Blue Saturday, Green Sunday

Looking Ahead to Phillies/Orioles

2009-06-18T13:18:00.001-04:00

It's just about that weekend again, the one in which my two favorite teams, the Phillies and Orioles, play each other. When that happens, I'm 100% behind the Phillies, but I'm still happy for individual accomplishments by the O's.

Here's my take on the weekend's series:

Matchups:
Friday: Rich Hill vs. Antonio Bastardo
Saturday: Brad Bergesen vs. J.A. Happ
Sunday: Jeremy Guthrie vs. Cole Hamels

I know the basic view is that the Orioles are a terrible team and they do have a bad record, but they are a different kind of terrible (if there is such a thing) than say the Nationals or the Pirates.

For example, the Orioles lineup can be a terror. Given their lineup and the way the Phillies are pitching at home, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the O's put up a 10-spot in at least one of the games this weekend.

For one thing, the top of their order is close to perfectly constructed. Brian Roberts, who switch hits, is an ideal leadoff man, a gap hitter with a high on-base percentage who also can steal bases. Since the Phillies are throwing three lefties this weekend, we'll probably see the Orioles bat Nick Markakis 2nd and Adam Jones 3rd, which they often do against lefties. Against righties, Markakis usually bats third.

Jones has really come into his own this season, with his offensive game catching up to his speed and defense. He is a power and base-stealing threat. Markakis, I don't think anyone here needs to be told about him - he is a legitimate No. 3 hitter who hits for average and power with decent speed.

Aubrey Huff is doing a more than solid job in the cleanup spot, and so with Dave Trembley likely breaking up the lefty duo of Markakis and Huff for this series, I look for the top 4 to do a lot of damage.

The good news is that 5 hitter Melvin Mora is having a poor year and looks like he's on the way down, if not done. But they leave him in the five-hole to again break up the lefties. Former Astro Luke Scott, who usually DHs, is having a strong year batting sixth. The O's may be tempted to use him in left field this series, even though righty batting rookie Nolan Reimold is doing a nice job in left and hitting for solid power. Ty Wigginton also could figure into the LF/Third base picture. He's not having such a hot year.

Then comes rookie catcher Matt Wieters, the super prospect who got off to a very slow start with the batt since being called up. He's a switch hitter with the potential to be as good as Chipper Jones some day, and hit his first homer last night against the Mets. Hopefully, this does not mean he is ready to break out against major league pitching just yet. Look for veteran Gregg Zaun, also a switch-hitter, to catch one of the games - he's not much with the bat these days.

At shortstop, former Marlin Robert Andino is holding down the job with starter Cesar Izturis recovering from an appendectomy. Both are defense-first types.

The Phillies should be able to hit all of the Orioles starters this weekend, so it could be a high-scoring series. Hill, who I'm sure most of you remember from the Cubs, pitches a bit like Randy Wolf - a big slow curve and an average major league fastball. Bergesen is a control guy with average stuff, kind of like Kyle Kendrick, and Guthrie is a stuff guy who tends to underachieve, kind of like Brett Myers pre-2007.

In the bullpen, I think George Sherrill is a very shaky closer. But he's a lefty, which is an advantage against Ryan Howard. The rest of the 'pen is very inconsistent although Danys Baez is having a nice year (split-finger fastball) and Jim Johnson (power fastball) is doing a nice job in set-up.

I think the Phillies would do well to take 2 of 3 here. Consider the Orioles record partly a function of the division they play in - in most other divisions, I think they'd be a .500 team or better. If the O's top four run wild, it will be a long weekend. If the Phillies can contain those guys, then a decent weekend is possible.

One-stop shopping for the Phillies?

2009-06-08T14:14:00.004-04:00

Lately the papers and the broadcasts have been full of speculation about whether the Phillies will or should add a starting pitcher to their team now that Brett Myers is all but certainly out for the season. What gets a lot less mention is that the Phillies also are thin for righthanded hitting off the bench.

Well, what if the Phillies could get maybe the best starting pitcher in baseball and add a valuable, versatile righthanded bat in the process? I'm dreaming, right?

Another thing that's gotten a lot of coverage lately is that the Phillies' farm system is stronger than it's been in a while. Don't believe all the hype - from reviewing the stats for the position players at Lehigh Valley, Reading, Clearwater and Lakewood, beyond Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown, there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of strong offense in the Phillies system right now. There are a few others to keep an eye on, like Aussie third baseman Tim Kennelly and catcher Travis D'Arnaud, a catcher who hit for average last year and is hitting for power but not average this year. Beyond them, we've gotten glimpses of Lou Marson, John Mayberry Jr. and Jason Donald, but going by the numbers, there doesn't appear to be much else among position players.

In the area of young arms, as this past week's revelation in the form of Antonio Bastardo indicates, the picture is much brighter. Kyle Drabek, Joe Savery and Jason Knapp appear to be the big names, with plenty of depth, like Tyler Cloyd and Carlos Monasterios, behind them, particularly at Lakewood.

So should the Phillies just wait for some of these arms to arrive, ala J.A. Happ and Bastardo, and be content with what they can accomplish with what's on hand this year? I say no - this is the defending world champion and appears to be a team that with one or two additions could/should be one of the five or so teams most likely to win it all this year.

Based on the picture at the top of this post, you've probably guessed that I'm talking about trying to trade for Toronto's Roy Halladay, which has been an obsession of mine for quite a while. To be clear, the Blue Jays say their ace is not available. That does not prevent the Phillies from making Toronto an offer they'd want to consider.

Back in the '80s, the Mets badly wanted Gary Carter but the Expos kept saying "he's not available." The Mets just said "if the situation changes, let us know." Those of you who were around in the mid to late '80s know the rest.

I kind of like the fact that the Jays say Halladay is unavailable - that means the Phillies might be able to put in a bid that doesn't come in the midst of a bidding war. Let's say the Phillies offered Dominic Brown, Joe Savery, Tyler Cloyd with Kyle Kendrick and Jack Taschner as throw-ins. I believe the Jays would have to think about that - and so would the Phillies. They could give up one of their top two outfield prospects but not the other and they also could have a goal of trying (and likely failing) to keep Drabek and/or Knapp out of the deal.

