Balls, Sticks, & Stuff | Phillies, Eagles, golf and other matters of great importance...

Images of 45-Year Old Male Who Should Know Better Vandalizing Citizens Bank Park

It is asked that if you see this man, give him a bear hug and wait for the authorities to arrive.

Hard to Believe, Harry

There's a reason you don't quite know how to act right now, and that is because many of us have never been here before.  Or, if we have, it's been so long ago the emotion faded long ago.

The last time the Phillies won the World Series, it was 1980.  The last time any of the cities big four teams -- Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, 76ers -- won their sport's ultimate title was 1983. Think tight designer jeans.  Think M*A*S*H*, Three's Company and That's Incredible.  Think Pac-Man.  The early '80's were so long ago that you are someone who at the time either had a mustache or you were wearing PJ's with feet in them.

But we've got to get our act together in a hurry, because from now on, our Phillies are the 2008 World Series Champions.  No longer will you notice people from other cities wince as you tell them you are a Phillies fan [and they wonder why Philadelphians have an inferiority complex].  But from here on out, puff up your chest and proclaim, I am Joe the Phillies Phan.

At some point during all of this, before Wednesday night, Jimmy Rollins said, "A championship is the only way to change who the Phillies are."  Little did he know that he was underestimating the number of things that would change.  I know for me, today, my dog is behaving better, my rattle-trap SUV is purring like a kitten, and The Day Job never seemed so easy.  Life was good before, but it's even better now.

Rollins, Utley, Howard, Hamels, Lidge, Moyer, and all the rest of them did more than just change the Phillies, they changed all of us too.  We now possess countless memories to hold onto until the next time one of these rolls around.

Let's just hope when it does we'll remember how to act, because this is too fun to be confused and speechless.

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

By the way, new-ish readers to this site may not recall the color-coded Philadelphia Sports Anguish Alert Level that was monitored on this site, similar to the terrorism alert level.  Well, at any rate, I'm proud to tell all of you, that the level is now GREEN for the first time ever.

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

Is it me or is the play last night where Chase Utley threw home to Carlos Ruiz to get Jason Bartlett to end the top of the 7th inning getting way too little attention?  His defense all post-season was absolutely stellar.

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

Finally, I'd like to that all of the regular and irregular readers of this site.  It's a lot more fun writing all of this every day for you than it would be Dear Diary.  Thank you for four+ great years.  Kind of like Jamie Moyer, I'm year-to-year at this point, but it's too fun to quit now.  Thank you.

Been Saving This...

Programming Note

For those of you that have grown weary of the Fox broadcasting crew, 1210 AM has synched their broadcast to Comcast's cable broadcast.  It's pretty much perfect, I can hear the pop of a pitch in the catcher's mitt on the radio right as I see it on my TV.

Give it a try.

The BS&S.com Storm Mega-Tracker 7000

"First pitch" is just a little over an hour away and a check of the weather is certainly in order.  There will probably be showers, strong winds, and dwindling temperatures.  Not perfect baseball weather, but playable.

The maps below will update in real-time, so you can check back to keep an eye on the precipitation, wind, and temperatures [somewhat slow to load, be patient like Jamie Moyer].

Players Feel the Same Way About Bud Selig as the Rest of Us Feel About Him

The Courier-Post's Mike Radano deserves a Pulitzer prize for this piece of journalism:

“That (expletive deleted) guy,” one pitcher said as he saw commissioner Bud Selig before walking out the back door of the clubhouse. “I wouldn’t let him supervise one of my (bowel movements).

He has no clue. Not one (expletive deleted) clue.” “(Expletive deleted),” one position player said in the direction of one television pausing only for a moment before leaving. “He’s a moron. How stupid can one person be?”

Well, pretty stupid if this night was any indication.

If you are looking for sugar-coating, Mike's not your guy.  And that, my friends, is why he's one of our first reads.

Mother Nature Not a Baseball Fan

 
      "We're going to wait two days..."

Major League Baseball has issued a statement that the suspension of Game 5 will continue until 8:37 PM on Wednesday, tentatively.

Selig's statement:

"While obviously we want to finish Game Five as soon as possible, the forecast for today does not allow for us to continue the game this evening. We are closely monitoring tomorrow's forecast and will continue to monitor the weather on an hourly basis. We will advise fans as soon as we are able to make any final decisions with respect to tomorrow's schedule."

