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The Phillies and toothsome catcher Carlos Ruiz – who can forget that grin after Brad Lidge fanned pinch hitter Eric Hinske to take the 08 Series – and Carlos ran out and embraced Lidge on his knees? – have agreed to a three-year $8.85 million contract that avoids salary arbitration. The contract includes a $5 million club option for 2013 with a $500,000 buyout. Not bad for a guy who was making $425,000 in the 08 season. Carlos hit .375 in the 08 Series and .333 in 09 with slugging percentages of .722 and .706. He is the guy of whom they speak when they say ‘and the Phillies really have some power in the bottom of the order’. Carlos bats eighth.

Carlos is really valued for his catching and play-calling skills so it is heartening to see him getting his due. I mean who knows how much worse Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge might have pitched against the Yankees had Carlos not been catching them. After many years in the minor leagues he’s a star. Yes.

You can see his interview on the Phillies website under news. “I’m really glad to be staying in Philly”, he says. And speaking of that, Carlos may not need to go to a Rookie Camp weekend to learn how to avoid the pitfalls of stardom and lots of money. But he well might consider buying a home or apartment in Philly with his new salary. Philadelphia is a huge, spread out city that used to be the 3rd largest in the US because of its no longer existent manufacturing base. So there are lots of swell neighborhoods that have been revitalized that are not too far from Citizens Bank Park including South Philadelphia itself. There’s University City where Penn is, Center City, Society Hill, Fish Town where Chef Gordon Ramsay retooled the Hot Potato Café completely on Fox recently. One of the best - off the Parkway between the Art Museum and downtown Philly - has swell houses and apartments with views of the skyline and back yards for partying. I can just see Carlos now at the barbecue grilling his special Panamanian recipes. Ole!

Placido Polanco is coming back to the Phillies with a 3 -year $18 million contract to replace Pedro Feliz at third base and possibly bat second. He may not be looking for a home in Philly because he already lives in South Florida a few blocks from Phillies left fielder Raul Ibanez. Boy wouldn’t I love living a few blocks from those two! (We’ve had 36” of snow already in Carlisle this winter and expect between 12” and 18” tonight.) Placido played for Detroit for 3+ seasons, got 3 Golden Gloves and had the 2nd lowest strikeout average in the Majors. Don’t the Phillies need him?

That dog hunts.

Jimmy Rollins Bad Batting Slump...

... Appears to be Over with the Sweep of the Mets



We wonder whether we could have lived through what Jimmy’s experienced. But now he’s hitting, and hitting well, including a solo home run early in the third winning home game against the Mets, pitched masterfully by Joe Blanton and the gang. With a lovely little save by Brad Lidge, but of course.

And looking forward to the All-Star Game, whose National League Team will be managed by our Genius-In-Residence Charley Manuel, but of course! Then there’ll be Second Baseman Chase Utley and Left Fielder Raul Ibanez. Utley got all of his votes because he’s so smart and such a good hitter and fielder, and be-cause he’s a home-grown guy. Ibanez got some of his votes, let’s face it, because he’s a Phillie now and exhibited his marvelous skills this year within the wonderful Phillies firmament.

What Did They Forget to Remember? (The Phillies lose 6 Home Games in a Row!)

The essence of what Charlie Manuel must have yelled and lectured them about: don’t forget what playing good baseball means. Execute each play cleanly, sneakily, be aware of what’s going on around you, who’s there, who’s not there, be quick, be aggressive and in all things never ever give up.

Oh we watched them come so close to disproving Charlie’s anger in these games, so many marvelous moments like Ryan Howard’s pinch hit homer out of the hospital bed. Those moments were so short lived, ‘though, not the droppings from the continuous torrents of talent that flow from one player to another and don’t let up that we remember from last year.

Well it may be that Jimmy Rollins’ lousy season is the bell weather of this year. If he doesn’t improve, the gang won’t make it. One does not like to pitch one’s tent on the fate of one batter. Especially when he and Victorino together make a fantastic duo for Utley batting third, driving any pitcher to deepest desperation…I mean that Rollins has to be batting well enough to be leading off. Because he is still, when all is said and done, THE KEY!

Nicknames Die Hard

The Phillies Took on Red Sox Pitcher Josh Beckett – this past Sunday. He might have been surprised by the breadth of their victory. This is because he’s been called a Lousy Teammate and Old Nicknames Die Hard.

Because Beckett makes his opinions known all over the place, with accompanying expressions and gestures, wandering up & down the dugout. And he’s been a good pitcher, it’s not that, it’s that he’s so free with his opinions. He’s certainly beaten the Phillies in the past, beginning when he was a Marlin...

