Jeanmar Gomez Designated for Assignment

Hi everybody,

The Phillies DFA (Designated for Assignment) relief pitcher Jeanmar Gomez yesterday (June 20th) and brought up Triple A pitcher Hoby Milner to replace him in the bullpen.  The Phils will have seven days to try to trade Gomez and if they don't he will be released.

Gomez has pitched poorly since before losing the job as the closer at the end of last season.  He has had an ERA (Earn Run Average) of 9.64 since August 14, 2016.  I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Throwback Thursday (2-16-17)

Hi everybody,

This week's Throwback Thursday moment is from last October following the final game of the Phillies 2016 Season.  As is my custom...I take off my Phils jersey following the last game of the Phillies season and put on my Eagles jersey.  With Spring Training starting up...I'll soon be putting my Phillies jersey back on again.

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Phillies Officially Cut Ties With Ryan Howard

Hi everybody,

The Phillies have officially released first baseman Ryan Howard yesterday when they declined his 2017 club option on his contract.  The Phils will instead pay Howard $10 million dollars and he becomes a free agent.

This move is no surprise since the Phils had a big ceremony honoring the Big Piece before the final game of the season last month (Ryan Howard Honored by the Phillies and the Fans on the Last Day of the 2016 Season) but it is still a sad day.  Howard was the last Phillie from the 2008 World Series team as well as era of success from 2007-2011.  Good luck wherever you end up Big Piece.  I'll be rooting for you and you will always be a Phille to me.

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Matt Stairs Hired As New Phillies Hitting Coach

Hi everybody,

Phillies broadcaster and former player Matt Stairs has been hired as the new hitting coach.  Stairs played for the Phillies in 2008-2009 where he became a folk hero for the Home Run he crushed against the Dodgers in the 2008 NLCS.  He rejoined the team in 2014 as a member of the Phillies broadcast team.

Stairs replaces former hitting coach Steve Henderson, who was let go at the end of the 2016 season.  Stairs replacement in the broadcast booth has not yet been named.

Congrats on becoming the new hitting coach Mr. Stairs and I hope that you are extremely successful.

Stairs go BOOM!!!

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Freddy Galvis and Odubel Herrera are Gold Glove Award Finalists

Hi everybody,

I just wanted to congratulate Phillies shortstop Freddy Gavis and Phillies center-fielder Odubel Herrera for being Gold Glove Award finalists for the 2016 season.  The Gold Glove is awarded to players who have provided excellent defense in their position...which Galvis and Herrera have given the Phillies all this past season.  The winners will be announced on November 8th.  Good luck Freddy and El Torito!

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Odubel Herrera Chosen As Phillies Nominee for 2016 Hank Aaron Award

Hi everybody,

I just wanted to congratulate Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera for being selected as the Phillies player up for the 2016 Hank Aaron Award.  The Hank Aaron Award is given to the top offensive player in both the American and National Leagues.  The award will be presented to the winners during the World Series.  Congrats for being chosen as the Phils player up for the award, El Torito!

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Time to Put My Phils Jersey Away

Hi everybody,

With the 2016 season coming to a close...it's time for me to put my Phillies jersey away.  Will still be watching playoff baseball and rooting for Chase, Chooch and Cole as well as watching Eagles football but this time of year is always a little sad for me.  I'll miss watching the Phils every night and bummed that the winning era from 2007-2011 is officially over with the Big Piece leaving.

We'll still have some fun on the blog though and before you know it...it will be time to put that Phils jersey back on again.

See you in 2017 Phillies...

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Ryan Howard Honored by the Phillies and the Fans on the Last Day of the 2016 Season

Hi everybody,

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard was honored by the organization and fans with a 15-minute ceremony before the final game of the season that celebrated his time here in Philadelphia.

Howard (who is not expected to return next season) was honored with a video tribute showing many of his career highlights.  He was also informed that a plaque was being placed in Section 145, Row 7 to mark the spot where his club-record 58th home run landed in 2006.  He also received a replica of that plaque as well as hand-painted glove from the Phillies.

Howard Plaque

After all that, the Big Piece emotionally addressed the crowd:

This is crazy.

[applause]

All this has kind of come up on me really fast. I really didn't know what I was going to say.

