Kentucky Derby, I love thee.

Boy oh boy am I partial to the Kentucky Derby. There's plenty distasteful, even disgraceful, about the Run for the Roses mind you; the exclusionary wealth, the degenerate gambling, the shattered femurs, the barfed burgoo. But it's still the most exciting two minutes in sports, hooves down. Horses like to run, and I like to watch them run.

I think the Derby is a part of Americana that people should get excited about. Maybe more interest from the public will change what's rotten in Kentucky, most importantly the irresponsible genetic wizardry that grows monster horses with bodies modified to betray them. That really needs some oversight, because breeders are going to keep pushing until horses run so fast that their manes blow off. I don't know how to do it, but if we can get breeders to stop acting like mad scientists, it will go a long way toward making horse racing ethical. Because, gene-splicing aside, owners treat their horses really well.

Now that the public service address is over, here's my guess for the 2010 Kentucky Derby:

Win: Jackson Bend
Nick Zito, horse-whisperer, turned this plucky hoss into the John Wilkes Booth of horseracing. He's going to creep up and assassinate the derby from behind.
Place: Noble's Promise
This blog's official racehorse.
Show: Lookin At Lucky
The favorite has an unfavorable pole position.
Fourth: Awesome Act 
The Brit can steal the race if things get ugly; he's got the strength of a working class hero.
Fifth: Ice Box
Did you know Bryan Adams passed on recording "Danger Zone" for the Top Gun soundtrack because he disapproved of the film's advocacy of jingoism? It's like that.
Sixth: Discreetly Mine
30-1 odds, but the classiest name in the field. 
Seventh: Conveyance
The only thing I appreciate more than a horse of serious disposition is a handsome dog. Yet, somehow, rooting for this gray rocket feels like rooting for the Iron Sheik.  
Eighth: Devil May Care
You know I loves a filly, but this filly can't make it work.
Ninth: Stately Victor
This pony likes the wet track; I dislike that someone found his pointy head "stately."
Tenth: American Lion
Kentucky-bred cruiser is gonna scrap through the mud. However, as his name is a reference to Andrew Jackson, he can suck it.

Longshot with the best chance to shock the world:  Backtalk
I have a lot of love for Smarty Jones' son, 50-1 kind of love. He's won on a sloppy track before.

Here are Jay Cronley's thoughts from espn.com: 

Here's the field, according to post.
1. Lookin At Lucky -- Mayday or payday?
2. Ice Box -- Remember the Giacomo.
3. Noble's Promise -- Lucky's second skin.
4. Super Saver -- Of ground, here.
5. Line of David -- Has never been favored.
6. Stately Victory -- Didn't dig dirt.
7. American Lion -- Have lost money on much, much, much worse.
8. Dean's Kitten -- Has dime Super written all over it at 50-1.
9. Make Music for Me -- Won one.
10. Paddy O'Prado -- Kind 'o slow.
11. Devil May Care -- Program odds of 10-1 would be 20-1 on a male.
12. Conveyance -- One-trick jet.
13. Jackson Bend -- Super bracket buster never beyond second in nine.
14. Mission Impazible -- Beyer graph line always up.
15. Discreetly Mine -- Caught speeding.
16. Awesome Act -- Wiseacre and wise guy trendy pick.
17. Dublin -- Yes, THAT Mr. Lukas.
18. Backtalk -- Beat three in Cajun soup.
19. Homeboykris -- Got owners tremendous seats.
20. Sidney's Candy -- Look out below.

Picks:

1. Lookin At Lucky -- Two scores from rails past, two scores from number two gate spot.
2. Noble's Promise -- What's not to like.
3. Super Saver -- Same combo won by a mile here in the fall.
4. Awesome Act -- Big finish.

Howard extension makes red sox salivate

A great article from NESN detailing how the Phillies extension of Ryan Howard has effectively priced most teams out of the market for Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, and Prince Fielder.

Hidden in the story is the tale of Ryan Howard's WAR, which is like his VORP, which is a nerd statistic that calculates a baseball player's value to his team. WAR stands for "wins above replacement," meaning that player X will win your team this many more games than an average player off the streets. WAR is a complicated formula, and I couldn't calculate it myself, but it supposedly accounts for every variable you can think of- like park size, lineup strength, chaw preference- and spits out how much of a difference-maker the player is in all phases of the game combined. It is a single statistic that tells you how good a player you have.

The thing to keep in mind about WAR is that it is a complete snapshot of how productive a player has been within a certain period of time. It can vary from year to year just like any statistic. If a player goes into a prolonged slump or misses half a season with injury, it will affect their WAR. So, if a player has an anomalous season, for instance if they take horse steroids or they break their pelvis, their WAR may fluctuate wildly from the year before. 

That said, if players are performing at a level consistent with their previous season, their WAR can make for some sound comparisons. This is where Ryan Howard, he of the $125 million contract, is exposed as not being worth that astronomical amount of cash. Gives some credence to the argument I posed in my last post.

According to the WAR stat, Ryan Howard wins his team fewer games than two players having normal (for them) seasons: Fielder and Gonzalez. Uh oh. But the WAR express doesn't stop there. Ryan Howard also had a lower WAR last season than:

1. Albert Pujols- as expected, because Pujols is a better player
2. Joe Mauer- this means that Howard should earn less than Mauer, right? He doesn't.
3. Chase Utley- Yikes, looks like the wrong Phillie got paid.
4. Franklin Gutierrez- Who? Yup, who.

and 27 other batters. Does that mean Howard should be the 27th most paid position player in baseball and not the 2nd? And the Phillies better watch out in the offseason, because free-agent-to-be Jayson Werth is only two spots behind Howard on the list.

If we bring pitchers into the equation, Howard drops 15 spots lower in the rankings. Roy Halladay scores 7.3 to Howard's 4.9, again strengthening my argument that Howard is overpaid (at $25 Million a year to Halladay's $13).

And to think the Phillies wouldn't part with a few measly million bucks to keep Cliff Lee for an extra year!

Look, I love the big fella. But if he starts costing the team games because his massive contract eats up too much payroll, ala A-Rod with the Rangers, I'm sending the Phillies this blog post, which doubles as my GM resume.

Eagles war room invades Radio City music hall, suspect hidden WMD's

The Eagles are in the first of what I hope will be only a few years spent rebuilding the franchise. Reid and Co. have booted the old guard, and the baby birds have some glaring needs to address before they can expect to be playoff contenders again. This draft and next are crucial in recruiting new talent if the Eagles want to return to prominence in the near future.

I didn't follow any of Eagles draftees during their NCAA careers, so I can't really judge how they'll fare in the NFL. From what the professional sports news industry is saying, some of the Eagles picks have potential. I've already posted about Graham, Nate Allen, and the dude with the really long last name. Later in this post I collect opinions from across the web on each draftee to get some clue what we're dealing with here.

Of the Eagles later round picks, I'm excited about the DE Ricky Sapp, who most people agree was a steal, and the QB Kafka, mainly for his name.

