Sports Editor, INQ.

2006-05-07T22:39:00.000-04:00

So now here comes Barry, with a chance to tie the Babe.

BIIGGGG swing and a foul back off reliever Aaron Fultz, an ex teammate.

Carlos is still getting interviewed and Barry is trying to make Carlos' home run ball null and void. A ball and a check swing strike makes it 2-2 ... and then the count runs full...

Swing and a miss ... Down Goes Bonds! Down Goes Bonds!

Goodbye, Philly. His homer show goes back to where it belongs -- San Francisco. The only city where Bonds seems welcome these days.

2006-05-07T22:30:00.000-04:00

You people in the blogosphere, know that I'm not making this up...
We have a new celebrity in Philly town, and his name is Carlos (we have the right spelling now) Oliveras. The catcher of Barry Bonds' 713th career home run at Citizens Bank Park a short time ago is currently surrounded by national media back in the press lunch room, where usually only a feeding frenzy takes place.

Carlos is an Airman 1st class, stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County, New Jersey. Carlos is a polite 25-year-old gentleman, even respectful of the people around him right now, which quite frankly is amazing.

Anyway, the soldier, a native of Guamica, Puerto Rico, says the ball bounced right to him. So he has good hands, but he also is a pretty bright guy.

"I put the ball between my legs," said Carlos. "People were yelling at me to throw it back and I didn't want to."

When everybody around him continued to urge him to chuck Barry's homer ball, Oliveras said, "I was getting nervous. Scared."

Finally, the Phillies Security Force, a division of Homeland Security's South Philly office, surrounded him and brought him to safety.

Going to was his friend, Charles Beutler, also an airman, who says he knew exactly what he was doing when he got the tickets for right field on a Bonds night.

"It was like buying a lottery ticket," he said.

2006-05-07T22:14:00.000-04:00

This just in ... the guy who wrangled Bonds' 713th homer is revealed ... and then whisked away by Phillies security.

Maybe he's in a holding cell getting grilled right now by Dallas Green. Or perhaps they're trying to buy the ball off him. One other unofficial explanation had it that the fan with the lucky hands was taken away willingly, mainly because fans around him were hassling him about not throwing the ball back onto the field.

Something like ... "Yo Dude, it's not like that one's worth anything! Give it up!"

No go ... so the fan says "Let's go."

Either way, Mr. 713 will not be named by the Barry Blog Master ... at least not until he's released from custody.

Wait ... another update. He's Carlos Alavaros (we'll correct that spelling later) and it's been announced that he's available to the media in the press dining area right now.

Carlos must be a hell of a cook.

2006-05-07T21:43:00.000-04:00

Giants rooters here in the press box say that might have been Bonds' first home run to right field of the season. Tough to get those big arms around that fast.

But they put a little power behind that shot. The Citizens Bank Park people are breaking out the tape measure.

As Bonds trotted toward home, his mother Pat Bonds was seen cheering from her first-row seat, next to team exec Larry Baer. All's well now ... except for after the game. This likely means Bonds will finally have something to say to his adoring public and the media afterward.

He's one away.

2006-05-07T21:40:00.000-04:00

It's Bonds time in the sixth. He just one-handed a foul ball by Pedro Feliz back into the crowd, a kid caught it, and the crowd urged the kid to throw it back.

Fat chance.

Now Barry's up. A ball and then a foul, then another ball. Count is 2-and -1 and BOOOMMMM!!!!

Off the McDonald's sign on the upper deck of right field, No .713.

2006-05-07T21:03:00.000-04:00

The Giants, limping along like a tired old team as the season slogs toward the quarter pole, go to the top of the fourth in search of relief.

Meanwhile, fans at Citizens Bank Park had some comic relief in the second inning when Chase Utley's blooping single fooled left fielder Barry Bonds and fell in front of him for an RB I single.

Now Barry gets a segment of revenge. He just came up and stroked the first pitch from Jon Lieber past short-right fielder Utley and into right field for a single.

The boos rained, the Phillies' shift didn't work. Bonds is now 2 for 7 with three walks in the series.

2006-05-07T20:38:00.000-04:00

As a followup to a couple of notorious signages from Friday night, those wacky young guys featuring the Michelin Man get up with a sign saying "Barry with San Fran," with his skinny buddy in Pirates drag and a sign saying "Barry with Pittsburgh" were back.

So was the long banner in left, albeit with an expanded message.

When Bonds went out to left field for the bottom of the first inning, fans in the stands unfurled a banner across three sections of seats that read, "Ruth did it on hot dogs and beer, Aaron did it with class. How did YOU do it?"
The eyes in the message were dotted with asterisks, and the O in YOU appeared to be a picture of a round face.

And now, back to the game...

Bobby Abreu's RBI single and Pat Burrell's homer deep into the hedges beyond the center field fence spotted the Phils to a 3-0 lead against Matt Morris, yet another graybeard on this old Giants team.

As for the Giants, they got on the board in the second on a home run by Mark Sweeney.

2006-05-07T20:15:00.000-04:00

So now we roll into the first inning, and here's Barry, two outs and a runner on second ... and naturally, there's goes the call for him to be put on first.

Intentional walk No. 2 and his third walk overall of the series. Hey, uh, somebody in the marketing department tell Charlie it's about more than just winning games, OK?

2006-05-07T20:02:00.000-04:00

Now that the first real chorus of PhillyFanspeak has been heard upon Barry Bonds' introduction, let's kick into our third installment of Barry Does Philly...

The pre-game excitement centered around Bonds' snoozing in the clubhouse. He came in, the hundred or so media buzzards stirred. He sat by his locker, one of them approached and reminded him of days gone by and they talked a little. Others held back, then Barry seemed to invite them into his world ... pulling another chair over by his.

Alas, that was only to rest his aching feet -- either that or to slightly alleviate the seemingly chronic right knee pain that has made him play like a shadow of the player he was even two weeks ago during this series.

And then ... the King of Pop rested right there. Dropped off to sleep while a Dave Chappelle special aired on the clubhouse' TV -- might have been Barry's DVD, but our many clubhouse sources couldn't confirm it -- and there he went, fast asleep.

Moving on outside, ESPN people were crawling around Citizens Bank Park like fleas on an autograph hound. It truly made one shiver.

Someone had shaken Barry, because he came out stretching, getting warmed up and listening to the lovely chants of CHEATER! and other pleasantries. While this was going on, Larry Baer, the Giants' executive vice president in charge of joining the team on the road now that it has lost six of its last seven games, tried not to look disgusted as he discussed this visit to Philly.

Said Larry: "I think they’re professionals I think they can play through it. Nobody would be happier than 25 guys and Barry and the front office and everybody if he’d hit home runs and it would be over with by now."

2006-05-06T23:08:00.000-04:00

For a second straight night, the Giants PR department was left to say Barry left without a word, even though he muscled a pop-fly single in between three flailing Phils in the second game of this series.

But after a 4-1 win that was the Phillies' seventh in a row ... (Charlie Manuel, Manager of the Year?) ... Bonds is stuck at 712, he seems to be getting tired of the media attention he's trying to ignore, and the fan reaction to him hasn't really relented.

Then again, it's been only vocal reaction. So far.

Anyway, the fans did manage to sell Citizens Bank Park out tonight with a huge walk-up crowd that promptly froze under a sudden north wind ... which was responsible for Barry's lone hit.

One more night here to make history ... or leave everyone without a word again.

By the way, the Phillies' 3, 4 and 5 hitters were a combined 0-for-11 tonight. So Barry's not the only one that's cold.

2006-05-06T21:33:00.000-04:00

Ah, sweet justice for the Bonds booers, as with runners at first and second and none out, a sharply hit grounder by Steve Finley hits Bonds on the foot as he was trying to jump over the ball.

The judges gave him a 6 for technical achievement and a 3 for artistic embellishment. The ump gave him an out.

Weirder yet was the next play, as a shot to short popped out of Jimmy Rollins' glove, but he picked the ball up to force Finley at second, then threw to third to get Pedro Feliz in a rundown.

All in all, it got Artie Rhodes out of trouble and left Bonds chuckling wryly in the dugout as he tried to back up the steps to trot to left.

Bonds then closed the Phillies' eight by shrugging off the Barry S(tinks) chants and catching a long fly by David Bell, which of course elicited boos.
But they quickly died down when Bonds flipped the ball into the crowd.

Mercenaries.

2006-05-06T21:27:00.000-04:00

Rhodes starts Bonds with a fastball at the knees for a strike.

He misses with a slider, then fires one at his chin and Bonds tips it while trying to bail out of the way.

For a 1-2 serving ... there it is! Another botched play by the Phillies!

Man it's been a good game or two since they allowed a pop up to drop between three fielders like that. Mark that pop to center as a single for Bonds, who is now 1 for 6 with two walks in the series.

2006-05-06T21:22:00.000-04:00

Time to get tough on Barry again.

The Phils go from one more solid inning by reliever Rheal Cormier -- who allowed a runner to score only by a wild pitch -- to fellow lefty Arthur Rhodes in the eighth, as Bonds awaits on deck and the Phils leading by 4-1.

Even the booing has died down, but a groan goes up as leadoff hitter Pedro Feliz singles up the middle.

Oh, check that ... there's that familiar Philly sound.

2006-05-06T21:07:00.000-04:00

Charlie sez...

Madson was good and plenty

Charlie sez...

Felt like it was time for Frenchy.

Charlie sez...

All those pitchin' problems are a thing of the past, we've risen up fast, on our way to seven in a row with just a couple more innings to go.

(The editors would like to apologize for allowing this blog entry to run. It not only promotes the use of bad nicknames for relief pitchers, but also makes clear why the use of poetry in a sports thread is never a smart idea).

Thank you.

2006-05-06T20:35:00.000-04:00

On the heels of a terrific catch by Pat Burrell into the heel of his glove, Barry Bonds comes up with none on and two outs in the fifth. Madson starts him with a strike, which is rare for this game.

A couple of curves miss badly, and then ...
Bonds just misses hitting one.

A straight fastball that he pulled the trigger on, and seemed to just get under it a bit. Still went deep to left, but Burrell caught it.

Great thing was the reaction when Bonds swung. More than a few fans yelled, "Get out! Get out!"

Front-running fans.

2006-05-06T20:13:00.000-04:00

Pat the Bat strikes again, and swings the Phillies out of a big inning.

Two singles, a hit batsman and a walk has one run in for the Phils, the bases loaded and Jamey Wright on the verge of imploding. Along comes Burrell, and doesn't he swing at the first pitch he sees?

Bang ... 5-4-3 DP.

You can't teach that, you know.

At least he knocked a run in with his act of impatience, leaving the old Giants looking up at a 3-0 deficit.

2006-05-06T19:55:00.000-04:00

Giants are down by yet another Chase Utley homer when Bonds approaches in the third.

One pitch later, he has grounded into his second double play in two nights, this one a 6-5-3 by the shifted Phils defense, with Rollins far over on the right side of the bag.

That leaves it at 1-0 Phillies, though Madson has been wild and keeps threatening to walk the Giants into a big inning.

2006-05-06T19:30:00.000-04:00

The Giants are a riot to watch. A bunch of old guy regulars with a couple of kid pitchers sprinkled in.

Among the starters last night were Omar Vizquel (39 years old), Barry Bonds (41), Steve Finley (41) and Mike Matheny (35). Maybe this is done to make Bonds feel in his element in the clubhouse.

Anyway, this is a team that needs an adrenaline boost; a double shot of get-up-and-go.

Or a couple of trades. But it's typical that with elder stars, a team would be geared toward winning now. Which is why San Francisco's 6-11 record over the last 17 games is of such prime concern, especially with Moises Alou (39 years old, by the way) out indefinitely with the ankle injury.

2006-05-06T19:16:00.000-04:00

First two pitches from Ryan Madson miss. Bonds measured a called strike on the third pitch, then ran the count to 3-1.

And there's ball four, an actual walk instead of the intentional kind Bonds is accustomed to.

2006-05-06T19:11:00.000-04:00

Cue the crowd, Mr. Citizens Bank Park conductor...

BOOOOOOOO!

Guess who's up?

No, not Charlie Manuel.

It's Barry Bonds, of course.

Actually, he isn't up yet. He's just on-deck. That's all it takes, just a Barry sighting to stir up a typical Philadelphia sound storm.

Thanks to second-base umpire Charlie Reliford, who just said Phils rookie Carlos Ruiz threw out Randy Winn at second -- a blown call against the Giants is always a nice way to start a career -- it appeared the Phils would get out of the first without seeing Bonds.

Forget it. A bloop single later, here he is...

Can anyone hear it out there?

2006-05-06T17:48:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Eye on Barry, Part II.

It's kind of like waiting all night in a maternity ward. Only the pain is greater.

Everyone seems to be hurting for quotes here. Waiting for Barry to say anything, or do anything, that will make this "great chase" somewhat interesting. But since Barry talked in Milwaukee on Wednesday ... he's acting like he's wearing the Conehead of Silence.

Apparently, the latest plan for him and the Giants to handle the media horde here is "if Barry does anything in the game, he'll speak afterward."

Last night: 0-for-3 with a walk. Everyone took a mad dash to the Giants clubhouse, but Barry was OUTTAHERE by the time the Phillies were done congratulating themselves on the field.

Here's an actual quote by a smiling young man who identified himself as a Giants PR guy: "Elvis has left the building."

Maybe he meant Costello, or even Stojko, because he didn't look old enough to be Presley's great grandkid.

Anyway, it was Barry beaming out the old silent treatment again before the game tonight, though newly appointed Giants starter Steve Finley -- a solid veteran who probably didn't think he was joining the circus when he signed with San Francisco -- took pleasure in talking about how he'll have to hit behind Barry today.

Back to back 41-year-olds in that jumping Giants lineup.

Finley's there because Moises Alou, second in the National League in hitting before wrecking his ankle last night, is out indefinitely with an ankle blown up like a balloon. Now it figures Bonds won't have as many pitches to hit without Alou behind him.

Right Steve?

"Heck no," he said. "That's just more of an opportunity for me to drive in runs."

As for Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who gave Bonds one intentional pass last night, apparently he still isn't afraid to pitch to Bonds.

"His timing is off a little bit," Manuel said of Bonds. "Hopefully, he won't find it until he gets out of here."

2006-05-05T22:51:00.000-04:00

One night down, still two homers to go for Barry to catch The Babe.
But Philly fans -- a few of them, anyway -- already caught a little flak in the post-game interview in Giants manager Felipe Alou's office.

Talking about a bad ankle sprain his son, Moises, suffered in the third inning while chasing a foul pop, Felipe said both he and his son thought at first it was a replay of a disastrous injury Moises suffered in 1993, catching his spikes in turf, fracturing his fibula and dislocating an ankle.

"He had the same feeling that he had when he was hurt in St. Louis and broke the leg," the elder Alou said.

While father and son were still fretting while waiting for a cart to remove Moises, Bonds came over to them, and according to the elder Alou, a few fans seated nearby began booing.

Said Alou: "Mo's down, and Barry comes over as a teammate. And two or three guys are booing. That's cheap. Very cheap."

Until tomorrow, Bonds followers...

2006-05-05T22:34:00.000-04:00

Just noticed a little post-game note that the daft decision-makers at Major League Baseball decided they're going to authenticate all the balls for his at-bats.

Stamp them with a giant "S" or something.

So that means all the batting practice homers he hit tonight couldn't have been sold outside had he tied Ruth's mark. It'll avoid what would have been mass confusion when Bonds does hit No. 714 and 715.

2006-05-05T21:27:00.000-04:00

Since the Phils' lead is 8-3 and Fultz is rolling through this eighth, Bonds' night at the plate is probably over.

He goes oh-for-3 with an intentional walk on a night that the Phillies pounded a season-high five home runs (the last one from Aaron Rowand, two for Utley and Howard), and the Giants have two from Randy Winn and Omar Vizquel.

2006-05-05T21:25:00.000-04:00

Next pitch ... ripped to right and just foul down the line.

Fultz cranks again and it's heat down the middle for 2-2.

The count goes full and ... strike three swinging.

The adoring crowd goes crazy as Bonds waved at a slider from his old teammate Fultz with something taken off it.

2006-05-05T21:24:00.000-04:00

And now to get the fans in the mood to mouth off again ... the dinos in the PA department are playing YMCA ... ugh.

So now here comes Bonds, facing reliever Aaron Fultz, and the crowd is really singing now.

Starts him with two balls.

2006-05-05T21:04:00.000-04:00

And now a word about our dearly departed players ... though Burrell is having problems with his taped up right leg, he left tonight with a lame left hamstring.

And even though the Phillies fans are trying hard to solidify their reputation was America's Most Unwanted stadium set, they issued a very classy ovation when Moises Alou left on a cart with what later was diagnosed as a sprained ankle.

As for those just coming in here in the seventh inning, is Rheal Cormier undergoing a renassaince? You know, I never could spell that word.

Anyway, Cormier, who came in with a 12.2 innings scoreless string, inherited a first- and second-base jam with no outs. He promptly turned a one-hopper into a double play, then got Mark Sweeney on a fly to left to bail out starter Gavin Floyd.

Nutty Tim Worrell just came in for the Giants to pitch the home half, and the King of Pop is scheduled to lead off the top of the eighth.

2006-05-05T20:37:00.000-04:00

On the next pitch, Bonds shows the hustle that made him famous. He dribbles a grounder up the first base line, with the Phillies playing in a shift. Ryan Howard jumped on it and they turn a 3-5-4 ... yes, 3-5-4 ... double play.

Barry jogged the whole way.

2006-05-05T20:36:00.000-04:00

And now, the King of Pop. Up with one out and a runner on first here in the fifth, and with Kid Gavin still out there pitching.

First one is a 90 mph fastball for a ball, then a nifty curve for a strike.

2006-05-05T20:27:00.000-04:00

This is getting ridiculous. Fun, but ridiculous.

Ryan Howard and Chase Utley now have two home runs each as the Phillies have assumed a 6-3 lead in the home fourth, looking to stretch their winning streak to six and ... excuse me for a minute ...

HEY BARRRRRYYYYYY!!!!!

Um, you want to join in here? The choice staff here at Citizens Bank Park has worked so hard for your arrival, and on another magical night in the dream park where every pitch has an even money chance of ending up in a bullpen or flower bed beyond the fence ... Bonds is coming up in the fifth looking for a knock, himself.

He's scheduled to hit third, so chances are Charlie will have another free pass waiting for him.

Meanwhile, as for that other team's left fielder, isn't getting a little ridiculous what's going on with Pat Burrell?

He just went into a take-out side, which was unfortunate because he would have been safe with a real slide because of a bad throw. Anyway, Burrell was tagged out and then barely was able to stand up.

His legs are a mess. His offseason surgery for bone chips left him overcompensating for the pain, and now he has aches up and down his taped up leg. He just came out of this game, too.

2006-05-05T19:53:00.000-04:00

And Charlie gives him a pass!!!

The very manager who Thursday said something to the effect of, "I can't see walking him 12 times," just gave Bonds an intentional pass with Vizquel on second.

The fans are really booing now that Bonds has just collected career intentional walk No. 620. But this is a smart move by Charlie ... I repeat: This is a smart move by Charlie ... oops.

Base hit by Moises Alou, and now it's 3-3.

Dumb move, Chuck.

2006-05-05T19:50:00.000-04:00

Tune up your vocal chords, fans, cause here he comes...

Barry's on-deck, probably salivating at the notion of a bandbox ballpark with a breeze going out to right and an atmosphere alive with the flight of baseballs.

The latest to go yard was Giants leadoff hitter Randy Winn, who just led off this third inning with a drive to the back of the lower stands in right to cut the Phillies lead to 3-2. Floyd has a penchant for getting his medium-speed pitches up.

Now comes Bonds, to a chorus of boos...

2006-05-05T19:27:00.000-04:00

Fans with one-glove hands -- the baseball kind, not that Michael Jackson look from 20 years ago -- are jammed into the stands in right, in anticipation of catching a Barry blast.

Bonds popped out on one pitch in his only appearance so far, but those fans have already been sent scrambling as the Phillies' young noisemakers Chase Utley (upper deck in right) and Ryan Howard (clearing a corner of the stands and into the bullpen) each sent rockets glaring to right in the bottom of the first as the Phillies take a 2-1 lead.

But the whole time, even through the home run cheers, the jeers continued in left as Bonds -- let's call him the King of Pop -- is seranaded with chants of his name during the inning.

2006-05-05T19:03:00.000-04:00

It was quite a batting practice show by Bonds, who by actual count -- (and you thought this wasn't hard work?) -- hit 13 of 21 BP tosses out of park, to the delight of all the young fans on hand to cheer their hero on tonight.

This includes one young guy recognized as an Ocean City High graduate who could play a little point guard there. He's in the left field bleachers wearing a sumo wrestler's suit with a sign saying "San Francisco Barry," and another guy with him, skinny as a rail, is wearing a sign saying "Pittsburgh Barry."

But enough frivolity ... the game just started. And of course Gavin Floyd has already given up a home run to Omar Vizquel, and now ... pop goes Barry Bonds, out on the first pitch to him thrown by Floyd.

A nice pop fly to Bobby Abreu, with the crowd booing when he came up and cheering when he went down...

The boos continue as Barry trots out to left, and he seems to be looking at the turf behind him, perhaps in search of plastic syringes, which was the favored choice of San Diego fans on Opening Day.

Bonds is really hearing it out there from the bleacher bums in left.

