It's the End of the World As We Know It

...And we should all feel fine. I know where everyone's heads are. Some phans may be thinking the worst. The Phillies have begun the pre-season with 3 losses and no wins. How can we ever recover? Relax...it's not that bad.

I'll tell you method #1 for recovery- release Adam Eaton. Method #1, completed! That is all.

Still not feeling better? Just consider that these games mean nothing. And take notice of the fine spring performances so far for Jamie Moyer, Carlos Carrasco, "Jay" Happ, John Mayberry Jr., Raul Ibanez, Pablo Ozuna, Greg Dobbs, Jason Donald, JC Romero and Gary Majewski. Oh also, forget about the awful spring performances so far from Andrew Carpenter, Sergio Escalona and Joe Bisenius.

So, back to Eaton. Yes, the Phillies finally bit the proverbial bullet and gulped down hard to eat the $9 million that they owe him. Eaton spoke to reporters after the release and the most intriguing comment he made was this..."I know there's a lot still left in my arm." He also insisted he's healthy and pondered that he should have opted for surgery last offseason. Read plenty more Eaton quotes in multiple posts over at The Wonderful World of Scott Lauber.

Adam Eaton will forever be mentioned as Pat Gillick's (only?) huge error in judgement. Yes, Gillick was the general manager who returned a championship parade to Philadelphia after a 25-year drought, but Adam Eaton underperformed so badly, that he will forever be the stain that the folks over at "World Series Trophy Cleaners" could not get out of Gillick's Hawaiian Phillies shirt.

Phriend of PhoulBallz "MLR Joe" points out that Eaton's Wikipedia page has already been updated with this terrific ph'n news.

In other news, ailing Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore has backed out of the World Baseball Classic and Shane Victorino has been chosen to take his place. Shane will join Jimmy Rollins on the team USA roster. Other Phillies in the WBC are Carlos Ruiz with team Panama, Matt Stairs with team Canada, and the Australian triple threat of prospects- Drew Naylor, Joel Naughton and Brad Harman.

The Lakewood BlueClaws announced their bobble head giveaways for the season, this week. For you Phils phans that either got shut out of the sold out Charlie Manuel bobble head night at CBP on April 28th, or simply can't make it, our friends the BlueClaws will have a Charlie Manuel World Series Champions bobble head doll giveaway on June 15th.

Lastly, here is your official Pat Burrell on the Rays in Spring Training Report. Patrick the Batrick batted twice in the Rays' spring opener on Wednesday and was hitless in two at bats. Today, Elvis's daddy also batted twice and got a single.

Stats to Ponder: Jimmy Rollins Edition

J-Roll has batted under .200 for a calendar month twice in his career. In April 2004, Rollins went 13-for-71, for a .183 average. The following month, Rollins went 30-for-107, which is a .280 average. And in August 2005, Rollins went 22-for-117, for a .188 average. The month that followed saw Rollins go 49-for-122 for a .402 average. Rollins is batting .171 so far in May 2009. Improvement is not far away for Jimmy. The Phillies are 10-2 in games this year which Rollins scores at least 1 run. The Phillies are 4-12 in games which Rollins does not score. Jimmy Rollins in 6 games against the Braves this year is batting .071 (2-for-28). In 2008 Rollins batted .284 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2007 Rollins batted .347 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2006 Rollins batted .367 against the Braves in 18 games. Jimmy Milestone Watch: 6 more RBI and Rollins will tie Scott Rolen for 25th all time in Phillies RBI leaders. 7 more triples and Rollins will tie Richie Ashburn for 4th all time i...

Crawford's Chronicles: JP Crawford talks Spring Training

JP Crawford, image- Jay Floyd Entering this year as the widely regarded top prospect in the Phillies organization, J.P. Crawford will be taking time each week to provide insight directly from inside spring training in Clearwater, FL, right here on PhilliesNation.com. Crawford, 20, was named the top positional prospect in two leagues (Class A South Atlantic League and Class A Advanced Florida State League) last year, when he combined, in 123 games, to post a .285 average, 11 homers, 48 RBI and 24 stolen bases. He also represented the Phils organization in the MLB All-Star Futures Game last season. As the 2015 campaign approaches, the six-foot-two 180-pound lefty batter is expected to reach the Double-A level and continue to prove why the Phillies selected him in the first round of the 2013 draft. In this initial installment of our weekly check-in with J.P., he shares thoughts on a variety of topics, including his exclusion from big league camp, which member of the big leagu...

Phreestyle Battle & Notes

Unrelated to baseball, really...but it's fun and our Phils are off today. This new kid on the hip hop scene, Charles Hamilton , whose single Brooklyn Girl is ripping up radio and video count downs, was at PSU for a performance recently. A freestyle battle ensued, and as you'll see, the Penn State student held his own. Stay tuned for the ending. It's the best part. Here are some random Phillies-in-idle baseball thoughts and notes- Colbert Hamels is slated to make his Grapefruit League debut tomorrow vs. Team Canada. Shane Victorino is going to wear #50 on his jersey for Team USA, a nod to Hawaii Five-O. Brad Lidge is likely to not see game action till next week, after he throws some more bullpen sessions and works out the tightness in his forearm. Albert Pujols is declaring "respect for his country" as reasoning for sitting out of the Cardinals' exhibition this week against Team Dominican Republic. He told reporters, "I don’t want to play against them...

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