March 12th, 2010
BlueClaws team photographer Dave Schofield is in Florida on his annual Spring Training trip, and he took a few minutes to keep us posted in his third blog post.
Today marked the first real day of workouts for the minor leaguers of the Phillies. As I wandered around the Carpenter Complex I was able to visit with many former BlueClaws. SAL Championship manager Dusty Wathan was working with hitters, Steve Schrenk, who will be back as pitching coach in Lakewood was working with pitchers and new manager Mark Parent was working with many of the players who could very well be Lakewood BlueClaws this year.
Headshots on Tuesday went well. We (and by we I mean Miles Kennedy the great team photographer for the Phillies and myself) used to shoot the headshots in the weight room a short walk from the clubhouse. This year, thanks to a $2 million renovation at the Complex, we went upstair to a meeting room and set up our lights and backdrops. We photographed over 140 players, coaches and trainers. We had great assistance from Kevin Gregg, Assistant Director of Media Relations and John Braesher, Phillies Marketing Director. In just over two hours we were able to photograph every player in Phillies uniform and cap and many in Lakewood caps and many more in Reading caps. You will be able to see the results of this venture in the Catch of the Day at each BlueClaws game this year.
(New BlueClaws manager Mark Parent works with pitcher Steven Inch, a 2009 draft pick who could be in Lakewood this year…Dave Schofield photo)
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March 11th, 2010
You may have been a member of the Thirsty Thursday group we set up on Facebook. We’re moving.
Click here to become a fan of BlueClaws Thirsty Thursdays on Facebook today. By the way, our BlueClaws fan page is closing in on 3,100!
For more information on Thirsty Thursday and the Thirsty Thursday Club, click here.
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March 11th, 2010
Was it just another game?
Drabek’s father, 1990 NL Cy Young winner Doug Drabek, reminded him of those points in a phone call Tuesday night.
“He told me it’s just another team,” said Kyle, who went 12-3 with a 3.19 ERA in 25 starts at Class A Clearwater and Double A Reading last season. “He goes, ‘Don’t get too excited, just go out there and pitch. Don ‘t try to overdo anything.’ So that’s what I went out and tried to do.”
But was it just another team?
“Definitely not,” Drabek said, laughing.
Kyle Drabek, traded by the Phillies to Toronto in the Roy Halladay deal, allowed a hit and a walk in two scoreless innings. Read the rest of the story here, courtesy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
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March 10th, 2010
As we announced today that the BlueClaws will be retiring Ryan Howard’s Number 29 on September 2nd, we thought it would be a good time to look back at his rehab appearance in May of 2007 (note he wore 29 here in 2002, which is being retired, and he wore his Phillies 6 during his rehab assignment (pictured).
On the field, it was pretty cool, as you may remember.
- Our slick friends in the production room played “Welcome Back Kotter” when he came to bat for the first time.
- He had an early double on May 23rd, and later homered into the berm in left-center field.
Some quotes from that day (May 23rd).
- Howard: “This park plays big. I remember that from when I was here.”
- Howard: “It’s fun, seeing the looks on some of the guys’ faces. Being out there clowning around with them. It might make their day or their year. It’s a lot of fun.”
- Howard: “It felt good to be back here for me. It’s a little weird, it all started here.”
- BlueClaws SS Jason Donald: “I was running on the pitch (HR) and got a good look. It was a great feeling being at home plate to greet him. That’s something you see on SportsCenter and here I was a part of it. It was surreal.”
- BlueClaws manager Steve Roadcap: “When he got back in the dugout, I just asked him if he wanted me to get him the ball. He just smiled and laughed.”
More on this game here.
Off the field, the BlueClaws officially get the word that he’ll be in Lakewood a few days before, and the preparations begin, including:
- Finding room for over 40 members of the media (normally we fit about 12), which included concourse tables.
- Finding a backdrop for the press conference afterwards
- Some more details on this side in this article from MiLB.com (for which I was interviewed while sitting in the DMV about 10 months ago).
All told, over 16,000 came out to see the two games and the BlueClaws set a May attendance record largely because of his rehab appearance. Lakewood split the two games, a 7-4 win followed by an 8-6 loss.
You can bet we’ll have a lot more as we lead into the ceremony on September 2nd.
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March 10th, 2010
Here is the breaking news we promised…on September 2nd, the BlueClaws will be retiring Ryan Howard’s number 29 here in Lakewood. Some notes about the event…
- Ryan will be here. The Phillies play in LA on September 1st, are off on the 2nd, and home on the 3rd.
- The first 2,000 fans will receive a Ryan Howard commemorative mini-BlueClaws jersey.
- His number 29 will be the third retired by the BlueClaws (50 for longtime South Atlantic League President John Henry Moss and 42 for Jackie Robinson), but first for any former BlueClaw.
- Howard was the first (by two days over Gavin Floyd) former BlueClaw to appear in a major league game (on September 1, 2004).
- Here is an MiLB.com article on Howard’s 2007 rehab appearance with the BlueClaws.
“Ryan has gone from being a great BlueClaw to being one of the best players in all of baseball,” said BlueClaws General Manager Geoff Brown. “We’re proud to honor him like this and are excited to bring him back to Lakewood.”
Here is the full release.
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March 10th, 2010
If you missed it yesterday…
The BlueClaws and the Asbury Park Press will host Dollar Weekend again in 2010, featuring $1 tickets for the weekend of April 17th and April 18th.
Read the full story here.
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March 10th, 2010
I can confirm that there is no truth to the rumor as posted on our Facebook page (here) that the major BlueClaws announcement we’ll have later today is the following:
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March 10th, 2010
If you asked the Phillies last June about their 2012 starting rotation, they might well have said that right at the top would be Cole Hamels and Kyle Drabek, two former BlueClaws. But of course, things change. First, the team brought in Cliff Lee at the trade deadline last year, and then, Lee was shipped to Seattle to make room for Roy Halladay. To bring in Halladay, Drabek was sent to Toronto.
Now, the two will pitch today in Dunedin as part of a big league Spring Training game, as the two continue to get ready for the 2010 season.
Hamels will be #2 behind Halladay with Philadelphia, and Drabek is likely headed to Triple-A Syracuse to open his 2010 season.
Dave Murphy of the Daily News asked Tuffy Gosewisch, another former BlueClaw, to talk about Halladay and Drabek. He has caught Halladay in the bullpen this spring and caught Drabek last year at Double-A Reading.
“It’s pretty disgusting,” he said. “You’ve got Roy, who has proven what he can do, probably the best pitcher in the game right now, and you’ve got Kyle, who’s got enough talent to probably do the same thing.”
Then you have Hamels, who is working on a new cutter. So far so good. From Todd Zolecki on MLB.com.
“I’ve watched guys like Andy Pettitte, Cliff Lee, [Jon] Lester have so much success with that pitch, that I think it’s something if I’m able to add that in with the type of changeup that I have, it can only make me that much better,” Hamels said.
Hamels will start for the Phillies and Drabek throws second for the Blue Jays.
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