EVIL~! alkeiper

Local genius moment of the night. A scroll at the bottom of the screen advised viewers that the 10 o'clock news would not be seen tonight. However, you can see it tomorrow. (Except of course that it will be pre-empted for the playoffs again).

What you're saying essentially is that you don't believe Wagner is good in clutch situations, and that he is not worth the money he gets. To the first point, he certainly has had some hiccups. He served up one of the greatest regular season comebacks of all time. He gave up key runs in a series against the Astros last year that ultimately cost the Phillies the postseason. However, I honestly do not believe that it represents a vital failure on Wagner's part. His style is to throw straight gas past hitters. Sometimes, as it did last night, that comes back to bite you. Wagner challenges batters. He has only issued one postseason walk in his career. Personally, I would rather have a pitcher challenge batters than have one who continually walks batters (or you can have Mitch Williams, who did both). Wagner's career ERA+ is 180. The only relievers who top that are Mariano Rivera and Francisco Rodriguez. Most other relievers are not even close. Wagner is perhaps the best left handed relief pitcher of all time, and I wouldn't think that this type of performance wouldn't continue. Also, keep in mind that the Cardinals twisted themselves into fits, but feeded off Guillermo Mota. It's quite possible that they are simply a good fastball hitting club. Second, I generally agree that closers are not worth the money. I would not pay ANY closer over ten million dollars just to pitch the ninth inning. I don't think any closer can live up to that. As others said, I am not your typical Philly fan. At games, the target of my booing is most often fans, the Promotions Guy, and pitchers who throw often to first base (sorry Gavin). Yes, you have a right to boo players, especially if they perform badly. The problem comes when you boo a player before he fails, especially after one bad outing. Maybe I'm just too optimistic about this sort of thing, but when your closer comes out next time, instead of chastising him for his last outing, cheer him on for this one. The rest of my thoughts on the matter are summed up well by Bruiser and Vivalaultra. The defeatest attitude as well is nonsense. Steve Trachsel has won two-thirds of his decisions this season. Then you've got a guy who at least throws nasty stuff with or without control. The Mets could just as easily win all three games in St. Louis. I will still be stunned if the Cards win this thing.

Maybe it's just my generation, but the Bash Brothers were a HUGE phenomenon in the late '80s. I'd wager that they have as good a following on the east coast as any other west coast team. And yes, a "storied" franchise fits Hawk's definition. Losing is just as much a part of baseball as winning, if not moreso. It doesn't necessarily make them better or worse. It's just a part of their history.

I try and give credit to all teams, but you Met fans are quickly proving yourselves to be the most ignorant, insufferable fools I've seen since the days of Anglesault. Boo Wagner because he lost a game? He's a player on your own fucking team. Newsflash, relievers give up runs. Mariano Rivera spoiled everyone into thinking there was such a thing as an easy ninth inning in the postseason. You want a postseason reliever who doesn't? John Rocker pitched 20.7 postseason innings without giving up a single earned run, and he's available. Dennis Eckersley gave up a game winning home run to Kirk Gibson. Bruce Sutter had a 4.70 ERA in the only World Series he pitched. Goose Gossage twice gave up series deciding home runs. Lee Smith had an 8.44 ERA in the postseason. It is a week's worth of games. Some of your players will do better than expected, some will do worse. If you don't trust Wagner to pitch in important situations, that's fine. He has given up an unusual number of home runs. But don't boo him like you could step on the mound and do better. That's just ignorance.

I actually like the pink look, except I'd rather see the 1950s style unis. Compared to...

There are pink Phillies hats. I told Meg she'd be much cooler if she bought the baby blue 1980s throwback instead.

Mark Kiger!

I'm not watching the game, but isn't it below freezing in Detroit right now, with a huge snow storm imminent? It was 44 degrees at game time. That's far from freezing.

Wimps. I went to a game where it was 45 degress, and that was at night. I'd be in the same garb as Harden.

Huge mistake. Mussina will get a three year deal somewhere.

