"why we play the game"

Check out reliever Michael Schwimer's latest entry, Why We Play the Game, at Phuture Phillies. It's a sweet account of clinching a play-off berth with the Reading Phillies, especially the two paragraphs about starter Johan Flande and reliever Mike Zagurski.

LHP Sergio Escalona was recalled from Double-A Reading and lefty hitter Andy Tracy from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Both moves are based on needs. To make room for Tracy on the 40-man roster, Rodrigo Lopez was released.

Woohoo! Michael Taylor, sidelined for weeks with an oblique strain, has been added to the R-Phils playoff roster. So has catcher Tuffy Gosewisch. Mike Stutes gets the start tonight.

"bigger than my heart"

That's how Charlie Manuel explained in part his tough decision to pull Brad Lidge with the bases loaded and one out in last night's 9th inning in D.C. "The team, the game, is bigger than my heart and bigger than anything else to tell you the truth," said Manuel. The move worked, because Ryan Madson came in and struck out Ryan Zimmerman on three pitches, then got big-bopper Adam Dunn to ground out.

The Phillies won 5-3 on the strength of five solo homers, including two by Ibanez and one each by Werth, Ruiz, and Utley. Ibanez, who looks as if he may be coming out of his post-injury slump, now has 30 homers. Utley too reached 30 last night. That gives the Phillies four players with 30 or more homers; the other two: Howard and Werth.

Pedro Martinez went 6.2 innings and gave up three runs. Pedro as stopper. Who'da thunk it? He is now 4-0; the Phillies have won all of his starts.

The Phillies get a much-needed win after an awful, awful series in Houston, where they were outplayed every which way.

sunday afternoon in williamsport

Teammates congratulate Leandro Castro on his grand slam, which put the Crosscutters up 7-4 in Sunday's game.

Rookie reliever Shawn Griffith works out of another bases-loaded jam.


On the last day of the season, it was a perfect day for baseball at historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, PA, this past Sunday.

One of the first things I saw on entering Bowman Field on Sunday was a Crosscutter player hurrying out of the stadium shop, carrying his wallet and a Crosscutter pennant. It was a cute sight.

taking joanne b kaar's paperboat project home

I made these paperboats, five in all, using two A4 sheets from a newsletter from Tono, Japan, where I used to live. The figure seen on the boat is meant to suggest writer and poet Miyazawa Kenji, who would have loved Kaar's project.

Check out the end of Joanne Kaar's fun and inspiring paperboat project, devised to raise funds for Mary Ann's Cottage in Caithness, Scotland. The harbor's been closed, the show, featuring paperboats from 25 countries, is on, and Kaar is now auctioning off the many entries she received. Bids will be taken until 24 September. www.joannebkaarpaperboats.blogspot.com.

hot ticket again in 2009

I passed this sign on my way through Bethlehem after the IronPigs' game today, evidence of how minor league baseball has caught on in the Lehigh Valley. The 10,000 in attendance today made the game another sell-out. Coca-Cola Park has 8100 seats, the official sell-out point, but it accomodates an additional 1900 people through general admission (on the outfield berm) and standing room. The 'Pigs had 59 sell-outs this season; 25 were complete sell-outs. In 2008, their inaugural year, they drew 602,033 fans. This year, remarkably, they upped that figure to 641,335. They are one of three teams in all of minor league baseball to average 9,000 people per game. Helped out no doubt by the Phillies' world championship, good things are happening in baseball here in the Lehigh Valley.

