In Memoriam: Mark Marinelli, @MarkM625

(Note: I’m not sure that this blog post flows all that well. It’s been a rough week, and my reaction to the subject of this entry probably makes for crappy writing. Sorry about that.)
Today, I lost a friend I never met in person. But we had a lot in common.

Mark Marinelli was a year younger than me (he was 39).
He was a resident of Bethlehem, PA (where I lived and worked for several years).
He lived with Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy, which robbed him of the ability to walk at 15.
(My pyoderma gangrenosum flared for the first time at 16 — but I was lucky. After three months of incredible pain, I was eventually able to walk normally. Despite several flares and giant ulcers on my left leg, I’ve been mostly fine with walking since then.)
Clearly, my disease was/is nowhere near as bad as Mark’s.

In fact, he wasn’t supposed to live to see 19. It’s a testament to his strength of will and character that he more than doubled the doctor’s expectations.

*******************

The biggest common bond we had was the Philadelphia Phillies — whom we both rooted for and often discussed on Twitter. (It is worth noting that the Phillies are the losingest franchise in the entirety of sports history, with more than 10,000 losses on record.)

As men born in the early 1970s, we each lived through a wildly up-and-down period in Phillies history:

* 1980 = The Phillies’ dominant run atop the National League East in the late ’70s culminated in the 1980 World Series championship.
* 1983 = The “Wheeze Kids” included a bunch of, um, “not young” players that went to the Series again but lost.
* 1993 = Somehow, the 1993 squad of dirtballs, tramps and thieves scratched its way to the Series again — but heartache came in the form of Joe Carter.
* 2008 = Another dominant run in the East led to another World Series title.

In between those four highlight years, there was a lot of mediocrity and a bunch of lousy players.

And unfortunately, it’s pretty likely that the Phils’ “window of opportunity” is closing, as the stars of 2008 are mostly fading as they get older.

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When it came to his health, Mark had a strength and spirit that we can all aspire to. Naturally, he had dark times and went through periods of doubt and depression. But I will always remember his “presence” on Twitter — smart, witty and always ready with a joke or insight.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how much you plan — life WILL throw you a steady diet of 12-6 curveballs. What’s important is how you deal with them.

At bat, a good hitter recognizes that a curveball is coming and in a nanosecond, alters his swing and hits the ball to the “opposite field.”

In life, a person who handles adversity with dignity and humor is someone to be admired and respected. That’s what Mark was to me, even though we never hung out live and in person.

I admired and respected Mark Marinelli, and I will carry inspiration from him for the rest of my life.

#RIPMark

Mark’s blog: http://icantwalk.com/

Phillies: What If…Everything Went Right?

Thanks to my constant suckage at fantasy baseball, I’m used to rebuilding — and recognizing the signs that it’s time to rebuild.

But I’ll do that blog post later. This one is about how the Phillies could potentially win the National League East.

It’ll take some minor miracles, but here we go (in order of likelihood):

1) The healthy return of Roy Halladay. If Doc comes back fine, the Big Three starting pitchers can keep the team in games and allow the bats to do their work. (This one is pretty obvious.)

2) Improvements in the bullpen. Whether we’re talking about these guys buckling down and getting the job done…or Ruben Amaro, Jr.  buckling down and doing his job to find some solid middle relief arms via the trade market or free agency.   

3) The healthy return of Ryan Howard. If the Big Man comes back healthy and does his thing, that is a huge boost to the lineup (clearly). He and Hunter Pence make a solid lefty-righty RBI combo and take the pressure off Ty Wigginton and John Mayberry, who most likely will perform better with slightly less playing time.

4) The healthy return of Freddy Galvis. If the offense is good enough, they can bury him in the 8 spot in the lineup and enjoy his defensive wizardry.

5) The healthy return of Chase Utley. Good Heavens, we’re stretching now. The mysterious knees of Mr. Utley are a conundrum, an enigma shrouded in a mystery of riddles. But if he came back and gave the team a couple solid months of offense? Wow.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Take a look at the 2008 lineup, rotation and numbers here. While there is no way the 2012 team can pile up the offensive numbers of the 2008 version. But good health and solid performances from the returning DLers could go a long way.

Rotation-wise, 2012 should destroy the 2008 version. And if you’re telling me that the Madson/Durbin/Condrey/Romero/Seanez bullpen combination can’t somehow be duplicated, then I’m not sure I want to watch any more baseball this year. (Papelbon should be very good, if not Lidge-esque.)

