Pre-snap high-fiving, a common Superbowl party faux pas
So another Superbowl Sunday is upon us.
Yippee …
Another opportunity to watch The Big Game with a crowd of one-time-a-year football fans. The same ones who will make insightful contributions and ask pointless questions throughout The Big Game until a mortuary silence descends in stunning suddenness at every commercial break.
Yep … Fun times …
I have long decided that most seasons the Best Pro Football Games are played in the weekends of the Division and Conference Championship games. The mania of Superbowl week just stokes a lot of distraction and the interests of the football shoobies.
Peyton, the guy waving his hands
A good thing for the NFL corporatists, not so much if you actually like to get inside the game; enjoy Joe Buck’s insights (ducking behind the couch); and hear Peyton (Broncos quarterback, the guy who will be standing behind the players, who are all bending over, waving his hands around like Abbie Lee Miller on “Dance Moms“) playing mind games at the line of scrimmage (that’s the place where they spot the ball before every play).
The Superbowl has evolved into a huge social event, as opposed to a reason to watch a really good football game, over the decades since few people cared about the Green Bay Packers (They are not playing today.) manhandling the Kansas City Chiefs (Andy Reid’s new team, also not playing today) 35-10 in the first Superbowl (1967), back when The Big Game wasn’t even called the Superbowl (AFL-NFL World Championship Game).
But that’s OK. After any event has a successful run as long as this one has, it takes on a life of its own. I have gone to many Superbowl happenings and have avoided others.
It all depends on the varied moods and interest levels of this cranky man. And who’s playing …
If New England or New York was in it again, I’d probably welcome the chance to get be hopelessly distracted.
Today, I’ll just hunker down for this Superbowl Sunday and watch it in the comfort and relative quiet of my own home. Hope it’s a good one!
A tribute to the only reason I ever watched a Sixers game
Now before I disappoint, I must warn you that this is not a treasure trove of Cranky Man’s various sports accomplishments. Many though they are, I was a child born before the Age of Electronics-at-Your-Fingertips. Sadly there is no video, films or even a decent grainy photo of those numerous magical moments from my past.
No video of those broken field runs on cold, snowy days with a well-worn pigskin under arm as I danced through flailing arms or plowed through helpless tacklers on makeshift gridirons along Ashton Road. No snapshots of my gazelle-like grace as I tracked down a moonshot homerun fail on a sun-scorched softball field at Thomas Holme School at Willits and Holme Avenues. No montage of my patented top-shelf, net-filling wrist shot during ridiculously hot and humid summer night street hockey games in the parking lot of the old Crown, Cork and Seal factory at Angus and Ashton Roads.
Sadly those magical moments are lost forever to the public except as they reside in my somewhat refracted long-term memory, exaggerated somewhat perhaps – like photo-shopped wedding pictures of an imperfect bride. However, I might be able to find a few witnesses, given enough time and access to a sufficient supply of memory jogging altering alcohol.
No, what we have here are those distance moments and recent events in Philly sports history that shaped my psyche as a Philadelphia sports fan.
Some of the moments I have selected may surprise you. In many cases they are not those iconic moments when Championships were sealed for the Ages. Instead, they might be the plays that made that Championship seem probable, maybe inevitable.
Some are simply those indelible feats of personal accomplishments from which heroic sports memories are made. Several memories are those of epic failure, that as an early sports memories many recall those long stretches of Philly sports futility.
Needless to say, your list of memorable Philly sports moments will include some of these, and others as well. So feel free to offer your own, and maybe it will show up on a future trip down Memory Lane!
The Earliest Baseball Magic – Fathers Day 1964: The family is bundled into the car driving home from an afternoon Fathers Day visit. I am eight years old. Dad turns on the radio just in time to catch the last few innings of Jim Bunning‘s perfect game for the Philadelphia Phillies against the futile New York Mets in the first game of a sun-baked doubleheader.
