Phillies Offense Goes on Halladay- May Need More Than a Doc

Ryan Howard stared back at the umpire wondering how he could call a 3-2 pitch right down the middle of the plate with 2-out in the bottom of the 9^th could be called a strike. Howard looked like Mickey Rivers trying to work a walk in 1978 rather than one of the most feared power hitters in the game; it was as though Howard was wishing he could walk so he didn’t have to be “the man”. Matter of fact, many of the Phillies looked befuddled and bewildered against the Giants pitching as San Francisco eliminated the 2-time defending NL Champions in 6 games sending the Phillies into a winter of questions.

The Phillies prided themselves on developing their own players while winning the 2008 World Series largely with a group of homegrown talent including Howard, Utley, Rollins and pitching star Cole Hamels. As is the case with winning it can become addictive thus the Phillies spent much of the past two-years gutting their farm system in search of the next World title.

Unfortunately for the Phils, destiny was not on their side and instead of heading into 2011 with a 2^nd World Championship in 3-years; they are left with $143mm of committed payroll for next year. Due to their bloated payroll there is a fairly good chance that All-Star RF Jayson Werth will leave via free agency and be replaced by the organization’s best prospect, Dominic Brown. This will leave an already imbalanced left-handed lineup even more imbalanced and susceptible to left-handed pitching. (Bruce Bochey exposed that weakness in the NLCS)

While Cole Hamels hadn’t even approached his pitching prime, the Phils have two star pitchers making more than $32 mm annually combined in Halladay and Oswalt who are approaching their mid-30s. The Phillies also have age in left-field with Raul Ibanez and at 3B with Placido Palanco. In other words, there are needs to be addressed but no immediate help coming from below; why is that?

In the summer of 2009 in their pursuit of Cliff Lee, the Phillies traded a lot of good prospects to Cleveland, this in and of itself was not a bad thing because Lee propelled the Phils to the NL Title. However in their quest for Roy Halladay last off-season, the Phillies traded many of their best prospects to Toronto. Then, rather than holding onto Lee for 2010 and then allowing him to walk after this season thereby getting two sandwich picks between the first and second round of the draft in return; the Phillies traded Lee to Seattle to restock their farm system. The basket of prospects returned from Seattle for Lee was nowhere near the quality that was sent to Toronto for Halladay.

In the summer of 2010, going for the title this year, the Phillies then traded another boatload of picks to Houston for Roy Oswalt and assumed the last two-years of his bloated contract in the process. What does all this mean? Well, what it means to me is that next year the Phillies will contend for the NL East title once again but the organization has a lot of mending to do down on the farm as they have gutted a lot of their system over the past two-years. Couple the preceding, with the $143mm payroll for 2011 already committed to and in place along with the aging cast of core players, and it’s not a stretch to see the Phillies slide back toward mediocrity in 2012 and beyond- a place the organization should be quite comfortable with given their 125 year history.

Chargers and Cowboys- All Too Familiar

I just got done watching the San Diego Chargers turn the ball over four times and still have a chance at a 45 yard field goal to tie the game vs. New England which would have sent the contest into overtime. However, as poor teams do, the Chargers were called for a false start which added 5 yards to the attempt which Kris Brown proceeded to miss wide right by the width of a football thus San Diego is now 2-5.

As usual the Chargers out gained the opponent, which is as sure a thing as Lindsey Lohan abusing drugs, but they lost the two most important statistics in football, the turnover battle (0-4) and the scoreboard (20-23). This game got me to thinking about all the commonality between the San Diego Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys thus I thought I would review it with you.

Each team has a Pro Bowl quarterback, Phillip Rivers and Tony Romo, each team has a capable set of running backs, each team has perennial Pro Bowl Tight Ends, Antonio Gates and Jason Witten, game breaking WRs- that’s a check and very talented defenses. Hell, the Cowboys probably have the game’s best defensive player in DeMarcus Ware, their All-Pro Linebacker.

After going through the litany above, one must be wondering how is San Diego 2-5 and Dallas 1-4 staring 1-5 squarely in the eye tomorrow night vs. the NY Giants? The answer to the preceding is quite simple; the biggest commonality between these teams which renders all the talent above relatively useless is that each has a weak head coach that would be an excellent coordinator but neither is a leader of men. Norv Turner, in San Diego, cut his teeth with Jimmy Johnson’s Cowboys dynasty of the 90s as an offensive coordinator. Turner is one of the most creative offensive minds in the game; he’s also a pushover that allows his team to make dumb mistake after dumb mistake without consequences. San Diego has had one of the league’s most talented teams for the past five or six years yet every year they come up just a bit short.

Wade Phillips heads the Cowboys and like Turner, he is a great coordinator- only he is a defensive guru. Matter of fact, when he was in San Diego with Turner’s predecessor Marty Schottenheimer, Phillips put together one of the best defenses in the league but again the Cowboys continually fall short of expectations despite having a roster littered with Pro Bowlers and All-Pros. Like their cousins in San Diego, Dallas usually does themselves in with penalties and turnovers at the worst of times. Like the Chargers there really isn’t any consequences for the players thus they continue to make the same mistakes and wonder why they “have such bad luck” as I read a quote from Marcus Spears in this week’s paper.

