06/07 Phillies Offseason Thread

[MDS]

Was his toupee nice?

[SunMo]

Gordon returns to Philly for exam

By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Tom Gordon sat in the Tampa International Airport in a long-sleeve T-shirt and jeans this morning, a first-class seat on US Airways Flight 1714 to Philadelphia awaiting him.

That, and a doctor's appointment.

Gordon, the Phillies' 39-year-old righthanded closer, flew back to Philadelphia to visit team Dr. Michael Ciccotti. He declined to speak to a Daily News reporter about the issue in the airport.

Assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said there is little reason for alarm.

"It's just a tuneup, to check him out," Amaro said. "Nothing major."

Amaro said that he was unaware of any complaint by Gordon of the forearm or elbow stiffness that Gordon has said usually besets him during the first few weeks of spring training.

Gordon has pitched in two games, one inning each, this spring, allowing no runs, no walks, no hits and striking out two. He last pitched Saturday, 4 days after his delayed spring debut. The Phillies are bringing him along slowly this spring.

Amaro said the team does not expect Gordon to be set back appreciably, if at all. If he were to stay on his 4-day schedule, Gordon would pitch Wednesday. The team is off Wednesday.

Gordon converted 34 of 39 save opportunities last season but he missed 3 weeks after the All-Star break last season due to a right shoulder strain.

Gordon fought elbow tightness last spring, his first as a Phillie after signing a 3-year, $18 million contract to return to the closer role he occupied before 2003 after starring for the Yankees as a setup man for two seasons. Gordon said last spring that that he usually endured a spell of elbow tightness during the spring.

Once a top-flight closer, Gordon spent most of 1999 on the Red Sox's disabled list with right elbow problems and underwent surgery in December of 1999 that cost him all of the 2000 season. He saved 27 games for the Cubs in 2001 after missing the first month of the season with a strained right triceps muscle. He missed the first 3 months of 2002 with a torn right shoulder muscle suffered at the end of spring training.

For a team unable to acquire a solid setup man in the offseason, the Gordon develoment is alarming, at least.

Only 34-year-old Antonio Alfonseca has pitched well enough to be considered a solid setup man option - more so than Geoff Geary, Ryan Madson, Fabio Castro or Matt Smith, the favorites to comprise the 'pen behind Gordon.

If Ciccotti finds nothing amiss with Gordon, as the Phillies seem to expect, he will resume the less aggressive schedule that they hope will gradually build him up for the season.

"He just went up there to see the doctor to make sure he's doing well," Amaro said. "We just want to make sure he's healthy enough to be there for us for 162 games."

**********************************


that didn't take long

[PhillyPhreak54]

I'm comforted by the fact that the Phils have great bullpen depth.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Burrell has a strong arm.  Get him on the mound.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Not unless he puts on some authentic Rick Vaughn skull & bones glasses.

[MDS]

His VORP will sky rocket!

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

His VORP will sky rocket!

Yep.  Pitcher AND slugger.  The next Babe Ruth.  Go team.

[phattymatty]

April 2, 2007. This is not only the kickoff of baseball season in Philadelphia, but also an unofficial "sick" day for kids aged 16- 18 in the Delaware Valley. Even though it was close to, farg, 16 years ago, this was how the Phillies existed in my mind during those dreary years of the Nick Leyva/Jim Fregosi era. Relevant only through the first two weeks of spring, most of those teams would unceremoniously vanish, and Vet Stadium would once again become a gigantic mausoleum littered with Bruce Ruffin's ashes for most of the summer.

But on opening day, hope and mayhem both sprang eternal. At the pre-North/South Council Rock High School, it was a right of passage. You'd get up at your usual time to go to school, but instead of getting picked up to go to class, you'd wait for your parents to go to work, then raid their liquor cabinet and dump it in a thermos or a flask usually with Hawaiian Punch or some other mixer that you won't find even the dirtiest of slide rails. Then you'd head to Flap Jake's for some pre-game pancakes and eat more than usual because, come 9 a.m., the rest of the day's sustenance would mostly come from Bud Light party balls and skunk weed. Pole 19 was where we met. And suburbia's spoiled trash came by the carload, stumbling out of vehicles, in various states of buzz, wandering around Vet Stadium's parking lot for a couple of hours to, essentially, car hop to find better beer -- "Hey, I see Heineken coming from that Camry!" -- or the Jewish kid with the nitrous tank.

