Oct 052008
Good thing I don’t get my flu shot until this Wednesday, because Phillies Fever is running strong and I’ve got a bad case of it. Does your playoff team have a theme song that matches the boogie-oogie-oogie of my 1976 Phils?
Good thing I don’t get my flu shot until this Wednesday, because Phillies Fever is running strong and I’ve got a bad case of it. Does your playoff team have a theme song that matches the boogie-oogie-oogie of my 1976 Phils?
If this year’s team were to cover Phillies Fever – allowing that the Vet is no longer the hippest place in town, of course – which five players make the band?
I’m having trouble seeing Utley, Burrell or Victorino gettin’ down in the studio. Rollins, Hamels, Howard and Dobbs could make it work, though. Maybe Romero rounds them out, but that makes for a pretty pitcher-heavy band.
B-Side is Joe Blanton doing some human beatbox.
I was hoping you were going to open a Playoff Thread. But I’m not sure I have a Playoff Team. Every team I might have rooted for finished well under .500.
The question: in what heinous way are the Cubs going to blow it?
I think Victorino would surprise you, Alexmagic. His at bats do feature “Buffalo Soldier” as his intro theme.
I would put my trust in the quartet you’ve selected. What you’d have to fend off, though, is the meathead modern rock contingent of Myers, Lidge, and Werth. They can do their own thing, if they’d like.
If the Phils want to put out a more mature nightclub version, I’d like to hear what Rudy Seanez could do.
Mwall, may I reserve providing a scenario for the Cubs’ collapse at the next round? I can’t look past the Brew Crew for now.
Oh, and with the Yankees out of it this year and with all due respect to Diskojoe, can we agree that this is the year we all root against the Red Sox? I’m sicker than ever of seeing ESPN’s Baseball Tonight crew cut to Peter Gammons with his nightly Red Sox update, done in a tone reserved for some national crisis.
Brewers-Phils is a good matchup, Mod. Both teams have not quite enough pitching, as well as excellent hitters who wilt under pressure. Could be a real dogfight.
I’m with you on the Red Sox, but I think we all have to recognize that rooting against them could cause a lot of pain for us this postseason.
What, you mean this isn’t “redsox” nation that we live in?
All the Brewers need are some rainouts. After all, they’ll all be home games then.
Every franchise has made the playoffs now. Gotta root for the Rays. That Maddon guy would never let them grow beards though.
Honestly, even many of us here in Boston secretly think this is probably not our year. Too many of the clutch guys are injured, and the Angels have more to prove this year.
First off, Mr. Mod, sincere congrats on the Phillies capturing the NL East crown. My friend Barrence is probably down in the dumps about the Mets, but what can you do if you had no bullpen. The Phillies will probably do well against the Brewers, who have C.C. & three guys not named C.C. for a pitching staff.
As for the Red Sox, hey, I’m cool w/you guys preferring other teams. We’ll just see what happens & let the best team win (I would like to see another 4-game smackdown against the Cubs myself, but the Rays could be the 21st Century version of the ’69 Mets).
Diskojoe, I think the Red Sox are an excellent team and organization. I like them as players (excepting JD Drew), and I’d actually root for them if it weren’t for Gammons and the Red Sox Nation nonsense (they sound like a White Supremicist group), but I’m fully aware of the fact that if Philly ever became a powerhouse in any sport we’d be just as bad if not worse to the outside world. More power to all the fans of nasty, Northeast Corridor franchises!
Hey, Mockcarr. What’s the Nats theme song? The “Eastern Motors” jingle?
Best part of the weekend was Wes Helms eliminating the Mets, making up for his brief, terrible stay here.
I bet they could have saved a lot of demolitions money by just letting Strawberry and Doc Gooden accidentally burn down Shea yesterday.
That was definitely Helms’ best hit for the Phillies!
alexmagic sez – I bet they could have saved a lot of demolitions money by just letting Strawberry and Doc Gooden accidentally burn down Shea yesterday.
Not bad, but let David Cone throw the first firecracker while Bonilla farts on it. Then Seaver can come along and tell them how they did it the wrong way.
hrrundivbakshi: Hey, Mockcarr. What’s the Nats theme song? The “Eastern Motors” jingle?
Down in the Ghetto?
