No Matter How Stupid, Guillen Has Right to Speak His mind

Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen allegedly said some comments about dictator and murderer Fidel Castro where he expressed his "love" for Castro and other praise. Unfortunately for Guillen, he did it in the one place where hatred for Castro is deeply imbedded.

Miami has the largest Cuban population outside of Havana and many of them have suffered personally or had loved one oppressed, jailed or killed by the vile thug. Today, the Marlins suspended Guillen for 5-games and it's up in the air whether he can survive as manager in his new city.

Now what Ozzie said was idiotic but the Marlins were wrong in suspending him. he man has his rights and opining is one of them. He claims he was misinterpreted and with todays media I cannot discount that but he still has the right to say what he wants. I get that it was purely a business decision and the Marlins need to do damage control but I'm a firm believer in the right to free speech and Guillen was denied that.

The Greatest Sound In the World Is a Whining Yankees Fan

So I wake up this morning and jump into the Jeep for the trek to work. I flip on ESPN radio and what do I hear but the stunning news that Cliff Lee is coming back to Philly.

Until yesterday, all the news was leaning to him signing with the hated Yankees or staying with the Rangers. But Ruben Amaro, Jr. righted a wrong and outsmarted the overrated Brian Cashman by landing the best pitcher on the free agent market for the second straight year (Roy Halladay was the prize last year). Showing that he learned well from his mentor the hall of famer-elect Pat Gillick, Amaro played on Lee's feelings to play in the city that once was a hated destination but now is baseball paradise. Lee likes the city, loves the coach and enjoys the team--a perfect situation.

He smacked the Yankees upside the head by taking less money than they were offering and gave the fans of New York the finger. There were reports that Yankee fans spit on Lee's wife during the playoffs last year and that may have been the final decision maker.

Good job New York, you've just been dissed for being a bunch of classless losers and Philly's gain is your brutal loss. I so enjoyed listening to your bullshit today trying to rationalize the situation by uttering drivel such as "he's not that good" or "he isn't worth the money" or my personal favorite "A.J. Burnett will pick it up this year". Sure he will.

Yesterday he was the greatest thing ever and today he's just so-so. You sound like that dude who thought he was going to score the hot chick at a bar and your rival is now at her place getting busy while you're home playing with yourself watching the last skit on Saturday Night Live all by your lonesome.

Blow me scrubs, the Phillies have the best pitching staff in baseball by far and possibly the best pitching staff ever. Enjoying losing the division to the Red Sox who scored a stud in the outfield and a stud at first while you waited for Lee to sign with you. But hey, Greinke or even Carl Pavano are out there to be you #2.

A Baseball Fan's Take On McGwire

I know, shocker! Big Mac was on 'roids.

While being 100% against the use of steroids, I can't completely condemn him and here's why.

Baseball was in a bad place in the late '90's and the fans were still pissed about labor strife. Canceling the World Series in 1994 was just too damn much for those of us who live and die with our teams.

People deserted America's game in droves and I felt like we were seeing the end of it's popularity. We heard that soccer, lacrosse and spring football were going to replace it.

Enter the Maris homerun chase with McGwire and Sosa and all of a sudden baseball got a shot in the arm (pun definitely intended). They were both roided up but no one cared because our love of baseball returned.

Neither deserve the Hall of Fame either...at least as long as they keep Pete Rose out but I digress. Not when McGwire's arms made Popeye look like a pussy and Bonds' head grew a few sizes making him look like the Elephant Man while smashing records that should be re-instated tomorrow.

So, for the record, I abhor that Big Mac cheated but I appreciate what he did to bring baseball back. That's the extent of my sympathy and admiration.

As an aside to McGwire: Dude, the crying thing is bullshit and you know it. Have you opted to stop testosterone and inject estrogen? Man up, dude, it's friggin' embarrassing.

Monday Night News and Notes

I'm back in a more limited role. The Phillies lost to the hated Yankees and the Eagles lost to the vile Cowboys so I'm in a foul mood.

