Phillies Breakfast Links, October 21, 2009: One More, Cole on the Spot, Yankee Spankee

by WholeCamels on Oct 21, 2009 8:16 AM EDT

Philly police move to curb possible fan excesses
P.C. euphemism for "drunken riots?"

Phillies Notes: MLB players name Happ top NL rookie
I guess it's an honor?

'Chooch-tober' taking center stage in Philly
I love when he gets excited, he bares his teeth like some attack animal.

Phillies' base stealers have flourished under Lopes
Best at what he does in baseball -- by which I'm referring to "Looking like a longshoreman."

Concentration Pays Off at Plate for Phillies’ Ryan Howard
Just an unexcitable boy.

Snatching the Memories: The Tale of Ryan Howard's 200th Home Run Ball
This is such a weird story.

Renck: Tulowitzki would have loved winner-take-all game vs. Phillies
Yeah, and I would've loved a lapdance from a lingerie model but that doesn't mean it was gonna happen.

Vicente Padilla turns into Dodgers' ace -- latimes.com
Oh man, what a creepy picture. Looks like a combination of the Night Stalker Richard Ramirez, and Gene Simmons from KISS.

Manny's not concerned about Phillies' momentum
I kind of feel like nothing really concerns Manny.

ALL ABOUT COLE (AGAIN) - Philled In
Just win, Cole.

Stairs keeps stepping up
"Stairs walks, deeeep into the night, to first base..."

Yawning disparity in MLB getting tiresome
And last year, Tampa Bay made it to the World Series. The year before, Colorado. The year before that, Detroit and St. Louis. And by the way, remember when the Phillies couldn't afford to re-sign Curt Schilling about 10 years ago because they were "small-market"?

Sabathia, offense give Yankees win in Game 4
I'm one game away in each league from watching my work environment turn incredibly hostile.

MLB All-Star Victorino on Life in Baseball - Video - FOXBusiness.com
I didn't count a single "No Questions Asked."

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Comments

Re: Lopes

I’ve never cared for the Dodgers my entire life, but learned that Lopes was a pretty good guy. What turned me to liking him was in the late ’70s when all-star fan voting was relatively new he got voted as the NL starting 2B. In an interview before the game on the TV broadcast he flatly stated something akin to “Manny Trillo is the best 2B in baseball, is having the best season, and should be starting this game.”

"Sure, luck means a lot in football. Not having a good quarterback is bad luck." - Don Shula

by Bo Diddle on Oct 21, 2009 8:49 AM EDT reply actions

Re: Yawning Disparity...

Is the author’s name really “Schmuck”?? I thought maybe this was a joke article. Its not from the Onion?

by Cthepitch on Oct 21, 2009 9:21 AM EDT reply actions

Didn't even click the article -- yes - Peter Schmuck from the Baltimore Sun

He’s been there for years, and is generally a decent baseball writer.

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on Oct 21, 2009 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions

A few interesting points about payrolls this year

Mets and Cubs were 2 and 3 with 135 million. Rockies were 18th with 75 million. Marlins, with 36 million came in front of Brave (96), Mets (135) and Nationals (59). AL Wild Card runner up Rangers were 22 with 68 million. AL Central Winner Twins were 24 with 65 million while 2nd was the Tigers at 5 with 115 million.

Of the top 10 teams in payroll, 5 didnt make it (Mets, Cubs, Tigers, Astros and Mariners).

Yanks, Red Sox (4), Angels (6), Phillies (7), and Dodgers (9) all made it to the playoffs.

Can the league count on luck/good management (or high payroll teams’ bad management) such that teams like the Twins, Rangers, Rockies and Marlins to a certain degree can be consistently competitive?

It is certainly an interesting question.

by Whack8888 on Oct 21, 2009 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Creepy Padilla

Looks like he’s about to host a segment on The How Do You Say? Ah Yes. Show

by taco pal on Oct 21, 2009 9:39 AM EDT reply actions

It'll be interesting to see what Torre does with his lineup tonight.