But let's say Toronto is looking to let Vernon Wells move on in a few years - Dominic Brown might look very enticing to them. Likewise, getting 2-3 quality young arms, plus a couple of guys they could plug into their staff right now (Kendrick and Taschner) along with Brown - I think that would make the Jays think, even if they are very reluctant to think about parting with Halladay - as they should be.

To round out the deal - let's say it ends up Brown, Savery, Knapp, Kendrick and Taschner, the Phillies should ask the Jays to throw in Kevin Millar, who can play first base and the outfield and has a career OPS of .815 (although that is trending downward the last three years. Despite being on a decline, Millar still posted 20 homers, 72 rbis and 71 walks for a bad Orioles team last year and has been decently productive in a reserve role with Toronto this year. He'd bring the veteran righty bat the Phillies need to balance out their bench - and, oh yeah, he'd come attached with the most durable and productive starting pitcher in the game today, Halladay.

I'd pay the price in prospects outlined above, even though it's steep, because I believe the addition of Halladay would position the Phillies to be among the favorites to win it all for the next 3-4 years. They might become the New England Patriots of baseball if they could pull it off.

Please vote, early and often, for Raul Ibanez

2009-05-27T15:56:00.002-04:00

I just filled out my first all-star ballot of the year at the Orioles/Blue Jays game on Monday and I just wanted to note that I voted for Raul Ibanez for outfield in the National League. Not only is Ibanez having an MVP-caliber year for the Phillies, but he also has never played in the All Star game despite four previous 100-rbi seasons. So please do what you can to make sure Ibanez gets his due this season.

In another note, apparently the Orioles are finally calling up Matt Wieters from triple-A Norfolk to make his major league debut at home this Friday against the Tigers. That is good news for Orioles fans, but not for Greg Zaun, who now will see his playing time diminish dramatically. I noticed on Monday that Zaun uses Rush's "Limelight" as his theme music when he comes to bat. Since the O's were playing the Jays, I found myself wondering if die-hard Blue Jays fan and season ticker holder Geddy Lee might have been watching on Rogers SportsNet and noticed the same.

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's my all star ballot for 2009 (with admittedly a couple of homer picks):

National League
C - Russell Martin
1b - Ryan Howard
2b - Chase Utley
SS - Jimmy Rollins (what can I say, he's my favorite player)
3b - Ryan Zimmerman
OF - Ryan Braun
OF - Raul Ibanez
OF - Jay Bruce

I also voted for Howard, Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman to represent the NL in the home run hitting contest. In the AL, I voted for Josh Hamilton and ... well I forget who my other two votes were there.

American League
C - Joe Mauer
1b - Justin Morneau
2b - Brian Roberts
SS - Marco Scutaro (look at the numbers if this surprises you)
3b - Evan Longoria
OF - Nick Markakis
OF - Adam Jones
OF - Carl Crawford

Down goes Hamels?

2009-04-23T14:13:00.000-04:00

It looked like the old Cole Hamels was back today, pitching against the Brewers in a "businessperson's special" at Citizens Bank Park. Through the first three innings, he shut out the Brewers on one hit, while striking out six and reportedly hitting 91 mph on the radar gun.
Then, in the 4th, after surrendering a 2-run homer to red-hot Ryan Braun (the Phillies' starter now has given up a home run in all 14 games this season), Hamels took a line drive from Brewers' first baseman Prince Fielder off his left arm.
I am at work and cannot see the game, but reports I've read say that the ball did not hit Hamels' shoulder or elbow, but the fleshier part of the upper arm. The Phillies immediately removed Hamels from the game, hopefully as a precautionary measure. If that's all it is, and I hope so, the Phillies made the right call as taking a line drive from Fielder must be a world of hurt, and the Phillies don't need Hamels messing up his motion by trying to pitch thru pain.
J.A. Happ is on in long relief and I'll suspect he'll do just fine - if the Phillies' bats wake up, maybe they can even come back and take this game. But the bigger concern is Hamels' health and how many starts, if any, he might miss.

Elijah Dukes: The next big thing?

2009-04-17T14:53:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite parts of being a baseball fan is discovering a new player to follow. Not that Elijah Dukes, the Washington Nationals centerfielder, is all that new but I think he is poised to reach a different level this season - that level being stardom.

He hit home runs in each game of the Phillies recently concluded two-game split with the Nats in Washington. Last night's game, an 8-2 Nats win, wasn't much fun from the perspective of a Phillies fan, but I did enjoy watching Dukes' majestic home run in the 8th inning. Off the bat, I thought he had hit it onto the concourse if not farther - it actually landed in the Phillies bullpen. Too much loft I suppose, but it was still an impressive power display.

But not as impressive as what Dukes did Monday, when he reached down for a low and outside Clay Condrey slider and pretty much flicked it over the left field fence, mostly with the strength of his front arm and hand. That was one of the most remarkable feats I've ever seen in a baseball game. Elijah Dukes just brims with talent in all areas of the game - hitting, power, plate discipline, defense, running, throwing.

Right now, Ryan Zimmerman is the face of the Nationals to a point, and maybe Adam Dunn will be for a year or two. But longer-term, I think Dukes will be the player to put the Nationals in the spotlight - he's an Evgeni Malkin, LeBron James, LaDainian Tomlinson kind of talent for baseball, maybe the next Junior Griffey.

I'm heading out to Nationals Stadium again on Saturday and with the Phillies not the opponent this time, I'm planning to give a lot of focus to Elijah Dukes as he and his teammates take on the Florida Marlins.

Are there any goalies out there?

2009-04-16T16:33:00.000-04:00

This is the time of year when Flyers' fans typically start despairing about what our team has in goal. With Marty Biron letting in at least one soft one in last night's 4-1 playoff loss to Pittsburgh, I have to think the Flyers are thinking about letting Biron walk when his contract expires this summer. That would leave Antero Nittymaki and Scott Munroe.

