Posts for category ‘Phillies’

So I guess we didn’t get the Series we expected.   That sentiment works two-fold for me.   On the one hand, I really did not expect the Phils to have this much trouble with a Yankee team I thought they matched up really well against.  And on a personal level?  Two years ago, never would I have dreamed I’d have experienced a World Series/Post Season in Philadelphia the way I did this year.  To be that close to team I grew up with, on the field, in the media room, in the locker room, and even with my friends for a few innings?!  It was a dream series in more ways then one.

On a professional level, I had the privilege and the proximity to get photographs that will get huge page views throughout my parent company and on a personal level,  I will cherish those photos  for a lifetime.   (I don’t even mind that I broke the bank on some lenses just for this occasion!).  I also got to be shoulder to shoulder with  some of the best photogs in the business and got to be a fly on the wall to how they go about their craft.  I learned more then I could ever put in a blog, before I even got my camera out of my bag.  These guys and girls, their equipment, and their expertise are something to behold.

And speaking of being a  fly on the wall?  The sights and sounds of this series will give me stories for a lifetime.  (Like I need more stories for this life!).   Working in Philadelphia and being older then the average player,  I am immune to the star-power of the current players (for the most part anyway!).   But when I saw a Jay-Z, or a immortal players from my youth like Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt, Phillies alum like Darren Daulton and Micky Moriandini,  national broadcasters I looked up to like Peter Gammons and Joe Buck,  the cast of Glee running amok in the interview room, Biff Henderson shooting a spot for Letterman, the great Philadelphia sportswriters and brodcasters I grew up enjoying  like Jason Stark,  Big Daddy Graham, Chris Wheeler and Les Bowen.  And of course, the palpable absence of one Harry Kalas.  His name came up often by the locals and the nationals alike with a great fondness and sense of loss.  When I got my press pass this year, the first pass I ever had for the Phillies, Harry the K was who I most looked forward to meeting.  Harry died April 13 of this year, before I even used my pass for the first time.

So to positively paraphrase something Cole Hamels said, “BRING ON NEXT YEAR!”  I think the Phillies learned an awful lot from this Post-Season and should be awfully proud of what they accomplished.  Like the team I followed I also learned a ton.  Here’s hoping we both get to apply those lessons to the Post-Season next year!

Tony Romeo

Here is a Link to all the World Series content I produced:

Tony Romeo on the field at World Series 2009

Here are all my blogs from the Series:
World Series Game 3 Blog

World Series Game 4 Blog

World Series Game 5 Blog

World Series Recap Blog

My "Entourage" after Game 5 of the World Series.

As I was for the other games in the post-season, I began Game 5 on the field for batting practice.  My routine has been to take a few player shots there, where I have then best access to the players, then I retire to the media room in the basement of CBP.  There I  process the shots, edit the shots, and post the shots.  Since it was the last game, I decided to put that processing off a little bit.  I headed to the 3rd deck and met some of my friends that had standing room only seats. There I watched the game as the fan I have not been able to be the rest of the post season!  I cheered, I got into it with Yankees fans, I enjoyed an adult beverage, and I even bought a stadium hot dog!   It was so awesome to experience that with my friends.  It was the most fun I had at a Series game since 1980.  Me and my entourage! HA!

Soon after it was back to work in the basement, editing and uploading the stuff from earlier in the day, then watching the game on a TV.  The media room was packed.  As the Phillies entered the top of the 9th inning, I packed my stuff to head back to the field for post game.  Being a “cagey veteran” of several post season games now, I knew an out of the way TV closer to the field I could watch the last three outs.  Just like the other games, when I got to the TV no one was there.  So,   I watched quietly rooting the Phillies home.  I was all alone.

Jay-Z texting his friends to say he can't believe he saw me at a Phillies World Series game.

Until Jay-Z and HIS ENTOURAGE showed up out of nowhere !  He and his over-the-top Yankee posse took over my private TV experience in a flash.  To his credit,  Jay-Z was quiet, respectful and smelled awesome!  His hangers-on?  Not so much.  They were all trailed by two MLB Security Guards to protect him and his friends from the crowd, or possibly vice versa.  His posse screamed and yelled so much in pro-Yankee fashion that OTHER Yankee fans that were in earshot headed towards that TV and it became Yankee corner.  One Yankee-Come-Lately faneven asked me to take a picture of him and Jay-Z with his cell phone.  Only a Yankee fan would ask a guy with thousands of dollars of camera gear strapped to his back to take a photo with a cell phone!  I told him he’d have to clear it with Jay-Z, who happily obliged.  So, I took the picture with the guys cell phone.  “By mistake” (translation — on purpose) I took the photo upside down and handed it back to him.  The Phils retired the side, the entourage cursed, the security people cringed  and we all exited in different directions.  As I walked away, I turned to the one Phillies employee that saw the whole thing and whispered, 

“I have been a Phillies die-hard since I was 5, I can’t believe I just watched the last three outs of a World Series game in Philly with Jay-Z!?!?”

