Sports: October 2009 Archives

A story in the Onion includes this passage:

"To put into perspective just how long the Phillies have gone without a championship, the earth has almost made one full orbit of the sun since the franchise last paraded through downtown Philadelphia holding the famed Commissioner's Trophy.

"'We have a good group of guys this year, and if we block out all the stuff about how we haven't won a World Series in more than 5,000 waking hours, we'll be fine,' (Ryan) Howard said. 'Frankly, I'm tired of all that talk. Yes, I know Michael Jackson was still alive the last time we won, and I know Boston Legal was gearing up for its final episode. But look, when the umpire says 'Play ball,' none of that matters.'

"'After 364 days of constantly coming up short, I think this is finally our year,' Howard added.

And this, from a fan:

"I guess part of me feels like the long wait will make a title all the more special," season-ticket holder Mike Oliver said. "And even though I don't like to compare teams, this Philly squad feels similar to the one who beat the Rays back in the day. They had guys like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer--guys who could really play the game and knew how to win; not like today's players."

"Man, whatever happened to Jamie Moyer?" Oliver added. "He's got to be dead by now."

Here is an excerpt from ESPN columnist Jayson Stark's column about Phillies ace Cliff Lee this morning.

"He now has made four starts in this postseason -- the first four postseason starts of his career. In every one of them, he has gone at least seven innings and given up one earned run or none.

"In the history of baseball, only one other starting pitcher ever started his postseason career with four starts like that -- a Hall of Famer named Christy Mathewson, who did it as recently as a century ago (in 1905-11).

"Meanwhile, Lee has now pitched 33 1/3 innings in his postseason career -- and given up a total of two earned runs. Two. That computes to a ridiculous 0.54 ERA.

"And how many pitchers in history have a lower ERA than that in that many postseason innings? The answer is none. Nada. Your previous all-time record-holder was Mariano Rivera, holder of a 0.77 ERA. He had an excellent view Wednesday of the new record-holder's relentless brilliance."

On to Game Two with Pedro.

Great piece by Jim Seip in today's Daily Record about my old pal, Kenny Rosenthal, a Daily Record alum now reporting on Major League Baseball for Fox Sports.

Back in the day, I had the opportunity to work with Kenny. We covered a York Catholic state championship basketball game and my father, a York Catholic alum and basketball player, tagged along. He was impressed by Kenny and liked him.

Every time I'd run into Kenny, he'd ask about my dad. And every time my dad watched baseball on Fox Sports, he had to comment that he knew Kenny way back when. When my dad died last May, one of the first e-mails I received was from Kenny.

Kenny's a very nice guy and it's terrific to see that he's having success. As my dad said about him, he's a good kid.

National League champs! Your Philadelphia Phillies!

What a fun team to watch. Ryan Howard was named MVP of the series, but you could have picked Rollins or Werth or Ruiz or Lee for that award. (To be fair, though, Howard had an amazing stretch.)

What's interesting to me is that when the baseball experts talk about great managers, they never mention Charlie Manuel. He just gets the guys ready to play and let's them play. It's not quantum physics.

Bring on the Yankees.

This morning, on ESPN's Mike and Mike show, the hosts were discussing the confluence of events that could occur in Philadelphia on Nov. 1.

At 1 p.m., the Eagles play the Giants at the Linc.

At 8 p.m., it could be Game 4 of the World Series in Citizens Bank Park, across the street, with the Phillies facing off against the Yankees.

Considering the possible influx of New York fans into the City of Brotherly Love and the likelihood of a massive spike in alcohol consumption in South Philly that afternoon, we could be looking at a sports apocalypse.

The over and under on the number of arrests has to be in the thousands. The city may have to use the old Spectrum as a giant holding cell.

It'd be a great day to be in Philly. Just keep your head down.

Post-season baseball, that is.

Two games Monday went down to the final at-bat. The Angels got themselves back into the series against the Yankees in an extra-inning thriller and the Phillies are one win away from defending their world championship thanks to Jimmy Rollins clutch hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Jimmy Rollins owns Philly today.

And get sick.

Not the Phillies. Spanked the Dodgers last night, a complete beat down, 11-0. Carlos Ruiz is on fire. Ryan Howard is hitting. Victorino is being Victorino.

And then, there are the Eagles. They have this kind of game every year, playing down to a lousy opponent and getting their butts handed to them. I knew it was over at the end of the first half when Donovan McNabb tried to call a time when he was out of time outs.

The offensive line was offensive. The defense made JaMarcus Russell look like the second coming of Daryl Lamonica. Huggie Bear's kid looked like Marcus Allen. The Eagles looked like a team that, if it practiced last week, it wasn't practicing football.

You know it's a bad day when your city's baseball team outscores the football team.

No columnist has been more on top of health care reform than the New York Time's Paul Krugman. a Nobel-prize winning economist.

He writes:

"Last weekend, the lobbying organization America's Health Insurance Plans, or AHIP, released a report attacking the reform plan just passed by the Senate Finance Committee. Some news organizations gave the report prominent, uncritical coverage. But health-care experts quickly, and correctly, dismissed it as a hatchet job."

And then, he dismantles the industry's hooey.

Read the whole thing here.

That's one of my favorite phrases. You can preface anything with "all due respect," and pretty much get away with saying anything ridiculous and insulting and so incredibly obnoxious that its makes Larry David look like Mother Teresa.

That said, all due respect, Bill Rhoden is full of it.

Normally, I really like Rhoden, a sports columnist for The New York Times. He's a fine writer and a thoughtful columnist. More often than not, his approach to issues and sports is refreshing and original. He doesn't parrot talking points gleaned from talk radio. He's a great columnist.

But his take on the World Series, please.

He says Major League Baseball needs a a Yankees-Dodgers World Series to restore luster to the game, a traditional matchup that would "take the game back to its roots at a time when baseball desperately needs to recover a portion of the trust, if not the innocence, that it has lost in the steroid era."

Well, that's interesting.

A Yankees-Dodgers matchup would feature Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez.

What do those two guys have in common?

There's something Philly sports fans haven't seen in a while -- Brad Lidge celebrating a save.

What a great morning to be a Philadelphia sports fan.

The Eagles won easily Sunday, beating terrible Tampa Bay, 33-14, and not only that, Donovan McNabb is back and played well, throwing three touchdown passes. I guess having Kevin Kolb play well while he was out served as motivation. Rookie receiver Jeremy Maclin showed why he was a first round pick, catching two touchdowns and having the kind of breakout game that propelled DeSean Jackson into stardom.

True, it wasn't the greatest performance and the Tampa Bay is a wretched team and the Eagles' victories this season have some against teams that have combined for one win.

But the Birds will take it.

And then, the Phillies take the field in Denver and beat the Colorado Rockies in a marathon game in which the Phils needed, and got, solid pitching from its bullpen. Brad Lidge, yes, that Brad Lidge, even recorded a save.

Chase Utley had a big game. Ryan Howard got some timely hits.

One more victory and the Phils are back in the NLCS.