Mel Kiper, ESPN's NFL draft guru, thinks that the Eagles draft was worth a B+. Pretty high praise from him- it was the third highest grade he handed out. He thought they had the best draft of the NFC east teams. Here are his full comments:
"The Eagles were positioned well to take advantage of a deep draft, and they did, piling up seven productive picks between the third and fifth rounds. But Philly started well too. In Brandon Graham they have a potential Rookie of the Year on defense. They filled a need at safety with Nate Allen, and I like Trevard Lindley in the fourth. He has second-round ability. Ricky Sapp may be a tweener, but getting a guy who can get to the quarterback like he can in the fifth round is good value. He could be a solid situational pass-rusher early in his career. Riley Cooper is quicker than many people think to go with above-average size. "

Chris Steuber from Scout.com also had praise for the Eagle's draft:
The Eagles were loaded and ready to make a splash in this year’s draft, and when they traded up from No. 24 to No. 13, it appeared that they were angling to get Texas safety Earl Thomas. But instead, they improved their pass rush with Michigan DE Brandon Graham. Graham is undersized, but is an explosive pass rusher that will complement Trent Cole very well on the defensive line. In the second round, the Eagles got their safety in South Florida’s Nate Allen, who will compete for the starting free safety position in training camp. The biggest surprise of the Eagles draft was third round pick Daniel Te’o-Nesheim from Washington. A tweener on defense who can play inside or outside on the D-Line, Te’o-Nesheim was considered to be a late round prospect. One player that fans in Philadelphia should keep an eye on is Missouri State tight end Clay Harbor. He’s a solid all around tight end who possesses great speed and hands and is a very good blocker. At the end of the day, the Eagles made 13 selections and added some interesting names in the late rounds: Clemson DE/OLB Ricky Sapp (5th round), Florida WR Riley Cooper (5th round), LSU RB Charles Scott (6th round), Mississippi State MLB Jamar Chaney (7th round) and Georgia DT Jeff Owens (7th round).

Draft Grade: A-

So, as you see, smarter people than me think the Eagles had themselves a fine draft. I hope they're right, because I have some concerns:
1) I think the Eagles traded down too much and gave up opportunities to grab consensus impact players earlier in the draft. I think they should have been trading up the entire time, not trading down to collect more late picks. The eagles don't need depth on their team, they need talent.

2) Though I love the guy's name and he sounds like he'll make a good NFL QB, I felt the Eagles wasted a pick grabbing The Metamorphosis. We have a young QB in Kolb; we need help on defense.

3) I don't understand why we drafted so many defensive ends, especially when we used the 13th pick of the draft on one. When you use the 13th pick, shouldn't you expect that the player will be the future at his position? The 13th pick should be a pretty sure bet and shouldn't require insurance.

4) The Eagles didn't draft a single offensive lineman, even though their starting center destroyed his knee at the end of the season.

That's a cornucopia of concerns, indeed. So far I've only found two answers-

Gregg Easterbrook, better known as TMQ, takes a hack at concern #1. He thinks that there's no way to predict how a draft pick will pan out, so the more picks, the better your chances of finding talent:
"If NFL choices are essentially lottery tickets, then the more held, the better your odds. In recent drafts, Denver, New England and Philadelphia have pursued multiple trade-downs to add picks -- that is, buy more tickets.... Saturday, the Broncos traded a fifth-round selection for two seventh-round choices -- two lottery tickets are better than one, especially if you are honest and admit to yourself you have no way of knowing who "should" be in the fifth round in the first place. Philadelphia traded down so many times it ended up with 13 selections, almost twice the league average, including four picks in the fourth round. Would you rather have four fourth-round choices or one first-round pick? Four lottery tickets are better than one."

Dave Spadaro from philadelphiaeagles.com addressed concern #4:
"Why no offensive linemen? The Eagles will sign some in the post-draft period, and they just didn't think there were any difference makers after the early part of the draft. They truly think Stacy Andrews is going to blossom in 2010 and that Nick Cole and -- here is a surprise name -- Mike McGlynn are going to have a very good battle for the starting center job. Jamaal Jackson continues his rehab from the knee injury."

I hold out hope that the Eagles know more about football than me, and that this is the greatest draft in NFL history. At any rate, it's always exciting to watch new players develop.

Speaking of all the new Eagles players, a full breakdown of every Eagles pick with scouting reports is here after the jump.

Ryan Howard makes a lot of money

Congratulations, Ryan Howard. You're a richer man.

First, let's give Ryan Howard his due. He is a prolific home run hitter who works hard every year to improve every facet of his game. He worked on his baserunning and can now swipe some bases. Training with Sam Perlozzo, he continues to improve his defense; he leads the league in fielding percentage at the moment (though he'll never win a gold glove with all the attention Pujols gets). Howard's trying to fix the holes in his strike zone- flailing at breaking balls away much less this year. He's cutting down on strikeouts. Kind of.

Howard also busted his hump to lose weight and keep it off. So many "naturally hefty" power hitters rest on their laurels, get fat, have to become designated hitters because they've eaten themselves out of playing the field, and shorten their playing careers because they fail to keep their bodies and skills sharp. It happened to Mo Vaughn, it's happening to David Ortiz, it's going to happen to Prince Fielder and Pablo Sandoval. It won't happen to Ryan. Thank you, Subway! (Ok, it might happen to Ryan. He's got a big frame. but Ryan is doing what he can to prevent it)

Ryan deals gamely with the infield shift defenses use against him that robs him of an awful lot of hits- a shift can't be put on a right-handed batter. I've yet to see him lose his temper in the billions of times he's hit a bullet into the teeth of the shift.

Ryan Howard has hit at least 40 home runs and driven in 130+ RBI's for four straight seasons. Only Babe Ruth has done that more times, and I think Ryan is going to overtake him. Yes, Ryan Howard has eye-popping home run and RBI totals, has won awards aplenty, and he's on pace to end up in the Hall of Fame. Jayson Stark notes that Howard hit 100, 150, and 200 home runs in fewer at bats than anybody, ever.

He also seems like a terrific person. My mom loves this guy. Ryan Howard isn't going to run over a homeless guy while driving drunk after groping a lady at a bar where he accidentally shot himself in the thigh. Not going to happen. He's got a fun personality, everybody in the clubhouse seems to like him, and he's a standup member of the community.

I am fond of Ryan Howard and I'm happy for him that he got paid.

Here comes the "but."

An average salary of $25 million is slightly more money than Ryan Howard should earn, and it could cost the Phillies the financial flexibility they need to keep their roster as talented as possible.

I even wonder if Howard could have commanded more had he gone into free agency. Unless the Yankees were in the bidding, I think it unlikely. Who were the Phillies bidding against? And you usually get some kind of deal when you extend a player's contract, trading dollars for job security. This ain't no discount.

Everyone is talking about how the Howard contract means that Jayson Werth is not going to be resigned. I think somebody is going to pay Werth more than he's worth regardless, but yeah, the Phils are going to miss out on some talent somewhere down the line.

My thought is that Howard deserves somewhere between $18-$21 million a year. Depending on how his option works out, I estimate him costing the Phillies $23-$39 million more than he's worth over the life of his contract.

I have no doubt that Albert Pujols is going to ask for, and get, more money than Howard. But Albert Pujols deserves more money than Howard. Howard's contract may cause Pujols' contract to get more inflated than it should be, but Pujols is the best hitter in baseball right now.

Howard is absolutely an elite talent. There are just some players that are better than him. A-Rod, who got overpaid in Yankee money, should earn more than Howard and he does. Derek Jeter should earn more money than Howard and he doesn't.

Howard should be making somewhere around Miguel Cabrera money, who averages $19 million a year. Joe Mauer should make a little more money than Howard- he calls a good game behind the plate, plays stellar defense, and is a better pure hitter than Howard- and Mauer just signed a deal worth $2 million less than Howard's annually. Prince Fielder deserves less than Howard, and we'll see how he does.

