A big win in big D - for the future

Even though they are mathematically out of the playoffs after last night's Vikings victory, it's always nice for the Eagles to beat up on their biggest one-sided rival, the Cowboys. I say one-sided because Cowboys fans generally do not consider the Eagles to be their most hated foe. Anyway, it was a nice victory, and featured a renewed mobility from Donovan McNabb, who obviously wants to showcase to the rest of the teams in the league that he is ready to be their quarterback. Ii seems that he can't stay here considering the words he has spoken this year. He's made it obvious he wants out, and no one should blame him. But what would next year bring if he does stay and is back to level approaching his old form, which was pretty damn good?

The fact is this team is not as bad as everyone, inlcuding myself in recent weeks, thinks. They have the best running back in the NFC, an offensive line that's decent when the QB can move/doesn't hold the ball for 18 seconds, a sad and terrible WR corps as they have most years, and slighly above average pass and run defenses. The special teams have been atrocious, but can be fixed. Akers (hopefully) just had an off year, and they can always find kick and punt returners. The Sav Rocca novelty also has worn thin; he's just not a good punter. But again, special teams are something which can be fixed in one offseason.

The Eagles could easily be 9-5 and heading to the playoffs with the talent assembled. Who is to say that next year, with a healthy McNabb, they wouldn't realize that potential and make a run in the playoffs? They're not in the same position as teams like Chicago, which is a recently good team in need of a complete overhaul. They're more like the Bengals; a good team that had some bad breaks this year.

Hopefully, we will get a chance to see what happens with McNabb under center next year. Despite all his jockeying, Reid and Joe Banner say he's staying, and I do hope Donovan will have a change of heart in the offseason. And if he doesn't, well, fuck him.

Where is the real Willie Green?

In the month of December, Willie Green is shooting 57% from the field, and averaging 1.29 points per shot. And in his last 3 games, he's been to the free throw line 10 times, which for him is a huge triumph. His only really bad game this month was against Boston, which is the greatest team ever by most accounts from people who are Celtics fans.

Of course, he still can't rebound, pass, handle, or defend, but this post isn't about that. Instead, it is intended to congratulate our friend Willie for showing that, as we all knew, Billy King is to blame. Billy King was holding him back. "But wait", you say, "that makes no sense. Billy King was the GM and President, not the frigging coach. He's not responsible." Or is he? Something to think about, friends.

In other Philly sports news, Aaron Rowand has signed with the Giants for $219 billion over 15 years. Or something. In any case, they WAY overpaid for a guy with a career.805 OPS and who won a dubious Gold Glove this year. But contrary to popular belief, I'll miss Rowand. He was fun to watch and I did like his approach to the game, even if that approach does not make him the elite player people here like to believe he is.

HE'S FINALLY GONE!

Bye bye, Billy King. I'd say "Bon Voyage", but I just found out that's not French for "Fuck you, thank Christ you're leaving." Which totally changes the context of the film Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown.

The Enemy Within

It seems as though Ed Wade is doing his best to ruin the Houston Astros' chances of competing for the playoffs before they even play one game.

Like most other analysts, I thought the Phillies got the better of the Brad Lidge/Michael Bourn trade, though Wade has always been obsessed with the idea of a speedy guy at the top of the lineup. But his latest move is just mind blowing.

The Astros reportedly have agreed with free-agent second baseman Kaz Matsui on a three-year contract worth $15 million.

Maybe Wade thought he was signing Hideki Matsui. Three years and 15 million dollars for Kaz Matsui? I can think of a number of reasons why this is going to turn out to be a disaster for the Astros.

1. Kaz Matsui has a career OBP of .325. Before he went to the hitters paradise that is Coors Field, his career OBP was .314. Atrocious is a word that comes to mind when I look at those numbers.

2. At first glance, Matsui's numbers for 2007 look decent enough, .747 OPS with 32 stolen bases. All one has to do is look at his home/road splits to see how much Coors Field pumped up his numbers. On the road, he put up .249/.304/.333. Yes, you are reading that right, on the road Matsui produced an OPS of .637 that would make Abraham Nunez proud.

3. Matsui's only decent attribute is his base stealing ability. He is 32 years old. Hmmmm, I wonder what age does to baseball players that rely on speed?

With Bourn and Matsui at the top of the lineup, I imagine there will be quite a few instances this year when the Astros #3 batter is up with two outs in the first inning.

The Soft Pretzel Factory

You know when things aren't going your way? When you try to throw a FF game and your team scores two TDs in the first quarter of the Thursday night game. Grrrr.

Anyways, it is very slow now in the Philadelphia sports world as the vultures continue to circle and have started to peck at Donovan McNabb to see if still able to fight back. So as opposed to ranting about one issue, I will take on a few issues.

According to Jayson Stark, there are six teams trying to sign Randy Wolf but the Phillies amped up their pursuit this week by getting nearly every one of their top executives on the phone with him personally.

I'm glad that Pat Gillick and the Phillies are modeling their free agency pursuits after the college football recruiting process. I think the next step is for them to give his brother a job as the assistant athletic director. Seriously, if they want to sign Wolf, give him a two year deal. But don't leak stories like these to Jayson Stark. It just makes the Phillies front office come off more out of touch than they even are.

Recent internet rumors have Andre Miller being traded to the Miami Heat for Jason Williams.

You know when would have been a good time to trade Andre Miller? Six months ago before the draft to a team like the Atlanta Hawks who had two first round picks and really needed a point guard. But why get maximum value for one of your assets when you can wait a year and get fifty cents on the dollar? That's Billy King's motto and he's sticking to it.

Miller is averaging 5.1 assists per 40 minutes. That is two assists lower than his previous career low. While his shooting percentage has been decent, his value lies in the fact that he is a traditional point guard. And those skills are obviously starting to deteriorate. As opposed to getting actual value for Miller, the Sixers will probably end up taking expiring contracts so Billy King can figure out a way to further screw up the Sixers 2008 off-season.

According to the Philadelphia Daily News worthless new Phillies beat writer Steve King, the Phillies are rumored to be interested in trading for Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora.

In order to "break" this story, Steve King took a story from the Baltimore Sun and reprinted it. This would work in 1987 when people outside of Baltimore did not have access to the Baltimore Sun. Unfortunately the year is 2007 and we all have the Internet.

Now as far as Melvin Mora goes, there is one interesting fact about him that stands out to me: He stinks. He stunk last year and he stunk in 2006. His last good year was 2005. MLB started testing for performance enhancing drugs after 2005. Coincidence? Maybe, but I like accusing rich people of illegalities so bare with me. He will also be 36 at the start of this season and has two years left on his contract for a total of 18 million dollars.

Even when Aaron Rowand leaves, the Phillies will still have a good offense. Will it be head and shoulders above the rest of the NL like it was last year? Probably not. But the slight upgrade that Mora provides over the Phillies' current options is definitely not worth paying 9 million a year for.

Last night against the Utah Jazz, Willie Green went to the free throw line a season high 7 times, making 6 of them.

He also went 2-10 from the field to reduce his shooting percentage on the year to a chilly .376. For the year, Whistlin Willie is averaging a scorching 0.95 points per shot attempt. If the Sixers as a team averaged 0.95 points per shot attempt, they would score 75 points a night. Willie also currently ranks 258th out of 300 players in John Hollinger's Player Efficiency Ratings.

Seriously, can the Sixers just trade Miller, sit Green and see if Louis Williams and Iguodala can play in the back court together? Enough already.

Should Donovan McNabb be killed?

(This is a super serious editorial I have written to broaden our appeal to Philadelphia sports fans)

After last night's clear moral victory that strangely still counts as a loss according to the archaic NFL rules, it's plainer than ever that AJ Feeley is, without hyperbole, the best quarterback in Eagles' history. But it seems there is still a question as to whether he will remain the starter this Sunday or if he will be replaced by the listless, decrepit, and Holocaust-denying Donovan McNabb. It is this quarterback controversy which leads us to the true fundamental question the Eagles must face as they head into their showdown with the Seahawks and their final 5 games of the season- should Donovan McNabb be bound and gagged and thrown into an active volcano, or shouldn't he?

