2009 Philly Sports Year In Review

Well another disappointing year here in Philly in the sports world. The Phillies, gave it a good run, but slumped at a bad time, and were overwhelmed by the venerable New York Yankees.

The Eagles, well it's the same old story every year. They have ebbs and flows, beat teams they shouldn't, lose to teams they should she beat, but most of all, they do what they have done almost every year under the Andy Reid regime, choke in the big game.

The Phillies had an exciting season, despite sub-par performances from their 2008 ace Cole Hamels. They boosted their staff mid season with the acquisition of Cliff Lee who had a phenomenal remainder of the season, and an outstanding post season. Of course the post season acquisition of Roy Halladay meant that Cliff Lee was the odd man out. The Phillies will continue to be contenders for years to come since most of their players are still young, and under contract. My only wish is that the Phillies kept Lee, since he was under contract for another year. I am sure, the organization had the funds available to pay both Lee and Halladay. I could only imagine how good the pitching staff would have been with both of those guys on staff.

My other hope for the Phillies is that both Brad Lidge and Cole Hamels, got their heads together, and have seasons like they did in 2008. Both of these guys are integral parts of the Phillies staff and need to be more consistent in 2010.

Now on to the Eagles.

Being a life long Eagles, I am used to the consistent disappointments that this organization brings us fans every year, and every year we get the same rhetoric from the coach and owner. Bottom line, is that McNabb needs to go. This team is being built on youth, and those young guys have shown us a lot this year. McNabb has proved again that he is a sub-par quarterback, either over throwing, under throwing or just flat out making bone head decisions.

As for decision making, Coach Reid needs to take a long look in the mirror and truly evaluate his play calling and personnel decisions this off season. The defense which used to be formidable, looked awful this year. I believe Sean McDermott did a stand up job in place of long time coordinator Jim Johnson. I found the defense play weak, especially in the areas of tackling, and bone head penalties.

The Phillies start spring training in about a month, so there is a good month off for me with Philadelphia sports, I could care less about the Sixers and Flyers. I actually need the break. By the time spring training starts, I will be ready to get my daily fill of sports

--gfo

Bring On The Rockies

For the third year in a row, the Philadelphia Phillies are in the post season. As defending world series champions the pressure is all on the Phillies. I am not as confident in this team as I was last year. Mostly because of the pitching. The bullpen which was rock solid last year has been luke warm at best, and the starters save for Joe Blanton and JA Happ have been very inconsistent. Cliff Lee the mid-season acquistion who came over and lit the other teams up, fizzled out, and Cole Hamels, I have renamed Cold Hamels.

Another worry for me is the closer situation. Right now I have more confidence in Ryan Madson than Brad Lidge, but knowing the way Charlie manages I imagine that Lidge will be his man. I like Madson in the closers role, but he is also perfect as an eighth inning man.

As for the offense, I'm not really concerned the team just needs to keep doing what they do best.

I say the Phillies win the first series 3-1, splitting the series here at home.

--gfo

Top Ten Things that Went Through Cole Hamels' Mind After Winning the World Series

Cole Hamels from the Phillies, read the Top 10 list on the David Letterman Show

10. Maybe I’ll get to be on “Dancing With The Stars.”
9. Can I wear my cup in the off-season?
8. The Rays collapsed faster than my 401(k).
7. How cool a name is Cole Hamels?
6. This must be how the Yankees used to feel.
5. Is the Phillie Phanatic hitting on my wife?
4. Seriously, how cool a name is Cole Hamels?
3. How can I celebrate when the nation’s economic output is the weakest it’s been since the third quarter of 2001?
2. I hope John McCain will start calling me “Cole the Pitcher.”
1. Now maybe I’ll get to appear on Leno?

photo/list courtesy CBS

WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS 2008

The Phillies did it, last night in an historical game and in a true nail biter fashion, but in the end they prevailed over the Tampa Bay Ray 4-3 winning their second World Series in the teams 126 year history, and the first time 28 years. It also a Philadelphia championship drought of over 25 years, after coming close many times, the supposed curse of Billy Penn has been broken.

