Yesterday was an awful day in Southeastern Pennsylvania, as we were feeling the effects of Hurricane Ernesto. Fortunately, there wasn't any flooding, just a steady, soaking rain that began Friday night and continued throughout yesterday afternoon. And, no, The Cat in the Hat didn't show up to entertain us, we just had a few play dates for the kids, baked cookies, and watched our local baseball team fend for itself in the intrigue that has become the National League's wild card race.
We had tickets to last night's contest, a regularly scheduled affair between the Braves and the Phillies, under cover on the first level, months ago, figuring that we'd see a decent game between the perenially power in the NL East and our hometown Phillies. What made matters more interesting was that a game that was rained out on July 22 was scheduled for yesterday afternoon, which made yesterday a "day-night" doubleheader. Why was that interesting? The weather, of course. Going into Friday, the reports on Ernesto's path were dire enough to lead the average fan to wonder whether they would play any baseball in Philadelphia before Sunday.
The first game, scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m., didn't start until about 2:35 p.m., thanks to Ernesto. In addition, that game began in a rainstorm, which thankfully abated as the game went on. Thanks to a few homers from Chase Utley, the Phillies held a 3-2 lead going into the top of the ninth. Unfortunately for the Phillies, their closer, Tom Gordon, still isn't available after complaining of shoulder soreness in early August. That has meant that Phillies' skipper Charlie Manuel has had to resort to a bullpen by committee that consists of the ever-seemingly-washed up Arthur Rhodes, middle reliever Geoff Geary, a good thrower of strikes but a pitcher without a great out pitch, and swingman Ryan Madson, who has not improved upon his breakout year in 2004 and seemingly has regressed. To make a long story short, for the second game in a row (the other being Thursday night's against the Nationals in DC), the Phillies' bullpen blew a lead. This time it was Rhodes who gave up a monster shot to the red-hot first baseman Adam LaRoche to give the Braves a 4-3 win. Ouch and double ouch!
Going into Thursday night, the Phillies were 60-0 in games they led after eight innings. Now they are 60-2. Every team in the wild-card race has serious flaws, most of them having to do with pitching. Put that flawed pitching under a magnifying glass, and, well, you wonder why the team is in the wild-card race to begin with, and then you remind yourself that outside the Mets most NL teams just aren't that good. Having watched the Phillies lose that game, we were wondering whether it was in fact worth it to drive down I-95 to Citizens Bank Park, especially at the tail end of a hurricane.
It wasn't a hard decision, really, as we had paid good money for the tickets, we had been inside all day, we were going to sit under cover, and the weather looked like it was clearing. So the kids put on their Phillies' shirts and hats, we took rain gear, we took our family scorebook (where we're keeping score of the games we attend), the kids grabbed their gloves, and off we went. We made great time in getting to CBP, in part because the afternoon game wasn't that well attended (the weather and the fact that it wasn't a regularly scheduled game but a makeup game on a holiday weekend probably had a lot to do with that). I got the kids' a cheesteak (which they split), and then my daughter, who is 9, asked if we could go down to the dugout area to try to get autographs.
She had prepared for this day by making sure that my wife brought a Sharpie (the pen which writes on every surface) with her to the game. So, after my 6 year-old son and she finished eating, we walked over a few sections and down the stairs all the way to right behind the dugout. My daughter was hoping a player would sign her hat; my son was hoping someone would sign his glove.
I told the kids that last night was probably not the optimal time to expect players to sign. After all, it was a lousy day weather-wise, the players had gotten to the park very early for the first game, and they probably weren't in great moods because of the way they lost the first game. In addition, there wasn't much time allotted between games -- because of the rain delay in the first game -- so they had to compress their pre-game warm-ups. In fact, there was no batting practice before the second game. In short, I didn't expect it to be a target-rich environment.
Now it's hard to get pre-game autographs at most parks to begin with. The dugouts are formidable barriers, and their roofs are long enough that it's not so simple as to hand things to players (whose backs are usually to the stands anyway). There is an element of "toss and catch" involved -- the player has to indicate a willingness to sign, and then you toss your item and a Sharpie to him. Many players don't sign -- because they believe that there isn't time to sign eveyrone's stuff, and, therefore, they don't want to risk alienating anyone so they don't sign. At least that's a theory I heard espoused.
The kids stood right behind the home-plate end of the dugout, near the side where Charlie Manuel stands and watches games. Closer to the other end, rookie OF Chris Roberson was patiently signing balls and gloves for fans. Many Phillies were far away, on the outfield grass behind first base, doing some sprints and stretching. At about 5 of 7 I told the kids it was getting a little bleak (we had been there for all of about 7 minutes) and that in a few minutes the security people would ask us to leave because the game was to start at 7:05. My kids were good-natured about the whole affair -- they went into the quest with low expectations.
Then something pretty neat happened.
Right after we got to the dugout, Jeff Conine and Jose Hernandez, both of whom the Phillies acquired for the wild-card chase, emerged from the dugout to have a catch (Conine started the second game in right; Hernandez started in third -- both would have great nights). As their catch ended, Jeff Conine started to head toward the part of the dugout where the steps near Charlie Manuel's usual perch are. The kids, in their Phillies' finest, looked at him with a modest degree of hope. He saw them, I could have sworn he winked, smiled, pointed to my son, and then gestured with the ball to my daughter, and then he proceeded to roll the ball atop the dugout roof right to my nine-year old daughter. His eyes caught mine, I said, "Thank you very much", and he nodded his head in acknowledgment, both of us, even for a brief instant, sharing the moment that it was special for young kids to receive a baseball from a big leaguer. The kids shouted "Thank you" as well, and they were just amazed that the Phillies' rightfielder tossed them a ball and made their night.
It was very cool.
An older couple -- there with their adult daughter -- saw the whole thing and nodded at me with warm smiles, sharing the moment of how special it can be to go to a ballpark. I relish every trip to the ballpark with my family, as I had years ago when my father and I went to Veterans Stadium on Sundays to watch outstanding teams play before 45,000 people. Jeff Conine made this night particularly special for my kids, and we won't forget the night for a long while. Atop that, the Phillies won 16-4, rapping out 20 hits, and Jeff Conine had a wonderful night.
We've put the ball in a lucite case in our family room -- my son was quick to point out that it's an official ball -- and one day we hope to get Jeff Conine's autograph on it. Whether we get that signature or not, we have something better -- a moment together, and a moment involving a big-leaguer who seems to know just how special the big-league experience really is.
Another great reason to go to the ballpark!
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Friday, September 01, 2006
Stand and Deliver (Update)
Prep Charter raised the $20,000 it needed to start its football team! In about 6 weeks, many people from various parts of head coach Larry Arata's life came through, along with people who read Phil Sheridan's very nice article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about Larry and the program. A hearty thanks to all of you who contributed.
You'll probably read more on this topic from time to time. A bunch of us who are friendly with Larry are going to try to put together a group that gets together on an annual basis to raise the money for this program and keep the fund evergreen. Naturally, we'll need to get the school's and Larry's blessing, but if we get them, the possibilities are endless. Perhaps we'll even get an autographed Vince Papale jersey to auction at our first charity auction!
The Gallup guys wrote a book called "How Full is Your Bucket?", and it's basic premise is that we all have "buckets" and that by helping others fill up theirs, we fill up our own. By helping Prep Charter and its football team, we help a worthy group of kids participate in a worthwhile program. We fill their buckets -- and their community's buckets -- by helping fortify a great activity. Correspondingly, we've filled our own by helping make our community a better place.
Prep Charter and football may not be your thing, but if you don't have a few good causes yet try to think about what your causes might be and then get involved. You'll be glad you did.
You'll probably read more on this topic from time to time. A bunch of us who are friendly with Larry are going to try to put together a group that gets together on an annual basis to raise the money for this program and keep the fund evergreen. Naturally, we'll need to get the school's and Larry's blessing, but if we get them, the possibilities are endless. Perhaps we'll even get an autographed Vince Papale jersey to auction at our first charity auction!
The Gallup guys wrote a book called "How Full is Your Bucket?", and it's basic premise is that we all have "buckets" and that by helping others fill up theirs, we fill up our own. By helping Prep Charter and its football team, we help a worthy group of kids participate in a worthwhile program. We fill their buckets -- and their community's buckets -- by helping fortify a great activity. Correspondingly, we've filled our own by helping make our community a better place.
Prep Charter and football may not be your thing, but if you don't have a few good causes yet try to think about what your causes might be and then get involved. You'll be glad you did.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Invincible
Most of you who have logged onto this blog lately have done so because of references I have made to Vince Papale, the Cinderella-like football player who literally came out of nowhere to make then-new coach Dick Vermeil's Philadelphia Eagles in 1976. The story is know well-known that Papale, who did not play college football (he did graduate from hoops-happy St. Joseph's in Philadelphia), responded to an open tryout, ran a 4.5 40-yard dash, and made the then-downtrodden Birds as a special teamer and back-up wide receiver. Most definitely, you have logged onto this blog because of all of the hype surrounding Disney's latest sports movie, Invincible, which focuses on Papale's story.
It was an unseasonably cold and overcast day in the Philadelphia area today, and my family and I went to the local movie theater to watch the movie. We loved it -- it's the lastest in a long and distinguished line of feel-good sports movies, from Rudy to The Rookie, and it's an inspirational tale about a guy who had nothing to lose but had to overcome the sense that at thirty his life thus far had been only about losing. In the year that Rocky debuted, Papale was the real Rocky -- and he didn't just go the distance, he made the squad and lasted for three seasons. Philadelphians loved him and Vermeil then -- and they do to this day.
Mark Wahlberg did an excellent job of playing Papale (I'll overlook the fact that a) he doesn't really look Italian and b) he didn't nail the Philadelphia accent), and Greg Kinnear gets major props for his portrayal of Dick Vermeil. Only Vermeil can get Vermeil's intensity right, but Kinner did a nice job coming very close. The producers did a nice job of capturing a South Philadelphia rowhouse neighborhood, and, also, the relatively colorless 70's.
Before the Giants, Redskin and Cowboy fans weigh in and tell me in the comments section that the Eagles are awful, that the Eagles will come in fourth in their division, that the Eagles have no running game, no receivers and questions at linebacker, let's put partisanship aside and applaud Vince Papale's story for what it was and remains to this day -- a story about a guy who took a shot -- a long shot -- believed in himself -- and made it. That's the type of story that all of us can relate to and most of us need from time to time, regardless of the uniform the guy is wearing.
Go see Invincible -- you won't be disappointed.
It was an unseasonably cold and overcast day in the Philadelphia area today, and my family and I went to the local movie theater to watch the movie. We loved it -- it's the lastest in a long and distinguished line of feel-good sports movies, from Rudy to The Rookie, and it's an inspirational tale about a guy who had nothing to lose but had to overcome the sense that at thirty his life thus far had been only about losing. In the year that Rocky debuted, Papale was the real Rocky -- and he didn't just go the distance, he made the squad and lasted for three seasons. Philadelphians loved him and Vermeil then -- and they do to this day.
Mark Wahlberg did an excellent job of playing Papale (I'll overlook the fact that a) he doesn't really look Italian and b) he didn't nail the Philadelphia accent), and Greg Kinnear gets major props for his portrayal of Dick Vermeil. Only Vermeil can get Vermeil's intensity right, but Kinner did a nice job coming very close. The producers did a nice job of capturing a South Philadelphia rowhouse neighborhood, and, also, the relatively colorless 70's.
Before the Giants, Redskin and Cowboy fans weigh in and tell me in the comments section that the Eagles are awful, that the Eagles will come in fourth in their division, that the Eagles have no running game, no receivers and questions at linebacker, let's put partisanship aside and applaud Vince Papale's story for what it was and remains to this day -- a story about a guy who took a shot -- a long shot -- believed in himself -- and made it. That's the type of story that all of us can relate to and most of us need from time to time, regardless of the uniform the guy is wearing.
Go see Invincible -- you won't be disappointed.
Stand and Deliver -- Update (We Need $7,700 by Friday!)
If you've read the blog recently, you'll know that my major cause of the moment is helping Prep Charter, a charter high school in Philadelphia, raise money to enable its football team to have a season this season. Right now, Prep Charter's coach, Larry Arata, has raised $12,300 towards this effort -- he needs $7,700 by Friday to make the dream of his diverse group of kids and him a reality.
You can help -- by sending a check and sending it quickly.
Make your check payable to "Prep Charter" and send it to Prep Charter, 1928 Point Breeze Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19145, Attn.: Joanna Gabris, Principal, and please write "Football" on the memo line (and tell 'em that you're doing this to support Larry Arata in his quest to make a football team happen at this worthy school). Most of us won't have an opportunity to own any part of a football team, but here's a chance to start one -- and to make a serious difference in the lives of deserving kids. If you can give more -- and many of you can -- please write a bigger check. Some of you out there can, and it would be great if you could make the Prep Charter football team one of your most significant -- if not most significant -- causes for 2006. Prep Charter is a 501(c)(3) organization, which means that your donations will be tax deductible. And if you can't give that much, give something.
Read the post below for more details about Prep Charter's football program and its head coach, Larry Arata. Once you read it, I ask that you stand with me in supporting a wonderful cause.
Thank you very much.
You can help -- by sending a check and sending it quickly.
Make your check payable to "Prep Charter" and send it to Prep Charter, 1928 Point Breeze Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19145, Attn.: Joanna Gabris, Principal, and please write "Football" on the memo line (and tell 'em that you're doing this to support Larry Arata in his quest to make a football team happen at this worthy school). Most of us won't have an opportunity to own any part of a football team, but here's a chance to start one -- and to make a serious difference in the lives of deserving kids. If you can give more -- and many of you can -- please write a bigger check. Some of you out there can, and it would be great if you could make the Prep Charter football team one of your most significant -- if not most significant -- causes for 2006. Prep Charter is a 501(c)(3) organization, which means that your donations will be tax deductible. And if you can't give that much, give something.
Read the post below for more details about Prep Charter's football program and its head coach, Larry Arata. Once you read it, I ask that you stand with me in supporting a wonderful cause.
Thank you very much.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Stand and Deliver
Update #3 (Written on August 20): Very nice article by Phil Sheridan, a sports columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, on Larry Arata and the Prep Charter football program. Read the article, this post, and then send a check to support a very worthy cause. Larry is all about helping the kids excel, and you can be a part of that.
Update #2: (Written on August 19): The Prep Charter football team is practicing hard. Look for a feature on the team and coach Larry Arata in the Philadelphia Inquirer around August 20.
Update (Written on August 15): I first posted this on July 24. Thus far, the Prep Charter football fundraising effort has raised about $4,000. I know that it's summertime, that many write their charity checks in December, and that some of you might have missed this story. For all of you checking out the blog because I once analogized an Eagles' TE to Vince Papale, the WR/special teams player who didn't play college football and who played for Dick Vermeil's Eagles for 3 seasons in the 1970's, you might find this story interesting. Philadelphia is full of stories like Vince's, and if you want to help launch many other great stories, please make a contribution to Prep Charter so that it can start its football program. Several of Larry's college classmates and former teammates have made contributions, and this is a great cause. Thank you for your support. (Information about where to send your contribution is set forth below -- and now is the time to help!).
My friend Larry Arata needs your help.
Larry is a Princeton graduate, and after years in the business world couldn't avoid his true calling -- teaching young people in troubled neighborhoods -- any longer. About five years ago he walked away from the corporate life that is all but expected of many a Princetonian -- and became a schoolteacher.
In the intercity.
It's what many people talk about doing --working with young people and teaching kids, leaving a legacy that is denominated in something other than currency -- but few do. Larry has made this commitment and is working in an area where society -- and his kids -- need him the most.
At a Philadelphia charter school, Prep Charter, it's called, in a part of South Philadelphia called Point Breeze, nestled along the Schuykill River south of tony Center City and east of where the University of Pennsylvania is. It's a tough neighborhood, and gang violence has affected most of the students in their daily lives. The school has 150 students in each grade, and relies upon the Philadelphia School District and grant money from various sources for its funding. There doesn't seem to be much room for extras. Hence this appeal.
Five years ago Larry left the business world unfulfilled. He didn't make a fortune, but he realized that teaching kids in a troubled school district is what he's meant to do. Teaching and coaching football (and working construction in the summertime to help make ends meet). So far, he's doing the teaching part -- he teaches history, but he has yet to accomplish the football part. The reason: money.
This is a school that has gotten off to a good start. This is a school that in its short existence won the Pennsylvania State High School Basketball title last year in the AA class (the biggest schools play in AAAA). This is a man who has had his kids out on the sandlots playing flag football and in the weight room, both to give them a greater sense of purpose and discipline and to keep them off the tough streets. The kids themselves are dedicated. Many are not from the neighborhood and have long commutes on public transportation to get to the school.
It's a life that most of us do not experience every day.
While many of us like to read stories like this one for their happy endings, we don't know what it takes to help make the happy endings themselves. You need dedicated teachers, committed parents and disciplined children. It's far from easy.
Larry sent out a mailer recently to his Princeton classmates asking for money. He's seeking to raise $20,000 to start a football team, but Larry's always been a modest guy. I called him and told him that he should try to raise $50,000. I figure that if 200 people who we know can kick in $250 apiece, we can reach that goal easily.
Some here's the appeal -- give $250 to this cause. Make your check payable to "Prep Charter" and send it to Prep Charter, 1928 Point Breeze Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19145, Attn.: Joanna Gabris, Principal, and please write "Football" on the memo line (and tell 'em that you're doing this to support Larry Arata in his quest to make a football team happen at this worthy school). Most of us won't have an opportunity to own any part of a football team, but here's a chance to start one -- and to make a serious difference in the lives of deserving kids. If you can give more -- and many of you can -- please write a bigger check. Some of you out there can, and it would be great if you could make the Prep Charter football team one of your most significant -- if not most significant -- causes for 2006. Prep Charter is a 501(c)(3) organization, which means that your donations will be tax deductible. And if you can't give that much, give something. You'll be glad that you did.
There are many worthy causes out there, but this one is paramount for sports fans who want to make a difference.
The school administrators doubt that Larry can raise the money, and he needs it fast, say, by the end of August. So if you're going to commit to this, commit now. Send your check in today.
I asked Larry about his experiences at the school, and you can't help but sense his dedication to the school's mission and to the goal of giving everyone a great education. Last year at homecoming I ran into Larry, who had brought several of his kids in tow to show them a world far different from where they go to school. He is truly committed to this cause, and he deserves your support.
