In the aftermath of the nightmare scenario that unfolded tonight at the Wachovia Center, many people will be quick to indict the officials for putting the Flyers behind the 8-ball for nearly half of the opening period.  While assigning blame towards the officiating is convenient, the refusal to pin the blame anywhere but squarely on the shoulders of Dan Carcillo is entirely misguided. His foolish, selfish acts cost the Flyers game and served as a chilling reminder to fans that this team has much deeper issues than the guy who wears the suit behind the bench.

Matt Bradley appeared to drop his gloves and willingly engage Carcillo and sure, as a fighter Carcillo is looking to punch the other guy first. But like everything else at the highest level of professional hockey, things happened quickly and it was a split second judgment if Bradley had in fact dropped his gloves in time. In all likelihood, if he hadn’t gone down like a ton of bricks, the Flyers were probably looking at one, two-minute powerplay against. But Bradley did go down and the whole thing occurred too quickly for the refs to judge correctly.

The aftermath of the punch heard round South Philly: what was Dan Carcillo thinking? Ironically, I thought he was among the most active Flyers in the first half of the first period, along with the goal scorer Pyorala and Oskars Bartulis. Yet when Bradley finished his check along the boards, Carcillo felt the need to react as if the Washington forward was Materazzi to his Zidane. The team had done well to respond to the early Caps goal and level the score only to watch Carcillo throw away the momentum with an egregious lack of discipline. Unlike his much ballyhooed fight with Max Talbot in last year’s playoffs, there was simply no way to defend his actions on this occasion. Get up, take his number and clean him out later in the game if you get your chance. By engaging Bradley after already taking the initial retaliation penalty, Carcillo once again showed the side of his game the organization has gambled he can control.  Nevermind the fact that by permanently removing himself from the game Carcillo shortened the bench by a man, a detriment to a team that had just spent an eternity killing penalties.

Yes the goaltending was porous as the combination of Ray Emery and Brian Boucher was about as air-tight as an open plastic bag. And sure the wheels seemed to fall apart after the second Washington goal. But it’s been a recurring theme for the better part of two seasons: the Flyers continue to take stupid penalties and put the onus on the penalty killers to turn in long shifts. I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of John Stevens the coach and I fully supported the coaching change. Yet regardless of where you stand on the Stevens debate, he doesn’t put on skates and pads—the players play and the coaches coach. The bonehead penalties and selfish plays simply have to stop.

Additionally, the fans that cheered Carcillo off the ice are clueless (Sidenote, they are the same ones that applauded when referee Stephane Auger took a puck up high near his face). I love nothing more than a good hockey fight…when it’s necessary or comes as a result of the flow of a game. Aggression is good when dispensed appropriately and due to his poor judgment, Carcillo will likely face a multiple game suspension from the NHL. In my opinion, that’s not entirely a bad thing.

It will be interesting to see how Laviolette handles the team over the next few days, including what is sure to be a very tense game in Montreal on Monday.

We’re pretty big soccer fans at PhillyPhaithful and until the Union arrive, we’ll continue to make due with waking up at 7:30am to watch HD games on ESPN. In case you’re crazy enough to do the same–though good beer tastes more pure in the AM–or have interest in doing so, here are our thoughts on the weekend slate of games in Jolly Olde England…

The Beautiful Game

Hull City-West Ham: If the Premier League was like the NFL and there were blackout rules for home games that failed to sell out, I imagine this game would never see the light of day on Sky Sports 6. Which means, naturally, it will end up as the most entertaining. I predicted a draw against Stoke last go-round with Hull, yet even in my optimism I did not see Phil Brown’s charges picking up a full casket of points against the Potters. West Ham seem to have the talent to be consistently in mid-table, as well as a positive thinking manager with loads of desire. Sidenote: Wouldn’t a reality show featuring Carlton Cole and Gianfranco Zola be the most entertaining bit of television that side of Gordon Ramsay? Regardless, I’m sticking with the belief that this match has 87 minutes of boring with 5 minutes of drama at the end. Late sub Jozy steals the three points at the death and promptly oversleeps his alarm for training tomorrow.

Birmingham-Fulham: Credit to the Blues: they’ve faced Arsenal (A), Sunderland (H), Man City (H) and Liverpool (A) in their last four and lost only one of those, collecting 5 against-the-odds points. Birmingham only have one player worth watching, the enigmatic Cristian Benitez, AKA Chucho. He’s like a little Ron Artest without the whole punching people thing and making crappy albums. Despite the lack of talent–let alone depth–they have been a tough out. Fulham, when they’re not in the middle of acquiring the better part of the Scandinavia landmass, have been much improved on the road. This is highly unusual considering they were apt to losing everywhere away from Craven Cottage in previous years, promoted sides be damned. However, despite Bobby Zamora’s best efforts to prevent victory at all costs, Fulham should continue their strong road play and take full points.

