PHILLY (Loosely Related to The Philadelphia Phillies)

Cliffy6745

Oh Hell Yes. Weather is gonna suck tomorrow, but I'll be there Sunday with bells on

http://www.philly.com/philly/living/20160520_After_nearly_20_years__the_grease_pole_is_back.html

Philly is the best

The Juggler

Wawa...now in Florida

http://www.phillyvoice.com/people-florida-went-nuts-opening-new-wawa/

Ledbetterman10

Double Post

Ledbetterman10

Here's a baseball scenario for you guys that my friend and I like to joke about. There is, in our opinion, a right and wrong answer to this:

Man on second, nobody out. You're a member of the hitting team in dugout. Your clean-up hitter comes to the plate and he grounds out to the second baseman. When he returns to the dugout, do you give him a high-five for moving the runner to third?

Cliffy6745

Ledbetterman10 said:

Here's a baseball scenario for you guys that my friend and I like to joke about. There is, in our opinion, a right and wrong answer to this:

Man on second, nobody out. You're a member of the hitting team in dugout. Your clean-up hitter comes to the plate and he grounds out to the second baseman. When he returns to the dugout, do you give him a high-five for moving the runner to third?

Yes. Technically it was a successful at bat. I am not a fan of sac bunting, but moving a guy over is significantly better than a K. The clean up hitter throws a wrench in it, but if you give the number 9 hitter a high-five, you give every hitter a high-five.

Jearlpam0925

Haha. There's a lot of things I can say on this matter....but I won't.

Keep Philly Weird.

Cliffy6745

Jearlpam0925 said:

Haha. There's a lot of things I can say on this matter....but I won't.

Keep Philly Weird.

The grease pole?

Ledbetterman10

Cliffy6745 said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

Here's a baseball scenario for you guys that my friend and I like to joke about. There is, in our opinion, a right and wrong answer to this:

Man on second, nobody out. You're a member of the hitting team in dugout. Your clean-up hitter comes to the plate and he grounds out to the second baseman. When he returns to the dugout, do you give him a high-five for moving the runner to third?

Yes. Technically it was a successful at bat. I am not a fan of sac bunting, but moving a guy over is significantly better than a K. The clean up hitter throws a wrench in it, but if you give the number 9 hitter a high-five, you give every hitter a high-five.

See I disagree. I feel that since he's the cleanup hitter, you'd be patronizing him. Especially when his job is to drive in runs when guys are in scoring position. So where another batter (certainty the 8th or 9th batter) might deserve the high-five, I wouldn't give one to the cleanup hitter.

This debate actually began on a drunken Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park two years ago. My friend and I were sitting right next to the Phillies dugout (the best seats I've ever had a Phillies game actually) when, with a man on second and nobody out, Howard hit a soft bouncer to the second baseman, moving the runner to third. Now my friend is a little similar to The Fixer in that he was on the "this is the worst-contract ever" side of the fence pretty early on with Howard. And as Howard began trotting back to the dugout after grounding out, my friend starts screaming at the players in the dugout "DON'T YOU DARE HIGH-FIVE HIM FOR MOVING THE RUNNER OVER! DON'T YOU DARE! IF IT WAS FREDDY GALVIS YOU COULD BUT NOT RYAN!!!" It was funny.

Cliffy6745

Ledbetterman10 said:

Cliffy6745 said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

Here's a baseball scenario for you guys that my friend and I like to joke about. There is, in our opinion, a right and wrong answer to this:

Man on second, nobody out. You're a member of the hitting team in dugout. Your clean-up hitter comes to the plate and he grounds out to the second baseman. When he returns to the dugout, do you give him a high-five for moving the runner to third?

Yes. Technically it was a successful at bat. I am not a fan of sac bunting, but moving a guy over is significantly better than a K. The clean up hitter throws a wrench in it, but if you give the number 9 hitter a high-five, you give every hitter a high-five.

See I disagree. I feel that since he's the cleanup hitter, you'd be patronizing him. Especially when his job is to drive in runs when guys are in scoring position. So where another batter (certainty the 8th or 9th batter) might deserve the high-five, I wouldn't give one to the cleanup hitter.

This debate actually began on a drunken Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park two years ago. My friend and I were sitting right next to the Phillies dugout (the best seats I've ever had a Phillies game actually) when, with a man on second and nobody out, Howard hit a soft bouncer to the second baseman, moving the runner to third. Now my friend is a little similar to The Fixer in that he was on the "this is the worst-contract ever" side of the fence pretty early on with Howard. And as Howard began trotting back to the dugout after grounding out, my friend starts screaming at the players in the dugout "DON'T YOU DARE HIGH-FIVE HIM FOR MOVING THE RUNNER OVER! DON'T YOU DARE! IF IT WAS FREDDY GALVIS YOU COULD BUT NOT RYAN!!!" It was funny.

