The Eagles are in San Diego this Sunday to play Philip Rivers and the Chargers and are currently two-point underdogs. Ellis Hobbs (replaced by Dmitri Patterson) is out for the season with a neck injury and Joselio Hanson will be doing the Manny Ramirez for 4 games after revelations of a banned substance. These absences will affect the special teams game as well because Hobbs won’t be available to return kicks. Those duties will be performed by Quentin Demps.

Think the Eagles rely on the pass too much? The Chargers actually pass more that the Eagles (34.2 to 33.2 pass attempts per game) and they attempt fewer running plays than the Eagles (23.9 rushes per game for the Eagles and 22.8 for the Chargers). I wonder if Norv Turner gets ripped for that as much as Andy Reid does here.

Apparently the San Diego Union Tribune is concerned about Michael Vick and his “alarming talent.” Really? So far this season Vick is 2 for 6 passing for a total of 6 yards. He’s rushed the ball to the tune of 27 yards on 12 carries. Those aren’t exactly the kind of numbers that drive a defensive coordinator to drink. The Union Tribune goes on the say the Chargers will be designating the call sign “Cowbell” to Vick this weekend. Given the way he’s performed so far, presumably they’d like more cowbell.

Yahoo Sports is reporting (through the incredibly clever title “League shipwrecks Captain Morgan campaign) that several NFL players have been encouraged to strike the ‘Captain’ pose during games. Brent Celek is among them. At first I thought this to be incredibly tacky and douchey (just like Captain Morgan) but then I learned that Diageo (C.M.’s corporate entity) would be donating money to charity for each pose struck (ranging from $10,000 to $100,000), which seems like a small price to pay for even more blatant advertising in football. Come to think of it, though, the NFL is probably correct in its decision to fine players a “significant” amount for committing this shameless act of marketing: after all the last thing the NFL wants to do is be in the business of making money off of advertising alcohol. Now if they could just find a way to fine Coors Light every time one of their ads runs, we might be onto something.

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.

Manny Ramirez may have just given the best quote in baseball history. When asked if he saw Jimmy Rollins’ game-winning hit off teammate Jonathan Broxton, Ramirez said “No, I was in the shower.” Seriously, folks. Manny Ramirez had left the game and was bathing while the rest of his team was sweating-out the 9th inning. How is Joe Torre supposed to win a NLCS when his best player is in that tub with rubber ducky?

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.

I’m sitting here listening to Anthony Gargano on WIP with his marbles-in-the-mouth, over-affected South Philly accent blabber on-an-on about how wonderful last night’s game was. And it was. But it’s over and the series isn’t yet decided. With that said last night’s game gave us a glance at why confidence in this team is never in short supply and why the Phillies can never be counted out.

At the same time I’m curious to know how much confidence people have in Cole Hamels’ ability to close it out tomorrow night. He’s been the one player this postseason that fans have had a lukewarm relationship with. Why? Because he’s aloof, simply put. The quality that became apparent in Colorado in the Phillies comeback and again last night is something that Hamels doesn’t seem to have. He seems uninterested and at times even surly.

His numbers in his first two playoff starts aren’t great. He gave up 7 hits and 4 earned runs in his Game 2 start against the Rockies in 5 innings pitched. And then in Game 1 against the Dodgers he surrendered 8 hits and 4 earned runs in 5.1 innings. Hamels also infamously glared at Chase Utley after the second baseman’s throwing error led to the Manny Ramirez home run blast in Game 1. The Phillies managed to win that game but not because of Hamels. They won because they hung around and out-gritted the Dodgers.

It’s going to take a Herculean effort for the Dodgers to come back on the Phillies in this series so looking ahead, the Phillies are going to need to be close to perfect if they’re going to beat the Yankees. They haven’t faced a lineup as top-to-bottom powerful as New York’s and if they’re going to best baseball’s biggest franchise, it’s going to take great pitching. Right now the one area of concern for this team is what Hamels will bring to the mound. Following that logic we’ll need to see a little more from Cole Hamels if this team is going to reach its ultimate and historic goal.