Think about this. Roy Halladay is averaging about $13 million a year. Is Ryan Howard worth $12 million a year more than Roy Halladay? Heck no. In fact, if I were basing my estimate of how much Howard is worth on Halladay's contract, I'd say Howard should earn $10 million a year.

Jayson Stark pointed out that nobody will have earned more than Ryan Howard after he's played 10 years: $190 million! Look, he's a great player- but that's waaaay more money than he should make.

The take home message is that the Phillies overpaid for Howard, and the Phillies could be in serious trouble if Ryan doesn't stay ultra productive through his 30's. It's great to think that he'll be a Phillie for a long time, and scary to think that his contract could hamstring the team.

Something that deserves mention here as well. Remember when we Philly fans used to complain about how cheap the Phillies are? Wasn't long ago. Well, we can't call the Phillies cheap now. We can only hope that they'll continue to open their wallet wide to overcome the hole they've dug themselves with this monster contract. We can only hope they'll have the cash to keep this fine team together and add complementary pieces.

Links to my work

John B. poems in:
Juked Magazine, Anemone Sidecar, Cricket Online Review, BlazeVox, Digital Artifact Magazine, Textsound, Dogzplot, The Nimble Few, Nimble Few again, Prick of the Spindle, TextImagePoem, EMU Online, Bath House and Cellar Roots.  His long illustrated poem, My Boyfriend’s Back: A Zombie Love Story, is available at Amazon.com.

Eagles acting strangely during the draft, I suspect hydrophobia

The Eagles went into the draft with 5 picks in the first three rounds. That's five chances to find impact players for a team that needs more impact players. Instead of using all of their picks, the Eagles start wheeling and dealing. The first trade they made was to move up in the first round. That's a way to get an impact player! Then, the birds stand pat and use their first 2nd round choice. I'm loving it.

But then things got weird.

The Eagles start trading down. And down. And down. Late in the 3rd round, they finally take a player: DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim.

The Eagles walked away from day two having made only three draft selections in the first three rounds, one of which is the 86th pick of the draft- not a place to fish for impact players! Moreover, the guy they pick plays the same position as the fella they drafted in the first round! Seeing how only one of them is going to get to play opposite Trent Cole... strange move.

So strange that I am concerned that rabies has broken out inside the Novacare complex and leadership is losing they minds!

I think that this draft and next are going to be crucial for a rebuilding Eagles team. They need to hit on these drafts to get the team back to dominance. What are they doing screwing around and passing up 2nd round talent? We need impact! IMPACT! We don't need training camp bodies. We have bodies on the team that need replacing! And what are we doing picking two athletes who play the same position?! There are plenty of other positions on defense that need a talent infusion.

I also have a fear that the two guys they picked early, Graham and Allen, were the wrong moves. I'm no scout, so I may be wrong here, but- it seems to me that Graham and Allen were "safe" picks and not necessarily guys that are going to bust out and become superstars. Jason Pierre-Paul was taken by the Giants after the Eagles selected Graham, and Taylor Mays was selected by the Niners after the Birds took Allen. Both of those other guys are supposed to be risky, sure, but they both have freakish physical gifts and have the chance to be special players. Nobody is a sure thing in the NFL draft, and I'd rather roll the dice on a special player.That's just me.

Anyway, here's the goods on Te'o-Nesheim:
From the ESPN.com draft tracker-
"What he brings: Te'o-Nesheim is limited athletically and does not show great lateral movement. On the plus side, he has great core strength for his size at 263 pounds. He plays the game with a high motor and gives great effort on every play. This might be a bit of a reach at this point, but the Eagles are looking for this type of player.
How he fits: This is yet another undersized, high-motor defensive end. This pick is a little surprising given that the Eagles got Brandon Graham in the first round. While he does sound like an Eagles-type defender from an effort standpoint, the team had bigger needs here in the third round."

From SI.com, who expected Te'o to go in the fourth round:
"Positives: Relentless college pass rusher with poor size/speed numbers. Plays with a nasty attitude, works hard to get involved in the action, and consistently makes plays on the ball. Quickly changes direction and can bend off the page as a pass rusher or collapse to the outside defending the run. Flies around the field, stays with the action, and wraps up tackling.

Negatives: Really struggles going up against large offensive tackles. Lacks great bulk and is easily handled at the point of attack.

Analysis: Te'o-Nesheim is an undersized college pass rusher who lacks the pure speed to play outside linebacker in the NFL. He's a competitive defender who plays with a non-stop motor and goes beyond his physical skills to produce on the field. Will offer possibilities at the next level as a pass rush specialist and special teams player."

In the 2nd round, the Philadelphia Eagles Select...

Nate Allen, safety from South Florida. And that's all the Eagles pick. They went on a pick-trading rampage, and won't pick again until at least the third round. Unless they trade again. And they might.

What's worse, one of the Eagles' trading partners was the odious Dallas Cowboys. Why would the Eagles help a bitter rival move up to get their man? I hates it.

On to Nate- kind of interesting that the Eagles draft a #5 with the Donovan McNabb pick. Allen seems to be a ballhawking safety, and his film reel on ESPN highlights some really nifty interceptions. The knocks I've heard knocking on him say that he isn't an intimidating presence like Brian Dawkins, and that he launches himself to tackle instead of wrapping up. It looks like Nate might be the starter this season.

SI.com's reaction:
"The Eagles choose to fill the safety position opposite Quintin Mikell that many expected them to select in the first round. Allen is an excellent athlete who was considered the third best safety in this draft. The Eagles are happy he was still available, using the selection they received from the Washington Redskins for Donovan McNabb.

ESPN's Mel Kiper considers Nate Allen the 5th best safety in the draft, behind Taylor Mays who was drafted later in round 2.

Todd McShay comments:
"Allen is a smooth athlete that shows a willingness to support the run, but is at his best roaming center field in coverage."

ESPN's Matt Mosley blogs:
"Marlin Jackson will certainly be in the mix, but I would expect for Allen to eventually take over as the starter. If you've watched any South Florida football the past three years, you know how many plays Allen makes. He's not as special as Earl Thomas and Eric Berry, but he's a huge upgrade over what the Eagles had last season.

The Eagles now match up with Jason Witten a lot better. And don't think that wasn't on Andy Reid's mind when he made the pick."

Sounds good to me- I'm sick of Jason Witten wrecking my Sunday afternoons.

ESPN's draft tracker says:
"What he brings: Allen needs to be a more consistent tackler and take better pursuit angles in run support, but he has the potential to excel in coverage. Although he's 6-foot, Allen is fluid enough to match up with slot receivers in man coverage. He also has the range to play a centerfielder-type role and plays the ball well.
How he fits: The Eagles definitely needed a safety as they try to replace Brian Dawkins. Allen may not be the physical presence Dawkins was versus the run, but he will be an improvement providing versatility in pass defense. He will be an improvement over Quintin Demps, Macho Harris and Marlin Jackson, who's coming off his second ACL injury in two years. Quentin Mikell is tough and a consistent, blue-collar player, but Philly needed a good pass-defender next to him. Sean Jones is gone to Tampa Bay and this very possibly could be an upgrade over him."

Eagles trade up to draft DE Brandon Graham

The Eagles traded to Denver their first round pick and two third round picks to move up in the first round and select Michigan DE Brandon Graham with the 13th overall pick. He is listed at 6'1.5" and 268 lbs.

