Happy Ides of March, everyone! Don't get stabbed.
The Phillies took on the Blue Jays in the 'Fruit today. Again, their bats led the way as they won 13-7. Pretty much everyone hit; see for yourself.
The "big" news concerned Placido Polanco, who joined Dom Brown, Chase Utley, and Brad Lidge among this spring's casualties. Mortimer Moore--the intrepid Phillies beat reporter for the Roxborough Review--had the scoop:
Phillies:
Polly Speaks
Morty's usually trustworthy sources appear to have let him down this time. He's gonna be okay.
The decision that shaped Halladay's career
I've heard this story a bunch of times, but it's like a folk tale at this point. Salisbury does a nice job of telling it.
Ruiz emerges as a hitter, too
"Someone who walks a lot, that's just like hitting a single," manager Charlie Manuel said. "That definitely helps you accumulate more runs." Charlie the sabermagician?
Should the Phillies have tinkered with Dom Brown?
Depends on what you mean by "tinkered".
Amaro: "I’m tapped out, my friend"
I'd rather him say "I'm tapped out, my friend. And even if I wasn't, I wouldn't want him on our team anyways because he's not that good." But if a lack of cash ends up saving Ruben from himself, I guess that will have to do.
Video Blog: Hamels’ Home Runs
Holy beard!
Elsewhere in baseball:
Why aren’t more MLB general managers former MLB players?
Click to see an awesome photo of Smug's baseball card.
Where Did Jair Jurrjens’ Grounders Go?
More evidence for the "Blanton is better than Jurrjens" case file.
2011 MLB Baseball Hat Rankings
Second place w00t!
Aaron Rowand: 26th man?
I took a trip in my time machine, and here's what happens: within 30 seconds of Rowand being released, some Phillies writers, radio personalities, and fans call for the team to sign him.
Crowdsourcing call: Did you read something written about baseball that was profoundly, laughably stupid? Email or tweet me a link and I will include it in the new "Stupid thing written about baseball of the day" section.