PhoulBallz.com

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...

For $1,000 in the category of Awful Phormer Phillies, the answer is: "This weak hitting outfielder, who could barely bat his weight and totaled just 2 hits after July during his stint with the Phillies in 2005, is replacing new Phillie Raul Ibanez as the starting left fielder in Seattle." Question: "Who is Endy Chavez?" Correct!

PressPass TV has some interesting Phillies videos posted on YouTube. They're mostly from 2007, but certainly worth watching. Check out a couple here. The first video is a feature from Mitchell & Ness showing all the Phillies jerseys over the years. ------------------------------------------ And the second video features a profile of the grounds crew and their activities, with a humorous cameo from Ryan Howard near the end.

Plenty going on in Phillies world today. Chan Ho Park was annointed the 5th starter. Park is extremely pleased, of course. "Jay" Happ's role is not yet known, as the Phillies could use him in the bullpen or keep him in a starting role at Triple A. Geoff Jenkins was released. Jenkins is owed $8 million ($6.75 million for this season, then a $1.25 million buyout for next season). The over abundance of lefties on the bench (Greg Dobbs, Matt Stairs and Jenkins) made Jenkins expendable. Add Jenkins' $8 million to Adam Eaton's $9 million and Jim Thome's $3 million and our Phillies are spending $20 million on players they've parted ways with. The Phillies have reportedly contacted Gary Sheffield, who was released by the Tigers on Tuesday, also. Sheffield is a right handed hitter. Sheff is likely a stretch as an option for the Phillies' bench, as he is best suited as a designated hitter. John Mayberry Jr. or Miguel Cairo should be the righty batter that makes ...

Join PhoulBallz.com at the On-deck Series this Saturday, at Citizens Bank Park. You'll get a super sweet schedule magnet, see Pat Burrell in an opposing uniform and you'll get to check out Cole Hamels in his last spring start. Charlie Manuel announced today that Colbert is definitely out as opening night starter against the Braves. He also announced that Jamie Moyer will start game 2, at home Tuesday night, 4/7. Two key details about the pitching rotation have yet to be made known to the public. 1- Who will start opening night, Brett Myers or Joe Blanton? 2- Who will be the 5th starter, Chan Ho Park or "Jay" Happ? Park made his final start of the spring today. Happ will pitch Thursday. Considering our Phils have 3 days off in the first 10 days of the season, they wouldn't need to use a fifth starter till Monday, April 20th, or so. Among today's roster moves, Marcus Giles was released. Giles told reporters, "I got every chance in the world. It's not th...

John S. "Jocko" Thompson was a left handed pitcher for the Phillies from 1948-1951. Jocko had been in the Red Sox organization prior to World War 2 breaking out, but served military duty as a paratrooper and company commander prior to making his major league debut. Jocko was set to enter the 1942 season with the class A Scranton Red Sox but, when World War 2 broke out, he was called to duty and sent to basic training. After completing training in Louisiana, he became a paratrooper with the famed 504th Paratroop Regiment of the elite 82nd Airborne Division. Thompson and the 82nd Airborne made jumps in nearly every major war zone. One of Jocko's early jumps was into Sicily in 1943. This invasion led to the Allies' capture of dictator Benito Mussolini. The list of Jocko's notable war experiences is long. When the war ended, so did Thompson's military career. Upon his return to the United States and baseball, Thompson was the most decorated professional ball play...

Chris Coste can rest a little easier now that the Phillies have traded away Coste's prime competition for the back up catcher spot. Ronny Paulino was traded twice last night. First, by the Phillies to the Giants for lefty reliever Jack Taschner. Later, the Giants traded Paulino to the Marlins for Hector Correa. Coste told reporters this morning that he is a little relieved, after learning of Paulino's departure. However, he won't feel like his job is guaranteed, and acknowledged a "constant fight to survive" in order to keep his job. It is likely also, that this trade clears an easier path for prospect Lou Marson to climb above both Coste and starter Carlos Ruiz, during the season. ******* Links for you to enjoy... PhilliesFlow has a solid post comparing "Jay" Happ & Chan Ho Park. IronPigPen has content worth reading, as always, today, reviewing IronPigs and R-Phils points of interest. More Hardball is weak on promises, but strong on the World Seri...

