Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (49-83) at Miami Marlins (66-66), Aug. 31-Sept. 3

The Miami Marlins host the Philadelphia Phillies in a four game series starting Thursday night. The Marlins are looking to make a late-season playoff push. They just got swept in Washington by the Nationals but they’re 6-4 in their last 10 and 17-11 overall for the month. They enter the series only 5.5 games out of the second wildcard spot. Make no mistake about it, they believe they have a chance and as such they’re playing for something.

Obviously, the biggest obstacle facing the Phillies in the series is Giancarlo Stanton, he of 51 home runs. But the Phillies pitching also needs to concern itself with the potent top of the Marlins lineup, which features speedy Dee Gordon, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna.

Yelich and Ozuna have been real Phillie-killers over the course of their career. Combined they have 575 plate appearances against the Phillies and have an OPS over .840 with 78 runs scored, 54 extra-base hits and 60 RBI. Add in Stanton’s 26 career home runs and .860 OPS against the Phils and the two, three and four hitters pose a dangerous threat to Phillies pitching.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Well, like Mr. T’s Clubber Lang told a reporter in Rocky III when he was asked what the expectations should be for the big upcoming bout, if the Phillies pitchers can’t execute, expect “Pain, lots of pain” for those of us Phillies fans watching. This is a good hitting team that’s hitting its stride offensively. Their young pitchers are starting to figure it out as well.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Thursday, 7:05 p.m., Ben Lively (1-5, 4.36 ERA) vs Odrisamer Despaigne (0-1, 3.70 ERA)

Every other start for Lively seems to be an effective one and since he got lit up in his last start vs. the Cubs (5 IP, 6 ER) this may be a better one. He’s never faced the Marlins before but again, all he needs to do is execute to be successful. Oddly, his lower strike out games seem to be the ones where he’s more effective so maybe he should just resign himself to contact, weak contact preferably, and just get outs. For Despaigne’s part, he pitched two and two-thirds effective innings of relief against the Phils last week after Justin Nicolino got lit up but he’s not exactly dominant so the Phils have a chance in this one.

Friday, 7:05 p.m., Nick Pivetta (5-9, 6.57 ERA) vs Dan Straily (8-8, 3.80 ERA)

Another shot for Pivetta to get back on track. Let’s face it, despite having some great stuff at times his starts have been problematic. Straily on the other hand is having his best season ever – strike outs are up, walks are down and his 3.80 in his league leading 27 starts is the by-product of that effectiveness. Franco has hit him well and in his three at-bats against Straily Hoskins has a home run. He’s 2-1 against the Phil’s this year having pitched 17.2 innings and given up eight earned runs. He does have 27 K’s to only six walks though so the Phils need to make better contact.

Saturday, 7:10 p.m., Aaron Nola (10-9, 3.46 ERA) vs Jose Urena (12-6, 3.84 ERA)

Nola got back on track in his last start vs Atlanta going seven innings and giving up only one earned run with siz K’s and no walks. He’ll have to be on his game again against a tough Marlins line up. Urena has been great this year although he tends to walk a fair amount of batters and give up his share of hits as his 1.243 WHIP shows. For a guy in their division making his 23^rd start it’s a bit odd that this is only the second time he’ll face the Phils. The first was in game two of last weeks double header where he went five innings giving up 3 earned runs and earning the win.

Sunday, 1:35p.m., TBA vs Vance Worley (2-4, 6.02 ERA)

The “vanimal” making his 11^th start of the year, his second in as many weeks against the Phils. He got lit up last week when he faced the Phils giving up eight earned runs in four innings. You would expect that the Phils will take advantage of him again but hey, you never know. TBA has been so-so this year.

from Phillies Nation http://www.philliesnation.com/2017/08/series-preview-philadelphia-phillies-49-83-at-miami-marlins-66-66-aug-31-sept-3/

Sneak Preview: October Classes at COOK

Tomorrow, the October schedule for classes at COOK goes live. And they’ve got another packed month, with everyone from Bistro La Minette’s Kenny Bush and Damon Menapace from Kensington Quarters to the crews from Stockyard, Scarpetta and Fork.

As always, the best classes fill up fast. But you folks are getting an early look. So plan your schedule, make your choices and be ready to hit COOK’s website at 2 p.m. tomorrow with your credit card in hand.

October Classes at COOK

October 4: Lebanese Please! with Frances Vavloukis
October 5: Bouchon La Minette with Kenneth Bush of Bistrot La Minette
October 6: Summer In India with Rupen Rao of Rupen’s
October 7: 12PM My Mom’s Indian Tiffin with Rupen Rao of Rupen’s
October 10: a.wine Dinner with Eli Collins and Joey Campanella of a.kitchen and a.bar
October 14: 12PM FALLing Hard for Pizza with Peggy Paul Casella of Thursday Night Pizza
October 15: 1PM Vegan Comfort Sandwiches with Christina Martin of Cooking To Nourish
October 17: Wine and Swine Part 4: The Calabria Edition with Mitch Skwer of Wine Merchant and Nick Macri of La Divisa Meats
October 18: Truffle Shuffle with Jorge Espinosa of Scarpetta
October 19: Celebrating 20 Years of Fork with John Patterson
October 22: 2PM How ‘Bout Them Apples with Lily Fischer and Becca Craig of Cake Life Bake Shop
October 24: Soups and Stews with Becca O’Brien of Two Birds Catering
October 26: Pork, Salt and Smoke with Damon Menapace of Kensington Quarters
October 27: Everything But The Squeal with Will Lindsay and Mike Metzger of Stockyard
October 29: 12PM Eating Armenia and Beyond with Fimy of Apricot Stone
October 30: Old School vs. New School with Matthew Gentile and Luca Sena of Panorama

COOK [Get your tickets here]

The post Sneak Preview: October Classes at COOK appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

3rd Annual 80s Costume Karaoke | Locust Bar

Spend Labor Day Weekend with friends and fun at Locust Bar as they host the 3rd Annual 80s Costume Karaoke Party on Sunday, September 3rd. This event will star DJ Lars as Michael Jackson. Grab your friends for an evening of drinks, dress up, and fun!

All levels of singers welcome – come show us your stuff at 80s Karaoke Night. Admission is FREE but must be 21 to enter. Costumes welcome. For more information please visit Locust Bar site.

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Locust Bar
235 South 10th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107

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from philly2night https://philly2night.com/3rd-annual-80s-costume-karaoke-locust-bar/

Altherr, Herrera nearing returns: Who’s the odd man out?

According to reports, the Phillies are expected to get some punch back into its lineup when Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr return from the disabled list. Both outfielders have easily been the best hitters on the team thus far (non-Hoskins division). Herrera has been on fire since June 3, slashing .342/.388/.579 with 24 doubles. Altherr has consistently kept his average in the .280s along with his 16 home runs and 49 RBI. When those two are full healthy and ready to go, they’ll go in Pete Mackanin’s lineup card in pen, not pencil.

