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

The One Where Leonard Weaver and I Discuss Cheesesteaks and Athletic Trainers

For those of you not on the Twitters, several Eagles players use it quite a bit and have quite a bit of interaction with fans.  In any area of discussion, if you have something intelligent and/or witty to say, people are interested in interacting with you and Twitter is no different.  Below is a "discussion" I had yesterday with Leonard Weaver while I watched the Phillies game and he ate cheesesteaks.  With his trainer.

1. 

   LeonardWeaver Hey I'm sittin here with my trainer enjoying phillies finest philly cheese steaks! 08 May 2010 from UberTwitter

2. 

   ballsticksstuff I love 'em too, but you need a new trainer. RT @LeonardWeaver Hey sittin here with my trainer enjoying phillies finest philly cheese steaks! 08 May 2010 from Touiteur

3. 

   LeonardWeaver @ballsticksstuff hahahahahahahaahahahaha! Its our cheat day! 08 May 2010 from UberTwitter in reply to ballsticksstuff

4. 

   ballsticksstuff @LeonardWeaver Where did you get them from? 08 May 2010 from Touiteur in reply to LeonardWeaver

5. 

   LeonardWeaver @ballsticksstuff sorry! Pats 08 May 2010 from UberTwitter in reply to ballsticksstuff

As I mentioned above, Weaver is not the only Eagles' player active on Twitter. So is Stewart Bradley, LeSean McCoy, and Brent Celek.  As a matter of fact, Brent Celek's profile page sports a wallpaper created by "Zoo with Roy" using, of course, MS Paint.

We Briefly Divert our Attention to Eagles Trade Talk [Briefly]

Les Bowen, who often has some funny one-liners on Twitter, analyzes the trade talks involving the three Eagles quarterbacks.

The object here, though, is to win the Super Bowl next February. I don't think Andy Reid figures he has a better chance to do that with Kolb than McNabb, not to the point where he's willing to trade McNabb for a handful of beans.

I would tend to agree with Reid that McNabb is the better quarterback.  However, what everyone seems to forget is the possibility that (Kolb + WhatYouGetInReturnforMcNabb) > (McNabb).

Now, back to our regularly scheduled new found love affair with Roy Halladay and the rest of the Fightins.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

An Attempt to Overdose on Baseball and Sunshine

From Thursday through Sunday, this Phillies phan will be down in Clearwater to catch three games and see how the Fightins look this year.  Check back here often starting on Friday for updates, predominantly photographs and videos, but other stuff too certainly.

In the meantime, I've been compiling a reading list for the airports and flights.  Tell me if I am missing anything from the list below.

   

The first listed, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", by Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki is an unauthorized biography of Clint Eastwood. Don't look for Todd to be given the keys to the Gran Torino any time soon. [In all seriousness, Todd has written what he describes as a "bathroom book" about the best and worst moments in Phillies history.  I'm anxious to see what sort of tidbits he'll pass on from recent years, but I'm up for a good anecdote from any time period.]

"High Heat: The Secret History of the Fastball and the Improbable Search for the Fastest Pitcher of All Time" was written by Tim Wendel [had to correct myself three times, my fingers insisted on typing "Turk Wendell"] who also wrote "Castro's Curveball", a fun little piece of fiction that I read about ten years ago in about a day.  "High Heat" is non-fiction, and examines the myths and auras of the fastball in baseball's past and present.  In researching the book, Wendel interviewed everyone from historians to professional pitchers and hitters to physicists.

Batting last is "Philadelphia Phillies Past and Present" by Rich Wescott.  If you've been in the sports section of any Delaware Valley bookstore over the years, you've certainly seen some of Wescott's work.  According to Amazon.com, he's written over a dozen books on Philadelphia sports, mainly concentrating on the Phillies.

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Not on my reading list for the trip, but a book that hopefully will be soon is "Bury Me in My Jersey: A Memoir of My Father, Football, and Philly" by Tom McAllister, who used to blog about the Eagles.  He's a very good writer, trained in the art as a matter of fact and seems like a very nice guy in the emails we've exchanged over the years.  Keep an eye out for it in mid-May when Tom tells me it will be released.

Groundhog Day for Eagles Fans

As usual, Igglesblog.com does a great job of summarizing last evening's defeat of the Eagles in Philadelphia by the Cowboys in an entry entitled "Blame 'Em All" [link].

"...the Eagles really look like a basketball team that lives and dies by the three-ball. They look great when their shots are falling, but if balls are clanging off the rim, suddenly everything's out of sync and they just don't look good."

