Will BoSox Fans Be Bitter This Weekend? Eh...Let 'em Eat Steak!

It's going to be a VERY busy weekend for Philly sports fans!  Besides the Sixers’ playoff games, the Phillies have a pretty important weekend of their own. 

Inter-league play begins for 2012 as the Phils host some of baseball's royalty with the Boston Red Sox visit this weekend.  Both squads have had some early-season problems and find themselves in the unlikely position of being in last place in their respective divisions, but the Phillies are showing signs of life, having won four straight headed into tonight's game against the Cubs in Chicago.  Not much has been made about the weekend series against the Red Sox, but you know that Jonathan Papelbon MUST have had these dates circled on his calendar for quite some time.

Over the years, I've spoken to many players from different sports about playing against teams they had played for previously, and what it meant to them.  The opinions are pretty diverse.  Some guys play it off as being just another game, but it seems like the stickier the exit, the more intense the return match becomes.  It's a natural way to feel, I suppose.

Despite the fact that most players understand that the world of sports is a "business,” that doesn't mean they won't take exception to their life and the lives of their families (in some cases) being uprooted and forced to change via either trade or free agency.  In Papelbon's case, he has to be the one smiling at the moment as he has enjoyed some pretty decent early success with his new team, not to mention a pretty HUGE contract.

Meanwhile, his old team (the Red Sox) have struggled with the closer role and are still wondering who might win that job.  Many of Pap's old teammates have remarked about how much they miss their old closer, on the field as well as in the clubhouse.

Early speculation was that possibly Andrew Bailey could be the team's closer, but he injured his thumb and has a long stint on the disabled list left.  At the moment, Alfredo Aceves is the reliever with the most saves so far (seven), but he also has a 5.74 ERA to go with those saves.

I'm sure CBP will have many Boston fans who made the trip to Philly in the stands.  I also have a feeling that the Phillies sweeping the BoSox and having a couple of those wins saved by Papelbon will leave a very bad taste in the Red Sox fans' mouths. 

Then again, it's not a long drive to Tony Luke's on Oregon for a cheesesteak to help the Sox fans get rid of that bitterness.  Hopefully, they have a very good GPS or are willing to ask directions! 

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Cookin’ up UGLY Wins....The Sixers’ Recipe for Success!

Hand over the clipboard Doug Collins.  Let me have a crack at the Celtics! 

This series can be very easy for the Philly basketballers.  All they have to do is the SAME thing they have been doing all year...annnnnnnnnd maybe shoot the ball a bit better.

Winning ugly has been the way that the Sixers have achieved their success pretty much all year.  It was never more evident than in the series against the Bills where NOBODY will be lining up the level of play against the NBA's greatest teams.

Gritty defense, an occasional spurt of offense, and some opportunistic bounces of the basketball and voila!  The Sixers are preparing for the Celtics in round two.

Let's face it, it didn't hurt that the Bulls best two players were hurt, too.

In the Boston Celtics, you have a team that's just asking to get knocked out and the Sixers are just the team to do it.  How Atlanta, a team with some pretty good young talent, lost to Boston is beyond me.  In a way, the Celtics won much like the Sixers...ugly.

So, if you're expecting something reminiscent of the days of Dr J., Larry Bird, and all of those great Celtic vs. Sixers match-ups over the years, be sure to have the vomit bucket at arms’ length at all times.  This is not going to be pretty basketball.

The biggest advantage this Sixers team has over this Celtics team is depth.  The Celtics pretty much rely on their top five players.  That may need to change a lot since it looks as if Ray Allen may have a cranky ankle giving him trouble all series. 

Fortunately for the Sixers, the candidates to take Allen's minutes aren't anything that will remind you of a "solid NBA player."  Sorry Celtics fans; that's just the truth.

Avery Bradley?  Keyon Dooling? Marquis Daniels?  C'mon...no chance.

The Sixers should play 9 deep and run whenever they get the chance.  Throw as many fresh young bodies at the Celtics as possible.

Coach Collins should view this as a war that gets won by winning four battles.  Even in games they lose, they need to exhaust the Celtic starters to the point where they're out of gas in every second half of the game.

