The greatest slugger in all the land, Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, got himself down to Florida earlier than most of his teammates so he could continue working on his defense with third base coach Sam Perlozzo. Since he was down there already, he might as well take advantage of the Super Bowl being so darn close and make himself available for a ton of interviews and such, right?

Right.

So Howard did just that. On Friday, Big Brown spoke with Mike Missanelli of 97.5 The Fanatic (Philly’s FIRST fm sports-talk station!), Mike Francesa of WFAN New York (WARNING: Mike’s annoying voice starts immediately after clicking that link) as well as a LIVE! interview with CSNPhilly.com (Which can be found under the Phillies tab HERE) and probably half of the zany hosts on “Radio Row” (like here, with The Executioner!)

Surely sick of all the horrible, repetitive questions asked in those countless interviews, Ryan stepped out on the town Saturday Night to do some MIA partying, and he brought along (what appears to be) his girl. 

Aren’t *they* cute all holding hands and shit:

(pic via Bossip)

Hey, do you like the Phillies acquisition of Roy Halladay and those collectible McFarlane sports figure toys?

Then boy, do I have just the thing for you!

Coming this May to a toy store near you (I think) is the MLB Series 26 McFarlane action figures which includes the one and only Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies.  According to Mr. McFarlane’s website, the Halladay figure is COLLECTOR LEVEL ONLY (whatever that means), so I’m assuming you will have to pay money to join some special McFarlane sports figure fan club, in turn giving you first dibs on all COLLECTOR LEVEL ONLY releases.  But really, I haven’t the foggiest idea. If you want it so bad, find out for yourself. 

Or must I do everything for you?

For the second consecutive year, the Phillies own Shane Victorino threw on a suit and made his way down the red carpet of the Grammy Awards to see 2009’s most trendiest of nominees and performances. During the show, Shane was a guest inside a luxury box where he mingled with the likes of Kid Rock and this guy.

After doing a little research, which consisted of typing the words “Shane Victorino Grammys” into Google and clicking on the fourth link, I was redirected to The Zo Zone where I found out that Shane is all buddy-buddy with a fellow who lives in Bryn Mawr named Gary Veloric. Gary apparently owns a record company called Red Stripe Plane and serves on the Board of Directors at MusiCares, who pays tribute to an artist every year the night before the Grammys.

This year MusiCares honored Neil Young, and guess what? Shane was there, too!

I don’t want to imagine a world in which Ryan Howard isn’t the first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely out of the realm of possibility. Once his contract expires at the end of the ‘11, the greatest slugger in all the land is gonna demand some major scratch, and if the Yankees feel they need a DH, the Cardinals part ways with Pujols and feel like bringing in their hometown boy, or (God forbid) the Mets throw some cash in his face, he could be gone.

So, if that’s the case, then who, pray tell, would fill his void?  Howsabout some Chase Fucking Utley. 

From Jim Salisbury’s ‘State of the Phillies: First Base’ column:

Chase Utley? Isn’t he an all-star second baseman? Yes, he is. But don’t be surprised if he succeeds Howard at first base if Howard moves on after 2011.

Utley, who is signed through 2013, has played some at the position already and shouldn’t have trouble with the transition if that’s the way the organization goes. There could be some pluses to moving Utley to first. He’s a very physical player. On top of getting hit by a couple of dozen pitches per season, he throws his body around in the infield and subjects himself to contact turning the double play at second.

Getting away from the second base pivot, and moving to a less physically demanding position such as first base, might help Utley’s offensive production late in his contract and extend his career. Of course, keeping Howard long-term would be the ideal.

While Chase would probably be the ONLY person who could take over for Howard without hearing non-SABR dudes complain, I still agree with the last sentence in Jim’s last paragraph there.

Salisbury’s State of the Phillies: First Base | CSN Philly

Newly-trim Phillies manager Charlie Manuel stopped by the NBC 10 studios in Bala Cynwyd earlier this morning to chat it up with the gang over at the 10! Show (exclamation point theirs, not mine).  Co-hosts Bill Henley and Lori Wilson spoke with Uncle Cholly about the success of his NutriSystem® dieting, some Phillies offseason moves, and the embarrassment of looking at his gut hanging over his belt in all those 2008 post-World Series pictures.  (Sadly, not a word about muff-shaving)

If you venture past this jump, you’ll see I’ve gone ahead and uploaded the entire 8+ minute segment to YouTube in GLORIOUS High-definition.  Because if you read this site, I highly doubt you ever tune into the 10! Show. I’d like to think youse are more of a The View kinda crowd, amirite?

