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.

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]

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]

A dog and a horse

It's no secret I like baseball. And dogs. I'm also intrigued by powerful stories involving death.

That's why I was so gripped by this sad tale of Harry Kalas' dog, the aptly named Scout.

Harry's widow, Eileen, says the golden retriever wouldn't leave the announcer's side for two weeks before he died:

"He usually would sleep in another room, but for some reason he wanted to be right there with him."

After Kalas' death, Scout "wouldn't leave [Kalas'] suitcase alone. I put [the suitcase] in a closet, and he just howled." She said she had to give the dog to a family friend.

Christine was particularly saddened by this tale. I tried to console her by saying maybe he wasn't just mourning, but cheering for his master's favorite team by howling, "Raauuullll!"

A horse is on the market: The flavor-of-the-day former Cy Young pitcher the Phillies are rumored to acquire has gone from Pedro Martinez to Roy Halladay, a stud pitcher suddenly placed on the market by the Blue Jays. Doc is the type of pitcher you wouldn't mind giving up prospects for, but I don't think the Phillies need to make this move, nor is it their modus operandi. I don't see it happening, but if the Blue Jays can convince the Phillies to make a move, they can check out Only Time Will Tell's scouting report on the Lakewood BlueClaws.

Today's games: The Red Sox, who need to start winning again, lead the A's 5-2 in the 7th. The Phillies, who finished with 22 runs last night, are tied with the Reds 3-3 in the 8th. Kudos to the kid who caught Brandon Phillips' home run in the 4th inning and refused to throw it back. Jeers to the kid who caught Phillips' home run in the 6th and, prompted by his dad, threw it back on the field.

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!}

Happy Thanksgiving

I know we should be expressing gratitude for family and friends, health, jobs, our successful baseball teams, etc.

But I have a gripe today.

I'm sure Christine will disagree, but I don't mind ceding Thanksgiving to football. It's a perfect mix of cold weather, food and vegging out. But why can't they put any decent games on?

Let's look at today's matchups (bear with me, we'll get to a baseball point):

We open with the slaughter of the 0-11 Lions against the 10-1 Titans. The only thing to root for in this one is such a bad game that the NFL finally decides to ditch the tradition that says the Lions have to host a Thanksgiving game.

Next up is the rebounding Cowboys (7-4) against another turkey, the 2-9 Seahawks. I won't mind if I have to miss this one for dinner.

Finally, perhaps the day's most compelling game, the 7-4 Cardinals look to clinch their first division title since before I was born against the 5-5-1 Philadelphia Eagles. OK, this game isn't good either, but it could be must-watch simply to see where the Eagles soap opera devolves to next.

It could get ugly in the stands today. All week, talk radio has been filled with callers saying they will still go to the game, but will wear Phillies garb. One guy said he's going with a bag over his head with "129 days until Opening Day" written on it. If I predicted such sentiment a year ago, I would have been laughed off the Internet.

OK, back to baseball. With such a crappy football lineup, you would think Comcast would have capitalized and moved up its Miracle on Broad Street series. Don't get me wrong, it's a great idea to replay key games - we'll be watching Matt Stairs homer as we wait for Santa on Christmas Eve - but they could have added so many more games to this promotion. How could they leave out Game 3 of the World Series? Who wouldn't watch that over Titans-Lions today?

Anyhoo, enjoy your turkey, and if you're watching football today because there's nothing else on (except the dog show Christine will watch at noon), go with the Titans, Cowboys and Eagles (just a gut feeling that they'll pull it out).

Game on

Outside smells like a freezer, and the grass and sidewalks are coated with frost. I'm now in the mood to watch some football played in the desert.

This week, I've talked football, wrestling and competitive eating. Today, Jim Salisbury, I'm sure to Christine's gratitude, takes me back to the basics, err, baseball. He's got 42, or XLII, nuggets to tide over baseball fans who have to sit through one more football game and a few more days before spring training.

Some of the more interesting points:

For Christine:
VIII. The Phillies' equipment truck leaves for Florida on Thursday.

A decade ago, I was very happy that the Sox traded Jamie Moyer for Darren Bragg:
X. Unless Roger Clemens or Julio Franco surface this season - and that's doubtful - Jamie Moyer will be the oldest player in the majors. Moyer turned 45 in November. He has 230 wins, 196 coming after he was released three times in three years in the early 1990s.

This is why Billy Beane's a genius and the new guy in Minnesota's just a boy playing with men:
XIII. Santana and Dan Haren were the two top pitchers to be dealt for prospects this winter. The prevailing wisdom is that Oakland made a better score for Haren than the Twins made for Santana. The A's got six players from Arizona for Haren, including Venezuelan outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, who has game-breaking offensive skills, and lefthanded pitcher Brett Anderson.
XIV. The rebuilding A's also nabbed two good arms - Gio Gonzalez and Fautino de los Santos - from the White Sox for Nick Swisher.

Who pointed out this before?
XV. Yes, that's the same Gio Gonzalez who came from the White Sox to the Phillies for Jim Thome then was sent back for Freddy Garcia. The White Sox have now traded Gonzalez twice. The 22-year-old lefty led the minors with 185 strikeouts in 150 innings in double A last season.

Another reason Johan's a Met:
XXI. Baseball America ranks the Phillies' farm system 22d out of 30 teams.
However:
XXII. The Phils have a chance to do some significant restocking of their system in the June draft, provided they're willing to spend on top talent. They have three picks in the top 50 and six in the top 107.

I love this guy's name for a relief pitcher, a former Sox farmhand:
XXIV. Rule 5 pick Lincoln Holdzkom will be an intriguing newcomer in Phillies camp. The 6-foot-5 righthander has the kind of power arm teams dream of, but he has been unable to stick in one organization, partly due to attitude issues.

Sorry Christine:
XXV. There's not much interest in Wes Helms, so look for him to be in camp for a while with the Phils.

And I used to think they were chokers.
XL. In Charlie Manuel's three seasons as manager, the Phillies are an NL-best 133-89 after the all-star break.

That's all I got - enjoy the big game. I'm taking Jack with the points. And though I've got a nagging feeling the super-charged, early-season Patriots will show up, I think the Giants will at least cover. Goodbye to the '72 Dolphins.

Baseball Mogul: Finally finished year two with the Phils. Got them back to the playoffs, this time as a wild card. Three and out. I've already started retooling. I've signed Scott Olsen to a pretty good deal. And I'm considering a radio-caller type move: trading Adam Dunn to break up my three lefties and replacing him in left with Prince Fielder. Christine's wary of putting the big guy in left, but I promised if I do so I won't trade Ryan Howard. (This offseason anyway.)