The biggest matchup is Hawes against Garnett.  Even at 36 years old, Garnett is still a force inside and will be a mismatch for Hawes.  Hawes will need lots of double down help from his teammates and hope that the Sixers can rotate fast enough to the open shooter.  Don't be surprised if you see Collins experiment using Lavoy Allen against Garnett early in the series.

But, Hawes can turn the tables on Garnett, too.  Kevin Garnett will NOT come out and cover Hawes at the 3 point line.  If Hawes can knock down open jumpers it will cause the Celtics lots of fits.

The matchup the Sixers can exploit is Iguodala vs. Pierce.  Iggy is much more athletic and I believe he'll send Pierce into a shooting nightmare.  Pierce is a smart player, so I don't think this is going to be a travesty, but I do give Andre the nod.

Rondo and Holiday are going to be battling each other the whole series, and it should be a very entertaining battle.  Hopefully Holiday will get the Sixers out and running.  If Collins has him slowing things down it will only play into the Celtics game plan.

The other big problem the Celtics have is that they really don't have an answer defensively for Brand (unless they decide to let Garnett cover him instead of Hawes).  If Brand asserts himself offensively he could be a HUGE difference for the Sixers.

All of the other names (starters or not) like Lou Williams, Turner, Young, Allen, and maybe even some Jodie Meeks, should be in and out of the game like a revolving door.  The Sixers shouldn't let the Celtics have enough time to figure out who everybody's covering before making another substitution.

A prediction?  The Sixers win this series in NO MORE than six games.  That would take at least one win at the TD Garden and then holding serve at home.  If they can find a way to win game one, the Sixers could win this thing in FIVE games!

Wear them down and late in games, as well as late in the series, the Celtics will be cooked.  Grind it out, and win ugly.  It's what the Sixers are good at doing....don't stop now!  Let's not try to get cute. 

There you go Coach Collins...it's easy!  Stick to the "AllStarInc Plan" and you'll be facing the Heat in the Conference Finals in about two weeks! 

Oh, and Doug...if you have any questions...hit me up anytime. 

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In the Dirt With...Matt Stairs

On October 13th in 2008, the Philadelphia Phillies baseball club found themselves at a potential crossroads.

With the game tied in the 8th inning 5-5, they were battling the LA Dodgers for the chance to advance to the World Series.  Lose this game and the series would head back to Philly tied at two games apiece.

History will show that a veteran journeyman will march to the plate and hit a Jonathan Broxton pitch into orbit sending the Phillies on to victory that night.  It was a huge assist in the team's march to eventually be World Champs in 2008, the franchise's first title since 1980.

The 2008 season brought many home runs to Phillies fans, but many believe THAT particular home run by Matt Stairs is one of the biggest moments in Phillies history.  In fact, many Phillies faithful believe the ball that Stairs hit is STILL circling the earth somewhere and it’s become a bit of a fun "old wives tale" in that respect.

Matt's career amazingly spanned from his rookie season in 1992 to when he finally announced his retirement this past off-season after spending the 2011 year with the Washington Nationals.  He played for an incredible 13 different teams over the 19 year career. 

Talk about a guy who gets around?

I actually feel partly responsible for getting him that last year with the Nationals.

I had booked Matt at a show in Valley Forge during the off-season following the 2010 year.  The Padres had just released Matt and it looked like his career might be over.

That day we had all heard the incredible news about Jayson Werth being signed to his mega-millions contract by the Nats.   Many people don't know this, but Werth used to regularly turn to Matt whenever his swing wasn't quite right, asking for advice as to what he was doing wrong.

Also attending the show that day was Nationals assistant to the GM and ex Phillies great, Bob Boone. 

I introduced myself to Bob and told him that Matt Stairs wanted to come over and say hello.  I also happened to mention how close Matt and Jayson have been over the years.

Boone looked up from signing autographs and said, "Oh really?  Matt's here?  I'd love to say hello."

A phone call by me to Bob Garber (Matt's agent at the time) telling him about the days' events, and the next thing you know, Matt's signed by the Washington Nationals!  How about that?

Well guess what?  Matt may be on the move again, and he MIGHT be headed back to Philadelphia.

Matt has done some work this season for the Boston Red Sox TV network helping out with postgame and pregame coverage.  He's also been appearing on the MLB radio network fairly regularly as a correspondent adding his expert opinion about the state of baseball today.

