Random Thoughts - Philly Style

Vacation is unfortunately over.  Well technically I was home Saturday afternoon but I had to finish packing, and then moved to my new apartment on Sunday.  I still haven’t finished unpacking, mainly because I’m inherently lazy, but at least everything is moved.  I’m sure I’ll have my clothes put away today (keep those fingers crossed).

Anyway, enough of my boring life that I know you Rioters! really don’t care about (or at least pretend not to), it’s been a great week to be a sports fan, especially a Philadelphia sports fan.

I’ll See You a Beltran and Raise You a Pence

The Giants made the initial trading deadline splash by dealing top pitching prospect Zach Wheeler to the Mets for pending free agent Carlos Beltran.  Although I think the Giants gave up a lot in Wheeler for potentially a three-month rental, they desperately needed the offense so it’s a deal they needed to make.

Not to be outdone by the defending champions, the Fighting Phils sent pitchers Jared Cosart, Josh Zied, first baseman Jonathan Singleton, and a PTBNL to the Astros for outfielder Hunter Pence.  Zied has a future as a middle reliever in his future and will probably be with the Astros before the seasons end.  Cosart and Singleton were the Phillies top pitching and positional prospects, but are still playing Class A ball at Clearwater.

I really like this deal.  Although the Phillies gave up their two top prospects, they are still a few years away from being Major League ready and a lot can change in the next couple years. 

A complete win for the Phillies.  Pence seems to have the same bulldog mentality as Chase Utley, which any Phillies fan knows is something you love to see.  He is a five-tool stud and more importantly will give the Phillies the right-handed bat they have missed since Jayson Werth left for greener pastures in Washington (that seems to be working out well for him).  Pence also isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season, so GM Ruben Amaro Jr., stuck to his guns and refused to trade away the future for a rental player.

Since the trade the additional of Pence has seemed to have given the Phillies some life.  Ryan Howard has found his stroke, Utley appears to finally be healthy, and the ever streaky Raul Ibanez has found a hot streak.

The downside of the deal was Domonic Brown being optioned to Triple A.  Phillies fans, there’s nothing wrong with this.  Brown will play daily at Lehigh Valley, learn to play left field (bye-bye Raul), and hopefully find some maturity.  At 23, the kid has a ton of raw talent but has looked overmatched at times this season.  He’ll be back in September when rosters expand.

Lest Not Forget About the Braves

In an effort to keep pace with the National League’s elite, the Braves acquired Astros centerfielder Michael Bourn.  Bourn is a stud on the base paths and gives the Braves their first Gold Glove outfielder since Andruw Jones started getting fat and banging strippers.  It’s a good addition, but I’m not sure it’s really what they needed.  The Braves needed to add a player with some power and Bourn doesn’t have that and he never will.

When this trade went down a friend of mine in Atlanta texted me and was talking trash about the trade.  He went as far as claiming the Braves got the best available player at the deadline.  This makes no sense, but if it makes him feel better, let him have at it.  How I see it this is how the Braves trade deadline plans went:

Plan A – Carlos Beltran, traded to Giants

Plan B – Hunter Pence, traded to Phillies

Plan C – Carlos Quentin, Was not traded by the White Sox

Plan D – Michael Bourn, the Braves original target.

Wait, original target?  I think not.

I Love Ed Wade

Baseball’s worst general manager continues to allow the Phillies to use the Astros as their farm team.  First Brad Lidge (who has shit the bed the past couple years but was a big reason the Phillies won the World Series in 2008), then Roy Oswalt (whose strong second half down the stretch is a big reason the Phillies won the NL East last year), and now Hunter Pence.  While a lot of the players he’s received over the past four season are still young, only Michael Bourn has made any kind of impact and guys like Geoff Geary are no longer in the Major Leagues.

While the man still has no soul (because people with no chin have no soul), he cannot lose his love for the Phillies.  After the Pence trade went down, I watched a lot of coverage and most of the “experts” felt the Astros made the wrong trade because the Braves had made a much better offer.  It’s good for Phillies fans that Wade still has allegiance to the City of Philadelphia.

This isn’t good for Astros fans, but fear not;  I’d be surprised if he still has a job by seasons end.

How About Them Eagles?

Now that the NFL Lockout is over and teams are getting ready for the upcoming season, no team has been more active then the Philadelphia Eagles.  Their all or nothing attitude has The City of Brotherly Love stoked for the upcoming season as they have daily made moves making them closer and closer to the NFC’s Superbowl favorites.

