Phillies Nation

PN Podcast, Rebooted: Episode 2

Posted by Paul Boye, Sat, September 18, 2010 01:11 AM

Aw, man.

You mean this doofus recorded ANOTHER one of these things? And he brought his Phrontier-cha-ma-callit buddy on to do it with him? Oh, well this should be superb.

What? It’s an HOUR of baseball talk? Man, I bet that guy won’t even include a handy timeline for us to navigate in case we don’t want to listen to these two nincompoops while we’re working/reading/being awesome. He’s probably above it all. Jerk. No WAY am I listening to this podcast, despite its potential to be somewhat relevant to me as a Phillies fan. No sirree. I’m totally ignoring the link to listen at the bottom, and in no way will I send feedback on Twitter to Phrontiersman or atomicruckus, and I’m definitely not calling the Trade Me Line at (801)-TRADE-ME to give feedback or leave a rant/rave. Pshaw.

What’s that? A timeline for easy navigation and a download/listen link can be found after the jump? Well, you won’t find me checking it out!

(more…)

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PN Podcast, Rebooted: Episode 1

Posted by Paul Boye, Sat, August 21, 2010 03:25 PM

Hi, friends!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been tasked with reviving the dormant Phillies Nation podcast. Seeing as I’m certainly no professional, the planning and execution of this revival took a little more time than I would have liked.

Nevertheless, we’ve got the ball rolling again, and an episode complete. This first episode is a little cut-and-dry; outside of callers to the Trade Me Line, it’s just me. But soon enough, we’ll have guests from around the baseball community, as well as appearances from the rest of the PN crew.

Remember, this version of the podcast is interactive! If you have a rant or rave about the Phillies, let us hear it, and you could end up in the podcast! The voicemail line is (801) TRADE-ME, that’s (801) 872-3363. You’ve probably seen the number hyped up a little on Facebook or Twitter and been leery of calling in. Well, this is proof that there’s nothing to fear, and that this ‘cast truly is interactive.

If you have feedback or suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at Phrontiersman@gmail.com. Good or bad, really, I welcome it all.

In this episode, I touch on the August hot streak, the impressive sell-out streak and Tyson Gillies’s bonehead move, and we top things off with a few voicemails from fans like you.

Again, bare bones for now, but with the raw tools and potential to fill out our skills like a Dom Brown, the PN Podcast is back.

Click here to listen to Podcast 2010: Episode 1.

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Phillies Nation Podcast 26: Matt Cerrone

Posted by Pat Gallen, Thu, April 01, 2010 02:13 PM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

Today, I talked with Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.com and SNY.tv about the stars of the New York Mets as we get you ready for the start of the season.  It’s part of our NL East Preview (read the Mets preview here) and our overall MLB preview as the season is just a few days away.

Matt was good enough to take some time to talk about Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, having Jason Bay in the order, and the shaky pitching staff, as he put it.  When talking about Reyes, he said the decision to keep him on the bench for the first week of the season is certainly a head scratcher.  He’s been cleared to play, but the Mets want to take it slow with him.  However, there’s no taking it slow this year for a team that won just 70 games last year.

He said the real concern is Carlos Beltran’s knee injury.  Beltran has gone downhill the last few seasons and will be sidelined until May. Matt says the concern lies in his defense of centerfield, which is a large piece of grass to graze.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 26

In 2003, Matt Cerrone moved to Washington, DC, and started MetsBlog.com as a project in college, because, as an out-of-market fan, he could not watch the games on TV, he missed listening to WFAN, and had no Mets fans to talk with about the team. He continued to write the blog as a hobby; and made it his full-time job in 2006.

In six years of blogging, he turned MetsBlog.com from five page views per month to five million page views per month, which it logged in December 2009.

In 2007, MetsBlog.com partnered with SNY, the TV home of the Mets, to help develop more in-depth content while working to create team-specific blogs and digital projects for their website, SNY.TV, with whom Matt was nominated for two New York Emmy Awards in 2008.

During his time writing MetsBlog.com, he’s have been interviewed about the Mets and my work in digital media on radio, including WFAN, ESPN, and on countless other stations across the country; and on television, including SNY, ESPN News, WNBC and WPIX, among others; while being quoted in several print publications, including The New York Times, New York Daily News, Newsday, Sports Illustrated and on ESPN.com.

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Phillies Nation Podcast: Mandy Housenick

Posted by Pat Gallen, Thu, February 25, 2010 02:52 PM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

Joining us today on the PN Podcast is Mandy Housenick, the Phillies beat writer from The Morning Call of Allentown.   Mandy is back in the area after her trip to Clearwater for the opening week of Spring Training.  The topics of dicussion include Cole Hamels, Brad Lidge, the bullpen situation, and the youngsters taking part in the festivities

Mandy says Cole Hamels has a renewed sense of optimism and looks to be in the best shape of his career heading into the 2010 season, which is obviously great news.  She also says he will be working diligently on that curveball, something everyone wants to see.  As for the new man in town, Roy Halladay, he’s so big and such a rock star, that the media room runs out of food every time he speaks.  Amazing.

