Beating the Mets sounds great in any language June 12, 2009
Posted by Brian in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, Raul Ibanez, baseball, sports, video.add a comment
Comcast SportsNet-Philly featured a chat with the lead announcer for the Phillies’ Spanish-language affiliate during last night’s Phillies-Mets game, which the Phillies won 6-3 after Raul Ibanez hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 10th inning.
After Ibanez hit the home run, CSN played the Spanish version of the call, which The Fightins has posted online (thanks!).
Today is my 30th anniversary…as a Phillies (and Philly) fan April 22, 2009
Posted by Brian in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, baseball.1 comment so far
Phillies logos during my 30 years of "phandom."
For the first eight years of my existence, my dad raised me to be a New York Mets fan, believe it or not. Growing up in Brick, N.J., we would make one or two trips each summer to Shea Stadium to watch the Mets play, but I never really got into it. Strangely, though, my favorite player from those awful Mets teams in the mid-to-late 1970s was catcher John Stearns. More on that later.
But my dad grew tired of making the drive up to Shea from our house in Brick, which was located close to Route 70, an east-west state highway that extended all the way to Pennsauken, N.J. From there, one would merge for a short time onto Route 38, pick up Route 130 South, and then head on over the Walt Whitman Bridge to South Philadelphia. In other words, it was an easy 90-minute drive. Hence, my dad decided we were going to see the Mets play the Phillies at Veterans Stadium on Sunday, April 22, 1979.
Initially, I was upset — mostly because I was a temperamental 7-year old (I would turn 8 in July). But Shea Stadium was the only ballpark I knew and that’s where I wanted to go.
However, once we got to “The Vet,” something happened. First of all, compared to Shea, The Vet was spectacular (The Vet may have been a dump in reality, but Shea was — by far — the bigger dump.) Plus, there was the Phanatic! That was fun. And the Phillies had a pretty good pitcher on the mound that day…future Hall of Fame southpaw Steve “Lefty” Carlton. And I remember Pete Rose, in his first year with the Phillies, diving into the first couple of rows of seats along the first-base side to catch a foul pop. And for the first seven innings, Carlton and the Phillies were cruising along with a 2-0 lead going into the eighth. I immediately switched allegiances and became a Phillies fan.
That’s probably where the day went wrong for the Phils, as the Mets went up 4-2 in the eighth, when Carlton surrendered three runs before reliever Ron Reed gave up an unearned run in the frame. That would turn out to be the final score, but it didn’t matter…I had a new team.
(By the way, I didn’t remember all those details…most are courtesy of the great Retrosheet.org.)
And when we left the stadium, we wound up walking next to offices for the Eagles. I asked my dad who they were and he said they were Philadelphia’s football team. I asked about the arena across the street and he told me that’s where the Sixers and Flyers play. So, really, April 22, 1979, marks the day I became a fan of all Philly teams — and of sports, in general.
But Phillies baseball became my greatest passion that day. And, because I was at the game, I hadn’t yet heard the legendary broadcast team of Harry Kalas and Richie “Whitey” Ashburn calling the Phillies games…that was another plus of being a fan of the team.
Although my dad was still primarily a Mets fan, he began to like the Phillies, too, and we went back to The Vet a few more times that year — and for many years after that (my dad has pretty much become a Phillies fan these days…his days as a Mets fan ended when they fired Bobby Valentine as manager). The Phillies — after winning three straight NL East titles from 1976-78 — finished in a disappointing fourth place in 1979. Of course, in 1980, they became world champions of baseball for the first time in the franchise’s long history.
And that brings me back to Mets catcher John Stearns. As I mentioned, he was my favorite Mets player around 1977 and ‘78. Since I wasn’t a big sports fan back then, I never looked at Stearns’ career statistics or history. It wasn’t until a few years later that I learned that Stearns was drafted in 1973 by — guess who — the Philadelphia Phillies. In December 1974, he was traded to the New York Mets. The key player the Phillies received from the Mets in that trade? Relief pitcher Tug McGraw, who struck out Willie Wilson in the ninth inning to clinch the Phillies’ World Series title in 1980.
So, before I became a Phillies fan, my favorite player on the Mets turned out to be a former Phillie (Stearns played one game with the Phils in September 1974) whose trade allowed for the iconic image of Tug McGraw’s celebratory leap upon winning the 1980 World Series to become a reality.
