By definition, a SoxandPhil is someone who has played for both teams - Curt Schilling, Jamie Moyer, Pedro Martinez, for an example of three great pitchers.
But sometimes, I'll use the definition loosely (and incorrectly) if lumping Red Sox and Phillies players together; for example, the SoxandPhils have a monopoly of great lefties (Cole Hamels and Jon Lester), second basemen (Dustin Pedroia and Chase Utley), first basemen (Ryan Howard and Kevin Youkilis) and mascots (the Phanatic and Wally). OK, the last one's a bad example.
But what about players who played in the majors for one team and the minors for another team? The only example I can think of is John Marzano, who we consider an honorary SoxandPhil because of his Philadelphia roots and being a Phillies postgame analyst in addition to playing in the majors for the Red Sox and in the minor leagues for the Phillies.
In December, Christine and I decided that such a player (except in special circumstances such as Marzano) would not count as a SoxandPhil until/unless he was called up to the majors. The topic came up when the Red Sox signed Fabio Castro to a minor league deal.
Castro, whose claim to fame was being traded from the Phillies to the Blue Jays for legitimate SoxandPhil Matt Stairs, was called up to the Red Sox again, so he could soon be legit. (He may be already if he appeared in last night's game after I went to sleep.) Although, we've been through this before; he was called up in April but sent down before making his Sox debut.
Christine and I will be tied up today, but we'll have an eye on the Red Sox in San Francisco and the Phillies on the road in Philadelphia against the Blue Jays.
Showing posts with label John Marzano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Marzano. Show all posts
Jun 26, 2010
Dec 30, 2008
Warming up in the bullpen
I was sad when the late John Marzano took a job with Major League Baseball, leaving a void in the analyst seat at Comcast SportsNet for a former player with Philadelphia connections. But Mitch Williams relieved him admirably.
Both former players seemed to relish their roles, talking baseball and representing the views of both the athletes and the fans of Philadelphia. They weren't afraid to have fun or criticize a player.
Mitch really seemed to enjoy the 2008 championship - and not just because it officially got him off the hook for the Joe Carter home run. Johnny Marz would have loved watching it, too.
But Mitch won't be around to see whether the Phillies repeat. We just found out he's bailing on Philadelphia media to be part of the new MLB network. We haven't decided whether to upgrade our FIOS package to get the new network.
So this leaves another void at the microphone for a former athlete with Philly connections. I know the gut reaction will be just to increase Ricky Bottalico's air time. But might I humbly suggest another former Phillies reliever by the name of Ken Ryan? I know he's busy with his baseball academy, but he has broadcast experience with minor league games.
This endorsement is based solely on Ryan's ability and what's best for Phillies fans. It has nothing to do with generating traffic to our blog.
{So far, I think we've been unimpressed with Ricky Bo. Maybe he'll take some broadcast-speaking classes over the winter and get better with time, but so far he's been pretty dull.}
Both former players seemed to relish their roles, talking baseball and representing the views of both the athletes and the fans of Philadelphia. They weren't afraid to have fun or criticize a player.
Mitch really seemed to enjoy the 2008 championship - and not just because it officially got him off the hook for the Joe Carter home run. Johnny Marz would have loved watching it, too.
But Mitch won't be around to see whether the Phillies repeat. We just found out he's bailing on Philadelphia media to be part of the new MLB network. We haven't decided whether to upgrade our FIOS package to get the new network.
So this leaves another void at the microphone for a former athlete with Philly connections. I know the gut reaction will be just to increase Ricky Bottalico's air time. But might I humbly suggest another former Phillies reliever by the name of Ken Ryan? I know he's busy with his baseball academy, but he has broadcast experience with minor league games.
This endorsement is based solely on Ryan's ability and what's best for Phillies fans. It has nothing to do with generating traffic to our blog.
