Simpson-metrics

Christine and I actually had a few minutes last night after Trent went to bed and before we conked out ourselves.

We played one of the Simpsons episodes on the DVR: MoneyBART, a belated look at baseball's statistical development. Great epsidoe. First, I love that Marge tied in the classic 1992 episode by questioning Mike Scioscia on his radiation poisoning.

(By the way, the last guest star of that episode to retire was Ken Griffey Jr. last season. I know the words to the parody in that episode, changing Talkin' Baseball to Talkin' Softball. It's one of the few songs for which I know all the lyrics.)

Then, there were a couple knocks at members of the Red Sox organization. Lisa included Terry Francona in a list of names that she thought were women's, and Bill James popped up to boast that he made baseball as dull as doing your taxes.

There was just one Phillies reference - a gratuitous knock at its fans. Homer said the last time he was at a baseball game, he got tased after running on the field. Yeah, Philly's had some incidents, but it's not the only place with moronic fans who run on the field.

Wacky Wednesday

One of Trent's Dr. Seuss stories is Wacky Wednesday, which is about a boy who finds lots of things askew, such as a shoe on the wall, a car with no wheels and two knobs on the door to the hall.

Today felt like Wacky Wednesday looking at the SoxandPhils clips, most notably this Phil Sheridan column that calls the Cliff Lee trade logical.

Gee, all it took was Roy Halladay winning 20 games, Cole Hamels pitching like everyone expected after 2008 and Roy Oswalt pitching like an ace sniffing the playoffs after he was rescued from a morbid team.

And, it also helps that the Phillies have been the best team in baseball since July 21 and that the Eagles traded one of their stars and now have a dog killer quarterbacking.

Less wacky: There has been a lot of speculation about the Red Sox targeting Jayson Werth, so it's not that far-fetched to see a story about it. But it's a little wacky to read a Phillies-turned-Red Sox beat writer speculating about the current Phillies right fielder coming to the Fens.

I don't see it happening, but it did catch my eye this morning.

Today's games: The Braves and Phillies had a good duel. It was scoreless until the 8th when Raul Ibanez doubled in wacky Werth, who also caught the final out in the 9th. Magic number is now four; we hope it's down to one before Sunday's game. ... The Red Sox beat the Orioles 6-1. Wacky.

Sleepy Sunday

Well, it started out that way. On a chilly, rainy day, I slept in - 6:30 a.m. is now extraordinarily late by my new standards.

Later, Trent and I went to the basement to watch some football (I think I'm going to watch more of it this year now that we have the little guy) while Christine listened to the radio as she got some work done upstairs. She heard Roy Oswalt dominate the Mets (four hits and a walk with six strikeouts) in a 3-0 shutout.

In the basement, we toggled between that game and the Giants' 31-18 win over the Panthers and the Patriots' 34-24 win over the Bengals. After the Eagles dropped their opener in the afternoon, we just need the Braves to lose to the Cardinals tonight for a pretty good sports day in this house. And, oh yeah, forgot about the Red Sox ... they won, too, 5-3 over the A's.

Busy week ahead for the SoxandPhils Phamily. We'll try our best to keep up, but expect quickie posts like this.

Extracurricular multi-sport potpourri

I was a bit worried that we may have jinxed the Flyers last night, but they held on and will play for the Stanley Cup. I guess there are a lot of people in the Eagles front office rooting hard for the Blackhawks right now. Can you imagine if the Flyers join the Phillies as Philadelphia champions before the Iggles get over the hump?

When we were watching some of the post-game analysis, we missed this gem. Classic stuff - it's almost as if Michael Barkann planted this girl to drop the F-bomb on live TV:



Poor Steve Coates. I never heard of him before last week, but now I'm quite fond of Coatesy, primarily because of this Joe Conklin Flyers parody of Lada Gaga's Bad Romance. Lady Pha Pha would approve.

From ice hockey to ice football: Super Bowl XLVIII is coming to New Jersey. I still can't believe it.