For we season ticket holders – “I Got Stung”
As hard as I’m going to be rooting for my Dodgers, I seriously doubt they’ll get past the Cubs. At which point I’m gunning for the Cubs all the way!
Everyone else can eat goat.
I was just thinking w/the recent closing of Shea, that means that probably most of the venues that the Beatles played in their U.S. tours are now gone.
Also, has Manny played in Wrigley yet? Maybe he’ll confuse it w/Fenway & wack some homers over the ivy.
I’m a big Twin’s fan. I grew up 5 blocks from the old Met Stadium.
Unreal that they are so close to the playoffs given loss of Santana, Hunter and Silva (innings eatter but ok kind of a stiff). Now we play Chicago tomorrow for the final playoff spot and I fear we are going down. Either way, a really a fun young club with a future but probably not this year. Strange how we’ve overachieved this year and especially given that our bullpen has stunk. Anyway, a great time of year.
Steve D
Go Twins! It’s amazing how they continue to compete.
And a Twins-Tigers comparison is quite startling. Tigers go to the World Series one year, based in part on following a Twins-like model: young, enthusiastic players and a good clubhouse spirit. Then one by one, they add players with fat contracts and dubious reputations and go downhill fast, while the Twins’ small market ball continues to impress.
I won’t make a metaphorical comparison to Wall Street here, but you know I’m thinking it.
Thanks for the Twins talk and nice comments. Yeah, we really have a very well run organization in terms of baseball smarts and keeping a good clubhouse. We are a small market and it gets old losing top drawer players but yeah I have to love this club.
Interesting to compare the formerly young DT club with MN.
Steve D
Too bad about the Twins going down, but at least it was one of baseball’s good guys, Thome, who did the damage.
Go Phils!
Mitch Williams throwing out the first pitch this afternoon. Either the greatest or worst move in history.
The Phanatic better not stand too close.
As a co-worker just said – haviing him throw out the first pitch is better than him throwing the last pitch 🙁
I want to hear what the fan reaction is. He has done a GREAT job rehabbing his image but some people may never forget.
This is also another great Philly sports team song for the 76’ers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAP2nmo8al8&feature=related
Pregame lunch: Cheesesteak with hot peppers. Wish I could have washed it down with a bottle of Frank’s Black Cherry Wishniak.
What will you be eating out in LA, Sammy? How ’bout you Red Sox fans, Diskojoe and The Great 48?
My game superstitions don’t involve food, surprisingly enough. They’re more artifact-based.
I do feel a need to explain the derivation of this “Red Sox Nation” nonsense. It’s a term I personally refuse to use because the person who popularized it is Dan Shaughnessy, quite possibly the baseball writer most in need of regular and public cockpunching. Among his crimes are the invention of “The Curse of the Bambino” (and he was pissed when the Sox finally won in 2004, because he’d been eating out on that shit for years) and his general attitude that he would not only be a better GM than Theo and a better coach than Tito, he’d also be a better hitter than Papi and a better pitcher than Papelbon. There is a Dan Shaughnessy at every paper in every baseball city, it’s true. But he is without question the Dan Shaughnessiest.
But anyway, before Shaughnessy perverted the term for his own nefarious ends — needing a hook now that this Curse bullshit was gone — the term “Red Sox Nation” actually referred only to part of Connecticut. There’s basically an invisible line running down the center of the state: those on the left of the line tend to be Yankees fans, those on the right, Red Sox fans. Hence, Red Sox Nation.
Man, it sucks around here to not have a home team rooting interest in the playoffs, because then nobody gives a shit what you eat for lunch.
Instead of a rooting interest, I’ll offer these important questions:
Rays: Will lack of experience bring them down?
Red Sox: Too injured or complacent?
White Sox: Will they continue their late season fade or catch new energy from eeking it out last night?
Angels: Big winners in an easy division, do they have enough confidence and drive to win the crucial Game One?
Phils: Do they have enough pitching and will their big hitters crap out when it counts, like they have tended to do?
Brewers: Same exact question.
Cubs: How will they manage to choke?
Dodgers: Eeking out a win in a weak division… will the East Coast infusion give them some postseason mojo?
Let the games begin.
Mwall asked:
Probably. That and the Walmart that they play their home games in.
After the last few years, I can’t rule them out.
