This time of the year, I can't wait for spring training.  After all the snow, that feeling has really escalated.  Let's face it, I'm a lousy Eskimo.

The sounds of shovels, snow blowers, plows needs to be replaced by the crack of the bat, a fastball thumping into a catcher's mitt and the voice of a Phillies announcer from Florida.

Going back many decades, I couldn't wait for the sound of By Saam broadcasting a game from Jack Russell Stadium.  It meant good-bye to old man winter and hello Mr. Baseball.

Then, a few decades ago, I went to Clearwater for my first spring training with the Phillies.  Stayed at the Fort Harrison Hotel.  A card table in my room was my desk.  Portable typewriter and a hotel phone provided the equipment.  Needed to use a copying machine? Visit the hotel's sales office.

Seeing Jack Russell Stadium for the first time was something I will always remember.  After years of visualizing the place, I was now there to work as a bright-eyed rookie. My job?  Didn't know.  Learned something different every day as part of your basic on-the-job training.

We only had one field, the one at the stadium.  Workouts lasted all day.  Players stood around more than they were active.  Players were packed in a tiny clubhouse under the first base stands.  The manager's office was not much bigger than a phone booth.  Rookies dressed in "rookie row", a narrow row of narrow lockers on your left as you walked into the clubhouse.

Once the games began, it seemed like more fun.  Crowds were thin.  Never forgot my first game.  Cookie Rojas was the first batter and he grounded a ball back to the pitcher who overthrew the first baseman.  I jumped out of my metal folding chair, "Go, Cookie Go."  The late Allen Lewis, a Hall of Fame writer with the Inquirer, grabbed me by the belt and yanked me back into the chair. "Sit down. Rule number one in the press box, no cheering."  I don't remember what I said but I never cheered in the press box again.

Alumni Memories

Starting Tuesday (16th), many of the Phillies Alumni will offer their spring training memories in this space.  Have been receiving some great, great memories.  I'm sure you will enjoy.

At the same time, Scott Palmer will provide video of Alumni memories on this site.  Scott will provide daily video updates from Clearwater. 

Your Memories

Before then, let me know your spring training memories...your first spring training, where you stayed, what impressed you the most, what didn't you like, etc.   

Time to warm up and think baseball.

Yes, what to write about?  Pretty quiet around here. 

The annual winter chicken dinner banquet circuit has passed.  Hype is being stored until the start of spring training when the real world begins. 

Took a journey to the Phillies clubhouse this afternoon. Pretty empty.  Every locker is completely naked.  Oh, some name plates remain above the lockers, names that finished the WS.  Roy Hallady doesn't have a locker or name plate.  Trust me, he will.

Pallets of clear plastic containers line the hallway outside the trainer's room.  Large red trunks, solid gray containers, duffle bags are elsewhere.  Same for bats and balls. A week from today, all of it will be loaded into a tractor-trailer rig for a journey to Clearwater. 

Charlie Manuel returned to Florida. Happy to report he didn't see his shadow which means only two weeks until pitchers and catchers work out.  Take that Punxsutawney Phil!

See, I told you there wasn't much to write about.

Mike Schmidt and Mickey Morandini will be back in uniform as special instructors during part of spring training.  Michael Jack has been doing this for quite a few years.  This will be Mickey's second straight spring.

Came across Baseball America's top 10 Phillies prospects for 2000:
1. SS Jimmy Rollins
2. RHP Brett Myers
3. RHP Brad Baisley
4. RHP Ryan Madson
5.  2B Chase Utley
6. SS Anderson Machado
7. CF Reggie Taylor
8. OF Eric Valent
9. RHP Brandon Duckworth
10. OF Marlon Byrd

Phillies begin 29-game spring training schedule in Clearwater on March 4. 

WPHT will broadcast 12 games on radio; 6 will be broadcast on the internet. TV: The Comcast Network, 4; Comcast SportsNet, 3; WPHL, 2; ESPN 2.

Regular season broadcast breakdown: all 162 games on WPHL and WUBA (Hispanic radio); TV: CSN, 102; WPHL, 45; FOX, 9; ESPN, 3; TCN, 3.

Happy Birthday Freddy Schmidt.  A week from Today, Freddy turns 94.  Freddy pitched for the Phillies in 1947 (5-8, 4.70 ERA, 29 games). 

Oldest living Phillies: Art Mahan (96), Alex Pitko (95), Nick Strincevich and Freddy, 94.

Oh, 2B Ford (Moon) Mullen, who played in 118 Phillies games in 1944 (his only big league season), also has a birthday a week from today.  He's a youngster at 93.

Placido Polanco will sign autographs (first 500 guests) on Saturday in the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Citizens Bank Park;12 noon until 1:30 p.m. . . . Phillie Phanatic and Phillies ballgirls will be there. Free parking in Lot P on Darien Street.
 
