Abe Nunez Era: 3-0 and Charging

Playoffs here we come! Since Abe Nunez has been inserted into the starting lineup, and bums like Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle haven’t seen the field, the Phillies are 3-0 and we’re only 5 games out of the wildcard. Look at this offense since he’s been penciled in: 12 runs, 9 runs, 11 runs. The former Buc is getting it done. Nunez’s contract, first thought to be a bad one since he had previously only ever had half of a slightly below-average season in his entire 10 year career, but Pirates fans certainly miss his grit and glory. He’s now gotten his average to a stellar .165 and is OPS is almost nearing 450!

Long live Abe Nunez! Or should we call him the Babe?

And don’t forget! We have him for two years, so we get to enjoy him all next year as well! Pat Gillick really doesn’t know what he’s talking about when he said yesterday he doesn’t expect us to contend in 2007. Babe will lead the way to the promised land!

Boy Meets World Monday!!!

Holy shit! 8 minutes of the 2nd to last episode of Boy Meets World! Commercial free, courtesy of me!

LINK HERE

Michael Bourn Called Up, Let The Bad Puns Commence

Yep, Michael Bourn, he of the 333 average and 425 on-base percentage at AAA Scranton, has been called to Philadelphia inbetween the doubleheader.  The Phillies also recalled Scott Mathieson for his second go-around with the big club.  The Phillies now will go with an outfield of Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand, David Dellucci, Shane Victorino and Bourn.

Headline writers are going to have a field day with Bourn’s last name.  Look for ‘supremacy’ ‘identity’ and other glorious puns to grace the sports dailies, as Bourn makes their jobs a little easier.  Surely the Philadelphia Daily News will have the best.  It’s what they do.

But this all brings up an interesting question…are the Phillies done trading outfielders?  Because if they aren’t, then bringing up Bourn is silly.  He’s 90 atbats at AAA and has done great, but there’s no telling if he’s quite ready just yet because of how average his AA stats were this season.  Also, where does he crack the lineup?  Certainly not over Pat Burrell, he of the home run power, good eye and big contract.  David Dellucci is not likely to sit unless a lefty is pitching.  And folk-hero Aaron Rowand won’t be sat for a rookie mid-season.  So does he steal time from Shane Victorino as the #1 bat off the bench?  Does he get the Chris Roberson treatment, despite his younger age and better talents, in that he becomes the pinch-runner and pinch-fielder for Burrell?  Something has to give, and one of the above could still be dealt before the end of the trading deadline.

Read about Bourn’s promotion to AAA Scranton here: linkage

The Phillies Just Dealt Bobby Abreu, My Favorite Player

The sad day finally came. I’m going to write more about this in the coming week, but I just wanted to say that the Philadelphia Phillies just traded Bobby and Cory Lidle to the Yankees for 4 minor leaguers, none of whom are that special. It was a salary dump, but even that makes little sense because Lidle was only due about 1.5 million for the rest of the season(to which they paid Abreu to waive his no-trade clause and 2008 option).

It was a sad thing to see Bobby shaking hands and hugging guys in the dugout, and then to see the interview after the game with Harry and Wheels. He will always be my favorite player, the guy knew how to hit, and always showed up with class. Even to the end, he said he wanted to play in Philadelphia. How many players in sports can say that, even after the abuse that was sometimes heaped onto him?

Great player, great guy, and he’ll be greatly missed. Especially since we didn’t get jack for him. For now, check out the Abreu archive on this blog and try and tell me that a small part of you won’t miss him roaming right field and working the count.

The Phillies also won today, and won big, and there were several good signs. Randy Wolf looked decent after he initially allowed some walks, Ryan Howard walked FIVE times, and Chase Utley extended his hitting streak to 30 games. Even Abe Nunez had 2 hits and a walk. Perhaps the team will be better off in the long run without Bobby, but somehow I doubt it, especially with what we got back for him. CJ Henry? 1st round pick in 2005 (ironically the 1st rounder we gave up to the Yankees to sign Jon Lieber) but is hitting 230 with no power in single A and has 25 errors. Matt Smith? Good year in AAA as a reliever, but is 27 and never had a decent season before this. The other two? Organizational filler.