Next week, Stairs returns to Philly for a VERY busy weekend.  On Friday 5/18, he is tentatively scheduled to be sitting in for a couple of hours with Glen Macnow and Anthony Gargano on WIP radio from their Chickie’s and Pete's location in South Philly. 

Could this be an audition? How would the sports fans of the city feel about one of its 2008 championship baseball heroes back in town doing radio?

Obviously there would be lots needed to make that a reality, but you never know. 

On Saturday, May 19^th, Matt is headed to a return engagement at one of AllStarInc's favorite venues, Carl's Cards & Collectables, 22 West Eagle Rd. in Havertown PA.  Stairs appears at CCC from Noon to 1:30 P.M.   Long time Phillies player, Terry Harmon (2B/SS) will also be there from Noon to 2:00 P.M.  You can go to www.carlscards.com or call 610-789-4996 for more information and to order autograph tickets.

On Sunday, May 20^th and Monday, May 21st, Matt will be taking part in Ron Jaworski's Celebrity Golf Challenge in Atlantic City.  All the proceeds from this charity event benefit the Jaws Youth Playbook.  Their mission is to “improve the overall health and wellness of at-risk youth in the Philadelphia region.”  A big fan of charity, Matt helps a great deal with the SPCA of Canada.  Helping Jaws (another AllStarInc client, of course) raise money for kids was a "no brainer" AND he gets to play some golf, too!  For more information on Jaworski’s charity event, you can visit the website at www.jawscelebritygolf.com.

Since his retirement, Stairs has been bitten by the golfing bug and now plays whenever and wherever possible.  Between hitting the links and still playing ice hockey at 6 AM daily, one might wonder how he has time for anything else...or how he can even walk the next morning!

In a ceremony on June 9, Matt will be inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame.  When I heard about the honor, I told Matt that I didn't even know he was a bowler (Brunswick^® is one of the leading makers of bowling balls)! 

Matt replied "It's NEW Brunswick and it's a province in Canada, you dope."

I actually knew that, but I enjoy the chance to kid him whenever possible.  It's Matt's sense of humor that makes him a really fun guy to be around and it's that personality that I think will make him a very successful media personality.

I once asked Matt which team was his favorite to play for, and he surprisingly answered "It has to be the Oakland A's..... because that's when I was actually good."

He followed that with, "But the year or so in Philly was awesome!  You can't beat the feeling winning a championship gives you.  And, the fans have never let me forget how thankful they are.  Phillies fans are really great fans."

Remember that Matt only played two other post season series during the rest of his entire career; once in 1995 with the Red Sox, and then again in 2001 with the A's.  Both times his team was bounced immediately.

A year and three months in Philly and he got the chance to play in TWO World Series, including the winner in 2008.

If you get a chance to see Matt next weekend, please be sure say hello and let him know what that home run means to you.  I know he hears it all the time, but I also know he never gets tired of it.

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Reason to Be Concerned About the Phils? HECK YEAH!!

Those who know me know that I'm one of the most optimistic people around.  This is especially true when it comes to the prospects of Philadelphia sports teams (and the Pitt Panthers!).

So the question today..."Is there any reason to be scared by the Phillies recent performance?"

The answer is...YES, be VERY afraid!  It may not be something that can change any time soon.

It's definitely not time to panic and make vacation plans for October quite yet.  As long as the Phillies continue to have hope that Utley and Howard will indeed return, there is great hope. But, it might be a good idea to try to fix things now before it gets too out of hand!

There is good news.  Despite the horrific start and recent severe failures, the home town boys only find themselves 5 games back of first place.  The teams above them in the standings are not anything you might confuse with the 1927 Yankees, so it's not like this is an insurmountable deficit to recover from.

And you would THINK that with a starting pitching rotation featuring Halladay, Lee, and Hamels it would be very difficult to screw things up, right?  Yeah, you would think.  But, man, oh man, the guys in the red pinstripes are doing their best to give us concern!

Obviously, the bullpen has been a HUGE problem that needs to be fixed ASAP; but with Papelbon, Bastardo, Herndon, Qualls and the other cast of characters, you'd think it would be better than it has been.  I have a feeling you'll see better days from the bullpen as the season goes on and the pitchers have more than 10 innings under their belts.

