On the Beat: Sparky Anderson Dies at 76

PBR - Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson died today at the age of 76 of complications as a result of dementia.

Anderson managed the Cincinnati Reds' "Big Red Machine" from 1970-1978, winning consecutive World Series from 1975-76 to go along with four National League pennants. Anderson also was the first manager to win a World Series with two different franchises after he led the Detroit Tigers to a championship in 1984. He is sixth all time in wins by a manager with 2,194 and is the only manager in history to lead two different franchises in wins (Reds and Tigers).

Anderson played for the Phillies in 1959 in his lone season as a player. He batted .218 with 34 RBI's and 42 runs scored in 477 at-bats.

Anderson is survived by his wife, Carol; sons Lee and Albert; daughter Shirley; and nine grandchildren.

On the Beat: De Fratus-Rising Star

PBR - Right handed relief pitcher Justin DeFratus will represent the Phillies this Saturday in the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars game.

DeFratus, 23, has pitched in five games this year for the Mesa Solar Sox, allowing no runs in five innings to go along with 10 strikeouts and two walks.

ESPN scout Jason Grey reported on Monday that DeFratus "absolutely looks like a big league bullpen arm" and that DeFratus is not far from a call up.

With the possible loss of free agent right handed relief pitchers Jose Contreras and Chad Durbin, the Phillies could look to DeFratus as a bullpen solution come this spring.

On the Beat: Phillies Considering Rowand and Ordonez

PBR - According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, the Phillies have targeted outfielders Aaron Rowand and Magglio Ordonez as possible replacements for Jayson Werth.

Rowand, 33, played for the Phillies from 2006-2007 and batted .290 to go along with 39 homeruns and 136 RBI's in his two years with the club. In 2010, his third season with the San Francisco Giants, Rowand lost his starting job in centerfield and batted .230 with 11 homeruns and 34 RBI's in just 331 at-bats. Rowand is primarily a centerfielder, so if the Phillies are serious about acquiring him they may have to move Shane Victorino to right field.

Ordonez, 36, has a lifetime .312 average and hit .371 off left handed pitching last year with the Detroit Tigers, so he would represent a formidable right handed bat in the middle of the lineup to replace Werth. Ordonez can play left or right field, so depending on how Raul Ibanez plays next year, the Phils could use Ordonez in left while developing Domonic Brown in right.

However, the Phils might be more serious about re-acquiring Werth than originally thought. Heyman also reported that the Phillies presented the idea of a Jason Bay-type contract (four years, $66 MM) to Werth this Summer and he declined.

On the Beat-Rizzotti Shines in Arizona Fall League

PBR - Phillies' prospect Matt Rizzotti has been very productive so far playing in the Arizona Fall League.

Rizotti, playing first base for the Mesa Solar Sox, has batted .410 with a OPS of .992 to go along with seven RBI's in his first ten games.

Rizotti played in all three levels of the Phillies' minor league system last season, finishing the year with Triple-A with Lehigh Valley. H e posted a .343 average with 17 homeruns and 76 RBI's in his 125 games between the three minor league teams last season.

Rizotti, 24, was the Phillies' sixth round pick of the 2007 MLB draft and is currently not on the 40 man roster. If he is not added before the Winter meeting in December, he will become eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft.

May Finishes in 9th to Lead Owls at A-10 Championships

The men’s and women’s cross country teams both faced significant adversity coming into the Atlantic Ten Conference championships, but that didn’t stop them from posting their best times to date.

Senior Mike May finished ninth overall, and freshman Stephanie Dorantes finished 74th overall to lead the Owls to one of their best showings in tournament history.

May completed the 8K race with a time of 24 minutes, 54 seconds, placing him on the all-conference team for the second year in a row. Last year, he became the first Temple runner to ever hold that honor. Senior Eddie Penetar, who came in 16th with a time of 25:07, missing all-conference honors by two seconds, followed May.

“It was a real good performance on the men’s side,” assistant coach Matt Jelley said. “Most of the men in the race had their personal best times.”

Juniors Travis Mahoney, Ben Thomas, Geoff Barletta and Dan Carreon finished 41st, 62nd, 64th and 76th respectively, while freshman Will Kellar came in 72nd in his first ever A-10 championship. The men finished 8th overall.

Dorantes led the women with a time of 19:35 in the 5K race. She was followed by freshman Sarah Rutter, who finished 75th with a time of 19:39. Senior Rebecca Mims, who is the team’s usual No. 1 runner, ran with a foot injury and could not lift off like she normally can. She finished in 82nd with a time of 20:05.

“I thought [the freshmen] did a great job,” Jelley said. “Our No. 1 girl was out, and we still ran a solid race despite the injury.”

The women finished 13th overall for the second year in a row, but improved on a player-to-player basis. The Owls’ average time per runner was 20:03, 47 seconds better than the previous best average. And other than Mims, all the girls in the Top 7 posted their best times ever. Sophomore Katherine Frank, senior Briana Linneman, sophomore Rayna Kratchman and freshman Taylor Goldsworthy finished in 86th, 88th, 89th and 90th, respectively.

“Our goal all along is to consistently improve,” Jelley said. “We thought with Mims healthy we could have moved up a place, but I can’t complain with them running so much faster than they ever have. They really stepped up.”

Along with the women’s team, the men’s team also proved it could respond in the face of adversity, Jelley said.

“It’s kind of hitting it on all cylinders at the right time,” Jelley said. “Unfortunately two of our Top 5 guys were sick last week, and if they ran what they’re capable of, I think we could have finished fifth or sixth. I think we definitely had more potential in there.”

On the men’s side, Richmond won the championship, with senior Andrew Benford posting the tournament’s best time. Duquesne and Massachusetts rounded out the Top 3, respectively, with defending champion Dayton falling to fourth place.

“We have a competitive conference,” Jelley said. “For a lot of the meets we go to, only one or two teams are good, but at the conference championships, not only is every team that’s there good, but everybody’s at the top of their game.”

For the women, Richmond took the title as well, with senior Nicol Traynor registering the best overall time. La Salle and Dayton placed second and third, respectively.

“[The A-10 Championship] is definitely one of the most important [meets],” Jelley said. “If you qualify for regionals, you go to nationals, which we haven’t been at that level yet. But those two are up there with our main goals for the season. Everything else is just leading up to and preparing for that.”