Phillies Escape With Victory

PHILLIES LEAD SERIES 1-0

It doesn't matter how it gets done, as long as it gets done.

That statement could not be any more true when it comes to the World Series. Last night the Phillies jumped a number of hurdles in the form of stranded runners and a first baseman named Ryan Howard to take game one of the World Series from the Tampa Bay Rays, winning 3-2.


Getting things started early was Chase Utley, swinging for a two run home run in the first inning after Jayson Werth had walked. Cole Hamels was much appreciative of the early lead. Extending the lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning with Shane Victorino scoring from third on a Carlos Ruiz groundout would be all Hamels needed. The Rays would score a run in the bottom of the fourth inning when Carl Crawford smacked a home run off of Hamels. In the bottom of the fifth inning the Rays would put together one more run when Jason Bartlett scored from second off of an Akinori Iwamura double. Iwamura was the only Rays batter who could seem to find some effectiveness against Hamels, notching three of the five hits Hamels allowed.

Hamels, once again, was fantastic. This Rays team came in as hot as anybody and their offense is very explosive. To only allow two runs in seven innings is darn good. When he did get in some trouble he found ways out of it. To think his outing would have been even better if Ryan Howard could play a semi-decent first base. While Hamels and Utley had memorable debuts in the Fall Classic, Howard had one he would love to forget.

Howard went 0-4 on the night with three strike outs, leaving four on base. He did walk once but his struggles continued in the field. Only credited for one error either he or Hamels made a mistake in the first inning when Iwamura was the beneficiary of a gaffe on someone's behalf of not covering the base in time. Hamels was beat to the bag, but he had let up as Howard appeared to be charging to take it himself.


Jimmy Rollins went 0-5. Chris Coste, inserted as the designated hitter, went 0-4. Pat Burrell was 0-3. Ruiz was 0-3 but he knocked in a run so he is forgiven. All in all the Phillies left eleven batters, including way too many men at third and lead off base runners. This is truly an area of concern and why I believe the Phillies were lucky to escape with a victory in game one.

Don't get me wrong, the Phillies earned this victory. They proved to be the better team in game one against the favored Rays and game one is huge. The Phillies take control of the home field advantage and prove that they can win in Tampa. The Phillies are now three games away from bring a championship to Philadelphia so there is plenty of reasons to be happy today, and I am. The Phillies are still a long way from where they want to be there and there is still massive work to be done.

Tonight in game two Brett Myers takes the mound for the Phillies. On offense the batters will have to continue showing patience I felt they had in game one (for the most part). Winning game one definitely will ease the tension in the Philadelphia club house and may make the Rays a little more eager to get some big hits. That could bode well for Myers. Hopefully Myers shows up with the same controlled intensity he has at home. Getting through the first inning unscathed will be the key for Myers.

---------------------- Random Thoughts ----------------------

• Howard needs to calm down at first. I think his error was caused because he was too antsy to get the out. He had plenty of time.
• Victorino, I love you, but please refrain from swinging at first pitches when the pitcher is struggling and walking guys in front of you.
• What is B.J. Upton doing staring down Hamels? You want some of this?
• This game should have been 8-1 Phillies.
• Mike Schmidt doing the starting line up for the Phillies was a great omen.
• Ryan Madson continues to impress.
• Brad Lidge was awesome once again.
• I didn't think Victorino should have run home from third, testing Upton, but part of me was ok with it. You have to test the arm once since you haven't seen the Rays all year. If you're going to test the "cannon" then Victorino is the one you want running.
  

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Phour Wins Away

PHILLIES WIN NATIONAL LEAGUE!!!

Wow. Folks, for the second time in my life my favorite baseball team is officially the best team in the National League (I do not include 1983 since I was just about two years old). The Phillies punched their ticket to the World Series. I have been in love this team for a while now and today I could not be happier. But there is still business to take care of and that means focusing on the World Series, whether it be against the Tampa Bay Rays or the Boston Red Sox, who are entering their game five tonight in the ALCS with the Rays up 3-1.

Today is a deserved day of celebration though.

