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When a 22-year-old third baseman named Scott Rolen burst onto the scene in 1997 by winning the NL Rookie of the Year award, he won over the fans who followed the Phillies during some of the franchise’s darkest days. For the next four years, the youngster with such promise was compared to one man and one man only: Michael Jack Schmidt, the best third baseman in baseball history and the greatest player ...
Asher Chancey and I are both Featured Columnists covering the Philadelphia Phillies for Bleacher Report. As we quickly learned upon meeting one another and becoming acquainted with each other's perspectives on the Phillies and sports in general, there is very little we agree on. From Ryan Howard to the Phillie Phanatic, to Mike Schmidt to Richie Ashburn, ask these two guys a question, and chances are we'll disagree. In honor of our bipolar ...
The Red Sox have the Phillies’ number. That first became evident when Boston ousted Philly in the 1915 World Series, and little changed once interleague play began over 80 years later. The Phillies are just 15-22 against the Red Sox since their interleague dates began in 1997. Philly and Boston have met in interleague play every season except 2002 and 2007. Back to the present… After splitting four home games with the lowly Pirates ...

2010 NFL Draft Review: Grading ESPNÆs Commentators

Posted: 26th April 2010 by Jamie Ambler in NFL
Not the most original idea, I know. Just figured this would be some fun. From a ratings standpoint, ESPN's draft coverage was a huge success. 7.2 million people tuned in on Thursday night. Overall, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday on ESPN and ESPN2, roughly 45.4 million people watched the draft, which was a 16 percent increase from last year. I watched parts of the draft on ESPN each of the three days. ...
The start of the Phillies' 2010 season marked the official beginning of a new decade of pro sports in Philadelphia. And just 17 hours before Opening Day, the Eagles perhaps officially brought the previous decade to a close by trading Donovan McNabb to Washington. So, with this new Philly sports decade in its infant stages, let’s take a look back at the 10 most memorable Philadelphia pro sports seasons of ...

Dominic Brown: The Philadelphia Phillies’ Next Superstar?

Posted: 13th April 2010 by Jamie Ambler in MLB
Anyone who’s followed baseball this spring knows the national sports media has been abuzz with talk about a “once in a lifetime” talent… Who is he? Well, he’s a lefty-hitting, potential five-tool right fielder who happens to play for a club in the National League East. Give up? OK, of course we’re talking about the Atlanta Braves’ Jason Heyward. He’s a phenomenal talent, and at age 20, appears to truly be in a ...
A new decade of Major League Baseball will officially begin this Sunday when the defending World Champion New York Yankees visit the Boston Red Sox on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.” Yanks-Sox, aside from being perhaps the greatest rivalry in sports history, is also a matchup of the only two teams to win multiple championships in the last decade. So, before we begin the 2010s, let’s look back at the last 10 World ...
A baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. Seven months from now, the Boston Red Sox will realize the truth in that cliché as they watch the MLB postseason from home. At times, the Sox will look unstoppable this season—just like they did last year. But in the end, Boston will not make the playoffs. The Sox are not good enough to take the AL East from the New York Yankees, and ...

Los Angeles Angels Can’t Be Counted Out of AL West in 2010

Posted: 16th March 2010 by Jamie Ambler in MLB
The Seattle Mariners are a hot pick in 2010—and for good reason. Last year, the M’s rebounded from a 101-loss ’08 campaign to win 85 games and lead the American League in staff ERA (3.87). The top of their lineup now features a “double-whammy” of Ichiro and Chone Figgins while the top of their starting rotation now includes the “one-two punch” of Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee. Yes, Seattle could be very ...

Gut Check: Why Charlie Manuel Is An Even Bigger Winner By Losing

Posted: 6th March 2010 by Jamie Ambler in MLB
Lets begin Spring Training 2010 with a light news story. A story made even lighter by Phillies' skipper Charlie Manuel. Ok, so my jokes are about as cold as Ryan Howard’s bat is this time of year. But let’s turn our attention back to Mr. Manuel. Anyway, as everyone knows, “Big Chuck” hasn’t done too much losing in his five seasons as manager. His 447 regular season wins are third most in franchise ...