Regarding Halladay...It's the Right Thing to Do

Since Roy Halladay surrendered the baseball in the first inning of his last start, some of the discussion in Philadelphia has been about what the future holds for “Doc” and the Phillies.

The answer is very simple.  You pay the man the respect he deserves and you give him another chance to make it happen.  And, if it doesn't work, you give each other a big teary hug and part ways.

It’s the right thing to do.

photo www.phielderschoice.com

The guy is the ultimate competitor.  He has a work ethic like no other.  If anybody can come back from an injury like this, it’s the future Hall of Famer.

Why take the chance?  Well, first of all, you owe it to him.  The guy gave his heart and soul to your team for the past 4 seasons.  In addition, you just don’t toss a future HOF’er to the trash heap like that, especially if you’re the Phillies.  It’s not their style (thankfully).

Halladay gets along so well with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels that it will be an easy decision for Roy as to whether he wants to return to Philly.  He feels partly in debt for not being able to perform at his maximum level, so his desire to return is already evident.

Here’s what you do….you structure a minor league contract (non-guaranteed) with a major league option at the end of spring training.  You make the pay amount somewhat minimal but build in all types of great incentives based on performance.  If he hasn't been able to prove he can return to a competitive form by the end of spring training, I’m pretty sure Roy will be the first one to tear up the deal.

I seriously doubt if teams are going to be lining up to sign Halladay based on his latest performance and recent serious medical problems.  I also seriously doubt Roy is really looking to join a new franchise and start over.

The Phillies are a class organization and I’m sure the last thing they want to do here is look like the “bad guy”.  They should do everything they can to give Roy one last chance to make it happen.

It's the right thing to do.

Bill Mattis, owner AllStarInc

(c) copyright 2013 Bill Mattis  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Passing of "The Man" and an Era

We unexpectedly lost my Uncle Chuck this past week and, ironically, one of his heroes passed away a day or two later.

 

As a child, I would visit my grandparents' house and often slept in the room that my father and his brother shared.  I can remember one of the wall decorations was the logo of the St. Louis Cardinals.

It’s not hard to understand why brothers growing up in the 1940’s and 1950’s in Philadelphia would wander away from being fans of the local Philadelphia baseball teams. With the exception of the magic they created in 1950, the Phillies fielded some pretty awful teams during that era.  The Philadelphia Athletics were even worse, often finishing in eighth place out of eight teams in the American League.

The Cardinals have always had one of the greatest logos in sports featuring two bright red birds perched upon a baseball bat.  The color and the logo was almost enough to make you like the team.  The fact that the Cardinals usually had one of the National League’s best teams each season (especially in the 1940’s), made it even easier to adopt them as the team to root for.

And then there was “The Man.”  Stan “The Man” Musial…who quietly led the franchise to much of it’s great success.  Stan played for the Cardinals (and ONLY The Cardinals) from 1941 to 1963.  You don’t see that type of longevity with a franchise these days regardless of what sport you’re talking about.

Musial was a 24 time all-star and led the league in batting average an incredible seven times.  He helped the Cardinals win 3 World Series Championships in the 1940’s and is easily considered the city’s greatest sports legend.

Nationally, I think Musial received great respect for his accomplishments, but I do think he was underrated by a sports society who would sing about “Willie, Mickey and the Duke.” 

Then again, I think it’s quite a complement to be referred to as simply…"The Man."

Knowing he was battling many health concerns over the past few years, it wasn’t a tremendous shock to me to hear of Stan’s passing.  But, it does continue to signify the passing of the greatest eras in baseball history.

As each of our legends pass, the past seems even more distant than ever...and the game will never be the same as it was “back in the day”.

Goodbye to Stan “The Man” and goodbye to my Uncle Chuck.  You both will be missed by many.

copyright 2013 Bill Mattis ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Duke of Earl Called Home

Earl Weaver (cbsnews.com)

One of the winningest coaches in Major League Baseball never made it out of the minors as a player.  After spending thirteen seasons in the minor league farm system, Earl Weaver called it quits as a player and began what turned out to be a legendary career as a major league coach and manager with the Baltimore Orioles.

After a short stint with the Knoxville Smokies, the Orioles hired Weaver as the manager of their Fitzgerald club in 1957, moving him around the minors until 1968 when he was brought up to the majors as the Orioles' first-base coach.  In what was a glimpse of things to come, Weaver racked up 841 wins and 697 defeats and three championships as a minor league manager. 

