Random Super Bowl Thoughts

* Clay Matthews saved his reputation by forcing what turned out to be thee decisive fumble/turnover of the game. Up to that point, Mathews had pretty much been a non-entity and the Steelers had shown that the best way to neutralize Mathews was to run right at him. I don't have the exact stats in front of me, but it seems that most of the Steelers' running plays were to their right side - especially off tackle...or right at Mathews. Indeed, Mathews made the key play of the game because the Packers had adjusted to the Steelers game plan/Mathews ineffectiveness by playing a 4-3 defense on that specific play and moving Mathews off the line of scrimmage and into a more conventional outside LB position.

 

* The officiating was just a bit below sub-par. The two most notable calls were the first down the Steeelers were awarded on a very generous spot when their receiver caught the ball for the first down but double back BEFORE the defender made contact and was subsequently spotted the first. It was a typical NFL officiating ruling in giving the offense a generous spot/benefit of the doubt - particularly as such passes are often completed and the receiver driven backwards by the defender.. Unfortunately, in this instance the defender didn't initiate contact until after the receiver had already conceded the yardage himself.

 

The second questionalbe call was the play in th the Packers' challenged. To me, it looked clear that the Packers receiver had secured the ball with two feet onthe ground and had taken a full step before fumbling. I'm not sure what Aikman and Buck were talking about regarding the play being whistled dead since the Packers did recover the football anyway. To compound the confusion, former NFL head official Mike Perreira said he thought it was a good call and then offered a surprisng nugget - that the refs review challenged plays at full speed?! Whoa!? Perreira said that the ref would look at the play at full speed to determine if he had possession. The refs don't look at replays in slo-motion?

 

* The Groupon ads absolutely blew. The Chrysler commercial was pretty cool. And what in the hell was about the pompous and blatantly, over-the-top patriotism of reciting the Declaration of Independence? When I think football, i think the founding fathers?

 

* Christina Aguilera would have won the over on the 1:54 national anthem if she hadn't blown a whole verse of lyrics. As it was, it was hard to tell when she ended the song - very close to 1:54 - because the flyover drowned her out a bit.

 

* the halftime show highlighted that most of America knows only one Black Eyed Peas song - so much so that they sang it twice during their short set.

 

* Yesterday was the sixth anniversary of the Eagles' Super Bowl loss to the Patriots.

 

 

My pick

Packers 34
Steelers 30

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Eagles All-time (losing) record

So I got an Eagles desk calendar for Christmas, which is great in and of itself, but even better for providing content for this blog.

For instance, the Eagles all-time record is now 528-561-26, including the post-season.

A Weighty Matter

Aside from the long-term concussive damage of larger and larger men slamming into each other and faster and faster speeds, the enormous physical growth of players is also, in my opinion, one additional factor in the eventual slide in popularity of the NFL. More and more, players do not resemble actual human beings - certainly not the average size - but rather a different species entirely. It was not always so, as the average player in the '60 was not the freakishly large behemoth that romps on the gridiron today.

It will become increasingly difficult for the typical fan (or schoolboy) to identify with (or play) football players at the pro level and increasingly at the college and high school levels as well.

From the Times:

In 1970, only one N.F.L. player weighed as much as 300 pounds...and 532 as training camps began in 2010.

The average weight of an NFL player is now 252 lbs!

And like steroids, the pro problem is leaking down to the amateur level.

The issue of weight and heart risks has spread even to high schools, where studies indicate that more than half of linemen are overweight. Some medical experts have called for weight limits on players, though that seems unlikely in the immediate future.

Think about that for a second. Half of high school linemen, the position with the most players on the field (offense and defense), are overweight. Amazing.

NFL-Union

Interesting article in yesterday's NY Times about the NFLPA's attempts to have the owners open their books to prove their poor mouth claims and the meager financial information they are able to get from the publicly-owned Packers' required, albeit limited, financial reports.

The key info from the Times:

The Packers earn much less than they did four years ago. Their operating profit fell 71 percent from $34.2 million in the year ended March 31, 2007 (which coincides with the start of the current collective-bargaining agreement), to $9.8 million in the year ended last March 31. Revenue rose 18 percent in that period to $257.9 million.

The primary reason for the sharply reduced profit was player costs (salaries and benefits), which swelled in those years to $160.8 million from $110.7 million....Murphy said, "Our player costs are growing at twice the rate our revenue is growing."

These are some interesting numbers and the reporter fails to put them into context.

For starters, their was no salary cap this year - which was the result of the owner's prematurely opening up the collective bargaining agreement. So yes, of course salaries went up or "swelled" as the Times' reporter puts it, especially in the most recent year. Until then, however, salaries were kept remarkably stable and pegged to league revenues. Indeed, the salary cap prevented player costs from growing at twice the rate of revenue growth. The league can't complain that salaries are skyrocketing when it is the owners themselves who eliminated the barrier that had previously prevented it from happening.

Second, where did this $160.8 million figure for player salaries and benefits come from? According to the salary information resource page from USA Today, the Packers "total payroll" was $113,959,603 in 2009-10. That is salaries, not including benefits. Is it really the contention of the Packers, league, and NY Times that player benefits add another 41% to their labor costs, especially when they are considered independent contractors?

Packers' WRs

One of the arguments people make in claiming how great Aaron Rodgers, and he is a top QB, compared to his peers is how "lousy" the rest of his supporting cast is, especially his wide receivers. I've heard this several times in debates over Rodgers vs. Vick this year. What's interesting is how little respect the Packer WRs get considering how good they are. Greg Jennings was 4th in the league in receiving yards, 15th in receptions, and 2nd in TDs. Yes, Rodgers makes Jennings better, but it's pretty clear that Jennings is one of the top receivers in the entire league. And he gets paid like it too. 

Interestingly, Jennings is the highest paid Packer. He makes more than Rodgers, Woodson, et. al..  is, 

Cutler

It's just shocking how many current NFL players are coming out of the woodwork to criticize Jay Cutler and question his toughness, even after being diagnosed with a partially torn MCL. But then again, I suppose it is real easy to say that you "wouldn't come out of a game unless it was on a stretcher" when you are sitting on your couch watching the NFC championship from home, rather than facing a relentless Packers' pass rush on one leg.

My gosh, the Cutler situation has even touched on the looming labor unrest with the Bears GM questioning the unity of the players' union if so many of them are criticizing a fellow player.

Unbelievable.

Damning with Faint Praise

If Ruben Amaro's quote about Joe Blanton isn't that very definition, I don't know what is.

"I'd stack him up against the rest of the fifth starters in the league."

There you have it. Joe Blanton is a great pitcher...as a fifth starter. 

What's Wrong with the Eagles' Defense?

It's the linebackers, stupid.

Not So Bad After All

For some reason, it makes me feel better about the Eagles playoff loss when the Patriots lose in the divisional round as the #1 seed.

Can You Hear Me Now?

This article about cell phones interfering with the very powerful signals of commercial avionics has to be a warning to anyone about the potentially harmful effects on the human brain when you put a cell phone next to your skull.