I get what you're saying and everyone knows their role on the team, but I feel like that it is incredibly patronizing (probably not the right word..more of a slap in the face) to the 8 or 9 hitter. I could go either way on this.

The Juggler

Ledbetterman10 said:

Cliffy6745 said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

Here's a baseball scenario for you guys that my friend and I like to joke about. There is, in our opinion, a right and wrong answer to this:

Man on second, nobody out. You're a member of the hitting team in dugout. Your clean-up hitter comes to the plate and he grounds out to the second baseman. When he returns to the dugout, do you give him a high-five for moving the runner to third?

Yes. Technically it was a successful at bat. I am not a fan of sac bunting, but moving a guy over is significantly better than a K. The clean up hitter throws a wrench in it, but if you give the number 9 hitter a high-five, you give every hitter a high-five.

See I disagree. I feel that since he's the cleanup hitter, you'd be patronizing him. Especially when his job is to drive in runs when guys are in scoring position. So where another batter (certainty the 8th or 9th batter) might deserve the high-five, I wouldn't give one to the cleanup hitter.

This debate actually began on a drunken Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park two years ago. My friend and I were sitting right next to the Phillies dugout (the best seats I've ever had a Phillies game actually) when, with a man on second and nobody out, Howard hit a soft bouncer to the second baseman, moving the runner to third. Now my friend is a little similar to The Fixer in that he was on the "this is the worst-contract ever" side of the fence pretty early on with Howard. And as Howard began trotting back to the dugout after grounding out, my friend starts screaming at the players in the dugout "DON'T YOU DARE HIGH-FIVE HIM FOR MOVING THE RUNNER OVER! DON'T YOU DARE! IF IT WAS FREDDY GALVIS YOU COULD BUT NOT RYAN!!!" It was funny.

Your friend is irrational. He advanced the runner. HIGH FIVES ALL AROUND!

Jearlpam0925

Cliffy6745 said:

Jearlpam0925 said:

Haha. There's a lot of things I can say on this matter....but I won't.

Keep Philly Weird.

The grease pole?

Yeah, among other South Philly Eye-talian traditions.

IRRegardless, I'll bring this back around to baseball...in #1 draft pick topics....I think the best play is Jason Groome. Seems like the consensus is, traditionally, you don't go high school pitcher with the top pick. You need a can't miss thing. But the overall draft class at the top seems to not have any standouts. So, I say go with the local high school lefty that's a giant, already has three established pitches, and effortlessly throws 95 consistently with really good delivery.

Baby him, limit his innings, and by the time he's 21 you should be contending, or at least close to it, and boom you have your horse for years to come. Seems worth it to me, compared to the jumbled mix of players that are now being considered for the #1 pick. I say fuck it, and just go with Groome.

Ledbetterman10

The Juggler said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

Cliffy6745 said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

Here's a baseball scenario for you guys that my friend and I like to joke about. There is, in our opinion, a right and wrong answer to this:

Man on second, nobody out. You're a member of the hitting team in dugout. Your clean-up hitter comes to the plate and he grounds out to the second baseman. When he returns to the dugout, do you give him a high-five for moving the runner to third?

Yes. Technically it was a successful at bat. I am not a fan of sac bunting, but moving a guy over is significantly better than a K. The clean up hitter throws a wrench in it, but if you give the number 9 hitter a high-five, you give every hitter a high-five.

See I disagree. I feel that since he's the cleanup hitter, you'd be patronizing him. Especially when his job is to drive in runs when guys are in scoring position. So where another batter (certainty the 8th or 9th batter) might deserve the high-five, I wouldn't give one to the cleanup hitter.

This debate actually began on a drunken Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park two years ago. My friend and I were sitting right next to the Phillies dugout (the best seats I've ever had a Phillies game actually) when, with a man on second and nobody out, Howard hit a soft bouncer to the second baseman, moving the runner to third. Now my friend is a little similar to The Fixer in that he was on the "this is the worst-contract ever" side of the fence pretty early on with Howard. And as Howard began trotting back to the dugout after grounding out, my friend starts screaming at the players in the dugout "DON'T YOU DARE HIGH-FIVE HIM FOR MOVING THE RUNNER OVER! DON'T YOU DARE! IF IT WAS FREDDY GALVIS YOU COULD BUT NOT RYAN!!!" It was funny.

Your friend is irrational. He advanced the runner. HIGH FIVES ALL AROUND!

Not sure if this a serious post from you or if The Fixer hacked your account and is being sarcastic. Either way, my friend is certainly irrational and it goes beyond his baseball views. Take this recent conversation about golf for example.