{So far, I think we've been unimpressed with Ricky Bo. Maybe he'll take some broadcast-speaking classes over the winter and get better with time, but so far he's been pretty dull.}
Jul 17, 2008
Some quiet off day
[Correction added July 18]
With neither the Red Sox nor the Phillies among the eight teams playing as baseball kicks back into action after the All-Star break, we were expecting a slow news day. WRONG!
The big news is the Phillies landed their starter. After hinting that they would be willing to spend money on pitching, they landed Joe Blanton. Oh boy, I'm ecstatic. A guy with an ERA near 5 and a WHIP close to 1.5. I hope Cole Hamels doesn't mind moving down a slot for this guy. When I heard the news, I thought maybe they got a bargain because he's having an off-year. Nope. They gave up two of their top four prospects. There are reasons why they write books about Billy Beane.
On the bright side, Blanton is only 27 and has been able to put up league average numbers for 3.5 seasons during his formative years. The deal also means fewer innings for Adam Eaton. And going back to last year's mid-season acquisitions, I yawned when the Phillies got Kyle Lohse and wondered if the Red Sox would ever give up another run after the 6th inning with Eric Gagne joining Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon in the bullpen.
Serious note: They've finally concluded the grim report on John Marzano's demise. I'm no doctor, but it sounds like it was painful for Johnny Marz.
No way to transition: Manny thinks the Sox stabbed him in the back somehow. I'm tired of Manny's nonsense, so you can go elsewhere for interpretation, spin or psychoanalysis. I just wonder whether the fact that John Henry responded means the top brass is getting tired of it and is seriously considering not picking up his option for next season.
A SoxandPhils legend retires: Hideo Nomo - a Red Sox in 2001 and a Phillie from Oct. 28-29, 1999 - couldn't hack it with the Royals this year and apparently couldn't latch on with another team. He'll be missed. OK, he won't - just seems like the right thing to say.
Phillies share first: The Mets won tonight, meaning for the first time since June 1, the Phillies no longer have sole possession of first place. They're tied, and each team controls their destiny. When the Mets were rallying in the 9th, Christine said "No big deal, look who's got to close it." Interestingly, they didn't turn to the guy who blew the All-Star game on Tuesday. They went to Duaner Sanchez, who got the save. I can't wait to hear what Billy Wagner has to say about that.
{P.S., the Mets were in control of their own destiny last year. Look how that turned out. Their collapse is starting already, courtesy of Pedro Martinez's latest injury.}
***CORRECTION*** Christine won't like reading this, but I owe an apology to Mets token All-Star Billy Wagner. He did record the save last night. I guess the stat tracker I relied on froze with Duaner Sanchez on the mound.
With neither the Red Sox nor the Phillies among the eight teams playing as baseball kicks back into action after the All-Star break, we were expecting a slow news day. WRONG!
The big news is the Phillies landed their starter. After hinting that they would be willing to spend money on pitching, they landed Joe Blanton. Oh boy, I'm ecstatic. A guy with an ERA near 5 and a WHIP close to 1.5. I hope Cole Hamels doesn't mind moving down a slot for this guy. When I heard the news, I thought maybe they got a bargain because he's having an off-year. Nope. They gave up two of their top four prospects. There are reasons why they write books about Billy Beane.
On the bright side, Blanton is only 27 and has been able to put up league average numbers for 3.5 seasons during his formative years. The deal also means fewer innings for Adam Eaton. And going back to last year's mid-season acquisitions, I yawned when the Phillies got Kyle Lohse and wondered if the Red Sox would ever give up another run after the 6th inning with Eric Gagne joining Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon in the bullpen.
Serious note: They've finally concluded the grim report on John Marzano's demise. I'm no doctor, but it sounds like it was painful for Johnny Marz.
No way to transition: Manny thinks the Sox stabbed him in the back somehow. I'm tired of Manny's nonsense, so you can go elsewhere for interpretation, spin or psychoanalysis. I just wonder whether the fact that John Henry responded means the top brass is getting tired of it and is seriously considering not picking up his option for next season.
