The last list of the decade

Like the annual swimsuit issue, those end-of-the-year lists about the best and worst moments in our culture or history are quite odious. Worse than that, they seem pointless. Really, with the Internet and cable television available in mass quantities, who really needs to wait once a year to see old-fashioned swimsuit models?

Conversely, who doesn’t want to look at swimsuit models? It’s like eating candy. Yes, we all know eating candy isn’t good for us, but dammit it tastes so good.

I like candy, the swimsuit issue and those end-of-the-year lists. I like them despite the fact that they are stupid. But in this case the-end-of-the-year list this time around we also have the end of a decade to contend with, which makes those hacky lists of so full and rich.

So using the if-you-can’t-beat-‘em-join-‘em model as my guide, here’s a list of my favorite/memorable moments of the past decade.

• Matt Stairs’ home run in Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS
This was my favorite because it was so perfect almost in a Dave Henderson in the 1986 ALCS kind of way. In fact, the parallels are uncanny. With two outs and facing the Angels’ closer Donnie Moore, Henderson saved the Red Sox season with the go-ahead homer. He did it again in the infamous Game 6 of the ’86 World Series at Shea Stadium, but apparently they weren’t ready for a Dave Henderson statue in Boston.

The thing about Henderson’s bomb off Moore was it was set up with a homer from Don Baylor. Without Baylor, Henderson just pads his stats. That’s kind of how it was for Stairs, too. Everyone kind of forgets about that spinning line drive Shane Victorino laced into the right-field bullpen at Dodger Stadium to tie the game in the eighth inning. It was Victorino’s homer that set up the confrontation between Stairs and Dodgers’ closer Jonathan Broxton with two outs in the eighth inning.

So what happens if Broxton gets Stairs out? It’s not unreasonable to think that the Dodgers could have tied the series at 2-2 and forced it back to Philly for a Game 6 or 7. All bets are off at that point.

And with Stairs coming up to hit after just two plate appearances in the prior 15 days and zero in more than a week, it seemed to be a favorable matchup for Broxton and the Dodgers. To that point no one following the Phillies thought much of the late-season acquisition. Sure, we knew Stairs could hit, but with just 19 plate appearances in a month for the Phillies, some wondered why he had even been on the playoff roster at all.

Besides, the first time he showed up in a Phillies’ uniform in Washington on Sept. 1, Stairs looked like a coach. Charlie Manuel and Pat Gillick said they got Stairs specifically to hit home runs in late-game situations.

Guess they knew what they were doing.

Nevertheless, the interesting part about Stairs’ pinch-hit homer wasn’t so much about the distance it traveled (it was a bomb!) or that he slugged on off a pitcher who had not allowed a homer at Dodger Stadium all season. Sure, the blast helped the Phillies rally to wild, come-from-behind victory and a 3-1 lead in the NLCS, but more importantly it became the moment of a long baseball career.

Matt Stairs never needed to get another hit for the Phillies to have his place in team history. The truth is Stairs’ blast just might be the biggest pinch hit in team history—maybe even the biggest hit. His one home run did a pretty good job killing a lot of ghosts.

It killed a lot of stories, too. Ironically, Game 4 of the NLCS was on the 20th anniversary of Kirk Gibson’s famous home run against Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the ’88 World Series. Whenever they do all those lists for greatest homers of all time, Gibson’s homer is always in the top two or three even though it was just Game 1 of the series. Still, it was a pretty incredible irony that Stairs’ homer came on the same day as Gibson’s.

It also was quite ironic that 20 years to the day later, the Inquirer’s Phil Sheridan was sitting in approximately the same spot at Dodger Stadium for both Gibson’s and Stairs’ homers. Also more than a coincidence was that Sheridan was fighting those east-coast newspaper deadlines from nearly the same seat on the same day 20 years apart.

Earlier that day Phil told me that he really didn’t have the chance to enjoy Gibson’s moment because he had to quickly rewrite and send his story back to Philadelphia after writing about how Oakland and Eckersley were on their way after a victory in Game 1. Exactly two decades later Matt Stairs did it to him again. Worse, Stairs delivered a great quote in the post-game press conference to Todd Zolecki that will always be remembered:

http://www.viddler.com/player/8466cdcc/

My favorite part of Stairs’ homer aside from the post-game quotes, and expressions on the faces of the more seasoned writers sitting near me (clearly indicating that we were in unchartered waters) was that I called it. As Stairs strolled to the box, I told everyone sitting near me:

“He’s going deep right here.”

Nailed that one.

But before we get too full ourselves I should also mention that I thought Tampa Bay was going to win Game 5.

Shows what I know.

• Harry Kalas
Here’s what I wrote the day Harry Kalas died:

WASHINGTON -- So, yeah... Monday was a crazy day. It's not every day when you are one of the last handful of people to see a man alive, let alone a baseball Hall of Famer like Harry Kalas. Strangely, had I not stopped at a Best Buy south of Baltimore off I-695 to replace the laptop power cord I accidentally left at home, I never would have stepped onto the elevator with Larry Andersen, Rob Brooks and Harry.

I also would never have taken the elevator all the way up to the top floor if we hadn't been talking about the Mets opener at their new ballpark instead of the scribes' floor one below.

And finally, if I hadn't been for my forgetfulness I never would have walked along with Harry, L.A. and Rob to their respective booths before realizing I was on the wrong floor.

Crazy day all around.

I think everyone had the sense something wasn't right when David Montgomery gathered all of the traveling media outside of the visitors' clubhouse door at Nationals Park. Montgomery usually doesn't address the press unless it's really a big deal so by the look on the gathered faces and Monty's demeanor meant something extraordinary had occurred.

Of course another tip off could have been that the clubhouse was closed up as soon as Cole Hamels, Rich Dubee and Lou Marson returned from the lefty's bullpen session. A few of us were waiting out the pitcher for the latest on his progress as he prepares for Thursday night's start. Initially, when we were summoned by the PR staff to the clubhouse, I thought Hamels was going to be brought into one of the side conference rooms for us.

Then I saw Monty and those faces.

When the events were explained to us - about how Brooks found Harry collapsed in the booth, alerted the emergency medics and then rushed him to George Washington University Hospital, there was a bad sense.

Unfortunately it proved to be correct.

So yeah, it wasn't the typical day at the ballpark and I never did find out how Hamels felt after his bullpen session. It also struck me that it must have been remarkably difficult for Harry's partners in the booth to call today's game. How do they block that out and focus? How did they not want to copy the famous "Outta Here!" call when Ryan Howard hit that clutch three-run homer in the seventh inning?

How does baseball sound without Harry Kalas? I ask because I don't know... I never heard it.

Gen Xers or kids born in the '70s are prone to navel gazing and introspection. We love that "remember when" game. We love to talk about the first time we did this or heard that or what the air smelled like on a particular day something poignant happened. Maybe me more so than others, but damn, all those memories are flooding back.

I think I knew Harry Kalas' voice before I knew what his name was or even before I knew I liked baseball. All I remember was being 4 or 5 years old and running around on a visit to my grandparents house in Lancaster, Pa. I remember a baseball game was on TV and how riveting it was - especially the part where a ball was hit and a fielder threw it to the first baseman.

I was hooked. I also thought the infielders were actually throwing the ball at the runner. More than anything I remember that voice and the excitement. Since then I've learned that baseball can be pretty mundane from time to time. Not every game feels important - sometimes they just happen and that's that. They don't feel like a big deal.

But Harry Kalas never acted that way. To him, every game and every broadcast was important. Yeah, he lost a little off the ol' fastball in the last few years. He missed a few here and there, but so what. Whose voice would you prefer to hear on a home run or a big victory?

There is only one I can think of.

My grandfather, Robert Johnson, was my hero. He died in 1986 when he was just 67 from cancer. Everything worth knowing, my grandfather taught me. He taught me how to tip, how to drink coffee, how to order off the menu, how to swing a golf club, how to throw a curve, how to spit, how properly use swear words, how to tell jokes and how to read the racing form. But, most importantly, he taught me how to treat other people. Sometimes I live up to the standard, other times I fall short... though with the swearing and the horse wagering is always pitch perfect.

The point is Harry was cut from the same cloth as my grandfather. In fact, they knew each other. One time at one of those sportswriters banquets at the Host in Lancaster, my grandfather walked over to Harry and said, "Hi Harry, how have you been?"

"Great, Bob. It's good to see you..."

How did my grandfather know Harry Kalas? Needless to say, he went up a few notches in my book that day - if there were any more a mere mortal could climb.

But what made them the same was that they both knew how to treat people. The word, "no," was not in their vocabulary. If Harry was ever annoyed, he never showed it and if he thought doing something was a drag, he never said anything. Ask him anything and he had a story to go with it. Ask him about his white shoes and he'll tell you about Pat Boone. His favorite day in baseball? Anything with Mickey Vernon or his dearly departed pal, Richie Ashburn.

Too many stories and not enough time to tell them all.

As Scott Franzke said this afternoon:

"He never turned down an autograph. He never turned down a photo. He never turned down a request to record someone's out-going voicemail message," Franzke said. "As someone new in the game, he showed me that we do this for the fans. The fans are why we are here.

