An 18th round draft selection in 2008, Cloyd made his professional debut that year, posting a 7-4 record with a 3.91 ERA in 14 outings combined with the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies and short-season Williamsport. Since then, the Nebraska native has had winning records every season, while alternating between starting and relief duties.

Cloyd made a considerable impact last year, following up a season in which he sported an unimpressive 5.17 ERA in 37 combined games (5 starts) with Class A Advanced Clearwater and Double-A Reading to serve up a 9-4 record and a 2.77 ERA overall in 2011, splitting time with Clearwater and Reading once again.

Officially on the prospect map, heading into the 2012 season, Cloyd was called upon to fill in for suspended Triple-A hurler Dave Bush on opening day this season. He took that opportunity to shine, throwing 6 shutout innings, allowing no baserunners and striking out 8 batters.

In his three starts that followed, after returning to Double-A, Cloyd has been nearly as sharp, posting a 3-0 record with a 2.37 ERA and 13 strike outs in 19 innings. Even more remarkable is that Cloyd has yet to allow a walk this season.

Many minor leaguers would be considered to have aged themselves right out of prospect consideration by the age of 25, but that’s not something that bothers Cloyd. He keeps a focus on performance, regardless of the level he is assigned to.

“For me it’s just- I do what I can, where I’m at. I’m not in a big hurry to move. Whenever the Phillies want to move me, then that’s their decision to make,” Cloyd said in an exclusive interview. “For me, I try not to get too caught up into that. I do what I can, where I’m at, every five days when I go out on the field. I just do what I can and go out there and show them that I can do this. As far as me moving up, obviously, I want to get back up there and keep climbing the ladder, but when that is would be up to the Phillies.”

Reading manager Dusty Wathan, who has coached Cloyd at four different levels of the Phillies’ developmental system, feels that there’s a definite place in baseball for a versatile pitcher like Cloyd.
“He’s really comfortable starting, he’s comfortable throwing out of the bullpen. That’s just another benefit that he has. Some guys have trouble going back and forth and he’s went back and forth his whole career. Sometimes he’s starting, sometimes he’d be in the bullpen. So, he does a nice job in both areas and he knows how to prepare himself well in both areas.”

The 6-foot-3-inch 210-pounder has a fastball that typically maxes out at 87 MPH, but the lack of great heat doesn’t stop Cloyd from shutting down the competition. Cloyd has shown so much progress in the past couple seasons thanks to some adjustments to his pitch repertoire. Ditching one offering that had not proven successful, for an option with more movement, has increased the damage he is able to do on the mound.

“I got rid of my slider and started throwing a cutter,” said Cloyd. “I’ve also been working on more of a curve ball pitch to get away from more of the speed change and the deception and the movement change.”

What has also helped Cloyd excel has been bursting levels of confidence that have just gradually brewed and bubbled over. He’s become a young minor league veteran that knows he can command every aspect of his game and he is capable of dictating the pace of a contest, no matter what the scenario may be.

“Obviously, momentum is a big thing for me, in any situation of the game. When I go out there, and everything’s working pretty good, it just helps out the next inning and the next inning and the next inning…I try to keep the game one speed, and that’s my speed. Whatever I want that speed to be. If I want it to be going quick, then I’ll make the batter get in the box and I’ll be ready for my pitches right away. If I want to slow it down, or I need to slow it down…I go out there and I try not to get flustered too often.”

So, with proven success in Double-A and a great showing in his lone outing at Triple-A, where does Cloyd belong? Ask Wathan, and he’ll tell you that Cloyd could move up any time and should reach the pinnacle of the baseball world in the near future.

“I think Tyler can pitch in the big leagues. Whether that’s with the Philadelphia Phillies or one of the others teams, is yet to be seen.”

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Jay Floyd is PhilliesNation’s minor league insider.  You can read more from Jay by visiting his site, PhoulBallz.com.

They mostly focused on Chase Utley’s injury and its implications on the team, but also delved into Domonic Brown’s prospects for playing this year and Ryan Madson’s unfortunate turn of events.

Check out the media player below to listen to the full one-on-one interview with Ruben Amaro Jr.

To check out my previous interviews with Ruben, click HERE and HERE.

