Colbert's Got Balls

Big brass ones. Stephen Colbert performed at the Correspondent's Dinner last night and tore it up, slamming many things about President Bush's presidency. While The Colbert Report has been written about before, this needss mentioning:

"It is my privilege to celebrate this president. Because we're not so different, he and I. We both get it. Guys like us, we're not some brainiacs on the nerd patrol. We go straight from the gut. Right, sir? That's where the truth lies, right down here in the gut. Did you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than in your head? Now I know somebody will say I did look it up and that's not true. That's because you looked it up in a book. Next time look it up in your gut. My gut tells me that's how our nervous system works."

He mentions his various beliefs, including, "I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq. Ladies and gentlemen, believe in yogurt. I refuse to believe it's not butter. I believe in this president. I know there are some polls out there that say this man has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in reality. Reality, that's a well known liberal bias."

How can anyone not love this guy's humor? It's satirical, silly and thought-provoking all at the same time. Smart and stupid is a hard mix to perfect, and he's by far become the best in the biz at it.

Vote Early and Often for Balls, Sticks, & Stuff

The venerable Balls, Sticks, & Stuff is up for the weekly 'feature blog' nomination on Philly Future, and boy does it deserve it. It has largelly surpassed the other Phillies blogs(or Phlogs as they like to call them) through its analysis which combines baseball knowledge and newer statistcal data. They've also created the 'Phloggers Pheed', which has become a terrific tool to streamline one's time on the internet. Now one can get their Phillies info all in one site (no, not Phillies.com). Make sure to stop over at the Philly Future poll and vote Balls, Sticks, & Stuff! It ends Sunday.

Texans Don't Pick Bush, Leinart, Young

Meet your #1 pick for the 2006 NFL draft: North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams. The Houston Texans have decided to go with defense early, and will likely stay with the David Carr-Dominick Davis-Andre Johnson trio on offense. Mario and his 6'7 frame got a 6 year, 54 million dollar deal! 6 years....54 million. Ok. Make sure to stay healthy there Mario, and turn down any pickup basketball invites.

Game 22: Phillies Ballclub at Pittsburgh Pirates

The Battle of Pennsylvania!!!!!!!!!!!

-- Brett Myers does NOT have an 7+ ERA (3.04). The only other starting pitcher below a 7 ERA is Cory Lidle (4.74). However, his WHIP is 1.48, and while this has been said before on this blog, soon enough one of those has to give. Here's hoping it's the WHIP that goes down.

-- Jimmy Rollins' OPS is down below 700, bottoming out at 681. His OBP is a putrid 309.

-- The lineup is in stark contrast with itself, with Abreu, Utley, Howard and Burrell taking pitches, getting walks, and hitting for power, and the other spectrum being Rollins, Rowand, Lieberthal, Bell and Fasano not working counts, not hitting for power and largelly not getting on base. There seems to be a large chasm between the good part of the offense and the struggling part.

- The Pirates are very bad, with no offense, little pitching and a bad manager. However, they don't seem to have much coming for the rest of the year, unless many of the young guys suddenly develop at once. At least they're starting Craig Wilson now. You have to love their quinessential lineup of CF, SS, LF, RF, 1B, 3B, 2B, C, P. Who needs a manager when we can just plug that in?

Pitchers: Brett Myers(2-0 3.04 ERA 1.48 WHIP) v Ian Snell (0-2 7.71 ERA 1.90 WHIP)

Phillies
SS Rollins
2B Utley
RF Abreu
LF Burrell
1B Howard
CF Rowand
3B Bell
C Lieberthal
SP Myers

PIRATES
CF Duffy
SS Wilson
LF Bay
RF Burnitz
1B Wilson
3B Randa
2B Castillo
C Paulino
SP Snell

Lower Merion Letting the Riff-Raff In

I woke up this morning to read my usual suburban-version of the Philadelphia Inquirer and noticed that Lower Merion Township, vaunted home of the original 'Main Line', is letting the riff-raff in. Here is an excerpt from the scandalous article:
But this being Lower Merion, where the median household income in 1999 was $86,373, twice that of the nation, the notion of a middle-income wage earner is, well, relative.

Which is why the town has stepped forward with tax incentive finance, a unique way to subsidize housing for the middle class. Under the program - which does not involve federal dollars - a family of three can make up to $76,000 and still qualify for one of the five units being offered in Ardmore.

A couple can make up to a slightly more modest $68,000 a year.

Folks earning that much elsewhere wouldn't be seen as needing financial help with homes, but they do in Lower Merion.

It disgusts me to no end to see my venerable home be defiled by hoi polloi. Ardmore used to be a place to live, where the median household income MEANT something. It has been a thorn in my side for years that we still had rowhomes in this fair township, and now they are BUILDING more!!! This so-called subsidized housing will surely bring with it crime, as these ruffians making 68,000 a year must steal to survive in the Main Line.

The fact that they already live in Lower Merion only strengthens my view! Why, just two weeks ago I noted a local tough carousing around 8pm outside my home, and proceeding to spit onto my finely manicured lawn! Pedro worked all day to make the grass just SO, and this hooligan simply showed no respect to his work and my money.

Lower Merion is going to hell in a handbasket, and these politicans are to blame. They bring in the lower-classes when the market has deemed this place to be a millionaire's haven. Frankly, I'm offended they pay so little attention to locals such as myelf. My family has lived here for generations and, while I have no personally worked, worked hard to build our five million dollar mansion. Letting these lower middle-class AT BEST in here by subsidizing their housing insults me and insults the natural aristocracy.

Know your place, people.

Respectfully yours, J.P. Woolworth-Pennyfeather IV

Boxing Still Exists

Yes, the rumors are true. Boxing does, in fact, still exist. Saturday's HBO bout between Vladimir Klitschko and Chris Byrd ended with Klitschko destroying Byrd . He was simply too small to get close to Klitschko, and had lost some of the speed he had earlier in his career. Klitschko kept Byrd at bay with his left, and pummeled him with punches.

But now to the good stuff!!! The Sovereign Center in Reading, PA is hosting a big Friday Night Fights undercard on May 12th. Local product Travis Kaufmann (4-0) is going to face David Saulsberry (3-0). It's good to see boxing make the jump once again, and hopefully the realistic pricing will bring out the fans. Tickets start at $25 , going up to $65.

The glorious sport of bashing another man's skull marches on. What can we say? We love a good beating, and so does the American public. They just seemed to have forgotten.

Drinking Liberally Doesn't Need Joke Titles

It is its own little joke title, so it doesn't need one. Anyway, let me pass this on, as it's been a good time in the past and is only going to get better this Thursday. Reading's Drinking Liberally group is meeting at The Works tomorrow at 6pm, and the usual crowd is being littered with candidates! Here's a list of the current confirmed candidates:

Chuck Pennacchio, Alan Sandals, Bob Casey staff (U.S. Senate)
Lois Murphy, Mike Leibowitz (U.S. 6th District)
Lois Herr staff, John Murphy (U.S. 16th District)
Gene Stilp, Valerie McDonald Roberts (Lt. Governor)
John Liss (PA Senate 48th District)
Bill Mackey (PA House 124th)
Tim Seip (PA House 125th)
Irv Livingood, John DelCollo, Dante Santoni (PA House 126th)
Russ Hummel (PA House 128th)
Bill Evans (PA House 129th)
Dave Kessler (PA House 130th)
Archie Follweiler (PA House 187th)
Tom Herman, Don Raifsnider, Jr., Allyn Swavely (County Democratic Chair)



One doesn't even have to drink! I've yet to drink any beer there, and several of the patrons have been sippers at best. It's basically a good way to have a good time with similar-minded people. So come on out. Contact Dan 'the drinking way too liberally' man for more info here: reading@drinkingliberally.org

Sneak Attack!

