Here are two stories from today’s papers regarding last night’s Phillies Winter Tour stop in Lakewood.

Mike McGarry in the Press of Atlantic City:

“I was there when they won the W

buy cheap cialis

orld Series,” Biddle said. “I didn’t know what to do. You look around the stadium and everybody was so into it.”

The joy carried into the streets around Citizens Bank Park.

“Everybody was so happy,” he said. “It didn’t really hit me about how much (Philadelphia) loves its baseball until that night.”

In today’s Asbury Park Press, from Chris Christopher:

Ruben Amaro Jr., the Philadelphia Phillies’ senior vice president and general manager, extended his right hand to Jesse Biddle, one of the team’s top pitching prospects.

“How ya doin?” Amaro asked with a smile.

“I’m doin’ great,” Biddle responded, smiling back.

The exchange took place Tuesday night at the Woodlake Country Club, site of the Phillies Winter Tour.

Biddle, 19, will likely pitch this season for the Lakewood BlueClaws, the Phillies’ low Class A team that hopes to win its third straight South Atlantic League title.

The APP article has a great picture of Ruben Amaro signing a kid’s jersey (WS ring plainly visible).

We had a chance to talk with Phillies Employee Assistance Professional, and former pitcher Dickie Noles (right in photo, talking to Scott Palmer) at last night’s Winter Tour. You can listen to the interview in full by clicking here. Some excerpts below.

(on his current role) I’m the employee assistance professional. I handle players and any work-site and job related, or family, or life related issues. I’m a guy they can go to, a mentor for the minor leaguers, and they can find expert consultation.

(on his transition to his current role) It was not that easy. I remember it like yesterday. When I was being persuaded to do this, we had a wonderful guy who was doing it, Dr. William O’Brien. We never had EAPs when I played. We probably needed them more than anyone though, but we didn’t have them.

My first encounter with an EAP was Sam McDowell with the Texas Rangers. The next guy was an EAP state cop, Jimmy Nestor. I looked at him, he looked like Clint Eastwood, and Sam McDowell was a John Wayne looking guy. My thought was when an EAP walked into a room, you didn’t want to talk to them if you didn’t have to. So I was in that state of mind, but these guys persuaded me to it.

I had traveled with Dr. O’Brien. My role was to talk about drugs and alcohol to the minor league players, as well as pitching inside.

It’s very difficult to seek help for anyone, especially males. Building trust is the easiest way to do that. A lot of guys that come from Williamsport, they’re new. All I’m doing is reading policy and procedure, so they’re looking at me as a cop almost. You have to win their trust. Be there, and let them see you and realize that I’m there to help. What helps me is that I’ve been there, I’ve put the uniform on, and I’ve had some problems that I’ve overcame in my life. That helps a little bit too…They look at me and say “Well he’s played the game” so if they want to come to me it makes it a little easier. But then you have to show them you know what the heck you’re talking about.

(on speaking to high school students) I used to do it a lot, I’d like to do more of that. But the way baseball is set up now it’s almost a 365-day a year sort of thing. You have a lot of stuff from the commissioner’s office like steroids and therapeutic use exemptions and that sort of stuff that keeps you tied up. But that’s where my love is. I love kids.

There’s more in there, including some stuff on the 1980 Phillies and his teammate Greg Gross (also at last night’s event), who was a few years older than Noles and who Noles credits for helping to ease the transition into the Major Leagues.

Later on, during the program, Noles was asked as part of the interactive Q&A (in this case by Phillies GM Ruben Amaro) what the defining moment of his career was:

My first game in the big leagues. When I got drafted out of high school, it was rough for me. We didn’t get too many fans [in the minors], so when I got to the big leagues, it was a dream come true. We all want to reach the big leagues, that’s the pinnacle.

I didn’t have to go home to North Carolina and hear a guy ask me “When are you going to make it to the big leagues?”

Noles added that he fell in love with baseball around the time of…the 1969 Mets. “But it was bumpy on the way. The first guy I faced in the big leagues, hit a home run.”

We had a chance tonight to speak with Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. at the Phillies Winter Tour stop in Lakewood. You can listen to the entire interview in audio form by clicking here. Below find some text comments…

You’re trying to acquire as much talent as you can so you can help the major league club. If you include Blanton and Halladay, and Lee, and Oswalt, we’ve moved 13-14-15 guys off our roster that are making an impact, but that’s part of developing talent. Our guys have been challenged to replenish that and have done a good job.