2006-05-05T18:01:00.000-04:00

Barry's Road Show arrived quietly at Citizens Bank Park this afternoon. Apparently, no fans tried to board the bus or rock it onto its side.

But the road show transformed into a media roadblock in the visitors clubhouse, as about 100 bored writer types stood around the hallways and in the room basically getting in the players' way.

Bonds didn't talk -- a few short comments would have helped move the crowd back outside, but why bother? -- and no public relations traffic cops appeared on the scene.

Over in that other clubhouse, the Phillies were reveling in the sudden disinterest in them.

"Let me ask you something," said a deeply interested Ryan Howard, who obviously is already planning a media career after he breaks Barry Bonds' home run record in another 15 years or so. "How much do you guys like this stuff? You guys are all in a frenzy, right?"

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. It's all about Barry.

For good measure, he gave the media a silent show, donning what can only be described as a bungee harness and pulling a trainer up and down the hallway. Forwards, backwards, sidewards and big-head first ... while the trainer offered smiling resistence.

See media, Barry really does work out hard.

Once outside, his reality show really kicked in with a batting practice that had the arriving fans going ooh, ahh, and generally reveling in their good fortune to be able to watch it all during what everybody expects is Bonds' last Philadelphia visit.

Well, maybe after Bud Selig asks him to retire, he'll come here to take in a game and talk to his buddy Cory Lidle.

For now, though, Barry's looking pumped up (sorry) for this game.

Blogging Bonds

2006-05-04T12:39:00.000-04:00

Inquirer sports reporter Rob Parent has hijacked sports editor Jim Jenks' blog to provide you live updates on Barry Bonds' attempt to catch or pass Babe Ruth's 714 home runs during the San Francisco Giants' three-game series in Philadelphia with the Phillies, starting on Friday.

Check beck before, during and after the games to follow Bonds' pursuit of baseball history in the City of Brotherly Love.

And we all know Philly fans are going to show Bonds some love, right?

Flyers: Looking for something 'special'

2005-10-12T10:37:00.000-04:00

The Flyers may be the best five-on-five team in the NHL. But if they are on the power-play or short-handed, they are suffering.

In other words, the special teams have been terrible. Sounds like the Eagles, huh?

Inquirer beat reporter Tim Panaccio says in today's story, on the 3-2 loss to Toronto, that the Flyers have only one goal in 19 power-play chances. On the penalty kill, they have given up five goals in 19 chances.

And that is why they are 1-2 after the first three games.

"We've given up five power-play goals in three games, which is far too many," Flyer coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I really feel that killing a penalty is a sense of desperation. And it's the group that has the biggest sense of desperation that wins the game. It's the game within the game, and we're losing it."

That's what Hitch had to say. What about you?

A quick skate through the Flyers Forum on Philly.com came up with these:

From radoran:
We fans of the Philadelphia Flyers do not have a hockey "team" yet, we have a group of highly talented players who have played a grand total of three games together.

The Flyers have replaced four of their top five scorers and the fifth is playing most shifts out of position.

In losing some of their top scorers, they have also lost important parts of the "leadership group" which has steered this franchise for the past three years.

This is a new Flyers team. This is a new group of players who need time to develop which each other and play. They have new leaders. But I bet Hitch "knows where this locker room is." They all need each other. They will develop - together.

Esche is a goalie who benefitted from a system developed by one of the top coaching minds of the past decade, in its second year of development with roughly the same set of players. Esche hasn't played in a year. He needs time - as do we all - to adapt to a "new NHL". The players need time to develop Hitch's system. In some ways, Hitch is redeveloping his system for the "new NHL".

Unfortunately the Flyers' preseason will really be the first five games of the regular season. From where I sit, they open their season again in Toronto on October 22nd.

I do not mean to say that they will wipe the floor with the Leafs on that date. I mean to say we need to judge "progress" against the standard set tonight.

I don't expect miracles. We don't need miracles in October.

What the Flyers need is to become a team. And if that happens by February, this squad coming out of the Olympics could be exactly what we, as fans, expected it to be in an NHL2006 world.

Hockey is the ultimate team sport - individuals don't win games. Look at the Penguins.

But this Flyers team has the potential be one of the "ultimate" teams. It will not happen overnight. It never does.

But it can.

From Slade1955:
Same garbage year after year with the Flyers. No powerplay. Can't hit the broadside of a barn with the puck. Flyers shoot puck its goes right,it goes left it goes over the net,it goes into the stands,etc. Same plays different characters. Esche stinks!!! 9 goals in two games. Try playing like the Senators are Flyers and maybe you'll learn something!!!!!!!!!!!!

Flyern06:
Typical Flyers loss again. The flyers out play, out shoot, and out chance the opposition and they lose. I had this conversation with my brother and we both agreed that we make other teams goalies look like allstars all the time. and every time the other team has a good look at the goal i cringe because i think they're going to score. I hope Hatcher makes a difference when he comes back and can't wait until Sami is back. We have lots of youth and energy, but lack some experience with these youngsters. I think Nittymaki will be #1 soon.

Good News, Really Bad News

2005-10-12T09:38:00.000-04:00

What a week! While the results on the field haven't been very good, the news coming from Philadelphia sports has been non-stop. That is what makes Philly such a great sports town. There is always something going on.

The highlight was obviously the firing of Phillies general Ed Wade. My blogging comrade, Dan Rubin, did a nice job cruising the blogosphere and putting together your thoughts. You can check that out at Blinq and scroll down to At Last.

Most of you have taken the Wade firing as good news. So, the really bad news was the Eagles performance in a 33-10 loss at Dallas. Those hated Cowboys. Here is what some of you had to say about that debacle:

From Scrapple:

Game 5 thoughts
what a stinker the birds put up today -- i found it literally painful to watch. this was worse than the thumping the steelers laid on them last season.

- no one on the eagles had a particularly good game, while lots of guys on the cowboys had great games. the cowboys out played, out hustled, out coached, and especially out "physicalled" the eagles in all phases of the game. it was sad to watch and completely unacceptable.

- lack of pass rush continues to be a concern. could the under the radar addition of marco rivera be the most important offseason addition to the cowboys? the birds have been getting most of their defensive line pressure up the middle this season, but in today's game, rivera and larry allen did an terrific job of controlling the middle of the line. with patterson, truck driver, and hollis unable to get a push in the middle, the cowboys offense was able to do whatever it wanted the whole game. early in the game, i think mike patterson was surprised by larry allen's strength. he seemed almost shocked at how allen was pushing him back once larry got his hands on him. i don't think the birds even hit bledsoe on blitzes.

- special teams is going to be a big problem for this team if they don't get better soon. they have had a advantage over almost every other team on special teams over the years (i read somewhere that they're the only team to finish in the top 10 in special teams every year for the last 5 years), but that advantage is gone now. the last time the eagles had kick coverage this bad was when danny smith was the special teams coach.

- why do the birds have such a poor record in games leading into the bye week? they've dipped back under .500 (3-4) in games leading into the bye under reid. seems strange compared to his overall winning percentage (.663 after today's loss). is that a pattern or a variance due to small sample size?

- why the hell was mcnabb still in the game with 5 minutes left in the game? i really wish i had some insight into andy's reasoning. that was definitely a "fat f*ck" moment.

- the birds' inability and/or lack of desire to run kills them in games like this because a) there is no backup plan if the passing gameplan isn't working and b) the drives are too short if they aren't moving the ball so the defense never gets a chance to rest. one of the tv guys mentioned that the eagles were among the league leaders in 3 and outs. that's not a good sign.

- o-line didn't play any worse than any other unit, but tra got absolutely pancaked by eric ogbogu -- who incidentally is the underarmour "we must protect this house" guy.

- i think mcnabb has to have his surgery done now. against teams with little pass rush, don does fine. against teams with a pass rush, he just cannot function back there. why take the risk of him getting creamed? he doesn't have his quickness and he can't avoid these guys coming free. let him get it fixed and come back in time for the last 4 games.

- TO loafed through most of this game.

- kearse was invisible again (and they stopped chipping him once they figured out that a rookie could handle jevon one on one).

- shawn andrews looks much heavier than he was at the start of last season. he doesn't look very mobile right now.

- bottom line, they played like ass and they better come up with better efforts than this if they want to win the division. the other teams have caught up to them in terms of talent, so it's going to be a dogfight the rest of the way. they had better be ready.

this is going to be a miserable two weeks.

From Philly Sports Net:

Eagles Get Toasted by Dallas 33-10
More later, but yesterday’s game was an embarassment. It started off with terrible special teams (repeat: terrible special teams) and continued with a defense that couldn’t stop the pass and an offense that couldn’t get a first down and a coaches who couldn’t gameplan.

When will Andy Reid and the coaches wake up…something is wrong with special teams. Field position matters. Reno Mahe should not be tackling people on special teams. Special team sucks. The offense needs to be ready in the first quarter. Special teams is awful. The defense needs to get pressure on the QB. The offense needs to run the ball. Special teams sucks. Coaches need to gameplan.

This one, along with the photo of Jevon Kearse on a milk carton came from The 700 Level:

Eagles @ Dallas
I think the Eagles take this game despite all of the trends going against them. Dallas has improved greatly over the past few seasons but Donovan and company are clicking lately. I'm not as worried about this game as some. Hopefully we will get to see T.O. disrespect the Dallas star en route to a big win going into the bye week.

Eagles 31 Dallas 17

What I really meant to say was that Drew Bledsoe will look like the second coming of Joe Montana and Donovan McNabb will look like Donovan McNabb when he can't complete a pass to a wide open receiver.

Dallas 96 Eagles 3

And, finally, For The Birds brings up the point that many of us did: Why was an injured Donovan McNabb playing in the fourth quarter?:

Disaster in Dallas
I’m writing this with 3 minutes left in the game, but I can’t believe I just watched Donovan McNabb in on the previous series. It’s not even a question of whether or not his sports hernia can get any worse, but why are you exposing him to any other injury when you’re down by 23 points. I look forward to the post-game press conference for Andy Reid to mumble something unilluminating about it.

Frankly, I expected last week’s game, when they fell behind 17-0, to be the one that would have resembled the Pittsburgh debacle last year, but I was wrong by one week. There will be a bit of panic and a lot of hand-wringing, especially since this loss comes before a bye, which will give fans two weeks to carry this bad feeling around in their bellies. But this was a turkey in every aspect of the game for the Eagles, and you really can’t believe they’ll play another complete stinker like this.

(Ok, now I’m watching with 2 minutes left and Koy Detmer is completing a pass to Terrell Owens. Why is Owens still in the game?!?!? Does Reid have zero concern for keeping his important players healthy???)

What you should be concerned about, however, is, first, the defense’s inability to get a pass rush from its front four. If you want to say that Jevon Kearse is getting double-teamed on every play, which is why he only has one sack in five games, then why has N.D. Kalu shown nothing in getting block by just one guy. There’s some hope of getting Jerome McDougle back on the field soon, but he hasn’t exactly shown much in his Eagles career, and that’s before he was recovering from gunshot wounds. Of course, the Dallas O-line played extremely well today, but this has been a consistent problem all season. Lito Sheppard played a terrible game in particular, but you hope this was more an aberration, even if Sheldon Brown really is the better of the starting cornerbacks.

On the other side of the ball, you should also be concerned not only about the inconsistency of the offense’s pass protection, but also the fact that Reid doesn’t seem especially concerned about helping his injured QB with maximum protection. You can see how McNabb’s performance suffers after either getting hit a couple of times or being forced to run and open up the area where his sports hernia is. Always related to this problem is the fact that Reid refuses to run with any kind of regularity to keep the opposing D-line guessing instead of pinning back their ears and rushing on every down.

Finally, the coverage units on special teams are really struggling. Usually by this point in the season, John Harbaugh has figured out how to integrate his new players into the special teams units, but this has not been the case in 2005. Going into the game, I believe the Eagles had given their opponents the best starting field position in the league, and they unfortunately improved that figure today. It’s one of the key reasons the team has started out of the gates so poorly this year: Giving the opposition a short field leads to easy points.

At this point, there’s no reason not to think that the Eagles will come out of the bye with a strong performance at home against the Chargers. They clearly rebounded from the Steelers’ loss last year pretty well. This clearly was Dallas’ day. But another couple of games with the same problems rearing their heads in such an ugly fashion–then it’ll be time for a little panic.

Eagles Quick Hits

2005-10-10T08:28:00.000-04:00

It was ugly, no matter how you look at it.

The Eagles had 129 total yards of offense on 43 plays compared to 456 yards on 81 plays for the Cowboys.

Special teams matter. The Eagles had 11 possessions and with an average starting field position of their own 21-yard line. The Cowboys average starting field position was their own 38.5.

Where in the world was Jevon Kearse? He had only one tackle yesterday and that was an assist. It was the fewest of any defensive starter.

And what about Brian Westbrook? As a runner, he has been ineffective much of the season. Could this be the reason he has not yet received a new contract from the team.

Corner back Lito Sheppard had nine tackles, tied for the team lead, but he was beaten regularly by Cowboys receiver Terry Glenn and called for a couple bad penalties.

For the first time this season, receiver Terrell Owens looked frustrated, but he still was the leading receiver with five catches for 50 yards. He spoke loudly after the game, wearing a Cowboys' Michael Irvin throwback jersey for the trip home.

The NFC East is a log jam with the Giants and Redskins at 3-1 and the Eagles and Cowboys at 3-2.

All of a sudden, the Eagles schedule looks a lot tougher. After the bye week, they play the Chargers, Broncos, Redskins and Cowboys. I see no better than 2-2.

Time of possession: Cowboys-40:43, Eagles-19:17. More than 2-1. Wow.

Dirk Johnson might have earned a Pro Bowl spot yesterday, averaging 47.3 yards on eight punts.

NFL Power Rankings--Week 5

2005-10-07T11:46:00.000-04:00

Here are this week's NFL power rankings and after you are finished, please listen to the Eagles podcast at Philly.com.

1. Colts (2005 record: 4-0, Last week: No. 1): And now the offense kicks in. The defense has been great four weeks in a row.

2. Eagles (3-1, No. 3): An outstanding comeback win against the Chiefs, followed by a road game in Dallas. Donovan McNabb is hurting, but posting big numbers, anyway.

3. Steelers (2-1, No. 4): Coming off the bye week, the Steelers get a tough test at San Diego.

4. Falcons (3-1, No. 5): The Falcons continue to flex their muscles in the NFC with a win over the Vikings. Next up are the Patriots.

5. Bengals (4-0, No. 6): The Bengals are back. Carson Palmer, Rudi Johnson and Chad Johnson making a name. Get a prime-time test in Jacksonville this week.

6. Buccaneers (4-0, No. 7): It wasn't pretty against Detriot, but the Bucs are perfect. Go to New Jersey to face the Jets.

7. Chargers (2-2, No. 9): Back to .500 with a road win in New England. For their reward they get the Steelers.

8. Patriots (2-2, No. 2): It could be a long season for the injury-riddled Patriots. At Atlanta this week.

9. Redskins (3-0, No. 18): Don't think they will be in the Top 10 very long, but they are here now. At Denver.

10. Broncos (3-1, No. 11): Another good road win at Jacksonville and the Broncos are showing signs of a playoff team.

11. Giants (3-1, No. 13): Eli Manning strutting his stuff against the Rams in a 44-24 win. Great offensive balace. Bye week.

12. Panthers (2-2, No. 14): Held off a wounded Packers team and Brett Favre. Still uncertain where this team is after four games. At Arizona.

13. Seahawks (2-2, No. 8): Same old Seahawks. Look good at home and lose stupid on the road.

14. Jaguars (2-2, No. 10): Lost at home to Denver and need to redeem themselves against the undefeated Bengals.

15. Chiefs (2-2, No. 12): Kansas City is improved over last year, but no match for the elite. Should have beaten the Eagles.

16. Cowboys (2-2, No. 15): Dallas fell in the trap against Oakland so it should be very hungry for a banged up Eagles team.

17. Dolphins (2-1. No. 19): Coming off the bye week with a road game in Buffalo. Nick Saban's guys should win this.

18. Ravens: (1-2, No. 22): The Ravens chewed up a struggling Jets offense. Need another win at Detroit.

19. Saints (2-2, No. 23): A win in their home-away-from-home San Antonio. It must have felt good to hear some cheers. Now they need to add to the Packers woes.

20. Rams (2-2, No. 16): Coach Mike Martz has infection in his heart. So does his team. Should beat the Seahawks because they are on the road.

21. Vikings (1-3, No. 17): Vikings have a bye to prepare for what looks like an ugly season. Mike Tice can't survive this.

22. Bills (1-3, No. 20): A chance to help themselves in the division with the Dolphins coming in. A quarterback change?

23. Bears (1-2, No. 24): Coming off the bye week, the Bears should get back on track against the Browns.

24. Cardinals (1-3, No. 27): Nothing like a home game in Mexico City to get you fired up. Beating Carolina would go a long way in helping things.

25. Raiders: (1-3, No. 29): Oakland had the Cowboys right where it wanted them. After a bye this week, the schedule has to get better.

26. Jets (1-3, No. 21): Vinny Testaverde will be under center when the Jets lose to Tampa Bay on Sunday.

27. Browns (1-2, No. 26): Coming off the bye, Cleveland has a winnable game against the Bears.

28. Titans (1-3, No. 25): After losing to the Colts, the Texans have to look good to Tennessee. Could be a trap.

29. Lions (1-3, No. 28): There is too much talent on this team to be bringing up the rear. The ravenous Ravens are next.

30. Texans (0-3. No. 30): The Texans have to be looking at the Titans this week and saying, "Hey, we can win this game."

31. San Francisco (1-3, No. 31): The Alex Smith-era begins now. Mr. Smith meet Mr. Freeney. Colts win VERY big.

32. Packers (0-4, No. 32): No offensive line, no defense. Ahman Green might as well be invisible. What is Brett Favre to do? Beat the Saint, of course.

Too much excitement?

2005-10-06T11:11:00.000-04:00

Not only did we get caught up in all of the preseason hype and hoopla about the Flyers, it seems the players did too.

We haven't seen the boys since May 2004, when they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Tampa Bay Lightning (how many fans showed up for their parade?).

With the additions of Peter Forsberg, Darien Hatcher, Mike Rathje, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards among others, the anticipation was palpable. The Flyers and their fans were coming back with a vengeance. For the 2005-06 season, this was best group of players assembled. Oddsmakers were telling us to prepare Broad Street for the parade.

Oops, you have to play the games first. Rangers 5, Flyers 3. Let some of the air out of that balloon and let us all come back to earth for a moment. There is nothing like a little bit of reality (and Jaromir Jagr) to slap you in the face.

Once the Flyers get over themselves and realize that this is a long, long haul, they will be fine. They know where they stand on paper, what they have to figure out is where they skate on the ice. This is a group of players that does not know one another yet. That comes with time and games. When they figure out how to be a team, all will be well.

'Cholly's' back

2005-10-04T20:14:00.000-04:00

If you were looking for the Phillies to fire general manager Ed Wade, this is not a good sign. This came from the Phils earlier today:

The Phillies’ major league coaching staff will all be returning for the 2006 season, General Manager Ed Wade announced today.

Mick Billmeyer (catching), Marc Bombard (first base), Bill Dancy (third base), Rich Dubee (pitching), Ramon Henderson (bullpen), Milt Thompson (hitting) and Gary Varsho (bench) will remain on manager Charlie Manuel’s staff.

The following staff members will not have their contracts renewed for the 2006 season: major league scout Jimmy Stewart, double-A manager Steve Swisher and Dominican Summer League coaches Marcos Mejia and Leandro Fajardo.

You have to figure if Wade was on the chopping block, he would not have been allowed to make these moves.

Where did they blow it? Your answers.

2005-10-04T19:51:00.000-04:00

You guys were on fire with your comments on "Too Much To Ask". In case you didn't click on the comments, here they are. Great job!

At 10:24 AM, Justin said...
Without question, Monday, September 26th. I was one of the 14 or so people that stuck around after the rain delay to watch that horror show in its entirety. Forget alleged slugger Burrell's mighty check swing to end the game w/ Chase in scoring position. Im still wondering why Manuel used his inept middle-relievers (Urbina, Madson, etc.) in that fatal 8th inning. Billy Wagner one of the top 2 closers in baseball? Use him like he is. Torre has used Mariano in countless 8th innings in critical games when it gets down to the wire. The loss of that very critical game and, for that matter, the season fall square on the shoulders of good 'ol Cholly...not that it matters to me much anyway. It is just part of the automatic disappointment associated w/ this current Phillies team. But what else should I expect from a team whose playoff appearances mirror the frequency of Haley's Commet (8 since 1885)?

At 11:49 AM, Jim from DC said...
As I said in my Friday post, went to RFK Stadium in Dc to rrot for the Phils. I loved what I saw when watching Rollins, Utley, Howard qand even Burrell. Billy W. struck out the side in the ninth, totally overmatching the offense-challenged Nats. It was thrilling to see these guys show guts and fight until the end. It just goes back to their 0-fer against Houston.

if (a big if) they can get out from under some of those contrcts, I think it is housecleaning time. We can finish out of the money for a lot less money. Keep Chase, Jimmy, Ryan and (i guess) Pat. Make Madson a starter, and for God's sake, don't send him to winter ball. Let Billy go. the sad fact is that this bunch isn't good enough to win 90 and go deep into the postseason.

