Phillies' use of binoculars draws an official dirty look

Binoculars in the bullpen? Major League Baseball didn't like what it saw, and has told the Philadelphia Phillies to knock it off.

The Phillies insisted Wednesday they weren't trying to steal signs when bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer was caught on camera Monday peering through binoculars from the bullpen bench at Coors Field. Manager Charlie Manuel said that Billmeyer simply was watching catcher Carlos Ruiz set up defensively.

FSN Rocky Mountain, the flagship broadcaster of the Colorado Rockies, showed Billmeyer using the binoculars to peer in on Colorado catcher Miguel Olivo.

"We were not trying to steal signs," Manuel said. "Would we try to steal somebody's signs? Yeah, if we can. But we don't do that. We're not going to let a guy stand up there in the bullpen with binoculars looking in. We're smarter than that."

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