The consensus seems to be that Graham is a mid-first round talent, and that he is a safe bet to be a good player in the NFL because he was very productive in college. Jason Pierre-Paul, a DE drafted two picks later by the Giants, was ranked ahead of Graham by most analysts but is considered a much riskier pick. This much is sure: JPP can do 23 backflips in a row and Graham can't.

SI.com has Graham graded as slightly worse than the DE Jason Pierre-Paul, but they describe JPP as "boom or bust," and have Graham listed as a first round talent. Here's their instant reaction:
"The Eagles trade up in order to take the former Michigan pass rusher who completely dominated the competition at the Senior Bowl. Graham is extremely powerful and athletic which enables him to overcome his lack of height and short arms. The Eagles have been searching for years for a pass-rusher to team with Trent Cole and clearly they felt Graham was their guy, otherwise they would not have given up two third-round choices in order to secure his rights" 

And here's what they say about him on their scouting page:
"Positives: Intense defender constantly flying around the action. Fires off the snap, plays with leverage and excellent pad level. Immediately alters his angle of attack, fast up the field and displays speed in pursuit. Can bend off the edge, fast getting to the flanks, and chases the action hard. Loses no momentum changing direction, easily redirects to ball handlers, and wraps up at the point of attack. Gives effort until the whistle blows and displays good recognition.

Negatives: Struggles against large tackles and engulfed at the point of attack. Displays marginal skill moving in reverse if asked to play in coverage.

Analysis: Graham has displayed a terrific combination of quickness, explosion, and speed as well as hustle the past three seasons. He causes a lot of problems for opponents with the ability to quickly get up the field and disrupt the action. Graham is a high motor defender who goes hard and gives effort. Offering possibilities as a one-gap defensive end or outside linebacker in a 3-4, he shows a lot of Dwight Freeney in his game."

Over at ESPN, Mel Kiper has JPP 5 spots before Graham on his "Big Board." He has Graham ranked as the 3rd best DE behind JPP at 2. Mel's comments:
"Awesome athlete, force off the edge, led nation in TFLs."
and
"I'll repeat again that Graham is as productive a player as you'll find in the draft. He led the nation in tackles for loss, even as opposing offenses targeted him. His battle was proving that he is more than a potential 3-4 outside linebacker. Well, the proof is here. Graham has the leverage to be disruptive against the run, and his ability to disrupt the backfield as a pass-rusher is unquestioned."

Todd McShay has Graham listed as his top "underrated" prospect, and gives him a grade of 94. McShay, too, has JPP going ahead of Graham. He calls Graham the stoutest run-blocking DE of the top picks.

ESPN Draft tracker scouts Graham thusly:
"What he brings: Graham doesn't have ideal height for a defensive end prospect and he doesn't have elite natural ability, but he makes the most of his skill set. He's a tough run-defender who can set the edge. He shows adequate range in pursuit. While he is a bit of a straight-line pass-rusher, Graham is relentless and powerful. He also does a good job of getting under offensive tackles and bending back inside.
How he fits: Graham gives the Eagles a versatile defender who will add needed pass rush ability and a great motor, much like Trent Cole. Juqua Parker is aging, Victor Abiamiri has become a role-playing inside sub rusher and newly-signed Darryl Tapp is not a team savior. Graham adds toughness and aggressiveness to a defense that thrives on it. Graham will also be able to take some of the pressure off of Cole as the lone pass-rushing threat."

John Czarnecki from FoxSports says this about Graham:
"The Eagles traded away two of their third-rounders to the Broncos (the 13th pick acquired earlier from the 49ers) in order to take Michigan pass rusher Brandon Graham, who dominated offensive tackles in the Big Ten this past season. Graham's play was a big reason why Iowa's Bulaga is still available in this draft because he beat him like a drum when he played him. Now, Graham is a speed rusher and Andy Reid is hoping that he can mature into another Dwight Freeney" 

The Philadelphia Eaglets heading into the draft.

The Philadelphia Eagles have boldly cut ties with some fine players this offseason. The players they jettisoned largely have one thing in common: they are football old. The average age of players who left the Eagles this offseason is 30. The average age of players signed by the Eagles this offseason is 25.3. This kind of youth movement usually means that a team doesn't think they can win a superbowl with their current veteran core, that they need to dump the old guard and try to build a winning team from scratch. I say "usually" because I think there were a few other factors behind the drastic changes Eagles management made to the franchise.

See, the Eagles were a playoff-caliber team last year even after they lost a whole slew of starters to injury. With the development of some of their younger players, I think they could have expected to be competitive in 2010 even if they brought back an identical roster. Also, since they weren't part of the "final 8" teams who finished ahead of them in the playoffs last season, they had a distinct advantage over 8 superior rosters- they could go out and sign any free agent they desired while those other teams were very limited on acquiring new talent. If the Eagles sold the farm in an uncapped year and grabbed bigtime free agents to fill roster holes, they could have made themselves favorites for the 2010 crown.

They didn't do that. They didn't want to be quite that bold, even though fortune would have surely favored them.

Why not shoot the moon? I think there were two major factors. First, they would have had to choose a quarterback to pilot the 2010 dream team and then given him a contract extension. Both the incumbent McNabb and the upstart Kolb were in the last year of their contracts, and the Eagles would risk losing both if they couldn't get one to sign an extension. Quarterback is the toughest position to fill in free agency and in the draft, so the Eagles would be taking an unacceptable risk if they didn't sign one of the two QBs to a long term deal.

It would have created a clubhouse-shattering media storm to lock up one QB long term while starting the other. So, the Eagles would have had to make a tough choice- extend the contract of an aging McNabb, a fragile player whose career could end at any given snap, or give the Kolb kid the keys to a Ferrari.

Eagles brass would have had to make a choice, then, that they didn't care to make. Both options would have been too risky for them if they'd invested in building a dream team in '10. McNabb could be counted on to perform well, but only as long as he could stay on the field. Kolb would seem to have many years ahead of him, but hasn't proven his gridiron mettle- if he sucked then the Eagles wasted a ton of money on a lost season.

You might argue that Brett Farve and Kurt Warner proved last season that quarterbacks can age well, and the Eagles could extend McNabb five more years without worry. That's a good point. Or, you can say, Kolb threw for 300 yards in his only two starts last season, and Andy Reid seems to have a lot of confidence in the whippersnapper- he sounds like a capable enough quarterback to run a playoff-bound offense. Sounds reasonable to me.

This brings me to the second factor that influenced the Eagles decision making.

The second reason the Eagles chose to rebuild over loading up the team for a super bowl run in '10 is that nobody knows how the outcome of the new collective bargaining agreement will shape the financial landscape of the NFL. Golll-eee, there is a chance that there won't even be an NFL season in 2011. If the Eagles spent like mad, they might have doomed the franchise with financial inflexibility for years to come. More importantly for them, there's a chance of losing money (gasp!) if there isn't a season in 2011, or if they miss a chance to utilize new collective bargaining spending loopholes.

Something tells me that the money matters more than the QB pickle, but I'll concede that the two factors conflated to make building a superbowl winner in '10 unpalatable for Eagles management.

