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Today in Philly Sports History: Randy Johnson Goes Kruk Hunting at All-Star Game, 1993

2009-07-13T06:14:00-04:00

In 1993, Mariners fireballer Randy Johnson was just coming of age, and had emerged as one of the most feared pitchers in the league. When he was selected to pitch in the 1993 All-Star Game, many of the NL's hitters were chomping at the bit to get a piece of the Big Unit, to show that his stuff wasn't so hot. Phillies first baseman John Kruk did not count himself among them. "Anyone that says they want to [face him] is crazy," Kurk later told the New York Post that he said to his NL teammates. "You are lying to yourself. No one wants to hit off a 6-10 guy who throws 100 mph with a nasty slider. Anyone that says they were flat-out liars." However, Kruk was not given a choice in the matter, as he batted third in the top of the third inning against the monster youngster. The result was one of the more memorable at-bats in MLB all-star game history.

In the first pitch of the at bat, Johnson sailed a fastball over Krukkie's head. It was well over and never really put Kruk in any danger, but it certainly put the fear of God into our first baseman. He took a step back, and suddenly appeared wide-eyed and out of breath, like a teenager who just heard a cop siren while smoking a joint outside the 7-11. From there, Kruk appeared hesitant to even get within a foot of the plate. Johnson's next fastball was dead-center, freezing him at 1-1, and then all Kruk could do was swing meekly at two heaters outside the strike zone, missing badly both times. His at bat over and the entire crowd enthralled (and even the normally straight-faced Johnson visibly enthused), Kruk threw off his helmet, took a bow, and took his seat.

Kruk went 0-3 for the game, as the NL ended up losing 9-3. To this day, Kruk insists that the at bat was not a result of his being afraid of Johnson, but just because he was a lousy hitter at the time and Johnson was a really good pitcher. " "I already struck out once in that game--Jimmy Key made me look foolish, too," Kruk remembers. "The last week before the All-Star break I don't think I had a hit. If I was locked in as I could be before that game I would not have got a hit off of Johnson."

Pete Makes Your Sunday Just a Lil' Happier

2009-07-12T21:21:06-04:00

Pedro Feliz, originally uploaded by jrab

That's what I call a great way to head into the break. Pedro's first inning grand slam was all they really needed as J.A. Happ was rolling.

Four games up on Florida, 6 on Atlanta, 6.5 on the Mets. I'll take it. Enjoy a few days of R&R, boys. Except for these guys and Charlie, of course. They have some work to do.

A pretty sight.

Highlights of Saturday's HEIST

2009-07-12T19:20:00-04:00

The kids over at Walkoff Walk have a recap of the events of the HEIST at the Phillies game on Saturday. My favorite comes from MDT in the comments, "If you want to confuse the shit out of a section at a baseball game, wait until the game is at its most pivotal moment and then get forty people to all start chanting "WE WANT SHRIMP! WE WANT SHRIMP!"

Phils Heading into Break with Brooms On the Mind

2009-07-12T13:31:20-04:00

Despite a less than stellar outing from their ace, the Phils found a way to make magic in the ninth last night. Cole Hamels is certainly this team's ace, he simply hasn't been playing like it as of late. The man taking the hill this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park may be the most steady arm in the Phillies rotation as the Phils head into the All Star Break. Happ has gone at least seven innings in all three of his most recent starts but only earned a win in his complete game shut out against the Blue Jays on June 27th.

Happ will face Virgil Vasquez for the Bucs.

After fumbling through much of June, the Phillies will try to make it five straight wins this afternoon before Charlie, Chase, Raul, Ryan, Shane, and Jayson head to St. Louis where they'll play for a chance to have home field advantage in the 2009 World Series.

The Pirates have to think the Phillies stole one from them last night in an epic HEIST which was as exciting as baseball gets for those in attendance. Let's just hope they don't make us sweat so much this afternoon.

1:35 start. Lovely day for a ball game. Go Phils.