I guess it was just meant to be.
Goodbye, Harry…and thank you, Phillies April 18, 2009
Posted by Brian in Harry Kalas, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, baseball, sports.add a comment
This fan-made artwork was one of many tributes to Harry Kalas left outside Citizens Bank Park
I, along with many Phillies fans, paid their final respects and said goodbye to longtime broadcaster Harry Kalas at a memorial service held this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia.
My fiancee and I got on line at 8:30 a.m. and entered the third-base gate about 40 minutes later. Once through the turnstiles, I saw a table with free coffee set up on it. As a huge fan of coffee, especially a little after 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning, I was excited. However, I caught a glimpse of two people standing a bit beyond the coffee station…and I was floored.
I whispered to my fiancee, “Oh, wow! Bill Giles and David Montgomery are up there greeting everybody.”
Now, Bill Giles is one of the Phillies’ owners and is the team’s chairman. David Montgomery is president and chief executive officer of the Phillies. And they were personally shaking hands with every single person walking into the ballpark and thanking them for being there.
During the late 1990s and the early part of this decade when the Phils were pretty much dreadful, both of these men took a lot of heat from some of the very fans they were now shaking hands with on a very emotional day.
Seconds after I noticed them, a few other people on line in front of us did too…and had pretty much the same reaction as I did (“Oh, wow!”). I said to a guy in front of us, “That is real class. They did not have to do that.” He agreed.
It was the first of many first-class touches the Phillies displayed during the day. And that’s one thing I want to bring up in this post…for all-non Phillies fans out there, say what you want about Philly fans and the teams, but anytime the Phillies hold a ceremony, they always do a top-notch job with it. Some of the so-called “upper crust” teams in baseball might want to take a lesson from the Phillies on how to stage a special event.
OK…so, anyway…I was going to write a lot more, but it really comes down to this: The Phillies did a great job this week with honoring the legacy and memory of Harry Kalas. And they capped it off with an outstanding memorial service and final goodbye to an icon whose voice will echo around my mind for the rest of my life.
Sound of Summer Silenced (for Harry the K)
6:24/8.8 MB
This is a song I wrote over the days following Harry Kalas’ death. I used some radio calls, which are likely not covered by fair use, but I felt they added to the song and were an appropriate tribute. I’ll remove them if asked.
Valentine’s Day recap featuring Ben Folds, blurry pic police and temporary dining rooms February 15, 2009
Posted by Brian in Ben Folds, Ben Folds Five, Music, MySpace, Philadelphia, Valentine's Day, WXPN, YouTube, concert, links.Tags: Gracenotes, MiniatureTigers
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UPDATED 2/17/09 to include YouTube video…
Ben Folds performs “Fair” in Dallas, Texas, during an October 2008 performance (link).
Because Ben Folds was playing at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia last night, my girlfriend, Alison, and I basically celebrated Valentine’s Day on Friday night. We exchanged gifts, she made me dinner and I gave her flowers…you know…all that stuff.
But we had made reservations for an early evening dinner Saturday at Copper Bistro in the Northern Liberties section of Philly since it is close to where the Electric Factory is. We get to the front door of the restaurant and there is a greeter outside…and nobody in the restaurant. After asking if we had reservations, he informs us that a problem with the restaurant’s oven hood meant the place was full of smoke. However, the owner was good friends with the owner of a small art gallery across the street, so the Copper Bistro staff moved all the tables and chairs over to the gallery, which served as dining room for the night. It was very resourceful and it was nice to see area businesses working together, especially in these times.
And the food was pretty good overall. The desserts were a bit of a let down, but the coffee was good and that’s all that matters to me after a meal.
Anyway, after dinner, we headed to the Electric Factory. Now, I am not one of those people at concerts who are constantly taking pictures — mostly because my photos usually turn out awful. But I like to take a few just to post on the ol’ blog. You may notice, however, that there is no photo to go along with this blog entry. I will explain that in a bit.
