Archive for August, 2011

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Tonight’s Game, By the Numbers

August 30th, 2011 by AmyMac | Comments Off on Tonight’s Game, By the Numbers | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

By Amy McCormick

Tonight’s 9-0 victory in Cincinnati brings us one day closer to the postseason. Here are a few reasons, quantitatively speaking.

18. Number of shutouts the Phillies’ pitching staff has recorded thus far this season.

3. Number of RBIs for Halladay tonight.

411. Number, in feet to center field, the baseball traveled when Pence homered in the 6th.

6. Number of consecutive 100 RBI seasons for Ryan Howard.

85. Number of games in the Phils’ “Wins” column.

17. Number of homeruns for Raul Ibanez this season.

7 ½. Number of games by which the Braves trail the Phils.

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Fantasy Football 2011: Sleepers and Busts

August 27th, 2011 by Scott Dargis | 1 Comment | Filed in Football, General

For all of us fake team owners out there, this is our time of the year. The two weeks leading up to the beginning of the NFL season are filled with fantasy football drafts all over the country. The people within the bubble of fantasy football know how important selecting Arian Foster in the middle rounds, or a mid to late round Darren McFadden selection was last season. The key to your draft is finding value within rounds 4-10, so let’s take a look at some players that you will want to target and some that you’re better off staying away from this season.

Sleepers

Calvin Johnson WR Lions- Many of you might be thinking, Calvin Johnson is not a sleeper, well he might not be your traditional mid round steal, but he is poised this season to be a top 3 wide receiver in the 3rd or even 4th round. It seems as if the emergence of Mike Wallace, Hakeem Nicks and Roddy White have made people forget about the physical specimen that Megatron is. Obviously his ceiling is dependent on the health of Matthew Stafford, who vowed to be healthy for this entire season. If Johnson can put up a 77/1120/12 season with a QB carousel just imagine what he could do with a full year of Stafford’s cannon feeding him receptions.

My projection for Calvin Johnson: 92 Rec, 1444 Yds, 14 TDs


Felix Jones RB Cowboys – I love Felix Jones this year and believe that he will bring the best value out of any pick in fantasy football. He is ranked between 16-20 in his position depending on what website or magazine you look at. He finally doesn’t have to worry about splitting time with Marion Barber. Tashard Choice will have his touches for sure, but it will not be enough to take away too much of Jones’s value. Prince Felix will have the benefit of having Tony Romo for a full season this year which can only increase his total of 48 receptions from last season. He looks to have added some power in his upper body to break tackles. Put that along side of his agility and quickness and you have the recipe that very few backs have in the league.

My projection for Felix Jones: 1,655 total yards, 12 TDs

Sam Bradford QB Rams – Last year as a rookie Bradford had a very good year, throwing for 3512 yards and 18 TDs. The interception number was high (15), but that is expected from a rookie signal caller in the NFL. What is important is that the touchdown number is higher, most rookie QBs do not achieve that feat. The Rams added Mike Sims-Walker in the offseason to bolster the wide receiver core. While there are not a bunch of house hold names in that core, there are plenty of solid options for Bradford to share the wealth. Don’t buy into the hype that he will struggle with Josh McDaniels new offense, Bradford stepped in right away to a completely different offense his first year at Oklahoma. Learning a new offense doesn’t take away the deadly accuracy that he has.

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Yankees’ Thunder Stolen … Again

August 25th, 2011 by AmyMac | Comments Off on Yankees’ Thunder Stolen … Again | Filed in Baseball, General
By Amy McCormick
Hurricane Irene is expected to unleash her wrath on the East Coast this weekend.  Because the storm’s path looks as though it will follow the I-95 corridor, the Phillies-Marlins game on Sunday has been preponed.  There will be a day/night double header on Saturday at CBP, weather permitting. 
It’s no mystery why my Facebook feed has gone from earthquake frenzy to hurricane madness.  Funny that the Yankees’ 22-9 victory over Oakland didn’t come up in conversation at all today.  (Phillies were the last team to score 22 runs in one game, in 2009.)  Martin, Cano and Granderson each hit a grand slam in the Bronx today – an MLB record – and no one seems to have noticed.  Why is that? Just recently, my Facebook was flooded with Jim Thome excitement – just seconds after he hit his 600th home run.  (I am certain that I am friends with just one Twins fan, by the way.)  Well, why no talk of the Yankees today?
Oh, right.  Because nobody cares.
Remember the Sports Illustrated cover last month, featuring a larger-than-life Carlos Ruiz? It was released a few days after Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit.  If you squint, you can see a tiny mention of DJ in the upper left corner.  It still makes me laugh …

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Happy Anniversary!

August 24th, 2011 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Happy Anniversary! | Filed in Baseball, Phillies

Thou shalt not question me!

You wouldn't like it if I was angry.

This time last year the Phillies lost a heart breaker to the Houston Astros in 16 innings. The stories of the night eclipsed the outcome of the game as Scott Barry ejected Ryan Howard in the bottom of the 14th inning causing Howard to go ballistic and the ensuing use of Roy Oswalt in left field the following inning.