Who Moved the Ball?

Did anyone notice in the Ravens-Steelers game on the key 4th and 1 play where Roethlisberger eventually got the 1st down on a QB sneak, that the refs moved the ball more than half a yard before the play and no one said anything about it?

As the Steelers lined up for the 4th down, the ball is clearly on the hashmark and a full yard from the superimposed yellow line. Then John Harbaugh throws his red challenge flag and the refs sort out and then explain that he's actually not challenging the play because it wasn't a first down.

When the Steelers line up again for the 4th down play, the ball has obviously been moved forward at least a half yard if not more. It's no longer on the hashmark and the nose is practically touching the superimposed yellow line. The Steelers went from having a 4th and 1 to a 4th and inches and no one seemed to notice or care.

What drives me crazy is that 1) this was a big play. 2) The announcers don't say anything. Did they not see someone move the ball or did they just not notice the ball had been moved. Who moved the ball? Why did they move the ball? You would think in a playoff game and on such an important play, someone would catch and say something!

Winning for Losing

I think i would just like to see the Seahawks host the conference championship. we'd have a whole week of well, a sub .500 team shouldn't be allowed to have a home game vs. those who'd say, well, they earned it.

Playoff thought

Why does Atlanta have/need a domed stadium?

McDermott

I'm somewhat agnostic on McDermott's firing. I can (and have) argued why he wasn't as bad a coach as some thought. on the other hand, his defenses weren't top tier and certainly no Jim Johnson's (though in truth, no one's are and what should be the real lesson of the McDermott era is how great a defensive mastermind Johnson was, not how lousy McDermott was).

In any case, it is kind of ironic that Reid fired him hours before the Packers torched the NFC's 13-3 #1 seed for 48 points. The 21 the eagles gave up last week are looking better and better, especially in light of the 45 Rodgers posted last post-season and, of course, the 7th round rookies that started last week.

Being the head coach/offensive coordinator means never having to be accountable for your offense's shortcomings. This dates back years to when the Eagles defense carried this team (see 2001-2008, AJ Feeley, Jeff Garcia, etc.), to the present, where McNabb took the blame for only scoring 14 vs. Dallas in the wildcard game last year and McDermott apparently took the fall for Vick/Jackson/Maclin/McCoy only scoring 16 last week.

Easy Winters

What is it about the state of Pennsylvania that forges such heroes?

Eagles Free Agents

Some very interesting names on the list of Eagles free agents next year, including it seems the entire kicking squad and linebacking corps.

 

Numerous reports suggest that David Akers doesn't expect to be back next year, but who would the Eagles replace him with? Mikell, too, also acted as if his last game with the Eagles was yesterday.

 

 

David Akers, K

Ellis Hobbs, CB

Bobby McCray, DE

Quintin Mikell, S

Michael Vick, QB

Reggie Wells, OL

Stewart Bradley

Nick Cole, G/C

Omar Gaither, LB

Antoine Harris, S

Jerome Harrison, RB

Max Jean-Gilles, G

Akeem Jordan, LB

Dimitri Patterson, CB

Sav Rocca, P

Ernie Sims, LB

The Heart of the Matter

The NY Times cuts right to the chase in its opening lede about the Eagles' playoff loss to the Packers yesterday:

Despite the exhilarating play of Michael Vick in a redemptive season, the Eagles were left Sunday with a 21-16 playoff defeat to Green Bay and one extremely inconvenient fact: even though quarterback Donovan McNabb was traded to Washington, his designated replacement Kevin Kolb was benched after a concussion and Vick was put into the lineup with often stunning results, Philadelphia won one fewer game this season than last.

Buckeye Bulls*%t

I can't believe this discipline issue with the Ohio State players hasn't gotten more press. Terrelle Pryor and other starters are going to be suspended for 5 games next season, but are allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl tonight!? 5 games is a serious suspension.

And on top of that, Tressel said he required all the players to "commit" to coming back next year so they couldn't evade punishment after playing in the bowl. What kind of crap is that?

Vick Pulls an "Eli"?

i was watching a tivo'd broadcast of the Eagles-Giants game on the nfl network game replay last night. Like the infamous Colorado-Michigan Michael Westbrook game, you know what happens but you really can't believe it given the circumstances, the score and the clock.

Anyway, one thing that really jumped out at me was the final play before the two minute warning. It's where Vick scrambles for 33 yards up the middle. As he dives forward, the ball kind of comes loose and eventually squirts out next to his hip a la Eli Manning. About the same time, a Giant defender dives onto his back and ultimately winds up with the ball.

I rewound it and slo-mo'd it several times and i still can't tell if the Giant defender touched him before the ball came loose. I really can't believe the announcers didn't make more of a deal of it, nor the Giants. After the play, the network cut to commercial for the two minute warning. Was Coughlin not allowed to challenge it because it was under 2 minutes (the play ended with 1:58 on the clock)? Or is he allowed to challenge anything that occurs prior to the 2 minute warning?

It's kind of interesting. I would think it would have been worth a challenge, especially given the game situation and the fact that the Giants were about to lose the opportunity to challenge any calls as they were all going to be booth reviewed for the rest of the game.

if you get a chance, take a look at the play.

NFL.com sucks

Last week my brother pointed out the lameness of the NFL.com playoff scenario calculator. Particularly as compared to the espn site that allowed you to search all of the playoff permutations.

Now my friend PK has surfed the site today and finds this:

Something's gone wrong with this web site. Here's the lead description, today, of tomorrow's Eags-Cowboys game:

The storyline 
The Eagles are trying to lock down the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Jason Garrett is trying to lock down the Cowboys' head coaching job beyond an interim role.

What the hell is that? Something they posted 7 days ago and haven't updated.

Big 5

As a Villanova alum, I'm pretty pleased that Villanova beat Temple last night to claim the city championship (4-0!). But as a huge Big 5 fan, I'm even more pleased that both teams met while they were nationally ranked - the first time it's happened since Temple was #1 in '98.

Goodell, Favre and the Pink Panther

Another Inspector Closeu-like "investigation" by Goodell. Nothing to see here, move along....hey, look it's the NFL playoffs over there!

A new NBC graphic

My brother suggests a new NBC graphic for David Akers:

"Akers says his range is 58 yards in this direction, but his actual range is 49 yards."

Last Night

Lost amid all of the recriminations for the poor defensive play was the two most salient points to a successful Eagles' playoff run.

1) Vick looked hurt and horrendous - he could have easily thrown 3 more INTs which would have given him 7 turnovers for the game!
2) The offensive line can't pick up pressure.

Instant Replay

That critical last 3rd down spot last night was one of the worst of the season, compounded by when the linesman moved the ball forward another two feet after the already generous spot. And while I give credit to Torico for explaining why there wasn't going to be any booth review, that play typified some of the absurdities of instant replay. To wit, that play can only be booth reviewed if the Saints actually got the first. Ironically, the Falcons got screwed by the linesman not moving the ball 4 inches more.

