FILLING IN HOLES

What's great about this year's draft is that it feels a bit like a bonus for the Birds. They're not rebuilding. They're not desperate. They're filling in holes. They're carefully selecting players than can make a team that by all accounts should once again win its division that little bit better. It's not about stopping the bleeding, it's about stocking up.

Or at least that's how it feels.

Still, other teams -- some of them quite good -- will undoubtedly make aggressive gains in the draft, and the Eagles can't waste the chance to get ahead.

***

WHAT THE BIRDS NEED

DBack

Being a Pitt man and a fan of local players, I'm holding out hope that Pittsburgh Panther Darrelle Revis will be available when the Eagles take the stage. Revis put together 11 starts as a true freshman in 2004, and got himself named a freshman All-American. In 2005, he took All-Big East honors with 41 total tackles, one tackle for loss, four interceptions, nine pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and one blocked kick, then went All-Big East again the next year. On the side, he does some serious special teams work in the form of punt returns.

Who else? Michigan's Leon Hall, and -- maybe the most likely pick of all -- Texas's Aaron Ross. I believe any of these dynamic DBacks would have a serious chance of improving the Birds D in big ways.

Linebacker





















Picking up Takeo Spikes was a huge step in the right direction, but the Eagles could benefit in a big way from a young stud linebacker ready to develop into a lean green wrecking machine. Sticking with my penchant for guys from close to home, I'm keeping fingers crossed the Birds get a shot at Penn State's Paul Posluszny. This guy has been called the greatest linebacker ever to play at Penn State. I think that's about all I need to say on the subject.

Running Back

I'm not a gambling man, but something tells me there is huge upside to be found in taking a chance on Louisville's Michael Bush. Yes, he broke his leg. Yes, he missed this entire past season. But the talent was more than obvious the year before, and the size! 6'2", 247! Remember when the New York Football Giants tried to sell Tiki and Dayne as Lightning and Thunder, but really it was more like Lightning and A Slow Bag of Gardening Manure? Imagine really having that kind of double threat, with Westbrook and Bush. And imagine not having to watch Donovan risk injury every time the Eagles get inside the 5-yard-line.

WHAT THE BIRDS DON'T NEED

Another offensive lineman.

Another mediocre wide receiver.

A player with an outsized sense of his own importance, or behavioral problems that will inspire the NFL to sit him down for a year or two. Which, I guess, is another way of saying, "Any Miami Hurricane."

***

The Eagles are coming off a good draft, and the potential is there for another. Still, we all know that you never, never know. I for one will be tuning in Saturday.

NYC Council Move Not Rational

OPINIONS SOUGHT

New York City Council banned aluminum bats starting next school year in an overwhelming vote today. The group claims that they are trying to reduce risk to players getting injured or dying because young players "have less time to react" to batted balls. According to the article linked above, there is no statistical proof that balls hit with a wooden bat are safer than those hit with an aluminum bat.

This decision is wrong. It is not the government's place to run Little League and NYC high school baseball. All this decision will do is increase the cost to play baseball in New York. Wooden bats cost more to buy and must be replaced much more often.

Any thoughts on this topic?

Hamels K's 15!

Cole Hamels dominated the Cincinnati Reds tonight, leading the Phillies to a much-needed victory. Hamels' performance was so over-powering not even Charlie Manuel could figure out a way to screw things up and lead the beleaguered team to another loss. The Phils even managed to turn a triple play, the first time the Phillies have done so since 1999.

Speaking of things the Phils haven't done in a while, tonight was the first time a Phillies pitcher struck out 15 or more in a game since April 5th, 1998 when Curt Schilling fanned 15 against the Atlanta Braves and defeated Greg Maddux, 2-1. I can't believe it's been that long. Hamels had a performance very similar to Schilling's that night: he threw 115 total pitches, 82 of them strikes. Schilling tossed 128 in that game, 87 of them strikes. Throwing strikes--what a novel idea...still works even nine years later.

By the way, the '98 Phils finished 75-87, third in the NL East.

THE WRONG KIND OF IDIOT

The question is not, “Should the Phillies fire Charlie Manuel?” Phillie fans have answered that question and the answer is, uh, yeah.

The question is not, “When should the Phillies fire Charlie Manuel?” Phillie fans have addressed that one, too, and the answer is, uh, now.

The question is, “Who should the Phillies hire to replace Charlie Manuel?”

In figuring out what traits his replacement should possess, it’s important to ask one more question: “What’s the worst thing about Charlie Manuel?” I know, it’s a tough one. It’s kind of like saying, "What was worst day during the Siege of Stalingrad?" Or, “What was your least favorite thing about the Great Depression?” Or, “What’s the most annoying thing about watching an NBA game announced by Bill Walton?” But, considering the team he’s managing, I think I’ve figured out what Manuel is most obviously lacking: the ability to mentally prepare a squad for competition. In more colloquial terms, a little get up and go.

Think of the Eagles.

I know, it’s nice to do that, isn’t it?

