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Jake Fox, image- Jay Floyd Prior to minor league camp breaking this weekend, I had a lengthy chat with veteran Jake Fox . The 33-year-old has played around the globe, has spent time in the majors with multiple teams and will be enjoying his third stint with the Phillies. Fox has built a reputation for being an extra coach on the diamond, as he is a cerebral slugger that is able to lead his teammates by example. This week, Jake talked about landing back with the Phillies over a round of golf, spending time last year playing in Korea, the differences between American ball and the game over there, what his next career will be and much more. Read ahead for the full interview. -How was the connection made for a return to the Phillies organization? Had you stayed in touch, or did the team reach out again? Well, it's a very funny story. Obviously, I finished last year in Korea. And, you know, it's was amazing, one of the things that I'm amazed about is when you go ov...

On the 21st edition of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast, Jay and Tug discuss the first week of game action in the big leagues and in the minors, reviewing output from Michael Young , Chase Utley , Roman Quinn , Zach Collier and plenty more stars from the Phillies system. Additionally, the guys review the incident involving top Cubs prospect Jorge Soler , with accounts of what happened from Clearwater Threshers backstops Josh Ludy and Logan Moore , along with plenty more baseball topics. Also on the show, the guys tease a major announcement next week. Check out the media player below to hear the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .

The Phillies (18-19) are set to hit the road for the 2 games that break up a stretch in which they play 14 of 16 games at home, as they head to Chicago to face the Cubs (15-21).   For the second time this season, righty Kyle Kendrick will fill in for an injured member of the Phils' starting rotation and face Cubs hurler Matt Garza.  Last time, Kendrick pitched in place of Cliff Lee, while he takes Vance Worley's turn this time around.  Worley is slated to miss a start, as he deals with soreness in his throwing arm. The switch could be a break for Chicago, as Worley has been a strong contributor (3-1, 2.81 ERA in his last 5 games) for the Phillies while Kendrick has struggled greatly this year. Last season, the Phillies won 2 of 3 meetings with the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Read ahead for more information on the pitching match ups for this series and well as many more statistical nuggets. Wednesday, 8:05 PM. Kyle Kendrick (0-3, 7.32 ERA) vs. Matt Garza (2-1, 2.56...

The Phillies (9-10) return from a season-long ten-game road trip to begin a four-game series against the Cubs (6-13).  While the five-time defending National League East division champion Phillies have not lived up to expectations thus far this season, the remedy could be a series against a Cubs team that has won just 1 game on the road this season. Thus far in 2012, the Phils have struggled offensively, ranking near the bottom of the list, as a team, in nearly every offensive category.  The Cubs, who rank dead last in the Major Leagues with just 7 homeruns this season, have done just as poorly, if not worse. In the series opener, the Phillies will send their ace Roy Halladay, who got just 1 run of support and took his first loss of the season in his last outing, to the mound.  The Cubs will counter with lefty Paul Maholm, who is considerably hot and cold when facing Philadelphia.  In his career against the Phils, Maholm has made 4 starts in which he has ...

With some extra rest since his last start, in last Tuesday's MLB All-star Game, Roy Halladay is all set to begin the second half of his season and go after his 12th win of the season, as the Phillies (59-35) begin a series on the road in Chicago, taking on the Cubs (38-58) at Wrigley Field. Former Phillie right-hander Rodrigo Lopez will take the hill for Chicago in the opener. Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and other key stats for this series. Monday, 8:05PM. Roy Halladay (11-3, 2.45 ERA) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (1-2, 4.02 ERA). Halladay has a 1-3 record with a 3.24 ERA in 4 career starts against the Cubs. In his last 10 starts, Halladay has posted a 6-0 record with a 2.68 ERA. Aramis Ramirez is 2-for-16 (.125 avg) in his career against Halladay. In 6 career games against the Phillies, Lopez has posted a 1-1 record and a 5.74 ERA. Lopez has a 4.66 ERA in 6 home appearances this season. Ryan Howard is 6-for-11 (.545 avg) with a HR in his career against RoLo. Tuesday, 8:...