Back to baseball extracurricular stuff: People, including Christine and me, have stuffed the All-Star ballots for the Phillies. Jimmy Rollins, who has played in slightly more games than me, is the leading shortstop, but Carlos Ruiz trails Yadier Molina. Early AL results were released yesterday; fans in New York and Texas are stuffing the ballot.

Today's games: The surging Sox lead the Rays 2-0 in the 9th; the phlopping Phillies trail the Mets 7-0 in the 8th.

Philly phans

It's official: The Phillies have overtaken the Eagles as Philadelphia's favorite.

The Daily News conducted a survey to determine that 54 percent of the area's fans favor the Phillies compared with 30 percent who prefer the Eagles. The fans also gave 74 percent approval ratings to Citizens Bank Park and Charlie Manuel.

I know it's a combination of the Phillies recent championship run and the Eagles long-running championship futility, but I can't believe how times have changed since I first became acquainted with Philadelphia sports 15 years ago. The Eagles seemed like they would dominate the scene forever. Congrats to the Phightins'.

The most favored Philly sports traditions? Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" at Flyers games, the E-A-G-L-E-S chant and the Big 5. I'm surprised the Phanatic's antics didn't crack the top three. Booing came in 7th.

Coming in 9th: running onto the field and getting tasered.

OK, I made up that last one.

I'm just glad, and I know Christine is, that this episode has not devolved into another indictment of Philadelphia fans. Public opinion seems to view this as an isolated case of stupidity that was properly handled by the police.

Tonight's games: Marquee pitching duels.

You couldn't ask for much more out of Cole Hamels or Adam Wainwright. In the 10th, the Cardinals and Phillies are tied 1-1. Another dolt (why couldn't he be an Eagles fan?) ran on the field in the 9th as Hamels tried to finish a 1-0 shutout before giving up consecutive doubles. Not fair.

{Update: Carlos Ruiz just ended the game with a home run in the bottom of the 10th. Choooooch!}

Ervin Santana and Jon Lester were just as good, but in the 9th it's now Red Sox 5, Angels 1.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

Opening Day doesn't matter

Christine and I were heading home after Easter dinner in North Jersey. We listened to ESPN radio in Philadelphia as the Red Sox struggled in the early innings of their Opening Night showdown with the Yankees. Suddenly, the game was interrupted by a breaking news bulletin. (How often does that happen anymore?) I immediately knew what was coming. Christine didn't, even though she had predicted the news several days ago.

The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!
The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!
The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!

A few days ago, while discussing the McNabb trade rumors, Christine said he would be traded on Opening Day. I thought she meant that the Eagles would try to steal attention from the Phillies, but she really thought the Eagles would hope to draw as little attention to the fact as possible. (Neither of us even considered the possibility that he would be traded to a division rival.) Whatever the motive for timing the news for Easter Sunday and the eve of Roy Halladay's Phillies debut, it drew attraction. I heard some analyst comment that it was the story of the day, ahead of Tiger Woods, the NCAA final and Opening Day.

The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!
The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!
The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!

It did dominate the news cycle, when the Red Sox filled Opening Night Sunday with guests who pleased the crowd before launching a dramatic comeback 9-7 victory against the Empire (I stayed up until the middle of the 8th inning). And then today, Doc and the Phillies offense delivered as advertised in an 11-1 romp over the Nationals (even Barack Obama couldn't hold down the potent Phillies lineup).

But none of that mattered because ...

The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!
The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!
The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!

Oh, and Josh Beckett signed his four-year $68 million extension:

"This is a very special place," said Beckett this afternoon during a 3 p.m. press conference at Fenway during the deal, which will take him through the 2014 season, was announced. "Anyone who has had a chance to play here knows that. And anyone who hasn't had a chance to play here probably know that through other people that have."

That's good to hear, but not as important as ...

The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!
The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!
The Eagles traded Donovon McNabb to the Redskins!!!

