Left Field Lite: Minor League Travels Round Two

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Reading’s FirstEnergy Stadium provides cheap eats and entertainment for the whole famiy. Photos by Tom Hagan, ’11

In the continuing travels of a father and son exploring the minor and independent league  stadiums  within an hour of Philadelphia,  this weekend’s decision brought me to Reading, PA, home of the Reading Phillies, the AA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Left Field Lite: Say Goodbye to the Beard?

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Jayson Werth could soon find himself on another team if the Phillies get the right deal

When you’re a defending NL Champion seven games out of first place, it’s time to make a trade.

Right now, Ruben Amaro, Jr. and the Phillies’ front office are looking to get some pitching, preferably someone who will be more than a rental player. As of today, the only two people who fit those guidelines are the Astros’ Roy Oswalt and the Diamondbacks’ Dan Haren. Both of these players are top of the line pitchers, which means the Phillies will once again have to sacrifice some of their top prospects in order add rotation strength.

What this means for fans, however, is that one of the Phils’ prominent players will be saying goodbye in the near future. The man I’m speaking of is outfielder Jayson Werth.

Left Field Lite: Don’t Call it a Comeback

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With his win on Sunday, Jamie Moyer tied Roy Halladay as the Phillies’ wins leader.

You know, for a little while there, things were a little scary for Phillies fans. While the Phillies offense has slumped in seasons past, this year anemic didn’t even begin to describe it. Normally the “June Swoon” comes during interleague play. This year, the Phils were slumping entering interleague play. Within a week, the Phillies dropped from being right behind the Braves in the standings to 5.5 games out of first place.

Well, with a solid win against the Blue Jays today, the Phillies look to be back on track, averaging 7 runs a game in their last 5 games, finding themselves now only 2.5 games back and closing in on an early July showdown with the Braves. But as the great LL Cool J once said in his song “Mama Said Knock You Out,” “Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.”

Philly fan thrown up and out of game

If you’ve ever been sickened by Phillies fans, here’s another one that should earn this South Jersey resident a bronzed urinal from the Vet.

At Wednesday night’s Phils-Nationals game, Matthew Clemmens of Cherry Hill, NJ (oh, South Jersey!) was ejected and arrested for a very peculiar reason (and check out the photo tab for his mugshot; he kind of looks like Rosanne Barr after a hockey game). His friend had been ejected from Citizens Bank Park earlier, and deciding that revenge was a dish best served after it had already been digested, forced himself to vomit on a family of nearby spectators, including an 11-year-old girl.

But the joke proved to be on him, as the young girl’s father, Easton, Pa. police captain Michael Vangelo, took umbrage and punched the refunding Clemmens in the face before helping Philadelphia police arrest him. The newly black-eyed Clemmens still had a little guts left, literally, which he shared with the arresting officer.

He was charged with assault and harassment, and has also been recognized by the honor of a “Matthew Clemmens is a Douche” group on Facebook. No word on whether or not he also has ever booed Santa Claus or cheered at opposing players injuries.

– Matthew De George ’10

10 things to watch for the upcoming MLB season

As I watch what actually has turned out to be an interesting season opener between the Yanks and the Sox (in the Michael Wilbon voice), I guess there’s no better time than the present to give you my 2010 MLB season preview. Here are 10 storylines to watch as America’s pastime opens 2010 in earnest tomorrow.

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Repeat?

It’s been another busy winter for the Yankees, though this time with a tighter grip on the purse strings. The 27-time World Champs signed former farmhand Nick Johnson as their DH and added journeyman Randy Winn to provide a capable outfielder off the bench. But the other additions came through trades. Curtis Granderson, fresh off a career-high 30 home runs with the Tigers (written as he takes Josh Beckett deep with two outs in the second inning), was brought in for pitchers Phil Coke, Ian Kennedy, and top prospect Austin Jackson. The rotation was strengthened by the acquisition of Javier Vasquez (another former Yankee returning to the Bronx) for misfit Melky Cabrera. Vazquez and the reintroduction of Phil Hughes to the rotation stabilizes the back-end of one of the best starting fives in the AL, while Chan Ho Park and Joba Chamberlain’s return to the bullpen gives them depth there. Despite playing in baseball’s toughest division, the Yanks are still a front-runner to take home another World Series Title.