Today in Philly Sports History: Dave Cash's Wife Beefs With Minor-League Mascot, 1990

2009-07-12T06:01:00-04:00

As Phillies fans, blessed with quite arguably the greatest mascot in the history of professional sports, we'd like to believe that all are receptive to the um, occasionally aggressive style of mascotting that has come to be associated with the team and city. A notable exception to that rule would apparently by the wife of one Dave Cash, the three-time all-star second-baseman for the Phillies in the mid-1970s. He'd worked his way through the Phillies system in his post-playing years, and by 1990 had come to be the manager of the Batavia Clippers (which eventually transformed into the Batavia Muckdogs, best known to national audiences for being the team Freddie Prinze Jr. gets signed to at the end of the classic Summer Catch...or not). But as happens so often in life, life-sized cartooned nuisances got in the way, as the Batavia Clipper's involvement-cum-harrassment of Cash's wife Pamela ended up ending his tenure on the team.

``He shook his behind in my face in front of my two young children," a traumatized Pamela Cash would recall. "I thought that kind of behavior by a mascot, at what's supposed to be a family-oriented place, was totally uncalled for." While a mere isolated incident would perhaps not quite have drawn so much ire, Pamela attested to a pattern of abuse: "`This wasn't the first time he shook his butt in my face." Few, if any pictures exist of the Clipper on the internet, but he was described as a blue-feathered, yellow-beaked mascot, and was not perceived by all as quite so scandalous, as board of directors member Dwight Thornton would recall. "``You should see him, he's like Big Bird on Sesame Street," said Thornton. "It's unfortunate that the only person he offended all year was the manager's wife.'' Nonetheless, the Cashes found the situation untenable, and Dave found his way out of Batavia, being reinstated by the Phils in his previous role of being a roaming minor-league infield instructor. ``From my perspective, we experienced a lot of rudeness,'' Dave said. ``It's best that we no longer are in this situation.''

Cash fluttered around the minors for a while, eventually getting signed by the Orioles in 2006 as a first-base coach. Today, he serves as hitting coach for the Sussex Skyhawks in the CAN-AM League, whatever the hell that is (though Cash and company apparently won the League Championship in '08, which is probably a good thing). Meanwhile, in 2006, well after the Clippers turned into the Muckdogs, the Phillies ceded control of the Muckdogs to the St. Louis Cardinals--but not after such future stars as Ryan Howard and Chase Utley passed through on their way to the majors.

The Heist Is Upon Us: Bloggers at the Bank

2009-07-11T12:27:06-04:00

Ya know, I've been a blogger for a few years now, with most of my time in the genre (if you will) being right here at The700Level. I still think anything with the word "blog" or "blogger" involved sounds entirely nerdy, and a meet-up of bloggers... I picture indiscernible costumes and people calling each other strictly by their commenter and posting handles until they cross the line into the Real-Life Friend zone. The costumes may be a longshot, but otherwise, that's pretty much what I'm anticipating for today's Walkoff Walk Citizens Bank Park Heist. That and copious amounts of drinking (one of the lesser known yet dominant traits of the crowd). It's going to be pretty great...

Citizens Bank Park, originally uploaded by gajdam1.

A mix of about 40 baseball bloggers, commenters, and readers will descend upon the Jetro lot starting at 4:30PM to commence tailgating, and then we'll take over an otherwise unsuspecting section 202 for the Phillies' plundering of the Pirates this evening. Enrico and I will be there, along with Meech, Dash Treyhorn, and Tug Haines of The Legendary Fightins crew, Liakos, Iracane, and dmac from WoW, Clare from Plunk Chutley, Miss Bee from Phillyist, and bee love from Philly Skyline. If any of you will be in the Jetro or near section 202 today, feel free to stop by and chat it up.

With an afterparty planned for a Center City drinking establishment (which I'll be departing from early to catch 722 at Fergies), things could be pretty slow at the Level for the next two days. Maybe we'll iPhone-post a picture that can serve as a gamethread, but let's not get ahead of ourselves and make promises we can't keep. See you at the HEIST.

