Next up, Manuel explains why Victorino, the best hitter on the night, spent time in the dugout talking on the bullpen phone with the guy handling the binoculars. Ready Charlie? Go.
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The Philadelphia Phillies already boast the worst fans in sports.
In baseball alone, Philadelphia has given us a field-charging taser-target and a projectile vomiter who intentionally puked on a little girl that asked him to stop cussing. See a list of the 12 worst fan-related moments in Philadelphia’s long, embarrassing history.
Now Philly can add “cheaters†to the list of detractors from the “City of Brotherly Loveâ€.
Philadelphia Phillies bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer was caught peering through binoculars to steal signs from Colorado Rockies’ catcher Miguel Olivo during Monday night’s game at Coors Field. Billmeyer mumbled a lame excuse about using the binoculars to check the defensive setup of Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz. An oddly lame excuse considering Ruiz was sitting in the Phillies dugout when FSN Rocky Mountain cameras showed Mick and his binoculars leering from the center field bullpen.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel added an odd remark of his own to the controversy saying that, “We were not trying to steal signs.â€Â Manuel followed that comment immediately with, “Would we try to steal somebody’s signs? Yeah, if we can. But we don’t do that. We’re not going to let a guy stand up there in the bullpen with binoculars looking in. We’re smarter than that…â€
Apparently not.
This is the fourth time in three years that the Phillies have been charged with sign-stealing.
In 2007 the Mets accused the Phillies of setting up a center-field camera to steal signs. The Boston Red Sox made the same complaint in 2008. The Mets leveled another complaint against the Phillies after a May 2nd game this year. (Philadelphia was not caught stealing signs in 2009. A major victory for the team and the city.)
The Rockies did catch the Phillies on Monday night.
Somebody in the Colorado dugout noticed Billmeyer early in the game, and asked FSN to zoom in on the visitors’ bullpen after the first inning. Two videos from FSN Rocky Mountain show Billmeyer spying on Colorado catcher Miguel Olivo followed by Phillies Center Fielder Shane Victorino on the bullpen phone from the Philadelphia dugout. Victorino hit two triples in the game.
The end result of FSN’s in-game investigative journalism is video proof of what league insiders have suspected for years… them Phillies be cheatin’.
Rockies Manager Jim Tracy had plenty to say on the subject.
Tracy sounded off after exchanging words during Monday’s game with Manuel, and then listening to Charlie’s half-baked excuses through the media.
“As far as I’m concerned it’s out of line. It’s one thing to go out and play a club as tough as you can possibly play it within the framework of the way they’ve structured things to be done. … Nobody says that you don’t explore something like that, but if you’re cheating and you get caught, then you know what? Then you’d better do something about it. That’s my reaction to that,†said Tracy.
Jim continued, “But a pair of binoculars staring down the gun barrel of the hitting area? You know what, I don’t think any club in baseball that’s competing against that team would take too kindly to that. Now you can come up with all kinds of reasons as to why you had them and what you were doing with them. Are we to believe them all? Or is it OK for us to think maybe there might be some sort of competitive advantage that you might be gaining for yourself? And then you start reflecting back on some of the things that have taken place in previous games and it makes you sit and wonder a little bit.â€
Major League Baseball issued a warning to the Phillies on the issue.
While sign-stealing is a time-honored tradition in baseball, using any kind of technological enhancement to steal signs is a violation of MLB rules.
Binoculars apply, but try telling that to Charlie Manuel.
“I told the umpire, ‘No, we don’t have anybody out there with binoculars.’ I come to find out that we did… he used them to watch Ruiz set up and his catching and things like that.â€
Next up, Manuel explains why Victorino, the best hitter on the night, spent time in the dugout talking on the bullpen phone with the guy handling the binoculars. Ready Charlie? Go.
“Keep crying,†were Manuel’s final words on the subject according to CSNPhilly.com.
If MLB wants to avoid another cheating controversy in baseball, perhaps they should come down harder on the cheaters right out of the gates. Â The more likely scenario has MLB waiting for the crisis to become widespread and full-blown before going on their wrist-slapping spree.
