Philadelphia Phillies

Considering the Phillies are having some pitching trouble this year I thought I'd take a trip down memory lane to remember some of the truly awful Phillies pitchers of my youth.  There certainly are a lot of arms to choose from, and perhaps I'll canonize one a week or so until the Phils turn things around, but I'm starting with the inimitable Joe Cowley. 

Jimmy Rollins is known for a lot of things—great defense, leadership, swagger—and terrible Aprils.

Rollins took a second day off yesterday in a season that has started slowly, even for him. While the theory that he didn't get enough at-bats during Spring Training is still out there, it is losing credibility rapidly as Rollins is over 70 plate appearances for the year and still isn't showing signs of offensive revival. 

To everyone who resisted the desire to touch the clicker late in the impending shutout in Friday night's Phillies game with the Marlins, I commend you.

I have but one thing to say: That’s why we call him Shane Victorino!

Did you see that?! His grand slam was sweet!

So maybe it wasn't as immortal as the one he slammed when we crushed C.C. (wait, he prefers "CC'; I'm rolling my eyes here) Sabathia in the Playoffs, but it hit the spot, no doubt.

...And now we return to our regularly scheduled broadcast. Yes, welcome back to part two of my two-part introspective look at Cole Hamels. So continuing our discussion on Cole Hamels, let me first start off by thanking the fine people at Cole Hamels Facts [dot] com.

This is a new series I'm starting where I'm going to go around baseball and choose one top prospect from each organization and I'll profile them. Hope you enjoy the series and this one about Phillies' prospect Antonio Bastardo.

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Bastardo was born in the Dominican Republic on September 21, 1985.

He was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies and was sent to the Lakewood BlueClaws after going undrafted in the 2007 MLB Amateur Draft

I know I'm a little behind in the cycle to be writing an article about Harry Kalas, but I definitely feel it is important to write, even if only for myself.

Anyone who reads what I write regularly, you may have noticed that I rarely ever use the word "I" or "me".  I feel like we are all writing our own opinions on here, so why should I make any of my statements about me??

The Phillies honored the memory of longtime radio and television announcer Harry Kalas with a public tribute on Saturday at Citizen Bank Park.

Kalas, the voice of the Phillies since 1971, died Monday, April 13, 2009, as he prepared to announce the Philadelphia Phillies vs. the Washington National game in Washington, D.C. He collapsed in the broadcast booth and died at a local hospital shortly after.

His last home run call was Matt Stairs' pinch hit home run in Colorado in a 7-5 Phillies win on Easter Sunday.

Upon writing this, I know there are many articles of the same vain.  However, this man deserves every tribute coming to him in the coming days. 

Harry Kalas was not just a broadcaster, he was a friend to Phillies fans the world over from April to September and sometimes beyond.  Harry made the game come alive with each and every spirited call.

*First off, I would like to introduce Cody Swartz as my co-Community Leader for the Philadelphia Phillies. Cody has mostly written about the Philadelphia Eagles, but has also written about the Phillies and shares the same knowledge with the Phillies as he does the Eagles. He has officially been promoted to the position as my co-CL. He will be a huge help with all of the activities that are planned to be introduced to our community this season, so look out for messages from Cody or myself in the near future for a community event.

Phew. I'm tired.

Over the past few months, I have aspired to write an article based on the relationship between the fans and their favorite teams' broadcasters. I longed to make a connection between my family and Phillies' broadcaster Harry Kalas.