Kevin Kolb to Cardinals for Dominique Rogers-Cromartie and a Second Round draft pick.  Arizona gave up a shit ton for a quarterback who has 27 career quarters under his belt.  The addition of Rogers-Cromartie instantly gave the Eagles two shut down cornerbacks; something if you watched the Eagles last season they needed to upgrade.

While Kolb has a lot of potential giving up a second-round pick and a Pro-Bowl cornerback could come back to haunt them.  Especially when the Vikings traded two six round picks for Donovan McNabb.

Nnamdi Asomugha signs a five-year, $60 million contract.  When I first heard about this signing I was completely in shock.  All the rumors were that Asomugha was going to the Jets or the Cowboys until the Eagles brought in arguably the best cornerback in the NFL.

Know the skeptics will say Nnamdi only had three interceptions last year.  That’s pretty observant; I can read stats on ESPN.com too.  One thing the stats don’t show is opposing quarterbacks never through the ball his way.  If he’s not getting the opportunities for interception, common sense says he’s not going to get a lot of interceptions.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to come to that conclusion.  What it does is it takes away an option of the opposing team which can force errors in other areas.

With the addition of Asomugha and Roger-Cromartie, the Eagles have three Pro-Bowl cornerbacks (once you factor in incumbent Asante Samuels).  There’s a lot of speculation here in Philadelphia that Samuels will be traded.  I’d really like to see them keep him.  Three Pro-Bowl cornerbacks take away any opposing teams passing game; they’d just have to run more nickel packages.  Besides, the game of football has changed over the years and teams no longer only send out two wide receivers.  Packages of three and four are a lot more common and having three shut down defensive backs only gives the Eagles a strength no team in the league has. 

 

Vince Young signs a one-year deal.  This is another signing I love and reminds me a lot of when the Eagles signed Michael Vick three seasons ago.  No one has ever denied Young’s talent.  His problem was his attitude and his inability to get along with former Titans coach Jeff Fisher.  He’s a Pro-Bowl caliber quarterback, who can get his career back on track with mentoring from Michael Vick.

Another thing I really like about Young is he plays a similar style to Vick.  One fear Eagles fans do have is Vick getting injured (and based on his style of play the odds of him playing 16 games isn’t likely).  Should Vick miss a few weeks, Young can be plugged right into the offense so it doesn’t miss a beat.

Jason Babin signs a five-year deal.  This is a bit of a risk, but there is a high reward.  Babin was in Eagles training camp last season but was cut prior to the season.  He ended up going to Tennessee and had a career year with 13 sacks. He’s a straight pass rusher, so you know what you are getting.  He’ll start opposite Pro-Bowl defensive end Trent Cole and that only adds more fear to the Sally’s of the league like Tony Romo and Eli Manning.

Cullen Jenkins signs a one-year deal.  I initially liked this signing because it meant “The Stiff”, Broderick Bunkley, would be seeking employment elsewhere.  After Mike Patterson collapsed on the practice field with a seizure and his return is unknown, this may have become a big signing.

Jenkins, an excellent run stopper, only got a real opportunity in Green Bay last season when he started eight games and had seven sacks.  Ideally, I’d like to see him lined up next to Cole so he will no longer be double teamed and jump in the backfield and take down the quarterback.

Ronnie Brown signs a one-year deal.  I was a fan of Ronnie Brown in 2008.  As my third running back, he single handedly helped me win my fantasy football league.  The 2008 Brown is no more.  He’s battled injuries and is no challenge to become the starter in Philadelphia.  LeSean McCoy will be the starter, but Brown is a nice backup; more so then last year’s running back James Harrison.

Brown is a hard runner and is great receiver out of the backfield (he and the Dolphins are the team to bring back the Wildcat offense that fits perfectly for a quarterback like Vick), which is something the Eagles lacked last season, especially in the red zone.  Most people don’t view backups as a big signing.  I disagree.  Brown gives the offense intangible the Eagles lacked last season. 

Concerns.  The Eagles have made almost a daily splash with a transaction, but there are things they do need to address.  With David Akers and Sav Rocca signed elsewhere the Eagles need to address the kicking/punting situation.  The do have Alex Henry and Chas Henry, but both of them are rookies.  I prefer my special teams to have big game experience.