Anyway, think of the Eagles. Is Andy Reid a tough guy, like Bill Parcells? Is he a manic football head, like John Gruden? Is he a nutty professor, like Bill Belichick? No, of course he’s none of these things. He’s a likable and level-headed football coach who seems to get along with any football player not named Terrell. And he wins. The point is, the Eagles don’t need a disciplinarian. They don’t need a hothead, and they don’t need an eccentric. Even under the seemingly gentle leadership of a guy like Reid, they’re ready to play. There’s a complex answer to why, I’m sure, but I’ll give you the simple answer: Brian Dawkins. He’s not the only Eagle who knows how to get excited for a game, but there is no player in professional sports who can set a tone more authoritatively than BDawk.

Do the Phillies have a similar player?

I love the way he talked trash before this season, and I love the way he’s playing right now, but unfortunately JRoll is not BDawk. Jimmy Rollins’s words and actions—as good as they are—are simply not heating the team up. For all of his get up and go, the team ain’t getting, and the team ain’t going, and they haven't done so in the early part of any season since Charlie Manuel came to town.

Ryan Howard is a huge talent, one of the biggest in the Major Leagues, but so far in his career he seems a quiet guy who likes to do what he does. Chase Utley has a bright future ahead of him, but at least on the field he doesn’t exhibit much leadership drive. And let’s not even worry about the arms; except for an old warrior named Flash Gordon, that’s an entire pitching staff praying for more days off.

And what happens if you do exhibit actual, impressive leadership qualities while playing for the Phils? You get shipped off to Siberia. I’m sorry, I mean Ottawa. (Phillies caps off to the guys at We Should Be GMs for their recent column on the sad-nay, tragic-status of short-lived city legend Chris Coste: http://pabaseball.blogspot.com/.)

The Phils need somebody who can walk into that clubhouse and put some fear into these guys when that’s what’s called for, and some confidence into these guys when that’s what’s needed. Vince Lombardi once said, “There are other coaches who know more about X’s and O’s. But I’ve got an edge. I know more about football players than they do.” And what a huge part of any coach’s job that is—to know your players. To know how to motivate them. To know how to help them become the best players they can become.

Charlie Manuel seems like a fine guy to me. If I met him, I’m sure I’d like him. (Hell, who among us hasn't been tempted to challenge Howard Eskin to a brawl?) But after all of the Phillies slow starts, all of the moments of indecision and confusion exhibited on the field (let alone what must go on in the locker room), I have to assume Charlie just doesn’t know his team.

Keep in mind that Manuel was brought in for one reason: to make an experienced veteran named Jim Thome feel comfortable. Well, he’s not dealing with a team of Jim Thomes-or, anymore, even one of them. He's dealing with a dugout full of guys who by and large have not witnessed all that much winning in the bigs-a dugout full of guys who to some serious degree need to be taught how it's done. Some teams need a brilliant skipper, some need a drill sergeant. This team needs a motivator, and that doesn't seem to be Charlie's role.

Manuel’s biggest problem isn’t necessarily that he’s an idiot. Teams coached by idiots have won before, and they will win again. His biggest problem is that he’s the wrong kind of idiot for this team.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE INEVITABLE: A Quick Look at the Eagles Off-Season Moves

I’m sure that eventually the Phillies will give me a good reason to stop thinking about the Eagles. Until then...

THE GOOD: Linebacker

The acquisition of Takeo Spikes is huge. Big, athletic, and aggressive, Spikes brings a spark that the Eagles defense has been lacking. This is especially true of last year’s Birds D, which (obviously, through no fault of their own) was missing one of its two best players in Jevon Kearse.


But beyond providing a defensive playmaker, this move does two important things. First, it relegates Dhani Jones to a much smaller role. Anything that accomplishes that (trade, free agency, freak hot air balloon accident) is welcome. Second, it reflects an intriguing change of approach. The Eagles have for a few years been a team focused on quarterbacks, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, and defensive backs, leaving often gaping holes at wide receiver, linebacker, and (ignoring one notable exception, who until last year was better utilized as a receiver) running back. A big pick-up like this sends a message that the Eagles have made the linebacker spot a priority, and this will pay benefits all season against the run and the pass.


THE BAD: Wide Receiver


Kevin Curtis appears perfectly capable of being an excellent #2 receiver—which is to say the Eagles, what? Third #2 receiver? Great. Yeah, you can never have enough of those.

Part of the beauty of last season was that the team finished the way it did in spite of devastating losses. And while the crucial figure in the turnaround was no doubt Jeff Garcia, he wouldn’t have had half the impact he had without a serious deep threat, which opened things up not only for the throwing game but also for the much improved running game. And that deep threat came from Donte Stallworth. I’ve already heard from a number of fellow fans that Curtis has as much to offer as Stallworth had to offer when the Birds picked him up. Well, excuse me for getting all realistic on your faces, but I don’t see it.


Stallworth offered better size (6’0", 196 to Curtis’s 5’11", 186), a more impressive best season (70 catches, 945 yards, and 7 touchdowns to Curtis’s 60 catches, 801 yards, and 6 touchdowns), and better career numbers (233 catches, 3516 yards, and 28 touchdowns to Curtis’s 136 catches, 1714 yards, and 12 touchdowns) over a nearly identical number of seasons (6 to Curtis’s 5).


