The700Level.com - Philly Sports & Minutiae

Cole Vs. Lilly: Game 2

On the strength of some decent pitching by Brett Myers and the bat of Pat Burrell, the Phils dispatched the Cubs last night in game 1 of the series down at CBP. Tonight, Cole Hamels takes on Ted Lilly, who has struggled so far but has decent numbers against the Phillies. Chicago's #2 starter, Lilly is a disappointing 0-1 with a 9.72 ERA over 2 starts. His K totals are down, and hopefully they stay there as the lefty faces a lineup that can bomb out any pitcher who doesn't have his best stuff, but also struggles against south paws. It's a beautiful night for a few hours at the Park, and we could see some long balls tonight.

Thoresen Leaves Hospital Intact

After taking a slapshot to the jewels, it was feared Flyers winger Patrick Thoresen had a ruptured testicle and might need to have it removed. Fortunately for Thoresen, and pretty much all men everywhere, he's going to be OK, and the testiclectomy was not required. Thoresen has been released from the hospital, and could even be ready to return to the lineup tomorrow.

If Thoresen seems a little reluctant to go down to block a shot, let's all cut him a little slack. (h/t: commenter houroc)

It Was Lonely Being a Flyers Fan at Last Night's Game in Washington

Flyers fans were few and far between at last night's horrible loss in DC. Those that were there made their presence felt with a few "Let's go Flyers!" chants being audible throughout the arena.

Pat Burrell Gets Shown the Love

Ovation, originally uploaded by stksave27

With the Sixers falling to the Pacers and the Flyers giving one away to the Caps, it was up to the Phillies to prevent an entirely pathetic night of Philly sports.  Thanks to Pat Burrell's beastly evening (2-4 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored) the Phils got back on track after two straight losses to the Mets.

It's been quite the start for The Bat in 2008. It wasn't too long ago that fans in this town were begging for him to be traded. I guess putting up big numbers will make even the most vicious Philly fans cheer for you.

If you recall before the start of 2007, I proposed laying off Pat when his numbers were down and he couldn't find his groove at the plate. Maybe Pat just needs to be loved to beat the crap out of the ball.

>>photo by stksave27 from The700Level.com's flickr pool. Be sure to add your game photos as well.

Another Third Period Collapse: Flyers Down 1-0 and Thoresen May Be SERIOUSLY Hurt

The Flyers' period-by-period identity crisis has followed them into the playoffs. As they did so many times during the regular season, they entered the third period with a lead, up 4-2, and promptly squandered it, giving up three unanswered goals in the final frame. The last of the goals was to the Russian they'd worked so hard to minimize all night, with Alex Ovechkin showing us why John Stevens has kept Lasse Kukkonen off the ice seemingly inexplicably for much of the season.

We quickly learned that the Capitals are not just a one-line team. Former Flyers enforcer Donald Brashear lit the lamp for the game's first, and fellow fourth liner David Steckel added another in the second. The Flyers, who boast three solid scoring lines, saw all their goals come from the top line combination of Danny Briere (2 goals, 1 assist) and Vinny Prospal (2 goals). Cristobal Huet showed that he's human, and for the first time since he was traded to the Caps, he allowed more than three goals in a game. The Flyers moved with energy and intensity in the second period, and looked like they had the game won, but anyone who has watched them this season knew it was far from over.

Highlights and a disturbing injury report on Patrick Thoresen after the jump.

Sixers & Phillies & Flyers, Oh My

Another packed night of Philly sports with all three teams in action (and the Phantoms too). Three games in South Philly means traffic will be a blast! SEPTA, people.

At the Wachovia Center it's the Sixers taking on the Pacers who are fighting for their playoff lives. The Sixers are wrapping up their season and with a win earlier in the week against the Pistons, a little bit of momentum heading into the playoffs would be nice.

The Phillies are trying to bounce back against the Cubs at CBP and get Chicago's big gun on the mound. Carlos Zambrano has only allowed 2 earned runs in 13.2 innings for a 1-0 record. He could give the struggling Phils bats a headache. The Phillies opening day starter, Brett Myers, will try to find his groove and also the win column. The Phils really need a boost after that heart breaking loss last night to the Mets.

