Johnny Goodtimes did all of our sentiments a service with his great piece on how things feel today and how they’ll be remembered going forward. The only thing I can add to that is the expression of a sense of pride I have in how well this team performed and how gracious and classy Philly has been in defeat. When you think about it objectively, the odds of winning a World Series are never good, no matter how strong a team is on paper. This Phillies team not only won 1, but they returned to the big stage and showed not only how good they have been but how promising they are for the years to come.
The odds for next year’s World Series champion are out. The Phillies stand at 10-1. In shocking fashion the yearly ritual, the Yankees and Red Sox are the favorites to win at 3-1 and 7-1, respectively. Like the Phillies the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County of California are listed at 10-1 as are the Cardinals, the other N.L. team in the top-5. Other N.L. aspirants are the Dodgers (12-1), the Cubs (15-1), the Rockies (20-1) and the Braves (20-1). And in case you were wondering, the Mets are listed at 15-1.
So our favorite sport here at iSportacus is in hibernation for the next 3 months which gives us time to refocus on a very good Flyers team, an Eagles team that is as inconsistent as my putter and a Sixers team which we’re forced to cover periodically. Penn State football should get a boost here in the coming weeks; they have a huge game at home this Saturday against Ohio State in which they’re favored by 3.5. Because they have a loss to Iowa on their card and the Hawkeyes are undefeated, hopes for a trip to the Rose Bowl are distant but hey, they could finish their season with 1 loss which is pretty damned good. And finally, look for a little Temple football coverage. Quietly, they’ve won 6 straight and are bowl eligible for the first time in a long time.
It’s been a great baseball season. Until the proverbial pitchers-and-catchers date, let’s try and enjoy the bounty of other quality sports taking place around Philly.
Here in Philadelphia nobody’s thinking about the Los Angeles Dodgers anymore. See, the Phillies just ran roughshod over them in one of the more lopsided NLCS in recent memory. Which means Phillies fans will be focusing on the World Series and the Dodgers will be enjoying an off-season of visiting juice bars and sitting in traffic jams.
Well, T.J., we’re sure there are other things to write about in L.A. during the off-season. You can write about gang warfare or plastic surgery. Or maybe you can review some oxygen bars for the Times’ dining section or analyze why L.A. has the highest coke booger rate per capita in the country. Whatever it is you choose to do with your new-found free time, I’m pretty sure it won’t be writing about the Dodgers playing in the World Series.
I feel a little bit sorry for Joe Torre. Not that the guy needs any tears shed for him but he just doesn’t have a very good team. They’re showing themselves to be incapable of hitting the Phillies pitchers and their hurlers are clearly inferior to the Philadelphia offense. Torre has to manage in front of 45,000 gang members and a handful of Hollywood window dressing. And now this.
This is genuinely amazing for so many reasons but none so large as the light that it sheds on T.J. Simers and his fraudulent excuse for a playoff baseball team. The Dodgers have failed to show up twice in four games played. That’s not baseball, it’s a joke. I’ll go as far as to offer the L.A. people the following: their division colleagues, the Rockies, showed so much more fight and deserve so much more credit than the Dodgers have earned this postseason. At least Todd Helton wasn’t in the shower when it was all on the line.
The only bird on the field yesterday at McAfee Stadium that flew with any pride was that pesky pidgeon. And as fans know by now, the Eagles being shown up by a flying rat is a slap in the face. Philadelphia fans got some good news later in the day when the real team in this town took a 2-1 series lead on the Dodgers with an 11-0 drubbing. For many Eagles fans that’s never enough to assuage their sorrows; adding insult to injury is having to watch their team lose to a fan base in Oakland so obnoxious that Eagles fans can, for once, not feel so bad about being morons.
The Eagles have done nothing this year to inspire any reasonable person to have confidence in them. The one good team they played, the Saints, smoked them by more than 3 touchdowns at the Linc. As for their other four games, the combined record of their opponents is 5-18. And one of those wins belongs to the Raiders after embarrassing the Eagles yesterday.
