If At All Possible, Philadelphia Just Got Classier...

 OK, so it wasn’t a midnight fly-by-night Cliff Lee signing that shocked the sports world, but Big Rube made a good, solid deal on Friday.

As if we need to even tell you, Gentleman Jim Thome is back in town.

Yeah Jim, Power to the People.

Let us tell you really quickly why this is a great move…

1.     Your Opening Day Roster Needs Him.

We know you’ve tried to block it out but let’s go back to that final out of our season where Ryan Howard grounded out but never made it all of the way down the first base line…. Hmmm… Why not? Oh, that’s right, he tore his Achilles tendon. From what we’ve heard about recovering from this surgery, it’s not pleasant and it won’t be short. The very early estimation was 6-8 months. That puts us anywhere from April to June. Pull out your calendars because if you haven’t put two and two together yet, the season is well in full swing at this point. Jim, at the ripe old age of 41 yrs old, is going to need to fill in our need at first in some capacity. Will he be our opening day first baseman? It’s unlikely, but possible (especially with the Phillies heavily looking into Michael Cuddyer).

2.     Congratulations, You’ve Just Signed a Player/Manager, Ruben

Ruben just made one of the deals of his lifetime for one big reason: He basically just got a 2-for-1 deal for a measly $1.25 million (reportedly). Even when Ryan comes back and is ready and able to go, you’re still getting a well-seasoned and successful veteran. This vet may need to help a team that will be looking to start bringing up farm talent to fill in spots and to ‘see what they have waiting’ for a team that is aging (no surprise there). Anyone (not just rookies) is going to listen to Jim Thome. How many other guys in that locker room are able to say they’ve hit 604 homers in the MLB? My guess is none of them. Not to mention the guy that taught him how to swing the lumber to the extent that he is was Uncle Charlie. Everything Charlie preaches will be echoed by Jim and pounded into the heads of the guys that are in slumps or just need a little help. Not to mention that if the Phillies can hang onto Ryne Sandberg, and he becomes the bench coach, then you’ve got the best coaching staff in the league – without question. One of the top three won’t even be considered a coach and can still even swing the bat and help out in a game. Don’t underestimate this aspect.

3.     Bottom 9, 2 on, 2 outs, you need three runs quick… Gload or Thome?

Everyone got fed up quickly this year with Ross Gload’s lack of production. Albeit, the guy did have a bad hip and did his fair share of work, but we never really had that guy that everyone was confident in off of the bench. In years past, we had Dobbsy, Stairs, Valdez or the GREAT Tomas Perez. But this year we really never had that guy that came up in the 9^th and had everyone saying, ‘Everyone chill out – he’s got this.’ Mayberry took the role early, but he wasn’t that guy. Jim could easily become this guy that we look for a homer out of in a clutch situation. We especially needed this in the left-handed variety.

Aside for all of these points, the city got another great man and great ballplayer that WANTED to be back here. This is also a man that is only surpassed in home run total by 7 other men in the history of baseball. This should continue to add to the mystique and legendary status of an already fun team to watch. Whether or not this is another move to add another piece to a World Series-caliber team is something that can only be measured 11 months from now – in October. 

A Vote of Confidence for Jimmy Rollins

Most Valuable "Playa"

Since the 2011 season has come and gone with the disappointment of the Phillies weighing heavily on the City of Brotherly Love, there is only one thing left for fans to do: Focus on the 2012 season. This, of course, is not new to Philadelphia fans because the day after the glorious parade down Broad Street in 2008, the Phillies’ faithful were already talking about improvements to be made so that there could be back-to-back championships in 2009. With that in mind, the most important decision for the Phillies this upcoming offseason (besides whether or not they have a closer next year) is what to do with 32, soon to be 33, year old shortstop, James Calvin Rollins. In order to make an informed decision, let’s learn from the past and see what another recent shortstop over 30 has done.

The most recent example of this scenario was for the illustrious Derek Jeter. Now Derek is definitely older than Jimmy when requesting a big pay day, but then again it is “The Captain” we are talking about here so he can make those demands. In 2006, at 32 years old, Jeter felt like a boy growing up in the Bronx again with his split looking a little bit like this: .343/.417/.483 14 HR, 97 RBI, 34 SB. We are willing to bet that if Rollins put numbers even close to this over the next 3 seasons, it would be well worth the money to give him the 5 yr deal right now. Some of the naysayers out there may say, “big deal he must have fell off after that”, and to that we reply, look at his splits the next 3 seasons: .322/.388/.452, .300/.363/.408, .334/.406/.465, respectively. We aren’t saying Jimmy is going to put up this type of numbers over the next 4 or 5 seasons, but it shows that a shortstop over the age of 32 can continue to thrive and succeed even as his age progresses.