By the time the third inning rolled around, Vet Stadium's upper deck levels had turned into a Larry Clark film: tin foil bowls being inconspicuously smoked, passed out girls getting felt up, lackluster fistfights, cascading vomit -- just a glorious time. The game, of course, well, nobody cared. But now, for the most part, Citizen's Bank Ballpark has established itself as a family friendly environment; even the heckling has become more manicured, almost an amusement park ride as fans can hover over the opposing team's bullpen and spew invective under the close watch of a red-jacketed security guard. It's all so stale and lifeless. It's sad, really. Pretty soon there'll be a dunk tank with Santa Claus where you can throw snowballs at him.

But even without the long-gone grit of Vet Stadium, 2007 is one of the more hope-filled years in a decade. This year, there's more polish, more shine, more hope than usual, about a team that's been a giant tease for five years straight -- even though their off season moves resulted in neither a Jim Thome signing or a Billy Wagner trade.

Big additions this year? Freddy Garcia, Adam Eaton and, uh, Wes Helms, who's essentially a less expensive David Bell. However, they kept Aaron Rowand, whose face-plant into the center field wall has secured him a place in Philadelphia hearts, regardless if he hits .260 for the rest of the season and has a pool noodle for an arm. Jimmy Rollins has suddenly established himself as the team's cocksure mouthpiece and, of course, Ryan Howard is here to save the city and baseball with each mighty swat. These "moves," along with fact that they have six starting pitchers and a six-fingered reliever, has almost made the Phillies on the precipice of trumping the Eagles in popularity, which hasn't been the case ever since Buddy Ryan first waddled to the press conference assuring us that we've "got a winner in town."

The biggest jolt to the Phillies lineup this year, however, has to be Pat Burrell's engagement. The stories of Burrell's swordsmanship are legendary in the Philadelphia area. You can't bump into somebody within a 50-mile radius of Philadelphia who doesn't have a story. They all start the same: At a club, usually involving a 20-something stunner sidling up at the bar, then, enter ... the Bat. Next thing you know, she's got herself box seats behind home plate and is hanging out with Burrell and Jason Michaels 'til 4 a.m. doing kamikaze shots down the Jersey Shore. One friend-of-a-friend story included Pat leaving her a present the next day after one drunken libidinous night with The Bat -- his Valtrex. But an even more vintage Bat story is this second-hand gem:

The story goes: A few guys were on a business trip in Pittsburgh. A couple of the guys knew the Phils were in town, so when they all spotted Burrell at a club there one night, it wasn't a total surprise. Pat ended up taking a liking to one of the girls in their group. She thought he was hot but didn't follow baseball. He took her back to his hotel room, and a make-out session ensued until she alerted Pat that she would NOT do him. Not fazed by this, Burrell seemed to respect her chastity, and rather than force himself on her or fly into a blueball rage, he asked a simple question, glancing down at his engorged pants: "Mind if I take care of business?"

The horrified woman didn't stay the night, letting Pat, take care of his business on his own.

Without these weekly distractions, there has to be a boost in confidence and plate discipline, no? We'll be able to tell as soon as Burrell sees his first low outside slider. But congratulations on the engagement!

And to make this 2007 Phillies season even better, the fine folks at Mastero's on the Avenue, at 2216 West Pasayunk in South Philly, are offering a new special that starts Opening Day and is available every home game. The "Mamula" sandwich, consisting of pork, sharp provolone, on a soft roll, with a soda and a pickle, for $5.

All you have to do is enter the store (or call: 215-465-2701) and ask "Where's Mamula?" for the deal. Yep.


A.J. Daulerio writes the Cultural Oddsmaker column for this fine establishment and is a staff writer at Philadelphia Magazine. 

[ice grillin you]

i was at a few of those games...absolute bedlam...theres some good video of one of the brawls out there somewhere

[Rome]

I went to a few openers at the Vet. 

The stories about the booze, fights and dope in the stands bring a tear to my eye.

I miss the 700 Level...   

[dis12]

ahhh, the mamories

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Holy christ. Good times.

Where is that from Matty?

[phattymatty]

AJ Daulerios's Phillies preview on Deadspin

[MDS]

Burrell might have more illegitamite children than Shawn Kemp.

[Rome]

Phillies are butchering themselves in the field at the moment.  Helms blew a throw to first to Howard, then on the next play makes a nice catch on a grounder in the hole, throws to Utley who promptly drops the ball at second.

Keystone Cops out there...