So it’s all about health and RAJ making a good move or two. (Or the coaches getting the current bullpen guys to pitch better.) 

And if it all goes according to plan and the Phillies climb back into contention, the medical staff will be the real MVP.

The Phillies in 2014?

In my “keeper” fantasy baseball league (I KNOW, nobody cares about your fantasy team — trust me, I’m going somewhere with this one), my fellow owners and I have to think not only about this year, but the years ahead.

For example, we have two annual prospect drafts of two rounds (although unlike the real world, we can trade draft picks) and unlimited “prospect” spots. So you can hop on someone like superubermegaprospect Bryce Harper (whom I traded for this offseason) and when he hits the bigs, keep him at a very low salary.

Anywho, all this preparation I’m doing for the upcoming season (yes, I’m the returning champ for the first time in 17 seasons) got me thinkin’ about my Phillies and their future.

Baseball America posts (for free) their analysis of each team’s minor league organization and top 10 prospects. But one of the fun things they do is try to project the 2014 lineup:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2011/2611043.html

Let’s discuss those 2014 Phillies, shall we? (Except for Manager, all other names are the BA predicted starters.)

 

MANAGER = Ryne Sandberg. This is MY prediction, based on nothing but unbelievably brilliant insight. And the fact that he’s the Phillies’ AAA manager this year, and Charlie Manuel probably will be hanging up his lineup-fillin’ pencil right about then.

CATCHER = Sebastian Valle is the guy that BA lists as the starter. And I defer to the guys like @phuturephillies on Twitter who are way into the Phils’ minors, as well as my top-secret fantasy resource (the founder’s name rhymes with Blon Blandler for those of you “in the know”) who has him as an 8D — meaning he’s an 8 out of 10 talent-wise, but right now a D (A being most likely to fulfill his potential) when it comes to hopefully developing.

1B = Ryan  Howard will be 35 in 2014. So he should still be solid and hitting bombs, although power hitters generally start to fade in their mid-30s. If he keeps himself in shape, he’ll be serviceable defensively and probably still hitting 30-40 HR. I’m wondering if he gets dealt somehow to the AL to become a DH by this point though.

2B = Chase Utley will be 36 in 2014. Another guy who will need to stay in shape, especially if he wants to stay in the physically demanding middle infield. He’d be the easy choice to slide to 1B if Howard was sent to DH-land.

3B = Placido Polanco will be 39 in 2014. I can’t imagine that he’ll be the everyday 3B. Gotta believe that there’s somebody in the low minors who will develop by then. If not, yikes. Or we go get David Wright as a free agent, as some bloggers/Twitterers have predicted. He’d better re-establish his value in 2011 for me to get on board with that.

SS = Jimmy Rollins will be 36 in 2014. But if 2011 is anything like 2010, Jimmy will be a backup or something else. Doubtful he’ll have the wheels/athleticism to stick there. BA mentions infield prospect Freddy Galvis as being the “best defensive infielder” and having the “best infield arm,” so I’m hopeful he develops with the bat and can take over by then.

LF = Jonathan Singleton is BA”s choice here. Which means that Jonny Boy, a 1B by trade, will have to make the transition to the outfield if Howard or Utley is at 1B. And with a developing bat like J-Sing (made that up myself, like it?) has, he’s a keeper.

CF = Shane Victorino will be 34 in 2014. Probably slower, probably still playing super-hard. But maybe more of a 4th OF at that point. Especially since the Phils have young speedster Jiwan James working his way up the ladder. BA has JJ listed as “best defensive outfielder,” “fastest baserunner” and “best athlete.”

RF = Dominic Brown will be peaking at that magical “age 27” year in 2014. Hopefully, the Phils don’t mess up with the kid in 2011 after a 2010 season in which he came up and mostly sat — which doesn’t exactly help you become a better player. (I should know — look up my college stats.)

FUN DOM BROWN FACT = His middle name is Larun.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/browndo01.shtml

Anyway, love me some Dom Brown. Especially in 2014.

 

STARTING PITCHING: This was pre-Cliff Lee signing, so BA had Halladay/Hamels/Oswalt/Brody Colvin/Jarred Cosart as the 2014 starting five. Quick hits:

Halladay = All hail King Leroy. He will only stop dominating when he WANTS to stop dominating. Yeah, he’ll be 37. But he’ll be pitching on pure genius, and will take whatever’s left physically and make it sing.

