Comments on: Late Flourish Secures Hamels A Win

By: Don M

Don M — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:34:01 +0000

…Shea Stadium… 2002 or 2003?? me and two buddies go to the Phillies game… its spitting-raining…thursday-day game in probably June or something.. sitting in half-decent seats in foul-area 3rd base/LF… cheering when we score, nothing too crazy…. a kid, no lie…maybe 8 years old… my buddy boos when Jose Mesa comes out of the bullpen… “YOU SUCK, MESA!!” ….the 8-year-old… “NO, YOU SUCK, A$$HOLE!!!” ….. his dad didn’t think anything of it, and we had no idea what to say…

But people threw snowballs at Santa in like 1936, and we still have to hear about every other week

By: Don M

Don M — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:28:19 +0000

I think that’s why everyone still likes Burrell… even when he was terrible he kept saying how much he loved it here, and how passionate the were. He had his chance to go to Baltimore, but declined the trade, so he’s still here… putting up great numbers right now!

There was good talk on WIP yesterday about how out-of-hand phillies games…mainly the tailgates beforehand are getting… groups of people drunk and cursing, pissing on anything and everything..even with families and kids walking by… Dads that asked them to watch their language getting beer thrown at them, and told to shut the **** up!!… I always forget how much tougher people are when they are drunk AND have 10 friends with them. But they said “college night” and “dollar dog night” are the worst offenders.. no surprise there.. but a few drunks like that are going to make all the parking lots have “no tailgate” rules like the lots on the Phillies property. I heard a story of the Saturday Phillies-Mets game.. girl in a Mets jersey… probably being obnoxious… arguing with a Phillies fan… “look at the scoreboard,” she said… “Yea? Look at this b!tch!” (as our wonderful fan throws a cup of $7 beer into her face..) and got arrested for it to boot!!! …A$$HOLES GET WHAT THEY DESERVE…

But my point is…these are the type of people you hear of when there is talk of “PHILADELPHIA FANS”… not like when I was in Boston for the Phillies in 2006… at the bar Cask-n-Flagon… Philly fans PACKED the place, E-A-G-L-E-S chants all day… “Nobody EVER comes here and takes over this place like your fans did,” …said the bartender, and the blonde-haired chick from Fever Pitch who were chilling at the bar…. some places its respected to know about the team you cheer for… some people think its cooler to be a drunken mess, start cheers by yourself.. and fight with people that have different home teams than you….. its in every city, in every country, for every sport…. but PHILLY gets a bad wrap…

By: Brian Michael

Brian Michael — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:00:08 +0000

Great list Don, I second your sentiments. It’s really not hard to understand Philly fans when you put it that way.

By: Don M

Don M — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:34:14 +0000

Good thing you guys don’t do drug tests here… Jeff is on crack!!! Howard would be lucky to even post the low numbers of the projections you gave him… .270… I doubt it… he’ll have to hit .300+ the rest of the season to get that… 45 Home Runs.. I think he has 4 or 5 right now, and I’d have better luck against a tough LHP than Howard right now. If he gets to .270, 45 HR, 120 RBIs i’ll eat my words… but even those stats.. are they worth $10-million dollars? NOPE..

And how horrible are Philly sports fans to McNabb?? 15 drunk idiots booed him when he was drafted…and HE won’t let it go… The thing that made McNabb so dangerous was that he was always so ellusive in the pocket, and always a threat to run…then Reid tried to make him a pocket-passer… and #5 kept throwing the ball at people’s feet when they were open…

there are very few athletes that don’t get booed in philly, because they play hard, and never complain thats all we ask…. Brian Dawkins… Mike Richards…. and Chase Utley… everyone else is open season

By: Bruce

Bruce — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:16:58 +0000

Jason~ 45 HRs and 120 RBIs by Howard can help the Phillies win the division crown and MVP for him! That’s more than fine. :-)

Repeat the mantra after me….. it’s only April…It’s only April. Oops, it’s only May… it’s only May.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:39:06 +0000

Jeff ~

.270 is fine, 45 hrs fine, 120 RBIs fine – but 200 strikeouts (breaking his own record of 199?!?!?!?) And you are suggesting why the fans are upset? I can not believe that you are even suggesting we take it easy on him!

PS the guy just won an arbitration for 10 yes 10 million!!!!

By: nick

nick — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:41:09 +0000

Howard will be fine but, Burrell should be batting clean up until he finds his rhythm.

By: Tim Malcolm

Tim Malcolm — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:36:54 +0000

Personally, Werth should start everyday as he keeps going this way, and hit in the 2-hole once Rollins returns. Jenkins can be your No. 6 against righties with Vic taking the duty against lefties. When Vic plays, Werth shuttles to right field.

