J-Roll Not Impressed with Fans in Yankee Stadium

Per MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki:

Jimmy Rollins was asked about the atmosphere at Yankee Stadium compared to other ballparks.

"It's really more of a different atmosphere at our ballpark compared to the others," he said. "Our ballpark is so loud and rowdy. I was really expecting some of that here, but it was very tame and civilized actually."

In New York?

"Yeah," Rollins said. "You only heard one big cheer and that was on the home runs. Other than that ... those expensive are running the loud fans out."

Rollins later was asked if this feels more like a World Series compared to last year's series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

"When we get to Philly it will," Rollins said.

Phillies in the All-Star Game, Update 3

When it comes to National League All-Stars its basically the Phillies, Mets and Cardinals. Then everyone else. The Phillies (Chase Utley, Raul Ibañez, Jimmy Rollins), as of the official June 15th results, have three players set to start for the N.L. in the 2009 All-Star Game. The Mets have two (David Wright, Carlos Beltran), as do the Cardinals (Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina). The final spot (excluding pitcher) would be Milwaukee's Ryan Braun. Of course we're still about a month from the game; aything can happen until the teams are announced. Current results below.

2009 All-Star Game (National League) vote totals released June 15th, 2009 (MLB.com).

The most newsworthy item this week may be Utley taking over the #1 spot from Pujols, in terms of total votes. The Phillies second baseman, who had the most votes among N.L. players in 2008, now has 2,273,355 votes. Pujols is second overall with 2,158,036.

So obviously Ryan Howard still is lurking behind Pujols at first base. Don't expect Howard to pass him. However, Howard could become a reserve. Actually it's probably a forgone conclusion that Howard will indeed be in St. Louis this July.

Nothing else to say about Utley. The Dodgers Orlando Hudson is a distant second at second base with 904,648 votes.

The most undeserving starters is, unfortunately, Rollins at short stop. Jimmy has shown signs of improvement recently but should not be set to start in front of Hanley Ramirez (a close second) or Miguel Tejada (a distant fifth). J.J Hardy is third while Jose Reyes (why?) is 4th.

Third base has gone completely unchanged, order-wise. It goes Wright, Ryan Zimmerman, Chipper Jones, Pedro Feliz, Bill Hall. I'd love to see Feliz make it as a reserve but doubt he'll get the nod over Zimmerman or Jones.

Carlos Ruiz is up to 4th! "Chooch" is having the best season of his MLB career and with the lack of big names behind the plate this season has a good a case as any to make the All-Star team for the N.L. Ruiz has 809,633 votes, about 6,000 behind 3rd place Jason Kendall and 85,000 behind 2nd place Brian McCann.

Ibañez, Braun and Beltran remain 1-2-3 in the outfield, though the Cubs Alfonso Soriano is approaching the Mets OF. Phillies OF Shane Victorino has jumped suspended Dodgers OF Manny Ramirez for 5th. Teammate Jayson Werth remains in 8th.

I'm expecting five Phillies to make the team - Utley, Ibañez, Rollins, Howard and either Ruiz or Hamels.

If I were choosing who should go, I'd tab Utley, Ibañez, Howard and Ruiz.

Sorry, J-Roll.

Phillies in the 2009 All-Star Game, Update 2

Phillies fans have certainly spoken. Philadelphia players are all over the list, including three set to start. We're more than a month from the big game in St. Louis but let's take a look where the Home 9 stands as of Monday, June 8th.

2009 All-Star Game (National League) vote totals released June 8th, 2009 (MLB.com).

Starting at the top again we see that Ryan Howard remains behind Albert Pujols but has jumped Prince Fielder to take over second place. Howard is having a fantastic season in the field and has been on a tear of late with the bat. He deserves our votes.

It is safe to say that Chase Utley will be the starting second baseman. He has more than double the votes of the next closest player, the Dodgers' Orlando Hudson. People recognize the mad skillz of Chutley.

