Philadelphia Phillies Vs. Florida Marlins: Live Journal

May 29, 2010 was a special day in Philadelphia sports history. Not only were the Philadelphia Flyers playing in their first Stanley Cup Finals game since 1996, but Roy Halladay took his talents to South Beach for an unforgettable evening of baseball. Only 19 times previous had a MLB pitcher thrown a perfect game. Roy Halladay was going to make it 20.

But what you may not have known about that night is after the Flyers game, I went back and watched the perfect game and wrote down notes in a notebook, as if it were a live blog I were conducting. For the first time ever, I am sharing with you these notes and will publish in this blog as they happen during the game. Think of it as an old school AA live blog, except everything has been previously written. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Line up

Phillies
Victorino
Valdez
Utley
Howard
Werth
Ibanez
Castro
Ruiz
Halladay

Marlins
Coghlan
Sanchez
Ramirez
Cantu
Uggla
Ross
Hayes
Maybin
Johnson

1st Inning

Josh Johnson on the mound. Shane Victorino leads off the game with a fly out. 1st pitch swinging too. Consider that something I've never seen before. Isn't that what Jimmy Rollins is for? Okay, at least you are taking pitches, Valdez. Ooh, a double for Valdez. Now that's literally something I've never seen before. The Marlins have some noise makers for this game that sound literally like vuvuzelas. Well, Wheels called them a buzzing noise. They are inaudible through the TV because it is impossible to hear 2 people making noise from the stands through TV, so I don't know for sure. Ryan Howard flies out to end the inning: Now that's money well spent.

Halladay's turn at the mound for the first. Coghlan thought that was Ball 4. Imagine if it was. Bad acting job, bad acting job. Roy Halladay seems to be getting his pitch count worked early. At this rate, there is no way he finishes this game. Hanley Ramirez is a lazy ass. For the 3rd straight batter, Halladay has gotten behind in the pitch count. Ramirez left the plate early because he thought Strike 2 was Ball 4. Again, lazy. Inning over. At this rate, no way Halladay goes 9 innings.

2nd Inning

Phillies offense has been in a slump lately. Good thing there is no chance of that lasting long. Nope, not with these guys. They'll be out of it in no time. Werth grounds out, Ibanez flies out. So no time is obviously not right now, I see. Josh Johnson, now there is an early Cy Young candidate for you. Thank goodness the Phillies have Juan Castro as a defensive utility man. And he can hit too! This utility man does it all. Roy Halladay is one of MLB's best pitchers, but I think he also has to be considered one of MLB's worst hitters.

Yet another 3 ball count and long at-bat. I don't think Halladay has it tonight. I blinked and the inning ended. Yeesh Roy works fast.

3rd Inning

Shane Victorino is an imbecile. Whoa, another hit for Valdez? Is this even humanly possible for him? Chase Utley time. The owner of the Marlins is sitting there surrounded by empty seats. He actually is sitting there and sees how embarrassingly empty this ball park is, in large part because of his dumb ideas. I wonder what stupid idea he will come up with next? LOL MAYBIN! He misplays a routine fly ball and Valdez scores from 1st. A lulzy moment indeed. Ryan Howard: Earning his absurd contract one hard hit single at a time. Bleh, Werth. Why did the Phillies sign Raul Ibanez to a 3-year contract? He is extremely un-clutch these days. Is that even a word?

2 pitch AB. Yes, Tom, being a major league pitcher is a special thing. I love how Victorino caught that ball inches behind Jayson Werth. What happens if they collide? McCarthy: "He gets Johnson swinging." 9 up, 9 down for Roy. Not too shabby, but then again, Joe Blanton almost always has a point in the game where he retires 9 straight.

4th Inning

Sarge time! Maybin catches this fly ball hit his way. You have redeemed yourself well, Cameron. Single off the wall for Chooch. I count 3 people sitting in those seats above the Teal Monster. Did Halladay just strike out bunting? Brian Bocock could teach him a thing or 2 about hitting. No, really. Halladay is so bad that even lessons from Bocock would improve him. Does Victorino ever not pop out or fly out?