Football is over

Football is over, meaning we're about two weeks away from spring training. But before we return our sole focus to the National Pastime, we have a couple more thoughts about Super Sunday.

Watching the Saints topple the heavily favored Colts was remarkable. Christine compared it to watching the Rays beat the Red Sox in the 2008 ALCS. Maybe, but I prefer thinking of it as the 2001 Diamondbacks beating the Yankees. Or the 2003 Marlins beating the Yankees. Or the 2006 Tigers beating the Yankees. Or anyone beating the Yankees.

When the game ended, Van Halen's Top of the World played in the stadium, prompting Christine to say, "Why is it playing? The Phillies didn't win anything today."

I didn't win anything either - screwing up my picks for the Super and Puppy bowls. Christine didn't choose between the Colts and Saints and neither of her pups won either. We can't believe Jake won it.

As I was writing this, The Jetsons Nite Out was on. That's one of my favorite episodes - George and Mr. Spacely sneak out to watch a football game, played by robots. Oh well, enough football talk. On to baseball, played by humans.

[Photo credit: technovelgy.com]

Pondering baseball on snowy Super Sunday

Before tackling the snow again, I had a minute to read Nick Cafardo, who suggests the Red Sox won't re-sign Josh Beckett because of health concerns. That's not entirely startling, except when reading about one of the paths the Red Sox could take instead:

Which is why the Sox should wait on a Beckett extension and even explore the possibility of a free-agent-to-be like Cliff Lee. He was a pitcher the Sox looked into at the trading deadline, and he has a history with pitching coach John Farrell from their Cleveland days.

Wouldn't that be an interesting twist of fate for SoxandPhils followers? Imagine Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez teammates again, this time in Boston.

Of course, as John Tomase points out, that could be just a fan's dream - like a rotation topped by Lee and Roy Halladay. It seems the big 2011 free agent class that everyone has been salivating over may not come to fruition thanks to the extension for Halladay and likely deal for Joe Mauer. It could be that the big names heading to market will be departing Boston: Beckett and V-Mart, meaning we should soon start hearing speculation about Martinez pairing up with Beckett and/or Lee in the Bronx.

If there weren't two feet of snow in my driveway, I'd say that would be the worst thought of the day.

Pigskin picks: Usually, I get turned off by the team everyone is rooting for, but the Saints really do have a fan base that deserves a winner - even before Katrina struck. I'd like to see a huge Mardi Gras celebration, but I don't think Peyton Manning will allow it to happen.

Puppy picks: I'm going with Bear to chew up the competition; Christine thinks Blaze is ready to pounce, but could see Kiva in an upset.

Old guys with bum ankles

When we watched Brett Favre gut it out on an injured ankle on Sunday, Christine made some derogatory remarks about putting ketchup on a sock or something. I have no idea what she was talking about, but watching the old guy reminded me of Curt Schilling in the 2004 ALCS. (Although Curt didn't choke like Favre did.)

Then, I learned that Schilling might be pulling a Favre:

The following post just came across Curt Schilling's official Twitter page:

"Working out again...not sure I can add anything to that other than I feel it in every fiber of my being, every step I take..."

John Tomase, the Boston Herald's diligent reporter, followed up with him:

"Just working out," he said.

So no plans to come back?

"Nope," he said.

OK, guess that settles that, then.

So, we don't have to worry about Schilling rumors as we spend the next several months discussing whether Favre will make his umpteenth comeback.

More retirement: Mark Loretta, a Red Sox in 2006, has retired and will join Jed Hoyer in the Padres front office. He played well in his year with the Red Sox, but his stint in Boston probably wouldn't merit a mention here except for the fact that his Chris Berman nickname - Mark "Get Back" Loretta - has become a running joke for Christine and me.

Congrats, Chuck: As a Yankee hater who has gone from obese to slim, I don't know whether I'm more proud of Charlie Manuel for saying the Phillies "owe the Yankees one" or for taking care of his health. (He's looking quite dapper.)

