This Day in Fightin' Phils History

On this day in Fightin' Phils history, the Phils inducted former player and coach John Vukovich to the Wall of Fame. On March 8th, 2007, Vukovich succumbed to a brain tumor that he had for six years. For the 2007, the Phillies wore a patch that said "Vuk" and dedicated the season in the memory of "Vuk."

"Vuk" was drafted 10th overall in the 1966 draft and played third, second and first base. In seven seasons with the Phillies as a player, "Vuk" had a .163 batting average, one homer and 22 RBI in 153 games. "Vuk" played for the Phillies between 1970-1971 and 1976-1981. He played two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers and one season with the Cinncinnati Reds.

This Day in Fightin' Phils History

On this day i n 1996, Phillies pitching great, Jim Bunning, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Bunning pitched for the Phillies from 1964 to 1967 & 1970 to 1971. Bunning pitched for the Detroit Tigers from 1955 to 1963, the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1968 and the first half of 1969 before being trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In six seasons with the Fightin's Phils, Bunning went 89-73 with a 2.93 ERA. Bunning threw 65 complete games while with the Phillies.

In the 1967, Bunning finished second in the Cy Young voting by finishing the year with a record of 17-15 and a 2.29 ERA. Mike McCormick from the San Francisco Giants won the Cy Young Award in 1967 with a 22-10 record and 2.85 ERA.

During the campaign, Bunning threw 16 complete games and threw 302.1 innings pitched. In 1967, Bunning threw 253 strikeouts and only walked 73 batters. Bunning appeared in two all-star games while with the Phillies.

Bunning finished his career with 224 wins and a 3.27 ERA in 14 Major League seasons.

Did the Phillies Make the Right Move?

Yesterday, the Phillies went out and got their front end of the rotation help by acquiring Roy Oswalt from the Houston Astros for left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ, outfielder Anthony Gose and short stop Jonathan Villar.

The key to the deal was the fact the Astros will pay $11 million of the $23 million left on Oswalt's contract. This was key because it is well known that the Phillies wanted to keep their payroll at $150 million plateau. That was the reason the organization gave when they dealt Cliff Lee to the Mariners after the Phillies acquired Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Now the debate begins if the Phillies did the right thing by trading away Lee. In some respects, the acquisition of Oswalt was the Phillies admitting to the league and to the Philly faithful that they made the wrong decision in dealing Lee.

Of course, there is no way to tell if the Phillies would have been in the same position they are in now if they had Lee or not. But the contract extension with Lee wasn't going anywhere at the time he was dealt. At the end of the season, the Phillies didn't want someone like Lee to just walk and not get something in return for him. So they thought at the time getting a couple of prospects in return for Lee would be better.

There is still a chance, but slim, that the Phillies will pick up Oswalt's 2012 option. But Oswalt will have to earn that option by his performance on the mound. Oswalt has to show that he can adjust to pitching in "the Bank." The Phils, by 2012, will have $22.5 million cleared out with the departures of Raul Ibanez and Brad Lidge. This will create room for the Phillies to re-sign Oswalt and stay under the $150 million plateau the Phils brass want to stay under.

Time will tell if Phils just rented another playoff for a race to the World Series or if this will be an important cog to their machine for the future.

Philly Sports Developments for Today

Here are a couple of Philly sports developments on this Wednesday, July 28th.

1. Phillies top prospect, outfielder Domonic Brown, has been called up to the Fightin's as Shane Victorino goes on the DL with an oblique injury.

The much await debut of Brown will be tonight and can be seen in right field wearing No. 9. This move most likely signifies that there will be no trade involving Jayson Werth. The 22-year old Brown batted .327 with 20 home runs and 68 RBI in 93 games at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

2. 76ers swingman Andre Iguodala made it threw the first round of cuts for Team USA basketball.

Igoudala is part of the final 15 players but the Team USA roster will be trimmed to 12 after a camp in New York City that will be from August 10th to 16th. Chester native Tyreke Evans didn't make the final 15.

3. Flyers winger Ville Leino is recovering well from hip surgery.

Leino, who made a huge contribution in the Stanley Cup Finals run this past year for the Flyers, will be on crutches for two more weeks and is expected to be ready for training camp. Leino had 21 points in the Stanley Cup playoffs, which tied a NHL rookie record.

4. Division I-AA National Champion Wildcats have been selected to finishfirst in the CAA this year.

This comes as no suprise that the Villanova Wildcats are the preseason favorites to win the CAA. Wide receiver and return man Matt Sczcur was selected preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Linebacker Terence Thomas was selected as preason Defensive Player of the Year.

This Day in Fightin' Phils History

In 2007 on this day, general manager Pat Gillick beefed up the starting lineup and, later on, the bench by acquiring infielder Tadahito Iguchi for right-handed pitcher Michael Dubee.

Iguchi played a pivotal role in getting the Phillies to clinching the National League East crown, which was the first since 1993. The Phillies won the NL East on the last day of the regular season as the Mets lost a seven-game lead with seventeen games remaining.