“The players come and go, but, 'Outta here,' lasts forever.”

Harry truly enjoyed his celebrity. He truly enjoyed the fans. It was never put on or phony. To him, he had the greatest job in the world and there is something romantic about a guy who has a calling and gets to do it until his very last breath.

Perfect. Just like one of Harry's home run calls.

Other memorable moments worth mentioning (in no particular order):

• Scott Rolen’s two homer game in the first game back after Sept. 11
• The day Larry Bowa asked me, “Are you stupid?”
• Allen Iverson in Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals
• The “practice” press conference.
• Scott Stevens’ crushing hit on Eric Lindros in Game 7 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals and how the Wachovia Center got oh so quiet.
• Keith Primeau’s goal in Pittsburgh during the fifth OT of Game 4 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals.
• Eagles losing to Tampa Bay in the final football game at the Vet.
• Eagles losing to Carolina in the first NFC Championship at the Linc.
• Eagles beating Atlanta to advance to the Super Bowl in 2004.
• The Jim Thome press conference.
• The “Next question” press conference with T.O. and his agent Drew Rosenhaus.
• Eric Lindros’ return to Philly with the Rangers.
• That dude who fell into the penalty box with Tie Domi.
• Cliff Lee in Game 1 of the 2009 World Series.
• Ryan Howard's double with two outs in the ninth of Game 4 of the 2009 NLDS
• Jimmy Rollins' game-winner with two outs in the ninth against Broxton in Game 4 of the 2009 NLCS.
• Chase Utley hitting a grand slam for his first big league hit at the Vet in 2003.
• Tim McGraw scattering some of his dad’s ashes on the mound before Game 3 of the 2008 World Series.
• Kevin Millwood’s no-hitter.
• Brad Lidge’s last pitch of the 2008 World Series.

Stealing some history

When I was a kid and my mom forced me to go to church with her on Sundays (and yes, I’m using the word “forced”), I’d wile away the time by doing a little interior decorating in my mind. Nothing drastic, mind you. The stain glass would stay in old Sacred Heart on Nevin Street in Lancaster. So too would the choir loft. In fact, that was an integral part of the new design.

The altar, of course would be the nexus point. That would be the nerve center for what I had in mind. Better yet, the altar, with its railings and comfortable chairs would serve as a Diamond Club-style seating area.

You see, while Monsignor McGovern was telling me I was going to hell (or whatever it was he was saying, I don’t remember because I was busy inside my own head), I was busy imagining the best wiffle ball venue ever. If we could get those pews out of there it would be perfect. Hit one up into the loft and it was a round-tripper. Lace one down the third-base line and into the auxiliary chapel and you have an easy triple.

Of course without the wind the place would be a veritable bandbox, but that’s the nature of wiffle ball in a church, I guess.

Nevertheless, conjuring up elaborate wiffle ball fields was how I spent my Sundays as a kid. That was unless I could sneak out without anyone noticing and stroll over to Smithgall’s Pharmacy where I would spend the dollar that had been earmarked for the collection basket on penny Swedish Fish.

Either that or I would hide out at Chris Bernhardt’s house where we would watch “The Three Stooges” until it was time for me to pretend like I was walking home from church.

But these delusions of wiffle ball were just dreams. There was no way I was ever going to get a chance to build my field in a church unless I somehow bought my own or took over Sacred Heart the way Homer Simpson did that time when he slipped on the ice and forced the Lovejoy’s out.

Who knew that church in Springfield was such a great party pad?

So sacrilegiousness aside, there is no guarantee that the wiffle ball pad would work in the church. It was a dream of a bored guy who couldn’t sneak away to buy 100 red Swedish fish and watch “The Three Stooges.” Ideally, yes, it was perfect, but so was the new Yankee Stadium when it was drawn up. Citizens Bank Park was perfect too, until they started playing games there and realized they had to move the left-field fence back.

In other words taking the game out of its natural state might not always work out. It’s actually a Pandora’s Box. In this case it isn’t removing pews and playing ball in church—it’s playing hockey in a ballpark.

Now playing hockey in the out of doors might very well be an organic setting. I really don’t know because I’m from America and the best chance for me to get ice time was at 5 a.m. at the rink in the old Posey Iron factory. Maybe we could freeze a driveway but never to a state in which it could be skated upon while serving as a place to park cars. Nevertheless, ideally, yes, hockey can be played outdoors.

The Flyers are going to do just that this Friday afternoon when they face the Boston Bruins outdoors at baseball’s cathedral, Fenway Park. The game is called “The Winter Classic” and it’s part of the annual gimmick the NHL puts together by making two teams play a real game in an unorthodox venue.

Or maybe commissioner Gary Bettman was sitting around with nothing to do and dreamed up a way his league could better serve its niche. If that’s the case he came up with a good one because people love it. Actually, they rave about the yearly game held in some other sports’ building. Last year Chicago and Detroit played at Wrigley Field, or as White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen calls it, “a bar.”

I went to a bar and a hockey game broke out…

If people love it I don’t want to be the guy wizzing on the parade, but really, the Winter Classic is a gimmick that truly puts the regional niche that is the NHL in its place in American sports fandom. By that I mean if a league has to take the game out of its normal venue and put it in a baseball or football stadium, then maybe it’s not much of a game to begin with…

Right? After all, look what happened to arena football or, ahem, "slam ball."

With the NHL and the Winter Classic, it’s not the game or the teams that matter—it’s Fenway Park, or Wrigley Field. It's brick walls and architecture. It’s being outdoors in the elements with the wind and the threat of precipitation. It has nothing to do with an actual hockey game because if it did, the NHL would play all its games outdoors in ballparks.

Why just one game?

Besides, once the game starts the folks watching on TV don’t know if the game is at Fenway Park or Maple Leaf Gardens. On TV, it’s just another hockey game. Sure, it might snow or it could even be extremely cold—but who cares?

Meanwhile, in person the sightlines look horrible, kind of like the still photos from The Beatles playing at Shea Stadium back in ’64 where the band was on stage at second base and the audience was packed into the seating area. For the Winter Classic it looks as if the center ice seats are 50 yards away from the glass. What fun is that?

It just looks like… like a gimmick.

Like I said, I don’t want to ruin the fun because it’s kind of cool that the NHL gives its fans what they want. Can you imagine if the NFL or MLB listened to the fans instead of the television networks or advertisers? However, with the Winter Classic there seems to be a sense of “wanting to” more than any other emotions.

You know “wanting to,” right? That’s when you spend a ton of money on tickets to a game or a show and it turns out to be a real dud. But when you go home and people ask how it was, you tell them it was “awesome!” because you spent so much money that you have no other choice than to like it.

Otherwise you’re an idiot for spending all that money on such a bad time.

So let’s try this out—let’s see if the NHL will stop dipping its toe into the deep end with just one piddly little outdoor game. Let’s see them build actual outdoor arenas specifically for hockey. That way they won’t have to poach off of another sport.

Of coincidences and bowl games

WASHINGTON—As a kid growing up on those rough and tumble streets here in The District, we dreamed about one day lining it up at RFK Stadium for some big university to play in the storied Eagle Bank Bowl. Then again, that dream probably wasn’t relegated to the kids from DC.

Name one kid who didn’t want to play in the Eagle Bank Bowl?

OK, no one likes a smart ass. That’s especially true when it comes to some hard-working kids doing something damn-near unprecedented. Besides, the Eagle Bank Bowl is only two years old and unless you’re talking about the Redskins, there really isn’t much history to RFK. Sure, John Riggins played here and so and throughout these pages on this little site, I have opined about Washington’s RFK Stadium and the time I spent there in my youth. Though we could never go to see the Redskins play in the ol’ ballpark (the waiting list for tickets was something like 155 years), I can recall in vivid detail of watching the Grateful Dead and the NASL’s Washington Diplomats.

And, of course, there were three years worth of Phillies games that I saw up close.

Oh yes, RFK Stadium and I go way back.

But it’s kind of odd to see a college bowl game in the old joint, particularly one involving Temple University, and I was pretty sure that I’d never step foot inside the place ever again. Sometimes a life writing sentences about sports takes you on some crazy trips.

So speaking of weird trips and bowl game dreams, it’s worth noting that Temple’s coach Al Golden was just 10 years old the last time Temple was in a bowl game. Golden grew up in Red Bank, N.J. so if he was any type of a sports fan, particularly a college sports fan, he probably knew all about Temple University.

The chances he had even heard of the Garden State Bowl of 1979 played between Temple and California is likely slim. I was one of those sports junkies (and not all that much younger than Golden), and I never knew what the Garden State Bowl was until I read the final result in some sports encyclopedia my mom bought me in a grocery store or something like that.

Hey, there was barely cable TV back then—forget about Wikipedia. We had to go to places like Peoples’ drug store or a grocery chain in order to get our sports reference guides.

Perhaps more than making fun of attending the Eagle Bank Bowl at RFK Stadium in disinterested Washington, D.C. was all the chatter about the parallels and odd coincidences for the Temple team. The last (and only) time a Temple team won 10 games was when they beat California in the Garden State Bowl to finish the 1979 season, 10-2.

