I am on vacation. So…
Rollins to the DL is significant for me – even if he can make it back mid-September. He’s been very good and you never know when someone can keep/start that momentum.
John Mayberry Jr. should clearly, clearly be starting all the time.
This is interesting to me. Looks like the Phils are about to shell out $750k for Venezuelan outfield prospect Carlos Tocci. I can’t remember the Phils giving that big a bonus to a DR/Venezuela/PR prospect. He will certainly be one to watch.
Mets stink. Hopefully we can roll them and get back on track here.
“You’re talking about Lee and Halladay going down to the minors and recreating themselves, I can’t help but think about Oliver Perez NOT doing that last year.” -Mets broadcasters #lolmets
That’s awesome. Not that I feel at all sorry for the mets, but it doesn’t seem like too long ago that they had just added Santana to nice looking young core and looked like they were putting something together over there. Then the whole team got hurt for a couple years, and they got Madoff’d. Funny how these things work.
Love to root for Mayberry, by the way(if people couldnt tell). Just love guys like that – nobody expected much out of him (at least bot phillies fans – he was a high draft pick at one time) but he worked on his game, made adjustments, and made a player out of himself.
couldn’t agree more.
I am watching him to see how far he can go (short term or long term starter?). I don’t wanna say anything bcos I feel like I’ll jinx it. After seeing Jose Bautista’s ridiculous Cinderella makeover, I’m not ruling out anything.
Favorite stat from tonight’s game: 8 two-out RBI. Nothing like a 10-0 blowout to rinse off the grime of a frustrating series against a bad team.
Nightly quip regarding the abhorrent quality of our television commentary: Chris Wheeler couldn’t define the word interesting if he ate the entire “I” section of Funk and Wagnalls.
Wheels couldn’t define the word interesting if he drank Dos Equis.
I am looking forward to watching Phillies since it is so quick.
Back in April, I asked if Mayberry will be the next Jason Werth – the good version.
Looks like Mayberry has answered my question.
Prompted by your mention of that, I recall that question being asked, and at the time, I thought it was pretty ridiculous. I guess it depends how it was asked, in terms of a speculative question, I’d reduce that to probably ridiculous. Fact was, he had a pretty consistent minor league set of numbers that didn’t show a lot of anything more than half decent at best.
Clearly, he’s capable of a lot more, and that may (or may not) have a helluva lot to do with his batting stance change since around July 5.
But the fact remains that for now, even taking his whole season numbers into consideration, and sporadic opportunities to recently as harder to produce in, yet easier by selectivity in who he’d face, he’s still only had about 200 ABs, so I don’t know that he’s answered the question.
Now will he prove to be the next Jayson Werth? He’s doing a helluva job of answering that affirmatively to this point. Like JW, Canberry is doing a masterful job of forcing the manager’s hand to play him. In that regard, he’s totally the next JW.
Extra base hit perccentage
Player Hits Extra Base Hits Pct.
Canberry 51 25 49
Vic 119 47 39
Chase 80 30 38
RyHo 118 53 45
AGon 174 59 34
Granderson 130 65 50
Uggla 111 49 44
Tulo 144 61 43
Dunn 60 24 40
Everyday. Then what happens?
I wonder how much work Charlie feels like doing in terms of talking to the press tonight. If he’s game, he might consider this information.
RyHo is 0-7 versus Niese, including 3 K’s. Mayberry is 3-10 off him, including a homer and a double.
If that’s the move, Id think a fair amount of questions come out of it.
I’d like to think it will at least cross his mind.
For 2011, up to this point:
Mayberry Jr – At Bats/HR -> 17.18
Howard – At Bats/Hr -> 17.96
Plate appearances per home run, ’11:
“Big Piece” Howard 20.65
“Bigger Piece” Mayberry 18.82
Mayberry should be the starting LF the rest of the season if not 2012.
If so, what happens to the overrated Brown?
