Mark Carfagno
2732 Plover Street
Philadelphia, PA 19153

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Silary wrote on his site that the plastic sports drink bottle had come from the Roman student section. It seems that Ted’s description of where the heave originated was inaccurate. Well, at least that’s what Roman’s Assistant Athletic Director, John Pensabene, and some other Roman adminitrators thought. Pensabene said that the bottle did not come from one of the students, but from an adult sitting near the area.

Oh, excuse me but what kind of message does that send? That’s it’s OK for an adult, obviously an upset Roman supporter, to throw something onto the court?

If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: the parents and other adults at Catholic League Basketball games are the ones who should learn to control themselves and set a better example for the younger kids. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been that way.

Now, all this isn’t directed strictly to the Roman people but to all of the schools in the Archdiocese. I attend many games and the words that come from the mouths of some of the adults at these games are reprehensible and embarassing to anyone seated near the verbal abuser. Come on folks, let’s behave a little better and enjoy the game. Let the students do most of the shouting.

At some of the Catholic League venues, the back and forth chanting of the competing student sections is worth the price of admission alone. Man, they come up with some pretty creative stuff. What will they say next ? Well, you’ll just have to hush up a bit and listen.

You will find many behind the scenes stories from my 33 years working as a groundskeeper at Veterans Stadium and a few that are quite comical.

I don’t just stop there. Look also for my strong opinions on these topics: Sports Talk Radio, Sports Announcers, Instant Replay and a look at one of Philadelphia’s greatest traditions, the Mummers.

For more details check out this site in the near future.

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Frog

Yes, it was loud inside Citizen’s Bank Park, but not as loud as when the team played across the driveway at Veteran’s Stadium. That, my friends was loud, real loud. You could not hear yourself think, yet alone talk to the person next to you. It was very intimidating for the opposition.

The stadium appeared to shake. What causes such a thing like this to happen? How about total enclosure of the stadium. The circular cookie cutter stadium with no place for the noise to exit. No open air spaces as is the case with the Bank’s center field area.

The same thing holds true for Lincoln Financial Field. When the Eagles played at the Vet, the visiting teams wanted no part of it. In addition to the shape of the stadium, the so-called dreaded Astroturf was a huge factor and was always in the minds of the opposition. It was a big psychological
advantage for the Eagles. If the Birds want a real home field advantage, they better find a way to completely close up the two end zone portions of the stadium.

CHASE UTLEY’S COMMENT
Yes, I realize that Chase Utley was probably feeling no pain when he stepped up to the podium after the parade and used the infamous “F” word. I’ll even give him the benefit that he was caught up in the moment and couldn’t control himself, whether he had alcohol in his system or not. Plus it was obviously in reference to what had transpired at the 2008 All Star Game in New York.

The thing that bothers me is that there was no apology by Utley or even a statement by the Phillies organization. Maybe the Phillies haven’t noticed, but there are more Chase Utley jerseys worn by young kids than any other player on the Phillies. Chase is an infielder. Most Little Leaguers or the ones that are talented usually play the infield and as a result want to wear the shirt of their professional teams star infielder.

Once again shame on Chase and the Phillies for no apologys. I guess it’s OK to throw around “F” bombs when an enterprise is run by a group University of Pennsylvania graduates that could care less about “Real Little People.”

Yes indeed, Aaron Rowand did make a great “PLAY” last week against the Mets when he caught the ball and then broke his nose running into the centerfield fence. Notice, I said “PLAY” and not “CATCH.”

Rowand ran full speed and made an “Over The Shoulder Grab” and paid the consequences when he hit the fence. Not to diminish his effort but “Over The Shoulder Catches” are made quite frequently. Just watch Sportscenter and see Jim Edmonds do it at least once or twice a week.

Perhaps we should say that Rowand made a very Courageous Play by sacrificing his body to catch the ball.

After reading all of the newspapers, watching all of the sports shows and hearing about it on Sport’s Talk Radio, the catch is being looked at as being one of the “Greatest Ever” by a Phillies player. To me the words Play and Courage are associated more with football than baseball.

I have been following the Phillies for almost 50 years and the GREATEST CATCH I ever saw by a Phillie was in 1997. It was made by a rightfielder named Tony Barron, a scab player in the spring of 1995 and whom the Phillies would later sign.

In ‘97 a shot was hit to Barron’s right and headed for the gap when Tony sprinted as fast as he could and at the last second took off and dove. His body was fully extended with all of his limbs off the ground aka, “Superman” and amazingly caught the ball while still in the comic book character’s pose. So here’s my unoffical vote for Tony Barron, for making the Greatest Catch in Phillies History. Does anyone else recall? I know some people who do and say the same thing.

NOTE: While watching FOX TV’s Best Damn Sport’s Show recently, the topic was the best 50 catches in Major League history. I am proud to say that Tony Barron’s catch was on the list. I believe that it was listed around number 25-30. Aaron Rowan’s made Honorable Mention. No other Phillies were on the list.

If you didn’t know, last week the subject of Donovan McNabb’s tendonitis was brought to the table. A viewer emailed a comment about the media blowing everything out of proportion, stating that it was just a case of tendonitis. Mr Conlin responded by ripping the mailer’s ethnic background, resulting in his suspension. Cataldi thought the week’s suspension was too much.