Cole Hamels, despite my concerns earlier, was terrific in his third start of the 2008 post season. Hamels went seven full innings and only allowed a solo home run by Manny Ramirez to put a number besides 0 on the scoreboard for the Dodgers. Hamels issued only three walks and struck out five before handing the game off to Ryan Madson in the eighth inning. Hamels was given some early run support when Jimmy Rollins hit a lead off home run off of Chad Billingsley.

The Phillies did enough on their own offensively to win but Rafael Furcal's three errors in the fifth inning helped the Phillies score two runs and open up a 5-0 lead. I could not help but feel bad for Furcal, but of course I was elated. Three errors in the fifth inning by one player? Two of those errors were on the same play. Furcal failed to play a ground ball and wound up kicking it towards the stands on the third base side. With Utley running home after the kicked ball Furcal tracked down the ball and attempted to throw Utley out at home, but the throw was errant, scoring Utley. Ryan Howard advanced to third base on the first error and was held there because of a lucky bounce of the errant throw off of the backstop. Howard would score when Carlos Ruiz hit a ball to Furcal and Furcal made another poor throw to first, sending the ball bouncing away from James Loney. Pat Burrell could have scored on an erratic throw home but remained at third base.

With a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning was there ever a doubt that the Phillies and Hamels would win that game?

While the offense actually provided run support for Hamels the pitching of the Phillies in decisive game was outstanding. For starters where did the fastball from Madson come from? Was Madson hiding that ability all year or was Madson so fired up he couldn't help but throw that major heat. Of course Brad Lidge came in to close the game out. In a non save situation Lidge was the man you wanted to see out there anyway. He was brought here to solidify the ninth innings of games and that is exactly what he did. After a lead off hit by Loney, Lidge got the next three batters to fly out, culminating with Nomar Garciaparra popping up in foul territory. Ruiz caught the ball for the clinching out and the Phillies are on their way to the World Series.

Hamels was named NLCS MVP and it would be hard to argue that. With two ace-like starts in the NLCS it was clear that Hamels was the best player in the series. Sure, Shane Victorino may have been the guy behind many key moments in the series, but it was the cool and steady Hamels that set the pace for the Phillies. In game one he dug a 2-0 hole to the Dodgers at home but never panicked and knew his team would rally behind him. He stayed in long enough to earn the victory after Utley and Burrell connected for home runs in the sixth inning. In three playoff starts Hamels has given up three runs and six walks while striking out 22 batters in 22 innings of work.


Congratulations to the Dodgers for a hard fought series. This was a tough one but the Phillies had some breaks go their way when it really counted and, let's face it, the Phillies were just the better team. I am a big fan of Joe Torre and appreciate the way he treats the game. Torre made a trip in to the Phillies clubhouse after the game last night and spoke briefly with Charlie Manuel and offered his congratulations and some words of advice. Manuel's response? He was thankful and told Torre that he was Manuel's idol.

Now it is a much deserved and needed week off. Manuel will move on to his mother's funeral. Victorino's family is actually holding off on any memorial services for Shane's grandmother until the post season is over. Hopefully the Phillies can send Victorino off with a championship.

Much more on this and the World Series as we move forward. For now we watch the ALCS and scout the opposition. Will the Rays finish off the Red Sox tonight? Or will the Red Sox make a run to extend the series. I like the Red Sox tonight but like the Rays to win this series.

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Welcome to the Playoff(s) Chase

You can read my headline any way you wish. Both applied last night in game one.

Biggest Philadelphia win since game one of the 2001 NBA Finals.

As amped as I was for game one of the National League Championship Series between my Phillies and the Dodgers, I was even more psyched when the crowd shots started to be shown on TV and you could hear the "Beat LA!" chants roaring through Citizens Bank Park with the rally towels waving. Even with Cole Hamels letting up a run in the first inning I had a feeling that it was going to be a good night for the Phillies. I started getting frustrated around the fifth inning but as is usually the case in baseball, patience can be a virtue. The Phillies made the wit for offense worth it with three runs in the sixth inning with a two run home run from Chase Utley and a solo shot from Pat Burrell and the Dodgers could not come back. Phillies take game one, 3-2.