U-G-L-Y II

Not to be outdone by the new cheesy Red Sox hat, the Phillies will wear their former powder blue road uniforms this year. Calm down, retro lovers - it's a one-day deal to help the Brewers celebrate the 1970s.

Christine doesn't think the Phillies wanted to do it:

Scott Brandreth, the Phillies' director of merchandising, said that is the only game planned for the retro uniforms at this time.

The event was at the Brewers' urging, but Brandreth said the Phillies "were happy to participate."

She also thinks several Phillies - notably Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and Joe Blanton - are going to look very funny wearing powder blue from head to toe.

Football: I want to buy into the Jets, but I can't. I'm picking both home teams, the Colts and Saints, to advance to the Super Bowl.

Two former Red Sox flops back in the news

Two players who are among the most reviled Red Sox free agent signings in the 1990s have been in the news recently for slightly different reasons.

Jack Clark, who in retrospect is probably one of the last untainted sluggers, called out Mark McGwire and the rest of the roiders in a story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

"A lot of them should be banned from baseball, including Mark McGwire," Clark said. "All those guys are cheaters —A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez). Fake, phony. Rafael Palmeiro. Fake, a phony.

"(Roger) Clemens, (Barry) Bonds. (Sammy) Sosa. Fakes. Phonies. They don't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

"They should all be in the Hall of Shame. They can afford to build it. They've all got so much money. And they could all go there and talk about the next way to rub something on your skin. The whole thing is creepy. "They're all creeps. All these guys have been liars," Clark said.

Amen. Jack the Ripper, you might not have had the greatest career, but at least you're at peace knowing you did the best you could without cheating. He says it best:

"I'd rather take my 340 home runs (11 seasons of more than 20) legitimately instead of taking that stuff to be phony."

Meanwhile, Jose Offerman, who less than three years ago attacked former Phillie Matt Beech with a baseball bat, has punched an umpire in the winter league:

Offerman, manager of the Licey Tigers, appeared to hit first base umpire Daniel Rayburn in the face or neck with his fist during a heated discussion in a game against the Cibao Giants. Rayburn fell to the ground.

I have nothing to add. I just hope that Rayburn isn't hurt as badly by Offerman as John Nathans was.

J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets: I often acknowledge that I tend to be a fair-weather football fan. I may be biased, but I think it's OK to be fickle as long as you never pretend to be devoted to a team and acknowledge that you are fair-weathered. But I usually root against three teams - Cowboys, Jets and Eagles - so I can't believe I was getting sucked into the Jets last night, even though they cemented another woeful weekend of predictions: 1-3 this time.

The winter hump

Other than last week's incredible ending of the Cardinals-Packers game, I haven't been able to get myself psyched up for playoff football.

Today looks deceivingly warm outside, which isn't helping matters.

But I think Christine is taking the offseason harder.

The other night we were watching TV and someone was talking to a guy named Lee.

"It sounded like he said Utley," she said.

"Nah, just Lee."

"Oh, maybe I'm more baseball deprived than I thought," she said.

Seventy-nine more days until opening day. Meanwhile, I'll try to get psyched for today's pair of football games in domes.

Animal Planet misses Harry: Christine has always preferred watching puppies to football. We wondered how Puppy Bowl would continue this year without its voice, Harry Kalas, a man, according to Animal Planet, whose "booming and powerful voice juxtaposed against our furry players will be sorely missed."

There's no mention on the Web site who will announce the furry free-for-all this year. Indigo (pictured) is still sad Harry won't be here to call the action, but the pup will play hard in his memory on Feb. 7.

[Photo credit: Animal Planet]

Zolecki wraps up the decade

Earlier this week, Todd Zolecki belatedly named Jimmy Rollins the Phillies player of the decade. (In December, SoxandPhils honored J-Roll along with Tim Wakefield as the two players who best resembled the ideals of our teams for the aughts.)

