New Idea

Dear Readers,

This is not a new post but rather an announcement. Over the next few days I will be taking questions that are related to sports/somewhat related to sports/can be related to sports. This is to form my first "Mail-Bag," similar to what popular columnists (most notably Bill Simmons) do. You can ask me anything you want. Either use my email (suaveboy@comcast.net), comment on this post (below), write on my Facebook wall, send me a Facebook message, or if you come up with a question on the go - text me.

Any and all questions are appreciated.

Hoping this works,

-Zach

Jailbird

No need for much of an introduction to this entry. Everyone knows what this will be about, and while Brad Lidge's struggles are one hot topic, it amazingly doesn't even compare to the insanity that has reentered Philadelphia, something sorely missing since the days when T.O. did shirtless pushups in his front yard and Howard Eskin started a canned food drive to help feed Terrell's family. I am of course talking about the controversial signing of our new "jailbird," Michael Vick.

While many have argued and will continue to argue the basis of this signing in terms of the reason, the football sense, and morals, I will try to deviate from this popular argument. I will introduce more or less a point of view that I have carried with me for the past year and a half, all starting with more controversy - Sypgate, as it has come to be known.

When the New England Patriots were caught stealing signs from the New York Jets with a camera during a Week 1 game, I found myself disgusted. Having always been a reluctant admirer of Brady and Belichick's, shaking my head with utter amazement at the way they had produced wins and Vince Lombardi trophy's like nobody's business, I felt cheated. To discover that the team of the decade, the team that beat my beloved Eagles in Super Bowl 39 by a mere 3 points was not even playing the game the right way, tarnished my feelings for them. When you take away honest competition, you are taking away everything that makes professional sports enjoyable; integrity, fair play, and virtue. We turn on the TV every Sunday to watch the best in the world go head to head without knowing what the outcome will be at day's end. When one team feels the need to gain an illegal edge, the whole point of competition has gone to waste.

Now how does this relate to Michael Vick, you may ask me. Let's review Michael Vick as a player and a person. Michael Vick was the first overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft and was revolutionizing the quarterback position on a weekly basis. He passed further than anyone, ran more than any quarterback could run, and left defensive coordinator's heads spinning. He was able to do all of this while flipping off his home fans in Atlanta, getting caught with marijuana, and distributing genital herpes under the "pen(is) name" of Ron Mexico. Not too shabby for someone who has yet to even celebrate their 30th birthday. But that's not all, oh no. For years and years Michael Vick operated a secret dog fighting ring where people would gamble on the outcome of dog fights, many of the dogs who lived through the fights were ordered to be killed by Vick. Even just this last incident left a horrible taste in my mouth. However, I found myself able to turn on the TV on Sunday and enjoy (for lack of a better word) my Eagles games with no problem.

We have a player here who has paid his debt to society for horrendous and inhumane crimes to "man's best friend" and forfeited his career for years. Now that he is out of jail and has done his time, does he not get back the right to earn a living like so many other criminals and convicts? Watching Michael Vick juke out and allude the likes of Demarcus Ware and Albert Haynesworth bothers me a whole lot less than allowing a man who cheated millions of NFL fans out of sheer, wholesome competition for years to continue coaching.

Don't get me wrong - I am a dog lover. I have a dog and enjoy his company more than I probably should. I find Michael Vick's complete lack of respect and appreciation for dogs a horrible crime. Seeing that he has paid his debt and lasted over a year in jail has me feeling fine about having him don the midnight green, much more than I would if I were a fan of the Dolphins, Jets, or Bills - teams in the Patriots division.

Michael Vick's lack of respect for beings that are not human did enough to throw him in jail. On the other hand, it did nothing to effect the National Football League. It is for this reason that my conscience is not weighed down at all, nor am I burdened or torn by the fact that I will be rooting for one of the NFL's "bad guys."

Go Michael Vick, and Go Eagles.

**Check out the new poll**

Clifford the Big Red Phillie

Right off the bat, I will admit that the title of this piece was not my clever pun but rather a text message I received from a friend shortly after the blockbuster deal. Nor does it necessarily work (his full name is Clifton). But the most important part is the second part of the title - we have ourselves a brand new Ace to add to our somewhat unsettling array of arms. While they range from your Average Joe's (Blanton) to your grandfatherly type (Moyer) to a super Hollywood style World Series MVP (Hamels) to your season surprise (Happ) to potentially one of the most dominant pitchers of my era (Pedro) to somewhat of a no name (Lopez), one thing is for sure - they have all gotten the job done. I will attempt to analyze to the best of my ability what I think our five-man rotation should look like after this coming Sunday, when the young but balding Happ is scheduled to start again.