If the Eagles do wind up with the #3 seed, do you think the NFL really screws them by scheduling their wildcard game on Saturday and giving them another short week - and their 3rd game in 10 days?

Roll the Dice

My friend views last night's game as a "win-win."

He writes:

Tonight was a win-win. If Saints lose, there's a chance they fall to 6 seed, beat StL/Seattle, then take down Atl. Giving us possible NFC title home field.
Now, screw it, roll the dice. Beat Minne, beat Dallas. Then let's see how Bears handle Lambeau and how Smith/Ryan/Falcons handle pressure of knowing they've gotta win against Carolina.

Shit, we could leap frog up to No 1.

Future Precedent?

Is the NFL is setting itself up for future trouble with its pious explanation that the postponement was out of concern for the traveling safety of the fans. Cris Collinsworth seems to think so.

How much (or how little) snow does there have to be for the NFL to concern itself with fan traffic in future games?

4 inches?

6 inches?

 8 inches?

10 inches?

 a foot?

Postponement

My brother's take on the Vikings-Eagles postponement.

I believe the invention of thursday night football helped change this game. 20 years ago u played on sunday and 2 teams played monday night in the marquee game of the week.  Now there are 2 games the first monday night, many thursday night games, etc.  20 years ago they would never give that short of rest to players.  It would be considered too short.  Now since thursdays are common (yes I know thanksgiving was around 20 years ago, but that was the ONLY exception) they can play whenever.  Sucks.

Rendell

Have you guys seen how over the top Ed Rendell is in criticizing the postponement?

my favorite quote

"My biggest beef is that this is part of what's happened in this country," Rendell said. "I think we've become wussies."

"We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything," Rendell added. "If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down."

Rendell

Penna. Governor Ed Rendell is letting it all hang out in his last days of elective office. My favorite part of his quote about the postponement of the Vikings-Eagles game is the part about calculus.

"My biggest beef is that this is part of what's happened in this country," Rendell said. "I think we've become wussies."

"We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything," Rendell added. "If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down."

Postponement Awful

The postponement of the Vikings-Eagles game wouldn't have even been an issue except for the NFL and NBC "flex" scheduling the game to 8pm. Now, because of the impending foot of snow Philadelphia is forecast to receive tonight, the game has been pushed back to...Tuesday!?

What the?!

Why not move the game FORWARD to 4 pm (1pm wasn't realistic because of each team's preparation needs, but a 4pm start would have given both teams plenty of advance notice to get ready if the call had been made earlier this morning).

And why Tuesday? i presumed it was because of concerns about the inability to clear the snow from the Linc's stands (hello snow bowl II) and the parking lot, but preliminary explanations are that the league didn't want the game to conflict with the ESPN Monday night game.

What a mess. Clearly NBC and their need/desire to broadcast the "national" game of the week is driving all of these decisions - from the initial scheduling change to the postponement, the Tuesday night game).

Great, now the Eagles get to face the Cowboys on really short rest. Thankfully it's a home game, but there's a nagging fear that all of this will negatively impact the Eagles' playoff chances and the possibility of the #2 seed.

Lee

My friend PK's reaction to the stunning Cliff Lee re-acquisition:

Righty-lefty-right-lefty -- Doc, Lee, Roy, Cole.

Here's my back-of-the-napkin calculations on those 4 guys combined for 2010:

882 innings pitched

807 Ks

164 BBs

I'm too mathematically disinclined to figure out the combined ERA. 

But think of it this way: The guy we just gave $100 million had the WORST of the quartet.

Lee's ERA was 3.18 for the whole season, worse than Cole's 3.06, Oswalt had 2.76 and Doc had 2.44.

Wise Men of Brotherly Love

A Phillies friend forward this picture to me with the following message:

Somebody posted this on their Facebook page asking for comments

The first person wrote the following: I'm afraid to be honest but sorry I feel this way but think its horrible to mix commercialized sports into a Jesus nativity scene......Christmas is loosing its value within peoples hearts ....

And then this is what I wrote: And I think it's Sacrilegious because the picture does not contain the archangels Harry Kalas and Whitey Ashburn looking down on the scene from heaven! (LOL)

Cliff Lee Yahoo, Nuff Said

From my Mom who is obviously excited about the Cliff Lee acquisition. This is her second email, the first was "YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!  YAHOO!!!!!!!!!  YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  YAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday the Phillies sold 900 tickets for the 2011 season.

Today they sold 28,000 - 'nuff said!!!!!

Thoughts on the Cowboys game

What was more impressive - that the eagles called a bunch of running plays to run clock at the end of the game or that they actually gained significant yardage?

The Eagles won the coin toss. Why didn't they choose to defer to the second half? For teams on the road, it makes a lot of sense to avoid putting your offense on the field on the opening drive while the home team fans are still whipped into a frenzy at the start of the game. Better to kickoff and play defense, let the stadium settle down and get the ball on the punt. And when you get the ball on the second half kickoff, the fans are not as active as they are at the very beginning of the game. I don't know why the Eagles - and more teams - take advantage of deferring the kick when they win the toss.

I'm glad Cris Collinsworth said something about the unsportsmanlike penalty assessed to DeSean Jackson for his goal line antics. The  official call was for the player going to the ground after the play. But of course replays showed that Jackson's antics started while still in the field of play while the play was still "live." The referee's call made no sense and certainly didn't comport with a replay of the actual sequence of events. It may be the first taunting penalty assessed in the middle of a play.

Collinsworth

Cris Collinsworth calls him like he sees them, and he and I are in full agreement about the threat of head trauma to the ultimate fate of the NFL. This is THE ISSUE for professional football moving forward.

Says Collinsworth in this NYTimes profile:

 "The very fundamental question for the long road is, Do you want your kids playing football? That's the scary question, especially for the N.F.L. I think we're talking about the survival of the game to some extent."

Won't You Tell Me Your Name

I was surprised to see the NY Times describe Ray Davies as just a "songwriter" and author of a forthcoming book, and not as the founder and lead singer of the legendary Kinks, in his paean to John Lennon today.

Class War

Wow, didn't see that coming.

Reading Lori Montgomery's WaPo story about how TARP will "only" cost taxpayers $25 billion, she equates that figure with something completely unexpected in the very first paragraph.

The Troubled Assets Relief Program, which was widely reviled as a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street titans, is now expected to cost the federal government a mere $25 billion - the equivalent of less than six months of emergency jobless benefits.

Whoa! Oh I get it. We paeans shouldn't complain about the cost of TARP because it is only worth six months of unemployment assistance.

Nice to see Montgomery and Post compare the pittance of bailing out Wall Street fat cats with the jobless plight of middle class Americans...the very workers who lost their jobs in large part because the federally rewarded Masters of the Universe wrecked the economy and nearly brought the world to a global financial meltdown. The Post has been adhering ever more closely to the management party line in any debate (just read any of their anti-union (both local and national) editorial screeds), but this takes things to a whole new level.

Revolting

Ok, in his post-game on the field interview, did anyone else find it both strange and disgusting that LeSean McCoy placed his mouthpiece behind his ear?!