On a night in which it seemed for a long time as though we would be calling out Hamels for not stepping up his game it was Hamels who would be praised for doing just that. Through seven innings Hamels gave up two runs and had the ability to shut down the Dodgers offense when the Phillies needed it. Hamels gave up back to back doubles by Andre Ethier and Manny Ramirez in the first inning and escaped with only allowing one run. It could have been worse. Ramirez hit his double to what is probably the deepest part of the stadium that won't be a home run. Fate? Not sure. Lucky? Oh yes.

Ramirez went 2-4 on the night but the kept at bat was in the eighth inning facing Ryan Madson in relief. Charlie Manuel made a rare trip to the mound to discuss the game plan with the pitcher's approach to one of Manuel's former players. Whatever Manuel said to Madson and the rest of the infield, it must have worked. Ramirez swung at the first pitch, which was low and outside, and lined it straight to Pedro Feliz. Key out.


After getting through the eighth inning, leaving one man on first, Madson got the game to Brad Lidge in the ninth with the lead. Lidge, showing how clutch he really is, had a 1-2-3 inning. They say pitching wins championships in baseball, and the Phillies had the upper hand for game one. Derek Lowe was cruising for the Dodgers through five innings, although the Phillies got some pressure on him in the second inning. Lowe could not get through the sixth inning though.

Chase Utley was the story of the night. Many people had questions about Utley's offensive performance through the NLDS and worried about his playoff reputation which was soiling early. Utley got off on the right foot early with a single to center field in the first inning. Utley would come on in the sixth inning and deliver the big hit of the game. With Shane Victorino advancing to second base after Rafael Furcal threw a grounder past the first baseman, Utley uncharacteristically swung at the first pitch.

Let's take a break real quick. I have said before that one of my pet peeves in baseball is swinging at the first pitch. It's just stupid. However, I do have an exception too that rule; It is ok to swing at the first pitch when you hit a multi run home run that ties or gives your team the lead.

Utley must be familiar with my rules and exceptions. Utley hit a two run home run that switched the momentum of the game from one dug out to the other. While Utley only tied the game with the home run, Burrell finished it off with a solo home run two batters later, giving the Phillies the lead and officially sending Lowe to the showers.

One of the keys for the Phillies and their offense coming into this series was having the middle of the lineup produce. While Ryan Howard went 0-4 on the night Utley and Burrell didn't let that bring the team down. Jimmy Rollins was 0-4 too, which is another concern. If the top of the order isn't putting base runners on, the effectiveness of the middle of the line up will be at a minimum. Luckilly for the Phillies, Victorino would have reached on Furcal's errant throw anyway. With Utley's home run it didn't matter if he had reached second or been held to first on the error, but kudos to Victorino for advancing a base, putting himself in scoring position in a key inning.

Here is the lone complaint I will share with you though.

In the seventh inning with Carlos Ruiz on first base, Manuel sent in So Taguchi to pinch hit for Hamels. Taguchi then bunted in an attempt to move Ruiz to second. On the first pitch Taguchi popped his bunt in the air and Dodgers first baseman James Loney made a diving catch. Ruiz stays at second and Rollins grounds into a questionable double play to end the inning.

Now, if Manuel's decision was to bunt to advance the runner why would you use Taguchi? considering the two best bunters on the team are Victorino and Hamels why couldn't you just keep Hamels in for the bunt? It was a situation where you are not bunting for a hit so having Hamels at first was unlikely (Hamels by the way had a hit earlier in the game as well). I understand the decision not to use Greg Dobbs, the league's best pinch hitter this year, and agree with that decision. In a one run game in late innings I would conserve Dobbs until I really needed him in the ninth or extra innings if it got to that point. I blame Taguchi for not being able to get a bunt down on the ground, but I blame Manuel for using Taguchi. There were so many other players to use for that. Eric Bruntlett? Maybe Manuel was saving him for the defensive replacement for Burrell. Ok. What about Brett Myers? Jamie Moyer?

