I always liked Larry Bowa. Philly seemed to give him a lot of crap, but it was nice having a Phillies legend be our manager. I enjoyed his addition to ESPN's baseball crew and loved when he commented on the Phillies. Now Larry is is New York. It's pretty weird.
Bowa looked at the list of linebackers' numbers and decided on 53. It wasn't the familiar 10 he wore when he played for and managed the Phillies. And it wasn't the 2 he wore when he was the Phils' third-base coach.
But there something about 53 that appealed to him.
"I knew it was Bobby Abreu's number, so I took it," Bowa said.
Aw, that's cute. Larry may or may not have been a good manager. But I think it's hard to argue he is a great baseball guy. He also seems to say the right things when it comes to talking about his former city and team:
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"I'll always be a Phillie," said Bowa, sunburned and looking for an aspirin after coaching third base for 54 outs in an intrasquad game Tuesday. "I came up with the Phillies. I won a World Series with them. The most success I had in my career came with them.
"There are no hard feelings. Really. I have no problem with anyone in that organization. I run into people who say I got a raw deal. It's nice to hear, but I don't look at it that way. The Phillies made a decision and they're entitled to it. If you take it personally, you need to get out of the game."
Jim Salisbury: Wearing a Yankee Number, Bowa Counts himself a Phillie [Inky]