Mandy is originally from the Wilkes-Barre area and started writing for The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre when she was 16. She had played four sports, but was diagnosed with HCM, the same heart disease that killed college basketball star Hank Gathers, the summer going into her junior year of high school. Following that news, she started writing about sports instead of playing them. She’s a graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in Newspaper.

The Morning Call is the third full-time job she’s had. Mandy has been there for six years and is in her second year covering the Phillies. Prior to that, Many covered high school and college sports at TMC and was the backup Phillies writer. She traveled in the playoffs last season and covered every home playoff game in 2008.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 25

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Phillies Nation Podcast 24: Victor Rojas

Posted by Pat Gallen, Wed, January 13, 2010 06:29 AM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

Pat Gallen is joined today by Victor Rojas of the MLB Network just hours after the Mark McGwire interview in which he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs during his career.

Victor sheds some light on the situation, saying that his candor was self-serving because of his new job with the St. Louis Cardinals.  On the flip side, he thinks Big Mac left the door open on too many issues and had an opportunity to close them by simply saying he took them to get an edge over the competition. Until players are completely open, Victor says, there will always be questions surrounding players who dance around the topic without hitting it head on.

As far as the Hall of Fame is concerned, Victor isn’t sure much will change with this confession.  He does believe that more and more retired players who are linked to steroids will follow suit to try and save face and win some people back.  Victor does believe Pete Rose should be in the Hall, and that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have an asterisk or plaque symbolizing those who may have cheated.

Rojas is one of the lead anchors for the MLB Network, both as a studio host and play-by-play voice.  Before joining the new baseball-only network, Rojas was a voice for both the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks.  Before taking his skills to the booth, he was the GM for the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 24

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Phillies Nation Podcast 23: Chuck Hixson

Posted by Pat Gallen, Fri, December 18, 2009 06:01 PM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

On today’s podcast, Pat Gallen chats with Chuck Hixson, a Phillies minor league insider for Phillybaseballnews.com, part of the Scout.com network for Fox Sports.  Pat and Chuck discuss the minor league prospects changing hands in the Roy Halladay-Cliff Lee megadeal.  They also give opinions on Kyle Drabek and what his loss means to the farm system, as well as Domonic Brown and his role as the big shot in the minors.

Pat also gives an opinion on the statements made by Dave Montgomery yesterday on ESPN Radio.  He stated that the Phillies are “in the red” and are not making money as everyone thinks.  Pat blasts the Phillies owner and sides with the fans on this subject.

Chuck is the Phillies minor league insider for Phillybaseballnews.com which is part of the Scout network for Fox.  He was formerly the Washington Nationals Examiner for Examiner.com.  You can check him out on Twitter here.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 23

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Phillies Nation Podcast 22: Scott Lauber

Posted by Pat Gallen, Wed, December 16, 2009 01:19 AM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

Joining Pat on the podcast today is Scott Lauber from the Wilmington News Journal. Pat gets Scott’s perspective on the Roy Halladay-Cliff Lee blockbuster trade from the Major League level and what it means to the Phillies now and in the long term.

Scott also talks about the contract extension given to Halladay and whether or not it will keep the Phillies from making future moves. He believes, after some thinking, that this is a good deal for the Phillies.  Listen in and he’ll tell you why.

Scott Lauber is the Phils beat reporter for the Wilmington News Journal and is a fixture in the Phillies clubhouse throughout the season.  For some of the most up-to-date Twitter action regarding the Phillies, you can find Scott here.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 22

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Phillies Nation Podcast 21: John Finger

Posted by Pat Gallen, Fri, December 11, 2009 12:25 PM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

On today’s podcast, Pat Gallen is joined by CSNPhilly reporter John Finger.  Pat and John discuss the Winter Meetings that just wrapped up in Indianapolis.  Some of the topics they touch on: Roy Halladay and where he may end up, who ends up in the bullpen, and what John thinks of the Placido Polanco signing.

John Finger is closer to 40 than 30 and vividly remembers every Philadelphia baseball playoffs since 1976 and every 76ers’ training camp at Franklin & Marshall College since 1980. He writes mostly about baseball, but has been known to dabble in a few other sports, mainly cycling, track & field and anything that requires endurance and/or a sense of humor. Away from work John writes fiction as well as about pop culture. He also enjoys marathon running, punk rock, books and movies as well as debunking myths and goofing off.

