PhilSox Blog: January 2008

 


Carlin on Baseball

Thursday, January 17, 2008
Absolute classic!

Labels: , , ,

Santana 's New Home?

The current buzz seems to indicate that Johan Santana will be traded before Spring Training and that the current front runner is the Mets. The Yankers and Red Sox are still in the picture, but aside from not wanting the Sox to lay out too much for the Cy Young winner, I find myself torn. It appears my choices (not that they are rally mine to make) are either the Sox get him and lose Ellsbury, the Yankees get him and the Sox face him, or the Mets get him and the Phillies have to face him.

No really great option there.

I suppose that if I were asked to rank them, I'd put losing Ellsbury over letting the Mets get him, but I'd rather the Mets get him than the Yankers. All I need is to have to listen to the already annoying Yanker fans preen over their newest star acquisition. In both cases where Santana ends up not with the Sox, my real fear is not what he'll do when he pitches against my teams, but what his presence on either the Mets or Yankers would do for their overall record as the 2008 season progresses.

Of course, I can't expect the Sox to go the extra mile to keep him from the Mets. I do hope that the idea of keeping him from the Yankers is on Theo's mind. Maybe I'm daft, but in the end I still think I'd be happier seeing Ellsbury in center that I would seeing Johan on the mound in Boston.

Labels: , , , , , ,

T.O. Tears

Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I know this is not a football blog, but I just had to post about the T.O. press conference. In the past, I have never had too much to say nice about the man. The future doesn't look to bright, either. For right now, though, after watching his tearful discourse with the media following the Cowboys playoff loss to the Giants, I honestly feel sorry for the guy.

Let me explain.

For those of you who did not see it, here's the video from YouTube. I have a feeling this may not remain posted for all that long, though...



Now, after listening to Mike & Mike, I understand that a lot of people out there have the opinion that T.O. was shedding crocodile tears. I do not believe this. I believe that what was shown that evening in front of all those media members was real emotion. Unfortunately for Mr. Owens, I believe it to be a symptom of his increasing mental illness. Aside from the "suicide attempt" that he claims wasn't, T.O. shows a lot of symptoms of depression, or possibly bipolar disorder.

There may also be some delusional thinking on the part of T.O. A few minutes later in the press conference, Owens was asked a question to the effect of "What is it about this quarterback or this tema that makes you get emotional like you did a few minutes ago?" Owens went on to explain that he is always emotional about his quarterbacks, that he has always had their backs! All over the country, fans we're sitting, mouth agape, looking at each other and asking if they'd heard him right. Donovan McNabb threw-up right on his plasma TV. Jeff Garcia fell out of his chair. Even Drew Bledsoe did a spit-take!

I hope that Mr. Owens has found Jesus the way he seems to. I hope that he continues to play hard and be quiet like he did this season. I even hope for his continued success (though I could deal with it better if he played for someone other than Dallas.) But I mostly hope that he gets himself some help. I'd I fear that, once the team he's on isn't 13-3 and isn't in the playoffs, that he'll probably shed fewer tears and be less sentimental about whoever his QB is at the time.

Labels: , ,

Proud to be a Red Sox Fan!

Monday, January 14, 2008
I Stumbled Upon this video on YouTube. It was Disability Awareness Day at Fenway Park. One of the special guests was singing the National Anthem and when he got nervous, the crowd helped him out. Pretty wonderful!


God Bless Red Sox Fans!

Labels: , , , ,

Roger Clemens: Capable of a Lie?

Monday, January 07, 2008
I watched the 60 Minutes interview with Roger Clemens last night. I couldn't help but think that he just might be telling the truth. He did seem a bit shaky. He looked like a man who'd not had enough sleep as of late. Otherwise, he seemed to say the right things. He talked about Lidocaine and B-12. He asked why, if the 'roids worked so well, would ha have only done them in the sporadic time frames that his accuser spoke of? He asked why, if he supposedly provided the juice and the needles, was there no one willing to say they supplied them to him, or that he'd purchased them, or any proof such purchases? All excellent points.

So, just as I'm about cross over and begin feeling sorry for him, something crossed my mind. That something was the 2000 Worlds Series. You all should remember that one, if for no other reason because that was the series where, in the first inning of game 2, Clemens picked up the large, pointed barrel of Mike Piazza's broken bat and threw it at the Mets' slugger as e jogged toward first. The ball had gone fowl, which had caused Piazza to slow up and avoid actually getting hit with the projectile.

All of this is old news, and given the animosity between Piazza and Clemens that year (Clemens had tried to turn Piazza into Rain Man in June with a fast ball to the skull) the idea of Clemens over reacting was not too surprising. What was a surprize, and what I'm thinking of today, was Clemens reaction when Piazza headed toward him after the bat throw. First, I think Piazza would have kicked Clemens ass. They are of comparable size, but Roger seemed a but puss-i-fied in that moment, actively dodging behind the home plate ump who came to head off Piazza. Either way, in replays (that you can only find on MLB.com, you can clearly see Roger mouth the words "I thought it was the ball" to Piazza.

Pardon me while I laugh uncontrollably. That part always gets me.

So, what we are to take from this then is that due to a reflex born of decades on the mound, Clemens pick up the two-foot, jagged section of lumber and thought he had the baseball.

Right. Sure.

Even if we suspend disbelief (And what a suspension that load of BS requires!) we are then supposed to think that he would, if he had the ball, throw it not to the first baseman for the out, but side-arm it at the runner as he went up the line?

So, what does all this mean to the current bit of Clemens news? Well, let's sum it all up:
Roger Clemens hates Mike Piazza (not really relevant)
Roger Clemens may have serious eyesight issues (bat looked like ball)
Roger Clemens can lie, but only when given time to think of something not moronic (very relevant)
Roger Clemens is a goof (pretty relevant)

Seriously, although he did not go through a comic book type transformation the way "heroes" like Bonds and McGuire did, Clemens did grow a bit after his career was about a third over (circa Blue Jays). Now, he says, as recently as last night's interview, that he has always had the same, hardcore workout regimen, so that can't be it, right?

Wht then? The B-12, of course!

Labels: , ,