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Somewhere Up There…

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, in California.

Whitey: Speaking of deliveries, I’d like to point out the arrival of the Celebre twins, “Plain” and “Pepperoni”…

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The above is my way of congratulating longtime BS&S.com reader, Beerleaguer.com reader, and phaithful fan Mike H. on the birth of his son. Mike, life will never be the same, good for you buddy.

The Silent Summer

This summer, I’ll become 36 years of age.  It will be the first summer of my entire life in which Harold Norbert Kalas will not be behind the microphone broadcasting Phillies games.

When I think about my childhood, the background sounds involve the voices of Harry, Richie “Whitey” Ashburn, Andy Musser, and the very low-level din of crowd noise interspersed with brief moments of raucous cheering.  It was just always there.

On the way to my aunt’s house in Danville?  The sounds were there as we cruised past trees and over mountains.  They were there as we sat in the living room after Sunday dinner, which was always roast beef, mashed potatoes, and corn, in the house my mother grew up in.  To this day, when I have that combination or drive passed that house, I still subconsciously hear Harry and Whitey in the back of my mind.

And if the sounds weren’t there already, emanating from a radio or television, we provided them in the backyard with our own vocal cords, which resonated several octaves above Harry’s and much less dryly than Whitey.  Watch that baby… OUttA hERe! as the whiffle ball sailed over the fence, across the street and into the base of the hill at the foot of the cemetery.

In every war movie, there’s always a scene where the American soldiers are getting shelled by the German artillery.  Eventually, the shelling stops and inevitably, one character says, “hey, do you hear that?”  His buddy will then say, “hear what?”  The first soldier replies something along the lines of, “Nothing -- that’s just it.  It’s stopped.”  In other words, it’s the silence that stands out after you’ve gotten used to being surrounded by sound.

Similarly, this summer, don’t be surprised if you find your evenings missing a certain acoustic stimulus and you struggle to pinpoint just what it is.  Baseball games without Harry Kalas just won’t be the same.

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Even though two of our favorites have moved on to the broadcasting booths in the sky, don’t sell the current group of announcers short.  Scott Franzke and Larry Anderson in particular did a great job on Monday.

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The Phillies have announced their plans for remembering Harry Kalas this weekend and throughout the season.  Details here and here.

Get a DVD of Whitey and Meet Harry the K

If you are like me, then several times over the past few months you've enjoyed watching the DVD Richie Ashburn: A Baseball Life.  What's great about the video is that you get to learn things about one of Philadelphia's greatest sports hero's you never knew before, but you also get wonderful little reminders of what made him achieve that status.

I've exchanged several emails with the folks at the Arts Alliance of America, producers of the video, over the last several months and recently they asked if I would pass this along to readers:

Phillies Hall of Fame Broadcaster Harry Kalas and Dan Stephenson, writer/director of the DVD Richie Ashburn: A Baseball Life (which recently appeared in the Philadelphia Film Festival) will be signing copies of the Ashburn DVD from 11am-12:30pm at the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Citizen Bank Park on August 23rd. DVDs are available at the ballpark.  There will also be a special appearance from the Phillie Phanatic!

I don't recommend this video lightly.  A lot of things come into my inbox, people asking me to tell readers about this event or that product, and most of the time I decline.  But this my friends, is something you should take advantage of, you won't regret it.  Well, maybe you will if the Phanatic makes you a target.  But otherwise...

The Five Stages of Booing

In recent days, due to the treatment of Rod Barajas and Ryan Howard, the manner in which Philadelphia sports fans boo sports figures has come under scrutiny.  Again.  To be fair, Philly fans probably boo too early and too often, but also to be fair, it is an institution severely misunderstood outside of the region.

So as a public service, I present the Five Stages of Booing, to help educate the nation and understand Philadelphians better.

A little bit of background: any psychology 101 student can recite the Kübler-Ross model, otherwise known as the Five Stages of Grief and we tip our old ballcaps to those stages as a template for the following model.  And, just like grief, remember that the need to boo is a human condition, and like any human condition, not all cases of booing fit neatly into these stages.  Perhaps a continuum would be a more appropriate designation...

At any rate, without further ado, the Five Stages of Booing...

Stage 1 -- "Immunity to Boos" -- At this level, a sports figure's eardrums will never have to vibrate to the low-pitched, high intensity-drone of thousands vocalizing their displeasure.  The only person enjoying this stage is Richie Ashburn and unless you plan on going out on top the way he did, you won't be joining him in this stage.  If the Mets found a way to cryogenically freeze Chase Utley, he might be at Stage 1.

