Jan. 14 -- JOHNNY PODRES (1932-2008)

Johnny Podres, best known as the winning pitcher in the clinching game of the Brooklyn Dodgers' one and only world championship in 1955, died yesterday from heart and kidney problems and a leg infection. He was 75.

Podres had a stellar 15-year major-league career as an unheralded rotation-mate of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. But around here, he was beloved as the Phillies' pitching coach from 1991 through 1996. Curt Schilling often credits Podres with transforming him into an elite major-league pitcher, and even after his retirement from coaching, Podres served as a spring-training instructor in Clearwater each March.

I didn't have the privilege of knowing Podres. But it seemed everyone with the Phillies spoke of him with great reverence. I recall talking to Cole Hamels in spring training 2006 about Podres' influence on the development of his change-up, now one of the best pitches in baseball. Here are other memories of Podres, courtesy of longtime Phillies PR honcho and Wilmington resident Larry Shenk:

Brett Myers: "He was a very positive guy and a great morale booster for all the pitchers. My first big-league camp he was telling people I should have been in the big leagues then, and I didn’t know anything about pitching."

Larry Andersen: "You would be hard pressed to find a more positive person. He made you feel like you were the best player to ever put on a uniform -- truly. I will really miss him."

Mitch Williams: "He was the best pitching coach I ever had. He was the only one that dealt with the mental side of the game, the most positive person and, again, hands down the best pitching coach I ever pitched for."

Larry Bowa: "He was a great pitching coach, got his points across with no pressure. I know I learned a lot from him. He never talked a lot about his career but when you look at the numbers, he was special. Johnny had the knack of being dead serious about baseball and a minute later, having everyone laughing. He was a very funny man."

John Kruk: "Johnny made mound visits very interesting. I came in from first base just to listen. We might have had a pitcher on the mound who was getting lit up, and Johnny would come out and say, ‘You’ve got great stuff. I don’t know how they are hitting you. Just go get them.’ Another time he came out, ‘Jimmy [Fregosi] is getting hissed at me because you aren’t throwing strikes. You know I don’t like it when he gets mad at me. Throw strikes.’"

On his blog, Schilling posted his thoughts. What are your memories of Podres?

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With the Phils' winter promotional tour set to begin, I'm reminded of a conversation I had at the Bank last January. Matt Smith, who had been acquired the previous summer in the Bobby Abreu trade and pitched well down the stretch in 2006, was slated to be the only lefty in the Phillies' bullpen with no other viable candidates in the picture. Still, Smith cautioned that he wasn't taking anything for granted. Having hardly established himself in the majors, he knew he'd still have to pitch well to guarantee a spot. He also said fortunes can change quickly in baseball.

Well ...

A year later, Smith has signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies after being removed from the 40-man roster and placed on waivers 10 days ago. I didn't address this topic last week because, well, it still was unresolved. But Smith, who showed no control before being sent to the minors April 26 and underwent Tommy John elbow surgery in July that will keep him from pitching until at least this summer, didn't find any takers on the open market and wound up back with the Phillies, albeit a long way from where he was a year ago.