I will be in attendence at the most meaningful game of the night as the Flyers kick off their playoff series with the Capitals at the Verizon Center in DC. Should make for a fun evening.

David Aldridge Leaving Inquirer

David Aldridge, the Inquirer's NBA scribe, is leaving the paper to focus on his television work. Here's the email sports editor Jim Cohen sent to his staff:

David Aldridge will be leaving The Inquirer after next week. As many of you know, David has been juggling responsibilities for The Inquirer and a television network for a number of years, and that has become untenable for him. We will miss him for his reporting, maturity and professionalism. As someone who has worked with David in newspapers and television, I have always appreciated his dedication to doing journalism the right way, regardless of the medium and of the industry trends. At this time, David plans to devote his full attention to television. We wish David and his family well.

D.A. is among the best in his business and his articles in the Inquirer will certainly be missed.

>>David Aldridge to Leave Inquirer [Will Do]

Flyers-Caps Series Preview: Our Q&A With Al Morganti

Al Morganti has provided entertaining and informative coverage of the Flyers and Philadelphia sports for years, and he's currently a co-host of the 610 WIP Morning Show and Comcast's Flyers game day coverage. His columns during his days with The Hockey News shaped my view of the league, and he continues to be one of the most respected voices in hockey. We're grateful for the opportunity to discuss the upcoming Flyers-Caps series with Al and share his insights with you.

What's been the most pleasant surprise about this Flyers season?
The rapid development of defenseman Braydon Coburn. He still makes some big mistakes, which is normal for a young defenseman, but he has displayed a real ability to skate the puck out of trouble, and he has been coached into a player who is willing to launch a shot from the point. Of all the moves that general manager Paul Holmgren made last season, the deal to bring Coburn to Philadelphia from Atlanta for Alexei Zhitnik was his best. Coburn has a chance to be to the Flyers what Brian Rafalski was to the Devils in terms of skating the puck through any trap, and he has a better upside in terms of booming a shot for goals and points.

Has the team met, exceeded, or fallen short of where you thought they'd be?
At the beginning of the season I said the team would battle to make the playoffs, and after their quick start I thought I had seriously undervalued their talent. However, the Flyers stumbled and then regained their balance. Overall, I think they are perhaps a little ahead of where I thought they would be at this time. Remember—they were the worst team in the NHL last season, and the fact that they could recover from a serious slump is even more impressive than their quick start.

Chris Therien suggested that Scottie Upshall might be the key to the series with the Capitals, in that he could be the forward who harasses Alex Ovechkin the way Keith Jones once did Jaromir Jagr. Would you agree?
I love Jonesey, but I don’t think he is going to keep Jagr out of the Hall of Fame. I don’t think Upshall will be able to upset Ovechkin. I would also worry that if Upshall got too involved in that stuff he would wind up in the penalty box too often in the first two games in Washington, and Ovechkin would be seen with that gap-toothed grin after scoring on the power play. However, I do agree with Chris that Upshall is the sort of player who can have a huge impact in a playoff series. He has the kind of game that can be very effective in the playoffs – if he stays under control.

(Much more with Al Morganti, including his pick for the series, after the jump.)

FanHouse Mock Draft: Eagles Take WR James Hardy at No. 19

Over the past week and a half, we've been conducting a mock draft over at FanHouse. I played the role of Eagles GM -- even though I didn't go the route they will likely go -- and decided to pick a guy I'd love to see on the Eagles.

With the 19th pick, the Eagles select James Hardy, WR out of Indiana. The reasoning for my pick and some video highlights of his time at Indiana over at FH.

Click here for the entire FanHouse mock draft.

Flyers Wake Up Call!

A great way to kick off your Friday.

Was Reyes Out at the Plate?