With the Bruins having re-signed Tim Thomas, it's become fashionable to say that this summer's market for free agent goalies is weak. Weak, perhaps, but not empty.

I believe at least the following two goalies are free agents this summer:

Manny Fernandez, Boston. He does turn 35 in August, but he has a career 2.50 GAA and .912 save percentage. This year, backing up Thomas, he posted 2.59 and .910, so he appears to be aging fairly well.

Craig Anderson, Florida. He's 28 and has put in a lot of time in the minors. But for Florida this year, he put up a 2.56 GAA and an eye-catching .925 save percentage. Career NHL averages are 2.87 and .911.

I also wonder if the Islanders' Yann Danis will be available. Rick DiPietro should be back next year and based on playing time, the Isles seem to like Joey McDonald better than Danis. I was impressed with Danis every time I saw him and for a very bad team, he put up a 2.86 GAA and a .910 save percentage.

If the Flyers need to move a forward for cap reasons this summer, maybe a Lupul for Danis trade would be worth proposing.

Anderson and Danis are both 28, BTW.

Goodbye, Harry Kalas

2009-04-13T14:43:00.000-04:00

If you want to know what Harry Kalas meant to several generations of Phillies phans, just read this thread from the Web site BackSheGoes.com

http://www.backshegoes.com/bsg/viewtopic.php?p=609033#609033

Hopefully, Harry and Whitey Ashburn are having a good laugh together and getting ready to watch the Phillies/Nats game from a cloud somewhere.

RIP to the Voice of the Phillies.

Championships - I could get used to this

2009-04-03T18:38:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Penn State Men's Basketball for winning the NIT title last night. As bitter a disappointment as not making the NCAA Tournament was, maybe someday winning the 2009 NIT will be seen as a corner turned for the program and a better experience, overall, than, say, losing in the first round of the NCAAs to Marquette or someone like that.

In winning the NIT, Penn State beat George Mason, Rhode Island, Florida, Notre Dame and Baylor. Note to Ed DeChellis: Had you played a non-con schedule like that and won just three of those, you would've been invited to the dance. It's on you, not your players.

Thank you to Jamelle Cornley, Stanley Pringle and Danny Morrissey for 4 years of great memories - and thank you Talor Battle for picking Penn State.

Flyers-Leafs TV reminder

2009-04-01T09:50:00.000-04:00

For out-of-town Flyers fans like myself, it's worth noting that tonight's Flyers game at Toronto (7:30, EDT) is not on the NHL Center Ice package. That's because the TSN (Canada's version of ESPN) telecast is being picked up by the NHL Network. So you can see the game on the NHL Network, if you get that, or pull in the TSN telecast on the dish.

Ironically, I'm sure there are some people who pay the $160 for Center Ice but don't shell out the $5 a month or whatever Comcast charges for the digital sports tier that includes NHL Network, and therefore won't get to see tonight's game.

Not to sound like a "Comcastic" commercial, but the sports tier now includes NHL Network, MLB Network, NBA TV, Tennis Channel, Fox Soccer, three Fox regional college sports channels, GOL TV, ESPN Classic, and for a while at least, the NFL Network, although Comcast expects to lose its access to that channel on May 1. The sports tier also includes the Big Ten Network in Big Ten states, which luckily for me somehow includes Maryland.

Even without the NFL Network, I think the Comcast sports tier is the best bargain this side of, well, a daily newspaper. Which is a different topic for a different day.

How much do I hate Daniel Carcillo?

2009-03-31T15:16:00.000-04:00

Let me count the ways ... nevermind, because they are infinite.

Scottie Upshall has 5 goals and 4 assists in 13 games with Phoenix. Carcillo has Zero goals and 1 assist with the Flyers. (Oh, my bad. It's actually three assists. I enjoyed them all.)

Hey Paul Holmgren, you're right - we are going to fall in love with Daniel Carcillo.

PS - The next time you need to clear up some cap space, here's an idea. Release Daniel Carcillo and call up ANY forward from the Phantoms. It will be addition by subtraction.

I hope we get Upshall back someday. Heck, I'm still dealing with the trade of RJ Umberger and they literally give away Upshall? Holmgren must have some guilt issues from the way he pilfered Braydon Coburn from Atlanta.

I'm back; I hope somebody will be reading

2009-03-30T18:12:00.000-04:00

Well this is kind of embarrassing, it's actually been almost exactly six months since I last posted to this blog. All I can say in my defense is that it was a very difficult winter in a lot of ways, but hopefully things are on the upswing now.

I thought I'd jump back in by briefly addressing a few sports topics that have been on my mind of late.

1) I hate to break it to the Sixers, who appeared to be headed in such a good direction about one year ago, but I think they are in danger of becoming almost irrelevant in Philadelphia. You've got Villanova in the Final Four, the Flyers, despite 2 losses in the last 3 games, heading into the playoffs as at least a threat to advance several rounds, and, oh yes, the World Champion Phillies about to embark on their 2009 season. I wonder what percentage of Philadelphia sports fans care about the Sixers and/or the NBA at all at this point? I barely do, even though I think the Sixers still could have a bright future.

2) To me, getting to the Final Four is almost like winning a championship in and of itself. Well, maybe not if you're North Carolina, but for the Villanova's of the world ... In other words, if the Wildcats lose to UNC Saturday, I will still consider this season a great, great success. And it was oh so sweet to knock out the Pitt Panthers along the way.

3) Which is not to say that I don't have huge respect for DuJuan Blair - because I do. Good Lord, even at 6-7, I think he's going to be a beast at the next level.

4) BTW, anyone else wondering what's in the water in Pennsylvania lately? The Phillies win the World Series, Penn State wins the Big Ten and goes to the Rose Bowl, the Steelers win the Super Bowl, Villanova is in the Final Four, Penn State basketball is in the Final Four of the NIT (and might just win the thing), and the Flyers and Pens are both looking good heading into the playoffs. If not for the Pirates, there really wouldn't be a bad team in the state right now.

