captain zoom

Wild ponies amble along the sands of Assateague Island, near Ocean City, Maryland.

Yesterday's Philadelphia Daily News had an article by Nicole Kraft about former Phillie reliever Dan Plesac, now an entertaining and very sharp analyst on MLBN. Plesac also raises and trains standardbreds at his wonderfully-named Three Up Three Down Farm in Indiana. This past June, Plesac learned that Captain Zoom, a horse he had bought in 1999, then sold a year later, was still alive but in bad shape and most likely destined for the slaughterhouse. The reliever made a speedy save, purchasing Captain Zoom for $175, nursing him back to health, and giving him a home at his farm.

It's a heartwarming story thanks to the efforts of several people and organizations, including Another Chance 4 Horses rescue group and the United States Trotting Association. And of course Dan Plesac. Though he only pitched for the Phillies at the end of his career, I was sad when he retired, after the 2003 season. I always thought he was a good guy; watching him on MLBN this year has only confirmed that impression. His rescue of Captain Zoom makes me even more of a fan.

rendezblue

Jozef Bajus sent this card for Rendezblue, the first anniversary celebration of the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, New York. Held from November 19 to 22, the jam-packed festival featured almost non-stop workshops, lectures, performances, and concerts. Jozef did a drop-in altered paper workshop last Saturday all about cutting, stapling, stitching, folding, layering, and weaving paper to make three-dimensional pieces. The photos he sent of the workshop looked like great fun for all.

more proof that chase utley is a god

The daughter of some Czech jazz musicians--he a guitarist and she a singer--made this now-faded drawing for me in Prague in the 1990's. I came across it this morning.

In his blog High Cheese, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News, has a great little piece today about why Chase Utley is the best baserunner in the National League and why it is so much better to watch baseball in person. Check it out at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillies/

roberto clemente in allentown

I saw this mural all summer long, on my way back from IronPigs' games. It's on the side of a barbershop called Sports Cuts. I guess the owner is from Puerto Rico. The mural features four or five athletes, but the only one I recognize is Clemente, and he jumped out immediately.

I learned this autumn while working my way through Roberto Clemente, the Passion and the Grace of Baseball's Last Hero, by David Maraniss, that Clemente's boyhood nickname was Momen. I also learned that the same things sometimes said nowadays about Latino players were being said when Clemente played, that the New York media hype machine has not changed a bit in the decades since the Pittsburgh Pirates won with Clemente, and that Clemente's death, at age 38, was a senseless tragedy. The plane that he was on should never have been allowed to leave the ground but in the end there were too many holes in the system to prevent its flight.

As complex and charismastic as Roberto Clemente was, the Maraniss biography was a slog to finish. It made me think about what biography writing will become in this age of Facebook, YouTube, etc. One thing that was fascinating, however, about the book was the relationships that Clemente made with young fans, getting to know them, inviting them and their families to games on the road and to stay with him and his family during the offseason in Puerto Rico. Some of those stories were the best of all. They pointed up just how much baseball has changed.

'fork carpet'

Friend Jozef Bajus sent this photo he took the other day in Buffalo as he taking the family dog for a walk. Someone in the house across the street had turned the front yard into a carpet of plastic forks. Jozef was going to respond with some 'land art' of his own, but within hours the installation was gone.

I laughed when I received this image from Jozef and woke the next morning smiling about it.

while i was gone

In lieu of a trip to Central Europe I bought a bar of chocolate at the local Polish deli. It's been 20 years since the Velvet Revolution. Seems like a dream.

Not a lot has happened so far this off-season. The other day the Phillies signed utility infielder Juan Castro. At 37, the light-hitting Castro is not an exciting replacement for the even lighter-hitting Eric Bruntlett.

The Phillies have raised 2010 ticket prices by about four dollars. That times four million and you've got another pitcher or a third baseman. So far, nada.

Larry Bowa, back home in Philadelphia, had some interesting things to say some weeks back on the radio. He was talking about things players say and how what is sometimes said on the West Coast would be unthinkable, and certainly not tolerated, on the East. His prime example was from Game 5 of the NLCS, when the Dodgers were facing elimination. In the locker room before the game, Bowa heard one of the Dodger players say, If we don't win tonight, there's always next year. Bowa was, needless to say, stunned.

bits and pieces

Outfielder Quintin Berry, RHP Jesus Sanchez and LHP Johan Flande were all added to the Phillies' 40-man roster. Eric Bruntlett and Matt Stairs became free agents, among other moves made so far this offseason.

gold and silver

Congratulations to Jimmy Rollins on his third-consecutive Gold Glove at shortstop. Same to Shane Victorino, who picked up his second in a row at center field. Chase Utley, meanwhile, was awarded his fourth-consecutive Silver Slugger at second base.

good-bye, pete happy

The Phillies have declined the $5.5 million option on Pedro Feliz, instead exercising a $500,000 buyout of the third baseman. During his two-year tenure with the Phillies, Feliz was an outstanding defender at third but did not live up to expectations at the plate. During the season he was clutch in late-inning situations but in the postseason reverted to hitting pop-ups. I loved his glove, but felt that this year it too was declining. Maybe his back is to blame, though he did have successful back surgery during the offseason. Good luck, Pedro. I shall miss your bright eyes.

