Phillies Stat of the Day

So in case you haven't been emotionally traumatized enough after the Phils tremendous sweep of the Mets, followed by a disastrous collapse against the Marlins and Braves, Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports this little nugget:

According to the Elias Sports Bureau... teams that held a six-run lead in the eighth inning had a winning streak of 517-0 before (the Phils crumbled against Atlanta with a six-run lead this past weekend)

If nothing else, this team will go down in history for something, alright. You can fill in your own blank as to what that history will be...

Phillies Quote of the Day

The quote of the day comes from an excellent article in the Philly Inquirer about the extraordinary feat of the Phillies' upcoming 10,000th loss. Summarizing the Phils' futility, here's the sad status of the team over the past 124 years:

In fact, the franchise's win-loss mark (8,805-9,995) has slipped so far below the break-even point that in order to get back to .500, the Phils would need to win 1,190 games in a row, a winning streak of seven-plus seasons.

If that doesn't sum up this team, I don't know what does. I highly encourage you to read the entire article for an enlightening history of our beloved, beleaguered Phightins'.

On a side note, Steve Jeltz and Sil Campusano were chosen as the team's Runner Up Worst Shortsop and Centerfielder, respectively. Ouch.

Bruce Ruffin Gets a Shout Out in the Inquirer

In a recent Philly Inquirer article recapping the Phils' opening day loss on 4/2/07, writer Bob Ford cited this Phillies' Phun Phact:

At 26, he (Phils' ace Brett Myers) is the youngest opening-day starter for the Phillies since Bruce Ruffin, the pitcher who replaced Steve Carlton on the roster but nowhere else.

That caught my attention because, well, that kind of stuff catches my attention.

I remember southpaw Bruce Ruffin being heralded as the next Phillies' ace in 1986 at the tender young age of 23. Indeed, in his rookie year he posted some tantalizing numbers: 9-4 record, 2.46 ERA, and 70 K's in 146 innings (and zero wild pitches, in case you were wondering... mind you, in 1988 he was second in the NL in wild pitches with 12). After his rookie season, he kind of slid into mediocrity... for his career with the Phils (6 years), Milwaukee (1 year) and Colorado (5 years), Ruffin was 60-82, with a 4.16 ERA, and 63 saves (he jumped to the bullpen when he landed in the Mile High City). Decent career, but he certainly didn't fill Steve Carlton's shoes, as the quote mentions. But then again, not many could.

And another tid-bit for you, Bruce "2 Minutes for" Ruffin (as Chris Berman called him) was traded from Philly to Milwaukee for that wiley Dale "Don't Call Me S-vee-um" Svuem (as I refer to him) in 1991.

And thus concludes this entry on the blonde hurler from Lubbock, Texas. Hope you learned something and keep the Quest alive!

De Ja Vu All Over Again?

Ok, take a gander at the following couple of paragraphs (and/or the entire article if you so desire) that I just saw on Philly.com's homepage:

A woeful season might be of comfort

By Frank Fitzpatrick

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

If this woeful season winds up as the Flyers' worst, it may be comforting for their fans, players and officials to look back at the team it will have supplanted in franchise infamy.

Though 1969-70 produced just 17 Philadelphia victories - in addition to 35 losses and an NHL-record 24 ties - it laid most of the groundwork for the remarkable hockey success that was just around the corner.

Now I'm no conspiracy theorist, nor am I one to toot my own proverbial horn, but now take a look at the opening of this post I wrote on January 12, 2007:

Even in Philly, Patience is a Virtue

Any Flyers fan will recognize these names:

Bobby Clark
Gary Dornhoefer
Bernie Parent

Indeed, they are three of the more recognizable names in Flyers' history, since they were great players.

That, and they helped bring the first Stanley Cup to Philadelphia in the 1973-74 season.

But what many people may not know (and I didn't know this until just now), is that these three players were on the second-to-worst team in the league just a few seasons before winning the Cup. In 1969-70, these players suffered through an ugly year as the team won just 17 out of 76 games, and tied with the now defunct, short-lived Oakland Seals in the NHL's Western Conference.

In 1973 they improved to the first place team, winning 50 out of 76 games.

Notice any similarities? What's up with that?