Golden’s Owls can finish the 2009 season 10-3 if they beat UCLA.

Yes, it takes going to a Bowl game for Temple to get double-digits in wins for a season—just like it takes the second year of a bowl game for Temple to get an invitation to a post-season game. Temple appeared in the second Garden State Bowl just as they are in the second ever Eagle Bank Bowl.

That fact doesn’t bode well for the organizers (or sponsors) of the Eagle Bank Bowl since after Temple showed up there were only two more Garden State Bowls before it vanished.

Yes, Temple football is the proverbial “mush.”

Of course there is not a heavy sample size from which to draw upon, either. Temple went to the very first Sugar Bowl in 1935 against Tulane as the No. 3 ranked team in the country and got upset. Needless to say it’s pretty much been downhill from that point.

It’s not unreasonable to pinpont the 1935 Sugar Bowl as the high-water point for the Temple football program. After all, since then the program has just 18 winning seasons in 74 years.

Worse, since that 1979 Garden State Bowl, Temple has had exactly two winning seasons. One of them was the 0-11 season that was actually a decent year until it was learned that star running back Paul Palmer had an agent, but that isn’t explained on the Wikipedia entry or in the grocery store reference guide. There it’s just an 0-11 mixed in with a bunch of one-win seasons.

In fact, since the 1979 bowl game, Temple has had nine zero or one-win seasons. Even Al Golden has one of them on his ledger. But at this stage of the program, those typical seasons could disappear for a little while. Better yet, if Temple shows up at the Eagle Bank Bowl at RFK in 2010, they might be a little ticked off.

A return to the Sugar Bowl on the 75th year anniversary of the first game would be more like it.

The Kid against the Champ

There are all sorts of famous sayings about best intentions or best laid plans that easily can be lifted from poets like Oscar Wilde or Robert Burns and applied to defensive schemes designed to stop Eagles’ receiver DeSean Jackson. After all, these days teams plan with the intent on stopping the Eagles’ second-year receiver as they way to stop the team’s high-powered offense.

But like Jules Winnfield in “Pulp Fiction” after Brett had laid down a rap about best intentions in his gang’s hideout, Jackson always takes his opportunity to retort.

“I'm sorry, did I break your concentration? I didn't mean to do that. Please, continue, you were saying something about best intentions. What's the matter? Oh, you were finished! Well, allow me to retort.”

During the last two weeks Jackson has had the last word and then some against the best defensive backs for the Giants and 49ers. With six catches in each game for a combined 318 yards and two touchdowns, there wasn’t much to those best intentions and/or laid plans.

But then he faced Champ Bailey last Sunday. Bailey, of course, has taken a cruise around the lake a time or two in his day. Only 31, Bailey has been in the league for 11 seasons so he’s guarded a hot-shot receiver or three. Before that Bailey played receiver and defensive back for the University of Georgia, which is about as big as it gets in college football. Back then if Bailey wasn’t lining it up against a Top 10 team nearly every Saturday, he had to go against a future NFL star every weekend.

In other words, Bailey has seen guys like Jackson before. He saw them during college, in the NFC East with the Redskins, and in the AFC with the Broncos. Better yet, as a wide receiver who caught 50 passes in his last season at Georgia, Bailey probably could have been one of those guys before forging his own path as a future Hall-of-Fame cornerback.

Undoubtedly Jackson likely heard Bailey’s resume straight from the source during Sunday’s game. Oh sure, there were times when Jackson had a step on the old(er) All-Pro, like during the first quarter when he streaked down the sideline only to lunge in vain for a ball with just a little too much on it from Donovan McNabb. But when sizing up the matchup with Bailey the numbers pretty much told the story.

Jackson caught three passes for 31 yards last Sunday when guarded by Bailey (though not necessarily in man-to-man coverage). He added another catch—a two-yard TD grab—but that was against cornerback Tony Carter.

After the game, with a fresh brush burn on his back but a fashionable lid and Louis Vuitton sunglasses (despite the fact that he was indoors and the sun had gone down), Jackson talked mostly about Jeremy Maclin’s clutch, fourth-quarter catch and the second-half doldrums after a strong start.

Rather than give credit to guys like Bailey for holding him to his third-worst output of the season, Jackson chalked up the performance to “complacency.”

“When you’re up by 10 points or two or three touchdowns it’s tough and you get a little complacent. You ease up a bit,” Jackson said through those (rose colored?) sunglasses. “Luckily we have the type of defense that could step up in the second half when we weren’t really clicking. It was tough and it was ugly, but we’ll take it.”

Yes, Jackson is ridiculously talented and maybe we’re just seeing him make a light scratch against the surface this season. When he learns the league and gets into a better rapport on the field with McNabb, there’s no telling what he can do.

In the meantime just label the duel with Bailey as part of the continuing education of a budding talent.

“I thought we put him in some situations where he had to stand in there and fight with the guy,” Denver coach Josh McDaniels said. “He’s a great receiver, and Champ’s a great corner. Part of our game plan was to get him over there and try to create pressure on McNabb rushing more than four guys, and let Champ try to handle him. I thought Champ did a nice job for the most part when we did those things.”

The song and the dance

Just like in the movies, sports require the participants to be good actors. We like the drama, thrills and the comedy—both unintentional and intended. Otherwise, what’s the point? We watch and engage it to be entertained.

Brian Dawkins gets that. Why else would he exert so much energy to come up with such an elaborate routine before every game? Sure, it looks like he’s doing it for his teammates to help get them fired up before the game, but really why does a pro athlete need someone else to motivate them? With all the money and competition riding on every play, the last thing a football player (or any other athlete for that matter) needs is some guy dancing the hootchie-coo in order to make other play harder.

I mean really.

Nope, Dawkins does all that stuff for you. He wants you to react and to be entertained. His pro wrestling-like entrance is just his way, not unlike Peyton Manning acting all goofy in a TV commercial, Derek Jeter serial dating, or Tiger Woods doing whatever it is he does.

It’s all part of the show.

But don’t write it off as insignificant. Oh no sir! Ballplayers hate the notion that they might be asked to “dance,” but when the music starts up and the lights start flashing, it takes Barry Sanders-like focus to maintain that austere façade.

Everyone has an act in sports. In fact, even Barry Sanders had an act. As they say, sometimes no style is considered to be a style. Hell, even they digitalized pixels on video games come with personalities programmed into the code. Better yet, the computer geeks set it up so even the folks playing the game at home can design any type of player they wish.

That’s kind of the way it works in pro sports, too. Do you think Terrell Owens was an obnoxious, delusional malcontent from day one? Or was Dennis Rodman such a quirky dude when he joined the Pistons with Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, and Rick Mahorn in the mid-1980s?

Answer: No. Those guys would have gotten their rears kicked if they tried it.

Just like any of their other skills, the persona is something that needs to be honed. However, it has to come in conjunction with some bona fide playing skills. For instance, no one has a problem when Brian Dawkins does a somersault into a handstand during the pregame introductions in his first game back in Philadelphia as a member of the Denver Broncos. After all, Dawkins didn’t just show up doing that whole X-Men bit. It took a lot of work both on and off the field.

Meanwhile, Freddie Mitchell was a player whose skills skewed the wrong way. The former wide receiver and first-round bust had the song and dance down, but had no idea of which key it was supposed to be sung.

In other words, Mitchell wasn’t good enough to strut the way he did.

Of course there is a slippery slope one treads, too, and Dawkins very well might be in that territory at this point of his career. Before Sunday’s home finale the talk was more about the way Dawkins might enter the ball field as opposed to how well he would perform on it. Sure, everyone wanted to see Dawkins dance, but no one really paid much attention to the way he covered receivers or made tackles.

All anyone wanted to see was the show and to hear about how Dawkins was up in the tunnel in his old ballpark screaming "Hallelujah!" and various other sweet nothings meant to get everyone all ornery and loud.

And you can’t have one without the other.

When Roy (nearly) fought Larry

By 2003, there were plenty of players in the Phillies’ clubhouse who wanted to take a poke at their manager and the pitching coach. Eventually, one pitcher is said to have cold-cocked the pitching coach, but the manager only ever (publicly) started fracases with the opposition.

That manager, of course, was Larry Bowa whose house-divided style of skippering never really caught on. And certainly we’ve seen enough of his act to know how it works. It’s just like clockwork:

• Something happens in the game that wrankles Larry’s delicate sensibilities.
• Larry starts talking trash.
• Benches clear.
• Larry gets behind two or three players/coaches in uniform who, “hold him back.”
• Rinse and repeat.

It was something that was put on display a few times during Bowa’s stint as manager of the Phillies and then, famously, during the 2008 NLCS where as a coach for the Dodgers, Bowa was reported to have been chirping, “You started it!” toward Brett Myers.

Cooler heads prevailed before Davey Lopes could put Bowa over his knee.