I was at the game today with a nine-year-old buddy, who turned to me at one point and said, "Whoever invented baseball was a genius."

all over for the 'pigs

I left the last game of the year this afternoon at Coca-Cola Park after a picture-pretty throw by left fielder Rich Thompson to catcher Tuffy Gosewisch. It nailed Bison second baseman Luis Rivera at the plate and ended the top of the 8th inning. The IronPigs took a 2-0 lead in the first and starter Brian Mazone made it stand up for seven. The 'Pigs tacked on an insurance run in the 8th and Gary Majewski finished it off in the 9th. It was Fan Appreciation Day and 10,000 fans packed the park to celebrate. Today, too, I saw a Monarch butterfly, this one flying past the backstop. The 'Pigs finished the year with a 71-73 record, good enough for third in the International League's Northern Division. That is a far cry from last year's 55-89 mark but still bittersweet. They should have done better. But this season too a good time was had by all. Thanks, guys, for the memories.

pretty day for a ballgame

I drove up to Williamsport yesterday with some friends for the last day of the Crosscutters season. A former teammate of their son at George Mason, by name of Shawn Griffith, was drafted this year by the Blue Jays and earlier last week promoted to the visiting Auburn Doubledays. We got seats just off the visitors' dugout.

It was a singularly pretty day for baseball, with blue skies laced with clouds. We even saw a Monarch butterfly, a rarity this year, dancing in the breeze. The Crosscutters wore vivid red jerseys and white pants; the Doubledays, bright blue jerseys and road grays. They were a sight against the lush green of the field. The game was a bit raggedy but in the end the Crosscutters hung on for a 7-6 win. The big blow was a 5th-inning grand slam by Leandro Castro. A righthanded pitcher, Griffith came in in relief after the slam. He had to work through a jam but got out of it unscathed. Not a flamethrower, he nonetheless brought Billy Wagner to mind. Maybe it was their similar build and delivery.

The 'Cutters held on to win 7-6, making most of the 1300 very vocal fans in attendance for Fan Appreciation Day happy. The team finished the season 42-34, falling just shy of a play-off berth. The stand-out player of the game for me was rangy Jiwan James, who went 4 for 5 with a triple and three singles.

sleepy doubleheader

It was a dozing kind of evening at the ballpark, then a suddenly brilliant sunset lit up the billboards in the outfield.


Despite the autumnal overcast, it was muggy at yesterday's doubleheader. A flurry of runs (two) in the third woke me up.

The IronPigs played two and took two yesterday, sweeping a doubleheader from the visiting Buffalo Bisons. Joe Savery started the first game and fumbled his way through the first two innings, demonstrating once again an aversion to throwing strikes. Given a 3-1 lead, though, he settled in and pitched efficiently and effectively for the rest of the game. The 'Pigs won 4-1.

Rodrigo Lopez started the second game and pretty much cruised to a 7-2 win. Unless traded, Savery will be back next year; Lopez, however, is no doubt gone. Good to see him go out on a high note.

Lots of Mets fans were on hand to track the Bisons, their Triple-A affiliate. When the Phillies-Astros update was given late in the game, the Mets fans cheered loudly. Whatever is going on with Cliff Lee? Here I had him at god status and he is proving to be yet another mortal. More to the point, what is going on with the offense, in a slump since the July series in Arizona?

roster moves

Lefty reliever Jack Taschner, who says he's found a new arm slot courtesy of Rich Dubee and Rod Nichols, was called up to Philadelphia on Tuesday. Minor league pitcher Stephen Register and catcher Joel Naughton were DFA'd and Antonio Bastardo was taken off the 60-day DL and optioned to Double-A Reading. Brett Myers, a remarkable story of hard work and dedication, is due to rejoin the Phillies prior to tonight's game in Houston. He will pitch in the bullpen for the rest of the season. Clay Condrey will be on a rehab assignment tomorrow with the IronPigs. J.C. Romero and Gregg Dobbs remain on the DL. More moves to come.

I'm off to a doubleheader at Coca-Cola Park.

pedro wins the showdown

It was a pitching match-up that lived up to the hype. Both Pedro Martinez and Tim Lincecum delivered but Pedro was just a tick better. The Giants' Eugenio Velez led off the game with a homer to deep right on the first pitch he saw, but that was all Pedro allowed in seven strong innings. He struck out nine and did not walk a man. Sixty-two of his 87 pitches were strikes. When he struck out the side in the 3rd, I started having flashbacks to that September game at Yankee Stadium when he struck out 17. Seven of his strikeouts last night came in the first three innings.

