Phillies-Mets at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday

My son and I sat so far toward the left-field foul pole that there was no left aisle where we sat -- my seat was up against a fence. The seats were good, though, and gave us a good view of Jamie Moyer's 600th Major League start, the defensively overrated David Wright's misplay of a foul pop-pu and Omir Santos's botching of a routine foul pop-up. You can't give a Major League team five outs in an inning, let alone the Phillies, and not pay for it.

A friend who's a Mets' fan texted, offering how pathetic the Mets' are. Look, the Mets are faltering, but they're missing Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, J.J. Putz and John Maine (I'd throw in Oliver Perez, but many Mets' fans want to throw him out). Anyway, the Mets are formidable competitors, and they will go on a streak at some point in the second half.

The Phillies are hurting, too. Raul Ibanez's groin pull has taken longer to heal than expected, Clay Condrey and Scott Eyre are on the DL and Brett Myers, who came on strong at the end of lasst season, probably won't return this season. Cole Hamels may be suffering from the "gap" syndrome -- a young pitcher typically doesn't fare well in a season following a season where he pitched many more innings than he did the year before. Buck Showalter highlighted this at the beginning of the season, and he may be onto something.

Still, the Phillies have the best record in baseball over the past 5 years in September and October, so look for them to stay in the hunt, make a key move, and battled hard through the end of the season.

Princeton No Longer Will Publish Media Guides

I've always wondered about why Princeton didn't decide to discontinue the publication of media guides earlier. After all, after men's basketball (whose fortunes, while on the rise now, had waned over the past 10 years), who would read such guides other than a) the people on the team, b) parents and c) alums who played or who donate money. But the media? Hard to imagine that women's water polo or men's fencing has such an audience that they require the publication of a media guide.

I recall driving cross country about 25 years or so ago and stopping overnight near Omaha. One of the lead articles in the sports section was that the University of Nebraska (then a perennial top-5 program) had just published its media guide for football and that it was going on sale the following morning, with the line scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.

I laughed aloud, because in the Ivies (even back then) you couldn't sell media guides and, heck, who would stand in line for them? Trees will get saved, human capital will be re-deployed, and the greens at Old Nassau will be happy.

I haven't read whether the university is going to eliminate player profiles, though, on the internet. That would be a shame, and I doubt that the university would be going so far as to fail to publish pertinent facts on the website, if for the recruiting value if for no other reason.

Carlos Santana is in the Indians' Organization

Yes, the possiblities for the introductory song are endless once this phenom catcher makes the majors. He may not be as valuable to Johan, but from what Baseball Prospectus has written, he's the real deal.

And, no doubt, smooth.

Bad At-Bat of the Week

Late last week the Phillies were playing the Rays in that place that once must have been a regional distribution center for Sam's Club when Rays' pitcher Matt Garza got a bit wild. The Rays had the lead, and Garza walked three straight batters. The Phillies are rather lucky right now, clinging to first despite losing 12 of their last 14 and resembling more the Bad News Bears than the defending world champions. So, you'd figure that the Phillies were going to score some runs.

Enter Jayson Werth, the Phillies' rightfielder, who promptly swings at the first pitch, a breaking ball that he pounds into the ground. Seconds later, its a 5-2-3 double play. Two outs, men on second and third, Garza gets the next hitter, and the Rays are out of the inning and go on to win the game.

Werth is a valuable member of the Phillies, a great athlete and a solid contributor. But on this particular night, he committed a bonehead baseball play. Why? Because Garza was so wild that Werth should have been taking until the Rays' hurler threw one strike. Sure, a contrarian view would be that Garza was so wild that he was desperate to throw a strike and would even have grooved one to try to get ahead of the hitters. While that's plausible, he threw a breaking ball that didn't look like a fat pitch. And he grounded into a double play.

That's when you know your team is faring poorly. The Phillies are suffering. #2 starter Brett Myers, who was off to a rocky start, is out for the year. #1 starter Cole Hamels is laboring and #3 starter Jamie Moyer can't fool hitters all the time any more. Thankfully, #4 starter Joe Blanton has been pitching like an ace, and #5 starter J.A. Happ looks like a keeper, but he hasn't pitched a full major-league season yet. The bullpen is ailing -- Brad Lidge hasn't returned to form, set-up man Ryan Madson had his confidence shaken filling in for Lidge, lefty reliever J.C. Romero hasn't returned to form after his suspension, Scott Eyre has spent time on the D.L., Clay Condrey, who excelled in long and middle relief last year, is on the D.L. and I heard yesterday that Chan Ho Park might be joining him. Jack Taschner has struggled. All of which, of course, makes MLB TV's reality show about the Phillies' bullpen compelling watching, but make sure that you have your programs handy, as well as your medical journals.