JaMarcus Russell, the league’s worst quarterback, had a better passer rating yesterday than Donovan McNabb. Justin Fargas ran for 20 more yards than the entire Eagles team, who could only amass 67 yards on the ground. The Eagles managed to punt 8 times in the game which (as bad as that is) was even more than the offensively-inept Raiders. But the good news is that David Akers helped those who have him in fantasy as he scored all 9 of the Eagles’ points. That, of course, while missing two field goals as well.
The Eagles have done nothing this year. Nothing. They were humiliated at home against the one good team they played and yesterday’s loss to Oakland shows they lack either the coaching, focus or personnel to compete for a title. Their comically-easy schedule in the first half of the season is keeping them alive for the time being (and they have another gift next week against Washington who, in my opinion, is the worst team in the NFL). But starting in Week 8, they’ll play consecutive division games against the Giants and Cowboys and then go on the road to face San Diego and Chicago.
Considering the fact that they’re a laughing stock right now, imagine how much worse things will be if they fail to beat a winning team this year. The pathetic joke that they are right now inspire zero confidence. Andy Reid and his smartest-guy-in-the-room act looks like an incompetent clown next to the aw-shucks Charlie Manuel and his #1 team in Philadelphia. The Eagles smell of rotten egg. Thank god we’ve got a real team in this town to enjoy so we can ignore the odious trainwreck known as the Eagles. They stink.
Things not to do: get involved in a land war in Asia, mess with Sasquatch, pitch to Manny Ramirez with a man on base and 2 outs when you’re behind in the count 2-0. We don’t know if Hamels got cocky or whether he just missed his spot on that pitch that Manny golfed into the seats, but we do know that the Phils’ brass should have called in the following sequence: intentional ball 3, intentional ball 4. I’m sorry but the all-time postseason home run leader is not to be trifled with in that situation. He’s just not.
Alas, the Phillies won the game because, well, they’re better than the Dodgers. L.A. had several opportunities to get themselves back in the game but couldn’t because their players couldn’t handle Chan Ho Park. Park’s ability to work out of a jam late in the game may be the bright spot to come out of Game 1 as at least one Phillies’ reliever is showing his mettle. A long reliever is an extension of the starting pitcher and with a rotation that had looked shaky of late (with the exception of Cliff Lee), Park’s role becomes all the more important.
There are some voices of hysteria being heard around these parts talking talk of a Phillies’ collapse. Despite the fact they’ve gone 5-5 in their last 10 games folks are nervous and thinking that they might just be playing themselves out of a playoff spot. Despite the virtually insurmountable 5-game lead they hold on the Braves with 7 games to play, unstable clowns are worrying about the Phillies losing their playoff spot. Well, let me let the numbers do the talking.
Here are the records through the last 10 games of the 8 teams in both leagues that would be going to the playoffs if the season ended right now: Yankees 7-3, Detroit 5-5, Angels 5-5, Red Sox 5-5, Phillies 5-5, Cardinals 5-5, Dodgers 6-4, Rockies 6-4. As you can see, the Phillies are hardly in a nosedive as compared to the recent play of their postseason colleagues. Of course, Atlanta is 8-2 in its last 10 but aside from being 5 games back in the division, they’re also 2 back in the loss column to the Rockies. Still worried about the Braves? Let the number below assuage your fears.
99.9. That’s the percentage likeliness as of today that the Phillies will make the postseason according to coolstandings.com which simulates the Major League season 10,000 times every day for each team in baseball. See, they might not be going lights-out right now but you have to remember that the 162 game season is comprised of 162 games. As boring as it is, the old adage that games in May are as important as games in September is true.
So take that 1 tenth of a percent and put it in the trash. The Phillies are a statistical lock.