I’m not sure that brown is overrated – he definitely has the tools and the talent to be a real player – he’s just not quite there yet. This is a question that we luckily don’t have to answer right now though. I’m sure we’ll all have fun with it next spring…
Hamels placed on the DL – now scheduled to start next Monday. Hopefully this is just in the name of not rushing it and not due to a set back. Pete Orr was called up.
ok, CSN is saying that its a combo of not rushing him and needing an extra man
It’s being called a move of having an extra bat for a few days, I guess combined with that. I don’t believe they’ve announced the rotation as a result, but it’s a little tricky.
Vance tonight and KK tomorrow still make perfect sense, as scheduled, and Cliff Sunday, on normal rest.
But the Roys are the tricky part. They would have gone Saturday and Sunday, and there was talk yesterday of moving Doc ahead of Roy to stay on his normal schedule. They do that now, and Doc goes on that normal rest, it gives Roy O an extra day, maybe not a bad idea. I was looking forward to Doc getting an extra day before the final push, but I’m inclined to think that gets shelved now.
I certainly would like to see them give him at least 3 weeks off. What is the point other then getting him 2-3 starts prior to the postseason? this is nothing to mess with. We don’t need Hamels and Rollins playing lame. So tire dof this organizations approach to injuries….”Just a dead arm….” Anybody who watched that game knew it was more than that. You don’t lose 5 mph and the strike zone in the course of 1 start due to a dead arm.
Well, I think we officially have a closer problem. Madson has now been shakey in 4 of the last 5 chances, even though he only blew one of them. This has been a reoccurring issue with his for several years now. Right when you think he is about to embrace it, he seems to fumble it. I am going to assume he is healthy, but I also have my doubts there. We will see if an injury emerges.
Speaking of injury, expect to hear the Howard is nursing a midsection or wrist injury in the next few days. If he isn’t, I am starting to get really worried about him.
I don’t think Lidge or Bastardo is the answer. My guess is the organization badly wants Bastardo to set up and so do I. I don’t think he is ready for the playoff pressure.
Well, I guess Uggla wasn’t such a bad signing. WOWWWW! That boy can pound.
Kinda looks like Cole’s mound opponent Monday night ewill be Cueto. Look for a typical Cole game. One where he doesn’t give up anything, but gets no support.
Worley’s home/road splits are ridiculous. 29 hits in 48 innings. That’s prolly before tonight, not updated. ERA at home is 2.06, WHIP 0.92. That’s pretty good.
Tonight’s the night the club hits the 3 mil mark, if 42k plus is the attendance. In Game 66. last year, it took 67 home dates to make it.
That guy is just completely unbelievable.
The way he got his arms extended on that, it could have gone 600 feet. He just absolutely killed that pitch.
May-Ber-Ry May-Ber-Ry. May-Ber-Ry.
Here’s the deal on Rookie of the Year. Cliff Corcoran writes the only column I read regularly on it over at SI.com. His latest was Kimbrel first, Freeman second, which I think’s nuts, but I’ll bow to his expertise. And it’s not like Kimbrel’s been at all bad. But his latest ranking had Vance 3rd, with a note that he thought it would drop. Which is okay. Chances are better it would than wouldn’t maybe, but who knows.
But as you’d expect, Mayberry’s gotten zero attention in that “series”, and understandably so. But it’d be totally cool to at least see him sneak into like 5th place, and soon. And the scary thing is while logic tells you it will slack off, it sure doesn’t seem like it will.
I think they said that he has too much time in to be considered a rookie. Its a shame because he would be making at last a run for it. I was thinking that if he’s on this pace during the playoffs, he would have to be considered for a series mvp
I’d be totally shocked if it were true that John is not a rookie. I remember checking last year on Brown’s situation, and recall something about 135 ABs, or time on the roster. I seriously doubt Mayberry approaches either qualifier. That’s if, and it’s a huge if, I’m right on the qualifiers.