Sunderland-Arsenal: On paper, it seems a gimme for the Gunners. But Sunderland are a different team under Steve Bruce, who did much more with much less as manager of Wigan. The absence of Kenwyne Jones this weekend stings–Sunderland will need to take its chances even though Arsenal’s defense has conceded 14 goals this term, more than each of the other top 5 squads in the league. Without the services of Robin van Persie, whose ankle is apparently being medicated by a Serbian healer, Arsenal will look to their own Balkan healer, Eduardo, to continue their rich vein of form. On a somewhat related note, does anyone else enjoy the character of Arsene Wenger as much as I do? After spending time abroad, my friends and I developed a scale of how much you look like somebody should from that country. Frenchman Wenger would be a 10–meaning you could easily see him eating nothing but crusty bread and drinking the best Pinot Noir in his Burgundy vineyard estate. Also 10s: Gareth Southgate (England), Andriy Voronin (Ukraine) and Steve Stiffler (America). Any suggestions for the opposite end of the spectrum, someone you can’t believe is from that country? Eduardo (Croatia) always make me laugh despite the naturalization.

Stoke-Portsmouth (LOCK): Rumors out of the South Coast that Portsmouth boss Paul Hart doesn’t want to bring in former Wigan striker and Dep 7: Extra Hold supporter Amr Zaki from Egyptian side Zamalek, despite the two sides apparently agreeing on a fee. Watching Zaki on the same pitch as Stoke winger Tuncay might be too much unintentional humor for my heart. It’s no fluke Stoke are in the top half of the table, even if Tony Pulis is moonlighting as a substitute high school math teacher. Pompey has been better of late, but not good enough to win in the Potteries.

Liverpool-Man City: Is there not a player more mercurial by definition then one Fernando Torres, El Nino? It’s entirely possible for him to have a hat trick by halftime or leave gingerly holding his groin. At least his hair is a consistent participant. Even without his involvement, I feel the return of inspirational skipper Steven Gerrard will propel the Reds to victory, sparing Rafa further blushes. This game non-withstanding, you have to wonder how long City’s one-time, game-changing signing Robinho will continue to spend time watching with an ankle injury. Maybe he should catch up with van Persie. This game promises to be a doozy, if for no other than I’m waking up at 7:30am to watch it.

Owen Coyle is the new you

Burnley-Aston Villa: Like fellow newboys Birmingham, Burnley have managed to keep themselves right in the thick of things by limiting shellackings and riding strong home form. Owen Coyle is Phil Brown, circa 2008, minus the Just For Men goatee and Motorola straight-from-the-box headset. Aston Villa are nearing the return of Stewart Downing (who really should be spelling his name Stuart as I instinctively typed before realizing my error), which will give them transfer window results before the transfer window. Villa started strong last season and were in 3rd spot as late as February before the lack of depth in their squad began to take its toll. The recent time off will serve them well. No slip ups here against a game Burnley squad.

Man United-Everton: Apart from maybe Wenger, can you imagine there being a larger character in the league then Sir Alex? First he’s getting fined for calling the officials fat-asses, now he’s claiming Wayne Rooney is simply not ready to captain United, despite already captaining his country. My personal opinion is irrelevant, but seems strange for Ferguson to even bring it up. United aren’t nearly as dynamic a team as they were with Portuguese Ken leading the lines and their backline is woefully inconsistent considering Nemanja Vidic gets a red card every fourth game. While amusing to see standing next to each other, both Jo and Marouane Felliani have been a disappoinment this season for Everton and not even Tim Cahill will be enough to overcome an inspired Rooney, playing against his former team and to a lesser degree, one would imagine his manager’s assertions.

Chelsea-Wolves: It speaks to the strength of Chelsea’s squad that they will be without the likes of Lampard, Drogba, Ballack and Deco and will still field a team that should be heavily favored to win at home. It also speaks to the quality of Wolves when the main headline out of their camp is that they’re being boosted by the return of right-back Kevin Foley. Yeah. Exactly. Missing out on a chance to watch Drogba in his current form is unfortunate for those in attendance. He’s really been nothing short of dominant despite spending nearly 33 percent of each game on the ground.It will be interesting to see if younger, fringe players like Daniel Sturridge get a run-out for the Blues.