Although the Phillies lost last night 7-6, you can be sure that one Phillie was going all-out!! Shane Victorino with the sneak attack on his takeout slide:

Chris Wheeler = Owned

First came the Chris Wheeler Glossary. It was a compiling of the infamous Phillies broadcaster's favorite sayings. Here's an excerpt:

• He's All Class - Any person with substantial time in baseball, even if he's a horse's rear
• He's A Ballplayer - see He Plays The Game The Right Way
• He's A Great Baseball Man - He won't talk to me
• He's Just Trying So Hard To Make A Play Out There - A Guy Who Plays The Game The Right Way has attempted and failed at making a boneheaded play

So, Wheels isn't well-liked, that much we established. Then came Wheels Bingo, with two different cards which are playable during games!
And now? Fox Trot cartoons about Wheels' strange opinions on baseball. An unfunny comic is turned hilarious due to the talents of the poster Woody on philliesphans.com. Enjoy (click to enlarge):

We Need More Bobby Abreus

Bobby Abreu has come out firing this year, unlike last year. He has a 305 average, 442 OBP, and 576 slugging thus far, netting 4 doubles, 4 homers, and 3 steals. He also leads the team in runs (15), walks (16), and RBIs (15, with Chase Utley). He's also now walked in 10 straight games. The guy is simply getting it DONE, and he's doing it while also putting the ball in play a lot (9 Ks), if that matters to you.

Now, the entire team has a 256 collective average, 325 OBP and 439 slugging. The slugging is actually above last year's, but the OBP has dipped 23 points. This is where the offense is lacking. They're 15th in the NL in runs, 12th in OBP, 11th in walks, and 14th in pitches per plate appearance (3.64, compared to league-leading Milwaukee with 4.01). All these even take into account that Bobby Abreu himself counts towards these numbers, so imagine the numbers without Bobby. One other interesting stat is that the Phillies are 2nd in the league (and majors) in ground ball to flyball ratio (1.51). They are doing the 'little things' like hitting hte ball on the ground and not 'swinging for the fences'. Perhaps this team, littered with guys who can hit 30+ home runs a year, should start swinging for the fences.

The Phillies are simply hacking. They are 11th in the league in walks and 15th in strikeouts (93, compared to Atlanta's league-leading 148). Their lack of pitchers per plate apperance now makes much more sense when one sees these numbers. They are not running deep counts, at all. The main culprits are Jimmy Rollins (3.20), Aaron Rowand (3.16), David Bell (3.15), and Mike Lieberthal (2.93). The top and bottom of the lineup is simply dragging this offense down in regards to running counts and getting on base. One might ask, what about Aaron Rowand's output thus far, which has been good? Well, his OBP is 361 and his average 324, indicating a largelly average-heavy OBP. This is not good for the future, in my view, because if he has a slump at any time this year he will simply not be getting on base in any fashion. This average-heavy OBP has been Rowand's MO throughout his career, as well (285 avg, 338 OBP).

The middle 4 in the lineup are doing fine in regards to taking pitches,
So, what can be done?

1. Bring up Carlos Ruiz to take over some catching duties from Lieberthal and Sal Fasano. Ruiz is hitting 377 with a 410 OBP and slugging 689!!! in 17 games. Sure, his average will not be that high, but even his mediocre walk rate will be better than Lieberthal's, AND he is sporting some major power(4 doubles, 5 homers). He also actually has some speed, and is a good defensive catcher.

2. Play Abraham Nunez and Alex Gonzalez over David Bell. Bell isn't good anymore, in any sense of that word. Play these guys and if they fail, so be it. But the Phillies can't keep running David Bell out there and have assumed to have put their best lineup out there.

3. Drop Rowand to 6th in the lineup, and move everyone else up one. Putting Bobby Abreu in the 2 hole would be perfect, and this ensure that Ryan Howard is batting 5th. Lineup may or may not be important, but it helps a little that the best guys are getting the most atbats.

4. Tell Rollins to start taking some pitches. The hitting streak is over, stop swinging at high fastballs that you can't reach Jimmy.

5. Make Bobby Abreu a hitting coach when he retires, to help tutor younger players and minor leaguers.

Boy Meets World Monday!!!!

It's a new tradition! Boy Meets World Mondays! Duckies!!!

David Bell Can't Hit Anything

I'm going to show how this David Bell guy does against lefties, because I think he just can't hit, period. Whether it's a righty or a lefty, the guy just stinks, and last year was a big abberation:

2001: 707/722
2002: 749/766
2003: 537/589
2004: 811/823
2005: 1.057/547
2006: 636/651

It seems obvious to me which one doesn't belong. STOP PLAYING HIM, PERIOD! And stop playing him against lefties, stop this platoon talk, just give the position to Gonzalez and Nunez for now, not they're that special either. At least they're new.

But hey, he's gritty.

Jon Lieber Isn't This Bad

Jon Lieber has started the season off poorly, compiling a 9.18 ERA and 1.74 WHIP in 3 relatively short starts. His stats certainly look bad, and he has said as much. However, he knows that he isn't pitching as poorly as it looks, and several stats play that out. Part of this poor performance can be explained by taking into account that in 2005 he was a very streaky pitcher:

April (35.2 IP) : 4-1 with a 3.03 ERA and 1.12 WHIP
May - July (101.1 IP): 5-9 with a 5.86 ERA and 1.42 WHIP.
Aug - Oct (81.1 IP): 8-3 with a 2.66 ERA and 0.98 WHIP

Lieber has started the season off poorly this year, and it's possible that it's simply one of his bad streaks, which will end sometime soon. He ended the season well last year, so an improvement would not be some outlier or unrealistic. The big improvement at the end of the year came from the facts that he gave up fewer home runs as the year went on, he improved his K:BB ratio AND luck started to turn his way.

Sure, he has reduced the amount of people he has struck out this year. He's only struck out 8 people in 16.2 innings pitched for 4.32 K per 9 IP, compared to his career average of 6.46 K per 9 IP. This could be due to any number of reasons, but likely a trip to Coors Field so early in the season didn't help him. The immense size of the outfield there KILLS pitchers like Lieber who depend on their defense to a certain extent because many balls drop in and many singles get stretched to doubles, and doubles to triples. He gave up 7 runs (10 hits) in 6.1 IP there, just as he blew up at Coors last year.

Looking at the opponents' batting average, it has leaped from 263 in 2005 to 365 in 2006! This is unlikely to stay this high simply because this is just too extreme a deviation from his career numbers. One could then say that 'his opponents' slugging is high too, though', and that is true. However, take away the inflation in the batting average and the slugging goes down from 527 to 425, which is actually slightly below the 2005 number and his career numbers. Also, right-handed hitters are KILLING him to the tune of a 410 batting average, where last year he held them to a 223 average. This is unlikely to stay that high as well, unless he just pulls an Eric Milton or something and forgets how to pitch.

Bad luck has essentially done Lieber in this year. Our defense, which was supposed to be very good with the addition of Aaron Rowand, has let the pitching down, but especially let Jon down. He has greatly improved his ground ball to fly ball ratio (1.29 last year to 2.00 this year), which would indicate that the Phillies infield has simply not done well in backing up Lieber. There's no reason to think that Lieber will continue to see the defense let him down, or see those ground balls find the cracks. Expect this to change sometime soon, if not tonight. He's no ace, but he's not this bad.

Julio Franco Is Unnatural

The dude is listed as 47 years old and could actually be 2-3 years older than that. He's now playing for his 8th team, the New York Mets. This doesn't include the years he spent in Mexico at the turn of the century. He had several decent years from 2001-2005 with the Atlanta Braves, getting up to bat anywhere from 200 to 300 atbats a year and hovering around an 800 OPS. And last night he hit a key pinch hit 2-run homer in the 8th inning to turn the tide for the Mets. The Padres were winning 2-1 when Franco slammed Scott Linebrink's pitch into the right-field stands.

Franco simply defies nature. Look at how Barry Bonds is breaking down due to various injries and the onset of age. Julio spits in nature's face, then kicks it in the balls. He now sports a 1.089 OPS, though that is in only 7 atbats. The OPS will drop, but for now one must simply admire his ability to stay in the majors and actually contibute to whichever team he's on. The Phils could use a good bat off the bench like Julio (and if people remember, he originally WAS a Phillie). He may be a Met now, but viva la Franco!!