But lets’s not get big picture confused here. There is no way he’d be making a run at rookie of the year. Not with what Kimbrel and Freeman have done all year. I’m just hoping he makes a run at getting mentioned as a candidate. He wasn’t even that until recently. As a comparison, for example, I think Ian Kennedy has zero shot at a CY, but he’s a discussable candidate. I hope JMJ can get to that point. If he’s a rookie.
It does seem like Mayberry’s been around for a while because he was a late season call up in 09 and ’10, but he was used sparingly. If Ken’s 135 AB number is correct, he is still a rookie – only 60 PA in 09 and 13 in 2010. I’m by no means an expert on the more arcane aspects of the rules like this.
At any rate, I agree that he’s not going to have enough time to make a serious ROY push, unless he just does some completely absurd things for the rest of the year.
Just for fun, Mayberry’s isolated power (ISO) is sitting at .254 (I don’t thing that includes tonite – fangraphs usually is about a day behind in my experience.). Thats good for 11th in baseball among guys with at least 200 PA. Now, they say you need at least 550 PA before this stat really has much value, but it’s cool anyway
Also, his BABIP is right at .290, which is dead on league average – Which statheads will tell you means he’s not getting lucky or unlucky in terms of hitting balls at people or getting an abnormal amount of balls to drop in for hits. Which we like.
The only thing that jumps at me as not so good is that he’s currently walking at a lower rate than Howard.
The pen strategy tonight should be interesting with the day game tomorrow. I definitely think Schwimer’s still off, but Stutes is very likely. Gotta be careful with the day game tomorrow. Probably gonna have to use somebody that you’d prefer to hold off on til tomorrow, unless you wanna use Stutes for 2, which is doubtful. Oh yeah, Lidge, I forgot, he could go.
Mayberry’s hitting like his GM did for 2 wks wonsapawnathyme. It’s the standard Stanford fraternity response to getting issued a major league uniform.
this is a prediction that Mayberry is future GM?
by the way, tonight’s Coca Cola trivia ?, or whatever they call it nowadays was who led the Mets in hitting in 1969. I said Kranepool with the reservation that it might be Cleon. Care to outguess me?
Cleon woulda been my guess. It surely wasn’t Ed Charles. Jerry Grote? Think he had a .303 season once.
Cleon, .340. Not a bad average.
I’ll say. Rico Carty or Matty Alou-like.
GM? Nah, he’s too tall. Stumpy men rule. Examples: Danny DeVito, Don Rickles.
Vance heads into his final inning with a shot at closing his ERA at right around 2.50. 2.50 and 9-1 makes for a nice marketing tool.
I was wrong. It was Howards ankle. I say sit him for a week at least. Why just give him a day or two?
By the way, this Phillies lineup tonight is one the Giant’s would kill for, even last year…when they won their title.
Space oddity: Giants averaging only 2.43 rpg at AT&T, a flamboyant 3.96 away. Lucky they have arms.
speaking of bench regulars who suddenly start to show great hitting ability in a small stretch;
Wilson Valdez is hitting .250 in the last 7 days, but with a .450 SLG and .798 OPS! 5 full hits which include 2 2B and a 3B. I can understand the lack of excitement but this is Wilson ‘GIDP’ Valdez we’re talking about.
Ok perhaps the stats are meaningless but my point is that fella has started hitting the ball to the right. Maybe it’s the person that tweaked Mayberry’s stance that got Valdez to stop pulling everything but it’s really giving a guy I affectionately call ‘the extra out’ a new dimension to his game.
I dunno, I dunno ….
Next few weeks with Rollins out, GIDP may have his own coming out party.
I expect big things.
… like the Sarge once quipped; “You gotta hit that ball hard to get that double play”
Valdez does seem to have extra talent when guys are in scoring position. You have to love getting the bottom of the lineup to contribute .
He’s definitely been squaring the ball up better than we’ve seen before. It would be real nice if he could keep that up.