So, we're left with an apocalyptic post glory-decade roster of fresh faces. It stings that the team that reached the playoffs 8 of the past 10 years- going to five NFC championship games and one superbowl in that span- is officially kaput. It's the end of an era.
--------------------------------------------------------

Here's a rundown of how the Eagles reshaped their roster this offseason:

Below is a list of the aged players who departed the Eagles and the young boys who joined up or signed extensions. Ages in parenthesis. The small text is from Scouts Inc scouting reports from 2009.

Flown the Coop:
Donovan McNabb (33)
Traded for a 2nd rounder in 2010 and a 3rd or 4th rounder in 2011
CB Sheldon Brown (31)
one of the league's most consistent corners since 2002, has had excellent durability throughout his seven-year career. He is a smart, instinctive player who leverages receivers well and understands route progressions. Brown has good strength to jam and reroute receivers off the line of scrimmage. He's also a solid run-support defender. He doesn't have great pure speed and can get beat deep at times. 
LB Chris Gocong (26)
Gocong has good power when rushing the passer of the edge. He needs to improve his hand use and ability to leverage defenders to maintain body position. He is a hard-nosed, aggressive linebacker who is best attacking the line of scrimmage. He lacks great agility and quickness in man coverage and lacks great awareness in combination zone coverage. Cocong is a very productive special-teams contributor who has the tools to develop into a consistent linebacker.
Traded to Cleveland for Alex Hall and 4th and 5th round picks
DE Jason Babin (29)
UFA let go to Titans 
S Sean Jones (28)
UFA let go to Bucs
DE Darren Howard (33)
WR Kevin Curtis (31)
OG Shawn Andrews (27)
LB Will Witherspoon (29)
RB Brian Westbrook (30)
LB Jeremiah Trotter (33)
All released

Comments: Sad to see Trotter, McNabb, Westbrook, and Sheldon Brown go. Only Westbrook was cooked of the four, Trotter was effective as a role player and the other two have good football left in them. Sheldon Brown, I think, is actually a better corner than Asante Samuel, who takes too many risks fishing for interceptions and gets burned frequently. Sheldon was dependable in coverage and a sure tackler; his only weakness was against taller players who could make catches over him. Too bad the Eagles didn't trade Samuel instead of Brown.


Shawn Andrews can still be a dominant player if he can get on the field. Some people say he doesn't like playing football, so I'm not sure we'll see him again.


I'm not sure why the Eagles let Gocong go. I guess he wasn't working in the defensive system.


Egg Teeth:
LB Ernie Sims (25)
Sims had another excellent season in his third year in the league. He is an undersized linebacker who plays at a high level due to excellent athletic ability, toughness and instincts. He is a natural football player who reacts quickly as plays unfold. He is adept at slipping blockers and getting to the pile. Ernie has great fits to the line of scrimmage and his front four. He leverages the ball well using his hands to work through trash and staying alive to the ball. He has great range in pursuit with excellent lateral agility, quickness and speed inside out to the play. He is a solid pass defender getting excellent leverage in both man and zone schemes as he reads route progressions well. He is an excellent rap tackler with great pop and power on contact. He is better in coverage than attacking the line of scrimmage in blitz packages. Sims is a good football player who continues to improve and though he lacks great size has been durable early in his career.
Acquired for 5th round pick
G Max Jean-Gilles (26)
Re-signed
LB Alex Hall (24)
Hall didn't make an impact in 2008, his rookie season, but he has a lot of ability and could be a surprise pass-rusher who bursts onto the scene in 2009. He is also a top-notch special-teams player who has made an immediate impact in that regard.
LB Omar Gaither (26)
Gaither is instinctive player who reacts quickly as a run defender and has a good understanding of route progressions versus the pass. He has excellent lateral agility to maintain leverage in his gap responsibilities. He is more effective playing the edges rather than stacking at the point of attack. He can be effective in both man and combination zone coverage. Gaither has the ability to be a productive linebacker for years to come.
CB Ellis Hobbs (26)
Hobbs is a short, well-built player with good athletic skills and excellent toughness. He is a fierce competitor who plays bigger than his listed size. Despite his size, he has been a durable defender and consistent performer. Ellis is an aggressive run defender who will throw his body around and insert in piles. He has deceptive pop and power when tackling as well as a strong upper body to ward off blockers. Larger backs and receivers can exploit his size, but for the most part Ellis is physical enough to be an effective perimeter defender. He is an active defending the pass and gets his hands on lots of balls. He has great vision and anticipation jump break points in zone coverage. He does a nice job leveraging the ball and takes proper angles when closing to the play. He has good foot agility, quickness and balance to transition well out of his pedal. He maintains excellent body position while in his pedal as well as redirecting to plant. Hobbs doesn't have outstanding pure speed to match up well in pure man coverage, but can be effective in combination man and zone schemes. He has been a solid kick returner.
LB Akeem Jordon (24)
Jordan is an undersized linebacker with good athleticism and toughness. He runs well and has good range in pursuit. He lacks great power to hold the point versus the run and needs lots of work on his route progression reads as a pass defender. Jordan has the tools to develop, but his size limitations will likely relegate him to a back up role.
DE Darryl Tapp (25)
He was an 11-game starter last year and played both RDE and LDE. Tapp is a good athlete who has good burst off the ball and he can turn the corner with above average speed. He is a developing better hand use to change give different looks and has started to show an increased ability to counter. His burst allows him to gain the quick advantage up field and when changing direction. He is explosive with his movements and can closes hard to the QB once he clears contact. As a run defender he is slightly undersized to control the point of attack. He can be overpowered at times but when he plays off contact quickly and shows good hand uses to shed, he has a good closing burst to the ball his quickness. Tapp is a better pursuit player versus the run than a true take on guy and will need to be rotated at times in short yardage and goal-line situations.
DB Marlin Jackson (26)
Jackson is a good-sized corner who has been a starter for the past two seasons. He missed the final nine games of the 2008 season due to a knee injury. He has good initial quickness and above average straight line speed. He builds to speed more than being explosive and will flash a decent burst of acceleration to close on the play. He tends to be a bit upright in his pedal and often has to bail out early to avoid getting beat deep. He can be a little sloppy in transition and takes extra steps to redirect to break on the ball.
WR Jason Avant (27)
Signed a 5 year extension.
FB Leonard Weaver (27)
Weaver is a good overall athlete with adequate size and strength. He is an adequate run blocker who can identify and adjust on the move. He is still developing his overall technique to secure angles quickly and create movement after contact. He will get overextended at times, which limits his ability to finish. He is a good athlete with the ball in his hands and is versatile enough to be effective as a runner or receiver out of the backfield. He runs with good vision, but is primarily a one-cut runner who will get up field quickly. He doesn't always pluck it cleanly and will try to body catch, when possible. After the catch, he does a good job of making subtle moves in space. He is more of an athletic FB than a power, smash-mouth one, which makes him a good fit in a West Coast system.

Comments: Avant and Weaver are good football players. The rest on this list are serviceable players with potential. Ernie Sims, in particular, was a first round pick for the Lions who didn't live up to his draft position and might have some star in him. ESPN's Scout's Eye says this about the trade for Sims:
This was a very good trade for the Eagles, as they were able to get a player who will make an immediate impact in their defense. Sims is an undersized LB who will play on the weak side. The Eagles have a solid front four, which is key for a player like Sims, who lacks size and bulk and needs to be covered up and protected at the second level. Sims is an excellent athlete who has sideline-to-sideline speed and range. He makes a lot of plays outside the tackle box. He is athletic in coverage and is an every-down player. In his first three seasons in Detroit, the Lions were extremely vanilla on defense. Last season they were a little more exotic, but Sims was not healthy and had his worst NFL season. In Philadelphia, look for the Eagles to ask more of Sims, who totaled 100-plus tackles in each of his first three seasons before a down season last year. The Eagles will ask him to blitz more and play more man coverage, areas that are strong suits for the athletic and undersized Sims.  