Phil me up again?

Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em- Philadelphia has passion.

Whether you live in Glenside, Lansdale, Kensington, Mayfair, Rittenhouse Square, South Jersey, North Jersey, New York, Boston, LA or anywhere else…. There is absolutely no question about the passion and dedication of Philadelphia fans.

Philadelphia sports fans are some of the most loyal sports fans in all of sports.

The Philadelphia Phillies have more losses than any other franchise in any other sport. No other franchise has ever lost 10,000 games and the Phillies managed to do it by 2007. Despite this fact, the Phillies, over the past two seasons, have managed to draw over 7 million fans and 3.6 million fans in 2009. Phillies fans always have been supportive and passionate. The Phillies sold out 73 of 81 home games in 2009 and EVERY home game between May and October. Yes, the losingest franchise in all of sports selling out over 90% of its home games.

A Look At the Fall Classic

By Alex Green, ’11

Last year was euphoric. You can take away the night-long celebration on Broad St. with every Philadelphian; you can take away the parade of over two million people. The fact of the matter was that for one time we were the best. For me, an avid Philadelphia sports fan, that was enough.

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Our generation watched Eric Lindros’ head get smashed into frozen oblivion. We sympathized with Allen Iverson, the ultimate David character whose champion size could not quite conquer the Goliath duo Kobe and Shaq. We were fools to believe the inept duo of Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid could actually win a super bowl, only to watch Ronde Barber and Jake Delhomme celebrate on our home field.

Who has the momentum?

Heading into the National League Championship Series, the buzz around Philadelphia is about the nerves on the mend from the Phillies-Rockies NLDS. And those nerves don’t look like they are going to have an easy road ahead. The Los Angeles Dodgers enter the NLCS boasting the best record in the NL with a 95-67 record, finishing two games ahead of the Phillies.

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Game 1 is slated for 8:07 p.m. on Thursday. That’s about the only thing set in stone right now for the Dodgers. With starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda returning after taking a line drive to the cheek bone in August, the Dodgers have six starting pitchers vying for four spots. Two of the starters, Vicente Padilla and Randy Wolf, anchored the Phillies pitching staff during the early 2000s, when people started looking ahead to “next season” by mid-May. The other four, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Jon Garland, and Kuroda, are all solid pitchers who could make a big impact on the series. The Dodgers come into the NLCS with a stronger bullpen than the 2008 squad, but more or less a similar lineup with just another year under theirs belts.

At the Bank: Game 1

If you’ve never been to a playoff game at Citizens Bank Park, you have to go. If you’ve ever been to a regular season game there, you know how at crucial moments in the game the crowd can get very into the action. Imagine that craziness for nine innings and double it. The intensity is amazing: everyone is hanging on every pitch and the 46,000 fans standing and waving their rally towels will give you chills.

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The game against the Rockies was my third Phillies playoff game, and the feeling still hasn’t gotten old. Even though we had horrible seats, it didn’t really matter. It’s an experience that you want to a part of no matter where you sit, if you even sit at all. Being part of home field advantage means being part of something special. You won’t regret it; it’s worth every dollar.

Lee-ding the way in Philadelphia

Coming into this postseason, there were many concerns about the world champion Phillies’ chances of repeating this year: their bullpen was in question, their new ace was struggling, and their offense was in a funk in almost the entirety of September. With game one of the NLDS now over, the Phillies responded to two of the three concerns with style in their 5-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

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The questions surrounding the new staff ace were answered with four words: Cliff Lee is back. After setting a torrid pace in his first five starts with the Phillies, Lee had slumped as of late, causing a bit of concern for fans when he was named Game 1 starter. In his playoff debut, Lee dazzled, throwing a complete game, allowing only one run while striking out five in 113 pitches. Looking like the pitcher who won 2008 Cy Young award, Lee took command of the game, escaping some tough jams in the early innings and allowing the solitary run to the Rockies in the bottom of the ninth inning. If Lee continues this pace and Cole Hamels is able to emerge from the dugout tomorrow in 2008 World Series MVP form, then the Phillies may in fact have the scariest 1-2 punch in the postseason.