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Australian native Tim Kennelly has been enjoying some serious success thus far in the 2011-2012 Australian Baseball League season. The righty hitting utility man is tearing up opposing pitching while playing for his hometown club in the second season of this current incarnation of professional baseball down under. In the early going, the 25-year-old leads the ABL with a .529 batting average and has helped his club, the defending ABL champion Perth Heat, to a league-best 11-0 record, including an 8-0 mark on the road. Kennelly's 1.237 OPS is also tops in the league. Kennelly has been a multi-positional player throughout his career in the minors, spending plenty of time at catcher, third base and in the outfield. Such versatility has helped Kennelly earn playing time within the Phillies organization. With the Heat, Kennelly is valuable to his team in the same manner, splitting his time at various spots. Originally signed by the Phillies in 2003 at age 16, Kennelly has posted a .263...

Plenty of things going on around Baseball Land that are worth mentioning. Take a look, and catch yourself up. The Rookie Career Development Program is an annual MLB event, held every January, where top prospect are brought together to learn about life in the big leagues. It is designed to allow the young players to prepare for what lies ahead of them off the field...dealing with the media and finances, as well as any pressures that may arise at home or in the clubhouse. The symposium was held last week, and Phillies prospect right handed pitcher Phillippe Aumont, who was acquired in the Cliff Lee trade, was there. In an interview posted on Phillies.com ( here ), the Canadian born Aumont was asked about his language barrier coming from a background where French was his first language, and learning English on his own. He stated that, "It took me a while. It took me a few years to get over my stage where I was shy to speak and make mistakes and everything. And now I feel more c...

Folks, it is September. The stretch run to the post season is finally here. The wild card leading (tied with Colorado) San Francisco Giants (72-59) visit Philadelphia for a three games series, taking on the first place Phillies (75-53). The Giants are 28-38 on the road, while the Phillies are 34-30 at home. Read on for a review of the pitching match ups and other key notes. Tuesday, 7:05pm. Jonathan Sanchez (6-10, 4.27 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (7-8, 4.52 ERA). Sanchez is 3-2 with a 3.59 ERA in 8 starts since he threw a no-hitter against San Diego. In 6 career games against the Phillies, Sanchez is 2-1 with a 4.60 ERA. Hamels, in 5 career starts against the Giants, has a 3-1 record with a 5.03 ERA. Last season in 5 September starts, Colbert was 3-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 5 starts. Wednesday, 7:05pm. Possibly Brad Penny? vs. "Jay" Happ (10-3, 2.63 ERA). Penny was signed to a minor league deal by the Giants and should be sliding into their rotation this week, as Tim Lincecum was pushe...

Carlos Leon has become a Phillies minor league fixture in recent years. Leon has played in the Eastern League for 9 seasons. Originally signed by the Red Sox organization, Leon landed with the Phillies in 2004 and has played at three levels with the Phillies since then. Currently playing as a reserve infielder with double A Reading, Leon is batting .218 through 68 games this season. I had a chance to speak with Carlos, the oldest Reading Phillie, last week and here's how that went down. Tell me a bit about your role on the team. Well, my role on the team is to help the young guys. Help the infielders, ya know. I play, like, two times a week. Play defense, movie the runners, and just help the young guys, like (Brad) Harman. I've seen you play a lot of years in the Eastern League. How much longer do you think fans can expect to see you here? I want to keep playing till my body tells me to quit. I am going to turn 30 years old at the end of this month, and feel like I am 20 years ...

Brad Harman is the starting second baseman for the double A Reading Phillies. The 23 year old Australian was signed as an amateur free agent in 2003. He is currently batting .202 with 5 homers and 39 RBI this season. Harman was up with the big league Phillies last season, filling a roster spot while Jimmy Rollins was on the disabled list. Harman appeared in 6 games for the World Champion Phillies in 2008. I had a chance to speak with Brad recently. Here's how that went down. Can I get some comments from you about your season thus far? Probably very disappointing the way things have panned out. I just keep trying to work hard and get better each day, and that's all I can do. What aspects of your game are working to improve? It's more an offensive thing, I think, just very inconsistent. The way things can go well for a couple weeks, then die off, as long as I have. So, just consistent hitting, consistent approach, plan and just all around consistency with the offense. How was...