Knowing that I have received some pretty serious pat-downs upon entering the Electric Factory, I gave Alison my camera and my Flip camcorder to put in the bottom of her purse. In the past, it always seemed that women breezed through the security check while I was getting scrutinized for the various contact lens solutions I always carry around with me. This time, it was different…they didn’t even touch me, but they were going through all the women’s bags. Fortunately, Alison got through without the staff confiscating either camera.
However, they must have confiscated a lot because an announcement was made just before the night’s opening act, Miniature Tigers, took the stage that told people where to pick up their cameras before leaving.
So I wasn’t even going to attempt to take out my digital camera or the Flip. But I figured it wouldn’t hurt if I attempted to get one or two pics of Ben with my Blackberry.
Ben Folds and his band — now a five-musician unit — hit the stage around 10 p.m. and opened with “Fair” (see video of October 2008 performance above) from the Ben Folds Five CD “Whatever and Ever Amen”…a song I love that I haven’t heard Ben play live in quite some time. About a minute into the song, I noticed that everybody around me had their camera out taking pictures, including a few who were using flashes. Because I know any pic I take with the Blackberry is going to be crappy without using the flash, I figured I would try to take the photo and try to blend in with the 50 people or so around me who are taking pictures.
I take the pic and almost immediately, an Electric Factory staff member comes up behind me and tells me to delete the photo and to put the phone away…and that I would be thrown out if caught taking another photo.
So that was the end of my picture taking. But what bothered me was that, for the remainder of the night, there were people in my immediate vicinity who were obviously raising their cameras up to take photos and video. BUT NOTHING WAS SAID TO THEM. And since the LCD screens on these cameras were so freakin’ noticeable, I could see these photos and videos were coming out 50 times better than the piece of crap blurry pic that existed on my Blackberry for about 15 seconds. AGAIN, NOTHING WAS SAID TO ANY OF THESE PEOPLE. I think the “camera police” guy busted me and, possibly, the guy to my left, and that was it.
Hopefully, I will eventually find these better pics somewhere on the Interwebs and I will, as Mike Doughty says, gank one to accompany this blog post.
OK…so now that my rant is over about that, how was the show?
First, Miniature Tigers opened with a pretty decent set. I had listened to a couple of their songs on their MySpace page to familiarize myself a bit with them and didn’t really like what I had heard. But they sound much better live. And, even though Miniature Tigers are apparently gaining popularity among the young folks (they will be at South By Southwest next month), I don’t think I’ll be jumping on the bandwagon any time soon…just not my cup of tea.
In between Miniature Tigers and Ben Folds, the all-female Gracenotes a cappella group from West Chester University performed two original songs and then a version of “Fred Jones, Part 2″ from Ben’s “Rockin’ the Suburbs” CD, which the group recorded with Ben for an upcoming disc featuring 18 a cappella groups from various colleges, universities and high schools performing songs from both Ben’s solo catalog and those from the Ben Folds Five days.
And, like I said, Ben Folds and his four fellow musicians hit the stage around 10 p.m. and knocked it out of the freakin’ park. Aside from nearly getting tossed out for taking a blurry picture with my Blackberry, this may have been the best show I have seen Ben play…especially with a band. He did an incredible solo show a few years ago in Princeton, N.J., that I hold in high regard. But last night’s show may have topped it.
By my count, he played 26 songs that covered a lot of musical territory. I don’t remember the setlist in sequential order, although I am trying to find an accurate setlist on a couple of the Ben Folds-dedicated forums that are out there. In the meantime, I have put together this list of songs based on what CDs they appeared and which were from the Ben Folds Five days:
BEN FOLDS – WAY TO NORMAL ( 2008 )
Effington
Brainwascht
You Don’t Know Me
Hiroshima
Before Cologne/Cologne
Free Coffee
Kylie From Connecticut
Dr. Yang
Dr. Yang (from the “fake leak” version of the CD)
Bitch Went Nuts (from the “fake leak” version of the CD)
Way to Normal (from the “fake leak” version of the CD)
BEN FOLDS – SONGS FOR SILVERMAN (2005)
Bastard
Landed
BEN FOLDS – ROCKIN THE SUBURBS (2001)
Annie Waits
Zak and Sara
The Luckiest (which he dedicated to his wife…contradicting an article published online just two days earlier stating that his fourth marriage, to Fleur, had recently ended)
Not the Same
BEN FOLDS FIVE (in order I remembered what songs were performed):
Fair
Alice Childress (with a credit to WXPN for making it an early “hit” for BF5)
Eddie Walker
Army
Lullabye
Underground
Philosophy (including Misirilou and a bit of Theme from Dr. Pyser at the end)
Kate
Emaline
Any Ben Folds show that features “Army,” “Emaline,” “Philosophy,” “Underground” and “Alice Childress” are considered freakin’ sweet by default. “Fair” and “Kate” made it that much better.