Love Thome, don’t like Ozzie, think Junior’s a big softie. I think they fade.
I love the way Mike Soscia (sp?) gets that team playing. Talk about an infusion of East Coast Mojo!
Provided that the Good Brett Myers returns, we should be fine in the pitching department. The key for the Phils is the hitting. They need to have a few of their big boys rolling and string a couple of hits together among the bottom-of-the-lineup guys.
We’ll see how this young guy on the mound does today. He’s talented but he’s missed a lot of time this season. If it’s CC alone against the Phils, the Phils can prepare for the next round.
Soriano’s a softie. I’m counting on him to be in the middle of some collapse.
These guys may beat the Cubs if Manny, Kent, and one of their young guys get hot.
I think the Phillies win their matchup becuase of their bullpen, even though I want to like the Brewers. The Cubs look strong and only need to put a screen up to keep the fans’ arms away from the field. The Dodgers are due for a Manny B Manny WTF moment. The Rays will hit four batters in the first game and Guillen will get ejected, actually, that might help the White Sox. The Rays just have a better club though. and it’ll come down to that third game. THe Angels have the best team, have been coasting but have the kind of versatility that should put Boston on their heels, provided they can actually get on base. Dice-K can’t go walking a bunch of guys and still win.
My hunches:
ALCS: Sox v Sox
NLCS: Cubs v toss a coin. I honestly don’t know who’ll win the Brewers/Phillies series.
WS: No clue this far out, but I think a Red Sox/Cubs series would be a hoot.
Dodger’s actually play best when Kent is not even in the dugout. True. Both he Garciaparra are on the bench today.
The Dodgers are good, just not that good. Our entire division felt like a race to see who gets to lose first.
That said. Furcal is back and if everyone is firing on all pistons, beating the Cubs is not entirely out of the question.
(I have no money on the game.)
I think my prediction that the Dodgers will beat the Cubs is the early favorite for October’s Comment of the Month.
Prediction? Where?
The best part, aside from the win and James Loney’s grand slam, was Ramirez beating out the throw to first. Who knew?
Mr. Mod – the Dodgers will NEVER beat the Cubs. Only the Cubs beat the Cubs.
GO SOX! (pale not carmine)
I think trimming the dreads before he got to L.A. gave Manny heretofore unknown speed down the first base line. It can’t have been hustle, a concept inconsistent with ‘being Manny.’
Man, I’m already sick of that Bon Jovi song they keep playing in the promos.
It’s got to be the Red Sox. The city of Boston has gone 4 unbearable months since their last championship. That city is hungry for a parade.
Congrats, Mr. Mod, on the Phillies win yesterday. From what I remember about CC in last year’s playoffs, I have the funny feeling you won’t have to worry about him at all.
The Sox played a great game last night. They beat the Angels at their own game. Jacoby Ellsbury picked up where he left off last year & I think that Jason Bay, although he’s not Manny, will pick it up like JD Drew did last year. I’m still concerned about Lowell, but it will be great to see Jack White, erm, Josh Beckett finish up Game 3 in Fenway.
Mr. Mod, what’s your take on Terry Franconia? I know that he managed the Phillies & didn’t succeed & then goes to the Red Sox & wins it all twice. What was the difference? Does he have better talent in Boston?
Francona is proof positive that a manager cannot overcome mostly horrible players. I couldn’t stand him in Philly. The team sucked when he was there, but we had enough young talent that fans expected the Phils to at least win 80 games and be competitive now and then. We had a young Rollins, Burrell, and Scott Rolen, for instance. Franconia never gave fans the impression that he expected his team to overachieve or compete fiercely. The thing he became most known for was resting a lot of his starters on Sundays and other day games after night games. He was so married to this that he rested Rolen on Scott Rolen Day. That guy left town with a crybaby reputation, but he was a young stud – he was about all we could rest our hopes on, and he gets the day off on his own day?
I also associate Francona with Kevin Sefcik, one of the many 28-year-old minor leaguers/future organizational “roving instructors” the Phils had at that time. Sefcik could play any position adequately, and he was absolutely no factor at the plate. He was like a poor man’s Eric Bruntlett, our current utility man/coach’s pet. Tito would find any opportunity to get Sefcik into games.
