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Pat Burrell left batting practice today after experiencing discomfort in his lower back while taking a swing. He left the field, gingerly walking down the steps before disappearing into the clubhouse.Discouraging news to get before the series even starts. Will update as we hear more.
Continuing with our theme of late afternoon commercials featuring Philly athletes, we bring you Dr. J's most recent spot for Dr. Pepper. Dude's smooth even at his age and in slow motion.
This appears to be outtakes from an EAS sports health drink commercial. Chase Utley, what a guy! So good with the kids.
Continue reading "Matt Hasselbeck Wants Chase Utley's Autograph" »
We all had a laugh after T.O. absurdly claimed he didn't get the ball enough in the Cowboys loss against the Skins on Sunday. There he goes again, you thought. He has to be the only receiver in NFL history to ever complain that only 18 passes were thrown his way. Hell, he even had more carries than the second running back.
Stop laughing. Last night on Comcast's Monday Night Live, Lee-toe ripped the team over his lack of playing time so far this season, and reminded everybody that he expects to be traded right now.
“If you say you want to win and do this and do that, then why aren’t all your best players on the field at the same time or when they need to be?”
Continue reading "We Have Something in Common with Dallas This Week" »
This just in from the MLB newsroom...
Brad Lidge was named MLB Comeback Player of the Year for the National League.
Lidge was obviously the difference maker in the bullpen for the Phillies this season, recording a save in each of his 41 opportunities. Per MLB.com's release:
Lidge finished the regular season 2-0 with a 1.95 ERA and was 41-for-41 in save opportunities. His place as the most reliable closer in Phillies history became all but official. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no Phillies closer with 20 or more saves in a season had lasted an entire year without a blown save since saves became an official statistic in 1969.
Wow.
With Ben Sheets ailing, the Brewers are without one of their best pitchers when the come to town to face the Phillies this week. However, the kid they're replacing him with (Yovani Gallardo) is pretty good as well. So what are Ben's thoughts on not being able to play?
Right-hander Ben Sheets, the senior member of the team with eight years of experience, had tears streaming down his face during the post-game celebration. Because of a balky elbow that made Sheets leave his start Saturday after 2 1/3 innings, he probably won’t be on the active roster for the division series.
"I’m going to be a cheerleader for a while," Sheets said. "I ain’t got no choice. It doesn’t look good, but you never know. I won’t stop trying."
So how do you feel about it? Glad to be rid of their former ace, or worried what the young gun Gallardo will do in his second appearance since missing most of the year with an injury?
Happy New Year everyone. Yes, for those of you who don't know, today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. So, indeed, Happy New Year. Or, as we said in the old neighborhood, Happy Jew Year.
But it's not just the desert wanderers who are celebrating the turn of a new year this week. It's a new year for the beloved Philadelphia Phillies. Playoff time. Ryan Howard has zero home runs and zero RBI. Brad Lidge hasn't still blown a save, but forget about 41 chances...he's had none. They have to prove it all over again, on a stage much grander.
But it's also a new year for guys like Pat Burrell and Brett Myers. Burrell has had his ups and downs this season, but right now, he's tied for the playoff lead in, well, everything. Should Burrell take this opportunity to put up Carlos Beltran-like numbers (in Houston, not with the Choking Dogs in Flushing) and parlay that into a monster contract, well, that'd be just dandy. And Myers has the opportunity to show he's the big-game starter we've always wanted him to be. We'll forget his first half (and his last two outings) if he goes out on Thursday and shuts the Brew Crew down.
New Years day is today for many of us. But for the Phillies, the new year starts Wednesday with Cole Hamels on the bump. I've already got my party hat on!
Continue reading "Morning Extras: It's a New Year for Phillies" »
Saturday's preseason showdown between the Flyers and Hurricanes was about as good as meaningless hockey can get. First, on the theatrical, emotional level, the Flyers came back to the Spectrum ice for the first time in over a decade, and the penultimate time ever. They paraded most of the captains out for a pregame ceremony, culminating when Mr. Snider handed Mike Richards his captaincy. Via the Puck Father:
How's that for a passing of the baton? No pressure, Richie.