Really packing them in at the Reebok

Bolton-Blackburn Draw: Big Sam returns to his former stomping grounds with major worries about the psychological and physical state of his midfield Keith Andrews. Remarkable that Paul Ince got at least one thing right in his time at Rovers, as Andrews was a major force for his country against France in their disputed World Cup Playoff. If he can’t play, it will likely hurt Blackburn in midfield. In the other dugout, it seems like every time someone calls for the ritualistic eating of Gary Megson’s first born, his team responds. Bolton seem destined to live dangerously close to the drop zone all season, stringing together inconsistent performances until the very end. This should be a very physical game and I’m going with a draw.

Tottenham-Wigan: More fallout from the Irish losing in France should include Robbie Keane playing a massive role in the result. A motivated Keane-O makes for good viewing, preferably complete with cartwheels and 2nd grade shooting of the finger guns. The good news from Spurs is that keeper Carlo Cudicini is out of the hospital after his nasty motorbike accident and it appears that while he’ll miss the remainder of the season, he should be fit to resume his career in the future. I am yet to get a good read on Wigan and new manager Roberto Martinez, though they seem to be strong enough to finish safely midtable if they don’t run into an injury bug.

My High School Aged Cousins’ Team-Whoever they’re playing: Despite knowing very little about soccer strategy, my Uncle–and team coach–loves nothing more than yelling out randoms forms of vocal encouragement in the hopes that it will spur his guys and girls to victory. I’m betting they respond by largely ignoring him and dominating the competition anyways.

We’ll have NFL Picks up tomorrow in the AM. Enjoy the weekend.

I have not been this agitated by a sporting event in all my life. I’ve been more depressed, more heartbroken; but never this frustrated.

As a fan, I have skewed more towards the camp of continued support during the entire Reid tenure.  Between Reid and McNabb, there has been more unwarranted criticism thrown around then in any head coach/star player combo in the league. Regardless of what you think of either coach or quarterback, they have remarkable longevity as a tandem…

…oh wait. I’m sorry. Longevity is what we’re celebrating? In our case, isn’t that simply an extended period of well-chronicled failures and a woeful inadequacy to solve similar problems? By the similar, I mean exactly the same.

Donovan McNabb seems like a lovely person and a great guy to spend a day with watching football. I would hope our children play rec league sports together so I could joke with Donovan about the spot of the ball, the rebound or the goal. I bet he hosts wonderful Sunday BBQs with endless waterfalls of Chunky soup.

Andy Reid seems burdened and unhappy but I imagine that due to his shear girth and unwavering support of full mustaches, he has enjoyed good times in the past. He does a number of things very well, including earning the respect of his players and handling himself incredibly professionally at all times–in spite of a challenging personal situation that nobody would have begrudged him leaving the NFL to handle. But this is unmistakeably a business. A very big business at that. And what ruins the business of an NFL team?

When you run into the same exact problem week after week after week…

And your fans literally have NO clue which team will show up on Sunday…

And your coach believes it is a mandatory rule to use at least one timeout in each quarter of the game…

And your team gets a REAL, Pro-Bowl Caliber Fullback, yet refuses to use him to block under any circumstances…

And the man calling your plays is the same guy who opted for the WIND in the overtime coin toss…

And that same man calling your plays also declined a penalty in the same sudden death overtime that would have GIVEN HIS TEAM THE BALL! Yes. Let that sink in…

(This man was subsequently fired by the Detroit Lions…)

And your $57 million cornerback doesn’t know how to tackle…

And your $47 million free agent tackle gets straight benched in Week 2…

And his brother is a legitimate candidate for a Psych ward…

And 3rd and 1 feels longer than 4th and 26…

And you almost forget Michael Vick is on the team…

And your entire fan-base sincerely believes–mind you with conviction–that the presence of a 36-year old safety who is addicted to Wolverine would render all of the above obsolete.

The Gold Standard in what exactly? Steadfastly refusing to recognize problems that have existed as long as the current regime has been in place? When will the stubbornness end? There are no longer excuses to make about the personnel. It is deep enough to overcome the injuries. It is talented enough to go toe-to-toe with almost anyone in the league. Yet every week, the same thing. Today, they knew coming into the game that they were shorthanded on the O-line, yet they ran the ball 13 times against 56 passes. 13 times. They had nearly two and half times as many yards in penalties (70) as they did in rushing (29). That’s astounding, but far from unusual in these parts.

Case and point. Thom Brennaman was literally taken aback when the Eagles handed the ball off today. You could have told him that Tom Brady retired today, effective immediately, and joined the professional Bass Fishing tour. He likely wouldn’t have reacted much differently.