My versatility increases my value as a player!

Oswalt had the first pitch hit almost directly to him for the first out. Ryan Howard hasn’t been ejected since that game, while Barry’s most recent ejection was that of former Phillies farm hand and current Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco after throwing at Kansas City Royals’ Billy Butler’s head.

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LOLMets

August 22nd, 2011 by AmyMac | Comments Off on LOLMets | Filed in General

 

By Amy McCormick

We fans really needed to see the Phils destroy the Mets tonight, after the weekend we had.  What a bizarre weekend it was at CBP South!  Rain delays, two consecutive “starts” for Oswalt, and an uncharacteristic few days for the bullpen seemed to throw the Phils for a loop.  While I was impressed (relieved, excited, I could go on) by Oswalt’s outing on Saturday, it seems that his performance was the only highlight of the series.  Well, that and Schwimer’s debut.  Phils lost the series.  To the Nationals.  Seriously.  During the rain delay on Sunday, I joked that I would write a post titled “Mother Nature Interrupts Halladay Beating Wang; He’s Unable to Finish.” I was too depressed by the end of the game to even bother.

So, what’s a team to do after such a series? How do the Phils get their mojo back?  What’s a good pick-me-up for players and fans alike?

Beat up on the Mets.  Duh.

And did they ever.  Cliff Lee records his 14th win of the season and the Phils are now 82-44.  We saw homers from Pence and Mayberry, a triple from Vic, and a double from Chooch.  Phils win, 10-0.  If it had been a Little League game, it would have been called after six innings.  There’s no mercy in the bigs, though … not even for the Mets.  Ricky Bo said after tonight’s game, “This is what the Phillies should have been doing to the Washington Nationals.” True.  One thing (of many) that I love about our team, though, is the ability to shake it off and put a bad game behind them.

We’ll see New York again tomorrow night at 7:05.  It just doesn’t get old for me.  LOLMets.

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2011-12 NFL Preview: NFC East

August 22nd, 2011 by Scott Dargis | Comments Off on 2011-12 NFL Preview: NFC East | Filed in Eagles, Football

For years in the first decade of the new millennium the NFC East was regarded as the toughest division in football. It was always a slugfest between the Eagles, Giants and Cowboys (sorry Redskins fans). Last year it was the Eagles who fought through and won the NFC East, it was not easy. The Giants were a quarter away from blowing the Eagles out and putting themselves in contention to win the division, but thanks to Desean Jackson (excuse to include video), the Eagles went onto win the division and the 3rd seed in the NFC.

By now everyone knows of the offseason additions for the Philadelphia Eagles. The Vince Young quote dream team has a lot to live up to this season. Many are saying that this year is Super Bowl or bust for the Eagles and quite honestly it is. For so many years the Eagles have had a solid regular season only for something to go astray in the playoffs. This year the plan is clear, have the best record in the NFC, get home field advantage and the first round bye. Make the division round and NFC championship come through Philadelphia, obviously we will have to wait and see if the Eagles are able to accomplish this feat, but I’ll tell you what they are the only team in the division without question marks all over their personnel.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles come into this season as the clear favorite in the NFC East and for good reason. The prospect of having Asante Samuel, Dominique Rodgers Cromartie, and Nnamdi Asomugha in a collective secondary is something that you see only on a pro bowl team. Adding Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins to line up along side Trent Cole wasn’t a bad move either. This team is loaded with talent all over the place, but using the talent correctly is going to be the key on the defensive side of the ball.

There are some serious questions at middle linebacker. So far in the preseason Casey Matthews has struggled and after all he is a rookie so there are going to be some speed bumps, but for a team that has admiration of playing the second week of February there cannot be a gaping hole in the middle of the defense. I expect Jamar Chaney to lineup in the MLB spot week 1 in St. Louis.

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Where’s The Love?

August 20th, 2011 by Mike H. | 2 Comments | Filed in Baseball, Phillies

All around baseball media, the buzz all season has been about how great the Braves’ bullpen is, especially closer Craig Kimbrel and Jonny Venters. Those two were cited as key cogs as to what could possibly be neutralizers of the Phillies offense late in games. ESPN referred to Kimbrel as the first half MVP and just gushes over him every chance that he gets. Don’t get me wrong. I think that Kimbrel is a great closer and a dominant one at that. The numbers just don’t lie, but let’s be fair and compare some numbers. All numbers are through August 18th.

  • Player A:  3-2 with a 1.78 ERA. Strike out to walk ratio of 96:23. 5 Blown saves.
  • Player B:  5-0 with a 1.35 ERA. Strike out to walk ratio of 53:16. No blown saves.
  • Player C:  6-1 with a 1.15 ERA. Strike out to walk ratio of 78:30. 2 blown saves.

All three have very good numbers by any standards, but for two of the three to get so much more love than the third is disrespectful. The reason why the third is advertised less? Who knows? The only conclusion I can draw is that he is over shadowed by the strength of his starting rotation. (more…)

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