High Heels On The Field

Phillies And Yankees Fans Taste Their Destiny And Their Pasts

And so they meet again.

After 59 years.

The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees will face each other in the ultimate east coast Fall Classic.

If you're a passionate baseball fan, this is a contest for the ages. Inevitably ugliness will rear it's head. This is not a World Series for the faint of heart, the weak in the stomach, the half-interested fan. This is a series for two of the most notorious and fiery fan bases in sports. 

These are fans with different complexions, different complexities. They each have their identities.

The Yankees fight to get their glory back, while the Phillies keep the all-time losers history at a safe, but still too close of a distance. Both clubs have something specific to tell their fans and the message has to be clear.

Yankees fans: We're back.

Phillies fans: We ain't going back.

It's not just about baseball, but the very rich history in both cities, in sports, and in general.

Philadelphia may be the birthplace of freedom, but New York knows it's the birthplace of nearly everything cool and exciting.

Devotion to sports isn't just about the sport itself, but how it defines families, neighborhoods and childhood memories. When I think of key moments as a baseball fan, I recall where I was and who I was with. You might have had a difficult relationship with a parent or sibling, but sports was where you bonded. Or maybe the friends you made for life, were made through a shared passion for a team. 

The identity of Phillies fans and Yankees fans is tied up in the identity of the cities and the lifestyle.

No athlete cares to live in the past, but fans stay mired in it and forever influenced by it, down to their core.

The identity of a Yankees fan has always been tied to it's past: Gehrig and DiMaggio, Ruth and Berra.

For Phillies fans this goes a bit different: 10,000 losses notched, 1964, Joe Carter...then there's 1980, Tug, Pete, Schmidty. And, well, last year.

Fans don't want to live in the past either, but they live there because it becomes part of who they are. The losses aren't about a career, but a direct line to their hearts. The heart doesn't forget. They don't switch uniforms. They live and die with that team.

The Pinstripes Series arrives and so do fans who know who they are and, also, who they want to be.

You aren't just going to be watching a World Series, but two cities with their hearts on the line.

2009 NLCS: The Wolf Pack Speaks Volumes About Phillies Fans

When a favorite player goes to a new team, he stops being a favorite player.

But in the case of Dodgers pitcher Randy Wolf and his Philadelphia fan club, the Wolf Pack, it's a lot trickier.

In Game 4 of the NLCS, Randy Wolf's faithful friends were the very definition of class and dedication.

The Dodgers originally drafted Wolf in 1994, but he didn't sign with them. The Phillies drafted him in 1997. Wolf pitched for the Phillies his entire career until the Dodgers signed "Wolfie" as a Free Agent. The Wolf Pack includes brothers Patrick and John Wood. Along the way Wolf's former and current teammate Vicente Padilla's "Padilla Flotilla" also became part of the Phillies vernacular. Wolf became friends with the pack and formed a bond with his devotees. They were Philly guys, proud and passionate. Randy Wolf, while never an emotional sort, embraced the experience.

When he left, the Wolf Pack didn't stop being Randy Wolf fans, but they were first and foremost Phillies fans.

Monday night their loyalties were tested.

"Not until the game started did we realize there would be some mixed emotions," Patrick told Mike Jensen of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

While one Los Angeles Times writer called Phillies fans ugly, Tommy Lasorda expresses hate for a green furry monster and says his hometown is Los Angeles (Norristown , PA, actually), and legions of Phillies fans feel trashed by TBS and FOX announcers, the Wolf Pack walked the line and took no side easily. They faced a tough situation emotionally. Their team was in the contest. Their friend was the opposition.

While no one can agree if Phillies fans are lowly losers or mistreated champions, it's undeniable that the Wolf Pack are the kind of baseball fans a player doesn't attract everyday. And players don't form friendships with fans very often. Wolf, however, made sure that the Wolf Pack had tickets to Game 4.

Randy Wolf and his pack get a tip of the cap.

And hopefully from those with a P and an LA on it.

2009 NLCS: Heart Wins...And Loses

A 99 mph fastball is hard to hit.

