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New Chicago White Sox shortstop Omar Vizquel has contacted Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio and requested permission to wear his retired jersey number, 11. Vizquel, like Aparicio, is a native of Venezuela. Aparicio, also a shortstop, was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1956, a 10-time all star, a 9-time Gold Glove Award winner and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984. Vizquel, an 11-time Gold Glove Award winner, has worn number 13 with other teams during his career, but in Chicago, that number belongs to manager Ozzie Guillen. The inquiry was made when Vizquel reached out to Aparicio, requesting his approval of an effort to honor the long retired legend. In a statement, Vizquel said, "For me, it's like a huge celebration, trying to keep his name alive and trying to spread the word of Venezuelan shortstops." Unfortunately, Vizquel couldn't be bothered to think of another more proper way to pay homage to those that came before him and Aparicio couldn't fi...

Just touching on some recent noteworthy tidbits... A quiet move that the Phillies' front office made in November is just coming to light. Pat Gillick re-signed with the organization to stay on as senior advisor to team president Dave Montgomery through 2011. To read more about that, click this link . This coming season's Rodrigo Lopez could very well be Oscar Villarreal. The 28-year-old righty is coming off Tommy John surgery and was signed to a minor league contract by the Phillies last week. If you recall, last season Lopez was signed to add depth to the minors. Lopez was used at the Major League level to fill voids left by injured pitchers during the 2009 season. Additional details on the Villarreal deal can be found here . Ryan Howard was in Miami for the Super Bowl over the weekend with a date. TheFightins has all your info and a picture of Howard's lady. Check that out by clicking here . Seats for the May 18th Phillies' Roy Halladay bobblehead give away are sold o...

John Titus was an outfielder for the Phillies from 1903-1912. Titus was likely best remembered for his durability and quirky mannerisms. An older rookie at 27 years old, Titus didn't miss a start for nearly 8 years, once he joined the Phillies' lineup. A nickname given to Titus by his teammates was "Silent John", for his quiet demeanor. Teammate Kid Gleason once joked about Titus, "He doesn't even make any noise when he spits." On a Phillies roster full of loud personalities, Titus let his game efforts speak for themselves. Another nickname Titus acquired was "Toothpick Titus" for his habit of taking the field with a toothpick dangling from his mouth. Titus claimed he needed the toothpick to dislodge the chewing tobacco that would become stuck in his teeth throughout a game. Opposing pitchers, at times, tried to separate Titus and his toothpick, by pitching inside and knocking him to the dirt. No one ever succeeded. The best offensive season of...

Phillies pitching prospect Justin De Fratus wore multiple hats for the SAL Champion Lakewood BlueClaws during the 2009 season. He pitched in a relief, started, and made the SAL All Star team. In November this off-season Baseball America declared that De Fratus had the best control in the Phillies minor league system. This week I had the opportunity to speak with Phillies De Fratus about his off-season training among other things. Here is how that went down. I have heard talk in the past about your training regimen and that you throw foul pole-to-foul pole...true or false? Talk a bit about that... Haha... I've never actually thrown from foul pole to foul pole because it would kind of get in the way of the practice at my college, but I do get out pretty far during my long toss sessions. It is my belief that the best way to strengthen my arm is to max it out as far as I can for as long as I can while staying within the proper throwing mechanics. Although, I have never actually gone fo...

That Jersey Shore program sure was a big hit for MTV this winter. There was no avoiding this show. It was cheesy television at its finest. Even folks who managed to dodge what seemed to be 24/7 repeats of Jersey Shore for 8 or 9 weeks, were subjected to astounding references to the show via other media outlets. Everything from sports talk radio to your friends' social networking site updates were sure to contain blurbs, debates or content about the show. With that saturation in mind, this week, I was wondering what some Phillies might look like, if they got Jersey-fied. I did some calculations...have a look- Here is an image of how Carlos Ruiz would appear if he got a blow out and a sweet orange tan. Seems like he'd fit right in with the cast of the show. How do you say, "The Situation" en Espanol? Oh, and next we have Ruiz's battery mate, Roy Halladay. Here's Roy with a spray tan, tats and his own blow out hair-do. Would night clubs allow a guy carrying a Cy...