Still, for the Phillies, it's not even July 1, and the team usually waits until late summer to put itself into high gear and then blow past its opponents. Sometimes, though, that's hard to do, and it's hard to get into that gear when not a whole lot from your prior play tells you you're able to do so. Then again, expect Raul Ibanez to return soon, Jimmy Rollins to hit better than he's been hitting, the bullpen to get healthier and the team to add a top-of-the-rotation starter before July 31. Something tells me that guy will be the Indians' Cliff Lee, not that the team needs another lefty. It's just that Jake Peavy is on the D.L. and doesn't seem to want to pitch in a hitter's park, Chris Young also is on the D.L. and as a fly-ball pitcher probably wouldn't fare well in Citizens Bank Park, Roy Halladay is on the D.L., too expensive and probably unavailable, and Roy Oswalt might not be available (he's close to the Astros' owner, has a lot of $ left on his contract and has a no-trade; then again, the Astros have a bad farm system and might want to induce Oswalt to go so that they can get a few prospects to help fortify their system). Still, you have to believe that GM Ruben Amaro is working the phones.

I don't want to put too much emphasis on Jayson Werth's at-bat, only to say that when your team isn't faring well, it does things like that.

Joe DiMaggio Struck Out Only 369 Times in His Career

Which makes this article by ESPN's Tim Kurkjian compelling reading. Strikeouts are up significantly in the majors, and the numbers are staggering. DiMaggio's career numbers are astounding -- some players will take 1 1/2 seasons to strike out 369 times. True, the stat heads have figured out that on-base percentage and slugging percentage combined might mean more to a team than having a good contact hitter, but to what extent? And, yes, it's better to have someone who runs more like an arthritic steer fan with men on base than hit into a double play. But how healthy can it be to miss the ball as often as some players are doing? I still believe that if you have too many guys on your team who whiff more than 100 times a season, you won't score enough runs to contend.

Alternatively, I'm waiting for commentators to inform me that players like DiMaggio and Ted Williams were statistical outliers whose stats aren't likely to be replicated for a long time, and that we all should appreciate Adam Dunn -- who plays defense about as well as Denise Richards sings "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" -- more.

Have at it.

Faith Renewed

I've been involved in many extracurricular activities over the years, trying to find some balance in life given the demands of the working world. Most have enabled me to contribute something to a group and make it better. Recently I've borne witness to a few where adults have acted in a less than stellar fashion, either acting out, being dishonest and showing poor character or tolerating those who do. I don't know whether such conduct has been a sign of the times, but as I shop for a new extracurricular, I have found great comfort in an activity in which my daughter recently participated.

She played on a tournament softball team, which differs from a travel team in that the roster gets chosen in the midst of a recreational league season and the team plays in a limited number of games before June 30. In contrast, travel teams get selected in late August and stay together for almost an entire year; the commitment is much greater -- for the child and the family.

I have posted in these ranks about my disappointment in certain rec league coaches, who act as though they're Tony LaRussa and seek every edge instead of Tony your neighbor who cooks a mean steak on a gas grill. That said, everything about this tournament team went well -- the coaches tried to teach as much as they could, they were a good mixture of seriousness and enthusiasm, and they stressed excellence, teamwork and harmony. Atop that, the girls were a great group -- earnest, hard working and supportive of one another. Even better, the parents were a good and supportive group, worrying more about the greater good of the team than the statistics of their children.

It was a successful season, even if the team lost many more games than it won and even if it didn't fare well in its tournaments. The team was together for only six weeks, but girls got better, girls learned new skills and made new friends.

The last time I checked, that's what this type of activity is supposed to be about.

The wins on the field will come.

But if you ask the parents, the entire season -- amidst terrible weather in the mid-atlantic region -- was terrific.

Nails is Getting Hammered

Read this article from the Philadelphia Daily News about the free fall of one-time Phillies centerfielder Lenny "Nails" Dykstra. It's sad enough to read about someone's demise, but worse when it appears that the person in question just doesn't get it. Lenny Dykstra's purported empire has crumbled, but he seems beyond denial.