At the hot corner, David Wright remains on top with Ryan Zimmerman a distant second (separated by 245,000+ votes). Chipper Jones and Philadelphia's Pedro Feliz have jumped Milwaukee's Bill Hall to claim 3rd and 4th, respectively. Feliz is having his normally solid year at 3rd while also batting over .300 at the plate. An argument can be made that he stands to make the team, though the people in front of him now are deserving as well.

Jimmy Rollins is the only Phillies player I feel is being overvalued. Rollins, while still the standard in the field, has been deplorable at the dish hitting a meager .220 and recently being dropped to the six hole. If Rollins can pick it up offensively he may be more deserving. As of now he shouldn't be higher than 3rd, behind Hanley Ramirez (currently 2nd) and Miguel Tejada (currently 5th).

Brian McCann jumped to second at the catcher position while Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz makes an appearance in 5th. Ruiz should definitely be in consideration for a roster spot as he has been his usual self behind the plate defensively but has really matured with the bat and has done a tremendous job with the pitching staff. Let's try to bump him up to 2nd or 3rd!

All is right with the world. After placing 6th in votes just two weeks ago, Phillies LF Raul Ibanez now leads all NL outfielders. He sits in 1st with 1,415,493 votes, which is ~145,000 more than the Brewers' Ryan Braun. Carlos Beltran is rightfully 3rd but for some reason Alfonso Soriano and Manny Ramirez are 4 and 5. I don't want Ramirez anywhere near this game. Phillies CF Shane Victorino is 6th, about 5,500 behind Ramirez, and up one spot from last week. RF Jayson Werth currently sits in 8th place, three spots higher than last week.

So the Phillies are looking good. Three starters as of the most recent results, and there is plenty of time to elevate Ruiz and Feliz as well as The Flyin' Hawaiin and Werth.

Phillies in the 2009 All-Star Game, Update 1

Every Monday Major League Baseball releases new voting figures for the All-Star Game. This weeks edition was much kinder to Phillies. Apparently Philadelphia fans were not happy with the status of Raul Ibanez (6th last week) and Pedro Feliz (not listed) last week. Let's take a look at where the Home 9 stand.

2009 All-Star Game (National League) vote totals released June 1st, 2009 (MLB.com).

OK, let's start at the top of the list and work our way down. At first base you can't really argue with Albert Pujols (Cardinals); he may be the best player in the game regardless of position. Howard should be 2 or 3. I definitely think we can jump him over Prince Fielder by the time the new totals are released. Howard needs 2,287 votes to overtake Fielder.

At second base it's Chase Utley and nobody else. Utley has the second highest total among NL players with 1,111,963. Pujols leads the way with 1,240,395. The second best second baseman, Orlando Hudson (Dodgers), has 486,359. Next!

At third we have a fight between David Wright (Mets) and Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals). Both should be there for sure. Phillies third baseman Pedro Feliz - who is having a fine season - is currently in fifth. Let's try to get him up to third! If he's that high Charlie Manuel may decide to bring Feliz with him to the game. Manuel is the NL Manager for 2009. Feliz currently has 349,818 votes, 90,341 behind third place (Bill Hall, Brewers).

Jimmy Rollins sits a surprising second among short stops. While he certainly has the name recognition, he is not having a great year. Hanley Ramirez (Marlins) and Miguel Tejada (Astros) should be 1-2. Rollins currently has 569,639 votes, 16,661 behind first place Ramirez.

Catcher is kind of the Phillies weak spot, though I'd take Carlos Ruiz over some backstops in the Majors. He won't make an All-Star Game in his career but he controls the pitching staff well and is capable of above average defense. For the All-Star Game, Yadier Molina (Cardinals) leads the way.

Now comes the outfield. Last week our very own left fielder, Raul Ibanez, was a disappointing sixth. SIXTH! With his stats and play this year? Preposterous! What did the Philly Phaithful do? VOTED. Ibanez jumped all the way to second and in line for a starting spot. He currently has 817,849 votes, 90,896 behind leader Ryan Braun (Brewers). Milwauke sure likes stuffing the box, huh? Thankfully Manny Ramirez has fallen to fifth. It'd be a real shame if he actually got voted in. Now that we have Ibanez where he belongs, lets show some love for the Flyin' Hawaiin - currently in seventh with 517,760 votes - and Jayson Werth (11th; 389,275 votes)!