He recounted a story about how perilous it is to work in an intercity environment. One day last year he had his kids out on a field, playing flag football. They were having a good time when three toughs from the neighborhood showed up, the mouthiest being a 5'6", 135-pound kid who had no interest in school but a chip on his shoulder the size of the entire city. He and his friends mouthed off to Larry and Larry's students, who represent many different neighborhoods and ethnic groups. Larry tried to fend them off as politely as possible, and the toughs departed. Larry's kids went back to playing football. They resisted the temptation to mix it up.
If only it ended there.
About twenty minutes later those three toughs came back with about twenty of their friends from the housing projects in which they live. Their phalanx approached Larry's students, and their conduct was menacing. Larry has always preached a "turn the other cheek" mentality to his students, and he was proud that they backed him up but didn't engage the toughs in the trash talking that ensued or start a fight. As Larry was trying to keep the groups apart, the lead tough hauled off and belted Larry above the eye. Larry is a big man -- about 6'2" tall and weighing in at about 215 pounds, and he takes pretty good care of himself. He told me that it's as hard as he's ever been hit -- and this is a guy who played major college football (Princeton was Division I when he was there).
A melee of sorts ensued. The neighborhood toughs went after kids of one ethnicity, piling onto them. Larry sprinted ten yards this way and ten yards that way, throwing the punks off his kids who were being attacked. About ten kids ran back to the school and sought help. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, but was only five minutes, the Philadelphia police showed up. At the sight of their arrival, the two dozen or so neighborhood toughs ran back to their neighborhood. Unfortunately, for whatever the reality is in the modern world of policing, they did not pursue these delinquents (and, in my opinion, emboldening them to come back if this awful behavior does not bear any consequences). Larry and most of his team made it back to the school, thankfully with no injury more serious than the cut above Larry's eye.
I told Larry he was lucky that no one pulled a weapon.
He told me that the next day, in school, the kids who stood their ground were razzing the kids who ran back to the school, and the kids who ran back to the school said they did so because they thought they saw a gun. There have been shootings in this neighborhood, Larry advises me, but thankfully they emerged from this donneybrook relatively unscathed.
Prep Charter, as a public school, cannot turn away any kid who applies other than for reasons of not having any more room. They can, however, expel kids who don't measure up. While some explusions take place, the vast majority of the students are committed to learning. 90% of them end up going to college. The parents of these kids are to be lauded for steering their kids on a path to a better way of life. The students themselves are to be commended for their commitment to excellence.
And people like Larry Arata are to be cheered for standing and delivering.
But they need your help.
Please do what you can to make a donation to this great, worthy cause.
For those of you who know me, I'm creating an e-mail list and will e-mail you personally with a PDF version of the flyer that Larry sent out to his Princeton classmates a few weeks ago.
Please dig deep here and help out.
Your donation will definitely make a difference in the lives of a bunch of deserving people.
Update #2: (Written on August 19): The Prep Charter football team is practicing hard. Look for a feature on the team and coach Larry Arata in the Philadelphia Inquirer around August 20.
Update (Written on August 15): I first posted this on July 24. Thus far, the Prep Charter football fundraising effort has raised about $4,000. I know that it's summertime, that many write their charity checks in December, and that some of you might have missed this story. For all of you checking out the blog because I once analogized an Eagles' TE to Vince Papale, the WR/special teams player who didn't play college football and who played for Dick Vermeil's Eagles for 3 seasons in the 1970's, you might find this story interesting. Philadelphia is full of stories like Vince's, and if you want to help launch many other great stories, please make a contribution to Prep Charter so that it can start its football program. Several of Larry's college classmates and former teammates have made contributions, and this is a great cause. Thank you for your support. (Information about where to send your contribution is set forth below -- and now is the time to help!).
My friend Larry Arata needs your help.
Larry is a Princeton graduate, and after years in the business world couldn't avoid his true calling -- teaching young people in troubled neighborhoods -- any longer. About five years ago he walked away from the corporate life that is all but expected of many a Princetonian -- and became a schoolteacher.
In the intercity.
It's what many people talk about doing --working with young people and teaching kids, leaving a legacy that is denominated in something other than currency -- but few do. Larry has made this commitment and is working in an area where society -- and his kids -- need him the most.
At a Philadelphia charter school, Prep Charter, it's called, in a part of South Philadelphia called Point Breeze, nestled along the Schuykill River south of tony Center City and east of where the University of Pennsylvania is. It's a tough neighborhood, and gang violence has affected most of the students in their daily lives. The school has 150 students in each grade, and relies upon the Philadelphia School District and grant money from various sources for its funding. There doesn't seem to be much room for extras. Hence this appeal.
Five years ago Larry left the business world unfulfilled. He didn't make a fortune, but he realized that teaching kids in a troubled school district is what he's meant to do. Teaching and coaching football (and working construction in the summertime to help make ends meet). So far, he's doing the teaching part -- he teaches history, but he has yet to accomplish the football part. The reason: money.
This is a school that has gotten off to a good start. This is a school that in its short existence won the Pennsylvania State High School Basketball title last year in the AA class (the biggest schools play in AAAA). This is a man who has had his kids out on the sandlots playing flag football and in the weight room, both to give them a greater sense of purpose and discipline and to keep them off the tough streets. The kids themselves are dedicated. Many are not from the neighborhood and have long commutes on public transportation to get to the school.
It's a life that most of us do not experience every day.
While many of us like to read stories like this one for their happy endings, we don't know what it takes to help make the happy endings themselves. You need dedicated teachers, committed parents and disciplined children. It's far from easy.
Larry sent out a mailer recently to his Princeton classmates asking for money. He's seeking to raise $20,000 to start a football team, but Larry's always been a modest guy. I called him and told him that he should try to raise $50,000. I figure that if 200 people who we know can kick in $250 apiece, we can reach that goal easily.
Some here's the appeal -- give $250 to this cause. Make your check payable to "Prep Charter" and send it to Prep Charter, 1928 Point Breeze Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19145, Attn.: Joanna Gabris, Principal, and please write "Football" on the memo line (and tell 'em that you're doing this to support Larry Arata in his quest to make a football team happen at this worthy school). Most of us won't have an opportunity to own any part of a football team, but here's a chance to start one -- and to make a serious difference in the lives of deserving kids. If you can give more -- and many of you can -- please write a bigger check. Some of you out there can, and it would be great if you could make the Prep Charter football team one of your most significant -- if not most significant -- causes for 2006. Prep Charter is a 501(c)(3) organization, which means that your donations will be tax deductible. And if you can't give that much, give something. You'll be glad that you did.
There are many worthy causes out there, but this one is paramount for sports fans who want to make a difference.
The school administrators doubt that Larry can raise the money, and he needs it fast, say, by the end of August. So if you're going to commit to this, commit now. Send your check in today.
I asked Larry about his experiences at the school, and you can't help but sense his dedication to the school's mission and to the goal of giving everyone a great education. Last year at homecoming I ran into Larry, who had brought several of his kids in tow to show them a world far different from where they go to school. He is truly committed to this cause, and he deserves your support.
He recounted a story about how perilous it is to work in an intercity environment. One day last year he had his kids out on a field, playing flag football. They were having a good time when three toughs from the neighborhood showed up, the mouthiest being a 5'6", 135-pound kid who had no interest in school but a chip on his shoulder the size of the entire city. He and his friends mouthed off to Larry and Larry's students, who represent many different neighborhoods and ethnic groups. Larry tried to fend them off as politely as possible, and the toughs departed. Larry's kids went back to playing football. They resisted the temptation to mix it up.
If only it ended there.
About twenty minutes later those three toughs came back with about twenty of their friends from the housing projects in which they live. Their phalanx approached Larry's students, and their conduct was menacing. Larry has always preached a "turn the other cheek" mentality to his students, and he was proud that they backed him up but didn't engage the toughs in the trash talking that ensued or start a fight. As Larry was trying to keep the groups apart, the lead tough hauled off and belted Larry above the eye. Larry is a big man -- about 6'2" tall and weighing in at about 215 pounds, and he takes pretty good care of himself. He told me that it's as hard as he's ever been hit -- and this is a guy who played major college football (Princeton was Division I when he was there).
A melee of sorts ensued. The neighborhood toughs went after kids of one ethnicity, piling onto them. Larry sprinted ten yards this way and ten yards that way, throwing the punks off his kids who were being attacked. About ten kids ran back to the school and sought help. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, but was only five minutes, the Philadelphia police showed up. At the sight of their arrival, the two dozen or so neighborhood toughs ran back to their neighborhood. Unfortunately, for whatever the reality is in the modern world of policing, they did not pursue these delinquents (and, in my opinion, emboldening them to come back if this awful behavior does not bear any consequences). Larry and most of his team made it back to the school, thankfully with no injury more serious than the cut above Larry's eye.
I told Larry he was lucky that no one pulled a weapon.
He told me that the next day, in school, the kids who stood their ground were razzing the kids who ran back to the school, and the kids who ran back to the school said they did so because they thought they saw a gun. There have been shootings in this neighborhood, Larry advises me, but thankfully they emerged from this donneybrook relatively unscathed.
Prep Charter, as a public school, cannot turn away any kid who applies other than for reasons of not having any more room. They can, however, expel kids who don't measure up. While some explusions take place, the vast majority of the students are committed to learning. 90% of them end up going to college. The parents of these kids are to be lauded for steering their kids on a path to a better way of life. The students themselves are to be commended for their commitment to excellence.
And people like Larry Arata are to be cheered for standing and delivering.
But they need your help.
Please do what you can to make a donation to this great, worthy cause.
For those of you who know me, I'm creating an e-mail list and will e-mail you personally with a PDF version of the flyer that Larry sent out to his Princeton classmates a few weeks ago.
Please dig deep here and help out.
Your donation will definitely make a difference in the lives of a bunch of deserving people.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Why We Go To The Ballpark
Last Saturday night marked the final day of my daughter's week-long birthday celebration -- only she didn't know it. She figured that after a party with her friends, an exchange of presents within the family, a visit from relatives and a shopping trip with her grandmother that her birthday was, well, over. It wasn't that she was overly indulged, but overall it was a nice birthday.
It's just that there were a few surprises left.
We went to Citizens Bank Park last Saturday night to watch the Phillies play the Reds. We got to the park early, ate, and then I walked both kids down near the Phillies' dugout to try to get autographs (my wife stayed behind in the seats and watched us from afar). Most of you who have been to a baseball stadium know that it's not an easy endeavor to get an autograph before a game. The dugout itself is as formidable as the average NFL offensive line -- you literally have to lean up against it, call out a player's name, and hope that he'll autograph what you have with you -- and it protects baseball players better than even the Patriots' O-Line guards Tom Brady. That night, many fans hung out near the dugout, and outside of a lucky fan who got the autograph of reserve infielder Danny Sandoval, no one else got an autograph and few players emerged (when they did, they looked like prairie dogs at the zoo, stuck their heads out and then quickly put them back into the dugout). Rookie Fabio Castro was next to Sandoval but didn't sign, and Pat Burrell emerged, looked back at the fans with an empty stare, and then went back into the dugout. Ryan Howard emerged to sign for the honorary bat people of the night, but there was no way we'd get close to him -- or anyone else for that matter. I had counseled the kids ahead of time that this was the likely result, that there are tons of demands on players, and that most people don't want to be interrupted when they're going about their work routines.
The autograph search, though, was simply a distraction. There was better stuff in store.
Earlier, after I ushered my wife and kids to our seats, I excused myself to go to the birthday check-in station right behind home plate on the lower concourse. I told the person there that I had signed up for the "Phun Pack", and, as part of that pack, I was given a blue denim Phillies' cap with a retro "P" on it, the type that the Mike Schmidt teams wore (the "P", that is, and not the hat). I walked back to our seats and flipped it to my daughter.
"Happy birthday," I said. "See, I told you I'd get you a hat." This was her first Phillies' hat. I purchased her brother's first hat -- which he still wears, at his first Major League game, which I blogged about here two years ago.
My daughter smiled widely -- she liked the hat. A lot. I adjusted it and then she pulled her pony tail through it and wore it proudly.
After our hanging out near the dugout, we went back to our seats, and I quickly wrote down the lineups in our "family scorebook." A friend who is a loyal reader told me that he purchased a standard scorebook over 10 years ago, and his family made it a point of taking it with them to every game they attended -- whether Major League or Minor League, whether involving a Phillies' affiliate or not. He said that over time it has proven to be wonderful chronicle of the games they attended together, so I took his advice and have begun this ritual for our family.
The game started with a bang (unfortunately the Phillies would end up losing the game after the usually reliable Tom Gordon gave up the go-ahead runs in the top of the ninth), with David Dellucci hitting a home run out of the #2 spot to give the Phillies a 2-0 league in the bottom of the first. During the top of the third, my wife and daughter were engulfed in a conversation, and I saw a college kid wearing a Phillies' hat and carrying a satchel approach our row. He didn't totally seem to know where he was supposed to be, but I caught his eye and pointed down to where my daughter was sitting.
He entered the row and in a loud, booming voice indicated that he was here to lead the surrounding rows in singing "Happy Birthday" to her. The people in the surrounding rows thought this was pretty cool, and they sang enthusiastically. Our Phunster then completed his act by showering my daughter with confetti.
She thought it was the greatest.
"Thanks, Dad," she said. "I just love little surprises like these."
See, the Phillies, who have lavished tons of dough on the unable, unwilling, underwhelming or unappreciative, can also make a nine year-old feel like a million bucks.
It only got better.
There was one more surprise.
After the home fourth, the Phillies scrolled their birthday wishes up on the scoreboard above leftfield. My daughter saw her name in lights among the other birthday greetings. Her smile upon seeing her name was as bright as the lights on the scoreboard. It was great to watch.
Later she said that even though the Phillies lost, she went to sleep with a wide smile on her face. Flash might not have shined that particularly day, but the Phillies' organization did.
This is why we go to ballgames -- to eat peanuts, sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," keep score, talk about when Ryan Howard is going to hit a home run (I said to my son right before Howard jacked one that night that he was going to put one orbit on the next pitch -- and he did!), talk amongst ourselves and just have a lot of fun. Whether or not the home team fares well cannot eclipse our fun -- we simply won't let it, precisely because we have little control over what management does. That's why we go to baseball games -- to be together in great weather, watch a kids' game and talk about statistics that in the greater scheme of things mean very little but in these cathedrals in each city mean everything. There really isn't anything like it.
The Phun Pack cost eighteen bucks.
It will pay dividends for a lifetime for a young girl. Because in a sea of about 40,000 people, she felt like she was the most important kid in the world.
A win would have been nice, but her smile meant everything.
That's why we go to the ballpark.
It's just that there were a few surprises left.
We went to Citizens Bank Park last Saturday night to watch the Phillies play the Reds. We got to the park early, ate, and then I walked both kids down near the Phillies' dugout to try to get autographs (my wife stayed behind in the seats and watched us from afar). Most of you who have been to a baseball stadium know that it's not an easy endeavor to get an autograph before a game. The dugout itself is as formidable as the average NFL offensive line -- you literally have to lean up against it, call out a player's name, and hope that he'll autograph what you have with you -- and it protects baseball players better than even the Patriots' O-Line guards Tom Brady. That night, many fans hung out near the dugout, and outside of a lucky fan who got the autograph of reserve infielder Danny Sandoval, no one else got an autograph and few players emerged (when they did, they looked like prairie dogs at the zoo, stuck their heads out and then quickly put them back into the dugout). Rookie Fabio Castro was next to Sandoval but didn't sign, and Pat Burrell emerged, looked back at the fans with an empty stare, and then went back into the dugout. Ryan Howard emerged to sign for the honorary bat people of the night, but there was no way we'd get close to him -- or anyone else for that matter. I had counseled the kids ahead of time that this was the likely result, that there are tons of demands on players, and that most people don't want to be interrupted when they're going about their work routines.
The autograph search, though, was simply a distraction. There was better stuff in store.
Earlier, after I ushered my wife and kids to our seats, I excused myself to go to the birthday check-in station right behind home plate on the lower concourse. I told the person there that I had signed up for the "Phun Pack", and, as part of that pack, I was given a blue denim Phillies' cap with a retro "P" on it, the type that the Mike Schmidt teams wore (the "P", that is, and not the hat). I walked back to our seats and flipped it to my daughter.
"Happy birthday," I said. "See, I told you I'd get you a hat." This was her first Phillies' hat. I purchased her brother's first hat -- which he still wears, at his first Major League game, which I blogged about here two years ago.
My daughter smiled widely -- she liked the hat. A lot. I adjusted it and then she pulled her pony tail through it and wore it proudly.
After our hanging out near the dugout, we went back to our seats, and I quickly wrote down the lineups in our "family scorebook." A friend who is a loyal reader told me that he purchased a standard scorebook over 10 years ago, and his family made it a point of taking it with them to every game they attended -- whether Major League or Minor League, whether involving a Phillies' affiliate or not. He said that over time it has proven to be wonderful chronicle of the games they attended together, so I took his advice and have begun this ritual for our family.
The game started with a bang (unfortunately the Phillies would end up losing the game after the usually reliable Tom Gordon gave up the go-ahead runs in the top of the ninth), with David Dellucci hitting a home run out of the #2 spot to give the Phillies a 2-0 league in the bottom of the first. During the top of the third, my wife and daughter were engulfed in a conversation, and I saw a college kid wearing a Phillies' hat and carrying a satchel approach our row. He didn't totally seem to know where he was supposed to be, but I caught his eye and pointed down to where my daughter was sitting.
He entered the row and in a loud, booming voice indicated that he was here to lead the surrounding rows in singing "Happy Birthday" to her. The people in the surrounding rows thought this was pretty cool, and they sang enthusiastically. Our Phunster then completed his act by showering my daughter with confetti.
She thought it was the greatest.
"Thanks, Dad," she said. "I just love little surprises like these."
See, the Phillies, who have lavished tons of dough on the unable, unwilling, underwhelming or unappreciative, can also make a nine year-old feel like a million bucks.
It only got better.
There was one more surprise.
After the home fourth, the Phillies scrolled their birthday wishes up on the scoreboard above leftfield. My daughter saw her name in lights among the other birthday greetings. Her smile upon seeing her name was as bright as the lights on the scoreboard. It was great to watch.
Later she said that even though the Phillies lost, she went to sleep with a wide smile on her face. Flash might not have shined that particularly day, but the Phillies' organization did.
