Former GM and current advisor to the Phils, Pat Gillick, held court this afternoon at Bright House Field in Clearwater to address some of the Phillies offseason moves thus far.  The one opinion I was interested in hearing about was his take on the swapping of Pat Burrell for Raul Ibanez.

First, Pat was asked if he, personally, pushed for the signing of Rah-oooul:

“Yeah, I did. He fits in our clubhouse. He’s a very positive guy in the clubhouse. He’s probably going to hit for more power in our ballpark than he hit in Seattle. Fundamentally, he’s a very sound player that makes very few mistakes. And he’s a hard worker, maybe to the point where he wants to be perfectionist. He brings a very, very positive approach to the clubhouse. I think he’s going to do well here.”

I can dig that, I certainly won’t question Mr. Gillick’s ability to form a balanced baseball squad.  But now it’s time for the more important question — did the Phillies put any effort whatsoever in re-signing The Bat?

“We tried during the season to really bring Pat back. I think they had a little more grandeur than we did. We would have brought Pat back, but I think their thinking at that time was a little different than it actually ended up (two-year, $16 million with Tampa Bay). I think their expectation level was a little higher. … We were in different areas. … They were looking for a longer deal than we wanted to do. The length was more of the problem.“

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!

(Quotes provided by the resurrected Zo Zone)

Mr. Kaduk from Yahoo!’s incredible Big League Stew recently asked me if I would participate in his “25 Random Baseball Things” series that he’s running with some BLS writers and other baseball bloggers.

I obliged, and I hope you’ll take a few minutes out of your day to read it.

BLS 25 Random Baseball Things: Meech of The Fightins’ | Big League Stew

Part time Metropolitan and friend to the disabled list, Ryan Church, had some harsh words for Cole Hamels and the Phillies yesterday.

Adam Rubin of the NYDN supplies the quotes:

Ryan Church didn’t exactly take on Philadelphia ace Cole Hamels for calling the Mets “choke artists” this winter. The right fielder didn’t back down, either, now that the Phillies are world champs.

“Hey, they won the World Series. More power to them,” the outfielder said after taking batting practice, with no lingering signs of two concussions. “There’s only a big bull’s-eye on their back. We’re coming.”

Far be it from me to tell you what to do, Ryan, but I think you should worry about protecting that ol’ puddin head of yours and leave the division winning to the professionals.  Even if you could stay healthy for an entire year, I doubt you would have the kind of impact on your team that warrants pre-season shit-talking.

However, David Wright seems intrigued about that whole “putting a bull’s-eye on their back and coming” idea.  So talk that over with him.

Ryan Church to Phils: ‘We’re coming’ | New York Daily News

Sounds kinky, right?

I wasn’t really paying attention to this Jamie Moyer interview conducted by NBC10’s John Clark at an area B&C Collectibles store, but it includes something about the Moyers’ bedroom, a couple champagne bottles, some shelves, his locker nameplate, and a Ziploc bag full of dirt.

I’m actually quite surprised he would be this open about his bedroom exploits during a local news segment. Feel free to draw your own conclusions, after a brief word from Camelback Mountain — where there’s Something for Everyone™!

Moyer’s Bedroom Prize | NBCPhiladelphia

Although pitchers and catchers aren’t officially supposed to report to Clearwater until Saturday, a few key members of the WFC got a jump on the competition and showed up early for some workouts.

Judging by this picture snapped by The Inquirer’s Eric Mencher,

a.) Chase Utley’s hip appears to be recovering at a rapid pace, and
b.) There is an establishment somewhere in Florida where you can get both mugs and jugs.

After the jump, the oh-so-dreamy Hollywood Hamels tosses the pill and Charlie Manuel’s belly protrudes.

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Here we have the newest Adidas/Dick’s Sporting Goods collabo wherein Big Brown and Bossman Junior argue over which facet of their game was more beneficial to their team’s playoff success.

Howard contends you get to the Series with power, homers, and offense; while B.J. claims you need speed, stolen bases, and defense. Personally, I don’t think it matters how you get there, as long as your 3-4 hitters don’t hit a combined 3-for-37 once you finally do.