[Fan: We love you, Ryan!]

I love you, too.

[applause]

I just want to thank you guys, the fans, again for making this all possible. For making it fun. We had some good runs, didn't we?

[applause]

I'm just a laid-back cat from St. Louis out here trying to play ball. That's it. It's been fun, man, these last 12 years. You guys all made it possible. The Phillies, I want to thank you guys for taking a kid in the fifth round out of, well now it's Missouri State, but Southwest Missouri State University. Giving me the opportunity. This city as a whole, man. I want to thank you because I've grown with all of you.

[applause]

My family has grown with all of you.

[applause]

On behalf of my teammates, I want to thank you guys for coming out and supporting us all year. I know it's been up and down and crazy, but these guys have really worked their butts off to try to be the best that they can each day and each night on this field. To my teammates, I salute you.

[applause]

I don't really have too much more than that, man. This is great. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. Let's play this game, man. Let's play this game.


Every time Howard came up to bat throughout the game...he was met with a standing ovation.  When he was pulled from the game in the top of the ninth inning, he was able to receive one last standing ovation from the Phillies fans.

With Howard's imminent departure...the era of success from 2007-2011 sadly comes to an end.  I wish you luck for the remainder of your career Big Man and I look forward to the day your Wall of Fame plaque is placed in Citizens Bank Park.  You will always be a Phillie to me!  Thank you, Big Piece!

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Final Chase Utley Dodgers Stats for the 2016 Regular Season

Hi everybody,

Here are Chase's final batting stats for the 2016 regular season:



Games Played = 138
At Bats = 512
Runs Scored = 79
Hits = 129
Doubles = 26
Triples = 3
Home Runs = 14
RBIs = 52
Walks = 40
Strike Outs = 115
Stolen Bases = 2
Caught Stealing = 2
Batting Average = .252
On Base Percentage = .319
Slugging Percentage = .396
On Base + Slugging Percentage = .716


Chase's has stayed fairly consistent through the end of the season.  I hope he continues to play well in the postseason and gets to the World Series.

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

2016 NL East Final Standings

Hi everybody:

Here are the final standings for the NL East this season:



NL East                                      W         L         PCT          GB

Washington Nationals             95        67         .586            --
New York Mets                         87        75        .537             8 
Miami Marlins                           79         82       .491          15.5
Philadelphia Phillies                71        91        .438           24
Atlanta Braves                          68        93        .422          26.5


The Phillies ended the season with eight more wins than they had in the 2015 season (63-99).  They also finished in fourth place in the division rather than in the basement. Hopefully we shall see even more improvement in 2017.

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Game 162: Mets (87-74) at Phillies (70-91)

Hi everybody,

Here is the score of yesterday's game:

New York Mets:                          2
Philadelphia Phillies:                 5


SP:   Jerad Eickhoff

WP:   Colton Murray (1-1)
SV:    Hector Neris (2)


RBIs:

Maikel Franco = 1 (88)
Cesar Hernandez = 1 (39)
Jimmy Paredes = 1 (17)
Aaron Altherr = 1 (23)

Runs Scored:

Cesar Hernandez = 1 (67)
Maikel Franco = 1 (67)
Andres Blanco = 1 (26)
Aaron Altherr = 1 (23)
Cody Asche = 1 (22)


The Phillies finish the season with a record of 71-91 and that my friends is that...except for one more thing.  Thank you Ryan Howard!

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Game 161: Mets (86-74) at Phillies (70-90)

Hi everybody,

Here is the score of the game on Saturday, October 1st:

New York Mets:                          5
Philadelphia Phillies:                 3

SP:   Phil Klein

LP:   Patrick Schuster (0-1)


RBIs:

Ryan Howard = 2 (59)
Darin Ruf = 1 (9)

Home Runs:

Ryan Howard = 1 (25)
Darin Ruf = 1 (3)

Runs Scored:

Maikel Franco = 1 (66)
Ryan Howard = 1 (35)
Darin Ruf = 1 (8)


Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Game 160: Mets (85-74) at Phillies (70-89)

Hi everybody,

Here is the score of the game on Friday, September 30th:

New York Mets:                          5
Philadelphia Phillies:                 1

SP:   Alec Asher

LP:   Alec Asher (2-1)


RBIs:

Cameron Rupp = 1 (54)

Runs Scored:

Maikel Franco = 1 (65)


Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Phils Having Ceremony To Honor Ryan Howard On Sunday

Hi everybody,

Phils first baseman Ryan Howard is being honored in a pre-game ceremony before the last game of the season this Sunday (October 2nd)...which will likely be Howard's last game as a member of the Phillies.