Schaub

It was a loss, but still a triumphant return to his hometown for WC East grad, Matt Schaub! Not to be confused with Eagleseye classmate and starting offensive tackle Rich Schaub.

Texans-Eagles

Up by 10 with 1:45 to go...so why is Reid/Mohrninweg calling running plays for LeSean McCoy now?

indeed, why is McCoy even in the game at this point? Why bother giving him the touches in a meaningless part of the game and allowing him to get hit?

A Benefit to the Eagles?

From the NY Times:

Fight May Benefit Eagles

The Titans' Cortland Finnegan and the Texans' Andre Johnson were ejected after ripping each other's helmets off and fighting, with Johnson punching Finnegan at least twice in the back of the head. Finnegan has long had a reputation as one of the N.F.L.'s most annoying noodges, but if both players are suspended for a game — shouldn't they be, considering suspensions have been threatened for hits to the head that occur during play? — it will provide a huge break to a third party: the Philadelphia Eagles, who play the Texans on Thursday night.

Bad Officiating

As previously mentioned, last week's Giants game was poorly reffed. Herremans got called for a "cut" block because the defender was currently "engaged" with another lineman. The reality is that this "engagement" consisted of the center extending his left hand to give him a single chest shove before turning to his right (away from Herremans and the defender) to double team another Giant.

Of course, Asante Samuels' "helmet to helmet" hit was questionable as well. Samuels lead with his shoulder and it was a bang-bang play. The revealed the flaws in the NFL's attempts to limit head blows. Ellis Hobbs was carted off the field after a sickening helmet to helmet hit on a kickoff return. As Cris Collinsworth said, it wasn't a penalty. But why wasn't it a penalty? The Giant tackler lowered his head and hit head to head. Just as interesting is why the Samuels hit was a penalty and this wasn't. Presumably it was because the NFL is more concerned with head hunting of WRs and not of ball carriers. But I also wonder if helmet-to-helmet penalties are only called when the defender is "defenseless?"

Which brings us back to the Samuels' penalty. Was the Giant receiver caught the ball on the play in question. Can a receiver really be considered defenseless when he makes the catch? (also see Collie, Austin, November 13).

Doing NBC's job

Al Michaels brieflly and vaguely referenced Eli Manning fumbling in similar fashion last year (on a head first dive). It was nearly one year ago. And it was against the Eagles and the game was broadcast on NBC. Inexplicably, NBC never did cue up the replay from last year and show it. Why is a great mystery. I thought these kind of things were digitally preserved and on the fingertips of the vaunted producers.

In any case, my friend PK did NBC's job for them by finding the relevant replay clip on-line.

Watched this again -- yes, it was a Sun night game. You can see the NBC logo in the video. Which is both odd, since they barely mentioned the similar fumble Sunday night despite having called the game themselves. And because they didn't air the 2 fumbles sequentially so we could see the stupid fumbles.

At the 3-min mark, you'll find Eli's flop from last year that led to the most ridiculous fumble ever -- until last night. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TQr-32UYoA  

As my brother notes: Crazy similarities in both games.  Giants take lead after eagles looked great in 1^st half.  Giants lead was 1 (like last night) and then eagles score on long play.  Avant 2 point conversion – same play just went the other way with lefty Vick playing.  Turnover by G-men in last 10 seconds.  Crazy.

Giants-Eagles

weird, weird game. in short, a typical Giants-Eagles game. 

atrocious officiating in the 1st half. how many holds did they show of the Giants' line? and then the make up (non) call on the Eagles receiver contact near the goal line. Samuels' roughing the receiver call (helmet to helmet). 

Bradshaw's bizarre non-fumble instant replay reversal (was the forearm really down before the wrist?). 

Eli's early INTs that lead to FGs that should have been TDs. 

Avant's drop in the endzone. 

The blocked FG at the end of the half that should have been a Giants TD but wasn't thanks to David Akers(?) and Sav Rocca (?!). 

Thanks to th Ellis Hobbs injury and the Eagles last possession of the first half combined with their lengthy possession to start the 2nd half meant that Eli and the Giants offense didn't touch the ball in like an actual hour of real time. 

The Asante INT and fumble. Ugh. 

Herremans being called for a clip and chop block in the same game. 

completely dominating for 2 1/2 quarters and all the sudden seeing a 16-3 lead turn into a 17-16 deficit. 

3rd and 1 shotgun - only Andy Reid. Followed by 4th and 1 toss for the TD. McCoy was totally shut out but for 2 plays all game. 

Coughlin's questionable call to go for it on 4th and 6 with 3:13 to go and all his TOs from his own 44.. 

Which looked good till Eli fumbled on the slide. So glad Michaels referenced last year as i was initially  thinking it looked familiar but couldn't recall which Manning did and it and whether the Eagles were involved. How NBC did not have a replay of last year's play is inexplicable. 
  
there's probably more i missed. 

weird, weird game. 

An I-95 Rivalry Renewed

My friend PK writes:

What else is better in late November?

Two football teams squaring off against one another with a long history of battling for regional supremacy. First place on the line. A sellout crowd, as always, on hand. An explosive offense for the home team propelled by a QB who, just 3 years ago, was left for dead, athletically speaking.

It doesn't get any better than this.

Go Fightin' Blue Hens. 

Villanova at Delaware, noon tomorrow, at Tubby Raymond Field.

Pat Devlin, the pride of Downingtown, tries to finish the season off for the No. 1 ranked Hens, capping off an amazing recovery from his days on Joe Pa's bench. (He's now ranked among the top 5 QBs in next year's draft.)

'Nova, always snobbishly looking down upon its state-school rival just down the highway, desperately needs a win to have any chance to get to the playoffs.

Game on. Check your local Comcast sports listings.

PS -- Oh, did you think I was talking about the Eagles-Giants? Sorry.

Leading by Example

The Eagles really are leading by example in their Go Green initiative.

Line

What is with the Colts-Eagles line?

Eagles by 3?!

Are you kidding me?

And an over/under of 46? Vegas has the Colts scoring 22 1/2 points. Does anyone think Manning will score any less than 24 points, minimum? The Eagles will have to score 27 points or more to win.

Incredibly, late money is still coming in on the Eagles as the Colts getting 3 is now an even money bet.

Has Vegas not seen the last couple of Colts-Eagles games. If Manning can figure out Jim Johnson's defense, he sure as hell can solve Sean McDermott.

The only positive is that the Eagles run defense is very strong. But a strategy of sitting back and defending the pass/Manning is a dangerous tact.

Why Democrats Got Destroyed

Eliot Spitzer astutely lays out the reasons for the Democratic disaster on Tuesday in Slate.