(On the 2010 BlueClaws) They had some very very athletic kids, some of whom we could have moved. Greatathlets. Great attitudes. Valle really improved. Jiwan James really improved. Josh Zeid put himslelf on the map. Colvin and others, like Cosart, really came into their own. It’s a really good group that made a mark. Singleton is obviously one of the better hitters in our organization.

(On BlueClaws 1B Jonathan Singleton) He’s going to get a chance to play some left field. We messed with it during instructional league but he seems like he’s excited to get the opportunity. Anyone that knows him knows he wants to play big league baseball. If this is the path he takes, that’s great. If anyone can swing the bat like he can, we’ll find a place for him to play.

(building the system) Chuck (Lamar)’s done a great job putting the right people in the right spots. We’ve gotten great support with the fanbase and atmosphere. I come here sometimes and get very envious. When I was playing in Lo-A…I came through the Angels. Quad Cities was one for us, in Iowa. Those are tough places to play. You’re a young player, you’re alone. I think the support system they get here in Lakewood and from the fans in fantastic.

(winning at the minor league level) The number one priority is to develop Major Leaguers, but it’s also important to develop championship caliber Major Leaguers. Winning means a lot. We like to try to create winning atmospheres in the system because we need that at the Major League level.

There’s more in the audio version, which is about 9 minutes and 45 seconds.

We can confirm that both Phillies first round pick Jesse Biddle (a potential 2011 BlueClaw) and BlueClaws manager Chris Truby will both be in town for the Phillies Winter Tour on Tuesday night.

Both were confirmed for the original date on Wednesday, but with the snow, the event was PPD and re-scheduled for Tuesday.

Click here for the full release, and you can reserve your spot by calling Amy at 732-901-7000 ext 172.

Brief bios of Biddle and Truby below the fold.

(more…)

Forgot to post this here yesterday, but the Phillies Winter Tour stop in Lakewood which was supposed to be last night is now Tuesday night, also at Woodlake Country Club.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. will be joined by Phillies hitting coach Greg Gross and Phillies special assistant Dickie Noles. More guests could be added in the coming days.

Amaro was named General Manager in November of 2008 after serving as Assistant GM for the previous 10 years. A former Phillies batboy, Amaro played with the Phillies and two other teams over a seven-year Major League career. In just two seasons as General Manager, he has traded for All-Stars Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt and then in December brought Lee back to Philadelphia.

Gross, an outfielder, and Noles, a pitcher, were teammates on the 1980 World Champion Phillies.

Gross played for the Phillies from 1979-1988 as part of a 17-year big league career. He was a coach both with the Phillies (2001-2004) and in their minor league system (2005-2010). After two-and-a-half years with Lehigh Valley, Gross was promoted to Phillies hitting coach in July of 2010.

Noles, who pitched four years with the Phillies (1979-1981 and 1990) as part of an 11-year career, will also be at the Winter Tour. He is a member of both th National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors and the New Jersey Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors. He educates Phillies minor leaguers on the dangers of alcohol and other drugs. He has also spoken to thousands of schools.

Here is the full release. You can sign up by calling Amy at 732-901-7000 ext 172.

The Phillies Winter Tour is coming to Lakewood Wednesday night.

We’ll get to meet Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, general manager Ruben Amaro, BlueClaws manager Chris Truby, and Phillies 1st round pick and potential 2011 BlueClaw, left-hander Jesse Biddle.

BlueClaws Blog and BlueClaws.com will have interviews and comments from all of the guests. Any questions that you would like us to ask (particularly for Biddle and/or Truby)?

Leave them in the comments section and we’ll do the best we can. Thanks.

Note: You can still sign up by calling Amy at 732-901-7000 ext 172 (before 11 am on Tuesday).

Phillies first round pick Jesse Biddle will join BlueClaws manager Chris Truby, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, and general manager Ruben Amaro at the January 26th Phillies Winter Tour at Woodlake Country Club in Lakewood.

Biddle, a Philadelphia native and the 27th overall pick in the 2010 draft, will likely be with the BlueClaws in 2011 and would be the sixth Phillies first round pick to play with the BlueClaws (Gavin Floyd, Cole Hamels, Greg Golson, Kyle Drabek, and Anthony Hewitt).

Here is an article on Biddle from July by Frank Fitzpatrick in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“They say they like all four of my pitches – fastball, curve, slider, change-up,” Biddle said. “They want me to focus on fastball, slider, change-up, and mainly to throw fastballs for strikes. They want me to get ahead with it, and then I may have an opportunity to strike them out with the slider.

