This Year is Different

Usually around this time of year I'm sulking. The Phillies normally end their season miserably... then the hope that I've put in the Eagles gets crushed by their disappointing finish.

This year is different.

As usual, the Eagles blew it. They lost a game they were supposed to win... which was typical of their play this season. In fact, I chose to stay home to watch the game instead of joining the 200+ Philly fans that congregate at a local bar downtown because I knew the Eagles were gonna lose. All season they won the games there were supposed to lose [like last week against the Giants] and lost or tied the games they were supposed to win. I'm pretty sure McNabb gets lazy when he thinks he's gonna win. It's horrible.

Another year... another NFC Championship game... and another loss. In the past 8 years, the Eagles have made that far 5 times... winning only ONCE before losing in the Super Bowl. 5/8. That's roughly 63% of the time. And they lost 4/5 times. Pitiful.

Anyway... the point. This year is different... because the Phillies won the World Series. No one was singing the Eagles' fight song at the end of the Phil's season this year. The stadium didn't empty early the last month of the season. I wasn't depressed. And no one was saying, "But they looked so good on paper!" or "I guess there's always next season." The Phillies... unlike the Eagles... finally lived up to their potential.

It's January 19th... and we've got a long way to go before Pitchers and Catchers Reporting Day...

Conflict

Drafting players for my fantasy team can always be a challenge. I try to avoid drafting players that I don't like... or who play for teams that I don't like. At the same time, however... I want my team to win! Sometimes that means drafting players that I'd rather not have do well.

For example... I picked up Mark Teixeira of the Braves this year. [Well... at least he was in Atlanta at the beginning of the season. I was rather relieved when he went to California and I didn't have to root for a Brave anymore!] It was difficult for me to root for a player on a rival team... but I sucked it up and did it anyway. I just hoped that the rest of the team fell apart... which they did, thankfully.

So... it's September. Why on earth am I writing about this now?

It's fantasy league playoff time... and I had a major conflict yesterday. Here's what happened:

On Facebook, I saw on my news feed that a friend of mine had the phrase "Go Mets!" on her profile status. It was horrifying. This wasn't just any friend... this was one of my best friends. And she was not only rooting for the Mets... but rooting for them in a game against the Phillies.

Horrified... I wrote on her wall. She wrote back and explained the situation. She needed ONE hold by a reliever to go past her opponent... and that reliever happened to be a Met. It was a do or die situation: if he got the hold, she'd win the week and play for 1st-4th. If he failed to get the hold, she'd lose the week and would play for 5th or 6th place.

Shoot.

Where does my loyalty lie? To one of my best friends and only other girl in our baseball league? Or to my beloved Phillies?

On the one hand... if I can't win the league... I want her to. So that makes me want to cheer for her. But on the other hand... how can I root FOR the Mets... and AGAINST the Phillies?!? Especially in a real-life playoff race!

It was awful.

But that day has passed. The Phillies lost. My friend got her hold and her win. And now the Phils have to win an extra game to make up for the loss.

We weren't friends yesterday... but I think we're okay now. : )

Obnoxious.

I went to the Phillies/Cubs game last night here in Chicago. Really good game. The Cubs ended up winning on a Ramirez grand slam in the later innings which was unfortunate... but the game was still a lot of fun.

On the way out, however... I started getting really annoyed.

Cub fans were yelling things like, "Phillies suck," "Utley sucks," and "Joe Carter."

First of all. Clearly, the Phillies don't suck. Three teams in the NL [including the Cubs and the Mets who just took over first in the East] have a better record than the Phils. Three. That's it. You don't suck and have that kind of record.

Secondly. Chase went 3 for 5 last night and also reached on an error... getting him on base 4 times. He also scored a run and drove in a run. You don't suck and have a day at the park like that.

Thirdly. Joe Carter? Really? That's just mean.

I don't like obnoxious fans. I'm of the opinion that people should be good sports. Win graciously. Lose graciously. [Granted... I'll say that Dallas sucks until the day I die. But that's b/c of a lifetime of loathing for the Cowboys.] Cubs fans don't hate the Phillies. We're not rivals. Philly fans don't care about the Cubs.

Some people... those drunk, in particular... just have nothing of consequence or intelligence to say, but figure they should open their mouths anyway. I wish they wouldn't.

Boo-Birds

This article in today's News Journal [out of Wilmington, DE] cracked me up and was too good to not share. Author Kevin Noonan is kind of the resident DE sports guru who's very familiar with how Philly Phans think and act. He should be... cuz he is one. So without further ado...