Here's what's new:

-A boycott against Obama by his gay supporters. Kind of half-hearted but the beginnings of a schism none the less.

-"The jihadi's will return"

-Yo Sammy, WTF.

-Remembering the victims of communism:

What If the Yankees Choked Again?

I work in North Jersey, which is populated by Mets and Yankees fans. They tend to switch based on who is doing better like they do with the Jets and Giants, but I digress.

Anyway, the Phillies took care of their business last night with a barrage of hits and homers and the Yankmee's are currently down 4-0 to the Angels. Here's a bit of what the eventual winner will have to deal with through the magic of self-made video that captures the sheer joy and love this area has for this team:



Now there is some precedent here as the Yankmee's were up 3-0 against the hated Sox and preceded to lie down. That could happen here. Yankmee's fans were strutting around today as if they had already won telling me they would smack the Phils. Get there first, scrubs.

The laughter from the Delaware Valley would be heard in the Bronx and the crying from Fox would be heard all the way up to Alaska.

I leave you with the fallout of that epic choke (NSFW-ish):



BTW, Fuck New York!

Bud Selig is an A-Hole

But you knew that, right?

The Phillies schedule has been two day games starting at 2:37 PM east coast time and a game that was scheduled for last night at 9:37 that was snowed out.

Tonight they play Colorado at 10:00 PM in temps that will be mid-thirties at best instead of playing during the day when temps were someone near the fifties. Why? So as not to compete with the NFL. What a friggin' joke.

Oh, that makeup game will be most-likely tomorrow at 3-ish depending on the results of the Yankees game going on as we speak.

Perhaps Selig needs a crack to the dome to remember the the Phillies are THE REIGNING WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS you fucking idiot. They smacked your Brewers on the way to winning it. They deserve a bit more respect than the bullshit schedule they've been assigned just to maximize ratings and appease the Yankees.

Fuck you Selig, you are the worst commissioner in sports and don't deserve to be the leader of the best sport in America.

Oh, Colorado, build a fucking dome you losers.

When Did Cubs Fans Become Such Pussies?

There once was a time I had admiration for fans of the Chicago Cubs. They were lovable diehards who packed Wrigley field and lived and died (always) with their team every season. They were people you could respect because they seemed to respect the game.

Unfortunately, it turns out they are ill-tempered and thin-skinned Chicagoans of the Obama mode where I had them as more of the tough Al Capone mode.

Earlier this week some cretin poured his beer on Phillies Shane Victorino as he was catching a ball at the wall during a 12-2 ass kicking the Phightin's were dropping on the Cubbies. Number 8 made the catch anyway. Here's the vid (from a sorry Mets fan, btw):



Cowardly and representative of what the media portrays Phillies fans like myself as when it's not true.

Now we have word that a few fans in the right field section are perturbed that Cubs rightfielder Milton Bradley allegedly gave them the finger. Their own player gave them the finger? They probably deserved it.

Quit whining, pussies, I got the finger about eight times today alone driving down the NJ Turnpike for crying out loud. Suck it up you formerly lovable losers and start showing at least an iota of class. Just because Obama is a president from Chicago who asks like a San Franciscan doesn't mean you have to.

For the record, I hope the Cardinals win the NL Central by ten friggin' games.

Obama and Baseball: Keep Your Day Job, Kid

The Chief Executive walked to the mound, toed the rubber and with the world watching...threw like a girl:



Note the boos as well.

Now, I'm not a major league vet but for crying out loud, the dude has a tall, lanky pitchers body and he's a lefty--the perfect combo for a pitcher. And he can't throw more than a forty MPH arcing pitch in the dirt. North Korea is laughing at us. Iran is laughing at us. Now we have the baseball-crazy Latin American world laughing at us. Dude, when the leader of the Dominican Republic has reason to chuckle at us, we're in trouble.