J-Roll was a fairly obvious pick, and we debated among ourselves who Zolecki would proclaim as Phillies pitcher of the decade. We figured that Cole Hamels didn't pitch enough and that it would come down to Brett Myers beating out Randy Wolf; at one point, we even had Vicente Padilla in the running. We reasoned that young Brett pitched the most of any Phillies pitcher in the decade, and although he didn't live up to expectations, he did perform well.

We were wrong. Zolecki went with the flameout Cole Hamels:

Forty-six pitchers made starts for the Phillies in the '00s. Of the 16 hurlers with 30 or more starts, Hamels is one of only two pitchers to have an ERA under 4.00 -- Padilla had a 3.98 ERA.

Hamels' .244 batting average against ranked second behind Robert Person (.233). Hamels' opponents' on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.704) ranked first. Hamels also ranked first in baserunners per nine innings (10.73), strikeouts per nine innings (8.38) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.67).

Oh, and he owned the 2008 postseason.

Yes, Hamels went 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA in 2009.

Yes, he pitched poorly in the 2009 postseason (1-2, 7.58 ERA in four starts). But nobody enjoyed the kind of success he had in his short period of time.

Somewhere, Adam Eaton demands a recount.

I guess we can't really gripe - it's just odd that a guy with less than four full seasons would get the honor. Then again, that may be a lot of seasons for one pitcher on one team in one decade. Let's just hope he retains his title in this decade.

It's official: The 2010 Red Sox are Bill James' science experiment on defensive metrics. ... The team acknowledged the minor league signing of Brian Shouse, along with six others.

Football: I don't know when we'll post tomorrow, so I'll make my weekend football picks now so that nobody accuses me of rigging my picks when the Cardinals upset the Saints tomorrow. I'll also pick the Cowboys to upset the Vikings, but the favorites in the AFC - Colts over Ravens and Chargers over Jets.

Honor roll

The other day, I noted how Jamie Moyer is now the active career leader in several more categories because Randy Johnson announced his retirement.

He's clearly the most decorated active SoxandPhil, but he's not the only one who ranks among active career leaders. Here's where some SoxandPhils hitters rank on the career lists in The Bill James Handbook - but for my sake, we'll keep using the Big Unit's rankings from the book.

After completing this mind-numbing task, my one thought is surprise that Pat Burrell couldn't squeeze into any category, but Carlos Ruiz did.

Current SoxandPhils

Slugging average: Ryan Howard (.586, third)

Triples: Jimmy Rollins (95, T-first), Mike Cameron (59, 10th)

Strikeouts: Cameron (1,798, second)

Stolen bases: Rollins (326, eighth)

Seasons played: Moyer (23, first)

At-bats per home run: Howard (12.1, first)

Stolen base percentage: Jacoby Ellsbury (84.9, fourth), Rollins (82.5, seventh)

Strikeouts-to-walks ratio: Dustin Pedroia (.820, sixth), Ruiz (.971, 10th)

OPS: Howard (.961, sixth)

Secondary average: Howard (.461, fourth)

Highest strikeout per PA: Howard (.279, seventh)

Lowest strikeout per PA: Placido Polanco (.065, third), Pedroia (.069, fourth)

At-bats per RBI: Howard (4.2, first), David Ortiz (4.8, fifth)

Former SoxandPhils

Average: Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra (.313, T-ninth)

On-base percentage: Ramirez (.411, fourth), Jim Thome (.404, eighth), Bobby Abreu (.404 ninth)

Slugging average: Ramirez (.591, second), Thome (.557, eighth)

Home runs: Thome (564, third), Ramirez (546, fourth)

Games: Thome (2,284, fifth), Ramirez (2,207, sixth)

At-bats: Johnny Damon (8,408, sixth), Ramirez (7,962, ninth)

Hits: Ramirez (2,494, seventh), Damon (2,425, ninth)

Total bases: Ramirez (4,703, fourth), Thome (4,290, fifth)