This is a city that is as well known for its boo-birds as it is for the Liberty Bell. It's a dubious distinction of which many sports fans around here are proud.

But even though it seems as if we boo everybody, not all booing is equal. We tailor it to each individual situation, and sometimes to each individual.

There's the boo of frustration, which happens when Pat Burrell strikes out with the bases loaded.

There's the boo of anger, which Jimmy Rollins has been hearing the last few days.

There's the boo of bitterness, which is directed at players like former Phils Billy Wagner and Scott Rolen.

And then there's the boo of respect, the kind Manny Ramirez heard on Friday night during the Phillies' 8-1 victory over his Los Angeles Dodgers.

Larry Bird used to hear it, and so did Magic Johnson and Lawrence Taylor and Emmitt Smith and Mario Lemieux. They were athletes the Philly fans hated, but also admired. They were athletes the Philly fans booed with all their leather-lunged might, but those same fans would have been thrilled to cheer for them if they had worn the home uniform.

Ramirez fits into that category. Some people might not like his king-sized ego. Some might not like his choice of hair style. But everybody loves the way he swings a bat and brings energy to a lineup.

Back to me. I LOVE the fact that there are indeed different types of boos. Seriously. And for some reason... we really DO take pride in it. Such a funny thing.

A fellow reader added this comment: "Nice try, Noonan...but you're flat wrong. David Wright gets the boo of respect. Manny Rameriz gets booed because he's a <>."

I actually agree with the reader more than Noonan in this case. My respect for Manny is waning, as I've previously discussed.

I'd give the boo of bitterness to Wagner and Rolen as noted, as well as J.D. Drew.

The boo of admiration would go to a lot of players... but specifically I'd have to think of guys like Wright, Holliday, Beltran, Glavine, Maddux, Smoltz, both Chipper and Andruw, and prolly some other guys, too. But the boo of admiration is reserved mainly for guys who're on rival teams like the Mets or Braves. Gotta include Holliday in there, too, b/c of the NL run last year.

Anyway... love the article. Love the News Journal. Love Noonan. Love booing. Love the Phils.

Beat the Best, Lose to the Worst

There are many things I don't understand about baseball and probably never will. One is the multitude of ways a balk can be called, but almost never is...it always just seems so arbitrary. Another is why managers are recycled so often, as if the guy might just get it right with his fifth different team after bombing with the other four. Or why Tony LaRussa hits his pitchers eight most of the time now.

But one that seems to happen all the time is playing great against a tough team only to get swept by a crappy team...only to play well against a great team again. The crazy ups and downs of baseball are just astounding.

Take the Cardinals last several games as an example.

They play three against Philadelphia, NL East leaders who were playing really well...and started the series off with a 20-2 pounding of the Cards...no, it was an anihilation...or something tremendously awful. Then, STL rebounds to win the last two, taking the series. Pretty good against a hot, 1st place team.

Then the Cards take on Kansas City, perennial bottom-dwellers of the AL Central. Should be able to take this momentum and beat up on a bad team, right? Apparently not. STL got swept. Yeah, swept, not just lost two of three. Swept. And that leading up to playing the Red Sox in Boston.

Great, Boston doesn't lose at home. They are, like, 56-2 at home or something and we are coming off of getting swept by the Royals...not looking good. Without Albert my faith in the team is similar to my faith in the Royals. But that's not how it turns out, is it? The Cardinals were within one bad JD Drew throw of a sweep of the Sox themselves...IN Boston.
What?!
How does this make sense?

I know there are reasons within reasons in any single game. But it is just weird how this happens. Going 4-5 against those three teams, I would have thought a sweep of the Royals would have been in there, not a sweep BY the Royals.

Crazy baseball.

Phillies Prediction

I realized I forgot my Phillies prediction. They're currently tied 3-3 in the ninth with the Braves, whom I also can't stand. Any team that thinks they're too good for Boston is by definition evil.

Anyway, I'm predicting the Phillies finish in 2nd place in the NL East. I'm not sure about the win total. Keep in mind, for my previous predictions to be right, the Mets, Padres and Dodgers all have to have better records than the Phillies. Hmm. I'm going with the Mets winning 95ish. I guess I'm going with Dodgers and Padres tying with somewhere between 88-90 wins and the Dodgers having the tie breaker of head to head record. I'll say Phillies win 85 games and barely miss the playoffs again.

When Jon Scholl joins, I'll give you my Reds prediction. And then when Andy joins, you'll get the Tigers prediction.