But if you put it right in the middle of the plate, nice and fat, well, someone good is bound to hit it.

Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton served one up to Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

And the Dodgers, a team that finished the regular season with the best record in the National League, lost 5-4 to the reigning World Champion Phillies.

What team has more heart?

Neither.

Which team has an unflappable bullpen?

Neither.

What hitter did Broxton want to avoid after a 2008 home run for the ages incident?

Matt Stairs.

And so...

One of those teams with heart, called on their unpredictable bullpen, holding the other team to a one run lead. This led to the man with the unforgettable bomb of the 2008 NLCS. Which led to a walk. Which led to a hit batter...double...over...

You could have gambled on either team. And it would have nothing to do with either having more or less heart.

Did the Dodgers have less heart when they cleanly swept the Cardinals in the NLDS?

No. 

The Phillies do not have more heart because they got to the Dodgers closer last night.

You've been watching the two best teams in the National League duke it out.

Phils first baseman Ryan Howard just tied Lou Gehrig's record for most home runs in the post-season.

Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez just happens to hold the record for most RBI in the post-season.

Who has more heart?

Neither.

We don't need to question players and teams and managers heart when they lose. Because, no, they do not want to find ways to lose.

But, inevitably, at some point, every team finds those ways.

On Monday night, Citizen's Bank Park shook beneath the press box after a thrilling comeback win by the Phillies.

The Dodgers left the field stunned, disappointed, and defeated. 

Heart didn't win.

Baseball at it's finest did.

It's just how it works.

The Darren Daulton Clever Joke Fest Goes On Another Tour

In 1993 the Phillies went to the World Series and lost in six games. The Toronto Blue Jays won their second in a row. Joe Carter became part of baseball history. And Phillies fans decades long nightmare continued.

There were a lot of factors in the Phillies making it there and one of them was the offense, defense and leadership of catcher Darren Daulton.

Over the past few years he's made headlines with his religious beliefs.

Some of them are likely people with religious beliefs. But Daulton's faith in things unseen and unexplainable has been the stuff of a million mediocre jokes.

The script is now in. We all have it. If you mention Daulton's name, we know you're going to attempt to impress yourself with some withering remark about how insane he is. 

When I read about athletes, I don't care what their religious beliefs are. I also don't need them to be humiliated for my reading pleasure.

Here's a story I always liked:

Darren Daulton was a catcher with the Phillies for more than a decade, the greatest clubhouse presence Curt Schilling says he's ever been around. Daulton resided on Macho Row in the Philadelphia clubhouse, whose other occupants were guys such as John Kruk and Mitch Williams and Lenny Dykstra, guys who played and lived hard. Schilling, who prides himself on going home every night, was cut from a different cloth, but always felt he had Macho Row's respect for how he went about his business.

Until the night Daulton called him out after a poor outing in St. Louis.

"I'd gotten my butt kicked," Schilling said, "and Darren called me out in the paper. He said we had a lot of young guys doing stupid stuff. He was basically letting everyone know I was an idiot."

The reporters couldn't wait to see how Schilling would react.

"I told them, 'I'd love to say some nasty stuff, but he's right. I was stupid. I'm absolutely embarrassed by everything that happened.' We were on a plane that night, we always played cards on every flight, and Darren turned around and said to me, 'I want to kick your butt right now.' I said, 'You know what, I deserve it.'

"He was a tremendous leader. He knew what he needed from me. He knew how to push my buttons."

Today's Young Major League Stars Can Restore Baseball's Soul

If you fell in love with baseball in the nineties, you were probably impressed (or disgusted) by the offensive powers of Mark Mcgwire and Barry Bonds.

You watched Roger Clemens pitch his way toward a seemingly inevitable place in Cooperstown. You saw future New York Yankees stars Andy Pettitte and Alex Rodriguez (then with Seattle) developing. You might have been watching, and even rooting for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1993 World Series.

You were also watching players who would later be accused of using performance enhancers. Some of them would admit to using. Some, well, they'd say they were misheard. Who's telling the truth? It doesn't matter right now.

Because in the 2009 post-season, baseball seems to be renewing itself. Starting over, in a sense.