I am very lucky that I was able to remember the last world series win, I was 12 at the time, the same age as my oldest, and in turn we let both of our kids stay up and watch the continuation of the suspended game from Monday night, that started off with the Phillies batting in the bottom of the sixth.

Pinch hitter Geoff Jenkins got the party started with his lead off double, coming around to score, after being moved over to third on a Jimmy Rollins bunt then coming into to score on a bloop single by Jayson Werth, though the slim 3-2 lead was only short live when Rays outfielder Rocco Baldelli quickly tied the game with a solo shot to left in the top of seventh.

Not to be outdone, outfielder Pat Burrell hit a long double, his only hit of the world series, was replaced by pinch runner Eric Bruntlett, who came around to score on a Pedro Feliz single.

Then the Phillies Bullpen took over and shut the Rays down, with Brad Lidge getting his seventh save of the post season, and remaining perfect in save opportunities for the season.

It's a great time to be a Philadelphia sports fan. This is a great thing for the city and its loyal fans who have seen so many teams come so close only to walk away.

I am also happy that I could share the moment with my own family. It's a memory that will never be forgotten. I know I won't

picture courtesy of mlb.com

--gfo

BOOOOO

The game sucked last night, letting the game go on as long as it did is a disgrace. Bud Selig is such an asshole.

They league should have moved the start time of the game to 600. Sure it would have screwed up the prime time ratings, but at least they would have gotten the game in.

We have waited 25 years for a championship in this city, another day or two shouldn't be that bad.

And the umpiring sucked once again. The inconsistency of the strike zone for both teams has been abysmal. These guys are supposed to be the best. May be an eye test should be part of the screening process.

*RANT OVER*

--gfo

Three Down One To Go!

Well the bats really came to life last night in South Philly as the Phillies pounded the Rays, 10-2, winning game four of the world series, and taking a 3-1 lead. Heck even Joe Blanton the Phillies starting pitcher went yard...the first home run in his career.

After three games that were nail biters, especially Saturday nights. it was nice to see the Phillies put some runs on the board, and play long ball.

The first championship Philadelphia has seen in over 25 years could happed tonight. I am sure the town will be rocking all day.

Oh and the Eagles had a nice W yesterday. Brian Westbrook looked no worse for the wear after missing a couple of games with injuries. He scored twice, rushing for a 167 yards (which almost his total yardage cumulative for the season), and catching six balls for 42 yards. Donovan McNabb threw for 253 yards, but was only 19/34, with a lot of his misses being thrown way over his receivers heads, which is uncharacteristic for McNabb since most of his misses generally are at his receivers feet. One nice thing to see was McNabb running the ball. Even though he only had 25 yards on six carries, one of them being a touchdown, he showed how much of a threat he can be with his legs.

So it was a good day to be a sports fan here in the Philly area. Let's hope Cole Hamels can pitch another gem tonight, and the Phillies bring home a championship to the city.

It's been long enough

--gfo

Hit The Damn Ball

Especially with runners in scoring position. 1 run in 28 bats with RISP, will not win games, nor bring a parade down Broad Street.

The Phillies need to wake their bats up, the long ball has all but disappeared and the hits they do get aren't picked up by the other players.

Not panicking yet, but the lack of offense from the Phillies is a bit scary. Hopefully a day off, and home field advantage will bring the bats to life.

I'd love to see the Phillies win the next three here.

Disappointing loss last night, but that is why there are seven games.

One Down Three To Go

Despite leaving a boat load of men on base, J-Roll and Ryan Howard, not being factors the Phillies squeaked out a W last in the opening game of the fall classic, 3-2. Cole Hamel, Ryan Madson, and Brad Lidge pitched near perfect baseball last night, even though the run support wasn't there.

Game two tonight, let's hope the momentum from last night carries the Phil's to a win, but most importantly, let's hope the bat's come to life.

--gfo

World Series Here We Come

After a 15 years absence the Philadelphia Phillies will be returning to the big dance, with an opponent yet to be determined. It was an exciting game and series, and its exciting to the city of Philadelphia for another chance at a championship. The city is in a 25 year championship drop.

