The original Chris Coste

***Preface: I had this post planned before news broke that Chris Coste said he has agreed to a deal with the Mets. So until you finish reading this post, please pretend that Coste isn't an enemy.***

Before there was Chris Coste, there was Steve Fireovid.

Coste kicked around the minors for years, refusing to give up on his dreams of being a major league ball player until he beat the odds and became a rookie at 33 years old and a World Champion two years later.

Fireovid's story is a bit different. Like Coste, he never really got a fair shake, but he made it to the majors at age 24. But he never stuck, tossing 65 innings over five seasons for four teams, including the Phillies.

The similarity with Coste is that he refused to give up, making it back to the majors. And he wrote a book about it. In The 26th Man, Fireovid chronicles his 1990 season, which he thought would be his last, pitching for the AAA Expos.

I've read the book before, but decided to reread it recently. I'm glad I did. It's a gripping account of how a man who knows he won't get another chance at 33 years old never gives up. It's a nice look at the workings of baseball with the reminders that the game doesn't always reward the most able or hardest-working players. Sometimes the hot-shot draft pick gets preferential treatment, even though, as Fireovid constantly notes, the difference in talent between AAA players and major leaguers isn't that great.

I've been meaning to reread this book since I read Coste's The 33-Year-Old Rookie, which was first reviewed on this blog by Christine.

I think I liked Fireovid's book better - it seems more down to earth, personable and matter-of-fact. But I might be biased against the soon-to-be Met.

Incidentally, it's been several years since I read this book, and I had forgotten that he was a Phillie. Fireovid said he had a good spring in 1983 and was included in the team photo, but was sent down to the minors on the last day of spring training after a trade, which would have created room for him, fell through. Sounds just like one of the many events to stymie Coste's career.

I would love to know how Fireovid's life turned out. A Google search yielded nothing other than the book.

More bad news: Sports Illustrated is officially irrelevant, naming Derek Jeter its sportsman of the year. I think even Grady Sizemore would have been a better pic. {This is how he's been spending his time? Thanks, Grady. See if I pick you for MVP. Again.}

Christine's new favorite former Phillie

Christine likes horses. They're definitely among her top five favorite animals.

Christine loves the Phillies. They're definitely among her top five favorite baseball teams. OK, they're her most favorite team.

So, clearly she was happy to read about former Phillie Dan Plesac and how he saved his former racehorse from the slaughterhouse. Plesac learned the racehorse he owned 12 years ago, Captain Zoom, who is presumably a fan of both the Phillies and fillies, was ailing. Plesac decided to pitch in and provide a better retirement:

"We can come up with a million excuses not to do things," Plesac said. "I couldn't have gone to bed at night knowing that I came up with a lame excuse not to take him."

The only sad part of this tale for Christine is that on our last two trips - Savannah and Lancaster - we took horse-drawn tours. In Savannah, she noticed one horse kept pulling his cart with his head down, as if he were downtrodden.

I had assured her that the horses were well taken care of, but the story says part of Captain Zoom's suffering came from pulling an Amish buggy:

He had marks from a harness collar around his neck. He also had lacerations all over his body from what appeared to be a fall on the road and fights in the pasture.

But thanks to the former Phillie, he won't have to worry about that anymore:

"When I look at him out there eating grass, all I can think is, 'You hit the lottery, big boy,'" Plesac said. "We both did."

Incidentally, the story appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer. It was written by a freelancer, Nicole Kraft, executive editor of Hoof Beats Magazine - a publication of the United States Trotting Association. Who else would write a horse-centric story about Dan Plesac?

Awkward transition: Dan Plesac works for MLB Network. He was an All-Star from 1987-1989. All weekend, the network has been running marathons of All-Star games.

I can think of only two words: Thank you.

Christine aptly described it as TV crack for me, and it's so true. I saw Ricky Bottalico represent the Phillies at Veterans Stadium's last All-Star game in 1996, Bob Costas say that Alex Rodriguez can still grow into his body, and how the biggest stars of my youth don't look so big compared with the stars of today.

I wonder why? Christine also wondered why the 2002 All-Star game wasn't in MLB's rotation.

Other than that omission, this was the perfect use of the year-old network. This is supposed to be what ESPN Classic is for, but that channel lost its way with poker, bowling and rodeo. Although the late-night cheesy professional wrestling is a nice touch.

And the winner is ...

Me.

Humbly.

