Site News - 2023

December 2023 Update:  Managed to finish the regular season in the Allentown Morning Call.  News flash:  The Phillies won the 1980 NL East Championship… again!  Just reading the articles brings me back to my childhood, with the innocent excitement about the Phillies chasing down the Expos and Mike Schmidt making me a fan for life with his moon shot in the division clincher.  

 

Nola Returns!    After courting free agency, Aaron Nola decided to re-sign with the Phillies.  He received a seven-year, $172 million contract.  Nola struggled at times last season, posing a 12-9 record with a 4.46 ERA.  However, he pitched well against the Braves and the first game against the Diamondbacks, before taking the loss in Game 6 of the NLCS against Arizona.

 

Anything Else?    Nola has been the only big news thus far, other than Michael Lorenzen, Craig Kimbrel and Rhys Hoskins electing to try out the free agent market.  None are likely to return to the Phils.  Rumors - some solid and some wild - have connected the Phils with such luminaries as Shohei Otani and Yoshinoby Yoshinobu Yamamoto, or trading for Juan Soto or Mike Trout.  It remains to be seen what moves - and how major those moves will be - the Phillies will make.

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.

  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

Future Updates:    With the holiday season, production may slow down quite a bit on the website.  Family and seasonal activities must come first!  My goal is to finish the NLCS and World Series articles from the Allentown Morning Call…  but it remains to be seen if that can happen.  When January arrives, I’ll finish out the year with the newspaper and see where I stand with forging on with the next newspaper.

November 2023 Update:  Kept on cranking out the articles this month, finishing the June and July articles from the Allentown Morning Call.  Late July and early August may have been the nadir of the season for the Phils, who were struggling to keep up with the defending champion Pirates and the Expos.  It’s been fun to see this season from the eyes of reporters I have not seen before!

 

Heartbreak:    So close… but it was not to be.  The Phils, who held 2-0 and 3-2 leads in the series, fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series.  The hitting, which had looked stellar against the Marlins and Braves, just could not get it going enough in either Game 6 or 7.  It was a disappointing end to a really fun September and October.

 

Bye Nola???    It’s hard to fathom that when Aaron Nola walked off the mound during Game 6 of the NLCS, that it may have been the last time to see him pitch in a Phillies uniform.  Nola, who is entering free agency this offseason, will be looking for a big payday on the market, even though his 2023 was in many ways a struggle, going 12-9 with a 4.46 ERA.  In his career Nola, a 2014 first round draft pick of the Phillies, is 90-71 with a 3.72 ERA.

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.

  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

 

Future Updates:    Even though the Phils fell short of earning their third World Series title, I will continue to celebrate the first champion by working on the site.  I am hoping to complete the August and September articles this month, though the holidays  sometimes have a way of slowing me down a bit!  I am also still trying to figure out how I can get maybe one more newspaper in the site database before running out of room!

October 2023 Update:  September was a productive month.  I was able to finish entering both April and May articles from the Morning Call of Allentown, Pa. It’s always good to relive the season from a fresh perspective – and the Morning Call were articles I had not see before.

 

Playoff Bound:    After a season of ups and downs, the Phils have entered October as one of the 12 teams vying for a world championship.  The Phillies will be playing the Miami Marlins in the Wild Card round – this time all of the game being played in Philadelphia.  The Marlins will soon know what a Red October feels like!

 

Schwarbombs:    He may not get a lot of singles, but Kyle Schwarber does two things extremely well:  get on base and hit bombs.  Though he batted just .197 for the 2023 season, Schwarber walked 126 times (thus making his on base percentage a much healthier .343 – third highest among Phils’ regulars) and hit 47 home runs, good for second in the National League behind Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves.  Schwarber also batted in 104 runs, the first time in hjis career he crossed the 100 RBI mark.

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.

  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

 

Future Updates:    I am continuing my work on the Allentown Morning Call, hoping to finish at least the month of June in the articles during the playoff run.  What a better way of preparing for this year’s playoff run than celebrating one of the great teams in Phillies History?  I am also trying to do some longer-range planning with the site, to see if there is a way I can reclaim some space on the site to squeeze in some more articles.

September 2023 Update:  August was much more productive than anticipated!  I was able to finish everything for the Wilmington Evening Journal, combine the off-season (January and February, November and December) articles to get some needed room, and finish spring training in the new newspaper of choice, the Morning Call of Allentown, Pa.

 

The Beast Awakens!   What a difference a month makes!  Trea Turner responds to the love fest by Philly fans by going on a tear.  Bryce Harper is suddenly smashing homers again.  And the Phils, who were bumbling and stumbling in July, have suddenly taken control of the top Wild Card spot in the playoffs.  There is still along way to go… but they’re in a good position to make noise!

 

Lorenzen No-No:   Trading deadline acquisition Michael Lorenzen made a pretty good first impression in his inaugural start at Citizens Bank Park:  He no-hit the Washington Nationals!  He had struggled in several starts since, but that game was certainly a lot of fun!

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.