And it’s not like Cory Lidle was chopped liver either.

A quick and dirty summary of the 2006 Phillies campaign

We could recount the wins, the losses, the highs and lows, but sometimes a picture says a thousand words.  And it seems like this one says it all.  Have a good weekend, let’s hope for some good deals, some good games, and a good team by Monday:

The Curt Schilling Trade, 6 Years Later

It’s rare to see an ‘ace’ be dealt, unless they are not thought of as such, or they are dealt for money concerns. And so goes the Philadelphia Phillies. Six years ago they dealt Curt Schilling to the Arizona Diamondbacks for LHP Omar Daal, RHP Vicente Padilla, 1BTravis Lee, and RHP Nelson Figueroa. It is a Wednesday that will be remembered because of the blockbuster nature of the deal, and also because Schilling has gone on to have great success. It’s hard to see how good or bad a deal was without actually going back and seeing what the Phillies got from it and what they gave up. Let’s go back and check, year by year:

Mike Celizic has no idea what he’s talking about

Mike Celizic does not think things through. He’s an MSNBC.com contributor who basically talks about the New York Yankees in every column, and also slobbers over Derek Jeter. Derek Jeter’s having a very good year, sure, and he’s going to likely be a hall-of-famer, but that doesn’t make the fanboy love for Jeter any less sickening. Celizic speaks of intangibles, ‘clutch hits’, postseason heroics, and other bullshit. Sportszilla and the Jabber Jocks already broke down the myth of Jeter’s clutchness compared to Alex Rodriguez’s ‘lack’ of marbles in the clutch and the postseason. The Fire Joe Morgan blog has been harping on him for a while now.  Plus, ol’ Mikey wears a freaking fedora in his MSNBC.com picture. Who does that anymore? Is he cracking cases and solving mysteries on the side?

And now Mike has completely lost it. He suggests that Rodriguez has ‘lost it’, and that his fragile psyche will never recover enough to be a good Yankee. So he’s had some throwing errors and now the guy is longer able to be a Yankee eh? Let’s look at his season.

Alex Rodriguez is having an off-year, it’s true. This is his third season wearing the Yankees uniform, and he’s hitting 279 with a 379 OBP and a 500 slugging percentage for his lowest OPS in his career at 879. That’s 9 points lower than 2004, his first season as a Yankee. His second year? All he did was win the MVP while sporting a 1031 OPS. He also set the Yankees home run record for righthanded batters(48). That was his 7th season with at least 40 home runs. He probably won’t get his eighth this year since he only has 21 so far, nor will he set any career high in any category really. He also had his worst month of his career in June, hitting 213 with 3 home runs, but walked enough to salvage his play somewhat. His 694 OPS was the worst since May 2003 when he had a 778 OPS.

His defense has also been suspect recently. He has 18 errors this year already, and by far the lowest fielding percentage of his career (.929).

So he’s struggling. For him. But let’s look at Captain Jetes’ OPS for the year: 898. A good OPS for a shortstop, to be sure, but it’s all of 19 points higher than Rodriguez’s! They’re having very similar years, though Jeter’s OPS is slightly more OBP-heavy. There’s also nothing to suggest that Rodriguez will continue to struggle defensively, unless one ignores 9+ years of good defense at two positions. Even with the off year, he’s still ranked 8th out of 24 qualified third basemen in OPS. He’s having his worst season ever, and is still ranked in the top third of his position. That’s not too bad.

Celizic also suggests that A-Rod almost deserves the booing, by pulling out the ever popular money card:

It’s not fair, but that’s what selling yourself as the greatest ballplayer who ever lived and coming to town with all that money gets you. Players never think of that end of the bargain when they’re demanding an emperor’s ransom as free agents. The never stop to realize that when you make that much and make such claims, the fans are going to expect you to live up to the hype and the numbers on your paycheck.