Eldra Buckley was given the ball on 3rd and Goal from the 1-yard line. Eldra Buckley carried one time today. That was it. This is an Eagles team that scored 9 points in a loss to Oakland. The same Oakland who lost the previous week 44-7 to New York. Said Antonio Pierce of that game, “We’re playing [the Raiders] and, honestly, it felt like a scrimmage, like a practice”. A week after the Eagles win, those Raiders, buoyed with new found confidence in their abilities promptly lost 38-0. At home. To the now 4-5 Jets.

I could go on until I broke the keyboard, but I can say with authority I would rather see them change the coaching staff and go 5-11 or 6-10 competing every game with intensity and preparedness for multiple situations than to have to suffer through another agonizing late-season roller coaster ride. I’m fed up with the tease and I’m fed up feeling like every Sunday is my personal version of Groundhog Day. That’s it. That’s all.

PhillyPhaithful fans,

First and foremost we want to thank you for your support of our company during this, our inaugural summer. We can honestly say that without your unrelenting passion for your teams and this city, we wouldn’t be doing what we do–namely make tees that mock pathetic Mets fans and Cindy Crosby.

After last night, we know that you feel a bitter mix of disappointment and frustration with our season ending just short of hoisting the trophy for a second consecutive year. But losing last night doesn’t take anything away from what we accomplished this summer and fall.

The memory of Jimmy Rollins’ clutch 2-out double off a terribly nervous Jonathan Broxton (thank you Matt Stairs) will never fade.

Watching Charlie Manuel manage his players as people–and not the reverse–will always inspire us to treat each other with respect.

And the golden pipes of Harry the K will echo into eternity. Win or lose.

As a token of our appreciation, we would like to offer all of our fans a 20% off coupon on any order from PhillyPhaithful.com. Just enter the code ‘fanforever’ (all lowercase, case sensitive) into the box at checkout and hit apply changes, and you’ll see the discount. All orders include free shipping, so whether you’ve already purchased a tee from us before or are trying us for the first time, we want to welcome you to our extended Philadelphia sports family. We are all fans.

Best,
Dan Hershberg
President, PhillyPhaithful.com

…of the Phillies’ dramatic win,

…of the Eagles embarrassing loss,

…of the 76ers dynamic preseason start (no really, enjoy the wins while we can),

…the Flyers made a minor trade that is worth discussion.

Acquiring Stefan Legein from Columbus for Michael Ratchuk might not post a large number on the Richter scale. Nor do AHL trades get me particularly riled up. However, let’s take a closer look at this deal.

For those who aren’t familiar with the back story, Legein actually quit hockey entirely about 1.5 years ago, which caused somewhat of a stir amongst Canadian hockey circles. He’s a young guy–still only 20–and was coming off of a promising junior career. Watching him play with Canada in the World Juniors, he stood out as the consummate high energy pest with above average skill. As a 2nd round pick of Columbus, the team was caught almost completely off guard when he decide to hang up his skates. Having seen him play at a high level, I too was a bit surprised as his was a name  well known in hockey circles.

However, since the abrupt retirement, he had a change of heart and returned to the organization in the middle of last season. Playing with Syracuse–the Jackets’ AHL affiliate–he had a pretty rough go of it, potting only 1 goal in 26 games. But from everything I’ve read, his conditioning/game readiness was lacking due to taking off half of a season and joining up late. Essentially, it seems to me a classic case of young man temporarily overwhelmed by the pressure to be a star when he’s not ready. I don’t think Columbus was expecting him to step into their lineup right away–in fact, he’s still somewhat in prospect stage. But he’s definitely got upside. It will be interesting to see what type of numbers he puts up in a full season.

Ideally, he projects out to be a Scottie Upshall type player: plus skater, good instincts, average to above average skills and very much an agitator. The type of player the Flyers have missed since they shipped Scottie off to the desert. Legein’s not like Steve Downie with regards to recklessness, but he certainly plays with an edge and he’ll have to walk that line and play smart hockey to be effective. Otherwise, he won’t sniff the ice if he’s playing for a coach who is looking for discipline. That being said, it’s a solid move by Holmgren who is clearly a proponent of second chances.

Ratchuk has a decent skill set and moving him signals to me that Kevin Marshall and Marc-Andre Bourdon are progressing well in the AHL. It’s amazing to look the Flyers’  defensive depth now on all levels. Previously, Ratchuk would have been given more time to develop but apparently the organization feels very strongly that they’d rather have a RW with upside in the pipeline. I can’t argue with them on that. Regardless, this move won’t pay dividends now, but is one worth monitoring in the future.