Game 15: Cheap Hats For All!

Great comeback win last night, as has been said earlier, but WTF is tonight's lineup about? I understand Bell randomly hit lefties very well last year, but putting him ahead of Howard (3-9 against leties thus far) and Lieby (who is sporting 353 avg) is a bit much.

They should win tonight regardless, as the lefty Billy Traber is on the hill for the Nationals and hasn't pitched since 2003 due to injuries. He faces Ryan Madson, who sports an extraordinarily high 1.54 WHIP and low 2.77 ERA. One of those stats has to give, and one would hope the former would go down.

Here's the lineups:

Washington
Soriano LF
Vidro 2B
Johnson 1B
Guillen RF
Zimmerman 3B
Church CF
Clayton SS
Schneider C
Traber SP

PHILLIES
Rollins SS
Rowand CF
Abreu RF
Burrell LF
Utley 2B
Bell 3B
Howard 1B
Lieberthal C
Madson SP

Cassidy Loves the Phillies

Old P hats and shirts are cool.

Cordero Picked His Teeth

"He was one of the best clutch hitters I ever saw. Maybe I can get him over here to help us. With the money they pay, I bet I can get him to come out of retirement. I bet he'd hit about .285 to .290," -- Phils manager Charlie Manuel, on 70-year-old Nationals skipper Frank Robinson


Too bad he's nothing special as a manager. The Phils' 7-6 victory last night was certainly facilitated by Robinson not bringing in his best reliever, closer Chad Cordero, to face the meat of their order in either the 8th or 10th inning, but ESPECIALLY when they had the lead in the 8th and Hernandez had obviously lost what he had earlier in the game last night. Instead, Joey Eischen came in and walked 2 guys after Abreu's homer off Hernandez, and then Majewski came in and was stuck. Chad Cordero never saw the rubber, and then in the 10th Robinson went with walk-happy Mike Stanton. Robinson's decision to ignore his best reliever in a close game makes Charlie Manuel's use of the bench(everyone on the bench used by the 8th inning) look like nothing.

Hot Dogs Power Phils To Victory

Phils wins! Phils win! They pull out an improbable comeback, winning 7-6 over the Washington Nationals in the 10th on Ryan Howard's key single off Mike Stanton. Gavin Floyd gave up 6 runs (5 earned) in 6 IP, and the Phils were down 6-3 with only a Ryan Howard home run and David Bell home run to their names before an 8th inning rally. They then tied the game at 6 with a Bobby Abreu 2-run home run and a Dellucci groundout, before the 10th inning game-winner.

All due to the power of the hot dog. Encased pig noses and other leftover body parts, topped with some mustard and lined with stale bread makes for a great night.

GO PHILS!

Hot Dogs Tonight

Delicious, delicious pig leftovers for only a dollar tonight in South Philly. And the Phillies play too. Gavin Floyd faces Livan Hernandez in what is sure to be an interesting game.

They lost big last night, but the game was much closer than the final score indicated. The bullpen coughed it up, and perhaps it is time to starting beating the Yoel Hernandez drum? He's done pretty well in the minors, giving up too many runners but having a good K:BB ratio overall (452 Ks to only 200 walks in 611 IP). The 24 yr old has started off well this year up in AAA Scranton, and deserves a shot when a guy like Geary has blown up in the past week (11.37 ERA 2.68 WHIP). Perhaps don't outright release Geary, but at the very least relegate him to blowouts for a certain amount of time.

Oh, and The Illadelph likes hot dogs too!

Webber/Iverson Roll In Late; Basketball Game Occurs

Yeah the Sixers won tonight, 91-88 against a 3 point shootin' Nets (they threw up 36!). They won on the backs of Andre Iguodala's 27 points on 9-19 shooting and 8 dimes. He was also 1-9 from 3 point land, so maybe the dude could shave off a few of those and maybe shoot 9-15 or something...

But the real story, apparently, is that Allen Iverson and Chris Webber rolled up late to the game, getting into the locker room just as tipoff commenced, instead of the customary 90 minutes before gametime. So, Mo Cheeks was befuddled, bewildered and looking the fool as he called them 'gamers' who were playing through injuries the very moment that he was told neither were there.

After the game, the play of the younger Sixers like Louis Williams and Andre Iguodala were an afterthought as the Howard Eskin question barrage took center-stage instead. He asked Mo the same question 5 times in a row, and Mo responded by saying that he apologizes for the fans but wanted to talk about the game. Instead, we saw perhaps the final breakdown moment for the Philadelphia Sixers legend Mo Cheeks, an embattled man who broke down on the podium a few weeks back as well. He wasn't a very good coach on the court, as he didn't have many offensive plays or defensive sets, and didn't make good decisions with regard to player time, but he didn't deserve this, on Fan Appreciation Night. Mo is an upstanding guy who deserves respect from everyone, especially his players. I'm most disappointed in Allen Iverson, my favorite basketball player of all-time, for reverting to the 'practice?!' mode of disrespecting his coach, and lowering himself in the process.

Mo deserves better. Allen should demand better of himself. And the fans suffer through all of this crap, because a mediocre team can't even give us some enjoyment on Fan Appreciation Night on a night where they actually freaking WIN. It just boggles the mind how bad this looks, and how bad it really is.

As Billy King said (who I think is probably the biggest reason the Sixers suck): "Shit will change next year." If that means trading Allen, a great player and a largelly misunderstood man, then it will have to be done. But hopefully it won't be Billy King making the trade.

This view contradicts what I've written earlier about Iverson, but it may be the best thing for both Iverson and the Sixers.

Game 13: Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies

The Nationals stink. They're just bad, and bound to get worse. Outside of Nick Johnson, they have had little to no offense in the past week, while their pitching has been OK (though partly due to their huge stadium). The Phillies should win 2 of 3, if not sweep, and should do this convincingly. Their lengthy homestand has some very winnable games (3 against Nationals, 3 against the Marlins, 4 against the Rockies) , and will hopefully put the Phils in 2nd place.

Tony Armas Jr. (0-2 3.27) faces Cory Lidle (1-1 4.91)


Washington
Soriano LF
Vidro 2B
Johnson 1B 'lil Bowa'
Ward RF
Zimmerman 3B
Church CF
Clayton SS
Schneider C
Armas Jr. SP


PHILLIES
Rollins SS
Rowand CF
Abreu RF
Burrell LF
Utley 2B
Howard 1B
Bell 3B
Lieberthal C
Lidle SP


Oh yeah, and the Sixers and Flyers play or something.

South Park's Retribution

Reading Phillies: In For A Long Season

At the beginning of the 40th year of the franchise, taking stock of the Reading Phillies seems appropriate. The AA Phillies have a great stadium, a great fan base, a great ownership...and a LOUSY team. On Saturday, the R-Phils faced the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh) on a windy yet serene night, sans a 20 minute rain sprinkling before the game. Brian Mazone, a 29 yr old lefty with not much of a fastball and an average curve, faced a good-contact club in the Curve and held them to 4 hits and one run in 6 innings, with 7 strikeouts and a walk. He didn't have much, but what he did have he used well, changing speeds and throwing his curve as his out-pitch.

The R-Phils offense consisted of a Jim Rushford sac fly in the 1st inning to score Tim Moss, and a 4th inning Angel Chavez home run which also scored Tim Moss. That was all for the bats, as the Curve pitchers held the home team to 6 hits and 2 walks.

The R-Phils bullpen soon coughed up a 3-1 lead. In the 7th inning, Nick Mattioni, a local boy from Twin Valley, gave up a run to cut the deficit to one run, and then Evan Fahrner walked two batters and gave up a 3 run home run to SS Brandon Chaves, which landed on the roof of the right-field pool area. It was a freaking WALLOP of a hit from a rather slugging-deprived hitter. That proved to be the game, as the Reading Phils went down in a whimper in the 9th inning, to lose 5-3.