I hope no one accuses us of rigging the ballots because last year Christine was a co-winner of the inaugural SoxandPhils prediction challenge, and this year, after careful collaboration among the judges (me, myself and I), the crown goes to me!

I was the only one who correctly predicted three division winners (Phillies, Dodgers and Angels), and I was the only one with a correct award winner (Tim Lincecum). I wasn't the only one predicting a repeat pennant for the Phillies, but I was the only one who saw them losing the big dance.

Everyone else pegged three of the eight playoff teams, but all had a division winner slotted for a wild card (Christine - Dodgers; last year's other winner Brian - Angels; Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump - Yankees; and Endy in the Outfield - Twins).

Tidbits: Kudos to Joe Wolf for calling the Marlins this year's Rays. ... Brian, Christine and I had Papi as the next guy to be revealed as a roider, but Sammy Sosa beat him to it. ... Christine's picks for AL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young, Elvis Andrus and Felix Hernandez, both came in second. ... No one picked perennial NL MVP Albert Pujols to win the award. ... All of the managers we predicted would be fired first - Ozzie Guillen, Joe Girardi and Jim Leyland - are still employed.

Tough to decide whether the Mets (with their litany of injuries) or the Red Sox with the most direct link (Daisuke Matsuzaka) should be credited with the title of the team whose disappointing finish would be blamed on the World Baseball Classic. Christine and I predicted the Mets - no one took the Red Sox.

Nothing more to say. I'm grateful for the honor. It feels good to win something again, and I look forward to defending my crown next year.

Oh yeah, sorry again about Pablo Sandoval.

SoxandPhils extends sponsorship of Ken Ryan

SOXANDPHILSVILLLE, N.J. -- SoxandPhils, the leading blog dedicated to the 2008 and 2007 World Champion Phillies and Red Sox, proudly announces that it has extended the sponsorship of Ken Ryan's Baseball-Reference page for another year.

"Negotiations were tough but fair, and we're thrilled to bring back Ken Ryan for another year," SoxandPhils co-owner and lead writer Greg said. "There is no other player who better captures the spirit of SoxandPhils - at least none other whose page we can afford."

Ryan has been a SoxandPhils favorite since he told Phillies Magazine that his favorite teams are the Red Sox and Phillies - the only teams he played for in his eight-year major league career. He compiled a record of 14-16 and 30 saves with a 3.91 ERA in 285.2 innings from 1992 to 1999.

He was traded from the Red Sox to the Phillies on Jan. 29, 1996, with Glenn Murray and Lee Tinsely for Larry Wimberly, Rick Holyfield and Heathcliff Slocumb, the only other officially sponsored SoxandPhil.

Ryan joined the SoxandPhils family last year as a Christmas gift to Greg from Christine, SoxandPhils co-owner and head of editing and marketing.

"I knew Greg would get a kick out of it, but I didn't think he would have gone this nuts with it," she said.

Thanksgiving update

A year ago, Christine and I started a new tradition of going to a diner on Thanksgiving Eve. We had a nice evening, and I remember really enjoying last year's holiday weekend for no particular reason.

In last year's Thanksgiving post (spent mostly griping about the dearth of good football games), I briefly mentioned things to be grateful for: "family and friends, health, jobs, our successful baseball teams, etc."

Little did I suspect that my semi-successful journalism career would be over in a few days and our teams would succumb to the Yankees. Health, family and friends, thankfully, remain status quo.

Obviously, I'm doing a lot of introspection and looking back right now, and last night Christine and I found some rather amusing posts from November and December that are either ironic or just way off target.

Like when we mocked the Yankees and Mets for signing CC Sabathia and Francisco Rodriguez: "So let the New Yorkers enjoy their early Christmas presents. We at the home of the World Series Champions know that Phanta Claus delivers the real goodies in October."

Oops.

How about these bold proclamations: Signing Raul Ibanez was a mistake, and Mark Teixeira was going to join the Red Sox.

That's why you should always take my prognostications with a grain of salt.

Finally, this doesn't really fit into the category, but it was sad remembering Mike Radano's last blog post. He was never my favorite Phillies beat writer, but that could be my bias against his former newspaper. It was sad that the fans lost another connection with the team immediately after it reached the pinnacle and almost got there again this year.

Sorry to be a downer; my personality doesn't let me completely forget what was or can no longer be. I do have much to be grateful for: I'm re-employed, I'm as healthy as I can be, our family is happy, and our friends, while few, remain true.

