Phillies Caught Stealing Signs

DENVER -- The Philadelphia Phillies insist they weren't trying to steal signs when bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer was caught on camera peering through binoculars from the bullpen bench at Coors Field earlier this week.

Manager Charlie Manuel told The Associated Press that Billmeyer was simply watching Philadelphia catcher Carlos Ruiz set up defensively Monday night.

FSN Rocky Mountain, the flagship broadcaster of the Colorado Rockies, showed Billmeyer using the binoculars to peer in on Colorado catcher Miguel Olivo while the Phillies were at bat in the top of the second inning.

Colorado noticed Billmeyer using the binoculars from his perch in center field in the top of the first inning and asked FSN to zoom in on the visitor's bullpen. Armed with evidence, Rockies manager Jim Tracy brought it to the attention of crew chief Jerry Crawford, who spoke with Manuel between the first and second innings.

Anyone else troubled that FSN was happy to cooperate with the team?

Maybe there was a hot brunette in the stands...

It's so ridiculous that this is something the rule book tries to control. It's part of the freaking game. If you want to hide what you're doing, hide it. And if you fail to hide it, the other team gets to figure it out.

You don't call do-overs in poker if you drop your cards reaching for the pretzels. You hide that shit or suffer the consequences.

Stealing signs is part of the game----gimme a break.

I don't care if the Phils were stealing signs. That said, they should be a little more covert in their attempts to do so.

So they interviewed Charlie Manuel and he threw THE METS under the bus, saying the reason our home record is so good is because we steal signs. He also thought we complained about them, but the Mets say no one has formally complained, although some players think the Phillies were doing some spying last time we were there.