As recently as 2004 I would have said "NO. Do not kill Donovan McNabb, even if it is to feed hungry pitbulls who would gladly feast on his innards." But in the bright glow of the radiance of AJ Feeley, I'm not so sure I'm opposed to the concept. On paper, the case can be made that Donovan should be this team's quarterback. He's had an excellent career and they've won a whole lot of games with him at the helm. But on another sheet of paper, I have drawn a picture of Donovan being horribly mangled in the propeller of a large airplane, and it just feels right.

There are other reasons to take McNabb out behind the Linc and put two in his skull as well. For one, he still hasn't won a Super Bowl. AJ Feeley hasn't won one either, but at least he wants to. McNabb probably would rather get injured than win, because that's what he likes to do. Also, McNabb has never won the MVP. AJ Feeley basically sealed his MVP award last night by throwing an equal amount of interceptions and touchdowns, demonstrating that the balance he brings to the Eagles is unparalleled, and that McNabb needs to be assassinated via injection with ricin pellets like Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov was in 1978.

Is it the end of the world if Number 5 isn't crushed by one of those swinging two-tree thingys like the AT-ST was during the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi? Of course not. Even if he returns to being the starter, there is always a chance that AJ Feeley will grant McNabb an audience and then tutor him. And he'll probably end up injured again anyway, since he doesn't play hard and is always getting hurt because of it. But why risk a McNabb return when you can guarantee several years of Feeley (and therefore Super Bowl wins and low unemployment with low inflation)just by inserting an ice pick into the base of his skull? It's the only unselfish choice for the team, and for America.

A Formula For Success

The Sixers currently have two guys in their starting lineup, Andre Miller and Guess Who, averaging less than a point per shot attempt. And people wonder why this team is in the bottom 5 of team offensive efficiency.

Fixing the stupid Eagles

As evidenced by the loss to Dallas Sunday night, the Eagles are not very good right now. Of course, Dallas is an awesome team. They are a team so good that they don’t even have to help my fantasy football team and start their best running back. But if they can’t even make a game of it at home against hated rival Dallas (hated by the fans anyway), how can they compete against anyone? They are in turmoil. But what to do what to do? Addressed here are 3 common sentiments that have been read/heard in the past few days about how to fix the Eagles.

Fire Andy Reid

Perhaps this is not so crazy, and it's the only one of the 3 sentiments I can agree with. If a team with talent is not performing, the coach is usually the prime suspect as to why. But he shouldn't be let go because the BS going on with his anus-pill loving sons is limiting his ability to focus (a garbage theory), but because maybe he’s no longer capable of outcoaching his competitors. A lot of folks will tell you he never was anyway, but the fact is that the Eagles have had a good offense for much of Reid’s tenure. Now it seems though that many teams have figured his game plans out and he refuses to/can’t adapt. And then there are the accusations of stupid play calls and poor clock management, which have plagued his coaching career here. But the biggest knock on him this year, and one that is well deserved, is the ineptitude in the red zone. The Eagles rank 8th in the NFL in total yards and 20th in points. It’s a crude measurement of their non-success, but telling- and it’s also part of a 3-season trend.

Now, most of these charges have been leveled against him before around mid-season, which then resulted in a change in planning (or the planning started working well) and a late season surge into the playoffs. But with the crew they have now? This is unlikely. Even if Sacky McNabb and Co. play better (and they actually have not been as bad as many people think, other than the constant sacks), the secondary is still a mess and the special teams other than Akers make me gag like the kitten poo I’ve been cleaning up all week. But the biggest hurdle is that at 3-5, they have almost no room for error. But errors likely will be made. Like McNabb taking sacks. And playing the Patriots.

Of course if the Eagles turn it around and miraculously sneak into the playoffs, then Reid’s job will likely be safe. But if they finish 6-10 again like 2005? They’ll probably fire him, or he’ll be poisoned by an angry fan. Everyone can blame Reid’s failure on the distraction caused by his two jailbird kids, but everyone should know it’s only because Andy Reid's coaching has apparently gotten stale.

There is another option I will be called a crazy person for suggesting- instead of firing Reid, maybe they should fire Jim Johnson. The guy is hailed as a genius, but the fact is the Eagles defense has been in a decline since 2004. From 2000-2004, the Eagles were in the top 5 in points allowed every season except 2003, when they were 7th. They haven’t been in the top-10 in PA since. Last year, they ranked 6th in points scored and 15th in points allowed. Part of that is injuries and personnel changes, but good coaches deal well with those. And fire Mornigwheg too.

Bench McNabb (and trade him after the season)

Screw the benching crap. You want to bench him for a rookie who the coach you all say can’t think straight says is the QB of the future? McNabb has been hit with so many sacks this year that he’s making Lance Bass jealous, but he hasn’t been as awful as everyone thinks throwing the ball. He’s just not readjusting to his new running limitations very well. Pulling him out now will not help him if he’s ever going to learn to play well again. Regarding the trade possibilities- I hate the idea of trading a perceived superstar, as you’ll see below.

Trade Westbrook

A terrible, terrible idea. He’s the best player on the team. And they’ll never get decent value for him in a trade. A few people seem to have this dream of trading Westbrook for a massive package of draft picks, a la Herschel Walker or Ricky Williams. Not happening. Too many teams learned from those mistakes, and pulling off a big trade in the NFL is a much different proposition than in the other leagues. He also has 3 years left on his contract and is actually still underpaid based on his performance, making him worth having on their salary cap. He doesn’t even have a ton of mileage on him compared to other 6th year running backs. Trading him after this season would be more retarded than 1,000 retards acting retarded.

John Smallwood Must Not Know Who the Sixers' GM Is

From Smallwood's column on the Iguodala negotiations:

If the fourth-year swingman does not continue his progress and perform to the level anticipated this season, or if he suffers a devastating injury, he could have potentially blown tens of millions of guaranteed dollars in pursuit of a bigger payday.

Does he know something about Billy King's future that we don't? Because I don't think he's talking about the Sixers' Billy King and their history of re-signing their own. Let's go into the time machine and go back to the summer of 2005, shall we?

July 2005: Billy King is ready to overpay another player, this time Willie Green. Green is offered a deal for around 6 years, 20 million dollars.

August 2005: Willie Green suffers knee injury playing a pickup game. Apparently it was inflicted by one of his own teammates after Green shot the ball for the 17th time in the team's last 17 possessions.

August 2005: Billy King does not pull the contract offer, instead he puts it on "hold". Because as had been proven before, Billy King isn't addicted to crystal meth or candy. He gets his high from overpaying his own players, and he'll be damned if a minor setback like a torn knee ligament is going to keep him from getting his fix.

August 2005: Green goes under the knife.

April 2006: Green returns from his knee injury. He plays the remaining ten games of the season and shoots a career best 42.4% from the field.

July 2006: Because of the intense demand for unproven shooting guards coming off serious knee injuries, Billy King does not waste any time getting Willie Green's signature on a contract. Based on the 150 minutes that he played in April, King essentially offers Green the exact same contract that he did the previous offseason, five years for 17 million dollars. Rumor has it that Green's agent was so eager to sign the contract that he allowed Willie slice open his artery because they didn't have a pen lying around the desk. The agent survived, but spent three weeks in the hospital.

Currently: Willie Green is still the same lousy player that he has always been. But at least King has him under contract through the 2009/10 season.

Has Billy King learned his lesson? Of course not. It probably took quite a few sessions with the Sixers prescribe hypnotist to restrain King from offering Iguodala a max contract. And come next July, I'm sure that he won't hesitate to offer Iguodala more money than Igoudala was currently asking for to prevent him from testing free agency. But if the Sixers want to reach their goal of consistently being the eighth seed in the playoffs, then there is not better man to lead them than Billy King.

To The Dummies Who Don't Get It

First, if you think Willie Green is a good player, this is not the blog for you. Yes, I understand he works hard and is a "sparkplug" and all that bullshit. But he has no place starting for ANY NBA team.