5) Speaking of the Pirates and the Phillies, what on earth was that Ronny Paulino stuff about? Looks like the Bucs might have gotten themselves a nice backup for Ryan Doumit in Jason Jaramillo, based on what I saw in Saturday's exhibition game. (Thanks, MLB Network, BTW.) Paulino must be some piece of work - by the end of spring, Charlie Manuel apparently couldn't wait to get rid of him to the point that he lost the backup catcher job to a guy hitting .143. OK, so it was Chris Coste. But it also was supposed to be a competition.

6) I'm sure some of our more statistical-analysis oriented Phillies fans are moaning and groaning about the addition of Jack Taschner but I'll remind you that many of those same people said JC Romero would be useless and almost all of them said that about Scott Eyre. You gotta have some lefthanded relief pitching in baseball, and I am glad the Phillies went out and got Taschner, whether he turns to be effective or not, just because it should keep J.A. Happ for getting relegated to the bullpen. He needs to be in the rotation, while I think Chan Ho Park should be used just the way the Dodgers used him last year. I think even though he's righty, he'll get some of those innings that Juan Carlos normally would have gotten during the first 50 games.

7) Speaking of Juan Carlos Romero and the Phillies - nice job, Phillies, for sticking up for your player. The suspension is bull and everyone knows it. But the Phillies, good team players that they are as an organization, just took it.

8) Finally another "nice job" to the Eagles, who decided they don't need TJ Houshmanzadeh or Derrick Ward. Nice job going after those guys, who would have been perfect fits with the current roster. Now people actually believe the Eagles will draft a running back in the first round. I hope they do but I'll believe when I see it.

Baseball playoffs preview

2008-10-01T12:20:00.000-04:00

Well, the Phillies are less than three hours from their 2nd foray into playoff baseball in about 12 months. The last time around, the series ended so quickly, it almost felt like the Phillies weren't even there.

I think the Phillies are going to stick around longer this time - they'd only have to win one game to do so - but how long? I'm wary. All the experts are picking the Phillies, and that usually is not a good thing. I just don't think the Brewers are a good matchup for the Phillies, even if their bullpen is shaky. But I'm going to be a Phan and say Phillies in 5, even though that would entail beating Sabathia (or at least not getting beat by him) in the final game.

Right now, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder scare me more than Sabathia anyway - I just have a bad feeling about Milwaukee's lineup getting hot at the right time, and Brett Myers' fastball staying on hiatus.

I also like the Cubs over the Dodgers in 4, the Angels over the Red Sox in 3, and the White Sox over the Rays in 4. My World Series pick has been unchanged since about the All Star Break - Angels over Cubs.

"You Know We'll Be a Sight To See"

2008-09-27T19:10:00.001-04:00

Philadelphia Phillies: 2008 National League Division Champions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU4KWe2vqug

It's an Illinois weekend for PSU and the Eagles

2008-09-26T17:41:00.000-04:00

It's funny how things link up in sports sometimes - for example, have you ever noticed that when the Yankees are playing the White Sox, the Mets often are playing the Cubs at the same time. I can remember more than a few times that the 76ers and Flyers played in the same road arena the same weekend.

Well, this weekend, both Penn State and the Eagles are under the prime-time lights, playing wary favorites against dangerous underdogs from Illinois. The Nittany Lions host the University of Illinois Saturday at 8 pm on ABC, while the Eagles visit the Bears at Soldier Field at 8:15 pm on NBC. (Meanwhile, Philadelphia and Chicago fans also will be following a little baseball this weekend too - good times, good times.)

Illinois generally isn't considered one of Penn State's bigger in-conference rivals, although the Illini were the opponent in the greatest regular season game I've ever seen, Penn State's amazing 35-31 comeback win, concluding with a 96-yard drive into howling wind, at Champaign, IL, in 1994. (Thank you, Brian Milne.)

But the Illini have really picked things up under coach Ron Zook, who brought his recruiting prowess with him from Florida and has really ramped up the athleticism at Illinois. In Zook's first year, his team looked Syracuse-bad in getting lit up at home against Penn State, also on national prime-time TV, but then the Illini put a scare into Penn State in 2006, nearly pulling an upset at Beaver Stadium on the basis of a stellar defensive performance. Last year, Illinois didn't settle for a scare, upending Penn State at Memorial Stadium thanks to the big-play performance of wide receiver Arrelious Benn and a typically erratic day from PSU quarterback Anthony Morelli. The Illini got all the way to the Rose Bowl.

Things are looking good for Penn State. They've scored a school record 211 points over their first four games, showing an offense with diversity and skill to rival the 1994 group, only this year's group has two quarterbacks who can deliver the goods, Daryll Clark and Pat Devlin. Penn State's offense is so deep, it reminds me of the days when I was pretty sure Penn State's 2nd string could field a separate team and qualify for a bowl, if not finish in the Top 25.

In addition, suspended defensive linemen Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma were back at practice this week. I've heard no word yet on whether they will play, but I have to think re-admittance to practice means that will happen soon, if not this week. In the meantime, players like Aaron Maybin (6 sacks, to lead the Big Ten) and Josh Gaines have really stepped up.

And finally, last night's 27-21 upset by Oregon State over No. 1 USC makes PSU's 45-14 win over that same Oregon State squad a lot more impressive, doesn't it? Penn State moved the ball and scored at will on Oregon State, which just a few weeks later had USC shut out until just before halftime. Maybe it's more that Penn State is really good than that their non-conference schedule was weak.

Looking at this week's game, Illinois is 2-1 but has struggled a bit, losing 52-42 to Missouri (no shame in losing to the Tigers, but that's a lot of points to give up) and barely beating Louisiana-Lafayette, 20-17. The talk is that QB Juice Williams' passing has improved, but the Illlini have not yet adequately replaced tailback Rashard Mendenhall, now of the Steelers, and don't seem as good as last year. I think Penn State finally faces some adversity, but prevails 31-21.