The key point:

2) The Wall Street bailout. President Obama lost his capacity to harness the support of the disaffected middle when he enhanced the bailout of Wall Street without getting anything meaningful in return. That was the emotional Rubicon for this administration. Had the bailout been accompanied by fundamental reform, genuine contrition, and actual pounds of flesh, the public might have accepted it. But when the banks, in the midst of the foreclosure morass and economic disaster, returned to the same old bonus behavior, the public sensed one thing: betrayal. The president had become one of "them," and the space for the Tea Party to capture the anxiety of the middle was created. Franklin Roosevelt never would have let it play out this way. He would have raked the Wall Street titans over the coals, demanded that all bonuses be returned, and forced real reform on them. Compare the president's meek statement to Wall Street: We are all in this together. The president ended up getting the worst of all possible bargains. He gave Wall Street what they wanted yet got their enmity. He evoked taxpayer ire by making taxpayers pay for Wall Street excess, yet didn't align himself with the taxpayer emotionally.

Blame Game

One of the great unreported stories of the NLCS...Utley's really poor defense.

Chase Utley deserves a lot of the blame for the loss, but so too do Ibanez and Victorino, I think, in that order.

Ibanez was terrible. such a streaky hitter and he never caught fire during the entire series. I was looking at the stats and he hit .211 with 0 RBIs (only he and Howard were the only regulars with no runs batted in). Ibanez's futility is highlighted by the fact that Jimmy Rollins didn't score a run the entire series, even while batting 6th (ahead of Ibanez) and getting on base 8 times with 2 stolen bases.

Victorino hit .208 but didn't really seem to be a factor. Still don't understand why Charlie didn't run him more.

Interestingly, Carlos Ruiz only hit .167, worst among regulars, even below Utley's pathetic .182. But he did get on base in every game but one. He's been such an underrated player for this team, maybe this stat among all others highlights the adage "so goes Chooch, so go the Phillies."

Dopey Donovan

Obama's Housing Secretary offers this nugget of wisdom in response to foreclosure-gate and the administration's opposition to a foreclosure moratorium:

Another unintended consequence of a blanket moratorium on foreclosure sales, even where problems haven't yet been found, is that it could cause servicers to take their eyes off the ball when it comes to helping at-risk homeowners stay in their homes well before their problems reach the crisis of a foreclosure.

While today's Washington Post reports:

Across the country, struggling homeowners are increasingly tripped up by mortgage lenders that press ahead with foreclosures regardless of any effort they make to provide borrowers with relief on unaffordable mortgages.

Which raises the questions of whether Shaun Donovan knows what is happening in the housing industry and whether he is even qualified to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

Why Democrats are Losing

One need only look at senior Senate Democrat (and thankfully retiring) Kent Conrad and his bizarre defense of the TARP program to understand why Democrats are about to get their asses handed to them in Tuesday's elections.

Conrad, the WaPo reports, is crisscrossing North Dakota and even taking out newspaper ads defending TARP and the Wall Street bailout. Conrad's argument seems to be that TARP was necessary to avoid another Great Depression and that the federal bailouts helped stave off that calamity. As an aside, Conrad notes that TARP was proposed and supported by George W. Bush.

The argument is disingenuous at best, clueless at worst.

Progressives and the rest of the country aren't angry at TARP per se (though, ironically enough, conservative Republicans are). What middle class America is angry about are what came before and since TARP.

TARP may have been necessary. But it was necessary because Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke completely mistook the housing bubble, famously declaring that the subprime housing crisis was contained and would not effect the larger housing market or economy. TARP was necessary because a bipartisan group of policymakers allowed some banks to grow so big they were literally, too big to fail.

The electorate is angry because no bank executives lost their jobs - and no Washington policymaker even demanded such - even after nearly ruining the world economy and requiring a $700 billion bailout.

The electorate is angry because after getting $700 billion taxpayer funds and nearly ruining their institutions, bankers found a way to give themselves multimillion dollar "performance" bonuses.

The electorate is angry because after creating the housing bubble and being bailed out, banks are returning the favor to taxpayers for their help by foreclosing on them in record numbers, often with fraudulent documents and testimony. The electorate is angry because the Obama administration appears more interested in expediting these foreclosures than following legal rules...like evidence. Speaking of which, how ironic that Turbo Timmy Geithner defended AIG's executive bonuses under the banner of "rule of law' and the "sanctity of contracts" but has been curiously silent while accumulating evidence suggests that homeowners are being tossed out of their homes by banks that are not respecting the rule of law or following the particulars of contract language or well settled case law.

Democrats are demoralized cause "leaders" like Conrad have no balls. TARP was created by George W. Bush. So why is any Democrat defending it? If the roles were reversed and TARP had been created by Obama, Republicans would be attacking Obama and TARP relentlessly. Not defending it. It's one of the key differences between Republicans and Democrats. Democrats bring a spoon to a knife fight. Republicans bring an Uzi.

Democrats are angry because they thought electing a black man who grew up in a single parent home would understand and work harder to help the middle and lower classes. That hasn't happened. The rich keep getting richer, often with the support of Washington politicians. As Kent Conrad is showing, the country is run by a bipartisan oligarch of moneyed interests.

Since that's the case, why not allow Republicans control. At least they don't make a pretense of caring about the bottom 90%. Democrats have shown they either don't care or incapable of delivering. 

 

  

The Big Kid

Former Eagle and now Giant Shawn Andrews gets a NY TImes profile. Things appear to be working out for him in New York. Congratulations and good luck, Big Kid.

This Sucks

This NLCS loss was just so disappointing because the expectations were so high. This team is stacked.

And it's not being a sore loser to point out that this Giants team is not very good - the lineup is pathetic though the pitching is pretty good. I mean, Aubrey Huff? Juan Uribe? Edgar Renteria? Rowand? Give me a break. On the other hand, they managed to win the west, beat the Phils and win the pennant so there must be something there.

For whatever reason, the Phils couldn't get the hits when they needed them - when guys were on base. And the Giants seemingly did get hits every time they got a guy in scoring position. And even with all that, they barely eeked out 3 1 run games.

On another note, I once again need to re-evaluate my relationship with sports and why i am so emotionally invested in my favorite teams winning when rationally speaking I derive no tangible benefit from their winning (nor suffer a measurable loss when they lose). In the larger scheme of things whether Ryan Howard, who doesn't know me from a hole in the wall, can hit a ball safely and score a run to win a baseball game probably shouldn't affect me the way it did.

By the way, check out some of the philly.com message boards today. It looks like Ryan Howard may be the new Donovan McNabb in the philly fandom pantheon of hate. What I don't understand is while he didn't get an RBI, Howard hit pretty well overall, just not with runners on. There are plenty of other guys in that lineup that were worse offensively over the course of the series: Victorino, Utley and especially Ibanez.

Stat of the Day

How telling is the Phillies' LCS offensive slump that not one but two pitchers have the highest batting averages on the team through five games. Both Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt are batting .333. The next highest are Howard and Polanco at .294.

WTF?

The normally sane Bill Conlin suggests sitting Ryan Howard - he of the .294 LCS average with 3 walks and 3 doubles - because he hasn't driven in a run this series?!!?

I believe

More hope from the Times:

Twice — in the 1987 N.L.C.S. against St. Louis and the 2002 World Series against the Angels — the Giants have led three games to two and lost the final two games on the road. If they scrap as they have all series, they have a chance to reverse that history.

