ineverbooedsanta

As most of you know, I usually only write about Philly sports but what I am about to write about is more important than any sports team that I devote so much of my time losing my mind over, this is about the kids.

Earlier this year, my friend Hillary Linardopoulos, (@MrsL132 on twitter), a 3rd grade teacher at Julia de Burgos Elementary School tweeted about how some of the kids in her class were coming to school, in the middle of winter, with no coats.  When I read this, it really upset me.  No child should ever go without a warm coat in the winter.  I asked Hillary if I could buy a few coats for these children and she totally went crazy on twitter. lol  The more I thought about it, I decided I was going to enlist the help from my friends who still played for the Eagles or played for them at one time.  My friends, Darryl Tapp and Quintin Mikell stepped up and donated coats for this cause.  I also had another friend, Don Durkin who took the time to go out a buy some coats also for these children.  I will always be grateful to you guys for your help.  Ok anyway, back to the reason for this post.

Hillary recently wrote an opinion piece talking about budget cuts and how her classroom doesn’t  have enough books, paper and other school supplies   This got me to thinking again.  I cannot do anything about books in the classroom but I can make it easier for her and the children in her class by donating school supplies.  I text her today and told her what I wanted to do and once again, she was very excited. 

This is where all of you come in.  I will be collecting backpacks, paper, folders, notebooks, pencils and whatever other kind of supplies these children will need to help get them through the year.  A lot of these children come from very poor homes so being able to help anyway possible would be greatly appreciated.  I will be collecting supplies up until the end of August.  I’m not too good at planning things so I didn’t figure out how I’m going to get the items from people who want to donate but I’ll figure it out like I did before. lol 

Let me just say this to you before I go.  When I saw the pictures of these smiling little boys and girls wearing their new winter coats, that was the best feeling ever.  So yea, help out or I’ll be forced to, ok I won’t bully you guys today. 

When I bought my ticket off Stubhub the other day, you couldn’t tell me I wasn’t making out like a bandit. Got a ticket for Mothers’ Appreciation Day for $2.95 and got my free Chase Utley tote bag. (which I am carrying today) As if that wasn’t enough, I was getting to see my favorite Phillies pitcher, Roy Halladay. I know Roy was coming off one of his worst outings as a Phillie. He only went 3.2 innings and gave up 8 runs against Cleveland but there is no way he will have back to back horrible games. No way!!!
I’m sitting in my seat enjoying my hotdog, diet coke and taking in the sun, excited about seeing Halladay pitch. Well that excitement did not last long. The first inning was a sign of things to come in the 3 innings he pitched. Actually the first batter was a sign. At one point during the 3 innings (I wish I could remember when) I saw Roy grab his shoulder and kind of try to stretch it out. It happened very quickly but I said to myself, “Oh no, this is not good.” After the first inning when he gave up 5 runs, I told the lady beside me that I wish Charlie would not send him back out to pitch. Something was not right. It was so hard and hurt my heart to see him struggle those next 2 innings but what hurt my heart even more was listening to thousands of fans boo him as he walked off the mound. There are some players you can boo, (Adam Eaton being one) but Roy Halladay is not one of them.
I didn’t know until I got home that Roy had given a press conference and announced that he indeed had shoulder soreness and would know more when he got to LA to see the doctor. Roy said that he felt this soreness after he pitched against the Pirates almost 2 weeks ago. Let me say this before I go any further. Roy Halladay is one of the greatest pitchers to ever play this game. He has given his blood sweat and tears to this team and city since he’s been here. I remember in 2011 when the Phillies lost to the Cardinals 1-0 in game 5, one of the Phillies beat writers said that Roy Oswalt showered, dressed and was out of the clubhouse in less than 30 minutes after the game was over. He then went on to say that an hour after the game ended, Halladay was still sitting at his locker in full uniform distraught over the loss. If there is one player that I wanted to see win a championship, it was Roy Halladay. Unfortunately, I don’t think that is ever going to happen.
Ok, now I really hate that I have to add this part but I would kind of be a hypocrite if I didn’t. I have jumped on players like Chase Utley for not telling the team he was injured until he got to training camp. I said in my last post that by Chase not revealing these injuries really hurt the team especially last year. I feel the same about Roy. I know he says this soreness only started 2 weeks ago but he has to go to his manager and or training staff and let them know there might be a problem. I understand he wanted to try to pitch through this pain because he is a warrior like that but in his next 2 starts combined, he pitched 6 innings and gave up 17 runs and 4 homeruns. This is unacceptable. I was one of the few that gave Roy the benefit of the doubt because I knew he didn’t pitch much in spring training because of illness. You couldn’t tell me that he was not going to get his form back and pitch the rest of the season like he did in his 2 wins this season. After yesterday, as much as it hurts me to say it, I think we have seen the last of Roy Halladay. I really hope I am wrong because I don’t want to see him go out like this. He deserves to go out on top and be remembered as the great pitcher he was a few years ago. If we never get the chance to see him pitch again in a Phillies uniform, I want to take this time to say, Thank you Doc for May 29, 2010. Thank you Doc for the no hitter in the playoffs against the Cincinnati Reds and thank you for allowing us to watch you pitch in the red pinstripes over the last 4 seasons.