Hamels = He’ll be 34. No biggie. Most lefties age well, and hanging around Halladay/Oswalt/Cliffie should smarten him up and make him effective for many years.

Oswalt = Like the “other” Roy, he’ll be 37. Again, genius. No worries here.

Clifton Phifer Lee = Will clearly be in this spot at age 36. And likely dominating. (Jeez, this exercise is REALLY making me crazyexcited about 2010!)

Colvin/Cosart = BA has Cosart has having the “best fastball.” Always a good sign. Gotta believe that either of these kids (or both), would benefit from being around R2C2, the Fab Four, the Phab Phour, or whatever they end up being called.

BULLPEN: Probably one of the hardest things to predict, since most bullpens are very volatile. BA thinks Ryan Madson will be the closer, and many agree that’s where he’s headed. The cool thing is that with the starting spots locked up for at least a few years, the Phils could turn some of the good young arms they have into power relievers and really have a strong corps.

Anyway, all things considered, it will be interesting to see how things develop as the core of this team gets older. Most experts agree that the current prospects in the low minors will be ready to start taking over around 2013 or 2014, so this roster could be WAY different than it appears above.

This was Phun! (Sorry.)

Catcher	Sebastian Valle
First Base	Ryan Howard
Second Base	Chase Utley
Third Base	Placido Polanco
Shortstop	Jimmy Rollins
Left Field	Jonathan Singleton
Center Field	Shane Victorino
Right Field	Domonic Brown
No. 1 Starter	Roy Halladay
No. 2 Starter	Cole Hamels
No. 3 Starter	Roy Oswalt
No. 4 Starter	Brody Colvin
No. 5 Starter	Jarred Cosart
Closer	Ryan Madson

Great weekend

Not in order…
–Had Skype video calls with my parents and grandparents, then with my youngest bro and sis-in-law.
–Assembled the girls’ highchairs.
–Cleared out a bunch of boxes from the office to be recycled.
–Sorted out clothes, including some very old but still usable business suits to be donated. (Very hard to remember the days of wearing a suit to work.)

Tonight, Norah was fussin’ after we put her to bed. Shannon went to check her, and she was on her tummy and facing the mirror at the opposite end of her crib. She was trying to inchworm her way to the gorgeous face she saw in the mirror! Full-on crawling can’t be far behind…yikes!

Oh, and the Phillies clobbered L.A. Funny that while that’s awesome, near-crawling is what makes my heart leap now.

LiveBlog: Phils/Dodgers, NLCS Game 5

10:39 p.m.: Too much in my head right now. Will get back to you tomorrow. PHILS RULE!

10:38 p.m.: Catch that pop-up, son, and here we go to the World Series!

10:35 p.m.: NOMAH!

10:34 p.m.: Victorino just plays him some centerfield. Two outs.

10:32 p.m.: C’mon Brad, get ‘er done. There’s an out, flyball to Victorino.

10:25 p.m.: Bottom 9, here comes Lidge.

10:24 p.m.: Ryan Howard’s swing is back. And it is sweet.

10:19 p.m.: We are an inning away.

10:04 p.m.: Blog break.

10:02 p.m.: Has everybody/anybody noticed Tim Allen in the 1st row behind home plate? I wonder if his agent called him: “Timmy, bubbeleh, I’m getting you some TV time. Here’s tickets to the Dodgers game.”

9:59 p.m.: I’m always freaked out when these DirecTV commercials have the same actor, just like 25 years later, “breaking the fourth wall” while re-enacting a scene from their movie. Craig T. Nelson’s “hair” just isn’t convincing.

9:55 p.m.: Shut up, Kent. It was a strike. You’re old and you suck and nobody likes you.

9:52 p.m.: Leaving Hamels in here with 1st and 2nd, 2 outs and Kent up in the bottom of the 7th. Hope you know what you’re doing, Uncle Cholly.

9:45 p.m.: Shane Victorino’s defense is still awesome. Great catch, thanks to great speed and instincts.

9:44 p.m.: Oh, by the way, Cole Hamels has been awesome.

9:43 p.m.: Shane Victorino’s defense is awesome.

9:42 p.m.: Eric Bruntlett’s beard is awesome.

9:38 p.m.: Read somebody writing today about how the Fox computer-generated strike zone is “showing up” the umpires and how lousy and inconsistent they are. I can’t wait for the day when umpiring is a computerized science.