Because the Phillies were down two outfielders, it prompted the much-anticipated callup of top prospect Rhys Hoskins, who – if you haven’t heard – made history. Hoskins has been a revelation, and he’s been that revelation because he had a place to play. Being blocked all year by Tommy Joseph at first base, the injuries to Altherr and Herrera created a spot. The Phils stuck Hoskins in left field for three games before his callup from triple-A. He’s played the vast majority of his big-league games in left.

When Altherr and Herrera come back, they’re locks to start regularly the rest of the year, and so is Nick Williams. With Williams’ youth and talent, the Phillies have to let him play the rest of the year, too. The left-hander has shown the ability to get on-base at a .348 clip in his 53 games, a facet he’s lacked for much of his minor league career. With those three outfield spots locked up (which could be the opening day 2018 outfield), that means Hoskins has been moved out and back to first base.

So that means Tommy Joseph is the odd man out. There’s no way Mackanin can split playing time between Williams, Herrera, Altherr and Hoskins over Joseph.

The (lousy) argument to keep playing Joseph: showcase him for an offseason trade. Are teams going to knock down the Phillies’ door down for a first baseman who’s slashing .239/.291/.430 with 19 home runs and 63 RBI on the worst team in the league? Tommy Joseph is what he is. He’s average (at best), both at the plate and in the field. There’s really no other way around it. Any game-changing potential Joseph has, we would’ve seen it by now. It would be a shame if Mackanin steals at bats away from the future and hands them to someone who’ll be an afterthought by season’s end.

from Phillies Nation http://www.philliesnation.com/2017/08/altherr-herrera-nearing-returns-whos-the-odd-man-out/

You Can Finally Get a Drink at The Porch at 30th Street Station

The Porch at 30th Street Station/Facebook

It’s been a big summer for beer gardens in Philly, with nearly 40 pop-ups and other spots in the city and the suburbs serving up al fresco sips this year. We’ve seen the good — the trend spread to new neighborhoods by local business owners who present the beer garden concept as a family-friendly community gathering space. We’ve also seen the bad — like drunken fisticuffs (and a subsequent shutdown) at the Comcast Center’s Center City Sips location.

But now, a little more good outdoor drinking news to close out the season: The Porch at 30th Street Station’s long-awaited beer garden, Pub at the Porch, has its grand opening tonight.

Finally open after a long delay — we’ve been hearing rumblings about a beer garden at the Porch since at least spring 2016 — Pub at the Porch will be operated by Bridgewater’s Pub, which serves inside the station. The menu is currently limited to craft beer, cider, and wine. Tonight, August 31st, Dos Hermanos food truck will be serving up eats, with tunes from DJ Ed Christof.

The fun goes from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. this evening, with regular hours — that’s 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday — beginning on September 6th and going all month long.

Pub at the Porch [Facebook]

The post You Can Finally Get a Drink at The Porch at 30th Street Station appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

It’s Almost Time For the 2017 Audi Feastival

Summer coming to an end is always a drag. But one of the few silver linings of the past few years has been that the end of summer also means that Feastival is on its way.

This year, it’s happening on Thursday, September 28th at the FringeArts theater and is being called “The Year of the Beard” — which, okay, is not the best name if you don’t know that this is referring to the multiple James Beard Award-winning chefs and restaurateurs co-hosting this year’s event.

This year, the co-hosts are Outstanding Chef winner Michael Solomonov, Outstanding Restaurateur Stephen Starr, and Best Chef Mid-Atlantic Greg Vernick. And they’re bringing along 75 of the city’s best restaurants, including lots of new ones. A Mano is coming for the first time ever. Oloroso is making its debut. Double Knot, ITV and Poi Dog are all making their first trip to the event. And so are Royal Izakaya, Walnut Street Cafe and others.

Want to take a look at the full list? We’ve got it right here.

2017 Audi Feastival

Participating Restaurants

a.kitchen+bar

Alma de Cuba

A Mano

American Sardine Bar

Audrey Claire

Autograph Brasserie

Bank & Bourbon

Bar Amis

Bing Bing Dim Sum

Bistrot La Minette

Brauhaus Schmitz

Buddakan

Cheu Noodle Bar

The Dandelion

Double Knot

Drexel University’s Center for Hospitality

The Dutch

Eclat Chocolate

Ela

The Farm at Doe Run

Federal Donuts

Fette Sau

Fond

Fork

Friday Saturday Sunday

The Good King Tavern

High Street on Market

Hugo’s Frog Bar & Chop House

Hungry Pigeon

Indeblue

ITV

Jezabel’s Cafe

Kanella South

Kensington Quarters

La Calaca Feliz

La Colombe Torrefaction

La Divisa Meats

La Peg

Lacroix

La Divisa Meats

La Peg

Laurel

Metropolitan Bakery

Mission Taqueria

Noord

OIC

Opa

Oloroso

Oyster House

Panorama

Parc

Pizzeria Stella

Pod

Poi Dog Snack Shop

Prohibition Taproom

The Ranstead Room

Rouge

Royal Izakaya

Russet

Sancho Pistola’s

Shake Shack

Siembra Spirits

St-Germain

Sweet Box

Taproom on 19th

Townsend

Tredici

Tria

Twenty Manning Grill

The Twisted Tail

Urban Farmer

V Street

Vernick Food & Drink

Vintage

Walnut Street Cafe

Whetstone Tavern

Whole Foods Market

Will BYOB

World Café Live

Zahav

Zavino

And yeah, that’s a helluva list. All those restaurants, all those chefs, in one place and for one night only? That’s why Feastival is one of the best parties of the year.

Tickets are on sale now, and you can get yours at the link below.

2017 Audi Feastival [Official]

The post It’s Almost Time For the 2017 Audi Feastival appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

KOP Is Getting a Second Fast Casual Indian Restaurant

Photo courtesy of Choolaah

With the recent opening of Philly favorite Tiffin at a shopping center less than a mile away from the King of Prussia Mall, the newest occupant of the KOP Town Center will make two fast-casual Indian operations in the area. Which is surprising only because, at the end of spring, there were zero.

But Choolaah Indian BBQ (part of a three-store chain based in Cleveland) is something different. It’s modern Indian. Healthy Indian. Indian made for our quick-serve age.

Which is why its so surprising to me to see those big tandoor ovens behind glass in the dining room.

There is nothing modern about a tandoor. Along with the pho pot, the Dutch oven, it is almost the image of old-fashioned, traditional cuisine.

And yet Choolaah uses them every day to turn out food that is both ancient and modern, traditional and healthy, Indian and American. They use spices imported from India and salmon from the Faroe Islands. The paneer comes from a family recipe used by the founders, but it’s made by Amish cheesemakers in Ohio.

In keeping with the new style in fast-casual, nearly everything is bowl-based (lamb tikka masala bowl, veggie biryani bowl, tofu and veggie BBQ bowl), and what isn’t in a bowl comes as a burrito. Or a wrap, I guess, technically, but it’s meat and veggies wrapped in whole wheat naan and made for eating on the go. A burrito by any other name.

