It's the end of the year as we know it

OK. So I ended up taking a little time off from the ol' Finger Food site. Sorry. I'm sure there were a handful of people that kept clicking onto the site every day to see if I added to the pile of dementia chronicled therein. I'm sure it will all be used against me during the commitment hearing, which is inevitable. Anyway, for the folks who kept checking in I say, "thank you," and "I'm sorry that you have nothing better to do." But then again I'm pretty sure my core audience is shut-ins and the socially inept. Come on... just look at yourself sitting there. It's New Year's Eve and you took a detour in your web surfing to visit "Finger Food."

Really, I'm truly sorry for you.

I had planned a trenchant delving into The Mitchell Report, which is half finished, but I was unmotivated to finish it. I'll probably finish it a few days from now and back date it, but in the interim the Cliff Notes version is:

Drugs are bad. Baseball management/unions are stupid. Bureaucrats in charge of investigating, testing and protecting the dopers are the worst of all.

Be that as it is, I guess it's fair to reveal what kept me away from adding to the blogs ‘o crap that dictate the course of discourse in our age. The truth?

Nothing. I didn't do a damn thing.

Oh sure, I attended the requisite catered affairs here and there and took my 3-year old boy to Washington for an afternoon at some museums and a high-powered lunch at Old Ebbitt. Other than that my biggest decision was to go out for coffee or make it myself.

In other words it was blissful and I ignored everything. That was especially the case when it came to Philadelphia and its sports teams. I almost watched a football game, but then didn't. I heard that the Sixers made a trade, but wasn't sure about the details and apparently a sport called "hockey" still exists.

Kudos. Kudos to them.

Oddly enough, I spent a few moments looking back at 2007, which is something I never do. That's mostly because the end-of-the-year retrospectives are always cheesy. Velveeta, actually. But then again most things that fall into the hands of local-TV types turn out to be over-dramaticzed and, well, fake. Worse, writer-types who put together those best-of-the-year lists always have that cooler-than-thou feel.

You know what I mean... it's like you're super lame if you didn't play the newest Deerhoof record until the MP3 files morph into the code of your operating system.

Yeah, Deerhoof.

So without further ado, here come the lists:

Best sports moments of ‘07

• Phillies win the NL East, a.k.a. the Mets really, really, really blew it. Really.

Hey, the playoffs don't happen for the Phillies all that often. In fact, with just 10 post-season appearances in 124 seasons the Phillies should be happy with anything they get.

• Marathon Olympic Trials

Not only did Ryan Hall run one of the greatest marathons ever by an American, but also young rough-and-tumble runner Dathan Ritzenhein and hard-nosed Brian Sell made the Olympic team by finishing in the top three of the marathon race through Manhattan's Central Park. Western Pennsylvanian Sell fit in his 150-miles per week of training between shifts at the Home Depot and ran a savvy race from off the pace while Hall and Ritzenhein broke away early.

Sadly the Trials will be remembered for Ryan Shay's death, but for a little while it seemed as if it was going to be viewed as a coming-out party for American marathoning.

And, as we all know, Philadelphia sports fans were completely riveted to the streaming webcast.

• USADA arbitrators rule against Floyd Landis

Why was this good? Simple. It proved that the anti-dopers were just as crooked and would go to any lengths to win as anyone else.

• The Eagles went to the playoffs

They didn't win the Super Bowl, though. Actually, the Eagles have never won the Super Bowl and they haven't won anything since 1960... yep, worse than the Phillies.

• Phillies vs. the tarp in Colorado

Yep, that was cool.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNK9L9kLZa8&rel=1]

Best records (not in order)

• Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
• Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Living with the Living/Mo' Living
• Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
• Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
• Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
• Radiohead - In Rainbows

Best moments (in order)

• Theodore Finger is born on Aug. 25

That will do it.

Funniest moments (not in order)

• Being left on M St. at 2 a.m. after a Phillies-Nationals game

• Hearing Ken Mandel say upon learning about my vegetarianism: "How about that... I never knew that [deleted] was a vegetable."