Speaking of entourages, if the Phillies and Pedro can somehow win game 6 in New York, an “Entourage of Pitchers” is what we will need to win game 7.  All pitching hands on deck to get us that final game.  But, one game at a time…

Related Items

World Series Game 3 Blog

World Series Game 4 Blog

Game 5 Photo Gallery

If you watch only one clip about the New York vs. Philadelphia fan rivalry, watch this one. The Daily Show decides which city’s fans are “douchiest!”

As I stood on the field for the trophy presentation at the NLCS game clincher in Philadelphia, I had just one thought. That thought was; “PLEASE, please, please Gods of Baseball, let me see this again next week, only next week, let it be a World Series Trophy I see presented!”  That’s all I wished.  Tonight at Citizens Bank Park there is a 50/50 chance that I see that trophy presented.

Seeing the trophy presented to the Phillies, however, has a ZERO percent chance of occurring.  The Baseball Gods have the same sense of humor as the Monkey’s Paw from the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror!  I guess next time I should be more specific with my requests of the Baseball Gods.

In any event, Games 3 and 4 have been a home field disappointment for the Phillies and for the fans. I do think that three consecutive home games, all that start after 8pm, take something away from the Philadelphia crowd.  (As does a home Eagles game at 1:00 pm).   The crowds were there in force Saturday to start, but then lessened, and followed suit on Sunday.  Sure when the Phillies gave them something to cheer about, the fans were there, but overall, this was not the Phillies crowd we’ve come to expect.  Maybe the Yankee Mystique makes fans more nervous then boisterous? Or maybe the proximity of the game to New York puts too many New York fans in the seats.   I know a few Phillies fans that had their mortgages paid this month with Yankee dollars they got from selling their Phillies tickets!  All were factors.

Which brings us to Game 5.

I am making a new wish.  I’d like to see a trophy NOT presented tonight. Sure it would be interesting on a professional level as I may never be this close to baseball history, but on a personal level… NO.   While I have given up realistic hope that the Phillies can win three straight, I just don’t want to see the Yankees clinch here.  I don’t want to see them clinch on a night that the Series MVP had it gone the Phillies way, Cliff Lee, is on the hill and not on a night that even MORE of the Phillies faithful will line their pockets with “disappointment dollars” by selling their seats to the highest New York bidders.  Not on a night that this Phillies 2009 takes the field at home for the last time.  The Phils have given us an amazing two-year ride.  Tonight I hope to send the Fightins back to New York with a victory and to salute our Phils one last time at home as the Champions they still are.

Wish I had a monkey’s paw.  Go Phils.

So my first World Series game at Citizens Bank Park was a loss.  Still that does not detract, at all,  from the excitement of being a part of the media for a World Series game.   I was so happy when I took that shot of Jeter, above, because it seemed to foreshadow what I was sure was going to be the beginning of a three game home stand sweep by the Phillies. I was wrong.  Still love the shot!

The Yankees are pretty good, let’s face it.  I heard grumblings last night about calls that turned the game.  But the Yankees are just good.  (Honestly I thought Game 2 was the more “winnable” game of the two losses so far.)  I was on the field to see the Phillies warm up throughout the playoffs and if I said it once, I said it a million times.  The Phillies are a loose bunch that looks like they are having a blast and really enjoy each others company.  The Rockies and Dodgers seemed much tighter.  Joe Torre was reminded me of the somnambulist in the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.   After spending a pre-game with the Yankees?  Turns out the Yankees  are every bit as loose, confident and upbeat as the Phillies. 

During warm ups, former Philly, Michael Jack Schmidt came down to the field. (See Galleries).  Schmidt spent several minutes talking with both Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.  He spent the most time talking to former Yankee great Reggie Jackson.  Jackson is a member of the Yankees staff.  To see the two with over 1000 homeruns talk on the field of a World Series game close enough to flip a Topps baseball card at them was a highlight of my evening.