That period got so bad that I finally wrote managing partner Bill Giles a long, impassioned letter about July of Francona’s last year. I told Giles of my passion for the Phils but that I’d reached the end: I was not going to attend another Phillies game until Francona was gone! A couple of weeks later I got a letter back with an actual ink signature from Giles. He thanked me for my passion, told me not to give up hope, and gave me a voucher for two tickets the NEXT season. Francona was fired the last day of that season, and I was able to cash in my voucher the following season, as Giles hoped I would do. Now I’m not taking credit for the firing of Terry Francona, and Boston fans don’t need to thank me for freeing up this obviously good egg with a knack for pushing the right buttons on one of the best clutch-hitting and -pitching teams I’ve ever seen assembled, but I’d like to think I played a small role in baseball history.
Larry Bowa, a local hero to my generation of Phils fans, was instituted as manager, and for the next few years he instilled an expectation of succeeding. Bowa would turn out to have his own faults as a manager, but along with Jim Thome, I think Bowa did a lot to begin turning this organization around. We finally got the beginnings of a team that thought it could win 82 games.
I met Francona when he was a guest speaker at a college class I took on baseball (in theory, history, but it was totally a baseball class). He was wearing this really ugly, ratty, sub-Cosby sweater that I would see him wear at least four or five more times on TV while he was still here, and then saw him wear it in an interview after he’d gone to Boston. Because of this, I’ve always kind of liked the guy.
Thanks, Mr. Mod, for your insight re: Terry Franconia, which I appreciate. I remember when he was hired by the Sox to replace Grady & I was wondering why they hired him over beter known candidates, especially since the #1 requirement for the job was to Win It All, which he actually did & also last year to boot.
Who knows Mr. Mod, we may have to make a cheesesteak/fried clams bet before the month’s out.
Mr. M. said
Too bad about the Twins going down, but at least it was one of baseball’s good guys, Thome, who did the damage.
I have to admit that helped ease the pain a bit. I’ve always liked him. Had it been A.J. who hit it I would have had a seizure.
I couldn’t believe that game how much the announcers were praising Griffey’s throw to the plate and throwing out Cuddy. It was a very shallow fly ball that he two hopped to the catcher. It really was a play any outfielder should be able to make. That said, with outs I had no problem with the Twins going for it. I love Griffey and what a career he would have had if healthy but he’s not close to the player he was.
Anyway, my final Twins comment. I’ll try to join in on the talks relate to those clubs that DID make it. Congrats to all! I’m kind of hoping the Rays hang around for a while.
Steve
I’ve got my dinner for tonight’s game: Italian hoagie with hot peppers and provolone. Wish I could wash it down with a bottle of Frank’s. Go Phils!
Mod, looks like you’ll be following tonight’s dinner with a Grand Slam Breakfast tomorrow morning.
It was a sweet night at the old ballgame, Mwall. I need to get some scrapple for breakfast.
Mr. Mod, what did I tell you about CC yesterday? I was right. I think his playoff record should put a bit o’ a dent in the free agent market.
You called it, Diskojoe! And look at the Dodgers coming together. Between CC’s Burt Hooten at Veterans Stadium impersonation and the Dodgers’ jumping on the Cubs, I’m getting strong vibes of a chance for the Phils to avenge Black Friday! I want Lasorda in the house so that the Phanatic can piss him off all over again with that Dodgers helmet-smashing routine. I shouldn’t get ahead of myself, but the Brew Crew and the Cubbies look overmatched.
Go Rays!
Phils fans chase Burt Hooten, then Black Friday comes:
http://books.google.com/books?id=9hpr2i0iHNEC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=burt+hooten+phillies&source=web&ots=JUCHAjk-L5&sig=eBB_ebl5SlfccAgldfA1kUq9Jrk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA64,M1
I just read that thing you posted, Mr. Mod & it brings back memories of the Strat-O-Matic baseball leagues that I was involved in at the time.
I think Richie Hebner, the last baseball player that I can think of who had a offseason job,which was a gravedigger, was part of the Phillies at that time.
I can’t believe what’s happening to the Cubs. After enduring that “100 (soon to 101) years since they won the World Series” talk all season long, I understand how that “Curse of the Bambino” jive would grate on non-Sox fans'(as well as Sox fans’) nerves. There must be a Rock version of what’s happening to the Cubs, i.e., a rather big hype followed by a crashing thud.