We have the 700level.com to thank for this picture of a pre-facial pubescent Jayson Werth. Nowadays he’s armed with a mean landing strip on his chin. I don’t know, I guess he thinks it looks good. In any event, Werth’s 34th homer of the year was of the 4-bag variety last night as he and Joe Blanton (6 scoreless innings) propelled the Phils to a 6-1 victory over the hapless embarrassment that is the Washington Nationals. The Phillies’ magic number is now 11 with 18 games to play.
We’ve all heard it before: the Phillies are an all-or-nothing team, meaning their offense is predicated on the long ball. Traditionally this is not the way that successful playoff teams win largely because their opponents in the playoffs trot-out higher quality pitching than the average seasonal opponent. Whether this holds true this postseason is anyone’s guess. In a season when the 5 teams that comprise the N.L. pennant chase (Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, Rockies and Giants) have starting pitching better than most years’ playoffs, the home run ball may be at more of a premium this October.
What is going to matter for the Phillies is their pitching. The mid-season turmoil surrounding Cole Hamels’ sub-par season and the Moyer vs. Pedro storyline seems to have disappeared as every starting pitcher has thrown extremely well of late and it looks like J.A. Happ will be back as he’s slated to start on Friday night against Atlanta. As the bullpen’s well-documented problems go, Chan Ho Park left the game last night after a scoreless 8th with a hamstring problem though J.C. Romero’s much-needed left arm looks like it’ll be back in form for the playoffs. According to espn.com, Romero says he’ll make 5 appearances before the end of the season.
Cole Hamels will go tonight in the final sleeper against Washington. This weekend promises to see a better opponent (as least in the pitching department) as the Phils go to Atlanta for 3. Their bats will be tested by Tim Hudson, Javier Vasquez and Tommy Hanson which should provide for a few games more similar to a playoff series than the last 3 outings against the team from Chinese Taipei. The playoffs are right around the corner and assuming the Phillies win tonight against the Nationals, they will have taken 8 of their last 10. Playing well going in is key, and it looks like the Phillies should have some momentum heading into the home stretch
Because we live in a city where the equilibrium of the collective sports mentality is as stable as Stephon Marbury, people are panicking about the Phils’ recent slump. Sure, they are coming off a 4-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Astros. And with the notable exception of Ryan Howard, the team is in a huge offensive slump (Cliff Lee has the best batting average on the team, .316, followed by Shane Victorino’s .295). Let’s not even mention the closer spot–Bob Ford has an unusual take on it–or the worst bench in the National League (Matt Stairs is now 0-29 since the A.S. Break).
All these things considered, this is exactly what baseball is. A 162-game season. Teams ride huge winning streaks and lose games in droves too. When you consider the Phillies are a long ball team, you understand that when the big bats are cold the team is going to struggle. Hell, even the Yankees (indisputably the best team in baseball) have a 4-game losing stretch on their record. The Phillies are still projected to win 93 games, worse only than the 94 and 96 likely wins for the Cardinals and Dodgers, respectively. More importantly, they have an almost 95% chance of winning the N.L. East (stats projections from coolstandings.com).
Their performance against the Astros this past weekend was bad but they did manage to only lose 3 of the last 4 games by 1-run margins against a Houston team that is a deceptive 9-games over .500 at home. What’s more, the promise of a turnaround is on the horizon as the next 10 games are against the Nats and Mets, two teams collectively 56 games under .500.
The results haven’t been thrilling lately but the commanding position the Phils occupy allows them to tinker where necessary, try new things in other spots and also be patient where they can be. Winning 2 consecutive World Series is a very tall order and there’s a reason no N.L. team has done it in over 30 years. If the Phillies are going to pull it off they’re going to have to play better baseball but from where they currently stand, there’s no reason to think that next week at this time folks will be singing a different tune.
With the clock winding down on the media frenzy surrounding Roy Halladay, the only thing Phils fans need to do is wait with fingers crossed. Rumors are popping-up like crazy about whether or where Halladay will land. Yesterday it was Boston and today it’s the Los Angeles Dodgers.