Nevertheless, one of Bowa’s better known bench-clearing incidents with the Phillies happened in a spring training game during 2003 at Jack Russell Stadium against the Blue Jays. That was the one where Roy Halladay plunked Jim Thome with a pitch and immediately got an earful from Bowa. By the time Halladay took his turn at the plate, he had heard all he could handle from Bowa and did what most sane people do in those situations…

Try to stick a foot down his throat.

Before he could dig in, Rheal Cormier missed twice while attempting to plunk Halladay. Still that wasn’t enough to stop Bowa from running his mouth. By the sixth inning of the game, Halladay had heard enough and went after the Phillies’ skipper only to be intercepted before he could shove his foot down Bowa’s throat. Bowa, meanwhile, fell back into his old tricks… he talked, postured and talked some more.

Take a look:

After the game Bowa claimed Halladay intentionally tried to hit Thome—in a Grapefruit League game—and based it on the fact that the Jays’ pitcher has really good control. Ultimately, Bowa was suspended for a game. He later had his revenge, too, when he had rookie Ryan Madson drill a Blue Jays hitter in a Grapefruit League game in 2004.

Halladay, meanwhile, was a bit stunned by the whole thing. He said he told Bowa that he didn't try to hit Thome, but just got cursed at.

"He said a lot of things," Halladay said back in 2003. "But when he finally came close, I said, 'I didn't mean to hit the guy.' And he said, '[bleep!]' and a few other four-letter words."

All that yelling by Bowa was a bit confusing to Halladay.

"I don't understand why anybody would think I'd intentionally hit Jim Thome in that situation," Halladay said. "After all the times I faced him in the American League and never hit him, I can't imagine why they thought I'd intentionally hit him here."

Halladay continued:

"I didn't mean to hit the guy, but I understood why they were upset," Halladay said. "So you take your shots at me. Then it's over and done with. That should have been the end of it. ... If he hits me, fine. He tried twice, and he didn't get me. But to come out there screaming and yelling ... that was ridiculous."

Bowa was a bit more, um, curt.

"I don't know what he said, to be honest with you, and I really don't give a damn," Bowa relayed from his on-the-field "conversation" with Halladay.

So not only was Halladay a next-door neighbor to the Phillies during spring training at the Jays’ base in Dunedin, but like a lot of the old-time Phillies he also wanted to fight Larry Bowa.

Welcome aboard, Roy!

Halladay the latest to join greatest era in Philly sports history

Sometimes it’s easy to get excited about the littlest things. Maybe it’s a new episode of a TV show, or a favorite meal. Or it could be a small gift or a short trip to a favorite place.

You know what they say—sometimes it’s the small things that matter the most.

So when the team you’ve written about for the past 10 years gets the game’s best pitcher who just so happened to be the most-coveted player on the trade/free-agent market, it should be pretty exciting…

Right?

Yawn.

Sitting there and listening as Roy Halladay was being introduced to us media types during Wednesday’s press conference in Citizens Bank Park, a different feel pervaded. Usually, during such settings it’s not very difficult to get swept up in the emotion. After all, teams usually trot in family members, agents, front-office types and other hangers-on. In rare cases, like Wednesday’s Halladay presser for example, the national cable TV outlets turned out to aim cameras at the proceedings.

But when a team introduces its third former Cy Young Award winner since July after trading one away, there’s a tendency to become a little used to big events like introductory press conferences. Think about it—this year the Phillies have added Pedro Martinez, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay. That’s five Cy Young Awards right there.

At the same time, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Charlie Manuel, Jayson Werth and Ruben Amaro Jr. all got new contracts since the Phillies won the World Series. Not to mention, the team signed Placido Polanco, Brad Lidge, Raul Ibanez and, of course, had that little parade down Broad Street.

In other words, you can see why it was easy not to get too worked up over Halladay’s arrival. That’s doubly the case considering the Flyers fired a coach and the Sixers welcomed back Allen Iverson within the past two weeks. Add in the facts that the deal for Halladay took three days to come together after Amaro spent the week in Indianapolis denying involvement of anything and it’s easy to get a little jaded.

Wait… is Ruben denying he was even in Indianapolis now?

Of course with success comes boredom. In fact, a wise man once told me that championships were boring and bad for business. Perhaps he is correct, because while people are excited about the recent developments with the Phillies, they also are expected now. It’s not quite complacency, but during the past decade every Philadelphia team has been in the mix to acquire the top players on the market. Sure, we’re still getting used to all of this largesse and therefore go a little wild for guys like Halladay, but really…

Been there, done that.

That brings us to the grand point—this is the greatest time ever to be a Philadelphia sports fan. Ever. Since 2001, every team but the Flyers have been to the championship round of the playoffs and every team has made gigantic, stop-the-sports-world acquisitions.

Just look at the list of names:

Roy Halladay
Pedro
Cliff Lee
Jim Thome
Larry Bowa
Jeremy Roenick
Chris Pronger
Peter Forsberg
Chris Webber
Elton Brand
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo
Terrell Owens
Asante Samuel
Jevon Kearse
Michael Vick

If the team wants them, they are pretty darned good at getting them.

Certainly that wasn’t always the case. A friend’s dad often tells the story about how he and his friends were amazed that a Philadelphia team could get a player like Julius Erving, and I remember watching on TV when Pete Rose signed his four-year, $3.2 million deal with the Phillies. The fact that the Pete Rose signing was on live TV proves how big it was because, a.) there weren’t a whole lot of channels on the dial back then. Just 12 and none of them offered all sports programming. Cable? What?

And, b.) I didn’t even live in the Philadelphia region when Rose signed. Hell, I didn’t even live in Pennsylvania.

Oh, there were other big deals, too. Like when the Sixers traded Caldwell Jones to get Moses Malone, for instance. But they were few and far between. For every Moses, there was always a Lance Parrish lurking at the podium ready to take questions about how he will deliver the championship.

As far as those big moves go, the mid-season trade for Dikembe Mutombo was the first major move for us at the CSNPhilly.com site. We had three people on the staff back then and the trade came down on a snowy February afternoon that kept us cooped up in our little corner of the second floor in the Wachovia Center. Better yet for the Sixers, the deal for Mutombo was one of the few that worked out as designed. Mutombo gave the team the defense and presence in the middle it lacked and made it to the NBA Finals.

With Shaq and Kobe in mid dynasty, a trip to the finals for a team like the Sixers was as good as winning it all.

Jim Thome’s arrival was bigger yet. Not only was Thome the biggest name on the free-agent market, but also he was a symbol that there were big changes coming. Of course the unforgettable moment of Thome’s first visit to Philly was when he popped out of his limo to sign autographs and pose for pictures with the union guys from I.B.E.W. who held an impromptu rally outside the ballpark to try and sway the slugger to sign with the Phillies.

Moreover, Thome’s introductory press conference was memorable because the big fella was reduced to tears when talking about the switch from the Indians. It was a scene that hadn’t been repeated in these parts until Allen Iverson got a bit weepy when talking about his return to Philadelphia.

Oh yes, Philadelphia will make a guy cry.

Or maybe even do a bunch of sit-ups in the front yard.

Maybe in a different era, the acquisition of Roy Halladay would be a bigger deal. Maybe when the contract plays itself out—potentially five years and $100 million—we’ll view it differently. Until then he’s just another big name in a veritable cavalcade of superstars that seem to wind up in our town.

Trading Cy Youngs

With all that is involved in simply signing a player to a standard baseball contract, it’s no wonder that huge, blockbuster trades don’t happen much anymore. Actually, forget about blockbuster deals, just making a trade is work enough.

That’s why the proposed blockbuster with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and a pile of top-ranked prospects makes one’s head hurt. There are so many moving parts, so many different contracts, so many different wants and pieces of the puzzle in which even the tiniest misstep will ruin the whole thing.

So the fact that the two teams involved (Mariners and Blue Jays) with the three way trade with the Phillies were able to keep their eyes on what was coming and going is laudable enough.

However, to make such a huge trade with two former Cy Young Award winners still in their primes in not just unheard of, but also unprecedented.

Cy Young Award winners rarely (if ever) get traded. Sure, they become free agents or essentially force a trade lest a team risk allowing the pitcher to walk away without compensation. But willingly traded after winning two games in the World Series and putting together the best postseason in franchise history?

Nope, never happens.

Until now, that is. Leave it to Ruben Amaro Jr. to pull the trigger on the biggest trade since Paul Owens dealt Rick Wise for Steve Carlton.

Amongst the Cy Youing Award winners to be traded in recent history, Lee and Halladay will join Jake Peavy, Roger Clemens, Johan Santana, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux as pitchers to be traded after they won the big award. There are others too. Tom Seaver and Fergie Jenkins were involved in a bunch of trades after great seasons.

Of course this doesn’t include all the great pitchers who were released and/or granted free agency late in their careers. Around here, we certainly remember how Carlton bounced from the Giants to the Indians and Twins after the Phillies released him in 1986.

But as far as Cy Young Award winner traded for another Cy Young Award winner, it’s happened one time and that was long before either pitcher had established himself as a big league pitcher.

Moreover, if it happens again in the Lee and Halladay deal, one of the guys will hold the odd distinction of being the only Cy Young Award winner to be traded for another Cy Young Award winner twice.