He didn’t stay at the first base coach job very long.  By July, he was the man in charge of the Orioles and his success in the minors transferred to the majors as the Orioles won six Eastern Division titles, four AL pennants, and the 1970 World Series.  In addition to this fete, Weaver and his Orioles won 100+ games in five separate seasons (1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, and 1980).

While Weaver’s skill as a manager is undisputed, it was his sharp wit and hot temper that brought him the most fame.  Ejected from over 90 regular season games during his career, he was also suspended from multiple games four times.  Weaver never shied away from sticking his face right into an umpire’s to dispute a call, baseball cap turned backwards, kicking dirt on them, and getting as close to them as he could without actually touching them.  His philosophy on challenging the umpires was simple:  “The job of arguing with the umpire belongs to the manager, because it won’t hurt the team if he gets thrown out of the game.”  And thrown out he was:  according to the Baseball Almanac (www.baseball-almanac.com), Weaver was ejected 98 times in his career, the most of any American League manager.  He is second only to Bobby Cox of the National League’s Atlanta Braves who has been thrown out 158 times.

As if the call challenges weren’t enough, Weaver had to add insult to injury with his biting sense of humor towards the abilities of the umpires.  When one umpire offered to lend him his rule book, Weaver told him he would get his own because he couldn’t read Braille.  Thrown out of game for smoking a cigarette in the dugout, Weaver got tossed the next day for approaching the same umpire with a candy cigarette dangling from his mouth.  And his barbs weren’t only directed towards the umpires.  In his famous battles with Hall of Fame pitcher, Jim Palmer, Weaver is quoted as saying he gave Palmer “more chances than my ex-wife.”

Despite his belief that his antics on the field would hurt his chances at being nominated to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Weaver was inducted in 1996.  His #4 Orioles jersey was retired on September 19, 1982.  Weaver died earlier today at the age of 82.

In an October 6, 1982 Washington Post interview, Weaver said, “On my tombstone, just write ‘The sorest loser who ever lived.’”  And I hope they remember to add one of the greatest baseball managers ever.

copyright 2013 Korinne M Jackman ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Oh, To Be Young...Again...

Michael Young at bat for the Texas Rangers,
already looking good in red and white

Ok,so the Phils have made another move this week and have FINALLY acquired Michael Young from Texas. 

Young is a player who has been talked about in trade winds for the past three off seasons.  The Rangers have always seemed to have one or two too many quality infielders, but something always happened in spring training and Young has gotten regular playing time each year.

He's now 36 years old and had a "down season" but it wasn't a disaster.  Young still hit .277 which would put him among the leaders of the Phillies regulars last year.

In Young, you get a professional hitter.  You get a guy who knows how to play the game. Ok, so he's not going to remind you of Brooks Robinson at third, but he's also not Ty Wigginton either.

What did you give up to get Young?  Well, that could be the problem in a couple of years. 

Lisalverto Bonilla is a guy with a huge arm who will likely start the season in AA after ending last year there.  But look for the Rangers to fast track him to possibly be their closer in a year or two.

Josh Lindblom was acquired last year in the Shane Victorino deal and apparently didn't overwhelm the Phillies' brass with his performance the second half of last season.  Still, Lindblom projects to be a very solid reliever....which is something that Phils have seemed to need a great deal.

With the pickings at third base slim, and the thought of another injury plagued year with Polanco (and Frandson filling in) making me ill, I'll take the chance with Young and see what happens.

There ya go....trade approved by me.

Phils' Trades Got You Down? There's Reason for Hope!

The smoke has cleared a day later and the Phillies look at themselves and see a ball club that really isn’t a whole lot different than before the trade deadline.

The experts will tell you that the team has traded two “front line players” and now the lineup is going to be significantly different; but I’m not so sure.

The trades were very good trades for multiple reasons.

Many times, teams deal players just to relieve themselves of salary.  The Phillies accomplished this by saving a probable $15 million on Hunter Pence next year.  They also have dealt Shane Victorino, who will probably get a 3 year deal worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million from somebody.

But here’s the best part…they got some very good players, too!  They have filled a couple of needs at the same time.  In addition to all of those positives, they have opened the door for Dominic Brown to prove whether he is the wonder child that he was touted as being as early as three years ago.

Josh Lindblom was the main ingredient the Dodgers sent back to Philly for Victorino.  The guy is exactly the type of middle reliever the Phillies have been aching for all year.  He’s young, cheap, contract tied up for about 3 years, and he actually gets batters out!  What a concept!