If Chris Coghlan is even remotely as good as we was last year, this former rookie of the year along with that Stanton kid could be something special in Florida. Oh, so that sound we can't hear is a tambourine! They gave away tambourines! Yeah, I've got nothing. Ah, Gaby Sanchez, such a friendly looking fellow. If there is a guy who is not going to get involved in a brawl of some sort, it's Gaby Sanchez. He wouldn't harm a fly. "Guy has a ball, a glove, and a tambourine. Your thought is what is wrong with the picture?" Probably the fact he has them all at a Florida Marlins game. Maybin fucked up at the plate this time. Then again, Roy Halladay has settled in real nicely. Forget all I said about pitch count in the 1st 2 innings. Quick note: Halladay has not allowed a base runner through 4. Probably won't be important in the grand scheme of things, though.

5th Inning

Valdez leads off by getting an out. Yep, that's the Wilson Valdez I know. Ramirez stepped up to make a play. When the guy is not being a lazy ass, he's a decent player. Oh, ho hum, 1-2-3 inning for Josh Johnson. Yeah, this guy is a good pitcher too.

Nice defense by Utley. He is, in fact, the man. 3 ball count to Uggla and Roy gets him to fly out. I could get used to seeing these Halladay-Johnson pitching duels. Man, they are fun to watch. I think Roy's innings are getting quicker and quicker as the game goes along.

6th Inning

Tom McCarthy and Sarge are talking about Milt Thompson, the hitting coach of one of the best offenses in all of baseball. That guy must have job security like you wouldn't believe. When Werth flails aimlessly, it really is a sight to behold. Ibanez goes down. Castro singles. He may be no Polanco, but he can fill in admirably and is not Bruntlett bad with the bat. And Ruiz kills it with a ground out.

7 strike outs for Halladay after Hayes goes down flailing. 5.1 innings and still no base-runner, maybe this will be special after all. Ball hit to Valdez who makes a great throw to get a flying Maybin. Roy is so amazing that that is probably the play of the game so far. And once Johnson goes down, McCarthy is so kind to mention that Halladay has retired all 18 batters.

7th Inning

Roy can't hit. Woohoo, single for Victorino. He's earning the money he got in arbitration this off-season. Wilson Valdez grounds into the world's easiest double play to end the inning. I'll say this much, if the Phillies ever need to rely on that useless turd Valdez to fill in for any long periods of time, this team is fucking screwed this year. Get well soon, Jimmy Rollins, because if you don't, this team is utterly hopeless.

Coghlan, Sanchez (who flew out on what would have been Ball 4), Ramirez (who also swung at a Ball 4). It's fucking surgical tonight for Roy. You are doing your best job to jinx this effort, TMac. A very fine one indeed.

8th inning

Clay Hensley in for Josh Johnson. As Halladay sits alone there in the dugout, I wonder, how he can watch the game and not psych himself out. Utley flies out to the deepest part of a deep ball park. More shots of Jeffrey Loria. Again, he is probably concocting some crazy scheme to get laughed at as we speak. Long at-bat but down goes Howard. And so does Werth. Quickly.

Halladay nearly hit Cantu. He promptly hits it hard to Castro who makes a throw to 1st to get Cantu. If that is Greg Dobbs playing 3rd this game, the perfect game/no-hitter is done with. You can begin to feel this night being special. Uggla strikes out. Pop up! Halladay is 3 outs away from history.

9th Inning

Come on Phillies! Either score a shitload of runs or get out of this quickly so Roy can pitch in the 9th and my heart can stop racing at 1,000 mph. 2 down and no one on for Ruiz. This has been the longest 0-2 AB in the history of mankind. Ground out. Roy Halladay has a chance at history now.

Mike Lamb pitching for Hayes. Lamb sends Victorino to the warning track to catch a fly out. This huge ball park is a great thing sometimes. Wes Helms is pinch hitting with Roy 2 away from greatness. Wheels can barely contain is excitement. 1 OUT AWAY! Ronnie Paulino is the last chance for the Marlins to break it up. 1-2 the count. Wheels is literally choked up in the booth. "Tambourines coming in handy now." That is what TMac thinks of in this situation? The damn tambourines! Ground to Valdez, THROW TO HOWARD IN TIME AND ROY HALLADAY HAS THROWN A PERFECT GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just like in life, our Roy is perfect. Now excuse me while I sleep off the heartache of having to watch the Flyers play the worst Stanley Cup Finals game in the history of history. Goodnight, Journal.

When Clinching A Playoff Spot, The Rays Had The Help Of A Philadelphia Lucky Charm

Pictured above is Tampa Bay Rays' broadcaster Todd Kalas conducting an interview after the Rays clinched a berth in the 2010 Playoffs. Look down at his right hand. See what he is wearing for the first time all season?