That's a great analogy and I'm surprised Derek or anyone else hasn't come up with it sooner.  Why?  Because this loss was classic McReid.  If you look back over the last decade, 9 out of 10 Eagles losses have at least one if not all of the following characteristics:

• Incorrect referee challenges on the part of Andy Reid, resulting in a shortage of timeouts late in the game because of...
• Poor clock management.
• Inability to convert on 3rd down and short yardage situations.
• Inaccurate passing by Donovan McNabb.
• Inability and/or desire to establish a running game.
• Not that it affects the final score at all, but a mind-numbing, obtuse and rude post-game conference by Andy Reid

Time and again, year after year, the same issues rear their ugly heads and turn what could potentially be a 12-4 or 13-3 team into a 10-6 team.

Prediction:  The Eagles, at 5-3, will now go on a nice little hot-streak that will get them to 10-5, they'll rest key players during the final game and finish 10-6, enter the playoffs and get eliminated short of the Super Bowl and then finally, we will be told that with just a little bit better luck they would have gone to the Super Bowl where, they might have won.

How can I safely make this prediction?

Because we've seen it all before.

Are You Ready for Some Football? If Only the Eagles Were

Don't misunderstand, most would agree today's 48-to-whatever Eagles' loss to the Saints was due in very large part to the Eagles' passively porous defense and undisciplined and sloppy special teams, but Phil Sheridan of the Inquirer hits a home run with his post-game column.

Tale of the Tape

Last week, I thought a really great idea would be to do a podcast interview in preparation for the start of the Eagles season with Derek Sarley, the creator of Igglesblog.com.  We had a great conversation, and I learned a lot as well as had a lot of my suspicions about the Eagles confirmed and/or re-affirmed. 

Our discussion went on for 61 minutes and some seconds.  Here, let me play it for you:

"ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss"

Yeah.  I somehow mangled the recording, so all that exists is 61+ minutes of low-level circuit noise.

Fortunately for you and I, Derek had a lot more luck in constructing his latest "Video Rewind", in which he mixes video and commentary to analyze the Eagles/Panthers game that resulted in a 38-10 win for the Eagles.

If you're still following the Eagles, go take a look.  And even if you aren't, reading/watching what Derek's put together might just get you back on the wagon.

He's Ba-aaaaack

Don't ask where he went, don't ask why he came back, just be glad Cole Hamels... is back.

He's rattled off 19 consecutive scoreless innings and in his last two starts has 17 innings pitched, one complete game, 16 strikeouts, only 3 walks and only 9 hits allowed.  It's been a thing of beauty to watch.  Carlos Ruiz sets up on the outside corner and a split second later, the ball that was once in King Cole's fingers is dancing right into Chooch's mitt.

Don't look know, but things are really coming together for defending World Champions.  More thoughts below.

It’s As if the Eagles Want to Make it as Hard as Possible to Root for Them.

By all accounts, Michael Vick has paid his dues.  He was sentenced 23 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to a Virginia dog-fighting-related charge.

By all accounts, Vick has turned over a new leaf.  He claims to have found religion and the Humane Society has taken him in as a tool to speak to the public about the awful world of dog-fighting.

Given all of that, you can see why Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid thinks Michael Vick deserves a second chance.  He’s probably right.  This is America.

Having said that, can’t some other team give him a second chance?

In recent years, the arrogance of the Eagles organization has turned off more than a few fans.  It’s their way or the highway, and though they’ve had some success with that method, it hasn’t been as much as they would lead you to believe.  Frankly, they’ve made it hard to be a fan.  This certainly doesn’t help.

Reid must feel strongly about this.  In his press conference, he talked little about football and a great deal about the second chance he feels Vick deserves.

That’s great for him, but I’d prefer Vick get his second chance somewhere else, not with my team.  Call me hypocritical, but I’d rather not have to watch Vick every Sunday this fall while Tugger [the golden retriever pictured above] snoozes on my foot.

As far as loyalties go, sorry, but I have to take my dog over the Eagles.  This is just another reason to hope the Phillies go as deep into October as possible.

Keep Tabs on Michael Taylor's Whereabouts

Why, you ask?  well, you don't want the prized AAA Lehigh Valley slugging prospect going anywhere the Philadelphia Eagles training camp in Bethlehem, because that place is hexed, and I don't mean in the nice little Pennsylvania Dutch way.  I mean, in the "curse on your house" Pennsylvania Dutch way.