Today in Philly Sports History: Bobby Abreu Homers 41 Times in One Derby, 2005

2009-07-11T05:46:00-04:00

Who knows what baseballs did to make Bobby Abreu so angry before the Home Run Derby on July 11th, 2005, but his revenge was swift and merciless. Amidst an international roster of superstars (and also Hee Seop Choi) at Comerica Park, Bobby did all of Venezuela proud by homering an astounding 41 times, including 24 times in the first round--both easily besting Miguel Tejada's previous records of 27 and 15, respectively. Abreu's longest blast went 517 feet, measured as the third longest in Derby history. Abreu, who would also start the All-Star Game for the first time the following night hitting leadoff, couldn't believe it. "This is something amazing," said Abreu. "I don't know if I can sleep tonight." (Johan Santana's father allegedly told him over the phone that Venezuela was "paralyzed" by Abreu's performance).

Unfortunately, what should be one of the prouder moments in recent Phillies history has since been somewhat diluted by a variety of factors. First, Abreu was traded to the Yankees barely a full season later for a bunch of nobodies, in an exchange referred to by Bill Conlin as "The Great Gillick Giveaway," and of course, the Phils quickly went on to greatness without him. Second, Abreu's power numbers dropped significantly after the Derby--he had 18 dingers before the All-Star Break that year, including nine over a ten-game period, but only went deep six times the entire rest of the season, and would later claim that his performance at the Derby was a contributing factor ("It messed up my swing a little bit because it was like playing golf, when I usually swing on the line," he told USA Today). Third, Abreu's achievements were largely upstaged recently by Josh Hamilton's 28-homer first round at the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, whose redemptive performance set the baseball world on fire and caused Rick Reilly to exclaim that it was "a bad day to be an atheist."

However, it should be noted that Abreu's record of 44 homers for the entire derby remain a record. Perhaps more importantly, unlike Hamilton, Abreu actually, y'know, won the thing.

The Bucs [Fail to Restart] Here: Phils Look to Keep Up Momentum Against Flailing Pirates

2009-07-10T18:46:47-04:00

Over the last two years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have basically been baseball's equivalent to Logan's Run--as soon as a player starts to show signs of genuine quality, they are shipped elsewhere for prospects, spare parts and financial relief, never to be heard from again. In the midst of the rebuilding process to end all rebuilding processes, the Pirates' sole representative in the all-star game this season is second baseman Freddy Sanchez, having something of a bounce-back year. So of course, you know what that means--Sanchez has recently been the subject of trade speculation, likely being moved to Colorado or Minnesota, soon to join the ranks of Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Nate McLouth, Nyjer Morgan and Eric Hinske in the dearly departed. Better keep that ERA up a little, Zach Duke, or you could be next.

Now having decisively slid back to their comfortable slot in the NL Central cellar, the Pirates come to Citizens' Bank Park in the midst of a 2-6 July. With the Phillies hitting being as hot as it is, and the pitching looking livelier as well, this should be a stellar opportunity for our boys to keep their foot on the velocimatrix, and maybe get a little more separation between us and the Marlins going into the All-Star Break. Hopefully asssting them to that end will be the imminent return of the badly mised (although slightly less so recently) Rauuuuul Ibanez to the line-up--either tonight or tomorrow, depending. But even if he's not joining us tonight, with Dobbs hitting like a champ and the rest of our lineup clicking as it is, I like our chances about just about anyone.

Also, a note towards the future--come All-Star tuesday, a couple of us here at the Level are hoping to do a liveblog of the event, now starring five of your favorite Phillies. So keep one eye on your TV and one eye on your computer as we break down the guys' performance, and make other whimsical observations about interleague relations as the NL tries to end a decade-long winless streak.

Chris Coste's Next Book To Be Set In Houston

2009-07-10T15:09:45-04:00

If he's writing one and it's about his career as professional baseball player. Coste has been released by the Phillies to clear a roster spot for the return of Raul Ibanez, and the Astros have claimed the catcher. Oh sweet, more Paul Bako! /eye roll

By now we're all familiar with Coste's improbable story, finally reaching the show in 2005 at the age of 33, becoming a fan favorite and World Series Champion in the process. His numbers have steadily declined since first joining the league, and his playing time had taken a hit this season, but he's been a serviceable backup during his time in red pinstripes. We wish him nothing but the best in his future with Houston.

We'll wait for the quotes from local beat writers on why Coste did not survive the cuts as he has several times in the past, but with the addition of Bako and Marson beating down the doors for his chance, it was probably only a matter of time.