The Reading Phillies simply do not have much talent. It will be very hard for them to win on nights that Scott Mathieson, Gio Gonzalez, and Daniel Haigwood do not pitch, and even on those nights the offense simply won't amount to much. There are fillers and career minor leaguers at several positions, and prospects such as Michael Bourn, who only pinch hit tonight, and Tim Moss have gotten off to a pretty bad start. Moss went 2-4 with a triple and a stolen base, but only raised his average to .091. You read that correct, he basically tripled his average tonight, as well as his hit total (3). Bourn looked pedestrian at the plate in his atbat, meekly offering at pitches and fighting off some for foul balls but not swinging with any authority. Bourn has 7 hits thus far, all singles, but at least has 8 stolen bases. Hopefully these two guys will straighten themselves out, because without them, this team is hopeless.

There is some hope, though. Jason Jaramillo, the team's catcher, looks good defensively and offensively. He went 0-2 tonight but barely got any pitches to hit, and laid off the ones he couldn't reach. Thus, he had 2 walks. So far this season he's hitting 296 with a 433 OBP and 3 doubles. He skipped high A this season, so hopefully this shows Jaramillo is a ML-type catcher. He definitely has enough of a stick to play at the MLB level. Normally, one could expect him to catch a good amount of games for the pro team in 2007, but you never know with the Philadelphia Phillies, who seem to slow-track almost every prospect.

The Curve didn't seem to have too much either, except for some good relievers and a well-stroking outfielder in Adam Boeve, but the guy is almost 26 yrs old and still in AA. One good note about the Curve roster is that Travis Chapman is starting at third base. Many of you may not have ever heard of Chapman, or may have forgotten about him, but as a Reading Phillies I enjoyed Chapman's output at third in the 2002 season. This was the same year Ryan Madson was the Eastern League pitcher of the year, and a fun year to watch a winning ballclub (76-66). They didn't have many big names on that team, but Chapman provided quite a spark for the offense, 301 with a 388 OBP and jacking 35 doubles and 15 home runs. His unusual batting style, consisting of standing almost on the plate, knees dramatically bent, and waiting until the last possible nanosecond to flick his wrists at the ball, provided much entertainment. After a decent season at AAA Scranton he was left unprotected by the Phils and plucked by the Tigers. He was soon let go and the Royals had hiim for the 2004 season, and the Reds for the 2005 contest. He seems relegated to being a career minor leaguer because he doesn't have the quickest bat, he isn't special in the field and he has little to no speed, but Chapman was a fan favorite, and several of the season ticketholders gave him a good clap when he first came up to bat in the game.

Chapman in 2002's AA All-Star Game

Sometimes little things like a returning favorite can make a pretty dull night an OK one. The Reading Phillies are going to need to rely on many returning favorites if they plan on giving the fans something to go see, because this team just ain't going to do it.

It's Great Just To Be Nominated

So, this blog has been nominated for 'featured blog of the week' over at Philly Future, again. And again, another blog (Whiskey Bar) has jumped to an early, and likely insurmountable, lead. PSoTD is the third blog nominated for being featured, and they will also get some support as well. So, I will prepare my conciliatory speech and my fake smile for when the camera closes in on my losing mug. This blog is soon going to have to renamed itself after Susan Lucci or something if it loses again. Oh well, SMILE!

Sixers/Heat Game Is The Season

The Sixers are tied with the Chicago Bulls for the 8th spot in the playoffs, with 4 games to play. This means that they would be out of the playoffs if they started today, since the Bulls, Pacers and Bucks all have a better conference record than the Sixers. This means the Sixers will have to go 3-1 to have a legit shot at the right to lose to the Pistons, and will probably have to go 4-0 if they plan to outpace the Chicago Bulls, who have very winnable games against the Washington Wizards, the Orlando Magic(who granted are ending the season strong with the youth movement), and the Toronto Raptors. They also play Miami away, so if the Sixers are able to beat the Heat, who says the Bulls couldn't?

Right now, the Sixers MUST win tonight, and then make sure to show up tomorrow against the aforementioned Magic. This falls to Allen Iverson, who must continue his tremendous play and get his teammates involved, while scoring efficiently. They are fighting for their metaphorical lives, and we will find out if they want to live. If they miss the playoffs, someone's head must roll, and hopefully it will fall to the 'mastermind' himself, Billy King. 4 coaches, multiple different lineups, and the only one that sort of worked has been Jim O'Brien's spacing defense and 3-point offense.

Game on.

Oh yeah, and the Phils play tonight too, at 9. They'll win.

Walmart Loves Pat Burrell

A Citizen's Blog gives a thumbs up to Pat Burrell, but says that he is the team's star. I disagree, but hey, of course I'm right.

Walmart has proposed a new store in Lower Heidelberg Township in Berks County. Good thing to, because they only have stores in Muhlenberg, Exeter, Spring (and another proposed), Colebrookdale, Caernarvon, and Ephrata (Lancaster County). Without this new store, 1,000 people in Lower Heidelberg could've had a tough time getting to a Walmart in less than 5 minutes. Thank you for thinking of Berks County, Walmart!

Ricky Gervais was interviewed by the UK GQ Magazine, and says that he enjoys American television more than its British compatriots.

Russ Diamond has now become the one-issue candidate for governor, as the creator of PA Clean Sweep says he will run. Well, at least that's one more issue than Lynn Swann. OHHHH, no I didn't!!!!!!

The Liberals Are Out To Get Us!!!!

Berks County with a Right Hook has simply jumped the shark. From the constant attacks on one man, a local wannabe politician named Stefan Kosikowski, to the bashing of Reading Mayor Tom McMahon for no real reason, to the repeated blaming of the Reading Eagle for everything wrong in Berks County, it's simply gone off the deep end. There is certainly a place for conservative viewpoints in the blogsphere, and especially on a local level, but the vitrol and character assassination simply isn't needed and only ends up distorting the message. This blog touches on Berks County issues from time to time, but so much of its time is taken up with sports that another blog is needed, somewhere, to talk about political issues in Berks County. If anyone has a link to one, from any viewpoint, that is smart and chooses to limit itself from attacking people, float a link in the comments section.


And this bit about liberals in Berks County....where? Where is this big liberal establishment? The Democrats in Berks County are not, for the most part, liberals, nor do they espouse liberal viewpoints on several matters. And there's nothing wrong with this except that the proprietor of the Right Hook blog seems to believe that supposed liberals are supposedly bringing down Berks County economically, culturally and politically. Does the online editor of the Reading Eagle newspaper really have all that much influence? And does anything he writes actually insult anyone, besides President Bush? Does him tackling such issues as pork in Berks County constitute liberal bias, or some common liberal strain in Berks County?

I say no, after having lived in Philadelphia for 4 years, and after growing up in Berks County. Liberalism in Berks County is constrained to pet issues, not over-arching philosophies, and Democrats in Berks County are of the union/blue collar strain which believe in worker's rights and a government which is in a position to improve the quality of life in regards to streets and individual freedoms, not a government that stresses social policies. There's simply been too much of a PA Dutch Lancaster-esque work ethic ideal ingrained in the minds of many people for any 'liberal' establishment to take form, or try to put forth policies which Right Hook fears.

Then there's this business of what a liberal actually is, and what they actually strive for...which is not the same as communism. Right Hook makes little distinction between the two, blurring the lines between them in order to character assassinate certain people. It's simply unbecoming, and wrong.

Now, it is time for some disclosure. I am a registered Democrat in Berks County, and have been for several years now. I voted for John Kerry (D), Mike O'Pake (D), Lois Murphy (D), and Arlen Specter (R). I have interned for Lois Murphy, running for the United States House, for several months now, and intend to vote for her. She can be aptly described as liberal on most issues, and I could be described as perhaps more moderate than her, but concerned with environmental, land use, and city issues above most else. The people that are largelly concerned with these issues are Democrats. So, does that make me a liberal? You can decide for yourself, but to assume that I will then seek to influence Berks County politics in a bad way because of someone else's label of my politics is quite a leap.