Oh, and fire Ed Wade.

At 12:10 PM, J. Weitzel said...
A reader brought this game up on my site: the second game of the Nationals double-header in August. Manuel brings in Urbina for the second time that day and the third time in 24 hours. Urbina blows it and the Phils blow a chance to win the series. That was a pretty dumb loss.

At 6:59 PM, Tom G said...
I know its the trendy pick but the game on 9/7 was the worst in my mind. Painful.

As far as off-season moves, I think it has to be pitching. Hopefully Thome can be traded for a pitcher. I hate to see him go, by all accounts he seems to be a great guy, but I just don't see how he and Ryan Howard can co-exist.

At 7:21 PM, jake11 said...
I agree with Justin, Monday, September 26th was the one I felt let me down the most. It was everything I have come to expect from the Phillies over the past 10 years. Bad managerial decisions; bringing Urbina into crucial game and then leaving him in there even though he was completly ineffective (it reminded me of Fergosi bringing in Mitch Williams in the sixth game of the world series when everyone knew (except the manager) his arm was shot); and the non existent clutch hitting from the heart of the line up with runners on base(Abreu and Burrell. And they wonder why the fans have lost hope.

At 11:49 PM, Roundtop said...
Moves:

1. Fire Manuel, hire Leyland.
2. Trade Jim Thome for a sharp, young 3B, and a quality starter.
3. Cycle Padilla to the pen as a fireman, and see if he can be a closer.
4. Move Madsen to starter. He will augment Wolf, Myers, Lidle, and Lieber. Let Wagner go, as he has no interest in staying here. Keep Urbina as the closer.
5. Continue CF by committee: Michaels, Victorino, and Lofton.
Rollins, Utley and Howard, plus a new 3B, and a new catcher, will cure what ails the Phils.
6. One more starter to help Randy Wolf will ice the cake.

At 5:09 AM, Anonymous said...
1) Remove Ed Wade
2) Remove Manuel
3) Let new people get Thome a good job in American League as DH
4) Parley that into a third baseman.
5)Start working Vittorino with Lofton
6) Keep Wagner at all costs
7) Shore up middle relief
And the #1 thing the Phils can do:
Get a starter that is an ACE.

At 8:45 AM, wfoley said...
Remember opening game? Lieber pitched a gem, Worrell blew it. Worrell stuck around to blow quite a few more. They all counted.

At 11:21 AM, joe said...
i know this was a while ago but games in april count as much as games in september. the phils had a lead on 4/8 to the cardinals. aaron fultz came in and walked in the tying and go ahead runs. that was a painful game to watch.

At 11:31 AM, terry shriver said...
I think the game that hurt the most was the game that the led the mets 4 to 2 going into the 8th and manuel took out Myers and put in I think Madson and the mets scored 4 runs and won the game

I think with utley howard rollins abreau and Burrell micheals the phils have the nucleus ofa good team for a long time

I would trade Thome to the yankees who have the money and can always use a lefthanded dh for the 3rd baseman that is supposedly a top prospect( forget his name)

Get the BEST pitcher available in free agency no matter what the cost

Send bell to kc (as conlin hinted at for another reliuef pitcher

Keep Urbina Madson and Wagner and have your starters pitch 7 yes I said 7 innings

I'm upbeat about the phillioes and can't wait till 2006

Terry Shriver
tshriver0819@comcast.net

At 12:51 PM, JDB said...
About a week ago I started to look back through the schedule for tough losses that would come back to haunt the Phils in the likely event they came up short by a game or two, but I had to stop because there were just too many and I couldn't bear the pain of reliving them. I had forgotten about the early games Worrell had blown, while Charlie kept trotting him out there like a little league coach trying to build up a kid's confidence. Luckily, I fell asleep on the couch on 9/26 when the Phillies were leading in the 8th inning and did not wake up until after the game was over. I think God was sparing me from a certain apoplectic seizure.

The Phils' off-season priorities should be:

1. Re-sign Billy Wagner. Before the World Series. That will signal to everyone that the club is serious about winning.

2. GM. Let go of Ed Wade. If needed to re-sign Wagner, this should switch places with #1 above. I heard Brian Cashman will be looking for a new position soon, and he would be a great addition.

3. Catcher. Championship teams are strong up the middle. Lofton/Michaels was a solid combination (although I think Kenny should have played even more than he did). Add Shane Victorino to the mix in center and coming off the bench and look out. Rollins and Utley - nothing else needs to be said. Lieberthal and Pratt? Not only was Lieberthal hurting the team at the plate until the final few weeks, but he was costing the team in the field by failing to throw out runners (the Phils had to have the worst % of runners thrown out) and by failing to call a good game behind the plate. I recall many games when Phillies' pitchers had their good stuff to blow away hitters, then they would throw something off-speed and let the hitter catch up to them. The best and most recent example is to compare Marlon Byrd's last two at-bats off of Billy Wagner. No way could Byrd touch Wagner's fastball, but on Saturday he managed to hit a double against Wagner' slider. On Sunday, Wagner blew Byrd away with nothing but gas! Pratt is a solid back-up who is a team leader who has played in a World Series, so he should stay for that reason alone.

5. Keep both Jim Thome and Ryan Howard. I love both of these guys. If Thome can produce in the Spring, he should be the starter. He is such a great guy. Howard will be a real threat coming off the bench and will be able to give Thome some rest. Thome will be undervalued until he demonstrates he can still play anyway. Thome came up as a third baseman. Hmmmm. (See below.)

5. Third base. David Bell's fielding was tremendous at times, but he also had some critical errors that left the team down. He struggled at the plate almost all year and hit into so many rally-killing double plays I lost count. When he would come up with one out and runners on first and second or bases loaded, I would pray for him to strike out so someone else would have a chance to drive in runs. He is a tough competitor and was clutch down the stretch, but he was simply too inconsistent. If David Bell stays, he should only be allowed to bat against LHPs. Jim Thome came up as third baseman - can he get in good enough shape to play third next year? If not, there has to be a third baseman available.

6. Lock Chase Utley into a lifetime deal.

7. Keep Kenny Lofton. He showed he can still play well and was clutch all year and even more clutch down the stretch. When he and Jimmy Rollins set the table, the Phils scored runs and won games. Shane Victorino should be up in the big leagues sharing time with Lofton. Manager Gene Lamont (AAA WB-Scranton) says Victorino is the best center fielder he has ever managed - high praise indeed from someone in baseball as long as Lamont.

8. Third base coach. The Phils certainly had to lead the league in runners thrown out at home. But don't forget how Bill Dancy would often make up for those mistakes by holding runners when they should have been sent, no doubt contributing to the Phils' astronomical LOB numbers. You don't realize how much you miss a guy like John Vukovich until he is not there. Gary Varsho has to be a better alternative.

9. Manager. Despite all of the criticism of his managerial moves or sometimes lack thereof, almost all of which I agree with, I can see giving Charlie Manuel one more year to win a championship. I was extremely disappointed when Larry Bowa was fired (instead of Ed Wade). No one wanted to win more than Bowa. I admit that until a few weeks ago I wanted to see Charlie Manuel go. Then something changed. He stuck up for the fans by saying all we want is a winner. We do! Perhaps most importantly to me, the players were very loyal to him. If he goes I will not be heartbroken. But if he does, the Phils had better get somebody proven like Jim Leyland, Lou Piniella or Joe Torre. Because in the end, players -- not the manager -- have to go on the field and win games.

10. Bullpen. The Phils should keep Madson and Urbina as set-up guys for Wagner in the 7th and 8th innings. Rheal Chormier probably will retire - Aaron Fultz has shown he is more than adequate to take his place. What will be the role of Geoff Geary? Eude Brito? Robinson Tejeda? Should Madson move to the starting rotation (he pitched a perfect game at AA Reading a few years ago)? Not unless the Phils can find someone as solid to fill his 7th inning set-up role. Madson's few bad outings down the stretch were likely due to physical and mental fatigue and I do not expect to see any residual effect from them next season.

I am optimistic about the Phils' chances in 2006 if the off-season priorities are handled properly. What "True Believer" wouldn't be? On opening day the Phils will be tied for first place - hope springs eternal!

Too much to ask

2005-10-02T23:55:00.000-04:00

The Phillies did their part, sweeping the Nationals and putting themselves in position to play Monday for the wild-card berth.

But it was too much to expect the Chicago Cubs, who had nothing to play for, to sweep the Astros in Houston.

And so it goes. Another baseball season comes and goes with no playoffs in Philadelphia.

Many fans will be happy that the Phils were in it to the end. More of you will be upset that this season ended as so many others have.

In the office tonight, we were looking back to games that the Phillies should have won that could have turned the tide. Obviously, the biggest one was against the Astros on Sept. 7, when the Phillies blew a 6-5 lead in the ninth on a Craig Biggio two-out, three-run homer off Billy Wagner. It completed a three-game sweep and was the Phillies 12th straight loss to Houston.

If you feel like tormenting yourselves some more, send me a list of other games the Phils should have won. If not, tell me what moves the Phillies need to make this off-season and we will do a poll in the Sports section to rank their priority.

In the meantime, the Flyers are ready for your support.

One down ... two to go

2005-10-01T09:42:00.000-04:00

Ya gotta believe!

Don't you?

I am ever the cynic, but I do believe now that the Phillies will be playing a meaningful game on Sunday. I can't go any further than that.

You bloggers, on the other hand, are not cynics. You are full of hope. Those of you that have updated, anyway. Have the rest of you given up?

Check it out.

Of course, I have to start with Beer Leaguer, who is there everyday with a fresh report.

Phils 4, Nats 3: A developing situation

Led by first baseman Ryan Howard and pitcher Cory Lidle, the Phillies held on to beat Washington 4-3 Friday night. Meanwhile in Houston, closer Brad Lidge blew a save for Andy Pettitte in the ninth inning as the Astros fell to the Cubs 4-3.

Scoreboard: With the win, the Phillies pulled to one game back of Houston in the National League Wild Card race.

What an incredible turn of events! On Thursday morning, the Phils looked as good as dead with Houston grasping to a commanding lead in the Wild Card race. Since then, the defending Wild Card winners dropped two straight games, this one at home to the lame-duck Cubbies with Pettitte on the hill.

Meanwhile, the never-say-die Phils eeked out another ninth-inning nail-biter, with closer Billy Wagner barely crossing the finish line with the tying run on third base.

The Phils have battled through extreme pressure this month. I don't know how they're doing it. My stomach can barely survive another second of this drama.

You want pressure? How about Cory Lidle? He was outstanding, going 6 2-3 and allowing only one earned run.

You want confidence? How about rookie Ryan Howard getting the Phils on the board in the second inning with a deep jack to right? That's his 21st of the season, and it always seems like his shots either get them started or drive the nail in the coffin of the opposition.

You want endurance? How about the September Jimmy Rollins and Kenny Lofton have had? J-Roll extended his hitting streak to 34 games, while Lofton went 2-5 with an RBI. Not to be outdone by his buddy, K-Lo has an OPS of 1.023 in September, while J-Roll has an OPS of 1.103. They're undoubtedly the best leadoff men in the game right now.

If I’ve learned anything about baseball this year, it's that the season is a long marathon to October. Anything can happen, and just when I thought I had everything figured out, the tables are turned once again.

Myers vs. Patterson ...

Williams vs. Clemens ...

Let's go Phillies...

Let's go Cubs...

Beat that son-of-a-bitch.

From Mike's Baseball Rants, we get this great piece of blogging on everything baseball:

God Must Be a Baseball Fan

by Mike Carminati

Amazing, simply amazing!

There were four games tonight with important playoff implications. Three were won by one run. The fourth, by two.

I'm lucky enough to have watching significant heaps of each game with the help of picture-in-a-picture, an itching clicker finger, access to MLB.TV, and an ability to multitask with a full bladder.

And it wasn't just the result of each game that mattered the most. It was the cumulative effect that built to a crescendo as each game reached its climax.

It's late, but I thought it might be interesting to look at the events as they enfolded. I kept a log of sorts while emailing some friends.

The Phils were leading 4-2. The Red Sox led the Yankees, 5-3. Indians just tied it in the bottom of the 9th and the Cubs just took a 2-1 lead in the 8th…

The 'Stros are bobbling the ball all over the place. Wickman just got a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 10th. Boy, does he look more and more like Rube Foster every day. And I'm talking about Foster as a league executive, not as a player…

How depressing--Marlon Byrd just scored against the Phils. Still up 4-3. But runner on third two in ninth.

Runners are the corners for the Cubs, still 3-2

Indians-Sox still tied in the 11th.

The Yankees just lost, 5-3, and are tied with the Red Sox for the division lead...

Tied 3-3 in Houston. Phillies win!..

Cubs just had their second runner in two innings thrown out at the plate. Still 3-3, runners at the corners, 1 out.

Todd Walker singles in the go-ahead run!..

Sox just walked the bases full, 1 out, bottom of 11th. Broussard up…

Astros leave a man on third. Cubbies win, 4-3, same score as Phils.

[Note: I am going to the Phils-Nats game in DC on Sunday and am frothy with the possibilities.]

The Indians left the bases loaded with Aaron Boone grounding out to end the inning. Broussard was called out on an outside pitch. The home plate ump seems to have had an amorphous strike zone all night. Still 1-1 middle of the 12th.

And Cliff Politte is coming in for the Sox. This'll be good…

It's a shame that this Indians-Chisox doesn't affect the division title. It's been amazing.

The Indians just got robbed to end the 12th. Sizemore slid into second on a ball grounded to Crede who lollygagged the ball into second. The replays showed that Sizemore slid in ahead of the throw, but the ump called him out. Wedge went ballistic.

Then in the 13th Willie Harris triples. Scott Podsednik, the [alleged] catalyst for their offense, bunted on his own, and hit it too hard right to first. Harris was out in a rundown. Podsendik went to second on the play. They walked Konerko to face Gload who was 0-for-5 with 3 Ks on the night, and he doubles in two runs. 3-1 Sox…

Bellirard just homered with two outs in the ninth both Ks. 3-2. Jenks looked like he would get them 1-2-3.

[Sox win, 3-2.]

Here's a quick rundown of the playoff scenarios:

Phils win two, Astros lose two: result is the Phils are the wild card.

Phils win two, Astros split: playoff for NL wild card.

Phils split, Astros lose both: playoff for NL wild card.

Astros win two, Phils do whatever: the Astros are the wild card.

Sox/Yanks win two, Indians win two: Sox/Yanks winner wins division, Indians are the wild card.

Sox/Yanks win two, Indians split: Sox/Yanks winner wins division, playoff for the wild card.

Sox/Yanks win two, Indians lose two: Sox/Yanks winner wins division, loser is wild card.

Sox/Yanks split, Indians win two: One-game playoff for the AL East Title followed one-game playoff for wild card between Yanks/Sox loser and Indians.

Sox/Yanks split, Indians split or lose two: The Yanks win the division based on better head-to-head record (10-8), Red Sox are wild card.

Let's not even talk about the seedings until after tomorrow's games.

It's Donovan's call

2005-09-30T14:09:00.000-04:00

It's a matter of trust.

Everyone that surrounds Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, including the fans, coaches and players, need to trust the star quarterback that he knows his body and he is doing what's best for the team.

While this is hardly controversial, it has been great fodder for debate with the majority of you taking the position that McNabb should sit out now and get surgery to repair recently diagnosed sports hernia.

McNabb certainly looked hurt as he was playing against the Raiders. You could see it in his face and in his movements, but, once again, his numbers were very good. He didn't run, most likely because he couldn't run. He could pass, however, throwing the ball 52 times, completing 30 for 365 yards.

We have become so enamored with McNabb's running and scrambling abilities that if he were unable to do that because of injury, we'd call for his benching. Donovan has worked very hard since his arrival in the NFL to be the best he can in the pocket. And it shows.

In a conversation I had with former NFL offensive lineman and football analyst Randy Cross on Sirius NFL radio, he disagreed with me on whether McNabb should be playing, but he did say, "This definitely puts the linemen on notice. They know they have to protect that pocket and protect the quarterback."

And they have been. The OL is much maligned, but they have allowed only five sacks thus far and one of those was a McNabb lateral pass to Brian Westbrook that was recovered by the Falcons. Yes, he did take the big hit to the chest in the Falcons game, but the line has been doing its job. Think about it, that is four sacks in 133 pass plays this season. The pocket has been protected.

With that evidence, I am comfortable knowing that McNabb can operate as a drop-back passer and, with all the weapons at his disposal, win virtually every week.

None of this takes into account the pain that he feels in his abdomen and chest. But that is where the trust comes in. Trust No. 5 to tell us when it becomes too much and he can't play.

So far, there has been no evidence of that, no matter what it looks like.

Relax, sit back, and enjoy the show.

NFL Power Rankings--Week 4

2005-09-29T21:38:00.000-04:00

Here are this week's NFL power rankings and after you are finished, please listen to the Eagles podcast at Philly.com.

1. Colts (2005 record: 3-0, Last week: No. 1): Another strong performance by the defense and the offense is playing on the conservative side.

2. Patriots (2-1, No. 5): Strong game going on the road to beat Pittsburgh. Tom Brady goes 12-for-12 in the fourth quarter. Loss of Rodney Harrison could be critical.

3. Eagles (2-1, No. 3): Playing with pain games by Donovan McNabb and David Akers lift Philly over the Raiders. Injuries could be very costly as the season progresses.

4. Steelers (2-1, No. 2): Patriots showed again who is the best team in the AFC. The Steelers are a close second. Bye week.

5. Falcons (2-1, No. 7): Warrick Dunn, T.J. Duckett and Michael Vick rush for 236 yards and beat Buffalo on the road. Get the Vikings at home next.

6. Bengals (3-0, No. 9): Cincinnati looks like they are in hunt to stay. Watch out, Pittsburgh. Should go to 4-0 with Houston next.

7. Buccaneers (3-0, No. 10): Tampa Bay goes into Green Bay and wins for the first time since ... it' too long to remember.

8. Seahawks (2-1, No. 14): The Seahawks made a statement against the Cardinals. They will be the team to beat in the NFC West.

9. Chargers (1-2, No. 13): They are only 1-2, but would you be convinced if they beat the Patriots this week?

10. Jaguars (2-1, No. 16): Another team relying on its defense to win. Should handle Denver at home.

11. Broncos (2-1, No. 18): A convincing home win over the Chiefs on Monday night. The Jags will be a tough test in short week.

12. Chiefs (2-1, No. 6): Reality check. Kansas City has to follow a 30-10 loss to Denver by playing the Eagles.

13. Giants (2-1, No. 8): A second-half collapse in San Diego is nothing to be ashamed of.

14. Panthers (1-2, No. 4): A Monday night home win against Green Bay should help the Carolina forget its loss to the Dolphins.

15. Cowboys (2-1, No. 17): Dallas needed a big second half to come from behind against the 49ers. A trap game at Oakland awaits.

16. Rams (2-1, No. 19): The Rams struggled at home against the Titans, but they did get the win. Face the Giants on road in a game that could help determine the makeup of the NFC.

17. Vikings (1-2, No. 24): Minnesota wins the must-win game against the Saints, and Daunte Culpepper (21-29-300) looks great doing it. The Vikings can make a statement this week in Atlanta.

18. Redskins (2-0, No. 22): Washington moves up four spots with a bye and this week plays a good Seattle team at home.

19. Dolphins (2-1. No. 29): With wins over Denver and Carolina and a loss to the Jets, Miami is proving it is for real. Ricky Williams is one week away.

20. Bills (1-2, No. 11): They lose to the Falcons and know now that they have to worry about the Dolphins in the division.

21. Jets (1-2, No. 12): Chad Pennington and Jay Fieldler are out and Brooks Bollinger is in. If that isn't bad enough, the Ravens defense awaits.

22. Ravens: (0-2, No. 26): Coming off a bye week, the Ravens are licking their chops at the thought of Bollinger quarterbacking the Jets.

23. Saints (1-2, No. 15): New Orleans plays its first game at its home away from home in San Antonio. Tickets still available.

24. Bears (1-2, No. 20): Found out first hand how good the Bengals are this season. Will get healthy during the bye week.

25. Titans (1-2, No. 25): Played the Rams tough on the road last week and now have to take on the undefeated Colts.

26. Browns (1-2, No. 23): Cleveland gives the Colts a game and Colts give the Browns a loss. Bye week.

27. Cardinals (0-3, No. 21): They have to beat the 49ers in Mexico City or the season might as well be a complete loss.

28. Lions (1-1, No. 27): Coming off the bye week, the Lions are in first place in the NFC North. Go figure. On the road at Tampa Bay figures to be a loss.

29. Raiders: (0-3, No. 28): Had the Eagles on the ropes and let it get away. Have to beat Dallas at home.

30. Texans (0-2. No. 31): Coming off the bye week they have to face the undefeated Bengals. Ugh!

31. San Francisco (1-2, No. 32): Had the Cowboys beat and let them get away with a win. In Mexico City to play the Cardinals.

32. Packers (0-3, No. 30): Too much is put on Brett Favre. This team is terrible right now.

What's next?

2005-09-29T11:06:00.000-04:00

Sure, there are three games remaining in Washington, but the Phillies season is over. There will be no post-season this year, either.

The Astros play tonight against the Cubs and could have a three-game lead with three to play. The best-case scenario for the Phils is they trail by two heading into Washington tomorrow.