The menu is big, covering all the basics of Indian snacks, meals and salads. Everything costs around ten bucks. Everything is done as quick as it would be at any Chipotle — these bowls of daal and chickpeas and basmati rice. There’s a condiment bar with sauces of varying heat, a kids’ menu (naan pizza and the like), and desserts like cardamom kulfi and mango lassi. It looks good. And if Indian restaurants (not named Tiffin) have difficulty taking hold in the city, maybe they can find a place in the ‘burbs. You know, right down the street from Tiffin.

Choolaah’s public opening is Friday, September 15th.

Choolaah Indian BBQ [Official]

The post KOP Is Getting a Second Fast Casual Indian Restaurant appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Mighty Bread Company Is Opening a Brick-and-Mortar Bakery in South Philly

Mighty Bread Company/Facebook

The all-sourdough Mighty Bread Company has found a home for its production bakery in South Philly.

Baker-owner Chris DiPiazza will be setting up shop in a former warehouse space at 1211 Gerritt Street (right around the corner from Palizzi Social Club). With the lease finalized, he’s working on getting the bakery up and running there for a November opening.

While the space will primarily be a production bakery rather than a retail operation, DiPiazza plans to hold pop-up retail sales of his own loaves, like his rosemary peppercorn loaf and purple-flecked toasted Bloody Butcher corn sourdough baguette, at the space, which has a courtyard for events in the warmer months. He also hopes to collaborate with like-minded startup bakers who need room to grow, since he’ll have some gaps in his production schedule.

And DiPiazza knows how hard a good, affordable production space can be for an up-and-coming baker: for the past two years, he’s been baking out of rented space in the Center for Culinary Enterprise in West Philadelphia.

Having his own space will allow DiPiazza to grow the wholesale business: starting in mid-September, Mighty Bread will be providing breads to Di Bruno Bros.’ Rittenhouse location, with plans to work more closely with them on products like holiday breads in the future. He’s also hoping to join the Fairmount farmers’ market this fall to close out the season.

Mighty Bread Company [Official]

The post Mighty Bread Company Is Opening a Brick-and-Mortar Bakery in South Philly appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Philly Chefs Are Banding Together For Houston Flood Relief

Photo by David J. Phillip/AP

Just like the rest of us, chef Eli Kulp has been riveted by the images coming out of Texas and Louisiana over the past few days. The flooding there has been unlike anything seen before — a cataclysm that will take months to recover from. And just like the rest of us, Kulp was wondering what he could do to help.

His answer (like any chef’s answer would be): cook.

So he got the idea that he would donate the proceeds from one dish on the menu at each of the High Street Hospitality restaurants (a.kitchen, High Street on Market, Fork, High Street on Hudson, a.bar) to a charity helping out those battered by Hurricane Harvey. Then he figured he’d see if any of his other chef friends wanted to pitch in.

Thus was #Chefs4Houston born, less than 24 hours ago.

The response was quick. Greg Vernick was on board. Nick Elmi went on Instagram, offering $10 from each gnocchi sold at Laurel to Houston relief efforts (for the foreseeable future) and for tonight, all proceeds from a sea bream with summer ragu and lobster espelette broth, too. Zahav is pitching in, as are Will BYOB and Scott Schroeder and some restaurants from Garces Group. And the list is still growing.

Kulp, Ellen Yin and High Street Hospitality will be offering one dish at each of their restaurants through Labor Day, with all profits from that dish going to a yet-to-be-named charity. Kulp and Yin haven’t picked which organization they’ll donate to yet because the situation on the ground is still evolving — and because Kulp is trying to coordinate with his chef friends in the Houston area, like Chris Shepherd from Underbelly and Justin Yu at Oxheart. They may even form their own charity in order to directly address the needs of restaurant crews in the region. Here’s what Kulp had to say.

“It’s impossible not to be moved by the catastrophic events unfolding along the Gulf Coast, and we knew at once that we wanted to take action and lend support to our fellow restaurant workers as they recover and rebuild. Because this is an ongoing event, we have not chosen a specific charity partner at this time, but we wanted to begin raising funds immediately, in order to have the greatest impact possible.”

Talking to Kulp this morning, we got a statement about how things are coming together. He said, “With Chris [Shepherd’s] help, we are finding ways to flow the money directly to individuals in the restaurant and hospitality industry to help them rebuild their lives and livelihoods.”

Elsewhere, Eater is reporting that Marcie Turney and Val Safran are donating 10% of total sales from all their shops and restaurants on Tuesday, September 5. And Philly.com has word from Mac Mart that they’re donating 50% of sales from their Cowboy and Cowgirl mac and cheese cups to charity.

Obviously, all of these plans are just beginning to come together. It’s early days, and the region is going to be in need of help for a really long time. So keep an eye out and we’ll continue to update you with other charity events happening in the coming days.

In the meantime, check out #Chefs4Houston for more information.

The post Philly Chefs Are Banding Together For Houston Flood Relief appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Manayunk Sport & Social Club Leagues | Sign Up Today

Manayunk Sport & Social Fall Registration is almost over. MSSC offers a variety of recreational sports programs, including several softball leagues. They have a Mon/Wed softball league, a Tues/Thurs league, a Friday league, a Saturday league, Sunday day league & a Sunday night league.

Their sponsor bars, like the Bayou Bar and Grill and the Cactus Cantina, also provide members with a drink after every game and great special events and a banquet for every team.

Some of the other sports MSSC offers are football, volleyball, kickball, hockey, dodgeball, baggo & darts among others. Play your favorite sport, meet new people, watch and talk about their Philly teams. Register now for our spring leagues as a team or individual by going on their website for more information!

SIGN UP HERE!

About Manayunk Sport and Social Club
Since 1999, Philly’s Manayunk Sport and Social Club has been leading Philadelphia in organizing well run sports leagues, events and clinics. We are focused on YOU having a good time, which includes enforcing rules, starting/ending on time and providing prompt customer service. Just choose from any of the sports offered in your area and we will get you playing. Yes, even if you are signing up by yourself, we can get you playing. Full teams and groups are always welcome too. (Source: HERE)

About The Bayou Bar and Grill
Since September ’93, The Bayou Bar & Grill has become a staple of Manayunk’s unique neighborhood atmosphere. Located on Main Street, the Bayou is popular year-round, to watch football in the fall, baseball in the spring or relax at the outdoor cafe in the summer. The Bayou is the #1 spot for drink specials and happy hours in Manayunk. (Source: HERE)

About Cactus Restaurant and Bar
One of Manayunk Restaurants casual eateries, we are located on Manayunk’s Main Street. Our specialty is southwestern and Mexican influenced cuisine. We serve the finest fresh ingredients in all of our dishes. We pride ourselves in offering a complete dining and relaxing experience, our bar is stocked with over 40 premium sipping tequilas, innovative cocktails, and over 50 craft beers! (Source: HERE)

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from philly2night https://philly2night.com/manayunk-sport-social-club-leagues-sign-today/

It Looks Like Fitler Dining Room Is Closed

Fitler Dining Room marked a return to grown-up dining when it opened back in 2013. It has won some awards over its lifetime. Though it had some rough moments, it served a lot of friends and neighbors. And now it looks like it has closed.