Oh wait, why am I worried? The Eagles also picked up Bethel Johnson. Yet another mediocre receiver. Whew!


I know I’m strengthening the stereotype of cynical Birds fans, but I have to call it like I see it: This is a definite and disappointing downgrade.

(Please God say you bring something more intimidating than that haircut.)

THE INEVITABLE: Quarterback


After the end of last season, like a lot of people I was cheering for the Eagles to find a way to keep Jeff Garcia on. I mean, how many times do we have to see Donnie M. injured before we’re allowed to cheer for a first-class back-up? That said, it was as clear to me as it was to anyone (anyone, that is, except for those crazy people who were hoping to see McNabb replaced by Garcia permanently) that Jeff had earned his day to play. It would have been unrealistic to expect him to stick around.


***


So in the big moves so far, the Birds have one big win, one big loss, and one unfortunate departure they couldn’t have stopped if they wanted to. Sounds something like a draw, right? And yet, in a way, we’ve gained ground. After all, our NFC East rivals keep on fighting tooth and nail to give us all new reasons to remain optimistic.


*The Giants have given up on key leaders like Luke Petitgout and Carlos Emmons and replaced potential (if not probable) hall-of-famer Tiki Barber with Reuben Droughns.


*The Cowboys have swapped legend Bill Parcells for journeyman Wade Philips.


*And the Redskins…ah, nevermind. Let’s stay focused on what’s relevant.

CBS Should Replace McManus

Just a few days ago, March Madness concluded. Perhaps you remember this. Or, perhaps you are still waiting for CBS to come back from commercial. Luckily, as an Eagles fan, I do not watch on a regular basis CBS's coverage of the NFL. But, as a college basketball fan, I am forced to watch the NCAA tournament on the Commercial Broadcasting System. CBS News and Sports president Sean McManus must be replaced by CBS if they hope to remain a legitimate source for either.

CBS's coverage of the tournament consisted of more commercials (and the same ones over and over again... that John Mellencamp song is just annoying!) than it did anything else. In the early rounds, when there were multiple games on at one time, you probably experienced something similar to this: your game went to halftime and there was a commercial break. Back in the studio, Seth Davis and Clark Kellogg analyzed the first half of the game for about 8 seconds before Greg Gumbel said it was time to go peek in on another game. For about 4 minutes, you got to see this other game. Then, Gumbel said it was time to go back to your game. Long commercial break. After this break, Gubmel said, "Coming up, the second half!" Immediately, there was another commercial break. The play-by-play announcer then came on and said something like, "It's just about time for the second half to start." Then, yet another commercial break. Finally, after 12 minutes of commercials, the second half started. A couple of minutes into the second half, you were magically whisked to another game that was "closer" but also happened to be 15 seconds from a TV timeout, which, of course, you were subject to sit through again.

Even when there was not a commercial break, the play-by-play announcer would have to plug some CBS show at every stoppage of play, rather than allowing the color commentator to analyze something that had just occurred.

Furthermore, McManus continues to employ Billy Packer. Packer is widely considered to be a marginal announcer and not well respected. Yet, every year, when the championship game rolls around, there he is.

McManus is also in charge of CBS News, which is currently in 3rd place in the ratings. Of course, rather than attempting to develop a solution to the problem, he simply says that Katie Couric is the vicitim of a gender bias. He even went so far as to say that it's tough for her because she has to be concerned about "a lot of things the male anchor doesn’t have to worry about, like how she looks or what she is wearing." Yep. That's right. I remember many nights when Peter Jennings would be on screen in his blue jeans, the shirt he was wearing to paint the kitchen, and a baseball cap.

CBS should reconsider keeping this guy around if they want to remain a player in the News and Sports industries. McManus clearly doesn't know what he is doing.

Martini Chuck's Insanity

Guys, I've impugned pretty much everything about Charlie Manuel on this here blog. Now, I'm going to impugn--basically the only thing left--the man's sanity. The brilliant physicist Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It finally occurred to me, in the wake of yet another dismal start to a Phillies season, that Einstein's quote applies to Manuel and maybe even Phillies management.

Charlie Manuel insists on doing things the same way year in and year out, day in and day out. It's actually quite amazing how Manuel "manages" to do this without apparently noticing. Opening day, the Phils get a great start from Brett Myers and, going up against John Smoltz, the Phils' bats aren't exactly roaring, so they go to the 10th inning tied at three. Watching on a "gamecast," the minute Ryan Madsen's picture popped onto my computer screen I knew the game was going to be blown.

Game two: the Phillies are in practically the same situation and Manuel, for some incomprehensible reason, went back to Madsen. (Madsen's precipitously decreasing effectiveness is another discussion entirely). And, predictably, Madsen blew the game again. Phillies fans the world over get treated to another round of Charlie Manuel quotes like this: "Nobody likes to start the season at home by going 0-3, but sometimes that's a good measuring [stick] for your team. We'll see what kind of team we have."

