View from the Left Coast by a Lefty: Chooch

                                                View from the Left Coast by a Lefty:  Chooch

I don't know why I never did a piece on any of the other Phillies who left. Rollins and Utley came back, and got their deserved due. The all time hits leader and The Man. The fans got their chance to show the love, and show it they did. You will never hear walkup music for another non-Phillie, *EVER*. That song is my ringtone and every time my cell rings I think of Utley. Halladay and Lee were loved, but left injured. They were loved, but not to quite the same degree. I also hope Hamels comes back home to play before he retires as I don't think we'll play the AL West anytime soon. And I truly hope they give Howard the same respect in his last home game.

But this is about Chooch... where to start. An $8,000 pickup from the sandlots of Panama, when he came up nobody expected it to last very long. A true underdog who personified Philly, he worked his ass off to be an elite catcher. He didn't have to work at all to become one of the most loved and respected teammates as that came naturally. His kindness, class, and humility were always evident. The fans loved him from Day 1. He was the backbone of the pitching staff, working tirelessly to gain each pitcher's trust and pitch preferences. He called them HIS pitchers and took ownership of expectations and got results. He caught over 1,000 games for the Phillies joining Clay Dalrymple, Bob Boone, and Mike Lieberthal for that honor. In 08 and 09, World Series years, he caught every pitch of the playoffs and turned into one of the best and most clutch 8 hole hitters I've ever seen. No other 8 hole guy has ever influenced an offense as much.

They say the key to defense is be strong up the middle. In 80 it was Boone, Bowa, Cash, and Maddox. In 08 it was Chooch, Rollins, Utley, and Victorino. Nuff said. 

I moved back to Phoenix in March of 02 after 5.5 years in Dallas. Every season I went to at least one game when the Phillies came to town. at behind their dugout, usually 20-30 back. Sat with all the other Philly fans. Have yet to go to a game like that and see them lose since 02 as well. In all those years one thing never changed... whenever Ruiz came to the plate, or got a hit or drove in a run, the faithful all rose together and yelled CHOOOOOOOOOOCH as loud and as long as they could. I don't remember any other player being called by name.

There are certain people in everyone's life who directly or indirectly become unforgettable, and Chooch is one of them for me. To close I'm stealing a few lines from Inquirer columnist David Murphy:  "What is his legacy? You know that old piece of clothing, with that long ago smell? Maybe that is Ruiz: comfortable, familiar, enduring, a vehicle for our memories."


Bill S aka/netfather

Turner & Chooch

Hoodwink’d by cj hood

Turner & Chooch

COME ON RIDE THE TRAIN CHOOCH CHOOCH RIDE IT!

-CHOOCH IS AN ALL STAR! RUN TELL DAT!

-5 in a row! Pop the corks y’all!

-if we can’t have Ibanez & Wilson, I guess Raul Valdes is the next best thing.

-Contreras gotta win…now that’s some Mayans ish!

-Placido Polanco bka 2000 Man. #Ace #Stones

-yo DB29! Where you at?

-even Schneider had a homerun.

-the best part about Chooch’s hot streak is his postgame interviews. #whatdhesay

-how ‘bout a slow clap for Fat Joe.

-Hector Luna bka Spiderman. #nobodyknowswhoyouare

-what up with Worley?

-enough with the Utley updates…just tell me when he’s playing.

-if you want to stop Chooch’s hitting streak give him a 5yr/$125mill deal.

-Qualls should have to hand wash Diekman’s jock.

-T*Mac & Wheels squealed like 10 yr old girls when Sarge sang.

-anybody get last week’s bullpen joke? (read caption)

-nice walk off Pence, but your defense is lacking bro!

-yo Diamond Girl! Where you at?

-if Chooch gets any better we’re going to have to start calling him Arthur Choocharelli.

-Galvis’ recent success could be credited to the pep talk Wriz gave him when he

bumrushed his table at a local eatery.

WHAT UP BOSTON?!?

-the giveaway on the 19^th is a 3pack of condoms. #burrell

-haven't heard any news on Thome lately....wonder why?

-Steve Jobs, MCA, Donna Summer #fcancer

-I'd actually feel bad for Cliff Lee if he wasn't a millionaire.

-yo Kornhole! Where you at?

-Chooch is the best thing to happen to Philly since Schoolly D.

-the NL East is tighter than Andy Reid’s belt when he’s tying his shoes.

-FYI: Robin will be live FB’ing from the Meet & Greet for those of you who can’t make it.

-you know Comedy Train Wrek II will not be as good as the first one. #nohood

-Coor’s Field is now serving ‘Jamie Moyers’: half Monster half Metamucil.

