Thursday, September 24, 2009

The Pen Still Mightier than the Sword?

There's a whole lot going on in the Philly sports scene right now, so I figured why not give the people what they want - my opinions. Here it goes.

I think the Phillies are in SERIOUS trouble if they continue to trot Brad "Lights OFF" Lidge out in any type of save situation. The guy is toast. After running his record to an impressive 0-8, blowing his 11th save and upping (i think) his ERA to an absolutely unheard of 7.48 in Tuesday night's loss to the Marlins, Lidge should only be used if we are up or down by 6 runs or more. This is clear (and has been) to anyone who regularly watches the Phils. I personally think Uncle Cholie realizes it too, but he also feels a sense of loyaly to Lidge. Let's be honest, if Lidge were able to right his ship he would be a huge boost, but as the leaves begin to change colors and baseball games suddenly become meaningful, it's clear Lidge is totally unreliable and largely ineffective. What we need is to get back some of the injured guys from our pen. Scott Eyre our best lefty this year has been out for about 6 weeks. He's pitched some rehab, so I'm hoping he gets back in time for the playoffs. JC Romero, Brett Meyers and Chan Ho Park are also on the shelf and rehabbing their injuries. We need these guys if we want to make another run at a World Series title. The good news: they will all be well rested. The not so good news: they haven't faced major league pitching in weeks (or month's in Romero's case). Bottom line, a weak bullpen puts TREMENDOUS pressure on our starters. I think our starters are good enough, but only time will tell. Keep in mind, when last year's playoff series began, I don't think any of us believed the Phillies would end the curse. Stay tuned.

As far as the Eagles go, I fully expect a tighter-than-should-be game on Sunday against the punchless Chiefs. I'm thinking a 27-23 type of score sounds about right. I think Vick will be in for about 20-25 snaps and I think he will be responsible for one of the Birds touchdowns. By the way, Eagles fans - you miss #5 yet?

Did you hear the news that Jeremiah Trotter had a "good tryout" with the Birds yesterday? What does it say about Omar Gaither that he was first replaced by an undrafted free agent in Akeem Jordan, then he was passed by a guy who didn't play a snap on defense last year (Joe Mays). Gaither eventually "won" the starting job back, when Mays hurt his shoulder. The Birds are now bringing in a 32-year old Trotter, whose knees they said were shot 3 years ago? I'm guessing this is more of a loyatly gesture from Andy Reid, but signing Trotter will be a very curious about that move.

Sixers unveiled some new unis, which have that sorta throwback look, mixed in with the elementary-blue collar. Personally I like them. Here's a picture for those of you who missed it. http://www.philly.com/philly/photos/sports_photos/Sixers_new_uniforms.html

That would be Thad Young, Elton Brand and the guy who looks like his eyes have sunken into his head is our new "wonder coach" Eddie Jordan. At the uniform announcement, our GM Ed Stefanski made the following proclamation about 2008 FA signee Elton Brand. "All I know is he wants to show everybody who Elton Brand is," Stefanski said. "I don't know if he's putting pressure on himself or not; I hope he isn't because he doesn't have to be our savior or carry us."

Hey Ed, you signed this guy to an $82 MILLION DOLLAR contract. Not only do we need him to carry us, he better collect tickets and sell popcorn too!

Looks like The Flyers are facing a tough decision with finalizing their roster as 2007 first round pick James van Riemsdyk starting to show his promise. JVR as we like to call him, is a 20-year old kid who is still trying to grow into his 6'3 frame. Here's a vote for keeping JVR up in Philly this season. The kid has been lights out in the preseason and when you invest so much in a player (second overall pick), you push them, unless of course you are Sixers GM, Ed Stefanski.

As for the Dawgs, I like our chances on Saturday against the Sun Devils. I expect another offensive show (b/c our defense sucks), but the Dawgs just have too much speed and offensive firepower. I'm psyched to be going to my first Dawgs game of the season and Summer, well she's excited to tailgate. I'll take it! Good to see Joe Cox bounce back in a HUGE way against Arkansas. Again, I think the key is for the playmakers (AJ Green, Richard Samuel, Orson Charles) to make plays and for Cox to manage the game and not try to do too much. Tremendous effort by Cox in Arkansas. Let's hope he can keep it up.

Things You Should Know:
*Today in a conversation with my friend Neal, I compared going to Milwaukee to getting a prostate exam. "Neither is as bad as you think it would be - it's all about expectations."
*My fiance informed me that I hit a touchdown when I landed her. Clearly my sports fanaticism has rubbed off on her.
*I used to think the biggest waste of police/state resources could be found every morning on Roxborough Road. Yesterday, I discovered that the biggest waste was the four, count em', F-O-U-R cops sitting in Brookhaven pulling over soccer Mom's and golfing foursomes at 10:30 in the morning. Unbelievable.
*Can someone explain to me the commercialization of Mangos? I remember 10 years ago this fruit was a hidden gem, best enjoyed as a special treat on a hot summer day. Now they put mango in EVERYTHING. Are you kidding me? What next pomegranate? Oh, yeah, too late. Who decides this?
*If you are into Pearl Jam (and you should be), their newest CD "Back Spacer" is a phenomenal CD. This is their best work since the wildly underrated Yield. Go buy it.
*Think I'm getting tired of facebook. I was thinking of ending things, but figured if nothing else - it's always a good tool to help remember birthdays (and pimp my blog). But seriously, I don't need to hear about what you ate for lunch or if you were a gay superhero, what your name would be.
*Muammar Gaddafi - seriously, what hole did this guy crawl out of? I figured I'd have a better chance of seeing a Sasquatch then see this clown. But wouldn't he make for a great villain in the new Batman movie? Seriously he could be the evil Mr.Bill figure. You shoot him and he just rearranges his claymation-injured face.
*And if you haven't had Whole Foods BBQ'd Turkey Meatloaf, you are missing out. And thank G-d there's no mango flavoring.
*I think goodness = Free WiFi. Support these places & their free Wifi: Village Pizza (Cabbage Town), Panera and Volvo. Tell them Ross J sent you -- and they will stare at you blankly.

1 comment:

  1. Wow, you covered a lot of ground here, most of which we have discussed over e-mail recently.

    1. Phillies. The pitching overall has me pretty worried now. As I write, this Cliff is in the midst of another bad outing, giving up 7 runs to the Brew Crew. As each day passes I become less and less optimistic of our chances to do anything come playoff time. But hey, at least we'll be there for what..the 3rd year in a row. That's definitely a good thing.

    2. Trotter. You know I love this guy, but it will be utterly ridiculous if they sign him. Two years ago, Reid cuts him and tell us he can't play effectively anymore. So we're supposed to believe that NOW he can play? Andy Reid please sell that mango-flavored slop elsewhere cause I ain't buying it.

    3. Sixers. Nothing new to add, but I laughed out loud at your description of Eddie Jordan. What's the over-under on how long he lasts in Philly? I'm betting that next year at this time, we'll be wondering whether the moves our new GM and coach made will make a difference. I think Eddie squared are ex-Sixers by the end of the season.

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