Iguchi had a .303 batting average in 49 regular season games with the Phillies. Iguchi had three home runs and 12 RBI. Iguchi stepped into the lineup immediately as Chase Utley was on the DL with a broken bone in his right hand.

In his four seasons in the majors, Iguchi had a .268 batting average in 493 regular season games. Iguchi had 91 doubles, 44 home runs and 205 RBI. In 2005, Iguchi also finished fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting as reliever Houston Street took that award home.

A Slow Start After the All-Star Break leads to Thompson's firing

After winning a 2-0 extra inning game against St. Louis on Thursday, Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson was relieved of his duties as hitting coach. Greg Gross, who has been helping with Phillies player development in the minor leagues, will take over as the Phillies hitting coach.

The firing of Thompson was a bit surprising but the move could be understood. The Phillies haven't performed up to their offensive capabilities but there is a reason for that. The Fightin's have suffered injuries to key players. Short stop Jimmy Rollins hasn't been able to get things straight at the plate after suffering a calf injury. Also, third baseman Placido Polanco as spent time on the DL. Most importantly, the bat of second baseman Chase Utley can't be expected to be replaced by Wilson Valdez.

As a team, going into Saturday's game, the Phillies ranked sixth in the National League and 12th in the Majors with 443 runs scored. Rollins is currently struggling at the plate with a .234 batting average. Along with Rollins' struggles, Ibanez, Victorino and Utley have had down years. Plus, the bench for the Phillies has been basically non-existent.

Even though Valdez and Juan Castro have been asked to play everyday for Rollins and Utley, the Phils have shown the ability to not get the clutch hit or win the low scoring games. Greg Dobbs, who normally has the best bat of the bench in previous years, has been sent down for a little bit because of his .202 batting average.

The Phils in the past six years, under Thompson instruction, has finished in the top three in the NL in runs scored. But is it Thompson's fault for the injuries to Utley, Polanco and Rollins? Thompson job is to help the Phils offense produce. That could be through helping a batters swing.

The Phillies can't go ahead and trade every player that isn't performing well so the organization made the easiest and cleanest decision by firing Thompson. The firing most likely was done to send a message to the offense to get things done and provide more run support. The Phils, before Saturday's game, are six games out from the NL East lead and 3.5 games out of the Wild Card.

The Phils have a slim chance to grab a playoff spot and may actually be buyers at the trade deadline on July 31st. The firing of Milt Thompson was made to send a message to the whole Phillies roster that the team needs to step it up to make their fourth year in a row to the playoffs.

This Day in Fightin' Phils History

In 1922 on this day, eleven-year old Bob "Tuffy Reds" Cotter caught a foul ball at the Phillies' Baker Bowl. Cotter refused to return the ball and decided to keep it. At that time, fans use to return foul balls but that day was a turning point. Stadium ushers arrested "Tuffy Reds" and sent him to jail. Cotter was freed the next morning by a judge who said that Cotter was "following his most natural instincts." The Phillies was the first team to create an official policy stating that fans could keep foul balls.

This Week's Philly Sports Headlines

This is the top five headlines in Philadelphia sports this week.
1. The Phillies swept the Reds going into the All-Star break
2. The Sixers sign draftee Evan Turner
3. Flyers sign winger Nikolai Zherdev; re-sign Carcillo
4. Phillies activate Durbin from DL; designate Figueroa for assignment
5. Eagles sign draftee Riley Cooper

Honorable Mention:
Delonte West pleads guilty to weapons charges
Billy King hired to be Nets GM
Rockets match Cavs offer to Kyle Lowry

Did the All-Star Break Come at the Right Time for the Fightin's?

As baseball fans tonight sit down and watch their favorite players perform tonight, many of those fans whose teams are in contention right now might be debating if the all-star break came at the right time for their team. This debate is for sure occurring in the City of Brotherly Love. Some Phillies fans might already be hitting the panic button. But how is that different from any other year for the Phillies or for your Eagles, Flyers and Sixers.

Living out in Pittsburgh for the time being, I can't really catch all the Phillies on television. But I do try to see the highlights of the games. So when the Phillies came into town for a four game series against the Pirates, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to catch a Phillies in person at PNC Park. I thought it was an great opportunity for the Phillies to make up ground in the National League East as the next series would be against the NL East leading Braves. But that wasn't the case, the Phillies lost three out of four in the series and then lost two out of three against the Braves.

After losing three out of four to the Buccos, I felt like the Phillies missed out on a great opportunity and I started to sweat after they lost the next series to the Braves. The only reason why I started to only sweat was because I understood the Phillies were injury rittled the whole first-half of the season and currently still don't Chase Utley and Placido Polanco back yet from DL.

The pitching wasn't as big as a problem as the offense was in Pirates series. The offense showed an inability to hit with runners in scoring position.

Now, since the Phillies were able to sweep the NL Central leading Reds with four games straight of late inning heroics, the break has come at just the right time. Polanco will hopefully try to give it a go against the Chicago Cubs, the first series out of the break. But it's most likely he will come back against the Cardinals in the series that follows the Cubs.