Here we go again. The Matt Holliday Question resurfaces. After 12 long innings of quiet baseball, the Mets made some noise in the bottom of the frame, with Jose Reyes smacking a double off of Tom Gordon, and was knocked in Angel Pagan, who we think is the child of parents from rival biker gangs. But was Reyes tagged out by Chris Coste at the plate after a laser of a throw from Jason Werth in center? Here's some video of the play, the second replay being the most telling, but it still isn't definitive.

Meech has some great overhead stills, and he calls bullshit on the whole deal. (When I went to B&C this morning, I was hoping to see some mockery of that pale Myth Busters-looking fan who was in every frame behind right-handed hitters—the guy with the red beard, and bald head he later covered with a ridiculous hat. Mets fans.) A look on the bright side, after the jump.

Rubber Match Game Chat: Eaton vs. Maine

Tonight's meeting with New York at Shea is just another early April game, right? Maybe. It could set the tone for the rest of this season's rivalry with the hated Mets. A win tonight would be huge for the Phils psyche while a loss would certainly be a little tougher to deal with.

The Phillies need to get their fielding in order. Before the season many considered their infield to be among the best in the league.  Coming into to this evening's game, however, the Phillies lead the league in errors. That's not how you win baseball games. If Chase Utley wants to be the third straight Phillie to bring home some MVP hardware, he's going to have to improve his leather a bit from the first few weeks.

Last year John Maine  was clearly a better pitcher than Adam Eaton but Eaton's numbers are better early in this 2008 campaign (0-1, 9.00 ERA and 0-0, 3.52 ERA, respectively). With Chad Durbin doing well in long-relief last night, he's likely unavailable to mop up any blood that might be spilled on Eaton's account, and Ryan Madson has been sidelined for five games with shoulder soreness, so the Phils may need to rely on scoring in bunches to keep up.

Not Only Hockey, College Hockey!

We're planning on kicking off our evening by watching the Frozen Four with some fellow BC alums at Porters in DC. Now, I'm not going to lie and act like I've been watching every (any?) BC hockey game this season, but any hockey game with playoff atmosphere where it's win or go home is certainly an entertaining game.

If you haven't seen how BC made it to the Frozen Four, you have to check out this video of the absolutely ridiculous goal that Joe Whitney scored in over time to get the Eagles there.

BC vs. North Dakota, 6:00 pm live from Denver.

Vote For Sir Charles!

If you're not a daily Deadspin reader, you may not be familiar with their Media Approval Ratings. Up for rating today is the Round Mound of Rebound who spends most of his time on TNT talking about today's NBA chumps. We are hoping Charles Barkley can break the record for most highly approved. So head on over and give Chuck an "approve" vote. If you don't, you are a terrrrble person.

South Park On Bill Belichick And Cheating

Because South Park is much better than talking about the Phillies pathetic showing last night.

via FH

Mike Richards May Have Found a Solution to Alex Ovechkin

Washington's Alexander Ovechkin is deservedly getting most of the attention leading up to the Flyers-Caps first-round series. And why not? He's already won the Richard (most goals) and Ross (most points) trophies, and he's earned himself a Hart (most Jesus-on-ice) this year as well. But although he's a tough player who likes to get rough and doesn't mind when a player takes a run at him, he's apparently not much of a fighter, as Mike Richards showed us in September of '06.

Beat down! Granted, it was his first fight, he did ehkay, and we don't actually assume Ovie will or should drop the gloves in a playoff series, so the Flyers won't likely be relying on fisticuffs as a way of keeping him off the score sheet. But that doesn't make it any less fun to watch. For more highlights of the carnage between the Flyers and Caps over the years, the Caps blog Japers Rink has put together a nice summary with some help from HockeyFights.com and FlyersHistory.com.

Dear Jimmy, Come Back Soon

Last night's loss to the Mets was simply one of those games where nothing was going the Phils way. Kyle Kendrick couldn't find the strike zone and Eric Bruntlett certainly didn't help matters. Kendrick gave away too many bases on balls and he's lucky the Mets didn't score even more runs on him the way they had the bases juiced so many times.

Heck, even the indefatigable Chase Utley struck out.