Romero took his issues to court, filing lawsuits in New Jersey Superior Court in early 2009 that named GNC and Vitamin Shoppe as defendants in addition to the manufacturing companies, Ergopharm and Proviant Technologies. According to the NY Daily News, testing done on the vitamins revealed that they were tainted with the banned substance, androstenedione, that Romero tested positive for. This month, nearly three years later, Romero has reached a settlement, which Romero hopes will clear his name and provide closure for Philadelphia fans. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

The 35-year-old recently signed with the reigning World Series champs, the St. Louis Cardinals, but the man who got the “W” in two of the Phillies’ four 2008 World Series victories clearly still has a soft spot for the city in which he experienced his best days, as he still has great concern for the validity of the club’s second ever championship.

“The amount of money (in the settlement) isn’t relevant,” Romero told the Daily News this week. “What is relevant is that people know my side. Some fans questioned my integrity. Now there is some closure and I can say the 2008 World Series was legit.”

In parts of 5 seasons with the Phillies, Romero went 6-6 with a 2.73 ERA and 4 saves in 273 regular season games. In 13 career post season games with Philadelphia, Romero posted a 2-1 record with a 0.87 ERA. The Puerto Rican born hurler was originally a 27th round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins in 1997.

In 2009, as Romero pitched in the minors to get ready for his late start to the regular season, forced by the suspension, he offered these exclusive thoughts to PhoulBallz.com, when I asked him about the status of efforts to clear his name…

“We’re still in a battle, man. We got a couple law suits going out there. The whole thing has been a mess from the day that it happened. And the sad thing is that, knowing that everybody knows my case is totally different to what is happening with a good friend of mine, Manny (Ramirez), what happened with A-Rod, and all that. But, ya’ know, life is not fair. Sometimes things happen in life, and you can’t even explain it, you can’t expect it, I mean things happen, so this is just a bump in the road. You have to keep your head up and keep on battling.

“Like I say many times, and I stick with it- in the end, you gotta really protect your career. And that’s the message that I’m trying to tell these kids (the minor leaguers)…there’s no union, there’s no MLB representative, commissioner…nobody’s going to protect your career. You gotta do it yourself. ‘Cause when everything’s said and done, you get suspended and you’re just by yourself. I learned that the hard way, and now I’m just moving forward.”

With all the legal matters behind him, and with the ability to truly move on, at long last, Romero also stated where his full focus will now be.

“Now I can focus on dominating for another five years, hopefully,” Romero told the Daily News.

Now that Romero’s a member of the team that stunningly eliminated the Phils from the 2011 postseason, I don’t think there are many Phillies fans that would care to see that happen….no matter how much love for their city he oozes.

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Jay Floyd is PhilliesNation’s minor league insider.  You can read more from Jay by visiting his site, PhoulBallz.com.

A special thanks goes out to the great writers of Phillies Nation – past and present; and of course to your our loyal readers and commenters. Go Phils!

Enjoy!

Overbeck, who stands 6-feet-1-inch tall and weighs 200 pounds, has improved greatly in each of the past two seasons. Thus far in 2011, Overbeck has posted a slash line of .297/.333/.576 (batting average/on base percentage/slugging percentage). Combined at the two levels last year, Overbeck’s output looked like- .276/.354/.490, which was a tremendous improvement over his 2009 statistics. In 96 games with Clearwater 2009, Overbeck’s line was an unimpressive .230/.282/.399.

Named by the Eastern League as player of the month for April this season, Overbeck’s focus as he progresses is on staying in a groove. He credits his hitting coach Frank Cacciatore for providing him with an extra pair of eyes and an experienced baseball mind to helping him make adjustments where he needs to.

“I think a lot of (my success thus far) has to do with Frank and doing early work and stuff,” Overbeck said. “Working with him is spring training really got my swing going pretty good coming into the season.

“Whenever I am doing bad, my rhythm gets all messed up and Frank’s always the one that keeps me on track there. We’ve been doing a lot of drills to keep my rhythm going and continuing to have a good idea at the plate.”