But owners Ed Hackett and Dan Clark left a note promising “something new and fresh” coming to the space that once housed Melograno and Meme.

In case you can’t read that, it says:

“Dear neighbors. We will be back at the end of September with something new and fresh. See you in a few weeks!”

We’re fairly sure this isn’t just a remodel or an overhaul of the existing concept because the Open Table page is currently listing it as “Permanently Closed.” We’ve reached out to Hackett for details on what’s next, but haven’t heard back yet.

We’ll update you as soon as we hear anything.

Fitler Dining Room [f8b8z]

The post It Looks Like Fitler Dining Room Is Closed appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Bernie’s Restaurant Coming to Penn and Manayunk This Fall

Bernie’s Hatboro/Facebook

The Penn campus is getting another bar: Bernie’s, a casual restaurant and bar that got its start in the Philly suburbs, is opening on Sansom Street.

The new Bernie’s is scheduled to open this fall in a 7,000-square-foot space at 3432 Sansom Street. Owner Eric Kretschman, who named the restaurant after his grandmother, is an alum of both Penn and Drexel.

Bernie’s also has locations in Glenside and Hatboro. And another city location, at 4411-4413 Main Street in Manayunk, is set to open this fall as well.

Bernie’s [Official]

The post Bernie’s Restaurant Coming to Penn and Manayunk This Fall appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Eat This Now: Sweet Corn Cachapas at Puyero

Photo courtesy of Puyero

We’ve been pretty excited about Puyero ever since it opened down on 4th Street in Queen Village. Back in June, we reviewed the place and gave it high marks for its arepas, chipotle ketchup, and cool, casual BYO vibe.

But now, they’ve taken a menu that was already stuffed with arepas, plantain sandwiches called patacones, fried cheese, and (more) plantain and added cachapas — a vital addition that comes straight from the roadside food stands of Venezuela.

Photo courtesy of Puyero

That thing right there? That’s a cachapa: a ground sweet corn pancake used kind of like a taco shell to hold whatever ingredients the cooks feel like putting inside.

Actually, they’re used the way pancakes are used almost everywhere else in the world (except here) — as a way to wrap up delicious things and get them into your mouth without you having to just shove everything into your face with your fingers.

The classic version is made with local white cheese and nata, a kind of Latin American sour cream made from the heavy, rich cream that congeals when boiling milk. But Puyero is offering theirs in four different varieties. Check it out:

Clasica
Corn fritter pancake with white cheese, topped with nata

Jamon y Queso
Corn fritter pancake with white cheese, smoked ham, topped with nata

Todera
Corn fritter pancake with white cheese, your choice of chicken, shredded beef or pork, topped with nata

Pernil
Corn fritter pancake with white cheese, pork, tomato lettuce, topped with nata

They just went onto the menu last week and will be available during lunch and dinner. They’ll run you between $6.50 and $8.50 apiece and, like just about everything at Puyero, are almost enough to be a meal all on their own.

Almost. You should totally get two. Might I humbly suggest the todera?

Photo courtesy of Puyero

Puyero [Foobooz]

The post Eat This Now: Sweet Corn Cachapas at Puyero appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Aaron Nola has changed his repertoire very quickly

Aaron Nola pitched very well Monday night in the Phillies’ 6-1 win over the Braves. In seven innings he surrendered just one run and five hits, striking out six and walking none. He looked in command the entire outing, relying on some superb defense (Freddy Galvis, Maikel Franco, Nick Williams) to keep the ledger relatively clean.

Nola is having a great season – 137.2 IP, 3.46 ERA, 141 K, 40 BB. That’s No. 2-3 starter stuff there, and maybe an ace is hiding – heck, Nola is still only 24 (awesome, right?) – but for now, we’re pretty certain that the guy is a bonafide part of the organization’s future.

Monday was a rebound for Nola after two shaky starts. On Aug. 17 he surrendered five runs to San Francisco, and on Aug. 22 he gave up seven runs to Miami, allowing an uncharacteristic two home runs. Before that he had been untouchable for 10 consecutive starts, a run of quality starts we hadn’t seen in Philadelphia since Cole Hamels.

So, going forward, should we expect that very well, 3.10 ERA Nola, or is he closer to the guy who gave up 12 runs in 11 innings before Monday?

Looking at his three most recent starts, we’re starting to see an interesting trend develop that may answer that question in time:

Aug. 17 at San Francisco – 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 3 K

Nola threw just 57 percent of his pitches for strikes against the Giants, far lower than his season average of 66 percent. He also wasn’t fooling anyone, getting just 13 strikes looking and six strikes swinging, down from an average of about 20 and 11 per start, respectively.

He threw his two-seam fastball (also categorized as a sinker) 38 percent of the time, which was higher than its usage during Nola’s superb 10-game run, which was 27 percent. During that run Nola featured the curveball most (29 percent), but was balancing usage of the curve, sinker and fastball quite well.

In a way this was an abandonment of the traditional fastball, which was a strike 75 percent of the time, hit safely in play once for a double.

The sinker, meanwhile, was hit safely in play twice (single, double), but was called a ball 50 percent of the time. He had bad movement on it; even still, he threw it a lot. And he paid.

Aug. 22 vs Miami – 6.1 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 7 K

Against San Francisco Nola had a bad start spotlighting his two-seamer, so against Miami he went the other way completely, throwing his four-seam fastball 43 percent of the time to just 12 percent for the sinker (the curve stayed at the traditional 27-29 percent).

Nola also threw the four-seam a lot when ahead (22 percent against lefties, 85 percent against righties). Here’s the weird thing: Not once did he throw the two-seamer when ahead against Miami. He’ll always toss a few sinkers when ahead, but not once against Miami.

Instead it was curve or fastball. The curve was relatively successful for him (a strike 67 percent of the time, one double out of six balls in play), but the fastball wasn’t very solid (5-for-14, HR, 2 2B), and the sinker got rocked (3-for-4, 2B, HR).

In essence Nola had no faith in the sinker (which had more dramatic movement than typically, which hurt him against left-handers Derek Dietrich and Ichiro Suzuki, who tattooed sinkers that landed right in the heart of the plate), and maybe there was reason, but he didn’t even try using it in beneficial situations.

Aug. 28 vs Atlanta – 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K

So here’s the weird thing about Nola’s great outing Monday – he doubled down on the Miami strategy and threw the fastball 48 percent of the time to just 9 percent for the sinker (again, barely using the sinker in a favorable count — in fact, just once with two strikes, and he got a strikeout with it). He also threw the curve a bit more (33 percent).

The difference is the sinker had much more success against Atlanta – eight strikes to one ball, 0-for-3. Part of that is likely because the pitch’s movement was a little less dramatic, especially against lefties, who either fouled off the pitch or looked at it for a strike.