The line backing corp is also an issue.  With the release of Stewart Bradley and Omar Gaither, the bird’s linebackers are very young.  Jamar Cheney will get the look at middle linebacker but second generation rookies like Greg Lloyd Jr. and Casey Matthews are going to be expected to contribute in a big way.

The Other Shoe Has Dropped

Last week Chris addressed the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He predicted while they have been a Cinderella Story this season in baseball that the other shoe will fall.  Well sorry Pirates fans.  It might be time to jump off the bandwagon.  While the Pirates have shown some hope for the future, reality has set in.

Since the Pirates were robbed due to Jerry Meals total abomination of a call at home plate in a 19 inning loss to the Brave, the wheels have fell off.  Since that heartbreaker they have gone 1-7 and now find themselves one game under .500 and 6.5 games out of first place.  At first I thought since they were playing the Braves and Phillies, who are REAL contenders, that they might take their lumps.  But getting battered by the Cubs is inexcusable.

As I type this I’m wearing a black 5150 Pirates hat.  I’m trying to channel the spirits of Andy Van Slyke, Bobby Bonilla, and Sid Bream, but I don’t think it’ll help.  Sorry Bucs fans, the first half gave you fans hope, but you’re better off putting your Phillies hats back on and rooting for a real team.

Roy Oswalt to Return

By the weekend, Phillies starter, Roy Oswalt should be back in the rotation.  Sure, given the rotation the Phillies have it’s not too impressive Oswalt is back but I think it’s huge.  Like a lot of Phillies fans I have my concerns if Roy would prefer to be on a tractor in rural Mississippi as opposed to taking the mound at Citizens Bank Park in the playoffs but this is how I see it:

Is he better or worse than Kyle Kendrick?  I don’t care if Kendrick shut out the Rockies over eight innings the other day; the guy is crap, he’ll always be crap, and is lucky to have a spot on the Phillies roster (although he still has a buffer because, the abortion reliever, David Herndon, somehow still has a job).  Oswalt’s return makes him a #4 starter on a team of aces.  His talent gives the Phillies four shut down starters in the playoffs, something no other team in baseball can boast.

Vance Worley

I know Vance Worley is the flavor of the month in Philadelphia.  Fans just love him.  My better half and her sister want to start “Worley’s Girlies” here in Philadelphia, but something tells me it’s not about his pitching ability.  There’s a good reason for that.

While Worley is 7-1 with a 2.33 ERA, I’m not sold on the chonky.  His fastball is in the mid-80’s and lacks movement.  He has no out pitch either.  He really reminds me of the likes of Kyle Kendrick and JA Happ when they first came into the league.  The only difference is Worley has balls and will challenge a hitter.  Given his stuff though, that could backfire.

I was hoping he was traded at the deadline so the Phillies sold high.  The only team he’s faced twice is the Mets and the second time they faced him, they made him look like a Triple A pitcher.  I fear the same will happen to him as he faces teams more.

I understand why he wasn’t traded though.  It all hinged on the health of Oswalt.  With Fat Joe Blanton out for the season, if Oswalt had a setback Kendrick would have been the Phillies #4 starter.  That’s no damn good.

Bold Prediction

The hoopla for the past week has been the retirement of Randy Moss (how can anyone write something sports related without mentioning Randy Moss).  Personally I think his off the field shenanigans make him a giant asshole, but on the field he’s probably the most talented wide receiver aside from Jerry Rice in my lifetime.  Moss did things on the field I could only dream of and spent 13 years making opposing secondary’s look silly.

In saying this, I don’t think this retirement has legs.  Moss is a gamer and I think the real reason he retired is he didn’t get the contract he wanted.  He saw Chad Johnson (I refuse to call him Ochocinco) and Plexico Burris both get contracts in New England and New York respectively, and the phone wasn’t ringing off the hook for Randy.    He’s the NFL version of Alan Iverson (good thing there’s no football in Turkey).

So I leave you with a bold prediction:  Randy Moss will be a Philadelphia Eagle by Week 6.  You heard it hear first.

I want to hear from my fellow Philly fans!  I also want to hear from the second rate fans who hate on Philadelphia.  Hit me up at shatmeself@yahoo.com and let me know your feelings.  Let’s go Phillies!  Let’s go Eagle!  Let’s go Flyers!  Eh…  Sixers…