Sporting the best record in the Major Leagues, the Phillies (37-25) will play host for a 4-game series against the Cubs (24-36), who are 11 1/2 games out of first place in the National League Central division. Jimmy Rollins, who has been sidelined in recent days with a deep bone bruise in his right knee, will be back in the Phillies' lineup Thursday night. Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and more statistics from this series. Thursday, 7:05PM. Randy Wells (1-1, 5.74 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (3-4, 3.78 ERA). In 1 career outing against the Phillies, Wells threw 7 scoreless innings. In 3 starts this season, batters are hitting .246 against Wells. Kendrick has pitched 1 scoreless inning against the Cubs in his career. In 8 games at home this season, Kendrick is 1-3 with a 4.24 ERA. Kendrick has a 19-16 record with a 4.65 ERA in 56 career regular season games at Citizens Bank Park. Friday, 7:05PM. Carlos Zambrano (5-2, 3.98 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (8-3, 2.56 ERA). In 7 roa...

By the time current Phillies television analyst Gary Matthews Sr. joined Philadelphia as a player, he was already a veteran of eight full Major League seasons. An outfielder, Matthews was named as the National League Rookie of the Year in 1973 as a member of the San Francisco Giants. Matthews debuted in the Majors at age 21 in 1972. Having only played 20 games, as a late season call up, he was still considered a rookie the following season. In 1973, Matthews posted double digits in stolen bases, doubles, triple and homeruns while batting .300 en route to being named the senior circuit's top freshman. During his years in San Francisco, Matthews, a first round draft pick by the Giants in 1968, continued to be a steady contributor. Following the 1976 season, the Giants and Matthews could not agree on terms for a new deal and Matthews was granted free agency. Matthews would sign with Atlanta where he became an All-star. His best season as a Brave came in 1979, when Matthews posted a .3...

PhoulBallz.com recently had the opportunity to connect with a legend of sports broadcasting, live on The Heaven Hotline. I spoke with Radio Hall of Fame honoree Harry Caray, who called baseball games for decades in Chicago. Harry chimed in with his thoughts on the return of Cliff Lee to Philadelphia, the state of the Cubs and more. Check out the media player below to listen to the full interview. _______________________________________________________ You can follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE . Connect with PhoulBallz.com on Facebook by clicking HERE .

The Phillies (47-40) hope to continue rolling with their pre-all-star break momentum, as they are fresh off a 4 game sweep of the Central Division leading Cincinnati Reds and possess a 17-8 record against that division as they head to Chicago to face the Central's 4th place Cubs (39-50). At Wrigley Field in 2009, the Phillies swept the Cubs in a 3 game series that received much publicity when a Chicago fan in the outfield bleachers threw a beer into the face of Philadelphia outfielder Shane Victorino, as he made a catch of a fly ball. Lefty veteran Jamie Moyer will take the mound in game 1, for the defending National League champion Phillies. Moyer broke into the Majors with the Cubs and made his MLB debut at Wrigley Field against the Phillies in 1986. The Cubs will counter with Ryan Dempster, who has not received much run support at home lately (Cubs have scored 3 or fewer runs in 6 of his last 7 starts at Wrigley). Read on for details on the pitching match ups as well as loads mo...

Thursday night, the single A affiliate of the Phillies, the Lakewood BlueClaws, hosted "The Hawk" Andre Dawson for a special appearance. Dawson, who will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame later this month, threw out a ceremonial pitch and signed autographs for several hundred fans in attendance. During his playing career, Dawson hit 438 homeruns, drove in 1,591 runs, stole 314 bases, won the Rookie of the Year Award, won Gold Glove Awards and was the Most Valuable Player of the National League. Dawson possessed a rare combination of great speed and great power. He is one of just three players ever to hit 400 or more homers and steal 300 or more bases in his Major League career. Willie Mays and Barry Bonds are the other two. Upon the announcement that Dawson, who is now an executive with the Florida Marlins, would be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, there was some debate over which cap Dawson should appear wearing on his plaque. Dawson, played with t...

Tonight, July 1st, the Lakewood BlueClaws will host 2010 National Baseball Hall of Fame honoree Andre Dawson. (Tickets available here ) The man known as "The Hawk" will throw out a ceremonial first pitch and sign autographs for phans in attendance through out the game. Friend of PhoulBallz, Jenn Fink , wrote the following piece about her childhood love of Dawson and the time she spent bonding with her father over the national pastime, baseball. Jenn and her dad at The Field of Dreams site, circa- back in the day As a product of the 1980's, I had many favorite baseball players. I grew up a New York Yankee fan (thanks to my cousin) but have always had a sweet spot in my heart for the Philadelphia Phillies. However, my favorite player was not a Yankee or a Phillie, it was an Expo/Cub/Red Sock/Marlin….Andre “The Hawk” Dawson . Growing up, my family lived about 30 minutes from Philadelphia (on a good day) and my parents would take me to as many Phillies games as they could aff...