Luck doesn’t go around looking for stumble bums as legendary Texas coach Darryl Royal once said; you make your own luck or bad luck as is the case with these franchises. In a league where the games are close every week and the talent is fairly distributed throughout the league, one cannot underestimate the importance of a great coach, not only a solid X and O guy but a leader of men. The Chargers and Cowboys lack this element and will continue to fall short of their expectations until they change this.

As a Cowboys fan, I have more confidence in San Diego hiring a good coach because owner Alex Spanos is solid and GM A.J. Smith is one of the most shrewd executives in the game. The Cowboys are so organizationally dysfunctional right now with the “everything revolves around me” world of Jerry Jones that they make the Menendez family look like the Brady Bunch. With Wade Phillips on his way out after this season, I would be less suprised if Jerry Jones hired China Phillips before I ever see Bill Cowher patrolling the Dallas sideline.

10-22-10 Free MLB Pick

Over 9 - NY Yankees at Texas

I have no idea who is going to win game 6 tonight in this series but I do believe that both teams will light up the scoreboard. Phil Hughes has been awful lately for the Yankees and I am not a big believer in Colby Lewis, Texas' starter. Take the over 9 in this game.

Prediction: Texas 7 Ny Yankees 5

TV's Funniest Reality Show

Did you ever find a TV show that you can’t get enough of whether it be a drama, a reality series or a comedy? I have found one that airs every Sunday, sometimes Monday, for about 3-hours; it’s a reality based comedy known as the 2010 Dallas Cowboys.

In last week’s episode, the Cowboys played at home vs. Tennessee, our heroes from Dallas had a QB throw for more than 350 yards, a running back top the 100 yard mark, a WR caught 169 yards of passes, the NFL’s best defensive player DeMarcus Ware recorded 2 sacks and they outgained the evil foe from Tennessee by over 200 yards as they amassed 500+ yards of offense. This is pretty good right? Well the Cowboys lost that game, 34-27.

In this week’s episode the Cowboys took the show to Minnesota and outgained the Vikings 314-188 yards, recorded 3 sacks to 0 for Minnesota yet they lost 24-21. Matter of fact, the Cowboys records stands at 1-4 despite outgaining all 5 of their opponents this season. You may ask how does that happen?

It happens when you have an undisciplined team headed by an egomaniacal owner who hires a head coach that acts more like a nanny than a professional football coach. Admittedly I was wrong to even defend Jerry Jones with friends of mine. You heard it there I said it, I was wrong. Jerry Jones could be the best owner in the NFL but he will never achieve that title as long as he wants to be GM of the Cowboys while continuing to usurp authority from his head coach. Where have you ever seen the owner of a team being quoted immediately after a game in the locker-room other than when the owner’s team has just captured the league championship? Well, this event happens weekly in Dallas with Jerry Jones and his postgame remarks.

The problem with most egomaniacs is that it’s never about the team as much as it is about them. Sure, if the team does well that’s great but what’s more important to the egomaniac is them getting their “due” for what is happening and their own glorification. It is this very problem which ironically keeps Jerry Jones from achieving his ultimate goal of bringing another World Title to Dallas for his Cowboys.

The preceding then leads the owner to hire a head coach, Wade Phillips, who is a solid football man but not a leader of men. (Yes, I apologize to friends to whom I previously defended Wade Phillips with) Phillips makes losing too comfortable so much so that DE Marcus Spears recently commented that “it was more uncomfortable around here after a win with Parcells than it is after a loss with Wade”. Hint: that’s not a good thing!

In the Tennessee game former Pro Bowl Guard Leonard Davis was benched for poor play. To his credit after the game Davis admitted that he basically stunk and should have been benched but not wanting his player to “feel bad”, Phillips immediately came to the rescue to say that Davis would be right back in the starting line-up vs. Minnesota because “he’s a Pro Bowl player”. What does it say about a coach who can’t even let a player criticize himself?

The Cowboys are in the top 3 in the NFL in penalties right there with Detroit and Oakland which is never a good thing. This version of the Dallas Cowboys is a broken mess that spent too much time this off-season dreaming of playing the Super Bowl in their own stadium rather than looking for ways to improve as individuals and as a team, they have nobody to blame but themselves and their owner with the bigger than Texas-size ego.

Whether you like the Cowboys or not, you have to watch this circus and laugh because it’s funny. Jerry Jones fretting in his luxury box as the game comes down to the wire knowing that somewhere along the line his offensive coordinator will dial up a dumb play or his QB will throw a key interception. His coach, looking like Captain Kangaroo (my apologies for insulting the Captain) prancing around on the sidelines as if he just found out that they cancelled the postgame meal. None the less, it makes for fun every Sunday even for a fan like me as I try to enjoy the laugh otherwise I would cry.