9:36 p.m.: Here they are:

ShutUpTimMcCarver.com

BobFinnan.com/TimMcCarver/

9:33 p.m.: McCarver comparing a Presidential debate to a debate over balls and strikes between a ballplayer and an umpire. Meant to be slightly tongue-in-cheek, I’m sure, but just lame and stupid and unnecessary. Where is that IHateTimMcCarver Web site anyway?

9:33 p.m.: They’re replaying Rafael Furcal’s three errors, all in one inning. Wow.

9:32 p.m.: Oh, guess the debate is over. I’ll read a transcript tomorrow morning or something.

9:31 p.m.: Martin still in the game, behind the plate. Wonder if the ump will hold a grudge – he should.

9:29 p.m.: TOSS HIM! Russell Martin is arguing balls and strikes! That’s against the rules, son! He’s got to be ejected, umpire! I call Shenanigans!

9:26 p.m.: Big deal, Manny homers. He’s another one playing for a contract. It’s only a solo bomb. 5-1.

9:24 p.m.: Subjective journalism alerts: FOX desperately wanted L.A. to win this game. Tim McCarver is terrifically stupid. I loved how early on, one of the pitchers was about to throw, and McCarver says something like “here you’ve GOT to throw a curveball,” and the guy throws a 92 MPH fastball.

9:23 p.m.: Pat Burrell, playing for a new fat contract, makes a really good running catch. Phils up 5-0 in the bottom of the 6th. Is this some kind of weird dream?

One game away!

UPDATED THOUGHT: How the heck DO you pitch to Manny Ramirez???

After the Phillies’ thrilling victory over the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLCS, I had a bunch of thoughts:

–Pat Gillick did make some really smart moves. Shane Victorino? Taken in the Rule 5 draft a few years back from – you guessed it – the Dodgers. Matt Stairs? They got him for a crappy lefthanded reliever in a deal that nobody noticed about a month ago.

–Shane Victorino continues to earn my platonic love by being Mr. Clutch. Good power for a little guy. He’s like Lenny Dykstra (circa 1993) without the disgusting chewing tobacco and steroids.

–Game 5 is on against the 3rd and final Presidential debate. Guess I’ll be missing out on the politics. However, I’m sure that CNN, MSNBC, Fox, CNBC, and whoever else will replay it. Or I’ll just YouTube the highlights.

–Hamels vs. Billingsley in Game 5. My man Cole is already a
legend; this could cement it.

–Holy Crap, it was 15 years ago that I stood in my college dorm room, wondering why Mitch Williams was still in the game, with that sick-to-my-stomach feeling that Joe Carter was going to take him downtown.

–IF we win, who would I rather play in the World Series? Even without Manny, Boston is a juggernaut, but they’ve looked kinda weak against Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay has a lot of great young talent, but would they be able to withstand the pressure of the World Series? TB’s manager, Joe Maddon, is supposed to be some kind of genius, so that might not be an issue.

Boston is an interesting story because former Phils manager Terry Francona is their skipper. The only other real Phils/Sox connection is Paul Byrd, who resides in Boston’s bullpen as a long reliever. J.C. Romero was a Red Sox, but that’s not much to build a rivalry.

I don’t think Tampa Bay holds a grudge over the Kevin Stocker-for-Bobby Abreu supreme ripoff trade that the Phillies did with TB years ago, and there’s no real connection other than Rays’ reliever Trever Miller pitching like 10 games for the Phillies 8 years ago.

The networks would probably love a BOS/PHI matchup because of the two major cities involved, but I think the more compelling series (and probably more winnable series for the Phillies) is TB/PHI.

LiveBlog: Phils/Dodgers, NLCS Game 3

10:21 p.m.: Oh well. This was pretty much a “must-win” for L.A., and I didn’t really think this would be an easy series for the Phils. See you tomorrow night for Game 4!

10:20 p.m.: Huge Jonathan Broxton is the Dodgers’ closer. He’s allegedly something like 6’6″, 290 and throws about 99MPH. I had him in one of my fantasy leagues. I’m sure being in the NLCS (and possibly the World Series, though I hope not) will drive up his “price.”

10:17 p.m.: Sharp Aquos, that’s who it is.

10:14 p.m.: I hate that creepy “physicist” guy in the commercials for Sony or Visio or whatever TV manufacturer it is. He looks like Florence Henderson, if she were a tall college professor with that “prematurely white hair” look.

