Poor Richard's Scorecard

Citizens Bank Park Is Beautiful, But to Sell Tickets, the Phillies Needed to Realize It's the Wins, Stupid

BASEBALL EXECUTIVES who think shiny new retro parks with good beer and plush amenities will put rear ends into seats over the long term are very much mistaken. Surely the front offices in Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Washington, and Cincinnati would testify to this. A few years ago, the Phillies would, too.

The Phillies' Dull Spring Training Sounds About a Thousand Times Better Than Philadelphia's Far Too Eventful Winter

OUTSIDE MY office window, a gusty snow sweeps across the landscape. On television, sports played on snow and ice have taken center stage. Springtime seems about as far away as it can be.

Punxsutawney Phil Has Nothing on Roy Halladay and Ryan Howard

If you want a tried-and-true sign that springtime is no mere rumor, cast your eyes southward. Today, in Clearwater, Florida, Phillies pitchers and catchers will begin officially working out in preparation for the 2010 season. Several players, most notably new ace Roy Halladay--and how cool is it to say that--have already been working out, but today is when the chase begins in earnest.

Trust Must Be Earned--and the Phillies Have

Ruben Amaro, Jr., and Charlie Manuel took to the microphone again yesterday to defend dealing away Cliff Lee as part of the machinations that brought Roy Halladay to Philadelphia. As if they needed to.

In Which the Author (Sort of) Explains His Absence

The last time we spoke, Cliff Lee was the Phillies' best pitcher, the Eagles were trying to find themselves, and Allen Iverson and Peter Laviolette were new in town. Much has happened since then, and not simply on the sporting scene, which is why things have been sparse around here lately. Details on that soon; the good news is that the new year will bring a renewed commitment to the kind of trenchant Philadelphia commentary you have come to know and love. Until then, Happy New Year! | PRS

Thoughts on Myers, Feliz, Hamels, and Lidge

It's already been a busy off-season for the Phillies, so let's just dive in with a few thoughts, shall we?

• The decision to let Brett Myers go was the right one. The former first-round pick has developed a knack for injury to go along with rampant knuckleheadedness. Let him be someone else's problem.
• An upgrade of Pedro Feliz is going to cost more than the Phillies would have paid Feliz in 2010. I'd have applied the club option and used the money the team is going to spend on the new third baseman to boost pitching.
• I hope beyond hope that speculation the Phillies are looking to deal Cole Hamels has absolutely no basis in fact. Hamels is far too young and far too talented to give up on after a single disappointing season.
• The news of Brad Lidge's tendon surgery is being awfully soft-pedaled. David Murphy of the Daily News wrote yesterday, "Lidge, who blew 11 saves and posted a 7.21 ERA after going 41-for-41 in save opportunities in 2008, kept the periodic pain in his elbow under wraps during the regular season." Uh, what? Lidge is a stand-up guy, to be sure, but if this is true, he did his team an incredible disservice by pitching ineffectively when he could have been healing. | PRS

For the Phillies, a Wonderful Season Went on One Week Too Long

The better team won. There's no other way to say it. The Phillies' deficiencies--a patchwork rotation, an inconsistent bullpen, and yips with runners in scoring position--finally caught up to them in the World Series. That it took so long for the club finally to go down says much about its talent, its resilience, and its manager's ability to wring maximum effort out of every player on the roster. So, yes, credit the Yankees for earning their 27th title--and they earned it, it wasn't handed to them. But recognize, too, that the Phils took us on one hell of a joyride this season. While it didn't end in the euphoria of last October, I still wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world. | PRS

Gut-Check Win Preserves the Phillies' Season ... For Now

Last night was a time for the Phillies to look deep inside themselves and determine what their 2009 legacy will be. Turns out that while Cole Hamels can't wait for the season to end, his teammates want to keep playing. The Phils' gutsy, 8-6 win wasn't pretty--Philadelphia wins often aren't--but it got the job done: The World Series returns to Yankee Stadium for Game 6.

Season's Flaws Catch Up and Push Phillies to Edge of Elimination

The Charlie Manuel-era Phillies have been a play-one-at-a-time bunch, and at no time has that mindset been more needed than now. The Yankees have played nearly flawless baseball since the Phils' Game 1 victory, while Philadelphia has seen its shortcomings exposed in its three losses since then. Wobbly starts, back-of-the-bullpen problems, inconsistent hitting, and even mental errors have pushed the Fightin's to the brink of elimination.

Say It, Phans, and Wear It: There's No Crying in Baseball

Just in time for the World Series, Vintage Blue, the Philadelphia-based clothing line of retro-themed women's sportswear, has begun selling t-shirts in the 1970s and '80s Phillies powder blue with the classic A League of Their Own line "There's No Crying In Baseball." It's available in men's and women's styles, and if you enter the code word "gophillies" at checkout, you get five bucks off.

Vintage Blue holds the exclusive license to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, whose story was told, of course, in A League of Their Own. What makes League such a terrific baseball movie is its obvious respect for the game, regardless of who's playing it. Check out this exchange, between Hanks's Jimmy Dugan and Geena Davis's Dottie Hinson, and tell me the film doesn't get it: