Results tagged ‘ Matt Stairs ’
And The Winner Is…
Shot Of The Day Award: The Phillies beat the Cardinals in the bottom of the 9th today on a Jason Ellison walk-off hit that scored Miguel Cairo from 2nd base. Ellison, a 7-year major league veteran who played for the Rangers, Mariners, Reds and Giants, is trying to make a new home in Philly. Ellison is now batting .222 this spring and the hit today gave him his first RBI. Cairo, on the other hand, has been hot this spring, batting .370 with 4 RBI and 2 home runs. After 13 seasons bouncing around the majors, Cairo signed a minor league deal with the Phillies for 2009.
The Pitching Prowess Award goes to Chan Ho Park, who got the start for the Phils today and managed 4 2/3 solid innings of no-run ball, giving up only 3 hits. It is looking like Park will make a real run at the 5th starters job, with his biggest competition so far, being JA Happ. Park seems determined to win the job, even consulting with Jamie Moyer after his outing to get more advice from the ageless wonder. During an in-game interview, Park joked that he wished he would be able to pitch at Moyer’s age. Park displayed some real personality in that interview and is actually a pretty loose and funny guy. Seems he will fit in well here in Philly, whether that be as a starter or in the pen.
Jayson Werth, Greg Dobbs and Cairo each had 2 hits in the game today; Werth does not appear to be bothered by any of the recently reported injuries, which included a hamstring and shoulder soreness. His first inning home run flew straight out of the stadium, over the Tiki Pavillion in left field.
But the real thrill today came when Chase Utley stepped to the plate to lead off the 1st inning for the Phillies. Fans jumped to their feet and cheered, happy to see Utley in his first official grapefruit league action. Utley played 4 innings, and although he did not get a hit in his 2 at bats, he looked very comfortable both at the plate and on the field. Message? Utley will be ready for Opening Day! And so, Utley gets my Comeback of the Spring Award :O)
And the Entertainer of the Day Award goes to…Matt Stairs.
Stairs gave the crowd a giggle when he stole 2nd base in the 8th inning. Probably the slowest guy on the team, Stairs kind of resembles a lumberjack more than a professional baseball player. Known mostly as a power hitter, in his 16 year career, Stairs has hit 254 home runs and stolen only 28 bases….that is 1.75 bases per year, on average. So, seeing him swipe a base during spring action was very entertaining. ;o)
WBC Highlights
Spanking of the Day Award: Team Puerto Rico gave a spanking to Team USA yesterday; final score 11-1. Ouch! Phillies teammates JC Romero (PR), Jimmy Rollins (USA) and Shane Victorino (USA) were on-hand for the beating, although Romero did not pitch in the game. Victorino was 0 for 3 and Rollins played the field but did not get an at-bat. Adam Dunn and Brian McCann each had a pair of hits for Team USA, but the rest of the team pretty much bent over and took the punishment. Team USA will get a shot at redemption tonight when they take on the Netherlands at 7:30pm tonight.
Next up for the Phillies
Monday at 1:15pm, the Phillies will take on the Yankees at George Steinbrenner field as grapefruit league action continues.
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Colorful Phillies News
Cole Hamels had his second outing of spring yesterday against the Reds in a 8-4 loss. Looking a bit un-Cole like, he gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and one homer in 2 2/3 innings. After the game, Hamels told Comcast SportsNet that “the fastball’s not there” and that his changeup “doesn’t really have that deception that it normally has during the season.” Well, where ever those pitches are hiding, I hope he finds them before Opening Day. Maybe the new blonde highlights have gone to his head? Ok, so I am really not worried; but if he dyes his hair red next, I may have to consult a counselor.
And in Ryan Howard news, I have a Phillies Phollowers exclusive for you! Ryan got a new tattoo this week…what is it? You will have to stay tuned to find out; I am awaiting word on a photo. A friend of mine knows the guy who did the tattoo and brought her son to meet Howard while he was getting it done. Reportedly, Howard designed the new ink himself. And I am guessing it brought him luck, as Howard went 2 for 3 with a solo home run in yesterday’s game against the Reds. And the ink news continues: Brett Myers got a new tattoo of his own this week. Will it bring him luck as well?