OK, would you turn down 252 million? Would you turn down an offer that was over 100 million more than the next best offer?? If you do, you’re an idiot. And booing someone because they are slumping and paid a lot is lame. Period. Just lame, and it ignores all the great things that Alex has done, as though he won’t do it again. The guy is slumping, he’s not done. And he’s only slumping FOR HIM. His slump has dropped him down to a player of Jeter’s level!!! Yankees fans, and Mike Celizic, love Mr. Captain Jetes don’t they? And he’s making 180 million!

Celezic ends his piece by motioning back to something he stated in the first paragraph (it’s what all good writers do! closure!):

He really doesn’t have much of a choice. He can go somewhere where the demands aren’t as high and the fans friendlier, the sort of place in which he’s always thrived. Or he can continue being Ed Whitson.

I know which option I’d take.

Yeah, and you’d be a retard. Why would Alex want to leave a chance at a championship in the next 5 years for what would certainly be no chance??? The guy has the money, the acclaim, the hall-of-fame numbers. The only thing left, for his OWN satisfaction and no one else’s, is that ring. He has nothing to prove to idiot fans who boo or moron sportswriters who can’t see more than one week into the future. Celezic compared Rodriguez to Ed Whitson! Ed Whitson?! Boy ol’ Eddie Whitson….who? Apparently he had a bad year with the Yankees in 1985 and was gone early the next season. Alex is already in his third year as a Yankee, and has won an MVP wearing their uniform. So the guy’s comparing what turns out to be a league-average pitcher to what will surely be one of the greatest players of all-time, whether he plays third or short? Genius.

This entire booing thing makes NO SENSE. The Yankees starting rotation is one of the worst in baseball, with only Mike Mussina being any good. Randy Johnson truly HAS ‘lost it’, Chien-Ming Wang is a mirage (44Ks and 34 walks in 139 innings doesn’t exactly thrill), and Jaret Wright and Sidney Ponson are horrible. Maybe concentrating on your HOF third basemen isn’t the way to go.

Phillies fans will gladly take Alex off your hands. In return you can have a firey competitor who gives it all in Aaron Rowand. He’s got those intangibles and that ring. He’s got it all!

Philadelphia City Hall Rises Above

Who doesn’t love City Hall? The only slight drawbacks are lame Dilworth Plaza, but that’s not even the building itself, and John Street is housed in it. Anyway, the New York Times recently had an article about the tower, which described how it is the quintessential Philadelphia story. It was delayed for years, was thought to have derived from corruption and graft, and people even called for its destruction…they only backed off when no one could figure out how to get rid of all the materials left over.

And now it is one of the best municipial buildings in the nation, if not the world. Massive in size, intricate in detail, it sports over 250 different sculptures, which display messages of government, law, war, history and whatever one wants to decipher. And now the exterior is being brightened day by day, as pigeon feces and other grime is being lifted from its white, somewhat milky, facade. It’s one of the gems of Philadelphia, something that sets the city apart from most every other city in ‘the new world’, and even most other cities around the world: we have an architectural masterpiece which is used every single day. It is a working piece of art, and the heart of the city. Treasure it. Treat it right. And, most of all, go there. Visit it. Don’t be that guy that never visits his own city’s great buildings, because you’ll be missing out.

David Dellucci Should Be A Phillie in 2007

However we get to that result, Dellucci should be wearing the red pinstripes next season for the Philadelphia Phillies. The guy has power, patience, wants to play everyday, and is going to be a very cheap option. Sure, the Phillies could probably get a decent minor leaguer for him if he were dealt before July 31st this year, but whatever we recieve is unlikely to be worth a couple seasons of Dellucci’s likely output. He’s currently hitting 325 with 9 doubles, 3 triples, 6 homers, and 9 walks in 120 at bats for this team. That averages out to a 369 OBP and 608 slugging percentage for a 978 OPS!! If he played full-time that would be the highest OPS in the lineup. Sure, OPS underweights getting on base, so that would tip in the favor of a guy like Bobby Abreu, but it still shows that Dellucci is swinging a good bat for this team.

