Tag Archive: luis castillo

Bring the King. Off With His Head!!

March 25, 2011 Randy Neil

Well, it’s Friday. 6 days to go until opening day, and things have gotten worse. Chase Utley has officially been moved to the DL, Brad Lidge has been moved to the DL, Cole Hamels got lit up yesterday, Roy Oswalt got beaned in the head with a ball and is recovering…. It wouldn’t be a typical Phillies season without some drama. The Braves look amazing, and although people have been doing nothing but talking shit on the Mets (like me), they look pretty good so far too.

Every analyst keeps showing concern for the offensive voids in the lineup, and now, I am too. Maybe we are really gonna feel the burn from Jayson Werth signing elsewhere. Rauuuuuuuul ain’t getting any younger and Rollins has looked like shit all spring. I expect a slow start from him, followed by a slow finish. Dominic Brown hasn’t done a thing to make me feel he’s truly ready for a starting role, and if the Mets don’t want Castillo, I can’t fathom why we would. Somebody better get Howard a whoooooole mess of Subway Feasts.

It’s really heating up in theheadrush.com March Madness competition. I have the lead right now, but it’s thin. Adam’s bracket has basically busted because of Syracuse, although with some pretty extreme circumstances, I believe he can still win. Duke lost last night, in very poor fashion, not only making Brendan elated, but also giving him a pretty good opportunity to win this little competition of ours.

He has Ohio State winning the whole thing, and 32 points would be a huge boost in the standings for him. I can’t have that. Here’s to praying that they choke. That’s basically the only way he’s gonna win, and I simply can’t have that. YOU can’t have that. The universe will collapse.

I know I don’t talk about the Sixers much, but I think I should note the importance of tonight’s game. The 76ers travel down to Miami to face the Heat, a team we are most likely to face in the play offs. The Sixers actually have a good chance to win this game. Jrue Holiday will probably be guarding Dwayne Wade, a daunting task for anyone. That’s my main concern. Iggy will be on James most likely, and I’m never disappointed in Andre’s defense. We have the big men so Bosh will have some trouble. Our bench is 10x deeper than theirs. It gives us hope and a great way to gauge ourselves going into the playoffs.

Bring the king.

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Everything is Going to be Fine with Chase Utley, Right?

March 22, 2011 Randy Neil

Well, the 76ers have had the past few days off, so I’m like a frightened baby deer wandering through some recently developed suburban houses. I’m scared. Alone. Nothing is familiar to me anymore and car lights resemble burning flames that threaten my very existence. Just when I’m about to give up all hope, I’m presented with an alternative that seems strangely familiar and comforting. Baseball season is coming.

Opening Day is 9 days from now. The hell that our pitching staff is about to bring will be unleashed, sending batters cowering to their hitting coaches searching for new “mechanics” to battle the unrivaled supremacy that is the Philadelphia Phillies starting lineup. It feels good. We are still a force to be reckoned with.

Every year a survey is taken determining the most loyal fans in baseball. Whom do you ask won it this year? The Yankees? The Red Sox? Nay, I doth correct yee… tis the Phillies. For the first time in 10 years, the giants of baseball have been overthrown on the Sports Loyalty Index (yes that is real.) The Yankees are now pushed to 2nd, and the typically highest ranked Red Sox are now bumped down to 3rd. Even better, the Mets who commonly ranked among the top 10, are now ranked 23rd alongside the Washington Nationals. The Nationals play in a city that’s almost foreign to everyone, so what’s your excuse New York?

Naturally though, there are some concerns. Most notably, Chase Utley. Just two days ago the Phillies sign Luis Castillo after the Mets released his old ass and he was cleared from waivers. This just helps add to the concern that our infield situation is not looking so hot, and Chase Utley might be sitting out longer than anyone else had expected. I’m cool with Valdez. He played great last year, looked good this spring, and he’s a nice youthful addition to a lineup many are criticizing to be too old.

Castillo is mainly there to back up Valdez for the disastrous situation that he happens to be hurt. But Castillo is old. Older than dirt. He’s 35, older than a majority of the infield, and he sucks. Last year he was notoriously on the ‘Not Top 10′ for dropping routine infield pop-ups. Dear God. Plus he’s a Met. They have no souls. The Phillies are considering contacting a witch doctor to perhaps revive the spirits in Luis to ensure that he is not in fact a scum-sucking, plague-ridden, uncanny pile of death who happened to rise to the elite ranks of professional baseball player. Fingers crossed.

Good news is he was scheduled to start today, giving everyone a chance to scout him before the season starts. Let me just hop over to the Phillies’ website to confirm that.

Oh god no.

They don’t know where he is!! He was scheduled to arrive yesterday for a physical and enter the lineup today, but he hasn’t shown? Apparently his agent is citing some sort of ‘confusion’ for the deadline. Ruben Amaro and Charlie Manual are not happy about it.

“If it was me? I would have been here two days ago,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “But it’s not me. I ain’t upset about it or anything. Really. When he gets here, we’ll suit him up and see what he can do.”

Calm down Charlie!

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