First of all, on Mayberry, if he hits 3 homeruns today, the talk will elevate from playing regularly in 12 to Hall of Fame chances. So it brings to mind what H of F’er was the oldest rookie ever. Hell if I know, but in exploring Wikepedia for rookie qualifications, until 1947, the damned classification was holy cow, subject to individual writer’s discretion. Ain’t that something? So the oldest rookie in the Hall is subject to subjectivity.
Rookie qualifiers include 130 at bats, or maybe its plate appearances ( I don’t really care, the rule is what it is, and I can’t be expected to remember what I read 1 minute ago), OR 45 days on the big league roster, pre 9/1 call up date. So TFN, I’m goin with berry’s a rook. And a strong contender to be the latest bloomer in the Hall having been a rookie at 27. If he hits 3 dingers. That qualifier is CUHLEAR.
ROY, non-pitchers w/fewest games played since the award’s start in ’47:
McCovey ’59 52
Howard ’05 88
Horner ’78 89
Bob Hamelin ’94 101
Posey ’10 108
Bumbry ’73 110
Chambliss ’71 111
Braun ’07 113
_____
Only ROY to play in all 162: Richard Anthony Allen, “the Wampum Walloper” (.318, 125 R, 29 HR, 91 RBI, 352 TB, 162 OPS+). Gene Mauch’s stern grandfather to an impressionable young Gene, long ago: “Never look a gift horse in the mouth. And I mean never!”
Skipped one: Mondesi ’94 112, placing him 8th on fewest games played list.
Rounding out the top 10 is Jerome Walton ’89 116.
This game is not capturing my attention. It’s early yet, especially since it feels like a 5 hour pace. Sooooooo, let’s try to avert the boredom, and talk about Mister Charles Manuel. Recently, when the Zona Bax came to play, on his pre game show following the Doc Halladay loss, Charlie regerred to the Bax first baseman as Oglesby. I would imagine Ma and Pa Overbay wouldn’t have been too impressed.
Charlie, who does some commercial on the radio network in articulate enough form that with the magic of presumed massive splicing that it’s pretty good apparently outdone hisself this morning. He decided to spruce up 610 WIP’s programming in its waning times by dropping an F bomb.
“You know what I liked the other night? The command of [Oswalt's] pitches. He established his fastball then started throwing his changeup. Then he threw a fuckin… threw a few uhhhh… flippin uhhh… breaking balls.”
I am led to draw the following conclusions about Sir Charles. Casey Stengel lives, and I cannot wait to hear his speech at Cooperstown.
God bless Charlie Manuel, his winning ways, and his entertainment value.
The bus driver to Binghamton has awakened from his nap; motor is idling, dashboard controls review is complete, parking lot calesthenics are underway, tail light check is just around the bend, cell phone call to Chickie’s & Pete’s for a take-out bucket o’ crab fries with side of hot NE Extension sauce is the final preparation for the northbound cruise.
Was that a baseball game or the sequel to Lawrence of Arabia?
Parnell-i Jones down the stretch. Impressive straightaway speed.
0-4 … back to Mayberry.
0-4 with a walk, to be fair
“With a walk” shall be a part of the record. As will “made the 1st out in innings 2,3 & 5.” Proceed.
If .648 pace continues, 105-57 finish. The last time that happened – never. Twin 101-61s from ’76 & ’77 squads the previous best.
6-5 in last 11. Would’ve been happy news in ’61 … music to Bobby Malkmus, Bobby Del Greco and Bobby Gene Smith’s ears. 47-107.
The schedule change to a doubleheader on Saturday creates the all important question of will the Halladay-Lee tandem represent the greatest doubleheader combination in baseball history. The answer is negative. In the mid 90s, probably 1996, maybe 97. the Braves started Maddux and Glavine in a true doubleheader at Wrigley Field in Chicago. So the best the Phils can do is tie.
If only Halladay (280, 150) & Lee (589, 436) had higher historical rankings in career ERA & wins … .