The only pitch that was truly hit was the four-seam fastball, for a .300 average (3-for-10) including Atlanta’s only extra-base hit. Moreover, Nola only got three whiffs from the fastball (6.25 percent). During his 10-start run he averaged close to 10-11 percent whiffs from the fastball. That doesn’t seem like a lot more, but if Nola is reducing his two-seam count and increasing his four-seam count, he’ll probably need to get more whiffs on that four-seamer.

Going forward

So Nola may not like the two-seamer right now. Maybe it’s broken. Either way, he’s most recently become more of a two-pitch starter, relying heavily on the four-seamer and curveball while flashing the two-seamer and changeup. It worked well against a bad Atlanta offense (.414 slugging percentage), but we’ll see if he continues this in a return start against Miami (.434). It’s a fascinating development that could dictate just what kind of pitcher Nola will be heading into 2018.

Note: Thanks to Brooks Baseball for the charts and information.

from Phillies Nation http://www.philliesnation.com/2017/08/aaron-nola-has-changed-his-repertoire-very-quickly/

For Fox Sake | Cook and Shaker

Dock Street Celebrates a Decade in West Philly With Beer (Obviously) and $25 Tattoos (Really)

Dock Street Brewery/Facebook

Dock Street Brewery is one of the city’s oldest existing craft brewers — they’ve been at it since 1985. And 2017 marks 10 years in the West Philly firehouse spoace that’s home to their pizzeria, brewery, canning line, and tasting room.

Naturally, they’re throwing a party to celebrate — and they’re providing a memento that will last quite a bit longer than the buzz from your beer.

Starting at 3 p.m. this Thursday, Dock Street will offer their West of Center Pale Ale in cans for the first time.

And at 6 p.m., they’ll mark another first, with tattoo artist Dylan Curry of West Chester’s X-Treme Ink Tattoo turning out anchor tats — the brewery’s sigil — plus a few other basic designs for $20-$25 each. (And yes, this tattoo artist and pop-up is licensed and legal.)

The drinks flow August 31st at 3 p.m. at the main brewpub at 701 South 50th Street; the ink starts at 6 p.m. around the corner at the Dock Street Cannery and Lounge at 705 South 50th Street.

Dock Street Brewery [Foobooz]

The post Dock Street Celebrates a Decade in West Philly With Beer (Obviously) and $25 Tattoos (Really) appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Summer Truffle Soft Scrambled Eggs | Bistrot La Minette

Summer Congee, Duck Cracklings, Local Sweet & Sour Patty Pan Squash, Pickled Corn | Cheu Fishtown

Win Tickets to See Jon Bellion at The Mann

Jon Bellion is taking the stage at the Skyline Stage at The Mann on Friday, September 8th at 7:00 PM, and Philly2Night has the hook up! Enter now to win a pair of tickets to the show!

About Jon Bellion
Jonathan Bellion is an American singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. Bellion has released four mixtapes and one studio album, the most recent of which, The Human Condition, was released on June 10, 2016, and it debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200. Bellion has worked with such artists as Twenty One Pilots, The Black Keys, B.o.B, Zedd, Jason Derulo, Eminem, and Rihanna.

About The Mann
The Mann theater has the capacity of 14,000 patrons, including 4,500 under cover. The Mann serves more than 200,000 patrons annually, presenting diverse musical genres including classical, pops, jazz, rhythm & blues, rock & roll, indie, and country. The Mann has always focused on bringing world-class artists and touring companies to the community.

Please note if you are 21 years of age or older and plan to consume alcohol at the concert, please be prepared to present proper I.D. There is no re-entry once exiting the facility. No outside food or beverages are permitted for this performance.

Enter to Win Below:

Fill out my online form.

The post Win Tickets to See Jon Bellion at The Mann appeared first on philly2night.

from philly2night https://philly2night.com/win-tickets-see-jon-bellion-mann/

Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (48-81) vs. Atlanta Braves (57-71), August 28-August 30

The Atlanta Braves, who are bad, come to Philadelphia for a three-game set against the hometown Phillies, who are worse. 2016 ended with the Braves three games worse than the Phillies, leading some to make the case that the Phillies were ahead of the struggling Braves in the teams’ respective rebuilding phases. 2017, however, has been a freefall for Philadelphia, and they aren’t ahead of any team in this year’s standings.

Still, the Phillies have walked all over the Braves this year, losing to them only twice in 13 games.

WHAT TO EXPECT

It’s nearly September in what has been something of a lost season for the Phillies, and they’re beginning a series against a team with no postseason hopes of its own.

The most exciting parts of this series will probably be named Rhys Hoskins and Aaron Nola. It’s always worth keeping an eye on Nick Williams, too, who has also played well since his introduction to the big league squad. At this point in the season, especially given how bad of a season it’s been, the main reason to watch is to assess what comes after. Hoskins, Williams, and Nola should be key players for the Phillies long after 2017, and they haven’t done anything to add to the … character-building nature of being a Phillies fan.

The same could be said about Odubel Herrera, but El Torito has been on the disabled list with a hamstring issue. He did take batting practice on Saturday, however, and could be activated soon. Aaron Altherr, another productive young outfielder, is likely to remain out of commission until sometime in September, according to reports.

The Phillies are coming off a series win against the World Series champion Cubs, however, and the Braves are a much less daunting challenge. That, paired with the success they’ve seen against Atlanta in 2017, could make this a series Phillies fans look forward to.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Monday, 7:05 p.m., Lucas Sims (4.13 ERA) vs. Aaron Nola (3.58 ERA)

Lucas Sims has been okay in his 5 big league starts this year, as seen in his 4.13 ERA. FIP doesn’t love him – his FIP is 5.17 – because he hasn’t struck out many batters (4.76 K/9). It was a different story in the minors, though, where he has struck out 10 batters per 9 innings in the last two seasons. If he can repeat that in the majors, he should only get better.

Aaron Nola, meanwhile, has a near insurmountable task: making the Phillies watchable every 5^th game. He was one of baseball’s best pitchers in July, when he held batters to a .192 average and kept his ERA at 1.32. His last 2 starts have been rough, however, as he’s allowed a combined 12 runs in 11.1 innings.

Tuesday, 7:05 p.m., R.A. Dickey (4.06) vs. Mark Leiter, Jr. (3.86)

In just under 100 innings thrown against them, Dickey has a 2.76 ERA against the Phillies in his career. What makes that even more impressive is that some of those starts came in their better days. That success continued this season: in 2 starts against the Phils, he’s allowed a total of 1 earned run and struck out 16 batters in 14 innings. They don’t show signs of figuring the plucky knuckleballer out.

Leiter has been fine at controlling run-scoring this year, as his 3.86 ERA will attest to, but his real value has come from being able to make a spot start or long relief appearance, as needed. His most memorable appearances were back-to-back relief outings that came five days apart in which he threw a combined 9.1 innings and struck out 16 batters, allowing 1 earned run on a solo homerun. Really, the Phillies should announce a different starter this day and bring in Leiter as a last-minute bit of sleight of hand.

