Skip to main content

Fightins Quotables: Hewitt, Alonso & Wathan Speak

While covering the Double-A Reading Fightins over the past week, I collected a ton of feedback from many players and coaches. With so much material in the hopper, here are some quotes that I didn't want readers to miss from 2008's top Phillies draft pick Anthony Hewitt, U Del product and utility infielder Carlos Alonso as well as team manager Dusty Wathan.

Anthony Hewitt, Image- Jay Floyd
-Hewitt (.139/.149/.181 slash line in 24 games this season) spoke of if there's any mental impact related to his struggles at the plate thus far in 2014...

Mental impact? I don't even know. I'm struggling, (but) I'm just going out there every day, grinding, having fun, having a positive attitude, getting my work in on and off the field and, you know, that's all I can do. It's a game of failure. Just, right now, no hits are falling. No luck's turning my way, but I'm sure that tomorrow, today, whenever it's gonna happen, good luck's gonna fall my way, hits are gonna start falling my way. Everything comes in bunches and I can wait till the bunches start coming my way.

-The 25-year-old Hewitt on if he is discouraged with the lack of offense he has produced, when he was able to be more productive last season at the same level...

No, not discouraging at all. It's just that's just the way it is. That's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. You just gotta stay positive and stay at it and, um, you know, things unfold the way they're supposed to be at the end of the season. It's still early. We still got plenty of season to go.

-Hewitt on if he is ever frustrated when his name is not in the lineup...

No, that thought process doesn't even come to mind. I just come to the field every day ready to work and with the mindset that I'm gonna play and that's how I feel you gotta keep it. Let's say someone gets hurt during the day, I'm ready to go. My mindset doesn't change. I come to the ballpark ready to play and that's it. That's the mindset I'm always going to have, whether I'm playing or not.

-Carlos Alonso on playing in front of fans in Reading that grew up as true Phillies fans...

Yeah, I mean it's awesome. Anytime you can be in front of a fan base that's excited to be there to watch you play, you just kind of feed off the energy in the crowd. Especially, coming from Florida, where the few fans that go are great, but it's not the same type of excitement, because these are actual Phillie fans. So, there's definitely a lot of passion and it's fun to play in front of them.

-Alonso on playing a road series in Trenton that doesn't feel like a road series because of the favorable turnout...

It's kind of funny. It's almost like the crowd is divided. You look over to their side- it's almost like we're playing on a neutral field. Because on their side, they got a bunch of Trenton fans, then on our side you see all the red and the Phillies hats and uniforms and stuff. We love the support and it doesn't almost feel like a road series because we have so much support out there.

-Wathan speaks on outfield prospect Aaron Altherr, who opened the season on the disabled list with a wrist injury...

"He's done well. He stepped into the middle of the lineup and he's held his own. He's behind a little bit (after) missing a lot of games in spring training, so, you know, when he first got here, I think his timing was off a little bit and he was trying to catch up with some at bats. But, every day it's getting a little bit better and I think he's doing well.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...