Liberals are not bad. Liberalism isn't either. But Berks County doesn't have much of either. There are Democrats and there are Republicans, mostly. These are people with a lot of similar viewpoints on a lot of similar issues, with only party and the urban/rural divide within the county to distinguish the gradations in their viewpoints. Right Hook can be a funny blog written by what seems like a decent guy, and yet can also have some of the vilest character assassinations I've read. Please stop jumping sharks, or I'll have to get the Fonz after you!

Phils/Sixers Updates 3

Phils
10: 35 - PHILS WIN! PHILS WIN! They're now 2-6 and face the Braves one more time tomorrow.

10:24 - Rollins lines a beaner off old man Remlinger's leg, but Remlinger recovers and flicks it to LaRoche for hte out at first. Quite a play and recovery for the Mr. Salt and Pepper.

10:20 - Arthur Rhodes stops the bleeding, striking out pinch-hitter Matt Diaz to end the 8th. However, this leaves no doubt in anyone's mind what Manuel's next move is, which is to bring in the SIXTH pitcher of the night.

10:12 - So Manuel lifted Lidle after 89 pitches in 6 innings, and with Lidle easily sitting the Braves down in the 5th and 6th innings. Then he lifts Geary after two average singles. Now he puts in Cormier who gives up a deep fly out to Brian McCann for the 2nd out in the 8th. And as this is being typed Betemit hits his THIRD double of the night, scoring 2 runs to close the gap 7-5. And Charlie comes out of the dugout again, to bring in his FIFTH pitcher. This bullpen is going to be WORN OUT by August.

10:05 - It's the 8th inning now and the score remains 7-3 with Geoff Geary pitching to Jeff Francoeur. There's no reason to go 1 inning, 1 inning, 1 inning for relievers other than 'that's the way the book says it's done', so obviously Manuel is going that route. No doubt we will see Tom Gordon warming up for the 9th inning, up by 4, soon enough.

Sixers
9:40 - This will be the last entry on the Sixers tonight, because with 5:23 to go in the game they are simply playing out the remaining minutes with bench players like Bradley, Barnes and Louis Williams. They are up 110-85 as Allen Iverson gets 40 points and 10 assists in 37 minutes, Chris Webber gets 18 pts and 11 rebounds, and Andre Iguodala has 10 pts, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Sammy Dalembert sees only 12 minutes in a blowout???? WTF????

Phils
9:38 - Aaron Rowand extends the Phils lead to 6-3 on a nifty little home run shot, scoring Rollins. Lidle actually proves me wrong, basically shutting the Braves down after their big 4th inning and making a decent start out of tonight's performance. Pat Burrell with a homer now, barely getting over the left-center fence! 7-3

Sixers
9:27 - The score is now 101-78 with the Sixers solidly in control of the tempo. Iverson just CAN'T miss, throwing up a leaner where his feet went one way, the rest of his body another and yet the bucket was straight as can be. Hunter then with a great fastbreak slam after some quality passing. Passing, defense and finishing is the name of this game.

9:12 - 3 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter and the Sixers lead 86-67. They keep them at bay with constant pressure on defense and an offense tonight that has crisp passing and good shooting. Iverson up to 32 points on 12-21 shooting and 9 assists.

Phils
9:06 - Lidle has given up 9 hits in 4 innings and is the winning pitcher thus far. He has 72 pitches so he will come out for another inning or two, but this will not be an impressive outing for Lidle. Both Abreu and Burrell have hit high popups off the new lefty reliever Chuck James. Utley goes down for the 1-2-3 inning.

Phils/Sixers Updates

Sixers
9:01 - Sixers go up 77-55 on Allen Iverson's 29th and 30th points of the night. He also has 8 assists. What a night for the Sixers!

Phils
8:58- With 2 outs in the inning, Brian McCann knocks a home run to right-center, making it 4-2 and Wilson Betemit rips a double down the line over Howard. Braves are back in this game. Pinch-hitter Pete Orr rips a triple to left-center now, and this is getting frustrating. The crowd is back into the game, the Braves bench is up and going, and Lidle is hanging pitches over the plate. It's now 4-3 but he gets out of it.

8:47 - Rollins and Sosa battle it out with a double-digit pitch atbat, but Rollins finally flies out to left field, but Rollins is still on a very hot hitting streak. He's 8-19 since his hitting streak was broken. Phils up 4-1 with LaRoche, Francoeur (who is looking TERRIBLE at the plate), and McCann due up in the bottom of the 4th.

Sixers
8:45 - The Sixers are up by 21 at halftime, scoring 67 points and holding the Nets to 46. Iverson has a very quiet 22 points and 7 assists, Webber has his usual first half of 12 pts and 6 boards, and Green, Hunter and Korver combine for 21 bench points on 8-15 shooting. Great game thus far, keep it up.

Phils
8:41 - Bottom of the 3rd, and Cory Lidle is trying to pitch himself out of a jam, freezing Ryan Langerhans on a 3-2 count with a high curveball which was possibly a ball. 2 outs and 2 on with Andruw Jones. He isn't bothering with that thing called the strike zone, throwing two balls not even close to the plate. However, Andruw Jones swings so hard at the third pitch he falls down but pops it up in foul play and Bell ends the inning. David Bell, you and your glorious mullet get a reprieve.

Sixers
8:35 - Iverson to the line as the Sixers go up 57-42 with only 1:50 left in the game. Willie Green, Stephen Hunter and Kyle Korver are having efficient nights off the bench. This team is developing a bench????

8:32pm - With 2:53 left in the 2nd quarter, Webber decides to play his heart out, misses 3 putbacks while trying to put a ball into the net, but finally gets a ball blocked by Nachbar that is called a goaltend. Webber now has 10 points and the Sixers are up 56-38. The Sixers are up in every offensive and defensive category.

Phils/Sixers Updates

Phils
8:19 Brian McCann bops a single to left field, scoring Andruw Jones. It's 4-1 Phils now, and the best 8 hole hitter in the league is up right now, Wilson Betemit. Betemit blasts a shot to deep CF, getting a double but the Braves try to score McCann and he is out by 10 steps at home plate. Slow-ass catchers shouldn't try to stretch it, but it'd be great to see more teams go for home with 2 outs because you're much more likely to score then than if you hold off another batter, because pitchers always have the advantage.

Sixers
8:18 - 42-25 Sixers, and the Nets, minus Kristic, are shooting 20%. Man. Iverson has yet to sit on the bench this game, maybe give him a breather????

Sixers
8::12 - Sixers up by 16 points 37-21, with a 22-5 run...sheesh. Not much more can be said, they are shooting almost 60%, holding the Nets to under 40% and just playing perfect.

Phils
8:06 - Phils go up 4-0!!! Renteria boots a sure out, sending an Aaron Rowand grounder off his glove into CF, scoring two with the bases loaded. Still 2 outs and 2 on with Bobby Abreu up at the plate. Everything from here to the end of the inning is now unearned for Sosa.

Sixers
8:02 - 27-18 with 2 minutes left and the Sixers are playing D???? Green, Iggy and AI are all playing together now, and playing well, running with Webber and Hunter. Dalembert has 2 fouls, and webber isn't doing anything, but hte guards are getting it done on offense AND defense.

Phils
8:00 - Lieberthal with a key double! 2 out 2 run double to help the Phils out. Bell had sweetly popped up the previous atbat, but Mike insisted on scoring runs. The nerve. 2-0 Phils


Phils
7:56 - 0-0 in the top of the 2nd, and the Phils went 1-2-3 in the first, as did the Braves. Sosa's looking much better than he did last year, but this guy is still wild, and as this is being written he walks Chase Utley to lead off the 2nd.

Sixers
7:51 - 19-16 Sixers with 4:54 left in the 1st, and Andre Iguodala is looking pretty confident on offense, taking and making several shots without hesitation. Outside of Kristic, the Nets look pretty pedestrian so far.