I do believe Maddux (230, 8) & Glavine (446, 21) would have their hands full against ”Iron Man” Joe McGinnity (66, 49) & Christy Matthewson (8, 3) in a twinbill.
might have had their hands full with Koufax and Drysdale, too, who might have pitched a twin bill for all I know. Fact is, Doc and Cliff in a twin bill is pretty historic, or at least seems so. You don’t get 2 top dogs too often. being as Maddux and Glav actually pitched a doubleheader, I presented the fun fact. Best since Maddux-Glav at Wrigley. Might be other combos since, if Sabathia and AJ double dipped together, Mrs Burnett might nominate that combo. But being as I remember the Maddux Glav day fairly well, that’s my landmark.
That’s where we differ - as excellent as both Phils pitchers can be, as a performance tandem and commodity I view them as a ‘top dog-and-a-half’, akin to Bunning & Short.
I will concede they sweep Tracy Stallard & Jay Hook 75% of the time.
okay, top dog and a half. But name me two better dogs that barked on the same day that were this close to Maddux and Glavine since that day in the 90s. Pretty short list, if it exsists. That’s all I’m saying. Just making an insignificant trivia point.
It’s well documented how no player has ever been inducted into the Hall of Fame with a 100 per cent vote. The top 5 affirmative percentages are held by Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken, Ty Cobb, and George Brett. Each was left off 10 or fewer ballots, of approximately 500 voters, except for Cobb, who made it on a voting populous of about 200, and also was left off only a handful of ballots.
In a game where 3 successes of 10 tries is considered outstanding, there will always be a reason to choose against a guy, no matter how trite it might be. The debate on who will be the first unanimous pick to join Cooperstown could well go on for more years than the earth figures to exsist, particularly in light of Hurricane Irene’s prospective contributions to the detriment of man.
Maybe there’s another name out there coming in the near future that I’m forgetful of, but the next center of debate on this subject is the absolute greatness of Gregory Allan Maddux, pitching genius of Cub and Brave heritage. With a little Padre and Dodger blood mixed in. Any writer voting against Mad Dog would be looking at an insanity defense based on 355 wins, no matter how unimportant wins might have slipped to in the pitching field. Add to that the planting of the trivia question of how many Greg Maddux awards did Cy Young win after capturing 4 CYs in a bleeping row, core pitching piece of like 12 division winners in a row, and all that good stuff, and the numbers base is indisputable.
So the question reduces to how does anyone vote against Maddux?
And the answer, sadly, is easily.
Mad Dog, for all his positives, has 3 things working against him. And they are centered around the Hall vote being based on subjectiveness.
One thing Maddux had some degree of control over was his post season pitching slate. Subjectivity allows an emphasis on this, and the right to hold Greg from the uniqueness of unanimous privelege. His post season record on the whole was at best above average. He might have reminded people of Whitey Ford in pitching style, but not in post season ledger card work.
Secondly, a good many guys struggle to climb the 75% requirement to gain enshrinement. Writers, I’m pretty sure, can only vote for so many candidates. Can you really find flaw with a voter who knows his vote is more precious to the candidacy of a Jack Morris to that of Maddux, when he’s likely gonna crack the top 5 percentage getters, even if it’s not unanimous? Call it a vote against the system, not Maddux. And with the insurance of the Veteran’s Committe at hand, the eventual choice of right versus wrong is at least pretty likely, so calling the system out with enthusiasm is a little treacherous.
Thirdly, the discussions of who’s the greatest in any chosen endeavor. Childhood debates of Mays, Aaron, or Clemente always entertained me. For every Koufax you can name, there’s a Walter Johnson, Warren Spahn, Roy Halladay, or Stephen Strasburg to be had. Point being the past stacks up with great names, and the future no doubt offers more choices. Is Greg Maddux that superior to any of these names that he deserves historic precedence over others? In Maddux’s case, it’s at least possible, which is as complimentary as it should get. Unequivocally yes? No way. Would I vote no to uphold that? HELL NO!!! But I can’t find blatant fault with someone who does, much as I’d love to see Greg be the first.