While (on the surface) Nate Schierholtz appears to be the main part of the Pence deal, the real key piece is the young catcher Tommy Joseph.  He’s a AA prospect who was a 2^nd round pick in 2009, who shows solid power, and could wind up being the Phils' catcher of the future.

The two other pitchers the Phils acquired in these two deals are no losers either.  Both guys are big strong right handers who are pretty highly touted.  Ethan Martin acquired in the LA deal was a first round pick in the 2008 draft while Seth Rosin (from the Giants) was a 4^th round pick in 2010.

While Martin has been used as a starter lately, you may be seeing these two guys become key components from the bullpen of 2014 in these two deals.  Rosin has the make up of a closer.

Lastly, sometimes you just need a change of pace….a change of faces…to get things moving again.

While Shane and Hunter both made up a great deal of the team’s personality and were both fan favorites, they just seemed to be stuck in a rut and were having somewhat average years for what they are capable of doing.

Maybe the change of scenery will help them and also enable the Phils to inject new players to see what they can do. 

Maybe Dom Brown is a future star?  Maybe Juan Pierre does have another year in him?  Maybe Kevin Frandson needs a shot at third base?

There will be many more changes, but the Phillies will still be considered a top contender next year, especially if they can find a few things out about certain players in August and September.

And who knows?  The inner Phillies fan inside me wants to hold on to the “if they could just go on a nice winning streak, we can get back into this thing” philosophy! 

Cole Hamels and the NBA Draft...What to do? What to do?

Tough times call for tough decisions.  That's why the Phillies and Sixers need to consult with the good people at AllStarInc before doing ANYTHING!

While the euphoria surrounding the return of Chase Utley to the Phillies lineup was met with the reality of another tough loss Wednesday night, the future still looks bright for the boys in pinstripes.

How you may ask?

In addition to getting Utley back, you have Ryan Howard also looming on the horizon...whenever that may be.

Adding quality players to the mix also subtracts players of lesser quality.  It's a double win.

Meanwhile, the events of the past three months should prove to the Phillies brass the EXACT reason why they CANNOT trade Cole Hamels.

Two thirds of the "big three" have had injury and game struggles this year.  Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee have shown a human side of their career that we haven't seen before.  Whether it's injury or age or whatever other reason, it does magnify the incredible season Cole Hamels is having.

Cole just keeps getting better and better. 

If the team was not prepared to compete again anytime soon, I'd THINK about possibly dealing him for a mega prospect and star studded package.  But that's certainly not the case here.

Even if the Phillies don't get back to the playoffs this season, they will still be considered one of the favorites next year with the current cast (even all one year older).

I would anticipate Phils GM Ruben Amaro making a move very soon to bolster a bullpen that is as solid as the Titanic.  As the team gets more and more healthy, the club will take care of itself.

My best guess is that when you see the team start to play their NL East foes head to head in the coming weeks, you will see some serious gains in the standings.

Across the street from Citizens Bank Park, the Sixers management is huddling at the Wells Fargo Center trying to decide what to do at tonight's NBA draft.

Please...please...please...DO NOT trade for the Raptors' Bargnani or the Lakers' Gasol.  Stay the course...stay the course....keep adding young talented players to the mix and keep getting better and better.

Believe it or not, the Sixers are in a really great spot when it comes to tonight's NBA draft, but they could REALLY improve their spot by making a move.

I'm not looking for them to trade up at all though.  I'm hoping for them to acquire a second pick in the first round in about the same area that their own pick lies.

At this time, Doug Collins and his boys select with the 15th pick.  The thought process is that they desperately need to add a big man who can score, rebound, AND play defense.  What a concept, huh?

For what they need, having a pick at 15 can accomplish their objectives.

The problem is that many of the big men available at 15 are question marks, but COULD be big winners.

Why not double your chances of being successful and find a way to take a shot on TWO different players and hope that at least one winds up working out to be what you want?

How do we make this happen?  Well, (at the time this blog was written) Houston currently has the 12th, 16th, and 18th pick in the first round.  I seriously doubt Houston uses all three picks in this year's draft. The 16th and 18th picks would be great targets for capturing what I'm talking about.

If Chase Budinger (traded from Houston to Minnesota) can land you the 18th pick in a trade, then Andre Iguodala can certainly get you more than that.  Yes, I know the money owed Andre is more than what Budinger is due, but the talent level is different too.

I'm not sure Golden State (a team with 3 picks in the top 35) will deal the 7th pick overall, and I'm really not interested in pick #30 as an alternative.

I doubt the Sixers can package their two 2nd round picks to move up high enough to get a guy worth trading for, but I suppose they could also throw in a future 1st pick to make something happen if a team isn't interested in Iggy.

