Tag Archive: phillies

Cardinals and Supercuts

July 26, 2013 Adam Thomas

Can we just take a second here and appreciate how good of an organization the St. Louis Cardinals have been recently? In the past 15 years, they have had only 3 losing seasons, been to the playoffs 9 times, and won 2 world series.

How do they do it?  I don’t know, but the Phillies better find out. In the immortal word’s of Cardinal Pretzley: Ruben…take notes.

You know what happens when you don’t have cable? You get stuck watching shows like: Under the Dome. You know what the best part about Under the Dome is? A freaking DOME came down and surrounded this town and all the citizens reacted the same way: they took a look at it, sighed, shrugged and went “Meh.”

Are you kidding me? If a Dome came down around Newark, I’d be running around like “OMG WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE! I NEED FOOD AND BATTERIES AND GUNS AND BLANKETS AND FIRE AND WATER AND AAHHHHHHHH GET ME OUTTA HERE!”

But not the citizens of Chester’s Mill. Nope. They’re just like, ‘Whatever.’

So, have you seen the Supercuts commercial with that band who are incredibly in love with Supercuts, saying things like, “You have a pride in the way you step out into public, especially when you have a good haircut.”

Well, did you know that the band featured in the commercial is an ACTUAL band? How weird is that? I thought they were just a bunch of actors. But no. They’re a real band. They’re called ‘Vintage Trouble’ and they played at the ESPYS.

Look, I know that as a band you gotta do what you gotta do, but to do a freaking Supercuts commercial?

Although, to be fair, I probably never would’ve heard of them and they probably wouldn’t have gotten the ESPYs without it, so I guess there was a method to the madness. Be sure to keep an eye out for the tiny Nicorette ‘Celebration Band’ at next year’s award show.

Speaking of bands, did you know there was a guitarist who got kicked out of Nirvana AND Soundgarden before they both got super huge?  Yeesh.

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Who Saw that Coming?

July 11, 2013 Adam Thomas

The Phillies are what we thought they were. Mediocre. It has been this way the entire first half of the season. They will go on a run, get close to or at .500 and then fall to the back of the pack only to crawl their way back to a game within .500 and then go on a losing streak.

Of course, I think Randy had a big part to play in last night’s loss (can you say….JINX!) but I don’t put the loss entirely on his shoulders. Actually, scratch that, I do. Shame on you, Randall.

With all that being said, the season ain’t over. Heck, we haven’t even reached the halfway mark, and I for one am still on this Phillies bandwagon. Unfortunately, that wagon is being driven by Ruben Amaro Jr. who drives the wagon like Dr. Gonzo running from bats.

I can’t wait until the trade deadline when he trades away Cliff Lee for middling prospects that never amount to any more than a bag of magic beans (shout out, NT). So hang on tight, Phillies fan, this bumpy ride is about to get bumpier.

 

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So Are We Buying Or Selling?

July 10, 2013 Randy Neil

It’s been an interesting week for the Phillies and the looming questions of whether we are buying or selling keeps getting postponed with each victory.  Ruben Amaro, Jr. has been very vocal about his trade-deadline decisions and the weight he puts on these current series to affect them.

Essentially, if we continue to have success, then he isn’t going to “sell” off some of our assets, and if we come up short in making up some ground in the division, then he’ll most likely tank the team for the rest of the season and begin trading players.  Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ruben.

Amaro, Jr. was very critical of Ryan Howard before his injury came to light, stating that he was playing below his potential and not living up to his contract.  A contract, mind you, that Amaro Jr. was very pivotal in creating.  There’s a lot of criticism I have for RAJ, but putting these intense expectations on a team right before the trade deadline may be one of the worst yet.

Sure, this past week has been pretty delightful.  There’s a lot more passion than usual and these divisional series have been great.  One question, though:

What happens if the Phillies lose tonight?  It’s a very realistic scenario that could bring this high soaring fantasy back to a reality.

With these two wins against the Nationals, I’ve seen an onslaught of Phillies fans claiming we need to stay the course and that our comeback is right around the corner.  There’s arguments to support it, and there’s plenty of arguments against it.

A startling fact that CSN made me aware of is our starting rotation’s quality start output.  Through the first half of our season, even with the injuries to Lannan and Halladay, the Phillies have led the majors with 58 quality starts.  In spite of Hamels’ poor record, almost everyone is aware that it doesn’t reflect his skill level and potential.  Perhaps that is indicative of our entire season and entire team.  Maybe, we are finally righting this ship and our talent is starting to catch up to our record.

There’s still huge inconsistencies with our offense.  Ryan Howard being out 6-8 weeks, regardless of what anyone says, is still a huge hurdle in this rally to become relevant again.  In spite of Domonic Brown’s stellar All-Star caliber first half, our offense has been outscored by leaps and bounds drawing huge question marks around this trade deadline.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d still love to keep this entire team together and make a push towards the playoffs.  The NL Central essentially has dibs on the two wildcard spots, so I see our best hope being the division title.  If the past week has been any indication of our drive and talent, then things seem hopeful.

The question remains, though: If we lose tonight, or tomorrow, or both… what does that mean for us then?

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Great Broadcasting Names: Ducis Rodgers

June 26, 2013 Adam Thomas

Without cable, if I want to watch TV in the morning or in the afternoon after work, I am usually forced to watch the local news. Which sucks. And is depressing. EXCEPT for the fact that Philly’s ABC sports anchor is named Ducis (pronounced ‘Deuces’) Rodgers. That is a great name. And I felt it was appropriate to start off with that in light of Randy posting the Anchorman 2 trailer (which looks awesome).