By now, Manuel should know what kind of team he has! It's basically the same team he's always had: underachieving. Waiting around for Ryan Howard to bail him out with homeruns is not managing a baseball team.

Of course, all of this calls the sanity of Phillies management into question considering they insist on sticking with Manuel and getting the same squalid results: they started 1-6 in 2006 and 1-4 in 2005. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times! Manuel has got to go.

So When's the NFL Draft?

It's been quite some time since we here at the Broad Street Journal have been posting information, but this post will look a lot like the last posts we made...

I know it's only April 6. I know there are 159 games to go. But the Phillies are 0-3. Aaron Rowand is claiming that two of the games were a coin flip and that they could have easily been 2-1 as they boarded the plane for Miami. But they're not.

The Phils have done an excellent job of one thing so far this week... showing their fans that some things never change. Utley is batting .357, Rollins has a .533 OBP, and Burrell is at .364. Great. But they have left 32 men on base. That's over 10 per game. Hitting with runners in scoring position haunted them all last season. And here we go again.

The bullpen, which was widely considered to be the weakest part of the team, has shown that they are. Strong outings by Myers and Hamels were wasted.

So what do we have to look forward to for the rest of the season? I'm scared to find that answer.

Deja Vu Phillies-Style: Trade Abreu

Bye-bye Bobby Baseball; Phils subtract by subtracting

It must have been quite a sight to behold...perhaps something right out of the old west! Brian Cashman decked out in a Stetson cowboy hat, with a hankerchief over his face and a .45 pointed squarely at Pat Gillick's head. Pat Gillick quivering in fear, unable to reach his gun and offering Cashman, oh, just one of the best all-round players in the game today to spare him his silly life. And for good measure a mediocre right-handed pitcher who decided to become effective a week before the July 31 trade deadline. Phillies fans are lucky Cashman didn't gallop out of Philly with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley as well.

Well, it isn't the old west. In fact, it's real-life, present-day and it wreaks like deja vu all over again, the way only the Philadelphia Phillies can bring it to you. The Phillies trade a marquee player, coveted by basically every team in the league and get NOTHING in return. And this marquee player happened to be signed through next season. So it wasn't exactly like the Schilling and Rolen situations--the most recents scenarios in which the Phillies played Santa Claus in July and gave another team a marquee player. This trade feels particularly like the Schilling trade. Don't you get the distinct feeling that in five years Abreu will have won two or three World Series while the Phillies will still be spewing platitudes about "rebuilding"?

The core problem is Phillies management--ownership, GM and (this & last year) Manager--not the players, as is commonly believed. By and large, Phillies players deliver. One problem is, particularly this season, they have only one legitimate starting pitcher. How can a professional General Manager, in good conscience, allow a major league starting rotation to have only one legit Major League starter? It's incomprehensible. How many times this year have the Phils scored 6, 7 or 8 runs in a game and lost? If you throw just one more quality arm into the Phillies rotation, they would be leading the Wild Card race.

The next glaring problem is a winning attitude. The Phillies don't have it and that fault falls mostly on Manuel. He's not a great baseball mind, he's not a great motivator...frankly, he's not good at anything. He's proven that consistently.

If the Phils are bent on blowing up this season, then they should get rid of the actual problems: Bell & Lidle--which they did--Lieber, Nunez, Rhodes, Fultz and they should trade Rowand. Not because he's a problem, but because he has some decent value and he's wildly over-rated due to one spectacular catch. And deal Delucci, who also has some decent trade value.

"Baseball" people are saying that trading Abreu will free up the Phillies of $15.5 million next season. But, what about the gaping whole in the Phils' offense, particulary considering that they have only one starting pitcher? Look at Abreu's stats! Seems to me like the guaranteed 100+ RBI, 100+ Runs, 100+ Walks, 30+ Steals are WORTH the $15.5 million. Not worth the money: Lieber's $7.5 mil, Rhodes' $3.7, Lidle's $3.3, Bell's $4.7, Franklin's $2.6, Fultz's $1.2. Total bill: $23 million. Seems obvious.

Sadly, we knew that earmarked $23 million was a waste of money at the beginning of the season. The glaring question is: why didn't Pat Gillick know that was a colossal waste?

Were they smart, the Phillies could learn a lesson from the team that just robbed them blind. As hateable as the Yankees are, living in New York, I see it year after year. There's an expectation of winning and the front office does whatever it takes to put the team in the best position to succeed. Hence the Abreu acquisition. There's no reason the Phils can't do the same. They're in the 4th largest market, so crying Milwaukee Brewers is not an option.

Bottom line: the Phillies continue to alienate their fans by trading away top of the line talent for nothing. One can only wonder how long till they no longer have any fans left to alienate.

Time To End The Charlie Manuel Experiment

Don't let the door hit you on the way out of Philly, Charlie

After the Phillies embarrassing three game sweep at the hands of the division-leading Mets, the Phillies are 33-33, a .500 team, some 9 1/2 games out of first. After 66 games in the 2004 season the Phillies, at 35-31, weren't much better.