Howard has played for the Phillies for his entire career and was one of the cornerstones of the 2007-2011 run of five straight NL East division titles, two National League championships (2008-2009) and the World Series title (2008).  Phils skipper Pete Mackanin says that he plans the play the Big Piece in all three of the remaining games of the season.

Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Game 159: Phillies (70-88) at Braves (65-92)

Hi everybody,

Here is the score of last night's game:

Philadelphia Phillies:                   2
Atlanta Braves:                             5

SP:   Jeremy Hellickson

LP:   Jeanmar Gomez (3-5)


RBIs:

Odubel Herrera = 1 (49)
Aaron Altherr = 1 (22)

Runs Scored:

A.J. Ellis = 1 (3)
Jeremy Hellickson = 1 (3)


Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Game 158: Phillies (70-87) at Braves (64-92)

Hi everybody,

Here is the score of last night's game:

Philadelphia Phillies:                   2
Atlanta Braves:                            12

SP:   Adam Morgan

LP:   Adam Morgan (2-11)


RBIs:*

Ryan Howard = 1 (57)

* An additional run scored due to a wild pitch in the 3rd inning

Runs Scored:

Odubel Herrera = 1 (87)
Aaron Altherr = 1 (22)


Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Game 157: Phillies (70-86) at Braves (63-92)

Hi everybody,

Here is the score of last night's game:

Philadelphia Phillies:                   6
Atlanta Braves:                             7

SP:   Jerad Eickhoff

LP:   David Hernandez (3-4)


RBIs:*

Ryan Howard = 4 (56)
Cameron Rupp = 1 (53)

* An additional run scored due to a throwing error in the 2nd inning

Home Runs:

Ryan Howard = 1 (24)**

** Grand Slam in the 1st inning

Runs Scored:

Roman Quinn = 2 (10)
Odubel Herrera = 1 (86)
Maikel Franco = 2 (64)
Ryan Howard = 1 (34)


Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Game 156: Phillies (70-85) at Mets (82-73)

Hi everybody,

Here is the score of yesterday's game:

 Philadelphia Phillies:               0
New York Mets:                        17

SP:   Jake Thompson

LP:   Jake Thompson (3-6)


Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Game 155: Phillies (69-85) at Mets (82-72)

Hi everybody,

Here is the score of the game on Saturday, September 24th:

Philadelphia Phillies:              10
New York Mets:                        8

SP:   Alec Asher

WP:   Alec Asher (2-0)
SV:    Michael Mariot (2)


RBIs:

Maikel Franco = 3 (87)
Alec Asher = 2 (2)
Tommy Joseph = 2 (47)
Darin Ruf = 3 (8)

Home Runs:

Maikel Franco = 1 (25)
Darin Ruf = 1 (2)

Runs Scored:

Cesar Hernandez = 1 (66)
Roman Quinn = 1 (8)
Odubel Herrera = 2 (85)
Maikel Franco = 2 (62)
Tommy Joseph = 2 (47)
Darin Ruf = 2 (7)


Talk to you soon,
Little Chase

Game 154: Phillies (69-84) at Mets (81-72)

Hi everybody,

Here is the score of the game on Friday, September 23rd:

Philadelphia Phillies:               5
New York Mets:                       10

SP:   Jeremy Hellickson

LP:   Jeremy Hellickson (12-10)


RBIs:

Cesar Hernandez = 1 (38)
Roman Quinn = 1 (6)
Maikel Franco = 1 (84)
Darin Ruf = 2 (5)

Home Runs:

Maikel Franco = 1 (24)
Darin Ruf = 1 (1)

Runs Scored:

Maikel Franco = 1 (60)
Freddy Galvis = 1 (61)
Cody Asche = 2 (21)
Darin Ruf = 1 (5)


Talk to you soon,
Little Chase