Second, there is a difference between scoring points and scoring points efficiently. If someone on average needs 20 shots to score 20 points, as Green would based on his career points per shot numbers, they're actually not doing a good job of scoring efficiently. Points per shot takes into account more than FG%- it's simply the total points scored (from FG's and FT's) divided by the field goals a player attempted.

For example, Andre Iguodala, an actual good player, scored 1.4 points per shot (18.2 PPG on 13 SPG) he that took last season. That is someone you want taking shots. So is Dwight Howard- he put up a monster 1.65 PPS last year. Willie Green averaged less than one point per shot he took- that is AWFUL. When Willie Green is firing away, it costs the Sixers wins because there are other players on the team can score more points on fewer shots. It's about maximizing each offensive possession. Having Willie Green out there makes that difficult.

If the simple math we're pulling out here is too complex or seems stupid to you, you're not going to enjoy what we write. Feel free to bash us, but you will not change our opinions. We're not the rah-rah, intangibles and hustle matter more than ability and skill types here. We don't say they don't matter, but they also don't make up for lack of talent.

You Crack Me Up Phil Jasner

From his article today previewing the Sixers' season:

In order to find enjoyment and fascination in the season, it will help to focus on:

* The return to form of scoring guard Willie Green, a full year removed from knee surgery.

My question is, wh-wh-what? When has Willie Green ever shown any form to actually return to?

Per Basketball Reference, here are Willie Green's Per 40 Minute numbers on a yearly basis:

      FG  FGA   3P  3PA   FT  FTA  TRB  AST STL  TO  PTS
03-04 7.5 18.6 1.0  3.2  3.1  4.2  3.4  2.8 1.4 3.1 19.0
04-05 5.8 15.9 1.1  3.9  3.6  4.7  5.0  3.8 1.3 2.8 16.4
05-06 7.3 17.3 2.6  5.0  1.0  1.3  3.9  1.3 0.5 3.1 18.3
06-07 7.8 18.8 1.1  3.4  1.6  2.4  3.4  2.4 1.2 2.3 18.2

Pssst, Phil....Willie Green has always been the same lousy player. In order to score 20 points, he needs to take 20 shots. He doesn't go to the free throw line. And he doesn't pass the ball.

Willie Green Stat of the Day

Willie Green has played four seasons in the NBA for a total of 194 games. In those 194 games, he has attempted 1714 shots. And scored 1710 points.

I wonder if there is anyone closer to exactly a 1.0 points per shot ratio than Willie Green.

Sixers Question of the Day

Why is Andre Igoudala playing 38 minutes in an exhibition game against the Knicks?

a) Mo Cheeks thought the season started this week.
b) They need to evaluate whether Igoudala can play center in Dalembert's absence.
c) It is beyond possible to comprehend such a move.

It's Willie Green Season, Folks!

Yes, we know. We kind of let the whole "Phillies Playoff Hysteria" go unnoticed here. We've been busy. And by busy, I mean lazy. But that will cease to exist as of now, because it is our favorite time of the year: The NBA Pre-Season. It is finally time for the City of Philadelphia to rally together and truly get excited by an event: Willie Green starting at shooting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The praise for Willie has been unending so far this year.

Maurice Cheeks - "I think Willie has been great"

Marc Narducci, Philadelphia Inquirer Beat Writer - "He (Green) has looked strong in camp, especially in taking the ball to the basket. In 2005-06 (Mark's Note: This year is the 2007-08 season), Green missed all but the final 10 games after recovering from surgery on his left knee."

Phil Jasner, Philadelphia Daily News Beat Writer: "Willie Green, who started at shooting guard, showed some of the willingness to drive hard to the basket that was missing last season, his first after knee surgery."

Well actually, that is all that has appeared in print. But it does seem like a lot of compliments for a player of Willie's stature. That stature being one of, if not the, worst player currently in the National Basketball Association.

In case you were wondering, the main reason that this blog started is because Jim and I would spend days emailing each other about how terrible Willie Green was last season. Before the season starts, we will put out a Debunking The Myths About Willie Green, but for now, I'll leave you with John Hollinger, NBA Expert, and his opinion on Willie Green.

Green had been in the NBA for four years without offering a shred of a reason why he belongs, yet the Sixers gave him a five-year, $17 million deal in the summer of 2006. What a country. Last season he started 36 games because the Sixers remain delusional about his talents, and he managed a career-best Player Efficiency Rating -- one that ranked him 55th out of the league's 66 shooting guards. Theoretically, Green is a scorer. He had one of the highest usage rates among shooting guards, but it's questionable whether this was a good thing.

Green can't make shots -- his true shooting percentage was the fourth-worst at his position -- and he lacks either the talent or the inclination to pass, as his assist ratio was a matching fourth-worst as well. His biggest weakness is a curious inability to draw fouls. Green drives to the basket a decent amount, as more than a third of his shots came in the immediate basket area, but only two guards earned fewer free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt than he did. He's a lousy finisher too, making 45.9 percent of his shots in that area.

Green did better from outside, hitting a respectable 42.3 percent of his long 2s, but if that's all you've got it's a tough way to make a living. He made only 32.5 percent of his 3-pointers and must vastly improve from out there or start drawing a few fouls if he's going to be a viable NBA shooting guard.

And for those of you keeping score at home, Willie took 10 shots against the Knicks in Game 1. And scored 10 points. You wonder why the Sixers are giving away tickets for free? Look no further than #33.

Congrats to Ryan Howard

And it took him just 141 games played to do so. Adam Dunn had 195 in 161 games. Eat it, Adam Dunn.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Ryan Howard struck out for the 196th time Thursday to set the single-season major league record.

In the third inning of Philadelphia's game against Atlanta, Howard swung at and missed a down-and-away splitter from John Smoltz for strike three.

The Phillies' first baseman broke the mark established in 2004 by Adam Dunn of the Cincinnati Reds.

Last season's NL MVP, Howard hit his 44th homer in the first inning, a two-run shot that gave him 130 RBIs.

UPDATE: PHILS WIN! METS LOSE!

Quick Prediction

Eagles 19
Lions 13

Dr. Pigskin's Prescriptions

Every (or at least this) week Dr. Pigskin prescribes the proper remedies to what ails the Eagles and/or one of the players. As well as posting here, Dr. Pigskin also calls his prescription in to the local CVS Pharmacist and has him deliver it to Lincoln Financial Field. No one ever questions Dr. Pigskin. Because, ladies and gentlemen, he is a doctor.

Today's Patient: The Philadelphia Eagles' Offense
Symptoms: Stagnant, Inability to Produce in the Red Zone, Wide Receivers Having Difficult Time Creating Separation, Just Not Very Good
Length of Symptoms: Two Weeks

Very interesting. You say you've been experiencing these symptoms for two weeks? And you're nervous that if you don't get better soon, your situation could become dire? Well don't you worry. Just follow my directions, and you'll be as good as ever by next Sunday. OK? Great. Now here is my prescription.

1. Run the Ball. Consistently. You have one of the best Center-Guard combinations in the NFL in Jamaal Jackson and Shaun Andrews, even if Andrews isn't completely healthy. You should be able to dictate the tempo running behind these two guys. No one is going to buy your play action fakes on second and third down if they don't actually believe you are going to run the ball. And while you are at it, maybe have Bryan Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter in the same backfield for a few plays a game. Put one of them in motion and see if the defense lines a safety or linebacker over them. This will create a little unpredictability which I think you could use right now.

2. Put Some Receivers in Motion. I hear that my dear old friend, Ron "Baby Button" (don't ask) Jaworski, also made this suggestion on Monday night. And I have to agree with Double B. If your wide receivers are having a tough time beating the bump off the line of scrimmage, then teams are going to keep jamming them. Add a little motion and force the defenders to play a few yards off of them. It can't hurt and may add some confidence to your receivers.

3. Use the Middle of the Field. I know, I know, your starting tight end, LJ Smith, is still recovering from an injury. But you have backup tight ends right? I'm not saying they need to be running down the seam every play, but at least get them involved in the offense. If the corners start to give the wide receivers some breathing room, have them run some slants as well. Until Donovan McNabb is completely healthy, you need to keep things simple and easy for him. Short routes in the middle of the field accomplish that task.

