Sillie Phillie Quiz

[Edgy MD]

I'll fill in the blanks, but keep in mind we're still missing one Metly guy here.

[TransMonk]

Corey Lidle?

[Edgy MD]

Not Corey.

Edgy DC wrote: Standings 1. John Cougar Lunchbucket (196) 2. Ben Grimm (62) 2. Ceetar (49) 4. sharpie (9) 5. Transmonk (-10) 6. Metirish (-20)

[seawolf17]

Throwing a bunch of guesses at #23.

Charlie Hudson? (He was a starter, but he's the first guy who comes to mind.)
Kip Gross
Al Holland
Wayne Twitchell as the Metly connection.

[batmagadanleadoff]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: Remind me to never invite you to my self-serve smorgasbord buffet luncheon. What a hog. I thought I was doing it wrong and everyone would be guessing 25.

So take 10 more guesses. All in the same post.



From the leftovers, I go with my Phillie relievers from my kid Strat-O-Matic days, Dick Selma and Joe Hoerner, and throw in Don Carman, who was unhittable in '85.

Selma's the Met, I suppose.

[Gwreck]

Rheal Cormier
JC Romero

[dinosaur jesus]

Sorry I wasn't paying attention before. Jack Baldschun, 23.

[Edgy MD]

seawolf17 wrote: Throwing a bunch of guesses at #23. Charlie Hudson? (He was a starter, but he's the first guy who comes to mind.) Kip Gross Al Holland Wayne Twitchell as the Metly connection.

Coming up empty, I'm sorry to say. Holland was correct, but has already been guessed.

Standings
1. John Cougar Lunchbucket (196)
2. Ben Grimm (62)
2. Ceetar (49)
4. sharpie (9)
5. Transmonk (-10)
6. Metirish (-20)
7. seawolf (-30)

[Edgy MD]

From the leftovers, I go with my Phillie relievers from my kid Strat-O-Matic days, Dick Selma and Joe Hoerner, and throw in Don Carman, who was unhittable in '85.

Rheal Cormier JC Romero

Sorry I wasn't paying attention before. Jack Baldschun, 23.

Since this whole "Guess the slot for more points and more fun!" thing isn't catching on with the wld popularity our focus group predicted for it. I'm going to assume you all guessed these guys as number 23.

Selma is correct at number 25. He pitched in 73 games over 134.1 innings for a 2.75 ERA in 1970, and was progressively hurt and worse thereafter, but he earned enough value to chart in that one season.

Little Joe Hoerner, on the other hand, is the mystery number three. He was everything in the early seventies Tug McGraw was for the Mets in the early seventies, sowmewhere between an ace and a hoss. He was traded mid-season in 1972, immediately started sucking, and bounced suckily around the league for a few years, before returning to Philadelphia in 1975. There, he somehow put up a last gilded season at 38, before moving on to other points and continuing to decline. Something in the Philadelphia water.

Carman was a good guess. He followed his lovely 1985 with a darn solid season as a swingman in 1986. But I guess he comes in just short.

Rheal Cormier was rheal dependable in LOOGy duty in 2003, a little less so in 2004, and not so much at all in 2005, but very good again in 2006. I'd've included him, but you know. LOOGys don't get enough outs in the denominator to impress the computers.

JC Romero: same problem, only moreso. Eighty one games but only 59 innings? Really? Didn't cut it. Maybe our ranker just hates the LOOGys and the interminable seventh innings they create.

Gwreck is wise, but not in the money this evening.

Baldshun is a guy I never heard of until today, and therefore wouldn't have guessed under the deepest of duress. Relief ace of the early sixties, he got progressively more saves every season, finishing his five year Phillie tenure with 59. Then his arm went south early as it frequently did with relievers of his era. Sorry, Jack. But that answer clocks in at number 15 on our countdown. Good show.