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.

Game 2 is just moments away. There’s an interesting piece from yesterday’s N.Y. Times about Jim Thome, Matt Stairs and pinch hitting for home runs. It’s a good read and should get you in the mood for today’s matinee. Go Phils!

In a move that (in my estimation) has received relatively little attention, the Dodgers acquired Jim Thome and Jon Garland yesterday. They gave up nothing, shipping infielder Justin Fuller, a player to be named as well as cash in return for two players with playoff experience.

Ironically, the acquisition of former Phillie, Jim Thome, is intended to strengthen the power in the Dodgers’ lineup as they are headed for a very-likely playoff matchup with the Phils. Thome is a playoff veteran, a member of the 500-home run club and one of only 7 active players with 9 or more 100+ RBI seasons.

Yes, Thome is 39 and in the twilight of his career but he has hit 23 home runs and 74 RBI this season for a Chicago team that provides little protection in the lineup. Thome will be used as a bat-off-the-bench in L.A., making him the best power-hitting bench player in baseball. Maybe most importantly for the Dodgers’ playoff chances is the psychological upside of this acquisition: Manny Ramirez loves it. According to the L.A. Times, Ramirez said “(Thome was) one of the best hitters in both leagues, and also one of the best teammates I ever played with, so I can’t wait to see him.” For a guy who can turn into the Incredible Hulk when he’s in the right frame of mind, this move could put Manny back on track to be Manny, a proposition no N.L. team cares to see.

As for Garland, he’s one of only 4 pitchers with 100+ MLB wins under the age of 30. This year he’s 8-11 with a 4.29 ERA for an Arizona team that can neither play defense nor score runs. Garland provides the Dodgers a pitcher who an fit into the postseason rotation at the back end and be relied on for a professional, experienced playoff start. He won a World Series with the White Sox in 2005 and pitched 16 innings during that postseason with a 2.25 ERA.

I don’t know that these two players are going to reshape the Dodgers into the N.L. favorites at this point but if they fit in well, this move should help to put some distance between the Dodgers and Giants/Rockies in the N.L. West. Garland gives them a legitimate option for playoff starts and Thome’s bat is still very much alive. Have the Dodgers reestablished themselves as the team to beat in the race for the N.L. pennant?

The margin for error in Major League Baseball is pretty small. The difference between good teams and bad teams, between making the playoffs or not; often it’s simply a matter of inches, as the old cliche goes. Of course, the most even number of all is .500, a number both mediocre as a reflection of a team’s winning percentage and unattainable as an individual’s batting average.

As you might expect, there’s a lot of evenness as this number applies to the standings. Of the 3o Major League teams, exactly 16 teams currently have records better than .500 (a better-than-.500 number of teams, but only by the slightest of margins). Not surprisingly, 8 of these teams play in the N.L. and 8 of them are A.L. teams (the N.L. does have two more teams than the A.L).

As it applies to the Phillies, they are 25-24 this season against teams better than .500 (better than .500 in this category by the slightest of margins) and as you might expect, they are far better against teams under .500 (34-20). If you include their most recent series against the San Francisco Giants, they Phillies are in the midst of a 16-game stretch against teams over .500. Needless to say, their 1-3 start is under .500 but no matter, their next twelve games against the Rockies, Marlins, Cubs and Braves (all over .500) are (you guessed it) an exact .500 split between playing at home and on the road.

As for individuals, in the past 10 days the best batting average in the Majors (based on 45 plate appearances) belongs to Matt Holliday (.526). In a convenient twist of .500 fate, he was traded to the Cardinals who are the only team in baseball with a home or road record of exactly .500 (27-27 on the road).

Baseball Tonight doesn’t think the Phillies’ acquisition of Cliff Lee makes them the clear frontrunner in the National League. Perhaps some Eagles fans could write in to ESPN and threaten to kill the writers of this article.

