Saturday Snapshots: The Big Piece, The Red Zone, and The Greatest Freakout Ever

This time last year Brad Lidge was perfect, converting 32 straight save opportunities. And Cole Hamels was 11 - 8. But how was the team doing? On this date last year, the Phils had lost three straight (one to the Mets and two the sCrUBs) and were 2 games behind the Mets in the NL East. Relive the misery here. This year we're 22 games over .500 with an 8 game lead over Florida and Atlanta, who are tied for second. We're only a 1/2 game back of the Dodgers for the best record in the National League. So people can worry about Lidge and Hamels all they want, but the reality is we have a nasty team and there's an entire month of regular season ball left. They'll get themselves right for October. So quit whining. Go to dollar dog night and enjoy yourself.

Speaking of Lidge. . .The Phils struggling closer showed up to the park last night sporting a sweet new haircut, which he thinks will inspire him to pitch better. Looks like the buzzcut helped, too, as Lidge pitched a perfect ninth inning, earning his 26th save in the Phils 4-2 victory over Atlanta.

Maybe Raul Ibanez needs a haircut, too. Ibanez has just 9 hits in his last 61 at-bats and only 1 HR in his last 96 at-bats. This is a guy who started off the season by hitting 20 HRs in 56 games - the fastest a Philadelphia player has ever reached the 20HR mark.

Ryan Howard is "The Big Piece". I hadn't heard this, but I think it's kind of funny. Read the Jim Salisbury article online at Philly.com. And indeed Howard is doing all he can to keep this team atop the NL East. He's batting .339 with 11 HRs and 29 RBIs in his last 15 games.

The Eagles preseason victory over the Jags was misleading at best, as both the offense and the defense failed to fire on all cylinders. Of course the big story was Michael Vick, but to focus on his performance - completed 4 of 4 passes for a total of 19 yards - would be a waste of time. Yeah, he played and everyone including myself was excited to see what he could do, but his presence wasn't enough to right the O's miscues, fumbleities and overall flacid red-zone performance.

The Red Zone was a huge problem for the Eagles last year, and Thursday's game against the Jags didn't indicate things would get better any time soon. In their first three red zone possessions, the starters went FG, fumble (recovered for TD), and FG. That just flat out sucks. All last year we had to suffer and watch the Eagles lose close games that they should have won if they could just score actual TDs inside the 20 yard line. Anyone remember the Bears game last year? If not, refresh your memory. I was there, and I never want to witness anything so limp-dicked again. In 2008, the Eagles went 9 - 6 -1, and in those 6 losses they only lost one game by more than a TD. If you take out that horrible Ravens game, the Eagles lost, on average, by 5.2 points. Those are games we could've should've won if we had any success in the friggin red zone. I love David Akers, but if I have to watch him kick field goals from the 12 yard line all season, I'm gonna cut my eyeballs out.

Todd Herremanns, who could be a huge help moving the line in the red zone, had to undergo foot surgery yesterday. I really hope he gets healthy soon and that the O-Line will actually play together as a complete unit before, hmm, week 6?!? Is that too much to ask?

Amid all that, McNabb looked pretty sharp for the most part. His numbers are impressive for three quarters of play - 21/36, 244 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.

Did I mention the Eagles suck in the red zone? Let me reiterate how badly they suck in the red zone. I don't want anyone to read this any walk away without fully comprehending how much of a problem the red zone is for the eagles. As reported in The Morning Call: The Eagles ranked 22nd in the league inside the 20 last season. And so far this preseason, they went 3 of 8 against the Jags, 0 for 2 against Indy, and 2 for 5 against New England. To sum it up, the Eagles need an answer for the Red Zone. Is the answer Mike Vick? Maybe. Is it Brent Celek or LeSean McCoy? I hope so. Is it Tony Curtis? Definitely not.

In other news. . .

I found a great site called Lamebook that you should all check out. Basically it just highlights all the idiots on facebook. Try and find the post for "Fun Day", but, be warned, it's only for the brave of heart.

And last but not least, check out Deadspin's NFL preview of the Packers. If you can't laugh at this there's something wrong with you.

Oh and here's a video you will enjoy:

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335 Pounds of Twisted Steel & Sex Appeal

Shawn Andrews is giddy. Stacy Andrews is "glappy". And all Eagles fans should be terrified. Say goodbye to Runyan and Tra; Say hello to crazy town.

First there's Shawn, the "Big Kid" with the orange "Brohawk". He missed all of last summer's training camp while battling depression, sat out most of the regular season after undergoing back surgery and has yet to practice this season because of back pain. He hasn't played a down of football since September 15th, 2008 (that horrible 37-41 loss to the Cowboys) and yet the Eagles, in an effort to make him more comfortable, went out this offseason and picked up both his brother and his college roommate to join him on the Eagles new O-Line. And what did Shawn Andrews do? He posted youtube videos of himself rapping in his basement. Check out this masterpiece called "Get Your Michael Phelps On".



And of course there's this one, where he refers to himself as as "335 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal". I have to admit that Andrews is entertaining in Clinton Portis kind of way.



One doesn't want to mock someone who really may be mentally ill, and Andrews has been very public about his bout with depression. Some armchair psychiatrists have made the argument that his recent flamboyance is a byproduct of prescription medications gone awry. And if that's the case, he should get all the help he needs. But if he's just being weird for weirdness sake, the Eagles should set his ass loose and go find someone else to protect McNabb. If you're injured, you're injured. You do your rehab work and you shut your mouth until you're ready to play again. You don't go around drawing attention to how crazy you are, and, oh yeah, that you haven't played football in forever.

