The Fightin' Phils

Great story out of Philadelphia in the last couple of days regarding the Philadelphia Phillies. Now let me just start by saying how much I hate the Phillies right now. First of all, they suck. In my failed attempt to preview every division (the only division I did was the NL East of course) I picked the Phils to win the East. So of course, they start 3-9, good for dead last, even behind the lowly Washington Nationals. So they're making me look dumb. Not cool. Secondly, Chase Utley is off to a pretty slow start. Which wouldn't bother me at all, except for the fact he was my first round fantasy draft pick. Dude's hitting .245 with 2 homers and 6 RBI. That projects to .245, 27, and 81. Also, not cool. So just when I'm steamed at the Phillies, something comes out of the City of Brotherly Love that doesn't exemplify love whatsoever and is quite funny.

If you haven't seen the video, you must check it out at some point (coming to YouTube soon I'm sure). Phils manager Charlie Manuel basically gets called out by Philly radio guy Howard Eskin who's killed Manuel over his entire tenure in Philly, and then he procedes to challenge Eskin to a fight during the postgame press conference. Manuel, who told Eskin that he'd meet him in his office if he wanted to fight, literally left the press conference to wait for Eskin. Later, in the clubhouse, Manuel had to be restrained. Brilliant stuff really. I find it fascinating that it is the middle of April and the "waste" has already hit the fan. This is what the Phillies get for making me look so dumb. In my opinion though, Eskin is right when he says that Manuel is not a good manager. The Phillies have underacheived under Manuel during his tenure, and it already seems that they're starting to give up on him this early in the season. If things don't get any better, expect Manuel to get the boot before too long as a shot in the arm to try to revive the team. What I just did was brilliant by the way. By saying that, the Phillies will get hot now and Manuel will be manager of the year. Because every prediction I've made in the last 6 months has been awful. Either way, I'm all for a Manuel-Eskin bout.

I hope some of you will join me in my "NBA Playoff Boycott". I'm going to do all I can not to watch a minute of teh NBA Playoffs, with one exception. If the Suns play the Mavericks, I might watch, with a strong emphasis on might. Other than that, no thank you. I'm not a huge fan of the NBA, but even less after a mundane season. The most compelling NBA action for me in the next 3 months (yes, 3 months to play four rounds) will be May 22nd. That's right, the NBA lottery. The ping pong balls better bounce the right way for the Celtics at least. That's all I've got though. See ya kids.
-MC