And it appears that he's left a whole host of problems and people in his wake.

You Don't Always Win Being Right All The Time

I don't know where I learned the proverb that is the title of this post, but I sometimes finding myself saying this to colleagues at work. It's along the lines of "pick your spots", "know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em" and "you might win this battle but lose the war." The linked article is a recent column by Rick Reilly of ESPN the Magazine about a college softball coach whose team won a game because of a rule that she invoked. You should read the article and determine for yourself whether the coach was right (Reilly doesn't) or whether what the coach did is what's wrong with kids' sports.

Reilly's article, though, underscores a theme that has bugged me while watching my kids' baseball and softball games this spring -- coaches behaving badly. Mind you, I'm not indicting these people -- most of whom are solid members of their community -- I'm commenting on a troubling phenomenon that will teach our kids the wrong things. Here are a few examples:

1. In one game, the coaches are umpiring because it's a makeup game and no umpires are scheduled. The coaches are each calling balls and strikes for their own pitchers. One coach is aggressive, barking sharply at the opposing players that the balls he's calling are close and that the kids should be swinging. That conduct was troubling enough. His team was leading, but the other team was rallying and drew within one run with men on base. Then, there's a close play at second base. That coach's player is obstructing the baserunner's ability to get back to second base. The opposing player stumbled headfirst back to second and was safe. So what does the coach do -- in a demonstrative, almost theatrical, way, calls the baserunner out because the league has a rule that forbids head-first slides. Forget about the obstruction, forget about the fact that the season was young -- this (at least at the time) Tony LaRussa wannabe needed to win the game. Needless to say, the other teams' kids were crushed, their rally ruined because of a technicality. A high-school coach watching the action (and whose son was on the team that benefitted from the call told me) that the call was wrong, and most of the parents left scratching their heads wondering why the coach had to act the way he did.

2. In another game, the scorekeeper for one team that is in the lead, up four runs, announces with two outs in the last inning and the bases loaded that the trailing team was on its tenth batter. The rules allow for a maximum of ten batters in one inning. The trailing team's coaches shout from the other side of the field, "no, it's only the ninth batter." The scorekeeper for the leading team persists -- he had his facts straight. He walks toward home plate and politely says, "No, I can show you, it's the tenth batter." The opposing coaches continue to shout, "Ninth batter." The scorekeeper then walks all the way toward the opposing dugout, facts ready, to prove that it was the tenth batter. Only when he gets right near the dugout the other coaches relent and say, "You're right, it's the tenth batter." Needless to say, the coaches insisting upon "ninth batter" were trying to get as many batters up there to try to win -- and by breaking the rules.

3. In the same game as game #2, the tenth batter is up with the bases loaded. He hits a line drive down the first-base line that is foul by two feet. The trailing team's first-base coach shouts "fair ball" before the umps can say anything, and he has his players scurry around the bases. The leading team gets the ball into the infield, but after three runs have scored, the batter ending up on third. They wanted to count the runs, even though the ball was clearly foul. And, if they had gotten the batter home, they would have claimed a tie game. Again, what lessons are being taught by this conduct?

4. Games have time limits of about 1:40 (read: you cannot start a new inning after you hit that mark), and there have been several instances of coaches whose teams were in the lead trying to convince the umpires not to start another inning before the 1:40 mark has been reached (you can play past 1:40 if you start the last inning before 1:40). Sometimes their lobbying has prevailed, thereby depriving the other team of a rightful shot to win the game.

5. An opposing coach was heard yelling (in a bench-jockeying fashion) to the other team's 10 year-old pitcher who was struggling, "How do you feel about that?" after the pitcher had yielded a three-run triple.

6. A group of coaches insists upon pitching only their own kids. Another parent has been a coach in many leagues and at the high-school level. He volunteers to work with the team's pitchers, because he sees that their techniques are flawed. The coaches say "we have it under control", and the team finishes in last place, their pitching horrendous. All I'll say about this one is that if I were a coach and a dad or mom showed up with expertise that I didn't have and offered to help, I'd take them up on it in a second.

I had the occasion to talk to other parents about their kids' collective experiences, and I spoke to one woman whose son is an eighth-grader and who has umpired in these games. Her son has gotten heckled by parents while umpiring a game for seven and eight year-olds, most of whom don't know the strike zone, how to charge a ball and what base to throw to. Even in those leagues, where instruction is supposed to be emphasized, the umpires get grief and sometimes played by parents who purportedly know the rules better than they do. And all I can ask is -- for what purpose?

