Utley & Vick: At first blush you might not think Michael Vick and Chase Ultey have anything in common. But you are wrong. They do. Well, sort of.

You know about Vick, no use in belaboring that any more. But here's where Utley figures in. Chase's wife Jennifer is a volunteer for the SPCA. So while Chase is either rehabbing or driving in runs, Jennifer is helping abused animals.

In fact, recently in West Philly a boxer mix was found severely beaten and tortured (someone doused it with gas and set it on fire) and the Utley's are paying for the dogs medical treatment and rehabilitation. So on one hand you have Michael Vick, and on the other, Jennifer Utley.

If you were a dog, which one would you like to go home with?

The Eagles and them some: Seems like the Eagles get a free pass with the media in this town. I don't see a lot of good reporting, I see a lot of ass kissing. I listened to Howard interview Donovan McNabb on my way home from work and it made me so sick the way Howard was kissing up to McNabb, I had to turn it off. But call in and say something good about the Phillies? Forgetaboutit.

And when Britt got busted for breaking his parole and thrown into jail, later at the Eagles' press conference Coach told the press to stay away from family questions. And they did! With the exception of one producer who asked if Coach was planning to take any time off. Whoa, tough question. I wonder if Charlie Manuel was in the same situation...would they have kept their traps shut? I don't think so.

The newspapers seem like public relations pieces for the Eagles. Bring back Bill Lyon.

Cell phones: Not that I would call in to 610, but you would be amazed at how many people I see driving seventy miles and hour on I-95 and talking on their cell phones. So I wonder, how many accidents have been caused by someone calling 610 on their cell and arguing with Howard or Angelo?  Or dialing for that matter. I realize they have a shortened call number but it only takes an instant when you are doing 70 on I-95(and that's slow).

Ballpark tonight: We'll be there tonight. But after watching the Padres on television for a few innings, I'm not sure the Phillies can beat them. They reminded me of what a Maryland farmer said about Lee's troops passing by on their way north to a little country shoe-making town in southern Pennsylvania: "They looked mean and hungry, like hungry wolves..." The Padres do look mean and hungry.

And the rookie made a mistake.  Sarge was wrong, that slide Ruiz made wasn't just aggressive baseball. Ruiz brought his body up into Giles--like a body block--and I think Ruiz was lucky Giles couldn't get to him. But it woke up the Padres and they took the Phillies apart with their bats, not their fists. A good lesson for kids.

Coste: Hope Coste is in the lineup tonight, but I still don't think he's a good catcher. He looks uncomfortable and awkward. Our seats at PNC Park were very close to the catcher and I watched the whole night...and  awkward is the right word. But my God, he's hitting .345. And he's trying his heart out.

He looks kind of awkward swinging the bat, too. He's got that little hitch in his swing. Hmmm, maybe Ryan Howard should look so awkward.

A ball guy: In Pittsburgh we were right behind the Phillies dugout; 30 minutes prior to the start of the game, there were lots of kids trying to get Phillies autographs from behind the dugout. That's because there were a lot of Phillies' fans at the game and they brought their kids (and it was fireworks night). Anyway, a Phillie in the dugout was tossing out balls one right after another to the kids. It appeared he had a bucket of them. The kids in turn would toss them back, he'd flip the ball to another Phillies player to sign, get it back, and toss it back out. This was ongoing for maybe ten or fifteen minutes. The kids were going crazy and having fun, and it appeared the Phillies were, too.

We couldn't see who was doing all the flipping from our seats. But I had to know so I got up and walked maybe fifty feet to our left so I had a better angle into the dugout. The flipper? New Phillie Russell Branyan. Well, he's got two new fans.

Hey Russell, that was nice.

 

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