Let's be real honest - this was a gigantic weekend for Philadelphia sports. This is something everybody already knew so we'll move on...
You may be asking yourself: "When has this ever happened before?"
Answer: "It hasn't."
Your next question: "Why the turn-around?"
Longer Answer:
This may sound ridiculous, but in our humble opinion, it has to be because of the giant focus on video games in the past few decades. Yes, we said it - video games. Ruben Amaro and Howie Roseman (who seriously looks like he may be 17 years old, which makes this argument even more relevant) are throwing money around like they are sitting at home in front of a flat-screen TV with 100s of millions of fake dollars that they are spending for "Eagles_Owner1"and "Phillies_Owner2". Howie Roseman seriously came out today with a giant, boyish smile on his face - he was giddy. I say, good for him.
The past few years in Philadelphia sports (in all fairness, more so with the Phillies) it looks as if the GMs are pulling up the All-Star/Pro-Bowl lists, closing their eyes, and pointing to the next name to sign to their teams. Don't get me wrong this has been absolutely Phantastic. We love it - We're passionate fans and hey, we spend a lot of money on these teams so they had better put the products on the field with the big money that we all spend.
But here comes our problem. There are some things that video games can't simulate, which could be problems that Howie and Ruben didn't see coming when they were sitting in their onesies, in front of a TV, putting these teams together:
For the Phillies - We're one of the oldest teams in the majors, and year-after-year, we lose more prospects in our minor league system to get these big name guys. And hey, other teams in pro baseball win with or without big names - there are no guarantees. So, did we just send two Top 25 Prospects (in all of Major League Baseball) to get one guy who could POSSIBLY help us win this or next year? Yes, we did. Only time will tell if that will work out. Especially considering that we have done this every year for the past 2 or 3 years with Big Rube at the helm. One can only hope that by the time our team is too old to put up big numbers that we have done some great scouting and drafting to get some more prospects. In MLB video games, you don't need prospects - you can always just force another team to trade again anyway. (Rube has no 'Force Trade' button here)
For the Eagles - There is no problem about replenishing the team. They have been stocking away draft picks already for the 2012 draft. I think Adam Schefter put it best on his twitter account -
So, there is no concern there. Our area of concern would be the continuity in the locker room. You're putting a whole bunch of big name, competitive guys in one locker room, and in a lot of cases, not enough starting spots for everybody. You have to wonder if at some point tempers are going to flare. Football players, in general, (and yes, we're generalizing) have bigger egos and bigger tempers. The Eagles and Andy Reid have almost always done a great job keeping guys in check (T.O. being a big exception to this). Hopefully, they keep this going. Video games don't have a group therapy session for players because they don't get along...
Don't get us wrong, and before our first post has a whole bunch of people whining with comments, these have all been awesome moves. Both the Phillies and Eagles are great organizations moving in the right direction. We are even getting players to forego more money to actually come to Philadelphia because of the atmosphere around here (ex: Nnamdi and Clifton). That never happens - and we are jacked about it. The only thing that we are saying is just be careful and look at this from both sides.
Our final thought is that in the words of Sarge this will surely bring 'continued success...'
old when he has a 5 o'clock shadow).