Plenty to smile about

Sure, it wasn’t a complete game shutout to top that of James Anthony Happ from the previous night. And no, it wasn’t as dominant an outing as he twirled down by the bay six days prior.

In fact, despite his 9 strikeouts, Cliff Lee was far from overpowering this afternoon in front of yet another packed house down by Broad and Pattison. He allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in four of seven innings and needed 112 pitches to pitch those frames.  But that’s what made his efforts all the more impressive. In a start where he didn’t have best stuff and had some trouble putting batters away early in the count, Lee battled and chalked up yet another stellar outing from a pitching staff that has been the strength of the ballclub since the calendar turned to July.

It’s also strange that I haven’t heard a whole about Roy Halladay since last Friday.

WHAT CAUGHT OUR EYE

• The more you watch Charlie Manuel manage this Phils squad, the more you appreciate what he brings to the table.  Example #1: Jimmy Rollins. It seemed that only fairly recently J-Roll was scuffling along, mired in an 0-28 drought. Charlie resisted (with the exception of a start or two) the temptation from the fickle Philly Phaithful and kept J-Roll atop the lineup, confident as always that he’d bounce back like Robert Downey Jr., minus the copious amounts of substance abuse. Baseball is all about routines and how you keep on your game over the course of a grueling 162-games season (hopefully this includes growing mullets and/or mustaches), and lesser men have wavered under the pressure. Do you really think the consistency of Uncle Charlie’s lineup card has nothing to do with the team’s success? When players know how to prepare, they can focus on what they need to do to succeed and that slow-talking, funny-walking managerial genuis understands that better than most.
• Is it just me or does T-Mac’s knowledge of each ball girl–by name–kind of creep you out? It would feel a lot more harmless if he didn’t insist on working these tidbits into his normal pattern of speech. “So J-Roll at the plate. He’s 1-4 on the day, average up to .247. Lines one down the first base line, foul. Nice pickup there by Anna Maria Consiglio of Cherry Hill as she makes the back hand play and tosses it to the fan. Rollins digs in for the next pitch.” Huh? They didn’t even pan the camera down there. By all accounts, T-Mac is a stand-up guy put in an awfully tough position to supercede a legend in this town and the game of baseball. But please, drop the regular references to the young ladies.
• Watching a gimpy Shane Victorino out there today made me a bit nervous. If he is anything less than 100% for our playoff charge, it would be a massive blow to this team. He and Rollins bring so much energy to this team, much like Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo did for the Marlins in the mid 2000’s. Except our guys hit for power, play Gold Glove defense and presumably are hilarious in the clubhouse. With Ben Francisco–Francisco! That’s fun to say!-in the fold, I wouldn’t be opposed to giving the Flyin’ Hawaiian a few days of rest to ensure his health for the stretch run.
• I would love to have heard what Rollins barked at Lee after he made up for his fielding error with a similar play on a ground ball a few innings later. The cameras caught Lee turn towards J-Roll and break into an ear-to-ear grin. Some ideas: “Cliff, even Jamie Moyer makes that play. With a walker.” Or, “How’s the energy at the field-formerly-known-as-Jacobs on Thursday afternoon tilts? O-H! I, O!” “

Phils get a big chance this weekend to put the struggling Marlins–coming off a sweep by the Nationals–down for the count with 3 games at the bank. Jumbo Joe and his magical chin beard get the ball tomorrow in the series opener against Ricky Nolasco. 7pm yo.

…is not Raul Ibañez.

No, it is not the man who has replaced a true Phillie legend–both on and off the field–in a fashion that has exceeded even the most optimistic of our wildest dreams.

Nor is it Uncle Charlie, who despite more adoration and acclaim than at any point in his career, has done absolutely nothing different than before. It’s just that we’re finally paying attention.

And it is not the reinvigoration of the immensely talented and consistently motivated Jimmy Rollins, whose ability to swing the stick has finally begun to catch up to the wizardry he possesses in his glove.

As a matter of fact, in order to understand the key to the Phillies’ success during this winning streak which has finally jump-started their season, you have to look no further than a simple personnel realignment.

Welcome to the starting rotation J.A. Happ! How would you feel about being best starter on the World Phuckin’ Champs while Cole Hamels attempts to regain his World Series MVP form? In your first full season in the bigs, by the way. And you’ll take the mound in new Yankee Stadium on a nationally televised FOX game to begin this assignment. Thanks.