Diskojoe!!! I shouldn’t be surprised, but your history of playing Strat-O-Matic baseball leagues and recalling Hebner’s offseason job so fit the profile of the participant I’ll seek should we ever launch Baseball Town Hall.
Did your leagues play the straight teams, or did you create your own franchises and rosters, a rival league in your mind, so to speak? I almost always went the latter route, and I often banned most star players, who had received enough real-life acclaim to allow more playing time and opportunities to the likes of Alan Bannister, Dave Augustine, and Juan Beniquez.
Mr. Mod, we usually played the straight teams in our Strat-O-Matic leagues. We usually had two teams each. Another thing I remember was that we used the DH on all teams, whether NL or AL. The team that all the guys wanted was the Red Sox, naturally (those were the Jim Rice years).Another thing I remember was that we made up cards as ourselves as players from the blank ones. The other guys had cards w/them having .300 averages & 1(-4) fielding ability, while my card had a .125 average & a 4(+4)in fielding (I had a low esteem of myself in those days). We spent a lot of summer days playing Strat-O-Matic in my basement w/the cassette player playing tapes by KISS, Meat Loaf, Fleetwood Mac, Boston provided by my friend Albin (yes, that was his name). God, the memories are flooding back.
I was actually at both those games plus the Steve Carlton rain game in ’78.
Watching the game yesterday, Burt Hooton definitely came to mind.
Myers at bats against Sabathia were like the Bizarro version of Kruk vs. Randy Johnson.
Angels?
Do they have the drive and confidence?
No.
There’s a reason no one says “West Coast Mojo.”
But they looked very mellow while losing.
Another October, another month for JD Drew to come off the DL and shine. Ugh!!!
Come on, Phils! I’ve got a soccer game to coach at 2:00 tomorrow. Let’s make a 9th-inning comeback while I’m watching!
Mod, at this point it’s good if your team gets some testing. Word to the wise: the next round gets tougher. Surely you remember that.
I do recall, Mwall. Your perspective on last night’s loss makes me feel better.
Can we have a moment of silence for Cubs fans?
…
Dodgers. Woooo.
Sammy and Mod, I hope your friendship and mutual love of music is strong enough to survive your opposing interests in the next round.
As for the Cubs, stick a fork in ’em. When I asked the question, “How will they choke?”, not even I knew the answer would be “Almost from the get-go and then constantly thereafter.” I can’t immediately think of another team who embarrassed themselves quite this badly in a first round playoff. Some other highly favored teams have lost in the opening round (Houston in, I think, 2000, the 1988 Tigers team that lost to the barely above ,500 Twins who went on to win the World Series) but I can’t recall anything like this level of humiliation. Can anybody else?
But yes, I can certainly say in sympathy to all Cubs fans; it must suck to be you.
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2008 Cubs: the Moby Grape of the National League!
My one concern about the Red Sox: Tito, for the love of all that is holy, sit Lowell’s ass down. It’s inspiring that he wants to play through the pain, and he is undoubtedly Da Man — he is my some distance my own personal Sox Star — but it’s now getting to the point where he’s missing plays because of the pain. It’s time to face facts and have him lay out for a while.
Boston wins and they play “Dirty Water”. I like the song choice.
underthefloat,the Sox have been playing “Dirty Water” after every victory for ten years now. The Standells have even gone to Fenway & played it live several times before games, starting w/the 2004 WS. There’s actually a book out about the Standells, “Dirty Water” & how the Sox adopted it as their victory song.
As for last night’s game, I’m very happy about how it ended, although I wasn’t very happy about how the bullpen almost blew it after Lester pitched such a great game. I think the Angels played too tight & had horrible fielding. I shared great48’s concern about Lowell. I was scared that he might have ended up being the Bill Buckner of the 21st Century. We’ll see what happens w/the Rays in the ALCS. I think it will be one for the ages.
By the way, underthefloat, belated but sincere mad props for the Twins, who are one of my fave rave baseball teams who do not wear Red Sox
Who’s that 3/4-delivery guy who let the Angels tie it, Masterson? Guys who through from that arm angle are disasters waiting to happen. The Sox-Rays match up should be great. I don’t see a soft team among the final four.
