Phillies go from here? And can the team bounce back to its winning ways in 2013? We know what the needs are in free agency: A third basemen, a better bullpen, a centerfielder and maybe another power-hitting outfielder. Let's take at 10 players (and the …
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Lehigh Valley fans will have several chances to see MVP Ryan Howard play at Coca-Cola Park this week
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Sunday, July 1, 2012
Service Electric broadcasters covering Sunday night's IronPigs game say Phillies' first baseman Ryan Howard will likely play three more games with the Pigs this week. The Pigs will play the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Yankees at 7:05 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Tickets are expected to sell out quickly. In another rehab start, Phillies' second baseman Chase Utley drew a huge crowd to Coca Cola Park on Tuesday. Initial reports indicate Howard will be the Pigs' designated hitter on Monday and then play first base for the other two games. Howard is recovering from a torn left Achilles suffered at the end of last season. Howard played first base with the Pigs in the second game of a double header in Allentown on Sunday. He was the …
Friday, February 24, 2012
Gordon Mack is going to spring training in Arizona with 29 other MLB Fan Cave finalists.
A Bethlehem native bidding to win a “baseball dream job” as the seasonal resident and host of the MLB Fan Cave earned enough fan votes to continue his bid at spring training in Arizona next week. Gordon Mack, a video editor currently living in New York, will compete next week against 29 other finalists in what MLB.com is calling “the final step in their quest to be a 2012 MLB Fan Cave contestant.” To get this far, Mack, a Phillies fan, produced a 2-minute long video during which he rapped and rhymed about why he deserves to be in the Fan Cave for a full season, which earned him votes in an on-line fan poll. In an e-mail to Patch, Mack said he wasn’t too certain about what he will be doing in Arizona next week. “They didn't really give us…
Tom McMenamin
2:13 pm on Saturday, April 6, 2013
Robert.....3 main concerns with your statement(s) 1. Spelling is your friend 2. Grammar is your friend 3.Punctuation is your friend more ›