A 9th round draft pick in the 2008 draft out of the University of Mississippi, Overbeck made his professional debut that year with short-season Williamsport, and in 72 games he slugged 12 homers and drove in 57 runs, while posting a .272 batting average.

In 2009, Overbeck skipped over Class A Lakewood and went directly to High A Level Clearwater. That season in 96 games, he once against knocked 12 homeruns while driving in 51 runs.

Overbeck returned to Clearwater to begin the 2010 campaign, but he quickly asserted himself as a force in the Florida State League when, in 58 games, he mashed 11 homers, drove in 41 runs and was named to the league’s All-star team. Immediately following the FSL All-star game, Overbeck was promoted to Double A, where he continued a solid season, slugging another 12 homeruns in 78 games as a member of the R-Phils.

Overbeck describes playing for new R-Phils manager Mark Parent as a plus for the club this season, as Reading has jumped out to a 17-10 start and is tied for first place in the Eastern League’s East division with New Hampshire. Overbeck credited the 13-year Major League veteran with helping the team achieve their early success this season.

“He’s been in our shoes before and then to the big leagues, so that helps out a lot. He knows what it takes to get where we’re trying to go. He expects a lot out of us and everybody enjoys playing for him and it’s gonna benefit us in the long run,” Overbeck said.

Overbeck, who has spent time at third base and first base this season and has begun working in the outfield, is a key contributor in the field as well as at the plate. This week, Parent spoke highly of Overbeck’s abilties.

“He’s got really good hands…his good hand-eye coordination is really good. When he gets to the ball, he’s got outstanding pop. His defense- he can play anywhere. He’s doing very well,” Parent stated.

As buzz surrounding Overbeck grows, some folks have begun to wonder if he could continue to develop at the same rate as he progresses upward. Naturally, time will tell. But, while Overbeck stays focused on the job at hand, he can’t help but ponder the same things.

“I’d like to continue at the pace I’m at this year, which might be hard. As far as the season goes, I’ll just take it a couple games at a time. Of course, reaching the Majors is in my mind. I think it’s in everyone’s mind here.”
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Jay Floyd is PhilliesNation’s minor league contributor. You can read more from Jay by visiting his site, PhoulBallz.com.

The other day, two brave Nationals fans put a video on YouTube, a call to arms for fans to make sure that those pesky Phillies fans don’t intrude on Nationals Park this year. After taking a beating in the comments, they pulled the video.

Fortunately the movement didn’t die with that video. A Twitter rebellion has started with #SaveNatsParkApril14th as the battle cry.

Last year, thousands of Phillies fans loaded up on buses and infiltrated Nationals Park. PhilsFever.com is planning it again, although possibly not in such large numbers.

“Last year, it was the season opener and we knew Roy Halladay was on the hill and that was a catalyst for one of the largest invasions ever,” explains the site’s owner, Quimby. “We should still roll in with 3-400 strong, but a far cry from the 1,500 we had last year.”

Other Phillies fans aren’t quite as realistic. Brian Michael of PhilliesNation.com had this to say about Nationals fan reaction to the invasion:

“They don’t like it one bit. It’s more that Nats fans, in particular, want the rest of baseball to feel sorry for them and give them special treatment like not allowing opposing fans into the stadium.”

Clearly it never dawned on Michael, who actually lives in D.C., that maybe opposing fans with that attitude aren’t wanted there because that line of thinking is obnoxious.

If the Phanatics are successful, some Nats fans think we only have ourselves, and our front office, to blame.

“If more people supported the Nats here in D.C. these ‘invasion’ trips would be much harder to accomplish,” said Thomas Landwermeyer, a season ticket holder from northern Virginia. “It also doesn’t help when Stan Kasten invites them to come to the stadium.”

While we don’t think Phillies fans need an invitation to venture down I-95, it certainly didn’t help.

Other fans see the invasion as motivation.

“I’m jealous of the Phillies fans because of their team’s success, and history, and the culture they have built up over the years. I want that for us,” says longtime fan Phil Senerchia. “I hope someday we Nats fans start busing up to Philly to watch our team pound the Phils. That’s got to start with us representing when the Phillies are in town, though.”

The Nationals haven’t put tickets up for sale yet, but if last year’s game attendance is any indication it could be a Phan driven atmosphere on April 14. And if that happens, it’s only a small blip in the world of bigger aspirations for our buddy from Phillies Nation.