This is why we go to ballgames -- to eat peanuts, sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," keep score, talk about when Ryan Howard is going to hit a home run (I said to my son right before Howard jacked one that night that he was going to put one orbit on the next pitch -- and he did!), talk amongst ourselves and just have a lot of fun. Whether or not the home team fares well cannot eclipse our fun -- we simply won't let it, precisely because we have little control over what management does. That's why we go to baseball games -- to be together in great weather, watch a kids' game and talk about statistics that in the greater scheme of things mean very little but in these cathedrals in each city mean everything. There really isn't anything like it.
The Phun Pack cost eighteen bucks.
It will pay dividends for a lifetime for a young girl. Because in a sea of about 40,000 people, she felt like she was the most important kid in the world.
A win would have been nice, but her smile meant everything.
That's why we go to the ballpark.
Fantasy Football on the Radio
Please spare me.
I was running an errand this morning and tuned into the local ESPN Radio station, where two guys were talking about strategy in drafting your fantasy football league team. Fantasy football is like certain other things in life -- many might do it, but you shouldn't discuss it in proper company.
No one cares about rehashes of golf games and how fantasy players perform, except for the participants in the golf game or the league. Before you chastise me for listening to the program, I listened for about 2 minutes before switching it off. That's right, just long enough to determine how bad it is and how desperate local radio stations are for filler. Where's the bigger commitment -- such as to covering local HS football teams and how they'll fare in the upcoming season? A program like that certainly would be an improvement. Besides, if you're a fantasy GM and you participate because you want the thrill of being a general manager or player personnel guy, isn't your ego big enough that you'd dismiss these shows because, well, you know better or you wouldn't be participating in the first place?
Still, it is a big business, especially if you look at the space national sports publications give fantasy stuff. And I'll confess I've been in a baseball league for about 20 years and participated in a World Cup fantasy challenge on ESPN.com this summer. But outside of talking to a narrow group of fellow fantasy travelers, I don't discuss the stuff with anyone outside of the realm.
As I've said before, the more channels there are on radio and TV, the less there is to listen to and watch. With expansion comes the need for filler and, yes, a predictable dilution in talent.
Sorry, ESPN Radio, but this stuff is about as bad as your TV movie of "The Junction Boys" with Australian actors who just couldn't quite get the Texas accents.
I was running an errand this morning and tuned into the local ESPN Radio station, where two guys were talking about strategy in drafting your fantasy football league team. Fantasy football is like certain other things in life -- many might do it, but you shouldn't discuss it in proper company.
No one cares about rehashes of golf games and how fantasy players perform, except for the participants in the golf game or the league. Before you chastise me for listening to the program, I listened for about 2 minutes before switching it off. That's right, just long enough to determine how bad it is and how desperate local radio stations are for filler. Where's the bigger commitment -- such as to covering local HS football teams and how they'll fare in the upcoming season? A program like that certainly would be an improvement. Besides, if you're a fantasy GM and you participate because you want the thrill of being a general manager or player personnel guy, isn't your ego big enough that you'd dismiss these shows because, well, you know better or you wouldn't be participating in the first place?
Still, it is a big business, especially if you look at the space national sports publications give fantasy stuff. And I'll confess I've been in a baseball league for about 20 years and participated in a World Cup fantasy challenge on ESPN.com this summer. But outside of talking to a narrow group of fellow fantasy travelers, I don't discuss the stuff with anyone outside of the realm.
As I've said before, the more channels there are on radio and TV, the less there is to listen to and watch. With expansion comes the need for filler and, yes, a predictable dilution in talent.
Sorry, ESPN Radio, but this stuff is about as bad as your TV movie of "The Junction Boys" with Australian actors who just couldn't quite get the Texas accents.
The Next Vince Papale Story -- Again
Most of the recent hits to this blog have been from people who have "Googled" Vince Papale's name and come up with a story I wrote about 2 years ago on now-former Eagle TE Jeff Thomason, who was plucked at Super Bowl time from being a site manager for the home builder Toll Brothers in southern New Jersey and added to the Super Bowl roster after his good friend and former fellow Eagles TE Chad Lewis suffered a Lisfranc sprain to his ankle and wasn't able to play in the Super Bowl. The analogy was somewhat attenuated, because unlike Papale, Thomas had played college football and had played pro football before returning to the NFL. I summoned the image of Papale because once again the Eagles plucked someone from the working world and added him to the roster. It was a great story while it lasted.
Well, there's another "Made for Disney" story going on in Philadelphia right now, and you can click here to read all about it. Phillies' catcher Chris Coste is an amazing story in perserverance, as he was a career minor-leaguer (playing in Indy leagues, the minors and in Mexico) for about the past 15 years. At 33, Coste came to the Phillies' camp in spring training, auditioning for a job as a back-up catcher and corner infielder. He hit about .470 in Spring Training, only to be the last cut when the Phillies acquired David Dellucci from the Rangers.
So Coste got sent to AAA, to Scranton Wilkes-Barre, where he handled the pitchers well and, yes, honored that euphemism by hitting about .177 or thereabouts. When Mike Lieberthal went down with a knee injury and prospect Carlos Ruiz struggled in his first call-up of the season, Coste was called up (given what Coste was hitting at the time, the call-up seemed odd, but the Phillies were thin at catcher and Coste had showed them something in the spring). At the end of July, his job became more secure when the Phillies had sent Ruiz back down to the minors and designated back-up catcher Sal Fasano for assignment (ultimately trading him to the Yankees for two Tom Tresh cards and a Reggie bar).
There were very good reasons for all of this -- Coste is now hitting about .365, catching Cole Hamels and Jon Lieber and, at 33, making a case for himself that he should be the Phils' starting backstop next season (Lieberthal is a free agent).
And, yes, the movies have come a-calling.
Forget about that, though, as this is a very good story. And before Phillies' detractors point to the ascension of Coste as what's wrong with the Phillies and their farm system, think again. Offense isn't the Phillies' problem -- they're in the top 3 in runs scored in the National League. Pitching woes have plagued the team all year, and no one has griped about the catching, just the throwing from the mound.
Especially when one of the catchers is hitting about .365 in his rookie year.
Well, there's another "Made for Disney" story going on in Philadelphia right now, and you can click here to read all about it. Phillies' catcher Chris Coste is an amazing story in perserverance, as he was a career minor-leaguer (playing in Indy leagues, the minors and in Mexico) for about the past 15 years. At 33, Coste came to the Phillies' camp in spring training, auditioning for a job as a back-up catcher and corner infielder. He hit about .470 in Spring Training, only to be the last cut when the Phillies acquired David Dellucci from the Rangers.
So Coste got sent to AAA, to Scranton Wilkes-Barre, where he handled the pitchers well and, yes, honored that euphemism by hitting about .177 or thereabouts. When Mike Lieberthal went down with a knee injury and prospect Carlos Ruiz struggled in his first call-up of the season, Coste was called up (given what Coste was hitting at the time, the call-up seemed odd, but the Phillies were thin at catcher and Coste had showed them something in the spring). At the end of July, his job became more secure when the Phillies had sent Ruiz back down to the minors and designated back-up catcher Sal Fasano for assignment (ultimately trading him to the Yankees for two Tom Tresh cards and a Reggie bar).
There were very good reasons for all of this -- Coste is now hitting about .365, catching Cole Hamels and Jon Lieber and, at 33, making a case for himself that he should be the Phils' starting backstop next season (Lieberthal is a free agent).
And, yes, the movies have come a-calling.
Forget about that, though, as this is a very good story. And before Phillies' detractors point to the ascension of Coste as what's wrong with the Phillies and their farm system, think again. Offense isn't the Phillies' problem -- they're in the top 3 in runs scored in the National League. Pitching woes have plagued the team all year, and no one has griped about the catching, just the throwing from the mound.
Especially when one of the catchers is hitting about .365 in his rookie year.
Friday, August 11, 2006
That Gagging Sound You Hear
results from USA Today's on Terrell Owens, published in today's paper. The gist of the article is that two weeks have passed without any nonsense from the 11th-year wide receiver. No conflicts with Jerry Jones, Bill Parcells or Drew Bledsoe. You read it and decide, but at least as far as the Cowboys are concerned, USA Today should be called USA Toady, at least today. Yes, if you believe it, they're singing "Kumbaya" and locking arms around the campfire in the Big D.
The article glosses over the fact that T.O. has said that he probably won't play until the regular season starts, that he has a hamstring injury (even though an MRI was negative) and that he brought in his own training team to help him recover from his injury. Could this be a case that T.O. is just doing all that he can to heal quickly, or is it that he's showing the same prima donna tendencies that he displayed with the 49ers and the Eagles, both of which led to disasters for those teams? And why can't people own up to the fact that it isn't Dallas, its history or the reputation of Parcells that, if it happens, will cause Owens' good behavior but rather the fact that if he acts out and poisons one more team, he is through? That to many is Owens' primary motivator.
This drama will play itself out, but as with second and third marriages, this is a triumph right now of hope over experience. There's no doubt about T.O.'s talent and his accomplishments, but at 32 he's closer to the end of his career than the beginning, so it's hard to see how he can undergo a personality makeover. Rather, what this guy needs is a personality bypass operation. It says here that l'affaire hamstring is a harbinger of problems that are likely to emerge if a) Bill Parcells tries to run the ball more, b) Jason Witten and Terry Glenn become preferred targets or c) Bledsoe makes one mistake too many in a game. Oh yeah, and what if T.O. says that another quarterback -- even the football geriatric Brett Favre -- would be better than Bledsoe?
I am amazed that so many people have been so quick either to come to Owens' defense or to give him a pass and say they'd take a chance on him, the most recent one being John Madden. Yes, you can't deny the talent, but you can question the chemistry. Football especially relies on chemistry and leadership, and Owens is a potential wrench thrown into the engine of any team. Then again, perhaps each Hall of Fame coach thinks that he too can change anyone and make a winner out of everyone. That said, most of those great coaches say that one of the things they learned early on in their careers is that you can't change people fundamentally and that you shouldn't try.
Yes, all is hunky-dory in Dallas, the same way it was when T.O. first joined the Eagles a few years ago.
It's what they call a honeymoon phase.
And it will end soon enough.
Lots of people are writing off the Eagles again this year, but to do so overlooks a few basic facts: 1) 13 players, including several key ones, were on the IL last year, 2) injuries were bad for the DL and OL, and you need the earthmovers to control the line of scrimmage and win the game -- both are significantly deeper this year, 3) Andy Reid's track record, and 4) Donovan McNabb's health. Yes, there are questions about health and size at RB, quality at WR, and ability at LB, but every team has question marks. The Eagles have to prove that last season was an aberration, and they look like they are on a mission to do so.
Meanwhile, Dallas has bet a lot on Terrell Owens. To quote Mike Ditka, "if you buy a rattlesnake for a pet, the odds are it's going to bite you someday." Bill Parcells knows that all too well. If all goes well with Owens, the Cowboys could be a very good team. But if Mount Owens erupts and spews lava all over that glorious franchise, Cowboy Nation will shake their heads and wonder why ownership trusted the situation in the first place.
There's calculated risk-taking, and there's speculation. After T.O.'s track record in San Francisco and Philadelphia, having him on your roster is a speculative play.
Kind of like taking your salary, going to Vegas, and putting it on red.
So before people in Dallas get drunk on the great receiver the home team signed, they should sober up and look at the track record.
And then get out their lucky charms.
The article glosses over the fact that T.O. has said that he probably won't play until the regular season starts, that he has a hamstring injury (even though an MRI was negative) and that he brought in his own training team to help him recover from his injury. Could this be a case that T.O. is just doing all that he can to heal quickly, or is it that he's showing the same prima donna tendencies that he displayed with the 49ers and the Eagles, both of which led to disasters for those teams? And why can't people own up to the fact that it isn't Dallas, its history or the reputation of Parcells that, if it happens, will cause Owens' good behavior but rather the fact that if he acts out and poisons one more team, he is through? That to many is Owens' primary motivator.
This drama will play itself out, but as with second and third marriages, this is a triumph right now of hope over experience. There's no doubt about T.O.'s talent and his accomplishments, but at 32 he's closer to the end of his career than the beginning, so it's hard to see how he can undergo a personality makeover. Rather, what this guy needs is a personality bypass operation. It says here that l'affaire hamstring is a harbinger of problems that are likely to emerge if a) Bill Parcells tries to run the ball more, b) Jason Witten and Terry Glenn become preferred targets or c) Bledsoe makes one mistake too many in a game. Oh yeah, and what if T.O. says that another quarterback -- even the football geriatric Brett Favre -- would be better than Bledsoe?
I am amazed that so many people have been so quick either to come to Owens' defense or to give him a pass and say they'd take a chance on him, the most recent one being John Madden. Yes, you can't deny the talent, but you can question the chemistry. Football especially relies on chemistry and leadership, and Owens is a potential wrench thrown into the engine of any team. Then again, perhaps each Hall of Fame coach thinks that he too can change anyone and make a winner out of everyone. That said, most of those great coaches say that one of the things they learned early on in their careers is that you can't change people fundamentally and that you shouldn't try.
Yes, all is hunky-dory in Dallas, the same way it was when T.O. first joined the Eagles a few years ago.
It's what they call a honeymoon phase.
And it will end soon enough.
Lots of people are writing off the Eagles again this year, but to do so overlooks a few basic facts: 1) 13 players, including several key ones, were on the IL last year, 2) injuries were bad for the DL and OL, and you need the earthmovers to control the line of scrimmage and win the game -- both are significantly deeper this year, 3) Andy Reid's track record, and 4) Donovan McNabb's health. Yes, there are questions about health and size at RB, quality at WR, and ability at LB, but every team has question marks. The Eagles have to prove that last season was an aberration, and they look like they are on a mission to do so.
Meanwhile, Dallas has bet a lot on Terrell Owens. To quote Mike Ditka, "if you buy a rattlesnake for a pet, the odds are it's going to bite you someday." Bill Parcells knows that all too well. If all goes well with Owens, the Cowboys could be a very good team. But if Mount Owens erupts and spews lava all over that glorious franchise, Cowboy Nation will shake their heads and wonder why ownership trusted the situation in the first place.
There's calculated risk-taking, and there's speculation. After T.O.'s track record in San Francisco and Philadelphia, having him on your roster is a speculative play.
Kind of like taking your salary, going to Vegas, and putting it on red.
So before people in Dallas get drunk on the great receiver the home team signed, they should sober up and look at the track record.
And then get out their lucky charms.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Revenge of the Nerds
Rotisserie Geeks 1, Major League Baseball 0.
As I understand it, the wise men at Major League baseball decided to take a stand and insist that fantasy leagues license the right to use team names and player names, because they constitute intellectual property that belongs to MLB.
As Warner Wolf would have said, if you took Major League Baseball and 48 pages' worth of a judge's opinion, you lost (the opinion apparently was 49 pages long).
Here's the thing: it may be that the trial court is wrong and that MLB will win on appeal. It may be that MLB (and the union) have a good point. Yes, it may be that they are right as a matter of law.
But it's also the case that you don't always win by being technically right on every point. What the Lords of Baseball don't get is that fantasy leagues help the teams make more money by promoting the game. People who play fantasy ball for modest sums and pay stat services to compile their numbers are more likely to spend money on all sorts of stuff that baseball sells -- merchandise, tickets, etc. So why do they insist upon a cut of this particular action?
Because, I suppose, it makes money, and, because, I suppose, they believe that they have to pursue all intellectual property matters to that they can't let anyone think that they've pulled something over on Major League Baseball. Fine. But the owners have a monopoly on the Major League game in their cities, and that can spell trouble if you live in Tampa Bay, Kansas City or even Philadelphia, where your teams flirt with mediocrity perennially. We can't bring in another team, we can't compel our incompetent owners to sell the team (I'll say that about Kansas City and Philadelphia), and if we want to watch the game live we have only one choice. Why not just leave our fantasy leagues alone? What's the harm in that?
There are some things worth fighting about. This, I would submit to Major League Baseball, is not one of them.
Leave the armchair GMs and managers alone, before they pick up their pitchforks and hoes and march en masse on the stadiums of the teams that are destined to finish at best in the middle of the pack. Make the game too commercial and too mercenary, and you'll turn people off for good. It's bad enought that World Series games start after my kids' bedtime -- don't be the Total Scrooge and take away the fun of your loyal fans.
As I understand it, the wise men at Major League baseball decided to take a stand and insist that fantasy leagues license the right to use team names and player names, because they constitute intellectual property that belongs to MLB.
As Warner Wolf would have said, if you took Major League Baseball and 48 pages' worth of a judge's opinion, you lost (the opinion apparently was 49 pages long).
Here's the thing: it may be that the trial court is wrong and that MLB will win on appeal. It may be that MLB (and the union) have a good point. Yes, it may be that they are right as a matter of law.
But it's also the case that you don't always win by being technically right on every point. What the Lords of Baseball don't get is that fantasy leagues help the teams make more money by promoting the game. People who play fantasy ball for modest sums and pay stat services to compile their numbers are more likely to spend money on all sorts of stuff that baseball sells -- merchandise, tickets, etc. So why do they insist upon a cut of this particular action?
Because, I suppose, it makes money, and, because, I suppose, they believe that they have to pursue all intellectual property matters to that they can't let anyone think that they've pulled something over on Major League Baseball. Fine. But the owners have a monopoly on the Major League game in their cities, and that can spell trouble if you live in Tampa Bay, Kansas City or even Philadelphia, where your teams flirt with mediocrity perennially. We can't bring in another team, we can't compel our incompetent owners to sell the team (I'll say that about Kansas City and Philadelphia), and if we want to watch the game live we have only one choice. Why not just leave our fantasy leagues alone? What's the harm in that?
There are some things worth fighting about. This, I would submit to Major League Baseball, is not one of them.
Leave the armchair GMs and managers alone, before they pick up their pitchforks and hoes and march en masse on the stadiums of the teams that are destined to finish at best in the middle of the pack. Make the game too commercial and too mercenary, and you'll turn people off for good. It's bad enought that World Series games start after my kids' bedtime -- don't be the Total Scrooge and take away the fun of your loyal fans.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Beach Reading
Here are five recommendations for books you might want to read on your favorite beach or by your favorite pool before Labor Day. All are sports-related (mind you, I do read other types of books), and there's a sixth I'll mention even though I've only just begun it. Depending on your interests, all are worth a read.
1. The Ticket Out: Darryl Strawberry & the Boys of Crenshaw by Michael Sokolove. This book chronicles the 1979 Crenshaw HS baseball team in South Central Los Angeles, a team which featured not only future star Darryl Strawberry, but the talented and enigmatic future Major League third baseman Chris Brown. Many other players were drafted, and the book covers not only their senior season in HS but also what became of these men after high school. It may well be that no inter-city HS produces a squad this good again in our lifetimes. I came away from the book understanding better the problems that befell Darryl Strawberry, and I also came away with some respect for Chris Brown, a player who attracted derision during his career for some of the alleged reasons he couldn't play in a game (or two or three dozen). It's a compelling book for many reasons -- and you'll learn not only how hard it is to make it out of Crenshaw, but also how hard it is to make it past the Major League drafting into becoming a serious prospect.