Third base has been a problem since the Scott Rolen days. In recent years the farm system has not produced a promising infielder of any kind except for Adrian Cardenas, traded to Oakland in the Blanton deal. Too bad that studs Dom Brown and Michael Taylor both play the outfield.

was it his arm all along?

Three Phillies will have surgery this week: Brad Lidge, right elbow (loose bodies), Raul Ibanez, groin/abdomen (sports hernia), and Scott Eyre, left elbow (loose bodies). All season long there was simmering speculation about the state of Lidge's knee. It now turns out that the injury was to his elbow.

Lidge may also need tendon surgery. If so, he will not be ready for the start of spring training. Ibanez suffered his injury before the All-Star break and was never the same. I hope that Eyre, who is contemplating retirement, returns, though that will depend in part on the success of his surgery and on his family. Come on, Scott, one more year with your "goofies" in the bullpen.

phillies cut ties with brett myers

It's official: Brett Myers is no longer a Phillie. Drafted in 1999, he went out in typical fashion, telling the fans to give him the business if he comes back to pitch in an opposition uniform. Myers is not the kind of guy I'd like to be trapped in an elevator with, nor do I think he lived up to his potential, but I do believe he was a competitor. He just never really put it all together. I remember Myers pitching at Reading, his sparkling debut against Mark Pryor, who was also making his debut,in Chicago, and the complete game shutout he threw against the Brewers in 2008 on three days' rest. His at-bats against C.C. Sabathia in the 2008 NLDS and again vs. Derek Lowe in the NLCS that year were the stuff of myth. Good-by and good luck. Things already begin to change.

97 days till spring training

The Phillies amazing ride to a repeat came to an end last night in the grandiose mausoleum in the Bronx. Pedro Martinez had nothing from the get-go, while Andy Pettitte gutted out another postseason win in his long career. Carlos Ruiz, a natural in the postseason, had a triple and scored the first Phillies' run on a Rollins' sac fly. Ryan Howard added two more with a two-run homer but by then it was too little, and way too late, in what was a convincing 7-3 Yankee win.

Hideki Matsui had six RBI in the game and was named MVP of the series. How do I hate the American League? Let me count the ways, starting and ending with the DH. Matsui won the award for his performance in game 6 but, really, how can a one-dimensional player, and that's all that the DH is, be the most valuable player?

It's easy to cast blame on the pitching, which was injury-riddled and often ineffective, but this series was a team loss. I keep thinking back to the Victorino at-bat in Game 3, when the Phillies early on had Pettitte on the ropes. With the bases loaded and no outs, Victorino hacked at the first two pitches, both of which were in the dirt. He ended up hitting a sac fly, but that at-bat shifted momentum--for the game and ultimately for the series.

Thanks for the memories. It was a season of intense highs and lows and a great ride till the very end. And, according to Jayson Werth, it's 97 days till spring training.

game 5: playing with chase

Cliff Lee was not dazzling in Monday night's must-have game. He was just very good. Lee gave up an RBI double to Alex Rodriguez in the 1st to put the Yankees up 1-0. Enter Chase Utley in the bottom of the frame, with both Rollins (single) and Victorino (hit by pitch) on board. Utley coolly blasted a home run to right to put the Phillies up 3-1. They added three more in the next inning and chased A.J. Burnett from the game. Lee, meanwhile, allowed just one other run into the 8th, when he tired or lost focus. In the end he allowed five runs. By then the Phillies had tacked on two more runs, courtesy of solo homers by Utley and Ibanez.

Utley's 2nd homer, his fifth of the series, gave him two multi-homer games in this World Series. It also tied Reggie Jackson's record for homers in a World Series. Couldn't have happened to a better guy---and a player that is the antithesis of Jackson. Ibanez's home run hit off the facing of the second level.

Victorino was taken out of the game in the 8th because of his finger, injured when Burnett hit him in the 1st. His defensive presence was immediately missed. Ryan Madson finished the game in a performance that was again less than inspiring.

