Put this one in the sin column
WHO WILL PUT victories in the win column for the Fightin' Phils now that Scott Graham is gone? For fans who'd come to rely on Graham as their connection to the team, who believed him to be the worthy and rightful heir to Harry Kalas' throne - in other words, for fans like me - the loss of Scott Graham this off-season was truly devastating.
WHO WILL PUT victories in the win column for the Fightin' Phils now that Scott Graham is gone?
For fans who'd come to rely on Graham as their connection to the team, who believed him to be the worthy and rightful heir to Harry Kalas' throne - in other words, for fans like me - the loss of Scott Graham this off-season was truly devastating.
I'd been a fallen-away Phillies Phanatic for years before returning to the Church of Baseball back in 2003. Living way out of state, the only way I got to hear genuine Phillies broadcasters was by listening to the radio broadcasts via the Internet. (I'll save my rant about Comcast's Nazi-like hold on the TV rights for another time.)
At first, I lamented not getting to hear more of Harry Kalas. After all, he's the undisputed Voice of the Phillies, and deservedly so.
But the more I listened to Scott Graham call games, the more I came to realize I was in loving, capable hands. I grew to adore his delivery, his enthusiasm, his distinctive home-run call. And then, as sacrilegious as this may seem, my preference began to shift, and Scott Graham replaced Harry Kalas as my favorite Phillies broadcaster.
I'm an every-inning-of-every-game kind of fan. When you follow a team with that kind of ferocity - I call it "living in the baseball season" - a certain bond develops between you and the play-by-play announcer.
He's your tour guide, your master of ceremonies. He includes you in running jokes. He feels your pain and frustration and gives voice to them. You celebrate triumphs together.
Scott Graham was wonderful at his job. The fonder I grew of him, the more I couldn't imagine going on the journey of a baseball season with anyone else.
And I didn't think I'd need to, not for the foreseeable future, anyway. I was wrong.
The off-season is a grim stretch of road for any baseball devotee, but at least the team's Web site helps fill the void. I routinely check Phillies.com in the winter months, hoping for some piece of news, and, honestly, just to visit with my team.
On Dec. 4, I saw the headline "Kalas to stay; Matthews to join crew; Andersen, Wheeler and Scott Franzke will also return." I immediately knew something was drastically wrong. Something - or someone - was missing.
Skimming through the story, my worst fears were confirmed. "As had been widely speculated," the text read, "Scott Graham . . . will not return."
What!?
This came as a complete sucker punch. I'd heard no such "widespread speculation." The brevity of the statement made it all the more shocking. Graham admitted to being "shocked to a certain degree" himself in an interview he did with Jody McDonald on Sports Radio 950 shortly after his dismissal.
EVEN THE LOCAL sportswriters I contacted had little to offer in the way of an explanation beyond describing the Phillies organization as "uncharacteristically tight-lipped" on the matter and the broadcast situation in general as "very ugly."
Rumor had it that Graham had rubbed someone the wrong way - the wrong someone apparently - and now there's not much he or his fans can do but grieve over this terrible turn of events.
I knew the grim reality of Phillies baseball sans Scott Graham wouldn't fully kick in until the season started, so as thrilled as I am to have baseball back, spring training 2007 has been bittersweet.
And Scott Graham has basically turned into a phantom. It's as if his 15 years with the organization never happened. His name has not been mentioned. Meanwhile, the broadcasters have been playing musical chairs, with virtually everyone taking a crack at doing play-by-play, creating a cacophony of uncertainty.
Call me naïve, label me a Pollyanna, but I believe Scott Graham loved the Philadelphia Phillies.
And most of us fans loved him right back. The thought that I'll never again get to hear him call a Phillies game is simply heartbreaking.
One thing is absolutely certain - THAT man will be missed. *
Karol Ruth Silverstein is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles and praying for no earthquakes. She can be reached at