2. The All Americans by Lars Anderson. Anderson, an SI writer, writes mainly about two former Army players and two former Navy players who played in the 1941 Army-Navy game and fought in World War II. His writing is insightful, and he covers these men on their paths to the service academies as well as in their lives during and after the war. You might not have grown up having heard of Robin Olds, Henry Romanek, Hal Kauffman or William Busik, but these are men worth getting to know. This is an unsung book, and while each generation creates outstanding men and women, there's something to be said for the comment that they don't make men like these anymore.
3. When The Game Stands Tall by Neil Hayes. Don't hold me to the precise numbers -- when "The Streak" started or how many games it lasted, but suffice it to say that this story is about De La Salle HS in Concord, California, the HS football team that won something like 150 games in a row -- fielding a team of roughly 48 players, including several who played both ways. The book is about the school, the team, the beginning of the streak, key games during the streak, and teams that played within the past 3-4 years (the time when Hayes was writing the book). The coach, Bob Ladoceur, is not only a gifted football strategist but an outstanding mentor to young men (and some of the young men are great kids in their own right). His coaches don't recruit (sure, parents and kids talk up the team and the free press that the school gets is amazing), and they don't dole out special favors to football players. The team excels by outworking its opponents -- they start on their strength and conditioning work in January -- by being better prepared, and by creating a unique atmosphere among the players that mandates honesty, responsibility and accountability. The coaches-and-players-only sessions in the garages of parents the night before a game form part of the foundation of this excellent program. Whether you're into football, the rituals that are HS football or even business management, this book is for you. De La Salle HS is all about team, which is why they have been so successful. Sure, they have turned out some outstanding players, but you'll believe Ladoceur when he says that isn't the goal at all. This is a "must" read for parents, coaches and fans.
4. Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby. If you want to begin to understand why Brits (and, frankly, most Western Europeans) are nuts about the game we call soccer, read Hornby's book, which is basically a diary of key soccer moments in his life and how they affected him. In the U.S. we have pockets of fanaticism -- baseball in Boston and New York, football in many major cities, ice hockey in Detroit, HS football in Texas and so forth, but all of England seemingly is soccer-crazed (cricket and rugby just aren't national pastimes). I still am not sure I get all of it, but if you want to begin to get it, read the book.
5. Strat-o-Matic Fanatics: The Unlikely Success Story of a Game That Became an American Passion by Glenn Guzzo. This is the story of the great baseball dice game, Strat-o-Matic, that I and many of my friends played as kids (after the age of 10 or so). The game helped us learn the game better, helped with our applied math, and helped us decades ago to figure out that what was important wasn't what the broadcasters and writers told us (batting average, HRs and RBIs) but the numbers that the "Moneyball" and "Baseball Prospectus" folks told us are more important. Sure, we couldn't have articulated the same principles then, but deep down we knew that there were numbers churning beneath the surface that had better meaning, and we drafted our players based upon certain measurements (including on-base percentage). I suppose we missed out on some unique career opportunities, didn't we? This strikes me as more of an "in-house" book, in that Guzzo got tremendous cooperation from the founder of the game, Hal Richman, but that sense really doesn't matter because the book is a good read if you're into this game or know someone who is or was and wants to understand them better. I enjoyed reading it, and while I'm no longer the "Fanatic" I once was (a friend who ended up getting a PhD from an Ivy school and became a tenured biology professor used to refer to it as my "silly game"), I have fond memories of playing game after game on hot summer nights, and I'm introducing my kids to it.
6. Baseball Between the Numbers by the Baseball Prospectus Team of Experts. I'm not sure I buy everything they're saying (and I haven't finished the book), but these guys have done a great job of fleshing out even more statistical measurements than Bill James had in the past, and they make great points about a whole variety of topics. You should only read this if you want to totally re-shape the way you think about the National Pastime. If you're one of those people who is content to read the Sunday statistics compilation and, based upon that, determine that Player X should win the MVP of his league because he has the best combination of average, home runs and RBIs, don't read the book. I think that wouldn't be a wise decision, however, because their math will help explain the reason (or two or three) why you like a certain player or don't like another. I do wish that a) these guys could suggest a Sunday statistics compilation for the major papers to run that lists the most meaningful stats and b) that they could convince my fellow fantasy league owners that the measurements that we use today are rather silly.
Enjoy the rest of the summer, and pick up a couple of these books -- you'll be glad you did.
1. The Ticket Out: Darryl Strawberry & the Boys of Crenshaw by Michael Sokolove. This book chronicles the 1979 Crenshaw HS baseball team in South Central Los Angeles, a team which featured not only future star Darryl Strawberry, but the talented and enigmatic future Major League third baseman Chris Brown. Many other players were drafted, and the book covers not only their senior season in HS but also what became of these men after high school. It may well be that no inter-city HS produces a squad this good again in our lifetimes. I came away from the book understanding better the problems that befell Darryl Strawberry, and I also came away with some respect for Chris Brown, a player who attracted derision during his career for some of the alleged reasons he couldn't play in a game (or two or three dozen). It's a compelling book for many reasons -- and you'll learn not only how hard it is to make it out of Crenshaw, but also how hard it is to make it past the Major League drafting into becoming a serious prospect.
2. The All Americans by Lars Anderson. Anderson, an SI writer, writes mainly about two former Army players and two former Navy players who played in the 1941 Army-Navy game and fought in World War II. His writing is insightful, and he covers these men on their paths to the service academies as well as in their lives during and after the war. You might not have grown up having heard of Robin Olds, Henry Romanek, Hal Kauffman or William Busik, but these are men worth getting to know. This is an unsung book, and while each generation creates outstanding men and women, there's something to be said for the comment that they don't make men like these anymore.
3. When The Game Stands Tall by Neil Hayes. Don't hold me to the precise numbers -- when "The Streak" started or how many games it lasted, but suffice it to say that this story is about De La Salle HS in Concord, California, the HS football team that won something like 150 games in a row -- fielding a team of roughly 48 players, including several who played both ways. The book is about the school, the team, the beginning of the streak, key games during the streak, and teams that played within the past 3-4 years (the time when Hayes was writing the book). The coach, Bob Ladoceur, is not only a gifted football strategist but an outstanding mentor to young men (and some of the young men are great kids in their own right). His coaches don't recruit (sure, parents and kids talk up the team and the free press that the school gets is amazing), and they don't dole out special favors to football players. The team excels by outworking its opponents -- they start on their strength and conditioning work in January -- by being better prepared, and by creating a unique atmosphere among the players that mandates honesty, responsibility and accountability. The coaches-and-players-only sessions in the garages of parents the night before a game form part of the foundation of this excellent program. Whether you're into football, the rituals that are HS football or even business management, this book is for you. De La Salle HS is all about team, which is why they have been so successful. Sure, they have turned out some outstanding players, but you'll believe Ladoceur when he says that isn't the goal at all. This is a "must" read for parents, coaches and fans.
4. Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby. If you want to begin to understand why Brits (and, frankly, most Western Europeans) are nuts about the game we call soccer, read Hornby's book, which is basically a diary of key soccer moments in his life and how they affected him. In the U.S. we have pockets of fanaticism -- baseball in Boston and New York, football in many major cities, ice hockey in Detroit, HS football in Texas and so forth, but all of England seemingly is soccer-crazed (cricket and rugby just aren't national pastimes). I still am not sure I get all of it, but if you want to begin to get it, read the book.
5. Strat-o-Matic Fanatics: The Unlikely Success Story of a Game That Became an American Passion by Glenn Guzzo. This is the story of the great baseball dice game, Strat-o-Matic, that I and many of my friends played as kids (after the age of 10 or so). The game helped us learn the game better, helped with our applied math, and helped us decades ago to figure out that what was important wasn't what the broadcasters and writers told us (batting average, HRs and RBIs) but the numbers that the "Moneyball" and "Baseball Prospectus" folks told us are more important. Sure, we couldn't have articulated the same principles then, but deep down we knew that there were numbers churning beneath the surface that had better meaning, and we drafted our players based upon certain measurements (including on-base percentage). I suppose we missed out on some unique career opportunities, didn't we? This strikes me as more of an "in-house" book, in that Guzzo got tremendous cooperation from the founder of the game, Hal Richman, but that sense really doesn't matter because the book is a good read if you're into this game or know someone who is or was and wants to understand them better. I enjoyed reading it, and while I'm no longer the "Fanatic" I once was (a friend who ended up getting a PhD from an Ivy school and became a tenured biology professor used to refer to it as my "silly game"), I have fond memories of playing game after game on hot summer nights, and I'm introducing my kids to it.
6. Baseball Between the Numbers by the Baseball Prospectus Team of Experts. I'm not sure I buy everything they're saying (and I haven't finished the book), but these guys have done a great job of fleshing out even more statistical measurements than Bill James had in the past, and they make great points about a whole variety of topics. You should only read this if you want to totally re-shape the way you think about the National Pastime. If you're one of those people who is content to read the Sunday statistics compilation and, based upon that, determine that Player X should win the MVP of his league because he has the best combination of average, home runs and RBIs, don't read the book. I think that wouldn't be a wise decision, however, because their math will help explain the reason (or two or three) why you like a certain player or don't like another. I do wish that a) these guys could suggest a Sunday statistics compilation for the major papers to run that lists the most meaningful stats and b) that they could convince my fellow fantasy league owners that the measurements that we use today are rather silly.
Enjoy the rest of the summer, and pick up a couple of these books -- you'll be glad you did.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
A Crack in the Foundation?
Atop the annual lovefest that is the NFL's Hall of Fame induction, this.
The old coach is looking for one more shot at the title.
The thirty-something receiver is looking to be a bit brittle.
The old coach hates injuries. As Mark Schlereth once said on ESPN Radio, he and his teammates considered injured teammates to be "dead."
The thirty-something receiver likes to train his way.
If he doesn't heal quickly (he has a pulled hamstring), the collision between the Hall of Fame coach and the very talented if enigmatic and problematic wide receiver should get very interesting.
In Philadelphia, there was a lot of static, a lot of noise.
In Dallas, there will be one large crack, if and when it happens. It will be loud, it will be ugly, and someone will not be left standing. And it will be over, fast.
Perhaps that "it" will never happen.
But this report indicates that the storm chasers might start to gather their equipment and start a watch pretty soon.
If this relationship works, it will be the triumph of hope over experience.
If it fails, well, the future Hall of Fame coach and his owner will look pretty stupid.
The old coach is looking for one more shot at the title.
The thirty-something receiver is looking to be a bit brittle.
The old coach hates injuries. As Mark Schlereth once said on ESPN Radio, he and his teammates considered injured teammates to be "dead."
The thirty-something receiver likes to train his way.
If he doesn't heal quickly (he has a pulled hamstring), the collision between the Hall of Fame coach and the very talented if enigmatic and problematic wide receiver should get very interesting.
In Philadelphia, there was a lot of static, a lot of noise.
In Dallas, there will be one large crack, if and when it happens. It will be loud, it will be ugly, and someone will not be left standing. And it will be over, fast.
Perhaps that "it" will never happen.
But this report indicates that the storm chasers might start to gather their equipment and start a watch pretty soon.
If this relationship works, it will be the triumph of hope over experience.
If it fails, well, the future Hall of Fame coach and his owner will look pretty stupid.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Opiates for the Masses
Read this and see what I mean.
The Philadelphia Phillies are touting the following:
1. Chase Utley's 33-game hitting streak.
2. Ryan Howard's home run prowess.
3. Rookie Scott Mathieson's first Major League win.
4. Made-for-Disney back-up catcher Chris Coste's elevation to the majors (where he's hitting the cover off the ball) after 15 years in the minors.
All of these things, of course, are good.
1. Chase Utley is the best second baseman in all of baseball.
2. Ryan Howard is one of the best first basemen (okay, so his defense needs work), and together with Utley they form the most exciting right side of the infield in baseball.
3. Mathieson is one of a corps of young pitchers that first-year GM Pat Gillick is hoping will make the Phillies respectable in a few years.
4. Chris Coste's story is the best since "The Oldest Rookie" (whose title morphed into "The Rookie" when Disney made the movie.
However. . .
After the most recent salary dump (which most Phillies' fans have to concede was needed), Gillick conceded that the Phillies won't contend in 2007. You don't have to be a brain surgeon or rocket scientist to figure that out, because a) the Phillies don't have the pitching and b) even with extra money to spend, the free-agent market this off-season will be weak and few first-line pitchers in their right minds would choose to pitch in the cozy confines of Citizens Bank Park when they could pitch in a venue more likely to increase their fame. Most fans won't like an "off" 2007, but the problems for the Phillies won't end in 2007. In fact, they could just be starting.
Because while intellectually the fans might accept the strategy, these fans have tolerated, endured and even supported mediocrity so much so over the past 20 years that they might just stop coming to the ballpark. The novelty of the place has worn off (it's in its third season), and as I've written, they'll go to a cow pasture to see a winner but they won't go to a palace to see a loser (and especially a losing team whose ownership has been out of touch for decades). The ramifications of a potential mass "voting with the feet" is that revenues could drop significantly, with the result that ownership could start to argue that they can't afford to pay free agent salaries or even higher salaries for budding stars because they don't foresee a revenue base to sustain the payroll.
The proverbial "slippery slope", as it were. Perhaps it could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
There are, though, flaws in that argument too, in that if they spend money to make money, as the saying goes, and lock up Utley, Howard and the young pitchers (including Brett Myers, who is a must keep in order for the franchise to build something solid), people might just renew their faith in the hometown team and keep coming out. Pat Gillick thinks he has a nucleus (and, at least, he pronounces the word correctly) of about eight players he can build around -- Utley, Howard, SS Jimmy Rollins, CF Aaron Rowand and pitchers Myers, Cole Hamels, Scott Mathieson and Ryan Madson. Maybe he's right, or maybe Rollins has a fatal OBP problem, Rowand is just an above-average CF and Madson might end up being another Pat Combs and Mathieson another Marty Bystrom. Who? That's the point.
Last year the hometown nine won 88 games and missed the playoffs by a single game. This season, well, they're so far out of first place that they can't see it with binoculars. Next year they'll probably need a telescope.
So, Phillies' fans, you have to be careful what you wish for. The team, as you knew it, got partially blown up before the trade deadline, and the demolition will be completed by next year's winter meetings. Just don't expect an instant turnaround anytime soon. And don't complain about it either.
In the meantime, enjoy Ryan Howard as he begins his journey to become the next Willie Stargell, enjoy Chase Utley's hitting streak, Chris Coste's life story and some brilliance that some young pitchers will show during the next couple of months. Save your bucks, too, for you'll need a bunch of those $6.75 beers to drown out your sorrows once again.
It's just that it's even money that "E-A-G-L-E-S!" chants will start resounding through Citizens Bank Park by mid-August.
Chase Utley and Ryan Howard deserve a little more than that.
Here's to hoping that the Phillies' front office will do a better job of keeping them than they did with Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen, one of whom has won two World Series since he left Philadelphia, while the other has appeared in one.
But don't let the highlight films fool you. They're just highlights.
Keen observers tend to look at the roots. And if you link here, to Baseball America's website, you'll notice that there isn't much help awaitin' down on the farm. The roots just aren't all that pretty.
There may be a nucleus of eight, but even assuming that all of those guys will pan out, where will the other 17 come from?
So sit back, enjoy the mammoth home runs, the hitting streak, and an occasional outing by a rookie pitcher where he strikes out 12 in five innings.
Because, for right now and perhaps through 2008, that's all you've got.
The Philadelphia Phillies are touting the following:
1. Chase Utley's 33-game hitting streak.
2. Ryan Howard's home run prowess.
3. Rookie Scott Mathieson's first Major League win.
4. Made-for-Disney back-up catcher Chris Coste's elevation to the majors (where he's hitting the cover off the ball) after 15 years in the minors.
All of these things, of course, are good.
1. Chase Utley is the best second baseman in all of baseball.
2. Ryan Howard is one of the best first basemen (okay, so his defense needs work), and together with Utley they form the most exciting right side of the infield in baseball.
3. Mathieson is one of a corps of young pitchers that first-year GM Pat Gillick is hoping will make the Phillies respectable in a few years.
4. Chris Coste's story is the best since "The Oldest Rookie" (whose title morphed into "The Rookie" when Disney made the movie.
However. . .
After the most recent salary dump (which most Phillies' fans have to concede was needed), Gillick conceded that the Phillies won't contend in 2007. You don't have to be a brain surgeon or rocket scientist to figure that out, because a) the Phillies don't have the pitching and b) even with extra money to spend, the free-agent market this off-season will be weak and few first-line pitchers in their right minds would choose to pitch in the cozy confines of Citizens Bank Park when they could pitch in a venue more likely to increase their fame. Most fans won't like an "off" 2007, but the problems for the Phillies won't end in 2007. In fact, they could just be starting.
Because while intellectually the fans might accept the strategy, these fans have tolerated, endured and even supported mediocrity so much so over the past 20 years that they might just stop coming to the ballpark. The novelty of the place has worn off (it's in its third season), and as I've written, they'll go to a cow pasture to see a winner but they won't go to a palace to see a loser (and especially a losing team whose ownership has been out of touch for decades). The ramifications of a potential mass "voting with the feet" is that revenues could drop significantly, with the result that ownership could start to argue that they can't afford to pay free agent salaries or even higher salaries for budding stars because they don't foresee a revenue base to sustain the payroll.
The proverbial "slippery slope", as it were. Perhaps it could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
There are, though, flaws in that argument too, in that if they spend money to make money, as the saying goes, and lock up Utley, Howard and the young pitchers (including Brett Myers, who is a must keep in order for the franchise to build something solid), people might just renew their faith in the hometown team and keep coming out. Pat Gillick thinks he has a nucleus (and, at least, he pronounces the word correctly) of about eight players he can build around -- Utley, Howard, SS Jimmy Rollins, CF Aaron Rowand and pitchers Myers, Cole Hamels, Scott Mathieson and Ryan Madson. Maybe he's right, or maybe Rollins has a fatal OBP problem, Rowand is just an above-average CF and Madson might end up being another Pat Combs and Mathieson another Marty Bystrom. Who? That's the point.
Last year the hometown nine won 88 games and missed the playoffs by a single game. This season, well, they're so far out of first place that they can't see it with binoculars. Next year they'll probably need a telescope.