For the Eagles, last week's 15-6 win over the Steelers was a reassuring response to the 41-37 loss in Dallas, which made it appear as if the Birds had little defense to count on. Nine sacks of Ben Roethlisberger later, not to mention much better coverage by the secondary, and that seems to have been a one-week thing. Also, the Eagles rank number one in the league in run defense.

So what are the Bears, with Kyle Orton at QB and a pretty average running game, going to do against the Eagles? Not score a lot, I suspect. Unfortunately, the Eagles' injury list includes Donovan McNabb, expected to play, Brian Westbrook, Kevin Curtis and Shawn Andrews. I look for another low scoring game, let's say Eagles 20, Bears 10.

Regional TV breakdowns for PSU vs. Illinois

2008-09-25T16:27:00.000-04:00

For a while, I feared the entire mid-Atlantic region would get the Virginia Tech/Nebraska game this Saturday on ABC, rather than Penn State vs. Illinois. But as somebody who gets the ABC affiliates from both Baltimore and DC, I get the best of both worlds. Penn State on Baltimore's channel 2, and the other game on DC's channel 7.

Coverage map for ABC/ESPN regional college football coverage this weekend:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=coveragemaps2008

Those of you in PA, NJ, DE, and NY also get the Penn State game.

High school football Friday

2008-09-19T13:03:00.001-04:00

I moved to my current residence in Columbia, MD, a little over a year ago. Where I live puts me almost equidistant between two local high schools - Wilde Lake (alma mater of actor Edward Norton and former Oriole Jim Traber) and Atholton (alma mater of Greg Hawkes of The Cars). Tonight, I'm planning to attend the Atholton football game against nearby Mt. Hebron, which went 0-10 last year despite having sent defensive end Aaron Maybin on to Penn State just a couple years before.

Anyway, I haven't decided yet whether I'm an Atholton fan or a Wilde Lake fan. They play each other on Oct. 3 and I hope to decide by then. Wilde Lake is more of a local power, although Atholton was a respectable 7-4 last year. I think I'm leaning toward Atholton just because that seems more like my neighborhood - I shop at the town center just down the road from the school on a regular basis. But I hope to get into the habit of going to Friday night games fairly regularly in the fall.

I tried going to a Washington-Lee game in Arlington when I lived there but it wasn't much of a game. This seems to be a more serious high school football area than the close-in Virginia suburbs.

Really, growing up, there wasn't much Friday night football on the Philadelphia Main Line. I went to Lower Merion, where football attendance was pretty sparse despite usually respectable teams, and my recollection is that most games were played on Saturday afternoon or even Saturday morning. I know that is changing in the Philadelphia suburbs - there seem to be a lot more Friday night games, and a number of late Friday afternoon games.

Maybe high school football is becoming a bigger deal in the Philadelphia area. But when I was growing up in the '80s, other than Bucks County, high school football didn't seem like a very big deal. I know it was a culture shock when I got to Penn State and saw how much it mattered to kids from other parts of the state - and I think I missed out growing up in area much more focused on pro sports.

Basketball season approaches

2008-09-18T10:14:00.002-04:00

Hard to believe, but in about a month college basketball teams will be heading to practice, with games starting in the 2nd week of November.

The Big Ten Network this week released its substantial schedule of Big Ten men's and women's basketball telecasts - it says most of them will be in HD, which won't benefit me but may benefit you - and the list includes 18 Penn State men's games and four Lady Lions games. Not sure why the Lady Lions total is so low, but if Coquese Washington's team has a good season, I suspect more games will be added to the TV schedule.

To check out BTN's TV hoops schedule for 2008-2009, go to:

http://www.bigtennetwork.com/corporate/2008-09-Basketball-Television-Schedule.asp

A couple of Orioles minor league tidbits

2008-09-18T10:14:00.001-04:00

Jeff Zrebiec, who covers the Orioles for the Baltimore Sun, wrote a very interesting piece Tuesday about the advancement of the Orioles farm system this year, notably the strong starting rotation at double-A Bowie - whose games I attend fairly regularly during the summer - and, of course, catcher Matt Wieters, who dominated single-A and double-A competition in his year as a professional.

Among the players who took a step forward this year in the O's system was Pennsylvania native Nolan Reimold, who put up good power numbers at Bowie. Meanwhile, third baseman Billy Rowell, a South Jersey product, was listed as one of the promising O's system players who really did not advance this year. He played a high single-A Frederick.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.orioles16sep16,0,6890754.story

Wieters, for his outstanding play at Frederick and Bowie, has been named the Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America. Congratulations, Matt. The award is well-deserved.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/player-of-the-year/2008/266825.html

I've been gathering my thoughts all week on that crazy, exciting Eagles-Cowboys game and should be posting about that and Penn State later today.

- Joe

A few tidbits heading into Penn State/Syracuse

2008-09-11T13:42:00.001-04:00

PSU defensive tackle Jared Odrick insinuated this week that Jerome Hayes' torn-up knee on a punt play resulted from dirty play, a cut block by an unspecified Oregon State player. If so, I wonder if that Oregon State player knew who he was targeting. It's hard to believe any elite athlete would wish a second consecutive year of rehabbing a torn ACL on another athlete.

In any event, I feel a lot less sorry about the beating PSU put on Oregon State last Saturday. Before, while I enjoyed the game and Penn State's strong performance, it almost felt like poor treatment of a distinguished guest - I wanted our PAC-10 opponent to make a better showing of itself.

Speaking of that, now that Penn State manhandled Oregon State 45-14, it seems a lot of people are assuming OSU must be a very bad team. Why can't it be that Penn State is just that good. I suspect Oregon State will end the year with a representative total of 7 or 8 wins - hopefully Penn State will get some benefit in the polls if Oregon State finishes strong this year.