Bunning was an all out, full-body thrower; often finishing his follow through his left forearm on the ground. He would retire from baseball in 1971 and would be elected a U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1999. He still serves in the Senate,
The Night Superman wore a “P” – June 23, 1971: It was an ungodly hot day in Cincinnati as the Phillies prepared to take on the Reds that night. Pitcher Rick Wise was not feeling well on the back-end of a bout with flu-like symptoms. When he stepped out onto the Riverfront Stadium Astroturf field, the on-field temperature was close to 120 degrees.
Wise recalled that his warm-up pitches seemed like they could barely reach the plate. Yet after the Reds went down in order through the first nine batters, Wise started to feel stronger figuring the heat had sweated the last of the flu from his system. When he batted in the fifth inning, Reds starter Ross Grimsley left a slider up in the zone and Wise hit it out of the park for a homerun.
At some point after this, a bored fifteen year-old heard from a friend that Wise was pitching a no-hitter. The Phillies weren’t much better – if better at all – than the 1964 version. So not many 15 year-olds spent their time inside the house during the Summer watching them struggle in their mediocrity. But a no-hitter is a no-hitter, so we all ran into the house to catch the last innings.
In the eighth inning, with a no-hitter a very real possibility, Wise came to bat against reliever Clay Carroll. When he looked down at the third-base coach for the sign on a 2-0 count, George Myatt simply turned his back to Wise. He could swing away. Carroll layed one out over the plate and Wise drove it for his second homerun of the game.
In the ninth, Wise got two outs and none other than perennial hit machine, Pete Rose, stood between Wise and no-hit, two homerun immortality. Rose worked the count to 3-2 then …
In one of those romantic twists that makes baseball such an interesting game, Rick Wise was the starting pitcher in that second game of the doubleheader in which Jim Bunning pitched his perfect game 7 years before!
Favell’s Big Flop … April 2, 1972: It’s the last game of the Philadelphia Flyers 1971-72 regular season. The hometown hockey club, which I had just started to follow, needed to simply avoid a loss to grab the last playoff spot. A win or even a tie against the Sabres in Buffalo would do the trick.
Doug Favell was in the nets. Favell was known as a flopper, who loved to flop and flail in the crease.
As the third period ran down into its final seconds, the Flyers clung to their first playoff berth in stubborn defensive hockey and a 2-2 tie. With just 15 seconds left in the game Sabres defenseman Gerry Meehan – a former Flyer himself – collected a puck inside the Sabres zone and made a pass in the neutral zone. As he cleared the blue line he got the puck back …
I was devastated and for months broke into nervous twitches every time I heard the name Doug Favell.
Clarke and The Hound: Of course much better Flyers memories were right around the corner!
Bobby Clarke‘s overtime goal in Game 2 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals didn’t clinch The Cup, but it convinced this Flyers fan that they would inevitably bring Lord Stanley to Philly for the very first time!
Then in 1975 the Flyers won the Stanley Cup again. But it was Bob “The Hound” Kelly who set the table just 11 seconds into the 3rd period of a scoreless Game 6. He absorbed a hellacious hit from Buffalo defenseman Jerry Korab; controlled the puck behind the net; and with a little help from Bobby Clarke nudging Korab out-of-the-way …
Current Flyers and NHL broadcaster, Bill Clement scored the second and final goal to wrap up the Flyers successful Stanley Cup defense.
Boone to Rose: Any Philadelphia sports fan knows the date,October 21, 1980. On this night the Phillies would win their first World Series. But it was this iconic play between Bob Boone and Pete Rose from the clincher that seemed to represent the hand of the baseball gods to anoint those Phillies as World Champions.
Wilbert romps through Cowboy-land: It was January 7, 1981. The Philadelphia Eagles had been improving steadily since Dick Vermeil had been hired as coach in 1976. By 1978 – and the Miracle in the Meadowlands – the Eagles were playoff bound over the next several seasons. Then, on a bitterly cold day in January 1981, they were facing the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game and a chance to go to their first Superbowl.
On their very first drive of the game, the Eagles drove down to the Cowboys 42-yard line and Wilbert Montgomery set the tone for the rest of the day.
Wilbert’s romp and an unbreakable defense won the game 20-7. The Eagles lost the Super Bowl however, to Jim Plunkett and the Oakland Raiders.