10:09 p.m.: Are you serious? The best celebrities (after Tiger Woods) that L.A. can turn out for this game are Mary Hart and Pat Sajak? I saw Henry “The Fonz” Winkler in a super-box, but I think I read somewhere he’s a Phillies fan. And the guys from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” were uncharacteristically lame in doing the Phillies’ lineup at the beginning of the broadcast. (It was “Mac” and Danny DeVito.)

10:03 p.m.: Not sure if I’ve mentioned it for a while, but I intensely dislike Tim McCarver as a “color commentator.”

10:02 p.m.: Of course, the chances of a comeback this large in the 9th inning must be astronomical.

9:49 p.m.: Never mind. We can’t even throw out Russell Martin stealing a base – and he’s been hit by a pitch like three times tonight. This game is 97% lost cause. I only give the Phils that 3% because there was that one time…(flashback alert)…

It was June 8, 1989. I was experiencing my first bout of major disease (undiagnosed at the time), and had missed the last several months of school. I couldn’t even sit up with my legs over the edge of a chair or couch.

I remember being on the couch in the living room, watching the Phillies give up 10 runs in the first inning to the Pirates. Yep, 10-0 in the 1st. Grandpop Morey was there, and he gave his usual “man, they suck” look. And with my insanely annoying optimism, I said, “you watch, they’ll come back.”

And oddly enough, they did. They won 15-11, after getting 2 runs in the 1st, 3rd and 4th, they got 4 in the 6th and 5 in the 8th to get the W. That was also the game when one of the Pirates broadcasters (Steve Blass?) said there was no way they would lose, and that he’d walk back to Pittsburgh if they did. (And he did it at a later date, as a charity event.)

9:27 p.m.: So we’re maybe starting to chip away at the lead…7-2, men on, no outs. If by some miracle we come back, this series will be ours.

9:26 p.m.: Been busy – bathroom break (reading Hary Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and then doing the cat litter. Yes, it’s a charmed life. 😉

8:50 p.m.: Shane Victorino was absolutely right. You wanna retaliate, just hit me in the arm, the butt, the leg. You go huntin’ my head, and that’s not right.

8:34 p.m.: I swear. One more commercial with Frank Calliendo or the GEICO Cavemen, and I will kill something.

8:28 p.m.: I still feel bad for Jamie Moyer. He just couldn’t get it done tonight, but he’s still aces in my book.

8:25 p.m.: I can’t believe it’s 6-1. It’s not insurmountable, but with Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard not hitting AT ALL, it doesn’t look good. Hope the bullpen can hold the Dodgers.

8:23 p.m.: Screw you, Manny Ramirez. Your beef should be with your wimpy pitchers who don’t retaliate by throwing at the opposing team. I, and so many Red Sox fans, would have loved to see Ryan Howard beat the snot out of you.

ALL TIMES CENTRAL.

Random Ramblin’s: Goodbye, Earth?

When Stephen Hawking says we ought to start thinking about getting off of Planet Earth, it might be time to listen.

Check it out here: Cosmos

I realized a little while ago that the only, single, solitary place that a person can write and be “published” without censorship is a blog. OK, maybe if you self-publish a book, you can count that too.

This morning at work, I went into the bathroom and to put it mildly, it reeked. I was washing my hands when another guy walked in, apparently took a whiff, turned and left. So I’m thinking, do I chase after him, yelling “That wasn’t me!” or just let it go? I let it go. We’re only in this office until the spring anyway.

Facebook is nuts. I’m re-friending all kinds of people from elementary school all the way up through college and previous jobs. It’s really cool to see what people are up to.

I do fear the Phillies/Dodgers series, but I’m hoping that the Phillies’ pitching will step up – and the big bats (Utley and Howard) come alive.

It rained on the DFW Metroplex today. First time in like 2.5 weeks. Rest of the week’s forecast is like 81 and sunny every day. Simply awesome. It’s really nice to be in a climate in which you truly feel at home.

So it’s going to cost each of us personally $2,300 to bail out Wall Street. Is that going to come off the top of my income taxes or what?

I’m not going to get all political here, but I’m disappointed in the tactics being used in the electoral campaigns. I had hoped, given the two candidates in the running, that we might have had an actual, rational discourse on the issues instead of attack ads and snarky comments.

I wonder if fast-food employees ever feel bad when they have to ask if a morbidly obese person wants to enlarge/super-size their order, and they say yes. I suppose they have to look at it as a personal choice that that person is making.