Welcome to the ‘Pen Chan Ho! How about this. Be as GOOD in relief as you were HORRIBLE in the rotation. And simultaneously become my favorite character on a weekly HD-sports television show that follows the pulse of the summer in this city right now? Good talk. See ya out there.

Yes, the switch that should have occurred out of Spring Training, if it were not for a very public promise by Ruben Amaro, finally took place on May 19th.  Since that change, the team has gone 33-22, including the current doozy of a 10-game streak. Take nothing away from Joe Blanton, whose performance in the past ten starts has been stellar. But the decision to abandon the ‘Please wake the entire nation of South Korea at 3am every 5th day’ plan and bring in J.A. Happ was the catalyst. On a tangential note, does anyone remember the point when his name stopped being Jay. A.? I’m convinced it was only changed because Sarge mispronounced it and the rest of the guys rolled with it.

How big a deal was the move? Just look at the numbers.

As a starter, Happ is 5-0 with a 2.74 ERA. He’s allowed 47 hits in 51 2/3 innings, with only 10 gopherballs in the rotation, best of the staff. Brett Myers had allowed SEVENTEEN bombs–Seventeen? yikes–in only ten starts. To sum up how successful Happ has been as a member of the rotation consider this. Not only is his name being prominently mentioned as a potential Rookie of the Year candidate, but he’s apparently being discussed as a centerpiece of a Roy Halladay-to-Philly deal…if the Phils refuse to include Kyle Drabek. Oh. And wait. There is a LEGITIMATE and strong sentiment amongst a growing core of Phillies fans that they don’t want the organization to include him in a trade. For Roy Halladay. I repeat. The Philadelphia Phillies could hypothetically refuse to make a deal with Toronto to acquire Roy Halladay because they didn’t want to include J.A. Happ and a large section of the fan base would be in agreement with this decision. That this is even a discussion is a testament to how good Happ has been.

As a reliever, Park has an ERA of just north of 2.00, including a 1.84 ERA in his last 24 2/3 innings. This is the same pitcher–albeit with a much better goatee–who gave up twenty runs in his first twenty innings as a starter. It’s a truly astounding turnaround for a player most people seemed to be rooting against from Day 1 in Philly. And he’s not just scraping by either. Consider this. In his 21 relief appearances, he’s registered an impressive TWELVE multi-strikeout games, including a stretch of ten such outings in twelve appearances . He’s been a tremendous asset to Uncle Charlie and R$ch Dubee for his pure filth and his ability to go multiple innings, prompting me to wonder: Wouldn’t a Chan Ho Park ‘5-Hour Energy’ commercial be the greatest thirty seconds in television history? Watching him do long toss and get fatigued only to have Scott Eyre’s beard grab him a small bottle full of B-Vitamins for Energy and Amino Acids, for FOCUS! Instant revitalization. There would be no trip to the fridge on that one.

Wow we sucked in April, huh Chopper?

Most importantly, Happ’s emergence as a top-of-the-rotation presence has lifted the early-season pressure off of Blanton, slotted Jamie Moyer a spot back and allowed Hamels’ struggles to go largely undissected, which one can argue convincingly that Cole deserves after the load he carried last year. Concurrently, Park’s success has eased the burden on the back end of the bullpen. His efforts to add to Shane Victorino’s All-Star vote totals should also not go unnoticed.

To field a World Champion baseball team, you need contributions from everyone. See Jenkins, Geoff (2008): Leadoff double in World Series Game 5, Part II. The most significant contribution to the 2009 Phillies is yet to be determined. It could be Chase and J-Roll connecting on a once-in-a-season type of double play to win a ball game. It could be Brad Lidge regaining his Lights Out form and harnessing his ‘Eric Hinske, thanks for coming out’ pitch. Eric Bruntlett could shave his beard. Or release himself.  Doc Halladay could be our CC-to-the-Brewers all over again. Except without any pesky Hawaiian, Little-League helmet wearing grand slams.

But if we are able to look back on this season with the same sentiment as the still-fresh-in-our-minds feeling we had last Fall, the event that could have very well sparked the run that has us dancing again was nothing more than a simple switch of departments for a couple of crucial employees.

MMMM...Tastes Like Weekend

For those of you who might have missed out on some of the nuggets in the world of sports from this past weekend, here’s what had us talking…

PEDRO MARTINEZ: I have to be honest that when I initially heard of the Phils interest in Pedro, I was really hoping for a short courtship. You know, like Ruben Amaro takes Pedro to a lovely, intimate Italian cucina and they share red wine and great conversation, but when it comes to the the after-dinner portion of the evening, Amaro declines coming upstairs for coffee…but politely takes Pedro’s number so as not to look like a jerkoff.