“But right now it’s not about striking people out. It’s about pitching to contact, learning how to pitch. . . . They’re going to take their time with me. As a first-round pick and a high school guy, they need to make sure they protect me and get me acclimated to the system. I’m a quick learner.”

Here is a Winter Tour order form, or call Amy at 732-901-7000 ext 172.

It looks like the 2010 Phillies Winter Tour stop in Lakewood will be on January 11th, a Monday night (no, not the same night as the Alabama/Texas football game).

That, however, is all we have right now. We’ll certainly keep you posted. If you want more information, utilize the comments section below.

Click here to see photos from the 2009 Winter Tour.

The BlueClaws hosted a Phillies Winter Tour stop on Tuesday night. Tony Graham has the story in the Asbury Park Press.

You’ll note the last line of the article, that one table burst into Fly Eagles Fly, totally missed that one for the live blog. But was obviously a Phillies-centric atmosphere.

Tony also has an update on CBA graduate Kyle Slate, who will be fighting in spring training for a spot on the BlueClaws roster on Opening Day.

Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson were elected this week to the Baseball Hall of Fame. MiLB has a look at the minor league careers of both Henderson and Rice.

Welcome to Woodlake Country Club in Lakewood for tonight’s Phillies Winter Tour stop, featuring, among others, the World Series trophy, won by the Phillies for the first time since 1980. We’ll be live-blogging the event tonight, so keep it right here for continuous updates, including interviews with the guests. Any questions for the guests, please leave them in the comment section. Enjoy.

Guests will begin arriving at 5 pm, with the press conference scheduled for 6:30.

4:24: We’re good to go. Any questions, feel free to submit them via the comments section.

4:45: With “Hero,” by Enrique Iglesias, in the background, the trophy has been taken out of it’s protective box, and photos will begin shortly.

4:58: Craig Solomon of the Phillies, the keeper of the trophy, checks in and says he hasn’t yet dropped the 30 pound trophy (hopefully he won’t tonight, but no guarantees). He was recently in Las Vegas at an auto convention, and will soon head to Tuscon, Florida, and elsewhere, including the other Winter Tour stops in Williamsport, Lehigh Valley, and Reading.

5:26: Josh Ellis’ interview with trophy keeper Craig Solomon has been posted here.

5:28: The Phanatic has arrived. Now it’s a party.

5:40: Buster checks in. He seems happy to see his mentor, the Phanatic, and is also dressed up for the occasion. He’s sporting a tuxedo, and I don’t mean a tuxedo t-shirt.

5:59: Just spoke with Kenny Campbell, a 10 year old who fell out of the right field seats at Citizens Bank Park in August. Back soon with the link.

6:02: Buster checks in…”hyikrfeghyjkufdergthuikuvfdrghbgdfghjkkjhngtdfrgtjikjuhfgthjjuyhuj.” And now he is walking away. Thanks for that contribution Buster.

6:11: Here’s a clip with young Kenny Campbell, of Brick, and family on the Today Show in August after his incident at Citizens Bank Park. Talked to him for a ClawCast, which you can listen to right here.

7:07: Sorry for the delay, was down at the press conference. We’ll be updating you here for the rest of the night. The program is about to begin.

7:10: Tom McCarthy opens the program to a huge ovation. It will be tough for someone to top that one. He begins with a bald joke.

7:19: Caught up with Greg Legg downstairs at the press conference. He’s ready to go for another season, his 27th in professional baseball, every single one with the Phillies. Here’s the interview.

7:23: Great gesture by the Jersey Shore Boy Scouts of America. They let Tom McCarthy draw a raffle ticket for a spot at the head table. There are two winners. Which is impossible.

7:24: A young lady from the back, gets to go all the way up to the head table.

7:26: Tom McCarthy checked in downstairs before he began to emcee the event. He claims BlueClaws General Manager Geoff Brown stole his hair style and several ties. But beyond that, we spoke about the upcoming Mets/Phillies pennant race from a unique perspective. McCarthy called Mets games in 2007 and Phillies games in 2008.

7:35: Salad and blogging.

7:37: By the way, all the photos were done in about an hour and 45 minutes. That was 450 pictures in 105 minutes. Which works out to 4.28 pictures per minute and one picture every 14 seconds. Not bad.

7:42: JA Happ will have his “Made the Phillies” bobble-head night at FirstEnergy Park on June 30th. Just announced by Tom McCarthy. So we’re breaking news here at the Winter Tour.

