Results tagged “homerunderby”

Come on... can you blame the guy?

The Daily News reports that Chase Utley has apologized for dropping an F-bomb at last night's All-Star Home Run Derby. The obscenity was caught by the ESPN microphone Utley was wearing as he took the field, an apparent response to the cacophony of boos that met the second baseman when he was introduced.

We would be terrible, awful, no good Phillies Phans (see what we did there?) if we didn't take the opportunity to congratulate Chase Utley, Cole Hamels and Aaron Rowand on their selection to the 2007 All-Star Game. We'll be honest - we were expecting that Utley would be elected starting second baseman, and we were fairly certain King Cole would make the cut on the mound. We were, however, pleasantly surprised to see Rowand make the team as a reserve. We've enjoyed watching Rowand's brand of gritty play since he was on the White Sox, and are particularly pleased that the rest of baseball appears to be taking notice.

Bobby Abreu’s first inning grand slam off of Mark Prior in the 92 degree heat at CBB gave Brett Myers a four run lead, enough room to pitch with a good amount of sloppiness. Myers flirted with disaster, giving up 10 hits to the 30 batters he faced. But luckily for Myers, and for the Phillies, Myers held off the Cubs without giving up one home run, although he did allow five doubles. The Phillies hit three home runs off of Prior, adding a Chase Utley shot in the fifth and a Todd Pratt blast in the fourth. Because the long ball tallies were all courtesy of the Phillies, the Cubs were never able to score more than 2 runs in an inning. Due to the early Phillies lead, Brett Myers could afford to be a little more aggressive to Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez than he otherwise might have been.

After his record-breaking performance in the Homerun Derby, Bobby Abreu has made a name for himself throughout Major League Baseball. Many Phillies fans love the idea of having a high-profile player on the team, but in a season where the team is deficient in several areas – pitching (both starting and relief), catching, etc. – it might be just the time to trade him while he has some value.

Leading off the All-Star game after nearly an hour of introductions and pre-game commercials, Bobby Abreu slapped a Mark Buehrle pitch into left field. Abreu’s line drive single was a dynamic way to start the All-Star Game, which too often feels like an advertisement rather than a baseball game. But the three Phillies selected to the team all treated it as an important game, going a combined 2-3 at the plate and drawing one walk. Billy Wagner was not used as each manager held back some pitchers in reserve just in case the game ran into extra innings. Jimmy Rollins picked up an infield single and turned a double play once he entered. And Tony LaRussa came close to using Wagner and Jason Isringhausen, the 2 closers not used, when the NL mounted a comeback, scoring 5 runs over the last 3 innings. The Phillies and their fans should be proud of the Phillies representation and performance at the game: Abreu showed great versatility not only by getting a hit to the opposite field, but by hitting in the lead-off spot, a position known for hitters able to make sacrifices in order to get on base. All of this coming only one night after he smacked 41 home runs in the Home Run Derby.

A Philadelphia Phillie is in the limelight of an event that spans all of Major League Baseball – and this time it’s not in the context of the MLB 2006 game you’ve been playing on your Playstation 2. Last night, Bobby Abreu shocked the entire baseball community – fans, players, himself -- when he won the 2005 Homerun Derby. It was surreal watching Abreu come up to bat first and crush ball after ball into the right-field stands.