However, the more I think about the signing, the more I like it. Jim Salisbury has a really interesting read in today’s Inquirer that outlines the story behind Pedro’s addition to the squad. Of the reasons presented in the article–decreased price tag, Martinez’s fitness level/dedication to workouts, simple necessity–two points jump out to me.

1) His fastball was clocked between 86-91 consistently at his workouts for Phillies staff. While his breaking stuff remains superb (one anonymous Phillie described Martinez as still having ‘funkiness and deception to his pitches’ the last couple of years), you can’t keep hitters off your slow stuff if you can’t keep them honest with your fastball. For anyone who doubts this, witness Jamie Moyer at age 87 still winning baseball games. Ryan Madson’s emergence as a lights outs, ‘Bridge to Lidge’ last season was a direct result of added 3-4 MPH to his fastball. If Martinez can regularly hit 88-91, he still has a shot of being effective

2) Pure motivation. One thing we can’t doubt about Martinez is his competitive spirit and will to win. Having already backed off his (slightly ridiculous) contract demands to sign for a cut-rate $1 million, his incentive to join the Phils is clearly to get another ring. And for those who are concerned about Martinez’s reputation for being a clubhouse diva, is it not clear by now that Charlie Manuel runs a pretty organized group of professionals? Martinez is in the ideal environment, with little to no pressure and lowered expectations that have literally been stated for the world to hear.

I’m not saying Martinez is the key to the continued success of the pitching staff (a guy named Halladay might have a role in that), but stranger things have happened then a 37-year old Mets castoff leading the Phils to a repeat.

SOCCER SATURDAY: I’ve been a big fan of the English Premier League now for a quite a number of years, so I was interested to see in how Chelsea looked in their preseason friendly with MLS side Seattle. While the transfer window has proven to be a bit more quiet than usual for the London outfit, they still boast a roster full of International stars and the 2-0 scoreline in their favor certainly won’t surprise many outside of Seattle. However, what I was impressed with was the atmosphere at Qwest Field and the show put on by the fans of the MLS Expansion team. From the get-go, a full house of nearly 65,000 fans made the environment feel decidely un-exhibition like, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by the Chelsea players.

“It was probably the best pre-season atmosphere I’ve ever played in, for sure,” [Chelsea midfielder Frank] Lampard said, “The Seattle team tried to play good football, created a few chances and were unlucky not to score really.”

Clearly starved for a sporting success at any level–How ’bout the OKC Thunder?–the city of Seattle did an amazing job in furthering the belief amongst soccer fans in this country that perhaps the sport is in fact growing in popularity and that the surprising success of the US National Men’s team at the Confederations Cup will have a more lasting effect. Speaking of the USMNT, the team won a somewhat uneven performance in Philadelphia over Panama at the Gold Cup. The atmosphere was very different inside the Linc in comparison to Seattle, but that shouldn’t be an indictment of the support for the game in the tri-state region. I’ll wait until I haul down to Chester for the first time to see the Union before making any rash judgments.

Holy shit. No rain?

OLD MAN CAN STILL SWING THE WRENCHES…FOR 71 HOLES EDITION: Golf is hard. Tom Watson is old. So naturally he almost wins the British Open Championship. No matter your allegiances, you couldn’t help but feel like you just got punched in the gut watching him blow the 8-footer at the last before self-destructing in the playoff. Hard not to like Stewart Cink (cliched praises to Jesus post-win aside) but it would have been nice for the AARP crowd to get one in the books.

QUICK HITS

• When did Andriy Schevchenko become Andriy Voronin? Although this picture is better. Life in the Ukraine looks incredibly comfortable
• Don’t you love it when announcers heap love on David Wright’s game? Sure I can’t hate on him because the guy apparently ‘does everything’…Everything that is, but win baseball games.
• What a great bit of luck for the Phillies to get rained out of a Josh Johnson start…and that once the game was called it actually STOPPED raining! Karma 1, Marlins 0.
• Did anyone see the contest Southwest Airlines is running to ‘Play Ball with Nolan Ryan?’ Sounds great and all, but do you really want to step in the batter’s box against the dude responsible for the single most hilarious ass-whooping of all time? Must. Find. Way. To. Purchase. And. Frame. That. Photograph.
• Lost in the Mets actually winning a game yesterday was the fact that the ultra-talented yet ultra-idiotic Yunel Escobar found another way to make Bobby Cox want to eject himself from a baseball game. Escobar–who has been the most consistent bat in the Braves lineup–is in serious danger of getting a new zip code after missing a sign for a hit-and-run that resulted in teammate Diory Hernandez getting thrown out by a mile at second base. Escobar’s priceless response (which by the way, was translated from Spanish by Mike Gonzalez as apparently Escobar spends too much time frosting his tips to learn English) to the line of questioning? “Talk to me when I get three hits.”
• I leave you with the pure hilarity is this video. Cowboys haters, enjoy.