1. Cliff Lee - This one is no shocker. There could, perhaps be a strong argument for the reigning World Series MVP in Hamels, given his tremendous success in October of 2008 and at scattered times during the 2009 season. Looking at what Lee brings to the table (was anyone else positively giddy after watching a 3-pitch strikeout of the first batter he faced as a Phillie? (oh yeah, there was that complete game win later that night too)), it is apparent that the Cy Young winner should lead this team into the dog days of the summer.

2. Cole Hamels - As stated above, his success speaks for itself. However there is some cause for concern. Looking at another young, World Series winning ace who suffered from a potential innings in

crease, Hamels doesn't look that much different than Josh Beckett. I won't get into the numbers here, but Beckett was dominant during the Red (Black) Sox (Pt. 2?) 2007 World Series run and fell off in a big way the following year - even during the playoffs. Putting this argument aside, Hamels has proven that he can succeed on the big stage (he would probably do pretty well on American Idol too come to think of it).

3. Joe Blanton - Besides having a mind boggling blonde hair  - black 

goatee combo, Blanton has been the Phillies most consistent starter this year. Even in his losses and no decisions, Blanton always keeps the Phils in the game. Oh yeah, remember that home run in game 4?!?!

4. J.A. (pronounced Jay) Happ - After missing out on the final spot for the rotation during Spring Training,  the Happ-ster proved the front office wrong and has since been one of the National Leagues best starting pitchers. Whether his success is reminiscent of Kyle Kendrick's 10 win explosion in 2007 has yet to be determined. Most, however would agree that Happ looks to be a much better pitcher than Kendrick, as he doesn't tend to rely on run support to get him his W's. The only problem with Happ is just how good he is. He posted excellent numbers as a long arm in the bullpen, not to mention that he is a lefty, something the Phillies have not had consistently in the pen all year (see injuries/suspension to Scott Eyre and J.C. Romero). Happ has shown his dominance as a starter, but also his value as a reliever. Thanks to Ruben Amaro's announcement that Happ will stay in the rotation, that makes this past paragraph somewhat of a moot point. This leads us to the most discussed topic in Philadelphia over the last few weeks...

5. The 5th Starter. Rodrigo Lopez has already been ousted to the bullpen which came as a surprise to no one. The fight for the fifth spot is between the eccentric Pedro Martinez and the grandfather clock himself, Jamie Moyer. What to do, what to do? Jamie leads the team in wins. But Pedro is, after all, Pedro. Jamie's ERA has been sky high and, like his age, shows no sign of going down. Pedro Martinez on the other hand has hurled to mixed reviews in the minors. Before we go any further, I will say that I support the Pedro signing 100%. To sign a pitcher of Pedro's caliber for chump change is a no brainer. If he gets injured or doesn't even make it up to the major's, no sweat off our brow. Back to his performance: Pedro has shown flashes of brilliance, such as an 11 strike out performance on Wednesday night. On the other hand, he also let up 4 runs. Which side do you look at here? Pedro has been a strikeout pitcher for his entire career and to see him make youngsters fan at his stuff can only mean good news. The bad news that this could spell is for Mr. Moyer. After a 16 win season in '08 he has duplicated his knack for putting numbers in the win column. He has failed to match his ERA numbers and has looked beatable way too often. But he wins. And while he has been a Phillie we have only seen our team get better. Is there a solution?

Yes. 6 man rotation - hold it, stop your yelling and quit shaking your head at me. 6 man rotation for the present. Slot Pedro in somewhere when one of our regular's might need an extra day. Go through the rotation a few times and go from there. There is no reason to make any rash decisions now, while the team is coasting away with the division in their pocket and their eyes on October. Sounds simple enough right? Now, there are some things that this team needs to stay away from...

- Do NOT put Moyer in the bullpen. The man felt more than slighted when the Phillies refused to overpay for his services after he helped end the quarter century title drought. He wanted his money and he got it. We all love Jamie Moyer, but hurting his feelings or asking him to do something that he basically has never done (he hasn't pitched out of the bullpen in 13 years) may not bode well, especially if the Pedro experiment fails. Pulling Moyer back out and telling him that "we really believed in you all along, now go throw 80 mph fastballs by Hanley Ramirez again" may not seem so believable.

-Do NOT put Happ in the bullpen if he fails to duplicate his 4 hit shutout of Wednesday night. Give the guy some room to work. He has already overcome three obstacles in 2009:

1. Losing out on the starting job to Chan Ho Park

2. Pitching excellently through trade rumors

3. Shutting out the Rockies to save his rotation life

The man has shown that he can handle pressure.

A 6 man rotation can save arms and rest this pitching group for what is looking like a realistic possibility at another exciting playoff run. To take a page out of Charlie Manuel's book...

This team is playin' good, pitching good, hittin' good and fieldin good. Looks like a good ballclub to have.

In other words - they're playing very...good. No reason for alarm or that much change.

*Check out the new poll*