Moving on.

I wanted to do a track by track iTunes review for Kanye’s new album, but I couldn’t do it. Listening to Kanye just fills me with an unexplained rage. The guy is the world’s biggest D-Bag, and I just can’t take him. So screw it.

Speaking of music, the early favorite for my summer album of 2013 is….wait for it….RUBBER SOUL by the Beatles!

Now, I know what you’re thinking. That album came out YEARS ago, which is true, but I have never been able to appreciate the Beatles and so for me, listening to them is a brand new experience.

I’ve got to say though, for being some lover boy types, the Beatles do sure write a lot of disturbing songs about women. That song ‘Run for your Life’ is psychotic. “You better run for you life if you can, little girl. Hide your head in the sand, little girl. Catch you with another man, that’s the end…little girl.” Alrighty then.

The first 6 tracks on Rubber Soul are great. In fact, the only two tracks that I don’t really like are ‘Michelle’ which is almost unbearable and ‘Girl’ which IS unbearable–I think the song would be OK if it weren’t for the sighing.

Good for the Heat winning the title (as was predicted here), and even better for the Blackhawks–who I think have the sweetest jerseys around.

And all this news about the Phillies possibly blowing up their team and trading their stars would make me happy if it weren’t for one small detail: Ruben Amaro Jr. is going to be making the trades! I bet all the other GM’s are just lining up to fleece that sucker. He is the worst.

And if you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check out ‘This is the End.’ It’s good stuff (especially Danny McBride and Craig Robinson. Holy crap, they steal the show).

That’s all I got. Until next time….

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TheHeadrush Mock Draft (or at least the first 5 picks)!

April 25, 2013 Adam Thomas

Today is the big day. Arguably my favorite ‘sporting’ day of the year. I absolutely love the NFL draft and have been obsessed with it since January. You know why? Cause the team I root for (the Raiders) is terrible, and these are the 3 days of the year when I am filled with hope (well, I guess I am filled with hope on opening day too, but then that hope gets crushed).

Anyway, I am only going to try and guess the top 5 picks here, and since I expect there to be a gazillion trades on Thursday, if I mock a player to a team and they eventually get picked by that team, I am counting that as a win.

1.) Chiefs: Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan

2.) Jaguars: Ezekial Ansah, DE, BYU

3.) Raiders: Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia (Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie said that you have to evaluate a player by tape rather than workouts, and that you have to take a difference maker–rather than someone who does a lot of things OK but not any one thing great. He was also in person at Jarvis Jones’ pro day. I’m connecting the dots and going out on a limb and saying they trade down and eventually end up with the man who had 85 tackles and 14.5 sacks last year).

4.) Eagles: Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia (It’s either him or Dion Jordan, but I see Chip wanting a playmaker on offense. This will also be after they trade down and then they’ll take EJ Manuel in the second round).

5.) Lions: Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A & M (after trading up to Oakland’s spot).

Alrighty, that’s all I’m doing because the rest is a crap shoot.

I did enjoy Randy’s article yesterday about how Philadelphia still has a potent offense, only to see them put up a whole 3 runs on the Pirates. Randy has more faith than me, but I don’t want this to be misconstrued as me hating on the Phillies. I’m just realistic.

There are only 3 teams in the NL with worse records, and I don’t see much light at the end of the tunnel.  But that’s OK, you know why? Cause I love rooting for the underdog. So let’s hope they turn it around and Atlanta falls off as cliff shall we?  Here-here!

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The Game Don’t Care How Much Money You Make

April 24, 2013 Randy Neil

Charlie Manuel addressed the media Tuesday night after the Phillies put up another goose egg to the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 2-0 loss. Their pitcher, Jeff Locke, came into the game boasting a 5.17 ERA and still the Phillies were able to only muster up four hits against him.

A ‘frustrated’ Charlie Manuel decided to call out his players after the game, but didn’t really identify any root cause behind their lack of offense. No one can really come up with a reason why the Phillies offense is so inconsistent this year.

Make no mistake, though, it is a potent offense. Ryan Howard stands as the flagship of that offense, but unfortunately he’s been pretty cold at the start of the season. That is somewhat the norm for him. Right now the right-handed slugger is averaging .274 with 1 HR.

Regardless, the Phillies have a lineup that is capable of putting up a lot of runs throughout the course of the season. With two of our elite players finally injury-free, expect the roster to finally have some firepower come ‘hitting-season.’ Delmon Young and Carlos Ruiz have both started rehab assignments and are expected to return soon. Chooch can return as soon as this Sunday.

I attended Monday night’s victory over the Pirates and was amazed at the lack of attendance in Citizens Bank Park. The place was barely filled. Granted, it was a cold night, the wind was rough, but it’s fair to say that CBP doesn’t get sold out like it used to. Our night’s attendance was somewhere around 35k. Tuesday night’s was the lowest since April of 2008, coming in at around 31,000.

I think that can be a good thing, however. We certainly aren’t the favorites for the NL East anymore, and it’s nice to have that facade of being a superpower disappear. Expectations can surpass talent, as I believe it did in 2010.

Though a lot of the press is searching for answers to the Phillies’ inconsistencies, I still feel comfortable about this team. At least our hitting, anyway.

Here’s what Charlie had to say Tuesday night:

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