Skip to main content

South Jersey's Rice and Others Released By Phils

On the heels of a string of cuts this week, the Phillies released three more players from minor league camp on Friday, including outfielders Bill Rice (pictured) and Brent Clevlen as well as catcher Jeff Lanning.

Rice, a native of Sewell, NJ, was signed by the Phillies following a tryout at Lakewood's FirstEnergy Park in June, 2010. Always a standout at every amateur level he has played, Rice's lifelong dream of competing as a professional was achieved when the team he grew up cheering for offered him a contract.

Last year, in 46 combined games with the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies and the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, the 5-foot-11-inch 185-pounder sported a .296 batting average with 1 HR, 13 RBI and 10 stolen bases.

After watching several teammates receive similar news in recent weeks, the lefty hitting speedster was stunned to learn he was being released early Friday.

Speaking exclusively with PhoulBallz.com's Jay Floyd, Rice expressed his greatest appreciation for the Philadelphia organization.

"The Phillies helped me out in so many ways, in the game of baseball and life as well," Rice said. "I've learned so much these past couple years and have all of my coaches and people in the organization to thank for that, along with the chance to do what I love and getting a shot at professional baseball."

With no plans on giving up on continuing to live his dream, the 23-year-old Rice feels his pro career is nowhere near finished.

"I feel they made a mistake in releasing me but it is a business and I can't hold that against them. I wish all the guys in the organization much success, but I do plan to take this opportunity to prove them wrong," Rice stated.

With a clear emotional investment that predates his contractual ties with the organization that gave him a shot, Rice also expressed an undying attachment to the club that had just parted ways with him.

"It's hard to get released, especially from the team you rooted for your entire life, but I have always been a Phillies fan and as short as my time was with them, I will forever be a Phillie at heart," Rice confessed.

Clevlen was signed by the Phillies after being released by the Braves and the Reds organizations at separate points last season. The 28-year-old was a 2nd round draft choice of Detroit back in 2002 and has played in 59 combined big league games with the Tigers and Braves.

Lanning was signed in 2010 after being released by the Twins organization. The 24-year-old was an 8th round draft selection of Minnesota in 2008. In 43 games last year with Class A Lakewood, Lanning posted a .260 average with 8 doubles, 5 HR and 12 RBI.

_________________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

You can also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

PhoulBallz Q&A with Mike Stutes

Mike Stutes completes "The Reading Phils Mike Tri-fecta" over three days, here on PhoulBallz.com. Stutes, a 22 year old, was an 11th round selection by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Stutes, a right handed starting pitcher, helped lead Oregon State to the College World Series championship in both 2006 and 2007. Stutes and teammate Vance Worley are the first players to begin a season at Reading the year after being drafted since Pat Burrell did it in 1999. Stutes was the Phils' minor league pitcher of the month in August '08, when he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts. Check out my Q&A with the third Mike below. Can I get you to talk about the coaching staff and how they help you deal with ups and downs? They've been real positive with me. I started out good and then I hit a rough patch. They've stuck with me through it all. I haven't heard any negative words from them. Every day they try to come out, work with me, try to get me turned around...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

**** Today, New York Yankees fans attended a Pepsi promotion in Times Square hoping for chances to win opening day tickets to the new stadium, but the tickets, which were difficult to track down due to poor organization on Pepsi's part, were actually for a game in June. Furthermore, the 250 pairs that were promised were actually only 100 pairs. The fans, who were made to sprint through traffic over multiple city blocks when locations for the promotion changed, quickly turned against the soda brand by pooring out their beverages and chanting anti-Pepsi phrases. Yankees fans are even threatening a boycott of Pepsi. An appearance by Yankee great Goose Gossage could not even settle the angry mob, as he had to be whisked away, as a precaution, according to the Daily News . Ooo , I'd hate to see what "the worst fans in sports" (Philadelphia fans) would have done to their free Pepsi cans and beloved reliever in that situation. Because this happened in a non-Philly city, th...