Yes, it is a ridiculous world we live in, when TV stations are doing “where are they now” segments about 3 year olds whose greatest fame came when they were 2. Fortunately, it is Comedy Central doing the segment, so it’s pretty funny.
You all remember the moment last year when the dude caught his first foul ball off a Jayson Werth foul ball, handed it to his daughter, who spun and threw it back onto the field. The resulting hug was, for the rest of the nation, an “Awwwww, how sweet” moment. Of course, here in Philadelphia it was more of an “Oh thank God” moment. Don’t kid yourself, when it happened you were scared that the dad was going to dump a Budweiser over her head and then we were going to have to listen to “The Snowballs at Santa” story 1,000 times in the next week. So thanks again, dad, for showing the world that Phillies fans don’t all throw batteries at JD Drew. Even though he totally had it coming.
We stumbled across this on all places, Philebrity. Of course, I think that says as much about Iverson as anything: do you think that the hipster blog of record would do a post on a doc about any other Philly athlete? Iverson’s hold on the citizens of this city of all makes, models, races, and interests, is nonpareil.
My favorite baseball blog in Philly is beerleaguer, no question. One thing I like about is how sobering it is. I appreciate that Jason (the editor) takes his baseball seriously and doesn’t try to attract attention with cray headlines or a bunch of bells and whistles. That’s why I was shocked yesterday when I came across this. With Werth departing after the season, beerleaguer thinks the Phillies need some pop from the right side. And they think Pat the Bat is just the guy to give it to them. To which we say, “Whaaaaaa?”
Even if Burrell bounces back from his career-worst .221/.315/.367, he will have limited free agent appeal and could be willing to settle for less in order to wrap up his career in Philadelphia. He recently waxed nostalgic over his time in Philly. Burrell’s defensive limitations aren’t exposed quite as much at Citizens Bank Park, plus, the Phillies have a good fourth outfielder in the fold in Ben Francisco to lend late-game defensive relief. An outfield of Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez, Burrell, Brown and Francisco would balance versatility and pop on both sides of the plate.
Jason is such a good writer that he almost makes a compelling case. ALMOST. The place he loses us is on defense. One thing I noticed last year was how much more ground 36 year old Raul Ibanez covered than 32 year old Pat Burrell did in 2009. And by noticed, I mean “was astounded by”. I can’t even count how many times last year I turned to whoever I was watching a Phils game and said, “No way in hell Burrell makes that play” after an Ibanez grab. It must have been dozens. And now, you want to bring Pat the Bat back 2 year older to play defense? Look, I’d love to have Pat finish his career in a Phils uniform in a Matt Stairs role. But to have him come back and expect him to regularly play the outfield? The only people who would put up with Pat’s defense to have him back in Philadelphia would be the proprietors of the Irish Pub .
Every year 32 players receive the honor, which is named after a longtime Baltimore Colts trainer who also worked as a physical therapist at a hospital for disabled children. The idea is to acknowledge players who are “role models” and “exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.”
What an embarrassment and a disgrace. Michael Vick is many things, but he sure as hell isn’t a role model just because he stopped brutally killing dogs. Is Charles Manson a role model too, since he hasn’t killed anyone since the 60s? Should he get some sort of award? I had no problem with giving Michael Vick a 2nd chance. I do have a major problem with him being recognized as courageous. Of course, each team has to nominate someone for this award. Perhaps this has as much to do with the Eagles having no role models as it does with Michael Vick being one.
The ultra-interesting debate over who the Phillies’ 5th starter will be is heating up. On paper, a win by the 5th starter counts for as much as a win by a team’s ace. But no team carries enough pitching talent to put a top-flight starter in the 5th spot. So why go with a 5-man rotation? Simply put, teams have to because the 4-man cycle is simply too taxing on today’s pitching arms.
There must be a reason Kyle Kendrick is still on this team, and that reason must have something to do with the belief that he can be a reliable starting pitcher some day. Kendick has pitched 3 seasons with the Phils and has amassed a very solid 24-14 record, good for a .632 winning percentage. While his ERA hasn’t been great (4.66), neither has Jamie Moyer’s during the same 3 seasons (4.53). In fact, over the past 3 seasons, Kendrick’s ERA isn’t much worse than Joe Blanton’s (4.22).
The point with Kendrick is that he needs to be found a place on this team. Moyer is in the last year of his contract (read: career) and is slated to make $6.5 million compared to Kendrick’s salary last year of $475,000. But getting a bang for the buck shouldn’t really be the point for a team suddenly in desperate need of young arms. If Kendrick does get the nod in the 5th spot and fails, the team can always bring Moyer in to spell him at some point during the season. It’s time to see what Kendrick can do.