Something Magical

"I think we're all looking forward to what it's going to be like," Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. "We know something's going to happen — something magical is going to happen." - NY Times.

Game 5

Random thoughts from last night's nail biting, must win:

* Lincecum looked uneasy early in 1st and then settled down. Halladay looked unsettled in the 2nd and now we know why, a strained groin he suffered that inning. 

* We know Halladay is intense, but we saw the feistiness last night as stared down Burrell in the 2nd.

* The Phillies really missed the opportunity to deliver a knockout blow in the 3rd with 4 on the board and runners on 2nd and 3rd.

* Werth's throw to get Ross at third to end the 4th didn't look like a hose but it was a strong, strong throw.

* Was this Halladay's best outing of the season? Yes, he's thrown a perfect game and a post-season no-hitter. And yet, grinding out a win when you don't have your best stuff, are hurt, and conditions are poor (like the downpour last night) when your team's season is on the line is a masterful performance even if it isn't pretty.

* Question for Manuel - in the top of the 7th, if you knew you were pinch hitting for Halladay why didn't you have the struggling Ibanez bunt Rollins to 2nd after his lead off hit. that way, you give Ruiz and Gload chances to knock him in. Or maybe the plan was for Rollins to steal 2nd during Ibanez's at bat, but never got the chance. he wound up stealing 2nd and 3rd.

* Pat the Bat's 8th inning strike out was vintage Burrell: flailing at a low and away pitch.

Game 4's 3 Takeaways

My brother's take on Game 4 maneuvers:

I love Sheridan. I think that's a good assessment, but everyone changes the way they manage in playoffs and give early hooks. Blanton wasn't bad. 

Also - announcers kept saying how Blanton didn't get through 5.  NEITHER did Bumgarner.  They didn't mention that once. 

We lost because of 3 things -

     Better timely hitting, but still need to improve Ruiz thrown out at plate - just a terrible call by 3rd base coach - 1st and 3rd with Utley up and 1 out.  That's a run we gave up there.

     Our bullpen didn't come through.

     Unless there was a matchupo he didn't like with lidge, Lidge has to be in game before you use Oswalt.  You have to use your relievers before going to 2 games ago starter.       Didn't kill us, but just thought it should have been Lidge/Romero.

     By the way, Kendrick should come up with injury so we can bring someone else onto roster.  He obviously is not going to play.  Obvious at this point thye only way he was getting in series was if we were down 9-1 in 3rd inning.

More Pitching Decisions

From PK:

Manuel still had Romero in the 'pen as well. I don't think using Oswalt was crazy, but I'd have preferred waiting till the 11th or 12th inning, if we got into one of those types of games. The inability to plate Werth, standing on 2nd with no one out, is criminal. I was wrong when I suggested Francisco should have been bunting, i forgot that Jimmy was hitting behind Werth, so he made that 1st out. 

 

At that point I think you've gotta go with Gload. I'm also tired of watching our guys get on base and not steal bases. We did it in Game 2, and that's it.

Managerial Moves

Phil Sheridan says Manuel should have stayed with Blanton longer - that if he was going to pitch him in game 4, then he should have gone "all in" with him and let him pitch through the 6th (when the phils still had the lead), rather than rely on Contreras, durbin, et. al.

My one big question/curiousity is that Madson pitched two innings. I know the Giants had last ups and the standard play is for the visiting team to only throw their closer if they take the lead in the top of the extra inning. But still, the preference was to pitch Oswalt on his in between day rather than try to have Lidge go 2 innings (the 10th and possibly the 11th)? At the very least, by putting lidge out there you forestall a decision on having to pitch Oswalt.

Game 4 analysis

From PK:

He left Blanton in 1 batter too long - could have gone lefty-on-lefty with Huff up in bottom 5, but didn't. He got lucky Durbin only gave up 2 runs - 4 of his 1st 5 batters were doubles and walks.

 

And letting Francisco hit with Werth on 2nd, no one out, was a mistake. Ben either needed to be laying down a bunt or lifted for a lefty bat.

 

Oswalt was curious, but not horrible. An in between day, that didn't burn him for Game 6.

 

It just felt like Charlie was managing for the tie, not the win.

Game 4

A real gut punch loss. What in the world was up with usiing oswalt?  Had a bad feeling when they couldn't score werth from 2nd in 8th.

And yet, a halladay win tomorrow gets us back to philly for game 6.

The flyers proved it possible and the phils have the talent to do it. 

H2O all wet with Giants

Ugh, the Giants were the only team this season to have beaten all three of the Phils' aces: Halladay, Oswalt, AND Hamels.

Why Dems are about to lose control of Congress?

From the NYTimes editorial today about the mortgage/foreclosure debacle:

Throughout this crisis, the Obama administration has been far more worried about protecting the banks than protecting homeowners. 

Replay

Fascinating look at MLB's attempts to orderly archive every play of every game for future reference.

Change I Can Believe In?

Apparently President Obama's vow to make his administration the most transparent in history doesn't extend to releasing a report by his Homeland Security department examining how an illegal immigrant who was twice arrested for DUI wasn't deported before he tragically drove drunk again and killed a nun. Who the heck is the Obama administration protecting and why are they burying the investigation's findings that would help avoid repeating the shameful government permissiveness in tolerating illegal and deadly actions by illegal immigrants.

What's the Rule?

If Utley did miss third and was called out on a Reds' appeal, what happens to Werth's run?

PK's take: That would have been 2nd out, but what's the rule on that? Would the play have stood except Utley would be considered out? So that Werth's run counted. Or would it be considered an out and a dead ball, with Werth still on 3rd and Rollins on 1st?

At that stage, Howard's K was only out, so Utley would have been 2nd out.
Because Raul strokes a single next play, so werth's run probably scores any way you slice it. 

Why is the onus on the opposing team to appeal the missed bag? If an ump sees a player miss a bag, can he call him out?
It's the strangest custom. I mean, if a batter passes the plane on a check swing, the home plate ump can call him out. He doesn't have to wait for the catcher to appeal to the 1st base ump.

My brother's interpretation: Not sure on rule.  One possibility COULD be – werth is also out for…passing Utley on the basepaths.  If Utley doesn't touch 3rd, but werth does (in effect before Utley) then he passed him on basepaths and would be out too. I doubt that's the rule especially if it happened on appeal.  More likely is werth's run does count or he has to go back to 3rd.  I'm going to look it up. It would have changed landscape especially considering he would of scored easily because of Phillips error.

My take: Rolen says he saw Utley touch the corner of the bag, but it does point out the weirdness of the appeal rule. Just because Rolen saw it doesn't mean the ump saw it. Just to be doubly sure - and since it doesn't cost the Reds anything - and maybe the ump didn't have the angle Rolen did, why not appeal Utley's touch of 3B?

Utley

Did Utley touch 3B last night? Was he actually hit by a pitch? The answer to the 2nd question is likely "no."

