From Phillies.com:
Bobby Abreu is picking up steam as All-Star voting heads into its final week.
The last member named to the National League squad last year -- thanks to the fans' Final Vote -- Abreu is leading NL outfielders this season, and is heading toward his first starting assignment. Many of Abreu's votes come through link on a weblog, Balls, Sticks, & Stuff.
I'll admit, I added that last sentence. But seriously, no matter where Bobby's votes come from, I'm glad he is finally making the team outright. It's about phreakin' time.
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Overheard on WIP's afternoon show, from a caller referring to Charlie Manuel:
His press conferences are like listenin' to a guy that don't even know the language.
Classic. My beverage nearly came out my nose.
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Gavin Floyd finally had a good outing for Scranton/W-B, striking out six and walking none. Some will say that Floyd's mechanics are off, but in my opinion, if his mechanics are indeed flawed, it is because of his confidence. When an athlete loses confidence, it is reflected in his athletic motion.
Hopefully this performance will be a spring board to better things. The Phillies need him.
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Ed Wade [as told to Kevin Roberts]:
"We're making calls. I think we've tried to make a trade every day."
I'm not sure how I feel about that.
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Seattle relievers were dismayed to find out when they got here that the beautiful, still-new Petco Park does not have a bathroom in the visitors' bullpen, which is down the right-field line, on the opposite side of the field from the visitors' bench.
No one was more dismayed than lefty Matt Thornton, who had go to the bathroom during the game Friday night. To do so, he had to climb over a fence to reach a public restroom, where he had to stand in line.
"I met a guy named Stan, who invented a baseball cap with a handle so you can take it off fast to catch foul balls," Thornton said. "He said he tested it at a batting cage on pitches at 75 mph and caught five before the seams started to give out."
Stan, if you are out there, I would love to make you the next Balls, Sticks, & Stuff interview.
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Thanks go out to Tom Goodman of Swing and a Miss for pointing out a great B.S.& S.-reader comment by Ed Bassett. This website gets a lot of great comments from readers, but on this particular one, Mr. Bennett took it to a higher level, really hustled, and gave it 110%.
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Leading up to and during the recent US Open, there was much ink-spilt about the late Payne Stewart, who had won the last US Open held at Pinehurst, in 1999. But none of them can hold a candle to this column, by David Feherty.
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The Braves just continue to reload. It is a system and culture of winning that is to be admired (and hopefully someday emulated in Philadelphia).
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Remove your caps and let's observe a moment of silence for Shelby Foote, who passed away yesterday at the ripe old age of 88 [hat tip: A Large Regular]. NPR has links to audio clips of past interviews with the great historian...I could listen to Foote talk all day about the Civil War and Stars in Their Courses is one of my favorite books.
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Yes, I'd prefer to sweep this under the rug.
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By the way, posting and correspondance will be a bit sporadic over the next few days as The Missus and I enter the final stage of The Move (from temporary quarters in Bryn Mawr to a nice old stone house in Aronimink).