People are quick to point out that the addition of a starter to a team impacts one out of every five games. But when you’re talking about teams with at least two quality starters already there, the arrival of a front man takes pressure off the rest of the rotation and makes the 3-5 spots that much stronger.
I’m not going to suggest the Dodgers have a better top-3 with Kershaw, Billingsley and Halladay but I will say I’d prefer not to test that theory. The danger in getting Lee with 2 days to go before the deadline is that the Jays’ price is now lowered since their previous best-bet is no longer an option. The hope has to be that the Jays are going to sit on Halladay another year. If that happens, Amaro looks like even more of a genius than he already does.
Cliff Lee is now the Phillies ace. The 2008 Cy Young winner in the American League will be now be pitching to only 8 hitters per game. In addition to Lee, the Phils get right-handed bat, Ben Francisco. This trade killed two birds with one stone and cost the Phillies exactly nothing. They traded away Carlos Carrasco, Single-A pitcher Jason Knapp, catcher Lou Marson and shortstop Jason Donald. Lou Marson is the only one of the bunch with Major League experience, having played in 8 games for the Phillies over the past two seasons.
Lee is a stud and one of the top-5 lefties in baseball. This is a great trade for the Phillies as they didn’t have to part ways with Michael Taylor, Dominic Brown, J.A. Happ of Kyle Drabek. Kind of makes you nervous that Roy Halladay is still out there, just waiting to get snatched-up by the Red Sox, Angels, Yankees or Dodgers. Or is he?
The fact that Ruben Amaro got a Cy Young winner without having to give up any of his top-3 minor league guys or Happ has to make you wonder whether the Halladay trade is still in the works for the Phillies. This may sound crazy, but the same deal that J.P. Ricciardi and the Jays rejected earlier in the week is still intact. Let me repeat that: the Phillies just got Cliff Lee for nothing and can still take on Roy Halladay.
Maybe I’m thinking like someone who lives in New York or Boston, but if they did do that (if for no other reason than to block Halladay’s trade to a rival), your playoff rotation would be Halladay, Lee and Hamels (in no particular order) and Joe Blanton. For as great as the Lee acquisition is, think about how a Beckett-Halladay-Lester top 3 would be. Or a Sabathia-Halladay-Burnett trio. What about Halladay-Carpenter-Wainwright?
The reality is that some team the Phils will most-likely face in the post season will have Roy Halladay on it. When you add that to the fact the Ruben Amaro is still holding all his high cards, it’s not unreasonable to imagine the Phils’ front office still having some designs on Roy Halladay.
Here in Philadelphia nobody’s thinking about the Los Angeles Dodgers anymore. See, the Phillies just ran roughshod over them in one of the more lopsided NLCS in recent memory. Which means Phillies fans will be focusing on the World Series and the Dodgers will be enjoying an off-season of visiting juice bars and sitting in traffic jams.
There are some voices of hysteria being heard around these parts talking talk of a Phillies’ collapse. Despite the fact they’ve gone 5-5 in their last 10 games folks are nervous and thinking that they might just be playing themselves out of a playoff spot. Despite the virtually insurmountable 5-game lead they hold on the Braves with 7 games to play, unstable clowns are worrying about the Phillies losing their playoff spot. Well, let me let the numbers do the talking.
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Because we live in a city where the equilibrium of the collective sports mentality is as stable as Stephon Marbury, people are panicking about the Phils’ recent slump. Sure, they are coming off a 4-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Astros. And with the notable exception of Ryan Howard, the team is in a huge offensive slump (Cliff Lee has the best batting average on the team, .316, followed by Shane Victorino’s .295). Let’s not even mention the closer spot–
With the clock winding down on the media frenzy surrounding Roy Halladay, the only thing Phils fans need to do is wait with fingers crossed. Rumors are popping-up like crazy about whether or where Halladay will land. Yesterday it was Boston and today it’s the Los Angeles Dodgers.