Former Council Rock South star assists in tornado cleanup

BY PATRICK GORDON | Managing Editor

@Philabaseball

Billy Fleming peered out the side windows of his team bus on Monday afternoon in central Oklahoma and felt a chill come over his entire body as tornado sirens blared in the distance.

Suddenly, baseball was not so important.

“I never seen anything like it, for sure,” he said.

Fleming, a Bucks County native (Churchville), was traveling with the West Virginia University baseball team en route to Oklahoma City for the Big 12 Baseball Championship when ferocious storms and a devastating tornado unloaded on the southern suburb of Moore.

At least 24 people, including nine children, have been killed, according to the state medical examiner’s office. More than 230 people were injured, according to authorities.

Damage assessments on Tuesday indicated the tornado was more than a mile wide and hurled winds between 200 and 210 miles per hour, making it an EF5 – the strongest rating given to a tornado.

“We actually were about five miles away from the actual tornado but we drove through Moore and we stopped for a bit and I’ve never seen damage like that ever in my life,” Fleming said. “It’s humbling. It shows you to be thankful for everything you have because it can be gone in an instant.”

A sophomore second baseman, Fleming spent the better part of Monday night and Tuesday with teammates and coaches assisting in rescue efforts.

“A lot of people are devastated down here and that’s why we are trying to help,” Fleming said. “We went to Walmart and bought as many things as we could to try and uplift these people and give back.”

[VIDEO BELOW COURTESY OF WVU ATHLETICS]

Grant Dovey, an assistant sports information director with the university, echoed Fleming’s assessment.

“We just went by the movie theater here in Moore and it is just pure devastation,” he said.

Like Fleming, Dovey too is a native of the Philadelphia region (Downingtown).

“We’ve experienced hurricanes and you get some big flooding from those in our area, but it is nothing compared to what we are seeing here.”

The Mountaineers open the Big 12 Baseball Championship on Wednesday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark with a contest against Kansas. The double-elimination tournament lasts until Sunday.

Fleming, a star during his time at Council Rock South High, has started 50 games this season and enters the postseason with a .296 average and 21 RBIs.

He admits, the transition from helping those in need to preparing for a postseason baseball contest is difficult.

“We just dropped off all the things we bought and we do need to get ready for baseball,” Fleming said. “Saying that, we definitely will keep these people in Moore in the back of minds with what they are all going through.”

- Patrick Gordon is Managing Editor of the Philadelphia Baseball Review.  Follow him on Twitter @Philabaseball or contact him at pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com. 

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Galvis's Late Homer Lifts Phillies Over Reds 3-2

By SAMUEL BOTWINICK  |  Staff Writer
@avdbkr20samuel

The Phillies were able to pull off a tight one over the Reds with a walk-off solo shot in the ninth to top them 3-2 on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park.

Entering the ninth, the Phillies were down 2-1, facing one of the most dominant closers in the game, Aroldis Chapman.  Following a lead-off walk to Delmon Young, it became apparent that there was something off about Chapman.  After Cliff Lee, who ran for Young, was picked off, Erik Kratz tied the game with a 3-2 fastball that was deposited into the left field seats.  Immediately following that, Freddy Galvis won the game with a solo shot to left.

Before the eighth inning, the Phillies had not scored a run in 16 innings until Chase Utley drove in Ben Revere with a blooper to left center, with two outs in the eighth.


The Reds started the scoring in the top of the second when Jay Bruce drilled a 2-1 fastball over the center field wall to give them an early 1-0 lead.

The Reds were able to scratch across another run in the top of the sixth.  After Joey Votto singled to start the inning, Domonic Brown made a great sliding catch, but threw the ball wide of first, allowing Votto to scamper over to second.  This proved costly as Votto later scored on Todd Frazier's double to right, pushing the Reds further ahead, 2-0.



Phillies' starting pitching bailed them out once again in another low scoring affair.



Jonathan Pettibone continued his early dominance in a Phillies uniform, tossing seven strong innings, surrendering two runs, one earned, on seven hits, while striking out four.

Antonio Bastardo, who threw a scoreless ninth, notched the win in relief.







Injuries have plagued the Phillies this year, and today was no different.  Carlos Ruiz went down with a right hamstring strain in the top of the third, adding to their already injury-prone roster.

Homer Bailey pitched well for the Reds, tossing seven shutout innings of five-hit ball, while striking out three.

