Last night, 6-ABC Philadelphia aired a special report on the Phillies Off-Season.  The report covered the weddings of Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, Jamie Moyer's charity work, Chad Durbin's business venture, the Phillies Cruise and Charlie Manuel's weight loss.  The Phillies Cruise coverage is about 3 minutes into the program and you can see five of my photos featured in that portion of the report with my name listed underneath:

And here are still shots of the photos as they aired in the report:

Special thanks to Scott Palmer and Scott Nickle at the Phillies and Beth Widhson at Holland America for including me in this project :O)

Earlier this week, there were a few very "minor" signings that occurred.  The Phillies picked up veteran outfielder Freddy Guzman on a Minor League contract.  He will not be invited to Spring Training.  And veteran right-hander Oscar Villarreal was also given Minor League contract on Thursday.  Villareal is coming off Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2009 season.  He was with the Astros in 2008, the Braves from 2006-2007 and the D-Backs three years prior to that.  With many question marks still in the bullpen, another in inexpensive, yet experienced arm hanging around is a good idea.

I hope everyone enjoyed my live blog yesterday from Bloomberg Headquarters in New York City.  I would like to thank the staff at Bloomberg for their hospitality and for getting the world of blog media involved in their project.  The presentation was phenomenal and I look forward to working with the new tools they have provided and sharing it with everyone.

Each person in attendance was given a one-year subscription to the new Draft Kit and In-Season tools which will officially roll out on 2/18/10.  You can pre-order the programs now on MLB.com; the Draft Kit is $19.95, the In-Season kit is $24.95 or the package with both is $31.95.  Both include the News Kit as well which will integrate news feeds from all over the internet, including my blog here at Phillies Phollowers and many, many others to provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive information available.

Bloomberg has been a monster in the financial services industry since 1981.  Branching out into the sports world, they hope to bring the same innovation and analysis tools they use for finances to baseball.   Here are some of the major advantages you will get with the consumer product:

The application runs straight from the internet; there is no software to download and it will not slow down your computer performance.  The statistics and data you are able to view are in real-time.  This means if a batter hits a home run, that data is available right away and loaded into that players file.

For Fantasy Sports players, there are major advantages to using this program.  You are not limited to the stats and comparisons previously available to you for drafting teams and making in-season changes.  The program is totally customizable and will work in conjunction with ANY fantasy baseball platform you are currently using.  You can control ALL options like points, roster spots and anything else specific to your league or fantasy platform.  The program will show you player information based on your specifications and needs, making it easier to draft players or make adjustments.

There are both "watch" lists and "exclude" lists you can add players or even entire teams to.  If last year, your fantasy team was held back due to a lack of home runs, steals or whatever, you can sort players to choose from based on criteria you select.  These searches can be saved to view later as well.  This program can even help you decide which players or positions to draft in which round based on a supply/demand calculation.

If you are not into Fantasy Baseball, you may not need the Draft Kit, but the In-Season kit is invaluable for crunching numbers for us bloggers or for the avid sports fan who wants to analyze the game on a deeper level.  Angry at your team's manager for making what you feel is a bone-head move?  Say they put a shift on a batter facing a left-handed pitcher throwing low and inside; go into the program, pull up the batters information and plug in the information about the pitcher and anything else pertinent.  You will get a spray chart of that batter's tendencies in that specific situation with percentages and actual numbers.  You can then make an education decision as to how that play was handled.  Were 75% or more of that batter's hits to the side of the shift under those circumstances?  If so, maybe it was not such a bone-head move by your manager ;O)

Think about proving your friends wrong; does your friend swear that a particular player can't hit the inside fastball?  Show him and have proof to back it up.  Imagine all the fun you can have with tools like these!  You can even track a player's performance by month, against certain teams, against certain pitchers, etc...  Basically anything you can think of is available with just a few clicks of the mouse.  And you do not have to open 5 or 6 internet windows to do it; it is all right there in one spot with color and shape coded graphics, charts, bar graphs and a variety of other views.