The luck does appear to have rubbed off on Jason Donald, who is on fire at the plate suddenly! Donald went 3 for 4 in the game which he played at 3rd base and has brought his spring average to .320 with 8 hits in 25 at-bats, 6 walks and 2 RBI. If he keeps this pace up, he may be a shoe-in to fill in for Pedro Feliz or Chase Utley if they are not ready for Opening Day. Plus, he is adorable and very friendly. I give out extra points for those qualities :O)
Speaking of Utley, here is what he had to tell Comcast SportsNet yesterday about the progress of his recovery:
http://webjay.org/flash/dark_player
Chris Coste, who has been nursing an injury, played a few innings yesterday and looked like he was feeling good. Also getting back to form, Chad Durbin, Brad Lidge and Feliz are expected to see their first spring action tomorrow at 1:05pm against the Atlanta Braves.
And the sad news of the day; six Phillies rookies were sent to the minors yesterday; pitcher Yorman Bazardo; infielders Ozzie Chavez, Anthony Hewitt and Terry Tiffee; and outfielders Jeremy Slayden and Chris Walker. This narrows down the roster a bit. I wish them all good luck!
WBC Highlights
Team Italy beat out Team Canada yesterday, knocking them out of the classic. Looks like Matt Stairs will return to the Phillies shortly. Later today, Italy will play Venezuela to see who will face Team USA tomorrow. Personally, as an Italian-American, I am voting for an Italy-USA match-up. Of course, I may have just doomed Italy to failure by stating that… :O)
And in yesterday’s win over the Netherlands, Phillie JC Romero pitched 1 1/3 innings of 1 hit ball, getting the win for Team Puerto Rico. You go JC!
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Happ-Y Days Ahead?
In yesterday’s game against the Tigers, JA Happ tried to back up my claim that he would be the winner of the 5th spot in the rotation. Happ pitched 3 scoreless innings, striking out 7 batters with a mean fastball. He allowed only 2 hits. Things are looking Happ-Y for JA who is battling Kyle Kendrick, Chan Ho Park and Carlos Carrasco for the starters spot this year. But, it is still early…
Also feeling the love is John Mayberry Jr., who has been keeping pace with Ryan Howard this spring. Both Mayberry and Howard hit 3-run homers in the game, propelling the Phillies to an 8-2 win over the Tigers. Mayberry continues to impress and, as a right-hander with power, he may be the leading candidate for a bench spot to even out the heavy left-handed line-up.
Jayson Werth saw his first official action of spring and went 1 for 2 with a walk. Think Werth read my call for action yesterday? Here’s hoping! Geoff Jenkins, also aware of his own precarious situation, collected an RBI in the game on a sacrifice.
Phillies in the WBC
Team USA won their World Baseball Classic opener yesterday against Team Canada, 6-5. Shane Victorino 
got the start in center and went 2 for 4 at the plate. Jimmy Rollins came in as relief for Derek Jeter at short and hit 1 for 2 in the game. The big blasts for Team USA came from Kevin Youkilis, Adam Dunn and Brian McCann, who each hit home runs in the game. For Team Canada, Matt Stairs started in right field and went hitless in 3 at bats with 2 strikeouts.
Team Panama lost to Team Puerto Rico, 7-0 yesterday; Carlos Ruiz started at catcher, going 1 for 2 with a walk, but was pulled from the game early due to a neck strain after a collision. Reports so far are that it is not serious, but no word yet on whether Ruiz will play in today’s game against the Dominican Republic.
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Team Canada Feels The Chill
Another chilly day in Florida today where Team Canada went down in flames against the World Champions; final score, 9-2. 
This is what happens when you stock your team with guys named…well, see for yourself:
You can’t make this stuff up. So many jokes…so little time. What were his parents thinking? And the Canadian team was also made up of guys like Matt Stairs, Justin Morneau of the Twins and this kid…the littlest Canadian:
Maybe he is Stubby Jr.? Well, Stairs and Morneau aside, it is no wonder Team Canada struggled against the Phillies.
Anyway, before the game, John Mayberry Sr., former Kansas City Royal, and father of new Phillie, John Mayberry Jr., wandered over to say hello to Charlie Manuel and the gang. He was a proud papa today, watching his son move closer to making the 25-man roster. Mayberry Jr. smacked another home run and went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI on the homer. If Mayberry keeps this pace up, it will be difficult to send him to the minors come April.