Sunday night is the first showing of the Phillies 2009 Video Yearbook, Legends of the Fall.  It will take place at the Broadway Theatre in Pitman, NJ.  Writer and producer Dan Stephenson will be there.  Video Dan has again produced a classic. Tickets are on sale now at https://secure.mlb.com/phi/ticketing/y2010/dvd_screening_form.jsp.
 
Scouting director Marti Wolever and his assistant, Rob Holiday, met with the scouting supervisors this week in Omaha to begin plans for the 2010 scouting season that leads to the annual First-Year Player Draft in June.  Phillies have the 26th selection in the first round, I believe.
 
Ruben Amaro Jr. has been here there and everywhere this month.  Went to MLB meetings in Arizona, the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation's annual awards banquet in LA, the Baseball Assistance Team banquet in NY, the opening of the Phillies new baseball academy in the Dominican Republic.  Tonight, he's attending the Reading Phillies banquet.  Thanks to cell phones, text messaging and his staff, he was able to conduct his normal baseball business while on the go.

Ruben also participated in the first-ever two-day Prospect Education Program held at Citizens Bank Park.
 
Robin Roberts (Scout's Dream Award) and Bill Giles (Bud Selig Award) were honored at the banquet in LA . . . Brad Lidge was honored at the BAT banquet for his contributions to the community.
 
First spring training workout for pitchers and catchers will take place in Clearwater, FL, three weeks from today!
 

A slimmed-down, very relaxed and jovial Charlie Manuel met the media at noon today in the Media Room.  He was last seen by the media after the final out of the World Series.

When you look back after winning the World Championship in 2008, he went full steam all the way through the 2009 World Series.  He actually never really had a chance to grieve his mother's death in October of 2008.

So, he went home to Florida after this year's Series.  No winter meetings in December, no banquets, no award luncheons and a much reduced January schedule this year.  The energizer bunny he was not.

Charlie went on a diet, fished, golfed and oversaw the renovation of his home.  He's now fully charged.

When he walked into the Media Room, he shook hands with some of the 30 media members (plus seven TV cameras). As he stepped on the stage and before he sat down behind the microphone, he paused to turn off his cell phone. "Hold on a minute, gonna put my phone off.  Doesn't matter cause I'm not really answering it anyway," he kidded.

His suit coat was a bit baggy.  "Nothing fits anymore, which is good. This was the only clean sports coat I had so you're stuck with looking at it," he laughed some more.

First media question was where Polanco and Victorino are going to bat in the batting order.  Second, Halladay and Lee.  Neither were surprise questions. Todd Zolecki will have all the details of the media session on this site.

As far as the diet, Charlie said, "Heck, I saw a picture of myself after the series. I had a pretty big gut. My stomach was hanging over my belt.  I went on a diet and exercised every day.  I was up to 286 pounds.  Two days ago, I weighed in at 228.  Yesterday, with my clothing on it was 230. It certainly wasn't my wallet because it's not that thick," he laughed again.

He also said when his team lost to the Yankees, he told his players, "We owe the Yankees one."  He again laughed but he was also serious. 

Another day, another 3-year contract signing.  Good to have Shane under contract through 2012. 

Ruben and his lieutenants have done a great job in keeping this team together.  Carlos is the last arbitration-eligible player for this year.  Negotiations continue on that front.

Meet Brian
One of the offseason acquisitions has been catcher Brian Schneider, signed as a free agent.  He's a plus addition and gives the Phillies an experienced catcher to work with Carlos.  He certainly knows the NL East. 

Brian will sign autographs (first 500) on Monday evening (25th), 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Majestic Clubhouse Store.

Chris Wheeler will also be on hand to sign copies of his new book, A View from the Booth. 

Phillie Phanatic and the new Phillies ballgirl team will be part of the event open to all fans. Free parking is in lot P on Darien Street.

More Blog Notes
Sue was kind enough to post the following comment in Phillies Insider yesterday:

I also wanted to mention that in addition to the great Phillies Phollowers blog, four other Phillies fan blogs were in the top 100.
#43 - Phillies Red Pinstripes
#63 - Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts [OK, yeah, that's mine :-) ]
#89 - Outside the Phillies Looking In
#99 - How 'Bout Those Phils?

Thanks Sue.  My fault for not recognizing them.  A belated congrats to the four. 

Joe Blanton is now under contract for the next three seasons.  That's huge.

Know there are some Joe doubters out there.  But, the guy is 16-8 since coming here and goes to the post regularly.  His disabled list file is empty for his career.  He's a very solid #3.

Just think, the four-man rotation is now in place for multiple years: Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe and J. A. Happ.  All can be penciled in for 200 innings.  Halladay is the Sr. Citizen of the group but right in the prime of an outstanding career.  It wasn't too long ago, we were desperate for four quality starters. 