Make sure you vote! You can do so 25 times. Ibanez, Utley and Howard deserve our votes and a case can be made for Feliz too. Send multiple Phillies to the 2009 All-Star Game!

Phillies Land 4 on SNTs Top 50 MLB Players List

Sporting News Today has been chock full of Phillies goodness recently and in today's issue released the results of a recent poll on Major League Baseball's best players. According to the daily news item, 100 Hall of Famers, major award winners, and other personalities voted. Everyone can probably guess #1 (Albert Pujols, duh). To the delight of Philadelphia fans, the Phillies were well represented. Four made the cut. It's probably pretty easy to guess who. Click the picture to find out. I highlighted them so you can find them quickly.

Sporting News Today published a poll on the Top 50 players in MLB. Four Phillies made the cut.

For those of you allergic to clicking, the Phillies voted on the list are 2B Chase Utley (6th), 1B Ryan Howard (11th), SS Jimmy Rollins (15th), and SP Cole Hamels (49th). That's right, the Phillie have three of the 15 best players in MLB right now. Thank God they won the World Series last year or they'd definitely be seen as underachievers. Two of these rankings surprised me. First, even after a down 2008 season (and a crappy start to '09) Rollins is still mentioned, and in the first half. Second, Hamels at 49? That seems low after an amazing fall run. I think between 33-39 was more appropriate. To me, he's as valuable (or as good) as Dan Haren (33rd) and Jake Peavy (38) and I'd definitely take Hamels over Chad Billingsley (42), Cliff Lee (43), Roy Oswalt (46), and Carlos Zambrano (48). I know positionally they arent't the same, but how much longer is Carlos Delgado going to be overrated? Is he really the 47th best player right now?

If I can count correctly, then (surprise, surprise) the two New York teams lead the way. The Mets somehow manage to get six players in the Top 50. I think some people would take issue with that, based on on-the-field results. As in, there haven't been any since a N.L. East Title in 2006. Here are your "amazing" Mets: Johan Santana (#3), David Wright (#13), Jose Reyes (#22), Carlos Beltran (#23), Francisco Rodriguez (#34), and Delgado. The Yankees have five players listed: Alex Rodriguez (#2), Derek Jeter (#8), Mariano Rivera (#9), Mark Teixeira (#17), and C.C. Sabathia (#29). Those two teams along should prove that (A) baseball is a team game and you don't need a plethora of superstars to win and (B) some of these players may be overrated because of the city (team) they play in (for).

Other teams of note include the Red Sox (four on the list), Braves (two), Marlins (one), and Nationals (zero). Poor Washington.

Phillies Visit the White House

Jimmy Rollins and Charlie Manuel give President Obama his own World Series Champions jersey that the team wore Opening Night, complete with gold trim, the World Series Champions patch, "Obama", and the #44 (screen grab by me from the MLB.TV live stream).

The 2008 World Series Champions visited the White House and President Barack Obama this afternoon to be congratulated by the 44th President for their championship run last season. They had originally been scheduled to visit President Obama on April 14th but that trip was postponed due to the sudden death of long time Phillies announcing legend Harry Kalas.

President Obama stand front and center with Philadelphia Phillies players and coaches. The Commissioner's Trophy is off to the right. The team visited the White House on Friday, May 15, 2009 (screen grab by me from the MLB.TV live stream).

The ceremony was short and sweet, consisting of a speech by the President, the gift giving (the jersey and some baseballs), and then the team picture. After Jimmy Rollins - a big Obama supporter - presented the President with the jersey and baseball, Mr. Obama wanted more.

Can I get your ring, too?

-- President Barack Obama to Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins

That's paraphrased as I don't remember exactly what was said but you get the idea. The President also had a warm embrace with Phillies broadcaster Sarge Matthews who is also a huge Obama supporter.

What a Beautiful Site!

Click to enlarge.

Baseball is almost back... and the Phillies are the DEFENDING WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!