25. Dick Selma (23 points for batmagadanleadoff)
24.
23.
22.
21.
20. Jim Kostanzy (25 points for Ben Grimm)
19. Jose Mesa (9 points for sharpie)
18. Turk Farrell (20 points for JC Lunchbucket
17. Tom Gordon (22 points fof JC Lunchbucket)
16.
15. Jack Baldshun (18 points for dinosaur jesus)
14. Ricky Bottalico (24 points for JC Lunchbucket)
13. Roger McDowell (21 points for JC Lunchbucket)
12. Ryan Madson (16 points for JC Lunchbucket)
11. Al Holland (24 points for JC Lunchbucket)
10. Brad Lidge (24 points for Ceetar)
9. Steve Bedrosian (24 points for Ben Grimm)
8. Kent Tekulve (23 points for Ben Grimm)
7. Mitch Williams (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)
6. Heathcliff Slocumb (19 points for JC Lunchbucket)
5. Billy Wagner (25 points for Ceetar)
4. Gene Garber (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)
3. Joe Hoerner (5 points for batmagadanleadoff)
2. Ron Reed (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)
1. Tug McGraw (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)

Not Ranked: Willie Hernandez, Mike Jackson, Bruce Ruffin, Alejandro Pena, Dennis Cook, Jeff Gray, Cole Hamels, Turk Wendell, Cory Lidle, Charlie Hudson, Kip Gross, Wayne Twitchell, Don Carman, Rheal Cormier, JC Romero

Standings
1. John Cougar Lunchbucket (196)
2. Ben Grimm (62)
3. Ceetar (49)
T4. batmagadanleadoff (18)
T4. dinosaur jesus (18)
5. sharpie (9)
6. Transmonk (-10)
T7. Metirish (-20)
T7. Gwreck (-120)
9. seawolf (-30)

[MFS62]

Starters used to relieve, too.
I'll guess Robin Roberts at 24.

Later

Edited October 18, 2011 by Guest

[MFS62]

Sorry, dupe.
Later

[Edgy MD]

Not enough to rank in the top 25. Roberts had 67 relief outings for 121 innings for a 2.97 ERA over his career, including his post-Phillies life. Pretty good, but not much more than a more typical reliever's season's worth of work.

Standings
1. John Cougar Lunchbucket (196)
2. Ben Grimm (62)
3. Ceetar (49)
T4. batmagadanleadoff (18)
T4. dinosaur jesus (18)
5. sharpie (9)
T6. Transmonk (-10)
T6. MFS62 (-10)
T8. Metirish (-20)
T8. Gwreck (-20)
10. seawolf (-30)

[Edgy MD]

OK, let's see. We have five guys left: a Thirties Phillie a Phorties Phillie, a Phiphties Phillie, an Eighties Phillie who returned in the Nineties, and a Nineties Phillie who lasted until the Aughts.

One went to my alma mater. And honestly, only one of these would I have guessed.

[batmagadanleadoff]

If Tug McGraw's worth 25 points, then Hoerner and Baldschun are worth 1,000, just for the naming. And another thing ... who the hell made this list? How the hell is Don Carman not in the top 25? Carman's numbers are at least as good as 15th ranked Baldschun's and 14th ranked Bottallico's (the only two Phils I compared Carman to) and probably better.

This game is over. I'm declaring myself the winner of this stupid contest.

[Edgy MD]

Well, gosh, Wally. It's only a game.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

OK, let's see. We have five guys left: a Thirties Phillie a Phorties Phillie, a Phiphties Phillie, an Eighties Phillie who returned in the Nineties, and a Nineties Phillie who lasted until the Aughts.

Larry Andersen?

(Say, 23)

[Edgy MD]

Larry Andersen is eighties/nineties guy indeed. I'll leave this up an open to inspired guesses for an hour or so before I pull the curtain away on our remaining Phillie bullpenners.

25. Dick Selma (23 points for batmagadanleadoff)
24.
23.
22.
21.
20. Jim Kostanzy (25 points for Ben Grimm)
19. Jose Mesa (9 points for sharpie)
18. Turk Farrell (20 points for JC Lunchbucket
17. Tom Gordon (22 points fof JC Lunchbucket)
16. Larry Andersen (18 points for LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr)
15. Jack Baldshun (18 points for dinosaur jesus)
14. Ricky Bottalico (24 points for JC Lunchbucket)
13. Roger McDowell (21 points for JC Lunchbucket)
12. Ryan Madson (16 points for JC Lunchbucket)
11. Al Holland (24 points for JC Lunchbucket)
10. Brad Lidge (24 points for Ceetar)
9. Steve Bedrosian (24 points for Ben Grimm)
8. Kent Tekulve (23 points for Ben Grimm)
7. Mitch Williams (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)
6. Heathcliff Slocumb (19 points for JC Lunchbucket)
5. Billy Wagner (25 points for Ceetar)
4. Gene Garber (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)
3. Joe Hoerner (5 points for batmagadanleadoff)
2. Ron Reed (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)
1. Tug McGraw (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)