Whatever. The Phillies won and Manuel made up for his gaffe by telling Madson to get Ramirez to line to Feliz. So let's not dwell on that.

What we can be concerned about as Phillies fans is the fact that the Phillies scored all of their runs in one inning yet again. They escape with a victory in game one and that is all that matters, but I am sure I'm not alone in wanting to see the Phillies produce more often than one inning a a night.

Game two is this afternoon at 4:35pm. The American League Championship Series starts up tonight, getting the prime time slot. This will be the only game of the NLCS that will start in the afternoon. All remaining games, no matter how long it goes, will start at 8:22pm EST. Brett Myers looks to continue his post season performance and I believe he will come out strong today.

Game two open thread is auto-scheduled for 4:00pm this afternoon.

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NLCS Preview

It's time to officially start the coverage of the National League Championship Series between the National League East Division champion Philadelphia Phillies and the National League West Division champion Los Angeles Dodgers. We are not talking about politics when it comes to red states and blue states now folks. Pennsylvania is red for the Phillies and California is blue for the Dodgers this week.

Regular Season Records
Dodgers 84-78
Phillies 92-70

How They Got Here
The Phillies advanced to the NLCS by defeating the wild card Milwaukee Brewers in four games in the NLDS. Pitching from the Phillies was superb while the offense showed small amounts of explosiveness. Struggling at the plate and in key situations all series long the Phillies relied on the pitching of Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton to carry the team. The bullpen did their part as well, filling in when needed to get to ace closer Brad Lidge in the final inning three times. The starters were fantastic in the series and although Moyer was uncharacteristically off he only only allowed the Brewers to score twice.

Chase Utley continued to lack any presence at the plate and his two RBI double in game one was a gift from a misplayed ball by Brewers outfielder Mike Cameron. Ryan Howard came on late in the series to get some hits but Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth were able to pick up some of the slack with their own at-bats.

Playing the role of underdogs the Dodgers swept the Chicago Cubs in three games in dominating fashion. Taking advantage of Cubs errors in game one the Dodgers set the tone early for another dismal Cubs playoff series. The Dodgers got dominant pitching from Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley, and Hiroki Kuroda. Offensively the Dodgers were offensive to the Cubs.

Manny Ramierez brought his "Manny Being Manny" act to Los Angeles in a trade earlier this year and Ramierez has provided the spark the Dodgers needed into the post season. Ramierez hit .500 in the NLDS against the Cubs, adding a pair of homeruns and driving in three crucial RBIs at key moments. James Loney added six RBIs of his own in the series and Russell Martin added five.

Regular Season Matchups
It doesn't get too much more even than what the Phillies and Dodgers did to each other this season. The Dodgers struck first by sweeping the Phillies in a four game set in Los Angeles. A week later the Phillies returned the favor, sweeping the Dodgers in a four game set at Citizens Bank Park.

the Dodgers put together a better batting average than the Phillies in those eight games, but this is the playoffs. We can throw away all of those stats from earlier this year!

Storylines
This is a great series as far as storylines go. The main stream media will pick up the Manny Ramierez storylines in hopes of seeing him take the Dodgers to the World Series for a possible match up with the Red Sox, but if you look closer there are some other key stories of intrigue to digest.

Larry Bowa
Former Phillies manager, and the predecessor to Charlie Manuel, Larry Bowa is now the Dodgers' third base coach. Bowa, a Phillies Wall of Famer, helped lead the Phillies to becoming a legitimate contender in the division and an annual player in the wild card chase. While Bowa's teams never made the final push during the Scott Rolen years it ws Bowa who was routinely criticized by some fans, some media and many players for the short comings of the team. Bowa ultimately was fired and Manuel was selected to replace him. Bowa went on to become a third base coach under Joe Torre with the New York Yankees, and followed Torre to the Dodgers.

You know Bowa would love to stick it to his former employer, but I am sure there must be a part in Bowa's heart that hopes to see the Phillies win again. One thing is for sure; Bowa hates wearing that helmet on the field.