Bill Nicholson was an outfielder with the Phillies from 1949-1953. Nicholson was a power hitting lefty batter whose best years were mostly behind him by the time he became employed by the Phillies. Nicknamed "Swish" because of his free-swinging style, Nicholson became a 5-time all-star in his 10 seasons with the Chicago Cubs. He also hit over 20 homers in six different seasons during that same stretch playing with Chicago. Turned down for military service because he was color blind, Nicholson would dine well on war time hurlers. In 1943 and 1944, Nicholson led the National League in homeruns and RBI, finishing second in league MVP voting in 1944, when he also led the league in runs scored with 116 and batted .287. Nicholson fell just 2 voting points short of winning the award, when the Cardinals' Marty Marion took home the honor mainly for his defense, as Marion's offensive numbers (.267 avg., 50 runs, 6 HR, 63 RBI) did not compare to Nicholson's. In that 1944 sea...

The first place Phillies (24-14) will host the Cubs (18-22) for a brief two-game series, starting Wednesday night. The Cubs sit in third place in the NL Central, 5 1/2 games behind the first place Reds. Last season, the Phillies won 5 of 6 meetings between the two clubs, and 2 of 3 in Philadelphia. Jamie Moyer, who began his Major League career as a Cub, will take the mound for the Phillies in game one, looking for his 264th career win. Moyer is just 4 homeruns allowed away from tying Phillies Hall of Famer Robin Roberts, who passed away recently, for the all-time lead with 505. The Cubs arrive in Philadelphia riding a 3 game win streak and will counter with left-hander Tom Gorzelanny in game 1. Check out all the details on the pitching match ups and other key notes from this series below. Wednesday, 7:05pm. Tom Gorzelanny (1-4, 3.60 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (5-2, 4.57 ERA). In one appearance against the Phillies, Gorzelanny has allowed 5 earned runs in 5 innings pitched. In 3 road starts...

When reviewing the MLB Network's Phillies preview on their 30 Clubs in 30 Days program, their version of the All-time Phillies Homegrown team jumped out at me as pretty remarkable. Here's what the squad looked like. SP- Robin Roberts C- Bob Boone 1B- Ryan Howard 2B- Ryne Sandberg 3B- Mike Schmidt SS- Jimmy Rollins RF- Greg Luzinski CF- Richie Ashburn LF- Del Ennis RP- Ricky Bottalico Certainly, there are players on that list who are indisputable. Howard, Schmidt, Ashburn and probably Ennis (as I think Chuck Klein does not qualify because he was not drafted by, or originally signed by, the Philadelphia Phillies) have no competition in their respective positions. Ferguson Jenkins, also a Philadelphia product, could be an option at starting pitcher over Roberts, but there is likely no incorrect choice with either one of those. The most debatable assignment on the list is Ryne Sandberg. Aside from the initial displeasure of seeing Sandberg on the list, because he achieved his succ...

Claude Passeau was a pitcher with the Phillies from 1936-1939. He was included as a throw-in in a trade with Pittsburgh that sent Earl Grace to the Phils for Al Todd. Passeau spent the first half of his first season with Philadelphia as a relief pitcher, and was given his first start against Brooklyn on July 4th. On that day he shut out the Dodgers 4-0. Passeau would go on to win 4 of his next 6 games and had locked his place in the Phillies' starting rotation. The following season, in 1937, Passeau would fast become the work horse of the Phils' staff. His 34 starts and 292 1/3 innings pitched led the National League. Passeau's win-loss record was not outstanding at 14-18, but he completed 18 games including a shutout of the Giants. Passeau, a Mississippi native, experienced success thanks to the speed of his pitches. After his playing days were over, he recalled, "I never learned to throw a curveball. I'd throw a fastball and it would sail. That's what I got b...

