Yard Sale Days Revisited

Hoodwink’d                       by cj hood

Yard Sale Days Revisited

 

 

 

Coming out of the All Star break I commented on Broad Street Misery’s FB page that in order to be legit buyers we need to sweep the Mets and win either the Cards or Tigers’ series.  That did not happen…not even close. What’s worse is the Gnats & Braves aren’t setting the world on fire by any means.  The NL East is weaker than Ryan Braun’s interest in the truth. If we did what we were supposed to do we’d only be a few games out of first right now.  So now what?

 

Every time the Hood Ranch has a yard sale my boys rummage thru the goods, stumble upon their stuff and say “Are you selling this?”  That’s how I feel about the Phillies right now.  Yes we should sell, but the bigger question is ‘what do we sell?’  Another yard sale staple is when these hustlers show up and try to clock a name brand item for fitty-cent.  Which leads me to the next questions my fellow Buntamaniacs: If we do sell how much should we expect back?

 

I posted on the ‘Bunts FB page today that we should re-sign Utley…he’s our best hitter.  Seconds later our favorite heckler, Big Pun, referred to me as a ra-tard.  Thank God someone with a little more panache added that we shouldn’t sign him for more than 2 years.  That’s what I meant yo!  Of course we’re not going to blindly sign LL Cool Chase to a 5 yr/$25mill deal.  If he wants to be a Phil for life then he needs to play ball and so do we.

 

Once again, we are playing as a M*A*S*H unit. Ben Revere’s accident never should have happened, D*Brown who was weak in the 4-hole (told you…lolz) is out til Friday, Howard (who cares) and Doc are all illin.  Moreover, their replacements need to catch the next bus to Lehigh: Mayberry, Ruff and now Martinez (again) aren’t cutting it.  Young & Young Associates defense is mad weak, Rollins is still the King of Pop & Chooch needs to get back on the dope which leads me to my original concept: RE-SIGN UTLEY!

 

I think the turning point for this team was in 2011 when Lee blew the game against the Cards during the pennant race.  The Cards aren’t the same team that won it all that year.  However, their management was slick enough to retool the club with some great talent.  Which leads me to my final thought kids: FIRE RAJ! Before yesterday’s game Amaro told Murphy that we are still buyers, but by the end of the convo he said we might sell.  Whatta ya sell em’, buy em, sell ‘em? He doesn’t know which end is up.  He should have been fired after trading Lee away.  He tried to build a team around our aces by shopping at a yard sale and now we’re looking at Brian Wilson.  I’m sick of seeing these no-name has-beens wear the red pin stripes. 

 

Although the fans yelling ‘SELL! SELL! SELL!’ may be right they need to be more specific…just in case Rubes (or whoever) is listening.  Let’s get ‘Bunted!

View From the Left Coast by a Lefty: Wavering

View From the Left Coast by a Lefty: Wavering

I wasn't sure after my last piece how long it would be before I'd do another. Well I'm still not sure of anything I'm about to write... but recent days have stirred deep, lost feelings. I won't lie I changed my Facebook profile pic from my Phillies jersey to my Eagles jersey, in essence signaling the end of baseball season for the most part. I really wish I could let go completely of Phillies playoff implications. But something in the back of my head won't let go, the actions of this week until now. If I were a blind fool winning the last 4, and 8 of 11, wouldn't be shit. What grabbed me is what I saw on espn.com the last couple of days. The Phils need to go 45-18 from here on out to win 90 games, that should get them into the playoffs.

What does this mean you ask? Welp, twice during last year the Phils had streaks of 46-19. One early and one late last season. The point? Point being that they can, it's not impossible. Now we get to the real shit. How LIKELY is it? Consider this... the Phils haven't had a "playoff worthy" lineup until a week before the all star game. Now that Hollywood is locked up the questions remaining are can the bats do it? Can the bullpen do it?

Suck This Schneider! I'm staying!

For the first time all season, this past week there has been 100% effort, chemistry, camaraderie, you name it. Eric Kratz is now, and will be, a Phillie. Sorry Schneider. Schwimer, give that pink backpack to someone else, we need your ass. Bastardo, pack your bags you can't throw strikes. Cliff, you ARE the key. Christ, I wish I was there to break down film and find that tiny imperfection that's causing you the random fuckup, because Dubee sure as fuck isn't doing it. I am by no means suggesting a comeback of royal proportions but then again, who can ignore the last week+? Take a long look at this past series, and the reactions to Rollins' walk off hits. When was the last time you saw a team meeting at the mound or out at short to mob the guy who got the game winner? They actually acted like grade school kids... true emotion. I was lucky enough to be sick enough to be home to see some. Where has this been all year?

I'm not saying buy or sell. RAJ has no clue either I don't think. I'm not offering up pieces of us nor stating Hamels should have signed for $120MIL. I will say this weekend is fucking KEY. If they can't take 2 of 3 from ATL then we should all start considering looking at Eagles camp big time. I personally would love to believe 45-18 is entirely possible. But then again I live 2500 miles away and nobody takes me seriously.

Bill S/aka netfather

Makin Their Way

Hoodwink’d by cj hood

Makin Their Way (Original original version)

I f’ed up the other day by calling my Dukes blog “Bo, Luke & Cooter.” I should have called it “Makin Their Way.” That’s the kind of ish that bothers me. I’m listening to the Nick & Artie show online while I type this so there’s bound to be a lot of errors in this piece. BTW check out the Nick & Artie show online. It’s like Hoodwink’d: Some sports, but a lot of LOLz!

Anywho…the 2^nd half monsters are back!!! #amiright. We signed Cole for too much, but I approve cuz he is proven and homegrown. Wriz weighed in on this issue yesterday in Wriz Wednesday By The Way of Thursday. But like I replied to his blog (I’m sure you all read it) RAJ created this monster, so he had no choice but to pay Hamels handsomely.

CASH MONEY COLE!

We are now 7-4 with our first 3 game sweep under our belts. However, I can’t help to compare this year’s Phils to last year’s Eagles where they dominate in the 2^nd half, but still come up short. So I’ll be biting my nails all the way up to September. Irregardless

(not a real word), the Brews series was nothing short of exciting. What’s even more exciting is the trade deadline is approaching and all of sudden we have a shot at sneaking in to the playoffs as a wild card. So what should we do? I have a few ideas that I’ll reiterate but are little altered now that we are winning.

In a perfect world, we’d go out and buy David Wright, but since we can’t how about Chase Headley? Let’s dump Lee and use that cash for a bat. How about Polanco and boy-wonder Kratz for a #5 pitcher so we could keep Kendrick in the pen? Like I’ve said before, the ‘pitching wins games’ theory is a bust. It’s time to make moves and back up the Brinks truck for a young bat. Mayberry has been coming thru as of late, but I’d still like to see what D*Brown could do. While we’re talking about trades, I would not dump Victorino and Pence especially unless it’s a definite upgrade!

Moreover, when we’re running on all pistons Cholly is basically on cruise-control. However, when we’re not and he actually needs to manage he seems to fall short. Leaving Bastardo in to pitch Braun is like Kornhole going to Chic-fil-A in a sundress. So, this only solidifies the fact that we need to UPGRADE before the end of the month!

I’m not expecting any major moves by the deadline and I think we still have an uphill battle ahead of us. But, I don’t think we’re dead in the water. Am I saying we have a chance? Yes, Lloyd Christmas…the Phillies still have a chance of making the playoffs. Big series this weekend against the Braves…let’s get ‘bunted!