Full of Soul

A few thoughts on the Soul "breaking" Philly's championship drought:


1 -- Shut up.


2 -- Just so we're clear, I'm in favor of Philly teams winning anything. I'm in favor of Philly being the best at anything. And I'm most assuredly in favor of anything that brings a free Bon Jovi concert to Philly.


3 -- The drought is the big four, OK? (We're still counting hockey because it's awesome). If we're counting minor league/alternative league sports, then there is no Philly drought. Perhaps you forgot:

*** The Villanova Wildcats, who won the NCAA basketball tourney in 1986;
*** The Philadelphia Phantoms, who won the Calder Cup in 1998 and 2004;
*** The Philadelphia Wings, who won National Lacrosse Championship in 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, and 2001;
*** The Philadelphia Kixx, who won the Major Indoor Soccer League Championship in 2002 and 2007;
*** The Philadelphia Barrage, who won the Major League Lacrosse Championship in 2004, 2006 and 2007;

So if we start counting outside the big four, Philly has 10 championships in the last decade alone. But we're not. So shut up.


4 -- I'm glad Jaws got a championship. Everyone wants Jaws to have a championship. We just weren't hoping it'd be this one.


5 -- AFL is fun. I'll have to watch more of it next year. It's a good distraction when Adam Eaton is giving up hits left and right. But it's time for real baseball and real football now, so focus. We've got a drought to deal with.

When I was 17 ...

OK, 16, actually.

That’s the last time (1993) the Eagles opened training camp with the Phillies in first place in the NL East. What can we learn from that year?

The Good
-- The Phillies finished with five pitchers who won at least 12 games.
-- The Eagles started the season 4-0.
-- The Phillies held onto first and made the playoffs.
-- Underrated Eagles CB Eric Allen had six picks and four TDs, earning him a Pro Bowl berth.
-- The Phillies whooped the Braves in six games in the NLCS.
-- Even by the end of the season, the Eagles had never employed a Detmer of any kind.

The Bad
-- The Phillies didn’t quite win that World Series.
-- QB Bubby Brister was the leading passer for the Eagles on the season.
-- The Phillies three offensive superstars (Dykstra, Daulton, and Kruk) were never as good in future years.
-- The Eagles finished the season 8-8, out of the playoffs.
-- The Phillies helped popularize the terrible jock jam “Whoot, There It Is.”
-- The Cowboys won the Super Bowl.

The Horribly Prophetic
-- The Phillies star closer (Mitch Williams) blew the World Series for them.
-- The Eagles star QB (Randall Cunningham) went down with a season-ending leg injury.
-- The Phillies lost in the Series in large part because of Pat Gillick (then Blue Jays GM).
-- The Eagles kept their coach (Rich Kottitie) despite his deer-in-the-headlights style.

Home Run Derby recap

I know a lot of folks won’t get the chance to watch tonight’s Home Run Derby, so I’m writing a full recap so you don’t miss a minute of the excitement.

8:06 – Chase Utley is announced, and will bat third. The New York faithful sprinkle a few catcalls in with the cheers. Utley, apparently unaware there are cameras everywhere, yells, “Boos? Fuck you too.”

8:10 – For the third time in less than an hour, John Kruk picks Utley to win the Derby. I get it, ESPN. You love your predictions.

8:12 – Joe Morgan picks Utley too; This worries me. Chris Berman asks him if he likes second basemen so much, why didn’t he pick Roger Hornsby. Maybe because Horsnby has been dead for 45 years.

8:17 – Chris Berman announces, “We’re underway!” ESPN cuts to commercial.

8:21 – Finally, we’re actually underway with the second-best 2B in the NL, Dan Uggla of the Florida Fish.
8:22 – Home Run, Dan Uggla!
8:22:30 – Home Run, Dan Uggla!
8:23 – Home Run, Dan Uggla!
8:24 – Home Run, Dan Uggla!
8:26 – Home Run, Dan Uggla!
8:26:30 – Home Run, Dan Uggla!
8:27 – And he’s done. He posted six dingers, a 414-foot average, and a 437-foot longest blast.

8:28 – OMG, they’re not going to commercial.

8:29 – Next comes CF Grady Sizemore of the Cleveland Wahoos. Allegedly he’s leading the AL in homers, even though Cleveland has only scored 15 runs all season.
8:30 – Home Run, Grady Sizemore!
8:30:30 – Home Run, Grady Sizemore!
8:30:45 – Home Run, Grady Sizemore!
8:32 – Home Run, Grady Sizemore!
8:33 – Home Run, Grady Sizemore!
8:34 – Home Run, Grady Sizemore!
8:35 – And he’s done. Another six dinger score, a 440-foot average, and a 459-foot longest blast.

8:37 – I’m surprised no one has mentioned yet that this is the last year for Yankees stadium.

