* Not quite ‘Dewey defeats Truman,’ but…

I was misled. I thought the Philadelphia Inquirer had run an item prematurely congratulating the Phillies for winning the World Series for the second consecutive year. Turns out they just accidentally ran an advertisement from Macy’s, apparently in a rush to sell merchandise.

I can’t recall exactly where I saw it, but some news magazine program had a segment on what happens to the stuff teams make up in advance on the possibility that the team will, in fact, win the title. Evidently it’s all packed up immediately and shipped to some third world country where it’s donated to the locals.

* Congrats to the Phils

Looks like Jayson Stark will be coming out with a new edition next year.

More titles about the Phillies include:

• View from the Booth: Four Decades with the Phillies, by Chris Wheeler
• Phillies Confidential: The Untold Inside Story of the 2008 Championship Season, “by” Gary Matthews
• More Than Beards, Bellies and Biceps: The Story of the 1993 Phillies, by Robert Gordon
• Almost a Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the 1980 Phillies, by William C. Kashatus
• “I Ain’t an Athlete, Lady…”, by John Kruk
• Phantastic!: The 2008 Champion Philadelphia Phillies, by Fran Zumnuich
• The Fall of the 1977 Phillies: How a Baseball Team’s Collapse Sank a City’s Spirit, by Mitchell Nathanson
• The Philadelphia Phillies (Writing Sports), Frederick Lieb
• 101 Reasons to Love the Phillies, by Ron Green Jr.
• 2008 Philadelphia Phillies – A Poetic Season: The Story As Told from a Fan’s Perspective, by Steve Potter
• The Team That Wouldn’t Die: The Philadelphia Phillies, World Champions, 1980, by Hal Bodley
• Occasional Glory: The History of the Philadelphia Phillies, by David M. Jordan
• Tales from the Phillies Dugout, Rich Westcott
• The Fightin’ Phils: Oddities, Insights, and Untold Stories, by Westcott
• The Phillies Encyclopedia, by Westcott
• Phillies Essential: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan!, by Westcott
• Phillies ‘93: An Incredible Season, by Westcott
• The 1964 Phillies: The Story of Baseball’s Most Memorable Collapse, by John P. Rossi
• Game of My Life: Philadelphia Phillies: Memorable Stories of Phillies Baseball, by Bob Gordon
• Champions: A Look Back at the Phillies Triumphant 2008 Season
• Phillies Reader, by Richard Orodenker
• Phillies Journal 1888-2008: History of Baseball Phillies in Prose and Limerick, by Max Blue
• The Philadelphia Phillies: An Extraordinary Tradition

* Because you can keep a World Championship ring on a bookshelf…

How would one explain how he came across this little item, either when trying to hock it or getting away with actually wearing it?

From the Associated Press:

PHILADELPHIA(AP) — Something about the janitor’s story didn’t ring true when he led police to a diamond-laden World Series keepsake that had gone missing.

The $15,000 ring commemorating the Philadelphia Phillies’ 2008 world championship disappeared after a team marketing executive removed it in a Citizens Bank Park restroom on Monday, when the team was off. He returned to retrieve it 30 minutes later, but it was gone.

Police Capt. Laurence Nodiff said Wednesday surveillance tapes led them to a janitor, who took officers to the ring. It was found wrapped in a paper towel and stashed in the janitor’s supply closet, Nodiff said.

The ring, which has 103 diamonds, was initially considered missing, not stolen. But police say charges are expected against the janitor, who works for a subcontractor.

Nodiff said the janitor may have hidden the ring in the closet because he had second thoughts about taking it.

Made me think of the excellent novel The Celebrant, by Eric Rolfe Greenberg, which tells the story of a Jewish jewelry-maker ask to design World Series rings for the New York Giants back in the days of Christy Mathewson.

* Author profile: Jayson Stark

The author of Worth The Wait: Tales of the 2008 Phillies gets the treatment from the Reading Eagle.

* Review: Worth the Wait

The Times of Trenton published this review of Jayson Stark’s new book about the World Championship Phils.

* Review: Worth The Wait

From PhillyScout.com. And how nice is it that it;s reprinted on RaysScout.com, the “sister site” for the tampa bay (and World Series’ loser) Rays.

* Review: Phillies Photos: 100 Years of Philadelphia Phillies Images

As per the Philadelphia Inquirer, this combo review/author profile of Mark Stang and his new collection of snapshots about the Phillies, published by Orange Frazier. I’m guessing the book was planned before the Phillies won their championship, but the timing can only help sales.

Key point: “According to Stang, the majority of baseball photos through the 1960s were posed and composed by wire-service and newspaper photographers, reflecting an era when editors preferred that type to action shots. The best shooters constantly were seeking new ways to reveal their subjects’ characters.”

* “Sarge” turns author

Another former player turns (co)author in Phillies Confidential: The Untold Story of the 2008 Championship Season. (How anything of importance remains untold in this day and age is a mystery.)

Matthews — not to be confused with teammate Gary “The Secretary of State” Maddox — was with the team from 1981-83, thereby missing the last time the Phils won the world championship. Yet he gets title billing over Scott Lauber, who you just know did the heavy lifting.

* This week (Nov. 10) in Sports Illustrated

A Tom Verducci wrap-up on the Phillies’ World Series victory.

Big whup.

* Congratulations to the Phillies

Your new baseball world champs.

Look for a new title (at least) will be added to the existing Phillies’ bibliography in the months to come.

Will there be a revised edition?