As for the first question, my brother chimes in:

The utley at 3rd they showed one replay and pretty quickly. Missing 3rd is kind of a big deal (like ron burgundy). IF he misses it then that's possibly the play of the series. Phils would be down 4-3 inning over (I think). 1 replay!!! Utley at 2nd was brutal too. And even the camera on rollins hit sort of sucked.

Game 2

My friend PK's take:

Bruce has struggled in RF in both games. He's battling weird demons out there. He does this bizarre thing where he shades his eyes with his glove every time there's a fly ball out there. I've watched a ton of Phillies baseball the past 3 yrs. I've never seen Werth do that, once. Yet Bruce can't seem to see a thing out there. How odd. 

 

TBS announcers stink so bad, their camera angles are soooo bad. We still don't have a good view of the Utley play at 2b, nor one of him at 3B, whether he touched either bag. 

 

And then in the 9th we had to tolerate Joe Simpson's "analysis", in which he talked about how Lidge "lost his slider" last year. Huh? Dude, he lost his fastball. He couldn't locate his fastball in the K zone, so it didn't matter how good his slider was, because they knew it was coming and just teed off on it.

Game 2

Wierd game last night. Oswalt didn't have much but managed to limit the damage - which would have been even less if the phils normally stellar defense hadn't been so poor. The phils in the field looked as unsettled as little roy on the mound. (Phillips' comments about oswalt making a lot of mistakes I hope doesn't hold).

But then the reds collapsed. Chapman must still be figuring out how they scored on him.

More Doctober

How did Doc lose 10 games?

The Washington Post answers the question. "He had 11 starts when the Phillies scored two runs or less for him and, even though his ERA was 1.72 in those games, he still went 4-6."

I'm not sure which is more amazing: the 1.72 ERA, the fact that he lost 6 games with an ERA that low, or the fact that he managed to win 4 games when the Phils only scored two or less runs for him.

Halladay

Toronto is still a fan of Halladay and apparently thrilled about his opportunity to play in the playoffs and the no-hitter. Of course, the perfecto and no no may not compare to the "good part about being a baseball player." And who knew Halladay is Mormon?

Doctober!

Halladay was in the groove last night. Anybody could see that. He was in a real rythym mowing them down till the walk, which really bummed me out because I was considering the unthinkable possible. 

Simply amazing.

Before the game, I was afraid that if the Phils somehow lost that they would have to stew for a whole off day thinking about having their ace lose and being down 1-0 and the pressure on Oswalt to even the series.

I never thought that the Reds could be no-hit -- and now its  them that have to sit around for an extra day and think about being no hit.

If Oswalt can start the first couple of innings strong tomorrow night, this thing could snowball against the Reds and really get into their heads about how unhittable the Phils' staff is.

BTW, I was at Halladay's last regular season start vs. the Nationals where they clinched the division (coincidentally in weather very similar to last night with showers throughout the middle innings.) He threw a 2 hit shutout then, so in his last 18 innings he's thrown 2 complete game shutouts with 2 hits and 1 walk.

Welcome to the post-season, Mr. Halladay!

Obama Democratic Gut Check

Forget about the lack of a public option in the health care act. Forget about not closing Guatanamo Bay or not stopping the torture of terrorism suspects in custody. Forget about the appointments of Turbo Timmy Geithner and Larry Summers to lead his economic team. Forget about defending the Bush TARP program. Forget about the criticism of the "professional left." Forget about the failure to extend middle class tax cuts and to impose slightly higher rates on the richest Americans.

No, less than a month before the election, Barack Obama will get to prove his Democratic bona fides-- or not-- based on whether he signs or vetoes H.R. 3808, a Wall Street bill to help the country's (world's) largest banks escape the massive mortgage document fraud that they and their service provider subsidiaries have perpetrated in illegally foreclosing on tens of thousands of homes of middle class families.

In Defense of the Phillies

PK suggests that it is pitching and especially defense that helped the Phillies to the best record in all of baseball. And by the way, it is amazing that this is the first time the Phillies had the best record in the entire league...after 123 years!

The best defense in NL is something that is more scary than anything else.

The Braves defensive breakdown against the Phils is what led to us sweeping them. I'm increasingly falling in line with the defensive saber-metrics guys.

F walks and OBP - the things that make Adam Dunn so valuable - what makes Werth soooo valuable is his fielding. He's just about the best RF fielding wise in MLB.

Our defense - with Gold Glove-caliber-play at catcher, 2B, SS, 3B, CF, RF - is a hallmark of this Phillies squad. And it is, in large part, why we won the division this season.

True?

The ESPN crawl notes that the Rangers are the only MLB team to have never won a playoff series. Seriously?! 

Have the Nationals...as the Expos?

An Issue of Timing

Much has already been made of Andy Reid's boneheaded clock mismanagement at the end of the 1st half of the Redskins-Eagles game that resulted in a delay of game that likely cost the Eagles a TD and probably the game.

But while the delay of game has gotten most of the attention, Reid's decision immediately prior to it was even worse and, considering the situation, made it one of the most stupendously stupid time management decisions in recent years.

As everyone knows by now, with 30 seconds to go in the 1st half LeSean McCoy was tackled just short of the goal line but close enough for a booth review. The review was surprisingly long (as were all of the instant replay reviews in the game), lasting nearly 5 minutes. Replays showed that McCoy was tackled before crossing the goal line. The referee announced the decision and started the game clock (because it had been a running play), whereupon Andy Reid called timeout 7 seconds later, with 23 seconds left in the half - and appeared to immediately ask the officials why the ball had been moved back from its original spot. The rest is well known. Because it was under 2 minutes, the timeout was only a 30 second timeout, Kolb was seen running into the huddle with 11 seconds on the play clock and the delay of game was called shortly after.

The incident appears to have settled the annual criticism/debate over who was more at fault for the Eagles continually poor clock management during the Reid/McNabb years by placing responsibility for this unbelievably questionable decision squarely on the shoulders of Andy Reid (notwithstanding Reid's cryptic suggestion that fault lay with the referees when he said in his Monday press conference that to discuss it would be too "expensive," presumably because of a possible league fine for criticizing the officiating).

While the delay of game was inexcusable on its face, just as big a question - which has not been satisfactorily answered and suggests a fundamental lack of understanding about time management principles - is why Reid called the time out when he did.

Why didn't Reid let the clock wind down to about 3 seconds before calling timeout?

It was 4th and 1. Either the Eagles were going to attempt a FG or go for the TD. Either way it should have been the last play of the half (the PAT can be done with 0 seconds on the clock because time does not run during such a play).

Instead, Reid called timeout with 23 seconds left. WHY?!?!?

Presumably, it was because of the "urgency" of questioning why the ball was moved back from its original spot (note this issue is rather unclear. From the replays I saw, the ball was spotted just inside the 1 yard line. I haven't been able to see on any replay where or how the refs moved the ball back to that spot which allegedly prompted Reid's question).