In either case, they need to sweep the weekend and the Astros need to lose at least two out of three. Here is why that won't happen: Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt. Houston's big three all have ERAs under 3.00 with Clemens under 2.00 and they pitch Friday, Saturday and Sunday in that order.

All that being said, Pettitte, Clemens and Oswalt have been on the losing side in consective starts twice in the second half of this season. I just don't see any way that it happens again.

I am moving on to the off-season. The best the Phillies can do is win 88 games. That would be two more than the past two seasons under Larry Bowa. While they went much deeper in the postseason race, the results are not going to be that much different, it at all.

Over and over again, we heard on the radio and read in newspapers and the Internet that Ed Wade is the problem. It's not the manager, because in this case, the manager is solely the selection of the general manager. If Wade goes, so does Manuel. And if only Manuel goes (that won't happen), then that is a bad reflection on the GM.

Put yourself in Dave Montgomery's shoes. What do you do? Did you see enough in the young players this year to give everybody another chance? Or do you clean house now?

Post your comments and let the debate begin.

Back to work

2005-09-27T19:20:00.000-04:00

I was off yesterday and did not get online at all. I am back today, a little late, but here nonetheless.

Yesterday was not a good day for the Phillies. They wasted that game, but I am not telling you anything you don't already know.

Are you concerned about the bullpen? Now is not the time to be hearing from the manager, or "Cholly" as y'all like to call him, that the bullpen is tired. These are the big innings in the big games that players are supposed to rise to the occasion.

If Manuel kept Billy Wagner out of the game last night because Billy was tired, then neither of them really wants this wild-card berth. Everyone has to step up.

The bullpen is supposed to be the strength of this team. Down the stretch they have not done their jobs.

Time is running out.

Here is what a couple of you had to say after last night's debacle:

From Beer Leaguer:

Bullpen spoils game, maybe more

Ugueth Urbina ruins an outstanding game from starter Brett Myers, as the Mets steal the first game of the series 6-5.

With the loss, the Phils fall 1.5 games back of the idle Astros in the National League Wild Card race.

Game points
I haven’t had coffee yet, I sat in traffic on the bypass and I’m dog tired from staying up for most of this game. So forget about a nice, clean recap. You get bulleted points. Bullets somehow seem appropriate.

How crazy has this season been? A month ago, the Phils had the inside track to the postseason because their bullpen was better than the rest of the Wild Card contenders. Instead, they've completely cracked.

The Urbina deal probably tipped into bust territory with last night’s meltdown. That’s his sixth blown save since joining the Phillies. Charlie Manuel made the right call by lifting Brett Myers and going with the veteran setup man. Urbina just couldn’t get it done. However, there's no excuse why Billy Wagner was not ready to make his most important save as a Phillie when things got dicey. He's paid $9 million to pitch in spots when the game is in jeopardy. Unbelievable.

Chase Utley has held his own defensively this season, but next year, I’d like to see the Phils add a top-flight infield specialist to sub Utley off the bench in the ninth. Teams use defensive subs all the time, and it would be a nice option to insert a very good fielder to protect a lead in your home park in the ninth.

Danny Graves’ chin music to Jimmy Rollins swung the momentum in Mets favor. It changed everything. Until then, the Phils were cruising.

Former Phillie Roberto Hernandez worked two innings for his third save. That’s just perfect.

What happens to the Phillies bullpen next season? Look for Eude Brito and Robinson Tejeda to move back into reliever spots, and for Urbina to exit stage right. We could see Hamburg, Pa. native Nick Evangelista next season if things get desperate. Evangelista is being groomed as a closer and is slated for Double-A Reading next season. Why the team doesn't draft more college closers, who knows? It would make life a little easier, and cheaper. As for Billy Wagner, I wouldn't give him the money he's asking. It's not a smart investment, not when other teams are getting by with pitchers like Derek Turnbow, and the Phils can't even lean on their veteran corp - or use it properly.

Look for the Mets to win this series and essentially end the Phils' playoff hopes. The momentum has swung drastically in the Mets’ favor.

From Phillies Nation:

Someone please tell me what happened last night

So I'm reading the recaps from last night's game and nothing makes sense. I feel like my whole world is shattering before my eyes and hoping that there's some sort of grave misprint by all the sports media outlets of the world. So far, this is what I can surmise:

JRoll and Burrell hit homers early, Myers pitches seven strong
~THEN~
Utley commits 2 errors in the same inning, Uggie gives up 4 runs, and Burrell shits the bed with the game on the line??? Am i reading this right?!? And then I read this about Wagner:

Manuel said he didn't second-guess himself for pulling Myers and didn't use Wagner because he had tightness in his left shoulder. At least that's what the manager says.

"Everybody's got soreness. Don't make no [stuff] up," said an angry Wagner, who said he was able to pitch and stormed off.
What's with this guy? Why is he always being such a baby? Has he no tact; he's always mouthing off or whining about something. Maybe if you didn't blow two games to Houston your jock wouldn't be in such a bundle. Oh yea, and nice work on setting down that ultimatum for a new contract. Now that September has come and gone and still no contract, your shallow threat looks kinda lame. I suggest you stop getting advice from T.O. and start closing both your mouth and your games.

I know this was only one game, but one game with a week to play means the world. Like Uncle Charlie said after last night's devastating loss, "We're not out of it, but we need to win. We definitely can't lose any more games." The good news is the Mets have shut down Pedro for the year and the Phils will face 7-11 Victor Zambrano tonight.

Finally, speaking of starting pitching and not to look ahead to next year already, but the Marlins just stated that A.J. Burnett will not be in teal pinstripes next season. It appears he was frustrated with Jack McKeon's managerial style. You know what that means: he's looking for the rocking chair atmosphere that only Charlie Manuel can provide.

Eagles Game-Day Quick Hits

2005-09-25T18:58:00.000-04:00

Donovan McNabb is hurting, there is no question about that. Judging from early reports, this is something that he will fight through all season. The Eagles were calling it an abdominal strain and TV called it sports hernia. Take your pick.

David Akers also is hurting and his right leg will not improve unless he takes some time off. With every kick Sunday, he was in more and more pain. But he came through when the Eagles needed him most. (No, not the opening kickoffs.)

Jeremiah Trotter was a defensive rock in the middle with 10 tackles, all unassisted, three passes defensed and a forced fumble.

Linebacker Dhani Jones, who struggled on the Raiders first drive, missing a tackle and blowing a pass coverage, came back strong with eight tackles.

Mike Patterson, who got the start when defensive tackle Darwin Walker was put on the inactive list with a thigh contusion, finished with three tackles, including a sack, and a forced fumble.

The Eagles run defense held Raiders running back Lamont Jordan to 19 yards on 16 carries for an average of 1.2 yards.

While Brian Westbrook was running forward for 68 yards on 13 carries, Lamar Gordon was going backward. He had one carry for -1 yard. But he did have three receptions for 19 yards.

Raiders receiver Randy Moss had touchdowns in his first two games for the Raiders, but he was kept out of the end zone against the Eagles.

Here is something you don't hear very often: "He's a tough guy. They call him a kicker, but he's not a kicker. He's a football player." Mike Bartrum on Akers.

The Eagles offense is best in the league after three weeks.

It didn't look good in the beginning when the Eagles started the game with penalties on the first four plays. Three on the kickoff and one on the first Raiders play from scrimmage.

You have to wonder why Donovan is throwing 52 times if he has something wrong with his abdomen/groin/chest, etc.

Forget that. Here's why. Said McNabb after the game: "I'll just continue to work at trying to find ways around it. This is a type of game that when you talk about the Philadelphia Eagles and the struggle of getting to our goal, which is the Super Bowl."

Back to Brian: Westbrook had his best game from the line of scrimmage with 208 yards rushing and receiving. It was his best game since Oct. 19, 2003 against the New York Giants when he had 223 total yards, including 67 rushing, 11 receiving, 84 on punt returns and 61 on kickoff returns.

Did you notice that Eagles had a two-minute offense. They don't get to use it much.

Akers hurt again

2005-09-25T13:12:00.000-04:00

Eagles kicker David Akers appears to have re-injured his right leg. On the opening kickoff, Akers came up limping after a 65-yard kick. To make matters worse, there was a penalty for offsides forcing the Eagles to kick again.

On the second kick, Akers went down in pain after bouncing the kick 57 yards. There was another offsides penalty, but Akers was headed for bench to be treated.

Long-snapper Mike Bartrum took over the duties and kicked it out of bounds after 41, resulting in the third penalty in an many plays. The Raiders finally started their first drive on the 50-yard line and scored a touchdown five plays later.

Reality bites

2005-09-25T10:33:00.000-04:00

It happens just like that.

The Phillies win three consecutive games in their final at-bat. The emotions are spilling over on the field and in living rooms around the Delaware Valley. There is the feeling that this is a team of destiny. It is all that.

And then comes the reality check. You have to play the game the next day.

The Cincinnati Reds are a team with many weapons and they, too, have to play one game at a time. In baseball, Eric Milton can show up and beat you any day of the week. Yeah, Eric Milton. The guy who could only be labeled a disappointment when he was with the Phillies. The same Eric Milton that has struggled all year for the Reds. But on Saturday night, he owned his former team, keeping the Phillies hot bats in the deep freeze.

Just like that, the Phils are two games behind the Astros, who beat the Cubs, 8-3. There are seven games remaining.

The Astros have five more against the Cubs and two vs. the Cardinals.
The Phillies have one more against the Reds and three each vs. the Mets and Nationals.

I just don't see the Phillies winning two or three more games than the Astros, especially if they have to spend as much as emotion they did this past week.

Tell me what you think.

Getting it done in the end

2005-09-24T00:25:00.000-04:00

For the third straight game, the Phillies have won in their last at-bat, this time coming from four runs behind to beat the Cincinnati Reds.

I've written about heroes of the moment and destiny, but this one has me shaking my head.

While I am still skeptical they will win the wild-card, this is a different team than those that folded down the stretch the last couple of years.

It is obvious you agree. Here are some of your blog entries:

From Phillies Nation:

Wow! What else can I say but wow? I mean that may have been the most excited I have gotten while watching a baseball game since 1993. What a roller coaster ride. I mean from Padilla crumbling to Madson continuing to struggle to (and who would have ever thought I would type this) Geary not being available because of a death in his family. It looked like the Phillies were up to their old tricks when they gave up a 6-1 lead and went down 10-6. Keep in mind if they won they were assured of pulling to within 1 game of the wild card lead with Roger Clemens already scratched for his start tomorrow for the Astros.

Just when all looked lost, what do you know, but the ninth inning rolled around. On this current road trip the Phillies have now scored (including tonights game) 26 runs in their last at bat. This has yielded them a 5-2 record so far on the 9 game road trip.

Well as we all know Jimmy Rollins and Kenny Lofton set the table in the ninth tonight and Chase Utley drove them in with a monstrous home run. Then after a questionable K of Bobby Abreu and Pat Burrell striking out on a 3-2 count on a ball way out of the strike zone, The Reds decided to pitch around Ryan Howard (pretty big respect for a rookie). Then stepped up David Bell. A day after he saved the game against the Braves with a great play in the field.

(By the way I apologize for not posting yesterday after a great Braves game, but if I may, let me comment for a second on that game. What was Bobby Cox thinking letting Tim Hudson hit in the bottom of the 8th with one out and a man on third base. I contend that after that move, and Cox "resting" John Smoltz on Wed. night, I think he WANTS the Philles to win the wild card. You see if the Phils win the WC the Braves get to play a Padres team that will win the West with a record of barely .500 at best. If the Astros win the WC thats who the Braves get in round one with the Clemens and Oswalts and Pettites of the world. Not that I am complaining, but just something to think about.)

Tonight instead of the glove, David Bell used his bat to win the game. After working a 3-2 count he hit a two run home run to give the Phillies an 11-10 lead that Billy Wagner would not give up in the bottom of the ninth.

From The Phillies Fan Page:

Phightin' Back!

Houston lost and the Phillies are playing the Cincinnati Reds. The Phillies had to work really hard for this one. And always somehow, someway, the Phillies mange to scratch out a victory. Tonight was no exception. After blowing a 6-1 lead in two awful innings, the Phillies could not stop the Reds offense. In the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings, the Reds scored a total of 9 runs! This all started when Vicente Padilla suddenly lost his touch. He was cruising through the lineup for 4 innings, and then magically lost his command. Up 6-1, he could not get out of the 5th inning. Aaron Fultz had to come in and finish the inning, which ended with the Phillies up 6-5. But that wasn't all; the Reds came back in the next inning and preyed on Ryan Madson (who also hasn't been himself lately). Jacob Cruz led off the inning by hitting the game-tying solo home run. Later in the inning, Jason LaRue hit a two-run homer and it looked like the game was slipping away from the Phils. The damage could have been worse, but the Phillies got a huge gift with the bases loaded. Javier Valentin swung at a 3-2 pitch that hit the dirt, a sure run that got erased.

It proved to be big because once the 9th inning rolled around, it's like the Phillies just turned on the magic once again. Down 9-5, Jimmy Rollins and Kenny Lofton led off with singles off closer Dave Weathers. Then Chase Utley hit a 3-run home run that brought the Phillies within 1 run. But Bobby Abreu struck out on a very curious called third strike. Evidently, Abreu, Myers and Manuel thought the umpire needed prescription eyewear because they all got ejected for arguing that call. Burrell would then strike out (on a swinging strike), but Ryan Howard was issued a 4-pitch walk, perhaps more intentional than unintentional. But David Bell, who has definitely turned his play up a notch this month, hit the game-winning home run! It was a shot that even left me stunned, because the Phillies had just taken the lead. And Billy Wagner closed out the bottom of the inning to bring the Phillies 1 game closer to the Astros. this is definitely a different Phillies team.

From Phillies Foul Balls:

I don't believe it.

I'm trying to put together some sort of coherent sentences about what happened this evening in Cincinnati and I'm at something of a loss for words. Once the Phils got up 6-1 they never should have lost that lead, and then to get 5 in the 9th to win it? With the last two coming on a two-out, two-strike homer by David Bell of all people? Against a right-handed pitcher to boot. That really shouldn't happen. But it did.

In some ways tooking too carefully at this would be a letdown because there were a lot of worrying things in the game and I really don't want to overshadow the glee of that amazing comeback. Most of the playoff chase action has been in the AL this year, but the wild card chase is turning into a heck of a lot of fun.

The Phils are getting some pretty significant breaks at this point as well. Roger Clemens isn't able to go tomorrow for the Astros, which leaves them with Ezequiel Astacio going against Carlos Zambrano, which shifts things very much in the Cubs favor. Tonight the Mets said that if they were officially out of the race by Tuesday (almost certain), they'd sit Pedro Martinez then. While Martinez was shaky in his last outing, I'd still prefer to take my chances with whoever winds up replacing him.

The Phils are still down one game, but at this point you have to think it's possible that they could pull it off. Even if they don't, this is a hell of an impressive stretch run.

NFL Power Rankings-Week 3

2005-09-23T10:04:00.000-04:00

Here are the power rankings for Week 2. After you are finished reading, check out The Inquirer's Eagles podcast on Philly.com.

1. Colts (2005 record: 2-0, Last week: No. 1): The defense was the story in a 10-3 victory over Jacksonville. That is not good news for the rest of the league.

2. Steelers (2-0, No. 3): Ben Roethlesberger has a QB rating of 153.6 after two games. Willie Parker is second in the league in rushing. The defense is No. 5. A formula for success.

3. Eagles (1-1, No. 5): A 42-3 rout over the 49ers restored faith. The defense is No. 2 in the league.

4. Panthers (1-1, No. 6): Beating the Patriots puts Carolina back in the elite.

5. Patriots (1-1, No. 2): They are still the Super Bowl champs. Tough test this week at the Steelers.

6. Chiefs (2-0, No. 7): The defense has shown improvement. They are in Denver on Monday night, which is always a tough test.

7. Falcons (1-1, No. 4): The loss to Seattle is not a surprise. An injured Vick is not a surprise. How will the team react?

8. Giants (2-0, No. 14): Monday night's victory over the Saints will show up in the standings as a road win, but we all know better. In the end, a win is a win is a win.

9. Bengals (2-0, No. 17): A win over Cleveland was expected, a blowout over the Vikings was not. Carson Palmer is on fire with a 107.8 rating.

10. Buccaneers (2-0, No. 16): The top-rated defense in the league. Sound familiar? Remember the Super Bowl.

11. Bills (1-1, No. 8): After a loss to Tampa Bay, they face the Falcons. But it's at home.

12. Jets (1-1, No. 12): A nice rebound game for quarterback Chad Pennington last week.

13. Chargers (0-2, No. 10): Yes, they are 0-2, but they will beat the Giants at home this week. If not, look for a free-fall.

14. Seahawks (1-1, No. 23): A nice win over the Falcons, but it was an easy pick. The Cardinals are next.

15. Saints (1-1, No. 11): Coach Jim Haslett has to quit whining about his home away from home game and go out and beat the Vikings.

16. Jaguars (1-1, No. 13): From a loss to the Colts to facing the Jets. Not an easy task. Byron Leftwich needs to step up.

17. Cowboys (1-1, No. 9): Coach Parcells and 'Boys have to be embarrassed with last week's loss to the Redskins. They better beat the 49ers.

18. Broncos (1-1, No. 21): There's no place like home. Denver beats the Chargers and now gets the hot Chiefs.

19. Rams (1-1, No. 24): Did what they had to against the Cardinals. Should beat the Titans.

20. Bears (1-1, No. 25): Sent the Lions a message. Yet another favorite in the NFC North?

21. Cardinals (0-2, No. 20): Not the start coach Dennis Green had hoped for and now a tough road game in Seattle. It is a must win.

22. Redskins (2-0, No. 28): I am not a believer. Washington takes advantage of a dumb Dallas defense. They get to enjoy their undefeated record with a bye.

23. Ravens (0-2, No. 15): A bye this week will give the Ravens more time to work on the offense, some offense, any offense.

24. Vikings (0-2, No. 19): Another team with a must-win. They play the Saints. Culpepper (0 TD, 8 INT) should find the home end zone this week.

25. Titans (1-1, No. 30): A surprise winner over the Ravens, can they go into St. Louis and steal a game from the Rams? Doubtful.

26. Browns (0-1, No. 30): Romeo Crennel gets his first win against Green Bay. Just for that, he gets the Colts.

27. Lions (1-1, No. 18): It's time to get rid of Joey Harrington at QB. The weapons are a wastin'.

28. Raiders: (0-2, No. 25): New England, Kansas City and Philadelphia. Sounds like 0-3 to me.

29. Dolphins (1-1. No. 27): Can they steal one against a jacked-up Carolina team?

30. Packers (0-2, No. 26): This is as bad as it gets in Green Bay. Need to beat Tampa Bay.

31. Texans (0-2. No. 29): On the bye week they are heading out of town to avoid Hurricane Rita.

32. San Francisco (1-0, No. 31): The Eagles showed the world all of the flaws.

Something old, something new

2005-09-23T06:10:00.000-04:00

What do Michael Tucker, Shane Victorino and David Bell have in common?

Answer: They are the latest in the line of unlikely heroes for the Phillies in their quest to win the wild card and make the baseball's post-season.

Sure, Jon Lieber pitched the game of his life against his former team, but when he was done, it was still 0-0 and nothing was decided. That is what teammates are for.

Bell, who has been maligned all season for his lack of offense and untimely errors at third base, made what could be called the defensive play of the year because of it what it meant.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, with a runner on third and two outs, the Phillies move the infield in to protect the 0-0 tie. Rafael Furcal drilled a ball to the left side. Bell made a diving a stop and threw across the diamond for the out. Surely, he saved a run. And you could easily speculate he save the game as well.

In the top of the ninth, it was Tucker, newly acquired from the San Francisco Giants, that came up with the big hit. With two outs and Bobby Abreu on second and Ryan Howard on first, Tucker came in to pinch-hit for Todd Pratt and delivered a single to left to score Abreu.

The Phillies had the 1-0 lead and Billy Wagner poised to go in the bullpen. It was all good. It got even better when Vicorino, a September call-up, hit the first home run of his major-league career, a three-run shot, giving the Phillies all the insurance they would need.

It was another big win and the Phillies finished their important 13-game run against the Braves and Marlins at 9-4, winning every series and picking up fans along the way.

Trailing the wild-card standings by two games, the Cincinnati Reds are next. There is no room for error with nine games remaining. Every game is the post-season and the question remains: how many heroes do the Phillies have.

A grand ol' time

2005-09-22T06:12:00.000-04:00

Where would the Phillies be without Ryan Howard?

You've heard people say, "It's all about the kids." The Phillies are giving those five words a whole new meaning.

A rookie, getting his chance in the big leagues because the injured high-priced superstar can't play, Howard has made us all forget about the country bumpkin with a big stick ... what's his name again?

Only time will tell, but last night may have been Ryan Howard's defining moment, the stuff legends are made of.

The Phillies had already blown leads of 3-0 and 6-3 and were tied 6-6 in the top of the 10th. The Astros, up by 2 games in the wild-card hunt, might as well have been taunting, the Turner Field out-of-town scoreboard showing a 12-8 victory for the hunted.

With the bases loaded, his face dripping with sweat from a humid Atlanta night, Howard stepped to the plate against lefty reliever John Foster.

Lefty on lefty, a situation that did not favor the Phillies. You see, Howard does not hit southpaws particularly well. In fact, he has been terrible: seven hits in 59 at-bats with 30 strikeouts and no home runs.