Sounds simple right? Well, it is. But the only way I can guarantee success is if you stick to the plan. If you try and self medicate or only use the plan for one half, you'll probably just regress to your current state. Hopefully it goes well, and I'll see you next week.

Where have I seen this before?

In 2003, the Eagles started out 0-2. In the first 2 games, they were outscored a total of 48-10 by an okay Tampa Bay team and a Pats team that, while very good, was coming off a shocking 31-0 drubbing by Buffalo. Donovan McNabb in those first 2 games was a combined 37-82 for 334 yards, with 3 INT and ZERO touchdown passes. He did run for 55 yards in each game, but that didn't help- they got completely throttled in back to back games. The entire city was in a shambles, and several thousand men jumped to their deaths from the Walt Whitman Bridge. What oh what was wrong with the Eagles? And of course those 2 lost games led to the Eagles having a horrible 4-12 season.

Oh, wait, NO THEY DIDN'T. The Eagles won 12 of their next 14 games, won the NFC East, beat a great Packers team in the divisional round in a classic game, cured several forms of bone cancer, and then sadly blew it against Carolina in the NFC Championship Game. The 0-2 start became a distant memory, which judging by the reaction to the young 2007 season is a completely obvious statement.

These 2007 Eagles do have obvious problems. Reid/Mornhinweg have done a bad job calling the offense, McNabb is not even at 80%, the secondary depth is thin, the special teams' coverage and return skills are terrible, and the receiving corps is as lively as as Pavarotti's corpse. But man, do you remember who their leading receiver was in 2003? James Thrash. They almost made the Super Bowl with Thrash and Pinkston leading the team in receiving. That's way more amazing than if they were to make it that far with Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis.

My initial optimism going into this season has been dampened somewhat too. I drank way too much McNabb Kool-Aid going in, forgetting that almost no one can come back 100% from an ACL tear this quickly. And I admit my 12-4 prediction is now going to be a bit off. But this is still a playoff team in the weak NFC. However if they lose to Detroit this week, then I'll join everyone on their "Eagles are a disaster" crazy party bus.

That Was Not Very Good

Well, the Eagles got beat by another average football team. I thought it was best summarized by Steve Young after the game when asked to describe the Redskins performance in one word, and he just stared at the camera until he could come up with "Efficient".

There is blame to go all around for this one.

Donovan McNabb still looks like a quarterback recovering from ACL surgery. There are a lot of throws that he is currently missing on that a healthy Donovan McNabb makes easily. Some of it is timing, like the deep balls, and some of it is his leg. Why these players feel the need to rush back from ACL surgery is beyond me? It probably cost Daunte Culpepper his career and Carson Palmer was not fully healthy until the start of this season.

As was discussed ad nauseum last night, the receivers are having a very difficult time getting open, especially when they are being jammed at the line. I agree that LaRon Landry made a great play at the end of the game, but Kevin Curtis has to figure out a way to tuck that catch away. I imagine the immediate knee-jerk reaction will be for fans to pine for the days of TO. I'm not nearly at that stage. Reggie Brown showed last year that he can be a very good receiver in the NFL. For some reason, he has not shown up to play yet this year. Hopefully he realizes that for the Eagles to succeed, he needs to step his game up.

But my real problem with the Eagles right now is the coaching. They are not giving the players the best chance to succeed. I have usually supported the Eagles coaching staff in the past when it comes to playcalling. But last night they seemed to be using the running game as a way to give the receivers a quick breather on first down. The Eagles have a very good running game when they decide to use it. Yet Brian Westbrook only had 17 carries last night.

The most disconcerting trend last night was the Eagles reliance on McNabb once they got inside Washington's 25 yard line. According to my counting, the Eagles ran 25 plays inside Washington's 25 yard line, and only 2 of those plays were running plays to Westbrook. They tried to get him the ball in the open field with some short passes, but obviously the Redskins were keying on him during passing plays and taking their chances with the Eagles receivers making plays.

Washington is an average team. Green Bay is an average team. Both teams played essentially not to lose, and they ended up not losing. I'm not ready to write off the Eagles season yet, mainly because the NFC is awful, but they are in a big hole right now.

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It is time for the Tony Kornheiser Experiment to end. I will preface this by saying that I love Tony Kornheiser. Using the written word to express humor is one of the most difficult things in life. But he is one of the few newspaper columnists in the country that is actually funny. And I love his radio show, which was billed as sports talk radio, but rarely discussed sports. With that said, he is terrible on Monday Night Football. The only substance he "adds" to the telecast are the random statistics that the producers feed him. He has essentially become an audible computer graphic. And this has been made even more glaring by putting Ron Jaworski in the booth. Jaws has quickly become the best football analyst on TV. So you have Jaworski breaking down a play immediately after it happened, then you have Kornheiser adding, "Aww, c'mon Jaws, you're just saying that because you're rooting for the Eagles".

The third quarter of last night's game was basically unwatchable with Kornheiser and Charles Barkley making the same three points for forty five minutes; McNabb and Reid don't get a fair shake, Philadelphia fans are brutal, the Eagles wide receivers have always been bad, save the TO year. It seemed like they told Jaworski to just sit that quarter out. Fortunately for me, Anthony Bourdain was in South Carolina eating BBQ, so it was an easy choice to flip over to The Travel Channel.

At some point the NFL has to step in and tell ESPN, "Listen, we appreciate you guys trying to bring more viewers to the broadcast, but we're the N F Friggin L. We are the most popular sport in the country, and it isn't even close. Just broadcast the game and people will watch it. You don't need to have a late night talk show in the booth during the third quarter. People are watching the game because they want to watch a football game. Also, fire Chris Berman while you are at it. He annoys us"

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Does anyone really believe that the Arizona Diamondbacks are going to make the playoffs?

IT WAS ONE GAME!

The latest and greatest in overreacting Philly sports writing garbage comes courtesy of Rich Hoffman in today's Daily News.

Hofmann takes a look at the Green Bay game last week and makes the assumption that McNabb's unimpressive performance means he could be washed up. That's a big statement to make after the amazingly small sample size of one frigging game. Also, it was one measly game against a team with a very good defense, who were playing at home. And Hoffman ignores the dropped passes by the Eagles receivers. Those are counted in McNabb's passing stats, you know.

Obviously McNabb is a step slower right now- for one thing, he's not 25 anymore. And he is also just coming off MAJOR RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY. Call me crazy, but this could be a reason he's not able to run around as well as he used to. It's pretty commonly believed than an ACL tear has a 2 year recovery period. So chances are we're not going to see a lot of leg magic out of McNabb this season. Boo hoo. But this hardly means he's washed up, or that he's going to have 15 more games like last Sunday's. I'm so tired of these doomsaying columnists who say the sky is falling when in reality it's just sagging a bit.

Muff Lovers

It's no secret that J.R. Reed and Greg Lewis are going to shoulder most of the blame for this loss because they obviously hate both America and fielding punts correctly. But their buttery fingers and bad judgment aside, the offense should be shouldering quite a bit of the blame as well. The dropped passes killed a few drives, the penalties were too numerous (of course, one is too numerous) and McNabb was inaccurate at times, partially because of lapses in pass blocking. Spotting the Packers 10 points on cruddy turnovers shouldn't have been the difference; the Eagles offense should have made sure those points didn't matter and hung at least 21 points on the Packers.

The defense, especially the d-line, Sheldon Brown, and Takeo Spikes, played great. While the Packers are hardly the team to gauge the effectiveness of your run defense against, the Eagles didn't embarrass themselves by getting run over and in fact they played very well.

The bottom line is that this is the first game of the year and the Eagles lost to a decent team in their home stadium. The offense will click, the special teams will (because they have to) improve, and the team will be just fine. Just don't let Greg Lewis or J.R. Reed hold your kid unless you hate him or her and want them to be dropped and roll 20 yards away.

Oh, and good job Phillies. That Pat Burrell sure is something.

Ugh

Well. At least we're not fans of the Orioles. That is about the best thing I can say at this point.