Continue reading "Mike Richards Had Himself a Nice Little Saturday" »
An update from the battle of cast-aside Phillies pitchers, we've just received word that Freddy Garcia, out over a year due to a shoulder injury, has exited the game with an as yet unknown injury.
Via Rotoworld:
Freddy Garcia left Monday's game against the White Sox in the sixth inning with an apparent injury.
Garcia allowed a run before getting his first out of the game, but he had otherwise shut down the White Sox until the sixth, when he short-armed a pitch to Jermaine Dye. The hope is that it was a spasm somewhere in his neck or upper back, but it's possible that he aggravated his surgically repaired shoulder.
Oh yeah, no one saw this coming.
Related: Cardinals agreed to terms with RHP Kyle Lohse on a four-year, $41 million contract.
First it was her support for the Phillies and Flyers and now Sarah Palin is a regular old Donovan McNabb fan. Please keep it civil in the comments. If Obama or Biden were rocking a BDawk jersey, we'd comment on it just the same.
Video below.
Continue reading "Sarah Palin is a Regular Old South Philly Gal" »
The Eagles severely disappointed last night in Chicago and a tough loss putting the Birds' record at 2-2 left a bad taste in our mouths. If only we had been at Mark's place to try out his food of the week for the game. This week, he went with a Chicago-style sausage and peppers. His description below.
Our PSU student correspondent Ali chimes in on Saturday's Illinois game.
After a long day of tailgating, with rain coming and going,
it was finally time to enter the White House. I joined in the sea of white on
the streets leading to Beaver Stadium and took to my standing position in the
student section. The atmosphere was like nothing I have ever experienced. It
was a full-fledged whiteout, barely disrupted by the few orange shirts donned
by the poor showing of Illinois fans. 40,000 white shakers were given out to
add to the theme of the night, and the wave was taken to a new level with a
slow-motion style, as well as an extra fast version which was one of the
coolest looking things I’ve ever seen. The crowd made their presence known from
the time the drum major landed his famous flip in the end zone, until the last
seconds of the game.
Continue reading "Penn State Steps Up in First Real Test, Beats Illini in Happy Valley" »
So I'm in line waiting for my coffee this morning, and on the Saxby's TV, I see news that Citi Group has purchased most of Wachovia's banking assets. Far be it from me to wonder about the impact this might have on the local and national economic scene, I immediately thought, "Oh shit. Does this mean the Wachovia Center will be renamed again, and worse, share the name of the new METS stadium?"
Levy and I were discussing the possibilities this morning, and he located this tidbit, which says that for now, Wachovia will retain the naming rights, at least temporarily.
Still reeling from getting Joe Bugle'd last night, we'll continue the trend of focusing on the misfortunes of others. Thankfully, Dallas lost too. While this puts the 2-2 Eagles in last place in the East for the time being, there's still comfort in seeing what happens when America's team goes south. One thing that we can usually count on, is TO will say something stupid and selfish. Observe:
Now if you look at TO's line (7 receptions, 71 yards, 1 TD; 11 rushing yards), you might think he got the ball quite a bit. But he actually "got the ball" more than that, with 18 pass targets on the day. That's more than any other receiver saw, on any team, in any game, on Sunday. But they lost. So he should have had the ball more. Never mind that Marion Barber was seldom used (8 carries), and Felix Jones got zero offensive touches.
Does that mean he's unhappy with Romo for not getting him more passes, or more passes on target? Wade Phillips for not demanding he be more involved? Patrick Crayton and Jason Witten for not doing more with their 10 targets each? Both had more receiving yards than TO on far fewer targets, and Witten also scored. Maybe that's the problem?
Please let this get worse....
To get the acrid taste of last night's loss in Chicago out of our mouths, let's focus (for a minute anyway) on the upcoming playoff series between the Phillies and the Brewers. Via MLB.com, here are the dates and times:
Good luck getting anything done at work on Wednesday, and we'll see you there on Thursday.
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