Wednesday, 1:05 p.m., Julio Teheran (4.90 ERA) vs. Jerad Eickhoff (4.36 ERA)

It may sound obvious, but Teheran is a pitcher whose success closely follows his ability to control baseball’s three true outcomes— strikeouts, walks, and homeruns. This season, he’s walking batters at the second-highest rate in his career (3.35 BB/9) and allowing homeruns at the second-highest rate as well (1.73 HR/9). It follows that his ERA has ballooned to 4.90, well above his career 3.62 mark. Most of his walks come against lefties (43 compared to 13 against right-handed batters), but he allows homers at a similar rate against batters from both sides of the plate. It would not be terrible for the home team if he were to put a few guys on in front of a player who reached 10 career homeruns faster than anyone else in history, for example.

Every time I write about Eickhoff, he does the opposite of what I say should happen. I spent months saying he’s the team’s most consistent starter whose continued productivity was all but guaranteed, only to see his May ERA at 6.08 and his June ERA reach 5.49. When I wrote that a mechanical adjustment would have him back on track, it didn’t help things right away. When I pulled up video of the starts he’d made over the last year and thought I’d found a correlation between his finish and his game outcomes, things got better without him changing anything. With that in mind: he definitely won’t throw a perfect game on Wednesday.

Fortunately, I don’t matter much, and he’s sneakily been back to allowing fewer runs in the second half. His July ERA (3.27) and August ERA (3.62) are more in keeping with what you’d expect from him, but he’s still allowing too many men to reach base— he hasn’t had a month with a WHIP below 1.3 since April. Maybe his career-high .324 BABIP will regress toward his career average of .291, but he’s still walking 9.2% of batters faced, which is a higher rate than it’s been in his career thus far.

from Phillies Nation http://www.philliesnation.com/2017/08/series-preview-philadelphia-phillies-48-81-vs-atlanta-braves-57-71-august-28-august-30/

Just a few Rhys Hoskins stats for you

Rhys Hoskins / Photo by: Lauren McLaughlin

It’s hard to write anything new and exciting about what’s happening with Rhys Hoskins. The performance speaks for itself – a home run every few plate appearances, and nothing cheap, causing all of us to scream at our phones, computers and televisions in disbelief.

Literally, on about four occasions now, I’ve glanced at my phone to check the Phillies score just to see if Hoskins homered. And in each of those occasions, Hoskins had just homered.

So yeah, speechless.

He has hit a home run in each of his last five games, and he has hit a home run in each of the last 10 days (that cursed doubleheader). He has hit home runs off good pitchers (Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, Dan Straily). He has hit home runs in pitcher’s parks (PETCO Park, AT&T Park).

Hoskins has only twice swung at the first pitch for an out. He has only had nine plate appearances that have ended at two pitches or fewer (4-for-8, 2B, 2 HR, HBP). After getting down 0-2 Hoskins is hitting .278/.316/.778. (For reference, 2007 Chase Utley was .222/.291/.323 with one home run after 0-2.)

Hoskins has worked a full count 18 times out of 76 appearances, nearly 25 percent of the time. With full counts Hoskins is hitting .333/.556/1.083 with three home runs, six walks and two strikeouts. Yes, he’s slugging 1.083 – that isn’t his OPS.

Just some of the ridiculous numbers. Carry on.

 

from Phillies Nation http://www.philliesnation.com/2017/08/just-a-few-rhys-hoskins-stats-for-you/

Pizzeria Vetri Teams Up With Shake Shack

Photo courtesy of Pizzeria Vetri

First, the Vetri Family empire expanded into fast-casual with Pizzeria Vetri. Then, the sale of (most of) the restaurant group to Urban Outfitters took the empire to new, national heights.

But you haven’t truly hit the big time until you’ve collaborated with a fast-casual behemoth like Shake Shack.

Pizzeria Vetri has combined forces with the Shack to create two new Italian-inflected fast-casual bites that will be available at their Philly-area and D.C. outposts.

Pizzeria Vetri locations in Philly and D.C. will serve the SmokeShack Rotolo, a twist on their signature rotolo that’s inspired by the SmokeShack burger: it’s filled with ground beef and smoked Niman Ranch bacon, then topped with the Shack’s cheese sauce and chopped cherry peppers.

And Shake Shack locations in the area are offering the Chick’n Parm, a crispy chicken breast sandwich that’s topped with Pizzeria Vetri’s marinara, fresh mozzarella, and basil.

Taste the collabs at the Shake Shacks in University City, Center City, the King of Prussia Mall, and D.C.’s Logan Circle and at Philly-area Pizzeria Vetri locations, including those in King of Prussia and D.C. from this Friday, September 1st through Sunday, September 10th.

Pizzeria Vetri [Foobooz]
Shake Shack [Foobooz]

The post Pizzeria Vetri Teams Up With Shake Shack appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Reading Fightin Phils End of Season Ticket Giveaway

The Phillies AA-affiliate is about to finish off another successful season in Reading.  Although the Fightins didn’t make the playoffs, they’ll likely finish above .500 and have promoted several of their early season stars.

Their final homestand of the season begins tonight against the Blue Jays’ affiliate New Hampshire Fisher Cats and continues Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  We have 26 tickets to giveaway to these upcoming games and are going to make it easy for anyone who wants them.  Simply complete the form below and choose a date that is most convenient for you to attend a game.

On Tuesday at noon, we will select 13 random entries to each win 2 free general admission tickets to the game!  In addition, 2 lucky winners will each receive 2 tickets for box seats behind home plate!

To enter to win Reading Fightin Phils tickets, complete the form:

Reading Fightins End of Season Ticket Giveaway

First and Last Name *

Email Address *

I'd like to attend on...

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Doesn't matter

from Phillies Nation http://www.philliesnation.com/2017/08/reading-fightin-phils-end-of-season-ticket-giveaway/

University City Restaurant Has LOL-Worthy Name

Poke-Man/Facebook

Over the weekend, a new poke spot opened up on the University of Pennsylvania campus.

You’ll never guess what they decided to call it.

Poké-Man (heh), located in the former Caffe Bene spot at 3737 Chestnut Street, specializes in build-your-own poke, served over your choice of salad, rice, or noodles or rolled up in a sheet of nori, burrito style.

Poké-Man/Facebook

While the name — just on the right side of copyright infringement, hopefully — and sparse web presence make the spot borderline ungooglable, they have a pretty sweet grand opening deal going on.

If you head over to University City to get an obligatory selfie with their chortle-inducing sign this week, bring a friend: the shop is offering BOGO poke bowls through Sept. 2.

Poké-Man [Facebook]

The post University City Restaurant Has LOL-Worthy Name appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Here’s What You Need To Know About the Amazon Acquisition of Whole Foods

michelsun/iStock.com

So you made it through another weekend. Good for you. And if you’ve found your way here, it’s probably because you’re curious about how scientists are planning on making food from astronaut pee or the history of the guy who invented the tater tot.