J & J … No, I was never a big Sixers fan; but there have been times I watched, enthralled to see some of the best athletes to ever play in Philly.
In 1983, when the Sixers won their last NBA title, it was Julius Erving, Bobby Jones, and Moses Malone – the final piece to the puzzle – who made it possible. Jones playing the perimeter and stout on defense; Malone backing up his “fo’, fo’, fo'” playoff series prediction; and Julius simply being Julius.
Shane, Stairs and Utley’s Gambit: When the Phillies finally broke through again in 2008, their ascendency to World Series Champion was no sure thing. Yet it was a collection of plays that eventually convinced me that it could, should, then would happen.
Victorino did it again, with the Phillies down 5-3 in the 8th inning of Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Chavez Ravine against the Los Angeles Dodgers. I always though Victorino’s home run off Cory Wade was even bigger than Matt Stairs‘ game-winning deep space launch off Jonathan Broxton, because it changed the entire Dodgers relief strategy as well as tied the game. Both were unforgettable moments that convinced me the Phillies should win the whole enchilada.
But it was Chase Utley‘s play in the rain-delayed Game 6 of the 2008 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays that proclaimed to this fan that the Phillies would win their second World Championship.
And finally, I leave you with this little gem that slightly pre-dates my own backyard football career. How exactly we are able to reach all the way back to 1928 to watch a sandlot game of football is amazing!
I am working on a post of those Philly sports moments I found the most exciting/memorable. Can you guess what they are?
For perspective, these are events and plays that occurred during my sports-aware years. Being born in 1956, I wouldn’t have been “aware” until maybe the age of 6-8 years old.
I talking the most memorable, not the most obvious. So don’t think Brad Lidge kneeling near the mound. Think about what might have convinced me that was the likely outcome.
Also, keep in mind, I only have a passing interest in anything basketball.
I have ten moments in the queue, and might add one or two more. And only one – not so oddly enough – is a “negative event”. Several are individual accomplishments, but certainly not all are.
The Philadelphia Eagles are nowhere near completing their transformation into the image and likeness of Chip Kelly. They are nowhere near the level of play needed to compete among the top teams of the National Football League. They are nowhere near playing the kind of football that normally leads to a NFC East Division Championship, then again neither is the rest of the NFC East.
So the potential is here for some playoff football in Philly!
Of course the potential is also there that they will drive you bat scat crazy, as they did against the Giants on October 27, which was probably the worst pro football game I can ever remember watching. And the Dallas game the previous week was almost as bad.
But two weeks a difference can make.
Nick Foles (Photo from usatoday.com)
Now, despite the title of this post, I am honestly trying to not getting ahead of reasonable expectations. Even if the Eagles were to triumph in the NFC East, which looks like the only way they can get to the post-season tournament, they shouldn’t get very far. However, just getting there after two really crappy seasons and a coaching change should be success enough.
Andy Reid won only four games his initial year in Philly. Kelly has that beat already; but he has benefitted from a significantly better roster than Reid had in 1999.
My only expectation … (Hope is probably a better word, if you can use “hope” when speaking about sports.) … for this season was to be entertained once a week, by watching a well-played football game and observing how this team transformed itself.
Expectations there have been met, although those two games against the Divisional rivals not named Washington still leave a bad taste.
LeSean McCoy (Photo from pennlive.com)
With three home games over the next four weeks – sandwiched around a bye week, the Eagles are poised to give Dallas a run for the division. That would be enough of an accomplishment for this season.
The unfortunate part of this scenario – of course – is that these games are Home on the Linc, where the Eagles have lost 10 in a row! That’s unfathomable … And one would think that correcting this aberration is a priority for Chip Kelly.
Irregardless the future looks bright.
Nick Foles has taken a stranglehold on the Quarterback job. The Defense, which looked horrid in the early weeks, is playing much better. Adapting to and playing better in their new 3-4 alignment after a rough stretch on the Learning Curve. And LeSean McCoy is being … well … LeSean McCoy.