Read more »

As you may have heard, Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was in the Cayman Islands this weekend to wed his girlfriend Johari Smith alongside friends, family, and Bobby Abreu. They had gorgeous weather out there, and judging by the pictures, a good time was had by all.

After the jump, check out a couple photo galleries courtesy of the finest wedding photographer in the Cayman Islands, Rebecca Davis. (via The 700 Level).

Read more »

Fresh off his 3-year, $22 million re-up with the Phillies, Shane Victorino ventured over to the Wachovia Center on Friday night where he sat courtside to watch the 76ers take care of the Dallas Mavericks, 92-81. The following morning, Shane headed for the Cayman Islands to join his other Phillies teammates (and Bobby Abreu) for the wedding of Jimmy Rollins and his longtime girlfriend Johari Smith.

After the jump, there’s video of Jaime Maggio interviewing Shane before the start of the 2nd quarter. Watch as Shane shows off his new Silverstar t-shirt, talks about how much he enjoys the Philadelphia fans, and even signs an autograph for a little kid. How sweet!

Read more »

According to Jerry Crasnick on the tweets, “Matt Stairs is signing with the San Diego Padres. Hoping to be their LH bat off the bench. Stairs has a minor league deal with a major league invite, but it appears he has a very good chance to make Pads roster.”

Good luck, Matt.

You all remember former Phillies 3rd base coach Steve Smith, right?

Hired at the start of the 2007 season, Steve served on the squad for two years (including the WFC 2008 season) before being fired and replaced by Art Howe, who immediately left and was replaced by Sam Perlozzi. Well anyway, Steve and his daughter Allie will be contestants on the 16th season of CBS’s hit reality show thingee, The Amazing Race, and I thought that sorta information might interest you.

And considering Allie is a semi-attractive 23-year old who is starring in a CBS reality show, I fully expect her to be engaged to a Phillies player within the calendar year.

On aside, can you believe The Amazing Race has been on TV for 16 seasons? It seems like just yesterday I was avoiding the premiere of the first season, now here we are in 2010 and I still have zero interest in watching it. Time flies, huh?

The Amazing Race Bios – Steve and Allison | CBS.com

A few minutes prior to the big announcement that Joe Blanton was signed to a 3-year, $24 million contract extension, CSNPhilly went LIVE! to the press area where some of the reporters were scrambling to get a front row seat for the big event.

Notice I said some.

Others, like… uh I dunno, DAVID MURPHY OF THE DAILY NEWS (pictured in the hooded sweatshirt) were hanging out in the back of the room chatting it up with CSN’s Amy Fadool (on the right) and her unknown friend, who I can’t identify at this time but is probably just as hot as Amy.  Now I’m no body language expert, but from the looks of it, there ain’t no baseball talk going on there.

If I know Dave (which I don’t), he was probably talking about his fancy sportscar(s), celebrity friends, and penthouse apartment in Center City (which he may or may not have).  And if that didn’t impress the ladies, Murphy also showed off his superior reporting skills when he took charge and asked the first question of the press conference.  If I remember correctly, it was something about how Joe feels with the security of a multi-year deal, but that isn’t the point.  Women love a man that takes charge.  (I read that before)

So Dave, next time there’s a presser at The Bank, be careful when those cameras come on because there might just be a creepy blogger watching who has nothing better to do than take the screen shot and call you out on your flirtatious behavior.

UPDATE! The girl sitting next to Amy has been identified as booking producer for CSN, Colleen Wolfe. Who is, as predicted, also hot.

• Eric Bruntlett on Ryan Howard had himself a productive Super Bowl weekend
• Amandah on Ryan Howard had himself a productive Super Bowl weekend
• Joe D on Ryan Howard had himself a productive Super Bowl weekend
• GMart on Ryan Howard had himself a productive Super Bowl weekend
• World Forking Champions '11 on Ryan Howard had himself a productive Super Bowl weekend