LET’S GO PHILS!

I wrote a short blurb on the Allen Iverson situation a few days back but wanted to share an interesting article by Adam Stanco over at NaismithLives.com. It’s sad to think that Iverson’s lack of interest (until the recent courtship by the Clippers…really?) could be largely self-inflicted by the posturing and pouting of the past season in Detroit. Sure he’s had plenty of well-documented troubles in his career, but I think for the majority of 76ers fans–and Philadelphians in general–that it would be a shame for such a talented and intriguing superstar to go out on someone else’s terms.

Check out the full article here. It’s a really solid read.

OTHER PHILLY SPORTS NEWS AND NOTES

• The Flyers make a signing that could change the balance of power in the East. Not sure how far East though
• I don’t know if I speak for anyone else, but I really couldn’t give two shits about the All-Star game. The fact that Bud Selig decided to have the game determine homefield advantage in the World Series makes me feel a bit guilty for not caring, but I lived with a Jewish mother for 18 years. Guilt alone won’t get it done.
• The more this drags on, the more I become convinced the Phillies need to make the Roy Halladay deal at nearly any cost.
• Welcome to Philly, Pedro Martinez. You have my full support until you give up 8 runs to the Nationals.

As passionate sports fans, we often find that our emotional well-being is just a little too tightly connected to the fate that befalls our favorite team(s). When they win, food tastes better. The sky is bluer. Beer tastes colder.

When they lose, the opposite takes effect. The food never satisfies your hunger. It rains all the time. The beer is skunked.

While rational thinking human beings should theoretically allow themselves to place sporting events in context–in other words, limiting the highs and mitigating the lows–being a sports fan grants us the rare opportunity to be irrational, largely without repercussions (though don’t tell this to your family and close friends). In what other context is it OK not to shave for two months because Ron Hextall has a playoff save percentage of .945? Could we really refuse to sit at a certain cubicle at work because the Eagles lose every time we sit there on a Friday before a game? Have you ever arrived at the parking lot of a family function 6 hours in advance with your chest painted and proceeded to slug a dozen cans of PBR?

For those of us who had yet to witness a championship, getting our first taste of winning was a justification of sorts for the patience we’ve shown over the years in our town and our teams. It was a wonderful reinvigoration to a fanbase grown tired of failed promises and unrealized expectations. The Phillies World Series title was nothing short of a cathartic experience, cleansing all the negative energy that had surrounded the team and Philadelphia sports in the 25 years since we could claim a championship and make it our own.

What’s interesting is that the Phillies were the team to break the drought.

The Phils’ historical futility has been well documented. Between 1994 and 2006 they had zero playoff appearances and finished on average, 19.5 games out of first place each season. Many summers the mere thought of playing .500 baseball–or god forbid contending for the postseason!–would have sent Phils fans into a tizzy.

And yet across the street lies the home of the “Gold Standard”. Over that same stretch, the Eagles reached the playoffs eight times, including four trips to the NFC championship game and one Super Bowl appearance. Though they failed to win the big one, it’s fair to say the team was consistently in the running year in and year out for a very extended period of time.

This got me wondering.

Would you rather have your favorite team win one championship in a 10-year period otherwise filled with losing or spend the same period consistently winning everything but the last game of the season?

My assumption would be that Philadelphians would lean toward the former considering the recent developments in our sporting culture. However, there are many variables to the question that make it far from cut and dry. It’s easy to look back at the Phillies’ World Series victory and conveniently forget the mountain of (painful) losses endured on the way to the top. Conversely, it’s easy to be angry with the Eagles for losing four of five trips to the NFC Championship game while ignoring the fact that more Sundays than not they came out on top, often in convincing fashion.

In a nutshell, hindsight is 20-20. But if you were given the choice and knew full well in advance of the above scenario, would you still choose one good year in a decade of futility? I’m curious to know what the Philly Phaithful thinks…please leave comments below!

P.S. We’ve extended the “Because it’s still better than Jose Mesa” sale–20% off all Brad Lidge products–through the all-star break. Pick up a shirt and look good when he turns it around for good!