And then you've got Stacy Andrews, who has recently coined the term "Glappy", a mixture of glad and happy. I'll give him a pass, though, because he was talking about playing alongside his brother, and if that happens in time for the season opener at Carolina, I'll be glappy as well. I'll be the glappiest guy in London. Because when Shawn Andrews is healthy, he's a pro-bowler. And you need pro-bowlers to win championships. Jason Peter is a pro-bowl caliber player as well, so that makes me double glappy.

We just need them healthy. And preferably sane. If that happens, then whole team get their Michael Phelps on.

Little Leaguer Wants to Hurt People

Check out this video of a little league pitcher asking his coach if he can peg the next batter.



Now, read the following two articles. One from Stupid Sports Blog and one from Deadspin. I agree with the Deadspin writer, who says (bluntly), "...it's hard not to sympathize with a 12-year-old who just messed up the biggest moment of his life in front of a national TV audience. Sometimes sportsmanship can go take a fucking hike."

Today's Giant 6 Year Old

The Hostile Loner:

Cliff Lee is The Comparison King

Cliff Lee is off to an unbelievable start in the NL. Since joining the Phillies, he's gone 5-0 with 39Ks and a 0.68 ERA. And he's only walked 6 batters. Those are the kinds of numbers that make stat geeks get all hot bothered, and when they're done wiping the drool off their lips, they feel the need to somehow put Lee's numbers in perspective. And so begin the comparisons. . .

But comparisons are nothing new to Beast Lee. Even before he was traded to Philly, 99.9% of fans calling into 610WIP said they would rather have Roy Halladay. As far as they were concerned, Lee was merely a runner-up to the grand prize Halladay. I was one of those fans, and I'm happy to admit I was an idiot.

And then he was a Philly. He won 4 straight games and the comparisons to Sabathia started popping up. It makes sense, as the two aces have a lot in common. Both Cy Young winners, both former Cleveland Indians, both traded to NL teams, both start 4-0, etc, etc.

And then Lee won his fifth game. Now he's drawing comparisons to the greatest Lefty to ever pitch in the city of brotherly love. Check out this article by Rich Hoffman. If nothing else, all of this proves that Lee is a premier pitcher, and that Philly fans should sing his praises - because he won't sing his own. The ever humble Lee had this to say about his fifth win: :"It was already an unbelievable team before I got here. That's made it easy for me." Now that's a class act.

Eagles Sign TE Tony Curtis

Did the Eagles really sign an already injured TE to compete for the spot left vacant by Cornelius Ingram? You bet they did. Check out the article here.

One has to wonder what the Eagles can really expect to get out of Curtis. Since entering the NFL in 2005, he only has 11 career receptions for a total of 50 yards.

Interesting fact: In the 2007 season, Curtis only caught 3 passes, all of them touchdowns . One of those TDs was a 1 yard pass from Romo in the Cowboys 38 - 17 manhandling of the Eagles at the Linc.

Monday Funday

PHILLIES

Eric Bruntlett snagged a piece of glory yesterday by becoming only the 2nd player in MLB history to turn a game-ending, unassisted triple play. Here's the play:

With the triple play, Bruntlett saved the game for struggling closer, Brad Lidge. Had that ball gotten through the infield, Lidge would have eaten his 9th blown save. As it stands, though, Lidge earned his 25th save and the Phillies are now 6.5 games ahead of 2nd place Atlanta.

Cliff Lee will go for his 5th straight win in the NL tonight, as he takes the mound against Bobby Parnell in the series finale against the Mets. Cliff Lee is a Cy Young winner. Parnell is a relief pitcher. My money is on Lee.

Jayson Werth killed me in fantasy baseball last week. Look at his stats -- Runs (7), HR (5), RBI (9), TB (29), AVG (.440). Those are video game stats, courtesy of the Mets and Diamondbacks. He's hit more HRs in the last 30 days than he hit during the entire 2007 season. One has to wonder if the Phils will be able to keep him around in 2010. Read about the outfield problem in a good articled at The Good Phight.

EAGLES
The Eagles failed to impress anyone in their 2nd straight preseason loss, a 23 - 15 drumming handed down by Peyton Manning and the Colts. Everyone, including the coach and QB, are concerned about injuries to key players such as Westbrook, Leonard Weaver, and, oh yeah, the entire offensive line. But as Bob Brookover writes, it isn't time to panic just yet.

Michael Vick will probably be under center for some snaps against the Jags on Thursday. So obviously he's making progress on the field. But what about off the field? If we're to believe Jeffery Lurie, Vick's place on the roster is contingent upon his role in the community, particularly with regards to working in partnership with the human society. So far nothing of the sort has happened. However, meetings are planned to take place today at the NovaCare complex. Vick will not attend the meeting, though that decision wasn't his. Sal Paolantino explains in this article at ESPN.

OTHER NFL NOTES
Brett Favre made his first appearance as a Viking in a preseason matchup against the Chiefs. Favre went 1-4 for with 4 yards passing. I've always been a Favre apologist, but this time around it's really hard to stomach. Why can't all hall-of-fame-caliber athletes go out like Mike Schmidt? Prepare a speech, give as much of it as you can, and then retire. For good. You didn't see Michael Jack try to make a comeback with Mets, did you? No, beacuse Mike Schmidt isn't an idiot.



Jay Cutler had a stellar performance against the Giants on Saturday night. The Bears new QB completed 8 of 13 passes for 121 yards and a TD. If Cutler can keep his head together, and if Orlando Pace doesn't fall apart after 5 games, Chicago could be a tough team to beat this year. Matt Forte is a monster.

Brandon Marshall wants out of Denver. Meanwhile, Kyle Orton did his best to assure Denver fans he doesn't totally suck. After throwing three picks in three straight series last week against San Fran, Orton responded adequately against the Seahwaks. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 182 yards and a TD. He also threw an interception. Expect some fireworks next week when Jay Cutler and the Bears come to Denver next week.