Then there is also fielding to consider, because this is one of the most important parts of the SS position. Jeter has always had more errors than Rollins, but since he turned 32 in 2006, he has 53 errors in a five year period, which is an average of 10.6/yr. If you look at that over his life as a Yankee, that’s actually a bit lower than his career average of 13.6/yr. We know a lot of that can be argued by his possible decrease in range, but as long as errors continue to be counted as a stat, we will continue to use them in the argument. Plus, watch game film of Jeter and Rollins, you can see using the “eye test” that these guys are still quality defensive shortstops.

This past year, Jimmy showed that he can continue to be as productive as any point in his career. His splits this year were .268/.338/.399 which is extremely close to his splits in his entire career .272/.329/.432. His BA and SLG are a little bit down, but possibly the most important stat for a leadoff hitter, on-base percentage, was actually higher than his career average. When we compare these numbers to every other SS in MLB, Rollins finished 13^th in the league in AVG, 9^th in OBP, 10^th in SLG and, oh yeah, 5^th among all SS for homeruns. Jimmy has always been a catalyst and the Phillies have been able to score runs because of his table setting at the top of the lineup. If his OBP continues to stay at that rate, the offense has a fighting chance to score some runs going forward. The other factor here is Jimmy’s defense, which has always been stellar. In 2011, with 138 games, Rollins only had 7 errors…wow. Throughout his entire life as a Phillie, he has averaged 8.62 errors per season. Again, this season appears to be an improvement for his career average. If you look throughout the league, Rollins sits 4^th in the league in fielding percentage (.988) and tied for third in Major League Baseball with only those 7 errors. The argument for his range declining can be made, but again use the “eye test” and you can see that he is still a gold glove caliber type of player.

After those valuable insights, even Ben is running to tell Amaro how to handle it.

Our final argument for Jimmy Rollins is a sentimental one. Jimmy has been with the club since he was drafted, and he has gone through the good and bad of being a Philadelphia sports star. He dealt with the team when we were perennial losers (80-81 in his second full year with the club in 2002) and the ultimate joy in 2008 with a World Series trophy. He deserves to finish out his career here in Philadelphia whether it ends on a high or on a low. The low would be if he got injured and couldn’t complete his contract, wasting the team’s money on a yearly basis, but players are routinely playing much later now-a-days, even Raul Ibanez can contribute at 39. Age is not what it used to be and injury is something that can happen just as easily to a 22 year old as it can to a 33 year old. The high would be a record that Jimmy Rollins is close to reaching. The all-time Phillies career hits leader, Michael Jack Schmidt, is at 2,234 and Jimmy is a measly 368 hits behind him at 1,866. Even if we have to give Jimmy the 5 year deal (4 with an option), it would help the Philadelphia area retain a leader and all-time great for the club. With three decent years in those five years, James Calvin Rollins can easily reserve his rightful place in Phillies history as one of the best ever to wear the red pinstripes. Give him the chance to be one of the greatest players in Phillies’ history.

Inner Conflict at 7 PM on a Wednesday Night

We sat down at 7:05 PM on Wednesday night, September 28^th in awe of the sports night ahead of us. Exhausted, ready for bed, we were torn. Everybody hates the Braves in Philadelphia. Those smug bastards were on top of the NL East for as long as anybody could remember, and what could be better than knocking them off on the last day? As of Game 162, the Braves were no longer a playoff contender. Fantastic!

But if you all go back to the middle of the paragraph above, you’ll remember that we said we were ‘torn’. Did you stop to wonder why? Well, we can help with that.

By knocking the Braves off, the Phils opened themselves up to playing the Cards in the first round.

We here at ‘continued success’ are not too pleased with that idea.

Sure, in retrospect, we were jacked up about beating those Tomahawking bums. We waited and waited and waited 13 innings to watch everybody’s new favorite motor mouth (along with Shane-0) hit a hot shot at 1^st base (yeah, that was sarcasm) and get us a go-ahead run, and it was PHENOMENAL. Especially when they all hung their heads nice and low and looked as if they had no idea what to do with their newfound free time. Oh, and their fans were mortified. We loved it.

But seriously think about this. Let's just say that we let the Braves win (they clearly can’t do it on their own because we’re so overpowering). They then somehow eek out a win in a one-game playoff with the Cards, and we play the D-backs in the NLDS. The D-backs are garbage. They are in the playoffs because they overtook the mighty San Francisco Giants (who had one offensive player and he was hurt months ago for blocking the plate – you’ll remember him because he then had his agent whine for him about protecting catchers) in the highly competitive NL West (more sarcasm). Who on the Diamondbacks scares you? We were 3-3 against them this year. Not really all that impressive, but how did we fare against the Cards this year you might ask?

3-7

Eh, last time we checked - that’s worse.

They may even still have this guy. We don't even know who it is, but he can't be any good either.