Why? Because these are kids' games that should be fun and shouldn't be decided because of over-aggressive behavior of some fathers who perhaps don't have as much balance in their lives as they should. Look, I'll be the first one to agree that all of us can have bad days and make mistakes, and some of the behavior I've seen and heard of has come from guys whose kids are friendly with mine and who have coached my kids. But most of it hasn't, and, collectively, the behaviors form a disturbing trend -- of winning at all costs, of winning dishonestly, and of winning in an undignified fashion. Those aren't the lessons we want to be teaching our kids.

What motivates the pattern of behavior is beyond me. Sure, some kids will play in high school and some might earn admission to colleges because of their ability, with even fewer earning scholarships or playing, and with only the once in a generation kid from these parts making the Majors, and, if then, for more than a cup of coffee. Yet, you would think that some parents believe that through being more overbearing than they realize they will develop the next Chase Utley. But the last time I checked, only San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic seemed to develop boatloads of kids at once for the Majors. One can dream, I suppose, instead of teaching the fun and rewards of clean and fair competition, the need for exercise, and the good things that can come out of activities like this -- instead of simply winning.

A friend went to high school with a guy who became an All-Star. This friend grew up in the Midwest, and the future All-Star was an also-ran as a kid. He was the smallest, not the most gifted, but he was among the most determined and worked harder than anyone else. His high school career was just okay, and the kid walked on at a junior college, where his work ethic and determination paid dividends. After two years there, he went to a Pac-10 school (I believe as not even one of their elite prospects) and again, through hard work and determination, stood out. He ended up playing for about 13 years in the majors, starring for two very good teams. Of course, the guy had talent, but he worked harder and wanted it more than almost everyone else. He made it for many reasons, but not because his father invoked a technical rule early in the season to kill a rally, heckled an opposing pitcher or tried to play games with the lineup card.

Perhaps all coaches of kids' sports and all sports parents should take a step back and remember that. Yes, you do play to win, but fairly and squarely, stressing competition, preparation, smart play, hustle, teamwork and comraderie along the way.

The Phillies' Farm System is the Best It's Been in Years

Click here for a story about a Rice-educated pitcher who is 8-1 at AA (despite not having blazing stuff or having totally mastered his pitches).

Click here for a story about a more intriguing prospect, the very large and strong outfielder, Michael Taylor, a Stanford alum who doesn't strike out much and is in the top 10 in most categories in the Eastern League.

While Savery projects as a back-end-of-the-rotation guy, it's harder to tell about Taylor except that the numbers don't lie. What I mean by that is that I've read that the only two untouchables in the Phillies' organization are OF Dominic Brown and P Kyle Drabek. That said, it's hard to believe that the Phillies will dangle Taylor unless they get someone significant in return. And with Jake Peavy, Chris Young and Roy Halladay (the latter of whom would appear to be untouchable) on the DL and big bucks owed to Roy Oswalt, it's hard to see who that someone might be.

Read the very good articles from the Philadelphia Daily News and see if you agree with me about Taylor. Still having vivid memories of the Ivan DeJesus trade (which gave both the aging Larry Bowa and the unproven Ryne Sandberg to the Cubs), I shudder to think that you'd trade Taylor for the Pirates' Ross Ohlendorf, only to see the latter have a Dick Ruthven/Tyler Green type of career while the former goes on to put up Hall of Fame numbers. Then again, picture a lineup with Rollins, Utley, Ibanez, Howard and Taylor in it, and smile, at least at the prospects for that group.

FBI Answers Question Regarding Jimmy Hoffa

You all know the "coffin corner" jokes by now, that the remains of one-time Teamsters Union head Jimmy Hoffa were buried in the end zone of Giants Stadium. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought that with the imminent teardown of the stadium, would the FBI search for the remains of the former union leader.

The answer is no.

Read the whole thing, but the gist of it is that the FBI doesn't think that there's much to the tale. So much so that if they did think that there was something to it, they would have done some excavation work a while back.

Still, on the off chance that an FBI agent and Giants fan has the day off on the day that the end zone in question is torn up, might he show up, just in case, just out of curiosity?

Then again, if the FBI doesn't, what makes you think that the New York Post and New York Daily News won't?