Stage 2 -- "Tough Love" -- Contrary to popular opinion, Philly fans do not randomly boo a sports figure without some cause [not to be confused with "just cause", although as we will see later, there is a "just because"].  Typically it comes for a reason and even hometown stars can receive this treatment.  Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Brian Westbrook, and Ryan Howard are often universally cheered, but if a strikeout, fumble, or fielding miscue comes at an inopportune time, boos can and will rain down, but usually only temporarily.  It's as if the crowd is saying, "we love you man, but that sucked" and as long as consistently good efforts are put forth, rarely will things advance to Stage 3.

Stage 3 -- "The Love/Hate Relationship" -- Over time, if a player or coach can defy what the fans consider to be good efforts or sensible decisions that there can be no holding back the vocal displeasure.  Think of Pat Burrell in 2006 sucking his gut in and striking out looking on inside fastballs in clutch situations, or, think of the poorly executed pass play Andy Reid calls on third and short.  Stage 3 is a chronic condition but is curable [see Pat Burrell, circa 2008], though Donovan McNabb and Mike Schmidt are perpetually trapped in this stage.

Stage 4 -- Only Hate Remains -- T.O., Michael Irvin, Drunk Santa.  Stage 4 is reserved for those who have wronged a Philly sports team, either by disappointing or turning on their team or by dealing a crushing blow to one of the Philly teams.  This is the pinnacle of booing and only a few are lucky enough to ever advance out of this stage once they are in it to the more benign Stage 5.

Stage 5 -- "Booing as Tradition" or "Just Because" -- In the final stage, fans boo a player because that is what they have done for years and it's just what you do.  At this point, there's not a lot of animosity or malice left in the booing, it's just tradition, almost like going downashore in August.  It's just what's done. Scott Rolen is an example of this type of booing.  Most fans smile knowingly as they deliver this boo, similar to the way family members bond over a Thanksgiving turkey.  It's perfectly acceptable for toddlers and grandmothers to participate in Stage 5.

Phillies Lead Baseball in LHP Prospects with Unique Names

A few days ago the Phillies converted Josh Outman and Fabio Castro, two left-handed starters, to relievers.  Those moves drew some attention away from the fact that they also promoted 22-year old left-handed starting pitcher Antonio Bastardo to AA Reading.

Bastardo earned the promotion after striking out 47 batters in just 30 1/3 innings pitched at A+ Clearwater.  Impressive to say the least and consistent with his efforts in 2007 when he struck out 110 batters in 96 2/3 innings pitched.

Razor Shines, his manager at Clearwater [while they're at it, is there room for World B. Free in the organization somewhere?], had this to say about Bastardo:

"He's got the gamut. Fastball, slider, change that he can throw for strikes on any count he wants. His changeup has really come along this spring and he's causing a lot of problems for opposing batters."

He also thought that Bastardo would pitch for the big league Phillies this year [link].

At 5'11'' and 168 lbs., the Dominican will undoubtedly face questions about his durability as a starter, and he still struggles with his control a bit, but the fact is, he misses bats.

Outman and Castro are good young pitchers, but it might just be Bastardo that becomes a lefty out of the pen for the Phils this year.

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At 18-14 and atop the NL East, the Phillies head west for a 7-game road trip against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants.  If they return 22-17, I'll be happy.

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Began watching the DVD Richie Ashburn: A Baseball Life and after one disc down and one to go, I can, without any reservations whatsoever, highly recommend it.  The footage of Whitey playing is just plain cool to see.  Oh, and one other thing:  Harry Kalas slings a pie in Whitey's face.  Priceless.

Catching Up

Notes regarding news and minutia...

...The Phillies announced that on June 1, Mike Lieberthal will be signed to a one-day contract so that he can retire as a Phillie.  Similar to when the Phillies signed Doug Glanville to a one-day-er, it's a nice gesture to a player who showed loyalty to the organization over the years but is in no danger of having his number retired.

...Philly sports fans have a bad reputation that exceeds what they deserve given their track record.  Yes, Santa and Jimmy Johnson were pelted with boos and snowballs, and yes, fans cheered when Michael Irvin laid motionless on the turf.  But similar incidents have happened in every town that has a professional sports team.  What I would like to point out is the aspect of Philly fans that goes unnoticed -- an appreciation for historical excellence.  The standing ovation Greg Maddux received when he left the field last night after holding the Phillies to two runs in 6 1/3 innings was very classy.  The Phillies have suffered a lot of losses at the hands of Maddux over the years, it would have been easy for them to ignore his efforts.

...After looking in some of the dark corners of my feed reader, I noticed an article One Chair wrote early this month.  Should I be at all worried that he knows the name of the hospital on "Grey's Anatomy"?  You don't think he secretly thinks of himself as "McBeardy" do you?

...Lastly, over at the Baseboogle blog, I posed a question to the Pitch f/x crowd.  Until someone tells me otherwise, I'm treating the data with skepticism.

...A few days ago I received my copy of the DVD, Richie Ashburn: A Baseball Life.  Can't wait to watch it, look for a review here sometime soon.