Not only did defensive coordinator Jim Johnson pass away, but in recent days, injuries have hit the Eagles like a plague.  Stewart Bradley: gone for the season.  Shawn Andrews: MIA.  Desean Jackson: hyperextended knee.  The list goes on and on, and now, news comes that rookie Cornelius Ingram, a big tight end, made for the red-zone, is lost for the season with a ACL injury, the same type of injury that ruined his senior season at the University of Florida.

So I plead with the powers-that-be with the Phillies.  Put a tail on Taylor, and if he even looks like he might cross the Lehigh River, stop him at all costs.  Hire Michael Westen to blow up the Hill to Hill Bridge if you have to. 

Another Legend Leaves

Sad News

Via Igglesblog.com comes news that Jim Johnson is officially stepping down as the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator due to his battle with cancer.  Sean McDermott, formerly the defensive secondary backs coach is now the defensive coordinator.

Obviously the main concern is Johnson’s health.  Here’s to hoping his body fights the cancer the way his defenses blitzed the quarterback.

Eagles Make a Big-Time Trade, But is it a Match Made in Heaven?

Wondering who will start at left tackle for the Eagles this year?  Your answer is Jason Peters.

The Eagles send this year's 28th overall pick, an undisclosed second day pick, and a late-round pick in 2010 to the Buffalo Bills in return for Peters.

Peters, 27, is a two-time Pro Bowler and is regarded as one of the better left tackles in the league.  However, last season for Peters was marred by injury and contract disputes with the Bills.

What will be interesting to see is how the Eagles handle the situation.  Peters wants to be paid more, but the Eagles aren't exactly the generous types, so I don't see this being a match made in heaven.

Still, Peters is certainly an acquisition you make when you're a team looking to win now.

But Don't Forget, It's Philly Fans Who Are Scum of the Earth

Arizona Cardinal fans vandalized Donovan McNabb's Arizona home, burning words into the lawn with gasoline.

Philly fans throw snowballs at a drunk and slovenly man in a Santa Claus costume 40 years ago and we never hear the end of it.  But this story gets buried waaaay below the fold.

Base Knocks & Linkology

With apologies to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, here's a whole lotta links...

Eagles Displayed a Sixth Sense: Urgency

One of the most over-used, cliched phrase used in the analysis of a ball game goes something like this: "Team X played/didn't play with a sense of urgency."

It's at the point now where just about any team that loses a game is accused of lacking a sense of urgency.  How do we know this?  Was the team late in coming out on the field?  Did they not drive fast enough on the way to the stadium?

Win and They're In

With both the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing their games, the Eagles control their destiny.  If they beat the Dallas Cowboys, the Wild Card will be theirs.

Eagles Too Reliant on McNabb, Westbrook

This missive is approximately the 77th time I've tried to sit down and come up with something intelligent to say about the Philadelphia Eagles.  Unfortunately, I've gone through enough fits and starts at the keyboard to make Lewis Black seem like George Will.  So, here goes...

The loss yesterday to the Redskins was maddening and in all liklihood brought an end to meaningful football in Philadelphia until next September.  In the three-game win-streak that preceded the contest with the Redskins, it appeared as if head coach Andy Reid had become a born-again believer in the run game, having devised a game plan that called more run plays than pass plays.  The balanced approach kept the opponents off-balance and the offense really moved the ball.

But yesterday was the same old same old.  An abandoned running game, a consistently good defense albeit incapable of creating a turnover, indifferent time management and 46 pass plays drawn randomly out of a hat to receivers seemingly acquired the same way.

But wait, that's not it.  Today was the same old same old as well at the Andy Reid presser.

"Gotta get the players in a better position to make plays."

"We should have worked in a few more run plays."

"That one is on me."

As insulting as those answers have become over the years, you have to ask the question, if nothing has changed, then why are the Eagles hovering around .500 rather than going deep into the playoffs?

Because Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook have more wear on them than the tires on your first car.

There was a time when their collective four legs could carry the offense.  Westbrook could catch a ball in the flat, juke a defender or two, and pick up ten easy.  McNabb could get flushed out of the pocket, run around and either gain five with his feet or buy enough time to make a throw.

But those days are gone.  Too many injuries to both players have left them inconsistent.  When they are on, they are on.  But when they're not, there just aren't enough other weapons on the team to pick up the slack.

If you like to bet smart, the safer bet is that both McNabb, Westbrook and Reid will all be back in green next year -- anything else is wishful thinking by talk-show hosts and their callers.  So the next question is, will anyone newer and better be in green with them?