I distinctly remember thinking that was the precise time to fire Larry Bowa and bring in a new direction/philosophy to help revitalize the team and salvage the season. Of course, the Phillies, guided by former GM Ed Wade missed that opportunity and ended up firing Bowa two days before the season ended while the Phillies won 11 of their last 14 games for close but no post-season 2nd place finish. The 2006 Phillies are at a very similar fork in the road and fans can only hope that today's GM can recognize what yesterday's GM could not. It's time for Pat Gillick to fire Charlie Manuel and end this mindless experiment with "Manuel-ball"--futile, painfully mediocre baseball.


Burrel; Inexplicably missing from the lineup in game 2

Here are the most compelling and recent reasons Manuel should be terminated: Prior to the sweep Manuel said that a bad series against the Mets "wouldn't kill" the team. How can a guy with as much baseball experience be so ignorant. That series was effectively the season and Manuel not only didn't have the vision to recognize the gravity of the series, but didn't have the Phillies prepared for the series on any level. Game two of the series saw Manuel bench Pat Burrel--after they'd already lost on Tuesday! Why is a player that has 33 career homeruns against the Mets (who hit two more in Thursday's 5-4 loss, to make it 35) and is one of the team's top all-around power threats NOT in the lineup in a crucial game of the most crucial series so far this year?

The Phillies' defense and pitching is despicable and that is a direct result of poor managing/preparation. And, of course, Manuel's continued use of David Bell, who committed two errors in the two games that he played in this series.

If Charlie Manuel isn't fired, then clearly Pat Gillick is asleep at the wheel while this runaway train of a season careens out of control toward disaster. Anything less than Manuel getting the axe is UNACCEPTABLE. The time is NOW if the Phillies have any desire to play post-season baseball.

Pitching Problems

Demote him!

The Phillies have serious pitching concerns that need to be addressed sooner rather than later if they have any instinct to make the post-season. First, they need to demote Gavin Floyd to the minor leagues. Amazingly, Floyd is somehow 4-3, but every other stat is laughable. His ERA is a bloated 7.29( and it's JUNE!), he's only got two more strikeouts (34) than walks (32), and he's given up 14 homeruns in 54.1 innings pitched. Newsflash for Charlie Manuel and Pat Gillick: these aren't major league numbers! Do something about it, now.

If the Phillies are bent on having a minor leaguer fill that spot in the rotation, then I say bring up another minor leaguer and give him a shot. Floyd has had more than ample opportunity this year. At the very least, it's time to give someone else a fair shot.

The only reason that the Phillies are hovering just above .500 is because of Brett Myers. He hasn't surrendered more than three earned runs in any of his 11 starts so far this year and at times he's looked downright dominant. Lately, it seems like the Phils lose two or three in a row and then Myers' turn comes up and he stops the bleeding. Myers is becoming reminiscent of what Curt Schilling did for the miserable Phillies teams of the mid/late 90s. Entering Sunday's start against L.A., Myers has a 2.80 ERA and only a 4-2 record to show for it.

I wrote it in my 2006 season preview: pitching would utlimately decide the 2006 Phillies' fate. The pitching staff HAS to step up for the Phillies--or they need to be replaced. Clearly the hitting isn't the problem, although their hitting with runners in scoring position could improve somewhat. The time is now for the Phillies to shake things up with this uninspired pitching staff. Get some hungry minor leaguers up here and see if they can do something. As long as the Phils are going to give up these large quantities of runs--Lieber, 5.79 ERA; Lidle, 4.86 ERA; Madson, 6.04 ERA--they might as well let a few younger guys get some ML experience.

Rollin'!

Rowand: Full tilt baseball

13 out the last 14! It's been quite a run, just the type of resurgence the Phillies desperately needed following the dismal and unforgivable start. Surprisingly, the pitching was the key factor in the sweep of Cincinnati over the weekend. That and, of course, Ryan Howard's timely heroics on Sunday.

However, there is always room for improvement. The Phillies need to start getting some run support for Brett Meyers who has been their only legit starter so far. Currently, he has the second WORST run support in the league. That has to change. The guy deserves a few wins if for no other reason than his sanity. Also, missing Rowand has the potential to hurt the Phils. He's been one of their most consistent offensive players so far.

Another issue is that of Abreu. Once again, he's the subject of trade rumors. The team chemistry is delicate and trading him now--even though he's not playing all that well--would not be wise. Abreu is a proven run producer and is consistently on base. His average may be sub-par right now, but he still leads the league in walks.

Right now, the Phils look good and they're headed for a big show-down next week with the Mets where they can take first a make a statement in New York. Let's hope it happens.

This Team Sucks

I thought I was being reasonable when I predicted a couple of weeks ago that the Phillies would finish in 3rd place. I thought the Nationals and the Marlins would be bad enough that the Phillies would be able to muster enough victories to be a middle of the division team.

It appears as if I am going to be wrong. This team sucks. Unless something dramatically changes, they won't be able to finish in front of anybody.

Here are the current ERAs owned by the pitching staff: Brett Myers at 3.06 (good), Corey Lidle at 5.00 (bad), Gavin Floyd at 6.75 (worse), Jon Lieber at 7.99 (and he's our #1 starter), and Ryan Madson at 8.36 (my five year old daughter could do better). Their combined ERA is 6.24.