Nobody in the history of this game ever had a career better than Greg Maddux. He drained his body of every ounce of talent, walked away with accolades, a ring, and tremendous wealth. It was all summed up best by his perfectly satisfied demeanor at his final press gathering after calling it quits. No tears, just a mood of tremendous satisfaction. And when the Hall voters somehow, some way uphold the tradition of less than 100 per cent support, it will hurt at least one of his fans a little bit. But it’s okay. At least I’ll know that the road to comparisons to Koufax go through Maddux. Among a select few others, but Greg is right in there. In a way, that’s a higher honor.
3.16 ERA is only ”genius” when you add the ‘not blessed with superior natural ability’ evaluative handicap that Maddux generally received. Won 20 twice in 23 years, pitching for a powerhouse Braves club for 11 of them. Fine career but a bit overrated in my book in the grand scheme of things. Did love his fielding. And, yes, he did demonstrate the art of pitching by mind and habit.
Umps loved him.
accountants did, too. I think he won 19 twice, 19-2, 19-4, if memory serves. 19-4 was said to be his best year. So those are pretty 20ish in spirit. Not the same, but pretty similar.
The guy won 19 4 times. he won the CY 4 years in a row. He was mediocore his 1st 2 years, and then fabulous up to age 37. If he’s overrated, then so are all 6 Dells as lead singer candidates crooning Stay In My Corner. They aren’t, and nor was Dog.
Cy Youngs are feathers in the resume cap but feather weighted by me as 32 NL writers of varying stripes and conditions bestowed them with their individual subjectivities and biases applied: some merit, some politics. Can probably safely conclude Maddux was one of 3 best in league during those seasons he got the trophy – that’s it imo.
’92-’98, 7 yrs, he was special. In 16 other seasons his work ranged from good to workmanlike to clobberville. You want to celebrate ”Mad Dog” or “The Professor” as one of the greatest ever, that’s your perfect right. He’s not in my pantheon.
On Dells, I prefer “There Is” … more gusto/spunk/conviction than the draggy, successful ballad you mentioned. To each his own.
“There Is” no doubt that “Stay In My Corner” is cornerstone material to any music chart or collection. There wasn’t, there isn’t nor will there ever be. Next, I guess you wanna tell me that “La La means I Love You” is a better tune than “I’m Sorry”, an underappreciated hit also by Philly’s Delfonics?
I can let you slide on the Dells, but if you try to tell me there was ever a better Francis Scott Key rendition than what Marvin uncorked at the 1982 NBA All-Star Game, I am rightfully concluding you are tone deaf.
Come to think of it, I may be exceeding my boundaries here. We may just connect to different tastes. I recall you saying you like country music, which, aside of Crystal Gayle’s “Don’t it Make my Brown Eyes Blue”, and possible crossover Engelbert Humperdink’s “After the Lovin” never did a thing to grip my soul, which is really what music, and I suppose sports is all about. Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought the Humperdink song also did well in country sectors.
Marvin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC0d92g0X6Y
Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind), my preferred Delfonics (of Overbrook HS) hit.
I was always partial to the unique sound of the North Philly group, the Intruders. Hard to beat “Together”, “Cowboys To Girls”, “Slow Drag”, “Sad Girl”, ”Love Is Like A Baseball Game”, “Win, Place or Show (She’s A Winner)”, etc. Did a cool version of Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion” too.
Stylistics, Chi-lites, Blue Notes … more great spawns of streetcorner doo-wop.
You’re absolutely right about Marvin’s version of “O say” from the Detroit game opening ceremony - it soars. Luckily, I have it on a mix tape. Heard it in the car the other day. Tremendous.
Want great country? Try Lefty Frizzell, Hank Williams, the Louvin Brothers, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Roger Miller, Willie Nelson. One & onlies.