Maybe it's just me, but the slate seems to be cleaned- or at least less dirty- in regard to Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte's past steroid use. Admitting an error in judgment goes a long way with people. You know what else helps?

Playing really, really well. 

But mixed into the 2009 playoffs, are a number of young superstar players who can be a tremendous help in restoring fans faith in baseball.

Young players such as the Los Angeles Dodgers Andre Ethier and Clayton Kershaw, Phillie Ryan Howard, and the Yankees Phil Hughes, as well as veterans Derek Jeter and Jim Thome, are all part of an exciting post-season, that includes the New York Yankees once again.

Baseball's been on a long, strange trip lately. Manny Ramirez was suspended due to testing positive for a banned substance, and there was the Clemens debacle over what he did or didn't say to former teammate Pettitte about his steroid use.

In the age of much stricter testing and consequences, what baseball needs is a crop of young players  to emerge with force and make a statement with their abilities: This is what can be done without all that. They can remind wayward fans that awesome natural talent does exist.

But seeing the rebirth of players who've been outed for their decisions to use performance enhancers, is also important in the process. If they can be successful after proving they're on the straight and narrow, they make a point.

The 2009 Fall Classic is the stage for all that to begin. 

Perhaps the next decade sees America falling in love with baseball again.

Yankees/Phillies World Series? Imagine The Possibilities.

For one moment in the early nineties, the Phillies were America's team.

When the Toronto Blue Jays played the Phillies in the 1993 World Series, the beloved "Macho Row" Phils had taken hold of the hearts and imaginations of baseball fans everywhere.

But the truth is, the New York Yankees are considered America's team by and far.

Phillies fans and baseball fans in general, accept it or at least try to. Many resent it. Words like "evil" and "empire" clarify that, no, everyone does not accept it.

Think about the excitement (and bedlam) if the 2008 World Champions and the all-time champions faced each other.

Each team has something on the line: the Phillies are defending their title. The Yankees haven't won a World title since 2000. Both teams fans are impatiently parked on the frontline with clenched jaws and raging hearts, with the attitude that this must belong to them once again.

The Yankees are trying to return to glory and the Phillies don't want to give theirs up.

When you close your eyes and envision a Phillies/Yankees World Series, there are any number of dramatic and interesting scenarios to come up with.

...A home run parade, with Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez leading the way. Don't forget the unlikely home run hitter, Chase Utley, who'd be out of a slump and knock a few out.

...Two of the best defensive shortstops in the game, displaying their skills and command, their leadership and athleticism. Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins would make the ESPN reel. The panel would debate who made the better play. Perhaps we'd see something we'd never seen before. Wouldn't be the first time, with either guy.

...Closers? Well, hey, this is about the imagination right? We can mix that with some of the history of both Mariano Rivera and Brad Lidge. Or is it Ryan Madson? Would we be seeing a future great closer emerge on the biggest stage in baseball? Madson, getting the chance of a lifetime, to close out a game five...or seven...everything on the line.... Or Mariano Rivera could come in and put everyone to sleep. That's also quite possible.

...The managers, well, they'd have to answer some tough questions. They wouldn't be able to make everyone happy. No manager ever can. He's a genius if it works out. And the one to blame if a key decision fails. Will young Joba Chamberlain be off of Joe Girardi's post-season roster?** Will C.C. Sabathia quiet fans who think he'll flop in his post-season Game 1 start? Who WILL the Phils closer be? Was Charlie Manuel right to give Cliff Lee the ball for Game 1? 

There's a lot of exciting baseball to dream up in a Yankees/Phils Fall Classic, but there's still getting there.

Yankees and Phillies fans still have to imagine that.

**Hours after I published this, Joba Chamberlain was included on the final roster. He'll pitch out of the bullpen.

The Moment

Few things define a man, a manager, and a team, the way Charlie Manuel's handing the ball to Brad Lidge in the ninth of the NLE clincher did.

The man that Manuel is was clear. A father, a believer, a bit of a sentimental guy.