Have you ever gone to the stats page of MLB.com and been frustrated that you cannot run the comparison you want or have to do the math by hand or maybe the stats are totally not available at all?  Those days are gone.  This program does it all!  My only real concern with the consumer product is that the average computer user may find navigating the system difficult.  There are SO many options, it might be overwhelming.  The people at Bloomberg share my concern and are working hard to develop solid help files, video demonstrations and other educational tools to help make it easier to use for everyone.

I had a similar concern with the Professional product which all MLB teams will be receiving a free 6-month trial of this season.  Will all of these old-school managers and coaches take the time to learn how to use this to their advantage?  At the Winter Meetings, most of the feedback from the teams was very positive, as it should be.  This tool can provide teams with, literally, a statistical advantage over their opponents.

Teams already scout their opponents, but the level of detail this system provides is beyond your everyday scouting report.  The spray charts on batters can be put through as many filters as they want; for example, if you want to know how a batter will perform against a right-handed pitcher, during the day in June with an outside curveball thrown, this will tell you.  It can be that specific.  It can even be specific to the exact pitcher.  Can Manny Ramirez hit a Cole Hamels low, inside fastball?  And what percentage of the time will he strike out or ground out on that pitch?  This will give teams that information, which can be printed out and used during the game to advise the pitcher what to throw or tell fielders where to stand.

Add to all this space-age technology the Biometric security which features fingerprint access to the Pro-system and my mind is officially blown.  Some people at the meeting mentioned that they were so excited about the pro-system, they might be willing to sell body parts to have access to it.  While I do not recommend this course of action, I can see where the avid baseball fan would be tempted towards drastic measures.

So my suggestion is, give the consumer product a try.  I will begin using it as soon as it rolls out and give you additional feedback at that point.  I also hope to have some screen shots available soon to give you an idea of what it will look like.  The staff at Bloomberg says improvements and additions to the system will be on-going; any and all feedback will be considered.  As I have more information, I will be sure to pass it on!

11:30pm - I have arrived in New York City at Bloomberg headquarters for a MLB presentation about a new stat tracking software in development.  The event is scheduled to begin around 12pm and will go until almost 5pm with lunch somewhere in between.  Once it begins and I have an idea of the schedule, I will let you know.  I hope to do a live blog at intervals throughout the event to let everyone know what all the hype is about.  Stay tuned!

Here is a quick preview of some literature they gave us.  The photos are a bit shiny...it is very bright in here!:  

12:00pm - I am in a room filled with Testosterone...lol  Wait, I justed spoted one other women; she is sitting at my table now in an effort to combat all the male hormones flying about.  Wish us luck!  Awaiting opening remarks...

12:05pm - Count now, 3 women and approximately 97 men.  Currently sitting next to two Mets bloggers who have agreed to a truce for the next 5 hours.  After that, all bets are off ;o)

1 2:18pm - Opening remarks included bathroom locations, parking validation and Twitter info - ya know, the important stuff :O)

12:25pm - This project is an exclusive partnership with MLB Advanced Media to analyze baseball stats for their fantasy leagues.  We have been invited today to give feedback on the product and give suggestions to improve this new tool.

12:28pm - Bloomberg is dedicated to achieving in Sports what they have in the financial world; Providing valuable, complelling analysis tools with improvement on going.

12:33pm - There will be 2 products; the consumer product is geared towards Fantasy Baseball.  The Pro product is for MLB Team to use to analyze players.  Consumer roll-out is 2/18/10, when pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.

12:55pm - Charts are available to track which positions are in higher demand during each round of the draft.  This will help you decided whether to draft a certain position or player earlier or later in the round and the odds of that person being available.

Earlier this month, I showed you highlights from a 1982 Phillies Magazine.   Flash forward ten years later and here are bits from a 1992 Phillies Magazine for you.  Curt Schilling is on the cover and the price of the publication (seen on the bottom, left hand side) is only $2.00.  In 1982, the same publication sold for $1.00.  Today, the magazine / program sells for $4.99.