So, Phillies' fans, you have to be careful what you wish for. The team, as you knew it, got partially blown up before the trade deadline, and the demolition will be completed by next year's winter meetings. Just don't expect an instant turnaround anytime soon. And don't complain about it either.
In the meantime, enjoy Ryan Howard as he begins his journey to become the next Willie Stargell, enjoy Chase Utley's hitting streak, Chris Coste's life story and some brilliance that some young pitchers will show during the next couple of months. Save your bucks, too, for you'll need a bunch of those $6.75 beers to drown out your sorrows once again.
It's just that it's even money that "E-A-G-L-E-S!" chants will start resounding through Citizens Bank Park by mid-August.
Chase Utley and Ryan Howard deserve a little more than that.
Here's to hoping that the Phillies' front office will do a better job of keeping them than they did with Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen, one of whom has won two World Series since he left Philadelphia, while the other has appeared in one.
But don't let the highlight films fool you. They're just highlights.
Keen observers tend to look at the roots. And if you link here, to Baseball America's website, you'll notice that there isn't much help awaitin' down on the farm. The roots just aren't all that pretty.
There may be a nucleus of eight, but even assuming that all of those guys will pan out, where will the other 17 come from?
So sit back, enjoy the mammoth home runs, the hitting streak, and an occasional outing by a rookie pitcher where he strikes out 12 in five innings.
Because, for right now and perhaps through 2008, that's all you've got.
Monday, July 31, 2006
The Mrs. Graham Defense
Floyd Landis says that he has unnaturally high testosterone levels, and that's why he might have flunked his drug test that might cost him his victory in the Tour de France. Justin Gatlin's coach said that his sprint champion, a world record holder, had a massage in which the masseuse, unbeknownst to the sprinter, used a testosterone cream that might have caused him to flunk a drug test.
It's pretty amazing that when crashes like these occur no one steps up and accepts accountability. (Of course, I'll take back my words if tests on Landis's "B" sample prove Landis correct, but I haven't read or heard many commentators who believe Landis; I have heard the protests of fans who simply don't want to believe that cyclists dope). They use all sorts of amazing defenses. It would be refreshing to hear a professional athlete who doped and set records to just stand up and say, "I did it." In baseball, that admission might not even deny the player membership in the Hall of Fame. After all, steroids weren't banned in baseball, and the writers that vote for the Hall tend to be fans more than they are journalists.
All of these discussions remind me of a story that took place in, I believe, the late 1980's or early 1990's about a serial killer who lived in North Philadelphia not far from the Temple University campus. His name was Harrison "Marty" Graham, and when police solved the case they found all sorts of body parts and some corpses in his $90 a month apartment. Needless to say, the conviction came rather easily, and Graham is now in prison for life.
His mother, though, defended her son and proclaimed his innocence. When asked how to explain the physical evidence -- bodies and body parts -- that were found in her son's apartment, his mother replied, "They were there when he moved in."
The local papers had a field day with Mrs. Graham's blind loyalty to her son, as they have had on occasion with the denials that have come forth from the tarnished athlete of the month. No, Bill Giles, Brett Myers wasn't helping his wife on a Boston street. No, Justin Gatlin, if you're a professional athlete you can't play ostrich and have people put mystery creams on you. No, Gary Sheffield, you just can't take things that Barry Bonds gives you.
The stakes are just too high.
And the stories that are told demean the sports that the athletes excel in and besmirch the reputations of all athletes in that sport. The logic goes something like this, "well, if the champions are doing it, then everyone else must be doing it to keep up." True, all professional athletes should seek out the latest advances in nutrition and fitness. We want them to push the envelope, and so do they. But we want them to do it the right way.
I hope that all professional athletes and their representatives out there remember the sports that they are representing when they have to face up to their transgressions. That everyone does it doesn't make it right, and that you have done it doesn't mean that you have to tarnish an entire sport by saying it ain't so in a way that leads even someone who knows little about the sport to think that you did it.
These problems "weren't there when you moved in." When athletes caught in these pickles realize that and face up to it, they will liberate themselves, their fellow elite athletes, and their sports.
Until that time, their lame excuses will just be fodder for late-night comedians and humorists everywhere. They also will continue to sour the public on what is actually being achieved in competitions everywhere.
When will there be a big reckoning?
Just look to the upcoming balloting for baseball's Hall of Fame.
Mark McGwire will be on the ballot.
And the voters will tell us whether they've bought what he's been selling.
And, in the process, tell us whether they've been paying attention to what's been going on.
It's pretty amazing that when crashes like these occur no one steps up and accepts accountability. (Of course, I'll take back my words if tests on Landis's "B" sample prove Landis correct, but I haven't read or heard many commentators who believe Landis; I have heard the protests of fans who simply don't want to believe that cyclists dope). They use all sorts of amazing defenses. It would be refreshing to hear a professional athlete who doped and set records to just stand up and say, "I did it." In baseball, that admission might not even deny the player membership in the Hall of Fame. After all, steroids weren't banned in baseball, and the writers that vote for the Hall tend to be fans more than they are journalists.
All of these discussions remind me of a story that took place in, I believe, the late 1980's or early 1990's about a serial killer who lived in North Philadelphia not far from the Temple University campus. His name was Harrison "Marty" Graham, and when police solved the case they found all sorts of body parts and some corpses in his $90 a month apartment. Needless to say, the conviction came rather easily, and Graham is now in prison for life.
His mother, though, defended her son and proclaimed his innocence. When asked how to explain the physical evidence -- bodies and body parts -- that were found in her son's apartment, his mother replied, "They were there when he moved in."
The local papers had a field day with Mrs. Graham's blind loyalty to her son, as they have had on occasion with the denials that have come forth from the tarnished athlete of the month. No, Bill Giles, Brett Myers wasn't helping his wife on a Boston street. No, Justin Gatlin, if you're a professional athlete you can't play ostrich and have people put mystery creams on you. No, Gary Sheffield, you just can't take things that Barry Bonds gives you.
The stakes are just too high.
And the stories that are told demean the sports that the athletes excel in and besmirch the reputations of all athletes in that sport. The logic goes something like this, "well, if the champions are doing it, then everyone else must be doing it to keep up." True, all professional athletes should seek out the latest advances in nutrition and fitness. We want them to push the envelope, and so do they. But we want them to do it the right way.
I hope that all professional athletes and their representatives out there remember the sports that they are representing when they have to face up to their transgressions. That everyone does it doesn't make it right, and that you have done it doesn't mean that you have to tarnish an entire sport by saying it ain't so in a way that leads even someone who knows little about the sport to think that you did it.
These problems "weren't there when you moved in." When athletes caught in these pickles realize that and face up to it, they will liberate themselves, their fellow elite athletes, and their sports.
Until that time, their lame excuses will just be fodder for late-night comedians and humorists everywhere. They also will continue to sour the public on what is actually being achieved in competitions everywhere.
When will there be a big reckoning?
Just look to the upcoming balloting for baseball's Hall of Fame.
Mark McGwire will be on the ballot.
And the voters will tell us whether they've bought what he's been selling.
And, in the process, tell us whether they've been paying attention to what's been going on.
Imagine. . .
A league without a salary cap or a luxury tax, and where a gazillionaire can field the best team money can buy.
He's done it the last couple of years, and last year his team just ran away with the title in its league.
What league am I talking about, you ask?
It's the English Premiership, the top soccer league in England.
So I must be talking about Manchester United, you say, trying as an American to flaunt what little soccer knowledge you have, if only because David Beckham once played for the team, Rod Stewart sang about it and the Glazer family, who owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, shelled out north of $1 billion to buy the team?
Right?
Wrong!
The team is Chelsea, and you can read about them here.
To draw a baseball analogy, consider the following lineup:
Catcher -- Joe Mauer
First Baseman -- Albert Pujols
Second Baseman -- Chase Utley
Shortstop -- Derek Jeter
Third Base -- David Wright
Left Field -- Manny Ramirez
Center Field -- Carlos Beltran
Right Field -- Vladimir Guerrero
Starting Pitcher -- Johan Santana
Starting Pitcher -- Roy Oswalt
Starting Pitcher -- Pedro Martinez
Starting Pitcher -- Jose Contreras
Relief Pitcher -- Mariano Rivera
Relief Pitcher -- Jonathan Papelbon.
You get the idea. The stars on that team shine so much that on occasion they'll burn more brightly than those found in the solar system. Chelsea is a great team, so much so that it could really push its customary competition (i.e., the middle of the pack teams) -- teams with names like Charlton, Everton, Portsmouth and Aston Villa -- , off the cliff that is the Premiership. Those teams just might not be able to keep up with world football's "Greatest Show on Turf."
Let's see how the English address the problem of "Irrational Exuberance." Could there be a cap or a luxury tax in the future of the Premiership?
Or could Chelsea be to English football in the millenium what the New York Yankees were to baseball from 1949-1964?
This will be interesting to watch.
He's done it the last couple of years, and last year his team just ran away with the title in its league.
What league am I talking about, you ask?
It's the English Premiership, the top soccer league in England.
So I must be talking about Manchester United, you say, trying as an American to flaunt what little soccer knowledge you have, if only because David Beckham once played for the team, Rod Stewart sang about it and the Glazer family, who owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, shelled out north of $1 billion to buy the team?
Right?
Wrong!
The team is Chelsea, and you can read about them here.
To draw a baseball analogy, consider the following lineup:
Catcher -- Joe Mauer
First Baseman -- Albert Pujols
Second Baseman -- Chase Utley
Shortstop -- Derek Jeter
Third Base -- David Wright
Left Field -- Manny Ramirez
Center Field -- Carlos Beltran
Right Field -- Vladimir Guerrero
Starting Pitcher -- Johan Santana
Starting Pitcher -- Roy Oswalt
Starting Pitcher -- Pedro Martinez
Starting Pitcher -- Jose Contreras
Relief Pitcher -- Mariano Rivera
Relief Pitcher -- Jonathan Papelbon.
You get the idea. The stars on that team shine so much that on occasion they'll burn more brightly than those found in the solar system. Chelsea is a great team, so much so that it could really push its customary competition (i.e., the middle of the pack teams) -- teams with names like Charlton, Everton, Portsmouth and Aston Villa -- , off the cliff that is the Premiership. Those teams just might not be able to keep up with world football's "Greatest Show on Turf."
Let's see how the English address the problem of "Irrational Exuberance." Could there be a cap or a luxury tax in the future of the Premiership?
Or could Chelsea be to English football in the millenium what the New York Yankees were to baseball from 1949-1964?
This will be interesting to watch.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Wearing the Wrong Colors
We took the kids to the beach today in Manasquan, New Jersey, so that they could work on their boogie-boarding. The waves were excellent, the water was cool, and we all had a good time.
It was the type of weather where you needed to wear a hat, and without giving it much thought I grabbed the one hat that was sitting on the dryer near the doorway to our garage.
A Philadelphia Eagles hat.
I got some stares on that beach that I hadn't seen before.
You would have thought I was wearing a hat that said "Iran" or "Al Qaeda."
Okay, so it wasn't that bad, but when it comes to sports rivalries, it was as bad as it probably gets without hearing profane epithets (and my children hearing them). I'm sure that the woman wearing the Phillies' hat fared better if only because the Phillies haven't been able to get in the Mets' grille this season and because historically they have posed little threat to most cities' teams. The Phillies just aren't a threat.
But the Eagles have been another story. Giant fans just can't tolerate anything Eagles, for reasons which I am not so clear about except that the Eagles over the past several years have gotten the better of the Giants overall. What I can't fathom, though, is the enmity. The Eagles aren't an in-your-face type of team, Andy Reid isn't a bad guy, and Donovan McNabb seems to be a nice (if, at times, too nice of a) guy.
So what is it? Is it the tribal aspects of football? Is it that the Giant fans hate the Eagles because they just can't believe that anything in Philadelphia is any good and, for the times that the Eagles have bested the Giants, they are loathsome if only because they have felt that by losing to the Eagles they have succumbed to the nether regions that fall below medicrioty. Put another way, is that they see something bad in themselves when they have viewed the Eagles' recent successes (okay, not last season) and just get vitriolic for no rational reason?
Hard to figure, but perhaps with the kids, who looked very surfer-like in their rashguards, the Giant fans held their fire. The looks, by the way, came from middle-aged men and older, and not from the kids. Perhaps they were too busy eating their French fries, flirting with the opposite sex and paying attention to riding the waves. Or perhaps they just haven't fully formed their enmity yet.
Whatever it was, it was odd. My host, a native New Jerseyan, ran into one of his buddies, with whom he played HS football. The question from that friend about me was, "What, is he crazy, wearing that hat here?"
Apparently, I was.
Next time, I'll wear a different hat.
When in Rome. . .
Nah, forget that.
A Giants had (or Mets, Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rangers or Devils) hat I just won't wear.
I'll think of something.
It was the type of weather where you needed to wear a hat, and without giving it much thought I grabbed the one hat that was sitting on the dryer near the doorway to our garage.
A Philadelphia Eagles hat.
I got some stares on that beach that I hadn't seen before.
You would have thought I was wearing a hat that said "Iran" or "Al Qaeda."
Okay, so it wasn't that bad, but when it comes to sports rivalries, it was as bad as it probably gets without hearing profane epithets (and my children hearing them). I'm sure that the woman wearing the Phillies' hat fared better if only because the Phillies haven't been able to get in the Mets' grille this season and because historically they have posed little threat to most cities' teams. The Phillies just aren't a threat.
But the Eagles have been another story. Giant fans just can't tolerate anything Eagles, for reasons which I am not so clear about except that the Eagles over the past several years have gotten the better of the Giants overall. What I can't fathom, though, is the enmity. The Eagles aren't an in-your-face type of team, Andy Reid isn't a bad guy, and Donovan McNabb seems to be a nice (if, at times, too nice of a) guy.
So what is it? Is it the tribal aspects of football? Is it that the Giant fans hate the Eagles because they just can't believe that anything in Philadelphia is any good and, for the times that the Eagles have bested the Giants, they are loathsome if only because they have felt that by losing to the Eagles they have succumbed to the nether regions that fall below medicrioty. Put another way, is that they see something bad in themselves when they have viewed the Eagles' recent successes (okay, not last season) and just get vitriolic for no rational reason?
Hard to figure, but perhaps with the kids, who looked very surfer-like in their rashguards, the Giant fans held their fire. The looks, by the way, came from middle-aged men and older, and not from the kids. Perhaps they were too busy eating their French fries, flirting with the opposite sex and paying attention to riding the waves. Or perhaps they just haven't fully formed their enmity yet.
Whatever it was, it was odd. My host, a native New Jerseyan, ran into one of his buddies, with whom he played HS football. The question from that friend about me was, "What, is he crazy, wearing that hat here?"
Apparently, I was.
Next time, I'll wear a different hat.
When in Rome. . .
Nah, forget that.
A Giants had (or Mets, Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rangers or Devils) hat I just won't wear.
I'll think of something.
Thank You to David and Bobby
The Phillies started their diamond version of "Extreme Makeover" this weekend, sending David Bell to the Brewers and Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle to the Yankees. Before all is said and done, I wouldn't be surprised if Jon Lieber (signed through '07) , David Dellucci and either Rheal Cormier or Aaron Fultz end up in places like Boston or Detroit. Going into the season, the Phillies had 11 putative free agents on their roster (i.e., guys only signed through the remainder of the season). I would be shocked if Pat Burrell returns to Citizens Bank Park next spring, and Mike Lieberthal won't be back, either.
Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins had a great quote in one of the morning papers. He wondered aloud what Phillies' fans want, given that they didn't appreciate the dirty-uniform style of David Bell or the clinical approach of Bobby Abreu, who is a classic "Baseball Prospectus" type of player when you look at the numbers. It's a great question, actually, and I'll try to answer it.
First, with respect to David Bell, they expected a lot more. He never showed the power in Philadelphia that he did prior to coming to the Cradle of Liberty, and my guess is that a balky back prevented him from being the player he showed signs of being when he was a Giant. Couple that with the fact that he seemed to have gotten a rich contract from Ed Wade, the Darth Vader in the Phillies' solar system, and you have a toxic combination. Put simply, to many fans, Bell was a symbol of the type of errant signing Wade made. Personally, I liked Bell, thought he hustled, thought he was overmatched at a power position and thought he got too long of a contract. The bottom line was that he couldn't begin to replace Scott Rolen, about whom Wade goofed significantly.
I think Bobby Abreu was misunderstood. True, he's not a fiery guy, and true, he doesn't seem to come up with key, clutch plays the way the SS does in the Bronx 90 miles to the north. That said, throwing Abreu under the bus because he's not Papi or Jeter or Albert Pujols misses the point, and I think the Phillies' fans erred here, prompted, to a degree, by some sports' talk radio hosts who want their baseball players to show the type of aggressiveness that, say, Brian Dawkins shows in the defensive backfield for the Eagles. Yes, Dawkins makes things happen, and, to those commentators, Abreu is the type of "numbers" guy that puts up all sorts of numbers, many of which, to them, aren't meaningful. Still, it's hard to be a Brian Dawkins' equivalent on the baseball field. You can't exactly hit the opposition. Can you?
I heard similar talk about Mike Schmidt in the late 1970's too. From 1980 onward, he won three MVP awards, was a first-round entrant into the Hall of Fame and is considered to be the best third baseman ever. (Allen Barra once wrote that, based upon his statistical analysis, Schmidt is the best player ever). How frequently did we hear laments that Schmidt struck out too much, that he was too streaky or that he hit a lot of solo home runs. How unfulfilling did his Hall of Fame induction seem to some fans who never appreciated what a gem they had in their midst while he was in Philadelphia, owing to some degree because they did not like his aloof personality. Many Phillies' fans missed the boat on the star third baseman.
Now before you think I'm putting Abreu on the same pedestal as Schmidt, I'm not -- Schmidt proved to be transcendant (and, somewhat ironically, eclipsed at his own Hall of Fame induction by former Phillies' OF and broadcaster Richie Ashburn, who was inducted on the same day and drew the louder cheers). Look up the numbers and see for yourself -- he was a great, great player. Abreu, on the other hand, has proven to be "just" a very good outfielder.
Okay, so he's not Manny Ramirez, who is the best hitter of his time, and he's not Vladimir Guerrero. And he wasn't even Option A on this year's Phillies, an enigmatic team that has some outstanding individual talent but not enough pitching to carry it beyond a .500 record at best. No, Options A and B on this year's team are Chase Utley and Ryan Howard or Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, depending on how you look at it. Those two, if backed by other solid players (along the likes of the Abreus of the world), could lead the Phillies to greater heights. That, at least, is what the Phillies' historically overmatched ownership is hoping and wants Phillies' fans to believe (even if they are forgetting about how many gaping holes there are in the pitching staff).
