Some Phillies-ness, too!

Say it ain't so, Harry! Say it ain't so!

Posted on Tue, Feb. 21, 2006
Kalas outta here?
This could be his last season in booth
By PAUL HAGEN
hagenp@phillynews.com

CLEARWATER, Fla. - As any manager knows, sometimes making a lineup change can be simple. Other times, it can set off a chain reaction. Look at what happened in the past when it was suggested to Bobby Abreu that he could help the Phillies most by leading off.

When Tom McCarthy left to join the Mets broadcast team in December, the Phils had some decisions to make. One was who would replace him. That was settled with the recent announcement that Scott Franzke will join the crew.

The team also had to figure out how he would be utilized. And that's when things started to get interesting.

The tentative plan is to pair Hall of Famer Harry Kalas and Chris Wheeler in the first three and last three innings on television, with Wheeler and Scott Graham working the middle three. Larry Andersen will move to radio exclusively.

All indications are that this arrangement didn't make any of the holdovers particularly happy, although all apparently stand ready to carry out whatever duties they're assigned.

The added twist is that Kalas turns 70 next month. He's in the last year of his contract. And he figuratively shrugged recently when asked what his plans beyond 2006 might be.

"I haven't really thought about it, no," he said from his Delaware County home. "We'll see how it goes. I still enjoy it, and as long as I enjoy it, I'll probably want to continue."

The key phrase appears to be "as long as I enjoy it."

Because when asked whether the partners he ends up working with could impact his enjoyment and, by extension, his decision, he replied: "It might. I'm certainly going to miss working with L.A."

And, with that, team president Dave Montgomery found himself riding a unicycle across a tightrope while trying to balance a valuable antique vase in one hand and a dozen eggs in the other.


TrekMedic muses: Let's see,...it's well-documented that Harry the K and Chris Wheeler hate each other. Now,..the Phillies management finally got the balls to get rid of Ed "Cheapskate" Wade, let's see what kind of deal they make to keep Harry around. Personally, I'd rather hear the melifluous voice of Harry the K over the simpering whining of Chris Wheeler any day! Hell, I'd rather have root canal without Novocaine than hear Wheeler on the radio (take that James Frey!)