Or maybe you’re just wondering how to save a few bucks at Whole Foods with that Amazon Prime membership of yours. Yeah, us too. So let’s start right there this week, huh?

World Domination, Now 10% Off

Look, there are a lot of troubling things about Amazon buying Whole Foods. It re-shapes the delivery landscape yet again (because Whole Foods best brands will now be carried by Amazon Pantry and Amazon Fresh). It gut-punches other grocery store chains (stocks prices were down 5-8% following news of the finalized deal). And it brings yet another large chunk of America’s consumer landscape under the control of the company which, one day, will become Skynet. But on the other hand, what was the most awful thing about Whole Foods? That it was just ridiculously expensive to shop there. And Amazon took care of that right off that bat. Starting today, they’re dropping prices on a large number of Whole Foods products–including kale (which is very exciting to Whole Foods’ core consumer demographic: people who pretend they like kale). Over at Foodbeast, they’ve got an explainer on the changes coming Whole Foods, so check it out before you head to your local AmazonFoods Food Distribution Zone.

Salmon Jailbreak

If I had a jam band, I would totally call it Salmon Jailbreak. And it would be named in honor of these brave, crafty, salmon-y sonsofbitches who somehow (allegedly) used the alteration of tides caused by the eclipse to stage a Great Escape-style mass fish break-out. No, seriously. 305,000 Atlantic salmon escaped a fish farm in Washington. People with no sense of humor are calling it an environmental catastrophe. I’m calling it the story these salmon will be telling their children for generations. Check it out right here.

The Tater Tot: An Origin Story

This tale of scrappy industrialism has everything: a small-time potato farmer, the Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach millionaires, Mormons, scientists and the 1954 National Potato Convention.

Space Food Is Gross

If you know anything about living in space, you know that just about everything about it is either deadly, gross or both. Mostly both. But as we push further and further out into the Big Black and make plans for staying longer and longer, scientists start worrying about something called “the atom economy” which, briefly, is the notion that everything an astronaut carries into space (including breath, waste, body heat) must be used. In this case, we’re talking about pee (plus some yeast, exhaled breath and some other things) which can be turned into the base materials for anything from foods to 3D printer feedstock. It is weird, freaky, gross and f’ing amazing. And it is coming soon to a space station near you. You should absolutely read this. You’ll never look at piss the same way again.

Avocado Crime Wave

Oh, and then there’s this. Because we never tire of reporting on weird, food-based crime news from Australia and New Zealand, how about a massive crime spree all centered around the black market for avocados? No, I’m not kidding. It involves industrial-scale heists, hundreds of thousands of dollars and Facebook. I’m just waiting to see who gets the movie rights.

The post Here’s What You Need To Know About the Amazon Acquisition of Whole Foods appeared first on Philadelphia Magazine.

Made In America Turns 6

Eggplant Agnolotti | Vernick Food + Drink

As a kid, I had to play baseball for the enemy

With the Little League World Series closing out this weekend, our writers are sharing some memories of playing youth baseball and softball.

Oh those Disney World photo shoots.

In Port Richmond, you were either a Leprechaun or a Tiger.

I don’t know if that’s changed, since I haven’t lived there in 17 years, but growing up – at least from my 7-year-old-child’s memory – that was the deal. If you were a Port Richmond Leprechaun you associated with other Leprechauns. And you didn’t like the Tigers, those snotty, probably slightly more middle-class kids with snazzy uniforms that they changed into in their houses with the porches. We Leprechauns had hand-me-downs, uniforms made in the early 1980s and lived in the crummy row homes on Belgrade, Gaul and Almond. We were weird looking, Irish, out of shape and ratty. That’s how we liked it. That’s who we were.

I was very truly a Leprechaun. My parents helped run the organization for a few years, so we were at the carnival every summer at Cohocksink, which let’s be honest, was just Cohox. I spent much of my formative years playing at Cohox – tee-ball and baseball in the summer, maybe a season of soccer, watching my brother play football and street hockey, hitting the pool (though we preferred Monkiewicz’s pool) in the sweltering heat, and once a quarter, crying at the dance since girls thought I was wimpy and unattractive. Like a Leprechaun. Sometimes I even took a couple golf clubs out on the field and chipped the ball around a bit. I lived at Cohox. The Leprechauns had one corner of the field, and down the street a bit were the Tigers. Ugh, the Tigers.

Stuff happened that led our family out of the Leprechauns and into free agency (stuff whose details are pretty foggy). I don’t remember my brothers biting the bullet, but I needed more baseball. I wanted real competition against squads like the Tabor Rams and the Holy Terrors. So I caved. We joined the Tigers. I played for the enemy.

But because I was a newbie I was placed on the B-team, not the A-team with all the other snotty neighborhood kids with the last name Cole or Quinn (everyone in Port Richmond was named Cole or Quinn). As I recall we had two co-coaches, a father and son, and the son was blind. They were good coaches, personable and loose, and they taught me a little about the game. On the B-team I stood out, earning the team’s all-star berth as a third baseman thanks to my exceptional fielding and plate discipline (I walked a lot). In the city all-star game I started at third; a kid hit a one-hopping rocket down the line – I dove and snared it, causing the parents in the stands to gasp. I rolled to my knees and fired a direct laser to first. Out. Everyone was stunned. “Who’s that kid?” the parents asked. Play of my life.

The next year I graduated to an older group and made the all-star team again, this time off the bench as a second baseman and catcher. I didn’t catch often; it showed, about 10 pitches in my pitcher threw a low fastball that jammed my thumb up. A couple pitches later another low pitch bounced at my crotch. For some reason I wasn’t wearing a cup. I had to leave the game. I crouched in pain for about an hour.

That was the last time I ever played organized ball. I was heading into high school and half-heartedly tried out for the junior varsity team, but my heart wasn’t in it, I wasn’t in shape and all the kids were about a foot taller than me. I stopped growing by eighth grade; forever I’ve been 5’7″, always looking up at the athletes, always giving myself another excuse to do something else. Whatever, those kids must’ve been Tigers in a previous life.

During my time with the B-team I still remember telling one of my coaches, the blind son, “You’ll hear my name one day. Just wait.”

Well, he still could. Not at a ballpark though. Those dreams died with my body’s ability to grow up.

from Phillies Nation http://www.philliesnation.com/2017/08/as-a-kid-i-had-to-play-baseball-for-the-enemy/

This is ridiculous

Rhys Hoskins / Photo by: Lauren McLaughlin

SPOILER ALERT:

…

…

Rhys Hoskins. Tenth home run. First inning.

The guy golfed it into left field.

We’ve never seen anything like this.

Phillies up 2-1 in the third against the Cubs.

from Phillies Nation http://www.philliesnation.com/2017/08/this-is-ridiculous/

Chase Utley inspired me as a little leaguer

With the Little League World Series closing out this weekend, our writers are sharing some memories of playing youth baseball and softball.