Future expectations look very promising. If Kelly can wring a 5-5 start from the remnants of the Reid era and a crop of draft picks, then a few seasons of further talent stocking and development can tease out your Philly bred tendency towards cynicism. And one of my fears, that the Eagles would wind up trapped in another era of revolving door Head Coach selections may be avoided.
For now, I am modifying my projected season record for the Eagles to 9-7.
It could be a lot worse, which is what I had expected.
Rich Dubee will not be back as Phillies pitching coach next season.
The Phillies announced this morning they will not renew his contract. Dubee had been pitching coach nine seasons, which is tied with Cy Perkins (1946-54) and Ray Rippelmeyer (1970-78) for the longest run in that position in franchise history.
The Phillies could make more coaching staff changes, although they said those announcements could come at a later date.
“Rich was a big part of a wonderful era here and in his nine years he served our organization very well,” Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a statement. “We believe it is time for change as we move forward. We thank Rich for his professionalism and contribution to the Phillies.”
Dubee’s fate seemed set the moment the organization fired Charlie Manuel on Aug. 16. He knows how the business works, and he probably figured new manager Ryne Sandberg wanted his…
After watching ESPN’s fawning over and RG3 preening in anticipation of his highly anticipated return to the gridiron; after listening to the negative ESPN nabobs questioning how the University of Oregon Ducks‘ offense could possibly work in the modern NFL and enduring their almost unanimous vote (Well done, Trent Dilfer!) in favor of the hometown Washington Redskins; after watching RG3 burst out of the inflatable Redskins helmet to kneel upon FedEx Field (Did you too wonder whether RG3 was going to kiss the FedEx turf?), it was a pleasure to view Washington, D.C.’s reactions to Chip Kelly‘s High Flying Circus.
Such was the pleasure of hearing the stadium rocking “RG3 Is Back!” celebration turn into a hushed “WTF is happening?!?” moment-of-crises for Redskins fans. Watching the Skins’ defense waving to each other; gesturing wildly in one direction or the other with each new formation wrinkle. Seeing the expression on Mike Shanahan‘s face as the Eagles’ score mounted and his offense sputtered throughout the first quarter.
McCoy had his dancing shoes on
The only visual I did not enjoy was the look on Robert Griffin, III’s face as he struggled to counter the ease with which Michael Vick and the predatory Eagles sliced through the Redskins’ defense. It was obvious that RG3 is not completely back from his catastrophic knee injury. Respecting Griffin’s game, it was tough to watch him struggle last night.
Now if it was Tony Romo …
Yep, Chip Kelly’s High Flying Circus was in town! There was plenty for Eagles fans to like …
ease with which Eagles receivers were getting open
quick, decisive reads Vick made in shredding the Redskins’ defense
absence of predictability
LeSean McCoy racking up 112 yards rushing in the first half
21 Eagles first downs to 3 for the Skins in the first half
turnover tally favoring the Birds
surprisingly efficient defense
Trent Cole likes playing defense standing up
As much fun as last night was, this post really is not the near-sighted love fest it sounds like. This Eagles fan has been through too many wild roller coaster rides that ended on the business side of a brick wall to think this game can be this easy. For surely there be monsters out there just looking for the chance to gut this circus and dance on its crushed three-ring tent.
That being said, it was refreshing to finally get the wrapper off the new toys and see how well they played together. We thrilled to see an offense that had you perched on the edge of the seat to take it all in.
We were relieved to see a defense that remembered how to tackle and found ways to get the ball back. We were delighted to find that unorthodox can work if for no other reason than it made football look like fun for both players and fans.
But beware … There be monsters out there!
My concerns start with Michael Vick‘s always tenuous hold on football health, the possible adjustments that the League’s defensive geniuses will throw at Chip Kelly’s HFC, the ability of McCoy to handle the workload AND stay healthy, and whether the defense can maintain a high level of play (at least from that first half). The rather obvious observation from last night’s game is that keeping the trio of Vick, McCoy and DeSean Jackson healthy will be key to this team’s long-term football health
Yep, there are questions aplenty. But at least the ride looks to be exciting!
The day they decided to fire Charlie Manuel was another Black Friday in Philadelphia Phillies history!
