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On Thursday the Phillies announced that Pat Burrell would sign a one-day contract with the organization and ceremonially retire as a Phillie, next month. According to a release from the Phillies: The 35-year-old will sign a one-day minor league contract with the Phillies, thus officially retiring as a member of the organization that selected him as the very first player in the 1998 draft. He’ll be honored during pregame on Saturday, May 19, by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Burrell wore Phillies pinstripes for nine seasons and ranks fourth in club history in home runs (251), eighth in RBI (827) and ninth in extra-base hits (518). His Phillies career concluded with a World Championship in 2008. His last hit as a Phillie was a double that led to the winning run in the decisive Game 5. Since leaving Philadelphia, Burrell, who was the 1st overall draft selection by the Phils in 1998, played with both Tampa Bay and San Francisco. In his 9 seasons with the Phillies, Burrell posted ...

Former Phillies outfielder Pat Burrell announced on Thursday that his playing days are likely over, due to a recurring right foot injury that limited his action in 2011. According to a report from the Associated Press, Burrell had previously declared that he would contemplate retirement if he was unable to return to full strength. This appears to be the case, however Burrell has not made a final decision. “I have not decided yet, but I don’t think I can play anymore,” Burrell stated. “It hurts me to say that.” The 35-year-old was the first overall draft choice by the Phillies in 1998. He was part of the 2008 club that locked down Philadelphia’s second ever World Series title. The University of Miami product ranks fourth all-time in Phillies history with 251 regular season homeruns. Burrell left Philadelphia as a free agent following the 2008 season, signing with Tampa Bay. He struggled through much of his time there, and after the Rays released him during the 2010 season, Burrell signe...

Pat Burrell is congratulated by manager Bruce Bochy following Burrell's HR on Friday vs. Oakland Pat Burrell in 7 games with his new club, the San Francisco Giants, has contributed with a .333 batting average. Burrell, who could never quite excel with his previous team the Tampa Bay Rays, has driven in 4 runs and slugged two doubles and a homerun in his short time thus far with San Francisco. Burrell smashed his first homerun as a Giant on Friday, against former Phillies prospect Gio Gonzalez, of the Athletics. The Giants won the contest 6-2. Gonzalez suffered his 4th loss to San Francisco on Friday, but he also has 6 wins and a 3.79 ERA through 13 starts thus far in 2010. Burrell's teammate Aaron Rowand is struggling on offense, as he's posted a .223 batting average and .654 OPS this season. Rowand is a .278 career batter and has a career OPS of .782, so surely his 2010 output is far below his typical level of contributions. Oakland has more players than Gonzalez with Phil...

Welcome to PhoulBallz...a place to enjoy random spring training photographs of former and returning Phils, courtesy of the Associated Press and Getty Images. "Pat Burrell, why you wear your clothes like dat?" "For easy access, baby." New Seattle starter Cliff Lee continued work, on Friday, to rehabilitate his surgically repaired foot. He is seen here pretending to throw off the mound, without a ball. Here is a shot of Billy Wagner rocking Braves gear. Billy Wagz is about the only thing in baseball that might annoy phans more than being reminded that Cliff Lee is gone, so I thought I'd toss him in the mix to take your minds off of Clifton. And our last image out of spring training this week, shows that not everyone is all that impressed by and excited about Jayson Werth's beard, as Placido Polanco grew quite tired of all its attention on photo day. -------------------------------------- Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE for stats, trivia and ...

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As Brett Myers departs from the Philadelphia Phillies organization, has another bust of a first round draft pick been secured in team history? Myers was the second highest paid Phillie in 2009. With the Phillies locked into the $12 million range on Myers, there was no chance of him returning. I can easily concede that Myers was successful at times and will forever be cemented in team lore for closing down the 2007 East Division title and for his efforts in the 2008 postseason, but were a few shining moments enough to prove him worthy of a top draft spot? This makes two consecutive offseasons where the Phillies will have cut ties with former first round picks, with last year's casualty being 1998 #1 overall pick Pat Burrell. Letting these players go before they could evolve into the faces of the franchise that Phillies phans hoped they'd both become, in the late 90's, got me wondering if they were busts. That then got me reflecting on all the top draft pick busts I grew up f...

Brett Myers warmed up in the Phillies bullpen on Friday night, but was not called upon to pitch in his first game since May 27th. The Phillies chose instead to use Tyler Walker and Jack Taschner. Myers is expected to pitch in a 6th or 7th inning middle relief role, upon his return to game action. Raul Ibanez continues to slump and that made it easier for manager Charlie Manuel to give Ibanez a night off against a tough lefty like Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez. Ben Francisco got the start on Friday in Houston. Francisco got one hit in four at bats and is batting .217 since joining the Phillies. Raul, meanwhile, has become Pat Burrell, performance wise. Burrell made a name for himself, as a Phillie, by being inconsistent, but generally averaging things out with good offensive totals by seasons' end. Over the first two months of the season, Raul had a .332 batting avg. Since then, Raul has a .222 batting avg. In 64 first half games, Ibanez had 22 HR and 60 RBI. In 42 second half game...