Please don't draft Tim Tebow! and other Eagles draft needs

Before the NCAA football season ended, sports heads unanimously agreed that Tim Tebow would never make it in the NFL, and would be lucky to get drafted at all as a WR/RB/TE/QB hybrid.

Cut to a few months later, after Tebow promised to change his throwing mechanics, and he is regarded as a first round pick. And rumor has it the Eagles are interested.

I don't know how perception about Tebow's ability changed so suddenly and dramatically. Wait, I do know. Tebow debuted an inconsistent new throwing motion at a workout, and it was all NFL teams needed to justify taking him early. The only problem is that the new justification doesn't make any sense.

Anybody can change their throwing mechanics if the practice with coaches for a couple months. Even I could do it. Even my dog could do it. GM's had to know that they could change Tebow's mechanics after they signed him. The things they feared they couldn't change about Tebow- his inability to make progressions after the snap, his poor decision-making, his dependence on athletic ability to get him out of trouble (which won't work in the NFL as much because everyone is freakishly athletic)- are still unresolved and unlikely to change.

As for the Eagles drafting Tebow... isn't Kolb the QB of the future? That's the reason McNabb got bumped, isn't it? Yes and yes. It would be a hideous mistake to draft another QB of the future when there are other, glaring, actual needs.

That said, here are the Eagles draft needs by position, in order of importance:
Safety, Cornerback, Defensive End, Linebacker, Offensive Tackle, Center, Running Back, Guard, Defensive Tackle, Tight End, Punter, Quarterback, Wide Receiver, Fullback, Kicker. Got it, Andy?
 --------------------------------------------

4/23 update: Denver drafted Tebow with the 25th pick in the first round. Rut roh, mile-highers! Let us always remember that Tebow was drafted far ahead of Jimmy Clausen- Who Mel Kiper believes is the best QB in the draft- and also Colt McCoy and Dan LeFevour. Always remember, never forget.

Eagles 2010 Season Predicition

Here is my optimistic prognostication of the Eagles season in 2010:

WK	DATE	OPPONENT	TIME (ET)
1	Sun, Sep 12	Green Bay	4:15 PM   (L) Aaron Rogers eats lightning and craps thunder
2	Sun, Sep 19	at Detroit	1:00 PM (W) One of the few teams the Eagles can handle
3	Sun, Sep 26	at Jacksonville	4:05 PM (W) A tight game, but J'Ville gots a mediocre QB
4	Sun, Oct 3	Washington	4:15 PM (L) Donovan's revenge, Part I
5	Sun, Oct 10	at San Francisco	8:20 PM (L) We'll see how Ernie Sims covers the TE
6	Sun, Oct 17	Atlanta	1:00 PM (L) Philly D can't handle WR White and TE Gonzalez
7	Sun, Oct 24	at Tennessee	1:00 PM (L) Andy Reid is awful before the bye week
9	Sun, Nov 7	Indianapolis	4:15 PM (L) Reid excels after the bye, but won't beat Peyton
10	Mon, Nov 15	at Washington	8:30 PM (L) Donovan's revenge, Part II, in prime time
11	Sun, Nov 21	NY Giants	8:20 PM (W) The Giants were quitters last year
12	Sun, Nov 28	at Chicago	1:00 PM (W) We can only hope Cutler throws bunches of INTs
13	Thu, Dec 2	Houston	8:20 PM (W) Home team prevails in the short week
14	Sun, Dec 12	at Dallas	8:20 PM (L) Dallas swept a superior Eagles team last year
15	Sun, Dec 19	at NY Giants	1:00 PM (W) Gaints coming off a pounding at Minnesota
16	Sun, Dec 26	Minnesota	1:00 PM (L) IF Farve plays, (W) otherwise
17	Sun, Jan 2	Dallas	1:00 PM (L) Ignominious defeat

The Eagles miss the playoffs, finishing 6-10 if they're lucky.

I can see 3-13 with a Giants split (hard to beat em twice), and loses to the Jaguars (running all over the Eagles), and Texans (Andre Johnson explosion!). Oh, bother.

But wait, here's the case for 0-16! Detroit beats an overconfident Eagles squad, Chicago wins as Cutler throws like he did at the end of 2009, and the Giants sweep with a return to superbowl form. Oh, the horror.

McNabb to TO?

A good article on ESPN.com today, talking bout the decline of the McNabb to T.O. empire in Philadelphia.

In other internet news, Deadspin has the investigation files from the Ben Roethlisberger bar-rape case. The ballots are in and it's official: Big Ben is the grossest sleeze-um in professional sports.

Placido Polanco and his amazing friends

Placido Polanco leads the National League in hits and runs, and is third in batting average. He's made some sweet plays in the field this week. Seems like the Phillies picked the right guy for the job. They certainly shouldn't hire me for their scouting department, because the players I suggested they take instead of Polanco aren't faring nearly as well as he: Adrian Beltre is batting 92 points lower than Placido and has driven in half the RBI's. Dan Uggla is playing an atrocious 2nd base. "The Pulse" DeRosa has a bum hammy. Pedro Feliz is batting .222.

My worry about Polanco's decline in batting average in recent seasons is quickly receding. Turns out he's a great fit for the lineup; Polanco is taking full advantage of the protection afforded him by the three swaggering sluggers at his back.

The Phillies have a bigger problem right now, and it's all their injuries. Blanton, Happ, Lidge, Romero and Rollins are all hurt right now. You can't expect the Phillies to score a zillion runs every game (they couldn't muster any runs today to support Cole Hamels' gem), and that's what they're gonna need to do if Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick keep getting rocked. Oh, by the way, those guys are definitely going to keep getting rocked.

Happ's injury status is a little murky; he'll throw a bullpen tomorrow and see how it goes (4/22 update- Happ goes on 15 day DL). Charlie hopes he'll only miss one start. Blanton is targeting the first week of May for his return, and Lights Out Lidge will likely join him. Romero was supposed to be back before Lidge, but now I hear there is no timetable for him to get to the big boy team.

So it looks like the Phils are going to need to go a few weeks on pitching fumes, and that will douse a hot start right quick.

As for Jimmy Rollins, who helped fuel the Phillies scoring explosion in the first week of the season, Stefania Bell, ESPN's injury expert, says that we can only hope to see him in four weeks. Calf injuries are tough for speed guys and infielders, and Rollins is both. Furthermore, rushing back from a calf strain can make the calf blow completely, ending a player's season.

Bottom line seems to be that the Phils might struggle through April and some of May without some key players. The division race is going to be that much tighter in September.

My favorite current-ish names in baseball, ranked.

These rankings come from an intense study of every name in baseball and the application of an arcane formula measuring fascinating sounds, divine comedy, and baseball propriety.