It was a tough loss and quite painful to watch but it's still only one loss to the Mets in the last 10 meetings. This evening's rubber match starring Adam Eaton and John Maine will set the tone for the rest of this season's rivalry.

After the jump a poll regarding Mets fans and Phillies fans.

Phils @ Mets Game Thread: Rollins Out

To do tonight: watch the Phillies beat the Mets while firing up the grill for the first time all spring.

It's Kyle Kendrick against Mike Pelfrey in a battle of young arms. The big news out of the clubhouse is that Jimmy Rollins will not be in the line up. Instead, Eric Bruntlett will get his first start as a Phillie and look for Shane to move to the leadoff spot.

Follow along in the comments.

Chase Utley's Propensity to Get Plunked

Not only does he get hit a remarkable three times while batting yesterday, Chase also got pegged in the back while running to second base. It ended up working out in the Phils favor but Chase has to have a couple welts on him today.

Bugs and Cranks put together this Montage of Plunking.

McNabb Expects to Play 7-8 More Seasons, Hopefully in Philadelphia

Donovan McNabb spoke at a charity event at his alma mater on Tuesday and said he expects to play 7-8 more season in the NFL.

Nutter Not A Beer Guy Or Just On Call?

Yesterday's win over the Mets was quite an enjoyable way to kick of the final season at Shea Stadium. Not only did the Phillies come away with their 9th straight win over New York but the entire stadium got Rick Rolled. Amazing.

Philadelphia's Michael Nutter was in attendance at the game with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Nutter tried to talk some baseball which didn't exactly go real smoothly. But what I want to know is, did Nutter really drink a "glass of water" while NYC's mayor enjoyed a cold adult beverage? What gives Nutter? No love for the glorious hot dog and beer combo?

We Just Thought We'd Point This Out

Yep. Just wanted to point this out real quick.

And this from a Mets site regarding yesterday's game: " I saw the end of 2007 — the end that won't conclude. It's not Groundhog Day with these Mets. Groundhog Day was funny. This is a team that plays a week late and many dollars short. This is a team that makes me sad."

Completely unrelated: how happy are these people?

Quotable: Brashear on Flyers and Caps Fans

For the five people who still think the Caps have better fans than our fair Flyers, maybe you should ask Donald Brashear, who stopped just short of calling the DC crowd "fair-weather fans" on the air with Angelo & Co. Tuesday morning. Brashear, who filled the enforcer role for the Flyers for several seasons and now plays for the Capitals, pointed to the fans as the primary difference between playing in Philly and Washington. Donny was characteristically diplomatic in his wording, and he doesn't seem to bothered by the casual support, but we're not going to let that stop a little playoff trash talking.

In related news, Brashear has a blog, and he's started an NHL playoffs challenge with a case prize.

Mets Get Rick Rolled By Phils in Home Opener

The Phillies went into Shea Stadium and continued their dominance of the hated Mets. Jamie Moyer found himself in some trouble but worked his way out of it to put the Phils in position to win. Nothing like a win over the Mets to kick start your faith in the Phils.

Hopefully Jimmy's ankle will be fine and he'll be back in the lineup in no time.

Here's the video of the Mets getting Rick Rolled. Tremendous work by the people of Fark.com, Digg.com, and Phillies fans everywhere. (thanks to reader ricky for the video)

Update: the original video has been removed. Try this one.

Phillies Day Game Thread: The Mets Series Is Finally Upon Us

We're about 10 minutes from the first pitch in what's looking to be an epic season-long battle between the Phillies and Mets in '08. Although we're pretty excited to see this thing get underway, we would have gladly waited for a night game at this point. Four day games in a row is a bit much, and we want to witness the storming of Shea via moving pictures, not just the radio and the dots on Yahoo's gamecast.

Jamie Moyer takes the hill against lefty Oliver Perez, who threw 8 Ks in 6 shutout innings to win his first start this year. However, Johan Santana he is not, and the Phils have had pretty good luck against him in previous outings.