I started playing baseball when I was five years old, and I was a little firecracker. In tee-ball, once a player hit the ball, he was to run to first base and first base only. Me? I’d run to first base, second base, round third and head for home. No one could stop me. I hit a grand slam every time up. My slugging percentage was better than Rhys Hoskins‘.

By the time I started to love and appreciate the game, I began to watch the Phillies, as so many other young baseball players did. And lucky for me, I grew up in the absolute greatest period of winning in the franchise’s 134 years. In 2007 I was 10 years old and witnessed one of the greatest comebacks in sports when the Phils chased down the Mets, down seven games with 17 to play, to win the NL East on the final day of the season.

While I was thinking what to write for this piece, my decision came to me pretty easily because I saw this:

Rich Hill…still perfect.

Chase Utley…still perfect. pic.twitter.com/7DTlLC9rF5

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 24, 2017

When I saw Chase Utley, who’s 38 by the way, super-humanly leave his feet to preserve Rich Hill’s perfect game, I wasn’t surprised, nor was I shocked. I simply said to myself, “That’s Chase.” And when Chase made the play, he didn’t crack a smile or want any attention. He made the catch and threw the ball back in the infield. He was in the eighth inning of a tie game. Always focused on the bigger picture, he had a ballgame to win.

I wanted to be like Chase Utley when I played little league baseball. So whenever I’d make a diving play in the field, it was on to the next play. We had a game to win.

Ever notice Utley standing by himself at the bat rack, especially at Citizens Bank Park? You could tell he was so into the game. He was the only player I’ve ever seen do that. He’d try to pick up anything he could. Well, that was me, too. I’d find my own little spot to stand close to the field and pick up anything I could. Often I was so into the game that I didn’t see or hear anyone trying to talk to me. And if you were a fan, just forget it; you couldn’t talk to me.

The head-first slides at home?

That was me, too. Wanting to get my uniform dirty like Utley’s.

A measly groundout to second base? The now 38-year-old busted it down the line every time, because you never know what could happen. I did the same thing because I had three role models that considered anything less than your best to be unacceptable: my dad, my uncle and Chase Utley. I wanted to be like him; to be him. I’m so lucky I had a player like that to look up to at such a young age.

from Phillies Nation http://www.philliesnation.com/2017/08/chase-utley-inspired-me-as-a-little-leaguer/

Corn Chowder | Vedge

Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (68-58) at Philadelphia Phillies (46-80), Aug. 25-27

The Phillies bring in the reigning world champs for a weekend set during “Players Weekend.” This should be yet another good test to see how the new look Phils, complete with Hoskins and Williams, fare against one of the best teams in baseball. The Phils will still be short of Herrera and Altherr but hopefully the new guys can make up the difference.

Players Weekend will feature the “nickname” jerseys so that should bring at least a minor bit of extra fun to the games.

Chicago is deep in another bid for a postseason run although their division is a bit tighter this year than it was last. They need to win these games to keep their narrow three game lead in the NL Central intact. The Brewers and Cardinals are hot on their heels and the path to the postseason will be easiest if they don’t have to vie for the wildcard spot, of which they would be a half game back as it currently stands.

The Cubs are fairly hot right now having won five of their last six. Jon Jay and Jayson Heyward were on fire during their recent series against division rivals The Cinncinnatti Reds and as always there’s Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist to deal with. Phils pitchers will have their hands full but hopefully they’re up to the task.

Friday, August 25th, 7:05pm, Jose Quintana (8-10, 4.27 ERA) vs Jared Eichkoff (3-7, 4.46 ERA)

Don’t let either ERA fool you, both pitchers are better than that although neither has shown the propensity for going deep into games. Expect this one to be decided by the bullpens. In his last start Quintana went six innings giving up two runs on four hits to a light hitting Blue Jays lineup. For his part Eichkoff didn’t make it out of the fifth in San Francisco, giving up four runs on eight hits. Hopefully the Phils can get back on track vs left handed pitching.

Saturday, August 26th, 7:05pm, Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.52 ERA) vs Ben Lively (1-4, 3.70 ERA)

Hendricks has been great since retiring from the disabled list about a month ago. He’s posting a very competitive 2.45 ERA in his last six starts but the Cubs have still managed to lose four of those games. Lively hasn’t been great but he’s still managed to be effective by tightening up when runners get on. With runners in scoring position the opposition is only hitting .234 vs Lively. The Cubs are among the league leaders in OBP so Lively will have to continue that stinginess on Saturday.

Sunday, August 27th, 1:35pm, TBA vs TBA

I think who starts this game for the Phillies depends on how the previous two games go. If they can manage to make it through these games without using Adam Morgan I would guess he would get the nod. I have no idea if newly signed Henderson Alvarez is in majors pitching shape or not but if he is he could be a possibility. Thomas Eshelman would be an interesting choice as well but he’s not even on the 40 Man Roster so some shuffling would need to occur to make that happen. He last pitched on the 21st so he would be rested.

from Phillies Nation http://www.philliesnation.com/2017/08/series-preview-chicago-cubs-68-58-at-philadelphia-phillies-46-80-aug-25-27/

Where To Eat This Weekend: Inside, Outside and On the Roof

Skygarten | Photograph by Jauhien Sasnou

Well, you’ve made it to the end of another week. You know what we should do? Get out there in the world, enjoy these last few days of summer, and eat and drink ourselves stupid.

Yeah, I mean all of us. There are only so many beautiful weekends like this given to us. And I think it would be a damn shame to waste even one.

So, let’s get started with a little something to rev us up, huh?

First, Coffee

A coffeeshop opening in a former auto body shop? Good morning, Pennsport. Herman’s Coffee is now open and ready to start your morning off right.

Followed By Happy Hour

Walnut Street Cafe is trying to buy your love with inexpensive (read $5) negronis and a City Wide for every day of the week. And you know what? That’s exactly the way we can be bought. Right at this moment, their happy hour deals are among the best in town, and we’ve got the entire menu of snacks, drinks (and City Wides) right here.

And Then Maybe A Little Something To Eat

There’s a new chef de cuisine in the kitchen at Brigantessa. He hit the ground running and already has a new menu working, full of southern Italian specialties like sheep’s milk ricotta cavatelli and a lamb sausage pizza. We’ve got all the details on the new dishes at Brigantessa right here, so if you’re looking for a Saturday night out, this would be a good place to settle for a couple hours.

And Then An End-Of-Summer Party with Mexican Food and Boozy Sno-Cones

Yeah, you heard what I said. We can’t let this weekend get away without sending the summer off in style. So head over to the Viaduct Rail Park for a bash on Sunday night being thrown by Ela chef Jason Cichonski. He’s doing tacos, churros, large-format bottled cocktails, plus beer and wine. There’ll be games, music and, of course, fresh fruit sno-cones just waiting to be spiked with whatever spirit is on hand. We’ve got all the details (and the full menu) right here.

But Really, Maybe We All Just Need A Drink

Outdoor drinking season ain’t over yet, but the end is on the horizon. So take advantage of the days we have left with this guide to the best places to drink outdoors both in Philly and down the Shore.

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