Frederick Cyrus "Cy" Williams was an outfielder with the Phillies from 1918-1930. Williams was signed out of Notre Dame University by the Cubs and skipped the minor leagues, going straight to the Majors out of college. Following the 1917 season Williams was traded by the Cubs to the Phillies for Dode Paskert. The move to the Phillies was a good one for Williams, as he spent time on Chicago's bench. After locking down a spot as the Phillies' starting centerfielder, Cy Williams excelled. His lefty swing matched up well with the short right field porch in the Phils' home park, the Baker Bowl. Manager Bill McKechnie called Williams, "the most consistent dead right-field hitter I ever saw". He was dubbed "the Babe Ruth of the National League" by some sportswriters, for his penchant for slugging homers. Williams led the NL in homeruns four times during his career. During the decade of the 20's Williams hit 202 homeruns, a huge amount at the time...

Bill Killefer was a catcher for the Phillies from 1911-1917. Killefer's excellent defense kept him employed in the Major Leagues for over a decade. He led the league in fielding percentage four times. Killefer took over as the Phillies' everyday catcher in 1912 and quickly built a reputation for gunning down opposing baserunners. In 1913, he played 120 games and threw out 130 baserunners. At the plate, Killefer provided minimal offensive pop. During his time with the Phillies, his batting average was .244 or lower in every season except one. In his 13 combined years in the Majors, he hit a grand total of 4 homers and drove in more than 30 runs in a season only once. To top that off, Killefer acquired the nickname "Reindeer Bill" for his lack of speed on the bases. Part of the Phillies' 1915 pennant winning team, it was Killefer's superb handling of the Phils' pitching staff that enhanced his value. He became Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander...

Tony Taylor played with the Phillies from 1960-1971, then again from 1974-1976. Originally signed by the Giants, Taylor was selected by the Cubs in the Rule 5 draft during the 1957-1958 offseason. Taylor made his Major League debut with the Cubs in 1958 and played two full season with Chicago before being traded to the Phillies along with Cal Neeman for Ed Bouchee and Don Cardwell in May 1960. Taylor responded to the trade by batting .287 and stealing 24 bases in 127 games in his first season with the Phillies. He also made the all star team that year. In his time with the Phillies, Taylor would steal over 20 bases in a season four times and he stole home six times. Taylor is the only man to play over 1,000 games at second base with the Phillies. Taylor spent his first five seasons with Philadelphia as the team's everyday second baseman, but came to fill more of a utility role when a young second baseman named Cookie Rojas made an impact with the team. Taylor's versatility was ...

Chuck Klein was an outfielder for the Phillies from 1928-1933 and from 1936-1939 and again from 1940-1944. In his first full season in the majors at age 24 in 1929, Klein led the National League in homeruns with 43. In addition, he drove in 145 runs and batted for a .356 average. The following season, Klein had the best season of his career. He set the Phillies' single season RBI record of 170 that still stands today. He also batted .386, hit 59 doubles, slugged 40 homers and scored 158 runs. In 1933, Klein won the triple crown (highest batting avg., most HR, most RBI), but did not win the NL MVP award. After the 1933 season, Klein was traded to the Cubs for three players and cash. With Chicago, Klein disappointed based on his previous seasons' statistics. His RBI totals with the Cubs were 80 and 73 in 1934 & 1935, after he averaged over 138 RBI in 5 full seasons as a Phillie. In May of 1936, the Cubs traded Klein back to the Phillies. That season, Klein was only 31 years o...

There's a whole lot going on in Phillies land today! Pedro Martinez got his first win as a Phillie last night, over the Cubs. Pedro looked solid through his first 4 innings, but gave up 2 earned runs in the 5th inning. Pedro's complete line, after 99 pitches- 5 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs all earned, 1 walk, 5 k's. TheFightins has a review of the Victorino/Cubs fan/beer incident. NQTC offers some thoughts on Wrigley bleacher fans, last night's mishap and if the Cubs had anything to do with it. TricoSuave has a look at Shane's beer shower fun as well. The double A Reading Phillies' locker room reaction to the beer tossed into Shane's face: "Nice timing." Cubs manager Lou Piniella was disappointed that it happened, stating, "It’s not good sportsmanship. … We apologize to Victorino and the Phillies for that." Brett Myers threw two more simulated innings yesterday in Clearwater, FL. Myers is hoping to pitch a rehab assignment soon. Phillies o...