Cody Asche: 'Guys Just Being Themselves'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Suddenly, the Philadelphia Phillies look a lot different.
Jimmy Rollins, gone. Cole Hamels, gone. And most recently, Chase Utley, gone. Manager Ryne Sandberg out, Pete Mackanin in. Under Mackanin however, the Phillies---24-28 and 21-14 since the All-Star break---have improved.
Asche says guys are suddenly looser and more comfortable.
"The vibe has been really good," Asche said joining Ike Reese and Reuben Frank Wednesday afternoon on the 94WIP Mike & Ike Show. "We've got a lot of guys that are just kind of being themselves. You see a young kid like Odubel [Herrera] who's just out there playing with energy and fun. That dude loves to play baseball. We feed off stuff like that. Once we got a taste of winning, prior to the all-star break a little bit and then after the all-star break, we kind of took off and came together as a team."
Listen: Cody Asche on the 94WIP Mike & Ike Show
For a 25-year-old player like Asche, who is asked to play multiple positions, Utley's advice stays with him on a daily basis.
"It's a little frightening at first whenever they leave," Asche admitted.
"When they leave, you're kind of looking for, 'What do I look for, what do I look for?' But then you just rely on what they taught you for sure. Everyday when I go in I'm just trying to do what I learned from Chase. I'm trying to make sure I do that every single day, so that building on these next two, three years, four years. That's the way we're gonna go about our business, the way those guys did."
Asche was promoting his continued fight to strikeout ALS. On Saturday, August 29th from noon until 1:00 p.m., Asche will sign an autograph for every fan who purchases a "Together We Fight" t-shirt (limit 4 shirts per purchase) at the Majestic Clubhouse Store. Each t-shirt costs $24.99.
After meeting a family stricken by ALS (Roger Kirk, who passed away early this year), and speaking at the ALS Association banquet in November 2014, Asche and his wife, Angie, came up with and designed the "Together We Fight" T-shirt to raise money for ALS.
Asche recently led the Phillies' Front Office Ice Bucket Challenge.