“I’m fine with that because I couldn’t care less about the Nationals and their fans,” Michael boasts. “I only care about winning the World Series.”

I guess cities with no Super Bowl rings have to look forward to something.

We reached out to the Nationals to see if there will be any ticket offers or incentives for Nats fans to attend that game. We’ll update here with any news.

Click here for tickets to the Phillies fan invasion on April 14 in DC >>.

2. Inqlings: Double feature: Film and food from the Philadelphia Inquirer

A team led by Chase Lenfest and featuring 6ABC’s Walter Perez, PhilliesNation.com’s Pat Gallen, CW57′s Kharisma McIlwaine, and Survivor alumnus Gervase Peterson won the Police Athletic League’s annual PAL Night media basketball game during halftime at the Sixers game Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center. It was a 14-5 blowout, but not a total loss for Marisa Magnatta, producer of Preston & Steve. “I got a rebound,” she says brightly, adding: “And then a 14-year-old girl stole the ball from me.” Magnatta, who at exactly half the height of the rim was the shortest on the court, says: “I was trying to get people to hoist me up.” Magnatta’s teammates were Comcast SportsNet’s Marshall Harris, NBC10′s Harry Hairston, CBS3′s Jericka Duncan, and ESPN 97.3′s Mike Gill. The event raised more than $11,000.

Here’s a tidbit of what I wrote:

Been There, Done That: In 2007, the Phillies fought tooth and nail until the final day of the season and made the playoffs. In 2008, they rode past the Mets in the latter stages of the season and blew through the playoffs for their first World Series title in 28 years. In 2009, another National League Championship banner was raised.

This club understands what it takes to reach the postseason and what it takes to become a winner when the check comes due. With their backs against the wall, this crew consisting of Howard, Utley, Rollins, and Werth seem to play their best baseball. September is on the doorstep, a month in which the Phils have done some damage.

In each of the past three seasons, the Phils have won 17 games in September. Offensively, there is hope.Ryan Howard is a career .314 hitter in the final month, mashing a total of 52 home runs with 141 RBI in 162 games. Halladay follows suit to end the year; his career ERA is 3.32, but in September that drops nearly a full run to 2.36.

Click here to read the rest of the “Why the Phillies will make the playoffs” on Big League Stew.

Here are a few of the stories:

Nationals Park infiltrated by Phillies fans on opening day – Washington Post Sports Front Page

Some final thoughts on the Phillies fans from Nationals opening day – Washington Post Nats Blog

Metro Philadelphia: Phils fans hit the road for opener – Metro Philadelphia

The Phillies fan invasion was orchestrated by the Nationals – Yahoo! Front Page, Big League Stew

Phield Trip! Thousands of Phillies fans invade Nationals Park – Big League Stew, Yahoo! Sports, by Michelle O’Malley (bus trip participant)

Oddities on Opening Day in Big Win for Phillies – Notes from the Diamond

The only obvious thing about all those Phillies fans from opening day is the anger. A lot of Nationals fans who attended believe the presence of so many visiting fans spoiled their opening day, and a good number of them are under the impression that the Nationals aided and abetted the interlopers.

Definitely, I can say the Nationals did not discourage them. After that, I think it gets kind of complicated. What should the Nationals have done? Should the Nationals have turned away large groups from Philly? Should they have sold fewer groups seats, period?

There are two viewpoints that probably cut to both sides of those questions. A Nationals fan named Daniel Furth e-mailed the Post yesterday and called Monday, “the worst baseball experience ever.” He’s the fan I talked to for the story in the birdcage liner. He goes to about 20 games each year and he usually brings with him a small group of people.

“I just think that they are really short-sighted about how to build a fan base,” Furth said. “Sure, they’re getting revenue and they’re selling tickets. But building a fan base would have been making sure these tickets were available to people all over the D.C. area.”

Another viewpoint comes from a Phillies fan named Brian Michael, who I also talked to for the story. In 2004 he started a Web site, Phillies Nation, that has turned into one of the more prominent fan blogs. He organized one of the bus trips. He said he doesn’t make much money off of them, he just does it for fun, the same reason he started his site.