In June of 2002 and still pitching for the Expos’ Double-A club Harrisburg, Lee was traded to the Indians for Bartolo Colon. Actually, the Expos gave up Lee, Brandon Phillips and Grady Sizemore for Colon and Tim Drew.

With the luxury of hindsight that trade looks horrible. Making it look worse is that the Expos traded Colon during the off season to the White Sox for Orlando Hernandez, Rocky Biddle and Jeff Liefer. Two years after that, Colon went 21-8 for the Angels to win the 2005 Cy Young Award.

With the 2008 American League Cy Young Award in his trophy case, Lee is likely on the move again—this time for the 2003 American League Cy Young Award winner.

So what’s this say about Lee that in two of the three trades he’s been a part of, the other piece to the deal is a Cy Young Award winner?

Cliff Lee's lasting legacy

Sometimes it doesn’t take long for a ballplayer to create a lasting legacy. Other times it takes just one game. For instance, Don Larsen scuffled around the Majors for 14 seasons, lost way more than he won, but one October afternoon in 1956 he became one of the most famous ballplayers ever.

All he had to do was pitch a perfect game in the World Series.

Cliff Lee did not pitch a perfect game in the World Series for the Phillies, but then again he didn’t have to. If his career with the Phillies lasts just those 12 starts in the regular season and five more in the playoffs, he already has left an undeliable mark on the franchise.

There were those first brilliant five starts after the trade from Cleveland that painted images of another parade down Broad Street bookended with the five extraordinary starts in the playoffs that lifted Lee shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the great postseason pitchers of all time.

The first five starts after the trade, Lee piled up 40 innings, a 5-0 record, with 39 strikeouts, and a 0.68 ERA. In the five starts in the playoffs Lee went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in 40 1/3 innings.

It was two of those outings that stood out the most. The first one was the 11-0 shutout against the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLCS. According to the stat formula called “Game Score” devised by guru Bill James, Lee’s eight innings where he allowed three hits without a walk to go with 10 strikeouts and no runs on 114 pitches, was the best postseason game ever pitched by a Phillie. Moreover, according to Game Score only 45 playoff outings since 1903 rated higher than Lee’s effort in Game 3.

Though the statistical metrics don’t register it as such, Lee’s effort in Game 1 of the World Series was more impressive than the NLCS game against the Dodgers. Not only should Lee’s Game 1 outing go down not only as an all-timer in Phillies lore, but also as one of the great Game 1 performances in World Series history. Truly, the list of superlatives from the game is pretty impressive. Actually, my favorite of the bunch was that Cliff Lee was the first pitcher to strike out 10 hitters without a walk in Game 1 of the World Series since Deacon Phillippe of the Pirates beat Cy Young (the man himself) in the very first World Series game ever played.

In other words, Lee did something in Game 1 that was done just once and it was 105 years ago.

Just to top it off Lee got an single, pitched all nine innings, and made a flat-footed basket catch on a popup back to the mound that only would have been more quirky if he had caught it with his cap. Plus, Lee not only was the winning pitcher in the first regular-season game at the new Yankee Stadium, but he also won the first ever World Series game played in the new park.

Pretty amazing.

Better yet, Lee dared you to take your eyes off him. Even when he took the mound he had a unique ritual where he mimed a pitch into centerfield, he ran on and off the field and he worked very, very quickly. Lee caught it, threw it and then dashed off the mound.

After games he didn’t treat his arm with ice like most pitchers. Even after a career-high 272 innings pitched (counting the playoffs), Lee never strapped his arm in an ice pack after a game. In 16 of his 39 starts Lee pitched into the eighth inning. He averaged 104 pitches per start and hardly walked anyone.

In other words, Lee was a legit ace for a team that went to the World Series for the past two seasons.

But there is the matter of those seven starts wedged between the first five and last five where the innings and pitches seemed to catch up with the lefty. Even with a shutout against Washington mixed in, Lee posted an ERA over 6 during that stretch.

As they say, though, it’s how you finish that everyone remembers the most. With that in mind Lee finished the season better than any other pitcher in team history.

*
Obviously, if Lee goes in order to make room for Roy Halladay, the pressure is squarely on Cole Hamels’ shoulders. Perhaps if Lee and Halladay could have been teammates in Philadelphia, Hamels could fit in nicely as the No. 3 starter behind the two aces.

Imagine that: Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Blanton and Happ?

Still, Hamels needs to deliver in 2010. Obviously the Phillies are counting on him.

The art of the bluff

In poker they say it isn’t so much about playing the cards you’ve been dealt as it is playing the man across from you. Of course the cards matter, because otherwise what’s the point? But if you can represent like you have good cards, well, even better.

They call this “bluffing,” which is kind of like lying only without the anguish of a real lie. In sports like poker or baseball, those who are the best at distorting reality are lauded as masters of the game. In fact, long after other important skills have eroded, players can get by on bluffing or making certain adjustments.

It’s a skill not relegated just to the players, either. For instance, take Phillies’ general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. Not even a week ago he sat in a comfortable suite littered with snacks and room-service trays in the Downtown Marriott in Indianapolis and told the Philly-based media that a deal for a pitcher like Roy Halladay was, “unlikely.”

Hey, that’s what he said.

Of course people in the position to make big decisions say a lot of things. Some of them might even be true. Like I’m sure even Tiger Woods had a few standbys he used at the Perkins when he was (allegedly) picking up a waitress that could have been based in truth, but when poked or prodded further turned out to unravel sloppier than an old, worn out slinky.

So when the cards hit the felt and you belly up across from Amaro, just be sure to know that the term “unlikely,” actually means, “we’re going to fly the guy up to Philly in four days to see if we can iron out something.”

Oh sure, that’s a mouthful, but that’s the underappreciated skill of being a big-league GM. The art of misdirection is just like a dab of Vaseline under the bill of the cap or sneaking a glimpse at where the catcher sets up while digging in at the batters’ box. This comes despite the knowledge that everyone in baseball has their own little tells. People talk—like all the time. There are no more secrets anymore so the practice of misdirection or bluffing is futile.

And yet we play the game anyway. Actually, it’s kind of fun. The scouts, assistants to the traveling secretary, stat crunchers, and PR types leak like sieves. They also have the ear and the information discarded from the GM, which makes the whole thing comical.

In other words, when a management types says the team has tossed around the idea of trading Cole Hamels for Roy Halladay and then less than a month later the GM says any trade for the Jays’ ace is “unlikely,” it actually means it’s Cliff Lee and it’s a three-way with Seattle and Toronto.

So there.

But make no mistake about it, the Phillies never moved off of Halladay. Not after they traded for Lee and not after they had Pedro Martinez pitch in two games of the World Series. That’s why it was so funny to hear national pundits to write/Tweet things like, “The Phillies are quietly back in the mix to deal for Halladay.”

Really? When did they ever leave?

Maybe there’s a different message in here, too. Maybe when following the hot stove fest that has been buzzing up the Internets like a hornet’s nest, it’s best to stay close to home. Like politics, all sports scribing is local.

Either way, after the Halladay deal reaches its climax and Lee, et al find their new teams, there next bluff is just a moment away. After all, Amaro still has to get a reliever and a No. 4/5 starter in order to finish the off-season shopping. Strangely, finding that last bullpen piece has proven to be most elusive for the Phillies.

Getting Halladay, on the other hand, just took a lot of patience and a lots tangos with semantics.

So long, Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS—So the 2009 baseball Winter Meetings are finally complete and a lot of us got to cross off Indiana from our “been-there, done-that” lists. By my count I’m up to 30 of the 48 contiguous states and don’t see any scenario in the near future when I will knock off the two other states, Puerto Rico and Guam.

But Indiana, yes, been there. Unfortunately there was only time to stay within the downtown sector of Indianapolis near the capitol. Nice area, if I say so my own self (and I guess I just did). However, one of the joys of business travel is squeezing in the opportunity to see what a place has to offer.

This year we got to stand on the South Lawn of the White House just below the Truman balcony, and I was able to see the scene at Chateau Marmot in Los Angeles; snow in Denver, the first World Series game in the new Yankee Stadium mixed with a late-night drink at Elaine’s; the gravesite shrine for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta; the Fonzie statue in Milwaukee; the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and had my order messed up by the counter help at the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago.

That last one made me feel like I was in an old SNL sketch, which could have happened because former cast members Jim Belushi and the heroic Bill Murray were in the press box for Phillies games this year, too.

I got to talk to Reggie Jackson, Fernando Valenzuela and Pedro Martinez. Twice I was at a baseball-related event where the President of the United States also attended.

I don’t mean to brag, but…

In other words it was an interesting year that we closed out in Indiana today.

So what did we learn at this year’s version of the Winter Meetings? Well, let’s take a look:

• It gets cold and blustery in Indiana and the wind will go right through you because there aren’t a lot of really tall buildings and the entire state is as flat as a pancake. Furthermore, Larry Bird does not greet visitors at the airport, French Lick is the name of a city, and no one has seen Scott Rolen in these parts in a long time.