Trading Aaron Rowand should be the solution to this too many outfielders problem, and would free up playing time for both Victorino and Dellucci. Rowand has been a rather iffy hitter this season, and has finally dipped below David Bell in OPS, which means that he’s now officially the worst hitter on the team with at least 200 at bats. Trading a guy like Burrell, while still a good bat, would also free up playing time and would also allow the Phillies to even use Michael Bourn early in the season, if he continues to light up AAA scoreboards.

And as big of a fan of Bobby Abreu as this blog is, trading Abreu would be preferable to trading a cheap, usable part like Dellucci…provided we get back a viable third base and/or starting pitcher candidate. It’s ridiculous to trade Abreu for a bag of balls, and we would not lose out by not moving him at all, but to allow David Dellucci to leave as a free agent would be a failure to capitalize on perhaps the biggest bargain currently in baseball. The Phillies dealt Rob Tejeda for him, and while Tejeda has floundered with the Texas Rangers, Dellucci has proven himself to be a terrific addition to this lineup, even while he has gotten iffy playing time. And, best of all, he’s been freaking cheap as hell.

Offer him 1.5 mil a year for 2 years, or something that will get him to sign. Trade Rowand, trade Burrell or Abreu if must be, but let’s hope that Pat Gillick realizes what he has in Dave Dellucci.

Plus, the guidos would lose ANOTHER guy with a vowel at the end of his name. And we couldn’t have that.

Lose One Fan Group, Gain Another

Yes folks, the Wolfpack is back. Randy Wolf has been told that he will be starting on July 30th in Philadephia, going up against the Florida Marlins on the doubleheader being played that day. He stated that he was ready to pitch after he pitched in Reading on Friday and threw over 90 pitches in 5 innings. The most important thing was that he said he felt better and trusted throwing his changeup, which is vital to his repertoire. Without a viable changeup his 89-90 mph fastball becomes very hittable to the opposition.

One interesting note about this move is that it won’t be made until the day of the start. This forces the Phillies to make some kind of move before that date to free up a spot on the roster, whether it be by trading one or two of the current starters(Lieber, Lidle) or trading a reliever or two(Cormier, Fultz, Gordon).

In any event, Randy Wolf has always been one of our favorite Phillies, and we hope he does well the rest of the season. He’s always one of the few pitchers on the team that can swing a bat, and as evidenced by last night’s double-play debacle involving Myers (now 1-36, to go along with Lieber’s 1-23 and Lidle’s 3-31) it’s a bit needed on this team. Being a pitcher doesn’t mean one can just slack off with the bat, unless of course said pitcher is bound to be a hall-of-famer or something.

Say Goodbye Sal

Goodbye Sal. And welcome to another backup wonder in 33 year old rookie Chris Coste. The bashing of both has been pretty liberally sprinkled into the analysis of the Phillies on this blog, and so far Coste has proven a little something. He’s currently hitting .333 with 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 868 OPS in 54 at bats. It’s unlikely he’ll keep up this pace, but his ability to also play a little infield and him actually meriting playing time has made the Phillies designate local cult hero Sal Fasano for assignment.

Fasano was a nice guy, had some funny facial hair, a gut like a lot of fans, and that ever important vowel at the end of his last name. He also hit a few bombs in games and batting practice. It’s just too bad he couldn’t really make much contact at all and didn’t exactly come as advertised on the defensive side. Many a ball skipped away from Sal because he couldn’t block it with this ample body. It’s somewhat of a shame that Fasano simply wasn’t that good, but the Phillies could have seen that coming…most career backup catchers get exposed after playing in a starting role and he had to take on this assignment when Lieberthal twice visited the disable list.

It’s time to go forward with Ruiz and Coste for the rest of the year, and hope that someone will take on the rest of Lieberthal’s contract for a stretch run.

On a side note, Chase’s Chicks is much better than Sal’s Pals. Sal’s Pals was always the lamest option in our opinion, as Fasano’s Pasianos told one all they needed to know about both Sal and the fan base. And it was more clever.