“If Nats fans simply organized themselves into a group of 25 people, they can purchase group tickets just like all the other groups (including Phillies groups),” Michael wrote in an e-mail after we spoke on the phone. “So, if you are a fair weather fan that just wants to go to the important games, then you have no right complaining. … The Nats ticket office doesn’t do anything egregiously out of the ordinary. … if you care enough about the team to go to Cincinnati game on July 21, then you’ll find a way to get tickets to Opening Day (e.g. the Nats will offer them). If you don’t care that much, then you can’t complain about not getting to Opening Day. Phillies fans care and we fill stadiums both home and away.”

That’s another way to look at it, which I’m sure will produce more anger. The bottom line is probably this: Whatever the Nationals did or did not do, a lot of their fans left opening day, really, really mad at them, and how can that be good?

For further context, I also wanted to include the e-mail back-and-forth I had with Stan Kasten. The transcript is after the jump.

Before the Philadelphia Phillies clobbered the Nationals, 11-1, Monday, their fans scored an even more resounding blow. A significant portion of the 42,190 in attendance for opening day rooted for the away team, creating an adverse atmosphere for Nationals players and making some Nationals fans feel like visitors in their home park.

A Phillies fan named Brian Michael said it “felt like a home game.” Washington Nationals Manager Jim Riggleman called it “a statement of where we’ve got to get to.” And NationalsEnquirer.com, a prominent Nationals fan blog, called the day “one of the low points in the brief history of the Washington Nationals.”

The phenomenon of a visiting team’s fans infiltrating the opposing stadium is not unique to the Nationals, particularly in the cozy Northeast corridor. Camden Yards in Baltimore has earned the nickname “Fenway South” from years of Boston Red Sox fans packing the park for Orioles games. But the raiding of Nationals Park on opening day stung District fans.

“I don’t think any of us care about losing 11-1,” said Daniel Furth, a Nationals fan who attended. “But, really, to me, the atmosphere just ruined opening day. It just completely ruined it.”

The Nationals did not discourage Phillies fans from coming in droves. If anything, the team may have encouraged them.

In December, Michael received a phone call from Bree Parker, a senior account executive in the Nationals group ticket sales office. She wanted to know if Michael needed to reserve tickets so he could watch his favorite team on opening day.

Michael appreciated the call. For the past four years, Michael had been arranging bus trips to Phillies away games through his Web site, PhilliesNation.com. Michael had also tried planning trips to Citi Field in New York for Mets games, and he always found them “annoying” to deal with. Michael already knew Parker from when she helped him the previous year. This winter, he did not even need to call, he said.

“They reached out to us,” Michael said. “They were able to meet our needs for the tickets. It wasn’t too much of a hassle or anything.”

Michael secured about 530 tickets. Monday morning, he packed 275 people on five busses that motored south on Interstate 95. They parked in a lot they had rented thanks to a referral from Parker, who was away from her office Tuesday afternoon and could not be reached for comment.

Nationals Director of Ticket Operations Derek Younger referred questions to a team spokesman.

“We sell season tickets and book groups all winter long,” Nationals President Stan Kasten wrote in an e-mail. “For every game of the season. All of this is before any individual tickets go on sale. Most of our groups are local. Some are from out of town. It’s really that simple.”

The Nationals took deposits for group sales — 25 tickets is the threshold — beginning in November and started selling those tickets Jan. 4. When individual tickets went on sale March 2, seats for opening day — aside from the 400 $5 seats the Nationals hold back for every game — sold out in seven minutes.

The hordes from Philadelphia left many Nationals fans with an impression that the organization had sold droves of tickets to Phillies fans at the expense of Nationals fans who wanted to buy tickets but could not.

“By making them available to fans in Philly, they were no longer available in D.C.,” Furth said. “They have seven minutes worth of tickets available. People in Philly, they had 20,000. They had lots more than seven minutes.”

A sampling of other teams’ policies shows a narrower gap between when group sales and individual sales begin. The Tampa Bay Rays sell put their group and individual tickets on sale on the same day in February. Orioles group tickets went on sale in mid-January, and their individual tickets started selling at the end of January.

