Raaaaaauuuuullll!!!

Wow, what a game. A few thoughts about last night: I had the pleasure of attending last nights game and I can tell you the ball was really flying out of the Cit (as if you needed me to tell you that....). Zimmerman's two homers were some of the longest I have ever seen, anywhere.

Speaking of homers, I have been so impressed with Raul Ibanez so far. I am a fan of baseball outside of Philly as well, so I knew a little about Raul before he came here. What I didnt know was that he has plus power, and that he would be such a large defensive upgrade over Burrell.

My final thought: Is that way the A's dumped Blanton and Cubs dumped Eyre?? Boy were they terrible. Even if the ball was carrying, someone doesnt hit a 460 foot homer off you unless its a real meatball.....

Oh, and the Sixers are playing well too....

The Sixers are up 2-1 against the Magic in what can only be called a fantastic surprise. I admit, I wrote the sixers off for most of the season. While they are a fun, young team to watch, they lost too many games to get me really excited.

Well, consider me a member of the bandwagon now. A couple of great games against the Magic has me starting to believe that they could pull off an upset.....

Shane strikes again...

Another day, another solid game from Shane Victorino. He knocked in 4 on the way to a 13-2 sweep of the Marlins. My play(s) of the game was the defense of Raul Ibanez, who made some spectacular grabs in left. I knew what a professional hitter he was when the Phils signed him, but the large defensive upgrade over Burrell has been a pleasant surprise.

Finally, some energy from the Phillies!

Looks like a road trip was just what this team needed. Citizens Bank Park has a great home field advantage - great fans, good for hitters, etc. But sometimes, the emotion of playing at home can get a team down, and I think that has been happening to the Phils. The passing of Harry and all the World Series hoopla became a distraction, so the current roadtrip to Florida was perfectly timed.

The good times got rolling on Friday night. Brett Myers actually had a decent outing, giving up 3 runs over 6 tough innings. Yes, he forced the Phils to play from behind, again, and yes, he gave up another multi-run homer, but he geld the Marlins to 3 runs and give his team a chance to rally. And rally they did of "closer" Matt Lindstrom. I was less then impressed with Lindstrom during the WBC, so I thought the Phils would have a chance against him if they could be patient at the plate. A couple of hits and walks later the Pineapple Express left the yard with his first career grand slam.

Last night's followed a similar patter. The Phils trailed 4-3 going into the 9th. After singles by Werth and Raul "Professional Hitter" Ibanez, Greg Dobbs had just about the worst at-bat ever and I started. With runners at first and third, and no outs, all Dobbs had to do was put his bat on the ball. Anything other than an infield pop-up ties the game. Instead he struck out, in excusable in that situation. Lucky for him Mountain Man Bruntlett came up with the RBI. That led to the 10th where, once again, it was Victorino at the front of the action. A single and a steal of second put him in place to score on Utley's single and, again, a come from behind win. I really like the scrappy style of ball I am seeing from the team right now...if only we had some decent starting pitching!

From Doug Glanville.....

Doug was the centerfielder and leadoff hitter for the Phils in the late 90's and early 2000's. He recently wrote an article in the New York Times that is worth a read.

The game will never sound the same without Harry....

I am watching the first Phillies game since Harry passed away, and it is a very, very emotional experience.

For me, Harry Kalas was the soundtrack of my summer. He was more than a voice - he was a friend. When the Phillies were up he helped you celebrate; when they were down (which was often), he was a grief counselor. Harry brought the same passion to the World Series that he brought to a September game between two last place teams, and that is why we loved him.

I cried for a long time when I learned that Harry had passed, even though I never met him. Why? Because for me, Harry Kalas was a constant presence in my life that is gone forever. Every year I have been alive, Harry was the Phillies voice. He was on the air for every Phillies game I have ever seen. For 30 years of games, Harry was there. He was there for every single one of Michael Jack Schmidt's homers; he was there to console me in 1993 when Mitchy-poo hung the slider; he was there in the last 90's when the Phillies couldnt hit their way out of a paper bag, and he was there last year, when the Phillies finally won it all. That game, game 5 of the World Series, was on Fox but I, along with everyone else in Philly, immediately turned on the radio to hear how Harry called it.

I think that is what will be the most difficult part of Harry's passing. For every play of every future Phillies game, good or bad, I will always wonder how Harry would have called it. No one else will have the same twang to the name Mickey Mor-an-di-ni, no one else will ever deliver "outta here" with the same sound, and no one else will be able to make summer sound quite the same.

My favorite Harry memory comes from 1993. The Phillies were in first place, for the first time in a long time, and I hung on every game. I spent a portion of the summer at an overnight camp in Connecticut, so I had to rely on the paper to keep track of my team during the month of June. However, one night I talked our counselor, George Walsh, into trying to tune his am radio to the Phillies broadcast. I had read somewhere that am signals travel farther at night, and sure enough after a few moments of fine tuning, out came the sound of Harry Kalas, calling the action from Philadelphia. Hearing that familiar voice was a real treat and, for one night, brought me home.

Thanks for the memories Harry. We will miss you.

Welcome

Hi! Welcome to my corner of the internet. As the name implies, this is a space to discuss all things Philly - sports, news, politics and anything else that I find interesting. All comments are welcome (unless you are leaving comment spam....).