Bobby Abreu wasn't appreciated in Philadelphia because, according to one commentator, he walked too much in the #3 spot and should have been swinging to knock in more runs. Yet, unless I'm mistaken, his average was pretty good with men on base and his OBP and OPS were outstanding (and, speaking of OBP, particularly outstanding on a team whose strikeouts-to-walks ratio among hitters is mediocre at best). He hit for some power, although his power production has fallen off considerably since he won the Home Run Derby at the '05 All-Star Game in runaway fashion. Finally, he looked a little chunkier out there this year, and, quite frankly, made certain balls hit to right field look like an adventure.
There, that's an x-ray of Bobby Abreu's season in Philadelphia. History will prove, like other good-to-excellent players, that he was underappreciated in the City of Brotherly Love. How soon that history plays itself will be an interesting thing to watch. If you're a Yankee fan, you should be pleased, as not only did you get a very good outfielder, you also got an innings eater of a starting pitcher who will do will in a ballpark whose dimensions are larger than the pre-school playground that masquerades for a Major League Park in Philadelphia. That's right, Cory Lidle may surprise people.
As for Phillies' fans, the demolition has only just begun. More trades will take place over the course of the next day and a half, and then in the off-season Pat Burrell will go and Mike Lieberthal in all likelihood will not return. By the time Pat Gillick is finished, it could well be that only 10 players from the '05 Opening Day roster will be on the '06 Opening Day roster.
Whether this is good or bad is another story, because the Phillies haven't shown the ability to effect Lazarus-like returns the way the Marlins have twice in the past ten years. Perhaps, like the old Soviet Union, the Phillies are embarking upon a five-year plan. Trouble is, they've seemingly been in that mode for the last quarter of a century.
Meanwhile, we say thank you to David Bell and Bobby Abreu and wish you well in your new venues. And we say a welcome to the relatively nameless prospects, who either will remain nameless or turn into the Smoltzes and Bagwells of the world.
Time, of course, will tell.
And, in the past quarter of a century, that's what we Phillies' fans have had plenty of.
Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins had a great quote in one of the morning papers. He wondered aloud what Phillies' fans want, given that they didn't appreciate the dirty-uniform style of David Bell or the clinical approach of Bobby Abreu, who is a classic "Baseball Prospectus" type of player when you look at the numbers. It's a great question, actually, and I'll try to answer it.
First, with respect to David Bell, they expected a lot more. He never showed the power in Philadelphia that he did prior to coming to the Cradle of Liberty, and my guess is that a balky back prevented him from being the player he showed signs of being when he was a Giant. Couple that with the fact that he seemed to have gotten a rich contract from Ed Wade, the Darth Vader in the Phillies' solar system, and you have a toxic combination. Put simply, to many fans, Bell was a symbol of the type of errant signing Wade made. Personally, I liked Bell, thought he hustled, thought he was overmatched at a power position and thought he got too long of a contract. The bottom line was that he couldn't begin to replace Scott Rolen, about whom Wade goofed significantly.
I think Bobby Abreu was misunderstood. True, he's not a fiery guy, and true, he doesn't seem to come up with key, clutch plays the way the SS does in the Bronx 90 miles to the north. That said, throwing Abreu under the bus because he's not Papi or Jeter or Albert Pujols misses the point, and I think the Phillies' fans erred here, prompted, to a degree, by some sports' talk radio hosts who want their baseball players to show the type of aggressiveness that, say, Brian Dawkins shows in the defensive backfield for the Eagles. Yes, Dawkins makes things happen, and, to those commentators, Abreu is the type of "numbers" guy that puts up all sorts of numbers, many of which, to them, aren't meaningful. Still, it's hard to be a Brian Dawkins' equivalent on the baseball field. You can't exactly hit the opposition. Can you?
I heard similar talk about Mike Schmidt in the late 1970's too. From 1980 onward, he won three MVP awards, was a first-round entrant into the Hall of Fame and is considered to be the best third baseman ever. (Allen Barra once wrote that, based upon his statistical analysis, Schmidt is the best player ever). How frequently did we hear laments that Schmidt struck out too much, that he was too streaky or that he hit a lot of solo home runs. How unfulfilling did his Hall of Fame induction seem to some fans who never appreciated what a gem they had in their midst while he was in Philadelphia, owing to some degree because they did not like his aloof personality. Many Phillies' fans missed the boat on the star third baseman.
Now before you think I'm putting Abreu on the same pedestal as Schmidt, I'm not -- Schmidt proved to be transcendant (and, somewhat ironically, eclipsed at his own Hall of Fame induction by former Phillies' OF and broadcaster Richie Ashburn, who was inducted on the same day and drew the louder cheers). Look up the numbers and see for yourself -- he was a great, great player. Abreu, on the other hand, has proven to be "just" a very good outfielder.
Okay, so he's not Manny Ramirez, who is the best hitter of his time, and he's not Vladimir Guerrero. And he wasn't even Option A on this year's Phillies, an enigmatic team that has some outstanding individual talent but not enough pitching to carry it beyond a .500 record at best. No, Options A and B on this year's team are Chase Utley and Ryan Howard or Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, depending on how you look at it. Those two, if backed by other solid players (along the likes of the Abreus of the world), could lead the Phillies to greater heights. That, at least, is what the Phillies' historically overmatched ownership is hoping and wants Phillies' fans to believe (even if they are forgetting about how many gaping holes there are in the pitching staff).
Bobby Abreu wasn't appreciated in Philadelphia because, according to one commentator, he walked too much in the #3 spot and should have been swinging to knock in more runs. Yet, unless I'm mistaken, his average was pretty good with men on base and his OBP and OPS were outstanding (and, speaking of OBP, particularly outstanding on a team whose strikeouts-to-walks ratio among hitters is mediocre at best). He hit for some power, although his power production has fallen off considerably since he won the Home Run Derby at the '05 All-Star Game in runaway fashion. Finally, he looked a little chunkier out there this year, and, quite frankly, made certain balls hit to right field look like an adventure.
There, that's an x-ray of Bobby Abreu's season in Philadelphia. History will prove, like other good-to-excellent players, that he was underappreciated in the City of Brotherly Love. How soon that history plays itself will be an interesting thing to watch. If you're a Yankee fan, you should be pleased, as not only did you get a very good outfielder, you also got an innings eater of a starting pitcher who will do will in a ballpark whose dimensions are larger than the pre-school playground that masquerades for a Major League Park in Philadelphia. That's right, Cory Lidle may surprise people.
As for Phillies' fans, the demolition has only just begun. More trades will take place over the course of the next day and a half, and then in the off-season Pat Burrell will go and Mike Lieberthal in all likelihood will not return. By the time Pat Gillick is finished, it could well be that only 10 players from the '05 Opening Day roster will be on the '06 Opening Day roster.
Whether this is good or bad is another story, because the Phillies haven't shown the ability to effect Lazarus-like returns the way the Marlins have twice in the past ten years. Perhaps, like the old Soviet Union, the Phillies are embarking upon a five-year plan. Trouble is, they've seemingly been in that mode for the last quarter of a century.
Meanwhile, we say thank you to David Bell and Bobby Abreu and wish you well in your new venues. And we say a welcome to the relatively nameless prospects, who either will remain nameless or turn into the Smoltzes and Bagwells of the world.
Time, of course, will tell.
And, in the past quarter of a century, that's what we Phillies' fans have had plenty of.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Bring Your "A" Game, Not Your Guns
Read this and see what I mean.
It defies description, really, even if you're a huge advocate of a certain interpretation of the Second Amendment.
USA Today reports that Miami coach Larry Coker has discouraged his Hurricane players from owning guns, this after a shooting incident in which a 'Canes player was shot and a teammate chased away the assailant by firing back. Yes, he had a permit for the gun.
What actually is going on at Miami?
Is the environment for college football players there so toxic that they feel the need to pack heat to protect themselves? Is the neighborhood around the school so unsafe that the average student straps a Glock to his ankle for protection?
If the answer to the last question is "no," then if you're the parent of the average Miami student, do you want your kids hanging out with members of the football team? Based on my read of the article, it may well be the case that more than one gridder owns a gun.
I just don't know what to make of this, I really don't. Sure, kids can come from neighborhoods that are so tough the average suburbanite cannot begin to comprehend them and they feel a need to own something to protect themselves with. And, yes, some colleges are in tough neighborhoods, and even if they aren't, students, with disposable income and goods that can be easy to fence, such as stereos, TVs, computers and IPods, can be targets for crime. But generally speaking, aren't most colleges supposed to be oases where kids can get away from the type of situatinos where they would even consider carrying a gun?
It may be that Miami President Donna Shalala is all over this, along with the Miami AD and Coach Coker, are taking a stand here and are talking with the players about their problems and their need for protection -- and outlawing guns. Most companies have codes of conduct that prohibit employees from bringing weapons into the workplace, and I would guess that most colleges have the same type of code. Whether it applies to situations involving students who live off-campus, however, is a good question. That said, I'm not sure that Miami is paralyzed from acting here -- if Coach Coker sets up a team rule that says no weapons, that's the way things have to be.
Then again, as we know, things happen within college athletic programs that sometimes escape the attention of the administration (and it's hard to know what kids own and what they're doing on their own time anyway).
Especially if the team keeps on winning.
I am certain that the entire Miami administration -- from President Shalala to Coach Coker -- cares deeply about all students and just doesn't want them carrying guns. Let's just hope that they can work with these kids and keep them out of student life entirely at the University of Miami.
Before someone gets hurt.
It defies description, really, even if you're a huge advocate of a certain interpretation of the Second Amendment.
USA Today reports that Miami coach Larry Coker has discouraged his Hurricane players from owning guns, this after a shooting incident in which a 'Canes player was shot and a teammate chased away the assailant by firing back. Yes, he had a permit for the gun.
What actually is going on at Miami?
Is the environment for college football players there so toxic that they feel the need to pack heat to protect themselves? Is the neighborhood around the school so unsafe that the average student straps a Glock to his ankle for protection?
If the answer to the last question is "no," then if you're the parent of the average Miami student, do you want your kids hanging out with members of the football team? Based on my read of the article, it may well be the case that more than one gridder owns a gun.
I just don't know what to make of this, I really don't. Sure, kids can come from neighborhoods that are so tough the average suburbanite cannot begin to comprehend them and they feel a need to own something to protect themselves with. And, yes, some colleges are in tough neighborhoods, and even if they aren't, students, with disposable income and goods that can be easy to fence, such as stereos, TVs, computers and IPods, can be targets for crime. But generally speaking, aren't most colleges supposed to be oases where kids can get away from the type of situatinos where they would even consider carrying a gun?
It may be that Miami President Donna Shalala is all over this, along with the Miami AD and Coach Coker, are taking a stand here and are talking with the players about their problems and their need for protection -- and outlawing guns. Most companies have codes of conduct that prohibit employees from bringing weapons into the workplace, and I would guess that most colleges have the same type of code. Whether it applies to situations involving students who live off-campus, however, is a good question. That said, I'm not sure that Miami is paralyzed from acting here -- if Coach Coker sets up a team rule that says no weapons, that's the way things have to be.
Then again, as we know, things happen within college athletic programs that sometimes escape the attention of the administration (and it's hard to know what kids own and what they're doing on their own time anyway).
Especially if the team keeps on winning.
I am certain that the entire Miami administration -- from President Shalala to Coach Coker -- cares deeply about all students and just doesn't want them carrying guns. Let's just hope that they can work with these kids and keep them out of student life entirely at the University of Miami.
Before someone gets hurt.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
The $100 Million Infield
Those of you who are well read in baseball history know all about the $100,000 infield. They played for Connie Mack, owner and manager of the Philadelphia A's, who alternatively (because his team was poorly capitalized as a result of Mack's being dependent on the gate for his livelihood) fielded great teams (the A's from 1929-1931 might be the best team of all-time) and horrible ones (teams thereafter didn't exactly set the world on fire). Around 1910, Mr. Mack assembled an outstanding infield, featuring Stuff McInnis at first, Hall of Famer Eddie Collins at second, Jack Barry at short and Hall of Famer Frank "Home Run" Baker at third. It was a terrific infield on an excellent team.
There was an intriguing rumor in the Philadelphia papers today, intriguing in that it was mentioned as a rumor and then reported that both sides denied the potential trade. But it would be one of the biggest blockbusters in recent memory, and it goes like this:
The Phillies would send Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, David Bell (white hot in July) and Tom Gordon (the All-Star) to the Yankees for Alex Rodriguez. There was no mention in the rumor, of course, as to how much of Abreu's salary would get picked up, but the trade would make sense in that the Bronx Bombers would get desperately needed corner outfielders (especially if Hideki Matsui doesn't recover quickly and Gary Sheffield is out for the season), a third baseman (they'll need one to fill in for A-Rod, to whom the Yankee fans haven't taken a shine because a) he hasn't hit well with men on base and b) he is not Derek Jeter), and a great setup man in Gordon (remember, a guy named Rivera is their closer).
The Phillies would get A-Rod, thereby giving them the best infield in baseball, bar none:
1B -- Ryan Howard. Makes you think of Willie Stargell and Willie McCovey, both of whom are in the Hall of Fame.
2B -- Another All-Star, Chase Utley, the best 2B in the National League and currently enjoying a 22-game hitting streak.
SS -- Jimmy Rollins. Great talent, needs more discipline in the strike zone, but a good player.
3B -- A-Rod, who already has 450 home runs in his career and will definitely get to 700+ if he finishes his career in Citizens Bank Park.
True, the Phillies would deplete their OF and would start a less-than-thrilling group of David Dellucci in left (but he's played well in a part-time role and hit 27 HRs in Texas last season), Aaron Rowand and Shane Victorino, who would give them the leadoff hitter they desperately need. Lord knows who the back-ups would be, but the Phillies would a) give the fans an exciting infield, b) give Victorino a chance to start and have the leadoff hitter they deserve, c) shed Abreu and Burrell, who have been a symbol for overpaid players who can put up numbers but who don't win championships (the latter is rather unfair, because the last time I checked, neither of them is a pitcher, and pitching has been the hometown nine's problem). It also would leave the Phillies without a closer, and from reading yesterday's Daily News, many Phillies believe that the team, as currently constructed, can win the NL wild card. My thoughts on that are -- bleh! First, they don't have the pitching, and second, if they do, they'll win it with 82 games and get blasted out of the playoffs in the first round. They'll still be stuck with the same core that hasn't done much over the past 5+ seasons.
It's doubtful that this trade would happen, but the infield that would result in Philadelphia were it to occur would leave the fans' mouths agape at the assemblage of talent.
At least for a moment.
And a decent lineup, as follows:
RF Shane Victorino
SS Jimmy Rollins
2B Chase Utley
3B Alex Rodriguez
1B Ryan Howard
LF David Dellucci
CF Aaron Rowand
C Mike Lieberthal
P ____________
And then, again, they'll start wondering about four big questions:
1. Who will close?
2. Where will the starting pitching come from?
3. Who will the back-up outfielders be?
4. And, given the perennial problem as reflected in question #2, why did they build Citizens Bank Park the way they did in the first place?
The $100 Million Infield?
Okay, the $50 million infield.
Certainly, it has a nice ring to it.
Especially since you have the $1 million starting pitching staff.
There was an intriguing rumor in the Philadelphia papers today, intriguing in that it was mentioned as a rumor and then reported that both sides denied the potential trade. But it would be one of the biggest blockbusters in recent memory, and it goes like this:
The Phillies would send Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, David Bell (white hot in July) and Tom Gordon (the All-Star) to the Yankees for Alex Rodriguez. There was no mention in the rumor, of course, as to how much of Abreu's salary would get picked up, but the trade would make sense in that the Bronx Bombers would get desperately needed corner outfielders (especially if Hideki Matsui doesn't recover quickly and Gary Sheffield is out for the season), a third baseman (they'll need one to fill in for A-Rod, to whom the Yankee fans haven't taken a shine because a) he hasn't hit well with men on base and b) he is not Derek Jeter), and a great setup man in Gordon (remember, a guy named Rivera is their closer).
The Phillies would get A-Rod, thereby giving them the best infield in baseball, bar none:
1B -- Ryan Howard. Makes you think of Willie Stargell and Willie McCovey, both of whom are in the Hall of Fame.
2B -- Another All-Star, Chase Utley, the best 2B in the National League and currently enjoying a 22-game hitting streak.
SS -- Jimmy Rollins. Great talent, needs more discipline in the strike zone, but a good player.
3B -- A-Rod, who already has 450 home runs in his career and will definitely get to 700+ if he finishes his career in Citizens Bank Park.
True, the Phillies would deplete their OF and would start a less-than-thrilling group of David Dellucci in left (but he's played well in a part-time role and hit 27 HRs in Texas last season), Aaron Rowand and Shane Victorino, who would give them the leadoff hitter they desperately need. Lord knows who the back-ups would be, but the Phillies would a) give the fans an exciting infield, b) give Victorino a chance to start and have the leadoff hitter they deserve, c) shed Abreu and Burrell, who have been a symbol for overpaid players who can put up numbers but who don't win championships (the latter is rather unfair, because the last time I checked, neither of them is a pitcher, and pitching has been the hometown nine's problem). It also would leave the Phillies without a closer, and from reading yesterday's Daily News, many Phillies believe that the team, as currently constructed, can win the NL wild card. My thoughts on that are -- bleh! First, they don't have the pitching, and second, if they do, they'll win it with 82 games and get blasted out of the playoffs in the first round. They'll still be stuck with the same core that hasn't done much over the past 5+ seasons.
It's doubtful that this trade would happen, but the infield that would result in Philadelphia were it to occur would leave the fans' mouths agape at the assemblage of talent.
At least for a moment.
And a decent lineup, as follows:
RF Shane Victorino
SS Jimmy Rollins
2B Chase Utley
3B Alex Rodriguez
1B Ryan Howard
LF David Dellucci
CF Aaron Rowand
C Mike Lieberthal
P ____________
And then, again, they'll start wondering about four big questions:
1. Who will close?
2. Where will the starting pitching come from?
3. Who will the back-up outfielders be?
4. And, given the perennial problem as reflected in question #2, why did they build Citizens Bank Park the way they did in the first place?
The $100 Million Infield?
Okay, the $50 million infield.
Certainly, it has a nice ring to it.
Especially since you have the $1 million starting pitching staff.