For a while now, I’ve been contemplating if I wanted to write about this topic or not. I know this is a touchy topic in Philadelphia but I think I’m ready to tackle it. Ok, here goes. Why is it that Chase Utley gets a free pass in this city and Ryan Howard cannot do anything right and gets chastised over every little thing (like breathing)? Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Chase Utley. Hell, him and Ryan are my favorite Phillies and have been since they’ve come up. I love Chase’s hustle, I love how he goes out there every game and plays it like it should be played. I love his baseball smarts. What I don’t like is how for 2 years in a row, Chase waited til spring training to tell the organization he was hurt. I mean really Chase, you didn’t know after the season that you were hurt? You couldn’t get those injuries taken care of in all those months you were off before spring training started? Two seasons in a row, the Phillies had to start without their starting second basemen and last year it really hurt them.
I’ve tried really hard to ignore the lovefest for Saint Chase and the hatred for Ryan but it got to the point that I couldn’t ignore it anymore. Last week when I was at a Phillies game, I got into an argument with basically my whole section. I don’t remember exactly what happened but a ground ball was hit to Ryan and he hesitated throwing it to second base. The whole section started with the “You’re not worth 125 million you damn bum. Sit his ass Charlie”, blah blah blah. An inning earlier, Chase decided to run from 1st to home on a pop up with one out and got doubled up. Not one person said anything, well except me. A few innings later, Chase almost cost the Phils the game with a throwing error to Howard and you know what I heard, “How do you not catch that ball Howard! It’s ok Chase, get em next time”. Wow, really? I see things like this all the time on twitter. Chase makes an error (which he has 5-6 already this season) and people tweet, “We love you Chase, you’ll get em”, or Chase strikes out and you see, “It’s ok Chase, you’ll get a hit next time”. Ryan gets up to bat, strikes out, “Oh look, this bum strikes out again. Remember that bonehead play about 2 weeks ago when the ball went right and Chase went left? Well I do and people had nerve to make up excuses for him after that play. If Ryan would have done some dumb stuff like that, he’d be hanging from a tree right now. When Ryan does do something good, like it a homerun to put the team ahead or just gets an rbi, you hear nothing. Chase does the same exact thing, all hell breaks loose on twitter. You would think he just won the damn World Series for the team. The funny thing is, people seem to forget that Ryan Howard put this team on his back the last few months of the 07, 08 and 09 seasons to get this team in the playoffs. Chase seemed to disappear which is basically what he does at the end of every season. I know, I know, the Chase Utley apologists are probably going to be at my front door with pitchforks ready to kill me for this but hey, it is what it is.
What I’m going to say next is really going to piss people off and once again, I don’t care because if you know me, you know I shoot straight from the hip and don’t bite my tongue. I’ve tried to convince myself over the last few years that this Howard hate is not racial but I really and truly believe that is the biggest reason why he is treated like he is in this city. I got into this argument the other day with someone who said, “Well Philly loved Allen Iverson”. Seeing that over half of NBA fans are black, yea umm, that could be why. Listen I’m not saying that black players are not liked in this city, I mean hell, one of the most beloved to ever play here is black, Brian Dawkins. I’m going to stop right there because this is going to start controversy enough without me going any deeper into it.
Back to Saint Chase and Ryan. You know what makes me sad? I find myself sitting in front of the television at times, hoping Chase does something stupid or strikes out to end the game just so I can say Ha! How about that! (In my Tom McCarthy voice) I hate that! I hate that this is what it’s come to especially because like I said earlier, he is one of my two favorite Phillies. Both of these men have given everything they have to this organization. We would not have won a World Series without them.
I’m just here to let you know, I will criticize Chase just as much as any other player in this city because, well, he deserves it. Some of you need to take off those rose colored glasses and realize too that he is not above being criticized.
I feel so much better getting that off my chest but I know a lot of you probably wish I would have just kept it to myself.

