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To all my Giants fan friends
I come from a New York family. I went to college in NYC, and so I’ve also made friends from there who have become family. This post-game reflection is dedicated to them. It’s dedicated to J, J and H, my three-headed Giants fan monster. Their names will remain anonymous out of respect for their lingering shame.
This epic win over the G-Men, the Eagles’ sixth in a row over their turnpike rivals, tops them all. Some of these big wins have been truly inspiring. I particularly remember a poem I wrote, from a bar in Spain, the day after I stayed up into Europe’s wee hours to watch the Birds take down the Giants in the Jan. 2007 playoffs. (I swear I wasn’t high when I wrote that poem, just sleep deprived and high on the Spanish life).
Members of the Giants sideline have too much vomit in their mouths to watch DeSean Jackson streak to victory.
But the win on Sunday, another Michael Vick fourth quarter masterpiece, something not so uncommon these days, has sports radio hosts in Philly still repeatedly pushing play on Merrill Reese’s game-ending radio call. We will never get enough of these highlights. I came out of the locker room at my gym last night, and about six guys were just standing next to the weight machines, staring up at the TV screen, watching highlights with no audio that they had surely seen multiple times already. An historic comeback against an arch rival in their stadium, with playoff berths on the line, will never lose its ability to captivate this town’s emotions. We can’t get enough of Merrill Reese, the longest tenured radio broadcaster for an NFL team, even when he’s just announcing a routine four-yard pass. This call could have the most replay value of any in his career.
Speaking of play-by-play, I’d like to leave my loyal readership–a significant portion of which, believe it or not, root for the NY teams–with this message exchange between myself and the Giants fan nearest and dearest to my heart during Sunday’s contest:
Me: Love the defensive tone to start this game
NYG Fan: “Smiley face” emoticon, “Thumbs up” emoticon (This is after NYG first TD)
Me: “Yawning face” emoticon
NYG Fan: Is that your impression of the DB?
Me: I’ve been really impressed with Patterson, but he def dogged it on that play and paid for it
NYG Fan: “Wiping of the brow” emoticon (After the Giants hold the Eagles to a FG)
Me: Yeah. Big to hold to 3.
Me: Think Eli will hit 30 turnovers this year? (After Manning throws an INT, giving him 20 on the year)
NYG Fan: This game. Don’t worry. He will fumble.
NYG Fan (watching from the West Coast): As a funny side note, long story short, the obviously scheduled bartender who was supposed to work this morning just came in, 2 hrs late, and he is still slurring his speech really bad.
NYG Fan: “Surprised face” emoticon (When Eagles fumble the ball with little time left in 1st half)
Me: Haha. Lotta bad breaks for us.
NYG Fan: “Hold on, I’m on the phone” emoticon (During booth review)
NYG Fan: “Talk to the hand” emoticon, I don’t wanna hear it
Me: But that’s our fault. I was just sayin we should run it because we’ll rush the play and get a turnover.
NYG Fan: Don’t worry. I’m still bracing myself for a huge comeback.
Me: Embarrassing (After the Giants continue to pour on points in the 2nd quarter)
NYG Fan: “Wide smile” emoticon. Hold your phone up so everyone you’re with can see my smiling face.
Me: Ok (after Vick finds Maclin to make it 24-10 Giants following Mario Manningham’s fumble)
Me: Turnovers will kill NYG
NYG Fan: I plan on it. I told you.
NYG Fan: Coach of the year (a heavily sarcastic comment after Andy Reid chooses not to challenge the DeSean Jackson fumble that almost certainly would have been overturned)
Me: Unbelieveable!!!!!! How do you not challenge!!!!! That drive is the game right there!!!! I am speechless!!!!! Are you fucking kidding??
NYG Fan: “Cup of coffee” emoticon, “I’m not interested”emoticon
Me: “I’m in love emoticon”, “I’m surprised emoticon”, “Wide smile” emoticon (after Eagles get onside kick)
Me: Coach of the year
Me: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha (after Jackson’s punt return TD to end the game)
Me: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
Me: “Star” emoticon
Me (Later on Sunday night): “Let me give you a hug” emoticon
NYG Fan (On Monday morning): Sorry dude. I still love ya, but I really just don’t want to ever talk about that. Try to see it my way. It was literally the worst thing ever. I’m not a big enough person, I guess, to deal with it maturely so soon afterward.
Me: Roger that.
Cliff Lee. Say no more.
How many times have you walked up to a friend this week and greeted him or her with these two words: Cliff Lee.
It’s now a legitimate alternative to hello, hey, or what’s up when you see a fellow Philadelphia friend whom you haven’t seen in a couple weeks or months. I went to a party on Saturday night, hosted by friends I specifically know from Sunday afternoon Phillies tailgates in the Linc parking lot. I walked in the door, gift bottle of booze in hand, and rather than greet each other with “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”, it was just a matter of who could say “Cliff Lee” first.
Have you ever seen someone so happy to drink Powerade. That's how much he likes being in Philly.
The signing floored the entire city, and began what turned out to be one of the most epic weeks in Philly sports. I awoke last Monday morning, did the old reach for my phone, and waiting in my SMS and BBM inbox were messages that once again simply said Cliff Lee, and nothing more. Every person in town tried to shake themselves out of dream mode when they awoke to the news. Those Philadelphians who battle an inferiority complex in the face of New York, went into clean up mode. For them it was a wet dream.
The question is whose dream was the wettest in town? It could have been Ruben Amaro’s, but the orchestrator couldn’t have been surprised enough to pee his pants. Charlie Manuel is a great candidate, but it would be tough to definitively attribute such an accident to the Lee signing as opposed to general aging. I think Carlos Ruiz has to take the prize here. While I’ve seen plenty of t-shirts on the market already referencing Lee and the rest of the juggernaut rotation, I’ve yet to see one that reads: “Mi sueño mojado“, with Ruiz’s Panamanian punim centered among the faces of the four starters. I think it would sell.
