Hats off to the Giants

“Good series. We ended up the season 3-3. If the Phillies can just get into the playoffs, it should be a great series.”

“I don't suppose you watched Atlanta-St. Louis last night did you, Geo?”

“No, I don't have cable at the current time. The Braves lost, but the Phillies didn't do their part. If they have even remote dreams of catching Atlanta, they have to take advantage of their losses. Of course it would take a collosal collapse (nice illiteration, huh?), say on the order of the Phillies' 1964 collapse, for the Fightins to win the division. They also could have edged their way back past Florida.”

“How about those Mets.”

“You missed a good one. Rafael Furcal got an unassisted triple play last night. It was cool.”

“You're a real comedian, Must Hike! :)”

“One of those jobs where you blink and it's over.

I saw a triple play at the ballpark many moons back. Solly Hemus was the Phils' second baseman. He caught a line drive, stepped on second, and threw to first. Everybody around was saying, "What happened?" I said, "Triple Play!"

I saw Morandini's unassisted triple play on TV. That's a tough one for sure. The runner on first has to have brain lock to run into the play.”

“A bit of Mickey Morandini trivia: One season, he played all nine positions.”

“Sounds like a page from the Kama Sutra, Bit...”

“I always liked the way Harry Kalas said Mickey Mor'an-deeni.”

“I was wondering who would be first to jump on the sexual innuendo bandwagon.

Sorry, Geo, this is the end of your thread, lol...”

“The Grunts fans will be on later to have their say.

BTW, the Scott Rolen-Placido Polanco trade looks better every day.”

“You have to love those Giants! Are they going all the way this year? Sure hope so.
Go Giants!

Oh, and BTW, the Royals are back in first, and fighting for dear life.”

“Go Mariners!”

“Felipe Alou managing a team where he has material to work with - good for him. Yes, I think the Grunt have a shot at going all the way. Not too often a championship team changes managers and makes a second run at it.”

“Helloooooooooooooooooooooo San Francisco ...”

“I'm waiting for a late season charge by the Mets.”

“American Express or Visa?”

“Ya gotta believe!”

“That's not believing. That barely qualifies as a fantasy.”

“Ok then I’ll just go watch a Red Barons game. There’re actually making a late season charge.”

“There ya go! Now you're talkin'!”

“I wonder if they'll take that Astroturf off that field when the Phils move into the new park.”

“Watch out for my White Sox!”

“What Sox?


Remember 1959!”

“Wasn't alive then

How about the last time the Phillies had a chance.

Does the name Mitch Williams ring a bell? I belive they picked him up from another worthless team, the Chicago Cubs.”

“That would be 1993. Which is less: 44 years or 10?

The 1959 Sox had Luis Aparicio at short and Nellie Fox (originally came up with the Philadelphia A's) at second. Nice keystone combo.”

“Bit, Bert Campanaris played all 9 positions in one game! I think someone else did too but I can't remember who.

G-Men are lookin' good. They lose many key members from last year:

Jeff Kent
David Bell
Reggie Sanders
Kenny Lofton
Russ Ortiz
Rob Nen (injured)
Livan Hernandez
Dusty Baker

To lose that many key figures and have the 2nd best record in baseball is not too bad. Don't know why Felipe isn't getting his props. USA Today poll: Who should win NL Mgr of the year? Choices were Bob Brenly, Bobby Cox and a couple others but no mention of Alou.

Geo, Palanco's lookin' pretty good and Burrell may have snapped out of his slump.”

“Royals whip the Yank-me's 12-9!!
Life is sweet.”

“We'll see about Burrell. He's had a few hits from time to time and gone right back into his funk. Gotta give the kid credit for hanging in there and trying to work it out.”

“Especially in Philly, I don't know why anyone in their right mind would want to play where so many fans will turn on you so quickly. After all, ya'll almost chased Schmidt away, boo'd Santa Claus and cheered Michael Irvins carreer ending injury as he laid motionless on the ground. Not that I'm an Irvin fan, actually, I can't stand him, but that was just wrong to me.”

“Dunk: some myths!

Schmidt didn't go away. He played here his whole career, even after he had faded. Despite his glittering numbers, he was not a clutch player, coming up with the big hit when the team needed it. Despite that, he was an asset to the team, and part of the booing was due to his abrasive personality. One thing you do not do with Philly fans is challenge them.

Re Michael Irvin, I talked with several people who were in the stadium at the time. They were not cheering because Michael Irvin was hurt. When he got hurt, there was the usual delay while they attended to him. The fans cheered when the ambulance came onto the field to take him to the hospital. Fans usually cheer when an injured player is taken off the field; it's a tribute to a fallen foe.

And the fans have not booed Burrell with the exception of early in the season. Since then it's been apparent that he's been working his butt off, and fans here respect that. It's all they ask of the people they pay millions of dollars to perform.

Santa Claus, well, it just had to be.

Why would anybody want to play in Philly? When Rich Ashburn died, thousands turned out to pay their respects. They had to commandeer Memorial Hall for the reception, and there was still a long line to get inside.

Rich was beloved as a player and as a broadcaster. The number one suggestion for naming the new stadium was Ashburn. But they opted for the big bucks instead.

Dr. J, Jaws (he also got booed), Tug McGraw, Pete Rose, ... there's a long list of people who were taken in by Philly sports fans, and you never hear about that. The booing is just what the sportscasters like to zero in on, proving they don't prepare very well.

But you already knew that.

Oh, and Scott Rolen? That guy came up with tons of talent and the fans loved him. He started b*tching that the team wasn't paying big money for a free agent, when he was supposed to be the centerpiece of the team. He b*tched, he whined, and finally they traded him. Placido Polanco is a throwback player. He hustles, he makes the big plays, he comes up with clutch hits. He never says a negative thing. The reporters hardly ever even notice him. He reminds me of Brooks Robinson. I don't hear him griping about playing in Philly.

Yeah, we'll take him over super griper every time.

Jim Thome came here, is having a rough season, but the fans love him. He appeals to the fans because he hustles, makes no excuses, is an upbeat guy, and relates to the fans when he meets them.

My hunch is, if the Philly fans boo you, they're trying to tell you something.”