FLASH... AHAHHH....second worst pitcher in the universe

FLASH... AHAHHHH... you pissed on all of us

Yeah, that's right; I'm claiming Tom Gordon is the second worst pitcher in the entire universe. Right next to Brett Myers. They should have their pensions revoked after what they did today.

NFL Preview

Back from the Labor Day camping trip, I now give you my NFL predictions, which will be rendered moot by injuries like they are every year and are basically pointless filler while I try to comprehend what the hell happened to the Phillies while I was living in nature for 4 days without any connection to the outside world-

NFC East
Eagles- 12-4
This is obviously hugely optimistic. But the division isn't that strong, and there's no reason to believe they won't be better than they were last season. They have one of the best offensive lines in football, a great QB who hopefully doesn't need a leg amputated this year, Brian Westbrook, good d-line depth, a very good secondary as long as Sean Considine learns to play football, and a punter from a country founded as a prison colony. The main concerns are the linebackers and the receiving corps, but we've all heard that before. Big things will and should be expected from this team in 2007.

Cowboys- 9-7
Giants- 7-9
Redskins- 7-9

NFC North
Bears- 10-6
The defense will actually go 10 and 0. Rex Grossman will go 0 and 6.
Vikings- 8-8
Packers- 7-9
Lions- 6-10

NFC South
Saints- 11-5
The 2007 Phillies of the NFL. Great offense, awful pitching, which in this case means linebackers and secondary.
Panthers- 10-6
Buccaneers- 8-8
Falcons- 2-14

NFC West
Seahawks- 10-6
49ers- 9-7
Rams- 8-8
The Rams seem to define mediocrity. If the Ram was a zodiac sign, and it may be actually, it would stand for "Averageness".
Cards- 4-12

Playoffs- Eagles, Bears, Saints, Seahawks, Panthers, 49ers
NFC Champs- Eagles

AFC East
Patriots- 13-3
The big story with them was adding Randy Moss. But the bigger story is actually them being confident enough to keep Richard Seymour in cryogenic suspension for the first 6 weeks of the season. This is a deep team. Barring Tom Brady getting hurt or quitting football to spend more time concentrating on getting all the choice tail he can, they will rampage through they league.
Jets- 9-7
Bills- 6-10
Dolphins 5-11

AFC North
Baltimore- 11-5
Bengals- 10-6
Steelers- 9-7
The potential lack of a running game is way more disconcerting than the potential of another Big Ben meltdown.
Cleveland- 8-8

AFC South-
Colts- 10-6
Jags- 8-8
What the hell is up with ditching Leftwich for a guy who would probably only be above average in the Arena League? It's no secret that Del Rio had it in for him, but it's going to cost them 2 or more wins.
Titans- 7-9
Texans- 4-12

AFC West-
Broncos- 11-5
Chargers- 8-8
Norv Turner. HAHAHAHAHA. Enjoy.
Chiefs- 6-10
Raiders- 3-13

Playoff teams- Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Broncos, Bengals, Steelers
AFC Champs- Patriots

And for the 5th straight year, my prediction is that the Eagles and Pats will face off in the Super Bowl, only this year, I predict the Eagles will prevail. Nah, just kidding. I pick the Patriots to win the whole thing.

Go Phils! (and a statement on domestic terrorism and the media)

Well the Phillies sure are doing well. Adam Eaton just about gave me an erection last night with his adequate pitching. But they still need to take 1 of these next 2. And with the way Jamie Moyer's been pitching, things aren't looking good for tonight.

And now for something with a tenuous connection to sports- Richard Jewell, the man who was accused of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing, died today. He was on the receiving end of one of the great screw jobs in American media history, being vilified by every major media outlet just for fitting the profile of the type of suspect people love to hate. The guy's life was ruined; long after he was cleared by the government, people still thought of him as the Centennial Park bomber, who actually turned out to be far-right nutcase and serial bomber Eric Rudolph. Jewell in fact was responsible only for saving the lives of several people in the area that day.

The article here is the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's write-up on his death. Despite being the first media outlet in the nation to name him the top suspect and one of the leaders in the 'Trial by Media' fiasco that followed, they still claim they did nothing wrong, even in the man's obituary. Jewell's libel suit against them is still pending, although most of it was thrown out.

I am a score prediction genius, plus some made up stats

First of all, let's all take a moment and realize how awesome it is that I nailed the final score of the Eagles' game in my Friday prediction. The chances of doing that are like 1 in a 1,000; and that's a statistic I just made up.

Speaking of made up statistics, I created this weird little metric that I use during football season called "negative yells per player". It's real simple to use- just keep track of how many times per game you vocalize displeasure with a player's performance by yelling their name is disgust. You don't even have to count, really; after a few games, you'll notice a pattern of who keeps invoking your ire. Here are the Eagles preseason leaders in NYPP-

Sean Considine
He leads in NYPP by a wide margin; it's not even close. He's only effective when he is unblocked and not seen by offensive players. So unless he can turn invisible and intangible, he shouldn't be the starter at strong safety. Quentin Mikell has to be better for the role than Considine.

The only nice plays he had last night were coming in untouched on blitzes. He can't tackle anyone larger than a Teddy Ruxpin doll (though he magically led the Eagles in tackles last night), and is flat-out missing in pass coverage. Again, his only hope of being effective is developing superpowers before the opener in Green Bay. Let's all hope he does.

Chris Gocong
He has to be better Dhani Jones, right? Right??? Because it doesn't look like he is yet. He looks lost in pass coverage and takes strange angles of pursuit. He looks like someone who has never played linebacker before, which is basically true since he was a DE in college and missed last season with the Eagles. He's got 13 days to learn where to be on the field.

Thomas Tapeh
Surprised to see a fullback on here? Don't be, you easily surprised person. Tapeh is a slightly below average receiver who is a non-factor as a runner. Therefore, his main purpose is to block. He does an okay job in run blocking, but is often out of position when asked to pass block, which may get McNabb maimed even further this season.

Reggie Brown
How much did Dante Stallworth want to stick around? Oh, that much? It would have been worth it, unless Brown really steps up soon.

Conversely, there is also the PYPP, or positive yells per player, stat. These are for when a player does something nice and you yell their name out in delight (in a non-sexual way). The leaders here for the preseason are-

Sheldon Brown
Even I think the stat I made up is a little misleading in this case. Sheldon makes some really nice plays, but is also visibly out of position a little too often. Still, I likes him.

Jeremiah Trotter
Whoops, next...

Donovan McNabb
The man looks ready to play.

Mike Patterson
Hopefully his obvious improvement from last season isn't just a preseason thing.

Mike Radano Joins The Parade

From Mike Radano, the South Jersey Courier Post's beat guy:

Milton Bradley took a shot at the Park and again, what can be done.

Bradley broke his bat on a home run to left. He threw his bat in disgust and then realized what a "(expletive deleted) joke" CBP is.

True or not - and I'm not picking a fight with swordsman like some other beat guys are rumored to have done - this Park has a bad reputation aroudn (sic) the league.

Mike Radano is the best.

Friday Night Kites

I don't think any of the previous six games will ever show up as part of "This Week in Phillies History".

They went 1-5 for the week. And it was about as ugly a 1-5 performance as a team could put forth. While the offense was quite bad, scoring only 23 runs, it was the pitching that really took the cake. It takes a real team effort to allow 57 runs in six games. 57 runs!! And Adam Eaton was not even involved in any of the games.

The week was bookended by two of what are hopefully the final few outings of Jaime Moyer's career. Last Saturday he gave up 7 earned runs in 4 innings. He followed that up by giving up "only" 6 earned runs in 4 and 2/3 innings of awfulness tonight. In his first seven starts this year, Moyer had an ERA of 3.00 and it looked like he had gotten the Devil to add on one extra year on the deal they had made in 1998 for his soul. But alas, even the Devil cannot overcome Father Time. Since May 9, Moyer has seen his ERA jump to 5.16, which ranks him 43rd out of the 48 pitchers who have enough innings to qualify (Hey Adam Eaton, is that you still at the bottom of the list?). He has put up monthly ERAs of 6.75 in July and 7.27 in August. Not exactly a good trend.