Philadelphia Phillies: 2008 NL East Champs!!!

from Beerleaguer

THEY DID IT!!! And not without drama. Jamie Moyer pitched 6 solid innings, giving up 1 run on 6 hits. The score was 4-2 heading into the top of the 9th when Brad Lidge, 40 for 40 in save opportunities, took the mound. After a strikeout things got interesting. The next 4 batters reached base, the lead was cut to 4-3, the bases were loaded, and Ryan Zimmerman was at the plate. Zimmerman was 2 for 4 going into the at-bat. No worries. Lidge got Zimmerman to ground into an inning-ending, Division Championship double play (with the help of an amazing play by Jimmy Rollins). TWO STRAIGHT, BABY! Now let's try to win a playoff game this year...

from The 700 Level

Tom Mihalek, AP

Gregg Doyel added to my hate list

Gregg Doyel you are now on the list. Doyel, a national columnist from CBS SportsLine, decided to stick his nose in other peoples business last Thursday when he decided to write about Jimmy Rollins' remarks on Philadelphia fans being "front-runners". Here is the introduction of the slander known as "journalism" by Doyel:

Tough? My ass. Philly fans aren't tough. Philly fans are exactly what Jimmy Rollins said they are. They're front-runners.

Which means they're soft.

All front-runners are, by definition, soft. A front-runner is gutless. A front-runner gets behind a winner, sure, but only gets on a loser. A front-runner takes the easy road. That's what a front-runner does.

And so this is what Philly fans did Tuesday night when the Phillies returned to town for the first time since Rollins made his front-runner remark a week earlier. They showed their soft side.

They booed him.

You babies.

Look, Philly fans, you can't have it both ways. If you're going to dish it, you have to be able to take it. Flick a player in the nose all you want, but when one of them flicks you back, you have to smirk and let him know it didn't hurt. Otherwise, you're nothing but a schoolyard bully -- strong because you have all that size, but weak as soon as someone fights back.

Rollins fought back, and Philly, the tough town that it is, cried its eyes out.

You babies? Doyel, WTF?!?! Why is Doyel so bitter? And why the hell is he bashing a town like this that he has never lived in? Gregg Doyel has lived in Hawai'i, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida. Where does he get off ripping a city that he collectively knows nothing about? The entire article is swill. Go ahead an read it yourself.

Let's tackle a few points here.

1. Gregg Doyel uses rash generalizations throughout this column - He collectively calls all Philadelphia fans and city-dwellers "front-runners", "babies", "soft", and "idiots". How does he keep his job?
2. He blames the fans for teams ineptness in baseball, basketball, football and hockey...with no support of that notion

   Right, Philly fans? You idiots. There are lots of reasons your town hasn't won a championship in football, baseball or basketball since 1983 (ArenaBowl doesn't count), and why the Phillies specifically have won a single World Series (1980) in 124 years in the big leagues -- and you, the Philly fan, are one of them.

3. The whole "front-runner" thing should be addressed, for both Rollins and Doyel.

Phillies
Season 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
NL East 2^nd 2^nd 2^nd 1^st 2^nd
Attendance 4^th 13^th 11^th 8^th 4^th

Flyers
Season 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Atlantic 1^st N/A 2^nd 5^th 4^th
Attendance 4^th N/A 4^th 7^th 4^th

Eagles
Season 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
NFC East 1^st 1^st 4^th 1^st 4^th
Attendance 17^th 17^th 16^th 13^th 18^th

76ers
Season 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Atlantic 5^th 2^nd 2^nd 3^rd 3^rd
Attendance 4^th 10^th 21^st 29^th 23^rd

A few things. What I am looking for is consistency, not the ranking. The Eagles are a great example. They rank in the bottom half in means of overall home attendance but this can be attributed to the stadium size. There are 15 stadiums larger than Lincoln Financial Field. The Linc holds ~68,500. They have been over 100% capacity since 2003, the year the stadium opened. In contrast, the Redskins stadium, FedEx Field, holds a capacity of ~80,000. That means Washington is capable of adding an additional 11,500 bodies for every home game. That's over 100,000 more people if every game is a sell out. So it is indeed unfair to look at the attendance rank. Look at the number being consistent.