We’ve heard of stealing the pot in a poker game, but this is ridiculous. The European Poker Tour was staging an event at the Berlin Grand Hyatt Hotel when Delonte West 4 armed men stormed in and stole an undisclosed amount of money from the casino. One of the poker game’s participants was Boris Becker, who apparently attempted to thwart the robbery by firing tennis balls at the assailants. No, that last part didn’t really happen though Becker was involved in the game.
Bleacherreport.com is reporting that the Eagles have re-upped Jason Avant for another 5 years. Avant is about to enter his 5th NFL season after a productive career at the University of Michigan. He caught 41 passes last season and has amassed 8 touchdowns in his time as an Eagle.
Signing Avant is not the same thing as signing Brandon Marshall or Anquan Boldin. There’s no question about that. But with emerging stars in Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson as the top-2 receivers, Avant’s ability to work the middle of the field brings value to the offense. And having a reliable third receiver who hasn’t missed more than 2 games in each of the last 3 seasons means the Eagles have made an unsexy but very solid personnel decision.
If the the Eagles’ decision to pay Michael Vick a roster bonus of $1.5 million is any indication, it looks like they’re on their way to keeping all three of their quarterbacks. According to espn.com the Birds will make this payment as part of the $5.25 million Vick’s 2010 contract calls for. Andy Reid punctuated the decision by saying “I haven’t changed my decision, and I don’t think they have (the front office) either. They agreed, and mentioned some of the same things I’ve said–that Donovan’s our quarterback.”
Because this story is about Michael Vick’s contract, we’re not completely sure how this signals that “Donovan’s our quarterback.” But perhaps Reid sees his triumvirate of QBs as inexorably linked to each other. Certainly Vick’s value to the team is in a situational role, so he may have been expendable if Reid planned to move the other portion of his package, McNabb, during the off season.
The other side of the coin is that a small roster bonus payment to Vick means that the Eagles don’t have to spend too much to keep all of their trade options open. With nothing on the horizon (at least publicly), the Eagles’ options in trading one or more of their quarterbacks means that they have more flexibility if the right situation presents itself. Or it could simply mean another year with Donovan at the helm, Kolb and Vick playing supporting roles and fans in this town elevating Tylenol stock every Monday morning.
When the Phillies dropped Pedro Feliz a few months ago to acquire Placido Polanco, I nearly fell out. I couldn’t believe the Phils would drop a Gold Glove caliber third baseman who had their biggest hit in the World Series (only to have Lidge waste it) to pick up a guy who was a great hitter, but who hadn’t played third in 5 years. I said this when they signed Polanco in December:
Apparently, everyone in town thinks that this is fantasy baseball, and that you can plug any player into any position. As I said a couple of weeks ago, when the Phils first considered this move, why not just sign Jon Lackey and have him play 3rd base for four days and have him pitch on the 5th? I mean, anyone can play the position, right? In 2010, when Polanco is booting balls into left field a la Wes Helms, don’t come crying to me.
I was quickly lambasted in the comments section (with one person calling me an asswad), as well as in the comments section of beerleaguer when I said something similar. Well, I don’t want to get my blood pressure up after one game, but HOLY S*** DOES POLANCO LOOK COMPLETELY LOST AT THIRD. I mean, he looks like a little leaguer. He had five chances at third yesterday. He made a throwing error on a play that Feliz makes in his sleep, then dropped a routine pop up. Trust me, I want to be proven wrong on this. I want Polanco to be a good signing and be dependable at the hot corner. I want to be an asswad. But what I saw yesterday made me nervous. And before you blast me for starting to think Wes Helms, keep this in mind: the year before the Phils signed him, Wes Helms put up better numbers than Polanco did last year and had a fielding % of 1.000. I’m not going to rush to judgement after only one game, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The vast majority of Phillies fans completely took for granted what Feliz gave them at third, and they could be in for a rude awakening. As we saw yesterday, fielding the hot corner isn’t as easy as Pedro Feliz makes it look.
The ultra-interesting debate over who the Phillies’ 5th starter will be is heating up. On paper, a win by the 5th starter counts for as much as a win by a team’s ace. But no team carries enough pitching talent to put a top-flight starter in the 5th spot. So why go with a 5-man rotation? Simply put, teams have to because the 4-man cycle is simply too taxing on today’s pitching arms.
