Groundhog day

I felt some deja vu this morning, and not just because we're expecting another huge snowstorm (although we should stay under two feet this time).

No, my feeling of we've been through this before was when I logged on to Philly.com and saw a blaring headline about an All-Star pitcher who revealed he had surprise surgery.

I had flashbacks to Brad Lidge, but then I remembered that the pitcher in question, Cliff Lee, is no longer a Phillie. No sweat off our backs.

Procrastination: If you need an excuse to put off shoveling for awhile longer, check out Chad Finn's year-by-year look at prospect rankings in the 1990s. It's a long read, but a funny look at how you never can trust how prospects are valued.

The 1998 class provides fodder for those who say the Phillies should have kept Cliff Lee (never mind his injury) or those who were concerned about giving up Kyle Drabek:

TINSTAAPP defined: If ever you needed evidence that There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect, here's your motherlode.

These are all of the pitchers among the top 30 prospects on this list:

Kerry Wood (4, good career but got Dustied), Matt White (6, paid a ridiculous bonus by Rays), Kris Benson (7, his wife made more headlines), Ryan Anderson (23, "Space Needle" blew out his arm in the minors, is now a chef), Matt Anderson (24, No. 1 overall pick who hurt his arm flinging an Octopus at a Wings game), Eric Milton (25, slop-balling lefty who had some success), Bruce Chen (27, we apologize to Eric Milton -- this is a slop-balling lefty), Scott Elarton (28, meh), Grant Roberts (29, most notable accomplishment was being photographed with a bong).

You half-expect David Clyde, Kirk Dressendorfer, and Mark Prior to show up with this raggedy-armed crew.

Hope shoveling doesn't turn you into a raggedy-armed, washed-out pitching prospect.

[Photo credit: Philadelphia Inquirer]