Free College Football Picks for October 16th, 2010

First Set of Games

Top Plays

Pittsburgh -3 ( Should be in double figures)
Over 49 , Michigan State and Illinois
Michigan +3.5
Arkansas +3.5
Nebraska -10

Can't Favre Just Go Away

Brett Favre is one of the NFL's all-time great QBs; however he had now become a caricature of himself. The latest in the Favre saga is an allegation that he "sexually harassed" a female employee of the NY Jets by sending her text messages and pictures of his "junk". Of course the allegations could be without merit but at this point Favre has generated far more buzz off the field than on it, on balance, over the last three seasons.

What has become evident, at least to me, over the past three years is that Favre is not some "good ole" country boy just looking to play some ball; I believe that he is a narcissist of epic proportions that is able to get away with his illness because of that slow southern drawl. Brett Favre is a guy who should have quit three years ago when he threw the pick in Lambeau Field that sealed the Packers NFC Title game loss to the Ny Giants.

When I look at Favre, unlike say a Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, I say "what is this guy going to do when he retires?” Favre is not charismatic or articulate enough to get a TV gig- well to be fair that never stopped Darryl "Moose" Johnson from doing games for Fox- thus he is left with the thought of hanging around the house in Mississippi with his wife and kids which obviously isn't good enough for a guy with the ego of Brett Favre.

Sadly, Favre was a great football player, there is no denying that. Rather than remembering Favre throwing TD passes, scrambling around and making plays, we are left to remember him grasping his elbow in pain, limping from his ankle injury suffered in last year's NFC Title game and potentially texting pictures of his genitals to young women. To coin a phrase from a hit song in the 1980s, Brett don't go away mad- just go away.

Predicting the Baseball Playoffs- Round 1

October is upon us and for sports fans this is a great time of year as we get our weekly helping of football sprinkled in with post-season baseball throughout the week. I will take a look at each of the series in the division playoffs and try to predict the winners for you based on having watched a lot of baseball throughout the year.

Texas Rangers vs Tampa Bay Rays

This is probably the toughest of the opening round series for me to get a handle on. I like the Texas offense much better than Tampa’s but Texas struggles on the road and Tampa has home field advantage. Each team has an elite left-hander going in the first game with Cliff Lee from Texas opposing David Price from Tampa. Ultimately though, I think the Texas offense will put a little more pressure on Tampa than Tampa will put on Texas. I also like the Texas bullpen as they run power arm after power arm out of that pen. If Hamilton is close to healthy then Texas is a dangerous team. Rangers in 5 games.

New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins

I believe this may be the best draw for the Yankees because the Twins have less starting pitching than the Yankees right now. Yes, CC Sabathia is a stud but who do you trust for the Yankees beyond Sabathia; young Phil Hughes? Petite is coming off an injury, Burnett and Vasquez are “rag” arms and Nova is a kid. Minnesota, beyond first game starter Liriano, is a train wreck. I mean do you really want your post-season hopes resting with Carl Pavano?

I am banking on the Yankee line-up and pedigree to carry the day in this series but I think it could go 5 games. Yankees in 4 games.

Cincinnati Reds vs Philadelphia Phillies

Right now it’s hard to go against the Phillies starting pitching with Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels but their bullpen remains a huge question mark. Of course, if the starters go deep into the games it mitigates the weakness in the bullpen. The Phillies line-up is a feast or feminine type of batting order in that when they are hot, they are all hot together and the team will score 8, 9 and 10 runs a game. However, when the Phillies go cold, they can go really cold.

The Reds are the feel good story of this season but don’t sleep on their line-up as Joey Votto should probably win the NL MVP, Scott Rolen is healthy and mashing again while Brandon Phillips is just a really good offensive player. However, I don’t like the Reds starting rotation with Volquez, Arroyo and Cueto. It’s not that these guys are bad pitchers; it’s just that they are not outstanding pitchers. Ultimately the Phillies have too much pitching for the Reds. Phillies in 4 games.

Atlanta Braves vs San Francisco Giants

Bobby Cox is managing his last post-season with the Braves as he is calling it quits after this season. Cox is a great manager but I don’t know if he can overcome the injuries that have befallen his Braves. Martin Prado is out for the season, Chipper Jones isn’t around; he has a real challenge on his hands.

Granted, Cox can rely on his pitching but the problem is that San Francisco’s pitching is better. The Giants run out Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Jonathon Sanchez- that is a deep rotation and it is coupled with an outstanding bullpen. However, the Giants are offensively challenged which will make this series competitive regardless of the Braves injuries. Ultimately I am going with the home field advantage in this series but in a very tight, low scoring series. Giants in 5 games.

Enjoy the post-season, we’ll see how these picks come out and cover the ALCS and NLCS when the time comes.

Free Sports Picks for Saturday, October 2nd

After our last successful post, I am back to give you 4 great Saturday picks to start your day off right so you can have a great night tonight.

Pick Number One: Ohio State
The Buckeyes have been looking like a national championship contending team all season so far. I don't see too much trouble covering this spread today against a much weaker Illinois team. Although it is a conference match up, I do not see this being much of a battle. Buckeyes -17

Pick Number Two: Florida State -7 (buy the hook)
Pick Number Three: Miami Fl -3 (buy the hook)
Pick Number 4: Michigan -10 ( don't think the hook will be needed)