Darren Daulton

Team chairman Bill Giles has worked for the Phillies since 1969. This is the second of two excerpts from his book, "Pouring Six Beers at a Time and Other Stories From a Lifetime in Baseball. " I always liked players who were colorful and fun to watch. I was never particularly fond of players like Eddie Murray, John Olerud and Todd Zeile. They were good, consistent players, but they lacked that extra flair that some guys have. What do I mean by flair? Think of Willie Mays chasing a fly ball, hat flying off. Think of John Kruk's at-bat against Randy Johnson in the All-Star Game.

He is a link from the Phillies team that made the infamous 1964 late-season crash to the team that made the famous charge and won the organization's only world championship in 1980; a link from Richie Allen and Connie Mack Stadium to Ryan Howard and Citizens Bank Park; from typewriters and teletype machines to Bluetooth and the Internet. He is Larry "The Baron" Shenk, and after 44 seasons of working diligently behind the scenes as the Phillies' public-relations guru, he has decided he will go into semi-retirement when the season ends.

To baseball writers across the land, it is now official: The Phillies' Ryan Howard was the most valuable player in the National League in 2006. In Philadelphia, a city sport-scape increasingly marked by dreariness and despair, the Bunyanesque first baseman with the powerful personality and home-run swing to go with it continued to be the most valuable pick-me-up. As Howard so perfectly summed up with one word yesterday, Philadelphia is "starving" for a winner. He is doing more than his part to win something for Philadelphia and the fans he applauded yesterday.

Briggs Auction in Boothwyn celebrates Major League Baseball's all-stars in its own way tonight, with the sale of baseball memorabilia consigned by a Delaware couple relocating to Las Vegas. Nearly 400 lots will be offered at the sale, which offers some non-baseball sports items as well. Much of the collection involves the Phillies, including some of the sale's top items. Briggs president John Turner says the wife was the collector. "A good friend of hers was employed by the Phillies, and she got a lot of things that way," he says.

The Phillies have remained relatively insulated from the local and national criticism that has mounted after Boston police charged Brett Myers on Friday with domestic assault and battery, and the organization's decision to let him pitch Saturday at Fenway Park. Myers, who was lustily booed Saturday, is scheduled to start Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Yesterday, he threw in the bullpen in preparation for that start. He is expected to make his first start at Citizens Bank Park since the arrest next Tuesday or July 5 against the San Diego Padres.

Darren Daulton knows what it seems like. He has heard the reaction. "I'm still the same old Dutchie," he promised yesterday at Bright House Networks Field, where the Phillies beat the New York Yankees, 11-10. Daulton knows he caused a stir recently with comments about metaphysics, quantum physics, the fifth dimension, and the end of the world in a story that appeared on SI.com. He said those stories didn't properly portray who he is and what he believes. He said he isn't preparing for the end of the world.

This isn't your older brother's Nintendo. Or your uncle's Commodore 64, for that matter. This is high-tech, too-real-to-be-believed stuff. The Phillies had their annual photo day yesterday at Bright House Networks Field, a chore for most players. Players move from station to station as photographers from various organizations take their pictures for baseball cards, mug shots for newspapers and TV and scoreboard images. Quite frequently, the players find themselves in semi-cheesy poses.

Former Phillies All-Star catcher Darren Daulton remained in jail without bond Tuesday after being arrested for failure to appear in court on a probation violation. The ex-major leaguer was arrested Monday at Tampa International Airport and taken to the Hillsborough County Jail, officials said. Daulton, 43, played most of his 14-year career with the Phillies and Florida Marlins. The three-time All-Star won a World Series and was National League Comeback Player of the Year with the Marlins in 1997.

In Florida last month, Pat Burrell pondered an innocent question about his Grapefruit League at-bats. If he had the choice between a few broken-bat hits or a few line-drive outs, which would he take? The line-drive outs, he said confidently. Because a few line-drive outs would mean that he had hit the ball well. A bloop hit here or a broken-bat single there wouldn't mean the same thing for somebody who hoped to rebound from a miserable 2003. But then Burrell paused. "Now, in the season, I'll take the hits," he said.

Fingers are crossed today for Jim Thome's right middle finger. "We're looking for some good news, you know?" he said yesterday at Bright House Networks Field. Thome, the most important hitter in the Phillies' lineup, is in Philadelphia today to be examined by Randall Culp, a hand specialist. Thome fractured his finger while taking extra fielding practice March 5 on the half-field outside the Phils' spring-training park. Since then, his finger has been in a splint. Since then, he has been unable to hit. But if Thome receives the news he hopes to hear, he could be hitting off the practice tee in Clearwater later today.