Something happened to me this morning when I woke up from a good night’s sleep.  At first I thought, “This can’t be happening.  No way, I feel like this.  Should I call my doctor and get in to see him because something is seriously wrong with me.” I woke up this morning with a smile on my face and giddy like a kid in a candy store.  Do you know why?   It’s opening day for the Philadelphia Phillies and I am excited!!!!  I am not sure how this happened since it was only a week ago I wrote that I hope I can get my excitement back for my Philly teams.  Let me make this clear, I am still not excited about any of the other 3 teams.  I still don’t care about football and what the Eagles do but dammit, my Phillies are back!  Tonight begins the journey to 162-0!!!  Ok, maybe my excitement got the best of me with that statement but hey. 

The reason I’m writing this is not just because I am excited that the season is finally here but I figured I’d give everyone my predictions for the season so here goes.

Chase Utley – Chase being healthy and staying healthy the whole season is one of the most important parts for this teams’ success this season.   He will play in 145 games, bat .284, 22 hr’s and 100 rbi. 

Ryan Howard – Ryan is now 1 full year removed from that horrible acl injury he suffered in game 5 of the NLDS game against the Cards.  I still feel he rushed back last season to try to help the team make that final push to the playoffs but watching him the last 6 weeks or so in spring training, you can tell he is back and fully healthy.  My prediction for Ryan is (and I said this on twitter a few weeks ago), he will win the 2013 NL MVP by batting .285, 44hr’s, 145 rbi. 

Dom Brown – This is finally the year that we will get the chance to see Dom play an entire season, hopefully.  Over the last few seasons, Dom has been on a rollercoaster ride with the way Ruben has handled him.  This spring training, he looked like an entirely different player.  He had confidence which is something we haven’t really seen from him in the last few years and I guess that’s because he knew left/right field was his to lose.  It was actually exciting watching him play this spring. I think Dom will have the season that we’ve been waiting to see since he was first called up.  He will bat .275, 20 hr’s 85 rbi and he won’t be a liability in the outfield.  If Dom puts up numbers like we all hope, I think we finally found that player to protect Ryan in the batting order.

Ben Revere – Can Revere fill the shoes of Shane Victorino who was the centerfielder for the Phillies for  8 years?  I’m not sure but I do know the kid can run real fast and covers a lot of ground in the outfield.  He’s going to be a lot of fun to watch.  In my opinion, Ben should bat leadoff with Jimmy batting 2^nd but knowing Charlie, Jimmy will bat 1st and Ben will be 7^th in the order.  I don’t think he tried to run a lot in spring training and I’m not sure why but I feel he will have at least 60 stolen bases this season. 

I saved this player for last because I feel he is the most important piece to the puzzle.  Roy Halladay has been left for dead by basically every sports writer and fan in Philadelphia.  All I keep hearing is, “Roy is done, he has nothing left in the tank, we’ll be lucky if he wins 10 games this season”.  Am I the only one that still has confidence in him?  Please tell me I’m not.  We all know last season was a nightmare for Halladay. Hell it was a nightmare for the entire team if you think about it.  We all know Roy had an injury last season.  We all know Roy had a bad spring training this year.  His velocity was down, he was ill but besides that, he said he feels great health wise.  You will not convince me that Roy will have another season like he did last year and this is why I feel he will win 15 games with an era of 3.04.  I will say this though, even though I have not lost faith in him, I will be holding my breath when he goes out there and pitches his first few games this season. 

A few other thoughts before I end this.  Jimmy will lead the league in pop ups but he will win another gold glove.  Cole Hamels will have 22 wins this season and shave his porn stache.  Cliff Lee will triple his win total from last season.  Phils will win 92 games, finish 2^nd in the division and get the wildcard for the playoffs.  As much as I hate to say this, the Nats will once again win the division on the way to their first World Series championship.  Now excuse me while I go vomit!

