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Had the Phillies lost last night, I would have characterized these links as a sort of palliative, a way for all of us to get our collective angst out of our systems. But, since they won, consider this a kind of combination digestive for last night tasty Barves loss and an aperatif for today's nailbiting. These are also my attempt at late-jumping onto the blog-wide Chipper fest, so enjoy a meandering walk through last night's reactions and historical paens to Larry in an attempt to pin down the vox populi on our whipping post du jour.
Phillies Beat Braves and Gain Ground in Wild-Card Race - philly.com
Pretty standard recap fare, but I've linked here for this honest moment from Charlie:
Knowing the Cardinals lost provided an extra jolt of energy.
"It sure did," manager Charlie Manuel said.
There's nothing that irritates me more than the spartan jock ethic of denying scoreboard watching, so good on Charlie for this. Another "we just gotta take care of our own business" would have been aneurysm fuel.
Actual, Real-life Footage of Chipper Jones Directly After Phillies' Loss
This is honestly really enlightening stuff, though a bit adult. Recommended click for those of unoffendable age.
In honor of j reed, an early jump! Follow me through to see what Mandy Housenick, Jim Salisbury, Joe Posnanski, and Fangraphs have in common. Hint: it is not their haberdasher.
Compare/Contrast
For those of you who teach intro level journalism or composition, these next two articles could be useful examples of what not to do when writing an argument.
Chipper Jones Saluted Before Final Philly Visit - CSN Philly
Not that Salisbury is exactly avoiding purple prose here, but look at this account of how he sees Chipper's post-game comments about Phillies' fans:
Blessed with difference-making talent and Marlboro man swagger since the day he arrived in the majors, Jones, always a fair and clean player, has often been the target of boo birds. He doesn't mind them. He has always viewed the boos for what they are - a sign of respect.
At least this is basically determinable from what Chipper says, if a bit lofty. Compare to our old friend...
Mandy Housenick! Behold:
Jones' days at the Vet and Citizens Bank Park have been filled with boos and taunts of "Larry. Larry." He could have venom for the fans here. He could talk about not liking having played in 243 games in Philadelphia.
That's not the case, though.
When you use the subjunctive tone -- "could" -- in two subsequent sentences, it could be that you're making too many assumptions about things you cannot know. At least Salisbury doesn't try to assume alternate worlds.
Retrospective Paens to Chip in Two Parts
Appreciating Understated Brilliance of Chipper Jones and Braves - Joe Posnanski, SI.com
You know, I always hear people hating on Joe Posnanski, and I always wonder, "Why? He's not maudlin, or predictable, or otherwise typical of the aging sportswriter." If you've had the same questions, this 2009 article may serve as a useful lesson. Schadenfreude note/spoiler: the Braves choke.
Chipper Jones Speaks in Tongues - NotGraphs Baseball
Have I mentioned recently how great NotGraphs is? No? Well, let me remedy that.
Unrelated, but Surprisingly Refreshing
Phillies Nominee for Roberto Clemente Award Announced - The Phillies Files
Not sure if this was handled elsewhere, but I thought it deserved some attention. Out of the manifold awards given out at the end of the season, the Roberto Clemente seems especially cool, and Rollins' certainly deserves it after his work with the Ugandan Little League team.
The Triple Crown is Not Evil - FanGraphs Baseball
FanGraphs says what I, at least, have been thinking. I get that Mike Trout should win the AL MVP, but how can you not root for a Triple Crown, statistical accuracy notwithstanding?
Soccer's Big Takeover - ESPNFC
h/t WetLuzinski. Pretty interesting stuff; I, for one, welcome our low-scoring conquerors.