The bigger issues to me are the other guys around the team who are not playing up to their abilities.

If you could morph Galvis and Orr together, you MIGHT get a second baseman than can hit AND field.  As of now, you have two guys that simply CANNOT do one or the other.

The Jim Thome experiment has been a pretty bad idea so far; it might be a good time to cut bait and make better use of that roster spot.  Like somebody who can do....ANYTHING?

Rollins, Victorino, and Mayberry are roughly hitting a combined .235.  To me, here lies the biggest problem.  With guys named Howard and Utley not in the lineup it's up to these 3 (among the others) to come through.

They have not.

Just hit .260 for goodness sake!  Unless you're Freddy Galvis, it's not THAT hard to do, is it?

Of the three named above, the guy I have the most confidence in rebounding is Mayberry.  He showed he can be clutch and fairly consistent last season down the stretch. 

With Rollins, I'm pretty much ok with him just catching the ball, which he is still one of the best at doing.  But, if he could contribute offensively at all, it would make a huge difference.  When you already have a second baseman who is a "glove only guy" you can't afford to have a second one in the lineup unless the rest of the team is cranking out runs like they're going out of style....and that ain't happening.

That leaves us Vic.  I'm sorry, but maybe it's time to part with our beloved Hawaiian.  He is a commodity the Phillies could dangle for trade bait and possibly sure up the bullpen a little bit.  Given he will be a free agent soon, you probably won't get a ton for him; but you might get something, and then you can use Juan Pierre in CF every day.

When Chase and Ryan come back, the team can hit the pavement running instead of flat on their face.

And let's give some credit where credit is due....Kudos to dudes named Pence, Ruiz, Polanco, and "The Three Aces" for carrying the team so far.  Without them, things could be MUCH worse.

My guess is that the Phils will sit tight and try to correct from within and they will probably be able to make that happen.  But…is there a reason to be concerned?  Uhhhh yeah, there is....even I admit that.

The Morning After...No Bridge Jumping Necessary!

I'm hoping the line to jump from the Ben Franklin Bridge was shorter last night than it has been in past years.

Flyers  fans have a reason for hope.  The future is actually bright, as opposed to feeling like "this was our last chance."

Look, I admit it:  I'm not the greatest Flyers fan of all time.  I can't tell you the juniors team that Eric Wellwood played for or other hard core facts about the squad. 

The only time I watch regular season games is when the bar shows them as I play Golden Tee Golf.

My ankles snap, crackle, and pop loudly each year as I jump back on the bandwagon right around playoff time like many other Philadelphia sports fans do.  But, I am a loyal, returning fan every single year.

In the past, I always felt like the Flyers’ brain trust had patch-worked rosters that were riddled with grizzly veterans who were trying to squeeze the last bit of hockey life out of their mangled and dilapidated bodies.  And the Flyers admittedly have been very successful at this strategy in the past, but it never seemed to put the team over the top.

That's why last off-season felt very different.  The Flyers brass made earth shattering trades sending away some of the team’s top players while acquiring youthful hope in the bodies of unproven potential stars.  They traded away names I actually KNEW for lots of guys I’d never heard of.

For the most part, that formula was a huge success.

If you can remember passed the orange-colored glasses that were worn the last few weeks, many Flyers hopefuls wondered out loud where the scoring was going to come from and labeled this a "rebuilding year.”

And then a funny thing happened....the team came together and played very well.  Well enough to oust Cup favorites Pittsburgh and gave hope to all of Philadelphia that maybe this WAS our year!?

The good news is that the names and ages of the team include guys like Giroux (28), Couterier (19), Read (25), Wellwood (22), Van Riemsdyk (23), Schenn (20) Simmonds (23), Voracek (22), and the list goes on.  Add to that a few vets that have gas in the tank (ie...Briere, Hartnell, etc.) and you have a pretty good nucleus for success over the next few years.

Obvious subtractions need to be made.  Jaromir Jagr has had a great career and may have one or two years left, but not here.  He just seems like he's out of joint with everybody else on the ice.  Jagr just doesn't fit.

Life without Pronger is probably inevitable.  The defense unit will need to learn from the Devils series and find better ways to deliver the puck up the ice.  Maybe another big name acquisition for the blue line would be a good idea?