Doubles: Ramirez (531, second), Abreu (483, sixth), Damon (451, 10th)

Triples: Damon (95, T-first)

Runs: Ramirez (1,506, fifth), Thome (1,486, sixth), Damon (1,483, seventh)

RBI: Ramirez (1,788, second), Thome (1,565, fifth)

Walks: Thome (1,619, first), Ramirez (1,283, fifth), Abreu (1,254, seventh)

Intentional walks: Ramirez (212, third), Thome (162, seventh)

Hit by pitch: Scott Rolen (112, ninth)

Strikeouts: Thome (2,313, first), Ramirez (1,748, fourth), Abreu (1,518, eighth)

Sacrifice hits: John Smoltz (136, second), Edgar Renteria (91, eighth)

Sacrifice flies: Ramirez (87, fourth)

Stolen bases: Damon (374, third), Abreu (348, sixth)

Seasons played: Tom Gordon and Smoltz (21, T-fourth), Thome (19, T-eighth)

At-bats per home run: Thome (13.7, second), Ramirez (14.6, sixth), Russell Branyan (14.8, seventh)

Grounded into double play: Ramirez (237, third), Renteria (226, sixth)

Stolen base percentage: Michael Bourn (82.9, sixth)

Worst stolen base percentage: Mark Kotsay (62.3, second)

At-bats per GIDP: Bourn (240.0, second), Branyan (105.7, 10th)

OPS: Ramirez (1.002, second), Thome (.961, seventh)

Secondary average: Thome (.492, first), Ramirez (.443, sixth)

Highest strikeout per PA: Branyan (.335, first), Smoltz (.313, fifth), Carlos Pena (.262, ninth)

Plate appearances: Thome (9,463, seventh), Ramirez (9,437, eighth), Damon (9,433, ninth)

At-bats per RBI: Ramirez (4.5, second), Thome (4.9, seventh)

{And if you've managed to slog your way through to the end of this list, yes, Greg did go 0-4 on his weekend football picks. Better luck next weekend.}

Who is Rich Hunter?

The Red Sox pitcher on Aug. 17, 1996, had started 374 major league games for the Red Sox, and although he would start 333 more in his 24-year career, he would pitch only eight more times for the Red Sox.

The Phillies pitcher that day was making his eighth start for the Phillies. He would start six more that season and then never pitch again in the big leagues.

Let's backtrack.

While looking at my program yesterday for the post on Roger Clemens' last Fenway shutout for the Red Sox, I noticed that I had saved the little insert that lists news and other teams' rosters. (For the long-timers, this is similar to the Phillies former Newsy Notes.)

Of course, I checked to see what the Phillies were doing that day. They were hosting the Giants and starting a 1-3 pitcher named Hunter. I couldn't remember a Hunter on the Phillies in the mid-1990s. Neither could Christine, which is odd because both of us tend to remember most scrubby players.

We were more curious when we found out that the Phillies pitcher, Rich Hunter, had made 14 starts that year but never pitched again in the majors. He kicked around the minors and independent leagues until 1999 and his career ended when he was 24 years old.

The most we could find on him was a 1996 Baseball Digest story talking about rookies who could make an impact. He went 19-2 with a 2.73 ERA in A and AA ball in 1995, earning the organization's Paul Owens Award for minor league pitcher of the year.

"He doesn't throw real hard, but he's just got phenomenal control," said Del Unser, Phillies director of player development. "He's got a big-league curveball and a big-league changeup along with big-league control (32 walks in 184 innings) and big league poise."

We found a couple game-day stories about his starts, but not much else.

Fortunately, Christine remembered that I hadn't yet thrown out my 1996 Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons program. Sure enough, today's topic is in there on page 67. But there's not much to note other than he was single in 1996 and a 1992 graduate of Linfield High School in California, where he was first-team All-State in baseball.

I'm willing to bet injuries played a role, but I'd love to know why he never panned out.