Only in America
Does a Mennonite who grew up in a non-sports atmosphere and with a hip that now needs replacing put himself in excellent position to win the world's most prestigious bike race.
In France.
Read this and see what I mean.
(And also note the comments that compare Floyd Landis with Lance Armstrong. Landis comes across as much more likable, but, then again, those who reach status worthy of having their likenesses engraved on Mount Rushmore are in such rarified air that they cultivate their images with greater care and are less approachable as a result).
At any rate, read the quotes and tell me what you think.
Personally, I'd rather be out on my bike than watching the race, but the Tour de France has been good theater this year and worthy of following.
In France.
Read this and see what I mean.
(And also note the comments that compare Floyd Landis with Lance Armstrong. Landis comes across as much more likable, but, then again, those who reach status worthy of having their likenesses engraved on Mount Rushmore are in such rarified air that they cultivate their images with greater care and are less approachable as a result).
At any rate, read the quotes and tell me what you think.
Personally, I'd rather be out on my bike than watching the race, but the Tour de France has been good theater this year and worthy of following.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Tilting at Windmills, Not Exactly
Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy, wrote an entertaining column as to which team he'll pick to root for in the English Premiership (that's the top English soccer league, for you soccer phobes out there) in the upcoming season. If you want to get an American view of the Premiership teams, read this column.
A few points from where I sit:
1. The Glazer family spent $1 billion to buy perhaps the best known franchise in the entire world (and not just North America), Manchester United, a few years back. They probably figured that they were buying the Yankees, but then. . .
2. Roman Abramowich, one of the Russian oligarchs, bought Chelsea, one of many Premiership teams in the London area and perhaps viewed as the lace-curtain one which, before Abramowich bought the team, was in the top 5 or 6 every year but usually behind Man. United and Arsenal, among others. Abramowich has been spending the big bucks, and last year Chelsea ran away with the Premiership (they stumbled a bit at the end and in the intra-European league championships, but that's another story). Man. U. is still excellent, but now you have some huge bucks in the league other than the Glazers, and more may be on the way.
3. Rumor has it that another oligarch is interested in buying Portsmouth, a team that usually is in the bottom half of the Premiership standings. It's in the Southwest, a port city, and Simmons paints a good picture of it. If an oligarch buys the team and builds a new stadium, the Premiership could get even more interesting.
4. The rivalry between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal (they're probably the Dodgers to Man. U's Yankees) is more bitter than almost anything we see in America. I'm not so sure that Tottenham Hotspur fans would have held up "We love North London" signs the way Red Sox' fans held up "We Love New York" signs in Fenway Park after 9/11. Read Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch" to get an understanding as to how soccer gets inside the soul of an Englishman. Simmons is spot on with his commentary here.
5. That said, I was surprised that he picked the Spurs, also based in London, as his team to root for. I can't really find an analogous team in baseball, because the Spurs aren't really contenders. They're good enough to give you trouble, to finish in the top third, but they're seldom a threat, at least recently, to win it all. Okay, so they're not the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Washington Nationals. Maybe they're more like the contemporary Twins or A's, with one big exception -- not much emotion gets invoked when you mention those two baseball teams.
6. I root for Arsenal because a good friend does, because they have an interesting style, and because one of the best strikers in the world, Thierry Henry, plays for them. Rooting for Man. U. is like rooting for the Yankees, and I'm not into the big spenders -- Chelsea is a combination of Jimmy Dolan's Knicks and Mark Cuban's Mavericks. Liverpool is an interesting team, but their funky-haired striker, Frenchman Djbril Cisse, is now back in Marseille, and they're in a spot in the England that's akin to a spot in the U.S. I'll probably not get to -- call it Milwaukee. Then there's Newcastle, up in the northlands (the Wilkes-Barre of England), an area that Tony Blair represents as a Member of Parliament (note to you social studies types out there, M.P.'s don't have to live in their districts and many don't -- Blair might root for Newcastle for political reasons, but he's not from there). Simmons is hilarious on his take about Newcastle and probably right -- they get guys who are over the hill or to whom bad things happen after they get there. The thing about rooting for Arsenal is that after years of being a Philadelphia sports fan, I need to root for a team other than the Eagles that actually has a chance at a championship. The Gunners, as they're called, fill that need.
Read the whole thing, though, as it's a great read.
And get interested in the Premiership -- the fervor surrounding it is pretty neat to observe.
A few points from where I sit:
1. The Glazer family spent $1 billion to buy perhaps the best known franchise in the entire world (and not just North America), Manchester United, a few years back. They probably figured that they were buying the Yankees, but then. . .
2. Roman Abramowich, one of the Russian oligarchs, bought Chelsea, one of many Premiership teams in the London area and perhaps viewed as the lace-curtain one which, before Abramowich bought the team, was in the top 5 or 6 every year but usually behind Man. United and Arsenal, among others. Abramowich has been spending the big bucks, and last year Chelsea ran away with the Premiership (they stumbled a bit at the end and in the intra-European league championships, but that's another story). Man. U. is still excellent, but now you have some huge bucks in the league other than the Glazers, and more may be on the way.
3. Rumor has it that another oligarch is interested in buying Portsmouth, a team that usually is in the bottom half of the Premiership standings. It's in the Southwest, a port city, and Simmons paints a good picture of it. If an oligarch buys the team and builds a new stadium, the Premiership could get even more interesting.
4. The rivalry between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal (they're probably the Dodgers to Man. U's Yankees) is more bitter than almost anything we see in America. I'm not so sure that Tottenham Hotspur fans would have held up "We love North London" signs the way Red Sox' fans held up "We Love New York" signs in Fenway Park after 9/11. Read Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch" to get an understanding as to how soccer gets inside the soul of an Englishman. Simmons is spot on with his commentary here.
5. That said, I was surprised that he picked the Spurs, also based in London, as his team to root for. I can't really find an analogous team in baseball, because the Spurs aren't really contenders. They're good enough to give you trouble, to finish in the top third, but they're seldom a threat, at least recently, to win it all. Okay, so they're not the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Washington Nationals. Maybe they're more like the contemporary Twins or A's, with one big exception -- not much emotion gets invoked when you mention those two baseball teams.
6. I root for Arsenal because a good friend does, because they have an interesting style, and because one of the best strikers in the world, Thierry Henry, plays for them. Rooting for Man. U. is like rooting for the Yankees, and I'm not into the big spenders -- Chelsea is a combination of Jimmy Dolan's Knicks and Mark Cuban's Mavericks. Liverpool is an interesting team, but their funky-haired striker, Frenchman Djbril Cisse, is now back in Marseille, and they're in a spot in the England that's akin to a spot in the U.S. I'll probably not get to -- call it Milwaukee. Then there's Newcastle, up in the northlands (the Wilkes-Barre of England), an area that Tony Blair represents as a Member of Parliament (note to you social studies types out there, M.P.'s don't have to live in their districts and many don't -- Blair might root for Newcastle for political reasons, but he's not from there). Simmons is hilarious on his take about Newcastle and probably right -- they get guys who are over the hill or to whom bad things happen after they get there. The thing about rooting for Arsenal is that after years of being a Philadelphia sports fan, I need to root for a team other than the Eagles that actually has a chance at a championship. The Gunners, as they're called, fill that need.
Read the whole thing, though, as it's a great read.
And get interested in the Premiership -- the fervor surrounding it is pretty neat to observe.
Deluded in Dallas
Not.
I was in Dallas the past couple of days and listened to their sports talk radio. On the one hand, they are not as intense as they are in the northeastern U.S. It may be that they're more mellow, it may be that they are not as knowledgeable, and I heard one bit this morning where some red-state (if not redneck) comedian cast aspersions on Terrell Owens in a way that might draw venom if not protests north of the Mason-Dixon line (although Imus sometimes gets away with this stuff).
All that said, when I sorted through it all, there are a few thoughts that are prominent on the minds of most Dallas Cowboys football fans:
1. If anyone can handle T.O., Bill Parcells can. (They cite to Parcells' handling of Keyshawn Johnson as proof that Parcells can have this type of influence).
2. They realize what an oddball T.O. is. The sports talkers do, the columnists do, and the fans do. They're hopeful that he can be a difference maker, but when you ask what will happen when Drew Bledsoe throws to Terry Glenn three times in a row and then overthrows T.O. on a critical down, in unison they realize that they are riding the Mount Vesuvius of playmakers, who, when he erupts, will cover the franchise with sticky, fiery magma the way that old volcano did a number on Naples way back when.
It took that Southern Italian city a little while to recover.
3. Conclusion: they know their football in the Lone Star State, and they know that they have a potentially volatile situation that could backfire on them in a month or so. In England, the oddsmakers would put up odds as to when T.O. has his first flareup with a coach or teammate. I don't think that the oddsmakers in Las Vegas are so bold to do that here, but it would be fun to watch.
Oh, yes, and it was 113 degrees in the car that I was riding in yesterday in Dallas.
Humid, too.
Part of the way I had to listen to a discussion on the sports talk radio station about how unique it is that the Cowboys may be the only team in football (HS, college, pros) to have a star on their helmet. The hosts offered that there have to be plenty of teams with eagles and cardinals on their helmets, but not stars. I don't know what they were getting at other than to point out this relatively worthless fact. The Cowboys do represent the Lone Star State, so there is good reasoning behind the logo, and certainly better than justifications for calling the NBA hoops teams in Utah and Los Angeles the Jazz and the Lakers, where the former is in perhaps the one state most antithetical to the jazz culture and the latter is in a place where there can be prolonged droughts and there aren't any lakes.
Then again, perhaps they were suggesting that it showed moxie, boldness, the Texas way of doing things. Now, I know Louisville is the Cardinals, Stanford is the Cardinals and Boston College is the Eagles, but I am not an expert in helmet design. And I don't read much into the uniforms except that over the years they have stood for excellence (and Cowboy nation, their fans, can go over the top not with the love for their team, but their incessant need to put down fans of Cowboy rivals). As someone who roots for a team in the Cowboys' division that is not the Cowboys, it's always nice to see your team of Eagles, the national bird, by the way, beat the guys wearing the stars on their hats.
There was more talk about the Cowboys than the Rangers, and the talking heads ruminated that if all the Rangers could get from the Yankees for Kevin Mench is Shawn Chacon (who has been bombed about as frequently as Hezbollah outposts in Southern Lebanon), they should keep the outfielder and continue to struggle. Not much energy in Rangers' talk, but lots of it about the Cowboys.
It was hot in Dallas today, but somehow I think it will be hotter when the Eagles and the Cowboys tangle for the first time this season. The team leaders will need to make a statement that they are closing ranks behind Donovan McNabb, who Owens threw under the bus last season. McNabb didn't do anything to Owens, doesn't badmouth his teammates, and I sense that certain key teammates didn't want to get in the middle of it. That resulted in Owens's behaving badly, because had the teammates stood up to him more, the whole set of shenanigans might have stopped. If the Eagles are to rekindle the magic that preceded last season -- and many think that they will (13 starters were on the IL last year) -- the key performers will need to unite behind McNabb, and McNabb will have to lead and unite the key performers.
The NFC East is loaded and, again, should be fun to watch this year.
Drama or no drama.
I was in Dallas the past couple of days and listened to their sports talk radio. On the one hand, they are not as intense as they are in the northeastern U.S. It may be that they're more mellow, it may be that they are not as knowledgeable, and I heard one bit this morning where some red-state (if not redneck) comedian cast aspersions on Terrell Owens in a way that might draw venom if not protests north of the Mason-Dixon line (although Imus sometimes gets away with this stuff).
All that said, when I sorted through it all, there are a few thoughts that are prominent on the minds of most Dallas Cowboys football fans:
1. If anyone can handle T.O., Bill Parcells can. (They cite to Parcells' handling of Keyshawn Johnson as proof that Parcells can have this type of influence).
2. They realize what an oddball T.O. is. The sports talkers do, the columnists do, and the fans do. They're hopeful that he can be a difference maker, but when you ask what will happen when Drew Bledsoe throws to Terry Glenn three times in a row and then overthrows T.O. on a critical down, in unison they realize that they are riding the Mount Vesuvius of playmakers, who, when he erupts, will cover the franchise with sticky, fiery magma the way that old volcano did a number on Naples way back when.
It took that Southern Italian city a little while to recover.
3. Conclusion: they know their football in the Lone Star State, and they know that they have a potentially volatile situation that could backfire on them in a month or so. In England, the oddsmakers would put up odds as to when T.O. has his first flareup with a coach or teammate. I don't think that the oddsmakers in Las Vegas are so bold to do that here, but it would be fun to watch.
Oh, yes, and it was 113 degrees in the car that I was riding in yesterday in Dallas.
Humid, too.
Part of the way I had to listen to a discussion on the sports talk radio station about how unique it is that the Cowboys may be the only team in football (HS, college, pros) to have a star on their helmet. The hosts offered that there have to be plenty of teams with eagles and cardinals on their helmets, but not stars. I don't know what they were getting at other than to point out this relatively worthless fact. The Cowboys do represent the Lone Star State, so there is good reasoning behind the logo, and certainly better than justifications for calling the NBA hoops teams in Utah and Los Angeles the Jazz and the Lakers, where the former is in perhaps the one state most antithetical to the jazz culture and the latter is in a place where there can be prolonged droughts and there aren't any lakes.
Then again, perhaps they were suggesting that it showed moxie, boldness, the Texas way of doing things. Now, I know Louisville is the Cardinals, Stanford is the Cardinals and Boston College is the Eagles, but I am not an expert in helmet design. And I don't read much into the uniforms except that over the years they have stood for excellence (and Cowboy nation, their fans, can go over the top not with the love for their team, but their incessant need to put down fans of Cowboy rivals). As someone who roots for a team in the Cowboys' division that is not the Cowboys, it's always nice to see your team of Eagles, the national bird, by the way, beat the guys wearing the stars on their hats.
There was more talk about the Cowboys than the Rangers, and the talking heads ruminated that if all the Rangers could get from the Yankees for Kevin Mench is Shawn Chacon (who has been bombed about as frequently as Hezbollah outposts in Southern Lebanon), they should keep the outfielder and continue to struggle. Not much energy in Rangers' talk, but lots of it about the Cowboys.
It was hot in Dallas today, but somehow I think it will be hotter when the Eagles and the Cowboys tangle for the first time this season. The team leaders will need to make a statement that they are closing ranks behind Donovan McNabb, who Owens threw under the bus last season. McNabb didn't do anything to Owens, doesn't badmouth his teammates, and I sense that certain key teammates didn't want to get in the middle of it. That resulted in Owens's behaving badly, because had the teammates stood up to him more, the whole set of shenanigans might have stopped. If the Eagles are to rekindle the magic that preceded last season -- and many think that they will (13 starters were on the IL last year) -- the key performers will need to unite behind McNabb, and McNabb will have to lead and unite the key performers.
The NFC East is loaded and, again, should be fun to watch this year.
Drama or no drama.
Friday, July 14, 2006
"There Are More Horse's Asses Than Horses" Dept.
The quote was from my late Uncle Sam, who worked hard and founded a business that grew beyond his wildest dreams. He was raised in a prejudiced world, and he overcame a distinct bias against him to enter a sphere that was foreign to him and succeed.
Click here for the latest evidence in support of Uncle Sam's claim. Hint: It's about Terrell Owens.
The world's most famous Tennessee-Chattanooga alum says he was misquoted in his autobiography. Some Texas HS DT was buying the book at Wal-Mart because he says he'll reading anything about football leadership. Give the currently misguided kid a little credit -- the last book he read was about Roger Staubach. It's probably the case that a HS football player in Texas will read anything about football. But if this kid thinks that what T.O. says exemplifies leadership, then the team doctors should give him an MRI to make sure he hasn't had one too many concussions.
When the sunlight shines on the wisdom of T.O., he removes all doubt as to what a goofball he is.
Because how can you be misquoted in your own autobiography?
Unless, of course, you never read the proofs in the first place.
People who grew up in my Uncle Sam's generation also used the phrase "empty barrels make the most noise." So that thunderclap you'll hear this fall at Lincoln Financial Field is when T.O. run a crossing pattern and gets his bell -- or barrel, take your pick -- rung by Brian Dawkins and company.
Talk about noise.
Because as loud as The Linc is, a shot like that will resonate throughout the nation.
And then what will T.O. say?
Click here for the latest evidence in support of Uncle Sam's claim. Hint: It's about Terrell Owens.
The world's most famous Tennessee-Chattanooga alum says he was misquoted in his autobiography. Some Texas HS DT was buying the book at Wal-Mart because he says he'll reading anything about football leadership. Give the currently misguided kid a little credit -- the last book he read was about Roger Staubach. It's probably the case that a HS football player in Texas will read anything about football. But if this kid thinks that what T.O. says exemplifies leadership, then the team doctors should give him an MRI to make sure he hasn't had one too many concussions.
When the sunlight shines on the wisdom of T.O., he removes all doubt as to what a goofball he is.
Because how can you be misquoted in your own autobiography?
Unless, of course, you never read the proofs in the first place.
People who grew up in my Uncle Sam's generation also used the phrase "empty barrels make the most noise." So that thunderclap you'll hear this fall at Lincoln Financial Field is when T.O. run a crossing pattern and gets his bell -- or barrel, take your pick -- rung by Brian Dawkins and company.
Talk about noise.
Because as loud as The Linc is, a shot like that will resonate throughout the nation.
And then what will T.O. say?
Thursday, July 13, 2006
For the Love of the Game
The Double A Zone offers some great stuff on the lives of college athletes and coaches. Click here for a take on life as a DIII softball player. She isn't on a scholarship, but she loves the game as much as someone who is at an elite DI program. While the elite DI spectator sports draw all the fans, it's heartening to know that the bulk of college athletes play for something other than a chance to play for money after their eligibility is up. Washington University in St. Louis is an outstanding school, and it's nice to see blog posts about programs like this one. The papers usually don't give DIII programs much press; in fairness, DIII programs do not sell papers. That said, it's a good and quick read, and it reminds you that there is a unique level of joy in games that do not involve the big bucks.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
The Cat Ate My Homework (And Other Tall Tales)
I've lived in the Philadelphia area for a long time now, and the one thing I've learned is that you have to have neverending patience with the local sports teams. Philadelphia has four "major" sports teams, and they can be categorized as follows:
76ers: Stuck in the mud with a superstar who doesn't make his teammates better and a GM who should have been fired several years ago. They haven't won a title since 1983.