• The Thomas Jefferson re-mix before the copyright infringement

• In some true 2001 Space Odyssey innovation, The Inquirer's Bob Ford hosts a webcast called "Riffing with the Writers" with a live-sized cardboard cut-out. Meanwhile, Phillies' scribe Todd Zolecki co-hosts a podcast with his imaginary friend, Shiloh.

• The Mets choking during the final weeks of the season

Looking forward in 2008

• Despite a 15-win season from Adam Eaton, the Phillies finish third in the NL East

• After drafting an offensive lineman with the top pick, Andy Reid replaces Joe Banner as COO of the Eagles

• Curt Schilling writes an entry on his blog telling himself to shutup

• Scott Rolen finally finds a manager he can play for... it's Charlie Manuel!

• The Patriots lose in their first playoff game after the 16-0 season

• It turns out that Roger Clemens never took performance-enhancing drugs, but, as it turns out, he shot Ol' Yeller

• No athletes test positive in the Tour de France and Beijing Olympics

Looking to the winter

For anyone who has followed the news lately, there doesn't need to be an explaination about what has been happening here in Lancaster County. Though I live a short 25 to 30 minute drive from the so-called Amish Country, my part of Lancaster may as well be on the other side of the earth from there.

But when something happens out there it resonnates throughout our city. More than that, an attack to the Amish way is an assault on all of us.

On to the baseball...

Needless to say the Phillies season ended rather anti-climatically after a month in which it seemed as if the wild-card race was a bottle of soda being shook up in an industrial paint mixer. But before the top could be popped, the Phillies fizzled.

Surprised?

I get the sense that the Phillies will head into this winter more optimistic than they had been during the past failed seasons. Maybe that has something to do with how well the team played after the trade deadline, or that proven GM Pat Gillick is in charge... who knows? Just be sure that the Phillies really think the future is very bright and expect them to market the '07 season accordingly.

Nevertheless, there are a few pressing issues Gillick and the brass have to iron out. The situation with Pat Burrell and the outfield is high on that list, along with shoring up the five spots on the pitching rotation and adding strength to the bullpen.

In regard to the pitching, don't expect both Jamie Moyer or Randy Wolf to return. Wolf is a free agent who would like to return to the Phillies, while Moyer is a 20-year vet who would prefer to pitch for a team that trains in Arizona and plays near his home in Seattle. Interestingly, though, Moyer has an option for '07 that he will likely exercise. Where that leaves him and the Phillies is any one's guess.

Could Moyer be traded for a reliever? Doubtful, but you never know.

Meanwhile, if Jon Lieber and Brett Myers are going to remain at the top of the Phillies' rotation, both pitchers must do something about their fitness... or else. Not only did both pitchers' girth effect their performances -- especially in regard to injuries and athletic nature of the game -- it was also a bit embarrassing. I know Manuel said something to Lieber about his weight in the past, but it has now reached the point where it can't be a dirty, little joke. Lieber and Myers have to get into athletic shape and the Phillies have to make them.

As for the bullpen, I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so about Arthur Rhodes. Go ahead, click here and read the story I wrote when they traded for him. I'm not often correct, but whn I am I like to gloat.

Still, though he pitched well until he was worn down to a little nub, Geoff Geary is not the answer at the back end of the Phillies' bullpen. Maybe the answer is Ryan Madson, who went through something of a lost year this season as he bounced back and forth between the rotation and 'pen. Expect Madson to be back where he belongs for the entire season in 2007.

But the Phillies will still need some horses back there. Gillick definitely knows that championship teams are often built from the back to the front, and, like last year, expect the GM to attempt to strengthen the pitching staff.

Live, from New York...
I must admit that my favorite part about watching the baseball playoffs is watching the former Phillies in action. That's always been the case -- I even have a vague recollection of Jay Johnstone playing first base for the Yankees in the clinching game of the 1978 World Series. It was a day game and we lived in D.C. and Johnstone played for the Phillies earlier that year.