Cole Hamels
Rookie Jason Donald had a rough day, and has been having a less than spectacular spring at the plate overall. Today he went 0 for 3. Donald is getting a lot of playing time to see if he can handle 3rd base should they need him to step in for Pedro Feliz, who is still recovering from back surgery. But Donald seems to be pressing at the plate and is not producing so far. Andy Tracy tried to cheer him up after he exited the game today…you will also see Lou Marson fouling off a pitch and Miguel Cairo sliding into home:
As for the competition for the back-up catchers position, Chris Coste has only made one start so far due to a hamstring injury, which is giving Ronny Paulino an opportunity to snag the job. Paulino has not been too impressive, which is good news for Coste, but he’ll need to get back on the field if he is going to keep the job. Coste did take batting practice today and looked solid, so it looks like he should be up and running soon. 
And now for the Photo of the Day – Chase Utley warming up for batting practice; take a look at the reflection in his sunglasses:
The Phillies will take on Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Team USA tomorrow at 12:05pm!
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Spring Training Fan Fest
The Phillies held their annual Fan Fest tonight in Clearwater, FL at Bright House Field. There was a silent auction, photos with the World Series trophy, game used jersey’s for sale, autographs, a moon bounce and, of course, the Phanatic. Sorry to report that I missed out on the moon bounce, but I think I can live with that. I did get autographs from the following Phillies, pictured below from top to bottom, left to right: Joe Blanton, Eric Bruntlett, Clay Condrey, Chad Durbin, Greg Dobbs and Matt Stairs.
Clay Condrey wandered though the crowd for a minute before the signings…I stopped him and yelled out for him to give me a high five. He stopped, turned and yelled back, “I gotcha right here!” and slapped me five. He is a funny guy. I also spoke to Scott Nickle (Phillies marketing) for a while; he remembered me from the cruise and stopped me to talk. He is going to try to plan another Phillies Cruise for next year :O)
At the end of the night, the Phillies planned a fireworks display; Brett Myers and Ryan Madson, who were not scheduled to appear, showed up with their families to see the show, along with Chad Durbin’s wife and child. Here are some shots of the guys on the field playing with the kids. I love the one of Madson tossing his kid into the air!
We all watched the fireworks and headed out. I’ll be attending practices over the next few days and will report back on that soon!
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Madson Signs; Phillies Join World Baseball Classic
After reports that Ryan Madson, under the advisement of agent Scott Boras, had turned down a 3-year 12+ million dollar deal, Madson did finally sign with the Phils. Maybe he read my blog and told Boras to stick it? Or maybe the report was just wrong. Either way, Madson is now locked up for 3 years to the tune of 12 million dollars. Madson has been injury prone the last few years, so hopefully he is back in top form now. He ended 2008 with a 3.05 ERA in 76 games winning 4 and losing 2. Madson excelled in the postseason with a record of 3-1 and a 2.13 ERA in 11 appearances.
This years’ World Baseball Classic will feature 13 current and prospective Phillies, representing 10 different countries. Topping the list for the USA team are Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino. JC Romero will pitch for Puerto Rico and Carlos Ruiz will catch for Panama. Here is the full roster of Phillies:
USA: shortstop Jimmy Rollins, outfielder Shane Victorino
Puerto Rico: lefthander J.C. Romero
Canada: outfielder Matt Stairs
Panama: catcher Carlos Ruiz
Dominican Republic: catcher Ronny Paulino
Italy: outfielder Michael Spidale
Mexico: infielder Oscar Robles
Netherlands: righthander Mike Bolsenbroek
Australia: righthander Drew Naylor, catcher Joel Naughton and infielder Brad Harman.
Venezuela: righthander Carlos Carrasco
In addition to those listed above, Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt will serve as bench coach for the USA team. Class A Clearwater manager Ernie Whitt will manage Team Canada, Gulf Coast League Phillies pitching coach Carlos Arroyo will serve as pitching coach for Team Puerto Rico and former bullpen coach Ramon Henderson will do the same for the Dominican Republic team.
The full schedule can be seen HERE. You can also catch a preview of the World Baseball Classic during Phillies Spring Training in Clearwater at Brighthouse Field. On March 4th, the Phillies will play an exhibition game against Team Canada and on March 5th, they will play Team USA. Rollins and Victorino will play against their own teammates! I will be at both games to bring you coverage.
