http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/sam_donnellon RSS Feed for Sam Donnellon en-us Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:57:37 GMT http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/sam_donnellon/20091105_Sam_Donnellon__Scrappy_Phillies_come_up_short_in_World_Series.html NEW YORK - On Sept. 24, 2004, Pedro Martinez walked off the Fenway Park mound in the eighth inning a cauldron of frustration. His Red Sox teammates had just tied the game at 4, had just built some momentum in a key game to http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/sam_donnellon/20091104_Sam_Donnellon__World_Series_shows_it_s_about_time_for_a_timeout_on_all_the_timeouts.html AMID A WORLD SERIES in which records have been threatened, tied and broken, one possible milestone slipped through unnoticed the other night. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/sam_donnellon/20091103_Sam_Donnellon__Utley_s_poise_makes_a_powerful_statement.html CHASE UTLEY WALKED to the plate to start the third inning last night and everyone expected more fireworks. That is what has made coming to Citizens Bank Park so compelling every summer of its 6-year existence, regardless of who is pitching, who is in your bullpen, who you're playing, really. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/sam_donnellon/20091102_Sam_Donnellon__Manuel_should_have_pitched_Lee_in_Game_4.html FROM THE MOMENT Cliff Lee put on a Phillies uniform and stymied the Giants with a complete-game victory in his first start, we have celebrated the acumen of Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/sam_donnellon/20091030_Sam_Donnellon__Phillies_probably_left_Pedro_in_too_long.html NEW YORK - Ninety-nine pitches. That was the pitch count when Pedro Martinez walked off the mound in the bottom of the sixth inning last night. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/sam_donnellon/20091029_Sam_Donnellon__Phillies__Utley_benefits_from_time_off.html NEW YORK - The grind to his game is demonstrated most emphatically when it is not there. No one knows the toll the rest of this World Series will take on Chase Utley and his undisclosed hurts. All we know is that rest has been a great friend to him this time of the year. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/sam_donnellon/20091028_Sam_Donnellon__Howard_meditates_and_Phillies_are_humming.html FOR EACH TOPIC this postseason, Charlie Manuel has a story, an anecdote, an allegory. So it was the other day when Ryan Howard's pre-at-bat meditation came up. Nothing unusual, Charlie insisted. See it all the time. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/sam_donnellon/20091027_Sam_Donnellon__Yankees_vs__Phillies__More_than_just_the_money.html YANKEES OUTFIELDER Nick Swisher never hit more than 24 home runs in a season until this year, only batted .219 in 153 games for the Chicago White Sox last season. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/sam_donnellon/20091026_Sam_Donnellon__Chasing_away_talk_of_an_injury_to_Phillies_second_baseman.html YOU ASK THE questions knowing the answer. "Is there anything wrong with your foot?" I asked Chase Utley yesterday. "No," he said. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/sam_donnellon/20091022_Sam_Donnellon__You_bet_Phillies_can_win_another_world_title.html "EVERYBODY KNOWS about the Yankees and Boston and all their great players," Jimmy Rollins was saying as champagne dripped down his face after last night's pennant-clinching 10-4 victory over the Dodgers. "Obviously, we want that here. Not just to be remembered as the first team to lose 10,000 games, but to be able to say I was able to play with the best of their time.