And then there is Bryz.  Like him or hate him, he's your Flyers goalie for the next three or four years, minimum.  Too much money has been sunk into the dude.

My guess is that we'll all have to live with our beloved goaltender's peaks and valleys, and I'm ok with that.  Everybody has good days and bad.  Hopefully as he continues to mesh with all of his teammates over the next couple years he'll weed out more of those "valleys" to the point where they just don't happen.

The direction is certainly a positive one.  There are certainly issues that need to be figured out, but overall, things are looking pretty good at Flyerpalooza.

How long until training camp starts?  Ehhhh...just call me next April!
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Did We Just Say That Out Loud??

While the Boston Red Sox have banned beer in the clubhouse after games this season, it's pretty apparent that SOMETHING is in the Gatorade in other dugouts.  Players around the league are opening their mouths and some pretty incredible things are coming out of them.

Cole Hamels drills rookie stud Bryce Harper and then openly admits that it was definitely intentional?  What was he thinking?

Repeat after me Cole..."The pitch got away from me.  It was meant to be inside, but it kinda ran a little further than I expected."  Is that really so hard to say? 

Ehhh...the consequences aren't as dire as some think when they hear about a "five game suspension.”  With a five man rotation, Cole rests four days as it is.  To give a guy an extra day off in May isn't necessarily a bad thing...so...thanks MLB!

Maybe Cole is just trying to shake off the pretty boy image and seem tougher?  Ehhhhhh, it aint workin', but nice try Cole!

Jamie Moyer is accusing Chipper Jones of stealing signs?  SO WHAT!?!  In addition to drinking the wacky fluids, Moyer may also be suffering from old age.  The stealing of signs in baseball has happened for ohhhhhh, let's see...maybe 140 years?  That was right around when Jamie was a rookie, wasn't it?   

In the old days, it was considered an art.  When I played in high school, our coach would tell the bench players to study the third base coach and see if they could figure out what the bunt and steal signs were.  Jamie needs to stop being a baby and blaming getting rocked on signs being stolen.  You're flippin’ it up there at 76 miles an hour, Jamie...it's going to get hit!

Of course, Chipper is obviously sipping the crazy juice, too.  He responded to Moyer's accusations by challenging Moyer to a fight!?  Come to think about it...I'd really like to see Jamie Moyer fight Chipper Jones.  I smell Pay-Per-View!  I'll take Chipper in round 3 with a TKO!

Lastly, Jayson Werth gets the crown for drinking wild berry liquids. 

After breaking his wrist and being berated by Phillies fans as he struggled off the field, Werth was obviously under the influence of SOMETHING when he said, "I'm going to do everything I can to keep those guys from another parade down Broad Street."

Ok, so here's an open note to all Nationals players and fans....THE PHILLIES DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU!  Nope, not at all.  Not one bit.  ZIP. ZERO.  Sorry, but you are NOT the Phillies’ rival.  The Mets and Braves both can lay a much better claim to that. 

A reporter asked Phils closer, Jon Papelbon, about the "so-called rivalry" that is developing.  Pap is definitely the wrong guy to ask about rivalries since he just came from a land where the Red Sox battle the Yankees on a regular basis.  Now THAT'S a rivalry!

Nationals Park just allows for a very convenient place for Phillies fans to easily get cheap lower-level box seats that's not too far away from home.  If the Orioles were in the NL East, Phillies fans would be flocking to Camden Yards instead.  It would save everybody an extra hour of driving if we could somehow make that happen.

The Nats are vastly improved and their future is extremely bright, but their start this season does not automatically make them an elite franchise....like ummmmmm.....the PHILLIES!?!

And while I'm still talking about the Nats, can somebody take their GM, Mike Rizzo, aside and explain to him that he sounded like a whining, crying female dog when he reacted to Cole Hamels’ remarks about hitting Bryce Harper.  Waaaaaaaahhhhh!

Maybe Rizzo and Werth can sit together in the stands for the next 12 weeks and try to figure out a way to be more like the Phillies organization instead of crying and yapping to the press?!?

Commissioner Selig!  Check those water coolers, please!  Something crazy is happening and it's not even June yet!  It must be in the water!