And, most of all, I have the love and support of the best companion, editor, Phillies phan, caretaker and confidant I could imagine.

Big acquisitions

Everyone is agog that the Red Sox are in a "full-court press" to make Roy Halladay next in the impressive line of Red Sox aces acquired by trade (Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, etc.), but I don't think it will happen.

As Sean McAdam notes:

A deal for Halladay would likely require the Sox to part with Clay Buchholz and also either Daniel Bard or Casey Kelly -- or both. Together, those three represent the most talented pitching prospects in the system, leaving the Sox with little organizational depth.

It's far more likely, said a source familiar with the Red Sox' plans, that the team pursues free agent John Lackey (left). The Boston Herald reported last week that general manager Theo Epstein met with the agent for Lackey at the GM meetings earlier this month.

Going after a Type A veteran starter in some ways goes against the Red Sox philosophy, since Epstein believes that signing 30-something pitching is a tremendous risk. The list of big-ticket free agent starters signed to disastrous deals (Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt, Carlos Zambrano) is a long one and the Sox are said to be particularly wary of a similar misstep.

But given the choice between sacrificing a handful of young -- and inexpensive -- prospects and extending Halladay to a multiyear deal, or forfeiting only a draft pick and a big contract for Lackey, the latter is far more appealing to the Sox.

I thought we were done talking about Doc once the Phillies made the wise choice to get Cliff Lee instead.

The Roy Halladay rumors overshadowed the big news of the day: minor acquisitions! The Phillies, lacking a backup catcher, re-signed third-stringer Paul Hoover and three other minor leaguers. The Red Sox traded for Tug Hulett, son of former major leaguer Tim Hulett, whose family has a tragic story.

To finish on another down note, Jamie Moyer was hospitalized with recurring symptoms from his surgery.

News!

Last night, hours after I suggested that the Phillies beat writers have been neglecting their blogs, Todd Zolecki posted an update on Phillies prospects in fall and winter ball. He must read our blog.

The rest of the pack followed him today with news that Ryan Howard finished 3rd in MVP voting - Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino also got votes - and that the Phillies will sign Ramon Castro to replace Eric Bruntlett.

Why? He's 37, and he can't hit. Basically, he's Eric Bruntlett in six years. I have no problem jettisoning the guy who turned an unassisted triple play, but I don't understand doing so just to bring in an equally crappy player.

David Murphy tries to explain it:

For an idea of how slim the pickings are in that department, consider Omar Vizquel, another veteran short stop who was a free agent. Over his last two seasons, Vizquel's numbers aren't a whole lot different than Castro's. Castro hit .227 with a .569 OPS in 298 plate appearances for the Reds, Orioles and Dodgers. Vizquel hit .239 with a .594 OPS in 595 plate appearances for the Giants and Rangers. Vizquel recently signed a one year deal with the White Sox for a reported $1.375 million, which is nearly double the $700,000 that Castro earned with the Dodgers last season.

Last year, manager Charlie Manuel said he would love to have a bench player who might fill in for Chase Utley without presenting much of an offensive drop off. Castro would not seem to be that player, but I don't think the Phillies are looking at him as such.Keep in mind that two candidates to replace Pedro Feliz at third base are Placido Polanco and Mark DeRosa, both of whom have played extensively at second base. And while the Phillies do not view Greg Dobbs as an everyday third baseman, they do contend - at least publicly - that they are comfortable starting him there occasionally. Last year, Dobbs hit .309 with a .829 OPS in the 28 games in which he started.

OK, so maybe this makes sense if they sign a second baseman to play third. No, that really doesn't make much sense either.

At least Castro's agent, Oscar Suarez, is good at the spin:

"Who doesn't like the Phillies as an organization?" Suarez said. "You want to win. And who doesn't like Juan Castro? You want to have a superb utility man to back up the guys you have up the middle. We're trying to put this thing together. I think we're going to get it done."

He's even benching Jimmy Rollins:

"If you look at the Phillies, they have a hell of an organization," Suarez said. "And they probably need a guy who can play shortstop if Jimmy Rollins needs a day off or he gets thrown out of a game or he needs a break at the end of a game. It makes a lot of sense. When you're a veteran player you want to win. That's why he is enjoying the Dodgers. The last two years for the Phillies speak for itself."

I know, way too much thought for a backup infielder on a team that has won the last two NL pennants.