I take a total of 9 pills a day, consisting of both medications and vitamins. Sadly, none of them endow me with superpowers.

Speaking of…Heroes is on tonight. And there’s the usual round of people saying “oh, it sucks” and “it’s not as good as it used to be” or my personal favorite: “season one rocked, season two sucked and this one is just blah so far.” I kind of agree, but I’m just an easier person to please I guess. I think that most things that are “cool” at one point are inevitably overanalyzed and then found to be “uncool.” Yeah, there are storylines that each of us might not like, but at least there are several other intriguing ones at the same time.

Later.

“Subjective” Analysis: Phillies vs. Brewers

OK, tomorrow at some ridiculous time in the afternoon (hello? working people here?), my Phillies (92-70) will take on the Milwaukee Brewers (90-72) in Game 1 of their National League Divisional Series matchup.

Let’s go through the lineups and see who’s better:

CATCHER

PHI: Carlos Ruiz/Chris Coste

MIL: Jason Kendall

ANALYSIS: Ruiz’s bat was awful this year, but not much worse than the veteran Kendall. I don’t know if Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel would even think of putting the superior-hitting Coste in there…I doubt it. Call this one a TIE because neither side inspires confidence offensively or defensively.

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FIRST BASE

PHI: Ryan Howard

MIL: Prince Fielder

ANALYSIS: Both incredibly powerful young men capable of hitting the ball a country mile. (Still not sure if that’s longer than a regular mile.) Fielder had the higher batting average and less strikeouts, but Howard crushed him in HR and RBI. Gotta say the PHILLIES have the advantage here

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SECOND BASE

PHI: Chase Utley

MIL: Rickie Weeks

ANALYSIS: From a cursory glance, the only thing Weeks is better at statistically than Utley is stolen bases (by 5), and triples (by 3). Oh, and he had two more walks. Utley kills him in everything else, including defense. Advantage: PHILLIES.

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THIRD BASE

PHI: Pedro Feliz

MIL: Bill Hall

ANALYSIS: Offensively, yeesh. Feliz gets the nod because Hall just imploded as a hitter, and Feliz has a bit more pop. Defensively, Feliz is WAY better. One more for the PHILLIES.

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SHORTSTOP

PHI: Jimmy Rollins

MIL: J.J. Hardy

ANALYSIS: Always tough to be objective when you “own” someone on your fantasy team. I have Hardy, who was stellar this year. But Rollins steals more, is more of a sparkplug for the offense, and is probably the better defender. Yet again, PHILLIES.

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LEFT FIELD

PHI: Pat Burrell

MIL: Ryan Braun

ANALYSIS: I still don’t know what to think of Pat the Bat. At times, he’s looked like an awesomely talented hitter; the rest of the time, he flails at pitches like he’s hammered on Jager-bombs. Braun is also awesomely talented, but hasn’t had the craptacular slumps that ol’ Patty has. Finally, the first true BREWERS advantage.

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CENTER FIELD

PHI: Shane Victorino

MIL: Mike Cameron

ANALYSIS: The Flyin’ Hawaiian does a little bit of everything – he’s got some pop, great speed, good arm, and his last name sounds like a nice dish at a quaint Italian restaurant. (I’ll have the Pollo Victorino with the red sauce, please.) Mike Cameron does three things well – hits for power, steals bases and plays great defense. However, his batting average has never been over .273 (career average = .250), he strikes out way too much and his on-base percentage is kind of meager (.331). This is a close one, but I’ve got to go with the PHILLIES here.

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RIGHT FIELD
PHI: Jayson Werth

MIL: Corey Hart

ANALYSIS: Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Werth gets bonus points for having an extra “Y” in his name, and Hart gets bonus points for having the same name as the genius who brought us “I Wear My Sunglasses At Night.” Now that that’s taken care of, let’s get down to business. Each guy had a 20HR/20SB season, but Werth had a better batting average, MUCH better on-base percentage, and did it in 20 less games. I’m really intrigued to see what Werth will do with a full season next year. In the meantime, this one goes to the PHILLIES.

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STARTING PITCHER

PHI: Cole Hamels/Brett Myers/Jamie Moyer/Joe Blanton

MIL: Yovani Gallardo/CC Sabathia/Jeff Suppan/Dave Bush (Ben Sheets is out – hurt)

ANALYSIS: Cole Hamels is just plain awesome, and I’ve blogged about him previously. Come to think of it, I just blogged about Moyer too. Myers is an enigma, putting aside his tumultuous and contemptible personal life. He totally sucked for the first chunk of the season, went to the minors, and came back to pitch great. He faltered near the end of the season, though. Blanton is a big roly-poly dude who keeps the ball down – which is helpful at Citizens Bank Park.