(A tip of my World Series Champion Phillies cap to Professer Cork Gaines of Rays Index)

In the midst of all these redundant A-Rod newsclips, I know everyone is sick of all the steroid talk. This is barely Phillies news but a rant about baseball itself. And with the amount of players on ‘roids, it’s likely not everyone on the Phillies is clean (So Taguchi? Doug Glanville?). No longer can I stand old farts on their high horses whining about the sanctity of the game (while they’re high out of their mind on Vicodin and Percocets), former players giving themselves a pat on the dick because they didn’t roid up (while they’re jamming their bodies full of fish oil capsules because of all the amphetamines they did in the ’70s blew holes in their hearts), and uninformed parents speaking out so their dumbass offspring don’t get bacne and enlarged clitorises (while mommy’s starting the afternoon with her box of supermarket wine).

Along with the hypocrisy, comes the loser grown ups that brag about how straight-edge they were as an adolescent and how they can live to see their dicks die and their colons become cancerous.

If people want to take steroids, I say let them. Fuck the ramblings about ‘honor’ and ‘respect’ from glorified goat turds like Skip Bayless. Fuck anyone that wants to hear Curt Schilling’s opinion (unless you’re asking him “Do you want me to punch you in the dick or the throat?”). Every argument against letting ballplayers is bullshit. Even the ones not on ‘roids are taking Cortisone shots. Have you ever asked, what the fuck is Cortisone? IT’S A FUCKING STEROID HORMONE!! That’s two banned substances!

And who gives a fuck about the players? We don’t care about their feelings. We don’t give a shit if they’re sad when we boo them. Don’t pretend that you regard them as human. Wanting Chase Utley’s manhood inside you is not a genuine human connection. You and I both do not care if some 220 lb corner outfielder’s heart explodes before he reaches fifty. We care about championships. And we want them by any means necessary.

It’s a hypocritical world where people are outraged more about someone that abuses their body like Barry Bonds, then someone like Leonard Little who has literally killed somebody and has been convicted of it.

The more we pretend that we are concerned about someone we barely know destroying their body with drugs, the more attention it gives to pompous dipshits like Curt Schilling. Fuckin’ legalize it. It’s just as natural as putting 10x the recommended dose of protein, creatine, glutamine, etc. to achieve muscular growth.

And in the words of the late George Carlin: fuck the children.

UPDATE: For the Fightins’ fans with Facebook (alliteration +1), I decided to create a Fightins’-based Facebook group.

To those of you who like your preachiness with a side of titties, Bar Rafaeili after the jump:

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The speediest of the Philadelphia Phillies and owner of a brand-new $3.125 million contract, Shane Victorino, recently invited a small gathering of mostly family to his Las Vegas home for a relaxing Super Bowl XLIII viewing party.  Being the gracious host that he is, Shane let KHON2’s John Veneri tag along and film an MTV Cribs-style piece for broadcast in his native Hawaii.  Being the dynamic blogger with a flair for the obscure that *I* am, I got a hold of the video and posted it for your viewing pleasure.

And like every great Cribs knockoff, there are plenty of quick cuts, sped up film while going from room-to-room, and last but certainly not least, Dr. Dre beats.

Enjoy:

See also:
Shane Victorino & Kyle Kendrick are living the high life | The Fightins

Ahhhhh… you know baseball season is right around the corner when Jimmy Rollins starts predicting things.

During an interview with Marshall Harris of CSN Philly last night, Young James claimed that he was “out of the predicting business” and then proceeded to predict about five different Phillies-related things that he felt will come to fruition during the 2009 season.

First, Jimmy reiterated his belief that the Phillies could reach the 100+ win plateau in the regular season as well as the 11 postseason wins it would take for the Phillies to repeat as World Series Champs.

After that, his forecasting got a little more specific.  Take a look:

• For the 3rd time in 4 years, a member of the Phillies will bring home the NL MVP award
• Hollywood Hamels will win the NL Cy Young award
• Brad Lidge will continue his streak of consecutive appearances without a blown save “until he’s tired of it”
• There will, once again, be a parade down Broad Street in honor of the repeat champion Philadelphia Phillies

Here’s the proof:

(Jussoyaknow, that drum machine laden instrumental in the background was not added by I)

Thank you, Ruben Amaro.

Howard agrees to $54 milllion contract | Phillies.com

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