Until last night, when he drove that fastball to the opposite field, clearing the left-field fence for a grand slam and what proved to be a 10-6 victory.

The Phillies remain two games behind the Astros with 11 left to play. It sounds funny to say, but that is a lot better than three games.

What makes baseball such a difficult game is Howard's heroics of last night are now but a single moment to be remembered or forgotten. It will mean nothing with a loss tonight or another failed attempt at making the postseason. Or it could be a defining moment of a season, maybe even a blossoming young career.

Quick hits

2005-09-21T17:25:00.000-04:00

Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens and Jimmy Rollins all on the same Sports Illustrated cover. I hope you don't believe in the jinx.

Here's hoping the Temple football team can find a way to win this week against Western Michigan. Otherwise it looks like 0-11.

There was another embarrassing moment last night for Phillies announcer Harry Kalas. He called a home run and gave his signature "Outta here," when the ball was caught at the wall by Pat Burrell.

Michelle Wie decides she is going to go pro. Golf World magazine said she could earn as much as $10 million in endorsement right away. If you tallied her LPGA finishes this year, she would have made about $750,000, good enough for eighth on the money list. And that was a reduced schedule.

It is possible the Red Sox, Yankees and Indians could all be tied after 162 games. What happens? The Red Sox and Yankees would play on Monday, Oct. 3 to see who wins the division. The loser would play the Indians (figuring the White Sox had already won the AL Central) on Tuesday for the wild-card spot with the winner heading to the Divisional Series. Talk about overtime. If Houston and the Phillies were tied for the wild card, they would play on Oct. 3 for the right to proceed.

How dominant is USC football? Coming off a national championship they are averaging 66 points and 630 yards per game. If that is not good enough, they are averaging a touchdown every six snaps.

Do you feel bad for the Minnesota Vikings and quarterback Daunte Culpepper. His start this season reminds me of Donovan McNabb's 0-2 start in 2003. After two games in 2003, McNabb was 37-of-82 for 334 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT and a rating of 41.4. Culpepper in 2005 is 43-of-70 for 469 yards, 0 TD, 8 INT and a rating of 41.6. McNabb rallied and led the Eagles to the NFC Championship game. Vikings fans can take some solace.

Give me Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols as MVPs, you can have David Ortiz and Andruw Jones.

Rookie running backs Cadillac Williams and Willie Parker are the real deal. Williams has gained 276 yards in two games for the Bucs and Parker has 272 for the Steelers. They are one and two, respectively, in the NFL.

Watch out for Hurricane Rita, she is headed for Houston. The Astros are out of town all weekend (in Chicago) and the Texans have a bye this week.

How tough is this task?

2005-09-19T16:48:00.000-04:00

Please don't confuse this post as being anti-Phillies. That is not the case. It meant to be a reality check.

I mentioned this in passing the last couple of days, but it is worth pointing out again, now that the Phillies have a day off.

After going 7-3 in their last three series against the Braves and Marlins, the Phillies have picked up exactly one game. They have played .700 ball and have moved from 2 1/2 games out of the wild-card lead to 1 1/2 games behind the Astros. A lot of good work for not a lot of reward. The schedule does not lighten up with three more road game against the Braves.

Houston begins a series with Pittsburgh tonight with Roger Clemens on the mound and the Marlins are headed to New York to play the Mets beginning tomorrow. You would have to figure that the Phillies will begin play tomorrow night two games behind Houston with 12 to play.

Philling Station points out the same thing and says the Phillies fate is in their own hands.

Taking 2/3 in Florida is still a worthwhile feat, but the Astros swept a weekend series with the Brewers and ended Sunday a game-and-a-half up in the Wild Card race. Tonight they begin a four game series in Pittsburgh, then head to the Cubs for three, St. Louis for two, and close with a weekend series at home against the Cubs.

The Phils have the night off before going to Atlanta for three games. Most experts are pointing to the schedule and favoring the Astros, but to a large degree the Phils still control their own fate.

The Phillies Fan Union is just as confident:

So, in spite of questionable managerial strategizing, the Phillies players seem to have taken matters into their own hands, which is exactly what we said they would have to do to see post-season play. There are still the Mets, Braves, Marlins, and Nationals to deal with, and Cincinnati, at this stage of the season, will not be a push-over. But this team seems to have realized that if they are going to get into the post season, they will be doing it on their own. So it is a matter of taking matters into their own hands, of rising to the occasion and not letting the managerial deficits continue to haunt them. To a man, the Phillies are showing that they can be a team to be reckoned with. Just two more weeks. The rest of the division is waiting in the closest race in all of baseball. It doesn't get any better.

Breathing easier

2005-09-19T16:09:00.000-04:00

There was a huge sigh of relief coming from Eagles fans after yesterday's 42-3 spanking of the 49ers.

A loss against the Falcons in the opening week and Donovan McNabb's injury was reason for concern.

Rest easy all, your Birds look just fine (except for David Akers, of course.)

Akers, who has made only one of four field-goal attempts this season, injured his right hamstring on Sunday. Today he was getting examined.

“David Akers has a hamstring strain and we did an MRI on it," said coach Andy Reid. "The MRI was a little better than what we anticipated. We will just see how he does here in the next couple of days."

That sounds promising and should add to the sense of relief that yesterday's game provided.

Here is what you had to say about Sunday's romp:

From www.the700level.com:

This is the kind of game Eagles fans needed after last weeks tough loss to Atlanta on Monday night. Donovan McNabb silenced any of his critics and showed his chest injury wasn't going to effect him. Donovan went 23 of 29 for 342 yards and tied his career high of 5 TDs.

Eleven different Eagles caught a pass, talk about spreading the ball around. T.O. and L.J. had big time games both reaching the endzone, Terrell twice. Koy Detmer even went 9 for 9. The only disapointment may have been Owens' lack of creativity after his two touch downs.

The defense was pretty much stellar all around. They had three picks and Lito almost took one of them to the house.

All is well in the world of Eagles fans. The Eagles are now 17-3 following a loss since 2000. The bottom line: San Fran stinks and the Eagles are a Superbowl contender.

Next up Randy Moss and the Oakland Raiders next Sunday at the Linc - 1:00PM

From For the Birds:

Well, there’s not a lot to say about the butt-kicking the Eagles just handed the 49ers. A lot of questions that were unanswered last week were given some emphatic affirmations–mainly whether Donovan McNabb was physically ok. Five touchdowns later, he emerged looking better than ok.

But when a glass is 95 percent full, the Philadelphia sports fan will eventually turn his or her head to the other 5 percent. One puzzling question I haven’t heard an answer to yet–I was at the game and I was in mid-commute when Andy Reid gave his postgame press conference–is why Shawn Andrews was sitting on the bench by the middle of the third quarter. He didn’t appear to be tended to for an injury, but was he pulled to let backup Adrien Clarke gets some reps or something else? The OL still didn’t do a particularly stellar job run blocking, and Lamar Gordon was able to make a couple of nifty cutbacks to get more daylight than the line provided. It was encouraging to see Gordon get more playing time, including a touchdown run, but rookie back Ryan Moats was again de-activated.

One other concern was the lackluster play of the defensive ends. Kearse was a no-show again, and only blitzes created pressure that led to sacks by Darwin Walker and Lito Sheppard. The line will need to step it up next week because Jim Johnson won’t be able to send corners and safeties blitzing like mad with Randy Moss and Jerry Porter running routes rather than the 49ers mediocre wideouts.

Ok, now back to enjoying that 95-percent-full glass.

From Philly Sports Net:

... For the time being, it is safe to say that the Eagles haven’t missed a beat from last year.

They looked dominating. Utterly terrifying (for other teams, that is). 42-3 blowout that was worse than it looks (should have been something more like 68-3).

Quarterback change!

2005-09-18T15:44:00.000-04:00

It took a while, but both teams made changes at quarterback. Koy Detmer replaced Donovan McNabb at the beginning of the fourth quarter and the 49ers put in Alex Smith, the top pick in the 2005 NFL Draft late in fourth quarter.

Koy Detmer took advantage of his outing, going 9 for 9 for 94 yards.

Quarterback change?

2005-09-18T14:45:00.000-04:00

With a 28-0 lead, the Eagles should think about getting Donovan McNabb out of the game and maybe the 49ers should think about putting in Alex Smith, the top pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Internet update

2005-09-18T13:50:00.000-04:00

Eagles jump out fast, 21-0
By Bob Brookover
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
The Eagles held a 21-0 lead over the San Francisco 49ers early in the second quarter, thanks to three touchdown passes from Donovan McNabb, including two to Terrell Owens.
McNabb was 12 for 16 for 188 yards in the first quarter of the Eagles’ home opener at Lincoln Financial Field.
Under pressure, McNabb scrambled to his left and looked down field to find a wide-open Owens. McNabb hit T.O. in stride and the Eagles’ star receiver easily out ran cornerback Mike Adams on his way to the end zone.
T.O.’s first TD celebration of the season was vanilla, especially by his standards, but it did include a second connection with his quarterback. After crossing into the end zone, Owens simply placed the ball on the ground and jogged back toward McNabb, exchanging a reserved low five with his quarterback.
The Eagles went up 14-0 midway through the opening period when McNabb hit tight end L.J. Smith over the middle for a six-yard touchdown.
Just before the half, the Eagles squandered a chance to put more points on the board when David Akers’ 43-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright. It was Akers’ third missed field goal in four attempts this season.
With 11:50 remaining in the half, McNabb again found Owens on the left sideline for a 42-yard TD pass.
Owens had five catches for 143 and two TD in less than a half.

Akers woes

2005-09-18T13:42:00.000-04:00

David Akers' problems continued in the first quarter today. Akers hit the left upright on a 43-yard field-goal attempt with 1:10 remaining.

In Monday night's game against Atlanta, Akers missed two 49-yard attempts before hitting a 44 yarder.

Make that 14-0

2005-09-18T13:26:00.000-04:00

Donovan McNabb hit tight end L.J. Smith over the middle for a 6-yard touchdown pass and an Eagles 14-0 lead.

The drive was seven plays for 78 yards, including two passes to Terrell Owens for 29 yards.

Midway through the first quarter, McNabb is 7-for-9 for 134 yards and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Owens had three catches for 97 yards.

Just like old times...

2005-09-18T13:09:00.000-04:00

A scrambling Donovan McNabb hit Terrell Owens for a 68-yard touchdown pass and an early 7-0 lead. On third-down and 6 from 32, McNabb under pressure, ran to his left and found Owens who had gotten behind corner back Mike Adams. When Adams saw McNabb break, he committed to quarterback and let Owens go.

Phils' fever pitch

2005-09-18T10:57:00.000-04:00

After the Phillies were swept by the Astros earlier this month, they were 2 1/2 games back in the National Leagues wild-card standings. Since then, the Phillies have gone 7-2 against the Marlins and Braves, yet are still a 1/2 game behind the Astros.

Go figure.

As they look at a possible sweep of the Marlins, they are scoreboard watching the Astros, who have had their way with the Brewers. With a night game tonight, the Phillies could find themselves no better than a 1/2 game back, but could be 1 1/2 back.

The bandwagon seems like it is full again and the faithful are bubbling over.

Check this out:

From Beer Leaguer:

Phils 10, Marlins 2: They're coming to get you
The Florida Marlins have been on the receiving end of a buzzsaw that started churning a week ago. Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett is next on the menu, the poor soul standing in the way of the fury the Phillies offense has unleashed upon the reckless Marlins’ bullpen.

The Phils are showing all the right signs of a blessed September team, as they continue to seize every chance under the sun. I thought the Phils needed to be perfect this series. Instead, they’ve been perfectly opportunistic, and the Marlins have been sloppy with their bullpen and defense.

From Balls, Sticks, & Stuff

In today's matchup, Eude Brito of the Phillies takes on Josh Beckett of the Marlins. On paper, it looks like a mismatch, but after yesterday's improbable win, I think you have to at least have an open mind about the Phillies chances with Brito.

And if I can't sway you, can Tugger?

Ya Gotta Believe!

From PhilliesNation:

Jim, back away from the ball, you have to hear this.

That's what I said to Jim yesterday on the golf course when I found out what was going on in the ninth inning of yesterday's Phillies game. Throughout the day we were checking updates on my phone, it was 1-0 for a while, then I checked in the 8th, 2-0, damn! Two holes later I checked again to the tune of "There's no way the Phillies can come back in the ninth." And sure enough, I had to interrupt Jim in his approach to pass on the good news. I guess that's what happens when you leave Dontrelle in too long, maybe down the stretch those complete games don't come as easily as they do in April. But the best part of the game was how the Phils secured the victory against that scumbag, Todd Jones.

Several people on 610 immediately annointed this as the collapse game for the Marlins and the propulsion to the Wild Card game for the Phillies. They noted though, that the Phillies apparently lost one of these back-breaker games two weeks ago versus Houston. Yesterday's game was different for the obvious reason that it is two weeks later in the season with only two left to play. Of course the Marlins are still in it, a win by them today and they are only 1.5 games out. But even better would be to erase the ghosts of the 2003 season by sweeping the Marlins, winning the Wild Card, then winning the World Series. Yea, I said it - World Series!

So then the Inquirer gets on the Phillies-Marlins role reversal bandwagon in Jim Salsibury's article today. Sure the Phillies are on a little roll right now, but I don't think just because Jack McKeon makes a minor comparison between the teams that they are doppelgängers. These are two completely different teams, the Phils are built on offense and the Marlins on pitching. But it's not a big deal at the moment, since any analysis of this year's team is premature until the final day of the season. This could be a great Phillies team or just another one tossed in the garbage at the end of the year. Many things can still happen and just cause the Phillies are hot and beating the Marlins, doesn't mean Houston is relinquishing its half game lead on the Wild Card. All the Phils can do right now is worry about themselves and win every game they play. Yea, I said it, I'm talking about a 16 game winning streak to close out the season. I want this year's squad to finally put the 1964 team to rest. Go Phils!

Andy Reid news conference

2005-09-16T18:36:00.000-04:00

From the Eagles:

09-16-05

Injuries:
“Everybody practiced today. You saw [QB] Donovan [McNabb] out there with his pads on. He was getting used to them. We have a little protective reinforcement in there for him and he is getting used to that.”

Opening remarks:
“It was a good week of practice and we look forward to the challenge of playing the 49ers. They are coming off a big win against the Rams where they looked sharp. We understand that it will be a big challenge for us and our guys are preparing that way.”

On whether there is anything Donovan McNabb is unable to do:
“He seems to be able to do everything. I was being a little bit cautious with him yesterday and he didn’t want any part of that. He felt good and went out and made all the throws. I was not sure how he was going to do with the deep ball yesterday, but I think he answered that. He threw the ball well.”

On whether the injury will affect his ability to run:
“No, he has full movement to run. I don’t necessarily want him to get hit there again, but if needed he will run.”

On whether he is officially starting on Sunday:
“Yeah, unless something crazy happens. He will play.”

On how comfortable he is with the play and depth of the defensive ends:
“I am good with the players there. I thought the ends played well last week. We will gradually increase [DE Trent] Cole’s role in there. He played a handful of snaps last week and that will continue to increase. [DE] Juqua [Thomas] is continuing to learn the scheme, getting better at it and he played a handful of plays last week. We feel pretty good about it.”

On whether it is safe to assume more of an emphasis in the running game this Sunday:
“We will see what happens.”

Whether [WR] Terrell Owens is visibly excited to play his old team:
“T.O. has one speed out there and that is full speed. I have not seen anything different from him. He is ready to go and feels good.”

On how [WR] Darnerien McCants and [RB] Lamar Gordon will fit in to the game on Sunday:
“We are continuing to increase their roles and giving them more opportunities and we will see how the numbers work out once we get in the game. Each one of them has their select number of plays.”

On every team with a 100 yard running back winning last week:
“That is a pretty good thing for those teams.”

On Hugh Douglas being named Eagles Ambassador:
“Well I missed him so, [owner] Jeffery [Lurie] and [president] Joe [Banner] put together a plan for keeping him around here for the next few months. We will have him speak in the community and do some work representing the organization. He is good at that. He has a great personality and it also allows him to be around the football team. He is a positive influence around those guys.”

On whether he has to address Hugh as “Mr. Ambassador”:
“I don’t think so.”

Where will the Phillies finish?

2005-09-16T13:30:00.000-04:00

This is an amazing race and the reason that the wild card is so good for baseball. The Phillies, Marlins and Astros could take this down to the final day of the season.

So, what's going to happen?

When they met last week at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies did not have to face the Marlins two best pitchers, Dontrelle Willis and Josh Beckett and the Phils took two out of three. It's safe to say the Marlins have the advantage when the three-game series begins tonight. They will send out Brian Moehler (6-9, 4.00 ERA) tonight, followed by Willis (21-8, 2.49) and Beckett (14-8, 3.53). The Phillies will counter with Jon Lieber (14-12, 4.42), Vicente Padilla (8-12, 4.67) and Eude Brito (1-0, 1.72).

The Phillies showed heart going 5-2 against the Braves and Marlins in the last week. Certainly, they will need a similar result. With 15 games remaining, it is doubtful that anything worse that 8-7 will have a chance to win the wild card.

While the fans stayed away from the Cit during this homestand, there is no question it still is better to play at home than on the road. The Phillies are 45-33 here and and 33-36 everywhere else this season. There are 12 road games remaining and only three at home against the Mets on Sept. 26-28.

It's gut-check time.

Week 2 NFL Power Rankings

2005-09-15T10:25:00.000-04:00

Here are the power rankings for Week 2. After you are finished reading, check out The Inquirer's Eagles podcast on Philly.com.

1. Colts (2005 record: 1-0, Last week: No. 1): An impressive 24-7 win at Baltimore, a tough place to play against a tough defense.

2. Patriots (1-0, No. 4): They move up two spots with a 30-20 victory over the Raiders. A good test this week at Carolina.

3. Steelers (1-0, No. 5): Also move up two, giving AFC a 1-2-3 sweep. Ben Roethlisberger was strong and RB Willie Parker (167 yards rushing) was stronger.

4. Falcons (1-0, No. 6): Eagles fans know why the Falcons jump two spots. That is one ornery defense.

5. Eagles (0-1, No. 2): Donovan McNabb and the offense was slapped around by a tough Falcons defense.

6. Panthers (0-1, No. 3): Down three after a tough 23-20 loss to the emotion-driven Saints, followed by a home game against Patriots.

7. Chiefs (1-0, No. 13): Have the Chiefs returned to 2003 form, or were the Jets that bad?

8. Bills (1-0, No. 12): The Bills move up four after the rest of the top teams all lose. Buffalo did its job in a 22-7 win over the Texans.

9. Cowboys (1-0, No. 15): The Cowboys go to San Diego and win a hard-fought 28-24 game. Great start for QB Drew Bledsoe.

10. Chargers (0-1, No. 10): The Chargers did nothing to hurt their standing in a tough hard-fought loss to the Cowboys. It was the game of the week.

11. Saints (1-0, No. 22): Emotion has moved me to move the Saints up 11 spots after a great win over Carolina.

12. Jets (0-1, No. 7): Quarterback Chad Pennington is not as bad as he played last week. If he is, coach Herman Edwards may "snap".

13. Jaguars (1-0, No. 19): The Jags came out strong with a home-win over the Seahawks. Now, they must go to Indy.

14. Giants (1-0, No. 21): Eli Manning developed a new relationship with Plaxico Burress and renewed an old with Jeremy Shockey. It was a nice win against an improving Cardinals team.

15. Ravens (0-1, No. 10): The offense is down and Kyle Boller is out. Anthony Wright takes over this year. The Ravens need a statement game on offense against the Titans.

16. Buccaneers (1-0, No. 25): Cadillac Williams is the real deal, rushing for 148 yards, including one carry for 71 yards and a touchdown.

17. Bengals (1-0, No. 23): OK, they beat the Browns. Not a big deal, but at least they did not get upset.

18. Lions (1-0, No. 24): It's only Week 2, but the Lions are now the team to beat in the NFC North.

19. Vikings (0-1, No. 8): Mike Tice will not be long for this season if he keeps losing at home.

20. Cardinals (0-1, No. 11): Coach Dennis Green can't be happy with Sunday's 42-19 spanking by the Giants. Larry Fitzgerald looks great.

21. Broncos (0-1, No. 14): How could the Broncos get slapped around by the Dolphins? And now they face a better team in the Chargers. At least they are at home.

22. Bears (0-1, No. 25): Hard-fought loss to the Redskins.

23. Seahawks (0-1, No. 17): A 26-14 is not a surprise. The Jags are good and Seattle remains a terrible road team.

24. Rams (0-1, No. 16): Losing to the 49ers in the division is a sin for Mike Martz.

25. Raiders: (0-1, No. 20): A loss to the Patriots on the road is nothing to be ashamed of. The Chiefs are next, a must win.

26. Packers (0-1, No. 18): It is going to be a long year for the Packers. Losing Jevon Walker, and a weakened offensive line, will make life miserable for Brett Favre.

27. Dolphins (1-0. No. 31): A great win over the Broncos for new coach Nick Saban. That should generate some confidence.

28. Redskins (1-0, No. 28): Beating the Bears, 9-7, at home is no test. Mark Brunell or Patrick Ramsey is no improvement either.