On the other side, Gallardo is one of those “who’s he?” young guys who always kill the Phillies. Sabathia is crazygood. The other guys are journeymen veterans who are serviceable at best (another kind of guy who kills the Phils).

Put it all together, and if Hamels and Sabathia cancel each other out, it’s actually pretty even. There may be a slight edge to the Phils in reality, but I’m going to have to go with a TIE.

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RELIEF PITCHER

PHI: Brad Lidge/Ryan Madson/J.C. Romero/Chad Durbin/Clay Condrey/J.A. Happ/Scott Eyre

MIL: Salomon Torres/Eric Gagne/David Riske/Carlos Villanueva/Brian Shouse/Seth McClung

ANALYSIS: NL Comeback Player of the Year Brad Lidge leads a very strong bullpen – one that is given a lot of credit for the Phils’ success in 2008. (In fact, it’s the Phils’ good bullpen and the Mets’ lousy one that probably made the difference in each team’s fate this year.) Torres had a torrid second half as closer, until the final month when he probably tired. The rest of the Milwaukee ‘pen is a mixed bag – not a lot of big strikeout arms, but they’ve been mostly solid. Still, if a Phillies starter goes seven, it’s Madson, Lidge and lights out. I’m not sure the Brew Crew can look at their bullpen with such confidence. The vote goes to the PHILLIES.

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BENCH

PHI: Greg Dobbs/Matt Stairs/Geoff Jenkins/Eric Bruntlett/So Taguchi/Coste (see Catchers above)

MIL: Craig Counsell/Gabe Kapler/Russell Branyan/Ray Durham/Joe Dillon

ANALYSIS: This one is too close to call, seriously. Dobbs and Kapler had great seasons off the bench, there are some other valuable pieces on each side (Jenkins’ and Stairs’ pop, Taguchi’s speed, Branyan’s pop, Durham’s and Counsell’s experience, etc.). Phils might have an advantage, but it’s slight, so I’ll call it a TIE in case I’m biased. (Ha!)

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MANAGER

PHI: Charlie Manuel

MIL: Dale Sveum

ANALYSIS: Say what you (or I) will about Manuel being an inconsistent in-game manager or a could-be-better press conference-giver, he gets his boys to play hard, play well, and win ballgames. Hard to critique Sveum since he’s only been the manager for like a month – but all reports from trusted sources (ESPN) say that the players dig him. And he did guide them to the postseason, which is more that can be said for Jerry Manuel and his Mets. Still, experience and long-term results give the advantage here to the PHILLIES.

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FINAL SCORE: Phillies 8, Brewers 1, three ties.

Bring on the Cubs?

Philly to phly?

In the past week or so, two Philadelphia sports teams have done big things in their attempts to build contenders. (This goes against everything Philadelphia.)

The 76ers signed free agent power forward Elton Brand away from the Los Angeles Clippers, who had hoped to keep him (and are mad at Brand’s agent for allegedly sketchy tactics). Brand will give you 20 points and 10 rebounds a night, and is a bona fide star player to go along with budding star swingman Andre Iguodala, steady point guard Andre Miller and a good core of young guys.

Just like that, the 76ers are a contender. (Of course, it only cost like $82 million.)

And tonight, the Phillies made the best possible trade they could make at the moment. They sent three prospects (two pretty good ones and a question mark guy) to the Oakland Athletics for starting pitcher Joe Blanton.

Reasons to like Blanton:

He’s only 27, he “eats innings” (pitches a lot), he’s durable, he has pretty good control (which he’ll need in the homerun-happy Citizens Bank Park), and he’s coming to the National League – where he’ll get to face pitchers instead of designated hitters. That’s a big help for one’s ERA.

He may not be CC Sabathia (who was the best available pitcher until Milwaukee got him in a trade from Cleveland), but I think he’s less risky than A.J. Burnett of Toronto and Erik Bedard of Seattle (both of whom were rumored to be in the Phillies; sights).

Will these moves guarantee a championship or two? No. But at least they’re trying. (That’s a new one for us.)

P.S.: Just picked up Blanton for my “money” fantasy team. He’s 5-12, so it figured that he was available.