And let’s just say we get past the D-backs (that’s not a stretch), and we end up playing those same Braves in the NLCS. How nice would that be?

We’re 12-6 against them…

Not to mention that they don’t even have Jair Jurrjens. He was their BEST PITCHER. He’s gone. Done. It’s a cakewalk to the World Series…

Another thing to consider about the Cardinals is… THEY HAVE ALBERT PUJOLS. Remember that nickname he has? Oh yeah, it’s the ‘Machine’. You don’t just get that nickname for being mediocre and streaky. At least, we don’t think you do. Not to mention, a revived Lance Berkman, a pretty decent pitching staff including Chris Carpenter and Kyle Lohse (you may laugh, but he dominates the Phils since we dealt him), and an upstart manager by the name of Tony Larussa (more sarcasm).  This is a very good, very experienced team.

They DO lack in the bullpen though. Former Phil Ryan Franklin was dominant for them last year as their closer. (This year - not so much) Franklin had already blown four saves by the end of April and lost his closers role that he seemed cemented into. No big deal. They found dominant pitcher Eduardo Sanchez. Doesn’t ring a bell, you say? That’s probably because he then lost the role by the end of May – one month after Franklin lost it. They aren’t settled there. That much is for sure. Literally just type ‘Cardinals Closer’ into ESPN.com and see what you get. Here, we’ll do it for you (CLICK HERE). That’s a lot of talk about one topic. Hm. Interesting.

The mindset for the Phils should be the same as it is for any other point in their season. Get good at-bats. Force their starting pitchers to work and overwork themselves right into the bullpen. We know, we know – that’s the same for any team and any matchup. You’re right. But let’s face it: the Boys like to get anxious and aggressive. They love it. They love being aggressive. They force themselves into streaks of awful at-bats where they can’t score.

Phils, please do us a favor. Relax. Take a deep breath. Make the Cardinals’ pitching staff throw pitches.

We’ve got this.

Now, with all of this circulating around our heads for the entire game last night… Do you see why we were torn?

In-Game Twinsights

If you’re not watching the Phillies game right now, we beg of you…

TURN IT ON.

Forget that the score is 8-0 and we’re cruising. The boys right now are playing with energy, tenacity, and a little bit of straight ANGER.

We all hated to see that bush league loss yesterday but maybe it left the little sour taste in the mouths of the Phils that we needed to fire us up for tonight.

Things to watch:

Shane is back to playing the way he usually does versus the Bravados. He’s running everywhere for the ball in center, getting great at-bats, getting big hits, and even trying to get creative with his base running to go for a double steal.

Chooch is so fiery that whether or not the umpire is calling the third strike, he has been sprinting away from home plate as soon as he thinks it is. Multiple times in the game now, he has had to come back to finish catching an at-bat because he thought it was strike three so he took off for the dugout.

Utley threw in one of his trademark glove flips to first on a close play (We’re Lovin’ It.)

Howard (still struggling a bit running the bases from just being beat up) is making ballerina-like dives in foul territory for balls. (Oh and don't forget the mammoth long ball he just hit - Wow, Mr. Big Piece)

The Boys are cookin’ – just sit back and soak it all in – we’re getting the Phils’ version of September baseball.

Funny detail from the game today: During one of Wheelers' senseless rants today about who knows what, something funny popped up on the bottom of the screen.

L- Wheeler (2-2)

Now this was obviously speaking of Dan Wheeler, the relief pitcher for the Red Sox, but this automatically made us think about how Wheels loses in the hearts and minds of Phillies fans on a daily basis with his awful stories and repetitive unfunny sayings. In our record books, he is more like (2-1008).

Change of Plans: Battle of the Bands at CBP tonight

Tonight at the Battle of the Bands:

Chase Utley and the Underdogs

"1, 2 Mic checkkkkkkk."

VS.

The DiamondHacks

We're not clever... 

In case you missed the numerous reports, the lineup for the Phils tonight should be interesting to watch. Howard is out due to what he is calling a "hand strain", Victorino started serving his two game suspension that shouldn't have happened, Ruiz is out due to "bruised testicles", and as usual Polanco is still out due to his sports hernia. All of these injuries at once leaves us three real mainstays Pence, Rollins, and Utley. I had to make Utley the lead man of the band of the three for obvious reasons. Rollins is still good, but not the leader like Chase, and Pence you may ask? Have you seen Pence throw? Have you seen Pence swing? Have you seen Pence run? Exactly, he gets the job done, but look at those three examples as to how awkward he is. Plus, he just makes us laugh way too much to make him the cover band. This motley crew will be facing a 15-3 pitcher Ian Kennedy who last time out versus the Phightins threw a complete game shutout with 10 strikeouts. Soooo.... obviously it should be an adventure. Without any further blabbering... heres the lineup for tonight:

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS

2. John Mayberry Jr, CF

3. Chase Utley, 2B

4. Hunter Pence, RF

5. Raul Ibanez, LF

6. Ross Gload, 1B

7. Brian Schneider, C

8. Wilson Valdez, 3B

9. Vance Worley, P Complete Animal

ENJOY!

