News of Phormer Phillies

[phillychuck]

Their ice cream used to be good...I think it was made by Hershey's if I remember. I think Dean Foods makes the ice cream now.

[BostonRoss]

Most of the Friendly’s seem to have closed in New England, too, but there are still a few around. It’s not unusual to see their standard architecture on buildings that have been repurposed or abandoned. There are no Howard Johnson’s left, but you can still see some buildings that you know used to have orange roofs.

[Philsmania]

Friendly's New England clam chowder was good and their burgers were actually decent as well, I thought.

[julio]

Friendly's New England clam chowder was good and their burgers were actually decent as well, I thought.

Yeah. "Was" is the operative word here (re: the clam chowder). The burgers? Part of the problem, from my perspective, was the gradually increased emphasis on burgers and such, at the expense of what, earlier on, set Friendly's apart. Can you say, "the Clamboat, please"? Once upon a time, they knew how to prepare seafood properly - not overcooked, etc. Once upon a time.

[LoneStarPhan]

Last ate at a Friendly’s around May/June 2024 in Massachusetts. Most of the ones we were familiar with in New York or Pennsylvania are no longer open. I still see the ice cream brand in super markets in the Hudson Valley of New York, but that brand might not be owned by the same folks that control the restaurants now.

[Philsmania]

We need to spin this off into an OT thread.

[zambonir]

Yeah as noted Dean Foods owns the retail ice cream brands. Dunno if that's actually what they carry in the restaurants too. Hershey actually owned the whole company for a while. I believe it has been various private equity and holding companies since then. Newest owner is former franchisee that bought the holding company.

Dean Foods has a similiar history. They own Lehigh Valley. They used to own Horizon organic too.

[bkox]

Padres To Select Walker Buehler

[Philsmania]

Padres To Select Walker Buehler

Briefly helped us out in a tight spot last year. I wish himwell.

[Philsmania]

Kimbrel doesn't make the Mets.

https://www.mlb.com/news/craig-kimbrel-will-not-make-mets-2026-opening-day-roster?p=0&partnerId=it-20260323-17383321-mlb-1-A&utm_id=it-20260323-17383321-mlb-1-A&lctg=1077377

Update: He's staying with the Mets and I guess heads to Syracuse until the next opt out.

https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/2036072866320425352

[tom81]

Baseball Hall of Fame’s newest Buck O’Neil award winner Bill White reflects on...

I really enjoyed his baseball career and also his keeping up with the scooter as a Yankee broadcaster.

[andyb]

I guess I do get to watch Curtis Mead after all. Traded to Washington for a catching prospect (not a great one). Mead's star has really fallen in recent years. Not sure if he is starting in the minors or directly in the majors. There is a 1B/2B opening potentially for the Nats though they are running several players through there at the moment.

White Sox Trade Curtis Mead To Nationals For Boston Smith

[andyb]

Thought we might see Mead today. I guess we wait until tomorrow to face the guy he was traded for (which is his platoon advantage).

[andyb]

It was an unplanned debut because the Angels had to scratch their starter on relatively short notice, but George Klassen is a major leaguer. Box score looks uglier than the outing. 2.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K. He simply will need to throw more strikes before he is truly ready.

https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/george-klassen-makes-major-league-debut-on-short-notice?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

[kmc1019]

Zach Eflin underwent Tommy John surgery. Tough blow obviously, for him and the Orioles alike

[Philsmania]

With Alvarado struggling and Backhus already demoted, I was wondering how Strahm was doing. SSS but not terribly well, so far.

Matt Strahm Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |...

[zambonir]

We traded him for Bowlan not Backhus (I may have been confused about that in a past post too). Your point about Alvarado remains, that was also a choice. But Mayza is really the guy who took Backhus's roster spot, that's been a positive.

[Philsmania]

We traded him for Bowlan not Backhus (I may have been confused about that in a past post too). Your point about Alvarado remains, that was also a choice. But Mayza is really the guy who took Backhus's roster spot, that's been a positive.

I was comparing lefty to lefties, hence, Backhus.

[andyb]

Roster wise we really just wanted Bowlan with his lower price and more years of control left.

Backhus was just a secondary move to build up depth and was not seen as a replacement. He had all 3 options though so we could bring in a more complete lefty like Mayza to fill that 3rd lefty role. I think Banks ascending to more important innings was really the comp for Strahm anyway.

[zambonir]

Sure but Backhus was still our fourth lefty regardless of how well the #1 (or the former #1) is doing, it's just that he would have been the 3rd had the Phillies not put Mayza back on the 26-man (and Mayza still could have been the first go if he'd stunk). Backhus was always going to be headed to AAA eventually with so many of the other pitchers out of options, regardless of handedness.

As andy has noted elsewhere Pop probably has to go for Wheeler too, which isn't that big a deal either with Kerkering back. Bowlan/Walker become the bottom of the barrel guys, and are both capable of multiple innings which Rob says he likes even if his actions don't always suggest it. That's never gonna be the game plan for the 7th or 8th inning guys though - both for strictly defined roles and analytics.