A SoxandPhils legend retires: Hideo Nomo - a Red Sox in 2001 and a Phillie from Oct. 28-29, 1999 - couldn't hack it with the Royals this year and apparently couldn't latch on with another team. He'll be missed. OK, he won't - just seems like the right thing to say.
Phillies share first: The Mets won tonight, meaning for the first time since June 1, the Phillies no longer have sole possession of first place. They're tied, and each team controls their destiny. When the Mets were rallying in the 9th, Christine said "No big deal, look who's got to close it." Interestingly, they didn't turn to the guy who blew the All-Star game on Tuesday. They went to Duaner Sanchez, who got the save. I can't wait to hear what Billy Wagner has to say about that.
{P.S., the Mets were in control of their own destiny last year. Look how that turned out. Their collapse is starting already, courtesy of Pedro Martinez's latest injury.}
***CORRECTION*** Christine won't like reading this, but I owe an apology to Mets token All-Star Billy Wagner. He did record the save last night. I guess the stat tracker I relied on froze with Duaner Sanchez on the mound.
Apr 21, 2008
What a day
From South Jersey to North Jersey for a noon Communion, to Philadelphia for the finale of the Mets-Phillies series, and back home for a few hours sleep before work. We had a long Sunday. Here are the details:
5:24 a.m. - I wake. I want to get up and go for a walk, but I had promised Christine I wouldn't. I roll over and accidentally kick her. It's not going to be a good day.
5:57 - I wake up again, relieved because I didn't think I'd fall back asleep. My mind doesn't properly compute the time and I think it's 7, not 6. Back to bed for another hour.
6:57 - I finally wake up for real. Do my morning sit-ups. Christine wakes up. We have bagels, pack up in case we don't have time to come home and change, and are out the door at 10:04.
11:37 - We arrive at the church; mass starts at noon.
12:15 p.m. - Christine remembers why we worship at the church of baseball. Services drag more than a Red Sox-Yankees game.
12:29 - During the part of mass where we're supposed to pray for specific dead or sick people, I pray for Adam Eaton. Immediately, I realize I should have prayed for Jimmy Rollins.
1:13 - Church ends. Picture-taking ends at 1:35, and we arrive at the restaurant 15 minutes later after getting some bad directions.
4:00 - We leave the party so we can stop at home to get changed before the game.
4:47 - While listening to the Yankees game, the announcers mention Alex Rodriguez's injury - another victim of the 2007 MVP jinx. And we don't even know yet that J-Roll was DL'd.
5:57 - We get home, change and are out the door at 6:18. Three minutes later, Christine says we're going to switch our ballpark seats because of last week's beer incident. We park at 6:44.
7:01 - Inside the stadium, a squirrel runs in front of us and under a sausage stand. We've never seen a squirrel in Citizens Bank Park before. Three minutes later, while buying a scorecard, I notice they sell Red Sox yearbooks. I buy one to match the 2005 championship edition.
7:58 - Mets fans boo a Richie Ashburn tribute; I don't think even Yankee fans are that classless. Minutes later, they refrain from booing during a moment of silence for John Marzano.
8:15 - Drunk guy from last week feigns an apology; turns out he dropped something again (his ticket) and needs me to get it from under my seat.
8:26 - Chase Utley homers, giving hope that we may actually see a win.
8:46 - Big cheer when they display the score from the 76ers surprise comeback win against the Pistons. (I don't understand why they don't post running scores in the park when baseball games coincide with playoff hockey and basketball.)
8:50 - Mets fans do the Jose soccer chant for Jose Reyes; Phillies fans tauntingly sing it back after he flies out.
9:25 - Kyle Kendrick appears on the big board wishing a happy birthday to all.
9:45 - Utley homers again, giving the Phillies a 4-0 lead, which seems like it may be enough.
9:53 - Mets fans do the Jose chant again; Phils fans can only boo in response after he triples.