The weekend is just about here, but it's not feeling great so far. My college hoops team lost, and my mail included a huge image of Mets star David Wright on the cover of The Sporting News. "All Wright"? Um, I don't really believe it is. Aside from the non-appealing cover, it's the MLB preview issue, so allow me to share some things I learned from this week's magazine. 1- Former Phillie, and regular Sporting News columnist, Todd Jones has gone insane. Jones predicts that Jamie Moyer will win the NL Cy Young Award, and that Manny Ramirez will run for governor of California after the Dodgers win the 2009 World Series. 2- Ichiro Suzuki rocks the party that rocks the body. Metropolitans reliever Francisco Rodriguez compares Jose Reyes to Ichiro, saying they do many of the same things. I must have missed Ichiro performing rehearsed celebratory hand jives after getting a hit or scoring a run in a losing effort. And I know I missed Ichiro getting caught cheating on...

Total Non-stop Action (TNA) Wrestling is holding its monthly pay per view program at the Liacouras Center on April 19th. A few weeks back, wrestling champ "Big Sexy" Kevin Nash visited the Phillies in Clearwater and TNA shot some footage of Nash chatting it up with our Phillies. Former World Wrestling Champ Nash seemed interested in recruiting some of the World Baseball Champs for appearances at the April Lockdown show. Brett Myers, Geoff Jenkins, Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard and even the skipper Charlie Manuel are all seen spending time with Nash. Myers even takes time to tell Nash about the Philadelphia phans and what to expect from the crowd. In an additional note tying the Phillies and TNA Wrestling, Mrs. Hamels' Survivor and Playboy friend, Jenna Morasca is now employed by TNA in a yet to be announced on-air role. Survivor phans may recall Cole's wife, Heidi and Jenna removed their clothing for food, on the show, and then were featured in a Playboy pictorial la...

PhoulBallz.com was lucky to have folk music artist John Flynn take a few moments to answer some questions about baseball, his national anthem performances at Phillies games and his career. You can see John live in person in Wilmington, Delaware this coming Saturday at YoYo Joe's Toys and Fun . -John, you're a Philadelphia area native and a Temple graduate. What is it like to perform in your home town? Its always the best! The more I travel around the country, the more convinced I am that I was lucky to be raised around here... - You've been seen around the area at live shows wearing Phillies gear, and of course at multiple Phillies games performing the National Anthem. Where do baseball and the Phillies rank with you? As someone that grew up in Delaware County in the seventies, the Phillies were always on my radar. But I didn't really become a baseball fan until I became a musician. Driving home from gigs late at night I would pick up Phillies games from the west coast....

Just dropping a little Jewelry here on a classic Phoul Ballz picture . A photograph is usually looked at ... seldom looked into . ************** The same gem applies to the picture below also.

Looking over the Grapefruit and Cactus League statistics this spring, there are surely some surprises. These types of things are worthy of a look, if only to know which guys might be fantasy sleepers, and which guys to stay away from during fantasy draft time. By position, here are your notable bust-outs, and just plain busts, of the spring season so far. Bust-outs... 1B- Mike Jacobs: 18 games, 6 HR, 17 RBI, .320 avg, 13 R, 1.063 OPS. 2B- Mark Teahen: 11 games, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 37 total bases in 11 games, 1.621 OPS. SS- Jed Lowrie: 17 games, 8 doubles, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 1.297 OPS. 3B- Pablo Sandoval: 17 games, 3 HR, 8 RBI, .442 avg, 23 hits, 1.155 OPS. C- Jeff Mathis: 14 games, 4 HR, 10 RBI, .343 avg, 2 SB, 1.244 OPS. OF- Corey Hart: 16 games, 5 HR, 13 RBI, .422 avg, 3 SB, 11 R. OF- Josh Hamilton: 18 games, 3 HR, 16 RBI, .389 avg, 1.085 OPS., 11 R. OF- Jason Lane: 19 games, 5 HR, 12 RBI, .353 avg., 1.115 OPS. P- Francisco Liriano: 6 games, 21 1/3 IP, 19 K, 1-1, 2.95 ERA, 1.04 WHIP. P- Aaron C...