It's his father's 1980 World Series ring. Talk about a heck of a good luck charm.

(Hat tip to Rays Index)

NFL Week 4 Schedule

Who's ready for the (almost) nationally televised McNabb Bowl?!?!? I can feel your glee from here. The Eagles and Andy Reid and McNabb will be the story of this game, and why not, it is a story that will without a doubt sell big. But speaking from a long term perspective, this game is 1,000 times more important to the Redskins than it is for the Eagles. McNabb has yet to sign an extension, and as of now, he is a free agent at the end of a season. Since halftime of the Week 2 Texans game, the Redskins have done nothing but imploded. If Washington wins the game, they are 2-2 and a contender. Lose the game, and the Redskins are 1-3, chances are things have not gone well since Week 2, McNabb's passive-aggressiveness will surely come out again, and they will be faced with a potential Super Bowl winning QB on a team not going anywhere and whose contract is expiring at the end of the year. Giving up what the Redskins gave up to acquire McNabb, both directly and indirectly (Campbell to Oakland) and to lose him after 1 year would be a huge blow to the franchise, perhaps something that could deter the franchise for quite some time.

Anyway, here is the Week 4 schedule. (all times eastern; games I get are in bold)

Map of who gets what CBS game

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers 1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Denver Broncos vs. Tennessee Titans 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Rich Gannon)

Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars 4:05 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders 4:05 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)

Map of who gets what Fox early game

Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
San Francisco 49ers vs. Atlanta Falcons 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis, and Jim Mora, Jr.)
Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams 1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Map of who gets what Fox late game

Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles 4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Arizona Cardinals vs. San Diego Chargers 4:15 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)

Sunday Night Football

Chicago Bears vs. New York Giants 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football

New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

Champions League Group Stage Day 3 Open Thread

My apologies for the lateness.

September 28
Group F: Spartak Moscow vs. MSK Zilina 12:30
Group E: FC Basel vs. Bayern Munich 2:45
Group E: AS Roma vs. CFR Club 2:45
Group F: Chelsea vs. Marseille 2:45
Group G: Auxerre vs. Real Madrid 2:45
Group G: Ajax vs. AC Milan 2:45
Group H: FK Partizan vs. Arsenal 2:45
Group H: Braga vs. FC Shakhtar Donetsk 2:45

4 STRAIGHT!!!!!!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES CLINCHING THEIR 4TH STRAIGHT NL EAST CHAMPIONSHIP

The Phillies' season started with Roy Halladay on the mound in Washington. And the meaningful part of their season ends the same way. Halladay, along with Sweeney, Schneider, and Valdez were the ones who first popped the champagne. 4 straight division titles. The golden age of Phillies baseball. How amazing is this.

Not only that, but the Phillies also clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Reds and Rockies can't catch Philly. The Padres can tie but the Phillies own the season series tie breaker (5-2). The Giants can tie and tied Philly in the season series (3-3), but intradivision the Phillies' intradivision record is 41-26, whereas the Giants' intradivision record is 34-32. The Giants only have 6 intradivision games left. Thus, they cannot catch the Phillies. The Phillies have home field advantage throughout the playoffs and we can all look forward to a future of watching Brian Bocock play shortstop for the next 5 games.

Projecting The Phillies Post-Season Roster

The Philadelphia Phillies have clinched a playoff spot! With that news, the discussion of playoff rosters now becomes relevant. Granted this is a piece often written and the only ones worth discussing are the people who will not see a ton of post-season playing time, but I need a quick blog piece to procrastinate my paper, so here goes nothing. Last year the Phillies went with 13 players and 12 pitchers to start the post-season. This year I think you go 14 and 11, if for no other reason, than because the biggest reason the Phillies went 13/12 last year is because they had at least 1 game (turned out to be 2) at Coors Field. The Rockies are not yet eliminated, but their hopes are not exactly sparkling. This piece is written with the thought in mind that they won't pull off the miraculous.

