BY SCOTT LAUBERBeing home for a few days has given me a chance to catch up on some reading, and I wanted to share this story in the Houston Chronicle about former Phillies reliever Geoff Geary.
Surely, you remember Geary. He went 7-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 81 appearances (91-1/3 innings) for the Phillies in 2006, then struggled so much in 2007 that he went back to the minors for a short time. But Geary's most significant contribution to the World Series champs was being traded to Houston in November '07 for Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett.
In the Chronicle's story, which ran in yesterday's editions, Geary admits that he was rooting for the Phillies last October, even though he told some friends that he wanted them to lose. And when the Phillies were celebrating at the Bank, the twinges of bitterness that Geary felt over being traded away were overcome by happiness for his many friends who were still with the team. "When I walked away from the TV, I'm telling everybody, 'I don't care. I hope they lose,'" Geary told the Chronicle. "The fact of the matter is I really didn't want them to lose. I wanted them to win."
But, for me, the most interesting part of the story came near the end when Geary talked about his relationship with Phillies fans. "My last year before I got traded, there were fans who were threatening my life and threatening other people, saying they were going to follow me home and beat up my fiancee at the time," he said. "Most of the fans are supportive, but the drunks and the people that are obnoxious, those are the ones that are like rabid dogs. ... Everybody says when you win the World Series, you basically own that town for a while. I don't need to take advantage of that situation, but it would be really cool to be sitting on a soapbox, looking down with 25 of your best buddies and saying, 'Yeah, now what? Say something negative about me now.'"
OK, there you have it. Your thoughts?
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I'm a huge David Letterman fan, so I couldn't resist posting this Top 10 List, filmed in Clearwater with Frenchy's Tiki bar in the background, just like our videos here at Philled In.
5 comments:
I can't stand those fans that stand above the bullpen and harass the players. A little joking is fine, but all too often the line is crossed. I'm sure those people are the minority of Philly fans, but they end up giving us all a bad name. I really like Geary and I rooted for him to find his pitches again after he had lost them. He was amazingly good in 2006 and sounds like he was not respected like he should have been.
Geary had one good year; he pitched poorly after that. He was a one year wonder.
In regards to the bullpen area, they need to have more staff there to prevent that from happening.
I am glad we sent him to Houston, that was a def Ed Wade type move. A top notch closer and a utility man for a "prospect" in Bourne and Geary. I am soooo glad that Ed isnt around anymore
I'm gonna have to disagree about Geary being a one year wonder. He pitched mediocre as a rookie in 2004. Then in both 05 and 06 he was an excellent reliever. In 06 he pitched 91 relief innings, which screams danger zone. Thus in 07 he struggled a bit with command. Then after being traded in 08 he was just as good as he was in 05/06, just with less innings. Check it out:
ERA
04: 5.44
05: 3.72
06: 2.96
07: 4.41
08: 2.53
162 avg: 3.67
I really can't put much into his comments, anytime a guy, even for a minute says he wishes his former teammates would lose, the rest of the story really doesn't matter.
Good luck, enjoy, Houston,
Over at WSBGM's we always liked Gas-Can Geary. Shame to hear he was treated like that while in Philly. I understand heckling to a point, but threatening lives and beating wives (hey, that rhymed) is just messed up.
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