The Phillies have a former Dodger player as well. Davey Lopes. The Phillies first base coach was directly involved in "Black Friday" in 1977, a play that also directly involved Bowa.

Phillies-Dodgers Playoff History
There was a time when the Dodgers were in the same division as the Phillies. But that was when the Dodgers were playing in Brooklyn. Despite the Whiz Kids beating out those Brooklyn Dodgers for a National League pennant the two organizations have faced each other a number of times before in the NLCS. If you have been reading this blog regularly you may have seen (or possibly even read!) my NLCS Phlashback series, chronicling the 1977 and 1978 NLCS. They also faced each other in the 1983 NLCS.


Pitching Probables
Game One
Cole Hamels vs. Derek Lowe

Cole Hamels is the ace of the staff in Philadelphia, there is no disputing that. In game one of the NLDS he was masterful, shutting down the free swinging Brewers over eight innings before handing the game over to Brad Lidge. Hamels is 1-0 against the Dodgers lifetime with an ERA of 2.57. Earlier this season Hamels pitched seven innings giving up five hits and two runs in Los Angeles. His only two walks in the game were both intentional walks to Ramierez and Garciaparra.

While this is not exactly the Derek Lowe who helped guide the Red Sox to a World Series championship a few years ago, he is no pushover. After allowing two early runs to the Cubs in game one he shut them down and let the Dodgers rally to win. The Phillies will need to score on Lowe more than one inning a game.

Game Two
Brett Myers vs. Chad Billingsley

If Myers pitches the way he did against the Brewers with CC Sabatia on the mound, it would be hard to go against him in this game. Myers pitched well against the Dodgers this season, including a strong seven inning outing at Citizens Bank Park on August 25. While Myers did give up nine hits in the game he was able to keep the Dodgers off the scoreboard en route to a win.

Billingsley took the loss in that particular outing. When Billingsley pitched down the stretch for the Dodgers though he won five of his last six games to close out the season.

Game Three
Jamie Moyer vs. Hiroki Kuroda

Moyer will without a doubt be ready for his second postseason outing and it will come in the pivotal game three when the series moves back to Los Angeles. After starting slow against the Brewers Moyer seemed to find his groove that he typically does find. Unfortunately for the Phillies it may have been too late in game three against the Brewers. Moyer recieved no help from his offense in that game but Moyer did keep the Phillies in the game.

Moyer is a savvy veteran. He will be ready to do what he needs to do against the Dodgers in game three. If the Dodgers can hold off on some of Moyer's pitches though he could get into some trouble.

Taking the mound for the Dodgers will be Hiroki Kuroda, who stiffled the Phillies in two games this year. In thirteen innings against the Phillies Kuroda allowed only two runs (one in each game). He also only issued two walks in that same work load. The Phillies will need to find a way to strike against Kuroda and get him out of the game as quickly as possible.

Schedule
Every game of the NLCS will be broadcast on Fox. TBS will be airing every game in the American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. Thursday night the NLCS will get centerfield, er center stage, all to itself as the ALCS starts up Friday night. Here is the schedule for the NLCS as it stands right now...

Game 1 - October 9 8:22pm (Phillies)
Game 2 - October 10 4:35pm (Phillies)
Game 3 - October 12 8:22pm (Dodgers)
Game 4 - October 13 8:22pm (Dodgers)
Game 5 - October 15 8:22pm (Dodgers)
Game 6 - October 17 8:22pm (Phillies)
Game 7 - October 18 8:22pm (Phillies)

By the way, why in the world would the NLCS start at 4:15pm on Friday (1:15pm on the all important west coast) when the NLCS actually has a west coast team and the ALCS has two teams on the east coast? Must be the whole "fair and balanced" system being employed.

On the Record
I correctly predicted that the Phillies would get past the Brewers in four games in my NLDS Preview. Let's see if I can keep the luck going in the NLCS. I will say that the Phillies win this series in six games.

Just eight wins away.

