Philadelphia Fandom According to Buzz

Say what you want about Buzz Bissinger, but the guy is just a tremendous writer.

Case in point: the op-ed piece he did on Saturday for the New York Times the futility that is being a Philadelphia fan is about as well-written of a piece on the subject you'll ever read. (link copped from TheBigLead.com)

Not only was it an honest treatment of Philadelphia sports fans (we don't always behave well, let's be honest), but he managed to describe the mania we feel in such a way to elicit affirmative nodding throughout the whole piece from AND he got a tremendous shot in on New York fans (bold emphasis mine):

Contrary to the tired rap Philadelphia sports fans get as being seriously deranged maniacs, the vast majority of them are smart and discerning. They do have an inviolate demand of players that they go at after it hard, which fewer and fewer do, which is why their frequent booing is utterly appropriate.When it comes to knowledge, they make New York fans look like one big, collective Borat. Mets fans have cross-eyed looks of imminent criminality; Yankee fans are the most arrogant in the solar system; Giant fans are backstabbers; Jets fans are, well, Jets fans; and anybody who cares about the Knicks and Rangers needs immediate intervention.

Another plus? Not one tired "throwing snow balls at Santa" reference.

Thanks Buzz. Now, please go to work on figuring out how to write the expose' on the sham that is Phillies ownership such that they feel compelled to sell and have Pat Croce can come back and finally take over that franchise.

The Phils: A productive weekend

Unlike me, the Phils actually had a rather productive weekend. The Phils took 2 of 3 games from the visiting Cubs last weekend, which currently puts them in second place in the NL East. They did this without the services of Jimmy Rollins, who is still out with a sore ankle.

Brett Myers looks like he is close to righting his ship on Friday, as he held the Cubs to 3 runs over 8 innings in what was his best outing to date in a 5 - 3 Phils win. Pat Burrell continued his hot start, with a homer and 3 RBI.

Saturday saw CMH keep the fuzzy Cubbies at bay with 7 innings of 1-hit ball. According to the game recap on the Phillies' official site, Hamels wasn't impressed with himself:

"It's a scary feeling, especially in this ballpark," Hamels said. "In the summer, those things will be five rows deep. I felt better after the third inning. It's part of the game. I lucked out. They hit a lot of balls hard that I left over the plate -- right at guys. I wasn't hitting my usual location. It's one of those things where I'm thanking our defense."

Geez, I can't wait to hear what he's got to say after a bad outing. Also, Ryan Howard and Peter Happy both went yard.

Yesterday was the only Phils loss of the weekend, but it was the second time in a week that they got jobbed by the umpires. This time, it was Adrian Johnson, who called fair, what everyone in the ballpark knew to be a foul ball. This comes on the heels of last Thursday debacle when Jose Reyes was called safe when he was very obviously out, giving the Mets the win last week. With any luck, we'll be collecting those make up calls sometime in September when we really need them. In a weird set of circumstance (which I'll elaborate on shortly), Geoff Jenkins batted lead off yesterday. He didn't do so bad, in going 2 for 6, while the most recent two hole hitter, Jayson Werth, had two steals to go with a home run.

Shane Victorino: Everyday Player?

I like Shane Victorino. I really do. He runs hard. He hustles. He does the neat little shaving pie stunts to this teammates. Seems like a good guy.

So, why can't I shake the sneaky suspicion that Victorino will never be anything more than a platoon player? Shane just cannot stay on the field as he is now on the 15 day DL with a strained right calf and a slight tear of his meniscus in his right knee. This comes after he was limited by a calf injury last year. It also occurs just as he was beginning to pick up the pace with the bat, going 4 for his last 7.

I'd love to be proven wrong in this assessment.

Did You Notice?

- Former Phil Gavin Floyd almost had a no-hitter on Saturday, in shutting out the Tigers 7 - 0. He lost it in the 8th inning and was lifted shortly thereafter.

- Karma is most certainly a woman, because it can be a real bitch. Don't believe me? Ask a Mets fan. If any of them were happy to see JRoll get hurt last week, they've got something else to worry about. Jose Reyes has been out with a sore hamstring. No word if a DL stint is in his future.

- I can't think of anything dumber than that story of the idiot who buried a shirt under the new Yankee stadium. Honestly, enough of the Red Sox and Yankee bullshit. It's completely played out.

Phils-Mets 2008 - It Begins Today....

Thankfully, the Phils did manage to get their split in the 4-game set in Cincinnati by winning yesterday by a score of 5 - 3, on the strength of a 2 homer game from Pat Burrell and 7 strong innings of work from CMH. Jimmy Rollins led off the game for his second homer of the year and Geoff Jenkins hit his first as a Phil.

Now today, in yet another afternoon game that threatens to completely cripple my work productivity for the beginning part of this week, they go to very aptly named Flushing, NY to play the hated New York Metropolitans.

In case you didn't know, today is the home opener for the Mets, who have managed to compile a 2 - 3 record to date, and are fittingly tied with the Phils and Atlanta in the division in the very, very early going. This is supposed to be the last opening day in Shea Stadium history as that toilet will finally be relegated to history and the Mets (thankfully) will get a new ballpark next year and stay the fuck away from our ballpark.

I am actually very happy that the Phils are going to New York so early this year and will get the Mets back at our place next weekend. If the Phils are in any way nonchalant about the start of the season, that will end today. The Mets always seems to get the Phillies' attention and if any Phils are sleep walking right now (Shane Victorino, I'm looking at you), opening up the Mets' ballpark for a new season is the right way to wake up.

One player who has not been sleep walking has been noted Met-killer Pat Burrell. Burrell carries a lusty .435 avg. with 3 homers and 9 RBI into Shea Stadium. For his career, in 134 games, Burrell has hit 41 homers, several of the dramatic variety, and 102 RBI, while slugging .559.

The pitching matchups are just OK for the Phils (not in love with Thursday's matchup), but the Phils do miss Johan Santana on this trip:

Today (1:10pm): Jamie Moyer vs. Oliver Perez
Tomorrow (7:10pm): Kyle Kendrick vs. Doug Pelfrey
Thursday (7:10pm): Adam Eaton vs. John Maine

As for this being the last opener in Shea Stadium history, as I've never been to Shea, I don't really have any personal memories of the place. So, for every series we have this year in Shea, I'm going to try to come up with a shitty Mets memory to commemorate the closing of one of the worst ballparks in recent athletic history.

Today's memory is also Phillies related and comes up every year around Father's day...... the famous Jim Bunning perfect game against the Mets in 1964.