7:45: Lisa Carone, BlueClaws special events manager and blog friend, checks in and thanks everyone here (which of course means they’re not following along) at the Winter Tour for a great turnout in 2009.

7:50: Couple of more interviews we’re putting up as I type. Stay tuned.

7:56: Really enjoyed talking to Chuck LaMar, the Phillies Assistant GM for Player Development and Scouting, a new title this year after the front office reshuffling. LaMar was the original GM of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and really build the core of the team that went from 5th place in the AL East in 2007 to the World Series in 2008. It was LaMar who brought in Kazmir, Shields, Upton, and Crawford, and it was LaMar’s new team, the Phillies, who won the Series in 2008, beating the Rays. An interesting interview, hope he comes out to Lakewood this year.

8:00: The program is set to resume here in a few minutes.

8:05: A few new pictures coming up and then a salmon break.

8:08: McCarthy: “People always ask what it was like to be around the team in September. I tell them that it was even better in October.” Sounds about right.

8:09: Lost in the shuffle sometimes between the Curse of the Bambino and the Curse of the Billy Goat, the Phillies were able to reverse the Curse of Billy Penn.

8:11: Greg Legg and Dusty Wathan first to be introduced by Tom McCarthy.

8:19: Chuck LaMar up at the podium now. He notes all the homegrown talent in the organization and the lineup during the World Series. Talking about Raul Ibanez, “His makeup is outstanding.” Ibanez was signed last month and will replace Pat Burrell, now with Tampa Bay.

8:21: Chan Ho Park comes up, that’s an upset. LaMar says Park will have to earn a spot in the rotation (JA Happ, Kyle Kendrick, Carlos Carrasco will be in the mix), and could be in the bullpen this year.

8:20: McCarthy notes the reports are positive on Chase Utley. LaMar on whether Utley can be ready for Opening Day: “I sure wouldn’t bet against it.” Interesting.

8:23: I promised my mother I wouldn’t spill anything on myself. So far so good.

8:25: Marti Wolever, Phillies Director of Scouting, is up at the podium, and says that Cole Hamels, when he was drafted at 18, had the maturity of a 25 year old.

8:26: Wolever: “Our young guys can play, and I think they proved it this year. We’re going to live by that philosophy [development] and we’re very pleased with our farm system.”

8:28: Given the chance to talk about some recent BlueClaws, Wolever goes straight to Kyle Drabek and Dominic Brown. Talked to Steve Noworyta, Phillies Director of Minor Leagues, last week, and he mentioned that Drabek is his sleeper to make it to Philadelphia in 2009.

8:30: Steve Noworyta is called up to the podium and talks about winning the World Series. “I told my kids to enjoy this moment, because you don’t know if it will ever happen again.”

8:32: The Phillies people LOVE their 2008 draft. We’ll go into details on this in the coming weeks, but a lot of these guys may be BlueClaws in 2009.

8:36: Great ovation for Tim Gradoville. Tom McCarthy suggests a bobble-head doll for the Phillies new bullpen catcher.

8:38: JA Happ on his bobble-head doll: “Very exciting.” On spring training: “Always competition, but that’s what makes it fun. I’ll be ready to go.”

8:40: Happ thinks his time in the big-leagues in 2008 will help him win a spot in the rotation in 2009. Happ on Jamie Moyer: “He’s such a good resource, just having my locker near his was great. He’s always willing to talk, and he goes beyond baseball. He’s an unbelievable resource and a great guy.”

8:43: Some housekeeping notes. Here are a slew of interviews done by Josh Ellis during the press conference portion of the program from earlier today. Here’s one with new BlueClaws manager Dusty Wathan. Josh also had a chance to talk to Phils Assistant GM Scott Proefrock, new Phils bullpen catcher Tim Gradoville, and finally, Phillies Director of Scouting Marti Wolever.

8:46: Another upset: Happ says his greatest career milestone was NOT his bobble-head doll, but rather getting his first major league win.

9:02: As the enormous line for JA Happ’s autograph begins to shrink as he fires off signature after signature, we’re winding down this Winter Tour stop here at Woodlake. We’ll be back to wrap it all up in a bit.

9:28: So we (Josh and I) sat in the back of the room as we blogged the event. The Zinger of the Night Award goes to BlueClaws marketing manager and blog contributor Zack Rosenberg, who wondered aloud if we were playing Battleship. Good one Zack.