Burke Badenhop, Burke Heinrich Badehop, Florida Marlins

Placido Polanco, Philadelphia Phillies

Skip Schumaker, St. Louis Cardinals

Milton Bradley, Seattle Mariners

Coco Crisp, Oakland Athletics

Esteban Yan, Bridgeport Bluefish

Boof Bonser, Boston Red Sox

Fu-Ti Ne, Detroit Tigers

Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves

Tomo Ohka, Yokohama BayStars

Rusty Ryal, Arizona Diamondbacks

Asdrubal Cabrera, Clevland Indians

Antonio Bastardo, Philadelphia Phillies

Mark Buehrle, Cicago White Sox

Kenshin Kawakami, Braves

Melky Cabrera, Braves

Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies

Juan Pierre, White Sox

Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs

Fernando Tatis, New York Mets

Will Ohman, Baltimore Orioles

Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers

Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds

Bobby Seay, Detroit Tigers

Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins

Ryan Theroit, Cubs

J.J. Putz, White Sox

Felix Pie, Orioles

Puke-adelphia? Sigh.

Awright, awright. A drunk Phillies fan intentionally shoved his fingers down his throat and puked on an off-duty police officer and his 11-year-old daughter after being offended that the officer got the vominator's friend kicked out of the park for being drunk and nasty. At least, that's what all the news outlets are reporting.

Also, let's get this out of the way: Matthew Clemmens, the accused pictured here, totally looks like an ug fat lady.

The alleged event made for good headlines today, because Philly fans are reviled as loathsome mutant hyenas. People wrote diatribes about the ghouls of Philadelphia, the dark denizens of the city of Brotherly Love.

*Here's a particularly rabid attack.*

It hurts, it hurts, like daylight on Nosferatu.

I'll say this: there is a good chance that this Matthew fella is a bastard jerk whose regurgitation could've really unstrung a poor little girl. I absolutely feel for the girl here. She definitely got hurled on and that is awful. And in the corny way that I view the old ballpark as an almost sacred ground, in my blinding nostalgia, I'd say that a little girl draped in vomit is a sin.

That said, I wish to make two additional points that are being ignored.

First, all of the people railing on a stereotype about Philadelphia fans are being just as thoughtless as the people they portray. Whip up some old print about Santa and boos and you think you know something? I say: make an effort to learn something and you might actually know something.

Philadelphia sporting events are absolutely peppered with drunk assholes as well as just plain assholes. And some really screwed up things have happened inside and out of Philadelphia stadiums: a guy got beaten to death last year outside Citizens Bank Park over spilled beer, for example. Philadelphia as a whole is a pretty angry and violent town; it's a place that almost forces a person to be ready to brawl to maintain self-respect. I hate that about this place. Ah heckfire, I tried to get a guy to pull over and fight me today because of his obnoxious honking. That's sad, huh?

Here's the thing. Show me a stadium in America in which people behave with dignity and love of brotherhood. I saw a man get tossed from one level of the stadium to another during a fight at the Oakland Coliseum, a fall of 20 feet. I saw that same guy in a bloody slump against a concourse wall the next inning- nobody even came to help this dude! I've seen Red Sox fans escorted with busted faces from Yankee Stadium, and the reverse at Fenway. How bout that Pistons-Pacers brawl? These are things I observed with mine own eyeballs. Here are some other incidents in other cities: 132 people were arrested at Dodger Stadium on opening day this year. Also on opening day, fans in Washington, DC booed president Barak Obama. Last year, a fan in Chicago dumped a beer on Shane Victorino when he tried to catch a fly ball. Sports fans and deplorable behavior go steady all over the country. I think that Philadelphia may indeed be one of the more violent cities in the United States. But ugly, violent confrontation is a national pastime. There's a larger issue here, and smug commentators are glossing that over.

Secondly here's something that isn't covered by most of the stories I've read: where did Matthew get the shiner featured in his ugly mugshot? Looks pretty recent- lots of swelling, and the bruising hasn't really set in. Glad you asked about that. One of Philly's demon fans came to the defense of Capt. Micheal Vangelo after Clemmens punched the officer, flooring the serial vomitor. Then a bunch of terror-able Phillies fans restrained the fat bastard til help arrived. Sounds like brotherly love to me.

My wrap-up- Fans are going to get drunk and disorderly at ballgames because their lives suck, because, for example, they largely can't get bonuses for preying on poverty and selling sub-prime mortgages. I don't like it; I don't like that a system of oppression lords over the lower 99%, and also I don't like that a few of the down 99% let go of their dignity and puke on cop's kids. I think we need to try harder, as a people, not to be so hurtful and insensitive. And those who got they crucifixes ready ought to stop gawking and groaning, and be more helpful. Have some brotherly love, you ironic idiots.

Double Fantasy

I get a little too excited about fantasy baseball. It's true.

Lucky for me, I only got around to hard thinking about the catchers. Er. I mean, I ranked the catchers as I felt they'd perform this season in fantasy baseball and then I ran out of time before the season started. So, no fantasy for me, but I wonder if I'll get my catchers right:

Joe Mauer

Brian McCann

Victor Martinez

Ryan Doumit

Kurt Suzuki

Matt Wieters

Jorge Posada

Mike Napoli

Geovany Soto

AJ Pierzynski

Russell Martin

Chris Iannetta

Yadier Molina

Bengie Molina

Miguel Montero All the other catchers are worth no more than a slimy avocado pit.

It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday..hheeeeeeeeee

I don't think about NBA basketball very much because David Stern reminds me of Uncle Joe Stalin in his dictation, but I think an article in ESPN.com sums up the state of the Philadelphia Sixers very well and I want to share:

"Marreese Speights, Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams were among the promising core of young [Sixers] players whose progress took a major step back this season. Elton Brand hasn't performed up to the $80 million contract Stefanski gave him two summers ago, Samuel Dalembert was his usual erratic self and Andre Iguodala continued to prove he can't carry the franchise."

True and true.

Jerry!

Deadspin.com somehow got their hands on an amazing video of Jerry Jones, owner of the abominable Dallas Cowboys, on a drunk and peacocking to some young lonestar douches at a bar. Here's the transcript, courtesy of deadspin:

Jerry Jones: Romo was a miracle.
Other guy: It was a miracle, wasn't it?
JJ: He almost never got in, and he almost was gone. Tebow would never…
Different other guy: What if you were the Jaguars or — would you just, just draft him and sell fucking jerseys?
JJ: That's the only reason I brought in Bill Parcells.
[Laughter]
JJ: [Inaudible. Sounds a little like, "Sell mammoth fuckin' rake," whatever that means.]
JJ: Bill's not worth a shit. I love him.
Different other guy: I know you do.
JJ: Not worth a shit, but I wanted — they were on my ass so bad. J's gotta have a yes man. So to get this fuckin' stadium, I need to bring his ass in.
Different other guy: What, you, you wouldn't take Tebow in the third round?
JJ: Why? He'd never get on the field. I can't get him out there.
[Laughter]
JJ: I can't get him out there.

Too bad we can't get the whole evening's convo. I hate to say it, but I agree with Jerry on a few points. Namely, that Tony Romo has been amazing for their team (praise be, not amazing enough to win a superbowl), and that Tim Tebow is going to get drafted higher than he should. I just hope it's not by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jones' proclamation that Bill Parcells is not worth a shit, on the other hand, is completely off and very revealing. Parcells turned an awful Dallas team around. Heaven sakes, Parcells- who is widely regarded as one of the best coaches of all time- has just returned the atrocious Miami Dolphins to respectability! But Jones is an egomaniac, and he can't let himself believe that anyone who has the guts to stand up to him is worth a shit, no matter what happens. This is why he fired Jimmy Johnson after two Superbowl victories. Yes, Superbowl victories.  At least Jones admits that he needs "yes men" around.

