GM for the Day

By Dan MacNeal

If I woke up tomorrow morning as Ruben Amaro, Jr. and GM of the Phillies I’d have a list of what I could do to help the Phillies in one day.   First, if I was Amaro, I’d be going to President David Montgomery’s office (probably find him sleeping, nestled with his World Series ring) and login to his e-mail and delete the tens of thousands of e-mails asking for me to be fired.  Most likely, ol’ Monty doesn’t know how to use e-mail, but I might as well as delete them just in case.

Nice suit, Danny Mac!

Secondly, I’d go down to the locker room and put a wooden chair in front of Danys Baez’s locker, and force him to kick it.  Not talking about one of those weak “I’ll knock the chair down kicks”; I mean a wind up and boot that sucker like a “David Akers trying to nail a 55 yarder to win the game” kick.  Then I’d call up whoever from the Iron Pigs, doesn’t matter who it is.

After I have finished with Baez, I’d find Greg Dobbs whiffing while trying to hit off a tee.  Time to cut bait with him.  Calling up Jason Donald in his place.  Oh, we traded him? Cripes, do we have any decent talent semi-ready for the big leagues? No? Can I still put in a phone call to Nomar? Ok, ok, I’m kidding.  Red rover, red rover send Cody Ransom over….I guess. Not many options with that one. Chuck, keep him glued to the bench until I can trade away a prospect for another journeyman infielder.

Matter of fact, I’m letting everyone in the organization know to not let me do anything involving prospects from here on out.  Dominic Brown must be protected from my destruction.  After that memo is sent out, I’m going to ask Jayson Werth’s agent to grab a bite with me. Wherever he wants, price is no object.  Hopefully I can use this little slump to my advantage for negotiations. How sneaky am I?!?

As for Mr. Ibanez, well fans of the team that won the NL that I built (okay, I know Gillick did most of the work but still), it seems there is nothing really I can do at this point.  Maybe if this was next year and Dom Brown was destroying AAA, putting Ibanez into a bench role would be alright.  No, friends, we may have to ride this one out and hope Rauuuuuulll remembers how to hit.  Only if those sneaky Giants didn’t sign Pat Burrell! Damn, we thought by doing nothing to sign him for two weeks, we’d be able to snatch him up easier! Damn you, Brian Sabien! Who do you think you are?!?

I think next, I’ll head down to McFadden’s and try some of their famous nachos (and you thought this post wouldn’t have nachos in it!!) After that, I’ll spend the rest of my day praying that Halladay’s arm doesn’t fall off until after I’m gone.  If I’m gone, it’s Proefrock’s problem, not mine!

And now, it’s time to wake up.  Boy, listening to McCarthy and Wheels drone on just put me to sleep…wow, dreaming I was GM of the Phils, wow, what a dream.  Or was it…?

This blog post is satire, obviously I do know being a major league GM is hard work and you can’t always listen to the fans or you’ll end up sitting with them (as the old saying goes). Just having a little fun at Rube’s expense.

Five HRs Power D’backs

Mark Reynolds is always a threat to hit a home run. Unfortunately for Cole Hamels, his two-run shot in the fourth fueled a five-run inning that led to a 7-4 win for the Diamondbacks. Arizona hit five home runs on the night.

Hamels (2-2, 5.11) was out-pitched by Kris Benson. Hamels went six innings, allowing six runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out seven. He allowed four homers in the game, three of them in that big fourth inning. Benson (1-1, 3.00) lasted six-plus innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits and striking out five.

The offense never truly got going for the Phillies. Ben Francisco had the only multi-hit game with two hits. Shane Victorino’s triple drove in Hamels after the pitcher doubled in the third inning.

Kelly Johnson went 2-for-4 for the Diamondbacks with two homers. Chris Young had three hits and Josh Upton had a pair of hits to get him over the Mendoza line.

The Phillies got a bizarre run in the top of the fourth inning when Jayson Werth skied a ball deep to center field. As Young caught it, he went to take the ball out of his glove and dropped it. Second base umpire Dale Scott ruled it a drop and Werth, who was hustling the entire way, scored to make it a 2-0 game. The ruling: a four-base error.