-it won’t be hugs & kisses this weekend when Papp faces his old team.

-if you’re on Twitter use the hashtag #keepfightinggary for my 18 yr old cousin who’s fighting cancer for the 2^nd time.

-I’m making my season debut at CB Park this wknd…let’s get ‘bunted!!!

Drained

View from the Left Coast by a Lefty: Drained

This is the 3rd time I've sat down to try to write something, and still my fingers seem paralyzed. I have no mental energy and feel drained of original thought. I have been a Philly sports fan since 1958(except the 6ers, abandoned them *YEARS* ago and now the NBA in total). I have seen highs and lows(mostly lows), from the 1964 record collapse to the Reds to 1972 when the 6ers were 9-73 and Phillies 59-103. I did manage to see 2 of the 9 6er wins and Lefty win the Cy Young at 27-10, but those were small triumphs. These days with coverage of everything all day it's even more depressing to me to see the Flyers shit in their helmets and the Phils under .500. If there is a God, doesn't he/she know I don't have a whole lotta time left to see another World Series win, or another Stanley Cup, or a Superbowl winner? Am I that big of an asshole? Wait, don't answer the last one.

Since it's less than 3 weeks ‘til the Meet 'N' Greet II, let me dwell on the positive. It won't take long. I have no doubt Freddy Galvis will have a long, solid major league career. He will continue to learn to hit better and that's all you can ask of him. Worst case scenario for him is he will be a switch hitting Wilson Valdez, with a higher average and more power, and that won't suck. I wonder if he can pitch?

Chooch... what can you say about him other than wow? I honestly love that man, 110% effort day in and day out. I'll be beside myself if he isn't on the All Star team this year. Prediction: 106 RBI for him this year, lord knows we need it. I swear if he gets any better I am going to force all 4 of my kids, at gunpoint, to change their names to Carlos Ruiz Scardefield. Hint: keep an eye on http://www.azcentral.com for the breaking news stories about a crazed ex-mailman going postal on his kids for not changing their names.

Unfortunately now we go to the downside. First, can somebody please bitch-slap Cholly into remembering how to manage? Second, will Chase *EVER* play again? Third, will Ry Ry make it back before the trade deadline? RAJ is already considering selling, which makes my preseason prediction of no acquisitions by the deadline almost a lock. Fourth, and maybe the one that hurts the most, is what happened to HP3? He forgot how to catch? I'm now including him in my offer to teach Howard how to hit again as well. Please Phillies give me 2 weeks with both of these guys, and Ry Ry will hit to left again with power and Pence will lay off eye high fastballs. I shit you not, I could do this. And the farm system is bare... let's save that for another time.

Now comes the enigma that troubles me most. Why is Thome orbiting Neptune? Someone please help me out here, the man looks lost. Let me enlighten you guys on something that could have been. Before the Phils signed Thome they talked to Jason Giambi, someone who *CAN* play the field and still hit. Wanna know why they didn't sign him? He wanted 3 years and would have settled for 2 to move from CO. Digest that for a minute. Here are his stats this year:

Does that not look better than Thome's? I love the man but shit Giambi can still play 1B. I bet RAJ is rethinking this one big time. Yeah Thome agreed to 1 year but... ugh.

Well kiddies now you know why my fingers are numb and it took this long to write something. I can't do BillSwink'd and Wriz already has the piece of the year. So when you see me at the Meet'N'Greet 6/3 don't expect me to be any different unless the Phils win 12 in a row sometime between now and then. I just don't have the energy to see anything else. I'll even leave pitching (who the fuck is in the bullpen anymore?) until the next time.

So with a rum and coke in one hand and Bud Light Platinum in the other, LET'S GET BUNTED.

NetFather aka Bill S

****EDITORS NOTE

At NetFathers age its probably Carpal Tunnel

They hang, He Bangs, You Vote!

I’ve always taken my all-star voting duties VERY SERIOUSLY. I bleed Phillies red. I can slit my wrist and prove it to you, but I have always voted for the most deserving candidates. Now, if it was close, I’d always give the nod to a Fightin' Phil. The only time I’ve ever deviated was 1989 when I voted for Mike Schmidt after he retired. But to me and many other Phillies and baseball fans that was a special circumstance and was justified.

It goes against my core beliefs to even suggest a thing, but I am telling you, no, DEMANDING you to vote for Carlos Ruiz for the 2011 All-Star Game. It happens so few and far between that we, as Philadelphia Phillies fans, are given credit for doing the right thing so with nationwide props for the “U-S-A, U-S-A” chants is it too much to ask for us to do the right thing twice in the same season?