Inside the magazine are pages very similar to the 2009 editions; team rosters, a score sheet and several informative articles about the team and happenings around Major League Baseball.  One page of interest in the 1992 edition is the player fact section, which includes the current Phillies General Manager, Ruben Amaro Jr.  Here he is, then and now:

And here is the 1992 roster from inside the magazine; a very solid team that won the NL Pennant the following year:

And my favorite part of the old publications is being able to compare ticket prices over the years.   The chart to the left shows prices from 1982, 1992 and this coming year, 2010.  The highest priced regular (non-premium seating) ticket in each year were as follows; 1982 - $7.00, 1992 - $12.00, 2010 - $60.00.  Ouch! 

I was in college in 1992 and remember always buying the cheapest ticket they had; then I was able to sit pretty much wherever I wanted.  The Vet was huge and always had plenty of open seats.  I miss those days.  Now to attend a game, I need to break the bank unless I want to sit all the way up top, where players look more like ants that people.  And that still costs $20.00.  However, vertigo from sitting in the super high, steeply sloped seats is totally free. ;o)

By the way, I will be attending a special event this Sunday in New York City; the financial company Bloomberg has put together software in conjunction with MLB.com to provide new ways to track baseball statistics.  MLBloggers were invited to preview the software and give our feedback.  If any other MLBloggers will be attending, please let me know.  I would love to meet you!

I will also "attempt" to do a live blog from the event, but I am unsure as to the conditions and internet connection.  They said wireless will be provided, but my laptop is old and may or may not cooperate.  The event will be between 12pm and 5pm on Sunday, so feel free to stop by my home page and see if I managed to pull this off ;o)  Either way, I will be back with details.  Wish me luck!

I have arrived home from the Phillies Phantastic Voyage and have sorted through most of my photos.  Joining me on the cruise were 270 Phillies fans, JC & Erin Romero, Shane & Melissa Victorino, Ryan & Sarah Madson, Greg & Jean Luzinski, Scott Palmer, the Phanatic, the friend of the Phanatic, Tom Burgoyne and his wife and Phillies Sales Manager, Scott Nickle and his wife, Jenny.  Everyone had a blast! 

I put together a slide show of some key moments from the trip as well as some island shots.  In addition, there are also Photos Albums which include these photos plus many more.  I put together a Phillies Events album and also an Island Events album, which is non-baseball in nature.  Click on either name to view each album. 

To view the Photo Slideshow CLICK HERE and it will take you to the video.

As you can see, everyone, even the Smurf, had a great time.  I will be posting video later today or tomorrow in addition to the photo slideshows where you will get to listen to the players talk during the Q&A session and the cocktail parties, plus much more!

A few other notes; while I was away, Scott Eyre announced his retirement.  He will be missed :O(  I wish Scott the best in his future endeavors!

Next up, Brad Lidge had knee surgery...again.  He had some loose bodies and debris removed and is expected to make a full recovery within 2-3 weeks.  No word on whether he will be ready for opening day or not.

This past Friday, four players filed for arbitration; Joe Blanton, Carlos Ruiz, Chad Durbin and Shane Victorino.  Really all this means is they will negotiate their salaries with the team and if no consensus is reached, they will have a hearing to decide the amount next month.  Last year, the Phillies avoided arbitration with all 10 players who filed.

Next I would like to address a question I was asked a few times while I was away in regards to JC Romero and his arm surgery.  JC is recovering well; he looked healthy and happy all week on the cruise.  As for his recovery time, it is too soon to tell.  Until he begins a regular throwing routine to see how the arm reacts, it will be difficult to make any educated guesses.  However, when he had the surgery in October, he was given a 5-6 month recovery window.  This means he likely will not be ready until after the season begins.  But as with most injuries and surgeries, anything is possible.

And finally, if anyone missed my on-board cruise updates, feel free to check those out as well.  Here is Update #1, Update #2 and Update #3.