Catching Up
I was interviewed by James Brown for HBO's "Real Sports with Bryan Gumbel". Here's an excerpt of the interview:
Me: I feel as a Phillies fan in this town, I'm under more pressure. I've got to do a little extra.
JB: How so?
Me: Well, with the media's incessant Eagles coverage, what with the little brouhaha you and Donovan McNabb created in your interview with him, with the team's 0-2 start, sometimes it is hard to find out things about the baseball team in town.
JB: Do you feel discriminated against?
Me: First, let me start by saying I love those guys, I read Igglesblog.com every day, but they don't have to jump through as many hoops to get their news as we do. They don't.
JB: Doesn't every body go through that?
Me: If my team-- the Phillies -- wins the night before, I've got to dig deep through the paper to get to the baseball stories or wait through the first five minutes of Sportsrise to see all the Phillies highlights and analysis.
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This morning, I received an email from a Mets fan, bemoaning the fact that the Phillies pulled out a win and the Mets lost. I thought, "Dude, you're mistaken, the Mets won, I watched them go up by a couple of runs in the ninth over the Marlins." Having watched that, I just assumed the Mets had won and flipped the television channel back to the Phillies/Nats game. I went to bed thinking the Phillies ended the day treading water, I didn't realize that Billy Wagner was unavailable and the game ended up going the Marlins' -- and therefore the Phillies' -- way.
Is this a crazy September or what?
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Erik Grissom at Philliesflow writes today:
Over the last three days, the Phillies' bullpen has thrown 21 2/3 innings and has allowed two runs. The Phillies won two of three and they did it because of their bullpen, not in spite of it. But both parts of allowing two runs in the last 21 2/3 innings, the number of innings and the amazing effectiveness, are not sustainable. If the Phillies are going to keep winning they're going to need better starting pitching, starting right about now.
Enter Adam Eaton.
Don't go for the bottle of Dalwhinnie just yet... He might have a chance. Eaton is a flyball pitcher, and the outfield wall at RFK Stadium is about twice as far from home plate as it is at Citizens Bank Park. If I'm Charlie Manuel, I start Jayson Werth in left, Aaron Rowand in center, and Shane Victorino in right, tell them to put on their track shoes and let them chase stuff down all night.
And -- if I'm still being Charlie Manuel -- I'm keeping a flask full of JD in my pocket.
