LATEST STORIES FROM BALLS, STICKS & STUFF
Catch-22
July 07, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Twenty-two runs. Twenty-two runs! Is it pessimistic of me to wish the Phillies had saved some of last evening's 22 runs scored for tonight and the next night? After all, that would still be over 7 runs per game. Surely the next two Phillies' starting pitchers would agree...
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Monday Mullings
July 06, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Long weekend for many of us. Fun of course, but long. In order to help all of us get back into the swing of things, we'll keep these thoughts short and simple. This will be a diatribe-free zone today... ...Friday July 2nd might have been the turning point for Jimmy...
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Phils Ninth Slot Mightier Than Leadoff
July 02, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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There’s a statistic floating around the airwaves over the last few days [readers have reported hearing it on WIP-610 and Comcast Sportsnet] that the 9th position in the Phillies lineup is actually outperforming the 1st slot. Most, including me, have found that hard to...
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Where Theres Smoke, Theres Fire
July 02, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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And right now, Raul Ibanez’ groin is smoking. Wait… That came out wrong. Really wrong. But I think you know what I mean. For the second straight night, Raul Ibanez will sit out of AA Reading’s lineup [Scott Lauber], where he’s supposedly doing a rehabilitation stint after...
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On J-Ro and Rodrigo
July 02, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Yesterday, the Phillies announced that Rodrigo Lopez would – at least for the time being – replace Antonio Bastardo in the Phillies rotation. The thinking is that Lopez has major league experience, while the other candidates, Carlos Carrasco and Andrew Carpenter, had very...
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Another Two-Cent Theory on the Phillies Recent Slide
June 26, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Over the last several evenings, we’ve seen our defending-World Champs, the same team that just a few weeks ago looked like they could take on the ‘27 Yankees and come out on top, completely hit the skids. Suddenly, the Phillies have forgotten how to field, how to run the...
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When is a Slump More than a Slump?
June 24, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Over the course of his last 162 games, dating back to June 11th, 2008, Jimmy Rollins is batting .249 with an on-base average of .315 and slugging percentage of .387. That’s a full season and more than a calendar year of below-average performance. Should we be worried...
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To the Wives, Mothers, Girlfriends, Significant Others, Etc. of the Phillies
June 24, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Ladies, I implore you. When the Phillies return from the 10-day road trip they began last evening in Tampa [or St. Pete? Where in the world do the Rays play? To be honest, it looks like a Dharma Station to me], I beg of you to do all of Phandom a favor… Please, do not...
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Phils Best Option is to Wait for the Right Deal
June 19, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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This was going to be an entry about how the Phillies needed to make a trade now. Pronto. Toot-sweet. The entry was was going to be a knee-jerk reaction to the 1-5 home-stand the team finds itself in. The more I thought about it though, the more I decided that the last...
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When It Rains it Pours
June 18, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Literally and figuratively. News comes from Todd Zolecki at phillies.com/mlb.com that Raul Ibanez has been placed on the disabled list with a strained groin. John Mayberry, Jr. has been recalled to take his place. This injury and the ones to Scott Eyre and Brad Lidge are...
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On the Tee
June 17, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Tomorrow, at 7:00 AM, Rick Fowler, Casey Wittenberg and Bo Van Pelt will begin the 2009 U.S. Open when they tee off on the first hole of the Black Course at Bethpage Golf Club outside of New York. A few thoughts the night before… …Just as the Philadelphia area has...
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Somewhere Up There
June 17, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Harry: …Another run scores and it looks like the Phillies’ bullpen will have to save the day again tonight. Whitey: Hard to believe, Harry. Harry: By the way, we’d like to congratulate longtime, faithful Phillies fan Mike Harmanos on the recent birth of his son, Landon,...
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You Make Your Own Luck and Pop-ups Make You Out
June 15, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Sorry to say it, but Jimmy Rollins' season has nothing to do with luck and more to do with bad contact.
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Upon Reflection
June 15, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Prior to leaving on a ten-day road trip that would preclude a series at home with the Boston Red Sox, perhaps the best team in the American League, Jamie Moyer talked about the importance of the stretch of games. The upcoming series’ would be a good gauge for where the...
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Phils' Bullpen Might Not Pass the Penny Test
June 14, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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At some point, you've probably heard about the old penny test as it relates to tires on a vehicle. Supposedly, you insert a penny upside down in the treads of the tires and if the treads reach the top of Abraham Lincoln's head, the tires still have some life. On the other...
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How Long Before the MVP! Chants Begin?
June 11, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Given the way the three-game series unfolded in New York (30 total innings played), and given the chilled, damp weather, the latest installment of Phillies/Mets felt like a playoff game. Two take two of three and extend the lead in the NL East to four games is very...
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Somewhere Up There, Harry is Smiling
June 10, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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After Chase Utley's game-winning home-run in the 11th inning over the Mets, we need to hear Harry's classic call. Click here [original entry here].
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Analyzing Brad Lidge's Latest Trip to the Disabled List
June 09, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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As you may have heard by now, Brad Lidge has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right knee. The move is retro-active to June 7th, which means the Phillies will be eligible to use Lidge again on June 22nd. In his place, Paul Bako was called up from...
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Rivalry Week
June 09, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Beginning tonight, the most over-hyped, over-done, over-ballyhooed rivalry will take center-stage in America’s sports consciousness: Red Sox/Yankees. But not everyone in the northeast corridor will be consumed by this conflagration, because a three-game Phillies/Mets...
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Throw Out the Record Books...
June 06, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Throw Out the Record Books..., originally uploaded by TRGoyne. ...When the Lynchburg Hillcats take on the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
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One Day Boys and Girls, If You Eat Your Vegetables You'll Grow Up to Be Big and Strong Like Ryan Howard
June 05, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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During the Phillies trip to the White House a few weeks ago, Ryan Howard filmed this wholesome video with White House chef Sam Kass. [hat tip]
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Phillies Hitting on All Cylinders
June 05, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Two months ago, at the On-Deck Series at Citizens Bank Park prior to the official start of the regular season, phlogosphere regular “MPN” and I sat in the Diamond Club ate cheesesteaks, drank cold beer, and fantasized what the Phillies could do to other teams if their...
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Philly.com to Charge for Content
June 03, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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You know how you haven’t bought a newspaper in ages because it’s easier to just go online at Philly.com and read the latest Phillies-related notes column from the Inquirer or the latest from the Daily News on Brian Westbrook’s most recent injury? Well, that’s about to...
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Antonio, You Magnificent Bastardo!
June 03, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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Sorry to paraphrase George C. Scott in the epic Patton, but ever since news came down that Antonio Bastardo would fill-in for the lost-for-the-season Brett Myers, I couldn’t wait to use that headline. Fortunately, the results were worthy of that headline. Young Antonio...
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Reader Mailbag: Is Jamie Moyer Getting Squeezed This Season?
June 02, 2009 by
Balls, Sticks & Stuff
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A reader writes in: Because I live in Maryland, MLB.com blacks out the Phillies-Nationals games, so I must watch the Nationals broadcast. Their announcers repeatedly state that the strike zone is smaller this year, and this is hurting control pitchers such as Moyer. You...
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