Phillies: Always finding a way to take one step forward and two steps backwards. They never seem to have enough to contend seriously, so much so that we had to take some joy out of their finishing one game out of the wild card chase last season. Ownership has usually been out of touch, with the exception being the Ruly Carpenter years from the mid-1970's to mid-1980's. the Phillies won their only World Series in 1980.
Flyers: Aggressive and not usually befuddled, although the owner/chairman is so enthralled with the player who put him on the map (Bob then Bobby Clarke) that he hasn't been able to see through his GM's shortcomings. The team spends the bucks, but last year they loaded up on some lummox-like players when the rules changes dictated a need for quickness. They're not guilty of being cheap -- like the Phillies were until a few years ago (once upon a time then chairman Bill Giles claimed the Phillies -- who play in the fifth largest media market -- were a "small market" team, and the fans haven't forgiven his ownership group ever since), just wasteful and misdirected at times. The Flyers won back-to-back titles in the '73-'74 and '74-'75 seasons but have been looking for the right combination ever since (okay, so they've made it to two Stanley Cup finals since then, but, that's a small consolation, right?).
Eagles: The City of Brotherly Love is a football town. When you combined the decline of the Phillies in the mid-1980's with the baseball strike of 1994, Buddy Ryan's obnoxious attitude, the Reggie White-led defense and the clinical way the Lurie-Banner-Reid regime fields teams, you have the recipe for a solid football town. The collapse of the Phillies and the advent of Ryan's defenses pushed Philadelphia into football territory, and the Lurie regime cemented the reputation. This team is a team that seems reluctant to spend that little bit of extra to put its team over the top, even though the teams up until last year have been outstanding in the past decade or so. The Birds are still iffy at WR and RB (where they're also thin), but the defense is going to revive itself bigtime this year, and from Chris Mortensen to Joe Gibbs, many are predicting an excellent year for the Birds. They won their last title in 1960.
Yes, Philadelphia suffers the distinction of being the city with four major sports teams to have the longest drought from its last title -- 23 years and running.
Patience is truly a virtue when you're a Philadelphia sports fan. You have to endure questionable decisions by ownership and the stupidity that can come forth on talk radio, much of it by the callers, but sometimes by the hosts. Yet, there are times when ownership and management just cannot get out of its own way.
Such as yesterday.
One-time Phillies' managing partner Bill Giles sat down and spoke with the media about the local baseball team. He didn't offer up many gems, he didn't give the manager a vote of confidence (saying that he would refrain from comment), he didn't seem to give the average fan any reason to believe his ownership group has a clue about how to win a title (even though they hate losing, he says), he gave the current managing partner (Dave Montgomery) a vote of confidence even though Montgomery has presided over losing season after losing season and was the one who hired Ed Wade to be his GM, the same Ed Wade who lost Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen to bad trades, gave bad contracts to Pat Burrell, Mike Lieberthal and David Bell and who let the farm system virtually collapse, and, yes, he offered up a gem about the Brett Myers incident.
Brett Myers was trying to help his wife. (Scroll down to the first two questions and read this for yourself).
And a Phillies' employee saw the whole thing.
Let's see, Myers was offering Jungian psychotherapy to his wife on the streets of Boston, was gesticulating wildly with his arms and balled up his fist, only to have his much shorter wife walk into it by accident. He pulled her hair because when he studied eastern philosophy at Beijing University while on his Rhodes Scholarship, he became a practioner of Chinese medicine and learned the arts of tonsorial healing (not to be confused with the tortures that Chairman Mao's regime inflicted on tens of millions of people). So who cares if Myers' shaves his pate? Tonsorial pulls are the new tai chi.
The italicized remarks were said notwithstanding the fact that Myers' wife filed a complaint against him, that Myers publicly stated he acted inappropriately, and that the Phillies admitted they handled the Myers affair inappropriately. Giles hid behind the cloak of "it's a legal matter, so I can't say more."
Huh?
Remember, this is the same guy who said Philadelphia is a small market.
Perhaps he meant that the ownership group is either small-minded or small-brained.
Later today, Phillies' president Dave Montgomery clarified the situation, saying that his mentor was basically well-intentioned but got it wrong. You can click here to read the wagon circling and click here to read Phil Sheridan's take on the situation (Sheridan is a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer).
Montgomery, by all accounts is a good and smart guy. But if he were running a company outside a monopoly situation, he would have been canned long ago (that is, if he hadn't run the team into bankruptcy first).
The pundits in Philadelphia are offering a bunch of solutions, from firing the manager to trading a bunch of position players to blowing up the team to going only with young pitchers the way the Braves did in the late 1980's to getting the ownership to sell the team and admit that it just couldn't figure out a way to win.
The view here is that if you do any of the first three, you're attacking symptoms. If you do the last thing, you're hitting the cause. Hard.
Bill Giles' latest public utterings rub salt into the wounds that the fans have carried for years. The Giles regime -- and this ownership's regime -- has an easy report card to look at over the past 21 or so seasons -- 1 World Series appearance, and overall losing record and through the 2005 season 142 games under .500. That's progress? How patient do we have to be?
Here are some other excuses that the Phillies could offer this year:
1. Ed Wade signed the catcher and third baseman to no-trade contracts.
2. The team gave too much money to Jim Thome when they signed him as a free agent, thereby hamstringing their ability to do other teams.
3. They got little in return for Scott Rolen.
4. They got even less in return for Curt Schilling.
5. The corner outfielders cannot play defense.
6. They gave Pat Burrell way too big a contract before he strung a few good seasons together.
7. They cannot develop pitching.
8. They brain-cramped on the design of their ballpark and instead of building a neutral park built Coors Park.
9. Despite their manual for doing things, too many of their hitters swing at first pitches, even after watching the other team's pitcher miss the plate with some frequency.
10. Their farm system offers little in the way of help.
Do the math: Add up numbers 1 through 10 and determine who is responsble for the sterling record of this franchise.
Bill Giles, Dave Montgomery and friends.
Do the public a service, gentlemen, please -- and sell the team. After 20+ years at the helm, what past experiences other than the lightning strike in 1994 give you encouragement that your group knows what it's doing? What successes are you really building on?
Want to know what it's like to be a Phillies' fan? Just read the interview.
And then reconsider your view of Phillies' fans. The fact that the keep coming back is not a testimony for the Phillies, but a statement that these fans love the game and refuse to let local management ruin it.
And given Bill Giles' statement about their being no intent to sell the team, the current ownership group will get the chance to run the franchise into the ground.
Where's a strong commissioner invoking "the best interests of baseball" clause and compelling incompetent management with a losing record over 20 years to sell the team?
For the good of the game.
And the sanity of an underrated and earnest group of fans.
76ers: Stuck in the mud with a superstar who doesn't make his teammates better and a GM who should have been fired several years ago. They haven't won a title since 1983.
Phillies: Always finding a way to take one step forward and two steps backwards. They never seem to have enough to contend seriously, so much so that we had to take some joy out of their finishing one game out of the wild card chase last season. Ownership has usually been out of touch, with the exception being the Ruly Carpenter years from the mid-1970's to mid-1980's. the Phillies won their only World Series in 1980.
Flyers: Aggressive and not usually befuddled, although the owner/chairman is so enthralled with the player who put him on the map (Bob then Bobby Clarke) that he hasn't been able to see through his GM's shortcomings. The team spends the bucks, but last year they loaded up on some lummox-like players when the rules changes dictated a need for quickness. They're not guilty of being cheap -- like the Phillies were until a few years ago (once upon a time then chairman Bill Giles claimed the Phillies -- who play in the fifth largest media market -- were a "small market" team, and the fans haven't forgiven his ownership group ever since), just wasteful and misdirected at times. The Flyers won back-to-back titles in the '73-'74 and '74-'75 seasons but have been looking for the right combination ever since (okay, so they've made it to two Stanley Cup finals since then, but, that's a small consolation, right?).
Eagles: The City of Brotherly Love is a football town. When you combined the decline of the Phillies in the mid-1980's with the baseball strike of 1994, Buddy Ryan's obnoxious attitude, the Reggie White-led defense and the clinical way the Lurie-Banner-Reid regime fields teams, you have the recipe for a solid football town. The collapse of the Phillies and the advent of Ryan's defenses pushed Philadelphia into football territory, and the Lurie regime cemented the reputation. This team is a team that seems reluctant to spend that little bit of extra to put its team over the top, even though the teams up until last year have been outstanding in the past decade or so. The Birds are still iffy at WR and RB (where they're also thin), but the defense is going to revive itself bigtime this year, and from Chris Mortensen to Joe Gibbs, many are predicting an excellent year for the Birds. They won their last title in 1960.
Yes, Philadelphia suffers the distinction of being the city with four major sports teams to have the longest drought from its last title -- 23 years and running.
Patience is truly a virtue when you're a Philadelphia sports fan. You have to endure questionable decisions by ownership and the stupidity that can come forth on talk radio, much of it by the callers, but sometimes by the hosts. Yet, there are times when ownership and management just cannot get out of its own way.
Such as yesterday.
One-time Phillies' managing partner Bill Giles sat down and spoke with the media about the local baseball team. He didn't offer up many gems, he didn't give the manager a vote of confidence (saying that he would refrain from comment), he didn't seem to give the average fan any reason to believe his ownership group has a clue about how to win a title (even though they hate losing, he says), he gave the current managing partner (Dave Montgomery) a vote of confidence even though Montgomery has presided over losing season after losing season and was the one who hired Ed Wade to be his GM, the same Ed Wade who lost Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen to bad trades, gave bad contracts to Pat Burrell, Mike Lieberthal and David Bell and who let the farm system virtually collapse, and, yes, he offered up a gem about the Brett Myers incident.
Brett Myers was trying to help his wife. (Scroll down to the first two questions and read this for yourself).
And a Phillies' employee saw the whole thing.
Let's see, Myers was offering Jungian psychotherapy to his wife on the streets of Boston, was gesticulating wildly with his arms and balled up his fist, only to have his much shorter wife walk into it by accident. He pulled her hair because when he studied eastern philosophy at Beijing University while on his Rhodes Scholarship, he became a practioner of Chinese medicine and learned the arts of tonsorial healing (not to be confused with the tortures that Chairman Mao's regime inflicted on tens of millions of people). So who cares if Myers' shaves his pate? Tonsorial pulls are the new tai chi.
The italicized remarks were said notwithstanding the fact that Myers' wife filed a complaint against him, that Myers publicly stated he acted inappropriately, and that the Phillies admitted they handled the Myers affair inappropriately. Giles hid behind the cloak of "it's a legal matter, so I can't say more."
Huh?
Remember, this is the same guy who said Philadelphia is a small market.
Perhaps he meant that the ownership group is either small-minded or small-brained.
Later today, Phillies' president Dave Montgomery clarified the situation, saying that his mentor was basically well-intentioned but got it wrong. You can click here to read the wagon circling and click here to read Phil Sheridan's take on the situation (Sheridan is a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer).
Montgomery, by all accounts is a good and smart guy. But if he were running a company outside a monopoly situation, he would have been canned long ago (that is, if he hadn't run the team into bankruptcy first).
The pundits in Philadelphia are offering a bunch of solutions, from firing the manager to trading a bunch of position players to blowing up the team to going only with young pitchers the way the Braves did in the late 1980's to getting the ownership to sell the team and admit that it just couldn't figure out a way to win.
The view here is that if you do any of the first three, you're attacking symptoms. If you do the last thing, you're hitting the cause. Hard.
Bill Giles' latest public utterings rub salt into the wounds that the fans have carried for years. The Giles regime -- and this ownership's regime -- has an easy report card to look at over the past 21 or so seasons -- 1 World Series appearance, and overall losing record and through the 2005 season 142 games under .500. That's progress? How patient do we have to be?
Here are some other excuses that the Phillies could offer this year:
1. Ed Wade signed the catcher and third baseman to no-trade contracts.
2. The team gave too much money to Jim Thome when they signed him as a free agent, thereby hamstringing their ability to do other teams.
3. They got little in return for Scott Rolen.
4. They got even less in return for Curt Schilling.
5. The corner outfielders cannot play defense.
6. They gave Pat Burrell way too big a contract before he strung a few good seasons together.
7. They cannot develop pitching.
8. They brain-cramped on the design of their ballpark and instead of building a neutral park built Coors Park.
9. Despite their manual for doing things, too many of their hitters swing at first pitches, even after watching the other team's pitcher miss the plate with some frequency.
10. Their farm system offers little in the way of help.
Do the math: Add up numbers 1 through 10 and determine who is responsble for the sterling record of this franchise.
Bill Giles, Dave Montgomery and friends.
Do the public a service, gentlemen, please -- and sell the team. After 20+ years at the helm, what past experiences other than the lightning strike in 1994 give you encouragement that your group knows what it's doing? What successes are you really building on?
Want to know what it's like to be a Phillies' fan? Just read the interview.
And then reconsider your view of Phillies' fans. The fact that the keep coming back is not a testimony for the Phillies, but a statement that these fans love the game and refuse to let local management ruin it.
And given Bill Giles' statement about their being no intent to sell the team, the current ownership group will get the chance to run the franchise into the ground.
Where's a strong commissioner invoking "the best interests of baseball" clause and compelling incompetent management with a losing record over 20 years to sell the team?
For the good of the game.
And the sanity of an underrated and earnest group of fans.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Les Bleus Blew It
Observations on watching the World Cup Final:
1. The penalty called on Italy in the fifth minute was a phantom call. Florent Malouda of France dove frequently today, so much so that when he really was taken down in the penalty area late in the game, the referee didn't call it. There are two explanations -- either he felt guilty because he wrongly called a penalty in the fifth minute on a Malouda dive or that he was tired of Malouda's diving. Malouda is a gifted player -- very quick -- but that wasn't a penalty in the fifth minute. Lucky for him, Italy's Marco Materazzi, the player called for the takedown of Malouda, scored Italy's lone goal in the nineteenth minute on a masterful header off a great corner kick by Andrea Pirlo.
2. Gianluigi Buffon, Italy's goaltender, was masterful today. The U.S. announcers gave great kudos to Italian defender Fabiano Cannavaro, who deserved them, but Buffon came up huge again and again today.
3. What was Zinedine Zidane thinking when he got his red card during overtime? He lost his cool big-time and went out not as the grand old man of the game, but as a French cousin to former Ohio State football coach, Woody Hayes. Headbutting an opponent (Materazzi) out of frustration? What was that all about?
4. France blew it because they dominated the action in the second half. Italy took it to France in the first half, but the Azzuri looked spent in the second half. Their catalyst, Francesco Totti, looked like a guy playing with six surgical screws in his ankle, which he was (he was substituted for), and the Italians were more content to kick the ball backwards in the second half than forwards. France had its chances, but they just couldn't convert.
5. It's sad to see one of the world's greatest sporting events end on a shootout. Perhaps the substitution rules should be liberalized so that if you go into overtime, you can have a few more substitutes. Adding more substitutes also would enable the return of the "golden goal." The "golden goal" rule should be reinstituted, because there can be few greater dramas than watching the World Cup final and waiting for the golden -- or sudden death to you Americans -- goal. That France lost isn't the fault of David Trezeguet, an amazing striker in his own right, who happened to hit the top of the crossbar and, unlike Zidane in the fifth minute, see his ball bounce in front of the goal line instead of behind it. Trezeguet hit a hard shot and missed, yes, but Zidane took himself out of the game with the stupid red card, and he's one of the best penalty shooters of all time. Without Zidane, Patrick Viera (who exited early because of what looked to be a pulled hamstring) and Thierry Henry (who was substituted for in overtime because he looked totally out of gas), France fared very well in the shootout but had an uphill fight in it.
6. The referee on balance did a good job today. He let the players play, probably could have issued a few more yellow cards, but he didn't let the match focus on him.
It's a shame that Zinedine Zidane had to go out on such an awful note. He should be remembered for his heroics and his skills, but instead, at least for a while, he'll be remembered for a maneuver that's more likely found in the World Wrestling Federation than the World Cup.
Congratulations, Azzuri, on an outstanding job.
1. The penalty called on Italy in the fifth minute was a phantom call. Florent Malouda of France dove frequently today, so much so that when he really was taken down in the penalty area late in the game, the referee didn't call it. There are two explanations -- either he felt guilty because he wrongly called a penalty in the fifth minute on a Malouda dive or that he was tired of Malouda's diving. Malouda is a gifted player -- very quick -- but that wasn't a penalty in the fifth minute. Lucky for him, Italy's Marco Materazzi, the player called for the takedown of Malouda, scored Italy's lone goal in the nineteenth minute on a masterful header off a great corner kick by Andrea Pirlo.
2. Gianluigi Buffon, Italy's goaltender, was masterful today. The U.S. announcers gave great kudos to Italian defender Fabiano Cannavaro, who deserved them, but Buffon came up huge again and again today.
3. What was Zinedine Zidane thinking when he got his red card during overtime? He lost his cool big-time and went out not as the grand old man of the game, but as a French cousin to former Ohio State football coach, Woody Hayes. Headbutting an opponent (Materazzi) out of frustration? What was that all about?
4. France blew it because they dominated the action in the second half. Italy took it to France in the first half, but the Azzuri looked spent in the second half. Their catalyst, Francesco Totti, looked like a guy playing with six surgical screws in his ankle, which he was (he was substituted for), and the Italians were more content to kick the ball backwards in the second half than forwards. France had its chances, but they just couldn't convert.
5. It's sad to see one of the world's greatest sporting events end on a shootout. Perhaps the substitution rules should be liberalized so that if you go into overtime, you can have a few more substitutes. Adding more substitutes also would enable the return of the "golden goal." The "golden goal" rule should be reinstituted, because there can be few greater dramas than watching the World Cup final and waiting for the golden -- or sudden death to you Americans -- goal. That France lost isn't the fault of David Trezeguet, an amazing striker in his own right, who happened to hit the top of the crossbar and, unlike Zidane in the fifth minute, see his ball bounce in front of the goal line instead of behind it. Trezeguet hit a hard shot and missed, yes, but Zidane took himself out of the game with the stupid red card, and he's one of the best penalty shooters of all time. Without Zidane, Patrick Viera (who exited early because of what looked to be a pulled hamstring) and Thierry Henry (who was substituted for in overtime because he looked totally out of gas), France fared very well in the shootout but had an uphill fight in it.
6. The referee on balance did a good job today. He let the players play, probably could have issued a few more yellow cards, but he didn't let the match focus on him.
It's a shame that Zinedine Zidane had to go out on such an awful note. He should be remembered for his heroics and his skills, but instead, at least for a while, he'll be remembered for a maneuver that's more likely found in the World Wrestling Federation than the World Cup.
Congratulations, Azzuri, on an outstanding job.
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