Here's George W. Bush showing how it's done by a man who's actually played between the lines:



A friggin' strike right down the middle.

To add to that, he's a faux baseball fan as he referred to Comiskey Park as "Cominskey". Anyone who has followed the club for, oh, the last century knows it's Comiskey named after a former owner and since renamed US Cellular Field. Some fan.

More at GWP.

Update: The media fawns all over The One throwin' the old 59-footer. Too bad the mound is 60' 6" from the plate.

The Phillies are Rolling

Lidge got an easy save, Rollins and Utley turned a nice double play and Ryan Howard launched an estimated 475-foot, third deck grand slam.

Video of the bomb is here.

The Phils hold onto a half-game lead over the hated Mets.

Tuesday Night News and Notes

On the road again.

Here's what's news:

-Uber liber Richard Cohen asks: "What if Cheney's right?" He better make sure his car is not known by any of the nutroots considering this blasphemy.

-Black couple pledges to only buy from blacks. A similar stunt by whites would be racist.

-Pelosi may just be on her way out. Hit bottom, stop digging Nan.

-Blair's site is a year old. A good one at that.

-Pic at right of my boy catching in a tourney this weekend in the Poconos, PA.

Selena Roberts is Smearing A-Rod

Now I'm no Yankee fan--in fact, where I grew up most kids first words were "mama" or "dada", mine were "Giants suck". I hate NY sports teams with a passion that may be borderline insane. You have to live here to understand it.

That said, I still must stand up for A-Rod as he's facing the worst smear job of his career. Yes, he shamed the game by using steroids but the latest allegations are a different story and the person making those allegations is the same one who tried and convicted the Duke lacrosse players before they even were able to speak before a judge. Once they were exonerated, she never once wrote a word retracting her slurs or apologizing to the players. She ruined the lives of three young men because they were rich, white and, well, men.

That person is former NY Times reporter Selena Roberts. She's the first to write anything bad involving a male athlete because she's a typical hypocritical women's libber.

Here's a great quote from the excellent piece by Jason Whitlock in the Kansas City Star:

Instead, she moved on to Sports Illustrated, a seat on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters” and a new target, baseball slugger Alex Rodriguez.

Last week, the New York Daily News and The New York Times acquired “leaked” copies of Roberts’ soon-to-be-released biography, “A-Rod.” In it, according to the two New York newspapers, Roberts paints a highly unflattering picture of Rodriguez as a human being and, among other things, speculates that Rodriguez used steroids in high school.

Roberts’ speculative opinions are deemed as so credible by ESPN and others that the Worldwide Leader ran all-day updates stating that Selena Roberts believes that it’s “irrefutable” that Rodriguez used performance-enhancing drugs while a teenager.

At no point did ESPN’s TV anchors or radio broadcasters mention that Roberts was the same person who led the media charge against the Duke lacrosse players. I listened to Roberts’ interview on Dan Patrick’s radio show. Patrick never asked her about Duke lacrosse or why we should trust her reporting.

In its news story about her book, The New York Times failed to allude to her position on the Duke lacrosse case:

“Some of the accusations in the book are based on anonymous sources, and others are simply presented as knowledge the author has without an explanation of how the information was obtained.”

And that is essentially the Times M.O. for all stories critical of men, the Masters, Republicans and anyone else that is not a terrorist, abortionist or Democrat.

I think I hate Selena Roberts more now than ever because she made me defend a scumbag like A-Rod. Plus, she seems a bit creepy and bizarre.

Slumping David Wright and Mets Limp Into Town

I'd say the Met-Phillies rivalry is becoming nearly as big as the Yanks-Red Sox. Besides, at least the Mets/Phils is competitive while the Sawx just smack the Yankees around anymore.

So Citizens Bank Park will be inundated by the pathetic band of New Yorkers and there'll be a fair share of fights and beers thrown but that's what it's all about. Dudes named Tony with friends named Tony with girlfriends named Lisa will wear their David Wright jersey and it will make them a target for the ravenous horde in the second and third decks.