The Nationals said the raiding of Nationals Park was not a product of policies that favor opposing fans, but rather another growing pain for a franchise five years old and coming off consecutive 100-loss seasons.

“As anyone who has watched bad teams turn into good teams, in any sport, these problems dissipate as teams improve, as home teams’ followers get more numerous and more enthusiastic,” Kasten said.

Kasten also said the nature of Phillies fans contributed to the feeling Monday at Nationals Park. He said that Red Sox fans had attended in even greater numbers Saturday for an exhibition game, but there was a “tangible, qualitative difference in the two crowds.”

But there also is a difference between how hometown fans feel during an exhibition and their team’s opener. In Baltimore, the Orioles make opening day tickets available only to their own season-tickets holders. Even if the Orioles played the Red Sox, an official in the Orioles ticket office said, their park could not be overrun on opening day.

During pregame introductions at Nationals Park Monday, Phillies fans booed Nationals staff and players and chanted “Sucks!” after the public announcer bellowed each name.

“That was impressive,” Phillies right fielder Jayson Werth said. “It felt like all of right field was only Phillies fans. This kind of started to be our home away from home a little bit.”

Pat Gallen is joined today by Victor Rojas of the MLB Network just hours after the Mark McGwire interview in which he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs during his career.

Victor sheds some light on the situation, saying that his candor was self-serving because of his new job with the St. Louis Cardinals.  On the flip side, he thinks Big Mac left the door open on too many issues and had an opportunity to close them by simply saying he took them to get an edge over the competition. Until players are completely open, Victor says, there will always be questions surrounding players who dance around the topic without hitting it head on.

As far as the Hall of Fame is concerned, Victor isn’t sure much will change with this confession.  He does believe that more and more retired players who are linked to steroids will follow suit to try and save face and win some people back.  Victor does believe Pete Rose should be in the Hall, and that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have an asterisk or plaque symbolizing those who may have cheated.

Rojas is one of the lead anchors for the MLB Network, both as a studio host and play-by-play voice.  Before joining the new baseball-only network, Rojas was a voice for both the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks.  Before taking his skills to the booth, he was the GM for the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 24

What’s your favorite blog of all time?
My favorite blog of all time is probably Truehoop, which is now part of ESPN.com. It was actually the reason I got into blogging, because I love what Henry Abbott does on his site. It’s actually an NBA blog, which is how I got started, by doing my own basketball blog.

What’s the best blog post you’ve ever written?
I’d like to think that each time I write, that it’s the best I’ve done because I’m learning new things everyday, and still learning the craft of being a writer. If I had to pick one though it would probably be the piece I put up after the Phillies Game 4 win against the Dodgers, when J-Roll won it in the 9th. It was basically a breakdown of my day and just how insane it was at the ballpark. I think it captured what it’s like to be a true fan at the game.

Read more and watch the video at CBS3.com

They can be found in Denver pubs, the cafes of Rome and in the sports bar at the Gen. Patton Barracks in Heidelberg, Germany.

And Brian Michael will tell you their numbers are growing.

“You can go to pretty much anywhere and you will find Phillies fans,” said Michael, the 28-year-old founder of PhilliesNation.com

Thanks to Michael and his 10,000-plus subscribers, those fans have had a place to share insights, frustrations and love of all things Phillies since the site went live a few months after Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004.

“I grew up in Philly and had moved away to Washington, D.C.,” Michael said. “I was finding it hard to get all my Phillies information, so I decided to put it all in one place.”

In addition to offering game stories, columns and podcasts, Phillies Nation subscribers also get together for road-trips to New York, Washington, D.C., and Clearwater, Fla., charity events and tailgates.

“I’d say 60 percent of our subscribers are from Philadelphia and the outlying counties,” Michael said. “But we also have guys on military bases in Germany, people who have moved to Texas and nuns from Philadelphia.”

The closest thing to a Phillies Nation mission statement can be found in the “About” section of the site, which says, in part:

“Although there are certainly other sites out there that deal with the Phillies, this one is written exclusively through a fan’s perspective. Stats and algorithms have their place in analyzing baseball, but if a player sucks, Phillies fans don’t require quantitative proof. We smell failure a mile away. We boo first, ask questions later.”