Not Ranked: Willie Hernandez, Mike Jackson, Bruce Ruffin, Alejandro Pena, Dennis Cook, Jeff Gray, Cole Hamels, Turk Wendell, Cory Lidle, Charlie Hudson, Kip Gross, Wayne Twitchell, Don Carman, Rheal Cormier, JC Romero

Standings
1. John Cougar Lunchbucket (196)
2. Ben Grimm (62)
3. Ceetar (49)
T4. batmagadanleadoff (18)
T4. dinosaur jesus (18)
T4. LeiterWagnerFasterSTrongr
7. sharpie (9)
T8. Transmonk (-10)
T9. MFS62 (-10)
T10. Metirish (-20)
T10. Gwreck (-20)
11. seawolf (-30)

[Edgy MD]

Our last four hotshots, all from the pre-Met era:

25. Dick Selma (23 points for batmagadanleadoff)

24. Andy Karl (1943-1947, Phillies 1943-1946) actually came up with the Red Sox at 29 years old, but refused to go down when they farmed him out, reasoning out loud that if he couldn't stick at 29 with so much of the talent away in the armed forces, then he'd never stick. The Sox relented, and instead dealt him to Philadelphia, where he stunk to the tune of a 7.09 ERA in mopup duty. Remarkably welcomed back in 1944, he turned into a hoss of hosses, throwing 89 innings in relief in 38 games and another 180.7 the next season (including two starts and one complete game) over a league leading 67 games. After posting ERAs of 2.33 and 2.96 those years, he naturally regressed after all that work. With the stars coming home, he disappeared after one more season with the Boston Braves. Put his Manhattan College degree to good use and became a plumber.

23. Jack Meyer (1955-1961, all with the Phillies) came out of the Baker Bowl pen in the late fifties, splitting the work with converted starter Bob Miller, who probably deserved placement on this list more.

22. Wayne Gomes (1997-2002, Phillies 1997-2001) was a number four overall pick who never became a star, but was a fixture and sometimes closer in a late nineties pen where an ERA in the low 4.00s wasn't as troubling as it should have been. Had control issues.

21. Syl Johnson (1922-1940, Philadelphia 1934-1940) saw a lot of baseball, and finished his career as a swingman on the Phillies staff in the 1930s when that was about the worst job in baseball. Somehow he held on to that job for six and a half years. Great bio on this guy.

20. Jim Kostanzy (25 points for Ben Grimm)
19. Jose Mesa (9 points for sharpie)
18. Turk Farrell (20 points for JC Lunchbucket
17. Tom Gordon (22 points fof JC Lunchbucket)
16. Larry Andersen (18 points for LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr)
15. Jack Baldshun (18 points for dinosaur jesus)
14. Ricky Bottalico (24 points for JC Lunchbucket)
13. Roger McDowell (21 points for JC Lunchbucket)
12. Ryan Madson (16 points for JC Lunchbucket)
11. Al Holland (24 points for JC Lunchbucket)
10. Brad Lidge (24 points for Ceetar)
9. Steve Bedrosian (24 points for Ben Grimm)
8. Kent Tekulve (23 points for Ben Grimm)
7. Mitch Williams (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)
6. Heathcliff Slocumb (19 points for JC Lunchbucket)
5. Billy Wagner (25 points for Ceetar)
4. Gene Garber (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)
3. Joe Hoerner (5 points for batmagadanleadoff)
2. Ron Reed (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)
1. Tug McGraw (25 points for JC Lunchbucket)

Thanks for playing Sillie Phillie Quiz!

[seawolf17]

Pretty sure you made up all four of those guys.

[Edgy MD]

I don't remember Wayne Gomes at all. Surely he did something memorable against the Mets.

The others come from a long, dark period when the Phillies were usually the most irrelevant team in the big leagues.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The name Wayne Gomes rings a bell with me. I think I could have told you that he was a baseball player, but I wouldn't have known he was a Phillies pitcher.

Oh, how nice it would be if the Phillies were irrelevant again. (And the Eagles and Flyers too, for that matter. Local sports mania can be pretty annoying if you're not a fan.)

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: I don't remember Wayne Gomes at all. Surely he did something memorable against the Mets.

I do remember Gomes, but that's only because I was in Philly when he was brought up to the majors AND knew a few Phils diehards who had their eggs in his basket.