The second highlight came during the rain delay.  And truth be told, I did not know it was a highlight until someone explained it to me later.  I spent the lengthy rain delay in the interview room you see on Comcast SportsNet.   What you can”t see from TV is that it is lined with about 100 chairs.  As the game was in delay I sat there with camera people, national media, various baseball writers etc.  As we sat there, a group of 5 or 6 very goofy teenish kids in bright red WORLD SERIES jackets descended upon the podium that is used for post game interviews.  They mock interviewed each other, cracked jokes, beat-boxed, sang a cappella, and giggled.  I thought some of the older folks from the BBWA’s heads would explode.   It smelled like teen spirit to be sure!  Later in the evening I learned they were the cast from GLEE that was singing that national anthem.  I was the closest one to the podium, I wish I knew it was them to take a picture for my friends kids!  Damn you Fox!!!

Related Items:

Here is my Yankees Gallery

Here is my Phillies Gallery

There will be a million head to head comparisons of the World Series participants.  Just about all will be put together by an unbiased and semi-intelligent media member.  One will be written by a completely biased Phillies fan, who spends an inordinate amount of time “escaping reality.”  Guess which one this is?

Starting Pitching: Phils slight edge.

The aces are both top quality.  Its the Phils depth that give them the small advantage.  They have options.  Quality options, that is.  Yanks are probably 3 deep and, therefore, are counting on Sabathia to pitch games 1, 4 and 7.  Thats 2 straight games with 3 days rest for you clowns who suck at math.  Which is probably most of you since, if you’re reading this, it means you’re not busy at work, which means you dont have an important job, which means you dicked off in school instead of learning math and getting a real job.   On top of that, he’ll be facing a quality lineup, which leads to more of his pitches being the stressful kind.  I just can’t see how he’ll be the same guy on pitch #300 over eight days, especially because he’s fat (and nobody likes fat people).  Ergo, the Yanks “advantage” in throwing him 3 times isn’t really an advantage at all.

Bullpen: Yankees edge

Rivera is probably the most dominate player in postseason history.  You have that, you get the edge.  Doesn’t matter that the Yankee setup guys are suddenly shaky or the Lidge has found his groove.  Rivera neutralizes the Phils penchant for late inning heroics and makes the Yanks have to win only eight innings.

First Base: Phils edge

Probably would’ve been only a slight edge, if both players were performing as expected.  But, Howard is playing a different game then anyone not named Gay-Rod and Texiera is scuffling.

Second base: Phils edge

Again, would’ve been a huge advantage if Utley was playing like Utley.  But, a slightly below average Chase is always better than Cano, regardless of how he is playing.

Shortstop: Yankees slight edge

Both top of the lineup studs, offensively and defensively.  Rollins is only slumping early in games-he still hits when it matters most (see NLCS game 4).  But, Jeter has banged pretty much every top shelf piece of ass in NYC.  And that should be worth something, which gets him the nod.  Of course his baseball skills are overrated so, I’m not sure.

3rd base: Yankees substantial edge

Steroids are awesome.

Left field: Push

Ibanez and Damon are such different players, its hard to compare.  Damon throws like he has a vagina (and looks like he is second generation ape).  But, he has a well rounded offensive game.  Raul has been streaky.  If he’s hot, Phils have the advantage here.

Centerfield: Phils definitive edge

Cabrera is a bottom of the order guy who’s arm and range are not in Victorino’s class.  And his name is Melky which, we all know, rhymes with “sucks cock.”

Right Field: Phils substantial edge

Swisher is a good guy.  Werth is a tool.  But, this isnt high school and Werth is better at every facet of baseball.  Throw in the fact that Swisher is slumping and its not even close.

Catcher: Yanks slight edge

We all know Chooch is money in the postseason and his defensive prowess is well noted.  But, Posada hits alot higher and is more relied on to produce runs.  I recall a few clutch postseason performances from him too.

Designated Hitter: Yanks edge

Matsui has the advantage of being used to the job of hitting without being in defensively.  And he’s a pretty solid hitter.  Especially for an Asian who should be doing math or something less manly.  Phils not even sure who their DH is.  Regardless, whoever Chuck pulls out of his ass, will be hitting 7th and, therefore, will have trouble making the kind of impact Matsui can.