The manager wanted to see his team as it should be. As it was meant to be. As he hopes it will be, when he takes his defending champions to the playoffs. 

Lidge's teammate understood. Scott Eyre had no problem handing the ball to Charlie, to let Lidge come in and close the game. He's the closer. Embattled, failing, struggling, but beloved and respected. Eyre knew what it meant to Lidge.

That team knows and understands each other because many of them have been together since their bus league days. Many are farm grown Phillies . Guys like Lidge are bonded to the team by way of a World title. A shared boyhood dream, realized together in 2008. They are forever Phillies now. No matter where they go after they leave.

If you ask what was most memorable about the 2009 season, my answer will be that moment when Lidge ran from the bullpen to the diamond and took the mound. He recorded the final out against the Houston Astros. As it should be.

That's the 2009 National League East champion Phillies. There was a lot of great playing, but they were often embattled through the season, failing, struggling, but beloved and respected, always.

High School Cross Country: Wesley Frazier, Joe and James Rosa

There's no shortage of amazing stories in sports.

And it's easy to be amazed by some of the feats of professionals, but writing about high school sports gives new perspective.

When a fourteen-year old North Carolina girl outruns everyone and she's four foot eleven and seventy eight pounds, well, there's a story. That girl, Wesley Frazier, beat the fastest boy's time last week at the Seahawk Invitational, where she placed first and set the state record clocking, in at 17:10.09.

One of the things I find most fascinating in sports is pressure: how much athletes can take, how they respond, how they handle both winning and losing. There's always pressure to live up to something, but when winning is the goal, you're automatically under pressure. High school athletes are in a different situation. They're developing mental and physical skills, but some have so much natural talent you wonder if they can handle the attention. Wesley Frazier is a girl that her coach, Leslie Payne, gave me the impression is truly focused on each race, working hard and moving forward. 

http://milespl.it/pt6e06

I'm working on a story on Joe Rosa as well, a New Jersey high school student that told me last year he wants to run professionally. The story is actually about him and his twin brother James, who is also a top NJ runner. They are both highly talented and Joe also told me then that they're competitive, but supportive of one another. The pressure didn't seem to affect them either. They might be in the same household, but have each other's backs.

It's impressive getting to know these kids. I may learn something all the time from talking to pros, but I think I learn the most from young athletes. They remind you not to start getting caught up in your own head and having self-doubt.

Gets you nowhere. And they would know. They're getting somewhere...fast.

Update: The story about Jim and Joe Rosa ended up being written by Geoffrey Decker. You can read it here: 

http://www.milesplit.us/articles/28854

Brian Gump's Spirited Jump To Lakewood

No dramatic rain storm could dampen the spirits of Brian Gump.

Nor could teasing teammates or a recent struggle at the plate.

Nope.

His grin was unmistakable when I visited with him in the midst of the SAL playoffs.

"My playoffs have been great, statistically and even more so experience wise," he said.

He spent most of 2008 with the Gulf Coast League Phillies, the team's Rookie level affiliate where he hit .317 and knocked in 19 runs. He finished the regular season at Lakewood hitting .200, and a .317 OBP. 

The BlueClaws were a team with superb pitching, boasting a roster with guys like Jesus Sanchez  and Matt Way. Gump pitched a little (!): in one inning of work he gave up no runs and no hits.

To say 2009 was a full experience would be an understatement. The BlueClaws were a group of talented guys that Gump has the utmost respect for.

"As we have gone further and further into the playoffs, I have become more and more appreciative of how special this team and this opportunity is."

One week after talking to him, the BlueClaws won the SAL championship title for the second time in franchise history. They defeated the Greenville Drive in four games.

Gump chronicled his first professional season in baseball in a  very personal and entertaining blog. It got him local attention when Philadelphia Daily News writer Paul Hagen did a story on him. His genuine and warm personality comes through, but it would: this is a guy who lists "make people happy" as one of his goals. In meeting him you realize it's the real deal. He relates in a genuine way that translates on the blog and has let people get a true glimpse of minor league life. 

As most minor leaguers do, he returned to a winter job doing marketing work for UC Santa Barbara.