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Defense Wins Championships

Game one of the NLDS in 2008 was a ton better than the one in 2007. Cole Hamels was phenomenal and pitched the second best game I have ever seen a Phillies pitcher pitch in the post season. The first was Curt Schilling's masterpiece in game five of the 1993 World Series. Even so, Schilling's performance only beats out Hamels' due to the fact that he threw way more pitches and the team was staving off elimination by the Toronto Blue Jays. Thank goodness for Hamels though because the offense, despite receiving a three run third inning as a gift, did nothing that was inspiring.

It is hard to pick apart a playoff victory because ultimately the only thing that matters is that the Phillies are up 1-0 in a best of five series and that is huge. Facing the much hyped CC Sabathia in game two it was thought that winning the opener was a must, not that every playoff game is a must win. The win also shoves aside some of the ghosts from the 2007 playoffs. Hamels is now over his hump from 2007, and Chase Utley hit a double and drove in a pair of runs to make amends for his poor October last year. As well as Hamels pitched, the Brewers were never really put away in this game.

The real story of this game though was defense. The Brewers defense could be blamed for the entire third inning. With Carlos Ruiz on first base, Hamels put down a bunt that was mishandled. Instead of having one runner on there were now two runners one. A couple batters later Utley came to the plate. Utley drove one to left center that Brewers centerfielder Mike Cameron possibly misjudged but recovered in enough time to make the snow cone catch. The only problem was the ball didn't say in the glove and with two outs bot Ruiz and Hamels were running allowing them to score. Utley wound up on second base instead of getting ready to field at second base. Ryan Howard walked and Pat Burrell drew another walk to load the bases. Shane Victorino then worked a walk with the bases loaded, increasing the score to 3-0.

The Phillies did play some good defense on the other hand though. Howard made a nice play down the first base line. Pedro Feliz knocked a ball down that took away a hit from the Brewers. Utley made a fantastic play on a bunt that kept the Brewers off the bases yet again as he stole the infield hit. Who knows what could have happened had any of those runners reached base?

Other than the third inning the Phillies fell back on some bad habits, such as swinging on the first pitch (Rollins and Burrell both had crucial one pitch at bats resulting in nothing). Two things drive me crazy in baseball:

1. Mets fans
2. Swinging at the first pitch

I will never understand how a batter can make a decision to swing at the first pitch, ESPECIALLY after the batter before you walks! That is just not smart baseball.

Finally there was Brad Lidge. Would I have rather have seen Hamels finish the game? Absolutely. I was saying that I would have left Hamels in and had Lidge warming up just in case. But on the other hand it is hard to be upset about bringing in a closer who has not blown a save all year. I believe that what worries people the most is not his performance, but the fact that he is overdue for a blown save. This is a good problem to have if you ask me. Yes, part of me was hoping that down the stretch that Lidge would blow a save just to get it over with but the fact remains that Lidge is still perfect in save opportunities this year. Did he make it interesting? Sweat was pouring from my face and my eye was twitching. But this is the playoffs. Every pitch is going to be nerve racking.

Game two could be a rough one. Sabathia has been on fire lately and has been having his way with the National League. He has yet to face the Phillies though so let's see how it develops tonight. The big storyline will be whether or not Brett Myers can rebound from his last two outings though. Go get 'em Myers!

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Phillies vs. Pirates: Rain Soaked Day

Good friend Kevin Deissler put together a group outing at the Philadelphia Phillies game yesterday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stef and I drove down with Susie and Matt and also got to see some people we don't usually see.

The day was a pretty wet one that washed out the Phillies alumni batting challange, but Chase Utley made the game worth the one hour and forty-something minute wait. Utley hit a two out, two run homerun in the bottom of the seventh inning to put the Fightins up.


But the play of the day, without a doubt, was when Jamie Moyer stretched a sacrifice bunt into a triple. Granted it doesn't go in the books as a triple, but anytime an over the hill pitcher reaches third on a sacrifice bunt (with not one but TWO throwing errors by the Pirates), it must be the play of the day.

Thus the beauty of baseball. You are likely to see something you've never seen before any given night.