John attended J.P. McCaskey High School in Lancaster, Pa., and a very large university (Temple) in Philadelphia. He lives in Lancaster and dotes on his wife Ellen and their two sons, Michael and Theodore.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 21

Pat Gallen can be reached via email at Pat@Philliesnation.com

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Phillies Nation Podcast 20: Mike Gill

Posted by Pat Gallen, Fri, November 20, 2009 04:04 PM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

Today, Pat Gallen is joined by Mike Gill of 97.3 ESPN Radio in Atlantic City.  Mike and Pat break down all of the free agent news that pertains to the Phillies.  Third base, the bullpen, a new bench, and a fifth starter are some of the topics they touch on in the podcast today.

Mike and Pat both agree that Adrian Beltre, and possibly Mark Derosa, is a good fit for this team, and that Chone Figgins is probably a bit too expensive for the Phillies.  As for the starters, there are a ton of names out there, but Pat and Mike seem to agree on one or two that could stand out for the Phils in 2010.

Mike Gill is the host of “The Sports Bash with Mike Gill” on 97.3 ESPN FM in South Jersey. The station is a 50,000 watt sports station that reachess eight, NJ counties (Atlantic, Cape May, Ocean, Camden, Burlington, Salem, Cumberland and Glouchester) plus Delaware, parts of Philly and into Maryland.

The station became 97.3 ESPN on June 1st, 2009 flipping over from 1450AM. Mike is a West Virginia University graduate and grew up in South Jersey. He began his career covering the Mountineers and their 1996 run to the sweet 16, after that Mike has covered many college bowl games, NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs, NFL playoffs, one Super Bowl. two NLDS,two NLCS and two World Series. He has also worked at 102.7 WJSE, 1490 The Game as morning show host and has been afternoon host on 97.3 ESPN/ESPN1450-AM for the past 4 years. You can catch Mike every year covering the Phillies in Clearwater, FL at spring training, the 2010 season with be his 7th year down in Clearwater.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 20

Pat Gallen can be reached via email at Pat@Philliesnation.com

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Phillies Nation Podcast 19: Trenni Kusnierek

Posted by Pat Gallen, Wed, November 11, 2009 03:14 PM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

Today, Pat Gallen is joined by Trenni Kusnierek of the MLB Network.  She was one of the main reporters for MLB covering the World Series, so Pat gets her take on the Phillies defeat, what they will do in the off season, and how the rest of the league will once again shape up.

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kusnierek joined the FSN Wisconsin Brewers team for her first season in 2008. Her sports broadcasting experience has also included covering the Super Bowl, two BCS National Championship Games, two MLB All-Star Games and two U.S. Golf Opens.

Kusnierek spent 2003 to 2007 with FSN Pittsburgh as a Sports Anchor/Reporter. She hosted Pittsburgh Sports Tonight and the Midwest Sports Report. In addition, she acted as the sideline reporter for the Pirates and the Penguins as well as various high school sports. She also reported on the Steelers, University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University and West Virginia University.

Prior to joining FSN Pittsburgh, Kusnierek spent two years at WDJT-TV 58 in Milwaukee. There, she anchored the sportscasts and reported on local professional, college and high school sports. Kusnierek also worked nine months in the sports department at WQOW-TV in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. A graduate of Marquette University, she holds a degree in Broadcast and Electronic Journalism.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 19

Intro/Outro music: “Here It Comes” – Doves

Pat Gallen can be reached via email at Pat@Philliesnation.com

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Phillies Nation Podcast 18: Marshall Harris

Posted by Pat Gallen, Fri, November 06, 2009 05:41 PM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

Just a few days removed from a World Series defeat, Comcast SportsNet’s Marshall Harris talks with Pat Gallen about the season that was for the Philadelphia Phillies.  Pat and Marshall also look ahead to next season and what the future holds for Pedro Feliz and others.

In addition, Marshall talks about the Brett Myers situation, as we now know he will not be back with the team in 2010.  Also discussed are Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, the possibility of a Cliff Lee extension (now a done deal), and whether or not the Phils have the funds to make a big splash in the offseason.

Marshall came to CSN from Fox Sports Pittsburgh where he was an anchor/reporter. Harris is a 2000 graduate of Mississippi State University where he majored in Communications. In addition to his work at Fox Sports Pittsburgh, he has worked for the Big Ten Network in Chicago, IL, WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, WAFF-TV in Huntsville, AL and WCBI-TV in Columbus, MS. While there he was awarded the Mississippi State Associated Press Award for Best Sports Story.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 18

Pat Gallen can be reached via email at Pat@Philliesnation.com

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Phillies Nation Podcast 17: Todd Kalas

Posted by Pat Gallen, Wed, November 04, 2009 01:53 PM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

On this very special WORLD SERIES edition of the podcast, Pat Gallen is joined by none other than Todd Kalas, son of legendary Phillies announcer Harry Kalas.  Pat and Todd break down the pitching match up for tonight, what the offenses are capable of, and who wins tonight’s game.