Football: As is becoming annual tradition, I forgot to post my playoff picks yesterday. Good thing because I would have picked the Bengals and Eagles. I just couldn't see the Jets winning a game, and I thought the Eagles had a bigger choke in them. Oops. Today, I pick the Patriots and Packers. So if you need some money, bet on the Ravens and Cardinals.

Phillies' reign as Philly's top team is secure

Slow news day in Philly, huh?

We couldn't believe when we heard last night that the Eagles signed Michael Vick. {Actually, I wasn't shocked by it. Greg had on, ugh, Mike and Mike on Thursday morning, and some reporter mentioned that Vick could land with the Eagles.}

What would Chase and Jen Utley think?

What were the Eagles thinking? Did they say, the Phillies got lots of good press for signing Pedro and no one mentioned his cock fighting controversy?

Did Andy Reid think this would distract people from the next crime one of his sons commits?

Why go through all this bad PR for a guy who's not going to do much for your team?

After the initial shock wore off, we started hearing the outcry from the Eagles fans who denounced the organization and swore they will sell their season tickets and burn their Eagles gear. Sal Paolantonio reported fans were crying leaving the Eagles' first preseason game (a loss).

I'm planning to go to my first NFL game on Nov. 1 to see the Giants play in Philly. Tickets should be dirt cheap if everyone follows through with their promises to dump them.

We're pretty big animal lovers - in fact, we just hung a print of a bull dog chewing a baseball we bought in Savannah - but we can't help being confused by this reaction. Where is the outrage over athletes who have committed crimes against humans?

In the end, the Phillies should send a thank you note to the Eagles because this moves ensures that their spot as Philadelphia's favorite sports team, earned last fall, is going to be more than a fleeting fancy. The Eagles have demonstrated why the Phillies are the class of Philadelphia - even with a pitcher who has participated in cock fights, another who has been suspended under baseball's drug policy and a third who has been accused of domestic violence.

Today's baseball news: The Red Sox traded for Alex Gonzalez to help with their shortstop problems - not the retired former Phillie Alex Gonzalez, but the current and former Red Sox Alex Gonzalez.

And, Pedro Martinez is officially no longer a Met.

Today's games: The Phillies beat the Braves 3-2. Ryan Howard hit a home run in the 9th to put them ahead. Brad Lidge actually got a save. Joe Blanton had a no decision, but had another strong outing. The rest of the offense came on a two-run homer by Utley, which I'm sure was dedicated to abused doggies.

The Red Sox trail Kevin Millwood and the Rangers 3-2 in the 7th. Our new shortstop isn't playing. David Ortiz has been dropped to 7th in the order. Tony Massarotti suggests the Red Sox best lineup may be Gonzalez at short, Kevin Youkilis at third and Mike Lowell at DH. I wonder if the trade is with the thought of benching Papi. He did hit a two-run home run tonight.

[Photo credit: Philadelphia Magazine via 700level.com]

Read it here first

Who is going to win the big game?

Is it the Red Sox?

Phillies?

How about team USA or Venezuela? South Africa or Cuba? Panama or the Dominican Republic?

I'm going with Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. Kurt Warner and the Cardinals will keep it close, perhaps teasing an upset late in the fourth quarter, but look for Pittsburgh to snatch the win in the final seconds.

What am I talking about? Well, Christine and I had a nice chuckle when we got home yesterday and found this in our mailbox:


Which antiquated institution, the newspaper industry or the United States Postal Service, is responsible for me getting my big Super Bowl preview issue of Sports Weekly more than a month late? As much as I'd like to blame my former employer, this one probably is the federal government's fault.

Well, at least I got to read the Red Sox organizational report. The team is a little weak at catcher, but "the door isn't closed on the possible return of free-agent Jason Varitek." And in right field, should J.D. Drew miss time, there are better back-up options this year, such as Mark Kotsay who "is available from the start of the season." Oops.

The football scribes were split in their predictions (4-4) between the Steelers and Cardinals. Two came close to predicting the final score (27-23), but both Jim Corbett (27-24) and Jarrett Bell (27-20) had the Cardinals winning.