And finally, I would like to congratulate our new Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama on his inauguration. My daughter went to the rally in Wilmington a few days ago and was especially excited about this dawning of a new era in US History. We all hope that president Obama will give new meaning to the phrase, “Team USA.” Please do us proud!
Here are a few more photos from the rally:
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TYIB Awards: Lidge, Manuel & Gillick Honored
Major League Baseball has begun unveiling the winners of the This Year In Baseball Awards. For his perfect season at closer for the Phillies, Brad Lidge walked away with the Closer of the Year Award. Lidge was 41 for 41 in save opportunities during the regular season and 7 for 7 in the post-season, including the Game 5 World Series clincher. For his efforts, Lidge garnered 44% of the vote! The Yankees’ Mariano Rivera came in second place with 22.7%.
And since the baseball writers did not see fit to give Charlie Manuel manager of the year, the fans went ahead and voted him #1 in the TYIB Manager of the Year category. Manuel received 36.3% of the vote with Rays skipper, Joe Maddon getting 20.5% for second place. During his tenure in Philly, Manuel has taken the team to a 354-294 regular-season record, 2 NL East Titles and, of course, a World Championship. What else can we possibly ask of this man? Personally, I’d like to ask him if I can watch all the games this coming year from the dugout. Manuel can work magic with this team; how about spreading the love? :O)
Pat Gillick, former Phillies GM, was also recognized in the TYIB awards; Gillick won the Executive of the Year award with 31.8% of the vote. Gillick made many moves this past year that many people thought were a bit odd – like the trade for Joe Blanton, bringing in Matt Stairs, etc… – but in the end, these moves paid dividends for the Phils. Of course, Adam Eaton is still haunting us…but when you win the big one, all is forgiven :O) Ruben Amaro Jr. has taken over as GM for the 2009 season, but Gillick will remain with the Phillies in an advisory capacity.
There are still several awards to be handed out; the final announcements should be tomorrow. In the category of Best Postseason Moment, there are actually 4 Phillies nominated! With 10 nominees total, that’s a 40% shot that we’ll be discussing this again soon :O)
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Phillies Close Out Regular Season With A Sweep
The Phillies ended the season today with a series sweep of the Nationals, winning today’s game by a score of 8-3. This game very much resembled a Spring Training game, as all of the rookies and back-ups got the start. It was a lot of fun as the whole team, having already clinched the Division, was very relaxed and they were all having a good time. Most fans even stuck around after the game to dance, catch prizes from the Phanatic and the ball girls and just revel in the glory of a great season and the Phils’ 2nd consecutive NL East Title. Signed balls, tee shirts and I don’t know what else, flew through the air as the fireworks erupted above. The only question that still lingered was, will it be the Brewers or the Dodgers?
That question was answered shortly after the game as the Brewers won and the Mets, for the second straight year, lost and will again not see the post-season. Another sad collapse for Mets fans; a bright spot for Phillies fans as I think we can all agree that the Brewers will be the better match-up in the playoffs. And so it is; the Phillies will face the Brewers on Wednesday in Philly – Time TBD.
As for today, there were a lot of great moments for the youngsters and back-ups playing; Lou Marson went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, including hitting his very first Major League home run. What a night for his first start in the Bigs! Right after Marson hit his homer, on the very next pitch, pinch hitter Matt Stairs followed with one of his own! Nice. And the fun continues…So Taguchi looked like the player we all assumed he was at the beginning of the season; he went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and was great on defense as well. The other “guchi,” Tadahito Iguchi, and Eric Bruntlett each had 2 hits in the game. Jayson Werth pinch hit in the 4th, whacked a single and then followed it up with his 20th steal of the year as he swiped 2nd base. That put him in the 20-20 club with more than 20 homers (24) and 20 stolen bases. Impressive for a guy who was not a starter at the beginning of the year. And then for more pinch hit fun, in the 6th inning Ryan Howard hit a slap-bunt up the 3rd base line to beat the shift and eventually wound up scoring in that inning. If he can do this more often, he may see the Howard defensive shift slowly disappear… And as a side note, Howard managed with that hit to raise his batting average over the .250 mark for the year (.251, to be exact).