If Moyer's old age was the only problem the Phillies' pitching staff had, there would probably be quite a few more people optimistic about their playoff chances. Fabio Castro obviously needs to learn what the strike zone is defined as before he tosses another pitch for the Phillies. Tom Gordon, shockingly, is out of gas. The clock seems to have struck midnight for both Alfonseca and Mesa. It is absolutely frightening when I see people looking forward to Eaton's return (FYI: Eaton's line for his "rehab" start for AA Reading - 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER. Can't wait to see him back with the big club).

So what do the Phillies do now? Wait. Wait until the offseason and put forth a plan for the future of the franchise. It is time for the Phillies to stop with the one year patch ups and really start to build a team. Is Brett Myers a starter or a reliever? Are they comfortable with Michael Bourn and Shane Victorino in the same outfield? Will Ryan Howard's body hold up until he reaches free agency? If not, why bother discussing the idea of buying out his arbitration years? Will this team ever find someone to replace Scott Rolen?

It's late and I'm babbling. I just don't think that the current Phillies team is going to be able to weather the storm until Hamels comes back and Utley is truly healthy. At least it will allow a lot of people to dedicate all of their attention to the Eagles season.

Avalon

I'm going to Avalon for the weekend. Mark will be here solo. And lucky for him he doesn't need to go on trips to go to the beach since he has a beach 4 blocks from his apartment.

Predictions-

Phils sweep Padres
Eagles lose 27-13; Spikes goes down for the season
Michael Vick gets raped by a dog as ironic punishment
I get sunburn, but not too bad

Me vs. Marcus Hayes Continued

Allegedly, Marcus Hayes left the following comment on the blog Philadelphia Will Do regarding my blog post here which contains his email to me regarding my love of nerd stats.

Numberheads,

Just letting you blogicians know:
No longer will you, or anyone else, be afforded the privilege (burden?) of corresponding with me. When I reply to an individual it is intended to be a confidential response. Since I can't trust you, I assume I can't trust anyone.
It is not meant to be posted on anyone's blog, and certainly not on a for-profit entity of a direct competitor.
So, no more responses. Can't trust you, so don't bother writing.
But then, if you hold my replies in such low esteem, why bother writing?
Of course, this gives many of you more time for your World of Warcraft RPG endeavors.
Happy gaming.
Hope the eczema clears up.
M

Now, there is zero proof that Marcus Hayes wrote this. I hope he did, for his sake, because it's sort of entertaining and would actually be an improvement for him. I will reply here to certain elements of the above-

"Just letting you blogicians know:
No longer will you, or anyone else, be afforded the privilege (burden?) of corresponding with me."

You call what you wrote to me correspondence? You attacked me for believing in something different from you; something that makes a lot of sense. Are you Catholic by chance, Marcus? 16th century Catholic? I thought so.

"When I reply to an individual it is intended to be a confidential response."

And I would have kept it that way if.. oh wait, no I wouldn't have.

"Of course, this gives many of you more time for your World of Warcraft RPG endeavors."

I play Hearts of Iron II. It's a WWII simulation.

"Hope the eczema clears up."

It's doing very well, thank you.

Again, I have my doubts that Marcus Hayes wrote that comment on Philadelphia Will Do. But I could see him writing something similar to it. What I'd rather him write is something like this-

"You're right, nerds. I am guilty of being yet another sportswriter who practices lazy journalism. Please forgive me. And while I may not totally understand your love of numbers, facts, and reality, I hope you one day will be able to accept my love of pointless posturing, subjectivity, and self-aggrandizing attitude. Cheers."

Game Day

Unfortunately, I must leave my guardpost and visit the outside world, which means I have to cut this riveting analysis short. Pat Burrell is my hero.

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I don't think Fabio Castro is going to make it as a major league pitcher. But there is always professional poker.

----------------------

Good news: Castro has a one hitter through three. Bad news: It has taken him 53 pitches to get there, 29 of which have been balls.

-------------------------------

Castro walks the bases loaded, but fortunately he walked them for the pitcher. It only took 6 pitches to get Billingsley to strike out. Through two innings, Castro has struck out three, walked three, and given up no hits. Thrown 42 pitches, 22 of which have been balls.

I ask you, Cole Who?

-------------------------------------------------

I would compare Fabio Castro's control to Lindsay Lohan's. They're both a bit wild. He may walk ten batters today.

----------------------------------------

I don't have the sound on, so maybe there was a better explanation, but Sarge's Key to the Game is "By winning series, you get into the postseason"

1. That isn't a key to the game. Winning the series is a goal.

2. I don't know what that sentence means.

I'm hoping the Dodgers are hung over today.

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Will Russell Branyan put a ball into play?

Will Ryan Howard continue his Russell Branyan impersonation?

The long awaited return of Fabio Castro to Philadelphia.

All this and more on today's Game Day Blog of the Phillies-Dodgers matchup.

Keep Your Chin Up

Listen to this handsome fella. Even without Jeremiah Trotter, the Eagles might be able to do "it".

Take aback Trotter

In a move shocking to people who are still shocked by the things the Eagles' front office does, and Jeremiah Trotter, middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was released today. Wow, how many times can they screw this guy over?

I feel conflicted about the decision. First off, I must admit that I drink the midnight green Kool-Aid; unlike any other Philly team, I generally am willing to trust the Eagles' personnel decisions. They may lack a Super Bowl win, but they've also won at least one playoff game every year this decade except 2005. That's impressive.

Okay, on to my mind-blowing analysis. Trotter was not very good last season. For one, he can't play pass defense at all. Secondly, and more importantly, the Eagles had severe problems stopping runs up the middle, which was also the fault of their mediocre defensive tackles. But Trotter's increasing immobility has to shoulder some of the blame for giving up so many 5 and 6 yard runs up the gut. And in pursuit, forget it; he's as worthless as the penis on a priest. The only reason it statistically looks like they had a half-decent run D last year is that running outside on them was very hard, even with the deficient Dhani Jones out there giving himself very few chances to strum his air guitar.

But, like I said, it wasn't all his fault last year. It's very difficult to play MLB when your d-tackles are consistently being blocked back into your operating area. There is a symbiotic relationship between the 2 positions unlike any other on the defense. Actually, I would almost call it parasitic- the middle LB feeds off of the success of the DT's in tying up blockers. So while Trotter is no longer the best man for the job, does anyone really think Takeo Spikes or whoever they move to the middle is going to be a superb replacement if Mike Patterson, Broderick Bunkley and company don't get their shit together against the run? Because no one should.

Why not simply keep and demote Trotter? I'm sure he would have hated that, but with an injury to Spikes always looming they now have no experienced backups. Even though the Eagles are notoriously frugal, keeping Trotter and his not-exorbitant 2 million dollar salary around as insurance was probably a better move.

Sabreboy gets a response from Marcus Hayes

Here is his reply email followed by my rebuttal to his statements. (Pictured here- the Phillie Phanatic obviously preparing to eat a baby. I couldn't find a pic of Mr. Hayes.)
___________________________________________________________________________________
Get a grip, sabreboy.
Burrell is paid to produce runs, not get on base. Period. Any season with fewer than 110 RBI is a flat-out failure. He's not paid $13 million to walk. He misses strikes, he slumps, he tries to hit home runs. He is mediocre, at best, at the job to which he is assigned.
Soriano is overrated. Carlos Lee is an RBI machine. I don't know what your problem is with Ramirez, who is arguably the best offensive 3B in the NL since 2003.
OBP and OPS are geek numbers, especially for run-producers. I'd rather have my 3-4-5 guys drive the best strike they see rather than wait for the perfect pitch and jog down the baseline.
Sabremetrics are the bastion of wannabes who never could quite figure out which hand the mitt went on, a false industry created and fueled by people whose association with the game always will be vicarious, and, frankly, pathetic.
Offensively, scoring runs and driving runs in matter in baseball. Everything else follows.
That's it.
Ask any player.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

We're both busy people so I'll make this quick. I'm not expecting a reply, so I'll say now that this was a fun little exchange.