Say goodbye to Sal here: http://www.myspace.com/salfasano13

Boy Meets World Mondays

Yes, I love a good montage. Live with it, and enjoy the wonder that is Boy Meets World.

linkage

Washington Post Gives Reading, PA The Thumbs Up

For its art, anyway. The thriving Goggle Works, the ever-growing Jazz Fest, the Reading Public Museum and the locally-owned coffee joints all appeal to arts-starved tourists in the Mid-Atlantic region. Paintings, classes, glass-blowing, dancing and art house movies adorn the Goggle Works. Keith Haring’s works fill up the Public Museum, and musicians play at several places through Reading and West Reading (which held its open-air arts festival only a month ago.

Reading is on the way back up, despite worries about crime and trash. These things change in time, but the development of a large arts scene certainly brings cache, dollars and new blood to a city which sorely needs it. The city held its first professional bike race recently, and it was a blistering success. More is expected from next year’s race. The Reading Phillies are widely thought of as one of the best minor league franchises around. The Pagoda, one of the symbols of Reading, is getting a makeover. All of this is coupled with new developments such as the Miller Theater at 2nd and Penn, a new movie theater complex and apartments across from the Goggle Works, and other smaller projects such as townhomes and even a few condos in West Reading.

Things are not finished, of course, but all of these things set a new course for the city. And how coincidental that they are all happening with Ed Rendell as governor, who values cities, and Tom McMahon as mayor, who values the city and its residents.  Many of these projects were started under their wing.

Twenty-Three Words and a Heabutt = 10,000 hits overnight and crazy reactions

It’s all over. Zinedine Zidane has been suspended for three games and fined 4,700 euros(about 6 grand in American dollars). He retired from international competition, so he will also do community service with youngsters to repay his ‘debt’ to the soccer world. Marco Materazzi, who has never heard of terrorists, was suspended for two games and fined 3,100 euros(roughly 4,500 dollars?). And why are we bringing this back up?
Because, Huge Tiny Mistake, the blog that brought you all of a 23 word comment about Zizou’s headbutt in the final game of the 2006 World Cup, recieved over 10,000 hits from this post, rocketing it to the front page of WordPress, and had 245 comments(and several ones rejected for far too much racial and ethnic hatred).

The internet is an unwieldy beast and an unknown entity which propells tiny blurbs to the top and buries far more academic endeavors under thousands of other pages in search engines. The topic also brought the worst out in people, partly because of the anonymity of the internet. Perhaps Chan’s blog summed it up best, and he did it in TWO languages:

“As people were reacting on Zidane’s behaviour at the WorldCup finals, they all started to insult each other, each other countries, comparing which is the most stupid country and people and everything else.”

Yep, a headbutt from a soccer player made before he was going to retire anyway caused a huge internet backlash, from several sides. Funny how things work sometimes, because I personally just found the headbutt perfectly executed, but wrong, and found Materazzi to be an idiot.

ONE MORE TIME!

Filed This Under: Ballplayers CAN Be Innocent Of Crimes?!

The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that Reds pitcher Brian Shackelford has been exonerated of the charge of third-degree sexual assault. He was arrested back on July 5th in Milwaukee when a woman he met off the internet(Match.com) filed a complaint. He was then optioned to AAA Louisville, and essentially proven guilty in the public eye before even going to court. Of course the more recent story which stated he did nothing illegal will not be as widely circulated as the original story, but here is Shackelford’s statement after the ruling:

“Today I am grateful and relieved that this issue can finally be put behind me. I have said from the beginning that the claims made against me were absolutely false and I am pleased that the District Attorney’s office in Milwaukee, after careful review, agrees that there is no merit to these allegations. I want to thank the District Attorney’s office and my attorney for working so hard to resolve this case quickly. I want to apologize to the Cincinnati Reds organization for any negative publicity this may have caused. I hope that any damage to my reputation from this unfortunate incident will not be long lasting, and that I can continue to work hard to help the Cincinnati Reds long into the future.”