I am still haunted by the fact that Penn State lost ground in the polls in 1994 after beating Ohio State 63-14. People immediately assumed Ohio State wasn't all that good - a perusal of their very talented roster at the time suggests otherwise.

It's unclear if tight end Andrew Quarless is suspended or not. He was allowed to dress for last Saturday's game but did not play. Joe Paterno remains mum on the future status of Quarless, Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma. Honestly, if he's letting them twist in the wind a while, but secretly plans to bring them back for conference play - assuming no further "off-field distractions" - that's fine with me.

Penn State is averaging 55.5 points per game thru its first two games. That places the Nittany Lions third in the country in scoring offense. There are two teams in Division I-A scoring more than that? Wow. That's all - just wow.

The Lions also have not permitted a sack since last November's game at Temple. With zero sacks allowed this year, that ties them for first nationally with Wisconsin. Offensive line play, both in college and the pros, continues to be very hard to predict. While a number of highly touted recruits have amounted to little at Penn State, this group of modestly-touted players has molded into an elite unit - Gerald Cadogan, Rich Orhnberger, AQ Shipley, Stefen Wisniewski and Dennis Landolt, with Mike Lucian in the role of valuable, three-position utility man. (Okay, Wisniewski was a four-star recruit, I believe, and Shipley got talked up a lot. But still, most of these guys were far less heralded than Antonio Logan-El, Mark Farriss, John Blick and Chris McKelvey - but have proven to be far better players.)

With the seemingly endless procession of cupcake games in Division I-A this September, I think the Big Ten ought to consider setting a non-conference scheduling standard for its members. Maybe the conference should require that each member school schedule, at the very least, two BCS conference schools among its non-conference opponents. I think the league also should consider mandating that each school play either Notre Dame or a PAC-10 foe each year. That's assuming the PAC-10 could facilitate this.

Kudos to the PAC-10, by the way, for its response to the recent-years move to a 12-game schedule. It went to a full round-robin for conference play. I think that would be too brutal for the Big Ten - with 11 members, that would mean 10 conference games. Nobody would consider that a good idea, I suspect. But increasing from 8 conference games to 9 might be worth considering.

Thoughts about the defensive line situation at Penn State

2008-09-09T11:21:00.000-04:00

Never rely on assumptions in sports. Before the 2007 season, the Phillies thought they had a surplus of starting pitching, with 6 guys for 5 spots. But by midseason, Freddie Garcia and Jon Leiber were on the disabled list and Adam Eaton was pretty much a disaster. The unheralded Kyle Kendrick was rushed up from double-A in June and remained a regular starter the rest of the season, something no one could have foreseen heading into 2007.

Similar thinking was abudant about Penn State's defensive line heading into spring practice 2008. There appeared to be an embarrassment of riches in terms of top-flight talent, and depth to match probably any program in Division I-A.

About six months later, defensive tackles Phil Taylor (Baylor) and Chris Baker (Hampton) have been kicked out of the program and transferred to other schools, defensive tackle Devon Still and defensive end Jerome Hayes have sustained season-ending injuries, and All-America defensive end Maurice Evans and starting defensive tackle Abe Koroma have been suspended from the team for an unknown period of time due to police finding marijuana at their campus apartment one week ago.

All of that, and Penn State still doesn't really even need to think about switching to the 3-4, let alone something more drastic. At defensive end, fifth-year senior Josh Gaines is showing signs of finishing a solid but unspectacular Penn State career with a big senior campaign and Aaron Maybin is a legitimate quality starter on the other side. Redshirt freshmen Eric Latimore and Kevion Latham bring talent if not game experience to the backup defensive end spots. The main worry here is not putting Gaines and Maybin in a position where they will wear down in conference play - a concern that will be reduced if Evans is permitted to return to the lineup.

At defensive tackle, true freshman Jack Crawford has moved up the depth chart into the rotation. With Ollie Ogbu and Jared Odrick starting, and Chima Okoli and Tom McEowen as backups, there appears to be enough on hand here as well. And a return from Koroma has not been ruled out.

But in all cases, this assumes no more serious injuries or off-field "distractions."

Who else is listed on the official roster at these positions?

Well, 367-pound freshman Brandon Ware from Harrisburg is listed as a defensive tackle but I'm pretty sure Penn State wants to red-shirt him and get him trimmed down a bit before he plays.

Also listed, simply as a defensive lineman, is 255-pound freshman Mikel Berry from Upper Arlington, OH. That concludes what I know about him - presumably he's a preferred walk-on. Another freshman is 250-pound Pete Massaro from Marple-Newtown High School, near Philadelphia. I'm pretty sure he's another red-shirt candidate.
The roster also lists DE Jonathan Stewart, 236 pounds, sophomore, from North Huntington, PA.

How about some "thinking outside the box" ideas? Well, I'm pretty sure fifth-year senior LB Tyrell Sales at least practiced at defensive end in the past and at 238 pounds, he's no smaller than Tim Shaw when he played DE as a senior. But I think the move of Shaw to DE was intended to get him, Paul Posluzsny, Dan Connor and Sean Lee all in the starting lineup at the same time. And with Lee on the sidelines this year, I suspect Joe Paterno and Tom Bradley will want to keep Sales right where he is, as the de-facto leader of the linebacker corps.

With Penn State's outrageous depth at tight end, with Mickey Shuler Jr., Andrew Quarless (who was reinstated before Saturday's game despite being a resident of the same apartment as Koroma and Evans), the much-touted Andrew Szczerba, and true freshman Mark Wedderburn, perhaps fifth tight end Jon Ditto, who goes about 230 pounds, could try some work at defensive end. For that matter, maybe they could look at Wedderburn there, as well, if necessary.

At defensive tackle, after years of the offensive line borrowing talent from Larry Johnson's d-line recruiting (Levi Brown, Charles Rush), maybe turnaround is fair play. Fifth-year senior Mike Lucian has played both defensive tackle and end in his PSU career, but he's technically the top backup at center and both guard spots, so I think Lucian is staying put.

