The Philadelphia Philles - losers since 1947

Considering the history the Philadelphia Phillies have had regarding Jackie Robinson and African-American ballplayers in general, I guess it's fitting that today's game, which was to honor the 60th anniversary of Robinson's breaking the color barrier, was rained out. More after the jump.

Today's Philles game against the Houston Astros, like all games across the country, was to commemorate Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers becoming the first African American to play in a Major League Baseball game on April 15, 1947. In addition to some pregame fesitivites, all players from both teams were to wear #42 as a tribute to Robinson. But as with games in Pittsburgh, Boston, Baltimore and New York, rain cancelled the game. After reading about the treatment the Phillies gave Robinson in 1947, maybe they should have just had a game-long apology session.

Yesterday I read a New York Times column by Stuart Miller, author of The 100 Greatest Days in New York Sports. In it he documented the truth vs. the myth of Robinson's first year in the major leagues, and mentioned the especially harsh treatment Robinson received in Philadelphia.

"The Dodgers played three games against the Philadelphia Phillies, who spewed so much racist vitriol - including aiming bats machine-gun-style at Robinson - that it drove him to the brink of abandoning the "noble experiment" in pacifism for a full-out attack."

Apparently Phillies manager Ben Chapman was the ringleader in this act, which reportedly got him suspended and fined. When the Dodgers came to Philadelphia later in the season, Chapman posed with Robinson for the above picture. But it doesn't sound like he was very contrite.

Well, ok you say, but that's just one incident. Well, guess which team was the last in the National League to integrate. That's right, it was the Phillies. But, hey, it only took them 10 years.

When asked why they never claimed another NL pennant after the 1950 Wiz Kids team, Phillies Center Fielder Richie Ashburn reportedly said, "We were all white." Guess that's why they called him Whitey.

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I'm raising the white flag

YOU WIN!

I really can't take it anymore. I've tried and tried, year after year to be a fan of teams that let me down year after year. I think today's Phillies disaster was the last straw. The team to beat indeed.

24 years and no titles. 96 seasons between the Phillies, Flyers, Sixers and Eagles with only heartbreak to show for it. At some point (very early at this rate) the Phillies will lose their 10,000th game. And yet season after season I, like many fans, have gone back only to be kicked in the head again.

A few weeks ago I was excited for the upcoming Phillies season. We had a nice young nucleus, the reining MVP, and although the division looked pretty tough, I was looking forward to being in the post season when October rolled around. I even liked the swagger coming from Jimmy Rollins and some of the other players on the team. Yea, maybe the Philles were the team to beat. Then the started playing.

Right off the bat things didn't look good. They lost the first game of the season when the Braves' Edgar Renteria homered to tie the game in the 8th and then again in the 10th to win it. Two games later the Phillies had been swept by Atlanta, but with two extra-inning losses you thought they could just as easily be 2-1 instead of 0-3. But then the hapless Florida Marlins took two of three and all of a sudden the Phillies that I had so much hope for were 1-5.

When I got home today I flipped on Comcast Sportsnet with the Phils holding a 5-3 lead over the Mets. It looked like Cole Hamels had pitched a great game, Ryan Howard was getting his swing back and maybe this was the turning point for the season I had hoped for. But I was obviously kidding myself because in true Phillies phashion they gave up seven runs in the 8th inning to lose the game 11-5. Once again grasping defeat from the jaws of victory.

So, I'm done. I'm not a fan anymore. Phillies, count me out. I've finally had enough. The relationship is over. Don't even make me get a restraining order. We are through, finished, finito ... unless you start winning. Guess I'd have to erase this entry. Hope no one grabs this screen.

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Comcast Sportsnet ... why have you forsaken me?

Being a Philadelphia sports fan here in Central Pennsylvania is tough. Although State College is essentially in the middle of the state, most people here associate themselves with Pittsburgh and their teams. By the way, I happen to agree with Sienna Miller on that city. In fact, the Pirates Single A Baseball team, the Spikes, play right on Penn State's campus. And their AA team, the Altoona Curve, is only about 30 minutes away. So when Comcast took over as the cable provider earlier this year, I was thrilled when the rumors of getting Comcast Sportsnet on my cable system. But I turned it on last night to watch the Flyers/Mapleleafs match, and all I saw was a blank screen. Now I'm just confused.

It started out by getting CN8, which is an odd channel in itself. Have you ever looked at the scroll on the bottom of their screen, it gives you the worst information, but I digress. It was nice to see some old favorites, Arthur Fennel and some of the guys from WIP, but what happened to Lou Tilley?

Anyway, a couple of months ago, I turned on what used to be the TV Guide Channel and there, in all it's glory was Comcast SportsNet. I was thrilled to see Michael Barkann and Daily News Live, Leslie Gudel and SportsNite. It was even good to see Dei Lynam and her monotone voice.

But now, with the Philles season here, I'm worried that I'm going to miss almost all of their games. I'm already definitely going to miss the few games that are on Philly 57, but now do I have to worry about the ones on CN8 and SportsNet too?

Hey Barkann! You're on that network like 24 hours a day, do something about this!

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