That's about all I remember from that World Series.

However, I remember sitting in a conference room in Citizens Bank Park listening to Ed Wade refuse to talk about Scott Rolen, Curt Schilling and Terry Francona making the run to the World Series in 2004. I think Ed thought we were picking on him.

Anyway, I especially enjoyed Bobby Abreu deliver a clutch, two-run double to open up the scoring for the Yankees in the blowout victory in last night's opener. And there, at third base was Larry Bowa waving those runners in.

Man does Bobby Abreu fit in well with that team.

A little help?

The big victory over the Marlins last night was pretty amazing when all that the team went through is taken into consideration. It would seem to me that playing an important baseball game when the team did not get to the hotel in Miami until 8:30 a.m. could have an effect on some players.

Not these Phillies.

Trade away Bobby Abreu, David Bell, Rheal Cormier and Cory Lidle? No problem. Have the general manager go on record saying the team was two years away? Pee-shaw. Start an important game at 11:30 p.m. after a four-hour, 32-minute rain delay, and wait on a bus until close to 4 a.m. figuring which airport has a pilot to fly the team to Miami?

Is that all you have?

Now all the Phillies need is for the Padres and/or Dodgers to lose two games in a row.

Of course, the Phillies have to win but that seems like the easy part. Any team that can go through what the Phils have during the past week with the homer stolen from Chase Utley on Tuesday, the 14-inning game on Wednesday, and the debacle with the rain on Thursday.

“All of a sudden, things went sour," Manuel said. “We've had to overcome some things, too. But as I look back, I see hustle. I see concentration. The outcome doesn't indicate the level of effort. At the same time, we've made a lot of mistakes. We haven't gotten it done. And it's hard to put your finger on why.”

Part of the reason why was that MLB bent down and puckered up to smooch FOX on the rump. When the Phillies were trying to get Thursday night’s game rained out so they could get to Florida before the sun came up, the reason they got from the wizards at MLB was that the Giants and Cardinals might have to play on Monday.

Huh?

According to folks following the team in Miami, the Phillies were told by MLB that the league was concerned about the possibility that the Giants and Cardinals would have to play a makeup game on Monday and that FOX was worried that it would only have American League games to broadcast when the Division series start on Tuesday.

Seriously. No joke.

But, of course, the Phillies had to win more than one game in Washington for their whine to have any cheese. Winning cures a lot of ills and the Phillies didn’t do that at RFK.

Even though the Phillies failed to take advantage of wonderful opportunities on Tuesday – when they went 11 straight plate appearances with runners in scoring position without plating a run – and Thursday when they squeaked out just five singles, they somehow find themselves breathing.

Better yet, with the core of the team set to return next season it’s hard not think that the Phillies will stash this run away in the memory banks. Yeah, they came close last year, too, but this year feels different. It might feel even more different next season if the Phillies’ outfield “improves its speed” in a way general manager Pat Gillick wants.

Of course, when I heard Gillick mention how he wanted the team to improve its speed in the outfield, I took that to mean, “We want to get rid of Burrell.”

Funny, Jim Leyland wanted to do the same thing.

Nevertheless, Burrell hit the ball hard on Thursday and Friday nights and will finish the season with some decent-looking numbers. For Burrell, 29 homers and 95 RBIs is nothing to sneeze at. Yet to mull over Burrell’s season now, after all that has been written, is nothing more than piling on.

So, since we have the time and the space, let’s think about the Phillies’ lineup for 2007:

c – ?
1b – Howard
2b – Utley
3b – ?
ss – Rollins
lf – Dellucci?/Conine?
cf – Rowand
rf – Victorino

Bench
Bourn
Coste
Roberson
Nunez

Starters
Lieber
Myers
Hamels
Moyer
Wolf?

Bullpen
Gordon
Geary
Madson
Smith
White
?
?