The bullpen? Save Rheal Cormier and Tom Gordon, it isn't much better.

Four of the Phillies eight starting position players are batting over .300. Rollins is just below that mark after a recent slump. Sounds good, right? They are batting .186 as a team with runners in scoring position. Way to come through when it counts, guys.

Of course, there's our manager, too. How many times will Shane Victorino replace Pat Burrell in the last third of the game? How stupid must Manuel be? Compare the numbers. Burrell is batting .250, Victorino .182. Burrell has 6 homeruns with 13 batted in, Victorino hasn't registered one of either yet. Burrell isn't that fast. So what? How many times are you looking to run in a tight game anyway? The Phillies have only 3 stolen bases as a team this year. Manuel's in-game decision making is horrible.

This team sucks.

It's time for a fan strike. They are a whopping 2-8 at home. They aren't a product the city of Philadelphia should endorse. Don't go to the games! It's time we send a message! We won't stand for this any more! Let's unite!

What are our demands? Fire Charlie Manuel. Get some pitchers who can keep the team ERA under 4. OK- maybe 5. Well, even under 6 would be an improvement. Teach some of those guys in the lineup how to come through in a meaningful situation.

It's time, ladies and gentlemen. Enough is enough. Philadelphia is behind only New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston in market size. So why does our team continually perform as if they are from Pittsburgh or Kansas City?

Welcome To Feud-Adelphia from Philadelphia Magazine

Copyright 2004 Metro Corp. All Rights Reserved Philadelphia Magazine

April, 2004: Welcome to Feud-adelphia!

BYLINE: Edited by Benjamin WallaceHIGHLIGHT:IN THE CITY THAT STABS YOUR BACK, NO GRIPE IS TOO PETTY, NO TACTIC TOO CHILDISH, FOR THESE CITIZENS DEFINED AS MUCH BY THEIR ENEMIES AS BY THEIR FRIENDS
BODY:Reporting by JASON FAGONE, VICTOR FIORILLO, VICKI GLEMBOCKI, ROBERT HUBER, SASHA ISSENBERG, ROXANNE PATEL, RICHARD RYS AND MAUREEN TKACIK


Harry Kalas vs. Chris Wheeler

The skinny: Fear and loathing in a cramped Phillies broadcast booth.

In a nutshell: Just before Christmas, Phillies broadcaster Kalas, revealing that he'd hired a big-time L.A. attorney to play hardball with the team in contract negotiations, dropped a surprising personal nugget as well: His relationship with longtime boothmate Wheeler had become "uncomfortable," and he didn't want to work with him anymore. Kalas and Wheeler both joined the team in 1971 (Wheeler in PR, becoming a broadcaster in '77). They were once fast friends, hanging out on the road together. But now it's much worse than uncomfortable: Kalas and Wheeler don't speak outside the booth, and their banter on the air, where Harry refers to Wheeler as "Chris" instead of the preferred "Wheels," is chilly. That's because Harry the K and Wheels can't stand each other.

The start: Rich "Whitey" Ashburn had been Kalas's broadcast "color man," and their droll repartee was very popular. But heading into 1997, Ashburn was nervous. David Montgomery had replaced the retired Bill Giles in running the team, and Wheeler and Montgomery, Ashburn believed, were "joined at the hip." Ashburn warned Kalas not to trust Wheeler any longer and vented to a friend that spring: "I think I might be in trouble when Montgomery officially takes over. You know, Wheels is Monty's boy. Maybe I'll just retire after this season--I've done this too long to get lowbridged by the likes of Wheeler." Wheeler did replace him as Kalas's late-inning color man that year, and Ashburn, Kalas's best friend, died of a heart attack in a New York hotel room that September, during a Mets series.

The wife: Harry Kalas went to his wife one day in '98 with a confession: He had been seeing other women on the road. "Chris took a lot of calls from women who wanted to talk to Harry," Eileen Kalas says. "When Harry told me what he was doing, that caused a problem. The party was over." The Kalases went into counseling, Harry quit drinking, and now, Eileen says, "All our problems are resolved."

But in fairness: "The girls didn't just call Chris," Eileen calls back to add. "Harry would call the girls also."

Why Harry went public: "We talked about it in counseling," Eileen Kalas says. "It comes from me, to say something and stand up for himself. He never does.

"Wheeler says: Nothing except a statement the Phillies have told him to stick with: "I consider it a privilege and an honor to be part of the Phillies broadcast team. Who I work with and what innings I work are not my decision."

In Wheeler's corner: "Chris Wheeler is one of the finest guys I've ever met," Tim McCarver, a former Phillies catcher and broadcaster, told the Daily News in December, after Kalas complained publicly. "To have his name sullied in this way upsets me."

But Harry has Eileen: "What Chris does on the air is very subliminal--explaining the game to Harry and interrupting him," Eileen says. "Harry put in a complaint to the Phillies about Chris last year and this year." ... "Chris used Whitey in life and uses him in death [by mentioning him on the air]."