Also, Todd talks in-depth about his fathers legacy and how amazing it was for him to call the final out of the World Series last season.  As for tonight, Todd says, “I’m sure he and Whitey, and Tug McGraw, and John Vukovich, they’ll all be watching the next couple of games together, watching down on the Phillies.”

Todd also talks about how 1993 may have been Harry’s favorite cast of characters as they shocked the world with a bunch of fun-loving guys that had no business being winners.

Kalas’ primary role is as pregame and postgame host and in-game reporter for Fox Sports Florida, as well as serving as color analyst for selected games. He has also filled in with play-by-play and color on both the Rays television and radio networks. Prior to joining the Rays, Kalas worked on the radio broadcast team of the New York Mets (1992-1993) and the television broadcast team of the Philadelphia Phillies (1994-1996).

After graduating with a degree in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University in 1988, he moved to the Tampa Bay area as sports director at Vision Cable in Clearwater before beginning his baseball career with the Louisville Redbirds in 1991. In the offseason, Kalas has worked the last six years with Cox Sports Television in Louisiana handling play-by-play of college basketball, football and baseball. In addition, he is part of the University of South Florida basketball radio broadcast team and also fills in as pregame host for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Todd is the son of longtime Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas, a 2002 Hall of Fame inductee.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 17

Pat Gallen can be reached via email at Pat@Philliesnation.com

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Phillies Nation Podcast: Episode 15

Posted by Pat Gallen, Tue, October 27, 2009 04:34 PM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

In this special WORLD SERIES episode, Pat is joined by Noah Coslov of MLB.com and Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News.  On the podcast today, Noah and Jesse break down the offenses, the pitching match ups, and the brewing rivalry between the two teams.  In addition, they both give their predictions for the series.

After graduating from Boston University, Noah Coslov spent two summers in Reading, PA calling games on the radio for the Reading Philles. From there, he moved to New York City to work for the NBA and broadcast college hoops for Long Island University in Brooklyn. Through tremendous experiences hosting NBA TV Fantasy Hoops and NBA Radio on Sirius, Noah headed to College Sports Television (now CBS College Sports) and then onto MLB.com. He still gets his NBA fix by voicing NBA 360 which airs internationally on NBA TV and in the New York area on MSG.

Jesse Spector authors a blog for the New York Daily News called “Touching Base“.  In one of his latest posts, he believed Joe Girardi should have been fired had the Yankees lost to the Angels after taking a 3-1 series lead.  Jesse is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and has been writing Touching Base – the News’ inside-the-numbers baseball column – since 2005. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now lives in Astoria, a much shorter subway ride to both Shea and Yankee Stadium.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 15

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Phillies Nation Podcast: Episode 14

Posted by Pat Gallen, Fri, October 23, 2009 02:15 AM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

Joining Pat Gallen today is the TV play-by-play voice of the Philadelphia Phillies, Tom McCarthy.  Pat and T-Mac talk about the NLCS, the TBS announcers, and a possible showdown with the Yankees.

McCarthy is in his second stint with the Phillies, having left in 2006 to work with the New York Mets. Tom has done extensive broadcasting for collegiate sports in his career. He currently does basketball and football play-by-play for College Sports Television (CSTV), a CBS-owned property, and is the radio voice of the Saint Joseph’s University men’s basketball team. Previously, he was the play-by-play voice for Rutgers University football (2001-03), as well as Princeton University football (1995-2000) and men’s basketball (1995-2003).

In 2000, Tom earned a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for his work on CN8 and is a two-time winner (2002 & 2004) of the Achievement in Radio Award for Best Local Sports Coverage.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 14

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Phillies Nation Podcast: Episode 13

Posted by Pat Gallen, Wed, October 21, 2009 03:08 PM

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

On today’s podcast, Pat Gallen is joined by Meredith Marakovits of 97.5 the Fanatic/950 ESPN Radio here in Philadelphia.  Pat and Meredith break down the Game 4 madness, what Cole Hamels needs to do to win tonight, and how the Phils can get to Vicente Padilla early.

Meredith is from the Lehigh Valley and is a graduate of LaSalle University.  In addition to her work with 950 ESPN as a beat reporter, Meredith also does reporting for Service Electric’s 2 Sports in the Allentown area. She is also part of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs broadcast team as an on-field reporter for the IronPigs Television Network. Marakovits has worked as a sideline reporter for both the Reading Phillies and Lehigh Valley Outlawz (Continental Indoor Football League) on 2 Sports. Meredith has also done production work for NBC’s Sunday Night Football and Fox’s NFL and Major League Baseball coverage.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 13

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