Cole Hamels and the Phillies will play the Marlins at 7:10 tomorrow night at Marlins Park.


-  Samuel Botwinick is a staff writer for the Philadelphia Baseball Review.  Contact him at sbotwinick@philadelphiabaseballreview.com or @avdbkr20samuel on Twitter.

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Halladay to have surgery on shoulder; hopeful for 2013 return

By PATRICK GORDON | Managing Editor
@Philabaseball

Roy Halladay believes he will pitch again this season, but not before undergoing surgery to repair his right shoulder.

The 35-year-old said Wednesday that he has a partial tear of the rotator cuff in his right pitching shoulder and his labrum is partially frayed due to rubbing against a bone spur. He will undergo arthroscopic surgery later this month.

Halladay said doctors have told him the surgery may "turn back the clock two or three years" on his pitching shoulder.

"They aren't going in and trying to reattach the rotator cuff, which would be a year and a half and really, very low success rate of pitching again," Halladay said. "The fact that it's a scope, a cleanup, to me is a lot better than going in and having to reattach a full surgery. It's a lot better option, obviously it's a lot quicker, and at my age I think it's the best thing for me."

Halladay said he was unaware of the bone spur, though he did have an MRI on the shoulder last year prior to a seven-week stint on the disabled list.

"There's just no crystal ball," Halladay said. "Now I feel like I have something to grasp onto and something to move forward with. I don't feel as lost as before. I feel like there are some answers there. I feel like there are some things that we see that can be done. I'm optimistic that we'll get it fixed and I'll be able to come back and pitch."

Halladay, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, was examined in Los Angeles on Monday. He said pitchers that have underwent similar surgeries returned to the mound within three months, but he also cautioned no two cases are ever the same.

"In certain cases it's been three months, but we really don't have a timetable," Halladay said. "I think the timetable is going to come once they go in and confirm hey, what we saw on the x rays is exactly what we saw when we went in there. They were definitely optimistic that I would be back this year. But of course we're going to be as smart as we can and do the best we can throughout the whole process. But I really think the timetable is going to be based on when they go in, does it look how they think it does." 

Hallday, making $20 million this year, is eligible for free agency following this season. He has a vesting option for 2014, but he will not reach the innings pitched requirement for the contract to become guaranteed.

"Obviously I don't want to miss time but I think as far as scenarios go, I feel like it's a lot better than some of the things I anticipated," Halladay said.

- Patrick Gordon is the Managing Editor of the Philadelphia Baseball Review.  Follow him on Twitter @Philabaseball or contact him at pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com.

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Manuel defends Halladay's silence about shoulder discomfort

By PATRICK GORDON | Managing Editor
@Philabaseball

Charlie Manuel has every right to feel bitter about the circumstances surrounding Roy Halladay and his sore right shoulder, but as a former player he identifies with the logic of silence about an injury.

"I would never tell you I couldn't play," Manuel said. "So, yeah, I could understand that. He felt he could go out there and still pitch. He wasn't thinking about not pitching bad or something like that; he wanted to try. Roy is an upstanding guy, a straight guy. Hey, there should be more guys like that. You say, ‘Well he’s hurt, he’s hurt.’ But evidently he didn’t feel that way, he felt like he could play. Nowadays guys, they get out of the game real easy. That means he has some integrity, that the game means something to him, that he wanted to see if he could help us."

Halladay was placed on the disabled list Monday afternoon and will undergo an examination at some point this week in Los Angeles with noted orthopedist Lewis Yocum.

The club recalled reliever joe Savery to add an arm to the bullpen and to temporarily take Halladay's place on the active roster until his spot in the rotation comes around on Friday.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Monday the vacancy will be filled internally. Adam Morgan and Tyler Cloyd are the likely candidates.

Morgan, 23, is 1-2 with a 3.89 ERA in six starts at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The left-hander throws in the mid-90s and has strong command, highlighted by a slider he uses as an out pitch.

Cloyd, 25, was hit around earlier this year in Lehigh Valley and was passed over when John Lannan's spot in the rotation became available last month. The right-hander is 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA over six starts with the IronPigs.

Until Halladay's results are available the organization will plan for the worst, yet hope for the best.

"I wish I knew," Amaro said. "Hopefully it's something minor. Hopefully it's nothing major. We'll wait to see what the testing says and go from there."

- Patrick Gordon is the Managing Editor of the Philadelphia Baseball Review. Follow him on Twitter @Philabaseball or contact him at pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com. 

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