UPDATE (1:47 p.m. ET/2-15-2009):
Here is a setlist, courtesy of thesuburbs.org.uk:
onstage 10:00 PM
1. Fair
2. Effington
3. Brainwascht
4. You Don’t Know Me
5. Annie Waits
6. Alice Childress
7. Way To Normal
8. Lovesick Diagnostician (fake Dr. Yang)
9. Dr. Yang
10. Hiroshima
11. Bastard
12. Landed
13. Free Coffee
14. Eddie Walker
15. Lullabye
16. Emaline
17. The Luckiest
18. Kylie From Connecticut
19. Army
20. Underground
21. Not The Same
22. Cologne
23. Bitch Went Nutz
encore:
24. Zak and Sara
25. Kate
26. Philosophy
offstage 12:05 AM
Phinally…Phillies are World Series champions! October 29, 2008
Posted by Brian in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, baseball, sports.1 comment so far
Brad Lidge closes out the 2008 World Series. (Source: Philly.com)
For the first time since 1980 and for only the second time in franchise history, the Philadelphia Phillies are the world champions of baseball after beating the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3, at Citizens Bank Park on October 29, 2008. The Phils won the best-of-seven series in five games.
The victory also gives Philadelphia its first major professional sports title since 1983, when the Sixers won the NBA championship.
Savor this, Philly fans…you deserve this.
And congratulations to Charlie Manuel and the 2008 Fightin’ Phils! Thank you very much for this.
The Phillies are 2008 National League Champions!!! October 15, 2008
Posted by Brian in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, baseball, sports.add a comment
Added more photos…
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- Philadelphia Daily News 10/16/08 – Back Page “Cole Train!”
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- Philadelphia Daily News 10/16/08 – Front Page “We’re Back!”
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Phillies fans celebrate at Frankford and Cottman after their team won the 2008 NL pennant, 10/15/08.
Woo hoo! This is so freakin’ sweet. Now, it’s on to the World Series!
Congratulations to Charlie Manuel and the Phillies!
Watching Game 5 of the 2008 NLCS October 15, 2008
Posted by Brian in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, baseball, sports.add a comment
Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins leads off Game 5 of the 2008 NLCS with a home run. (Philly.com)
RECENT UPDATES AT BOTTOM
Posted at 9:13 p.m. ET
Well, it is the bottom of the second inning and I am so hoping the Phillies wrap up the 2008 National League pennant with a win over the Dodgers tonight…not just because I am a HUGE Phillies fan, but because I will run out into traffic to avoid hearing the audible vomit coming out of FOX announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.
McCarver won’t stop with his “Cole Hamels does not look right” schtick and keeps calling Phils catcher Carlos Ruiz (Ru-eez), Carlos Ru-ez.
Also, I don’t want to hear crap from anyone about Phillies fans. Yeah, there are a good number that are dopes who overdose on mega-dopey 610 WIP. But most are pretty intelligent…really. And you know what else? They show up for playoff games.
They just showed a shot of Dodger Stadium — keep in mind it is now the top of the third inning as I type this sentence — and there appears to be 35,000 (if that) there. The place holds 56,000. Now, I know the stereotype of the typical Dodger fan is that he/she arrives late and leaves early. But reports earlier today said that StubHub was reporting tickets going for as low as $8 at one point. At that same time, the average price for a ticket to tonight’s Game 5 was just $89 on StubHub.
$89…for Game 5 of the NLCS. Are you kidding me? So the great Dodgers fans don’t want to be there for what could be the final game of the season for their beloved team…some loyalty, eh?
That being said, since I have been typing, they showed another crowd shot and it looks a bit more full, but there are plenty of empty seats still visible.
Anyway, the Phils are up 1-0 at this point and they have two men on with two outs in the third…Ryan Howard, who seriously needs to get a big hit soon, is at the plate.