Lincecum, who struck out 11 and walked one, was very good. His first mistake came in the 2nd when he hung a pitch to Jayson Werth, who blasted it deep into the second deck in left field. His next mistake was hitting Chase Utley in the 6th. Ryan Howard, who had struck out twice, responded with a ringing double. Utley's sprint home from 1st was a thing of beauty---and gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead.

Madson pitched a clean 8th, then it was time for Brad Lidge. He got two quick outs, then gave up a little single to Randy Winn. Winn stole 2nd; Lidge walked Uribe. Winn stole 3rd, but Lidge got pinch-hitter Fred Lewis on ground-out to Utley. Phillies got the 2-1 win in a great game that took two hours and eight minutes. I was home shortly after 10:30.

Tuesday night when Hamels was twirling his gem, no one moved from our row all game long. Last night, the two guys next to me got up once for beer. It was the "murmur of the bee hive" all night long. Two great nights at the ballpark in three games. Who'd have thought that the Phillies would score three runs in three games and win two of them?

I heard Tony Clark on MLBN saying that a power hitter is a guy who drives in a man on first with a double. Hello, Ryan Howard, who yesterday was named NL Player of the Month. In August he hit .299 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI. Before last night's game he received his NL Player of the Week award.

awards for drabek and taylor

Not surprisingly, Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor have won the Paul Owens Award for, respectively, the top pitcher and position player in the Phillies' minor league system. Taylor was also named the Top Rookie in the Eastern League. Kudos to both.

Also of note, relief pitcher Michael Schwimer's entry today over at phuturephillies.com. It's about his "amazingly crazy 29 hours" starting last Saturday night when he was called up to Double-A Reading, then won both games of a doubleheader there on Sunday. Again, good stuff.

showtime: lincecum vs. martinez

Tim Lincecum sits in the bullpen Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park. He did nothing but stare into middle space and of course spit.

Tonight's match-up is Lincecum vs. Martinez. No rain on the radar; it will be interesting to see how far Pedro goes against the young gun. Thanks to the Giants juggling their rotation, I get to see the match-up live.

all you need to know

All you need to know about tonight's Giants-Phillies game:

1. Giant starter Brad Penny is now 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA in his last six starts at Citizens Bank Park.

2. J.A. Happ lost consecutive games for just the second time in his career.

3. The Phillies' offense continues to be missing. It fell asleep late in July and has been pretty much comatose since then.

a september night in the minors

Brett Myers comes off the field after pitching a scoreless 8th in relief for the IronPigs at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown this evening. Myers needed just eight pitches to get two ground-outs and a strike-out. It was likely his last rehab assignment after coming off what was thought to be season-ending hip surgery.

School started this week here in the Lehigh Valley but that didn't keep fans away from the ballpark tonight. There were some 9,000 on hand to make the last Wednesday game of the season yet another sell-out. It's suddenly cool here. Smoke drifting from the barbecue shack added an autumnal tang to the air, as a full moon climbed high in the sky. With the 'Pigs down 2-1, there were still about 7,000 on hand for the 9th, when the team loaded the bases on a single, an error, and an intentional walk, only to fall short. Several major league parks probably had far fewer folks in attendance tonight.

Even minor league free agents must prefer playing to crowds who appreciate their efforts.

kid cole dazzles

The Chinese Taipei team that won the international title at this year's Little League World Series suddenly appeared at the top of our section, just off the left field entrance, at last night's game. The kids, who were on the way to their seats, looked adorable. They also looked awed by what was no doubt their first sight of a major league field. I hope they stayed for the whole game because it was a dandy.

Cole Hamels simply dazzled last night. He was totally dominant in a complete game two-hit shut-out, striking out nine and walking one. At one point he retired 21 batters in a row. It doesn't matter that the Giants are a weak offensive team. Hamels was just that dominant. Jonathan Sanchez was the hard-luck loser, allowing just one run. That came in the 4th when Victorino singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a ground-out. Ryan Howard then doubled him in.