The other Black Friday most Phillies fans my age remember was Game 3 in the 1977 National League Championship Series, when the home team lost a collapse-from-ahead game to Tommy Lasorda and the Los Angeles Dodgers after relief pitcher Gene Garber gave up three runs in the 9th to blow a two-run lead with TWO OUT!
The lasting image from that day was watching Greg Luzinski desperately trying to glove a drive off the bat of Manny Mota, the result of a puzzling defensive move manager Danny Ozark failed to make in replacing the lugging Luzinski with Jerry Martin, something which he had done all season long in the late innings.
But this Black Friday was different. It’s one thing to have disaster strike in the Heat of Battle, to have Defeat snatched from the jaws of Victory as the result of athletic plays made – or not made. This one however was self-inflicted.
It happened suddenly with little warning to fans settling in for a tough weekend series against those Black Friday Dodgers. Aside from the usual water-cooler and talking head speculation revolving around another lost season, there were few signs of a pending change.
A hastily called news conference was the chosen method on the same day the Phillies had intended to honor Charlie Manuel’s recent 1000th victory in red pinstripes. Reports also had leaked through on-line media that Manuel was out as the Phillies manager.
No sadder image exists for Phillies baseball (Photo by: Chris Szagola, Associated Press)
It was a very odd, very unfair way to yank the ejection cord on a World Series Champion manager. At times like these that goofy sports reputation of Philadelphia seems so totally well-earned.
Charlie was a winner. He was the Right Man at just the right time. He was down-to-earth. Charlie was baseball classiness with backwoods common sense and a reassuring confidence.
And although it was clear that a change was needed and that lovable Charlie should not return next year, the Phillies were foolish to jettison Manuel before October.
Many fans felt he deserved better. Charlie had earned not only the right to finish out the season free from blame, but the opportunity for the fans to show their appreciation and affection for a well-respected member of the Phillies community and the Philadelphia region!
Instead, the forever-to-be-popular manager was unceremoniously and uncaringly dumped by an organization that has lost its Baseball Way under the management Amaro.
Black Friday was a real eye-opener for those of us who live Phillies baseball.
For Phillies fans it was not hard to recognize that Manuel’s tenure was coming to an end. But the team’s slide in recent seasons from NL East powerhouse was hardly his doing. Bad free agent signings, key injuries to core players, and a lack of young talent in the minors ready to help had so much more to do with it.
But NONE of that were the product of Charlie Manuel!
Before and after Black Friday pics
My reaction, as shown above, was predictably emotional like many Phillies fans. I’m getting too old to suffer the ignorant actions of men making a living at silly games. You earn my unbridled loyalty only to a point. Once you go way past Stupid, I tend to stop caring.
The defrocking we witnessed Friday was a self-inflicted wound of the worst kind. For the Philllies showed their true colors, and Ruben Amaro, Jr. showed us HIS.
Amaro’s tears were there. His insistence that Charlie Manuel meant so much to him. The claims that this was not an exercise in finger-pointing, despite the fact that Amaro’s finger was on the trigger and that gun was pointed squarely at Manuel’s center mass.
Now no doubt, there are plenty of baseball reasons for which one can justify the firing of a manager with just 42 games remaining on the schedule and the team is 20 games out of first.
Certainly it seemed that the team had stopped caring enough to pay attention to detail. Maybe Charlie should have turned over a few post-game buffet tables in the Phillies’ locker room. In a perfect world, maybe we could understand Amaro’s stated desire to give interim manager, Ryne Sandberg an audition.
But Uncle Charlie deserved a far better ending than this. And in my opinion none of those baseball reasons outweighed the respect the Phillies owed him!
That Amaro was the one doing the firing was particularly galling. Afterall, this team was much more the product of Amaro’s foibles than it was of Charlie’s managing ability and effort.
Amaro was the one who admitted to doing a horrible job of putting together the Phillies 2013 bullpen. He was the one who brought in Delmon Young; who told us Mike Adams was a good bet; who gave us an outfield without much “field”. Amaro was the one who stocked the less-than-stellar bench.
New Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Sandberg is exactly who I wanted to see get the next chance to move the Phillies back to the top of baseball. But not like this, not now.