Phils Picking Up Entire Helms Salary for '08

If you thought the deal that Pat Gillick gave Wes Helms to sign with the Phillies last off season was too much, you're probably not going to enjoy the fact that the Phils will pay Helms $2.8 million to play for the Marlins this year. Gillick did get some cash considerations in return (which may have been one dollar), and the good news is, they aren't on the hook for Helms for next season, nor will they have to pay the $750,000 it would have cost to buy him out.

The Phillies designated Helms for assignment last week and would have been responsible for the remaining $2.9 million of his contract had they released him. By dealing him to the Marlins, they begrudgingly benefit from a 26 percent savings.

That 26% is great and all, but not in this context:

Had they pulled the trigger earlier, the Phillies could have saved a significantly bigger bundle. During the Winter Meetings, the Marlins are believed to have offered to pick up $2 million of Helms' remaining contract plus send the Phillies a player, the source said.

D'oh! Cash Considerations declined comment on being referred to in this context as "not a player."

>>Helms will not add a penny to 2008 team salary [Sun-Sentinel]

Scott Burnside: Caps Win in 6

Isn't it great to be talking some playoff hockey? Even one year off is too many in this town.

We'll have plenty on this series throughout the week, but today we're focusing on Scott Burnside's prediction: that the Flyers are overmatched by the white-hot Capitals, and will lose in six games. By his introductory paragraphs alone, you could tell this prediction was coming. But he does say it will be a great series (he calls it a "dandy"), and forecasts that it will rest on the Flyers young leaders' ability to carry them through a 7-game battle.

Well That Was Fun, One Shining Moment

Last night's game was the kind of game that you're glad you spent the time to watch. How bout the absolute legend that Mario Chalmers just became. Pretty amazing shot.

And with Kansas walking on water last night, Memphis pulled one of the worst choke jobs we've seen in quite a while. No way should they lose that game with that kind of lead and a minute left.

Caps Fans vs. Flyers Fans: Please.

Cheeseboy (!) over at the DC Sports Bog has a post today titled "Caps Fans vs. Philly Fans."  Steinberg takes some jabs at our loyal fanbase and then talks to former Flyer Donald Brashear about whether he's ever witnessed any crazy activity in Philly.

"No, but you always hear about it," he said. "It's mostly in football. It's not that bad, it's just they can rock that building and get the building going. They like the physical play and they like the rough stuff. Philly does play physical, and they've always been a physical team, so we're gonna have to be ready to play physical."

I'll say this. I was at a Caps game on a Friday night in November and it appeared as if maybe 10,000 people were in the Verizon Center. We showed up 10 minutes before the game and sat 12 rows off the ice.  Flyers fans show up every night. It's not even worth discussing. Any city can get excited about the playoffs.

He then goes on to ponder whether DC is a "hockey town." Again, DC may be a hockey town but I'd guess it's still a football town. But no matter what team gets the most love in DC, it's still a second rate sports city in terms of real fans.

Phillies At Reds Live Blog

Video of Jimmy's lead off homer and Burrell and Jenkins back-to-back blasts after the jump.

Sorry for the late start... went out for lunch and got attacked by a bunch of red birds. Okay not really but there was traffic. I flip on the game about 10 minutes late and the Phils are up 3-0.

Rollins led off with a solo shot followed by a Howard double and a Pat the Bat blast. 3-0 Phils.

Hamels starts off by letting the first two batters on base. Maybe they shouldn't have given him a 3 run lead. Then Freel steals third as part of a double steal. Nice.

Cole goes to a full count with Brandon Phillips before the Reds get a fielder's choice to knock in a run. 3-1 Phils.

Dunn pops up behind home plate and Jeff Keppinger knocks in another run with a single. Hamels gets out of the shaky first with a lead intact. 3-2 Phils after one.

Alright, the chicken breast club has been devoured and now my typing and amazing wit shall improve going forward. The final 8+ frames after the jump.