Phans, have you grown to adore your very own radio color guy and former Phils pitcher Larry Andersen more than any color commentator since Richie Ashburn? Do you enjoy his nightly banter with radio play by play man Scott Franzke more than you enjoy Crab Fries and Schmitters? Has your love of "LA" come close to equalling your love of seeing that Liberty Bell at Citizens Bank Park getting rung? Well...your feelings for Larry might get a little more intense very quickly, as you read the next couple lines. A little known detail about the day Harry Kalas died is that Larry Andersen performed CPR on Harry in the broadcast booth of Nationals Park until paramedics arrived. Andersen revealed the information while speaking to students at Temple University on Tuesday. Some previous reports stated that director of broadcasting Rob Brooks performed CPR on Harry Kalas. Larry Andersen did his darnedest to save the life of one of Philadelphia's most beloved media and sports figures...a m...

The culmination of the baseball winter leagues is upon us. Beginning this afternoon, the annual Caribbean (World) Series will pit the league champions from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Mexico & Puerto Rico will face off, while Venezuela faces the DR on the first of six days for the series. Venezuela's Margarita Island will play host to the event. After months of highlights, classic games and hot stove coverage...LIVE baseball will return to television today. All games of the Caribbean Series will be broadcast on MLB Network. Those stuck at work or away from their television will be able to follow each game via MLB.com's game day feature. Not sure who to root for? How about the Leones from the DR? Recent Phillies pitching acquisition Jason Standridge is on the Dominican pitching staff. In 4 games this winter, Standridge has been excellent, going 2-1 with a 1.09 ERA and 21 strike outs in 24 2/3 innings pitched. Switch hitting outfielder Freddy Gu...

Phillies pitching prospect Brody Colvin was arrested late Saturday night on misdemeanor charges. The 19-year-old 2009 draft pick was charged with disturbing the peace, simple battery and resisting an officer when he was arrested late Saturday night in a bar district in his hometown of Lafayette, La. Colvin was released and is scheduled to return for a court appearance on April 1st. The complete arrest report is not expected to be available for 5-10 business days. Colvin, a righty pitcher, was a 7th round pick in the 2009 amateur draft and pitched in one game for the Gulf Coast League Phillies last year before being sent to the Florida Instructional League. Colvin was regarded as an early round talent prior to the draft, but dropped to round 7 because he was expected to attend college and not turn pro. The Phillies were able to sign Colvin shortly before the August deadline last year. ------------------------------------- Bill over at CrashburnAlley has an article kicking around the opt...

George "Dode" Paskert was an outfielder with the Phillies from 1911-1917. The speedy Paskert's career in the Majors began with Cincinnati in 1907, but following a superb season in 1910, when he batted .300 while stealing 51 bases, Paskert was traded to the Phillies in an 8-player trade in which George McQuillan was the key piece on the other side of the deal. In just his second game with Philadelphia, "Dode" displayed a big dose of what could be expected from him in the field. Facing the NY Giants at the oddly shaped Polo Grounds, Paskert tracked down a long fly ball in the outfield gap off the bat of Fred Snodgrass. The ball appeared to be a sure extra base hit, until the swift Paskert closed in quickly, dove parallel to the ground and speared the ball with his bare hand. Teammate Sherry Magee, playing Left field that day, would later call it the greatest catch he had ever seen on a ball field. Paskert's efforts at the plate were generally on pace with hi...

Have you ever wondered what the offspring of Jimmy Rollins and Michael Clarke Duncan would look like? If you have, wonder no longer. It would look exactly like Jose Contreras. Contreras, the newest addition to the Phillies' pitching staff, finalized a 1-year $1.5 million deal this week. The 38-year-old Contreras was in Philadelphia on Thursday to meet with the media. Through a translator, Contreras told reporters, "I'm very happy to get the opportunity to come here. I want to give my best to the team. I'm ready. I'm prepared to (start) or be in the bullpen. If I have to carry the bats, I'll carry the bats. I just want to win." General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. spoke also and stated that, in the team's opinion, Contreras is best suited for a relief role. Amaro Jr. went on to describe Contreras as a "low-risk, high-reward type of guy". ----------------------------------------- Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE to ...

If you missed Charlie Manuel's press conference, on Tuesday, that was referred to as his State of the Phillies Address, you can view some of it by clicking here . In the latter portion of that clip, Manuel speaks about the dependable relievers that the Phillies have acquired this offseason...Jose Contreras and Danys Baez, stating, "Let me tell you something. We got two guys, if they're sore, or stiff, or got a headache, or they don't feel good, they'll pitch. And I know they'll pitch. And both of these guys are mentally tough guys. And that makes me feel good and I know both of 'em can pitch at least two innings. And I know they'll take the ball every time I want to give it to them. I know Baez will not turn the ball down." There's no question that Charlie Manuel is pleased with the acquisitions of each of these pitchers. The question remains, who was Manuel so sour toward that he feels like the Phillies have had pitchers who didn't truly w...

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...