Dajafi mentioned in his piece yesterday that the Dodgers haven’t fielded the same lineup twice this series. Both times they’ve faced a lefty starter, Torre has installed Manny and Kemp back-to-back, which benefits us in the late innings. Will he do what he did last time against Hamels — bump Ethier up to 2nd? Or will he go with his Game 3 configuration, bumping the oompa-loompa up to 2nd, with everyone else sliding down a spot?

by PhillyFriar on Oct 21, 2009 11:10 AM EDT reply actions

This reminds me. Last year, Eduardo Perez opined on BBTN that the Dodgers had the edge in the series because the Phillies didn’t have a clear identity, which, in turn, was illustrated by the fact that Pedro Feliz didn’t know whether or where he’d be in the lineup on any given day before he got to the ballpark. So, surely, Eduardo must have picked the Phillies to win the series this year, or at least he must have picked them as soon as it became evident that Joe Torre would be throwing his team into turmoil with his lineup orders. [What’s that? He didn’t do any of that? You don’t say…]

by taco pal on Oct 21, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions

Out of all the dumbasses on BBTN, I think Eduardo Perez is the dumbest.

by FuquaManuel on Oct 21, 2009 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions

He gives nepotism a bad name.
At the end of his career the Mariners gave up Asdrubal Cabrera for him. Perez hit .195 for the Mariners. Cabrera is not yet 24 and this year hit .308 for the Indians. Talk about your bad trade.

by phillyinportland on Oct 21, 2009 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Howard's 200th

Goofy all around, but I like the solution— if she agrees to sell it, Ryan Howard will pay market price.

by Wet Luzinski on Oct 21, 2009 11:10 AM EDT reply actions

Speaking of Mr. Howard...

Here’s hoping he gets an RBI tonight and beats Lou Gehrig’s record of 8 consecutive playoff games!!! I believe they are tied right now. Yes, it’s a stupid record, but eclipsing a Lou Gehrig mark is still cool (and would give the jerks on TBS something to gush over other than Manny). Godforbid it’s a home run. May be worth more than that No. 200 ball…

by Boundforbeach on Oct 21, 2009 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions

He’s now also tied with A-Rod. Both guys might end up going into the World Series with identical streaks.

by taco pal on Oct 21, 2009 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions

that would be pretty wild.

by Boundforbeach on Oct 21, 2009 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Can it be that there are serious baseball analysts who think Ryan Howard should be a platoon player? Isn’t there some guy at Baseball Prospectus who sticks to that theory despite what Howard has accomplished? I guess if you had Albert Pujols to platoon with him at first base and neither could play anywhere else ….

by phillyinportland on Oct 21, 2009 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Verducci's new theory on "East Coast Baseball"

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/tom_verducci/10/21/five.cuts/1.html

I started thinking about East Coast Baseball as I watched the Dodgers and Angels go 0-4 in Philadelphia and New York in the LCS, all the while looking like they were not up to the challenges of the crowd and the weather. And then I thought, is there something to West Coast teams not measuring up to East Coast Baseball in October?

So I looked at all the West Coast teams — the Dodgers, Angels, Athletics, Padres, Giants, Mariners and, because they fit the criteria except for a nearby beach, the Diamondbacks — who have played East Coast Baseball in the postseason in the wild-card era, since 1995. In addition to New York and Philadelphia, other cities that fit the definition of East Coast Baseball at the time they hosted West Coast teams in the playoffs were Boston, Detroit and Baltimore.

It turns out there have been 22 playoff matchups when a West Coast team ventured into East Coast Baseball. The result: the West Coast teams are 10-36 in East Coast Baseball venues, a .217 winning percentage. In other words, get them out of their laid-back, warm environment and into the nasty conditions in the East, and they’re not even the 1962 Mets.

And it is not getting any easier. Since 2003 the West Coast teams are 3-17 in East Coast Baseball playoff environments. That’s the kind of history the Dodgers are up against tonight when they play NLCS Game 5 in Philadelphia. Bundle up, Dodgers.

by Boundforbeach on Oct 21, 2009 1:46 PM EDT reply actions

Too bad the weather’s really nice today.

by taco pal on Oct 21, 2009 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I think the nice weather will benefit Hamels, so I’m not too upset about it not being 40 degrees and wet.

by FuquaManuel on Oct 21, 2009 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions

People bitch about East Coast bias but……fact?

by Michael Levin on Oct 21, 2009 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Facts have a well-known East Coast bias.

by taco pal on Oct 21, 2009 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions

The Lopes link is clearly weaker than the awesome analysis provided here a month ago:

http://www.thegoodphight.com/2009/9/23/1051285/interesting-phillies-stats-for-2009

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on Oct 21, 2009 3:49 PM EDT reply actions

Rich get richer in 2010?

Sure, the Phillies OF is stocked, but will they continue to keep a guy like Stairs on the bench with a stud like Domonic Brown on the horizon? Bill Root @ MLBFP thinks Brown could start seeing time by the end of 2010: http://www.mlbfantasyprospects.com/2009/10/16-mlb-fantasy-prospect-domonic-brown-of-philadelphia-phillies—-scouting-report.html

by Steve @ MLB Fantasy Prospects on Oct 21, 2009 7:37 PM EDT reply actions