As partial season ticket holders, we have been prepared for a long, slow climb back to the top. But now the total disregard for a once successful and well-respected face of the franchise has left a bitter taste on top of an embarrassing season.
If Amaro gets to ride this out, it’s difficult to see how the Phillies get better regardless of who’s managing in the dugout.
The week before Fathers Day had been simply a miserable one. Suffering from a bad head cold and another affliction, the details of which you should thank me for not sharing, had me irritable (OK … more irritable), whiny, and wiped out.
By Friday I was ready for the “nuclear option” which simply involved loading my body up with enough pharmaceuticals to render myself Borderline Functional and a walking (at times barely shuffling) advertisement for Modern OTC Pharmacology.
The good news … I started feeling better on Saturday, the bad news … peeing green for two days …
By Saturday afternoon I was feeling semi-human; and as is the object of my peculiar OCD, I decided to cut the lawn, both in an attempt to feel halfway normal and to avoid having to do it on Fathers’ Day.
So I went outside to don my special Lawn Cutting Sneakers – identifiable by the thick coating of hardened green lawn slime – and get moving … albeit very, very slowly. Clearly, as the story will illustrate, I was not close to thinking clearly or acting thoughtfully.
As I tied my left shoe, I felt something sticking my toe. It felt like any small piece of garden debris that finds its way inside any gardener’s shoe and thereby joins the list of recent developments longing to make my life just a bit more uncomfortable.
What I didn’t notice at first was that the “debris” was moving around ever-so-slightly all on its own.
It must have been the after-effects of all the medications I had pumping through my organs. I actually got the other shoe on; stood up; and took a few steps towards the garage when I said to no one in particular, “What the blankety-blank is that?!?”
Still not quite over my body-brain numb, I meandered over to the porch and removed the irritated foot from the green-coated sneaker.
Maybe it was pre-meditated! (Picture from seananmcguire.com)
A flash of yellow on my sock was like a jolt of electricity to my medication-addled zombieness. Hopping and cursing, and flailing at the little yellow bugger, whose only sin was the misfortune of getting trapped in my smelly, foot-filled sneaker.
Not that I cared. Them and me, we have a history.
So its broken corpse was left in the middle of the front porch as an example for all its surviving breed, as this was not the first time I had been the object of this ambush tactic. My pain this time was just as real as the last.
It was a Summer maybe five years ago. A rather hot but enjoyable day at Five Ponds Golf Course in Warminster. Having just finished hole 11, and moving casually off the green to our carts and the 12th tee.
As my friends and I are sometimes prone to do, we had procured a few adult beverages – in can form – from the snack stand at the turn. My first beer sat in the cart opened and awaiting my return.
As I tilted can-to-mouth and gulped, I immediately thought, “What did those two (fill in the blank) put in my drink?” But as I moved to spit out the foreign object, I realized it wasn’t an “object” at all.
hunter-killer terrorist hornet
Jumping up and spitting was never done so quickly or violently, my mind raced to the possibility that the “thing” might go the “other way”. My panic and confusion didn’t help matters and My Little Stowaway got stuck on my lip …
You can imagine the result.
Several jabs later, I finally got the little bugger out. Only he wasn’t no “little bugger”. She – obviously a She – was a hornet about the size of my thumb. She had got me at least twice on the bottom lip.
Instantly, I was in mucho pain and running through my dictionary of colorful colloquialisms.
My friends – on the other hand – were in hysterics … until of course they saw the size of her broken corpse. They were awe-struck for about 10 seconds. Then the hysterics started over again, only louder.
Guys are funny that way, although I will say it does take your mind off the possibility that you could be dying of anaphylaxis.
We considered what we should do, given my obvious discomfort and size of the animal that had attacked me.
Well … actually they decided. I was still hopping around; swearing a lightening-blue streak; and stuffing ice into my mouth.
Naturally they decided to keep playing unless I wanted to “Go crying to my mommy; and get my boo-boo fixed.” Or words to that effect …
Guys are funny that way.
Mother Nature has it out for me … Why?