Good luck guy, and let's bring one home to the city of brotherly love

picture courtesy of mlb.com

--gfo

NLCS Here We Come

Congratulations to 2008 Philadelphia Phillies on advancing to the NLCS for the first time since 1993...Heck I was on the verge of getting married at the time. The Phillies behind a fine pitching performance from Joe Blanton, dispatched the Brewers 6-2 at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Phillies Left Field Pat Burrell led the charge for the Phillies belting two home runs, one a three run shot in the third inning which turned out to be all the Phillies needed. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins got the game started with a lead off home run, and from that moment on, the momentum never seemed to shift to the Brewers.

Next up are the Dodgers who come to town Thursday night, in what is expected to be an interesting series, as the teams split their season match up four games apiece.

Enjoy your days off, and rest up guys. Look forward to an interesting series with the Dodgers.

--gfo

On The Utley F-Bomb

A lot is being said of Chase Utley's faux pas Monday night during the introductions prior to the home run derby. After he was introduced, he got some boos from some of the local New Yorkers, in which he responded Fuck you, under his breath but because he was wearing a microphone for ESPN, it was picked up. No less than an hour later, it started being posted on blogs and you tubes, and they Philly bashing started.

Was Chase out of line, yes, he later apologized for the remark, although he really didn't say it that loud and it was merely a knee jerk response to a hostile crowd.

Of course because Chase is a Philly player, the Philly bashers had a field day with it, and all the past incidents (snowballs at Santa, cheering Michael Irvin, etc) started coming to the forefront.

I am sick and tired of Philly getting this bad rap when fan and player behavior in other cities is equally as bad, and under reported. I remember reading an article in Sports Illustrated earlier this year about student behavior at college basketball games and how they torment the other teams, and sometime even target visiting players families. Yet incidents like those are hardly noticed and reported, and are tolerated by the schools.

Athletes aren't perfect, and Chase Utley's muttering Fuck You under his breath, but only being heard because he had a microphone (which seems to be getting a lot of folks in trouble lately, paging Jesse Jackson) on it caught the attention of the national media. I am sure that during most professional sports games that a lot of similar things are said all the time, to the other players, the fans, and whomever else is annoying said player. They are adults playing at a high level, high intensity and with a lot of emotion.

Although Chase's comment was in hindsight wrong, in the context of speaking from a Philly fan's perspective, I think it was an appropriate comment...he just got caught.

No harm done, and let's move on and get down to the business of playing baseball.

Well done Chase, you are having a hell of a year, and screw what the rest of fans are saying about you, especially the loser New York fans

--gfo

On Ryan Howard

The Phillies highest paid and least productive player is having a less than stellar year, in fact I will goes as far saying he is having a shitty year. Here are his stats through last nights game (source: CBS Sportsline), against the devastating extra inning loss against the Mets, where he was 1/6, his lone hit being a single, but he struck four times, a couple of times in clutch moments of the game

• At Bats: 337
• Total Hits: 75 (38 singles)
• Doubles: 12
• Triples: 2
• Home Runs: 23
• RBI's: 76
• Batting Average: .223
• Slugging Percentage: .475
• Strikeouts: 123
• Base on Balls: 44 (9 intentional)
• On Base Percentage: .313

Working some of my own numbers here is what I come up with. Based on his current statistics, Howard is more likely to strike out than to get a hit. Of his 337 at bats, he has struck 36% of the time, versus his over all batting average, 22.4%. Of his home run total (23), he hits home runs only 7% of his at bats. His singles percentage is only 11% of his bats.

In Comparison, here is the Phillies other slugger Pat Burrell's numbers:

• At Bats: 287
• Total Hits: 80 (37 singles)
• Doubles: 20
• Triples: 2
• Home Runs: 21
• RBI's: 53
• Batting Average: .279
• Slugging Percentage: .582
• Strikeouts: 70
• Base on Balls: 66 (1 intentional)
• On Base Percentage: .412

Howard's OBP, is about average for the team overall, which is .313, and his slugging percentage of .475 is above the team's .437 percentage. He does however have a national league leading 76 RBI's which is very respectable, but could you imagine what his numbers would be if even 25% of his strikeouts were hits, or if he worked the count more.