Who's the fifth starter?  Well, that's a story that will be decided in spring training next month and during the season. Perhaps the same scenario a year from now. 

Ratings Up
Thanks to you, Phillies Insider is climbing in the ranks of MLB Pro blogs.  Finished 29th a year ago and in first 2010 ranking, it is in 17th place.

Todd Zolecki's Zo Zone blog remains in the number two position of beat writers blogs.  He really covers the team thoroughly. 

Congrats to Phillies Phollowers.  In the world of fan blogs, it has jumped from 16th to seventh.

Red pinstriped uniforms can be seen running around Clearwater in two days.  Well, not the city but Bright House Field and Carpenter Field.

No, the back-to-back National League champions aren't starting spring training.  That's next month.

This is the Phillies annual sold-out Phantasy Camp for fans.  Twenty-one Phillies Alumni and nearly 150 fans will be in uniform.  Some names on the back of the jerseys will be very familiar (Alumni) while other names (fans) will not ring a bell, unless it is your neighbor.

Alumni who will be there include Dickie Noles, Mickey Morandini, Marty Bystrom, Von Hayes, Jim Eisenreich, Dave Hollins, Kevin Stocker, Warren Brusstar, Tommy Greene, Tyler Green, Mitch Williams, Kevin Saucier, Ricky Bottalico, Ricky Jordan, Gary Matthews, Keith Moreland, Bob Boone, Greg Luzinski, Terry Harmon and Bob Dernier. Scott Palmer will be there and provide video features on this website. 

The camp commission is none other than Larry Andersen, who will provide a few laughs. 

The Alumni will serve as managers or coaches.  The "players" will work out, then be drafted for teams and play games at Carpenter Field.  Sunday, the "players" will play a game against the Alumni at Bright House Field.  Fans are welcome to attend but chances are they will be out-numbered by sea gulls.

Next week, a few Alumni will be sprinkled around events in the Philadelphia area. 

Garry Maddox will host his annual celebrity bowling tournament (856-756-0222 for reservations) on Tuesday.  Andersen and Darren Daulton will be in attendance at the La Martinique Lanes in Stratford, NJ.

Bottalico will attend Wednesday's Lehigh Valley IronPigs banquet (610-841-PIGS). Ricky and Marty Bystrom will be at the Reading Phillies annual "King of Baseballtown" banquet the following night (www.readingphillies.com).

That same Thursday, Daulton is hosting a Celebrity Dart Night at McFadden's restaurant at Citizens Bank Park.  The Daulton Foundation event will benefit the Arc of Philadelphia/PDDC. Maddox, Andersen and Larry Christensen will join the event (215 952-0300, ext. 10).

Individual spring training tickets went on sale for the first time this morning in both Philadelphia and Clearwater...in person, by phone and online on this site.

Describing the sales as brisk is putting it mildly.  Lines formed outside the six Bright House Field ticket windows which were to open at 9.  Seeing the long lines, the windows opened 30 minutes early.  Citizens Bank Park's two windows that also opened early. 

Online and by phone sales also began at 9.  Online is the easiest way to be a fan these days. 

The first game that sold out was March 17, St. Patrick's Day, when the green-jersey, green-cap Phillies host the World Champion Yankees and their large green payroll.
 
A couple decades ago, tickets in spring training was an entirely different story.  We didn't start to sell tickets until a few weeks prior to camp opening.  The ticket office consisted of one room and three windows at Jack Russell Stadium.  It was the only place tickets could be purchased.  Once in a while, there would be a line of fans purchasing tickets.  That was rare.   
 
Even longer ago, we used to carry tickets in our pockets and give them away to people.  "Would you like to go to a Phillies game?  Here are four tickets." The Clearwater Bombers were a pro, fast-pitch softball team back in the 1960s that was better known in Clearwater than the big league Phillies.
 
Times have changed.  A Grapefruit League game at Bright House Field is some kind of fan experience, the best in Florida. 

I can't wait and apparently neither can the fans. 

Baseball America annually published the top ten prospect list of every major league team during the off-season.  John Manuel was the author of the Phillies story that appeared several weeks ago.

Soon after the list was published, three of the top ten prospects were dealt to Toronto for Roy Halladay: RHP Kyle Drabek, OF Michael Taylor and C Travis D'Arnaud.

Checked in with Manuel and asked if he has a new top ten.  He provided the following:

1. OF Domonic Brown
2. OF Anthony Gose
3. RHP Trevor May
4. C Sebastian Valle
5. RHP Phillippe Aumont*
6. RHP Jarred Cosart
7. LHP Antonio Bastardo
8. OF Tyson Gillies*
9. OF Domingo Santana
10. SS Freddy Galvis

* Acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the trade for Cliff Lee.