Richie Ashburn: A Baseball Life

On April 22nd, 2008, the Phillies and the Arts Alliance of America will release a DVD entitled, Richie Ashburn: A Baseball Life.  Below is a trailer, narrarrated by Harry Kalas, just like the DVD itself.

What's interesting to me is the footage of Ashburn playing baseball, I'm not sure, even after all these years, that I've ever seen any before.

Take a look:

More on Ashburn from the archives.

Book Review - Richie Ashburn Remembered

Sometimes as a Phillies game progresses, whether the Phillies are winning or the Phillies are losing, I sometimes think to myself, what would Whitey say about that play?

For instance, in Tuesday night's game, Bobby Abreu led off the second inning with a triple, and the next three Phillies came to the plate and failed to score him, ending the inning.  My guess is that Whitey would have said, "Hard to believe, Harry."

After reading Richie Ashburn Remembered, by Fran Zimniuch, it becomes even easier to hear a game in His Whiteness's voice.  Leafing through the 109 pages -- filled with anecdotes, Ashburnisms, pictures, and re-prints of many of Ashburn's columns in the Daily News and Bulletin -- portions of the summers of my youth begin to come back, remembering things that I didn't realize affect the way I watch a baseball game.

When a player gets on base, I try and determine if he looks "runnerish" and when a batter strikes out looking at a curveball, I subconsciously utter, "Froze 'em."  And of course, because of Whitey, we know that is only sensible to get the married men off of the field during a rout.  But we also know that if there is nothing to say during a broadcast -- all of the necessary birthday wishes and get wells have already been called out to listeners -- then silence is perfectly fine, no need to fill in the gaps with idle talk...unless of course Harry has just read the game's trivia question, in which case you can keep on guessing until Harry gives you the answer.

As we all know, Ashburn was not just a broadcaster, he was a Hall of Fame centerfielder for the Phillies in the 1950's, an integral part of the 1950 Whiz Kids that won the National League pennant.  During his career, which closed out with the Cubs and Mets, Ashburn hit over .300 nine times and led the National League in batting average twice. Ashburn led the National League in walks and runs scored four times, and hits and triples three times.  According to Zimniuch, Ashburn got at least one hit in 75 percent of the games in which he appeared.  And he could do more than hit as he led the NL in outfield putouts nine times.

As a matter of fact, Dodger fans know Ashburn more for his throwing arm than anything else.  In 1950, Ashburn threw out Cal Abrams -- attempting to score from second off a Duke Snider single -- to preserve a tie in the final game of the season.  The game went to extra innings and Dick Sisler hit a home-run in the bottom of the 10th to win the game and the pennant for the Phillies over the Dodgers.

Richie Ashburn Remembered is a great book to reminisce about one of Philadelphia's icons, and I recommend it highly.  The book is divided into several parts  which focus on his last days, his playing career, broadcasting career, his family life, and his induction into the Hall of Fame in 1995 after a long wait.

But if you really want to feel nostalgic about Whitey, turn on a Phillies game, mute the sound, and let yourself go.  You might just be surprised at whose voice you hear.

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A Call to Comments

It would be fun and interesting for everyone if all who reads this were to go to the comments section and post their favorite [and if it is already listed, their second favorite] Ashburn anecdote or Ashburnism.

Eddie Sawyer

As I was browsing the baseball section of my local Borders Books yesterday, I came across a book I had not heard of before, The Whiz Kids and the 1950 Pennant.  The book has several authors, but the primary one seems to be Robin Roberts, which gives the book a semi-autobiographical feel.  But the book is by no means strictly from the perspective of Roberts, as many of the members of the 1950 Phightin's are quoted in the book, often quite extensively in the form of full-page anecdotes.

One anecdote I stumbled upon, told by Richie Ashburn, was quite interesting.  As Ashburn tells it, many of the players on the 1950 Phillies team had been teammates on the Utica Blue Sox under Eddie Sawyer -- someone who in today's vernacular would be termed a "players' manager" -- in the mid- to late-1940's (also managed the Whiz Kids in 1950).  According to Ashburn, the majority of the regular fans at Blue Sox games were also regular gamblers, and at one particular game, the crowd became very angry when the Blue Sox botched the outcome and lost in the late innings.  As the team was leaving the field to go to the clubhouse, a fan/gambler threw a beer in the face of Eddie Sawyer.  Sawyer retaliated by punching the fan/gambler to the ground.  The story, as told in the book, ends there.  Ashburn and the authors go on to another anecdote to illustrate Sawyer's popularity with the players without telling us the consequences of Sawyer beating the fan/gambler.  What were the extent of the injuries?  Were charges filed? 

My guess is that the injuries were not serious and charges were not filed or it probably would have been mentioned in the book, but in light of recent events, I found this to be an interesting story.  Sometimes the good old days aren't as good as we remember them.