Jayson Werth Added to All Star Roster

2009-07-10T14:00:52-04:00

The Phillies just announced that OF Jayson Werth will be added to the NL All Star roster. Werth, who is replacing the injured Carlos Beltran, will join Utley, Howard, Ibanez, and Victorino to represent the reigning WFC quite well in St. Louis. It also makes all four of the Phillies 20+ homer guys All Stars. You know your team's outfield is pretty good when every single one of them makes the mid-summer classic. Congrats, J-Werth.

You Have One New Voice Message (from Shane Victorino)

2009-07-10T13:34:38-04:00

Shane shows his appreciation in the below message to those who helped vote him in to the All Star Game next week. It's clear the power of Phillies fans everywhere is quite strong. Mahalo.

Just Another Potent Philadelphia Offense...

2009-07-10T12:00:16-04:00

Speaking of great home run feats, the Phillies joined an exclusive club last night, becoming just the second team to ever have four players hit 20 or more homers before the All-Star Break. Toronto was the other in 2000, but 2009>2000 in terms of power stats, so eat it, Blue Birds. Last night, Chase Utley and Jayson Werth each hit their 20th, with Utley's being of the stand-up, inside-the-park variety. They joined Raul Ibanez (22) and Ryan Howard (21) in the 20+ club.

Just a few years removed from being a scrap heap player in a few organizations, Werth is becoming a bona fide MLB star, dare I say a potential All-Star? Shane Victorino's ascendence yesterday coupled with Charlie Manuel using a manager's selection on Ryan Howard could keep Werth at home next week, but that's not to say he isn't deserving—particularly lately. Werth's homer last night was his seventh in the past 12 games, and he has now gone yard in four straight. With the Phillies' HR leader on the DL for much of the past month, Werth has really stepped to make up for lost offense. And now we get Raul back too?

All the talk of the Phillies 20+ Club last night had me thinking that we've really seen some great, balanced offenses in this town lately. Last season, the Flyers had a league-leading six 20-goal scorers for the second year in a row; four of them hit the 30+ mark, and Jeff Carter finished with 46. In the NFL, it can be a little tougher for teams to have multiple offensive players with high stat totals in the same categories, but in terms of team offense, the Eagles weren't too shabby again last season, coming in sixth in total points and points per game. This year, with an influx of talented weapons joining the Birds' offense, we could be talking about a few WRs hitting mid-range milestone yardage peaks (800, 900, 1000) and even TD marks (10+...?).

In addition to the depth the Phillies, Flyers, and Eagles exhibit offensively, the Phils' accomplishment may be even more noteworthy because their individual numbers have a handful of them sitting very high in the NL and MLB stat categories—as well as the overall team stats. Carter hung in there for the goals lead for a while, finishing second to Alex Ovechkin by 10 goals, but the next Flyer in the G column was Simon Gagne at 17th. With plenty of time left to heat up, the Phils' foursome is currently residing in the top 8 league-wide. Of course, there are no home park factors to help stats in hockey, football, or basketball. As you may have heard, Citizens Bank Park isn't the biggest around. It will also be tough for everyone to keep their current HR paces up, but anything is possible.

Defense is obviously a major factor in winning a championship, and fortunately the Phillies excel there too (their 32 errors and .990 FPCT are best in the NL, second best in the bigs). But as fans, it's hard not to gush and appreciate a truly stellar and balanced offensive powerhouse. Sure it's fun to see Ryan Howard stroll to the plate when he's leading the majors in homers by 10, but the truly great times in Phillies' seasons lately have come when just about everyone is hitting.

On Second Thought... Nitty Signs With Lightning

2009-07-10T11:49:10-04:00

Despite reportedly having a deal in place (and perhaps having signed that deal, depending on which reports you read), Antero Niittymaki won't be playing in Russia next season. Nitty has instead signed with the Lightning to back up Mike Smith. I wonder who Rick Tocchet will start in net when the Lightning play division foe Atlanta?

