So here we are at the halfway point in this surprising, and now downright frustrating 2008 season for the Phillies, and you almost can't help but get this strange feeling of deja vu dating back to five summers ago in 2003: You can catch The Hulk at the movie theaters, the Phillies' offense comes and goes like the weather, and the team is fighting the (insert expletive here) Florida Marlins (?!) for first place. This is a scenario that not only shouldn't be repeated, but CAN'T be repeated.
I must admit, watching the Phillies the last two weeks has been downright awful. More for the fact that their performance brings back dreadful memories of that summer in '03: You know, when the team would rack up 15 runs and then zero the next night, when the malcontents of the Larry Bowa managed squad coughed up four straight losses to the Marlins during the final week of the season as a round mound of a pitcher named Kevin Millwood and his teammates coughed up big game after big game time and time again. Millwood's performance has been duplicated by another overhyped, out of shape, right handed starter who seems to be losing every game to the opposition in 2008 (I think you all know who it is). In games against the big boys this year (ANY game against the AL is a big game), the Phillies have, to be blunt, STUNK. Like that 2003 team, it doesn't look like they ever came to play. I thought the stigma of those teams of the early 2000's were over, but ghosts of seasons past never want to rest in this town, and you can't help but feel you are watching "Groundhog Day" over and over and over again. Make no mistake: I like this team better than the 2003 team. This is a team who actually cares, but it the end, it's all for naught if the final results are the same.
Now to the Marlins. You've gotta be kidding me if that "joke" of a baseball franchise down in Florida is gonna go knock the Phillies out the playoffs as a result of these dramatic, last second shenanigans that first came to surface several years ago by Miguel Cabrera, Derek Lee, and whatever future superstars the franchise had to trade away because they can never afford their players and NOBODY GOES TO THEIR GAMES! First it was their "miracle" win yesterday against the floundering Diamondbacks. Tonight, a game winning home run by Josh (insert expletive here) Willingham- owner of just eight home runs for the entire season? Somethings got to stop-NOW. I mean it, no more joking around.
Then, there is The Tampa Bay Rays. The same Tampa Bay Rays that are now ranked number one in the Fox Sports Power Rankings- nine spots ahead of that team in red who right now is hanging onto first place by a thread in the dreadful NL East. The little scrawny kid that you always threw into the shower in gym class is now the muscle bound stud that nobody seems to want a part of, including the immortal Boston Red Sox. If Boston dismantled the Phillies, what would Tampa Bay, who ALWAYS gives the Phillies trouble- do to them in a- dare I say it, series in October? (not that we're gonna have to worry about that the way our "heroes" are playing right now).
I think two things that propelled me to write this article tonight were: 1) the fact that the Malrins always seem to win games with a dramatic home run (as Willingham did tonight). And as he triumphantly circles the bases, we are given the privilege of watching all three fans jump up and down in ecstasy as they edge within a half game of first place. This STINKS!
2) Shortly after Baseball Tonight airs this memorable moment in Marlins history, the viewer is forced to hear Dick Vitale gush about his "beloved Rays" (there should be a contest to see which franchise in Florida can attract the least number of fans) and how ownership is doing all the right things to turn this franchise around. It's like watching your younger brothers and sisters all grow up to make something of themselves, when you're still stuck in the same dead end job with no chances of progressing (and no, I don't have any younger brothers and sisters, LOL) When Fernando Vina and Chris Singleton donned Rays jerseys during this segment, I had seen enough and was forced to go outside to take out my trash. Speaking of trash, I'm not going to use this segment to to just that to the Phillies ownership, but let's just put it this way: you'll NEVER hear them gushing about how much money they have so they can buy some free agents that will maybe put them over the top (GO SIXERS!)
The Marlins won't win the World Series this year. Chances are, they're not going to make the playoffs either. As for Tampa Bay, if they don't fade by the end of July, you almost have to be convinced that they are the real deal. And to be honest, their future right now looks much better than that of our Phillies. Pathetic. If we have to watch The Tampa Bay Rays hoist a World Series trophy this year, Armageddon, while maybe not exactly at that moment, will happen soon after. Let those undeserving fans have that parade that they so desperately need.
Oh well, at least THIS years Hulk movie was good.
Monday, June 30, 2008
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