"Any season with fewer than 110 RBI is a flat-out failure."

The oft-loathed (not by me) Bobby Abreu may end up with 110 RBI this year; do you think he's having a better season than Derek Jeter?

Stan Musial averaged 104 RBI per 162 games played for his career, which is coincidentally the same as Pat Burrell averages. Obviously I don't think Burrell is as good as Musial, but your statement is totally false.

"He's not paid $13 million to walk."

Hey, I wish he could hit 45 home runs a year too. But he can't. So why fault him for not being something he'll never be? What he is is a player who is excellent at not making outs. While that alone is not worth $13 million, it's a great attribute to have.

"He misses strikes, he slumps, he tries to hit home runs"

Are you talking about Ryan Howard? He's the guy who has 147 K's in 104 games. Yet I'd hardly say he's having a bad year.

"Carlos Lee is an RBI machine"

He does get quite a few RBI, but since RBI is a stat dependent on so many other factors, I tend to not care.

"I don't know what your problem is with Ramirez, who is arguably the best offensive 3B in the NL since 2003."

I agree with this, since Miguel Cabrera played in the outfield for a few seasons. My point was that Ramirez is not a much better batter than Burrell.

"I'd rather have my 3-4-5 guys drive the best strike they see rather than wait for the perfect pitch and jog down the baseline."

Mike Schmidt made an okay career out of waiting for the perfect pitch. But since he didn't have many 110+ RBI seasons (just 5 in 18 seasons), you likely think he was overrated.

"Sabremetrics are the bastion of wannabes who never could quite figure out which hand the mitt went on, a false industry created and fueled by people whose association with the game always will be vicarious, and, frankly, pathetic."

Of course you realize many people say the same about sports writing.

Have you considered that sabermetrics aren't designed to ruin the game but to enhance the understanding of it? Sabermetrics and the traditional modes of scouting can live together in analytic harmony. And claiming that sabermetric stats are bunk because of the people who created them is like claiming TV is a worthless invention because Philo Farnsworth was a farmer, not a scientist.

The anti-intellectualism demonstrated regularly by you and most of your writing peers, refusing to even consider why new ways of thinking about baseball are appropriate, contributes to your ever-quickening slide into obsolescence. Enjoy.

"Offensively, scoring runs and driving runs in matter in baseball. Everything else follows."

According to your logic (or complete lack of it) the Phillies lead the NL in runs scored because they lead the league in RBI. Do you see why that is crazy?

And "everything else follows" is completely wrong. Stats like OBP, OPS, VORP, and WARP help explain, better than stats like batting average and RBI, why the players on teams like the Phillies create a lot of runs. RBI and Runs Scored follow.

"Ask any player."

Right, because players are the only authority on their respective sports. That's why so many of them make such great GM's when they leave the game.

Donovan McNabb Did Not Spontaneously Combust

Much to the surprise of apparently many in the Philadelphia media and public, Donovan McNabb still knows how to play football. Reading the superlatives that people have used to describe McNabb's performance last night, one would tend to believe that McNabb was playing a first game since having a lobotomy or some sort of radical procedure in which doctors performed a dinosaur appendage transplant on him. Not an ACL injury. Newsflash: Knee surgery does not cause one of the best NFL Quarterbacks to forget how to take a five step drop and throw a 15 yard out. I really don't remember people freaking out about Carson Palmer last pre-season, at least not to the degree to which McNabb has endured for the past month. But for whatever reason, both the Philadelphia and the national media have always put this weird pressure on McNabb.

Also, when did it become the hip thing to refer to McNabb as "Five" or "Number 5" as opposed to his real name? For whatever reason, when I hear someone on television call him Five, it is like someone set off a firecracker inside my ear canal. God it bugs me. I guess this is part of being "Now". I'm really getting old.

Why do I bother?

The following is an email I just wrote to Marcus Hayes of the Daily News immediately after reading this article-

I just read your article from yesterday. After last night's game, Pat Burrell has a .417 on-base percentage. Why did you leave his OBP (which was .411 at the time) out of your article? This will also, in all likelihood, be his third consecutive season having an OBP of .388 or higher and an OPS of .890 or higher, which puts him in some elite company. Why did you not mention this? You're a smart man- you can't honestly believe these numbers mean nothing. And it's not like I'm mentioning his WARP or VORP or RC/27. Just OBP and OPS. These are hardly "super-nerdy" metrics. In fact, according to the "super-nerdy" metrics, which are worthless except for the tiny little fact that they are easily the best tools we have for evaluating player performance, 2007 is his best offensive season since 2002.

The Phillies still have the best offense in the NL, and that's with the missing Chase Utley and the slumping Ryan Howard (why did you not bash him?). And a large part of their awesome run production is Pat Burrell. Sure, he makes too much money for what he brings to the table. Most players in his salary bracket do- Pat's numbers are just as good as and often better than guys like Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee, and Aramis Ramirez. Would you bash those guys if they were Phillies? I doubt it, since usually their old-style statistics give them the outward appearance of being better than Burrell. But if you're willing to take time to understand why they matter, new ways of thinking can prove why a man like Pat Burrell is more important to the Phillies' success than anyone credits him for.

Quit Your Bitching

Dateline Philadelphia........

The cost of parking for Eagles games at Lincoln Financial Field has been increased from $11 to $20 this season, starting with tonight's exhibition game against the Carolina Panthers.

I imagine there were many people that woke up in Delaware County today, bypassed all of the other sections of the paper to get to the Sports, read that little blurb, and immediately started to complain to their spouse/significant other how greedy the Eagles are. Probably even threw in an anti-Semitic comment just for good measure.

And to those people, I say, Shut Up. You should be grateful that you were only paying $11 up to this point. For whatever reason, the Eagles organization has been undercharging for parking for years. And do not be surprised if you see substantial increases in the following years? Why do you ask? Well you're in luck, because you have come to a parking expert.

It is simple supply and demand. The Eagles, according to the Inquirer, have approximately 22,000 parking spaces. If they did not charge anything for parking, I imagine the demand for parking would be well over 22,000 because people would drive down to the stadium to tailgate. I imagine that was still happening last year at $11 to park. Now that the rate is $20, the extra tailgaters will probably be removed, but fans attending the game will still park on site. And the Eagles will continue to increase the rate for parking until they observe that the supply of parking spaces is exceeding the demand at the rate that they are charging.

People need to stop thinking of the Eagles as their football team, and realize that they are a business. And the purpose of a business is to make money. Parking is a revenue stream that the Eagles have not maximized in the past, which was a mistake. If you don't want to pay the rate that they are charging, you have two options: Find another way to get to the game, or don't go. But don't bitch about the price of parking and then pay it. That is just pathetic.

Stephen A At It Again

Is the Philadelphia Inquirer allowing Stephen A Smith to audition for Baseball Tonight by allowing him to write baseball columns? I have no other idea how to explain his sudden interest in the Phillies. But it does make for some good laughs.

We hear the Phillies look better, feel better, are better, and will remain better than they were last season. But, as usual, we're still waiting to see the evidence: enough wins and a position atop the National League East.

The Phillies have played 120 games. After 120 games last year, their record was 59-61. This year it is 64-56. I only minored in Math, but to me, that seems like a five game improvement. And I didn't even have to use a calculator to determine the difference either.

But it's not too soon to point out that, even while the Phillies entered last night 19-12 since the all-star break and hot enough to be one of the better teams in the majors, all the heat and euphoria they have generated still have them looking ahead at the New York Mets and mired in yet another dogfight over a postseason berth.

You could replace Phillies/Mets with Yankees/Red Sox, Cubs/Brewers, or Indians/Tigers. There are still 40 games left to play this season. I have no idea why Stephen A is so insistent on making dire predictions with 6 weeks left to go. Probably because he doesn't know what he is talking about.

Both teams are winning, but not as much as they should.

How much "should" they be winning? The Mets have the second best record in the NL. The Phillies have the fourth best record. Atlanta has the fifth best record in the league. This seems about right. But they should be winning more. Should.

As of last weekend, nobody but the Yankees was better than the Phillies offensively.