Of course I decided to keep playing. Figuring, if I’m going to die, I might as well croak on a golf course, as is any serious golfer’s dream. Just think of all the neat stories my friends could tell as they divvy up my golf equipment and supplies after the funeral!
Yep, guys are funny.
I’m not sure why Nature hates me. I always pride myself on my live-and-let-live outlook, so long as you’re not a weed on the lawn or a mouse in the house.
On the other hand, I did par that long, straight and difficult par-5 that day! Moaning, groaning, and adding a few new entries into the vulgate along the way …
I lived to face Mother Nature’s little terrorists another day.
So as Fathers Day was spent watching the U.S. Open Golf Championship, I couldn’t help but think maybe Phil Mickelson – as he faded in yet another Open – could have used a few hornets in his shoes that last day at Merion!
Back in December I poked a bit of fun at the hysterics surrounding the fiscal cliff federal budget scenario. It was fun because anyone with a pulse could readily assume that the horrors predicted would be more limited and less painful than predicted by the politicians and media pundits.
But when you start to talk about the ill fortunes of Philadelphia sports teams …
Well, it’s only “fun” until the losses pile up so high that the fans start turning on the hometown stars. Then it gets ugly fast.
The latest bit of Philadelphia Phillies bad news – Roy Halladay‘s shoulder – sent a good number of fans, prodded along by the vultures of local talk radio, searching their basements for the torches and pitchforks.
“It’s Amaro’s fault for bringing in a bunch of old guys!”
“Charlie let them pitch too long into games!”
“Dubee couldn’t coach a Little League pitcher!”
Picture Halladay Phillies road jersey and hair on fire
Cliff diving for the Philadelphia sports fan usually includes a running start, a full-throated scream, and the lighting afire of whatever hair they have yet to pull out watching Jimmy Rollins’ first-pitch swings or Ryan Howards’ bewilderment with left-handed breaking balls.
Hence there has been talk about a “fire sale” and which players would be the best trade bait ; which potential free agents should be signed or allowed to walk; and whether the team should fire Manuel now or wait until the official funeral in October.
Spare me the drama, please!
In the NL East standings, the Phlailin’s are 5 games out of 1st Place (prior to the San Francisco series) with ONLY 129 games remaining!
A lot can happen in 30 games, let alone 4 times that many. And no team should be in a position at this point of the season where the loss of one pitcher – even a multiple Cy Young Award winner (Halladay: 2003, 2010) – spells doom for a team’s season.
One possibility many fans are missing is the very real prospect that the Phightin’s pitching rotation could actually be STRONGER without the every-five-game struggles of present-day Roy Halladay. With the emergence of Jonathan Pettibone as a promising contributor (at least in the early stages of his first cycle through the National League), it’s not hard to consider the chances that a Tyler Cloyd or an Adam Morgan (Jesse Biddle is not ready.) … could step up and at the very least, improve on the typical 2013 Halladay outing.
Kendrick has a gun!
Certainly one can argue that Kyle Kendrick has demonstrated his credentials for moving up to #3 in the rotational pecking order and contributing significantly. On most MLB teams those 4 and 5-slot rotation pitchers are a toss-up and a prayer. Just how much worse – or better – could a pair of young arms out of the Phillies farm system do?
I’m willing to keep a smile on my face and give the kids a chance!
The real problem, the real frustration is who’s hitting at the plate, not who’s throwing to it. A decent offense can mask a host of pitching problems. The American League makes a living of going “all softball” in its lineups, leaving worries about pitching a distant second … or third.
The Phillies are currently hitting .239 (12th of 15 in NL) with 28 homeruns (9th), an OPS of .675 (14th) and 119 runs (12th). Michael Young is the only regular hitting over .300 (.333). After that, only Ryan Howard is batting over .270 (.272). And despite his less-then-impressive batting average (.250), Domonic Brown is still tied with Chase Utley for the team lead in homeruns (6).
The crux of just how bad the offense is the fact that a team built to hit homeruns is neither hitting homeruns nor hitting for average.
That’s what scares me the most about this season, not the pitching.
Worried? Yes … Ready to give up on the season? That could hardly be further from my mind!