Thank God for Remotes: Tonight's Games

Remote controls were created for these exact type of nights, when your favorite two teams are playing at the exact same time in fairly important games. Liveblogging will commence, so says a bum knee.

Phils on cn8: Jorge Sosa v Cory Lidle

Lineups for the Phils/Braves:

Philadelphia Phillies

Rollins SS
Rowand CF
Abreu RF
Burrell LF
Utley 2B
Howard 1B
Bell 3B
Lieberthal C
Lidle SP

ATLANTA BRAVES

Giles 2B
Renteria SS
Langerhans LF
A Jones CF
LaRoche 1B
Francoeur RF
McCann C
Betemit 3B (Chipper Jones injured)
Sosa SP
====================
Sixers on CSN: Allen Iverson v Jason Kidd and Vince Carter

Philadelphia starters: Iverson, Iguodala, Salmons, Webber, Dalembert

NJ Nets starters: Kidd, Carter, Jefferson, Robinson, Kristic

Cookie Monster Gets Caught

Darren Daulton for GM?

A Citizen's Blog asks Does Pat Gillick know what he's doing?

Dutch Daulton is CRFUCKINGAZY!!!!!!

Ten Potential Suitor for Chris Webber, as filed by Jon Burkett at Passion & Pride...make sure to weigh in on the comments section.

Here's a little taste of Entourage, due to come back in June on HBO. This show is pure gold, with the worst character actually being Vinnie Chase, but that's more because of how great Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon and Jeremy Piven act and how they BECOME their characters.

And finally, Chris Berman says 'You're with me, leather'.

All the Cool Kids are Linking

So, Huge Tiny Mistake has had a great start to the week, being linked for it's Bobby A. blub by the ever-popular Philling Station and the blog about blogs Blinq. We've also seen time for our Bob Casey piece, getting the nod from Santorum Blog, of all places. And finally, our piece about PA Demographics got a decent review from A Smoke-Filled Room. Perhaps we should change our headline to 'No big insights here, but some food for thought.'

Back to spreading the love to others, as we link to Balls, Sticks & Stuff and their call for the firing of one Charlie 'from Mayberry' Manuel. Even we may think it could be too early, and it probably won't happen, since they didn't let him go over the off-season. At least give the guy a full month.

Sixers Shots says that Mo Cheeks is a sucky coach.

Vincent Pastore, better known as Big Pussy from The Sopranos, is going on Celebrity Fit Club. They should probably have a Sopranos-only season with all the tub o'lards on that show.

Beer Leaguer tells Ryan Howard to stand closer to the plate...which could be iffy. With such large arms couldn't he crowd himself at the plate??? Who knows.

Berks County needs more pork.

Sixers Prove Adequacy; Bush and Swann Entertained

That's goddamn right they were entertained! The Sixers beat the Wizards 105-97 down at the Wachovia Center tonight, showing their passing skills. Allen Iverson had 26 points on 9-22 shooting but had 15 assists! Count 'em, 15. Andre Iguodala also chipped in with 6 assists, and the rest of the team passed well around the horn. Both Kyle Korver and Stephen Hunter had 20 points tonight, with Hunter shooting a very efficient 8-12 with 8 boards in his career high. Sammy Dalembert had 14 rebounds and 4 blocks, and Willie Green contributed 6 points in 11 minutes.

The rotation tonight was very crisp, with Mo Cheeks giving the majority of the minutes to Iverson (45 minutes), Iguodala (38), Dalembert (37), Hunter (33) and Korver (31). Those 5 played very well together on offense AND defense, with Hunter and Dalembert altering a lot of shots and the team allowing Antawan Jamison and Gilbert Arenas to get their points and no one else. The Wizards played a Sixers-esque game in that regard, shooting under 40% and getting only 3 guys involved on the offensive end.

Iverson, Iguodala, Willie Green, Sammy Dalembert and Kyle Korver ended the game...4 of those 5 guys are young players. It's interesting to see a guy that was out for 80% of the year with an injury (Willie Green) play critical minutes in a game that needed closing out. It’s also interesting to note that Sammy got some key minutes, and some key boards in the game. Maybe Cheeks has finally figured out the value of confidence-building in regards to young NBA players. In the case of guys like Dalembert, Hunter and Korver already getting their money, they need something to strive for more than just that next contract. Let's be honest and realize that athletes that get their money need something extra, and that something is the team...and if they feel like they aren't valued by the team, why bother playing hard???

Shavlik Randolph and Matt Barnes even got some minutes, providing much needed rest for the starters.

The Sixers are coming together, and it is good to see. It will be an intriguing playoff if they finish this season strong. There, it's been said. Huge Tiny Mistake hopes that the Sixers make the playoffs, because playoffs are better than no playoffs. The 5th seed in the East, the Wizards, are one game above .500,and the 6th seed Milwaukee Bucks are one game ahead of the Sixers, so who says the Sixers can't get a little hot at the end and easily leapfrog to the 6th seed to face the Nets?

George Bush and Lynn Swann were entertained. Look at them clapping!!!

Remember this Phillies

And try to repeat this, oh, 90 more times, OK?

Bob Casey Jr. for Senate

Huge Tiny Mistake throws it venerable weight (almost 50 people a day check the site out, we're bigger than Jesus!!!) behind Bob Casey Jr. for the Democratic Primary coming up on May 16th. After considering Chuck Pennachio, a man who loves history like us, and checking out Alan Sandals, the conclusion has been reached that Bob Casey Jr. is the best chance for Democrats to win the state of Pennsylvania and to would be the best option for Senator, regardless of party.

Sure, he may oppose something I like (NAFTA and CAFTA), but his opinion on abortion is more realistic than the other candidates, in that we should be looking to reduce the need for it, and improve the lives of single mothers with childcare, healthcare, etc. Sandals does not even support parental notification, while Pennachio supports only that restriction on abortion. Sandals says on his website that abortion should be 'safe, legal, and rare' and yet takes no actual position to make certain is becomes rarer and rarer. To deny that abortion is a messy thing in our society is naive, and to suggest that families shouldn't make this decision together is also naive. Children under 18, and they are children, simply can't handle abortion alone, and need a support system of their families first, then Planned Parenthood, then family planning, should they choose to keep the child.

Casey also takes a realistic approach to gun control, education, and healthcare reform. While I see nothing bad about universal healthcare, the practical approach to this says that legislation like that would never pass in such a divided Congress, and a more realistic approach is needed.

Sure, Pennachio seems like a decent option, and in another race he may be a viable option. But right now Pennsylvania needs a Senator that will be representative of them, and that is Bob Casey Jr. Alan Sandals seems like a long-shot either way, does not want to put a cap on punitive damage awards in tort cases, and says that the federal government should 'invoke a moratorium on outsourcing'...which cannot be done. That is far too much meddling with the private sector, and outsourcing of jobs is natural and DOES show growth of the economy and the advancement of our nation. Those who worry about outsourcing should look at Pennsylvania's archaic tax structure on corporations and small businesses, not on the trade agreements that help nations grow their economies. Tie human dignity in with trade agreements; don't do away with the agreements. This goes for Pennachio and Casey as well, as both seems rather isolationist on the economy.

Casey's thoughts on the matter of outsourcing have no doubt been influenced by the loss of manufacturing jobs in Scranton, but his realistic approaches to other issues of policy make sense for Pennsylvania and for the nation. One doesn't have to agree with everything a candidate believes, just a lot of it as well as their approach.

We're a Fancy Newish-type Blog

So says Daniel Rubin, of Blinq, as he links to our Bobby piece from yesterday. Go us! And go Daniel! He also notes we ignored the second game of the doubleheader, but sometimes you gotta end the day of posting on a good note.

Balls, Sticks and Stuff gets Albert Einstein to chime in on the situation at third base.

A Citizen's Blog breaks down the Braves, and concludes that the Phils are better. So obviously this means that the Braves will win 2 of 3 against them.

Steve Garvey, because timely pieces about ballplayers from the 70s and 80s never get old, gets blasted by the LA Times, via Deadspin. Personally, this is sort of fun, because it does break down the myth that players are 'worse than ever', but it DOES seem a little like piling on.