Regardless of the moving spot, Reid should have had the presence of mind to let the clock run down to 3 seconds before calling timeout and questioning the officials. The fact that the timeout occurred immediately after a nearly 5 minute instant replay delay only adds insult to injury. The entire Eagles offensive coaching staff had plenty of time to figure out how and when to call their timeout once play resumed. Compounding the gaffe (as if that were possible), is that had Reid let the clock run down 27 seconds he would have essentially doubled the length of his 30 second time out and given his coaching staff twice as much time to come up with a goal line play.

Was Reid thinking that a failed 4th down TD attempt would leave the ball so close to the goal line that the Redskins might be at risk of a safety on their first play to run out the first half clock? Such a possibility seems far fetched.

The net result was that following the delay of game, the Eagles kicked the field goal and wound up having to kickoff. It was a kickoff that never should have happened and for which Andy Reid still hasn't and never will properly explain.

Bearing Down

Stat that was just shown on ESPN. 

The top 4 hardest to hit pitchers with runners in scoring position this year:

Clay Buchholz .161

Roy Halladay .173

Josh Johnson .181

Roy Oswalt .186

Goose Eggs

Halladay was dominant in his 21st win and NL East clinching victory. As my grandmom would say (usually during a Steve Carlton shut out gem), "look at all those goose eggs!"

A Ring to Shoot For

I think this is one of the Phils' minority owners, one row in front of David Montgomery. Note the humongous hardware on his finger which I can only guess is the World Series championship ring. Does he only break this out for special occasions - like winning another division title - or is it always being worn?

NL East Clincher

Braving the threatening weather, I had the opportunity to attend the Phillies-Nats game in which the Phils clinched the NL East (thanks PK!). The seats were great. We were one row behind Phils' President David Montgomery (in blue), who kept score on a blank sheet of paper under plastic protection throughout the drizzle.

ScaRED

My brother is also getting pre-NLDS nerves. He writes:

Want to get scared read philly.com article on 20 things about reds

Volquez - sub 2 era in september. Game 2/3 pitchers 3.8 range

Best offense in NL. Led league in runs, homers, batting average, rbi's. tied best D in NL. Least errors in reds history (72, previous best was 89).

Votto best ops in NL. Hit .393 against phils.

Oswalt is 23-3 lifetime (part of pk 30-4 comment) BUT 0-2 this year w/ 6.75 era.

Last - baker and manual were once traded for each other!!!!!

Dusty Baker Strategy?

Again from my friend PK who suggests Dusty Baker's strategy in throwing Voquez in game 1:

Look at these Reds' pitchers' stats. Arroyo is clearly their best pitcher, 17-10 on the season with a 3.88 ERA.

Baker seems to be offering up a worse pitcher against Halladay in order to back load for Games 2, 3, expecting to lose Game 1 -- no matter who he starts -- but then giving himself a better chance in the other 2 games. If he can get 4-5 innings in Game 1 from Volquez, then just put in all his lefty relievers -- Wood, Rhodes, etc -- he might be able to steal game 1. If not, no big deal.

Why it's Roy, Roy, Cole?

Hamels' stats at Cincy may be the reason he's the game 3 starter vs. the Reds, rather than the Manuel's desire to pitch Oswalt in a game 5.

Red Alert

My friend PK, who is "officially freaked out" about this upcoming series with the Reds (as am I) turns to the stats to try to soothe our nerves.

* Our Big 3 are career 30-4 against the Reds.

* Hamels is 3-0 with a 1.00-ish ERA at Cincy.

* The Reds opening starter, Volquez, went 4-3 with a 4.31 ERA this season, roughly matching his career 4.36 ERA.

* Volquez is 1 of 3 right-handed starters the Reds are throwing against us.

* Wood - the lefty who nearly threw the no-no/perfecto against us, is not starting. He's in the 'pen.

The Real Big Miss

Kevin Kolb's "big miss" was not the DeSean Jackson pass, but failing to see and throw to a wide open Jeremy Maclin running a slant from the left side on the failed 2 point conversion try. That easy completion would have allowed the Eagles to tie the score with a FG at the end of the game rather than try for the Hail Mary.

Wild Card

It is interesting that because of the intradivision prohibition, the Phils and Rays both get to play division winners with worse records than the wildcard teams in their own divisions. The Rays get a 90 win Texas team and not the 95 win Yanks. 

the Phils get a 91 win Reds team and not the 91 win Braves (the Giants wound up with 92 wins). The Twins wound up with 1 less win than the Yanks but get homefield advantage against them for winning the division.

Welcome Back McNabb

Could yesterday's game gone any better for Donovan McNabb in his return to Philadelphia?

He got a standing ovation upon his introduction that surely was gratifying to him. He got booed as he trotted on the field for his first series which was a blessing to all those who hate Eagle fans.His heir apparent didn't start and then had to come into the game, unprepared, after Vick got hurt. Andy Reid proved that it's the coach and not the quarterback that has been the source of boneheaded clock management, McNabb got his slight (deserved) dig in on the Eagles after being presented with the game ball, and oh yes, the Redskins won the game.

The whole game had a weird feel to it. As my friend PK noted afterwards, "Remember how awesome the TO-returns game was, Eagles-Cowboys, down to

the wire, Bledsoe throwing pick to Lito in end zone? Remember how awesome that game was? This game was the exact opposite. Atrocious on all sides of the ball, with both coaches making terrible clock management issues, etc. I'm not even sure I'd be happy if Avant had pulled down that ball at the finish." I have to agree, the entire game was anti-climactic and ragged. Even the Eagles last second chance to win, to say nothing of the ball hitting Avant right in the hands, somehow was not the thrilling but just "huh?"

Other thoughts:

* McNabb got skewered fro "missing" a wide open Fred Davis. The wind was blustery and more importantly, Davis did manage to get two hands on it so I'm not sure how much he "missed" him.

* Pam Oliver is either a huge McNabb fan or a Philly hater. The opening remark in her post-game, on-field interview with McNabb was about the standing ovation "that lasted about three seconds" as she had a smirk on her face. Way to stay positive, Pam. It was an honest display of fan appreciation for McNabb's time in Philadelphia.

* Somehow the booing on McNabb's first series seemed not only appropriate but poetic, particularly after the standing ovation. It sent the unmistakable message that McNabb may be appreciated but he plays for the opposing team now.

* The media has been dying for McNabb to say something inflammatory about Philadelphia or the Eagles but he didn't oblige. When he finally opaquely referred to the situation in the confines of his locker room after the game and after being given the game ball by saying that "people make mistakes and they made one last spring" the Fox talking heads pounced, suggesting that McNabb just couldn't let it go and was providing the Eagles with bulletin board fodder for their next meeting. Personally, I would have preferred he said, "playing here [in Philadelphia] is tough and I know it from personal experience, and it's even harder for opposing teams and so this road win is a great accomplishment for the whole team." 

* To me, the defining McNabb play of the game came with 3:53 left and the redskins facing 3rd and 4 from their own 22. McNabb scrambled 18 yards for a first down at the 40. It's the kind of demoralizing play McNabb routinely made against the redskins for, well, 11 years. Now, the shoe is on the other foot. If I'm Danny Snyder, that is the play that made trading McNabb all worth it - to see him scrambling for him rather than against him.