Catchers (2)
Carlos Ruiz
Brian Schneider

Infielders (7)
Ryan Howard
Chase Utley
Placido Polanco
Jimmy Rollins
Wilson Valdez
Greg Dobbs
Mike Sweeney

Outfielders (5)
Raul Ibanez
Shane Victorino
Jayson Werth
Ben Francisco
Ross Gload

Sweeney should be on the roster just based on huggability alone. But given that he is the only experienced 1st baseman on the team besides Ryan Howard, he needs to be there should something happen to Howard. The last thing I want to do is to rely on Ross Gload having to play there if Howard goes down. The same reasoning applies to bringing in Greg Dobbs. While Sweeney has some pop left, Dobbs has absolutely 0 pop, but, he is one of Charlie's guys and if the Phillies need an emergency 3rd baseman, Dobbs is needed, especially if Jimmy Rollins injures himself yet again and Valdez is stuck playing middle infield. Francisco, the sloppy seconds in the original Cliff Lee deal, has been this team's 4th outfielder all year long whereas Ross Gload brings with him some pop, a la Matt Stairs.

Notable absentee: Domonic Brown

Even though Domonic Brown is likely a future star, I don't want him anywhere near this post-season roster. The kid is young, he is inexperienced, and perhaps, he could be overwhelmed by the immense pressure. Not to mention, I don't want to give him the feeling that he has seen and done it all by playing in the playoffs. Leave the kid hungry. The downside to not bringing Brown is you lose his speed, but speed alone is not enough to warrant a spot for a rookie who has shown he is prone to rookie mistakes, and even though he does have speed, he is not gotten much of a chance to apply it in terms of stealing bases.

Pitching (11)
Roy Halladay
Cole Hamels
Roy Oswalt
Joe Blanton
Brad Lidge
Ryan Madson
Jose Contreras
Chad Durbin
J.C. Romero
Antonio Bastardo
Kyle Kendrick

Barring injury, all but the bottom 3 should are easy givens. I'm not a Romero fan at all, but he is a lefty, and the Phillies do not have many of those in The Pen. The same with Bastardo, who at times has shown flashes of brilliance. Plus I like Bastardo's potential. Romero has no more potential, though he is this team's top lefty, for whatever it is worth. His inconsistency is enough of a question mark for me that I won't call him an easy given, but if I were handicapping it, I would say 90% chance Romero makes it. The odds are much lesser for Bastardo, but I would tend to lean going with a 2nd lefty. Kyle Kendrick in case a game goes to extra innings or a starter is pulled early for whatever reason. He's by no means a great pitcher, but at least he can save a bullpen (and a starter) by going 3-4 innings without much of a problem. Plus he is one of the better athletes on the pitching staff and if need be, can take an AB without looking lost at the plate.

Notable absentees: Danys Baez, Vance Worley, David Herndon

If there is going to be a swap, I think it is Baez over Bastardo. I despise Baez. I think he is a terrible pitcher who makes Ryan Howard's ridiculous contract extension look like a good deal, but I think Charlie realizes Baez is terrible as well. The usage of him in the past few months has dropped dramatically. Tough call, but I don't think Baez has done enough to make the cut. Some people argue that Vance Worley should be the Phillies 5th starter. In the future, maybe, but for a guy whose minor league numbers are equitable to Kendrick's major league numbers, I don't see how he fits on the roster. Rule 5 draft pick David Herndon has had an up and down year and has been a long man for Charlie throughout the year (best example of this: Scott Barry and l'Affaire d'Astro), but given that Kendrick will likely be the long man (or if Charlie needs someone early in the NLDS, you could probably even bring in Blanton), Herndon, like Worley, loses his place on the roster.

So that's what I think? Any agreements? Disagreements? Again, the guys who will be argued are the guys who won't see a ton of playing time and will most likely come off the bench or the bullpen, but it is still a fun discussion to have. As always, feel free to chime in in the comments.

Eagles Week 3 Recap: Vick-tory

I came up with that pun all by myself.  Why do you ask?

Onto the bullet points...