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Michael is one six writers on the site, which also features his sister Julie, a 2005 Villanova alum, and columnist Nick Staskin, who moonlights/daylights as a beer man down at Citizens Bank Park.

While the Red Sox Nation is a brand name known throughout the country (the team even sells certificates to prospective members), Michael said his operation is a little more parochial.

“It’s a little different than the Red Sox,” said Michael, whose girlfriend, Laura, is a huge Yankees fan. “A lot of people find it easy to be in Red Sox Nation, but to be part of Phillies Nation, I think you almost have to be born and raised with it.

“The Yankees and Red Sox have the international cache. Maybe if we win a couple more World Series, we’ll be there.”

Michael, who describes himself as “a hardcore Phillies fan from birth,” made his first trip to the Vet with his father in 1987.

“I remember Ozzie Virgil hit a home run,” he said. “That’s about it.”

Hardcore Phillies Nation members would know he was referring to the May 13, 1987, game where Virgil, then a member of the Braves, homered off reliever Wally Ritchie, or the May 14 game, where he smacked two solo shots off starter Kevin Gross.

With the exception of the 1993 pennant winners, there was little for Michael or any other Phillies fan to cheer about until the current nucleus of players started to contend.

“My parents always planned their vacations around where the Phillies were playing when I was growing up, and I’ve followed them ever since,” said Michael, whose site features an Ashburn Award, given to the most valuable player from the previous game, and asks fans to contribute their favorite memories of Harry Kalas.

Thursday morning, he was hosting a Phillies Nation tailgate outside Citizens Bank Park. A “game-watching” party is scheduled for Saturday night at McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon, the popular pub that’s attached to the ballpark. More than 150 people have already signed up for the event.

In addition to social and charity functions, Michael, who works for a political consulting firm in Arlington, Va., attends as many Phillies games as he can. “I have a six-pack plan from the Phillies and I probably made it to 20 games this year, home and away.”

For buying a block of tickets for Phillies games in Washington, D.C., the Nationals recognized him and other “group leaders” before a game at Nationals Park.

“They brought us all down to the field and I was wearing a Phillies hat,” Michael said. “They asked me to take it off, which was fine with me. … I didn’t want to embarrass them any more.”

The baseball gods threw hard-working Phillies fans a buzz-killing curve this week.

But they sure were smiling on those with free afternoons or a propensity to fake a sniffle in the heat of a pennant race.

The defending world champions play the Colorado Rockies today and Thursday beginning at 2:37 p.m., a time slot that has created a rare buyer’s market for the opening round of the Phillies’ latest playoff march.

Ticket-holders with job commitments are scrambling to sell. The ticket-less with time off or no qualms about playing hooky are capitalizing.

In one case, 10 — count ‘em, 10 — tickets were available for $75 a pop, a bargain compared with those going for hundreds.

”My friend and his family were supposed to go, but because the game is so early they can’t,” said Lisa Moise of Philadelphia, who advertised those 10 tickets on Craigslist for a friend who was stuck in the office Tuesday. ”Literally, no one can get off. And I know they’re not the only ones.”

That appeared to be an understatement. Tickets that have been hard to come by all season — the Phils broke an attendance record this season by selling out 72 of their 81 home games, including the final 41 — suddenly are ripe for the buying.

During lunch hour on Tuesday, StubHub.com had 1,096 seats available for today’s game and nearly 1,200 for Thursday’s game. Prices were starting around $51 and went up to $2,000.

One shrewd Craigslist poster was looking to take advantage of the unexpected supply: ”Don’t have a lot of cash so looking for best ticket at lowest price.”

For some, the early start times were a sobering blow to business.

Take Gino Capobianchi. Following last year’s title run, the Philadelphia man bought season tickets for this year, specifically to sell them and make some money. He also guaranteed himself playoff tickets, which normally translate into a big payday on the open market.

Capobianchi, who is 48 and unemployed, put a pair of tickets up on Craigslist for $400 apiece Saturday. By Tuesday, the asking price was down to $280 and heading south.

”So far, nobody called because it’s a bad time,” Capobianchi said. ”I’ll just lower the price until somebody calls.”