More notably, I got to see where the Baltimore Colts snuck off to, and frankly, the nickname and the colors still belong in Baltimore. Sure, they have Peyton Manning and all, and they haven’t lost a game this year, but I don’t know what the hell the Indianapolis Colts are.

• General managers of Major League Baseball teams practice the craft of misdirection and doublespeak better than any of those spies James Bond tried to capture. After going through the linguistic exercises with the Phillies GM this week, maybe it’s time for him to serve the country as a snoop with the CIA. Sign him up.

• The Phillies are very much in the mix for Roy Halladay. In fact, they never dropped out nor has their interest in the Blue Jays’ big ace waned since they tried to deal for him last July. Moreover, it seems to be very realistic that potential Hall of Famer John Smoltz could be pitching in the late innings for the Phillies in 2010.

Oh yes… John Smoltz.

• And speaking of pitchers like John Smoltz, expect the Phillies/Pedro flirtation to pick up as the off-season winds down. Pedro is perfect for the Phillies’ needs and no, I’m not just saying that because he is the greatest quote in sports since Muhammad Ali. Pedro for 25-to-30 starts a season at the back of the rotation might not be all that bad.

• Hanging out in the lobby of a hotel with baseball people is a good place to catch a cold. If it’s contagious and can get airborne, those people probably have it or are passing it on. Mix that with the 50-mph winds and sub-freezing temperatures and expect to spend the week coughing up and blowing out all sorts of fun stuff.

Yeah, ew.

• Finally, are the Winter Meetings really all that necessary? Sure, it’s nice to have everyone under one roof, but are the winter meetings one of those anachronisms baseball and baseball folks like to hang onto until it has overstayed its welcome by a decade or two? Hey, I like hobnobbing and hanging out as much as the next guy. Truth be told, I’m pretty damn good at hanging out—in the top 10, at least.

But in a digitalized world where news is reported instantly and old-fashioned things like newspaper deadlines are beyond silly, does all that “face time” matter? Oh sure, I’m pleased as hell I got to see Indianapolis. Better yet, I was lucky enough to learn about the state’s fascination with the concept of “eugenics” at the turn of the last century, but couldn’t I have just looked all that up on Wiki?

And do I really need to see Rosenthal and Heyman punch in their linkless tweets from stage right?

No, not really.

Please disregard the motion to retire the Winter Meetings when they are moved to a warm-climate city with palm trees and night life that sometimes serves as the setting for those “Girls Gone Wild” videos. In that case we’ll see you next December in Orlando…

Yep, Tiger Woods’ hometown.

Day 3: One more lap around

INDIANAPOLIS—This afternoon’s trip (or traipse?) through the lobby here in snowy and blustery downtown Indy was met with an intriguing question from my old pal, Matt Yallof. Matt, as regular readers of this site know, is one of my favorite people on the planet and he also happens to work for the MLB Network.

More importantly, Matt also happens to have one of the wickedest senses of humor of anyone I know. You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but Matt is a funny, funny man.

But that’s not the point. No, Matt also is a pretty smart baseball guy. He really knows his stuff. Though he has the inability to sit still for longer than 10 seconds, Matt can bring up a lot of astute baseball points in a snap.

So when I traipsed (or was it tripped?) through the lobby this afternoon, I found Matt making some notes (or was it applying another layer of foundation?) before he cornered me with a good question.

“What are the top few surprises for you during these winter meetings,” he said

I should add that I probably cleaned up that quote a bit.

“Hmmm,” I said. “How about Randy Wolf’s contract, or the fact that Roy Halladay hasn’t been traded.”

Matt liked those and added that two other surprising developments during our stay in Indianapolis was that he did not hear Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres mentioned once in trade talks. That prompted me to add that until he brought it up, I hadn’t heard Gonzalez’s mentioned in a long, long time.

Most importantly, Matt said the biggest surprise was that his cholesterol level remained below 200 even though he went out for steak every night during his stay. Lucky him, huh? Maybe he ought to try the Thai noodle house I stumbled upon while walking down Maryland St.

Least surprising was the fact that the Yankees got into the marquee trade of the week. It ain’t a baseball event if the Yankees don’t try to hog all the attention. Additionally, I thought there might be a little more talk about Adolis Chapman, the lefty Cuban defector with a big fastball who is shopping his wares to the highest bidder.

Still, Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said that the Phillies are interested in Chapman, but they aren’t interested interested.

Get it?

“Talking to the agent about an agent about a guy like that and having interest are kind of two different things,” Amaro explained. “I talk to agents and it doesn’t mean we’re talking about a guy like that. It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re trying to sign him. Would we have interest in the talent? Of course. It would be silly for me to say we don’t have interest in the talent. What the demand and what the circumstances are that surround it, that’s an entirely different issue and I don’t see us being a player in that type of guy.”

That said the Phillies will send a scout to Houston to watch Chapman in a workout session next week.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t send anybody,” the GM said. “We send somebody because it’s important to have the knowledge of what this talent is.”

The End

Anyway, I’m not a huge fan of the movement of time, but I’m ready to go home. No, that’s nothing against the good people of Indiana, but I haven’t had a break or a vacation since July of 2008 and I’m whipped. Maybe even a little sleepy, too.

Indiana is nice and all, but it’s time to go.

Jawbox and Cal

INDIANAPOLIS—For the old punks like me, it was quite a little surprise to see old, Washington, D.C. stalwarts, Jawbox, reunite for a gig on Jimmy Fallon’s show last night. Better yet, the song they performed in this reunion was one from “Your Own Special Sweetheart,” which had it been a piece of old technology back in the summer of ’94, it would have broken because of overuse.

See, I used to have a portable CD player called a “discman” that I carried around in very much the same manner that I use my MP3 player and laptop these days. But back then the discman wasn’t as ubiquitous as an iPod, Blackberry or whatever else folks use. Plus, when someone used one – say, to walk to work or while riding the train – it took planning. Which CDs made the trip and how many?

Back in the summer of 1994, Jawbox’s CD “For Your Own Special Sweetheart” was with me on a lot of trips. Actually, it was better classified as a staple and landed a spot in my portable CD travelling case that held approximately 20 to 30 discs. There, Jawbox sat alongside heroes like John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Fugazi and The White Album. They went everywhere I went.

That’s not bad company.

Nevertheless, last night’s reunion was Jawbox’s so-called “major” label release back when such things existed (or mattered) after putting out its previous records on Ian MacKaye’s Dischord Records. The band, it seemed, got caught up in that post-Nirvana alterna-revolution that also claimed D.C.’s unique Shudder to Think, yet also gave us things like Nicklecrap or Three Doors Down or whatever those contrived bands called themselves back then.

Needless to say, the major label bit ended badly for Jawbox. But that’s OK – we got good songs from them. Better yet, they also never graduated to the monstrous venues when they played live, which meant I once saw them while lounging on the grass on the quad at Franklin & Marshall on a sunny April day about a dozen years ago.

Good times.

These days, former Jawbox lead man J. Robbins fronts a band called The Channels and works as producer. Perhaps he will lead a Jawbox reunion?

Sadly, though, Robbins' son Cal, now 3-year-old, was diagnosed with Type 1 spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), an incurable nerve disorder which affects the brain's ability to communicate with the voluntary muscles that are used for activities such as crawling, walking, head and neck control, breathing, and swallowing.

According to information, Type 1 SMA is usually fatal and most Type 1 babies will die before they turn 2. For the kids who make it to childhood, life is filled with lots of therapy and the need for tons of medical assistance because little Cal will never be able to walk.

But as a non-corporate musician who is self-employed, Robbins doesn’t have medical insurance that covers something like SMA. As a result, the indie music community has taken to soliciting donations and staging benefits where all the money goes directly to support Cal.

Check out the web site J. set up for Cal to learn more about the disease. Or check out the shirt he wore on TV last night along with some extra songs taped during the pre-show rehearsal.

Day 3: What are words for?

INDIANAPOLIS—When I was a kid I believed nearly everything adults told me. Well, I believed almost everything they told me until I was about 10. After then, I questioned everything because that's about the time I learned about Richard Nixon. I figured if the President of the United States could be less than forthcoming, maybe other adults could, too.

That's also about the same time I learned about Santa Claus, though truth be told the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy never made any sense. That's especially the case with the Tooth Fairy because that just sounds a little too Uncle Eddie-ish to me. Really, what kind of a person or fairy wants little kids' ripped out and bloodied teeth? Do they make necklaces out of them like those sharks' tooth ones people wore in the ‘70s and stuff? Remember Turk Wendell, the Phillies' former relief pitcher? Yeah, well he had a necklace made out of elk's teeth and other wild animals he may or may not have shot. Actually, the necklace was kind of gaudy, but not in a P. Diddy kind of way.

Perhaps Turk Wendell was the tooth fairy for the Marlin Perkins set?

Anyway, the point is that I believed what adults told me, but then I stopped and then, for some reason, I believed them again. At least I believed what adult general managers of Major League Baseball teams told me. Seriously, why would they make up stuff? They weren't after my teeth (as far as I knew) and they weren't going to bring me or my family gifts every December under the cover of darkness. Better yet, I don't think there is a single baseball GM who secretly bombed Cambodia or was less than forthcoming about the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate back in '72. Based on that criterion, baseball GMs are a reasonably trustworthy lot.