What bothers me the most, and probably most Phillies fans, is his strikeouts. A lot of the strikeouts he seems to swing at really bad pitches, especially low and outside breaking balls. In my mind, I am comparing him Dennis Haysbert's character Pedro Cerrano in the movie Major League, who couldn't hit a breaking ball to save his life.

The team has a total of 608 strikeouts. His 123 strikeouts account for 20% of the total strikeouts. Pat Burrell has the second most strikeouts, 70, or 12% overall, but Burrell is batting .279, 21 home runs, and Pat's hits are about equal, 37 singles, 20 doubles, 2 triples, but the deal breaker for me is that Pat Burrell's is a much better defensive player than Howard. Burrell is having a much better season than Howard, and is a more consistent player, but mostly and much more mature player, which Howard seems to lack (read his new found wealth has gotten to his head)

Howard won a ten million dollar arbitration hearing before the season started, and at this point, it looks like he should give some of that money back.

Ryan needs to find his bat, and be more productive at the plate, and get back to doing what he does best. Overall he is driving in the runs, but his strikeouts, especially in critical situations is deplorable, and unacceptable. His arbitration deal was for this year only, and if he wants to continue making the kind of money that he does, he needs to be more productive at the plate and on the field. Maybe some extra time in the cages would do him some good, or bring in Mike Schmidt to help Ryan find his bat.

This team has the makings of a winner, and hopefully Ryan will start contributing more at the plate. He can't count on other members of the team to continue to pick him up, which they have done.

--gfo

2007: A Retrospective

As with any year, there were a lot of ups and downs, both figuratively and literally. Overall the downs outdrew the ups. Most of the downs came in the results of slips and falls, which although sporadic, and caused no serious injuries save for my ego, were certainly frustrating to deal with.

Of course the big blow came in July, when the neurologist finally dropped the MS bomb on me. Although we both had suspected and expected to finally hear him say it, albeit we did have to ask him directly, was certainly a shock to say the least.

So with that, came monthly IV infusions, which take about 1½-2 hours, and some more questions and further exacerbations of the disease. Most notably cognitive issues, with speaking, reading, and sometimes, typing. The speaking and reading when combined can be most troublesome as I am a lector at our parish, and have had a more than a few faux pas whilst reading. Most of them, were barely noticeable, only to me. I did have a minor flub during the mass of thanksgiving with Cardinal Foley during the first reading, which could very well have been perceived as nerves. I did however nail the second reading.

On the positive side, I am still able to ride my bike although still inside, I managed to crank out, 2,361.30 miles. It could have been more, but due to some physical and mental issues I took some time off, most of it was during the summer, when it was just too hot to ride, and I have to be careful with the heat.

More on the positive, the kids are doing great, both are great students, and are active in sports. I coach my daughters softball team.

The Mrs continues to work as both a teacher and part time nurse, while auspiciously maintaining order in an often chaotic household.

Perhaps the highlight of the year, was the naming of John Patrick Foley to the College of Cardinals, and his subsequent visit to our parish to celebrate mass. It was a very monumental night for my family and me, as well as our entire parish community

No retrospect would complete without at least a mention of the big boned cat. He still manages to get his 21-22 hours of sleep a day. This year he managed to kill at least five mice, and one bird. Four mice were in the house, one and the bird were outside...not too bad for a cat who is sans front claws. He also continues to be a thorn in the Mrs's side, as they clash over the sleeping arrangements...he wants to sleep with us, and she doesn't want him in our room. Its never ending battle.

On the sports front, the Phillies made the post-season for the first time in 14 years, only to be swept in the NLDS. All the excitement was short lived, it was a fun ride for the Phillies this year...side note, they lost their 10,000^th game in franchise history, and your's truly was in attendance for the game. Although it's not a record they were happy to break, it was bound to happen in a franchise that has been around as long as they have.

The Eagles finished the year 8-8, missing the playoffs on the tiebreaker. A lot of questions need to be answered about the team, and the off season, should be very interesting to say the least. Most of which will be interesting fodder for the local radio and print media to speculate on, as well as your author.

Stay tuned to this blog, as there will be plenty more coming, in all aspects of sports, MS, and as the race for the White House heats up, I will be posting more and more about that as well.

Enjoy 2008

--gfo