Finally, Sixers Shots blows apart the theory that the 'young players don't have heart'. Instead, they largelly blames Mo Cheeks (and a backhanded slap at Chris Webber). LOVE IT!

Simpsons Are Still Funny

Sure, there is little character development left, but after so many freaking seasons, what do you expect?!?!?! They're still funny, let's face it.

Phils Win! Theeeeeeeee Phils Win!!!

The first win of the year happened today behind the bat of one Bobby Abreu, as he slammed a 9th inning, 2 out, full count fastball into the left field stands on a windy day. The Phillies finally win 6-3, ensuring they won't end the day winless, and giving themselves a chance to sweep the doubleheader against the Dodgers.

Ryan Madson had a good start today, going 6 innings and probably would have had the win if some errors and iffy defense behind him hadn't hindered him. Rollins muffed a play, Rowand did, and Abreu did as well. But the offense came through when they needed to, especially Bobby.


Hopefully this gives Bobby some leeway with the haters who insist on saying that he isn't 'clutch', despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, such as his late and close numbers, his RISP numbers, and his runners on numbers. But hey, most people know that hitting counts whether it's in the 1st inning or the 9th, and they also know that haters will continue to claw at people who they wish they were. It's easy to bash someone making 14 million a year as 'lazy' or 'unclutch' because the conversation is entirely one-way. A player making that kind of money can't respond to his critics verbally because that just adds to the haters' fire. They just have to continue to show them up between the lines, which Bobby just did today.

Oh well, enough of that, let's get this sweep!!! Let's head into Atlanta with at least a small 2 game winning streak.

Game 5: POSTPONED

Update: There will be a doubleheader tomorrow down at CBP, starting at 1:05. Let's hope this doesn't negatively affect Madson, getting an extra day off, it'll now be an entire week since he last pitched.

Game 5: LA Dodgers at Philadelphia Phillies Ballclub

- Ryan Madson faces Derek Lowe on the mound.
- The Dodgers' Eric Gagne is possibly out for the season.
- Phils have started the season winless.
- Rain could delay/cancel the game, scheduled to start at 3:05.

Los Angeles NL (2-2)

Furcal SS
Cruz LF
Drew RF
Kent 2B
Loney 1B
Mueller 3B
Repko CF
Navarro C
Lowe SP

PHILLIES (0-4)

Rollins SS
Rowand CF
Abreu RF
Utley 2B
Burrell LF
Howard 1B
Bell 3B
Lieberthal C
Madson SP

Phillies/Sixers/Flyers Tonight

7:00pm Boston Celtics at Philadelphia Allen Iversons on CSN. Allen Iverson plays basketball tonight against the Celtics. In their previous matchup John Salmons single-handedly coughed up the lead. Look for someone else on the team to cough up the lead this time, perhaps Chris Webber.

7:05pm Los Angeles Dodgers at Philadelphia Phillies on CN8. Gavin Floyd makes his debut against Brett Tomko, a very winnable game for the Phillies. Let's hope the bats come out tonight and Floyd pitches better than the first three starters did thus far.

8:00pm Philadelphia Flyers at Buffalo Sabres on UPN 57 Peter Forsberg is out, and Flyers are just playing the season out. However, this may be the Flyers matchup in the playoffs, so showing up tonight would be a good omen.

TIP: Use SEPTA, it's gonna be packed down at the Sports Complex.

Another tip: Use a remote control, if you stay home.

Final tip: To properly prepare for impending losses, make sure something unbreakable is nearby to throw.

Dilbert Makes a Funny, Panties are Twisted

Apparently Scott Adams' April 3rd comic didn't get by some newspaper editors, because they have dirty minds. Only those thinking the worst would interpret this in a 'wrong' manner (but it's infinitely funnier). Click on it to make it easier to read:

Break out the Brooms

That is what the Cardinals did to us. Chris Carpenter didn't pitch well and Jim Edmonds and Juan Encarnacion didn't do much, but Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen hit the ball out of the yard and Jason Marquis and Mark Mulder had competent starts to down the Phillies. The Phils then couldn't hit the Cardinals bullpen, getting only 1 run in 9 and 2/3 innings. They had a chance in the 2nd game against a wild Jason Isringhausen, but Mike Lieberthal had happy feet and swung early in the count. This team is known for its patience and getting on base, and yet Mike swung early in the count after Izzy had given up 2 walks in the inning already. Little things like this can add up to a bad season.

Let's hope they get it turned around against the Dodgers. Game time 7:05

On pace for 159-3

I like Veronica Mars

A TV show about a teenage girl in an Ocean County-like high school??? Surely I'd love that!!! Well, yeah. The thing about this show is that the characters are so well developed, the mysteries are so interesting and tough to figure out, and the storylines are so engrossing that the show works on several levels. One episode can be taken and enjoyed on its own merits, but that same show can be weaved into an over-arcing storyline about murder, deceit, and the peculiar life of one Veronica Mars.

The first season revolved around the murder of her best friend Lilly Kane. In the end, it was the film star Aaron Echolls , who was the father of one of Veronica's revolving love interests in Logan Echolls. The second season is dealing with a bus crash that killed people that a lot of people wanted gone or dead. The insane amount of characters who play vital roles in the central plot and various sub-plots simply engages viewers who enjoy a Lost-type of show, but with much much wittier dialogue. Most jokes can be taken on multiple levels, and that is where the show truly shines in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer-type way. Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, has even called it his favorite show on TV, and for good reason. For a show about a blonde from California, it's no light-headed affair.

Oh yeah, and Kristen Bell is pretty hot, too.

God Can't Get Driver's License

God has been told that he cannot use the name God to get a driver's license. In a related note, the 800 Jesuses in Reading have all had their licenses revoked.

This had to be passed long. There is a new blog on the Reading Eagle website called Black Belt Mama. For its name alone it's worth a look.

Willie Green is back and healthy for the Sixers, and he's already stealing time away from John Salmons. Maybe God can't get a driver's license, but the dude is still working his magic.

The Philadelphia Daily News website makes sure that John Smallwood's column is unreadable by chopping up 3 sentences into about 10 lines of disjointed prose. Good job to whoever runs the site.

Eric Gagne's arm falls off.

The Mets and Nationals almost had a brawl after 4 hit batsmen and several brushbacks caused benches to be cleared. Frank Robinson complained about his pitcher being tossed for throwing a retaliatory HBP, a rule that he helped create.

And finally, the New York Times' website was recently changed to a 5 column setup because the previous website was simply too readable and easy and they couldn't have that, now could they?

PA Demographics: A Discussion

From time to time, being serious is actually fun!!! Huge Tiny Mistake has recently done some work breaking down parts of the great state of Pennsylvania and is seeking some responses from people. To leapfrog to respond to our ideas, please follow the links. Please note that the research was not extensive, as much of the Pittsburgh region of the state was left out simply because we're uninformed there. Much of the Northeast was left out as well, and it'd be great if people with more knowledge in that area would respond.

(skycraperpage discussion)

(PhillyBlog discussion)

Baseball is Universal

It's hard to understand what's going on at first, but halfway through the moment starts to take you in.

Game 2 Update: Rollins Extends Streak to 38

With a good double past a diving Rolen, Rollins extends his streak to 38 straight games. Apologies for the bad photo.

1-0 Phils after Abreu sac flies Rollins in from third base. However, Rowand sac bunted Rollins over to third, basically ensuring that the inning would only have one run potential. It became self-fulfilling after taking the bat out of Rowand's hand, who could've easily gotten a single.

However, Phils are still up after 1.

Game 2: Saint Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies Ballclub

Ryan Howard plays against the lefty Mulder...the first good move by Charlie Manuel. The second...dropping the Bell/Nunez platoon down in the lineup.

Rollins Watch: 37 games and counting...