The guy I would like to see in a Sixers jersey is Perry Jones from Baylor.  Jones is a super athletic kid with a very big body.  The knock on Jones is that he sometimes doesn't play his hardest.  I leave that to Doug Collins and his Sixers teammates to fix.

Another big player who could be available is Jared Sullinger from Ohio State.  Sullinger's stock has dropped sharply from a year ago when he was talked about as a "National Player of the Year" kind of guy.

The knock on Jared is that he's not quite as athletic as the rest of the bunch and isn't as explosive as many others being considered in the first round.  He kind of reminds some people of Elton Brand.

In my mind, Sullinger is a future star.  The kid knows how to score and rebound.  He comes from a big conference and is ready to step into a big role.

If Sullinger drops to the middle of the first round, I would love to see the Sixers find a way to get both Jones and Sullinger.  If they can do that, they may have TWO studs on the front line for years to come.  Both are ready right now, unlike last year's pick of Nikola Vucevic who may still workout.

Ruben & Doug...my phone is on and charged if there are any more questions.  Feel free to call anytime...well.... not after 10 PM and not before 10 AM,ok?

We're #1...No! We Are! Aw, Hell...Everyone Gets a Trophy!

Which sport is "number one?"  We're not just talking number one over all, but in different aspects, too.  Obviously, this topic lends itself to great debate, but since this is MY blog, I get to tell you what I think...and then you can comment if you'd like, but please be kind.  I'm very, very fragile (cry, sniff, cry).

For the sake of simplicity, we're only going to use the four major US sports:  football, basketball, baseball and hockey.

It may be true that a different sport (i.e. soccer, figure skating, or tiddlywinks, etc.) may better qualify for a particular category, but let's just keep it among these four for now.  Ok? Ok.

 

Which sport has the BEST overall athletes?

1.  Basketball

2.  Football

3.  Hockey

4.  Baseball

This was tough because both hoops and football have guys that are in incredible physical condition and can do some pretty amazing things.  I have to give the slight nod to basketball here.  The running, jumping, and other acrobatic play is pretty amazing when you think about it.  And, they don't get to rest for 25 seconds every play.

Which sport has the TOUGHEST athletes?

 

1.  Hockey

2.  Football

3.  Basketball

4.  Baseball

Baseball players hit the 15-day DL with a sprained hangnail.  Football players take incredible abuse to their bodies.  But, hockey players will take the ice despite missing part of a leg.  That was an easy one.

Which sport is best to watch in person?

1.  Football

2.  Hockey

3.  Basketball

4.  Baseball

Most people find baseball boring to watch, unless you're a diehard.  Hockey is a sport you really develop an appreciation for when you are sitting 10 rows from the ice.  The speed and the physicality are a whole other level in person.

Football has the added value of tailgating and the party day atmosphere.  The crowd is crazy and they only play once a week.  It's an event, not just a game.

Which sport is best to watch on TV?

1.  Football

2.  Baseball

3.  Hockey

4.  Basketball

Again, with football, the party starts two hours before any game and lasts into the night if your team wins.  You get great replays and are constantly updated on what else is happening around the league. 

Watching baseball at home allows you to snooze if you want and you can drink 50 cent beers from your own fridge instead of the $7.50 variety at the crowded snack stand.

Which sport is the most difficult to be good at?

1.  Baseball

2.  Hockey

3.  Basketball

4.  Football

Football and basketball lends itself to those who are huge and that's kind of like a genetic lottery thing.  I'm not saying it doesn't take hard work and talent to be good, but it really helps to be huge.

Hockey is played on ice and they use a puck that's hard enough to break your face...'nuff said.

Baseball is the most difficult to be good at because you have to hit a round object, with another round object.  And, pitchers can make that thing move all over the place.  And, then once it's hit, you gotta catch the thing?  That's a pretty tough game if you ask me. 

Lastly...

What sport is #1 overall?

 

1.  Football

2.  Baseball

3.  Basketball

4.  Hockey

It pains me to admit it since I'm a "baseball guy," but let's face it:  football is now America's game; not baseball, anymore.  Maybe as the football rules continue to change to protect the QBs etc., that may change; but, I doubt it. 

Seriously; go down to an NFL or college football game if you haven't been to one lately.  As I said before, it's an event.  You just don't get that type of "event" feeling with the other sports.

What do you think?  Feel free to post a comment here or on the AllStarInc Facebook page and voice YOUR opinions!  We'd love to hear from you!

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