Jerry Jones, man. I love to hate this guy, and he makes it really easy for me. Just like his bosom buddy, W.

Placido Polanco Update

Placido is batting .542, and he has me to thank for it.

However, he did bobble a grounder in the third inning and it allowed the Astros to take the lead. Luckily, the Astros are off to a sputtering start and the Phillies had no trouble coming back.

Should the plural of "Astro" be "Astroes"? Unfortunately, it is a prefix.
--------------------------------------

4/11/10 addendum- another defensive miscue

Polanco doesn't get back to the bag in time for a Halladay throw on a bunt, but Halladay takes the error and the blame:

"It's a tough play for a third baseman, because he's trying to read the speed of the bunt," Halladay said. "I didn't make a good throw to him. I think that's just kind of learning each other. I feel like that's a play we need to make later on."

My favorite Philadelphia Eagles of all time, ranked.

Brian Mitchell
Brian Dawkins
Jeremiah Trotter
Donovan McNabb
Brian Westbrook
Dick Vermeil
Randall Cunningham*
Duce Staley
Ron Jaworski
Mike Quick*
Tra Thomas
John Runyan
Chad Lewis
Troy Vincent
AJ Feeley
Todd Pinkston
Keith Jackson*
Ike Reese
Freddie Mitchell
DeSean Jackson
Buddy Ryan
Mike Bartrum
Koy Detmer
Herm Edwards
Jason Avant
Keith Byars*
Reno Mahe
Jerome Brown*
Hank Baskett
David Akers
Chuck Bednarik
Correll Buckhalter
Fred Barnett*
Hugh Douglas
Jon Dorenbos
Jevon Kearse
Greg Lewis
JR Reed
Sav Rocca
LJ Smith
Seth Joyner*
Wes Hopkins*
Harper Le Bel*

*indicates Tecmo Super Bowl Hall of Fame

Thoughts on Placido Polanco going into season.

Note: I wrote this before Polanco started the season en fuego, currently 5 for 8 with a grand slam, double, 6 RBI, 4 runs scored, and a gritty hit-by-pitch.

That said, he just grounded into an inning-ending double play.

3/4/10

Chris Wheeler calls Placido Polanco “Polly.” No sir, I don’t like it. I prefer to call him “The Garish Grimace,” because of his penchant for bearing his exceptionally pearly ivories all 9 innings.

I’m not sure that I like Polly for the team much, either. My preference would have been Adrian Beltre, who signed a one-year $9 million deal with the Red Sox, with a mutual option of $5 million for a second year. Polly’s deal is $18 million for three years. It’s possible that Beltre wouldn’t have taken the same deal as Polly, but I would have offered it. As long as Beltre is recovered from his torn testicle, he provides better defense and more power than Polanco. He is also ostensibly 31 years old to Polanco’s 34.

Beltre would have been a clear upgrade from former Phillies 3B Pedro Feliz in terms of youth, batting average (lifetime .270 against lifetime .254), power (averages 5 more HR a year, and Beltre played in power-sapping Safeco Field for the past 5 years while Feliz played 2 years in Philadelphia’s launching pad), and speed(averages 8 more SB per year). Beltre fields his position just as superbly as Feliz. Beltre would also have slid nicely in the seventh position of the batting order behind lefty Ibanez, providing him with protection.

My only real worries with Beltre are his recovery from his nad-smacking and whether he is a positive influence in the locker room. He is a Scott Boras client, and anybody who signs with Boras is contractually obligated to wear blood diamonds, drink unfair trade coffee, and eat whale meat.

In going for Polanco over Beltre, the Phillies are getting a declining player with a batting average that has dropped from an excellent .341 in 2007 to a no-frills .285 in 2009. His strikeout total has increased for four straight years. While he won a gold glove at second base last year, Polanco hasn’t played a ton of third base, so it remains to be seen what kind of defense he can provide.

Now, I do believe Polanco can be an upgrade from Feliz, but I’m not sure he is as significant an improvement as Beltre would be. Even for a hitter in decline, Polanco’s batting average is astronomically better than that of Feliz. But little else about Polanco sticks out to me as a huge step up. Polanco is a little better on the basepaths than Feliz. He strikes out less*, but grounds into roughly the same amount of double plays.

I don’t hate the Polanco signing; I’m just not a big fan of it. I think there were other options at third base, I don’t know if batting Polanco 2^nd works better than having Victorino there, and most importantly, I wish we would have asked Feliz to take less money (he said he would have) and used the extra bank to KEEP CLIFF LEE for an extra year so we could go into 2010 with a ridiculous rotation of Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Blanton, and Happ.

Bringing Feliz back for less wouldn’t make up the entire cost of keeping Lee, but would it have made the number more palatable for the Phillies? What would 2010 look like if we keep Lee instead of losing Feliz and gaining Polanco? Polanco should make the lineup more productive in 2010, but he may also cost the Phillies some games if he misses balls that Feliz would have gobbled up. Keeping Lee in the rotation, on the other hand, makes the rotation three aces deep for a team that scored tons of runs last year even with the ho-hum bat of Feliz. The Phillies win the NL East either way, but I think they’d be a better team with Lee and without Polanco.

Mark DeRosa, Mike Lowell, and Dan Uggla were the other options the Phillies could have pursued for 3^rd base in 2010. DeRosa was a free agent who wound up getting 2 years and $12 million from the Giants. Lowell and Uggla would have required a trade.

University of Pennsylvania Wharton Business School graduate (!) Mark DeRosa has more pop than Polly, but he’s older (35), coming off wrist surgery, and is a career utilityman- so it’s hard to say how he’s going to do at the dish or in the field. He’s got a cool nickname stemming from his (now corrected) irregular heartbeat: “The Pulse.” He would have been a risky signing, but he would’ve been a threat coming out of the 7 hole in this lineup. Like I said, Polanco’s recent stats are similar to Shane Victorino’s, so I feel like having Shane bat 2^nd and having a power threat like DeRosa bat 7^th would be an overall improvement for this lineup. I’d rather have a homerun guy batting 7^th; Shane’s talents for getting on base and stealing aren’t going to help him when he has Carlos Ruiz and the pitcher unable to drive him home. A power bat in the 7^th position is more likely to drive home those in front of him, and it doesn’t matter if he’s quick on the basepaths if he’s going to be stranded.

Mike Lowell is kind of banged up; the Rangers pulled back on trading for him because he had some bum thumb. But when that guy is healthy he can pick it and rip it. If he could’ve been had on the cheap and the “keep Lee” scenario was in effect, I might take him.

Uggla was an intriguing possibility. His batting average is ca-ca, but he smashes homeruns. He’d provide more juice than DeRosa batting 7^th, and he was the youngest of all the Phillies 3^rd base options. The only problem with him is that he hasn’t played much 3^rd base. If I knew that he could field the position, he’d be my number one choice. Can you imagine a Phillies lineup in which five players had a legitimate chance of hitting 30 or more homeruns? I’m a fan of the dingers.

At any rate, it’s Polanco now. And he’s making me look like an idiot 2 games in. Keep it coming.

*I don’t see why not striking out is considered such a big deal in and of itself. If you’re not striking out, but your other batting stats don’t impress, doesn’t that mean you’re making just as many outs as a whiffer who’s other batting stats are similar? I’d rather have somebody who strikes out and avoids a double play. If I’m seeing this wrong, please show me the light.