The issue for the Phillies: they’re still capable of tightening up and not being able to bring it when it matters. Fans better hope to not end up saying things like “key strikeout.”
The issue for the Dodgers: they’re not really all that talented either on the pitching staff or through the lineup. Poke a few holes in the good time roller coaster that they’re on and the whole thing could crumble.
The issue for the Rays: youth and inexperience under pressure. On the other hand, this team hasn’t been around long enough necessarily to feel the pressure, which usually increases after you’ve been 8-12 years in the league and realize your chances are running out.
The issue for the Red Sox: Actually, it’s the Rays themselves. Young, fast, hungry, relaxed, and they know their opponent from playing in the AL East all year. The edge has to go with the Sox, but did I detect them celebrating just a tad too much last night?
Good call on the overindulgent celebration by the BoSox last night, Mwall. I thought the same thing. Whatever happened to “Act like you’ve been there 2 times in the last 4 years”?
Overindulgent celebrations have become a plague in recent years. A walk-off homerun ending a meaningless game in early June now merits a pile-on celebration like the team has just won the World Series. Players now have a full champagne-spraying blowout when they clinch a wild card berth. What are they supposed to do for an encore when the team wins something that’s actually meaningful?
Hey diskojoe,
Thanks for the background regarding the Sox and Dirty Water.
Thanks also for the props regarding the Twins. Believe it or not the Red Sox have always been my second fav team. I’ll have a hard time with the Sox vs the Rays per I tend to route for the new team on the scene. I guess the main thing for me will be hoping it’s a great series.
If it’s the Dodger’s vs the Sox in the Series I can already hear the hype from the announcers..
Regarding overindulgent celebrations overmeaningless moments: see NFL. 🙂
You’re welcome, underthefloat. That book I mentioned is called Love That Dirty Water: The Standells and the Improbable Red Sox Victory Song. It has a detailed history of the Standells, as well as the interaction of music & the Red Sox (did you know that Ted Williams was a jazzbo & that Tony C actually had a singing career & released 45s?), with plenty of cool pix, including one that has Herman Munster holding a Telecaster. I recommend this book to my fellow Townspeople.
As for the ALCS, I do have several areas of concern w/the Sox; 1. Jack White (he wasn’t himself in Game 3) 2. The bullpen, which almost gave up Game 4 & 3. Dustin Pedoria hasn’t been hitting at all lately. I’m also not underestimating the Rays. I’m expecting a hard, fought out series.
Finally, Mr. Mod & Mwall, what’s w/the tut-tut-tuting about the Sox’s victory celebration? They won a hard fought series over a 100 victory team that the pundits said that they couldn’t win. The Rays also partied pretty hearty after downing the White Sox. Did the Phillies have tea ‘n crumpets after their series win? The Sox ‘n Rays are American League bands, they are comin’ to your town & they are going to party it down.
Diskojoe, believe me, if I’d won my 10th ALDS I’d probably be jumping around like a maniac and spraying champagne like the Red Sox. Our jibes are the price Sox fans will need to pay for your team’s continued excellence. We’re a little jealous in other parts of the country, you know!
The Phils actually had a subdued postgame celebration after knocking out Milwaukee. It was refreshing and shocking to see here in Philadelphia, a city prone to celebrating too early and setting itself up for major letdowns. I took the Phils’ lead and tempered my celebration in front of the tv in our family room.
If Kendrick gets that bunt down, we’re not talking about this. That said, the Angles are a bunch of whiners and Scioscia is too fidgety with his team. He should have gotten his ass kicked for gamemanship by Frank Robinson a couple of years ago. If Frank had been say, 65 -it WOULD have happened.
I’d cut the Rays some slack, since they can’t actually act like they’ve been there.
Our jibes are the price Sox fans will need to pay for your team’s continued excellence.
You know, Mr. Mod, being a pre-2004 Red Sox fan, it’s still amazing to me to see those words.
Mad props for your new entry on Tony C. He spent a lot of time up here in the North Shore in Lynn and Nahant and he spent time in a rehab hospital here in Salem after he had the stroke that ultimately killed him. I just remembered that it was an Angels pitcher who beaned him in ’67 & screwed up his career. Perhaps that’s why the Angels haven’t been successful against the Sox in the playoffs.