Hamels, who also stole second (!), walked off in the 8th to a standing ovation. When he came out again in the 9th, the crowd went wild. The game ended with everyone on their feet--except for the potty-mouthed Giants fans behind me who had spilled a bottle of beer all over my feet and bag. Luckily the bag was waterproof.

howard nl player of the week

Last week was a first for Jayson Werth, this week the fifth time for Ryan Howard, named the National League Player of the Week. In the past week Howard had five home runs, including two multi-homer games, and 12 RBI. The Big Piece does it again.

rollins is stellar, blanton steady, and ruiz comes through

At the start of each inning, Cliff Lee goes to the mound, windmills his left arm, then makes a phantom pitch towards the outfield. A quick worker, he says he started this routine because he was always ready to go before his mates and it gave him something to do while waiting.

I listened to last night's game while doing laundry and pickling peppers. Joe Blanton, who has been a brick for months, finally got some winning run support thanks to a clutch two-run double in the 7th by Carlos Ruiz. Blanton went seven, giving up three hits and one run, a solo homer by Martin Prado. Chase Utley (who else) tied the game in the 4th with a solo shot of his own, off Braves starter Jair Jurjjens.

Starting in the 1st, Jimmy Rollins was the defensive star of the game. He was also in the middle of a spectacular 4-6-5 double play, started of course by Chase Utley. That was in the 8th, when Scott Eyre came on in relief of Ryan Madson, with no outs, one run in, and two on base. Eyre, who had not pitched since August 16, got the double play, then the third out to preserve a 3-2 lead. Lidge came in for a 1-2-3 save in the 9th. The Phillies took two of three from the Braves. They and the Marlins are both nine behind in the loss column. One month to go.

Eyre was interviewed for the postgame show. In spring season he had said that this would be his last year. He now says that he and his wife have yet to talk it over but maybe he'll stay on another year if the Phillies will have him. It's that much fun, he says, being in the bullpen and playing with this group of guys. One reason for sure that this team is so popular.

save the planet

I haven't yet seen this t-shirt but already love it: Save the planet--it's the only one that has baseball.

drabek shut down

Everybody's got their eye on the ball. It was in fact a two-run homer by catcher Kevin Nelson last Thursday in Reading.

In a move termed one of caution, Kyle Drabek has been shut down for the year. Returning this year from Tommy John surgery, the top prospect threw 158 innings between High-A Clearwater and Double-A Reading. This past month, though, he seemed to have hit a wall of sorts, going now up, now down.

Swept yesterday in a doubleheader, the Reading Phillies meanwhile are clinging to the slimmest of play-off hopes. They finish the season on the road.

up, up and away

Utley on 1st, Victorino on 2nd, and Rollins on 3rd in the 7th. Then Howard, Werth, and Ibanez all made out.

Cliff Lee left the ball up all night and the Braves's batters sent it away, to the tune of three homers and 10 hits in a 9-1 loss. It was a rare clunker for Lee, who has been fab since the All-Star break.

The Phillies' only run came on a 1st-inning solo homer by Chase Utley, not that the team did not have their chances against Derek Lowe. They had lots, only to strand runners in scoring position again and again and again. The worst was the 7th, when Rollins, Victorino, and Utley all reached, only to languish as Howard, Werth, and Ibanez made out. Ibanez gave it a ride but in the end the ball was caught up against the left center wall.

We had great seats down along the 1st base line. The game started with a 24-minute rain delay and ended in the middle of the 8th, when out of nowhere a curtain of rain swept across the park from left field and sent everyone scurrying. It was an epic kind of rainfall; the raindrops were positively assaulting. By the time we got to the concourse, everyone was bedraggled. And the rain and wind just kept coming, blowing across even the concourse.

By the time it made sense to leave the park, with the heavens still raining down, it was almost midnight. Ushers were handing out leftover hot dogs and pretzels and in the end big blue baggies for people to wear out to the parking lots. Once we were on the way, I tuned into WRTI and lulled my three passengers with late night jazz.