That doesn't mean they tell the truth all of the time. For instance, I recall a time when Ed Wade revealed that a slumping Marlon Byrd was the team's centerfielder and leadoff hitter for the foreseeable future -- who would have guessed that Byrd was living in the future and was to be optioned to Triple-A after a game in which he served as the centerfielder and leadoff hitter? Hey, I'm not saying Wade didn't make the correct move, I'm just saying that if the end of the game was as far into the future as he could see, then he needs to re-do that Lasik surgery.

So what's this have to do with anything?

Well, it doesn’t. I just like writing about it. Plus, it's a nice little segue way into the whole modus operandi thing, here at the winter meetings. It is here in the Downtown Marriott in Indianapolis where a little patch of real estate has turned into the most unbelievable place on earth outside of Capitol Hill.

Anyway, Nixon bombed Cambodia, Marlon Byrd was sent to Scranton and Ruben Amaro Jr. told us that it was unlikely the Phillies would do anything here at the Winter Meetings. Actually, when asked if the Phillies expect to close any deals or sign any players before these meetings end Thursday, Amaro said, “Probably not.”

OK, that doesn’t mean no. It also doesn’t mean that they flew from Philadelphia to Indianapolis in order to sample the night life capital of Indiana or the room service in another Marriott. Far from it. In fact, Amaro pointed out that he had “three or four offers out there” for various players. Not to argue semantics, but “probably not” is GM-speak for, “We hope so!”

Take the notion over whether the Phillies can get a bullpen piece before they beat a hasty exit out of Indianapolis on Thursday... regarding that, Amaro said on Wednesday, "I don't think that's likely."

Then his Blackberry buzzed and he smiled, jokingly, "Although with this call, though..."

Hilarity.

Parsing a GM’s words in a place like the Winter Meetings is tricky business at best. I liken it to dancing with a circus bear wearing a Shriner's hat after it just pedaled a tricycle 50 yards. Or attempting to rub the belly of an alligator that was just fed ostrich burgers for a mid-afternoon snack. Certainly those are two very daunting tasks that require a lot of wisdom and ability to speak a certain language. Generally though, baseball execs like to speak in broad, sweeping statements that are common amongst politicians and large retailers in order to homogenize us and maybe us feel all warm inside.

In other words, they really don’t mean anything at all.

Apparently that was the case when Amaro stated he would have been reluctant to sign Placido Polanco if he had been a Type-A free agent. When all the ratings were finished, Polanco was neither a Type-A nor a Type-B free agent and would not require any type of compensation from the Phillies other than a bi-weekly paycheck. This made sense considering other more attractive third basemen were also free agents, but were labeled as Type-A.

It’s not wrong to assume the reason why the Phillies got Polanco instead of Chone Figgins or Mark DeRosa, nor does it make one a “mind-reader.”

But here's the question I ask every off-season, and especially at the winter meetings: Why the subterfuge? Why all the little cat-n-mouse games? Doing stuff like that is going to give a guy a reputation. It's going to make the honest, chaste and diligent folks in the local sporting press to not know anything. Up will be down and down will be up. They're going to think that when Amaro says, "No, no, no," he really means, "Yes, no, yes!"

I don't know much about poker or the game's colorful jargon, but I do know bad bluffing when I hear/see it. As a well-known horrible card player at the neighborhood games, I’m an awesome bad bluffer. So based on this knowledge, the Phillies should swoop in and steal away Roy Halladay from the Yankees and/or Red Sox at any minute.

Or then again, maybe not.

Day 3: Time keeps on slippin'...

INDIANAPOLIS—Time moves fast here at the Winter Meetings. With everybody running around like the building is on fire hoping to get the teensiest morsel of information, an hour feels like an eternity and a day feels like forever.

Five minutes is still five minutes, though.

So while we were throwing around names like Joe Blanton, Ross Gload, John Smoltz, Brandon Lyon, etc., etc., as if they snowflakes into the gale-force winds here in Indy, one name kind of disappeared for a bit. Actually, for that hour or two when nothing was blogged, tweeted or whispered about Roy Halladay, it was like he fell off the face of the earth.

Oh, but he’s back now.

The scuttlebutt before the carnival hit the Downtown Marriott was that the Red Sox were the favorites to land Halladay in a trade. And if the Red Sox are interested that means the Yankees’ spidey senses get tingling by default.

Yet because the Yankees and Red Sox get into it, perhaps it’s automatically assumed that no other team can compete with the cash and the high price those teams are willing to pay to make a trade for the best righty on the market.

Where is the report, tweet, blog or whisper that the Phillies’ interest in Halladay has waned? As far as I can tell, the pieces the Phillies would have had to offer the Blue Jays last summer are still there. Besides, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has done a pretty damn good job so far in assembling the pieces for his team this winter. If any one can pull it off, why not Super Rube?

No, this doesn’t mean the Phillies will get knee-deep in trying to wrest Halladay away from the Jays. After all, who really knows what goes on inside of that mind. My guess most thoughts are at least PG-13 and that’s not including the ratings for the folks reading things to him.

When asked if the Phillies could get involved in a deal for a "high-profile American League right-handed pitcher," Amaro spoke in GM-ese.

"Is there anyway possible? I guess there is. Uh, is there a likelihood of us getting involved in something that big? Probably not," he said.

Hey, he didn't say no.

Nevertheless, if the Phillies come out these meetings with a pitcher of some sort, then the people who give out trophies for being a good organization ought to just give one to the GM. At least it’s something, right? After all, the trophy that really matters isn’t handed out for making a good move in December in Indianapolis.

That gets back to an old running adage us geeky, over-the-hill marathoners liked to trot out—they don’t give awards for workouts. Sure, doing the ground work is a necessary and important thing, but winning the big race has more to do with how well the workouts compliment talent and luck. If Amaro is lucky enough to get into position to swing a deal to get Halladay, then maybe it will come down to the talent part.

Day 2: McGwire is going to have to talk about the past

INDIANAPOLIS—Tony LaRussa was in the media room on Tuesday afternoon for his shift in front of the media and for the most part things went rather smoothly. LaRussa has a pretty keen baseball mind whether or not his methodology jibes with you.

Give credit where it’s due, the folks like to say.

But there was one topic that the Cardinals’ manager had to discuss for longer than he probably cared to during Tuesday’s session in the media room. Needless to say, LaRussa likely knew it was going to be a hot topic when he decided to give the hitting coach gig to Mark McGwire.

And clearly LaRussa knows there is many more coming.

For those who merely halfway followed baseball during the past few years, ex-slugger Mark McGwire went from national hero during the Summer of ’98 to pariah following his embarrassing testimony in front of the congressional House Government Reform Committee. Since then when McGwire repeatedly stated that he was not there “to talk about the past,” he has not given a single interview and has largely stayed out of the public eye.

There’s good reason, too. Though he has admitted to using androstenedione during his playing career, a steroid that was once sold over the counter in the U.S., McGwire has also been tied to more explicit steroid use during his playing days. Not only has Jose Canseco chronicled his steroid use with McGwire, but also the ex-Cardinals’ star was named in the infamous Mitchell Report.

However, hitting coaches in the Major Leagues talk to the press. In fact, it’s nearly unavoidable for them not to have many interactions with the media during a typical day at the ballpark. In a story that came out yesterday, newly-elected Hall-of-Fame manager, Whitey Herzog stated that he believes McGwire may quit his job because dealing with the press and the questions might not be worth it.

“He's going to be asked questions about steroids, he's going to be asked so many things, and he's got to be open and he's got to answer,” Herzog said. “And Tony can't get mad about it. He's got to put up with it.”

Yes, Tony knows this. Moreover, he says he would not have put McGwire in the position of being a distraction if the old slugger wasn’t up for the job.

“I know how seriously I've personally considered it before I presented it to our owner and general manager and our coaching staff, and I know the seriousness of my conversation with Mark, and I know how seriously he thought about it before he accepted,” La Russa said. “I think it's going to work, and I think he has demonstrated to some of us that he has a lot to offer as a hitting coach.”

McGwire worked privately with several Major League hitters privately from his home base in Southern California, but has no other coaching experience. Meanwhile, LaRussa said that McGwire will address the media regarding his new job and whatever other questions the press may have for him sometime in the near future.

So far that hasn’t happened because LaRussa says no one wanted to steal the spotlight from the World Series, awards season or winter meetings.

“I talk to him a lot,” La Russa said. “I talk to him about hitting. He's already had conversations with some of our guys. He's worked with guys over the winter in the past. He's studying tape. I mean, I'm the beneficiary of those conversations. I know what he has to offer and how excited he is about it.”

He might not be as excited to talk about the past, though.

Day 2: Challengers in the NL East

INDIANAPOLIS—For the past three trips to the Winter Meetings, the rest of the teams in the NL East have shown up with plans they hope will derail the Phillies atop the division.

Obviously it hasn’t gone that well.