Who in their right mind would compare an American League Team to a National League Team? The Yankees' 9 hole hitter has a .818 OPS. The Phillies' 9 hole hitter has a .498 OPS. Surprisingly, having a designated hitter will allow a team to improve their offense. That statement should have read, No team in the National League is better than the Phillies offensively (unless you ask Joe Morgan).

The Mets have been reduced to relying on the heroics of Moises Alou (.583 batting average and nine RBIs in three games)

Welcome to the world of limited sample size. I am still in a bit of shock that he would actually use Moises Alou's last three games to justify the word heroics. All he had to do was point to Alou's stats for the month of August, which have been very good. Instead he used the last three days.

Stephen A: We sure have had some great weather in the month of August.

Me: It rained for the first ten days.

Stephen A: Yeah but it has been sunny since Tuesday.

Me: I hate you.

Pointless Analysis of Kevin Kolb

While the dumbest thing in the Philadelphia newspapers so far this week is the story of the eggplant with God spelled out in its seeds (why would God have such crappy handwriting?), the 2 articles today about what rookie QB Kevin Kolb's Eagles debut means are right now a close second; here is John Smallwood's and here is Phil Sheridan's.

Actually, Smallwood's is pretty decent. It's mainly just a peek into what goes through a highly scrutinized rookie's head. But Phil Sheridan insists on making comparisons between Kevin Kolb's debut and Randall Cunningham and Donovan McNabb's first preseason games, which maybe makes a little sense since they're the other two high Eagles QB draft picks since 1972.

The title of Phil Sheridan's article- "Kolb's debut neither daring nor damning"- sums up why the article didn't have to be written at all. It's a frigging preseason game, and the first one at that! It has little or no bearing on the rest of the season or anyone's careers, unless you're Ryan Moats (Godspeed, little doodle). While I'm glad Kolb didn't throw 8 interceptions and pee his pants in the huddle in his pro debut, if he had gone 19-20 with 321 yards and 4 TD's I wouldn't appoint him the new Philadelphia Football Jesus, either.

Also, let's remember something before we all go Kolb Krazy- Donovan McNabb, even with a gimpy knee, is one of the best QB's in football. I even dare say he is the 3rd best QB of this decade, behind Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. So why exactly do we need to be concerned with Kolb right now? Everyone hopes he can play well at the NFL level (I have my doubts; see Klingler, David and Ware, Andre), but one preseason game isn't going to tell us if he's a future All-Pro or a future pro insurance salesman. It'll be super if he can have a Randall or Donovan-like career, but let's give him some time to develop. And stop adding nails to Donovan's coffin, dammit! If the man says he can play, he can play.

Finally, the picture above is from Superbad, which I saw last night at a screening for VIP's and radio listeners (I am neither, actually). I haven't laughed that hard in a theater since either Borat or when the guy in front of me farted really loudly during Zodiac. Go see it; starts Friday.

Stephen A Smith's Expert Analysis

Stephen A Smith wears many hats, though none of those hats fit him very well. And I'm not blaming the hat maker. His time is stretched very thin by his responsibilities at ESPN, both with television and radio, so maybe we, the readers of the Philadelphia Inquirer, should excuse it when he writes his mandatory column about the Phillies? Hmmmm? Nope, not possible. Just because he is a busy guy does not give him a free pass for the nonsense he writes. And it is a lot of inane nonsense.

Ryan Howard is a stud, and the Phillies are lucky to have him.

I agree.

He is the team's lone bona fide slugger and the man largely responsible for their contender status in the National League playoff picture.

There are so many things wrong with this sentence, I don't even know where to start. Is Ryan Howard the best home run hitter on the team? Yes, undoubtedly so. But Chase Utley has a comparable slugging percentage this season and was on pace to break the million year old record for most doubles in a season until his injury. Does that not qualify Chase Utley as a "bona fide slugger"?

If the definition of “bona fide slugger” is a guy that hits the most home runs, which it appears that is what Stephen A is implying, then Dave Kingman was a bona fide slugger in comparison to the majority of player that have ever played baseball. If your definition of “bona fide slugger” is a guy with a very good slugging percentage, then Dick Allen would have been considered a "bona fide slugger". And I’m sure if you asked most people, they’d consider Dick Allen to be a "bona fide slugger" than Dave Kingman. So who is their right mind can claim that Ryan Howard is the Phillies' lone bona fide slugger?

He takes it one step further by claiming that Howard is the man “largely” responsible for the Phillies’ contender status. What a ridiculous statement. The Phillies have the best offense in the National League. Ryan Howard is a big part of that. But so are Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Aaron Rowand, and Pat Burrell. To see that any one of those guys is largely responsible for the Phillies’ current status is a joke. In fact, people should focus their attention less on why the Phillies are still contender and more on why they aren't running away with the division.

As we've discussed many times, the Phillies offense is awesome. Very awesome. So awesome that it has taken the putrid performance of Adam Eaton, the poor performance of Jaime Moyer, injuries to Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber, and a mediocre to bad bullpen for the Phillies to remain behind the mediocre Mets. But I don’t imagine Stephen A Smith actually pays that much attention to the Phillies, what with his busy job of yelling on television and radio. Plus he probably had already filled up his quota of Sixers and Eagles columns for the summer, so he had to write something about the Phillies. This is just the first thing he thought of without doing any sort of research.

Almost everywhere you look, you see raised eyebrows when home runs are flying out of ballparks, when pitchers approaching their mid-40s are still managing to win 10-plus games with ERAs under 3.00.

This year, the National League is averaging 1.00 home runs per game. That is the lowest league wide average since 1998.

There is exactly one pitcher in all of baseball that is over the age of 33 with an ERA under 3.50.

Adam Eaton is on pace to win 12 games with an ERA of 6.36. In fact, 43 pitchers won 10 games in the National League last year. I don't know when ten wins became some sort of seasonal milestone.

This is what we call a series of exaggerated statements by an author that has no other way to support his point.

After losing to the Braves, 5-4, on Friday night, the Phillies stood at 17-11 since the all-star break.

The Phillies won on Friday night, 5-4. Which is the complete opposite of what Stephen A wrote. And after Friday night they were 17-10 since the All-Star break. But who cares about facts? The Philadelphia Inquirer certainly does not. How can you take someone’s opinion seriously when they can’t even get a simple fact on whether a team won or lost the night before you send the article in?

The Phillies are still a second-place team. They are still a team with a suspect bullpen, with no dominant closer.

If Brett Myers is not considered a dominant closer, I don’t know who is. Stephen A really likes to throw around subjective adjectives. And unfortunately, these ridiculous statements will incite the mindless drones that read the paper, and they will then in turn use these same statements when arguing why Pat Burrell is worthless and how they are just waiting for the Phillies to "choke".

Bona fide slugger. Dominant closer. Those adjectives sure do seem important when you first read them. But they don't mean anything. Hack Columnist Tip 124: When you can't make your point using facts, just use qualitative statements. You can't defend them, but other people can't argue against them either.

Take away Milwaukee's Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, and it's a one-man race to NL MVP honors.

First off, Ryan Braun in not even in the conversation for NL MVP. Assuming he plays every game from now til the end of the season, that will add 114 games. While the baseball writers have made many questionable decisions in the past, I would be shocked if they were dumb enough to consider a guy who played less than 120 games for MVP.

Now to the statement about a one-man race to NL MVP. I'm really not sure who that one man is. Chipper Jones? Miguel Cabrera? Hanley Ramirez? Chase Utley? Matt Holliday? Albert Pujols?

Yes, Ryan Howard has a lot of home runs. But there are a lot of guys in the NL who are having very good to great years that also will garner consideration for the MVP award. And it is only August 12, way too early to be handing out MVP awards.

This article is just a microcosm of the problems that exist with The Philadelphia Inquirer. They are supposed to be the “elite” newspaper in the Philadelphia area, yet they continue to print columns that are either subjective opinion with no supporting facts or factual statements that are 100% incorrect. But hey, it gives us something to whine about on the Internet. That is, as soon as we are done playing with our calculators in our parents' basements.