Well, the Phillies beat them in the World Series. They fired back in the off-season by signing our free agent left fielder Pat Burrell. Pat has not performed well offensively for Tampa, due to an injury. Next step for the Rays to get back at the champs?...Act on a rarely used clause, in an agreement between Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball, that allows a Major League club to prohibit promotions by a minor league team within 60 miles of their home. Friday's bobble head give away by Phillies single A affiliate in Clearwater, FL was slated to be the third in a series of figures from the World Championship lineup of the 2008 Phillies. The Rays have nixed tonight's Burrell bobble, as well as any future World Champs bobble figure promotions. PhuturePhillies.com has the full low down. The Clearwater Threshers are forced to apologize to their fans. Some Tampa paper has an article about it and apparently the Rays employ someone named Rick Vaughn . Rest easy, Phils pha...

It is no secret that, right now, Raul Ibanez is making the Phillies look very smart. The Phils ' phormer left fielder, Pat Burrell , is struggling in Tampa with a .238 batting average, 1 homer and 8 RBI, 6 runs scored with a .681 OPS. The new left fielder, Ibanez , is GD wrecking opposing pitchers with a .355 batting average, 7 homers, 17 RBI, 20 runs scores and a 1.142 OPS. Furthermore, Burrell's new club, the Rays, are 3-4 when Burrell drives in at least one run. Our Phillies are 9-2 when Ibanez has at least 1 RBI. Also, Burrell has hit safely in 12 of the Rays' 19 games, while Raul has hit in 16 of the Phillies 19 games. There's no debate, at this stage, that the Phillies made the right call when they let Burrell go, and signed Ibanez to man left field. Hopefully, this will hold true throughout the rest of the season, all the way into the post season. Trends would perhaps suggest that Ibanez will cool off soon, as his career batting average in May is 45 ...

We all saw (and heard) the receptions that Pat Burrell and Adam Eaton got the other day at the Phillies' World Championship ring ceremony. Pat Burrell received the biggest reception of the day. It really had me wondering what exactly it is about Pat that phans love so much. His offensive statistics rank high on Phillies all-time leader boards, but Pat was never an all star and never won any individual recognition, as a Phillie. He was a sometimes-steady hitter, who learned to take more walks over his years, and had slumps as regularly as the weird guy in the cubicle next to me has belching fits and outbursts toward his computer ("Come awwwn! I hate you!"). Patrick the Batrick's performances against division rivals were not very outstanding, despite the misconception that he always killed the Metropolitans (.255 avg vs. Nationals, .249 avg. vs. Braves, .246 avg. vs. Mets, .243 avg. vs. Marlins). Perhaps the affinity for Burrell can be attributed to the fact that he was...

So, if you missed it last time , the initials on his cap stand for The Bat. He's back. He brought his new team along for a visit. Our Phillies beat them (again) tonight, on a Jason Donald walk-off hit, 3-2. The Bat's new team will play at Citizens Bank Park again tomorrow also. Then, on Sunday, it will be on, for real, as the champions of THE WORLD defend their title! The Metropolitans signed Gary Sheffield. I didn't think he'd be fit well with the Phils. Although, he surely would have plenty to play for and prove, after being released this week. The Phillies will open the season with three lefty relievers. "Jay" Happ and new acquisition Jack Taschner have made the opening day roster. Scott Eyre is, of course, the third left hander. Sorry, Koplove and Majewski...your spring ERA's (0.96 and 2.56 respectively) apparently weren't good enough. Macho Row has the full agenda for the opening night schedule, minute by minute. We'll see you all on Saturday...

I have a desk calendar that provides daily trivia, facts and such, all about baseball. Today's question: Who was the first player to have his signature engraved into the barrell of a Louisville Slugger bat? (Pause, think it over.) Today's answer: Honus Wager. One of the recent calendar entries had to do with Curt Schilling leading our Phillies in wins and K's during the 1990's. When the question was asked, the answer came easy for me. But that got me wondering about who the team's offensive leaders were, for the same decade. The hitting leaders would not come to mind as swiftly. In the categories of HR's and RBI, would it take anyone longer than a second to tell you who led the Phillies in those categories in the 1980's? What about the 2000's? (Pause, think it over) In the 90's, was it Rolen? Dykstra? Kruk? Lieberthal? Abreu? None of those are the correct answer. Darren Daulton led the Phillies in homers during the 1990's with 110. His RBI total ...

I have some statistics for you all to ponder. Who remembers that old left fielder for our Phillies named Pat Burrell? It's been a while, but if you still have some memories of him, these numbers could be of interest to you. I just thought we'd take a look at Pat's numbers in Phillies' wins against Pat's numbers in Phillies' losses. In Phillies wins... Batting avg-.296 HR- 159 RBI- 580 Slg %- .570 In Phillies losses... Batting avg- .215 HR- 92 RBI- 247 Slg %- .391 Take from this comparison what you will, but I'd assert that this displays Pat's inconsistencies. An argument could be made that this shows how integral Pat was for our Phillies in wins, but if that's the point of view one chooses, there's no ignoring what type of credit he'd deserve in the losses. Blame. ***** And here is another quick look at the spring performances of John Mayberry Jr. and Greg Golson. Golson was traded for Mayberry in the offseason, as Texas and Philadelphia swap...