No one picked Santonio Holmes for MVP.

Maybe next week I'll get a newspaper finally telling me who won Game 5 of the World Series. I have a good feeling about that one.

Super Sunday

In reverence to the big game, there seems to be a dearth of SoxandPhils news. Nick Cafardo has some interesting nuggets on Jason Varitek's worth, Joe Torre's insight on Alex Rodriguez and teams facing dilemmas with out-of-option players this spring. But there's no big issue for a blogger to chew on. Phil Sheridan is in Tampa, and the rest of the Phillies writers seem to be on vacation, switching jobs or casualties of the newspaper industry's failure to weather the economy.

So on such a day, I think even Christine will acknowledge that baseball takes a back seat for football. But I don't think she will give the sport more than today - tomorrow we resume counting the days until spring training. {I just want this game to be over with.}

Game on: Finally, on the last week of the season, I remember to post playoff predictions before the games start. I'll pick the usually crowd-pleasing Budweiser Clydesdales to win the commercial wars; Buster to win the Puppy Bowl (I like the quiet confidence in his eyes); and the Steelers to win 37-30.


Update: The MLB Network is back on Verizon FIOS. I hope the other night was some kind of glitch, but I bet they're just messing with me.

Waiting with ennui

The Wing Bowl is little more than 24 hours away, and I am not into it at all. It wasn't until this week that I became aware it's amateurs-only this year.

The Super Bowl is Sunday, and I'm still waiting for my internal clock to switch over to football. I haven't even looked at the lineup for Puppy Bowl. OK, I snuck a peek while fetching this link. Some of those suckers are really cute.

And the baseball writers seem to have fallen from the face of the earth (not unlike many of their colleagues in newsrooms across the country). The only news today is that Ryan Howard would welcome a long-term contract. Yeah, so would I, but I think my chances of getting A-Fraud type of money are nearly as slim as Howard's.

The only suspense right now is not whether Jason Varitek will accept the Red Sox' take-it-or-leave-it offer, but whether the deadline for said offer is Friday or Saturday. Can't my team ever do anything normally? Jeez, I know the Captain screwed himself by not accepting arbitration, but there comes a time when the team has to cut bait. I guess that's what Friday's deadline is about.

I'm just bored with the whole situation.

{But we're coming up on the three-month anniversary of the Phillies World Series victory! Plus, there are only 16 days til the start of spring training. And the teams' caravans leaves for Florida next week! Excitement!}

Eagles postmortem

One Team. One City. One Dream.

That was the Eagles slogan a few years ago that completely ignored the city's three other major professional sports teams, as well as the not-so-major Soul that, like the Phillies, also beat the Iggles to a championship.

I mention because, thankfully, the Eagles were embarrassed yesterday in yet another NFC championship game. I feel bad for some of the crestfallen fans, but I was rooting hard against the team because an Eagles win would have diminished the Phillies championship. Yes, that's what happens with the Red Sox dwarfing the Patriots. I don't mind that because I'm a Red Sox fan who doesn't live in New England. But it's not right.

If you think I'm going overboard, check out the Jan. 19 Sports Illustrated story leading up to the Cardinals game. Shawn Andrews fantasized about stealing the Phillies' parade. He won't be seeing that vision anytime soon.

The other day I joked about Charlie Manuel scripting plays for Andy Reid. Maybe it's not such a joke. When Cholly was asked if he had any advice for Big Red, he said:

"I would tell Andy he's on his own. No, seriously, I don't have to give Andy Reid any advice. He's a tremendous coach, and I have a lot of respect for him."

Manuel was joking, but the Eagles did lose.

Back to the Philly sports team that matters: Ryan Madson did sign that three-year $12 million deal after all. And, apparently, J.C. Romero's infraction wasn't such a big deal to the World Baseball Classic; he's eligible to play in the series for Puerto Rico.