Him: I played great the other day.
Me: Oh yeah? What'd ya shoot?
Him: 116
Me: Umm....
Him: You played yesterday right?
Me: Yeah
Him: What'd ya shoot?
Me: 91
Him: You fucking suck.
Me. Umm......

Jearlpam0925

I think I like your buddy. Remember - always tell those that are better than you that they suck.

Ledbetterman10

Jearlpam0925 said:

I think I like your buddy. Remember - always tell those that are better than you that they suck.

Yeah he's a good guy. Strange as hell...but a good guy.

Cliffy6745

The Juggler said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

Cliffy6745 said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

Here's a baseball scenario for you guys that my friend and I like to joke about. There is, in our opinion, a right and wrong answer to this:

Man on second, nobody out. You're a member of the hitting team in dugout. Your clean-up hitter comes to the plate and he grounds out to the second baseman. When he returns to the dugout, do you give him a high-five for moving the runner to third?

Yes. Technically it was a successful at bat. I am not a fan of sac bunting, but moving a guy over is significantly better than a K. The clean up hitter throws a wrench in it, but if you give the number 9 hitter a high-five, you give every hitter a high-five.

See I disagree. I feel that since he's the cleanup hitter, you'd be patronizing him. Especially when his job is to drive in runs when guys are in scoring position. So where another batter (certainty the 8th or 9th batter) might deserve the high-five, I wouldn't give one to the cleanup hitter.

This debate actually began on a drunken Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park two years ago. My friend and I were sitting right next to the Phillies dugout (the best seats I've ever had a Phillies game actually) when, with a man on second and nobody out, Howard hit a soft bouncer to the second baseman, moving the runner to third. Now my friend is a little similar to The Fixer in that he was on the "this is the worst-contract ever" side of the fence pretty early on with Howard. And as Howard began trotting back to the dugout after grounding out, my friend starts screaming at the players in the dugout "DON'T YOU DARE HIGH-FIVE HIM FOR MOVING THE RUNNER OVER! DON'T YOU DARE! IF IT WAS FREDDY GALVIS YOU COULD BUT NOT RYAN!!!" It was funny.

Your friend is irrational. He advanced the runner. HIGH FIVES ALL AROUND!

Word up

JK_Livin

I'd give a low five.

pjhawks

Ledbetterman10 said:

Here's a baseball scenario for you guys that my friend and I like to joke about. There is, in our opinion, a right and wrong answer to this:

Man on second, nobody out. You're a member of the hitting team in dugout. Your clean-up hitter comes to the plate and he grounds out to the second baseman. When he returns to the dugout, do you give him a high-five for moving the runner to third?

for the 4th hitter in the lineup. fuck no. the 4th hitter in the spot grounding out to 2nd is a failure.

Ledbetterman10

pjhawks said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

Here's a baseball scenario for you guys that my friend and I like to joke about. There is, in our opinion, a right and wrong answer to this:

Man on second, nobody out. You're a member of the hitting team in dugout. Your clean-up hitter comes to the plate and he grounds out to the second baseman. When he returns to the dugout, do you give him a high-five for moving the runner to third?

for the 4th hitter in the lineup. fuck no. the 4th hitter in the spot grounding out to 2nd is a failure.

I'm with ya.

The Juggler

http://crashburnalley.com/2016/05/20/phillies-are-an-illusion-worth-watching/
Phillies Are An Illusion Worth Watching

by Dave Tomar on May 20, 2016


It’s May 20th and the Phillies are one game out of first place. Let’s just savor this for a moment. We are officially one quarter of the way through this baseball season and, at 24-17, the Phillies are seven games over .500.

Usually, the next sentence is something like, at this rate, the Phillies are on pace to blah blah blah. But we can’t really say that right now. The math just doesn’t work out in our favor.

Frankly, the Phillies shouldn’t even be on pace for their current record. Everything about it defies logic, expectation, and basic probability. Of course, that’s why the season is 162 games long. Ultimately, that many games will prove who’s real and who isn’t. The fakers will fade come August.

So what are the Phillies? In what capacity is this real and how excited should we be? Well, to the latter question first, be excited. Any time your team is winning, be excited. The players look excited. They’re obviously having fun and it’s something you should be a part of.

So now, to the former question. Is this real, or just an illusion?

Dying At the Plate
We all know exactly how this team is winning. The rotation has been dominant. The bullpen has been effective beyond anything we had a right to expect. And the hitting…well, the hitting has been timely.

Of course, “timely” is a pretty euphemistic way to say generally terrible except some of the time. The Phillies figure close to the bottom in nearly every offensive category. At .235/.294/.362, they have the third worst slash in baseball. With 31 home runs, they’re second worst in the majors. And they’re only ranked that high because Atlanta, amazingly, has a sum total of 15 dingers, or just two more than either Nolan Arenado or Yoenis Cespedes has all on his own. Thank goodness for the Braves or we’d have nobody to look down our noses at.

