Why should he care about a bunch of sick teenagers when he doesn’t care about his teammates or his manager or the fans who enabled him and apologized for him for 7 1/2 years?.....

There was always something uneasy about the love and adoration that Red Sox fans showered on Ramirez. The hard-hitting half-wit was born with the ability to put a bat on ball better than most mortals, but that’s where his virtues end. He doesn’t play the game right. Too often he doesn’t play the game hard. He cares about his contract and his hair and not much else....

He didn’t care about the wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center...

In a way, Ramirez represents the worst of professional sports - a man who is idolized because he has one, God-given physical skill.

The team formerly known as “Dem Bums” just got the biggest bum of them all.

swishnicholson wrote:Thank God we dodged this bullet:

No Dodging it: Manny Ramirez just a bad, bad man.

No, the headline is not meant to be ironic.

Why should he care about a bunch of sick teenagers when he doesn’t care about his teammates or his manager or the fans who enabled him and apologized for him for 7 1/2 years?.....

There was always something uneasy about the love and adoration that Red Sox fans showered on Ramirez. The hard-hitting half-wit was born with the ability to put a bat on ball better than most mortals, but that’s where his virtues end. He doesn’t play the game right. Too often he doesn’t play the game hard. He cares about his contract and his hair and not much else....

He didn’t care about the wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center...

In a way, Ramirez represents the worst of professional sports - a man who is idolized because he has one, God-given physical skill.

The team formerly known as “Dem Bums” just got the biggest bum of them all.

Bill Conlin: Phillies should study how Eagles do business
By Bill Conlin

WHEN SHORTSTOP Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson left their Double A seasons with last place Reading to play for Team USA in Beijing, they were already considered the Phillies' best position prospects. Or maybe not.

Donald sealed the bronze medal for manager Davey Johnson's overachievers, drilling a two-run homer in the 8-4, come-from-behind victory over a Japan team composed of elite stars. Donald led Team USA with a .381 average after enduring an 0-16 collar in four pre-Olympic exhibitions. He drove in five runs despite batting near the bottom of the order.

Injuries made Marson the No. 1 catcher and the Eastern League All-Star batted .308, displaying outstanding leadership while starting the final four games and appearing in five.

You're excited, right? Can't wait to see these outstanding kids when the Phillies expand their roster in September? Well, curb your enthusiasm and don't hold your breath.

Thirty days hath September. But the Phils figure to get through all 30 of them without Donald and Marson.

Oh, Ruben Gillbuckle will concoct plausible reasons why they probably will not be added to a roster battling to win a division title: We don't want the kids up here just to pinch-hit . . . We need to go with the catchers who know the pitchers best . . . No room for on-the-job training in the crucible of a pennant race.

Woody wrote:This is all at once a good and horrible article, but I thought you'd all enjoy it
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/sports/ ... iness.html

Bill Conlin: Phillies should study how Eagles do business
By Bill Conlin

WHEN SHORTSTOP Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson left their Double A seasons with last place Reading to play for Team USA in Beijing, they were already considered the Phillies' best position prospects. Or maybe not.

Donald sealed the bronze medal for manager Davey Johnson's overachievers, drilling a two-run homer in the 8-4, come-from-behind victory over a Japan team composed of elite stars. Donald led Team USA with a .381 average after enduring an 0-16 collar in four pre-Olympic exhibitions. He drove in five runs despite batting near the bottom of the order.

Injuries made Marson the No. 1 catcher and the Eastern League All-Star batted .308, displaying outstanding leadership while starting the final four games and appearing in five.

You're excited, right? Can't wait to see these outstanding kids when the Phillies expand their roster in September? Well, curb your enthusiasm and don't hold your breath.

Thirty days hath September. But the Phils figure to get through all 30 of them without Donald and Marson.

Oh, Ruben Gillbuckle will concoct plausible reasons why they probably will not be added to a roster battling to win a division title: We don't want the kids up here just to pinch-hit . . . We need to go with the catchers who know the pitchers best . . . No room for on-the-job training in the crucible of a pennant race.

Dude's been reading our board I think


(Plus: Rollins for Rowand and Matt Cain!)

jerseyhoya wrote:9 Year Old Boy Told He's Too Good To Pitch

Yay! Let's celebrate mediocrity and make talented people feel like outcasts! That teaches great lessons to our children.

Obviously the article itself is fine. The subject matter is more than a little frustrating.

swishnicholson wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:9 Year Old Boy Told He's Too Good To Pitch

Yay! Let's celebrate mediocrity and make talented people feel like outcasts! That teaches great lessons to our children.

Obviously the article itself is fine. The subject matter is more than a little frustrating.

The article doesn't make it clear how practical it is, but it seems like he would be better off in a more competitive league with older kids. That wouldn't "celebrate mediocrity", it would actually recognize greater advancement. That seems like pretty much the standard practice in any other sport-basketball, soccer, tennis etc.

Jericho's coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league's administrators.

Jericho instead joined a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness. The team was 8-0 and on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.

Woody wrote:Ahhh, so it's politics, not talent

Jericho's coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league's administrators.

Jericho instead joined a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness. The team was 8-0 and on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.

More reasons to hate the politics thread!

Officials for the three-year-old league, which has eight teams and about 100 players, said they will disband Jericho’s team, redistributing its players among other squads, and offered to refund $50 sign-up fees to anyone who asks for it.

Bob Ford wrote:It's a lesson worth remembering tonight when the Phillies come back to work against the New York Mets, still a half-game behind them in the official standings of the National League East but creeping toward a solid lead in the Momentum Division. That's a fickle league, particularly for a team as streaky as the Phillies, but a couple of wins against New York might actually mean something by the end of things.

Bob Ford wrote:The Phils ended up winning the division in 2007, but needed a monstrous collapse from the Mets to allow them to do so. Cutting it that close isn't recommended, and with a little help this week in both the real standings and the imaginary ones, maybe it won't be necessary this time.

mozartpc27 wrote:

Bob Ford wrote:The Phils ended up winning the division in 2007, but needed a monstrous collapse from the Mets to allow them to do so. Cutting it that close isn't recommended, and with a little help this week in both the real standings and the imaginary ones, maybe it won't be necessary this time.

Woody wrote:Nevermind all that--are we scouting this kid

swishnicholson wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:9 Year Old Boy Told He's Too Good To Pitch

Yay! Let's celebrate mediocrity and make talented people feel like outcasts! That teaches great lessons to our children.

Obviously the article itself is fine. The subject matter is more than a little frustrating.

The article doesn't make it clear how practical it is, but it seems like he would be better off in a more competitive league with older kids. That wouldn't "celebrate mediocrity", it would actually recognize greater advancement. That seems like pretty much the standard practice in any other sport-basketball, soccer, tennis etc.