He finds himself in an enviable win-win situation . If he doesn’t sell, he’ll make the 20-minute trip to Citizens Bank Park for the game. ”I can still go,” he said. ”When you’re out of work like half the city, you don’t have a schedule.”

Brian Michael, the 28-year-old founder of http://www.philliesnation.com , has a schedule he has to keep. He had to reluctantly turn down offers for tickets to today’s game because of his job as a Web site manager and political fundraiser. He said some Phillies Nation followers were voicing their displeasure over Major League Baseball’s perceived mistreatment of the Phillies.

”Obviously, because people can’t go, they feel the Phillies have been disrespected as the defending world champions,” he said.

Faust Ruggiero, executive director of The Phillies Fan Union, a fan club that says it has 140,000 members, said he was getting mixed reviews on the game times and ticket sales.

”Most of our members feel that the reigning World Series champions should have a prime time start for the first game,” he wrote in an e-mail. ”We’re not hearing that very many are selling their tickets, though. Phillies fans tend to be more hard-core than that.”

Mike Smith, a 25-year-old banker from Wilmington, Del., has eight tickets for today’s game and put six up for sale, four on StubHub.com and a pair on Craigslist. As of noon Tuesday, he sold one pair for $70 apiece — face value was $50 — and was expecting to get more bites on the others.

”I couldn’t find any friends to go because they’re all working,” he said, adding he made more money on last year’s tickets. ”Whoever is making the decisions is making the decisions based on viewership in the whole United States. I don’t think [the Phillies] deserve anything better just because they’re the World Series champions.”

So what happens if sellers don’t get any takers?

”I have no idea,” Moise said. ”We’ll probably start giving them away.”

We’ve seen insolent and vulgar behavior before at sporting events in Philadelphia – probably experienced it first-hand.  Yet the unfortunate actions of few have become synonymous with many.

After David Sale Jr., 22, of Lansdale was beaten to death outside of Citizens Bank Park on Saturday, the parallels were made immediately.  This city is filled with rude, despicable creatures and we were all lumped into the boat.  Plus this is not something the national media forgets; nor should they.  Colin Cowherd spat his fury and vitriol, blaming it on lack of education.  Just blame it on ignorance.

Although the whole story has not been revealed, Sale was jumped and beaten to death after an altercation over a spilled beer inside McFadden’s, which carried over to the parking lots outside of the stadium.

It’s foolish to think these kinds of things won’t happen.  Alcohol fuels the inner testosterone and, with the backdrop of an intense sporting event that credits winners, not losers, turns men into meatheads.    Three men, if we can call them that, believed that by beating a man repeatedly, they would win.  Now everyone has lost.

As part of Phillies Nation, I’ve experienced the passion of Phillies fans in many new ways.  I feel I am now one with the team, the city, and the fans, more than ever. The stain of a murder on the grounds of our park affects us all to an extent.  We should not downplay the loss the family of David Sale now must endure.  Here at Phillies Nation, our condolences go out to his family.

As a fan base, we have found solace and reprieve from everyday life in what trades will be made, which prospects are being watched, and whether or not J.P. Ricciardi is losing his mind.  Someone who enjoyed the same pastimes – one of our own – is now gone.  It hurts me deep because I think of the ballpark as a cathedral, a place where we can go to worship the baseball gods and pray for a run, or a win, or a championship.

Many of us did not know David Sale, but I believe there is an easy way to remember his life: by being a proper fan.  By proving the pundits wrong that pounce on Philadelphia’s every error. Whether we like it or not, it is you and I, and millions of other Phillies fans that will gain the reputation of three immature, cowardly cretins.  I think we all should rally around the spirit of Brotherly Love, giving our Phillies the fan base they deserve. It something we need to do.

Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins will host the Fourth Annual Jimmy Rollins Celebrity BaseBowl Tournament at the Lucky Strike Lanes (1336 Chestnut).

Rollins and many teammates will bowl with fans July 23. Last year’s event sold out months in advance, so we’re letting you know about this now. The event benefits the Rollins Family Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation. Individual bowling spots are $1,000 (good for bearer and one guest) and available today at PhilliesNation.com.