29. Texans (0-1. No. 27): Houston was overmatched at Buffalo. The Steelers are next and so is an 0-2 record.

30. Titans (0-1, No. 29): The Titans looked good on their first drive against the Steelers. It was down hill from there.

31. San Francisco (1-0, No. 32): Beating the Rams should be worth more than one spot, but the Eagles are next. Let's see next week.

32. Browns (0-1, No. 30):I don't think for a minute that the Browns will be at the very bottom very long. Green Bay is next.

Bravo, Ramon

2005-09-15T09:58:00.000-04:00

Fans or not, the Phillies are on fire and that is the best marketing the team could get.

They have won four straight, including three against the NL East-leading Braves, and are tied for the wild-card lead with 16 games remaining.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel played a hunch last night and sat slugging first-baseman Ryan Howard. It paid off when replacement Ramon Martinez delivered a grand slam (photo by Jerry Lodriguess/Inquirer Staff Photographer) to give the Phils a 7-0 lead on the way to a 12-4 victory.

Fan and journalists alike (including me) have written off this team numerous times this season, but they keep fighting back, proving they are in the race for good. With three games against the Marlins this weekend, a sweep for either team should decide it. That is not likely to happen.

Next week, there are three more games with the Braves. Could the Phillies actually make a run at the division? It is there for the taking.

What do you think?

McNabb news conference

2005-09-14T16:16:00.000-04:00

09-14-05: From the Eagles

On whether he would start if it was up to him:
“I will be in the game on Sunday.”

On what he feels debilitated doing:
“A lot of stuff. It’s a process that you go through. You get bumps and bruises and I have to work hard with the training staff to get myself healthy to get out there and do everything I was capable of doing before the injury.”

On whether he could play today:
“Nothing would ever stop me from getting out on that field.”

On what the injury hampers him most from doing:
“(jokingly) I am not able to walk my dogs like I used to. I cannot pick up my baby and toss her around. Now she has to work on walking.”

On what the injury hampers him most from doing on the football field:
“It’s tough to say right now. I think that everyone is being cautious right now with using up the rest time that we have and take full time with that, rehabbing, getting treatment and getting ready for when the time comes.”

On whether there is any doubt that he will be out there on Sunday:
“I don’t know if it is just me, but I love playing football and if I couldn’t walk or whatever may be, something would have to take me off that field.”

On whether he feels there is a point where he can’t help the team:
“I never say that to myself. If I am out there, I feel I can help the team as much as possible.”

On what he would do to convince the coaches to start him if he was not able to practice all week:
“I would at least try to do something that would make them feel positive about putting me out there.”

On whether he has heard anything medically that would prevent him from playing:
“I have not heard anything.”

On whether the injury prevented him from running on Monday night:
“That is tough to say. There were opportunities for me to move around a little bit. There were also opportunities for me to sit back in the pocket and deliver the pass. The majority of the time there were opportunities to throw the ball to receivers. It just so happened that I was not bringing my legs into it and not doing the fundamental aspects of things that I would usually do. I don’t make any excuses to say that it was due to injury. When I am out there on that field, knowing the situation and knowing what I have to do, I have to do my job and I didn’t do it the way I expected to and the way I prepare myself to do. It’s something that you learn from and move on.”

On whether he felt 100% on Monday night:
“No.”

On whether there is a chance the injury could get worse with more contact:
“I have not heard that and hopefully I will not hear anything like that. I just prepare myself to get out there on Sunday.”

On whether he feels he has taken late hits or helmet first hits without penalties throughout his career:
“I am not getting involved in that one.”

On whether he anticipates wearing a flack jacket on Sunday:
“That will be a decision that would have to be made after talking with the training staff and coaches. Whatever it takes to be protected, I am all for it. But not to the effect that I am going to go out there with steel shoulder pads and a metal mouthpiece. You have to understand that in this game we play, it’s tough, you get bumps and bruises and you suffer through adversities, but you have to put those things behind you and focus on what you need to do.”

On whether he has ever played with a flack jacket:
“I have. I played with it my first four years in the league. This year and the previous two years I played without it, but if I can avoid it, I would.”

On what makes this team so resilient and why they rarely lose two games in a row:
“I think the thing that stands out for us is leadership, continuing to stress to the guys that the games are not always going to go your way, learning from mistakes and being critical of yourself watching film, analyzing yourself and knowing what you can do better to help this team win. That’s the kind of personality and character we all share on this team. I think the thing that stands out for us is that there are 15 more guaranteed games left. There is not reason to get upset and throw everything in after one loss. You have to focus on your job this week and get this thing going.”

On whether he expects opposing teams to blitz on every down:
“Teams have been blitzing us on every other down, whatever it may be, whatever they feel they can do to get to the quarterback and have the answer to some of our blocking schemes. Again, it would be my job to get the ball out, so I can keep the defensive coordinator on his heels to make him second guess himself. We expect teams to blitz us and just because of one game, it does not mean that every team is going to start changing their defense and blitz us. If they do that and we can come up with big plays, I guess we will eliminate that.”

On why he stopped wearing the flack jacket:
“(joking) I started getting a bit bigger. I was eating healthier and I gained about 30 pounds of muscle.”

On why he wore it to start out:
“Teams want all their quarterbacks to wear some sort of flack jacket. I didn’t wear it in college, so it was something new for me. I just wanted to feel comfortable being back out there and I felt pretty good without it.”

On whether it slowed him down at all:
“At times.”

On whether he thinks he will have to convince head coach Andy Reid to let him play:
“I think I would have the upper hand on that one. That would be showing him I am capable of playing at practice. They always say, ‘you can’t make the club in the tub.’ If I get out of the tub, I can make the club I guess.”

On what he is doing to treat the injury:
“We are doing some different things with the training staff. There are a lot of different things we can do to move around and be able to get some blood flowing through there. You obviously have to take it slow and be patient with everything.”

On whether he will practice tomorrow:
“I don’t know, we will see how it goes.

On whether he feels better today than yesterday:
“It does.”

On how much confidence he has in the backup quarterbacks:
“I am confident in those guys. I already know what [QB] Koy [Detmer] can do. Koy is a smart guy that knows and executes the offense well in training camp and throughout practices, he does a good job. [QB] Mike [McMahon] is another guy who is very athletic and picking up on our side of the West Coast offense very well. He is a guy that I feel good about being in there as well, so if I am not able to go, I still feel confident that we would be able to get things rolling.”

On the play he got hurt on:
“It was a play that we wanted to establish the deep ball. I stepped up in the pocket. As I was throwing, I was hit from the side and then from the front. It leads to me being on my back and feeling this pain I feel right now. It is something that happens in a game and you have to suck it up and move on like I did.”

On whether other hits compounded the injury:
“I couldn’t tell. I stopped focusing in on that after I got onto the sideline and tried to stretch. I tried to get out there and lead the team to a win.”

On whether he put the flack jacket on at the half:
“No.”

On problems with the blitz pickup:
“In the game we did some positive things, but what we have to do as an offensive unit is continue to have our communication there, understand what we are seeing, and be able to spread the word down the line as well as the backfield, so that we will be able to pick up the blitzes and if they are not blitzing, be able to react to it. That is something small for us because it’s something we go through practice every day. We have to make sure that everyone is on the same page and we have to execute together.”

On whether he is getting away from running:
“Not at all. I will run for 1,000 yards this year.”

The Phillies DO have an image problem

2005-09-14T11:40:00.000-04:00

Inquirer national baseball writer Jim Salisbury broke the story this morning that the Phillies have hired retired Channel 6 sports anchor Scott Palmer as a consultant. Someone to help improve the image.

Check it out:

By Jim Salisbury
Inquirer Staff Writer

The Phillies have an image problem. It could be seen again last night, reflecting off all those empty blue seats at Citizens Bank Park.

Many fans just don't like this franchise, its management, and this collection of players.

Has the public's dissatisfaction with the team, and lack of faith in it, ever been more evident than over the last few days?

With less than three weeks remaining in the season, the Phils have a realistic shot at the postseason for the first time in a dozen years.

And yet empty seats were noticeable during Sunday's key 11-1 win over Florida. On Monday night, less than 16,000 people were in the stadium (capacity 43,826) for an important win over Atlanta. The Phillies won again last night, but the turnout, announced at 24,311, was well below the season average. All those empty seats spoke of a team that is having major problems connecting with its fans.

This is not a new problem, and, contrary to what some people might think, the Phillies are not unaware of it.

That's why they have made an acquisition for the stretch drive.

Don't get too excited. This newcomer is 55. He can't turn on a fastball, or paint the corners.

But Scott Palmer - yes, that Scott Palmer - isn't here to help win ball games. From what we hear, he's here to help the Phillies with their image problem.

The likable, well-known former television sportscaster, who retired from Channel 6 in June, has signed a three-month contract to be a consultant with the Phils. He started yesterday.

"I don't know if it's a position," Palmer said with a laugh. "I'll be working here for three months, specializing in communications."

We put it right to Palmer: Had he been enlisted to help the Phillies scrub up their rusty image?

"I wouldn't say that," he said.

"I'm looking at what we're doing and seeing what I can offer. I'm keeping my eyes and ears open, trying to learn what I can, and making suggestions that might help."

Palmer knows this town and its sports scene inside-out. He was asked whether he believed that the Phils had an image problem.

"I don't think so," he said.

Scott Palmer the reporter might have given a different answer. Scott Palmer the Phillies consultant chose his words carefully.

"I want to look and see before I offer opinions," Palmer said. "In a couple of weeks, I'll have a better handle on what's going on. Today's my first day."

Fair enough.

On Palmer's first day, the Phillies went home as 5-4 winners over the Braves. The attendance was lower than the announced tally, which represents tickets sold. The fans went home happy. Team officials, and maybe some players, probably went home scratching their heads over the low attendance for the second straight day.

"Sure, we notice," pitcher Brett Myers said before the game. "But we can't worry about it. This is a tough enough game to play without worrying."

Some club officials blamed Monday night's embarrassingly low turnout on its being a school night. The low attendance probably had more to do with sports fans' staying home to watch the Eagles' season opener.

The Eagles do not have an image problem. They connect with their fans very well.

And they do it the best way - by winning year after year.

There are plenty of great baseball fans in Philadelphia. They are just starved for a winner. They don't want to see a team that self-destructs the way this one did against Houston last week.

"Let me tell you something," Myers said. "Houston was disappointing for us, too. There were some games we should have won. But we came out the next series and took two of three. We showed something."

Myers was asked why he thought the fans weren't coming out in droves for meaningful September baseball.

"Eagles," he said. "It's a football town.

"I hear fans on the radio say they're glad football is starting so they can get their minds off us because obviously we're disappointing them. But what can you do? They love us when we play well and hate us when we don't.

"We're in the middle of this thing. We're doing our best to win every game."

Myers went out of his way to say he wasn't slighting the fans.

"I can't knock them," he said. "It's their choice to come or not. But people on TV say we have no shot. Fans hear that and they believe it. It's disappointing, because theoretically we have a great shot."

Though small, the crowds the last two nights have been tremendous - into every pitch, critical and supportive at the right times.

"The ones who've been here have been great," Myers said. "But instead of 20,000, we need 40,000. That 10th man makes a big difference. I felt it last week in New York. Those fans were going crazy."

The Phillies play the Braves again tonight. It's another huge game. Last night's win might help push the attendance up, and it might help improve the lackluster image this team has in the eyes of its fans.

We commend the Phillies for recognizing their problem, for hiring Palmer, a good man. But in the end, nothing will polish this team's image better than the winning baseball it has played the last three days.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pro and con on Donovan

2005-09-14T10:25:00.000-04:00

I thought the Jeremiah Trotter incident would be the most talked about item in the realm of Monday morning quarterbacks.

I was wrong. That seems to happen a lot this time of year. Check my predictions.

Donovan McNabb (Right, photo by Jerry Lodriguess/Inquirer Staff Photographer) is the center of your attention. The passion play that is called the Eagles season has just finished Act 1 and there are two sides that have formed around No. 5.

One side is those of you that rip the quarterback for his not running and lack of consistency.

On the other side are those that defend him.

Both sides come hard. Here is a sampling:

CON

From philadelphiaeagles.com:

By Miguel0019: Dude, he played pretty badly on Monday, missing open receivers, balls to ground or too high. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Dmac but c'mon our D gave him a lot of chances to blow this game wide open....

By TomatoPie: Yes McNabb can be great but he can be horrible too. We're tired of wondering who is gonna show up each week. Marino, Elway, Joe Money -- these guys had GAME.

By BillyCuth: The only reason we are gonna beat SF is because McMahon, not McNabb is going to start.

By moge: he deserves to get "bashed"

he sucked ... in that game - face reality bro - no excuses - Eagles lost due to McNabb and Akers

By zucker4: If [bruised chest] was affecting him enough to where it cost us the game, he should have taken himself out. Donnie Mac played like a rookie, which is nothing new for him early in a season. Backward swing passes to no one? Holding the ball so long as to be hit from behind and fumble on a 3 step drop? Now, granted, he did not get any help from the o-line either. I have no doubt they'll turn it around and be fine. It still sucks right now though.

PRO

By McNabb2306: This McNabb bashing is ridiculous. He's one of the elite Qb's in the league so please shut up and let him play.

It's awful seeing all those teenagers complaining about a guy who brought us to 4 straight NFC championship games ...

Be a little bit more mature please.

By rlasker3: I don't care who you are when you are under the kind of pressure he was, injured and with NO running game you make those kind of mistakes. He'll be fine. Without McNabb we don't make the playoffs.

By judunno: He got his chest blown up... i think you may need that to throw a football... he's proved last year that when healthy and given time he can be very accurate. go learn something about football before you make dumb comments.

Quick hits...the Eagles edition

2005-09-13T16:05:00.000-04:00

David Akers misses two consecutive 49-yard field-goal attempts. And it was inside. Which way was the air conditioner blowing?

It was very clear that Donovan McNabb had no intention of running for positive yards. He had happy feet, but couldn't seem to get them in a forward gear.

Falcons corner DeAngelo Hall may have earned a Pro Bowl spot in only game. That's what T.O. can do for you.

Whether Jeremiah Trotter should have been thrown out is not the question. He never should have put himself in that position in first place. Just another show in the No-Ring Circus.

And if you want a Trotter medallion for your collection, they are availble today. Good timing, huh?

Looking at Michael Vick's numbers, you would not be intimidated. Watching him on the field is a different story. He commands respect.

The chink in Andy Reid's armor? Opening games. He is 2-5 in the first game of the season since taking over in 1999.

Word is Donovan's chest feels a lot worse today than it did last night.

If I told you the Eagles defense would hold the Falcons to 14 points, you would have thought the Eagles won the game. So, don't blame this one on the defense.

What was in Brian Dawkins intravenous feeding? He came back after the IV and made two huge plays. Maybe Donovan should have tried it.

The No-Ring Circus continues

2005-09-12T21:02:00.000-04:00

What was Jeremiah Trotter thinking?

The Eagles linebacker walked over to Falcons defensive back Kevin Mathis and exchanged words. Trotter then pushed Mathis, who responded with a punch. Things escalated as players and officials joined to break up the fight.

The referees immediately ejected Trotter and Mathis.

If that wasn't enough, the Eagles gathered on the Falcon at midfield and the Falcons took offense. Both teams met at midfield in a large rugby scrum fighting for position.

Again, what was Trotter thinking?

Emotions or not, it was a stupid mistake.

Trotter ejected

2005-09-12T20:32:00.000-04:00

Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter has been ejected from the game for a pregame incident with Falcons defensive back Kevin Mathis. Mathis also was ejected.

Quick hits

2005-09-12T10:08:00.000-04:00

The Cowboys, Giants and Redskins all win on Sunday. Good start for the NFC East. The 'Boys' win in San Diego was very impressive.

After losing three straight to the Astros, the Phillies did what they had to do against the Marlins, taking two of three. Now, they have seven games in seven days against the Braves and Marlins. This is the real test.

TV ratings show the U.S. Open tennis tournament up 60 percent over last year. Put Andre Agassi in the same class as Tiger Woods for pushing the ratings needle.

Surprise, surprise: The 49ers and Dolphins win their openers. I wonder how many times they will on the same day the rest of the season.

Are you already tired of hearing the Notre Dame fight song? Great start for former Patriots offensive coordinator and Irish coach Charlie Weis, beating Pitt and Michigan on the road. Michigan State is next at South Bend.

Barry Bonds will be in the line up for the Giants tonight against San Diego. Do you care?

No Jeff Gordon in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. That doesn't seem right.

Randy Johnson gets a big win for the Yankees a day after Curt Schilling does the same for the Red Sox. It is good to see that a pair of aces can still win a hand.

I couldn't help noticing the Glaceau Vitamin Water ad on Page E7 of the Inquirer Monday sports section: "Thome vows to bring his "B" game." Don't bother, we've seen that already.

The Steelers get 161 yards rushing from Willie Parker. Maybe they don't need Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis.

St. Joe's Prep makes it two in a row in early season tests, beating St. Ignatius (Ohio), 28-14.

The Colts have a defense! The Colts have a defense! Nevermind, the Ravens don't have much of an offense.

Temple coach Bobby Wallace has to feel like the sky is falling. For the second consecutive game, the Owls have given up more than 60 points.

The Chiefs have a defense! The Chiefs have a defense! They came within 29 seconds of a shutout in a 27-7 victory over the Jets. If it's true, Kansas City could win the AFC West by Halloween.

It's great that Penn State is 2-0, but when do they play a football team?

Troy Vincent has two interceptions for the Bills in a 22-7 win over the Texas. How old is he again?

Hook'em Horns. No. 2 Texas, not used to winning big games, goes into Ohio State and makes a point against the fourth-ranked Buckeyes. When is that Oklahoma game, again.

Should the Flyers faithful be concerned that Peter Forsberg and Darien Hatcher will miss much of training camp with injury?

Game Day: Prediction time

2005-09-12T09:55:00.000-04:00

It's game day!

The Eagles begin defense of their NFC title tonight against the Atlanta Falcons, the team they beat in January to get to the Super Bowl.

Will tonight's game inside the Georgia Dome resemble anything like last season's finale at the chilly Linc?

I think so.

The Eagles defense will once again be key, stopping Michael Vick the passer. Vick the runner will do better on the fast track and in the warmer temperatures, but it won't matter.

All eyes will be on Donovan and T.O. and they will put on a show. The Falcons did not get to see Owens last season as he was out with injury. The off-season circus will disappear on the field and the Eagles should win.

My prediction: Eagles, 23-14.

Click on comment and give me your predictions.

Ed Wade talks ... to Atlanta radio station

2005-09-11T20:38:00.000-04:00

This comes from dlyons on the Phillies message board at Philly.com:

This morning (actually Thursday) on Atlanta sports talk, Ed Wade said he was very disappointed with a crowd of only 30,000 for yesterday night's game with the Astros. He called this series one of the most critical series in September for the Phillies. He said there is a time the fans must show the support for the team by showing up and showing the players that they are being supported. He said 30,000 for a HUGE game doesn't do that. He hopes with the Braves coming to town, the city will support this team. In closing, Mr. Wade says he himself and Philly management have worked very hard to bring championship baseball to Philly like the Braves management has done for the city of Atlanta, and he wants to see the Philly fans show their support for this team. Thought you guys would want to hear what he is saying to us Braves fans about you guys. Best of luck thru the rest of the season Philly fans.

Wade's comments to the Atlanta media set you off. Here is a sampling:

From Rolen76: Big Ed Wade...

a true zero.

From Twitchell: As usual, Eddy needs to find someone to blame for his perpetual failure. Now, it's the lack of fan support at the root of their dismal performance. I might also add that declining attendance has only begun. Wait until next year, Eddy.

From fwade: Ed can go to hell.

From Pareto: "Also,Wade will add that without Thome's bat and Wolf's pitching in the line-up the Phillies performed better than expected."

No doubt. To be followed closely by "we feel that we've more than compensated for Wagner's departure by adding Urbina as our new closer. I firmly believe that this is a championship caliber team."

From Rebecca2: He does not have the guts to say that on a Philly
radio station because he knows that he would be ripped to shreds for saying that. The problem is also he says these things with such a straight face that I think he
actually believes the garbage he says.

From cheezsteaker: ed wade is an embarrassment to baseball. he is pathetic to even compare himself to the braves brass.

ed wade wouldn't know a baseball if it hit him in the head. he's the single biggest idiot i've seen in 30 years following philadelphia sports. only in philly can a man like that keep his job for years.

From kirk:: Eddie "worked very hard to bring championship baseball to Philly." He has failed miserably and should resign his position or be fired by gutless David Montgomery. He currently has a $95 Million payroll of stiffs that have big contracts, no strong desire to win, and can't play in the clutch.. His farm system is in shambles and almost all the talent from the farm is now in Philly. He has had nine years to build a baseball team and has never made it to the playoffs. He is setting up to blame the fans for his failures. It's never Eddie or Dave's fault.. It is always someone elses. The arrogance of these men is unmatched by any other sports management group.. We the fans have many years of failure to look forward to thanks to Eddie, Dave and Bill...

NFL predictions

2005-09-10T16:03:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy week, so it took it me a little longer than I would have liked to get these up. But I did beat Sunday's games. Take a look and have at me!