Here are some photos from the game…first one is from the pre-game. Many of the Phillies regular starters came out to thank the fans and a few of them spoke. Jimmy Rollins and Brad Lidge were both very eloquent in their speeches. Then, the microphone was passed to Chase Ultey who proceeded to give the world’s fastest “Thank You” ever. All he said was, “You guys have been unbelievable,” and then immediately began to walk off, which prompted this reaction from his teammates:
Funny stuff! The crowd laughed right along with them. Utley, as we know, is a bit speech-shy.
Next photos – Top row: Phanatic & the Mystery Baby Phanatic (from the crowd!) try to hex to opposing pitcher; Eric Bruntlett makes a great play. Bottom row: Bruntlett and Taguchi round the bases; Chris Coste, in a rare appearance at first base, scoops up a dribbler and tags out the runner.
Les Waldron collects his first Major League Win!
Steve Smith sends Jayson Werth home; Greg Golson catches a fly ball in centerfield.
A great end to a great season! Stay tuned for post-game info and coverage!
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Kendrick – Stick A Fork In Him; He’s Done
I said after Kyle Kendrick’s last start that he should have been pulled from the rotation, but Charlie Manuel decided after some decent bullpen sessions, to give him one more shot against the Florida Marlins. This is Manuel’s biggest weakness…he is too concerned with hurting a player’s feelings. Well, this is September and they are in a pennant race – it is NO time to be training the rookie. As it turned out, Kendrick gave up 7 runs in only 1 1/3 innings, on 6 hits and 2 walks. His ERA for the year has ballooned to 5.44 and in his last 6 starts, he is a combined 11.35 ERA. 
I sure hope they don’t give him a third chance, because he is killing this team. Right along with Joe Blanton…see yesterday’s blog for more on that one. Kendrick was booed right out of the game by very upset Phillies fans. He probably felt like he was facing a firing squad.
Speaking of playing with the rookies, JA Happ came on in relief, a situation he is not used to, and gave up 3 more runs in 3 1/3 innings, putting the Phillies down 10-4. Those 3 runs turned out to be the difference in the game. The Phils almost staged an amazing comeback in the 6th inning, adding 4 more runs to their total with hits by Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs, Matt Stairs and Jimmy Rollins and a walk from Pat Burrell. And they could have had more…they left men on second and third with one out as Jayson Werth flied out to right and Chase Utley popped out in foul ground. Of course, had Manuel pinch run for Stairs like he should have, the run from third would have scored on Werth’s fly ball…another run lost. Even if he was trying to save up players, he could have stuck Adam Eaton in there! He’s not doing anything these days. Well, then the next 3 innings, the offense just went to sleep and they wound up taking the loss, 10-8. So close, yet so far.
And just to brighten your day some more, the Mets won tonight. Now the Phillies are 3 games back in the loss column with only 17 games to go. Every loss at this point is a HUGE one. It is going to be a very long couple of weeks…
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Phillies Win 1st Game of Doubleheader
We can all breathe a small sigh of relief. The Phillies won the afternoon game with the Mets 6-2, putting them within 1 game of first place. If they can sweep the series tonight, they will be tied. Jamie Moyer, just as I predicted, stepped it up and was awesome through 7 innings. He allowed only 2 hits and did not surrender a run. I swear the man gets better with age! Whatever he’s got keeping him so young, he ought to bottle it and sell it…I’ll be first in line to buy it!
For the offense, Greg Dobbs was terrific at 3rd base! He made some very difficult plays on defense and also went 
2 for 4 including a 3-run homer to break the game open for the Phillies. Charlie Manuel decided to start Dobbs over Pedro Feliz in the day game because he had “a feeling” about him and Dobbs did not let him down. I have said this before, but I really think switching back and forth between Dobbs & Feliz is the way to go. Dobbs is certainly great as a pinch hitter, but as a starter, he has also consistently produced and his defense has greatly improved.
Carlos Ruiz appeared to emerge from his funk today. He went 3 for 4 with one RBI and scored a run. Matt Stairs made his first contribution to his new team by picking up an RBI on a sac fly in the 2nd inning. And Greg Golson got his first at bat as a major leaguer, but he went down swinging. His second time up, he flied out to center and he also had one error in the outfield. Probably not how he imagined his debut, but he’ll get the hang of it soon. J
Final game of the series tonight at 8:05pm on ESPN! Cole Hamels vs. Johan Santana – ought to be a tight game so it is nice that we did not have to use Brad Lidge in the first game. We may need him tonight….we hope! Go Phillies!
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