L.A., not Detroit. Sorry for misinfo.
Interesting first person account of Marvin’s AS Game opening:
http://www.toddmintz.com/
Allright, keep ‘em coming Valdezzz
well. so much for the premature giddiness proclaiming that Roy O is back
fair statement. Extremely disappointing. I’m more curious and neutral on his next start, but at least he has one. Just a brutal night.
Going into Monday, the Phils lead the Brewers for HFA by 5 games. With 4 games at Miller Park coming up in September, this race is alive and well. With that in place, and the NL East separation 6 games, competition exsists. But on the premise of liklihood, it appears reasonable the Crew will play the Braves in Round 1, with home field edge, by virtue of a division title, even if the Braves have a better record. Corey Hart’s been on fire, Grienke’s been terrific, and Ryan Braun keeps improving great numbers. They’re short Rickie Weeks until right areound the Phil series, but he’ll be coming off a sprained ankle, not a lingering type thing like a groin, or hammy. And the most glaring thing about them is if you don’t beat them before Axford comes in, you’re not doing it. He’s 40-42 in saves, and that includes a bad blown one on Opening Day, or in that series. The Crew is 17-1 in games in which KRod has pitched. Both the Braves and Phils are susceptible to lefty pitching, something the Crew has little of. None in the pen, and just at the bottom of the rotation. I suspect Doug Melvin leaves it that way, tough as it will be to find quality in the remaining August trade season. LaTroy and K Rod have done well against lefties, as has Axford, and the only impressive numbers against any Crew reliever of those 3 is Gload at 4-9. Sizes are all small. Despite the lefty shortage, its hard to imagine the Braves beating them. We’ll see how many mind changes we through in the remaining 5 weeks. For now, its the Crew and the Phils in the LCS. 4 straight LCS series is pretty impressive.
Say what?
I can’t say I’m surprised that Joe Maddon scored first place in an SI poll of most popular manager in a poll of a seemingly credible group, the players. But Charlie finished 11th in the top 15? Behind Ozzie Guillen (6th) and TLR 8th? They must have polled the young guys Charlie’s hesitated to use over the years. I’d have expected a more favorable result. Guess we’ll have to be careful about the idea that players want to come here because of Charlie. I always thought that was pretty secondary anyway, but maybe even less so than previously thought. Damn, 11th?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1108/most.popular.manager/content.1.html
Relatability counts. I don’t suppose many tentysomethings see the world ol’ Charlie’s way. He tries, but some mindsets don’t transfer at every station. Relic of another era. A winning one nevertheless.
20somethings
There are so many variable with these opinion polls it isn’t work concluding anything. How do you take the opinion of a player (say, Braun) if he voted Charlie 15th but has never been around him as a coach. What exactly is his frame of reference for selecting? If he only selects those coaches he knows or has played for, then what is the point? The only think meaningful about Charlie would be if you polled every current player and former player, assured confidentiality, and published the questions you asked and the answers. That is the only way to get meaningful info. Then do that for each manager. Then you can make conclusions such as, “For those players that have played for LaRussa, (A) XXX% had respect for him (B) XXX% hated him but thought he was a good manager, etc.
I think it is time to admit that the Phils are looking more and more like the Chicago bulls of the 2010-2011 NBA season. They had the best record and were seen as a very good team, but didn’t scare anyone. This Phillies team doesn’t scare anyone – not Zona, Brew, or Atlanta. And certainly not the Giants if they get there. Age is starting to show as important cogs are limping into the post-season or even questionable to participate at all (Hamels, Polanco, Rollins, Madson and Howard?)
The baseball season is long and while they are playing like only the 4th best of those teams currently, they still would stand at least a 50/50 chance of winning a series against any of them, even if it started today. But not much more than 50/50. The Phils strength, starting pitching, has even cooled. Still very good, but not dominant. The great equalizer is that every team knows if they average 3 or more runs a game they can probably win the series. That is what will haunt this team.