But how about giving some of the deeper depth chart guys like Quinn Barham (287 pounds) or Ako Poti (316 pounds) a look at defensive tackle in practice? It probably couldn't hurt.

So as usual, there are plenty of bodies to throw at the problem at Penn State. But without question, the best solution is for Evans and Koroma to return to the lineup.

In the meantime, poor Jerome Hayes. What did he ever do to deserve two torn-up knees in two years?

Perfect Eagles opener

2008-09-07T17:39:00.001-04:00

That easily ranks as one of the best openers I've seen the Eagles play, up there with the "Pickle Juice" game at Dallas in 2000 and a 41-14 pounding of Tampa Bay in 1988 that announced Buddy Ryan's team was ready to compete with the rest of the NFC East.

Want to see a beautiful box score? Here it is:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore;_ylt=Av9SQgfXXchQCFyzHH37r60dsLYF?gid=20080907021

They don't get much more one-sided than that in the NFL. The Eagles went 7 for 14 on third down, while holding St. Louis to Oh for 11. Beautiful. Especially since getting off the field on third down has been a struggle for the Eagles in recent years.

Only four penalties for 41 yards, one of which was a phantom pass interference call. I think officials have to call at least one of those every game, regardless. No turnovers. And they spread the ball around beautifully. McNabb was strong and accurate with his throws. Westbrook was effective - and not overused. Great debut for DeSean Jackson, and nice contributions from LJ Smith, Greg Lewis, Hank Baskett and Jason Avant.

On defense, good debut for Asante Samuel. Maybe now the whispers about him being a bust will quiet down. Stewart Bradley looks like a player and then some.

Just an all-around terrific game - nothing to complain about. And the Phillies won the opener against the Mets, too, 6-2. I could get used to this.

First big weekend approaches

2008-09-04T17:51:00.000-04:00

So, here it comes. After the appetizers - sleep-inducing NFL preseason games and the non-competitive PSU/Coastal Carolina game - a real-life football weekend occurs just around the corner. PSU hosts Oregon State Saturday at 3:30 on ABC/ESPN2 and the Eagles host the Rams at 1 pm Sunday on FOX.

I'll be at the PSU game - I'm hoping not to get drenched. I'm a bit concerned about the betting line. Penn State favored by 16.5? I think that doesn't show OSU enough respect. Yeah, they lost to Stanford, but two years ago they beat USC. I'm expecting a tight game, with the Nittany Lions winning by 7 or so.

Oh, Barack Obama - Nittaly Lions? What? Man, I'm totally in your corner but please don't make it so tough. John Kerry really embarrassed us four years ago with Lambert Field and calling Ohio State's stadium the Big House (or did he call Michigan Stadium the Horseshoe? - I forget.) But you seem like a legitimate sports fan - please don't start with the Kerry-esque gaffes.

During the long NFL offseason, I managed to forget the Rams went 3-13 a year ago. All the same, I don't think they're a team to look past. Especially considering the Eagles' 3-6 record in Andy Reid season openers.

And why is there all this talk in the media about the Eagles as a darkhorse, or maybe even a serious Super Bowl contender? Like most Eagles fans, I'm much more comfortable when the team flies under the radar.

And a rookie wide receiver, DeSean Jackson, starting for Andy Reid. Never thought I'd see that. All the same, I hope Reggie Brown is healthy for Sunday.

Perusing the NFL cuts so far

2008-08-28T16:07:00.000-04:00

A few interesting names have popped up on the waiver wire in the past few days. The Raiders cut DE Greg Spires, who's had a pretty good career, mainly with Tampa. Oakland also picked up FB Luke Lawton after the Eagles cut him.

A bunch of wideouts have been cut, including former Eagle Darnerian McCants, by Baltimore, and former Giant Tim Carter, by Houston. Jacksonville cut former Penn Stater Isaac Smolko, a tight end.

And the Steelers cut Jeremy Bloom - I would not have enjoyed seeing him become a success with them after flaming out with the Birds.

Anyone think Spires or Carter is worth a look-see for the Eagles?

Not Linebacker U. in 2008, Most Likely

2008-08-27T16:23:00.000-04:00

In tandem with Penn State’s return to respectability since 2005 came the re-emergence of standout linebacker play for the Nittany Lions. The dark years of 2000-2004 – four losing seasons sandwiched around one solid but unspectacular 9-4 campaign – were marked by mediocrity at the position around which Penn State typically builds its defenses.

In the place of past stand-outs like Shane Conlan, Mark D’Onofrio and Jack Ham, the early 2000s teams featured mediocrities like Gino Capone, underachievers like Derek Wake, and even linebackers unworthy of playing in Division I-A, let alone the Big Ten, like Tom Williams and Marc Benfatti.

The arrival and quick ascension into the starting lineup of Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor and Sean Lee changed all that – and not coincidentally, the team’s fortunes followed suit. Things were not perfect in Happy Valley, but they were at least better. Linebacker U. was not a punch line anymore.

Poz graduated after the 2006 season, with a junior year Butkus Award to his credit, and moved on to the Buffalo Bills, like Conlan before him. This past offseason, Connor, who started from day one as a true freshman, finished up his eligibility and moved on to the Carolina Panthers. But senior Sean Lee, who like Poz and Connor forced his way onto the field as a true freshman, was supposed to be on hand to lead the linebacker corps – and leave Penn State as the school’s all-time leader in tackles, a mark Poz had set, and then Connor had topped.

Lee, unfortunately, tore up a knee in spring drills and will miss the entire season, although the plan is to redshirt and play as a fifth-year senior in 2009. But for 2008, the linebacker corps suddenly looks a lot different – and probably less imposing to Big Ten foes.

This is not due to a lack of talent or potential. But the Penn State coaching staff’s penchant for head-scratching personnel decisions means that the Nittany Lions may get significantly less playmaking from the linebacker corps than in the past three seasons.