The New York Times is reporting that Manny and Papi were on the 2003 list of failed PED tests. Apparently that means the Red Sox championships are tainted. Of course, the test results are sealed under court order but that doesn’t seem to stop some unnamed lawyers from revealing them. It’s ironic that the violators from 2003 (who weren’t violating MLB rules at the time) are being cast as cheaters (which they are) and yet their legally-sealed test results are being leaked by lawyers. I guess cheating doesn’t count if it’s the law you’re breaking.

Clifton Phifer Lee (that’s Cliff Lee for all you Eagles fans) is 12-2 with a 3.18 ERA against the National League. Here’s every stat imaginable on Lee. This is going to be fun.

It’s a good thing Ruben Amaro opted for the reigning-Cy-Young-winner-for-nothing vs. the-old-man-who-can’t-throw-for-everything trade. Roy the Bum Halladay gave up 11 hits yesterday to the Seattle Mariners.

It’s been a strange season for the Mets, to say the least. In the process of trying to explain why he fired shirtless locker room brawler, Tony Bernazard, Omar Minaya does his best to fire himself.

I’ve been getting a kick out of watching an increasingly-angry John Kruk on Baseball Tonight lately. Most notably is his use of the above phrase to describe boneheaded, error-filled play that seems to happen exclusively in the N.L. East.

One such gem this week involved Austin Kearns of the Nationals (of course) sliding into nowhere, as demonstrated on withleather.com

Another beauty was any moment from last night’s Mets (of course) loss to the Dodgers. For some unkown reason, the Mets were only charged with one error in the game though just about everything they did in the field resembled a Renaissance Faire. The highlight of the game, though, was Manny Ramirez’s ejection, ostensibly for littering the field with equipment upon being called out on strikes on a pitch that was at least 3 furlongs outside.

With apologies to Manny Ramirez, A-Rod and Raul Ibanez, Zach Greinke is the story of the 2009 baseball season. He is 8-1 with a .84 ERA. Let me repeat that: he is 8-1 with a .84 ERA in 10 starts. To put that in historical perspective, the last pitcher to have a sub-1.00 ERA after 10 starts was Juan Marichal. That was in 1966.

Greinke is 6-0 at home this year. He has not given up a home run in his last 103 innings. Of his 10 starts this year, 5 of them were complete games, including both outings against Detroit. He has pitched 75 innings this year and has 81 strikeouts and only 12 walks. His WHIP is .88. To put his ERA in perspective, it is almost 4 runs better than the AL average and his strikeout total is 63 Ks better than the league average. Finally, underneath Greinke’s beard is not a chin, just another fist.

Let me start my defense of Manny Ramirez by saying two things: one, my argument is based on the information we have at our disposal only a few hours after news of his suspension for failing a drug test was announced. And two, had J.C. Romero not been suspended 50 games earlier this year, perhaps we’d have a different take on the Manny situation as we wouldn’t already have debated a suspension for very similar circumstances. With that said my defense of Ramirez is directed at the issue of his legacy, specifically his worthiness for the Hall of Fame.

In its panic-driven fervor to create the image that baseball is doing something about steroids, MLB has to make examples of players who violate its drug policies. I get that and agree with it. The problem from a perception and legacy perspective for players like Ramirez is that the policy includes so many banned substances, ranging from over-the-counter and prescription additives to drugs and supplements to outright anabolic steroids. Therefore, if a player is to be remembered for violating the policy, he will probably be remembered as a juicer, which in Ramirez’s case (and Romero’s) isn’t accurate.

The point I’m making here is that there’s a world of difference between knowing, deliberate and on-going use of a substance that’s primary purpose is to alter the athlete’s physique and performace and unwittingly putting a banned additive in your body. If we believe his story, Ramirez’s positive test was a result of a drug he took after his doctor not only prescribed it, but according to Peter Gammons, initially believed it to be baseball-safe. Yes, just like J.C. Romero, it is incumbent upon Ramirez to check every last ingredient but if a player can’t trust his doctor’s advice, whom can he trust?(newsday reports that the substance in question is a women’s fertility drug, human chorionic gonadotropin)

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