8:39 – Up comes Evan Longoria, 3B for the Tampa Bay not-Devil-Rays and wife of Spurs Guard Tony Parker.
8:40 – Homer, Evan Longoria!
8:41 – Home… nope, that’s foul.
8:42 – Home… nope, that’s foul.
8:42:30 – Home… nope, that’s foul.
8:43 – Homer, Evan Longoria!
8:43:30 – Home… nope, that’s foul.
8:44 – Homer, Evan Longoria!
8:45 – Wow, he blew. Three dingers, a 419 average and one that somehow went 446. I think they might have mismeasured.

8:46 – Now here’s what we’re waiting for….
8:47 – Chase Utley, you are the man!
8:48 – Chase Utley, you are the man!
8:49 – Chase Utley, you are the man!
8:50 – Chase Utley, you are the man!
8:51 – Chase Utley, you are the man!
8:52 – Ugh (ley). Five isn’t very exciting. I was hoping for 26. And they interviewed stinking 3B David Wright of the New York not Yankees while he was at bat. Official tally: Five dingers, a 402 average and one 434 blast.

8:54 – I’m surprised no one has mentioned at least seven times that this is the last year for Yankees stadium. Berman has only said it six times.

8:57 – Now batting: 87-year-old and three-time HR Derby loser 1B Lance Berkman.
8:58 – The old man goes out of the park!
8:59 – The old man goes out of the park!
8:59:30 – The old man goes out of the park!
8:59:45 – The old man goes out of the park!
9:01 – The old man goes out of the park!
9:01:30 – The old man goes out of the park!
9:01:45 – The old man goes out of the park!
9:02 –The old man goes out of the park!
9:03 – OK, eight dingers, 442 average and a 478 long shot. But he’s still ooooooold.

9:05 – As I watch these replays, I can’t describe to you how much less exciting the home runs are than the eight-year-olds fielding these shots. Against Berkman, some kid speared a homer in the stands. Against Utley, one kid had a sliding grab that got a standing ovation.

9:07 – Stepping in is Twins 1B Justin Morneau, and Rick Riley is complaining that this field is “too white.” He wants Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols here.
9:08 – A four-bagger for Morneau!
9:09 – A four-bagger for Morneau!
9:10 – A four-bagger for Morneau!
9:11 – A four-bagger for Morneau!
9:11:30 – A four-bagger for Morneau!
9:12 – A four-bagger for Morneau!
9:12:30 – A four-bagger for Morneau!
9:13 – A four-bagger for Morneau!
9:14 – Morneau with eight dingers, a 428 average and a 453 long shot. And thanks to the calculator that is ESPN, I’ve learned that both six and eight are more than five, so Chase Utley is eliminated.

9:15 – Milwaukee Brewer LF Ryan Braun is next up, and this is a real crock. How did he get an invite? Name one Milwaukee player known for hitting home runs.
9:16 – Braun goes long!
9:17 – Braun goes long!
9:17:30 – Braun goes long!
9:18 – Braun goes long!
9:18:30 – Oh yeah, Hank Aaron. Right.
9:19 – Braun goes long!
9:19:30 – Braun goes long!
9:20 – Braun goes long!
9:21 – Slow start, but he makes it to the next round. He ends with seven dingers, a 415 average and a 439 long one.

9:23 – I think he made it to the next round. ESPN didn’t tell me if seven was more than six.

9:27 – Up comes everyone’s favorite drug addict, Texas OF John Hamilton. He has promised to hit one out of the stadium, something no one has ever done.
9:28 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:28:30 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:29 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:29:30 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:30 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:30:30 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:31 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:32 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:33 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:34 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:35 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:35:30 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!

9:36 – Wow, Rick Riley actually just said, “This is a new way for him to get high.” Wow.

9:36:30 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:37 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:37:30 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:38 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:39 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!

9:39:30 – Geez, I think the record is 24. Stupid Bobby Abreau.

9:40 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:40:30 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:41 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:41:30 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:42 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:43 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:44 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:45 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!

9:45:30 – Um, the record was 24…

9:46 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:47 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:48 – Crack! Hamilton is high … with that hit!
9:49 – Wow. That was un-freakin-believable. 28 dingers, a bunch of them over 500 feet. A 445-foot average, and a long of 518 feet. Total distance of those homers: Just over two miles…

9:50 – Erin Andrews just interviewed Hamilton’s 71-year-old American Legion coach, who throws batting practice for him and was the pitcher for that ridiculous display. Poor guy had to throw 56 pitches. Both men are beaming, but the geezer can barely hold his arm up.

9:52 – And that was a great ending to this scheduled two-hour event. Hamilton better stay sober, because he was the feel-good story of baseball before tonight, and is only gonna be hyped even more now. But that kid had Yankee stadium jumping up and down.

9:55 – Wait, there are two more rounds of this?

9:57 – As we start the second round … ah, screw it. I’m calling Hamilton the winner and changing the channel.

A trip to the money pit

I attended my yearly Phillies loss this weekend -- pics are up here.

Chicks dig the long ball

Sorry -- I'm chart happy this week.

Don't panic?

Days Phillies spent in first place in 2007: 2
Days Phillies have spent in first place in 2008: 36

In fact, the Phils haven't trailed in the NL East since May. Remind me again why I'm panicking?

Oh, right. And this too.

UPDATE, 10:20pm: Make that 37 days