Aaron Rowand Has All The Luck

Last night, the Phillies reached .500 for the first time since sometime in the early 1980s. In their 6-5 victory over the Cubs, the Phils did have a scary moment, though:

Whoa. The Daily News reports that Rowand broke his ankle and will miss five weeks.

Phillies hang on to beat Cubs [Inquirer]
Rowand broke ankle, will miss at least 5 weeks, sources say [Daily News]
May 12: Aaron Rowand Is Totally Winning A Gold Glove For This

Blogicized: Goodbye, Fu Manchu

• Philebrity points out the thing we forgot about Sal Fasano’s impending move to the Yankees: He has to shave his mustache and cut his hair, per George Steinbrenner’s no-facial hair rule/no-long hair rule. Gasp! The implications of this on Sal’s Pals can not be overstated. [Philebrity]

• More Phillies news: Is the fans’ love affair with Aaron Rowand already waning? If balls keep flying over his head… maybe. [Swing and a Miss]

• That Olympics press conference is today at 4:30 p.m., where Philadelphians will learn if our Olympic bid is dead before it officially began. [Politics Philly]

• And Greenadelphia! is a new blog, apparently about, uh, Philly’s green environmental issues. [Greenadelphia]

Early Halloween Costume Ideas: Aaron Rowand

All you really need is some makeup and a giant adhesive strip and you, too, can be Aaron Rowand for Halloween!

Rich Hofmann | For blue (collars) for what (is expected in Philly) [DN]
Bob Ford: Rowand adding some fire to Phils [Inky]
May 12, 2006: Aaron Rowand Is Totally Winning A Gold Glove For This

Quickies: Media Crimes

• Veteran paramedic Dave Kearney is facing disciplinary charges after the South Philly Review did a story where he was quoted about ambulance delays. Yes, disciplining a paramedic speaking to the media is a good thing to waste time on. Why worry about important issues? [Daily News]

• Hey, after what seemed like weeks of good weather, what’s a day of disgusting rain? Wait, wait: Absolutely freakin’ horrible. [Philadelphia Weather]

• Number one reason state legislative leaders leave office: Retirement. Then death. Then resigning due to scandal. Then being defeated at the polls. [America's Hometown]

• If you work from home or have a TV, Phillies centerfielder Aaron Rowand — he of the amazing centerfield catch — is holding a press conference at noon. It’ll be on SportsNet. See if he got a nose transplant or something.

Aaron Rowand Is Totally Winning A Gold Glove For This

Ladies and gentlemen, meet your play of the year. Last night, in a 2-0, rain-shortened — apparently, they actually do this every once in a while — five-inning game, Aaron Rowand’s catch with the bases loaded in the first inning saved three runs and, therefore, the game.

Rowand broke his nose on the play. When the Phillies acquired the centerfielder from the White Sox for Jim Thome (and some minor leaguers), some people wondered if he’d be better than the Kenny Lofton/Jason Michaels combo that did surprisingly well last season. Don’t worry, we’d were reassured, you’re going to love him.

And with Thome burning up the American League — 14 homers, 36 RBI, 33 runs scored (!) — and Rowand starting off slow, we got a little more worried. But Rowand has rebounded to hit .310 with six homers, and last night he made the prediction true: Everyone’s going to love him now.

Naturally, there is a Philadelphia twist to this story: Rowand requested additional padding; it was ordered right away. It’s been here since Monday, but it wasn’t scheduled to be installed until the Phillies are out of town. Shocking. He might’ve broken his nose, anyway, since he hit the wall with out the force of several Mack trucks (estimated), but this is typical Phillies.

He’ll be out for a little bit. And, y’know, that Shane Victorino kid seems pretty good, too. (Two-for-two after coming in as a replacement last night.) Just get well soon, Aaron.

Aaron Rowand [YouTube]