NFC

East: Eagles (12-4)
North: Vikings (10-6)
South: Panthers (11-5)
West: Cardinals (9-7)
Wild card: Falcons (10-6)
Wild card: Cowboys (9-7)

Eagles and Panthers playoff bye

Wild-Card playoffs
Cowboys beat Vikings
Falcons beat Cardinals

Divisional playoffs
Eagles beat Cowboys
Panthers beat Falcons

Championship game
Eagles beat Panthers

AFC

East: Patriots (11-5)
North: Steelers (10-6)
South: Colts (13-3)
West: Chargers (9-7)
Wild card: Jets (10-6)
Wild card: Ravens (9-7)

Colts and Patriots playoff bye

Wild-Card playoffs
Ravens beat Steelers
Jets beat Chargers

Divisional playoffs
Colts beat Ravens
Jets beat Patriots

Championship
Colts beat Jets

Super Bowl XL
Colts 31, Eagles 24

NFL Power Rankings

2005-09-10T15:29:00.000-04:00

I don't know why, but I like rankings. I will be updating them every week. Feel free to comment.

1. Colts (2004 record: 12-4): They should get the home-field advantage, beat whomever shows up for the AFC Championship and then find themselves in Detroit against an overmatched NFC team.

2. Eagles (13-3): As Andy Reid goes, so do the Eagles. The off-season circus is behind them and they remain the class of the NFC. It won't be as easy this year, but the Philly will make its fifth consecutive NFC title game.

3. Panthers (7-9): Carolina comes all the way back from its post-Super Bowl stupor to the NFC championship game against the Eagles in 2005. The defense leads the way all year.

4. Patriots (14-2): The loss of Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel as coordinators and Tedy Bruschi (stroke) is a lot to take. New England will be good, but as the hunted they will suffer some setbacks.

5. Steelers (15-1): Will the real Ben Roethlesberger please stand up? If it is the playoff quarterback, Pittsburgh will be hurting. The running game is suffering through injury and old age. It will be left to the defense to carry this team.

6. Falcons (11-5): Michael Vick and a good defense will lead the Falcons. Once again there will be no homefield advantage and that will hurt in the playoffs. Vick will continue to develop as a passer.

7. Jets (10-6): Chad Pennington needs to stay healthy and take control of the team. Curtis Martin will do his job. Adding Ty Law to the defense will help, especially against the Patriots.

8. Vikings (8-8): Losing Randy Moss seems to be addition by subtraction, but that is a lot of offense to replace and the pressure falls to Daunte Culpepper to make it up with the no-names. The defense is improved and that will help.

9. Chargers (12-4): Was last year for real? LaDainian Tomlinson is the best in the league. Drew Brees has to prove his 2004 campaign was no fluke. The AFC West continues its fall from the top, but it will be very competitive.

10. Ravens (9-7): "Defense, d-fense ..." And they will need every bit of it. Kyle Boller is still struggling. They won the Super Bowl XXXV with that formula and they can get back to the playoffs following it again.

11. Cardinals (6-10): From worst to first for coach Dennis Green. Kurt Warner changes teams again and he is the key to the Cards' success. Unlike with the Giants, he will have top receivers to catch his passes.

12. Bills (9-7): The Bills finished last season with six wins in seven games. They are headed in the right direction. Starting quarterback J.P. Losman is the question mark. The defense is strong.

13. Chiefs (7-9): Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson give the Chiefs hope. The defense takes it all and throws it away. They have a chance to improve because the rest of the AFC is coming back to the pack.

14. Broncos (10-6): Will fight for a wild-card spot, but mediocrity will prevail. Aside from coach Mike Shanahan, there is little to get excited about. One thing is for certain, the Broncos will run, run, run.

15. Cowboys (6-10): It's put up or shut up time for coach Bill Parcells. Adding Drew Bledsoe helps and receivers will catch the ball. Julius Jones will be theman out of the backfield making life easier for coach and QB. Improved defense will allow 'Boys to challenge for the wild card.

16. Rams (8-8): Mike Martz has outlived his usefulness with the Rams. The running game should improve as the Marshall Faulk era is over. "Big Game" Tory Holt will have fewer big games and the defense will give up points.

17. Seahawks (9-7): A disappointment last year, will be hard pressed to improve. It is possible the whole NFC West could finish 8-8. Coach Mike Holmgren needs to make a statement. His legacy is tarnished.

18. Packers (10-6): A bad defense will mean that quarterback Brett Favre will be playing from behind. Not a good formula for success. He may throw 30-35 touchdowns to talented receivers, but he is sure to have 20-plus interceptions to talented cornerbacks.

19. Jaguars (9-7): The Jags must get over the inconsistencies of beating Indy one week and losing to Houston the next. QB Byron Leftwich is coming back healthy and the defensive line has been updgraded. Should be in hunt for wild card.

20. Raiders: (5-11): The defense looks better than last year, but that's not going to help the offense. The Raiders tradition of throwing bombs is not going to work in today's game. Kerry Collins to Randy Moss will happen, but not near enough.

21. Giants (6-10): A team on the rise. They won't get far this year because of the Eagles and Cowboys, but they will be better than the Redskins. Tiki Barber and a healthy Jeremy Shockey should take some pressure off Eli Manning.

22. Saints (8-8): A sad story and no telling what happens with this team. There is no way the Saints are the 22nd-best team, but having no home field really hurts. Here's hoping they surprise.

23. Bengals (8-8): Same story, different year. Expectations in Cincy are that the Bengals will make the playoffs. Don't believe it. They will be in the hunt until the last week of the season.

24. Lions (6-10): They have to get better with all of that offensive talent. Don't they? It all falls on the shoulders of Joey Harrington and that's the problem. Steve Mariucci is a quarterbacks coach, he has to get it done this year.

25. Buccaneers (5-11): The Bucs should improve with the addition of Cadillac Williams at running back, but Brian Griese and Chris Simms are not playoff-caliber quarterbacks. The defense is not close to that of the Super Bowl team three seasons ago.

26. Bears (5-11): A good defense is the place to start. Does anyone have a clue what to expect from quarterback with Kyle Orton at the helm? Lovie Smith has his hands full.

27. Texans (7-9): For the fourth straight season, David Carr will be looking protection. The defense has been rebuilt. Every year the team has improved since coming into the league. That may stop this season.

28. Redskins (6-10): How does a team with such a great defense only win six games? The offense is terrible. Patrick Ramsey gets his last chance. The new NFL slapped around Joe Gibbs last year. He will have to adjust his play calling.

29. Titans (5-11): The Titans are in a tough division and open with a tough schedule (Steelers, Ravens, Rams and Colts). The defense has been retooled, and quarterback Steve McNair is coming off a year of injuries. A tough season for Jeff Fisher.

30. Browns (4-12): Romeo Crennel has come in and decided there wasn't much he liked. Changes were made, but improvement will not be seen in Year One. It will be a struggle.

31. Dolphins (4-12): Gus Frerotte or A.J. Feeley? That's no Ginger or Mary Ann. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams will make the running game go. Coach Nick Saban has changed the offensive and defensive philosophies. It is a rebuilding process. Don't expect much.

32. San Francisco (2-14): Ugh!

Bloggers' lament

2005-09-08T10:17:00.000-04:00

Around the horn of Phillies blogs after last night's debacle:

From the Philling Station:

Back away from the ledge
I don't know what to say about this one, but I sure felt good less than an hour ago. This one can't really be pinned on Ol' Cholly (although Dancy gets failing marks again), the Phils were in perfect position to win this one and they laid a big fat egg.

For those of you who are in full Eagles mode (but still care), here's the rundown: Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Bobby Abreu breaks out of a slump to hit a game-tying homer into the Phils' pen.

Then, with two outs after a close play at the plate, IL MVP Shane Victorino singles in Ryan Howard for the go-ahead run. Howard was 3-4 with a double and his fifteenth homer of the season; he now must be viewed as a serious rookie of the year candidate. His scary good 2005 numbers (.290/.357/.532 in 231 AB) are somewhat reminiscent of Willie McCovey's rookie season of 1959 (.354/.429/.656 in 192 AB), or at least somewhere between that and Stretch's less impressive sophomore campaign (.238/.349/.469 in 260 AB).

The eighth ended with David Bell (improbably drawing an intentional walk) being thrown out at the plate by more than 20 feet, but it hardly seemed to matter with Billy Wagner rarin' to run out and prove to his old team that last night was a fluke.

Well, instead of getting the final out of the inning, Bell got caught on an in-between hop for his 19th error of the season. Forget about his zone rating or range factor, I've defended his defense for the final time. Then, Willy Taveras beat out yet another infield single. Next came Craig Biggio, who turned a mistake pitch by Wags into a back-breaking three-run blast to left. It was his fifth against Phils pitching in 2005 and made all the difference in an 8-6 win for the Astros.

But that's the way it's gone for the Phils vs. the Astros, they are now 0-12 against them over the last two seasons. That's obviously not the best way to go about earning a playoff spot. Oh, and the hot Marlins are coming to town for the weekend. I can only be thankful for the schedule-makers' decision to give us a day off tomorrow, this is absolutely excruciating.

From Shallow Center:

Hous Your Daddy?

Stunned Phillies Swept at Home by Astros, Sink Further in Wild-Card Standings

Seconds after Craig Biggio crashed a crushing three-run tater just inside the leftfield foul pole, a despondent Harry Kalas noted, "All the runs are unearned, but so what." Indeed, Biggo's two-out, ninth-inning game-winner came after David Bell allowed Jose Vizcaino's grounder to clang off his glove and Jimmy Rollins couldn't quite get Willy Taveras at first following a slow roller. Billy Wagner's pitch to Biggio was up and over the plate, and Biggio, as professional a hitter as you'll find, knew exactly what to do with it.

This loss could be the one that spells the end of the season for the Phils. Houston's sweep pushed them down to 2-1/2 games out in the wild-card race. More, it came after the Phillies had rallied to take a lead in the bottom of the eighth on Bobby Abreu's two-run dinger and Shane Victorino's bases-loaded single. This one, in other words, hurt more than most.

Tomorrow morning's papers will include quotes from Phillies grimly promising that they'll pick themselves up and dust themselves off and try again. And I'm reminded that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

From Beer Leaguer:

Short post tonight.

No cute stat that narrows down the Phillies’ problems to a single number, no bitter game coverage, no cocksure proclamation that eventually turns out false.

There were too many mistakes in the final two innings to accurately list, and frankly, I'm burned out of the poetry it takes to write another post mired in grief.

On second thought, there’s time for one number, one that reveals all you need to know about this site: 0. Zero times I've seen my team win it all - in any sport.

Perhaps my readers can fill in the blanks.

Pick one - or all - of the numerous late-game mistakes or poor decisions to discuss in the space below. I'll get you started. How about a nice grab bag of David Bell, a poorly-timed pinch run and a base runner thrown out at home by 20 feet.

Or better yet, why not make the whole thing simple and ask the question on everyone's mind: “How 'bout those Eagles?”

Lack of support? Only on the field

2005-09-08T09:31:00.000-04:00

Before the game Wednesday night, closer Billy Wagner talked about the fans not being behind the Phillies in their chase for the wild card.

He complained about the booing.

He said there are fans out there hoping that the Phillies lose.

He talked about the empty seats for a big series against the Astros.

After the game, an 8-6 loss to Astros, the fifth consecutive setback in a September pennant race and the 12th straight loss to the Astros, Wagner was forced to talk about giving up a game-winning homer to friend and former teammate Craig Biggio.

"It's tough," Wagner said. "We've really played three great ball games, and to come up on the losing end three times is how it is right now. If we dwell on that and wait for things to happen when we play Florida, we'll find ourselves really out of this."

Too late, Billy. You are out of it. The numbers may not say so, but the play on the field has spoken.

The Phillies were in each of the three games, but they did not play three great games as Wagner said.

The facts show big errors, poor baserunning, double-clutching, lack of hitting from the middle of the lineup and a bullpen that failed in all three games. Call it well balanced failure.

Inquirer columnist Phil Sheridan said it well: "When you know you have to win, and you lose, that's failure. When you lose and lose and lose and lose and lose, stringing together a five-game losing streak at the worst time, that defines your team."

This is all about the team and has nothing to do with the fans. They don't want the Phillies to lose, that is absurd. They just know what's going to happen. History has a way of repeating itself ... over and over again.

The question remains for all of the players, manager, general manager and ownership: "Why does this always happen?"

Take a look in the mirror, boys.

Phils not doing the little things

2005-09-07T09:59:00.000-04:00

Jimmy Rollins misses first base on what should have been at least a double.

Todd Pratt double clutches on two consecutive ninth-inning throws and allows a pinch runner to steal second and third before scoring the game-winning run.

What is going on? The Astros have won 11 straight against the Phillies and because of that, the Phils are now 1 1/2 games behind in the wild-card standings.

The fans at Citizens Bank Park are showing their displeasure with boos. That is nothing news, except that this is a pennant race and the Phillies are in it. Years and years of frustration are showing up for the smallest things.

Beer Leaguer sums it up in his daily blog entry:

The Astros out-small ball the Phillies to take command of the series and their destiny in a 2-1 win last night. The Phils fall to 1.5 games back in the Wild Card.

Isn’t it amazing how these games in September have changed? How attention to detail is the vital factor? How outmatched the Phillies have been trying to compete under the magnifying glass?

Pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett's two stolen bases in the ninth inning off Billy Wagner and Todd Pratt allowed Jason Lane to drive in the go-ahead run from third, lifting the Astros to a 2-1 win.

Basically, the game was decided when the Astros said so.

Meanwhile, our guys picked the wrong time to play poor fundamental baseball and have yet to dictate anything in their home park.

With no outs and the game tied 1-1 in the eighth, Jimmy Rollins stumbled around first on what was sure to be a double, possibly a triple. Rollins never crossed home, as the Phillies worked the bases full but couldn’t score him.

It’s one of many blunders in a growing list of on-the-field and on-the-fly mistakes the Phils have made when they can least afford it. The opposition has better pitching, and apparently, better hitting, so they must be creative in other ways. That means dropping down bunts, hitting the bag in stride, etc.

Ryan Howard is the team’s lone contributor these days, connecting on yet another opposite field shot in the fifth off Roy Oswalt. In the past week, Howard has tagged some of the best in baseball - Pedro Martinez, Bradon Looper, Chad Cordero and now Oswalt. Meanwhile, the veteran core – Abreu, Burrell, Rollins, Bell - have yet to make a mark, and Chase Utley, the star of mid-season, is fading fast.

If a team can’t pitch and can’t hit, they must be creative the way the Astros were in the ninth. Details count. Details win games, win championships. Last night was a lesson in base running and how to defend against it, and the Phils are taking this class at the remedial level.

Brotherly love...T.O. and Donovan

2005-09-07T09:35:00.000-04:00

Not that you needed another reason to watch Monday Night Football and the Eagles vs. Falcons, but you have to be curious how Terrell Owens is going to patch up the feud with Donovan McNabb.

Owens, in an interview with ESPN's Michael Irvin that will air in its entirety on Sunday's NFL Countdown, said that he will speak to McNabb and we will see it on our screens.

Here are a few scenarios that would make interesting television:

1) In the opening of the ABC broadcast, have a flirtatious T.O. come out in nothing but a towel and a smile and make nice with No. 5.

2) When the offense is introduced on the field, have and Owens and McNabb come out together, holding hands as they run through their teammates.

3) We've seen this before, but have Donovan hit T.O. with a 60-yard bomb for a touchdown on the first offensive play and then celebrate with a nice Tango in the end zone.

4) Walking the sidelines, have the two come together, and within earshot of the microphones, tell each other, "I love you, man."

Send me your scenario.

Below is the story from Inquirer Eagles beat reporter Bob Brookover:

Terrell Owens broke his silence yesterday and presented an olive branch to teammate Donovan McNabb in the process.

During an interview with ESPN's Michael Irvin, the Eagles wide receiver said he had been talking to his teammates and he planned to mend fences with his quarterback soon. Owens and McNabb have not spoken since the start of training camp on Aug. 1.

"It's not that I hate Donovan," Owens told ESPN. "I love Donovan. I don't hate him at all. I was disappointed in a few things. I have the right to do that. Everyone speaks out of emotion. Everybody speaks out of frustration. Everybody's done it. That means I'm human. If you want me to go in and say I was wrong, maybe I was. Maybe I wasn't."

The dispute between Owens and McNabb was born when the wide receiver hired agent Drew Rosenhaus in an attempt to get the Eagles to rework the seven-year contract he signed before the start of last season. Owens wanted more support from his quarterback in his contract dispute.

Owens said he planned to speak with McNabb before Monday night's season opener against the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome.

"I will," he said. "You guys will see. It's not going to be a yearlong thing. Leading up to this Monday night game, things will get worked out."

Owens said the ABC cameras should pick up the wide receiver chatting with his quarterback in the season opener.

"The camera is going to be on me," Owens told ESPN. "Believe that.

"I didn't turn a deaf ear to any of my teammates. If they wanted to talk to me, I talked to them. There wasn't any situation where a player came to me and I didn't talk to them. That's not true."

The receiver admitted he wasn't talking to McNabb or defensive end Hugh Douglas. The three reportedly got into a dispute early in training camp at Lehigh University. Douglas was among the Eagles' final cuts last week, so he is no longer around.

Though Owens planned to talk to McNabb again, he said both he and the Eagles could succeed without communication between the two offensive stars, citing his performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in his only preseason game. Owens had five catches for 131 yards and a touchdown.

"Did you see the first preseason game?" Owens said. "Then there you have it. But I will say, because God is in me, I will talk to Donovan. At some particular point, the spirit will move me to talk to him, because that's just how I am."

Owens has not spoken to the Philadelphia media since his appearances outside his Moorestown home after he was sent away from training camp following a dispute with coach Andy Reid last month.

A plea to keep the Saints

2005-09-06T10:44:00.000-04:00

A powerful editorial from the New Orleans Times-Picayune on Sunday.

Opinion: Please don't go, Mr. Benson

The people of the New Orleans area "battered, grieving and homeless" are in desperate need of something to hold onto. Something to ease their broken hearts and nourish their spirits.

Saints owner Tom Benson can give them that something. He can choose, and we fervently hope he will, to play this fall's home games at LSU's Tiger Stadium.

Saints fans are among the most loyal in the NFL. For 38 years, they have embraced this team whether it won or lost, and the losses almost always outnumbered the wins. Mr. Benson owns this team, and it is his business. But this is our team, too, at least in spirit. What other fans would pack the Superdome year after year despite lackluster win/loss records? Don't these devoted people deserve that sort of dedication in return?

This metro area has suffered the worst natural catastrophe in the nation's history. People who were helpless to get out of the way of the storm died in our beloved Superdome. The Dome is wrecked, and it is a place known for misery right now. But it can be refurbished. Its rebuilding can be a hopeful sign to the hundreds of thousands of residents who have been scattered across the region by Hurricane Katrina - people who have lost not only loved ones and homes, but their entire community.

The Saints have been a source of that sense of community since the day they first walked on the field. They bring us together in a way nothing else does.

The NFL doesn't want the Saints to leave. As after the Sept. 11 attacks, when the New York Giants chose to stay in their ravaged city, the league sees the Saints as a balm for wounded souls.

Surely the players don't want to leave. Receiver Joe Horn spent three hours touring the Astrodome on Saturday, signing autographs for children and giving the 15,000 displaced storm survivors something to smile about.

And it is difficult to believe Mr. Benson would want to leave, despite reports to the contrary. He has talked in recent months about how much he loves New Orleans, about his desire to stay here, and we take him at his word.

Before Katrina, Saints fans wanted their team to stay. Now they need it to stay.

Blown lead

2005-09-06T10:10:00.000-04:00

The Phillies went three up-three down this week and blew the wild-card lead. They trail the Astros by a 1/2 game with two more against Houston, so there still is hope. Judging by the comments in the blogosphere, each loss is getting more frustrating.

A sampling from around the horn:

From Balls, Sticks and Stuff: As of late, the team is falling back into a maddening pattern that we've seen over the course of the season: scoring runs in bunches one night, and then failing to score more than one or two the following night. The pitching staff has been fairly consistent, keeping the team in the game, night after night, but it is the offense that seems to let the Phillies down in a loss.

Over the past twenty games, the Phillies have a record of 10-10 and have scored 7 runs or over 5 times. Over that same span, the Phils have also 3 runs or less eight times.

Had the Phillies scored 5 hypothetical runs in each and every one of those twenty games, they would have gone 12-5 and sent three others to extra innings. Had they scored just 4 hypothetical runs in each of the last twenty games, the Phils would have had a record of 10-8 with two games going into extra innings.

Like any sport, baseball is a game of highs and lows, and so to expect exactly 5 runs every night would be ludicrous. But the roller coaster of run totals the Phillies have displayed in the last three weeks or so is clearly hurting them in their quest to make the playoffs. And with their third loss in a row last night, the Phils are no longer in first place in the Wild Card hunt. To make the playoffs, they will now need to come from behind with a pitching staff that is beginning to wear thin.

From Swing and Miss:

For the third consecutive game the starting pitcher stumbled out of the gate and for the third straight day the offense failed to overcome the deficit.

Two ninth inning rallies cannot hide the awful truth: the Phillies aren’t hitting, especially when it counts. Still, they had a chance to tie or win in the bottom of the ninth, but Charlie Manuel in his infinite wisdom chose to have Matt Kata run for Ryan Howard and let Endy Chavez bat to end the game, flailing. A pitch earlier Endy fouled off a ball that bounced in front of the plate.