Charlie Manuel Quote of the Week

“You never know, ... You stay with it until the end. It's like Yogi Berra said, it ain't over until it's over and the fat lady sings.”

Same Old Song and Dance...

0-4, Charlie. Larry Bowa did as well. Really, couldn't you have gone to Chicago with Jim Thome?

2006 Phillies Prediction: 96-66 1st Place N.L. East

Myers needs to dominate

Being a Philadelphia sports fan I am naturally afflicted with the occasional inability to see the state of Philadelphia sports as they are and often instead see them as I wish they were. Therefore, take my prediction with a large grain of Philadelphia soft pretzel salt.

This will be the year that, perhaps despite themselves, the Phils will finally win the N.L. East and make it to the post-season for the first time since '93. They can do it because Bobby Abreu will be consistently on base and driving in runs. Whatever happens with Rollins' hit streak, he seems to have turned the corner and is, though not ideal, an effective lead-off hitter. Big things will come from both of them. However, the emergence of Chase Utley is going to make the real difference with the Phils this year. Utley is clutch at the plate, drives in runs, hits for power and is solid in the field. Why he was still platooning until the middle of last season is one of the inexplicable mysteries of the universe. Barring injury, a full season will allow Utley to realize his potential. Hopefully Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard can build on the success they had last year, though Burrell still hasn't proven he can do it consistently. And Howard won't see nearly the number of fastballs that he saw last season now that everyone knows he is a legitimate power hitter. If those two can have big years, along with the others, the Phils' offense will be able to overcome the inadequacies of the pitching staff and carry them into the post-season--even though conventional baseball wisdom says pitching and defense win championships.

What to watch for:

Keys To Success In '06: Myers' and Lieber's ability to emerge as effective number one and two starters, giving the pitching staff some needed stability; the return of an effective Randy Wolf sometime in the middle of the season to give the starting rotation (and the bullpen) more depth.

Glaring Weaknesses: David Bell at third base, and by David Bell I also mean Charlie Manuel who is deluded enough to play this double-play and clutch error machine if he's healthy. More time for Bell on the DL = more wins for the Phillies; the much down-graded bullpen and Charlie Manuel's questionable late-inning moves could do the Phils in this year.

Dark Horse Effect: Ryan Madsen becoming a quality starter, which hasn't happened in his limited starts over the last two years; new G.M. Pat Gillick's ability to pick up another veteran starter, so Madsen can be moved back to set-up man role in the bull-pen. David Delucci was a good last minute addition, but it came with the expense of Robinson Tejeda, a good, young arm. Manuel's lineup: figuring out how to best maximize production from Abreu and Utley while protecting Ryan Howard and even Pat Burrell will be a challenge.

If nothing else, it should be interesting season for the fightin' Phils. Can't wait.

What Does 2006 Hold For the Phillies?

The Good
Overall their lineup should produce plenty of pop. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand, and Jimmy Rollins provide six quality hitters on an every day basis.

The Bad
Third base is a major problem for the team if David Bell is “healthy”. No Phillies fan should have any confidence that Bell will produce much more than ends of rallies at the plate. His defense is fine, but replaceable.

Also, Charlie Manuel still manages the team. Somehow, he didn’t get traded to the White Sox with Jim Thome.

The Unknown
Can the pitching staff do their part? Jon Leiber and Randy Myers have shown their worth, but they only make up 40 percent of the rotation. Gavin Floyd and Ryan Madson most definitely have the stuff, but they are unproven. And what about the bullpen? Tom Gordon is a significant step back from Billy Wagner. Can Arthur Rhodes be consistent?

The Three Things That Must Happen For The Team To Be Successful
1. Ryan Howard must be a force in the middle of the lineup.
2. Bobby Abreu must have a more consistent season at the plate from April through September.
3. Gavin Floyd and Ryan Madson must produce many quality starts. This is the biggest question of all. Neither has shown at the big league level they are ready to be quality starters. If these guys falter, things could get real ugly.

The Prediction
Third place. Until Atlanta gets knocked off, they must be considered the division favorites. Also, one of these years, the Mets’ off-season moves are going to put them in the mix. Billy Wagner is a proven closer that will be 1000 times more reliable than Braden Looper ever was. The Marlins went through yet another fire sale. The Nationals should also struggle.

What Happens When the Unstoppable Force Meets the Immovable Object?

What happens when the unstoppable force collides with the immovable object?

It has always been a philosophical question. It is a question to which there is no real-world answer.

Until now.

While Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats probably weren’t aware of just how immovable the object really was as they entered this season, they found out on Sunday just how tough it is to represent the city of Philadelphia and reach the summit.

It is true in just about every sport we know and accept. Look at the Eagles. The 21st century has been good to the franchise (well, Terrell Owens and his crap aside). But, did we win a Super Bowl? No. We came close. And we only came close after years of finishing tantalizingly close to the big game. Remember Buddy Ryan? Yeah, those teams were good, too. But no big prize.

Baseball? For five years, we have been hoping to just make the playoffs. In four of the last five season, we were in the hunt until the end or near the end of the season. But no invitation to the playoffs.