Still, the Phillies aren’t exactly keeping opposing pitchers awake at night.

At the heart of the lineup, and batting .333/.443./.458, Herrara continues to excite as the team’s best hitter. Franco has shown encouraging flashes of power and his defense has been stellar, but he still has plenty of work to do as an evolving hitter. Rupp looks very much like a guy who could be defending the plate for years to come. Outside of the new core though, the lineup is below average in every statistical way possible.

Ryan Howard is a suck-hole in the middle of the batting order, slashing .168/.236/.398 and making a strong case for Tommy Joseph to become an everyday player after a mere three games at the major league level.

Peter Bourjos and Freddy Galvis are obvious defense plusses and, based on their respective outputs at the plate, they’d pretty much have to be to remain professional ballplayers. And beyond Andres Blanco, the bench has been abysmal.

Most pundits predicted the Phillies would be among the worst teams in baseball and so far, the hitting suggests these predictions were not unfounded.

Thriving On the Mound
Doesn’t sound much like a winner, does it? I mean, you’d have to run out some pretty serious pitching to overcome that level of offensive futility.

Fortunately, that’s exactly what the Phillies are doing right now. Collectively, Phillies pitchers lead the majors with 374 strikeouts. At .233, the starters have limited opposing hitters to the fourth lowest batting average in baseball. At 3.72, Phils starters also have the 9th best ERA in baseball, 5th in the NL. And here’s the big one. Starters have limited opposing hitters to just 62 walks, the third fewest free passes in all of baseball.

In Aaron Nola and Vincent Velasquez, the Phillies have two starters with ERAs under 3.00 and WHIPs under 1.00.

Of course, we had a sense that these young starters might be cause for excitement. By contrast, let’s see a show of hands for everybody that was excited about the bullpen. Right. Well, with a .246 batting average against, Phillies relievers are right there in the middle of the pack. We’ll certainly take it.

But here’s the real kicker. The Phillies entered this season without naming a closer and presently lead the majors with 18 saves. Most of the credit for this accomplishment goes to Jeanmar Gomez, purveyor of all pitches, master of none. Lacking a knockout pitch but compensating with gritty workmanship, Gomez has converted 16 of 17 save opportunities.

As for the other two saves, one belongs to Hector Neris, who has otherwise been among the most unhittable setup men in baseball. His 1.44 ERA/.72 WHIP, 33:7 K/BB and a positively evil splitter suggest that the Phillies have two guys who are more than capable of closing.

David Hernandez has one save but in fairness, all credit goes to Tyler Goeddel, who made the throw of a lifetime last Saturday night, and Cameron Rupp, who absorbed a punishing head-on collision with Eugenio Suarez at the plate, to seal a 4-3 victory over the Reds. Anyway, Hernandez got the save but it wasn’t easy and I wouldn’t rush to get him back out there.

The Improbability of It All
But let’s get back to Goeddel and Rupp’s thrilling connection for just a minute. If you saw it, you probably felt something that you haven’t felt in a while. You probably felt like baseball was fun again, perhaps even consequential. You felt right.

That game also gave the Phillies a highly improbably 14-3 record in one-run games this year. How improbable is that? The Phillies have a -28 run differential, which is literally the worst run differential any team has ever had this late into the season while sporting a .585 winning percentage. They sit just one game behind the Washington Nationals, who sport a +48 differential. The optimistic way to look at this is that the Nationals are working a whole lot harder for basically the same results.

But another more accurate way to look at it is that the team’s current level of success is unsustainable. For a team in a rebuild, it looks like they’re well ahead of schedule. Some of this appearance is probably an illusion.

And yet, the energy and sheer desire to win are not illusions. Now is a good time to start paying attention. The Phillies are winning games but, lacking a superstar box office draw, they haven’t yet won the attention of their city. I was at a game this past Monday when the Phillies hosted the Florida Marlins. It was Dollar Dog night. The stadium was so empty, you could hear a mosquito fart. People should be coming out to see these guys.

The numbers say they probably won’t be able keep this up all season. But you should get it while it’s hot. Even if this is an illusion, it’s one worth watching.

The Fixer

Ledbetterman10 said:

Here's a baseball scenario for you guys that my friend and I like to joke about. There is, in our opinion, a right and wrong answer to this:

Man on second, nobody out. You're a member of the hitting team in dugout. Your clean-up hitter comes to the plate and he grounds out to the second baseman. When he returns to the dugout, do you give him a high-five for moving the runner to third?

depends on inning and score