Chooch may not put up earth–shattering batting numbers. He’s never reached 10 HR’s or had more than 54 RBI’s in a season. But he has been the BEST defensive catcher in the bigs the past 4 seasons. If his last name was Molina, he’d have 3 gold gloves already. But poor Carlos was born a Ruiz and thus works his tools of ignorance in nationwide anonymity. Compare Ruiz to Yadier Molina the past 2 full seasons:

                                    Avg.    2B       HR      RBI    

Ruiz                            .280     54        17        96

Y. Molina                    .278     44        12        116

The big difference is that Molina has 3 Gold Gloves and 2 All-Star appearances. Chooch has none and zero.

I know he is hurt right now and wasn’t having the best statistical season, but Ruiz was worthy and received MVP consideration last season. And I’m talking league MVP not team. He finished 17^th  in NL MVP voting. The only other catcher to receive votes in the NL was Buster Posey.

All too often Philadelphia fans are so busy being critical and demanding we forget to take the time to appreciate the great athletes we do have while they are at the top of their game. Ruiz is 32 years old. He is a catcher. We won’t have many more opportunities to do right by him.

The Phillies have the highest average attendance in MLB let alone the NL which gives Chooch an immediate edge, but second is the San Francisco Giants and the aforementioned Posey. So vote early and vote often. Both in person and online. Urge your section’s usher to COLLECT the ballots. If not find a ballot box and stuff it. Stuff it like the Yankees rotation stuffs its faces at the buffet.

You might say that I’m just being a “homer” and rooting for my “boy”, but how many times have you heard the Phillies pitchers give Chooch credit not only for calling a great game, but for giving the them confidence to throw their nastiest breaking stuff when the game’s on the line and runners are on because they KNOW it’s not going to the backstop?  I don’t think any greater compliment or testimony to Ruiz’s talents than what Roy Halladay did for the Panamaniac in spring training. He had and exactly replica Cy Young made for him. Why? Maybe because Halladay had a 2.13 earned run average and held opponents to a .232 batting average last season when Ruiz was catching, but with anybody else behind the plate: 3.75 ERA, .294 batting average. Or maybe he just recognizes what Ruiz means to him and the Phillies. Do you?

See ya at the ballpark!

Jay Wrizight

jaywrizight@yahoo.com

Was it Werth it? Let me work it!

Hoodwink'd  by cj hood          

was it Werth it?  let me work it!              

-Howard should give Hudson some bunting lessons.

-Cliff Lee went down to Georgia looking for a game to steal…we all know how that went

-Only the Phillies could have 2 catchers hit homeruns in the same game.

-Hide your chains…it’s Friday!

-remember Chooch’s grandslam when it’s All Star voting time!

-Welcome back (Hamels) your K’s were your ticket out….

-Skip Bayless looks like Larry Dallas’ grandfather.

-Speaking of Carlos I was debating whether to subtitle this blog “2 Catchers…1 bat”

-My grandma said she saw Manny playing canasta on Miami Beach.

-the Ranger’s 3rd base coach has some Jim Jones type cred!

-in Welcome Back Hamels on broadway…the Wriz plays Juan Epstein.                

-I’m “Wheels in the booth with Leslie Gudell & Amy Fadool” excited about this season.

-How do I get a ‘bunts email address?

-now it’s time for a ‘soft rock’ break:

           Oh Manny!  Well you hit cuz the 'roids you were taking

but the Sox sent you away, Oh Manny!

       just being Manny, the rules of the game you were breaking

           Hall of Fame doesn't need you today, oh Manny! 

-Bonds only guilty on 1 charge?  Was Sosa the jury foreman?

-Werth’s performance in this series was like a Tyler Perry sitcom.  Just cuz people were watching doesn’t mean they were paying attention.

-the Red Sox couldn’t win BO (Bingo for idiots).

-yo Hamilton!  Only Pete Rose could pull off a head first slide.

-Props to DB29 for posting from his Blackberry while his wife was in labor…he’s the

 Rosa Parks of blogging.

-the Indians are more overrated than Words with Friends.

-Hamilton couldn’t steal a free sample from Pepperidge Farms.

-a homophobe, a rapist and a shooting guard walk into a bar….bartender goes “hey Kobe 

 can I get an autograph?”

-More people attended the Gaddafi Re-election Rally at the 3rd dune on the left of that really big mountain than at the ‘Nats/Marlins series.

-that last joke sucked.

-Joe Blanton is as much a threat as Mr. Roper is when the rent’s overdue. 

-what other website’s gonna give you two Three’s Company references in the same blog?

-don’t do steroids kids.  Unless you’re going to lie about it to a grand jury…then 

 it’s ok.

-Phils are 9-3 ….let‘s get bunted!!!!