Intangibles: Phils edge

Yankees are about as tradition rich a franchise as there is in sports.  But, what have you done for me lately?  Phillies are defending Champions.  Enough said.  It also bears mentioning that the Yanks lose an important part of their lineup during their 3 games in Philly.  Its an often overlooked reason why, despite the AL being a better league overall, the NL produces more than their fair share of Series winners.  Its much easier for an NL team to adjust to having the DH than it is an AL team adjusting to losing that piece.

Manager: Phils edge

Cholly hasn’t mastered the English language but, he does know the right button to choose, seemingly every time he needs to push one.  Girardi?  He probably knows the right buttons to push too.  When he is massaging Torre’s loins, that is.  I mean the guy takes Posada out his lineup when Burnett pitches.  Genius.

I see the Phils in 5.  Nothing against the Yanks, a real good team.  But, its business as usual.  Parade will be on a beautiful Wednesday in November.  And Bruce can watch from his private hospital room. 

So the culmination of my sports, personal and professional life came to an amazing crescendo tonight!  As the Phillies clinched their second straight NLCS, I was on the field.  Actually that is not 100% true.  I was in the tunnel when they clinched.  As per MLB, press is not allowed on the field for another 10 minutes after the game ends.  So after waiting the required 10, I was able to be on the field as the National League Trophy was presented to the Phillies.  I got some amazing shots that you can see in this gallery.  (2009 NLCS Trophy Presentation at Citizens Bank Park.)  In another stroke of luck, my life long friend, TJ was in the crowd.  He was able to sneak down to the rail and I gave him my camera for the ONLY shot of me that exists for all the NLCS/NLDS access I have been fortunate enough to have.

If I said it once, I have said it a million times.  The Phillies are a loose bunch, that legitimately like playing with and for each other.  I don’t think there is a player on the team that would not take a bullet for manager Charlie Manuel.    You can see their fondness for one another and confidence in the NLCS Game 5 pre-game warm up photos I shot.   I will be interested to see if they look as loose against the Yankees.  My hunch?  Absolutely…

Prediction?  Phils in 5 and I am on the field seeing another Trophy being presented!

So day two at Citizen’s Bank was a world of difference. I was there in time for the early press conferences. Joe Torre and Charlie Manuel are worlds apart right now. Charlie smiled more then he usually does and Joe Torre just sounds like a beaten man. He looks beaten as well. Although after working both home games til, 3 am, who doesn’t!?

I was also on the field at Citizens Bank Park and able to take in the Phillies Pre-Game warm up and get some really good shots. The Phillies are a very loose bunch right now. They are like a High School team, and I mean that in a good way. They genuinely seem to enjoy each others company and they do not seem the least bit intimidated by the enormous magnitude of these games. I had no doubt in my mind they’d win Game 4 and I have less doubt that they will win Game 5. Bring on the Yankees! Here is that gallery…

In the mix, I bumped into TJ which was a very cool thing. Until you go to a major sporting event in your home town/ home team alone, you forget how much of “sports” is about the other people you enjoy it with. TJ and I have logged a lot of games! Sorry I could not be sharing this one with more of my friends and family.

Big win…impressive.   Last night was obviously a must win situation for LA and now they’re toast.  I just like that they have to sit around Philly for another day before being eliminated (just like Tampa last year).  This series was never in doubt because of the curse of Don Mattingly.  Let me explain…..Donny Baseball was my favorite player growing up but has never been on a team that won jack balls.  His first year in NY was 1982 which was the year after they get to the world series (and lose in 6 to LA).  His last year in pinstripes was 1995 when they get to the playoffs and lose to Seattle in the ALDS.  So, he played in pinstripes for 14 years and the Yanks don’t get to the series at all, in fact, they are pretty bad.  They get to the WS the year before he gets there and they win it the year after he leaves (96).  Now, Torre takes him to LA as his hitting coach after they both get f*&#ked by Hank Steinbrenner…..and they’re about to lose again to the phils in the NLCS.  Just remember this….no team that has Mattingly in uniform will ever get to or win the WS….book it…. its a mortal lock.

With that being said, I’ve been waiting for Phils v. Yanks in the WS for a long time and its never been closer to happening than right now.  As likeable as the phils are and being my favorite NL team…..I’m thoroughly looking forward to the yanks ripping the heart out of every phils fan in the Delaware Valley.  I’m really going to enjoy it as we celebrate number 27.  In fact, I’m gonna be absolutely giddy when I see grown men crying and that forlorn look on the faces of the women and babies.

So where are we watching the games?