Homegrown case closed

I caught some of MLB Network's 30 in 30 on the Phillies this morning. This year, the network selected an all-time team of homegrown talent. I like that twist; for example, it was interesting seeing an all-time Yankees team without Babe Ruth in right field.

But this dimension had some curiosities in the Phillies lineup. I figured the infield would be the current team plus Mike Schmidt at third. Nope. Ryan Howard and J-Roll made the cut with Schmidt, but not Chase Utley. It was Ryne Sandberg. At this point, I can accept a spirited debate over which of these two has had a better career, but on a list like this, Utley's seven dominant years that occurred in a Phillies uniform should far outweigh the 13 games Sandberg played for Philly.

I was actually more surprised when they got to closer: Ricky Bottalico, whose sixth slot on the all-time Phillies save list is in serious danger, providing Brad Lidge is able to convert six more. But the network quickly noted that Mitch Williams wasn't homegrown and neither were any other notable Phillies closers.

Out of the top 10 - Jose Mesa, Steve Bedrosian, Williams, Tug McGraw, Ron Reed, Bottalico, Lidge, Turk Farrell, Jack Baldschun and Billy Wagner - only Ricky Bo and the Turk were homegrown.

Out of curiosity, I checked the Red Sox list. They have a much better quality of homegrown closers on their list, but not that many more names. The top three - Jonathan Paplebon, Bob Stanely and Dick "The Monster" Radatz - are homegrown, but the last seven are not - Ellis Kinder, Jeff Reardon, Derek Lowe, Sparky Lyle, Tom Gordon, Lee Smith and Bill Campbell.

I guess good closers don't grow on trees.

Off the top of my head, and without verifying who is homegrown, here's my prediction for the Red Sox team: C-Carlton Fisk, 1B-Mo Vaughn, 2B-Bobby Doerr, 3B-Wade Boggs, SS-Nomar Garciaparra, OF-Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice, SP-Roger Clemens, RP-Papelbon. We'll see how close I am on March 11.

Alumni - current and future

Last year's Alumni Batting Challenge was a washout. Literally. So we weren't sure that they would get this year's in, especially because we woke Sunday morning to monster downpours.

I know how hard it rained because I was off to the hardware store first thing in the morning to get supplies to fix the gaping holes the fallen shelf had put in our coat closet.

But by the afternoon, the sun was out, and the old-timers - Mitch Williams (hacking away at the right), Ricky Bottalico, Dickie Noles, Jim Eisenreich, Milt Thompson and Ricky Jordan - were swinging away.

That was largely the same lineup we should have seen last year, except swap in Tyler Green and Ozzie Virgil for Noles and Eisenreich.

We arrived a little bit later than we planned and were still gathering our concessions when the action started.

"Why is it so quiet?" Christine asked as the still-filling-up park sounded like a church.

"Ricky Bo's batting," I said. "They're letting him concentrate.

We missed his swings, but were seated for the sluggers: Eisenreich (seen on the left), Thompson (who could use some pointers) and Jordan (the only one who hit a home run - two out to left).

With so few balls leaving the yard, the former Phils gave plenty of fielding practice to those patrolling the outfield.

A young player, really green, was a crowd-pleaser whenever he caught one. We saw him nab at least two.

He had a real unconventional fielding method, which made him appear as if he were floundering about fishing for the ball.

In fact, you can see to the right that he seems perplexed by the ball he had snared.

In the end it was the gray team, the Rickys, Bottalico and Jordan, that prevailed.

When we heard Ricky Bo had 46 points, we had no idea that would be one of the highest totals of the day.

The Rickys won with 101 points followed by the Phils of '93 (Williams and Eisenreich) with 78 points while hitting coach Thompson and Noles took up the rear with 66 points.

But I'm sure the points mattered less to the alumni than gathering on the field again with their comrades and taking some hacks at the yard.

One funny thing ... after the contestants gathered for a group photo, Mitch Williams quickly ran off. It might have been the quickest we saw a Phillie move the whole day (except maybe when Shane Victorino charged the ump after getting ejected).

Future alum: Jamie Moyer may not participate in alumni gatherings after he finally retires. He's mad and feels betrayed by the organization for sending him to the bullpen:

I will take what they've asked me to do, but I'm not really excited about the decision that has been made. Ultimately, I'm a little dishearted because this past winter when I was negotiating with the Phillies this was a sore thumb, if you will, about this potentially happening.

You can't promise anything in this game, but I really felt that Ruben (Amaro Jr.) parlayed to me that this type of situation would not happen. Actually, even had some discussion with David (Montgomery) with them reassuring me that this type of situation wouldn't happen.

He got things off his chest before tonight's game, but wouldn't take questions. I thought he would take the move professionally - publicly at least.

Tonight's action: Junichi Tazawa's first big league start didn't go off well. A Nick Green error capped a three-run 1st inning for the Tigers. Mike Lowell - replacing Kevin Youkilis who was ejected for charging the mound - hit two home runs and Jason Bay hit one to give the Red Sox a 6-3 lead in the 7th.

Making his first start since being removed from the guillotine, J.A. Happ didn't pitch a shutout like last time. But he got NO support, until shortly after I typed that line. Carlos Ruiz spoiled Rich Harden's perfect game with a walk in the 6th. Jimmy Rollins ruined his no-hitter, shutout and hopefully win. In the 8th, Phillies 3, Cubs 2.

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.}