And to try something new, here is a slideshow of the few photos I took.

View Album

Get your own

Chase Utley photo from ESPN.com

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Chase Utley

Recently I have admitted that I believe I have what is a called a "man crush" on one Chase Utley. As Harry Kalas proclaims, he is the man.



At this point in the season, he is without a doubt the most valuable Phillie. Check back in a couple months and let's see if he continues leading this team. Then I'll talk seriously about MVP potential.

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Saturday Thoughts

Those Philadelphia Phillies had a wild win last night. Talk about a whirlwind of emotions in the late innings. They were frustrating heading into the eighth inning, not scoring with men on base, and trailing 4-3. thanks to Jimmy Rollins' National League leading ninth home run and a blast from Chase Utley, the Phillies took a 5-4 lead into the final inning.

Then comes in Tom "Flash" Gordon who quickly gives up a pair of hits, allowing the Marlins to tie it right back up at five.

This was Gordon's third blown save of the season. An act like that should get the Brett Myers to closer role talk stewing a little faster. Now, I don't want to see Myers do a John Smoltz, because I want Myers to be in my starting rotation. The Phillies are in a tough situation because of the lack of action in the off-season to bolster the bullpen. But I digress, as I usually do.

The Phillies beat the Marlins and now must face Dontrelle Willis tonight, throwing out Adam Eaton in opposition. Look for a tough loss today, but a series victory with a win on Sunday afternoon.


Hey, did you hear about the NFL Draft? It's today. There are a lot of rumors flying around what the Oakland Raiders will do with the first pick (draft quarterback JaMarcus Russel from LSU, draft wide receiver Calvin Johnson from Georgia Tech, or trade the pick to someone else) so the drama should be interesting for the first few picks of the draft.

I've seen a pair of interviews with Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn and I laugh at what he says most of the time. When Quinn gets questioned on how he responds to his critics he always points out the successes he's had at Notre Dame. He is quick to point out all of the undefeated teams they faced last year (when they played them). Here they are...
Georgia Tech was 0-0.
Penn State was 1-0.
Michigan was 2-0.
Michigan State was 3-0.
Purdue was 4-0.

Ok, Quinn, those teams were all undefeated when you played them. And I was giving you Georgia Tech as a freebie. How about when he responds to his criticism of playing in the big games. When he says that at Notre Dame every game is a big game, I scoff. He is defiant in pointing out that Michigan and USC aren't the only big games they play. They sure aren't Brady. Quick blitz recap!

2007 Sugar Bowl: LSU 41, Notre Dame 14
2006 Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 20
2006: Michigan State 44, Notre Dame 41 (Remember when Quinn pointed out MSU earlier?)
2005: BYU 20, Notre Dame 17
2005: Purdue 41, Notre Dame 16 (He pointed out Purdue earlier as well)
2005: Boston College 24, Notre Dame 23
2005: Pittsburgh 41, Notre Dame 38
2005 Insight Bowl: Oregon State 38, Notre Dame 21

Does it seem like I'm bashing Brady Quinn a little too much? It is more of a bash on the high exposure to Notre Dame football. Just because a football player comes from South Bend, Indiana does not make them the player that everybody wants to watch. Quinn may become a solid quarterback for a long time and have some success in the game (despite his arm strength), but the folks on ESPN seem to have a problem differentiating between themselves if they want Quinn to be a future Tom Brady (because, if you haven't heard, Quinn's coach also coached Brady at one point in time) or if they want to make Quinn the walking target for over hyped quarterbacks everywhere. Too me it is funny watching a college football season on ESPN and having them hype the guy for Heisman candidacy, and now entering the NFL draft they make big stories on how his stock has dropped and questioning how far he'll drop.

As for the Eagles, I hope more than anything that Paul Posluszny drops that far. Not that it matters, because I'm sure the Eagles won't draft him, but I love to have a shot at a solid linebacker who doesn't do anything but tackle players. Look for the Eagles to draft a secondary position, while Pos gets picked up by a New York team.

Hey, are Matt Schaub jerseys on sale yet? I have to get one.

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