Actually he thought that Conlin shoudn’t have been suspended at all. Why? What’s Cataldi doing? Defending one of his bobo’s that “Double Dip,” working for both the print and electronic media? Why in the hell do most talk show hosts have to come from the print media? What about the college kids who have a degree in radio? I guess they know more than the trained people. After all, if you listen to Mike “I Played College Baseball… therefore I am an expert on everything” Missanelli ,you would think that he is God’s gift to sports talk radio.

Hey Mike, where are you going to be working next? It’s hard to keep track of you, therefore I will not acknowedge your work place. It’s a damn shame I even mentioned your name.

Hey, ain’t this great. I can rip people just like they do. Oops.. I got one of their own. I guess they’ll be PO’d……

Tim Donaghy, Steve Javie, Ed Malloy, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich and Mike Callahan. What do they all have in common, besides officiating in the NBA ? They all were and are from the Philadelphia metropolitan area. They also entered the league at a young age. What’s the connection besides all living close to one another? How about they all followed in the footsteps of another Philly guy, Joey Crawford?

Being that Crawford was looked at as one of the top officials in the league, my guess is that the NBA pushed for more Philadelphia refs. These guys get a taste of “Life in the Fast Lane” too quick. Unfortunatly, Tim Donaghy will be paying a lot for his speeding ticket. I recall watching Ed Malloy blowing his whistle at West Catholic High School one year and the next year I almost chocked on my popcorn when I saw him at the Wachovia Center officiating the Sixers game……

Chase Utley. Although this looks like a good time to pick on Utley since he is 0 for his last 20 at bats, I was going to mention this anyway. After seeing Utley hit home runs in five consecutive games, which puts him in a unique category, I said to myself: how in the hell does he do it ?

Yes, he has quick hands, but so do plenty of other hitters. The thing that baffles me about Utley and his home runs is this. Most home run hitters will follow through on their swings. In baseball lingo that’s called “Swinging Through The Zone.” If you watch Utley, it appears that his hands stop when the barrell of the bat meets the ball, yet the ball goes over the fence. HOW ????

I’ll finish with a quote that former major league player Larry Walker made a few years back. Small ballparks, bad pitching and juiced up baseballs has turned our National Pastime into nothing more than “Glorified Whiffleball.” Hey, can anyone find my Whitey Ford ball?

There’s one more thing I will say about Utley, but unfortunately, I can’t say it until a book I am currently working on is published. What will be revealed will SHOCK YOU !!!! No, it’s not steroids.

For those of you who can’t get enough of Tiger Woods, Spokesman Tom Casey of Fox Sports Network has announced that the network soon will debut the TIGER CHANNEL. Twenty Four hours of Tiger. Grrrrrrrreeeeeeaaaaattttt !!!!!!

That, my friends, is one of the biggest misconceptions in Philadelphia sports history. Yes, Roger Mason was taken out of the game, but he was replaced by David West. I know for a fact that it happened because I was there and while I am writing this piece I have the box score of that game right next to me.

Let’s go back almost 15 years and review the scenario. Mason relieved Phillies starter Terry Mulholland at the beginning of the Toronto sixth with the Blue Jays ahead 5-1. Mason gave up a meaningless leadoff single to Robby Alomar, then retired the next three hitters. In the top of the seventh, the Phillies battled back with 5 runs to take a 6-5 lead. The big blow was a three run homer by Lenny Dykstra.

Mason pitched a one-two-three inning in the home seventh. The Phillies failed to score in the top of the eighth but still held a one-run lead. Now here’s where the confusion begins.

Joe Carter led off the eighth against Mason by flying out to left field. It appeared that Mason was really in a nice groove. He had retired seven consecutive batters. Suddenly, and shockingly to all Phillies fans, Fregosi comes out of the dugout and takes Mason out of the game. Are you kidding me? Mason was really spectacular to this point. Why in the hell would you take a veteran pitcher out of an elimination World Series Game? Don’t give me that righty, lefty and pitch count hogwash.

Before I continue, let it be known that pitch counts really irritate me. They were never even heard of until the 1990’s. For God’s sake, Robin Roberts pitched 30 complete games a year. Even if that’s how Fregosi felt, that thinking should be tossed aside. Come on, we’re talking about the friggin’ World Series with a seasoned veteran on the mound.

Fregosi replaced Mason with lefty David West. At this point the momentum swung in favor of the Blue Jays. West walked John Olerud and was lifted after just one batter. Larry Anderson entered after West and faced four hitters to record the final two outs. Although Toronto didn’t score there, it presented the opportunity for Joe Carter to bat in the bottom of the ninth. If Mason would have stayed and retired the next two hitters, Carter would have been the seventh batter in the ninth inning as opposed to the fourth batter.

Mitch Williams entered in the ninth and we all know what happened. Instead of facing leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson to begin the inning, it could have been the numbers eight and nine hitters to begin the final frame.

So as you see, the pitching order for Game Six of the 1993 World Series was as follows: Mulholland, Mason, West, Anderson and, finally, Mitch Williams. Sorry to bring back memories of that fatal night, but facts should be facts .