There are still 129 games left … or four times the number of games already played. That’s a long climb for the rest of the National League, just as it will be for the Phils. A lot can happen …
It’s more than enough time for the Phillies’ bats to get their act together; the pitching rotation figured out; and to make a move into the thick of the NL East race.
Or not …
But I’d give second thoughts to launching yourself over the edge of the cliff this soon.
Written before Monday’s game vs. Cincinnati Reds …
Twelve games … just 12.
The sample size might be too small to draw any significant conclusions; yet the nature of baseball, as the ultimate sport for over-indulgent spectators, demands we over-analyze at every possible moment.
Besides, I was always of the opinion that the first 10 games of the season will give you a sense of what a team looks like in the very early stages, and provides the absolute minimum for filling one’s irresistible desire to play the analyst and per chance sound like a fool. Regardless, here we go …
6-6 … and 4th in the NL East Division … a troubling 5 games out of 1st place already, mainly the result of a very hot start by the re-tooled Atlanta Braves. The Braves have had their way with everyone they have faced this season except for Cliff Lee. The good news is they just smacked around the Washington Nationals, the one team the Phightin’s no doubt also want to knock down a peg or two.
So long as they do so without losing sight of the Braves.
Speaking of Cliff Lee … What a difference a year makes! In 2012, Lee did not see his first W until July! That was partly the result of too many gopherballs (26 HRs in 211 IP) and an ERA north of 6.00 in June, but a general lack of run support was also an issue.
In this early season, Lee has been back to his usual rock-steady self, with 2 Ws in two starts, 14 strikeouts without a single base-on-balls, and a spry 1.08 ERA.
Kendrick with hot Survivor wife, Stephanie
The part of the rotation not named Cole Hamels or Roy Halladay has been without major cause for concern. Lee, Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan have combined for 2.83 ERA (41.3 IP, 13 ER), giving up only 5 walks over 30 strikeouts. Halladay’s struggles are well documented; but Hamels’ starts had been unexpected stressors until his most recent outing against the offense-challenged Miami Marlins. Cole did not get a win despite a good effort because – once again – the Phillies bats were disturbingly quiet. Hopefully Hamels will shed that unsightly 7.56 ERA as the Spring season progresses.
The bullpen has been a Jekyll & Hyde issue altogether. The back-end of the bullpen, including Antonio Bastardo and Phillippe Aumont has been more than adequate. The middle relievers have been anything but relieving, unless you consider relieving the bases of inherited runners somehow a positive trait.
Just wishing Chad Durbin was still with Atlanta …
One suspects the middle relief roles will flesh out in the weeks to come, with Rueben Amaro Jr.‘s unhealthy fascination with Chad Durbin falling by the wayside should the once-again Phillie not get his act together. There are plenty of young, energetic arms at Lehigh Valley and Reading that could do at least as bad a job as Durbin and Raul Valdes should the two be unable to right their respective ships.
The offense’s output has been the biggest source of frustration, especially with men in run scoring position. Michael Young is the only starter hitting over .300 (.347), although Chase Utley has been looking more and more like his old self, leading the team in RBIs and homeruns.
Ben Revere has done a very good job of looking like Jimmy Rollins in the leadoff spot without J.Ro’s homeruns. But he has been stealing bases when he does get on, and his defense has been stellar, even spectacular on occasion.
Domonic Brown has shown his promise, but can he fulfill it this year?
Ryan Howard has been doing a good job of imitating Ben Revere without the speed, as he has yet to homer this season when the games started counting! Domonic Brown and Laynce Nix have picked up some of the slack, but the Big Piece is going to have to start “driving for show” for this team to have any hope of competing into the long, hot days of the upcoming Summer.
With the Braves off to a hot start and the Nationals looking – on paper at least – like a better team than even the Braves, 6-6 might be OK for now; but significant improvement is needed for this season to continue to be worth watching.
Thankfully it’s way, way too early for any knucklehead with a blog to draw any conclusions!
But that’s OK. After any event has a successful run as long as this one has, it takes on a life of its own. I have gone to many Superbowl happenings and have avoided others.
Cranky Man's Lawn 