Saint Louis (1-0)

Eckstein ss
Encarnacion rf
Pujols 1b
Edmonds cf
Rolen 3b
Schumaker lf
Molina c
Miles 2b
Mulder SP

PHILLIES (0-1)

Rollins ss
Rowand cf
Abreu rf
Burrell lf
Utley 2b
Howard 1b
Bell 3b
Lieberthal c
Myers SP

Billy King Prepares to Re-Sign Willie Green

King saw all he had to see last night, when Willie Green came back from injury and scored 9 points in 10 minutes on 4 of 6 shooting. No doubt we will hear of a 4 year 20 milliion dollar deal in the next week or two.

Make sure you nab Johnny Salmons too Billy, we wouldn't want a team like the Bobcats to steal him away from us!!! Better offer 6 years to him, just to make sure.

Oh yeah, and the Sixers lose a close one to the streaking Cavaliers, 124-91. This team is going places!!! They will face the Bulls twice, and will guarantee their fate one way or another. They can be the Pistons sacrificial lamb, or have an unlikely shot at a decent draft slot. Either way, the Sixers are stuck for several years by horrible move after horrible move by Billy King. Passion and Pride had a good rundown last week, but the rundown will probably be added to in the coming offseason.

Go Sixers!

Larry Brown Suicide Watch Day 42

Larry Brown has been downright gloomy while coaching the New York Knickerbockers. Ever since they traded for Steve Francis 42 days ago, Larry has made several public comments bashing his players. This happened in Philadelphia as well, and in other places, but it's never been as fun as now simply because he finally has competition. Stephan Marbury called himself Starbury. He and Larry differed on whether Starbury is healthy or not, with Larry believing that he is and Starbury believing he is not.

Jalen Rose got hurt.

Jerome James got his money and stopped trying.

Steve Francis started weeping over something.

IsiahThomas was and will always be General Manager.

And now, Nate Robinson is shooting spitballs. Yes, you heard that right...spitballs. In fulfilling the role of the old elementary school teacher who is just hanging on until his retirement kicks in, Larry had to reprimand that whipper-snapper Nate for shooting spitballs on the team bus. Maybe they should've put in the Bus Watch cameras and just make it a total elementary school experience.

But Larry has no one to blame but himself. He walked his way out of Detroit, didn't go to Cleveland when he had the chance, and decided to come into a team that had no cap money, no real good young players and no chance. The man is a self-loathing masochist.

Reading Figures It Out

Headline of the Reading Eagle today: Police Must Deter Crime. Glad someone figured it out.

The Illadelph finally announces the 2006 Hottie in local news and it is a relative unknown in Jessica Borg. She beat frontrunners Alycia Lane and Kerri Lee Hackett. She also is free to give Huge Tiny Mistake some love since we voted for her.

A Citizen's Blog decides that the Phils have a good defensive outfield. How much of this is helped by playing in a park that doesn't give up many doubles is up to anyone's guess, but it's good nonetheless.

George Solomon, ESPN's Ombudsman, tells people to lay off Duke Vitale. In other news, George had to touch on nine different topics. Maybe ESPN should hire 5 more Ombudsmans to help ol' George out, this guy must be getting tired trying to talk about all of ESPNs fuckups.

Finally, Frank Fitzpatrick, sports columnist for the Inky, takes a shot at bloggers. And bloggers get upset.

Remembering Jeff Lamana

Jeff, co-creator of Philaphans.com, died this past Saturday of cancer, and there was a good writeup by Mark Kram in the Philadelphia Daily News. Rather than attemp to write about a man I didn't know too much about beyond checking out his message board once in a while, I will simply give you a synopsis from the article and a link to further information about the man. Rest in peace.

The 6-7, 350-pound Lamana was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphona in May 2004, which led to an outpouring of financial help as word of his illness spread among the users of his sites.

The Phillies honored Lamana during a stopover in January in Lancaster, where Lamana had been hospitalized for treatment. While the club presented him with some souvenirs - including an autographed bat from his favorite former player, John Kruk - Lamana was especially touched by the fact that general manager Pat Gillick and other front-office personnel sat down to chat with him. He called it an "uplifting experience" and added, "It really cheered me up."

To discuss Jeff

Shining

This will always be the best alternate trailer to a movie:

Chase Utley's Opening Day

3 years ago, a second baseman named Chase Utley made his debut. He struggled through that first year, being sent down to AAA after spending most of April in Philly, then was brought back up again in August. It took another year for this stupid franchise to guarantee him 155 games a year, but now that he has that, the man has become the best offensive 2B in the league. Good going Chase.

Barry Bonds was told by a fan to get his blood checked. The fan even offered him a syringe, free of charge.

Charlie Manuel has hinted at a platoon at 3B of Abraham Nunez and David Bell. Usually a platoon requires at least one good player, but Charlie likes going against the mainstream.

Chris Webber is going to end up playing more games this year than any other season of his career!!!! Too bad he's also shooting the 2nd lowest percentage of his career!

Please Fire Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan was nominated for a Sports Emmy. Oh Sports Emmys, oh. Oh. Oh my god Sports Emmys WHY?!?! Huge Tiny Mistake, like the Fire Joe Morgan blog, will have no choice but to cast my imaginary, just as useless as the real thing, vote for Troy Aikman because there are simply no other choices. Choosing between Captain John Obvious Madden, Tim McCarver and his multitude of meandering stories, Jon Miller and his pronunciation of the word Perez as 'Pear-ez', and the bumbling, know-nothing munchkin that is Joe Morgan simply paves the way for Troy Aikman to take home the gold. Or take home whatever the hell they actually give out at the Sports Emmys.

On a tangent of a tangent, the Sports Emmys category for Best Sports Journalism had the least options (3) of any award and two of them were Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel segments. It's very telling when a body that nominates the likes of those mentioned above can only find three worthy enough sports pieces they deem outstanding. ESPN had the other, but one would think that with almost ten 24 hour sports networks under its belt that ESPN would garner more than just one quality piece. Then again, maybe ESPN just sucks.

However, Joe Morgan DID thank the rest of the Baseball Tonight crew for his nomation, saying on Sunday's White Sox-Indians game that they 'were the reason' he might win. Good to know that it takes an army of producers and baseball analysts to properly prepare the gems that Joe Morgan utters. Billy Beane wrote Moneyball!!!!!! Ozzie Guillen's Smart Ball won the World Series, not pitching and homers!!!! Getting on-base isn't important, it's all about scoring runs!!!!!

How did this man get nominated??? How has he already won two Sports Emmys??? And maybe the more prudent question: How does he still have a job?

Rollins Extends Streak, Lieber Attempts Pitching

Today down at the ol' ballyard, one James Rollins extended his multi-year hitting streak to 37 straight games. After seeing 3 balls not come anywhere close to the plate, he turned a juicy pitch over the middle of the plate into a rocket shot down the 1st base line that turned into a double. This came on his 5th at bat, after having 2 good smacks to centerfield gobbled up by Edmonds. Rollins will go for the #38 in a row on Wednesday, once against facing the Cardinals. He has 20 games to go to break Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak.


On a side note, the rest of the Philadelphia Phillies ballclub played in the game as well. Jon Lieber attempted to pitch, but was not successful. Apparently throwing 88mph meatballs down the plate to the Cardinals' lineup simply won't cut it. Who knew? Julio Santana tried to help by giving up a grand-slam to the Scott Rolen, but forgot that Rolen was actually traded from the Phillies in 2002. A little too late, Julio.

Phils lose 13-5 and their record now stands at 0-1. So, that means they'll only go 161 and 1.

YaySports Getting Ripped Off

It seems that some blogger from Canada? has been blatantly stealing YaySports! material, such as their pictures. The blogger basically lifted the entire blog and transferred it to his. YaySports! wants you to give 'em hell, for all red-blooded Americans.

*this is where my stolen image goes*

Opening Day!

It's time. Opening Day 2006. Citzens Bank Park. The Philadelphia Phillies versus the Saint Louis Cardinals. 3:05pm

Be there.

The Office: Season 3 Promo

Random video found on YouTube, funny:

On this, the day of Fools

I offer you no attempts at jokes. I offer only PSAs from cast members of The Office: