Posted: Friday, December 26, 2008, 2:08 PM | 15 comments |
 

Flyin' Hawaiian Still Flying High
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Shane Victorino raises his fist as he rounds first base after hitting a home run to tie Game 4 of the NLCS in Los Angeles on Oct. 13. The Phils won, 7-5.

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawian Christmas Day ...

It must have been a pretty good Christmas for Shane Victorino, although I imagine it was a pretty good Christmas for everybody who played a role in helping the Phillies win the World Series. Fortunately for us, Jim Salisbury had a chance to visit with Victorino earlier this month during the winter meetings in Las Vegas. I'm guessing Salisbury pushed to meet Victorino at the In-N-Out Burger, although I could be mistaken.

"The parade was incredible," Victorino said. "I remember toward the end of Broad Street looking back and seeing the flood of people following us to the stadium. People were everywhere. I still don't know how the trucks got through. It seemed like there were two or three generations of people there. Old men were doing the sign of the cross, saying, 'Thank you, thank you.' People had tears in their eyes. I was like, 'Did we really do this for the city? Did we really create this feeling?' It's such a well-deserving place. I'm happy we could do it. And I'm happy I could be a part of the team that brought that amount of joy to that many people. It will stay with me forever."

Pitchers and catchers officially report to Clearwater, Fla., on Feb. 14.

That's 50 days away.
Posted by Todd Zolecki @ 2:08 PM  Permalink | 15 comments
15
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:00 PM, 12/26/2008
    Mele Kalikimaka happened for all of us when they won. Hey Zo, will we ever get the back story on Jimy Williams and Steve Smith departures? Curious minds want to know...LOL.
    — jimmymack
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:00 PM, 12/26/2008
    Don't let Salisbury get Shane all bulked up on double cheeseburgers now... We need him flyin' again. Hmm... A nice double cheese with a Coke does sound good right about now though, come to think of it.
    — NJLouis66
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:45 PM, 12/26/2008
    Let's go Flyers!!!
    — RHextall
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:14 AM, 12/27/2008
    Please keep the Phillies news coming. Don't let other sports push them to page 2. I waited too long and I want to savor the 2008 season.
    — wiseoldowl
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:23 PM, 12/27/2008
    Just received my copy of "Champions". Love it! Great photos! And I don't know who's job it was to caption those photos, but they did a great job. You didn't even need to see the game to get what was going on. And our own, Todd Zolecki, got to write TWO chapters! The NLDS and the World Series. If you order it through either of the Philly papers, it cost $25. But only $17 on Amazon!
    — Norma
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:29 PM, 12/27/2008
    Todd, Hawaiian, not Hawaian.
    — eagles11
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:12 PM, 12/27/2008
    You should all be ashamed for patting juicers on the back but I guess that you losers needed a championship that bad you will take it any way you can get it; GO G I A N T S!!!!!!!! Oh Yeah to RHEXTALL lets bring back Pelle Lindbergh and stick him between the pipes I can not wait to see this sport go out the window I PUT PUCK IN THE NET DOT COM
    — rickrick
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:53 AM, 12/29/2008
    Thanks for the input Rickrick, you certainly given us all a lot to think about. Hard to beleive that you don't have your own blog with such exciting insight to share.
    — jimmymack
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:35 AM, 12/30/2008
    Funny that rickrick feels justified chastizing people for "patting juicers on the back" (while there has been no evidence that any member of the current Phillies organization has ever used a performance enhancing substance), yet he feels perfectly comfortable supporting a team that pays a man (Plaxico Burress) who carries unregistered firearms in public, and a teammate (Antonio Pierce) whose immediate response to an incident is to try to cover it up and hide evidence. Then superiorrick goes on to make a calloused and insensitive comment about the deceased. Funny how unprincipled people can try to put down others for their lack of principles. Sour grapes much? It's not our fault that New York baseball is a repetitive joke of overspending and underachieving.
    — RollinsWasRight
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:53 PM, 12/30/2008
    I'm pretty sure the troll was referring to the SAN FRANCISCO Giants and their dynamic infield duo of Eugenio Velez and Pablo Sandoval. You can't expect much intelligent conversation from flamers.
    — Sully
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:37 PM, 12/30/2008
    I'm surprised anyone even knew what the heck he was talking about!
    — Norma
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:12 AM, 12/31/2008
    Happy New Year, everyone! Tonight at midnight I'm drinking a toast to the Champs!
    — Lako
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:38 PM, 12/31/2008
    A very happy New Year to Norma, RWR, Karen, Deb, Truth, John in LA, Jeff Gross, Varsho, Zorro, Mark1 and the countless other Zo Zoners who have entertained, enraged, agreed and shared opinions over 2008. We had a great time, didn't we? Let's hope that 2009 gives us a repeat. And a special thanks to Zo for the blog and Jim Salisbury and him for great coverage over the year. Since Todd is taking some well deserved time off, let's all suggest some new years resolutions for our favorite team. I'll start: for Chase, an off season class in effective public speaking...LOL.
    — jimmymack
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:33 PM, 12/31/2008
    Well said, jimmy! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT! Oooops! I did it again! LOL!
    — Norma
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:14 PM, 01/01/2009
    There's apparently a rumor spreading around, that the Mets are negotiating (or at least thinking about negotiating) with Pat the Bat! It's supposedly on foxsports.com, but I couldn't find it. How weird would that be?! Should we applaud Pat's first plate appearance, or boo???
    — Norma


15 comments
About Matt Gelb and Bob Brookover












Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.

This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.

Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
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