9:55 - A cute little kid who spent the game looking through a pack of baseball cards taps me on the shoulder. "Are you a Mets fan?" he asks. "No," I reply to his satisfaction.
10:00 - The prayer didn't work. Eaton is removed without retiring a batter in the sixth. Game is tied by inning's end.
10:13 - We don't know J-Roll or Chris Snelling was DL'd before the game. We add to the chorus of "Who?" when T.J. Bohn is announced as a pinch hitter.
10:37 - Pedro Feliz hits a pinch-hit homer, seconds after Christine cringes that he's in the game. She apologizes.
10:47 - Charlie Manuel does his usual move of pinch-running So Taguchi for Pat Burrell in the 7th inning. Only problem, he waits a whole at-bat before making the move. It's like he's teasing us that he may actually leave Burrell in.
10:59 - So Taguchi misplays a single into a double for Raul Casanova. And Burrell would have botched it worse, how?
11:23 - After a little scare, Brad Lidge ends the game with a great (lucky) play by Eric Bruntlett. The ump hesitates, almost teasing the crowd before calling Carlos Beltran out. Guy in my row starts yelling at me that Bruntlett's the MVP. The play is the Web gem of the night, we later learn.
12:57 - In bed and lights out.
Random notes from the stands: Eaton led off the bottom of the 3rd with a walk. Werth grounded into a fielder's choice that could have been a double play if not for Eaton's hard slide into second. It didn't lead to any runs, but it was good, hard base running by a pitcher. ... Ryan Howard actually made some nice plays in the field. ... A kid in front of us had a sign - the back said "Mets suck," but we never got to see the front. He also wore a mask and gloves to look like a skeleton. He kept putting them on and off all night. We called him Skeletor. ... It was painfully cold and windy again.
Day's stats:
-235 miles driven
-5 hours in the car
-1.5 hours in church
-4 hours in the ballpark
-2 wins, 1 each from Red Sox and Phillies
-2 tired SoxandPhils contributors
5:24 a.m. - I wake. I want to get up and go for a walk, but I had promised Christine I wouldn't. I roll over and accidentally kick her. It's not going to be a good day.
5:57 - I wake up again, relieved because I didn't think I'd fall back asleep. My mind doesn't properly compute the time and I think it's 7, not 6. Back to bed for another hour.
6:57 - I finally wake up for real. Do my morning sit-ups. Christine wakes up. We have bagels, pack up in case we don't have time to come home and change, and are out the door at 10:04.
11:37 - We arrive at the church; mass starts at noon.
12:15 p.m. - Christine remembers why we worship at the church of baseball. Services drag more than a Red Sox-Yankees game.
12:29 - During the part of mass where we're supposed to pray for specific dead or sick people, I pray for Adam Eaton. Immediately, I realize I should have prayed for Jimmy Rollins.
1:13 - Church ends. Picture-taking ends at 1:35, and we arrive at the restaurant 15 minutes later after getting some bad directions.
4:00 - We leave the party so we can stop at home to get changed before the game.
4:47 - While listening to the Yankees game, the announcers mention Alex Rodriguez's injury - another victim of the 2007 MVP jinx. And we don't even know yet that J-Roll was DL'd.
5:57 - We get home, change and are out the door at 6:18. Three minutes later, Christine says we're going to switch our ballpark seats because of last week's beer incident. We park at 6:44.
7:01 - Inside the stadium, a squirrel runs in front of us and under a sausage stand. We've never seen a squirrel in Citizens Bank Park before. Three minutes later, while buying a scorecard, I notice they sell Red Sox yearbooks. I buy one to match the 2005 championship edition.
7:58 - Mets fans boo a Richie Ashburn tribute; I don't think even Yankee fans are that classless. Minutes later, they refrain from booing during a moment of silence for John Marzano.
8:15 - Drunk guy from last week feigns an apology; turns out he dropped something again (his ticket) and needs me to get it from under my seat.