By: Jeffrey

Jeffrey — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:12:21 +0000

I really can’t believe how fickle everyone is about Howard. Why do we do this to guys any other team’s fans would be thrilled to have. It’s not just baseball either. I live in DC now and my friends can’t believe how horrible Philly sports fans are to McNabb, and so far this season, people are doing the same thing to Howard.
Doesn’t anybody remember last year? 2006? This guy was a hero to Phillies fans. Relax, folks: he’s going to hit around .270 with 45-60 HR and 120-130 RBI this year.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:57:35 +0000

Agree–let Werth keep on starting at CF and let Victorino share RF with Jenkins—I think Werth, with his high pitch counts per at bat stats has matured as a hitter. He originally was a high first round pick so this could be just his talent/maturity/heath/experience all coming together finally. GO WERTH!

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:50:23 +0000

Geoff, I agree – right now there is nothing but a hole at the number 4 spot. It is an out, Howard has forgotten that left field is in play (if it was not for a broken bat last night he would have pulled it right into the shift) and this once again gives more credit to Burrell because the pressure of the whole lineup is on him. However, moving Burrell up would cause pitchers to pitch around him to get to the Strike-out king. I have to listen to the games on XM and I am so pissed that Howard got as much money as he did. I do not care that he hits about 45-55 bombs – how many rallies does this guy kill? His defense is suspect (of late it has not been bad), he lacks speed, and he does not change his approach. What made him successful was hitting the other way now he wants to announce his presence with authority. He is killing us right now.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:26:08 +0000

Yeah if vic is hitting he can be the 2 guy but if hes not werth has to be that guy for this team. jenkins is a 6 hitter on this team and he is expected to gather rbi’s at a decent rate. your first two hitters have to be able to look at a lot of pitches and get on base and steal bases. your 3 4 5 hitters also have to posses deadly patience. see manny ramirez. thats why if howard isnt right he cant be your cleanup hitter. it screws up the mojo of your lineup. hes gotta be moved to 5 or even 6 or 7 until he gets it right and is ready for the bigtime again.

By: MS

MS — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:13:17 +0000

while werth has shown he can play a solid CF, we can’t forget some of the incredible early season plays that vic made to keep him in the lineup despite his terrible offense.

By: Gavin

Gavin — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:05:15 +0000

I like the lineup from above. When is Charlie going to split Howard and Utley up? The only thing I might flip is Victorino and Werth. I like Werth in the 2 hole.

Jenkins is the odd guy out. Let him split time with Victorino in RF and let Werth stay in CF.

I’d like to see Dobbs at 3rd more too….especially against tough RP.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:36:54 +0000

This is a good problem for the Phillies to have but lets not write-off Jenkins too early – I have been as disappointed as anyone at his lack of production, but I think the important thing here is to play who ever is swinging a hot bat. Last year we all would have like a unfortunate accident to happen to Burrell during the All-Star break but he got hot and carried the Phillies.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:35:29 +0000

I agree with Werth at the top of the lineup. He actually is a perfect number two hitter because he sees a lot of pitches which would give Jroll plenty of pitches to possibly steal bases on. It also means he does not mind hitting with two strikes and with his ability to foul off pitches and work walks Utley would always have a chance to drive in runs.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:17:32 +0000

I like werth near the front of the lineup when jroll is out. he would be a good 6 hitter in the sense that he can start rallies by getting on base with one or two outs because he knows how to induce a walk. hitters that err on the side of patience tend to have better OBP’s anyway and i dont like taking that element away from the everyday lineup.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:15:52 +0000

I think the Phils can “platoon” the three outfielders Werth, Victorino, and Jenkins. I’d make sure that the first 2 would get the majority of the playing time, with Jenkins being more of a guy to play once or twice a week to spell someone, and maybe start against tough righties.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:02:50 +0000

I was worried coming into this year because Werth and Dobbs seemed to catch ‘lightening-in-a-bottle’ – I was unsure if they duplicate their success. However both have being pulling their own (and others namely the big man at first base) weight. I too believe that Werth should play every day right now – he seems to always have a solid approach (excluding one strikeout against the Brewers) when it comes to hitting. Victorino was not doing the things we need him to do – hit the ball on the ground, bunt, and steal bases. At the start of the season Victorino was upset by being moved to Center so put him in right, Werth in center.

Batting order – Jrol (when healthy), Victorino, Utley, Burrell, Howard, Werth, Perdo X2, Pitcher.

By: Don M

Don M — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:16:48 +0000

Werth really has been a great pickup… I think he was a high draft pick, that never really got a chance to play everyday. And that was what Gillick said about him before…let him play everyday, and you’ll see his talent come through… The question really is what to do with Victorino… start him in center, werth in right.. and let Jenkins pinch-hit?… I really dont think that you could justify moving Werth in to a platoon situation..he desreves to be an everyday starter right now. maybe spend a week or two easing Victorino into the lineup, giving him some rest in between starts… then see where Jenkins is… tough call for Manuel coming up… if only somebody could play SS !!!!!