There’s no point in actually analyzing the Lee acquisition in this piece. Plenty has already been written about this remarkable move, and still none of it has such an eloquent ring to it as simply saying the guy’s name.
Cliff Lee.
As much as this cushions the Jayson Werth blow, some of the Phillies offseason talk is now shifting to the one gaping hole to address, right field. But I’d honestly rather the team spend the money they have allotted for that slot on a World-Class massage therapist with a shoulder/arm concentration. Keeping these four arms healthy is now the team’s most important challenge. But even if one of them is hurt come playoff time, we’ll still have the best rotation out there, especially because Cliff Lee won’t be suiting up for the opposition.
Forget a middle reliever. Can we just get someone who's really really really really good at taking care of these?
A couple star players have now demonstrated their affinity for putting on the same red and white pinstripes that fill the stadium seats game after game. Sure we purposely throw up on other people from time to time. Sure we occasionally need to get our naked bodies on the field of play, but Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay have collectively said “Who doesn’t?” with their eagerness to forgo cash for this fan support. Some skeptics may have been able to diminish the role of the fan base in landing Roy Halladay, pointing to the chance to win as the major factor in his move to Philly. But considering the Yankees current roster and successful history along with the Rangers 2010 World Series appearance, Lee has really made it seem to the national audience like it could actually be about us, in a good way for once.
A Piece on Jayson Werth That Doesn’t Use a Play on Words with Werth in the Headline
Jayson Werth is ninth on the all-time postseason home run leaders list, a list he doesn’t seem to have much interest in climbing. Only Babe Ruth has made that list with fewer playoff plate appearances, but now it seems David Justice has a better chance of coming out of retirement and climbing that list with the Braves than Werth does ascending it with the Nats. Etching his name all over baseball-reference.com seems less important to Werth than having it printed on some fat checks. It’s understandable, especially for a guy who, before landing with the Phillies, had his career threatened by injuries.
| Rank | Player | Postseason Home Runs | Plate Appearances |
| 1 | Manny Ramirez | 29 | 493 |
| 2 | Bernie Williams | 22 | 545 |
| 3 | Derek Jeter | 20 | 679 |
| 4 | Reggie Jackson | 18 | 318 |
| Mickey Mantle | 18 | 273 | |
| 6 | Jim Thome | 17 | 251 |
| 7 | Babe Ruth | 15 | 167 |
| 8 | David Justice | 14 | 471 |
| 9 | Chipper Jones | 13 | 412 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 13 | 276 | |
| Jim Edmonds | 13 | 263 | |
| Albert Pujols | 13 | 239 | |
| Jayson Werth | 13 | 182 |
So what will the outfielder’s $126 million defection to the Nationals mean to the Phillies? The facelift is official now. The Phillies outfield will undoubtedly have a new look. I’m bummed about it. I was holding out hope for the slim chance of keeping him in the lineup this year. Now that he’s gone, our team is less powerful, slower, worse defensively, not as clutch, less balanced in terms of hitting from both sides of the plate, and certainly more lacking in beard prowess.
I guess Werth is sick of getting free hats and cigars at the end of every season
The truth is Chooch can’t carry the club in October, and he sure as hell can’t grow a good beard on that Panamanian baby face. H2O will need some power behind them next fall, and as long as Ryan Howard keeps deciding to be Casey At the Bat for Halloween each year, the departure of Jayson Werth’s stellar postseason track record is a threat to our club’s autumnal makeup.
Werth had a remarkable run with the Phillies, coming out of role player obscurity to become an everyday stud, and a key character in what many think could be the best era of Phillies baseball in their long history.
His emergence coincided with the resurrection of the franchise, in a similar fashion to Donovan McNabb’s impact on the Eagles when he arrived. Werth’s stay here was much less controversial and not so much a solo act as McNabb’s, but I think we should be legitimately worried that he is the first of the core members to say adios to the franchise. Will his departure be the tipping point that starts the team’s decline?
Werth's departure leaves the Phillies lineup beardless....and without right-handed power. Polanco's ginormous head is now the team's most prominent feature.
For anyone who talks Phillies with me regularly, or has read this blog, namely this piece, knows that I would rather have seen J-Roll be the first to move on. But Rollins remains, on the heels of two poor seasons in a row and one poor, aging hamstring. J-Roll and the lineup that he will likely continue to lead off, had a down year. The pitching is what got the team as far as it got, and now we are left hoping that Rollins, Victorino, Howard and Utley all have bounce-back years. Anyone else uncomfortable with that and uncomfortable with losing the only player that lived up to expectation last year offensively, leading the league in doubles, scoring 100+ runs and contributing 27 HRs?
Like Donovan McNabb, Werth will now suit up for a division opponent. I’m careful to use the word opponent instead of rival here, because we all know the Nationals only true rival is the record book of futility. As becomes the question with any popular Philadelphia athlete who leaves town, how will fans receive him upon return?
I happened to be eating breakfast at Honey’s in Northern Liberties, the morning after the Phillies ended the city’s 25-year championship drought, when J-Werth strolled in with his family. Man, this guy was instrumental to winning the World Series, and he’s got great taste in brunch spots, I thought. With no hesitation, everyone in the restaurant rose to their feet and applauded him.
He deserves the same reaction when he takes right field next year at CBP on May 3. When he gets that recognition as a visiting player, one has to think it won’t be long before he misses that kind of fan support in the lonely pastures of the Nationals Park outfield. And anyone who’s been to Honey’s knows he’s damn well going to miss that too.
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