Another FredEx Sighting

So he wasn't in the company of a hot woman this time, but there has been another FredEx sighting. It has to do with a documentary about athletes being nervous wrecks worrying about their careers. Somehow, Freddie Mitchell ends up in the filmmaker's lounge. [HeraldTribune]

Pitching Still A Legit Concern For Phils

The Phillies currently sit at 2-4 which places them at the bottom of the NL East. I think most Phillies fans realize that it's still very early in the season and this record shouldn't be of much concern just yet. But there are areas that I think there are legitimate concerns about. Brett Myers has not looked like the ace we all hoped and expected him to be. Myers has thrown two starts now and never really put the Phillies in a position to win either game. As a team the Phillies have an ERA over 5 which places them among the league's worst.

This afternoon's game is a big one with our real ace Cole Hamels going up against rockstar Bronson Arroyo. First pitch is somewhere around 12:35. We may try to do one of those live blogs so check back around game time.

Video: Flyers Fans Give It To Crosby

Via FanHouse we have this wonderful video of some of the signs Flyers fans made yesterday to mock Sid the Kid. I didn't know Flyers fans had such wit in them.

Quick Stat: Phillies Batting Averages

Chase Utley and Pat Burrell are off to hot starts. Chase is batting .429 with a league leading 3 HRs while Pat is hitting .421 with 6 RBIs. At the other end of the spectrum, Shane Victorino has been struggling out of the gate going 3 for 23 with an avg of .130 in his first 6 games. Shane took extra BP after Sunday's loss to Cinci and can hopefully bounce back in today's final game in the four game set. More on that later.

Call Me William Or Tre... No, William. No! Tre!

One of the things I enjoy the most about Dave Spadaro are his little anecdotes at the end of his articles. From a Friday posting: "In case you missed it, William Thomas has now changed his name back to Tra Thomas. Seems that not too many folks took to calling him "William," so he is back to Tra Thomas again." [via]

Sixers Prank Not Quite As Sophisticated As Phils

The hot Sixers are on their way to the playoffs and with that Willie Green gets a spot on NBC10's Sports Final. They gave Willie a video camera to capture the Sixers emotions in the locker room when they clinched a playoff birth this past weekend. His footage is lackluster and so are his pranking skills.

While the Phillies pulled off one of the all time pranks earlier this spring, the Sixers resort to hiding in a dark room and jumping out at someone who doesn't know they are there. Spooky! The victim here is rookie Herbert Hill.

Oh. And one more thing: I totally want to hang out with Sammy D. So chill.

With Win Against Pens, Flyers Finish 6th, Face Caps In Playoffs

The Flyguys finished out the season strong with a win over Pittsburgh on Sunday in a game in which the Pens may or may not have been tanking. They held out Sid the Kid in what many are guessing hopes of losing the game so they wouldn't have to face the Flyers in the opening round. It worked as the Flyers won on the back of Marty Biron's shutout. Jeff Carter had this to say off the Pens weak showing, "Guess that's a good thing for us. Maybe they're scared of us, I don't know.

Instead of facing Crosby and the Penguins, the Flyers will go up against the greatest star in the game, Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. They Flyers won the season series against the Caps but in a weird twist the road team has won each meeting. Hopefully things can continue that way against the Capitals as the series starts Friday night in DC.

Ryan Howard's Future Not In His Hands?

Phillies beat guy extraordinaire Todd Zolecki has a Q&A with Phillies slugger Ryan Howard. I find the first answer a bit troubling.

Question: Given the choice, would you prefer to remain a Phillie for your entire career?
Howard: That's not up to me.

Cop out. Of course it's kind of up to you.

Game Chat: Phils Try To Rebound

Tough loss yesterday even though Adam Eaton didn't get shelled like we all expected. They're back at it today at 1:15 in Cincy with Brett Myers going up against the Rangers former minor league pitcher of 2007, Edinson Volquez. It's not the series finale as they have a fourth game tomorrow afternoon.

Also, looks like we may get something for Wes Helms. Surprising.

?uestlove Is A 'Nova Fan, McNabb Backer

The Sporting Blog caught up with The Roots drummer ?uestlove down in San Antonio this week before the big final four action. He says he's a Villanova backer but when push comes to shove in the final four, he likes the Tarheels. Then they go into some other Philly sports talk and ?uestlo