And So, We Wait in World Series Purgatory

After 5 1/2 innings of play, Major League Baseball suspended Game 5 with the score knotted at two.  When play resumes [tonight at 8? Wednesday?] the Phillies will bat.

The question becomes who will pitch for the Phillies when the top of the 7th rolls around.  Obviously Cole Hamels can't resume, and some have wondered if Brett Myers will take the mound.  Most likely, the bullpen will take over, but who specifically will probably depend upon whether or not the Phillies score in the bottom of the 6th.

The word "surreal" is overused, but in this case, I think it definitely fits.

On the Brink

Since September 1st, the Phillies have won 27 of 38 games.

And now, they need only one win in the next three to be the World Champions.

Let that sink in for a minute.  The odds are in our favor to win it all.  When was the last time a Philadelphia team was in such a position?  Not in 2004 when the Eagles went to the Super Bowl, not in 2001 when the 76ers were in the NBA Championship.

This could really happen.  It is really going to

Well, I'm not going to go that far, I don't want to tempt a fate that seems to be on our side.

In Hamels we trust.

This Is Why We Watch

Prior to watching the Phillies in the cozy confines of my home, I spent a portion of day in the rain at #7 Villanova, watching my #1 James Madison Dukes.  With four seconds to go, here's how that game ended:

And then the Phillies game of course.

I'm not sure what I have left for today.  I don't think I'm available to come out of the pen.

It's 1:48 AM...

...and who would have thought that Eric "Big Beard Bruntlett would play such a large role in a Game 3 win for the Phillies?

We often question the wisdom of replacing Pat Burrell late in close games with Bruntlett, but I ask you these two questions:

1. If Burrell had still been in the game, would he have been able to go from first to third on the wild pitch/throwing error?
2. Would Burrell have been able to score on Carlos Ruiz's squib grounder?

Rays Have Displayed Patience at the Plate

The prevailing thought among punditry and Phillies fans is that Jamie Moyer stands a good chance of keeping the Rays hitters in check tonight -- assuming the weather breaks and the game is played.

The confidence stems from the fact that Moyer will be able to use his offspeed repetoire, nibble at the corners, and prey on the Rays' impatience of youth.

Don't be so fast.

According to fangraphs.com, the Rays were the best team in baseball at laying off pitches outside the strike zone.  They were also third in all of baseball in terms of walk percentage.

This isn't to say that Moyer can't deliver a win for the Phillies tonight.  It's just that based on those numbers, it's hard to believe things will transpire the way most people are predicting.

More on Kerwin Danley

This just in...

...Florida's election commission officials were so impressed with the work of Kerwin Danley behind the plate last night that they have asked him to remain in Florida and help run their election system on November 4th.

A Suggestion for Kerwin Danley

Game Two Preview

Game One is in the books and now the Phillies and their phans can breathe a little easier, knowing that there is some room for error now.

But that doesn't mean Brett Myers can let off the gas tonight, not that he knows how.  What is important is that Myers gets off to a good start, avoiding giving up runs in the first or second inning.  If he can do that and the Phillies don't have to come from behind, they'll be in position to steal another game from the Rays in their Dharma station stadium.

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

Too much is being made of how many base runners the Phillies left on base last night.  Yes, it was too many, however, the way we could be looking at it is that they just need to keep it up and the floodgates will eventually open.

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

James Shields, a right-hander, will toe the rubber for the Rays tonight.  He's a fastball, changeup, curve kind of guy, with the fast ball averaging around 91-92 mph with a fair amount of tail.  The change is his out pitch, and it differentiates from the fastball by about 10 mph.  He's stingy with walks and strikes out 6.7 per 9 innings pitched, adding up to a 4.00 K/BB ratio.

With an ERA+ of 125, it might be another low-scoring night tonight.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Shane Victorino explains why he tested B.J. Upton's arm and was thrown out at home to end a rally:

Oh, and on my trying to score on that shallow fly ball. That was a miscommunication between [third base coach] Steve Smith and myself. I heard, 'go.' He said, 'No.'

Geez, if only someone could help him with that...