Farewell to Andy Musser

By Amy McGinnis

Andy Musser served as a Phillies broadcaster for 26 years, including covering two World Series.  In 2001, he left the organization to pursue other endeavors.

On Sunday, January 22, Andy passed away in his Wynnewood home.  The cause of death has not yet been made public. He was 74 years old and leaves behind a wife of 50 years, children and grandchildren.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sympathy to the Musser family, as I wish them peace and strength at this tough time. 

Andy, say hello to Harry for us. 

A Look at the Vanimal

By Amy McCormick

Our famous pitching rotation of 2011 was expected to bring home another World Series trophy for this city.  We all know how that worked out.  With injuries for Oswalt and Blanton, we had some holes to fill.  An obvious choice was RHP Vance Worley, who had surprised most of us in September of 2010 when he was able to hold his own on the mound. 

In 2011, Worley posted an 11-3 record with a 3.01 ERA.  More of last season's stats (skip ahead if numbers make your head hurt): 131 2/3 IP, 119 K and 46 BB.  His averaged 8.1 strikeouts, 3.1 walks and 0.7 homeruns per nine innings pitched.  That's the quantitative data, and it's pretty self-explanatory.

In a qualitative sense, Worley was great at locating his sinker and getting called strikes.  Do you remember watching hitters swing and miss?  Neither do I, because it didn't happen often.  Why was that? Well, to begin with, Worley doesn't have much of an off-speed pitch.  It also helped that many batters were facing him for the first time, not knowing exactly what to expect.

What should we expect this season?  From opponents, I think we can expect batters to look alive.  There's a lot of footage of Vance for teams to watch at this point.  If this is the case, then I think it's safe to say that what worked in 2011 will not work in 2012.  In my opinion, he'll need to keep batters guessing - get them to swing and miss pretty consistently - if he wants to continue to be successful.  Called strikes aren't going to cut it; I think we'll see batters getting aggressive.

I like Vance Worley, for a few reasons.  I think he's a talented kid who has potential to be a solid #4 or #5.  I was impressed with him when he was originally called up from Lehigh Valley because a lot of kids his age can buckle under the pressure (looking at you, Dom Brown).  In a post-game interview once, when asked what had gone wrong during the game, he stated, "I sucked." I loved it.  No excuses, no blaming anyone else.  He recognized that his performance that night was just not good enough and that he would need to do better.  It's refreshing to me when a professional athlete admits that openly.  What I want to see is a continued sense of what works and what doesn't. 

There's a lot of chatter about fans expecting Vance to unravel during his sophomore season, and while that is based on previous experiences, I don't think it's a fair expectation for Worley.  I am optimistic that he will recognize that he needs a strong off-speed pitch and that he needs to work the corners.  And who knows - maybe opponents will be too preoccupied preparing to face Roy, Cliff and Cole, and they won't do their homework on Vance.  Stranger things have happened.

I want to see big things from this kid.  I've seen enough that I recognize his talent and skill - now I need for him to prove to me that he can switch things up enough to succeed this season. 

Getting Antsy

By Amy McCormick

Well, gang, I haven't written so much as one word since we signed Thome. This has seemed like an endless offseason thus far.  I'm getting very eager for things to get underway in Clearwater.  There's not much to report, really; I'll put my two cents in on some things that have happened, though.

Ryan Howard seems to be healing in an expected timeframe.  No one expected him to start at first in April, and if you're like me, you'd much rather he take his time getting fully rehabilitated this time.  The timing of his injury is probably the only silver lining to the whole incident.  At least it didn't happen in August, right?

Ryan Madson agreed to a one-year deal with the Reds.  As much as I don't like to see him go, I'm not surprised.  Acquiring Papelbon was a clear indication that Amaro was making other plans; for a short while, though, Mad Dog was just sitting at home, waiting for his phone to ring.  While I would have loved to see him stay in Philadelphia, I would have hated to watch him sitting in the bullpen, waiting for the phone to ring.  It didn't make sense to have Madson and Papelbon, even if the money allowed it, and I wish Ryan the very best.  It's hard not to like a dude who kicks chairs. 

Jamie Moyer signed a minor league deal with Colorado.  Minor league? At 49 years old? C'mon, Jamie, you really want to go out like that? He's one former Phillie who will undoubtedly always be well-received in this city, and I would love to see him in a pitching coach position in the future.  I hate, hate, hate that he signed a minor league deal.  I hate it.

Say what you want about Wilson Valdez ... "He's no Chase Utley." No shit.  He's a substitute infielder with a mediocre bat.  That being said, he has proven to be extremely dependable, filling in at second, short, and third (not to mention his stint as a relief pitcher last May).  The Phils signed a $930,000 contract for one year in an effort to avoid arbitration.  There's not much to argue about here - it was a smart move.  Valdez will never be an All-Star, but his "I'll do whatever my team needs" attitude is pretty priceless.  I'm glad to see him sticking around.

Jimmy Rollins and his wife Johari are expecting their first child.  Let's hope this pregnancy is not a distraction (I'm looking at you, Heidi Hamels, circa 2009).  Best wishes to JRoll and his family ... I'm hoping for a boy with a big gap-toothed smile and some swagger. 

Something that needed to be addressed this off-season was Cole Hamels.  He'll be a free agent after this season, and I'd say it's a safe bet that a team or two might be after my favorite LHP.  At 28 years old, he surely has years ahead of him in his career; Philadelphia would be stupid if they let him walk away.  Some people were upset when they learned that he agreed to a one-year, $15M deal, but it was purely to avoid arbitration.  Hopefully, a long-term deal will be taken care of during Spring Training.  I wouldn't want to see our rotation without him.

On a non-Phils note, Yu Darvish and Texas signed a ridiculous deal of $60M over 6 years.  Sure, the kid has sick numbers in Japan.  We all know that MLB is (pardon the obnoxious pun) a whole new ballgame.  I think it 's foolish to throw so much money at a pitcher who hasn't proven a single thing yet.  Most of you know that I think contracts in general have become a joke.  (I don't care if you're Albert Pujols.  Ten year contracts are ridiculous, and I only see agents inflating the issue over time.)

Well, kids, that's it for now.  I'm counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report (30, if you're wondering).  I'm ready to get this season underway already.  Let's do this.

God's speed, Mad Dog.