The only team that is extremely up and down - and arguably the team that garners the least amount of attention from Philly fans - is the 76ers. Of all Philly sports teams they seem to house the most "front-runner" fans. Attendance peaked at 4th in 2003 but was second-to-last in 2006. You won't see that from any other Philly team, specifically the Flyers and Eagles. You may think that each of those teams is consistently good and these numbers are irrelevant. To the contrary. The Flyers have experienced their worst season in history recently and the Eagles finished last in the division 2 out of the last 3 years. What did the fans have to say about that? WE SUPPORT YOU. The Eagles posted their 2nd best attendance record in the last 5 seasons in 2005, despite finishing in last place in the NFC East. The Flyers are the model of consistency. Through the last 5 seasons, the Flyers have been had the 4th best attendance record three times. During the worst season in franchise history the Flyers still finished 7th. 7th! Again, we are looking at consistency, not the rank.

It is hard to quantify what would be a "front-runner" jump in attendance. For baseball I'd like to think that a +/- of 3 ranks is acceptable. A +/- of 4 to 7 is a little shady. And a +/- of 8 or 9 is bandwagon territory. +/- of 10 or more definitely classifies the group as "front-runnging". Unfortunately the Phillies fans in 2005, dropping 9 spots. However it is a tad unusual and it may be because 2005 was an anomaly (however not entirely sure because I didn't look past 2004). Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004 and the people were excited for the new team and the new stadium. The opening of CBP may have brought an abnormal amount of fans. I think the Phillies, on average at CBP, should finish between 7th and 11th in attendance rank. Putting 2004 into context the change in attendance from 2004 to 2005 is a bit more reasonable albeit a bit shady.

"Front-runners" and "bandwagoners" are unavoidable. They dwell in every city. However, Gregg Doyel's speaks as if this only happens in Philadelphia, which is bull. Philadelphia actually looks like a city of consistency when it comes to 75% of sport teams (sorry 76ers). Perhaps the city is just a team steeped with tradition (baseball) and the craving of grittier play (football, hockey), than finesse and conditioning (basketball).

The slander that Doyel provides is absolutely uncalled for and unnecessary. People love to hate on Philadelphia, for whatever reason. Perhaps its because the fans are blue-collared, die-hards that call it as it is. They don't hide their emotions nor do they sugar coat anything, for better or worse. Sure there are some that are out of line but just as "front-runners" exist in every city, so does the inappropriate fan. I have encountered it in Pittsburgh. I encountered it at the Orange Bowl. I even got the finger from an elderly lady in Hartford. Philadelphia fans are no different than any other city. Doyel, you're out of line.

P.S. - This post doesn't even address the question of whether it is right or wrong to boo a professional athlete. Short and sweet: it is right to do so in the right context and for the right reasons, i.e. a millionaire not performing to his abilities.

Turbulent Weekend Ends on High Note

What started amazing on Friday (Phillies won, Mets lost, take over 1st in NL East; West Virginia loses to South Florida) turned terrible on Saturday (Phillies lose, Mets win, tied for 1st in East with 1 game left; Penn State loses to Illinois, dropping to 3-2 and out of the Top 25). But Sunday was better. Even though the Dolphins lost to a bad Raiders team (35-17) and Culpepper had a hand in all 5 Raiders TDs (2 passing, 3 rushing - I questioned why we gave up on him, so glad we did!), that couldn't even ruin my day. Sunday was great. Why? The Phillies beat the Nationals 6-1 and the Mets lost to the Marlins 8-1, which means...THE PHILLIES ARE THE 2007 NL EAST CHAMPIONS and in the playoffs for only the 2nd time in my lifetime and for the 10th time in franchise history. It is an amazing feeling, especially since they come just short in 2005 and 2006. Jimmy Rollins said this would be our year; we were the team to beat in the East. And he was right. As crazy as it sounded when the Phils started 4-11 and when they were 7 back of the Mets with 17 to play. This is a rare but wonderful feeling. Now it's time to take care of San Diego or Colorado, whoever takes the Wild Card.

LET'S GO PHILLIES!!!