9:34: That’s all folks. Thanks for reading. Next live blog: FanFest on March 7th. Back with more tomorrow here on BlueClaws Blog.

Tuesday night is Winter Tour night over at Woodlake Country Club. We’ll be live-blogging the event for you, which will include remarks from Tom McCarthy, the Phillies broadcaster and Brick native who will emcee the program. We’ll post audio interviews with the guests, including new BlueClaws manager Dusty Wathan, former BlueClaws pitcher JA Happ, and much more. Should be fun. We’ll post the thread here early afternoon. Feel free to submit questions for any of the guests and we’ll work them into our interviews. If you’re coming, please come over and say hello.

This is part five in a blog series looking at the players, coaches, broadcasters, and executives that will appear at the Phillies Winter Tour on January 13th at Woodlake Country Club. Remember, fans will have the chance to get their picture taken with the World Series trophy, and tickets are available by calling Steve Farago or Lisa Carone at 732-901-7000 ext 120 or 192.

The Trophy

The Commissioner’s Trophy
Formally known as the Commissioner’s Trophy, the first World Series trophy was created in 1967. Every season, one new trophy is made an presented to the team that wins the World Series. The current trophy is designed by Tiffany & Co. which has been under contract with Major League Baseball since the 2000 World Series. In addition the World Series trophy, Tiffany & Co. produces the trophies for the NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, NASCAR, and MLS. The trophy itself takes more than three months to make and uses 200 troy ounces of sterling silver. The trophy stands 24-inches tall (not including the base) and weighs about 30 pounds.

The World Series trophy contains 30 flags, one for each Major League Baseball organization, with latitude and longitude lines which symbolize the world and 24-karat stitches which represent the stitches on a baseball. The trophy is presented to the winning team in an on-field ceremony, if the World Series is won by the home team that night. If a team clinches on the road, the ceremony takes place in their clubhouse. The Commissioner’s Trophy is the only major sports trophy that is not named after a person.

Learn more here and here.

This is part four in a blog series looking at the players, coaches, broadcasters, and executives that will appear at the Phillies Winter Tour on January 13th at Woodlake Country Club. Remember, fans will have the chance to get their picture taken with the World Series trophy, and tickets are available by calling Steve Farago or Lisa Carone at 732-901-7000 ext 120 or 192.

The Staff

Dusty Wathan
Dusty Wathan was named the new manager of the Lakewood BlueClaws on December 16, 2008, replacing Steve Roadcap, who was promoted to manage the Double-A Reading Phillies after two years in Lakewood. He was basically a career minor leaguer who got five at-bats with the Kansas City Royals. After his playing career ended, Wathan went right into the manager’s seat with Williamsport last year and will be managing for a second year in 2009.

When Wathan was announced as manager, he sat down for a Q&A with BlueClaws Blog. You can read that here.

Greg Legg
The first manager in BlueClaws history, Legg returns to Lakewood after serving as the team’s hitting coach in 2008, his 28th year in the Phillies organization. Legg managed in the system from 1997-2007 before returning to Lakewood as the hitting coach in 2008.

An interesting Legg story, in 1994 he began his coaching career with Clearwater. But Kevin Jordan, playing for then-Triple-A affiliate Scranton Wilkes-Barre, broke his leg. So Legg put down the stopwatch and notebook and picked up a bat and glove to fill in for Jordan. He was back in the dugout in 1995.  

This is part three in a blog series looking at the players, coaches, and executives that will appear at the Phillies Winter Tour on January 13th at Woodlake Country Club. Remember, fans will have the chance to get their picture taken with the World Series trophy, and tickets are available by calling Steve Farago or Lisa Carone at 732-901-7000 ext 120 or 192.

The Player

JA Happ
Happ was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2004 draft out of Northwestern. He was with the BlueClaws in 2005, where he went 4-4 with a 2.36 ERA. Happ worked his way up to Triple-A in 2007, but had a 5.02 ERA, though during that year he made his big league debut on June 30th. Happ was back at Triple-A in 2008, but significantly improved his strikeouts, walks, hits allowed, and WHIP, and thus lowered his ERA to 3.60.

He is a viable option to be the Phillies 5th starter in 2009, and with lefty reliever JC Romero suspended for the first 50 games of the season, Happ could definately be in the mix for a spot on the Opening Day roster out of spring training.

How many Northwestern Wildcat alums have made the big leagues? Just 21. Notables include Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Dodgers 2b Mark Loretta.