Today in Philly Sports History: Chuck Klein Homers Four Times in One Game, 1936

2009-07-10T05:00:00-04:00

Like so many of the best Phillies players in the first half of the 20th century, hall of famer Chuck Klein didn't get to see a lot of winning during his time here. In fact, in 15 seasons spent in Philadelphia, just one of them was on a team that emerged with a winning record--1932, when the team finished an inspired 78-76, good for fourth in the league. The Phils were much better at losing, and they piled up an impressive seven 100-loss seasons with Klein in uniform. However, Klein was able to rack up some pretty stellar individual achievements as a Phillie. He won the Triple Crown in 1931, and became the last player to lead the league in homers and steals the next year, winning the MVP. He hit for the cycle twice. He participated in the first-ever All-Star Game. He set the single-season record for outfield assists (44). And on July 10th, 1936, he became the first player in the national league in the 20th century to homer four times in one game.

Klein had spent a disappointing two-year stint with the Cubs in '34 and '35, after being traded for some losers and cash. But midway through the '36 season, he got sent back to the Phillies (though this time for decent players Ethan Allen and Curt Davis), and his numbers improved again being back in the hitter-friendly Baker Bowl. That day in July he squared off against Pirates starting pitcher Jim Weaver (no slouch of a pitcher, having led the league in shutouts the year before), and went yard in the first, fifth and seventh innings to give the Phillies a 6-4 lead. But three wasn't going to do it, as Phils starter Claude Passeau could not hang on for the win in the ninth and the Pirates tied it back up again. So Klein saved the best for last, hitting one more longball in the 10th to give the Phillies the lead, and an eventual 9-6 victory.

The feat had been accomplished three times before in the 19th century--including by our very own Ed Delahanty, who did it on consecutive inside-the-park homers--and has been done 11 more times to date, most recently by Carlos Delgado for the Toronto Blue Jays. Klein wasn't the last Phil to do it, either, but we'll save the story on that one for next April.

SHANE WINS! And The Phillies Look To Take The Series

2009-07-09T17:36:53-04:00

* Congratulations to Shane Victorino, who was declared the winner of the 33rd and Final All Star Vote. I won't say he deserved it any more or less than the other guys (nor can I say who the other guys even were), but he is an exciting addition to the game and it's cool he made it, even if it required some stuffing of the ballot box. Nice work, everybody. *

Update: and as several commenters quickly pointed out, there are reports of the Phillies signing Pedro Martinez to a one year contract worth $4 million.
11:15 p.m.: as of now, this has not proven to be true.

As any cynical person likely predicted, after hanging 22 runs on Cincinnati, the Phillies offense has sputtered once again. Credit the Reds, who have themselves a nice pitching staff despite Monday's unusual outcome, but plenty of people predicted the feast-then-famine Phils would show up. I'm told there isn't actually much (any?) statistical evidence supporting the idea, but it just feels like every huge outburst is almost invariably followed by a slump with this club.

Maybe that says more about the inconsistencies that have always existed in this lineup, though were recently hidden by a new left fielder and the glow of a World Series Championship. Weren't too many strikeouts and the constant stranding of runners staples for much of the '08 season, and probably longer? The more '09 progresses, the more it begins to feel like a mirror image of last year. Of course there are some major differences, chiefly the toothy bite of the injury bug, but this team still showed once again last night they still have the flare for dramatics.

Even if they have been sleep-walking through portions of their schedule.

With a series against Pittsburgh looming, the Phillies have a chance to correct some of the nasty results of their hangover and carry some solid momentum into the break, but it starts with taking the Reds series tonight. They face right-hander Micah Owings, who we last saw falling victim to another brutal offensive onslaught, allowing 5 earned in 3 innings en route to a 12-5 loss on May 21, by far his worst outing of the season. Maybe that will get the bats going.

For the good guys, it's Jamie Moyer's turn. After a scary start, he appears to be turning things around little by little, though he's still not performing to the level he did last year, which probably was a bit much to ask in the first place. Anyway, he's at least been serviceable, going fewer than 6 innings just once since pitching in Cincinnati on May 20, a 3-run losing effort. From that point on, he's done about all anyone could ask of the elderly.

It all comes back on the starting lineup though. If the Phillies are hitting, Cincinnati simply does not have the talent to keep up. Give Moyer the run support, and they should cruise into the final set before a much-needed and deserved break. If it's anything like last season, that's when things will heat up.