8:26 - Chase Utley homers, giving hope that we may actually see a win.
8:46 - Big cheer when they display the score from the 76ers surprise comeback win against the Pistons. (I don't understand why they don't post running scores in the park when baseball games coincide with playoff hockey and basketball.)
8:50 - Mets fans do the Jose soccer chant for Jose Reyes; Phillies fans tauntingly sing it back after he flies out.
9:25 - Kyle Kendrick appears on the big board wishing a happy birthday to all.
9:45 - Utley homers again, giving the Phillies a 4-0 lead, which seems like it may be enough.
9:53 - Mets fans do the Jose chant again; Phils fans can only boo in response after he triples.
9:55 - A cute little kid who spent the game looking through a pack of baseball cards taps me on the shoulder. "Are you a Mets fan?" he asks. "No," I reply to his satisfaction.
10:00 - The prayer didn't work. Eaton is removed without retiring a batter in the sixth. Game is tied by inning's end.
10:13 - We don't know J-Roll or Chris Snelling was DL'd before the game. We add to the chorus of "Who?" when T.J. Bohn is announced as a pinch hitter.
10:37 - Pedro Feliz hits a pinch-hit homer, seconds after Christine cringes that he's in the game. She apologizes.
10:47 - Charlie Manuel does his usual move of pinch-running So Taguchi for Pat Burrell in the 7th inning. Only problem, he waits a whole at-bat before making the move. It's like he's teasing us that he may actually leave Burrell in.
10:59 - So Taguchi misplays a single into a double for Raul Casanova. And Burrell would have botched it worse, how?
11:23 - After a little scare, Brad Lidge ends the game with a great (lucky) play by Eric Bruntlett. The ump hesitates, almost teasing the crowd before calling Carlos Beltran out. Guy in my row starts yelling at me that Bruntlett's the MVP. The play is the Web gem of the night, we later learn.
12:57 - In bed and lights out.
Random notes from the stands: Eaton led off the bottom of the 3rd with a walk. Werth grounded into a fielder's choice that could have been a double play if not for Eaton's hard slide into second. It didn't lead to any runs, but it was good, hard base running by a pitcher. ... Ryan Howard actually made some nice plays in the field. ... A kid in front of us had a sign - the back said "Mets suck," but we never got to see the front. He also wore a mask and gloves to look like a skeleton. He kept putting them on and off all night. We called him Skeletor. ... It was painfully cold and windy again.
Day's stats:
-235 miles driven
-5 hours in the car
-1.5 hours in church
-4 hours in the ballpark
-2 wins, 1 each from Red Sox and Phillies
-2 tired SoxandPhils contributors
Apr 20, 2008
Farewell Johnny Marz
John Marzano, an honorary SoxandPhil, died this weekend.I'll always remember him from his 1985 Topps Olympic Team card. I wanted to scan it in, but that is still tucked away in my parents' attic. He played 169 games for the Red Sox from 1987 to 1992, never getting a real chance to live up to his potential.
He gets honorary SoxandPhil status because he was a Philadelphia native, played a year in the minors for the Phils, and worked in recent years for WIP and Phillies post-games for Comcast. Christine and I enjoyed listening to his analysis - a compliment we rarely give to a broadcaster. I was hoping his gig with Major League Baseball would be short-lived and he would come back to local outlets.
Unfortunately, that won't happen.
Game notes: The Phillies officially stink against the Mets. It's up to Adam Eaton to avoid the sweep tonight. Since it's a night game, we won't provide wrap-up until Monday night. The Red Sox continue to roll against the Rangers. David Ortiz had another hit.
Hang 'em high: Evil Yankee Kyle Farnsworth got only three games for endangering the life of Manny Ramirez. No bother:
"He don't deserve that. He was just protecting his players," Ramirez said. "You know we hit A-Rod the game before."
Though Ramirez responded by getting out of the way he admitted, "To be honest with you, I never saw the pitch."
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