Happy holidays

Happy holidays out there. Hope you’re having a good one wherever you are, whatever you might be celebrating.
I’ll be back in the new year, unless something major happens. See you then.

Phils sign reliever

According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Phils have signed reliever Gary Majewski to a minor league deal.
Meanwhile, the Mets are back in talks with Derek Lowe.
It seems like we’re moving in opposite directions, here.

Phillies in the World Baseball Classic

Accepted Invitations

Jimmy Rollins, USA

Declined Invitations

Cole Hamels
Brad Lidge
Chase Utley
Ryan Howard

How to tell if you’re not a Philly sports fan

You might not be a Philly sports fan if you enjoy rooting for the Giants, Cowboys, Redskins, Mets, Braves, Celtics, Rangers or Devils.
You also might not be a Philly sports fan if you formally file a complaint with the FCC over Chase Utley’s F-word miscue during the post-World Series celebratory rally

According to an article by [...]

Hardware

As voted on by fans, three members of the Phillies’ family are now proud owners of some Internet hardware.
Pat Gillick, Charlie Manuel and Brad Lidge all won their respective races for executive, manager, and closer of the year in MLB.com’s annual This Year In Baseball awards presentation.
Lidge beat out the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera, 44 percent [...]

Phillies spring training invitees

From a Phillies press release, the 10 players who will join the Phils as non-roster invitees in Clearwater this spring:
Dave Borkowski, RHP
Mike Cervenak, 3B/1B
Ozzie Chavez, SS
J.J. Furmaniak, INF/OF
Mike Koplove, RHP
Justin Lehr, RHP
Blaine Neal, RHP
Terry Tiffee, 3B
Andy Tracy, 1B
Chris Walker, OF
You may remember Tracy and Cervenak for their brief appearances with the [...]

Zinger

Raul Ibanez was formally introduced to the media today.
The media and fanbase will formally introduce their complaints about his hitting against lefties and outfield defense on May 1.

Prospect update: Carlos Carrasco

Carlos Carrasco has voluntarily withdrawn from Venezuelan winter ball after 10 starts. He’s not injured, don’t fret. He put up some good numbers, too.
10 starts, 42 IP, 38 H, 10 ER, 40 K, 10 BB, 2 HR, 1.14 WHIP, 2.14 ERA
The IP/game is low because of pitch count restrictions, but otherwise solid numbers. Liking the [...]

Utley press conference Monday

UPDATE (2:22 p.m.): Everything is status quo on the Utley front. He seems ready to proceed to more intense workouts in a couple months.
GM Ruben Amaro has said, however, that the Phillies have agreed on a two-year deal with Jamie Moyer. Two years guaranteed is a big risk for the old man, but they got [...]

Phils sign Chan Ho Park

The signing is official, says David Murphy. Not only that; we have details!
Park is signed for one year with a $2.5M base salary. He could earn up to $5M in incentives. A lot of speculation had Park becoming the next Chad Duribn/Clay Condrey, but that’s apparently not the case.
“I was a little worried about the [...]