In the 7th inning Jimmy Rollins ended his drought with a lovely line drive lead off home run. The Phillies scored 6 runs in this inning and ended Boston’s 5-game winning streak; this probably made Beckett peckish. The Lord knows he looks puckish for starters. The Phillies won 11-6 and that was very satisfying; as it was to see the attentive way Beckett was watching from the Red Sox dugout after he was taken out in the 7th.

Two World Champions Get Together

There are Tears and Laughter Forever After,
Tomorrow, Just You Wait and See…

The three games the Phillies played against the Yankees in the new Yankee Stadium over Memorial Day Weekend were quite the most wonderful three games in a row I can ever remember since the championships – before and since. And I think there’s an explanation for this. The fact that both the Yankees and the Phillies are Champions conveys “Team-Ness” upon them. A special kind of glory, the knowledge of what it has taken, and a relaxed view of what it will take again. That’s why Jimmy Rollins predicts it will be the Yanks & the Phils down at the Wire. I think so too. Look who the Phils have added in left field: Raul Ibanez. Could you have designed a more wonderful player? A more poetic guy? And the way he speaks and carries himself! Talk about meeting all of my biases!!!

The Phils didn’t lose that second game, Brad Lidge blew a save. He walked the very handsome Johnny Damon and threw a slider A-Rod could not resist – of course not! This was sad, but not life-threatening.

In the third game Carlos Ruiz showed all of his talents, not just catching but throwing, oh so well, blocking the plate, oh so staunchly and heartily and hitting, oh so importantly. He was the hero of that game. As a team the Phillies were mighty. Cheers to new Phillie John Mayberry for hitting a homer on his first at bat! And jeers to Jayson Werth for playing without shaving.

Who Really Wanted to Meet Who?

The Phillies began a 4-game series against the Washington Nationals Friday evening. And prior to that they met with President Obama at the White House. My bet is that Mr. Obama wanted to meet – you guessed it - Chase Utley – the best and smartest baseball player in the Major Leagues. And my guess is also, that Chase Utley wanted to meet the President as well, no slouch in the brains department. Although he has not designed any athletic moves, he’s designed quite a few financial moves, moves we know quite well and call Socialism. They come under the rubric of ‘enlarging government and expanding its control over American citizens’.

Now what Chase designed for himself is this: he stands really really close to the plate, forcing the pitcher to pitch good pitches inside, or else he hits him. 25 times last year, 27 times the year before, and he gets so many good clean balls he hits lots of home runs and doubles - last year - and even manages to play well with a completely bum hip as evidenced by the second part of last season. And the way Chase has overcome having so little space in front of the plate to swing in: How does he do it? He developed the Chase Utley Short Swing. Ask Any Broadcaster, player, manager. Basically when you look at him, instead of extending his arms the way Raul Ibanez does, he takes a chop at the ball and his arms are so powerful this chop suffices to put the ball where he needs it to go – into the stands, let’s say.

You can imagine how much a short swinging baseball player might appeal to a long armed basketball player like President Obama? Duh. But, who would you rather be? The president or Chase Utley? Utley, right? A 7-year contract like Utley recently got from the Phillies? The president only got a 4 year contract and for a heck of a lot less money. I rest my case.

The Harry Kalas Tribute

This afternoon at one p.m. Philadelphia paid tribute to its beloved broadcaster Harry Kalas who had died in the booth before the game this past Monday night. Citizens Bank Park was packed and the tributes were both touching, funny and sincere. Everyone who ever met Harry seems to have loved him and everyone who ever heard him did also. As Harry Anderson said, ‘he had about two million best friends’. His son Kane spoke eloquently and so did pitcher Jamie Moyer. The tribute that touched me most, ‘though, was that of Michael Jack Schmidt, the 3rd baseman whose 500th home run Harry called and who was very present during the 1980 World Series win by the Phillies. He read a Psalm about a bountiful life and said that the outstanding fact about Harry’s life was how bountiful it was and how bountifully he gave of himself. This made me cry quite a bit as I’m sure it did everyone there at the Park. He said that as a son of a minister, Harry made broadcasting his ministry and it had been his calling. And who’s to say it was not? He made the Hall of Fame after all. His partnership with Richie Ashburn was a great blend of friendship, talent and love for the game. Harry’s voice was well known throughout sport for it’s mellifluity and he coined many phrases we’ll not forget, but ‘outta here’ will be the one that will stick longest I think when Phillies hit the long balls.

I can’t imagine that the organization is even thinking of trying to replace Harry Kalas.