They gave it one last go in the ninth inning. Raul Ibanez led off with a walk. Brian Schneider followed up with a strike out. Greg Dobbs pinch-hit and flew out in foul territory in left field. Victorino then hit an RBI single after Ibanez stole second to make it a 7-4 game.

Chad Qualls came into the game to face Placido Polanco. He got Polanco to ground out to seal the game and earn his third save on the year.

Doubles: Hamels (1). Triples: Victorino (2).

WP: Benson (1-1). LP: Hamels (2-2). Save: Qualls (3)

Boxscore.

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On a side note, J.C. Romero made his season debut after rehabbing his elbow. His first opponent was Johnson and he belted a homer to right field, his second fo the night. After he walked Stephen Drew on four pitches, the Phillies yanked him.

It was obvious Romero was rusty, not even coming close to hitting his spots. His fastball was between 88 and 90 MPH, not the full velocity he’s used to. Hopefully he will be fine as he gets back to pitching to major league hitting.

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Chris Wheeler and Tom McCarthy went off on one of the dumbest tangents I have ever heard. They spent an entire inning talking about these two guys dressed like Rey Mysterio’s fat cousins. These guys truly are clowns and make me miss Harry Kalas even more and wish Scott Franzke and Larry Anderson get off the radio and do TV.

Schmidt in the Booth?

Is Mike Schmidt auditioning to be in the Phillies broadcast? After doing the broadcast on Sunday for a few innings, Schmidt will be back in the booth today when the Phillies “host” Tampa Bay. Todd Zolecki reported that Phillies manager of broadcasting Rob Brooks said Schmidt has had some interest in broadcasting and felt this would be a good opportunity. There is a chance Schmidt would broadcast a series during the regular season.

I honestly haven’t heard him in the booth yet so I would be interested in hearing how it works out. Could we be seeing a crew of T-Mac, Wheels, Sarge, and the Stache? Should be interesting.

FIM #9: Harry and Whitey

One dazzled people with his play on the field. The other dazzled them with his amazing voice. But what made them so special was their friendship and team work in the broadcast booth years after the former retired. Richie Ashburn and Harry Kalas were two of the greatest broadcasting duos in all of sports and captured so many hearts in Philadelphia. Moment #9 will be when they died at their respective ages.

Ashburn was as smooth in the box as he was in center field when he played in the 40’s and 50’s. When I look back at baseball history, there are a few players who I would love to have seen play. Sure I want to see Babe Ruth, Micky Mantle, Willie Mays or Joe DiMaggio but when it comes to watching a Phillie play, Ashburn is the type of player I want to see. He could hit, play defense, steal bases, and just simply hustle.

In 1963, Ashburn worked along side By Saam in the broadcast booth. In 1971, Kalas joined the duo and when Saam retired in 1976, “Harry and Whitey” would broadcast together for 21 more years. Ashburn had the honor of being inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1995 for his service to baseball on and off the field. Ashburn planned on retiring after the 1997 season but suddenly died of a heart attack after a Mets/Phillies game. In honor of Ashburn, the center field pavillion in the new Citizens Bank Park was named “Ashburn Alley.”

Kalas had to move on but could never stop grieving the death of his best friend. When he took over, he was joined by many guys including former pitcher and member of the 1993 team, Larry Anderson, Tom McCarthy, and Chris Wheeler. In 2008, Kalas was sideline for a few games due to a detached retina. Kalas was named to the baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Then on April 8, 2009, Kalas partook in the opening ceremonies in which the Phillies were handed their championship rings. It was his last home game. On April 13, he collapsed in the broadcast booth in Washington hours before the Phillies played the Nationals. He died 90 minutes later.

The city was hit so hard when Ashburn died and was hit even harder after Kalas passed. The city, not even through the 1964 collapse or Joe Carter’s home run or anything the other 3 professional teams did hit the city like the deaths of our greatest voices. They were the voice of the Phillies and the voice of the city of Philadelphia. Now they’re calling the Phillies games from the heavens.