Remember When...?

I’m hoping that ‘Remember when…?’ catches on as a new weekly post, but in all fairness it probably won’t, so just enjoy this one.

Remember when about two weeks ago everyone was whining about the Phillies’ offense and crying that they weren’t really good?

-I remember, and it was completely ridiculous. (just being honest…)

OK. First thing is first. Hunter Pence is a great addition to the offense, and yes, the offense went from 4.3 runs/game before his arrival to 5.5 runs/ game since he’s been a Phillie. We’re also 6-0 in that span. None of us are complaining about that. Let’s be fair though – it has literally been only 6 games since we’ve acquired him and this small sample size has made everyone and anyone that was complaining shut their mouths. That doesn’t make any sense.

Does everyone also remember the fact that prior to Pence’s arrival the Phillies were…

Oh yeah, THEY WERE 64-39! I’m not totally sure, but the last time I checked being 25 games over .500 wasn’t a bad thing…?

Ryan Howard was quoted on TV a few weeks ago saying the offense ‘scored enough runs to win games.’ He was completely right. The offense, no matter how bad you want to make it out to be, was still good enough to win 25 more games than it had lost. It all really boils down to the fact that we just enjoy (as a city) picking on a team to try and get perfection. I love the city for being die hard and gritty and it’s a great thought, but perfection is never going to happen.

Another case.

Jimmy Rollins goofs up and doesn’t run out a ball that he misjudged on a game against the Rockies this week. What happens for the next two days on Philadelphia radio shows and TV broadcasts? We all trash-talk him. Jimmy has been with the Phils through good times and especially through bad ones for too many years to count. In fact, let’s count. He has been wearing red pinstripes for 1601 games. He’s not perfect, but the guy has been busting his backside for us for too long. Give him a break. He said he made a mistake. Came Clean. Let’s just get over it.

Now, we’ll be the first to admit that when someone screws up – we love screaming at the TV. Everyone that has ever met us can attest to that. Nothing makes us happier. But with the Phils, we have the Blue-Chip Dream Team. This whole squad is just a good group of guys that have fun, put their heads down, get to work, and love playing the game. Instead of whining about the little inadequacies, sit back and enjoy the show. It’s not going to last forever…

Oh, and don’t forget, baseball is the only job in the world where you can succeed 30% of the time and be a complete rock star...  So, perfection is clearly not everything here.

R.I.P.

This blog has been very upbeat so far, but with tragedy comes the need to slow down and remember the things that have left us. With that, comes a moment of silence for the career of a legend...

Matt Wade Stairs' Career

1992-2011

Matt Stairs retired as a member of the Nationals' Organization in almost his 20th full year of service in Major League Baseball with 265 career homeruns. He spent time with a number of teams and was clearly known as a guy just lookin' to hit the long ball, and when he did, it was a beautiful thing. Watching Matt pinch-hit was fantastic because no matter what - everyone knew that he wanted one thing: a fastball to put in the right field bleachers. All of this had to come with some tough adversity considering he was born in Canada and was probably picked on for not wielding a hockey stick 24/7 (stupid Canadians).

Matt Stairs was a phenomenal, recent Philadelphia sports hero for really only one reason - his moonshot. But based on the fact that he hailed from the north, this is more than enough to make him a legend. Canada is really second-rate anyway so he is still probably their best commodity. Matt lifted the entire city up on his shoulders even if only for a few brief seconds.

The alternative is much worse. And when I say that I clearly am talking about the highest paid Canadian athlete of all-time who still blows and has done nothing exceptional for even a few seconds in his whole career. Sidenote: Is it really sinking in for everyone that Jason Bay (yes, that guy in left field for the Mets) is the highest paid athlete for an entire country? Yeah, me neither.

Anyway...

Matt has had a pretty impressive career. He has the most pinch-hit career home runs in MLB history at 23, and he also holds the MLB record for playing with the most teams (13). In our books, that makes him all-time.

Here's wishing you the best Matt, and we hope you can go back to your true passion soon...

We salute you.

A Beginner's Guide to Creating Dynasties by: Rube and Howie

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...'

                                               Seriously though, he looks 17 (maybe 18 years 

                                                   old when he has a 5 o'clock shadow).

A Very Wise Man Once Said...

Actually, he didn't just say it once - he says it all of the time...

And so, with that inspiration, comes our blog 'continued success...' If a funny, blue-chip guy that says what's on his mind doesn't scream Philadelphia sports? Then, what does? This blog will be everything sports (mostly Philadelphia) and if we can help it - We will continue to write this blog with the big guy in mind. Enjoy...