In describing the overall championship-winning experience, the English major doesn't get too literary.

"Words kind of fail, not surprisingly as they usually do in explaining great experiences, in describing the playoff experience," he says. "But it has been a hell of a lot of fun."
 

Finding A Translator Isn't Always Necessary: Brian Dinkelman, Ryan Howard, A.J. Battisto & Other Favorite 2009 Quotes

Yes, there's a script of sorts and some players don't stray from it.

They say all the things a player needs to say to both himself and those around him, whether it's to teammates, his manager, or the media.

But there are always those great moments when a player, coach, or manager says something memorable.

I put together a list of favorites from 2009. I want to thank each and every person who gave me this stuff. I like when you gentlemen rewrite the script:

"In the next few years." Ryan Madson, when asked about his readiness to be a closer. After Brad Lidge struggled as the Phillies closer, Madson has had to be called on in the role. He's 4-1 in five save opportunities since September 3rd .

"The fans have their moments here. They get on you, but at the same time when we were going to the playoffs it was one of the most electric feelings you could ever have. I would say that has been the best part of playing here." Phillies 1st baseman Ryan Howard, when asked what his favorite part of playing in Philadelphia is.

"I don't play this game for money. I play because I love it and I want to."- Gateway Grizzlies infielder Brad Thoma...or the Saint of Baseball. Either way.

"It's hard to pick out one weakness, because I've got a ton of them." Reading Phillies outfielder Michael Taylor, before being promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs on September 3rd.

"Their work ethic is damn good."- Tom Nieto, New Britain RockCats manager. The RockCats defeated the Trenton Thunder for the final Eastern League playoffs spot.

"Of course, the minute I got the call from the Phillies my allegiance instantaneously shifted."- Lakewood BlueClaws outfielder Brian Gump, who sure knows how to get on Phillies good side. And, yes, there is one.

"It's important to let the losses go, because you're going to have a game the next day."  San Diego Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, who's had to let a lot of losses go this season.

"It truly is a blessing to be playing."- Jacksonville Suns pitcher A.J. Battisto

"Harry was as much a part of that team as any of the players," Boone said. "He was treated as one of us."- Bob Boone, former Phillies Catcher on 1980 World Series winning team, remembering Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas.

"I'm not sure I'm allowed to say."- Harrisburg Senators pitcher Eric Arnesen, when asked what team was his favorite growing up in New Jersey. Mets? Yankees? Phillies? I just couldn't pry it out of him.

"My job and the job of the coaches here is to help players define who they are."- Trenton Thunder manager Tony Franklin

And also:

"I've seen a lot of progress. The numbers don't necessarily explain the progress they've [Thunder] made."

"Learning I don't have to blow everyone away."- Reading Phillies pitcher Scott Mathieson, when asked what he's learned about pitching in the past few years.

"I don't think about that all the time, but yeah, it's the Yankees and I feel a responsibility to that legacy. "- Trenton Thunder infielder Chris Malec, on being a part of the New York Yankees organization

"I'm comfortable in any of position, it doesn't matter to me."- New Britain RockCats outfielder Brian Dinkelman

"As a reliever you come out and you have one, two, maybe three innings to blow it out and throw as hard as you can. I love that." Trenton Thunder pitcher Grant Duff. Duff was called up to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees after the Thunder's playoffs chances ended. He'll play in the Arizona Fall League for the first time in his career this year.

"I think I can be a good reliever, but I believe I can do both." - Trenton Thunder pitcher Wilkins De La Rosa

"You try not to let it affect you, but I think everyone on the team is trying to be 'the guy'."-  Trenton Thunder outfielder Austin Krum during the Thunder's playoffs push.

"It doesn't matter if I'm hitting or I'm pitching. Just playing baseball is what matters." Trenton pitcher Mike Dunn, before his promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre . Dunn was a Yankees September call-up.

FAVORITE QUOTE OF 2009:

"It's not science." Tony Franklin, on baseball. 

*By the way, the title of the piece is a nod to Trenton Thunder infielder Eduardo Nunez. Gracias, Mi Amigo ;)