It’s been a while since I’ve written.  I guess Philly sports have just taken everything out of me the last year.  Who would have thought that the most excitement we would have as Philly fans would be from a college basketball team from Florida Gulf Coast?  I know I didn’t, that’s for sure.

 I know there are a lot of things going on in the sports world but if you wanted to read a blog about any of it, you could pick from the 10,000 that write about the same thing every day.  If you read my blog, you know I do not like writing what everyone else does.   I guess for the time being, I’ll write about how I cannot get excited over not one of the 4 major sports teams in this city.  While everybody was excited about Andy Reid getting fired and the Chip Kelly era beginning.  I felt like blah.  While everybody is excited about the free agents the Eagles have landed and the upcoming draft, I say, “whatever”.  Oh hold on, I have to admit, I jumped for joy and ran around my office when Nnamdi drove his car out of town!  That lasted for about 20 minutes then I was back to not caring again.  I think this team has finally worn me down after the last 2 years.  When I read all the tweets about missing football, EaglesNation blah, blah, blah, I feel like just saying “SHUT UP PLEASE”.  I’m hoping as we get closer to the season, my feelings change but as of right now, I just don’t care about the Eagles.

As for the Phillies, the team that has really broken my heart over the last 4 years, I was actually getting excited about this upcoming season until every sports radio nitwit ruined it for me with the over dramatization of Roy Halladay’s career ending injury that he doesn’t have.  I already know that if one team pulls me back in it will be the Phillies only to rip my heart out in October.  Why should I even bother?  Ugh, this is so depressing. 

The Sixers,  **sigh**, the poor, poor Sixers.  After the way last season ended, I really looked forward to seeing them make another run this year especially since they got Andrew Bynum in a trade.  Welp, Mr. no knees himself never stepped foot on the court.  I could have come in and made a bigger impact on the team than he did this season.  Is anyone else as depressed as I am yet?

I remember being excited because even though we had the Sixers, the Flyers season was finally going to begin after the long strike.  We had hockey back guys!!!  That excitement lasted about as long as Kim K.’s marriage to Kris Humphries. 

So here I am, sitting here wondering when I’m going to get my excitement back for my Philly teams because I want to be happy and jolly like everyone else is over the Eagles and Phillies upcoming season.  Dammit, I want to be happy again.  I want to cheer E-A-G-L-E-S and it not be for the Florida Gulf Coast basketball team.

Last week, I asked Dave Spadaro where I can get an application to apply or the head coaching job with the Eagles.  Of course he never responded.  Ok, maybe I don’t understand all the x’s and o’s of the game but duh, that’s why you surround yourself with good coaches and coordinators. I can tell you what I do know though.  I know my defense would need an overhaul starting with the secondary and because I would be such a nice coach (ha!)  I would drive Nnamdi to the Philadelphia Airport, slow down and push him out the car.  If I was the coach, I would make sure to draft 350 pound defensive players that won’t have to be substituted every other play because they are undersized and getting manhandled by guys who weigh 50-60 pounds more than them.  If I was coach, I wouldn’t draft a 26-year-old fireman who spent more time fighting fires this season than he did playing football.  You wouldn’t have to worry about not having any timeouts at the end of the half or the end of the game because time management is one of my strong points. If I was coach, we wouldn’t have 4 running backs on the team especially when you don’t even use one of the best in league.  I would run Lesean like a Georgia Mule and believe me, he wouldn’t  have come 9 yards short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s season rushing record.  He would have broken it easily. 

I think the most important thing to remember if I was coach is, you would never know what would come out of my mouth at a press conference.  You will never hear me say, “I have to do a better job to put my players in the right position”.  Oh no, I am calling every last one of them out in my pc.  You’re crazy if you think I’m taking the blame because they played like crap.  If we lose, you better believe I am going into that locker room with the intentions on making every last one of those players cry.  When I’m done, they would be so scared that whatever mistakes they made in the game, would not happen again.

Oh and one last thing before I go,  I would never make my offensive line coach the defensive coordinator and then make him the scapegoat 1 year later. 

This ends my plea to be the next head coach of the Eagles.  Now someone figure out how I can get an interview!