During the winter when there wasn't much going on and I was fighting to come up with mainstream sports-related ideas to write about for this site, I did a little morning clips or "clicks" feature. Guess what? As a regular feature we're going to get busy on that again, only we're going to focus on what people are writing and saying about us from outside of the so-called Delaware Valley.
This will be baseball-centric for now, so just deal with it. Though I'll admit that between attempting to squeeze in everything in order to entertain the kids and catch some of the doubleheader from Shea (more on that coming up), I actually saw some of the Eagles in the opener. Yeah, on a sunny Sunday I was actually inside for a bit - how about that?
Nevertheless, from what I saw - and the post-game numbers bear it out - the Eagles looked good in the opener. Most notably, rookie DeSean Jackson made a nice catch for his first NFL reception and went on to pile on 106 yards.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Now do it again.
Anyway, it was an eventual weekend for the Phillies, who gained ground on the Mets in the NL East. The thing about that is it wasn't quite good enough. Despite strong pitching performances from Brett Myers and Jamie Moyer as well as a pair of clutch homers from Greg Dobbs in the first two games of the series, mixed in with a call-to-arms e-mail from Mike Schmidt, Cole Hamels came up small.
With a chance to pitch the Phillies into a tie for first place with 19 games to go, Hamels gave up two home runs to Carlos Delgado in the last visit to Shea Stadium that were rather Strawberry-esque in distance and flight.
All was not lost for the Phillies, however. Still just two games behind the Mets, the Phillies chances were greatly improved when word came out that Billy Wagner likely will not return this season.
Remember when Phillies' GM Pat Gillick chose not to re-sign Wagner because he said the medical reports didn't look good? And now the Phillies have Wagner's replacement from Houston closing games for the Phillies.
The circle of life...
Speaking of the Mets, it didn't seem as if they were too impressed with the e-mail Mike Schmidt sent to the Phillies. Never mind that early reports indicated that the players didn't really take the time to move their lips as they fought through those nine sentences from the Hall of Famer.
Regardless, back when everything was bad and falling apart and it looked as if there was going to be fights and mutiny in the Mets' clubhouse, someone stepped up and delivered the rallying cry that restored order.
But instead of an e-mail sent from Jupiter, a player sat down with a pen and paper to rally the team and bear his soul.
Would you believe it was Marlon Anderson?
Yeah, that Marlon Anderson... the guy who was the stop-gap starting second baseman for the Phillies between the Mark Lewis and Chase Utley eras.
Since leaving the Phillies, Anderson has pinballed to the Devil Rays to the Cardinals, to the Mets, over to the Nationals and Dodgers in one season, and then back to the Mets. In every stop, which included a World Series appearance with the Cardinals in 2004, Anderson has provided clubhouse leadership, the ability to play a bunch of positions and a solid bat off the bench.
Interestingly, Anderson led the National League with 17 pinch hits in 2004 and though he was developed as a second baseman since being drafted by the Phillies, Anderson has played just 92 games at the position since 2003 and just once in the past two years.
Rather than his bat or glove, it has been Anderson's writing that has made the most impact with the Mets this season. According to The New York Times:
The Mets seem to have righted their ship just in time. Back in the hideous month of June, they came back from San Diego with a 30-32 record. They held a union meeting before the first home game June 10, when Anderson distributed a sheet of paper with some numbers on it.
It was as if a certified public accountant were writing the Declaration of Independence - mostly about statistical curves and the like. But it forced the Mets to face their accruing mathematical mediocrity.
Anderson, a 34-year-old utility player in his second tour of duty with the Mets, had the clubhouse status to issue a few slogans as well as the notation that the Mets needed to play .667 ball the rest of the season. According to his study of the first 12 years of the wild card, the Mets needed a record of 92-70 to qualify for the postseason, which meant they needed to win 62 of their final 100 games, actually a .620 pace.
So how about those former Phillies and their writing? Not bad, huh?
Speaking of ex-Phillies, Scott Rolen has been hitting eighth in the lineup for the Blue Jays over the past month. Usually, Rod Barajas hits seventh.
Clicks:
Ailing Wagner Might Not Return - The New York Times
Phillies Still Chasing Mets - Bats Blog
Mets Rise Began After Some Simple Accounting - The New York Times