  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

 

Future Updates:    Now that I have finally begun the Allentown Morning Call, I am hoping to go back to the month-to-month progression getting through the season.  Then will come some hard decisions, as the available space on Jimdo is quickly running out, but there are several more newspapers that I would like to include in the site database.  But, for now, I am reliving the season one more time, through the eyes of the sportswriters from the Lehigh Valley!

August 2023 Update:  July was another fun month with trips and family time… and yet another month without finishing the Wilmington Evening Journal!  I did finish November, but still have to work on the December articles.  And, to make things more complicated… work ramps up again this week.  Maybe the tighter schedule will get me back on track for the website!

 

Lineup Woes:   The Phils were supposed to have a lineup of rocket launchers with Schwarber, Castellanos, Harper, Turner and the rest.  The high-priced stars have struggled to get going, now past teh half-way point of the regular season.  The Phils still currently hold a wildcard spot, mostly thanks to pitching. 

 

Help Coming?:   This update is being typed with the trading deadline 20 hours away.  To this point, Dave Dombrowski has held his cards… and there is very little word coming out to the Phils’ office.  Fans, of course, want the world – a big bat (preferably a right-handed power LF), a premium starting pitcher, and bullpen arms – but the reality is that the Phils will probably aim a lot lower than that.  Either way, we’ll know by this time tomorrow!

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.

  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

Future Updates:    I still need to finish the Wilmington Evening Journal through the end of 1980 (I am getting closer, though!).  Then, I have decided to condense the pre-season and after season pages to get more space, which has become limited. Once I have finished that process, I will begin working on articles from the Allentown Morning Call.

July 2023 Update:  Summer is fun.  Summer is time for relaxing.  And this year, Summer was… not for finishing the website!  Managed a few articles in November from the Wilmington Evening Journal, but did not come close to finishing out the year of articles.  I did make the executive decision to squeeze the articles together in monthly rather than daily installments for November and December, since the Phils were not playing any games.  This will save some precious pages on the site. I’m doing that with the new articles for the Evening Journal, and will do that with the other newspapers after I finish.

 

Continued Mediocrity:   The Phils continue to stumble through the 2023 season.  The team finds themselves far behind Atlanta in the NL east leading Atlanta Braves, and barely hanging onto the last wildcard spot in the playoff chase.  People keep saying it’s early… but the All-Star game is coming fast.

 

Bryce Struggles:   Bryce Harper’s return to the lineup has yet to really supercharge the Phils’ offense.  Harper hit some homeruns early on… and then nary a one through the month of June.  It is a testament to his determination that he came back to quickly from Tommy John surgery, but he is just not the same hitter right now.  Hopefully it’s just a matter of working into his swing, and not a vestige from the injury.

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.

  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

Future Updates:    (This hasn’t changed from last month!)  I still need to finish the Wilmington Evening Journal through the end of 1980.  Then, I am facing the dilemma of whether to condense the pre-season and after season pages to get a few more spaces to run more articles from sources through the season. Once I make that decision, I will begin working on articles from the Allentown Morning Call.

June 2023 Update:  Things got mighty busy in the past month, but I managed to finish the World Series and celebration in the Wilmington Evening Journal!  It always gives me a smile to run the stories of the Phils’ run through Houston and Kansas City to win the World Series. 

 

Stumbling & Bumbling:   The Phils just have not been good this season.  The starters have been lit up on the regular, and the lineup has been lethargic for long stretches.  As of the end of May, the Phils are 25-30, 7.5 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East.  There is a lot of the season left, but they look a lot like the team did last season before Rob Thomson replaced Joe Girardi as manager.

 

Bryce Returns!   Bryce Harper broke another record:  the fastest return from Tommy John surgery by a baseball player.  160 days after the surgery last November, Harper returned to the lineup to hopefully give a boost to the Phils’ playoff chances in 2023.  While currently limited to being the team’s designated hitter, Harper has begun working out at first base, and may be stationed there when cleared to take the field later in the season.

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.
  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

Future Updates:    I still need to finish the Wilmington Evening Journal through the end of 1980.  Then, I am facing the dilemma of whether to condense the pre-season and after season pages to get a few more spaces to run more articles from sources through the season. Once I make that decision, I will begin working on articles from the Allentown Morning Call.

May 2023 Update:  The drumbeat continued in the march through 1980 once again.  I have completed the Wilmington Evening News through September and am ready to begin the run for the World Series!  I also eliminated some pages that were redundant and condenses the site news pages to run by years rather than months.  This freed up a fair number of pages to continue for the time being.

 

Slow Start:   The Phils have been… well, I guess mediocre is the best word to describe them.  A bad start has been rectified somewhat, but the Phils still ended the first month of the season at 15-14.  That pace just won’t cut it.

 

Bryce Returns?   Bryce Harper continues to astonish.  Harper is scheduled to be examined by his Los Angeles surgeon for a possible return in the first week of May.  As the original date estimated for his return was shortly before or at the All-Star break, this would be an amazing recovery from Tommy John surgery.  Harper is slated to begin his comeback as the DH at first, before possibly returning to the diamond at first base in the absence of Rhys Hoskins.