Why Manuel didn’t have Chavez pinch run and let Kata pinch hit is a complete mystery, but, then, moves of more than one person are too much for the Phillies' skipper. Kata, a switch-hitter, couldn’t be less capable than Endy; no one in the major leagues is less capable than Endy. Two batters earlier Manuel had used Shane Victorino so it cannot be a matter of not wanting use a call-up in that crucial spot.

From PhilliesNation:

Only seconds have passed since Endy Chavez ended Monday's nights game, so I should probably calm down before writing this, but I won't. What a terrible at-bat. I mean what was going on there? The first pitch is check swing foul ball, and Endy has this look of amazement that he made contact. The next pitch he whiffs completely. Then, he fouls off a ball that bounces in front of the plate. Let me reiterate, he fouled off a ball that bounces in front of the plate. Mind you, there are runners on second and third and like Lofton's run earlier, that pitch easily could have gotten away from Astros catcher Brad Asumus and allowed the tying run to score. What a joke, Endy. But I guess the joke is on us, because really, should we expect anything more?

Confident Eagles fan

2005-09-06T09:55:00.000-04:00

The roster has been set and the countdown to Game 1 vs. Falcons is now less than six days. Eagles fans are gearing up for another run deep into the postseason.

Here is a blog from mrbiersnob:

We don't know where we're going
But the season's ripe for knowing
I want you to join together with the band
This is the biggest band you'll find
It's as deep as it is wide
Come on and join together with the band

Ten rookies. A total of 18 players on the roster with less than two year's experience. Corey Simon, Derrick Burgess, Hugh Douglas, Chad Lewis, Germaine Mayberry and Todd Pinkston are gone.

No big free-agent acquisitions. No big up-the-middle running back. Contract squabbles, hold outs, general discord, and a shaky, at best "Pax Mc-Owens."

There seems to be a laundry list of reasons why the Eagles seem poised to fly the way of Super Bowl losers past; falling flat on their faces the following season. In spite of what seem to be insurmountable obstacles facing the Birds, your brew-monger, in a moment of clarity and sobriety, (Four months this weekend, gang!) has other thought about our upcoming season.

Here are the malt, hops and grain of why the 2005 Birds are better equipped for capturing this year's Lombardi Trophy:

Andy Reid and the Coaching Staff: If there is one thing today's Eagles fan has learned, it is to trust this coaching staff's judgment and ability. From passing over Ricky Williams to draft Donovan McNabb in the 1999 draft, through releasing all pro players like Trotter, Vincent, and Bobby Taylor, and not losing a step, the plethora of undrafted free agents which occupy so many starting positions on this team; Andy Reid has made believers out of all of us.

The close-to-the-vest Reid is a master of revealing what he, and only he wants the press to know. During his tenure, the Eagles have won more, showed amazing consistency and ability to overcome injuries, and have restocked their lineup with speed and agility in the past six seasons. If there are a group of men who can calm the storm and part the Delaware to lead the Eagles to the NFL's Promised Land, it is the Eagles coaching staff.

Donovan McNabb: He had lost three consecutive NFC Championship games, and allegedly needed assistance from FredEx Mitchell to call plays in the closing moment of a Super Bowl loss. At times, he can make a football sink with sharpness and regularity that could put Roger Clemens' "Mr. Splitty" to shame. He runs too much. He's black.

Yadda Yadda Yadda! The fact remains, the Eagles arethe NFC's winningest team this century, and McNabb is the straw that stirs the cocktails on Broad and Pattison. Few quarterbacks in the league have the knowledge and comfort level of their offense as D-Mac possesses. Even fewer are as adept at buying time in the pocket and finding an open receiver for a big gain at critical junctions of a game. And while not as frequent a sight as in the past, no one short of Michael Vick brings fear into the heart of defenders with the threat of breaking from the pocket for a big gain. These factors will allow the youth on the Eagles offense to rapidly acclimate themselves to Childress' system.

The Wide Receivers: Terrell Owens is Terrell Owens, and contract squabbles or not, remains arguably the most exciting and versatile wide receiver in the game today. Greg Lewis and rookie Reggie Brown simply form a better pair of receivers than Todd Pinkston and Freddy Mitchell could dream of being. Back-ups Billy McMullen and Darnerian McCants are huge targets with good speed and sure hands. This unit is a threat to score from any position on the field, and will be giving opposing defenses fits the entire season.

The Offensive Line: Shawn Andrews and John Runyan are two road-graders on the right side that will provide giant running lanes for wonder-weapon Brian Westbrook and his new sidekick, Ryan Moats. (Who, in the suds-crafter's estimation, will develop into the most fearsome one-two punch from any NFL backfield.) Tra Thomas and Artis Hicks will continue to provide security for McNabb's backside. This group has quietly gelled into one of the most formidable front walls in the league.

The Defense: One noticeable improvement will become readily apparent in the opening games of the season: the Eagles will be able to stop the run consistently. Starters Hollis Thomas and Darwin Walker in combination with frequently rotated backups Sam Rayburn, Paul Grasmanis and rookie Mike Patterson form a great deal of beef to protect MLB Jeremiah Trotter, and allow him to make plays. Jevon Kearse will be back to his freakish ways on the end, and the return of N.D. Kalu gives the Eagles pass-pressuring ability par excellence.

The secondary was essentially the starting Pro Bowl unit last season, has gained more experience, and is still a young group. This group is filled with willing hitters, and defensive coordinator Jimmy Johnson's blitz packages will utilize this to the fullest. Look for the Eagles to at or near the top of the league in fewest points allowed once again.

Tangibles and Intangibles: David Akers is as automatic as a kicker can get in an outdoor stadium. We have yet to see the full range of this man's leg. Jason Short and rookie Jeremy Thornburg are two head-hunters who will put the "special" in the Eagles special teams.

While the rest of the NFC East has improved during the past off-season, they have not bridged the gap sufficiently between themselves and Philadelphia. The Panthers appear to be the sole road-block to the Eagles' run to Detroit and Super Bowl XXXX. This year's schedule includes four games against the anemic NFC West, and four more vs. the Jekyll and Hyde AFC West. The aging Packers and questionable Rams fill out what on paper seems to be another 12-4 season, and home-field advantage in the playoffs.

And lest we forget, the Legendary 12th Man. We, the fans, are hungry for a Lombardi, and recognize that our beloved Eagles are indeed the class of the NFC. As my fellow Eagles Blogger Erin says, "This is the Year of the Birds!"

Until next time, avoid the rush, and make your plans for February in Mo-Town!

If you have an Eagles blog, send me the address and I will keep an eye on it for postings and links.

Jim

Speaking of Welbourn

2005-09-05T00:39:00.000-04:00

Headline: Welbourn suspended four games for steroids.

And he, like Rafael Palmeiro, doesn't know how they got into his system.

It must be some sort of insanity plea.

According to the Kansas City Star Web site, Welbourn said, “I’m not very happy about it," and refused to comment further.

Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said: “It hurts him, and it hurts us. It’s a shame. I believe him. He appealed it and didn’t win the appeal. He passed a lie-detector test, but he didn’t win the appeal. He fought it, and he lost. It doesn’t matter if it was taken accidentally or something was in something he took that wasn’t marked on the bottle. It doesn’t matter. There’s no tolerance, and we’ll have to live with that."

Another former Eagle that coach Andy Reid can smile about.

Goodbye Hugh

2005-09-05T00:36:00.000-04:00

Former Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas will be missed, but most fans understand the time had come. He was cut on Saturday and the blogs and message boards were smoking almost immediately.

For every 10 posts that agreed with the Eagles move, there was one that felt Douglas should not have cut.

And it was one of those that led Donnie Brasco to write this on Igglephans:

i concur, the eagles will not make the playoffs due to this travesty of a move. How dare they cut Hugh, i mean he is funny as hell. ... This [organization] just can't ever make the right choices can they? I mean look how great Emmons, Welbourn, Taylor, Vincent and FredEx just to name a FEW are doing. How can they keep making these dumb ass player moves and still win?

Good point, Donnie!

Beating up on Jimmy

2005-09-04T23:54:00.000-04:00

The Phillies have lost two straight to the Nationals and the bloggers are looking to blame it on someone.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins seems to be moving up the chart of targets.

Here are a couple of examples from after Saturday night's loss:

From Beer Leaguer:

The Phils blew several golden opportunities to score, including two bases-loaded chances that fell into the lap of Jimmy Rollins. With two outs in the fifth, Rollins popped up the first pitch to end the threat, and in the 11th, J-Roll made it easy for struggling reliever Gary Majewski, chasing high and grounding into a fielder’s choice with one out.

Rollins has been a clueless hitter this season: buckling, hacking, twirling. His .679 OPS is the lowest it’s been since May 31. He’s logged 70 more at bats than the next highest teammate, Bobby Abreu, but his approach is among the most amateur on the team.

The broadcast crew will point to his streak of consecutive games reaching base safely, but that’s a bogus number. He’s been dense to his leadoff responsibilities ever since the Phils asserted themselves into the playoff hunt.

And another one from the Philling Station:

Ouch
Jimmy Rollins was just about hitting his stride this time last season, last night he fell below even David Bell on many a Phans' list of their favorite Phils.

Jimmy came up twice with the bases loaded and each time his notorious lack of plate discipline spelled the end of a potential rally. In the fifth inning, after pinch hitter Michael Tucker walked to load the bases with two outs, Rollins skied the first offering from John Patterson to center field.

Then with one out in the top of the eleventh and the bases loaded, it seemed as if J-Roll had learned his lesson. Relief pitcher Gary Majewski was wild, having hit Todd Pratt in the ribcage and then doing the near impossible by actually walking pinch hitter Endy Chavez. J-Roll took two pitches for balls, and then inexplicably swung at balls out of the strike zone, grounding into a fielder's choice at home plate. Kenny Lofton, who should really be sat down in favor of Jason Michaels this afternoon, then grounded weakly into his own inning ending fielder's choice.

And another ... from Swing and a Miss:

In the top of the eleventh the Phillies loaded the bases with one out, but Jimmy Rollins failed to deliver, grounding to Brad Wilkerson, who threw home for the easy force. It was a classic Rollins at-bat as he fouled off at least two eye-level pitches out of the strike zone that would have resulted in a walk forcing in a run. Even Endy Chavez, who preceded him, showed far more plate discipline than Rollins, drawing a walk to load the bases. Kenny Lofton followed Rollins and grounded to short to end the inning.

Rollins is 27 years old and a six-year veteran. It appears highly unlikely he will ever develop the kind of discipline necessary to be a productive hitter let alone leadoff batter. Instead, he will muddle along somewhere in the middle of the pack, neither great nor lousy, but always maddening.

Eagles cut Parry, add Gordon

2005-09-04T14:03:00.000-04:00

This comes from Inquirer Eagles beat writer Bob Brookover:

The Eagles finally got the big running back they were looking for today when they claimed former Miami Dolphin Lamar Gordon off waivers.

The Eagles had been searching for a bigger back since Correll Buckhalter was lost for the season to a knee injury. Gordon will replace on the roster Philadelphia native Bruce Perry, who was released today.

Gordon, 6-foot-1 and 228 pounds, was released by the Dolphins yesterday. He had been acquired by Miami from the St. Louis Rams for a 2005 third-round draft choice last season after Ricky Williams unexpectedly left the team just before training camp.
Williams returned this season and the Dolphins drafted Auburn running back Ronnie Brown in the first round. Gordon, who played in just three games last season, had also fallen behind Sammy Morris on the Miami depth chart. Morris replaced Gordon as Miami’s top back last season after Gordon dislocated his shoulder.

Even in his brief time with the Dolphins last season he was not very effective. He ran 35 times for 64 yards, a 1.8-yard per wcarry average. In fairness, Miami was a team with few weapons.

In two seasons with the Rams, Gordon ran 136 times for 526 yards and two touchdowns. The North Dakota State product also has two career touchdown receptions.

FredEx doesn't deliver ... again

2005-09-02T12:12:00.000-04:00

Eagles coach Andy Reid had seen and heard enough and dumped the flamboyant, talent-challenged Freddie Mitchell after last season.

Today, Dick Vermiel did the same thing to Mitchell, before he played a regular season game for the Kansas City Chiefs. In fact, before he played a preseason game. Mitchell had been injured in training camp, but chose not to have knee surgery, which most certainly would have protected a spot on the team.

Now that he has been released, Mitchell said that he would go have the surgery in hopes of rejoining the Chiefs, according to the Kansas City Star.

Freddie has a bad habit of making bad decisions and this is just another one.

Scoreboard watching

2005-09-02T11:32:00.000-04:00

With each September game of the Phillies season, there is a great anxiety of what is going on between the lines and in stadiums across the land.

The days of questioning general manager Ed Wade and ownership are gone. The roster is set. It has been left to the players and manager Charlie Manuel to get this thing done.

It is like watching a heart monitor ... up ... down ... up ... down...

When you are not watching the Phils, you will be watching the scoreboards. Checking for the Marlins, Astros, Mets and Nationals.

The Phillies have the sportscape to themselves for the next week. The media magnifying glass turns to them as the Eagles make their final preparations for a regular season that begins Sept. 12.

What will that pressure mean to the Phils? Their history is to fold. Will it happen again?

Give me your thoughts.

Quick hits

2005-09-01T18:35:00.000-04:00

If you are waiting for anything live from the Eagles game, forget about it. I don't think they showed up.

USC red-shirt senior quarterback Matt Leinart came back for his last year of football eligibity even though he is done with undergraduate work. He still has to attend at least one class, so he chose ballroom dancing. Not only is he a stud to all of the co-eds, now he'll be attractive to the "mature" set. May I cut in?

Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro has decided to wear earplugs so as not to hear the boos from the fans. Maybe he should have tried them when he was hearing the voices in his head telling him to take steroids.

A David Wells apology does not carry much weight. He does, but his words do not.

Former Eagle Corey Simon didn't waste any time finding another team that loses in really big games.

The Phillies took care of business against the Mets, taking two of three. Next up: Houston.

How come Koy Detmer looks so bad every time he plays quarterback?

Temple getting 31 points against Arizona State. Take the Sun Devils and run.
Temple's schedule is tough ... if you're Temple.

The San Antonio Spurs add Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel. The rich just got richer. That is a deep bench. Where is Billy King? Oh yeah, something about a honeymoon.

Dodgers outfielder Milton Bradley is a bad man. Enough said.

Forbes magazine says the Eagles franchise is worth $952 million, fourth behind the Redskins, Cowboys and Patriots. That's not going to go over to well with T.O.

Definition of cruel and usual punishment: Coaches that call timeouts in preseason games.

T.O. lands radio show ... in Miami

2005-09-01T11:37:00.000-04:00

Eagles receiver Terrell Owens may have been quiet since his return to the Eagles last month, but don't expect that to last.

Owens is teaming up with a radio station in Miami (790 The Ticket) and Miami Herald columnist Dan Le Batard to do a regular segment on Friday afternoons. Starting on Sept. 9, Le Batard, the host of the 4 p.m.-7 p.m. weekday show, will have Owens on for a 20-25 minute segment, beginning at 5 p.m.

Why Miami?

"He didn't want to do anything in Philadelphia," Le Batard said. "[Owens] and I have done some stuff together, and he is comfortable with that. He knows that I will be asking him the tough questions."

Le Batard said that he and Owens also will take calls from listeners.

Don't worry Eagles fans, you will get your shot. Le Batard's show is available on the Internet at www.790theticket.com.

"Yes, we'll take calls from Philly," Le Batard said. "He is expecting that."

According to 790 The Ticket spokesman Alan Brown, there have been two requests from the Philadelphia market to syndicate the program.

Station manager Bob DeBlois confirmed that WPEN 950 AM, changing from oldies to a sports-talk radio format on Oct. 3, has called to inquire about regularly running the segment. The other is Comcast, according to Brown.

"We know we have lightning rod here," Brown said. "We are trying to see what we can get for it."

Brett and Chase beat up Pedro

2005-09-01T09:24:00.000-04:00

Phillies starter Brett Myers did his job. Mets starter Pedro Martinez did not.

Struggling to find velocity and home plate, Martinez gave up four home runs, two to Chase Utley and the Phils are alone again on top of the wild-card standings.

So much of September baseball is going to be on the starting pitching and the Phillies need exactly what they got from Myers last night. He can't be the only one to deliver.

"This was a big win," said Charlie Manuel in a gross understatement. "From here on out, they're all big."

It falls to Jon Lieber tonight and the offense that is very inconsistent against left-handed pitching. The Mets will throw future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine, who is 2-2 with a 1.91 ERA in his last four starts. In the two losses, the Mets offense failed, scoring a total of two runs. Lieber also is 2-2 in his last four starts, with a 3.76 ERA.

Ryan Howard hits only .139 against lefties and Utley is at .242.

In keeping with my original prediction, the Mets take this one and the Phillies head to Washington still atop the wild-card standings.

WIP vs. WPEN: Competitive sports talk?

2005-08-31T16:14:00.000-04:00

Tony Bruno vs. Angelo Cataldi.

Jody McDonald vs. Howard Eskin.

Jim Rome vs. Cuz and Mike

WIP 610 (and its stable of former Inquirer sports writers) has had its way in the market for a long time. Will that change with last week's announcement that Greater Media Inc. will convert WPEN (950-AM) from oldies to sports talk on Oct. 3?

WPEN is bringing back Philly boys Tony Bruno and Jody McDonald. Bruno will go head-to-head against Angelo Cataldi and his morning team, and Jody Mac will take on Howard Eskin in the afternoon drive (3 p.m.- 7 p.m.)

WPEN also announced last week that it will air Jim Rome's nationally syndicated show from noon to 3 p.m.

McDonald most recently was at WFAN in New York and just launched a satellite radio show from noon to 3 p.m. on Sirius.

Here is the lastest release from WPEN, which came out today at 5 p.m.

Philadelphia, PA: Greater Media Philadelphia is pleased to announce legendary sports personality Tony Bruno has been recruited to do mornings at the new Sports Talk 950. He will officially take over the radio airwaves weekday mornings from 9am - 12noon beginning on October 3rd, 2005.

Bruno has been called "possibly the best sports talk show host in America" by the Los Angeles Times. His career started at the age of 17 at WIFI in Philadelphia and a year later was working at the legendary pop station WFIL. Thirty-five years later, he has achieved what most sports broadcasters can only dream about.

Tony launched Sports Radio WIP as well as two networks - the ESPN Radio Network in 1992 from Bristol, Connecticut and eight years later launched FOX Sports Radio in Los Angeles.

"We are thrilled Tony has decided to join our team. He is the perfect player to kick off weekday mornings on Sports Talk 950. I cannot think of a better choice than Tony to give Philly sports fans the latest news and views they want to know about," said Station Manager Bob Deblois.

The new interview-based, sports/talk oriented format will provide listeners with a new choice to hear the very best sports variety; facts,
information and talk in Philadelphia.

"Wow! Philadelphia is my hometown, and it'll be great for my family, friends and supporters to get to hear how the local kid made good with the kind of sports talk they're not used to getting. I live and breathe Philly sports and am proud all the hard work has led this to finally becoming a reality, "said Bruno.

He added, "I'm back on Philly radio and on a legendary station like 950 WPEN. I know this much, no one knows how the fans think, tick and breathe better than me. It's the best sports town in America and now I get the chance to show them how great sports talk radio really sounds."

WPEN is owned and operated by Greater Media Philadelphia, a subsidiary of Greater Media, Inc., the parent company of 19 AM and FM radio stations in the Boston, Detroit, New Jersey and Philadelphia markets. It also owns a modern printing plant and a group of weekly newspapers in central New Jersey as well as several telecommunications towers located throughout the United States.

For more information, please contact Heidi Raphael, Director of
Corporate Communications at 248-591-6864 or
hraphael@greatermediadetroit.com.

There is another choice now. Will you listen?

Bullish on Billy

2005-08-31T10:13:00.000-04:00

It was about a month ago that closer Billy Wagner gave the Phillies a deadline of August 31 to re-sign him or else he would become a free agent.

Today is August 31 and he is still unsigned. To complicate matters for the Phillies, Wagner is doing what he does second-best ... talk. Of course, what he does best is close games.

Wagner addressed the drooling New York media yesterday and this is what came out in today's New York Post.

Under the headline, "Wagner: I'd play here", Billy said he would consider playing for the Mets based on the improvement they have made under manager Willie Randolph and general manager Omar Minaya.

"Looking at how Mr. Randolph and how their organization has brought in a lot of talent and they're very competitive, it's a very competitive division, they're only going to get better," Wagner said. "As a player, when you play for a great city like Philadelphia or New York and you win there, you're always the golden child. That's just the way it is. Every player wants to be remembered, and to get remembered in a place like Philadelphia or New York it's not a one-year deal."

Where does that leave the Phillies? Wagner said his agent and the front office are still negotiating.

Does that mean it will happen today? Is the deadline a deadline or just a guideline?

One thing is for certain, Wagner will be turning up the heat and it won't be on his fastball.

No relief

2005-08-31T09:58:00.000-04:00

When I handicapped the Phillies-Mets series yesterday, I focused on the starting pitching and did not give Robinson Tejeda the benefit of the doubt. Well, he did his job and it was the bullpen that failed.

Ryan Madson and Ugueth Urbina, so strong this season in allowing the Phils to get to Billy Wagner, failed last night.

The losing streak has reached three in a row and tonight Pedro Martinez will be on the hill for the Mets. Unbeatable? No. Beatable? Not likely.

Last night's game was the Phillies' best chance. With Martinez and lefty Tom Glavine up next, the Phillies offense is sure to struggle.