My Blogosphere neighbors are always chatting it up, even when I come up short of an original post, on a given day. Here's a trip around the horn and what some other cool blogger types, that I am familiar with, have going on today. It's the story of the day, ladies and gentlemen. It's one of those chunks of news you just can't avoid. Philly Burbs, The Fightins, The Big Lead, With Leather, and others, all had the report on the latest Burrell Girl, Sophia Rossi. Rossi, a "friend" and coworker of adult film icon Jenna Jameson, was on The Howard Stern Show this morning, discussing her celebrity repertoire. From Stern's web site... Sophia Rossi said she dated MLB slugger Pat Burrell "He was immature...he was young at the time." The men at Not Qualified to Comment have a great video up with Stern Show comic Artie Lange telling stories about Bob Eucker and Harry Carey. Sharapova's Thigh has the clip of Matt Vasgersian dropping the biggest curse of...

The 2009 Phillies recorded their first win today! Rejoice, everyone! Our Phils recorded this win against the team they won their last game against, in the fifth and final game of the World Series, the Tampa Bay Rays. Pat Burrell made his return to Clearwater , for the first time as a visitor. Pat was 1-for-2, with a double. Pat's return helped set a Brighthouse Field attendance record at 10,270. Burrell actually looks great in his new uniform. The letters on his hat and helmet no longer stand for Tampa Bay, by the way. It's now "The Bat". Prior to the Phillies ' scheduled game on Wednesday April 8 th , the Phillies have planned their World Series championship ring presentation. The Phillies have invited Burrell and he will attend that ceremony. The Rays are in Boston that night to face the Red Sox , and the schedule works out to allow Pat to make a trip to Philadelphia in the afternoon. John Mayberry Jr. continues to look like a quality acquisition, as he...

...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...

Folks, it's time to bid goodbye to Elvis Burrell. The strapping 115 pound English Bulldog is headed to St. Petersburg, Florida with his daddy, phormer Phillie Patrick the Batrick. Pat recently signed a deal to play baseball with the American League champion Rays. Elvis decided it would be a fine idea to join Pat as he begins this new chapter in his professional career, so Poppa-Pat feels as comfortable as possible. It's very remarkable for children to stand by their aging parents as times and living situations change. In recent years, Elvis became a staple at Phillies phunctions. He was seen at the team's family days, in the clubhouse on game days rocking a jersey with his family name on it, and he'd even partake in spring training. Elvis became such a staple in the Phillies phamily, that the Phillies asked Elvis to lead the World Championship parade on a Budweiser wagon pulled by Clydesdales. Elvis's parents, Pat and mommy Michelle, joined him aboard that wagon to ...

As you've been hearing for over a week, the Rays have serious interest in Pat Burrell to fill their RF/DH needs. Fox Sports baseball insider Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the two sides are close to finalizing a 2 year deal that would pay Burrell roughly $16 million, while ESPN.com is saying the deal is already final. From a phan's stand point, it may seem that general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. may have incorrectly evaluated the market for Burrell, when he thought signing Raul Ibanez for 3 yrs/$31.5 million was the best move. However, Burrell's defense and slow feet made him less desirable in the designated hitter-less National League. Teams like the Rays, who could use Pat's bat alone, were more interested in the veteran with 251 career homers. I imagine this signing will increase interest levels in the Phillies/Rays on-deck series by huge margins. Perhaps an early April battle between Burrell's Girls and Raul's Fools are just what the Phaithful need to kic...

Did you know...that, even with the $423.5 million that the Yankees just promised to CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and AJ Burnett, that their 2009 payroll is slated to be lower than it was in 2008? With several big contracts (Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano) coming off their books, the Yankees had loads of money to spend. Speaking of phormer Phillie Bobby Abreu, the latest rumors state that Abreu is being targeted by two California teams...the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Manny Ramirez remains the Dodgers' first choice to play left field, but they can't wait around while other options that appeal to the Dodgers, like Abreu and Adam Dunn, are available. According to the LA Times, Manny's agent Scott Boras has been out of touch with the Dodgers since Mark Teixeira, another Boras client, signed with the Yankees before Christmas. Those hefty commission checks take some time to deposit, I suppose. Among some mild chatte...

I guess this is news because of who said it. The statement itself is certainly not news to any of us. National League Championship Series MVP and World Series MVP Cole Hamels appeared on a New York radio show on Thursday, and when asked if the Mets are choke artists, he confirmed it. Colbert told one of the WFAN radio hosts, "That’s kind of what we believe and I think we’re going to always believe it until they prove us wrong." He went on to add, "Yeah, for the past two years they’ve been choke artists." The statement is undeniable. I am sure Mets players wouldn't object, if they were asked the same thing. But leave it to the sports media to try and bleed a story out of the Phillies/Mets rivalry. **Breaking news this morning** Raul Ibanez and the Phillies have agreed on a three year contract. This all but gives Pat Burrell a nice pat on the bottom on his way out of town. Ibanez, will get a 3 yr, $30 million contract. Ibanez's numbers are similar to, or bett...