And he just missed an extremely hittable 1-1 fastball on the inside part of the plate for strike two…the next pitch is in the dirt to make it a 2-2 count to Howard…here is the 2-2 pitch…BASE HIT TO RIGHT FIELD…JIMMY ROLLINS SCORES, CHASE UTLEY GOES TO THIRD…RUNNERS ON THE CORNERS FOR PAT BURRELL…2-0 PHILLIES!
OK…I’ll post a bit later…unless Pat Burrell adds onto the lead.
Posted at 9:15 p.m. ET
And Pat Burrell DOES add onto the lead with a single to right…Utley scores to make it 3-0 and Howard went to third to again put runners on the corners, still with two outs. And, with Shane Victorino at the plate, a wild pitch sends Burrell to second and now Victorino will be intentionally walked to load the bases for Pedro Feliz. And now there will be a pitching change, as Dodgers manager Joe Torre comes out to take out starter Chad Billingsley.
Posted at 11:23 p.m. ET
Well, Cole Hamels struck out Jeff Kent looking with two men on base to end the seventh inning to close the book on his day…and, again this postseason, the lefty came through for the Fightins with seven strong innings. The only blemish was a solo home run off the bat off, you guessed it, Manny Ramirez in the sixth.
The Phils went up 5-0 in the fifth inning when Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal made three errors in the inning, including two on one play. With one out and runners on first and second, Pat Burrell hit a grounder to Furcal’s right. Furcal got to the ball, but then booted it…literally. He kicked the ball away from him, allowing Chase Utley to score from second. Furcal compounded the first error by making a wild throw home that allowed Howard to go to third and Burrell to advance to second.
After Shane Victorino was intentionally walked for the second time in the game, Pedro Feliz struck out and Carlos Ruiz hit a grounder to Furcal for what appeared to be the third out of the inning. However, Furcal made an awful throw to first that allowed Ruiz to reach safely and plated Howard with the Phils’ fifth run of the night. Here is my photographic tribute to the Dodgers in that inning:
As I type this, the Phils hold a 5-1 lead in the top of the ninth and need closer Brad Lidge to get three more outs in the bottom half of the frame to reach the World Series for the first time since 1993 and the sixth time in franchise history.
Phils one win away from NL pennant, World Series berth October 14, 2008
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Matt Stairs celebrates 2-run, eighth-inning homer that gave the Phillies the lead en route to a 7-5 win over the Dodgers in Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS. (Source: Philly.com)
Video: Brett Myers’ epic NLDS Game 2 walk off C.C. Sabathia (pitches 7-9) October 3, 2008
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Here is video of Phillies starting pitcher Brett Myers’ epic, nine-pitch, two-out walk off Brewers ace C.C. Sabathia in the second inning of Game 2 of their NL Division Series on Oct. 2, 2008. The video, shot from the right-field, upper-deck stands, picks up at pitch number 7 of the at-bat. After Myers walked, Jimmy Rollins walked on four pitches to load the bases for Shane Victorino, who deposited a 1-2 pitch into the left field seats for a grand slam that put the Phillies up 5-1 en route to a 5-2 victory. I was at the game in Sect. 431 far down the left field line…and it was freakin’ awesome.
Olga’s Diner is in trouble! July 25, 2008
Posted by Brian in New Jersey, Philadelphia, links, news.add a comment
Olga's Diner - Marlton, NJ (from populationfive.com)
Although it really hasn’t been a great place to eat in years…and I have only eaten there a handful of times in my life, Olga’s Diner in Marlton, NJ, is a landmark to many in these parts. While growing up in Brick, NJ, my family would make many trips to Phillies games by taking Route 70. Olga’s was right there on the Marlton Circle and it kind of represented an official crossing into Philly territory en route to Veterans Stadium.
Well, for the second time this month, Olga’s has had to close its doors because it couldn’t pay the bills. Earlier in July, Olga’s was closed for one day because the gas bill had not been paid. But now, it is much, much worse…today, the state of New Jersey seized Olga’s because the family that owns it is $37,000 behind in back taxes.
Although a family member says the plan is to pay the $37,000 to the state and get Olga’s reopened, it doesn’t seem likely that the diner’s long-term outlook is good.