The Phils better come out of the gates fast against the Cubs and have a successful series because the Phils go to St. Louis for four games and then come home for four against the Rockies. The Phils get a break, sort of, when the Diamondbacks come in for three and then the Fightin's go to the Nation's Capital, Washington D.C., for three.

The Braves face a tougher road coming out of the gate. They have to face the Brewers and Padres for three games each at home. The Braves then have to go on the road to face the Florida Marlins, Nationals, and Reds for three games each. The Phillies have an opportunity to make more ground up before the trade deadline.

Today's Birthday Wish to a Philadelphia Pro Athlete

I want to send an early birthday wish to Andy Ashby. July 11th marks Ashby's 43rd birthday. Ashby was signed as an amateur free agent in 1986 by the Phillies. He made his professional debut on June 10th, 1991 against the Cincinnati Reds, allowing five runs on four hits while striking out four and walking three in four innings. Ashby took the loss as the Phillies lost, 9-3, to the Reds. Ashby was selected 25th overall by the Colorado Rockies in the 1992 Expansion Draft. But on November 10th, 1999, Ashby returned to Philadelphia in a trade from the San Diego Padres for Adam Eaton, Carlton Loewer, and Steve Montgomery. In three seasons as a Phillie, Ashby had a record of 6-15 with a 6.14 ERA. Ashby pitched 14 season in the majors and finished his career with a record of 98-110 and 4.12 ERA. Ashby also was selected to two all-star teams while as a member of the Padres in 1998 and 1999. Ashby pitched for the Phillies, Rockies, Padres, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

This Day in Fightin' Phils History

On this day in Fightin' Phils history, short stop Kevin Stocker made his professional debut in 1993 at the Vet against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Stocker had a bit of struggle in the 7-6 Phillies victory that was 20 innings long. Stocker, a Phillies 1991 second round draft pick, went 0 for 6 including two strikeouts along with two walks. In the field, Stocker had four assists and two putouts along with an error. In 1993, Stocker appeared in 70 games and finished the year with a batting average of .324, two home runs and 31 RBI. Stocker finished sixth in the 1993 Rookie of the Year voting which was won by Phoenixville native, Mike Piazza, who was with the Dodgers. Piazza finished the season with a batting average of .318, 35 home runs and 112 RBI. On November 18, 1997, Stocker was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Bobby Abreu. Stocker played two and a half years in Tampa Bay until Stocker was released on May 25, 2000. But five days later, Stocker was picked up by the Anaheim Angels, where he played in 70 games. Stocker finished his eight-year career with a batting average .254, 23 home runs, and 248 RBI.

The Time is Now to Move Jayson Werth

Today's news of second baseman Chase Utley needing to have surgery on his right thumb may have just forced the Phillies to seriously think about trading right fielder Jayson Werth. With Utley being out for the next eight weeks and third baseman Placido Polanco also being out with an inflamed left elbow, a Phillies lineup that once looked very potent now looks like a shell of themselves.

A couple of trades will needed to be pulled off by General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. to strengthen the lineup and possibly the back end of the pitching rotation. Werth will be movable piece on the Phillies since the club's top prospect outfielder Domonic Brown is waiting in the wings for his moment on the big stage.

With each day passing and no progress on a new deal for Werth, it looks more and more like next year the left fielder for the Phillies on opening day will be Brown. Why not now try to get something in return for Werth instead of just letting him walk at the end of the season.

The Phillies have been in this position before when Utley missed some action in 2007 season. That season, General Manager Pat Gillick went out and acquired Tadahito Iguchi, who fared to prosper while being a Phillie.

Even if the Phillies weren't in their injury depleted situation, they should have looked to move Werth anyways to acquire prospects to replenish the farm system. With recent acquisitions of pitchers Joe Blanton, Cliff Lee, and Roy Halladay, the farm system has been emptied out. Even with the Phillies trading Lee to Seattle this past off season, the farm system doesn't have the prospects that the organization should have if they run into a situation like being injury riddled.

This Day in Fightin' Phils History

On this day in 1933, outfielder Chuck Klein hit for the cycle in a 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. This was Klein's second of his career. Klein's previous cylce occurred in 1931. Klein spent 15 of his 19 year career with the Phillies. Klein finished the 1933 season with a .368 batting average, 28 homers and 120 RBIs. Klein was voted to his first of two All-Star teams in 1933, while finishing second in the NL MVP race behind New York Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell. Klein led the NL in ten statistical categories including hits, doubles, homers, RBIs, batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, OPS, OPS+, and total bases. Klein was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 1980.

Also on this day in 1980, pitcher Steve Carlton became the National League pitcher to throw six one-hitters in their career. Ten years later, third baseman Mike Schmidt's uniform #20 was retired by the Phillies.

This Day in Fightin' Phils History

On this day in 1983, Steve "Lefty" Carlton struck out four in a 5-0 loss to the San Diego Padres. But the southpaw was able to move into second place on the career all-time strikeout list, passing Walter Johnson, who finished his career with 3,511 strikeouts. At the end of the season, Carlton finished the season ahead of Nolan Ryan with 3,709 strikeouts. Carlton finished his career with 4,136 strikeouts and is currently sitting fourth all-time.