Afterwards, Charlie Manuel said of Chase Utley, his fave player, that he often tells guys to 'play with Chase. If you play with Chase, you have the chance to become a pretty good player."

Gotta love the national and NY media (not at all), who now seem to have discovered Chase Utley. Otherwise they were too busy fabricating stories out of highly-edited quotes. I will save that rant for another day and a new computer.

Some people seemed surprised that the Phillies won game 5. Given the make-up of this team, that was no surprise to me. It will however surprise me if they win tonight in NY. After hearing Pedro Martinez's presser yesterday, I have the uneasy feeling that he's a bit in thrall to the Yankees. It also reminded me that Pedro is, in the end, now a mercenary, even if one who seemed to be on a mission of sorts. No matter, he brings even more drama to tonight's game vs. Andy Pettitte.

Cliff Lee won the showdown of Arkansas pitchers. Who will win tonight's match-up of "old goats"?

game 5 burnett vs. lee

Game 5 puts Arkansas on center stage. Two natives of the state, A.J. Burnett and Cliff Lee, get the start tonight. The two are friends and even share the same agent. Yo, Phillie fans, enjoy Lee for the year that's left on his contract. I can hear the cash registers in the Bronx getting ready to ring in 2011. Meanwhile, gotta love #34.

game 4 a bummer

When Pedro Feliz hit the game-tying homer in the 8th, it seemed like a series shift. Then Brad Lidge came in for the 9th. After dispatching the first two batters with ease, he almost had Johnny Damon on a foul tip that was not held by Carlos Ruiz. What happened next will live in Philadelphia baseball infamy. Damon got a soft single, stole second, then, with the shift (how I hate that play) on for Texeira, hightailed it to third. I could only watch in stunned disbelief. No one was covering third. Aaaaargh!

With a runner on third, Lidge abandoned his nasty slider. Eventually Alex Rodriguez hit the double that put the Yankees on top. By the end of the inning they had claimed a 7-4 lead, the Yankee fans were leaving the park. Most Phillie fans, I give them credit, stayed till the bitter end, but Mariano Rivera treated them to the same old, same old bloodsucking performance.

Joe Blanton actually hung in against C.C. Sabathia, who again was not at his sharpest. Chase Utley seems to do that to him. Utley and Feliz accounted for the Phillies' offense. Each doubled and homered. But one team took advantage of their opportunities, while the other did not. For the second time in the series, an inning started with Rollins and Victorino reaching base but ending up stranded at 1st and 2nd. The big boys are not getting it done.

It's frustrating to see Texeira and Rodriguez, batting something like .071 and .044 respectively, come up with key hits. Except for Utley's staggering numbers against Sabathia, Phillie lefties have been neutralized by the Yankee lefty arms. Ryan Howard, MVP of the NLCS, has been a cipher in the World Series. Ibanez pretty much looks clueless.

It's sad irony that Hamels and Lidge, the stars of last year's postseason, are the goats this year. The year has simply unraveled for both.

The first thing I did last night on getting to my seat, down the first base line, was to look for the infamous camera. There it was, in the corner by the foul pole, and what do you know, it was moved back from the field of play. A day late.

Watching the Yankees in person, which I have not done for several years, makes it easy to root against them. Johnny Damon is an amiable mercenary; Texeira is a bland one. Melky Cabrera acts like a punk, Cano seems shiftless, and Jorge Posada a 'me' player. No wonder that Alex Rodriguez draws so much ire. He is such a drama queen. When he got plunked early in the game by Blanton--and I hardly think it was intentional--he posed and carried on like a schoolgirl.

Hard to say anything bad, though, about Derek Jeter, though I doubt that he would be the player he is if he were not on the Yankees. But that's how it goes. Some people get the chances and make the most of them. Over and over, the Yankees remind the rest of baseball that life is not fair.

game 3 no treat

Staked to a three-run lead in the 2nd, Cole Hamels breezed for three innings, then fell into the same hole that has dogged him all season. By the time he was lifted in the 5th, he had surrendered five runs and the Yankees had a lead they would never relinquish.

No matter what happens in this series, Hamels has got to be done. The season and postseason have been disasters for him. I still think it's because of his increased innings last year. In 2007 he threw about 190. Last year he threw about 260. Still, giving up an RBI to starter Andy Pettitte was a killer. Not surprisingly, the meat-headed frontrunners among the fan base are calling for Hamels to be traded, cut, or something else equally stupid.

Yankees took the game 8-5. Jayson Werth had two solo homers, Alex Rodriguez a two-run shot off of a right field camera. No help at all that Utley and Howard were oh-fer. Or that the bullpen couldn't hold the line.

Tonight it's Joe Blanton and his lifetime 8.18 ERA vs. the Yankees.