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.
  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

Future Updates:    I am hoping to finish the Wilmington Evening News in either May or June (I’d guess June at this point, as May is traditionally a busy month for me) and follow that up with the Allentown Morning Call.  At that point, the end may be near for continued additions to the site, as the page limit may be harder to adapt to make any new pages at that point, though I will continue to see where I can streamline some things.

April 2023 Update:  There is good news and bad news for the website.  The good news is that I finished the articles in the Wilmington Evening Journal for July 1980.  Even with work training and an illness, I was able to finish a month!  Bad news follows later…

 

Rhys:   One of the most unfortunate injuries occurred to the Phils’ Rhys Hoskins during spring training.  On a fairly routine play at first base, Hoskins’ knee gave way.  The torn ACL will sideline Hoskins for the entire 2023 season, the last on his current contract with the Phils.

 

Opening Day:   Well… it was a glorious few innings!  The Phils actually got to Jacob deGrom, driving him from the game while leaping out to a 5-0 lead.  Unfortunately, Aaron Nola and a parade of arms from the bullpen were no match for the Rangers’ lineup, and the Phils lost the opening game of the season 11-7.

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.
  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

Future Updates:    Here’s the bad news:  I seem to be close to running into a hard cap on the number of separate pages on this site.  I had some redundant pages from a prior change on the site that I am clearing out that will let me finish the Wilmington Evening Journal and perhaps one more newspaper.  At that point, I may have some tough decisions to make on the site.  But, at least for now, the beat will go on.

March 2023 Update:  Managed to keep some momentum going, finishing articles from the Wilmington Evening Journal through June of 1980.  Again, my schedule precludes doing much outside of the main activity on the site.

 

It’s Spring!   We barely had time to mourn the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss before the Phillies started up things again.  It’s warm down in Clearwater – a perfect place for the team to get ready to, hopefully, win two more games in the playoffs than last year.  The spring routine will be interrupted for some of the players by the World Baseball Classic, in which eight Phils are currently scheduled to compete.

 

RIP Tim McCarver:   Former Phils catcher and broadcaster Tim McCarver passed away on February 16, 2023 from heart failure at age 81.  The recipient of the Ford C. Frick award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame, McCarver played 21 years in the major, with two stints with the Phils (1970-1972; 1975-1980), along with the Cardinals, Expos, and Red Sox.  A two-time all-star, McCarver was known in Philadelphia mainly as Steve Carlton’s personal catcher… and mouthpiece.  In 1980, McCarver spent most of the season behind a microphone, but did don the uniform briefly in September to become one of the few players whose career spanned four different decades (1959-1980).

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.
  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

Future Updates:    I am working on a special training for work.  To this point, the interruption to preparing articles for the website has been minor, but as the training intensifies, my pace could slow down a bit.  I’ll keep on doing my best to plug away at it, though!

February 2023 Update:  Got a quicker jump on the Wilmington Evening Journal than anticipated!  Got through Spring Training and the entire month of April.  It helps that there are usually only one or two articles in each edition!  No side tasks this month.

 

Go Birds!   I know that this is a Phillies site, but I would be remiss if I did not recognize our Philadelphia Eagles, who are heading to Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona, to play the Chiefs.  It is good to see them follow up on the Phils’ success of last season!

 

Just Around The Corner:   It feels like just yesterday that we were all watching the Phils in the World Series.  The defense of their National League Pennant begins in just a few weeks when spring training begins in just about a week and a half… just a few days after the Super Bowl!  And the Phils made one more signing since my last update:  Infielder Josh Harrison signed a contract for the 2023 season.  With that, the roster is probably complete… for now!

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.
  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

Future Updates:    I am continuing to plug in articles from the Wilmington Evening Journal.  One caveat:  I am beginning a pretty intensive training for work over the next few months, so progress will slow quite a bit in the short term.  That head start I got in January will come in pretty handy!

January 2023 Update:  Happy New Year!  The end of the year saw the completion of the 1980 articles from the Wilmington Morning News.  Another publication’s story of the 1980 champions is now in the site library!  I also began a side task – a run though of the World Series from the Chicago Tribune.  Illness, the holidays and work combined to prevent finishing that before the close of the year.

 

2022 Video Yearbook:   The Phillies have released “Bedlam At The Bank: The 2022 Phillies Video Yearbook.”  You can listen to Kyle Schwarber narrate the story of one of the most fun seasons in Phillies history.  It is available on the Phillies’ channel on YouTube.

 

Free Agent Signings:   The Phils have not rested on the laurels of winning the National League Pennant, but have been active in free agency.  All fans already know that the team signed Trea Turner, shortstop most recently playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will add yet another bat to an already potent lineup.  The Phils also signed starting pitcher Taijuan Walker, who played for the Mets in 2022, and reliever Matt Strahm, most recently a member of the Red Sox.

   

Still On the Lookout For:

  •  Pictures from the 1980 season.  Looking for digital copies of pictures that can be posted on the site.
  •  Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

Future Updates:    The first order of business for the New Year will be to complete the mini-run in the Chicago Tribune.  Then I will begin adding articles from the other main Wilmington newspaper, the News Journal.