The Needle and the Bell
Way back on June 13th, brimming with confidence over the Phillies recent play, I made a little announcement:
...from now on, after every series the Phillies win, Balls, Sticks, & Stuff will link to the video file [of the giant Liberty Bell at Citizens Bank Park in motion, complete with audio of the "dong"] in order to celebrate...
Little did I know that it would be nearly a month before the Phillies would win another series.
But it finally happened, and the timing couldn't have been better as the series win came against the NL East Division's leader, the Washington Nationals. In the first game of the three-game series, the Phillies went down the Nationals by a score of 8-7. And though the Phillies fought back from a deficits of 5-0 and 8-3 in that game, the Nationals -- as usual -- found a way to win another close one, and the Phillies -- as usual -- found a way to lose another close one.
Game Two of the series brought something of an anomaly to Citizens Bank Park: a pitcher's duel. Heading into the bottom of the ninth, the score was tied at 0-0. Bobby Abreu led off the inning with a single, Chase Clutchly delivered a double, and David Bell did what was needed, a sacrifice fly to score Abreu. Series tied. Maybe the Nationals aren't so invincible in close games after all?
And so Game Three had the chance to show us if the 2005 edition of the Philadelphia baseball team was worthy of the "Phightins" moniker or more like the "Phizzles" or "Phlops".
With the Phillies down 3-0 in the fourth inning, the needle on the Moniker-Meter was leaning to "Phizzles". Drawing to within a run in the fifth inning, and the needle swings back in the direction of "Phightins", and in the sixth inning, when Charlie Manuel took on Frank Robinson in a cross-diamond shouting match, the needle drifted further towards the "Phightins" side of the spectrum (despite the fact that Robinson and the umpires probably had little to no idea what Fook/Aka Oni was saying). As Ryan Madson, who relieved Jon Lieber in the seventh inning, let a wild pitch score a runner, the needle wavered, but when another Ryan, Ryan Howard, tied the game at 4 with a two-run homer, the needle steadied.
Finally, in the third inning of free baseball, Ramon Martinez, pinch-hitting for Rheal Cormier, hit a seeing-eye grounder through the infield to score David Bell and phans were finally able to unabashedly call their team the Phightins for a few days as Major League Baseball's All-Star break begins.
And finally, Balls, Sticks, & Stuff can, unabashedly, ring the bell to celebrate a series win.
-----------------
Phillies / Ryan Howard Trade Rumors
Several days ago, Ken Rosenthal reported:
The Phillies are willing to move first baseman Ryan Howard, but their asking price is exorbitant, according to rival clubs. One general manager indicates the Phillies want three players for Howard, who is unproven as a major league hitter and potentially a liability at first.
There are two ways to read this. Either the Phillies are over-valuing Howard, or, they are intentionally setting the asking price quite high just to see if anyone will bite, while internally acknowledging the fact that Howard represents a very cheap yet valuable insurance policy.
While the former is more likely, the latter is shrewd.
-----------------
Say It Ain't So Michael Jack
Mike Schmidt was recently a guest on Bob Costas Now on HBO. During his visit, Schmidt stated that had he been a player in the 1990's he probably would have taken steroids. "I'm human, I'm weak."
Forgive me if I decide to naively believe otherwise about my childhood idol, even after hearing it come right from Michael Jack's mouth.
