The Year that Was

Whether the Phils make the playoffs or not this year, it seems that this little post-all star break mini-surge was a reminder to Cole Hamels of how could this team was and can be. The legacy of the 2012 team may be that it kept Cole Hamels here  for the rest of his career.

 

Having said that, this is already getting kind of interesting. I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but the Phils are now "only" 9 ½ games out of the wild card. Sure they've got a ton of teams in front of them which is the much bigger problem than just the number of games back but if they could cut it to 7 over the next week then things would really get interesting. With the Braves series this weekend, anything could happen.

Freeh meh

The Freeh report is not the final word on the investigation of what happened at Penn St. so why has there been a NCAA rush to judgment? The sanctions are predicated on what Paterno, Spanier, Curley, and Schultz did or didn't do. None has had their day in court yet nor had the opportunity to present evidence in their defense. The NCAA like it has in the past, acted prematurely and extrajudicially with no concern for due process.

Hamels

Was yesterday's standing ovation for Cole Hamels' departure an appreciation for a tough game or for a career well-served in Philadelphia?

What Might Have Been

A pity that Obama wasn't willing to take on the banksters and Wall Street in any meaningful way (remember his impotence in agreeing to the reward and retention bonuses at AIG?). He gets the worst of both possible worlds. Fewer campaign contributions from the 1% and the anger from the Democratic left. 

Elizabeth Warren's fundraising numbers show that small donors are willing to contribute to a candidate that has their back.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/us/politics/liberal-donors-finding-a-home-in-elizabeth-warren.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120721

The Next 2 Weeks

so having had the opportunity (or misfortune) to catch several Phillies game prior to the all-star break, i was ready to throw in the towel on the season after such desultory play.

But hope does spring eternal.

They have to go 50-25 just to get to 88 wins, which may not be enough for that second wild card spot. More improbable is a team that is currently languishing at a .427 win percentage suddenly becoming a .666 juggernaut. Having said that, I guess we should give them the champs their due and the next two weeks to show that they could do it. While everyone is focusing on the final record, don't they really have to go 10-5 over the next five series in order to avoid a RAG sell-off? They're now 1-1 in that pursuit.

(And if they don't/can't do it, the first order of business (besides giving Hamels' the 6th year on the contract he so desperately wants) is to trade Victorino and bring Brown up for an extended look for the rest of the season.)