We've got a couple of Phillies' fans on this board. Instead of clogging the MLB thread in Sports, I figured I would post my thoughts here, and maybe we'll run with this throughout the offseason. What do the Phillies need to do to improve this offseason? I'll address the trouble spots. 1. Third Base Abraham Nunez hit .211/.303/.273 this season in 322 at bats. That performance is a big reason why the Phils failed to reach the postseason. You can take that kind of performance from a slick fielding utility infielder, but it is unacceptable for a regular starter at any position. The problem the Phillies face is that the market is barren as far as infielders go this offseason. It looks like Aramis Ramirez will be available, but he will be expensive, he's streaky and his plate discipline is an issue. This is a place where the Phils might be well served to trade for a team's extra third baseman, such as Josh Fields (White Sox) or Mark Teahen (Royals). 2. Bullpen Right now the Phillies' pen shapes up like this... Closer: Tom Gordon Setup Man: Geoff Geary RHRP: Ryan Madson LHRP: Matt Smith The Phils have some options including Eude Brito, Clay Condrey and Brian Sanches. Brito's future in the majors is in the bullpen, and it is time to find out if he can play or not. Condrey's good as the last man in the bullpen who you can easily option back to AAA if you need the spot. Sanches had a great year in AAA, but I'm not certain that he is an MLB caliber reliever. Fabio Castro will probably end up in AA Reading for more seasoning. One option could be Yoel Hernandez, who has an excellent slider but missed most of the season due to injury. There are several good options on the free agent market. David Riske has pitched seven seasons with a 123 ERA+ to show for it. Justin Speier has developed into one of the game's best middle relievers since he left Colorado three years ago. Chad Bradford's groundball tendencies would be a good fit in a hitters' haven like Citizens Bank Park. Boston reliever Keith Foulke also might be worth a flier. He had a poor year, but few free agents have his ceiling. Among the lefties, the top choices are Jamie Walker, Ray King and Steve Kline. Steve Kline is a very attractive choice. He's not only a gritty, dirtbag type of player, he's also a local product who hails from Sunbury, PA. The Phils will be in good shape if they can sign one of those guys, and great shape if they get two. 3. Starting Pitching So far the Phillies can count on Cole Hamels, Brett Myers and Jon Lieber to return next season. Jamie Moyer has a mutual option of that the Phillies should exercise their end. Gavin Floyd is a potential option, given that he is still only 23 years old and improving. In this market, you can't count on stardom. The only pitcher I would comfortably throw big money at is Jason Schmidt (or Mike Mussina, if the Yankees' decline his option). The best thing here is probably to find an innings eater who can keep the Phils in the game. Potential targets include Miguel Batista (useful due to his ability to convert to relief), Tomokazu Ohka, or Jeff Suppan. 4. Catching There are no free agent catchers better than Carlos Ruiz, so Ruiz should be given every opportunity to win the starting job. Ruiz is a line drive hitter with an excellent arm behind the plate. Chris Coste is a capable backup who can also play the corners. Given Coste's versatility, it would be wise for the Phils to grab an extra backup. Gregg Zaun or Robert Fick would be good options here. 5. Right Field Neither Aaron Rowand nor Shane Victorino hits quite well enough to play in a corner. It might be time for the Phils to finally indulge in Trot Nixon, settling him in a platoon with Jeff Conine (assuming he remains in Philly). As always, there are several outfield options for a team who can think creatively. Roward would be good trade bait to fill any of these five spots. In any case, this should be an interesting offseason.

Former Phillies' star Johnny Callison died at the age of 67. Callison was one of the brightest young stars of the mid-60s, but his ability plummeted as he entered his prime, I believe due to an eye problem.

The only thing sadder than WP is this forum's obsession with WP.

Here's a question. What's the point of those Tommy Lasorda commercials. To get us embattled fans to watch the playoffs without our teams? We're already watching!

I agree with that assessment Cheech. And let me add the same thing I said when they re-upped Vidro. Let's say this is consistant with Soriano's true level of ability. They still lost 91 games. Now that wasn't Soriano's fault. This team had the worst starting pitching in baseball. But when you're in the Nats' position, you can't spend your money on one player. You need to work on filling holes.

It's acceptable because you're laughing at ESPN, not Lidle. NYankees, Moore did attempt to kill his wife before attempting suicide. She suffered multiple gunshot wounds, but survived.

Same thing with Zumaya. Tomorrow's a travel day!

A little trivia. The Tigers have gone the longest of any MLB franchise without LOSING a World Series. They're 3-0 since their 1940 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

I hate when they play it at games. I feel like I'm in church.

That's an effective way to get out of a specific case, but it might not free you from jury duty. More likely, you'll get shuffled back into the prospective juror pool.

Is there any interest in a live chat tonight?

This was entirely my call. I like Czech as much as any poster here. The problem is that when it comes to keeping control, how am I supposed to say anything when Czech got away with it? I can't. The suspension's for 12 hours. It's a slap on the wrist and he'll be back this evening.

What's good for the Lakers is not always good for you.

Czech's taking a short vacation for that crack. Let's get back to the topic at hand.

I had jury duty over the summer. They brought everyone into the Courthouse on one day, about 200 or so. The good thing about jury duty in my county is that they assign all the cases for a month's worth of sessions. If you aren't picked for a jury THAT DAY, you're released from your obligation. I got chosen for a DUI case that got settled a few days later before it reached trial. I was done at the courthouse by 12pm and was able to get to a Red Barons game that started at 1:30.