As for the series, we don't have to face Santana and the rest of their starting staff is pathetic (as is ours but we at least hit well). They have K-Rod in the closer roll but their set-up man--Putz --got shelled over the weekend. Add to that the struggles in the field of left fielder Daniel Murphy and we could be looking at a complete Mets meltdown before the paint dries on their spanking-new stadium in the wastelands of Queens. 2-0 Pelfry goes for the chokers while Chan Ho Park goes for the Fightin's.

The Phillies are rolling at this point and we should feast on the weak Mets staff. I'm hoping for a sweep like we got against the Marlins but winning the series will suffice. As long as the Mets crawl home in worse shape then they are now and have to deal the continuing slams in the paper everyday, I'll be a happy man.

Update: The tale of the tape.

RIP Harry Kalas

Baseball has always been a mainstay in my life. All summer it was the Phillies and it was Richie Ashburn and Harry Kalas calling the games. Both were inducted into the Hall of Fame--Ashburn as a player and Kalas as an announcer. Richie died ten years ago in a hotel room in New York where the Phils were in a series with the Mets. Harry died today in the booth in DC preparing for todays Nats-Phils game.

He was the voice I always associate with warm days, cold beers and baseball. His patented "swing and a long drive, watch this baby, this ball is outta here!" still makes me get goosebumps.

Another part of my youth has died:

Wednesday Morning News and Notes

Off to work but here's what's happening:

Pat Toomey goes on the offensive against Areln Specter.

People in California are as nervous as anyone and the Governator isn't calming any of them.

What is going on in baseball? Leave it to New York players to ruin a great game.

A true American legend passes.

A new day in Zimbabwe?

Phillies Sign Howard For $54-Million

Not a bad deal considering the guy is an RBI machine:

PHILADELPHIA -- Ryan Howard just wanted to concentrate on baseball this spring. No squabbles over his contract. No daily questions about his future.

The big slugger got his wish -- and a hefty raise, too.

Howard and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a $54 million, three-year contract on Sunday, avoiding a potentially contentious arbitration hearing.

The 2006 NL MVP will earn $15 million this season, $19 million next year and $20 million in 2011. He can increase the base salary by $1 million in each of the last two years if he wins the MVP award during the previous year. He can boost it by $500,000 if he finishes second.

He's earned it and they won a Series so it had to be done.

Let's get started now and defend the title.

Exit question: Will Philly talk radio idiots stop getting on the Phils as being a small market team?

Wednesday Night News and Notes

Interesting links from around the web:

Obama blocks a huge stimulus that would have actually put folks to work.

Does anyone really care that Michael Phelps was photographed smoking dope? I for one don't. The dude is an excellent athlete and withstood pressure that many couldn't. Lay off the man and quit harshing his mellow.

California now is not the California I left 9-years ago. The Governator has driven the state into fiscal oblivion and it's simply because he chose to govern from the middle. It appears a Sarah Conner nightmare of the apocalypse would be an improvement.

Aussie Global Warmenist's are so dramatic, they make Al Gore look somewhat normal.

I leave with the best words I can think of today: Ten days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training and the World Champion Phillies defend their title. Halleluah! Note also that Manny Ramirez has yet to be signed.

Monday Evening News and Notes

It should be a fairly normal week of posting as opposed to the erratic posting of late.

Here's what's new in the world:

Lucianne.com is getting a makeover. Meanwhile, we have groovy tunes to hear. That site is a bloggers dream for enormous content.

Almost good-looking San Diego woman is auctioning off her virginity for college coin.

Obama throws lefty backers a bone and allows a gay bishop to appear at inauguration.

What's a little misogyny between a reporter and jihadi's?

Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson make it into the Hall of Fame. I imagine Jim's first thought was something akin to "what the f**k makes me a better player fifteen years after they rejected me the first time" while Rickey mused "Rickey can't wait to see Rickey's face in Rickey's place at the Hall of Fame". Two scumbag writers sent in ballots that were blank. I'd take away their voting privileges. BTW, Henderson was a hell of a player.

Awesome headline! Dude sues Hooters for not allowing him to work there. Turning sexism on its head.

Yankess Insanity Continues: Teixeira Gets $180 Mil

You've got to be kidding me:

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Yankees reeled in another prime free agent, reaching a preliminary agreement Tuesday with first baseman Mark Teixeira for $180 million over eight years.

A person familiar with the negotiations disclosed the agreement, which is subject to a physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet final.

Teixeira's deal raises the Yankees' offseason spending spree to $423.5 million. Just last Thursday, the Yankees completed agreements with two pitchers, giving CC Sabathia a $161 million, seven-year contract and A.J. Burnett an $82.5 million, five-year deal.

You read that correctly: $423.5 million in one off-season. It seems like Steinbrenner, Jr. hates losing even more than the old man.

Nice signings all but Sabathia or Burnett could easily blow out a shoulder or elbow and the Yanks would be on the hook for their entire salaries. Plus, Sabathia is not a proven post-season stud as was made abundantly clear by the Phillies on their march to the title this year with his ugly beautiful sequence against Myers and Victorino's epic grand slam:



Teixeira is a nice player with a great glove and a sweet swing and if it had been one pitcher and him, I'd have said it was a good off-season but all of them? I've never advocated for a salary cap in baseball but I will now. Add to that the massive increase the Yanks will have to tack on to tickets and the team will be priced right out of the reach of their true fans.

Here's hoping the Phillies meet them in the Series next year and shut them down.

Pat Burrell Ends Phillies Career

There was high hopes when the Phillies selected Pat Burrell as the number one pick out of Miami back in 1998. He was a standout athlete with a nice--if long in my opinion--power stroke who had succeeded at every level.

Burrell joined the big club in 2000 and had a huge year in 2002, a year that hard core Phillies fans hoped would continue through his career. That was not meant to be and in the next few years, Burrell became the center of fan rage, his laid-back style and unflappable demeanor didn't help his case. I recall sitting in left field and hearing the Philly faithful berate Burrell inning after inning. I couldn't believe that Burrell didn't turn around and give them all the finger (like he did to the Red Sox). That's what they (we?) wanted of course but Burrell didn't oblige. I think the only thing that saved him was the way he played against the hated Mets. The dude killed them on a regular basis.

He picked it up and became a steady 25-30 homer, 85-100 RBI guy. He solidified a position that we needed filled and his arm was a thing to marvel. many a major league player hesitated coming around first on a one-bounce liner down the left field line because of his arm.

Now Burrell will be gone because of the Phils signing of Raul Ibanez--a player with a more consistent stick and power akin to Burrell's. Yet, Patty B earned everything he has gotten. He finally led the Phils to the World Series championship and for that alone will be remembered with reverence. I can guarantee that he will get a standing ovation whenever he plays at CB Ballpark regardless of what team he goes to. His last memory as a Phillie will be riding with his wife and dog in the front of the Phillies parade where he was cheered by 2-million psychotic Philly sports fans.

Good luck with whomever you play for Patty B. I think he'll contribute to an American League team for a few years as a DH.

Brad Lidge Gets Rolled In Cy Young Voting

Brad Lidge was a combined 48 for 48 in save opportunities this year yet only managed fourth in the Cy Young voting that was won by Tim Lincecum of the Frisco Giants.

Lincecum is a nice pitcher even though as starters go C.C. Sabathia should have won it but Lidge was lights out this year. A starter comes in and has a chance to get in the groove. Not so a closer who comes in many times with the game close and victory on the line. It's pressure-filled to say the least and Lidge was flawless. He blew zero saves.

I guess I'll just have to let the World Series trophy suffice but Lidge was wronged big time.