Going by the team’s official depth chart released on Aug. 25, redshirt junior Josh Hull, a former walk-on, is listed as the starting middle linebacker, with fifth-year senior Tyrell Sales, a disappointment to this point in his Penn State career, listed as one of the starters on the outside. Speedy but smallish redshirt sophomore Bani Gbadyu is listed as the other starter at outside linebacker, and he might do just fine. But Hull and Sales might remind a few veteran PSU watchers of the 2003 tandem of Capone and Wake, who helped lead Penn State to a program-worst 3-9 record.

Simply put, those two just don’t remotely have the play-making ability of the players who preceded them, while players behind them on the depth chart – sophomore Chris Colasanti, redshirt sophomore Navarro Bowman and true freshman Michael Mauti – just might.
Maybe it should be reassuring that Mauti shows up on the depth chart at all – true freshman usually do not, although Posluszny, Connor, Lee, senior receiver Derrick Williams and sophomore right guard Stefen Wisniewski all were notable exceptions in recent years. Mauti is the only member of this year's freshman class to show up on the official depth chart, even though other true freshmen like fullback Mike Zordich Jr. and defensive back D'Anton Lynn are expected to play.

But it remains all but impossible for Penn State fans to figure out if PSU football is a meritocracy, a patronage system, or something in between. No one thinks Hull is the same caliber of football player that Colasanti – who earned playing time as a true freshman – could be. And Sales has shown little in his previous four years to indicate he has the playmaking ability of Bowman. To be fair, Bowman, like a few other current Nittany Lions, has found his way into off-field trouble on multiple occasions, while Sales largely has steered clear of controversy.

On paper, Penn State clearly appears to have sufficient talent to win 10, maybe even 11 games. But with the defensive line depth thinned out by dismissals and a key injury and with serious questions remaining in a defensive secondary that disappointed in 2007, personnel mistakes at the linebacker spots could prevent this team from achieving all that it might.

More later on my outlook for the 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions.

- Joe

When Phillies baseball is just too aggravating ...

2008-08-27T01:15:00.001-04:00

I'll admit it - I gave up on that game multiple times. After it went to 6-0, I watched the season finale of Battle Galactica on my DVR.

Back to the game around 8:50 - just missed Rollins' homer, saw Howard's.

Had been recording a Penn State football preview from Fox College Sports. Put that on, still certain the Phillies were only going to tease, not win.

Back to the Phillies after, occasionally flipping over to Roger Federer's first-round US Open match on USA.

Games like tonight's are very hard for me to watch because literally all I end up doing while watching is worry about who's going to be available to pitch tomorrow. I know they have Rich Dubee to worry about that, but somehow I feel obligated to obsess about it too.

I'm back to watching the Phillies after the Penn State preview and realize I still have last night's Tonight Show on DVR, which I recorded only to see Juliana Hatfield play her new song "This Lonely Love." I fast-forward thru the two-segment interview with John McCain, about which I could not care less, and see Juliana, wearing the exact same outfit she is wearing in the video play her new song. She looks great but her vocals come out thin. She now has a six-piece band - many times in the past, it was just a three-piece.

Now, I'm done with the Tonight Show and I agonize thru the 8th inning as Utley strikes out with the tying run on third and one out. Then Joe Smith gets Pat the Bat to fly out to the warning track. Watching the replay, I determine Burrell's flyball would have been in the flower bed in 2004 or 2005.

I flip over to Hillary Clinton's speech, certain the Mets will put up a 3 spot in the ninth while I'm gone. By the time, I flip back, they're already in commercial, which I take as a good sign. I stick around for Howard's flyball to the warning track, which just proves to me once and for all this is not the Phillies' night.

I go back to the convention - and think at least Hillary is hitting a home run - and turn back to see the score, to my amazement is 7-7. Some dorky looking Mets fan is getting all kinds of camera time on SNY, looking dumb even for a Mets fan. Now I have to watch.

I stick with the game thru the 11th inning, then go to bed. But not to sleep. I read the Baltimore Sun, then the Washington Post.

Then I log on to my computer, not so much to find out if the Phils won or lost, but to check all our relievers' pitch counts for the evening to see if anyone will be available tomorrow night. I read about Shane's triple and Chris Coste going 4 for 4.

Then I check in at BSG. I should try sleep sometime soon. Work beckons in 8 hours.

Juliana Hatfield on the Tonight Show, 8/25

2008-08-25T13:52:00.000-04:00

Well, I'll get out the sports range right away, with my second post. Just wanted to note that singer/songwriter Juliana Hatfield will be performing onNBC's Tonight Show tonight. (The other guest is none other than Sen. John McCain.)

Juliana, who has gotten almost no mainstream publicity in about a decade, will be playing a song from her new CD. I'm expecting she will play "This Lonely Love" for which there is a video on her MySpace page. It's a pretty good song - it's not My Sister or Fleur De Lys, but it's tuneful and good.

I have no idea how Juliana, who puts out her CDs on her own label, got this booking, but good for her. She's also slated to begin a tour in September, including a show at Iota in Arlington, VA, on Sept. 9. I hope to be there.

Welcome to my blog

2008-08-25T13:19:00.000-04:00

Wow, that's an exciting title for my first post, isn't it?
Oh well, I hope you'll check back in as I add actual content to this blog, for which I've had the idea for years.
The title is a reference to football season and the fact that I am a fan of Penn State (and wear my blue on football Saturdays) and the Philadelphia Eagles (and wear green on football Sundays).
While I've had this title in mind for years, for some reason it took me until now to launch this blog. It will be mainly about football but you also can expect to hear from me on baseball, tennis, politics, music, movies, all sorts of stuff.
But I will get started later this week - maybe even later today, with my 2008 Penn State football preview, which I used to write and post annually at PhilaPhans.com. While I am still fond of many people at PhilaPhans, founded by the late Jeff Lamana, I no longer feel a part of that community. And BackSheGoes.com, where I frequently post on the subjects listed above as "BuddyGroom" does not really offer a space for the posting of full-length articles.
So, for better or worse, I blog from here now. I hope people will check in, check back and give me feedback.
- Joe