• Good teams beat the shit out of bad teams.  The Eagles beat the shit out of the Jaguars.
• It's been awhile since I was this comfortable watching the 2nd half of an Eagles game.  I missed the feeling. 
• LeSean McCoy carried the ball a grand total of 11 times this game and was not injured.  In the middle of the 3rd quarter with the Eagles up 21-3 and driving, he had seen 6 carries, averaged 5 yards per carry, and was not featured on the drive.  That's unacceptable.
• On a 4th and 1 at the Jags 31, the Eagles decided to go for it on a pitch to the outside.  They gave the ball to power back Mike Bell.  Predictably, they did not get the 1st down.  Andy Reid apparently never heard of a "Vick option" or a "pitch to Shady McCoy,"  2 play calls that would have been much more ideal if you are going to the outside.
• Andy Reid, bad timeout management.  Bad timeout management, Andy Reid.  
• Ron Pitts has not done an Eagles game since the 2005 season.  If  it is another 5 years before he does another Eagles game, it will be too soon. From "Joseph Avant" to him calling Maclin a "sung hero," I about vomited from the patheticness.  And John Lynch needs to either speak up or show some enthusiasm.  I don't think I understood a word he said all game.
• Reading these last couple bullets you would think the Eagles lost or something.  It is always easier to write about the negatives than try to mention the positives, mainly because, but the latter makes you look like a homerific jerk.  But it was a 28-3 blowout, so here goes......
• I criticized the decision to bench Kolb.  And I still do.  While it will likely be 3 years til my questioning is validated or not, I gotta give major props to Vick.  Vick started out slow, but I would say this was his best performance of the year.  On the 2nd touchdown pass, he was able to ignore a gaping running lane and pass the ball to a wide open Jeremy Maclin.  The result would have been the same if he ran, but Vick is recognizing there are other options besides taking off and running every chance you get.  On the 3rd touchdown pass, Vick was able to successfully look off a safety before (once again) finding Jeremy Maclin who would run the catch in for a TD.  Mike Vick looking off a safety?  Is he becoming a polished passer?  On the 4th TD, well, Mike Vick needs to remind everyone that he is Mike Vick.  It is good he is becoming a better passer, but you always want to keep the running threat available and you always want to keep defenses honest.  Vick dropped back to pass, had a huge hole, and he waltzed into the endzone. for the easiest 17 yard touchdown run he has ever had.
• I have a paper to write for Tuesday so I don't have time to do it now or tomorrow, but perhaps in the middle of the week, I can illustrate with pictures and videos what I am talking about in the above bullet.
• The Eagles defense held the Jacksonville Jaguars to 3 points, MJD to 88 yards on 22 carries, Garrard to 13/30 passing for a miserable 105 yards.  In related news, Stewart Bradley returned and played the whole game at middle linebacker.
• Eagles defense sacked Garrard 6 times.  Playing in his 1st game of the year, Darryl Tapp dominated.  Juqua Parker lost his job as starting DE to 1st round draft pick Brandon Graham.  Parker leads the team in sacks.  Trevor Laws, who is finally coming around after a rough 1st 2 years, added a sack and was a beast all game.  And need I mention that the Eagles also have one of the best DEs in football?  That guy, Trent Cole, had 2 sacks of his own on the day.
• Fact:  The Eagles selected Trevor Laws ahead of DeSean Jackson in the 2008 NFL Draft.
• Donovan McNabb is so good he led his Redskins to a loss to the St. Louis Rams.  Wait, what?  McNabb's numbers were not deplorable, but they were not great either.  And against the St. Louis Rams, they should be better than meh.  19/32 for 236 yards, a TD, and an INT.  Should be better against the Rams, whose greatest improvement from last year has come on offense in the form of Sam Bradford.
• The New York Giants are an embarrassment to football.
• The Texans and the Cowboys exchanged places for a game.
• The Eagles are going to have to beat a good team before anyone can call them Super Bowl contenders, but if they continue to beat bad teams (Washington and San Francisco are next), they will set themselves up nicely for an opportunity.  And when they play Indianapolis later in the year, we will learn a whole heck of a lot more about the Eagles.
• The Phillies lost to the Mets, but as a result of the Padres losing to the Reds 3 hours later, the Philadelphia Phillies have officially clinched a playoff berth.  The Phillies magic number to clinch the NL East is 1.  It is worth noting it is supposed to rain non-stop in DC and Atlanta tomorrow. But if the Phillies get rained out and the Braves do play, then the Phillies could clinch both a playoff spot, the NL East, and the best record in the NL all by sitting on the couch after a rough loss.
• This is my 1st year playing fantasy football.  I am 3-0.  I am clearly a natural at this.
• Get ready for week long talk about McNabb coming back to the Linc.  I will tell you right now, half the crowd will cheer, half will boo, and the other half will be completely indifferent.  The Redskins defense is marginally better than the Jags' and the Lions', their offense is probably on par with that of the Jags, with a QB slightly better than Garrard, an RB lesser than MJD, and WRs about the same.  If the Eagles play like they did tonight, there is no reason they don't leave the Linc next Sunday 3-1 on the year.