This time around, however, the Mets and Braves are making some changes and additions that just might help their chances in 2010. For the Braves it has been a few upgrades in the bullpen with the addition of Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito, and the return of Rafael Soriano. What makes this news significant is that the Braves had the best starting pitching in the Majors in 2009 (3.52 ERA) and a relieving corps that was sixth best (3.68 ERA) in all of baseball.

Typically it works the other way around and the bullpen posts better numbers than the starters, but for the Braves it seems as if a few more runs from the offense would have made life much more difficult for the Phillies.

As far as the upgrades to the hitters go, the Braves are said to be discussing Johnny Damon and Nick Johnson—two hitters that can make a difference at the top third of the batting order.

Needless to say, the Braves want to add a piece or two to the offense before the start of the season.

The Mets, on the other hand, say they want to change up things a little bit. After learning something or two about their new, cavernous ballpark after its inaugural season, Mets’ manager Jerry Manuel says his team needs to “set a different philosophy.”

“Everyone puts an emphasis on pitching and defense, but with our ballpark we really have to put an emphasis on it,” Manuel said. “If you’re a pitcher that throws strikes, you really have a chance in our park.”

The Mets still have uber-ace Johan Santana, and they were in the hunt for Randy Wolf before it became apparent that Wolfie will land in Milwaukee. Additionally, the Mets have been tied to John Lackey and Joel Pineiro in an attempt to bolster the pitching staff.

Offensively, Manuel believes he has some hitters whose repertoires fit into the configurement of their ball yard, specifically with Jose Reyes. At CitiField, the Mets will pick up a few triples with the big gaps and interesting angles. In fact, last season the Mets hit 49 triples—32 of them in the home park.

Home runs though… yes, the Mets need to deemphasize that. Judging from David Wright’s homer totals, CitiField had an effect on the team’s power. After hitting 63 homers in the two seasons prior, Wright clubbed just 10 last year. Needless to say the drop from 33 bombs to 10 was a pretty big deal.

Still, it remains to be seen how long Manuel will be around to stand charge over the Mets’ new philosophy. After a dreadful 2009 and two big September collapses in 2007 and 2008, the Mets just might have to be pro-active regarding their management. Besides, with the addition of ex-big league managers Bob Melvin, Terry Collins as well as Wally Backman to the team’s staff, Manuel will be wise not to look over his shoulder.

“I think those are all good baseball people, good baseball minds,” Manuel said Tuesday. “I think for any organization to move forward, you need those types of people in place. You know, perception would say, ‘Hey, Jerry, turn around.’ But Jerry isn’t turning around. I’m just going to go do my thing and do the best I can. We have the means to acquire and have a good team, and I think if you’ve got a good team you should be OK. So I don’t have a problem with that.”

Very true. Besides, with the way the last three seasons ended no one would wish the Mets' gig on an enemy.

Day 2: Some stuff happened

INDIANAPOLIS—Just because a guy goes to sleep at night doesn’t mean the world stops spinning on its axis. That’s especially the case here at the baseball Winter Meetings where every old baseball anachronism still holds true.

Oh sure, nearly everyone here as a Twitter and/or Facebook account where updates or musings about the local flavor here in Indianapolis (a bit more about the local history later), and it’s difficult to imagine Jimmy Cannon hunched over his Blackberry with his thumbs racing to tweet some little nugget of news while talking shop with Horace Stoneham.

Go look it up on Wikipedia, kids.

Sure, things have changed a bit when it comes to the media and the coverage of sports (for the better), but even with all the technology things still only get done and reported the old fashioned way. That’s where a little mingling, a hotel lobby and a whole bunch of beer comes in. Gently mix those elements and then back up and watch the tweets fly.

So when I woke up this morning to the sound of a shovel scraping across concrete from beyond windows and walls as thin as graham crackers and the red light blinking on my Blackberry like a lantern or far off beacon, I was able to deduce a lot.

For one, it snowed last night. If it hadn’t, why shovel? And two, something went down in the lobby of the Downtown Marriott.

Oh boy!

From all the tweets and modern plays on the smoke signal, we learned that future Hall-of-Fame catcher (is he?) Ivan Rodriguez agreed to a two-year deal with the Washington Nationals. This is quite interesting considering how bad the Nats are, how old Rodriguez is, and the two years he was offered. Plus, since the Phillies play the Nationals 18 times a season, it means we will see Pudge a lot.

In 2003 when the Marlins slipped past the Phillies to capture the wild card and then the World Series, Rodriguez was integral capturing the MVP of the NLCS as his club upset the Yankees. Better yet, 10 years ago Pudge was the best catcher on the planet. In 1999 he was the MVP of the American League and has posted numbers that align with the likes of Carlton Fisk and Gary Carter.

Still, Rodriguez turned 38 last week and will get a significant raise to be the Nationals’ catcher for the next two seasons at $3 million per year. Just what were the Nats thinking?

Conversely, the fact that Rodriguez is clearly in the twilight of his career, has won an MVP, a World Series, gone to the playoffs with three different teams and the World Series with the Marlins and Tigers while earning well more than nine figures in salary during his career, what in the hell is he doing signing with the Nats?

Really, what the hell is Pudge thinking?

A story from the Washington Post with the headline, “Why Pudge? Why two years?” kind of sums it up.

Meanwhile, one of our all-time favorite guys, Randy Wolf, reportedly has a three-year offer on the table from the Brewers. Three years for a pitcher—particularly one like Wolf—is about the max that any team will go. In fact, Phils’ GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told us yesterday that he feels, “less comfortable going more than three years on any pitcher.”

Obviously the Brewers really want Wolf, but so do the Mets. Reportedly the offer from the Brewers is approximately $30 million, which means Wolf’s agent Arn Tellem will go back to the Mets and get the auction going.

All things being equal, I’d go to Milwaukee if I were Wolfie. A guy like him could run that town pretty quickly.

*
Now back to the local history of Indianapolis, or, more specifically, the historical markers sprinkled around town… yeah, they are wacky. Better yet, here in Indianapolis the historical society in charge of posting some rather dubious moments in time aren’t into the whole “window dressing” thing.

It’s as if the subtext of the two markers (directly across the street from the capitol, I might add) photographed and posted on this site are saying, “Some stuff happened a long time ago and, well, it was kind of stupid. But sometimes bad stuff happens, too.”

So to the folks of Indiana, thank you for the transparency. Speaking for all of the old students of American history (if I may be so bold as to take the rostrum), we appreciate your candor.

Meanwhile, tomorrow I will seek out the marker for mass genocide of natives peoples or maybe a plaque for the spot where little Scott Rolen had his SuperGoose BMX bike stolen.

Other people's managers

INDIANAPOLIS—One cool thing about the Winter Meetings is the daily little thing each manager does with the press. For some guys it's the first (and only) chance they get to catch a glimpse at someone like Don Wakamatsu or Dave Trembley and hear what they have to say.

Other times, it's nothing more than another mass media session for the popular managers of the big-market teams. For instance, this afternoon, Terry Francona of the Red Sox and Ozzie
Guillen from the White Sox held they media sessions in front of pretty large crowds. Then again, Ozzie and Tito usually gather larger than average crowds simply because they are so quotable. In the case of Ozzie Guillen sometimes he's so quotable he can't be quoted because of his choice in different types of words he likes to use.

It makes me wonder if Ozzie learned English from listening to Redd Foxx records when he came to the U.S. from Venezuela.

Nevertheless, today Francona relived the end of the 2009 season and how even though the Red Sox won 95 games, they weren't quite good enough.

"Everybody remembers how you finish," Francona said, acknowledging that despite all those wins, the Red Sox didn't even challenge the Yankees in the AL East.

With World Series title No. 27 in the bag, the secret to the Yankees success is pretty simple to hear Francona describe it.

"They have a lot of money and they have a lot of smart people running things," he said.

Lethal combo.

Meanwhile, across the ballroom here in the Indy Downtown Marriott, Guillen talked about his club, specifically how veteran Andruw Jones fits in.

Jones, of course, has been THE center fielder in the Majors over the last decade. However, now that he going into his 15th season in the league and closing in on his 33rd birthday, Jones will have to get used to playing left field for the White Sox, because, as Guillen said, "Right now he doesn't have a choice."

Five-year veteran Alex Rios is Guillen's choice to play centerfield in front of Jones.

"Rios is a better center fielder," Guillen said. "Ten years ago, Andruw Jones was the best center fielder on Earth."

He's still pretty good, but not good enough for the South Side of Chicago.

As far as the Phillies go, Charlie Manuel did not make the trip to Indy with the approximately 30 other members of the team's traveling party. Because the season lasted into the first week of November, Manuel was excused. Last year in Las Vegas, as some remember, Manuel spent the entire week in his room at the Bellagio ridden with the flu. Until the last day of the winter meetings Charlie only surfaced to sign his contract extension before going back to bed.

This year he's probably playing a little golf in Florida.

Sully makes his debut

Yes indeed, folks, that is Jim Salisbury making his debut as a member of CSNPhilly.com. After 10 years of doing this all by myself, I finally have a friend.

Of course, they're paying him, but whatevs. I'll take what I can get.