The spineless LA Dodgers decided to not retaliate for Manny being thrown behind while they were still in Philly. Doing so might have caused the Philly fans to hurt their feelings. So they waited a few days, until they got back to LA and had a 6-1 lead in Game 3. Then Kuroda threw at Victorino’s head in what was, let’s face it, the only interesting moment of Game 3. I really wouldn’t have minded if Victorino had responded by throwing his bat at Kuroda. Sorry, but a 94 mph fastball is a lethal weapon, and paybacks are a b****. What was Russell Martin crying about all night? He got hit with a 50 mph pillow and started smashing Gatorade coolers. What a team of sissy punks. And Manny showed how tough he was, going into pro wrestler histrionics with three people holding him back and no chance of a fight. What a warrior! The Phillies take on the spineless yellow cowards again tonight at 8:22.

Sometimes I just flat out love this town. P.S. If anyone has an extra ticket for Game 2 please let me know (and yes I’ll pay good money for it.)

To me, it’s not even close. My thoughts after the jump (click on “Continue reading Poll Question” below).

Continue reading “Poll Question” →

That 2nd inning was just unreal. Here is my write up about Zen and the Brett Myers at-bat. For beerleaguers take, click here. But I have a quick question: between the Eagles loss to a mediocre Bears team and the Phillies two wins vs. Milwaukee, do you think the scales finally tipped? Is it too early to call Philadelphia…a baseball town?

The Mets-Nationals game was on at O’Neals last night, and it was like tennis, all the heads swinging on a pivot between that game and the Phils game. At one point during the Mets game, there was a question Mets fans could vote on via text or on the internet. It was how will the Mets finish the season. Here were the results (keep in mind, this is Mets TV, so pretty much everyone answering was a Mets fan):

• 32% Win the division
• 12% Win the wild card
• 56% miss the playoffs

Looks like they’re feeling another collapse. But good news for them: the Brewers are collapsing even harder, and actually lost with Sabathia on the hill yesterday. I still think the Mets will make the playoffs, unless the Astros just go wild. The Brewers are done.

Went to the Blue Horizon on Friday, and thought you guys might enjoy some of the sights and sounds from the event. I highly recommend going to the next event on October 3rd. It is a Philadelphia Must Do.

• The Eagles enjoyed a blowout win over the Rams, who will be hard pressed to match their 2007 total of 3 wins. But the Eagles weren’t the only ones enjoying a blowout this weekend, and 38-3 looks like a thriller when compared to the biggest blowout of all time. And in case you were curious, the Eagles biggest blowout win came in 1934, when they defeated the Cincinnati Reds 64-0.
• Arkansas State got off to a good start in their season opener, knocking off Texas Southern, 83-10.
• The record for biggest blowout in college football history was Georgia Tech over Cumberland College, 222-0. This game was a statisticians dream: Cumberland ran 27 times for -42 yards with 9 fumbles, and their QB was 2-18 with 6 interceptions. Georgia Tech had over 1,000 more yards rushing than Cumberland, finishing with 978 yards rushing. (They did not attempt a pass.) As the NY Times notes, Tech may have run up the score because Cumberland’s baseball team had defeated theirs 22-0 in 1915.
• Slovakia’s Women’s Ice hockey team may have just one upped Georgia Tech, as they defeated Bulgaria 82-0 over the weekend. They averaged one goal every 44 seconds.

First of all, about that loss last night: It was catastrophic. There is a huge difference between being down 2 games and being down 3 games in September. Huge. The Phils go to NYC to play the Mets this weekend. It is, for the Phils, a playoff series, nothing less. It is a best of 3 series, and if the Phils don’t win two, their season is done. Period.

2ndly, Duane’s World regular and tortured Phils fan Johnnie supplied me with a list of 8 things that any casual Phils fan with half a brain knows that Charlie doesn’t. I added a couple at the end.

1. Someone pitching effectively, with obviously good stuff, dosen’t have to come out of the game because the next batter hits from the opposite side.
2. Pat Burrell is not the worst fielder in the starting line-up. Watch your first baseman for a while.
3. A tired Brett Myers or Cole Hammels is a more effective pitcher than anyone in your bullpen, save Lidge and Romero.
4. Pinch-hitting So Taguchi for a pitcher does not increase the chances of getting someone on base.
5. Playing a hunch once in a while is great. It brings an element of surprise. Repeating the same move redundantly reduces the chances it will succede.
6. Jason Werth hits right-handed pitching better than Jenkins or Bruntlett. He’s not perfect, but he’s earned the role of every day starting rightfielder.
7. Ryan Madson can never be trusted when the game is on the line
8. Replacing Pat Burrell with So Taguchi in the later innings actually worsens the outfield defense.

Ones I added:

9. Eric Bruntlett should never, under any circumstances, start a game for the Philadelphia Phillies. Never. Never. Never.
10. The team needs a defensive 1st base coach to explain to Ryan Howard what to do in any situation. He is not only slow and clumsy in the field, he is dumb in the field as well. His blunder last night of throwing to 2nd with the bases loaded would have honestly been stupid if a Little Leaguer did it.

Feel free to vent about last night’s devastating loss or add more things to the list below.

Most of the people around town I’ve talked to are pretty uninspired by this current Philadelphia Eagles team. The over/under on wins this season seems to hover around 8. Ray Didinger, who probably knows more about football than anyone in this city, sounds uninspired by them. Turnout at Lehigh wasn’t even all that great. So yesterday, a bombshell in the form of my latest copy of Sports Illustrated. SI has them finishing 12-4 and going to the Super Bowl. What? Am I the only one who is dumbfounded by this? This is an 8-8 team that gained one good cornerback and lost their only good receiver for 6 weeks. A team with a QB who begged for weapons and got none. A stubborn coach who thinks that his system can overcome the glaring deficiency at WR, even though all of the evidence proves him wrong. Sorry but I still got this team at 8-8. Your prediction?

Ok, so I’m not going to gloat after last night’s amazing win because every time I gloat the team immediately goes in the tank. But can someone please explain to me why these two teams don’t play each other a single time in the last 3 weeks of the season? Did no-one at MLB get the memo that this is the best new rivalry in baseball? Did no one see any of the epic battles these two had last year? Did no one really think that these two teams would really be fighting it out for the pennant come September? Because if so, why in the world would they only schedule 3 games between these two in the most exciting month of the season?

Mildly amusing moment last night at the Bards. With two outs in the 9th, Eric Bruntlett comes to the plate. “Game over” I scream. “This guy may be the worst player in the major leagues. I’d rather them bat Cole Hamels in this situation.” Next pitch is a double into the gap, scoring Werth (who woulda been out if the Mets had made a good throw home). “Eric Bruntlett! I love that guy! Nobody believed me when I said he was a gamer. I always believed in him!” Great win last night. Great win.