Hockey? I don’t think I can count how many times over the past 30 years the Flyers were supposed to be the team to bring home the Stanley Cup. In that time, we made the Stanley Cup finals 7 times. But no Stanley Cup.

Basketball? Only one Finals appearance since the last Philadelphia championship. We even won the first game in that series against the Lakers. We lost in five. No NBA championship.

College basketball? Well, since Villanova won the whole thing in 1985, the city has had four teams make it to the round of 8. One was the 1988 Villanova team, which was as surprising as the success in 1985. But the others… Temple entered the 1988 tournament as a number one seed. St. Joseph’s did the same with Jameer Nelson just a couple of years ago. The Wildcats did it this year. Each time, these number one seeds were unable to make it to College Basketball Mecca- the Final Four. Each time, these teams just one victory shy of the big show.

Heck, we can even throw horse racing into the mix. Smarty Jones came within a few feet of winning the Triple Crown, only to see a lead slip away as they came down the stretch.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the immovable object. The Philadelphia Curse. Yep, I said it. Forget Boston. How many championships have they won? We have the curse. And the curse won’t move- very often. It takes some strange circumstances to make the curse yield.

There wasn’t much expected of the 1980 Phillies. Many predicted them to finish 4th in the 6-team National League East. But things just went really, really well. The Curse had to relent. Things weren’t quite as charmed for the 1983 and 1993 teams. The Sixers had the same kind of mojo in 1983. Ditto the 1985 Wildcats.

The immovable object has a firm plant on this city.

This year’s Villanova squad looked like the unstoppable force. The problems these guys had overcome in the past four years to be as good as they were this year… well… c’mon! They must have been destined to win the whole thing this year. From the phone card incident to the airplane back from Providence in which they thought they might land in the Atlantic Ocean to the devastating injuries to their two dominant big men (Jason Frazier and Curtis Sumpter), it would have been easy for this team to pack it in. Instead, they proceed to dominate a great many opponents this year. They were ranked in the top ten all season. They rightfully earned a number one seed in the tournament.

They looked like the unstoppable force. But that’s not how things work around the City of Brotherly Love. They ran into the immovable object.

And the immovable object won. Again. And we wait. Again.

My compliments to the entire Villanova program for a job well done this season. You did the city proud. You did the city as proud as any team is allowed.

The Greatest Philadelphia Athlete Debate - Part 5

Obviously, it is no easy task to decide who is the best Philly athlete I’ve ever seen play. Except for Rocky (sorry, Mike), all of the athletes so far selected have crossed my mind, as have a few others: Reggie White, Bernard Hopkins, Ron Hextall. One reader mentions Wilt Chamberlain. Clearly, Wilt is the most naturally gifted athlete ever to come out of Philly, but for the purposes of this debate, he came too early – I never saw him play. Another reader mentions Brian Dawkins – a great call, which made my decision even harder. But in the end, everyone who enters this debate designs their own qualifications for the best Philly athlete, and while I think it’s cute how everybody so far has picked an athlete who makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I’ve chosen a winner. My selection is a man who was utterly focused on winning and didn’t care if he looked good doing it, didn’t care if anybody liked him for it, didn’t care how he’d be remembered. My pick is Steven Norman Carlton.

The stats are there: a 3.22 ERA over 24 seasons, 4,136 strikeouts, and 329 wins. The consistency is there: no less than six times he won 20 games or more, 8 times he struck out more than 200 batters in a season (and once more than 300), and 16 times he pitched more than 10 complete games in a season (and in one season he pitched 30 of them). The accolades are there: 4 times he took home the Cy Young Award, 10 times he represented the Phils in the All-Star Game, once he was granted a Gold Glove, and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. And, of course, the championship is there. In 1980, the only season in the history of Major League Baseball that ended with the Phils as World Series Champs, Lefty went 24 and 9, struck out 286 batters, and held down an ERA of 2.34. More than that, in the 1980 postseason, Lefty went 3 and 0, putting the nails in the coffins of both the Astros and the Royals.

And might I also mention that over the course of his career he cranked out 13 home runs and 140 RBI and once batted .291?

But the clincher for Lefty is that he excelled at the hardest position in sports – and, I don’t mind saying, a position at which Philadelphia is often sadly lacking. He didn’t care if he was a fan favorite, didn’t care how many Carlton jerseys they sold at the Vet, didn’t care if people were mimicking his style or talking about his accomplishments. All he cared about was winning, and he did it often and with authority.

Oh, OK. You want a little charisma? You want to know that he had a little fire in his gut? Fine. Steve Carlton remains the only man I have ever seen swing at a pitch-out. I’m unable to remember what bizarre circumstances once led to his being intentionally walked, but it happened, and Lefty was so furious that he actually stepped across the plate and took a chop at it. How can you not like that?








Plus, he was a lifeguard. Bet you didn't know that.

Sir Charles was a fun guy to watch and listen to, Schmidty remains the best third-basemen of all time, Rocky ended Communism by punching out a roid-stuffed Russian, and Dr. J ushered in the most exciting era in the history of the NBA. But Steve Carlton was the best Philly athlete of my lifetime.