Bill and I make the Inquirer
by Mike Agnew Jr.Check out the second page of the World Series sports section of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The paper actually cuts off our heads completely, but online had this picture up. Here is the link to the website in case you shant believe me. Click here and go to picture 19.
Look at the top right....
Game 5 and still ALIVE!!!
by Mike Agnew Jr.I went to bed on Sunday night angry...very angry. I didn't watch the bottom of the 9th. I turned off the tv. Brushed my teeth. Got ready for bed. And right before closing my eyes, I checked phillies.com to see if a miracle happened. To see if Santa had come and left a present under the tree for me. A tiny match lit in the middle of a dark field and then pffff... everything went dark. The Phillies had crumbled again. My head hit the pillow just a little bit harder.
Then at 6:30AM I get a text from my dad. He and my mom were at the last two games which, in turn, made them get home late two nights in a row which, in turn, led them to be run down by lack of sleep and lack of wins which, in turn, made the tickets available to me... my turn.
Now, I went to the World Series Game 4 last year. The Blanton Home Run. It was an amazing night. It brought me back to being 11 again and all the awe that was the Series of the World, the Classical Autumn. This time around I didn't get caught up in the bells and whistles. This time the perks that come with a World Series game didn't phase me. I wanted baseball pure and simple. I wanted the American Pastime versus the almighty dollar. I wanted heart and integrity versus performance enhancement. I wanted David versus Goliath. Link versus Ganon. Rocky versus Apollo. That's it. That's the match up I wanted. Phillies versus Yankees... Balboa versus Creed.
Sunset at Citizen's Bank
Bill and I got to the stadium before the gates were open... in fact, nothing was open but the radio station stands giving away pieces of plastic to herds of cattle. We went in as soon as they opened and caught both the Phillies' and Yankees' batting practices, a feat I have never achieved, ever, in my baseball watching career. Pre-game we caught a few glimpses of familiar faces.
The fans eventually piled in and the game was under way. And thus began one of the most complete games I have ever seen.
It had controversy: Victorino's beaning in the first inning, Posada's dilly-dalying strike, A-Ro(i)d
It had Huge Philly Scores: Utley's 3 runner, and Utley's whoops I hit that foul... let me straighten that out for ya, Lee's single, Ibanez's Jeep sign dinger, and Lee's overall pitching
It had funny quotes from Section 137: "Oh hey, you guys made it. Good. Sit down. Let me fill you in on what you missed." ~ Joe, a fellow season ticket holder, to the Yankees fans who showed up in the seats next to him in the 4th inning. The same quote was used when they returned from a bathroom break in the 7th.
It had funny quotes from the Men's Room: "Focus, focus." ~ A Phillies Fan reacting to a group of fans starting to sing "Fly, Eagles, Fly"
It had the Phanatic:
It had Classic Phillies Drama: A 9-inning looming Yankee threat, Damon little crappy dinker to keep the game alive, as well as the rest of the drama you get with Ryan Madson.
It had Celebs:
Mitch Williams and the World Series Trophy
Peter Gammons walks through our Section
Hugh Douglas and John Bolaris
Robin Roberts and Jim Bunning drove down from Horsham.
And, most importantly, it had the strike-out to ended the game with full screaming and rally towels.
WE WIN
By the way, I am now 3 for 3 in World Series Game Victories. '93 Game 2, '08 Game 4, '09 Game 5
Letters from Section 137
by Mike Agnew Jr.So I was sitting in my seat in section 137 after today's game and I was trying to figure out how to put together all my thoughts of different events that occurred during the game. So I figured I would address those involved or those interested directly in letter form as to be as sarcastic and sincere at the same time....so let's begin...
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Dear Cole Hamels,
I told you at last Saturday's game that you would need to show up to the playoffs. I noticed you dragging your feet right from the get go. Now I know we had locked in the NL East a couple games before but that is no reason to stop playing baseball. You let the runners steal bases on you like it was a pee-wee league game. But I digress. Today's performance was more of the same and to have that press conference this morning complaining about the timing of the game and how the world champs deserve more respect. Maybe you are right but that is something for the fans to complain about not the ball players. You just focus on the game.
Oh, ......and congrats on the kid.
Love,
A Guy from the Stands
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Dear Third Base Umpire,
You are horrible.
Hate,
Mike
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Dear Left Field Umpire,
Please advise the third base umpire and correct him when he is blatantly wrong. Teach him that everyone makes mistakes. Please also tell him that I was a little harsh in my letter to him and for that I am sorry. I got caught up in the moment and my emotions got the best of me.
See you at dinner,
Michael
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Dear Larry-the-Cable-Guy-Looking Guy in Section 136,
I felt horrible watching your aluminum bud light pounders get knocked over not once, not twice, not thrice, but a grand total of FIVE times. Thirty-five bucks spilled onto the concrete below. Wasted...and evaporated. Your Utley jersey fell into that puddle of beer a total of eleven times and your rally towel....well...you couldn't even wave it like all the fans around you because it was saturated with your lost possessions. I recognized the culprit behind this repeated occurrence early on and believe it all stemmed back to the rich bastards sitting in your row. They put all their beers in the cup holder to the left when they should be using the one to the right which, in turn, left 
you, at the end of the row, without a cup holder to call your own. You managed by sticking it under your seat or even between your feet but the rich bastards wouldn't have it. They wanted to break you. So they would get up to go to the bathroom, make you get up from your seat, make you move to the aisle, and in the process kick your ice cold boodlight under your chair where it's gold nectar would return to the earth whence it came. I cry for you, oh sleeveless warrior, because even after all these tragedies you still prevailed. At last call, in the bottom of the 7th, you not only got yourself an ice cold chalice of golden wheat but you also attained a holding sheath for said bruski and force those Armani-wearing losers to shift their beverages one holder to the right. And on top of it all, you tipped the beer-man a buck on top of the already over-inflated price of Seven dollars.
You are my Hero,
A friend
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Dear Dziewit,
I saw Woodland on the Fanavision during the "Bongo Cam" part. She is the ring that binds us.
Pleasants,
the one
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Other Notable Quotes:
Beer Man (handing me a beer for a guy down the row): "Here man, take a sip and pass it down."
Guy on a Cell Phone on the way out:"No we lost............Hamel (pooped) the bed."
Guy behind me: "WHAT ARE YOU SWINGING AT!....I mean....I'm not yelling at you...I'm just saying what are you swinging at....I want to know and you are really far away from me and that makes me yell."
Another guy behind me: "Don't get me wrong I love Jimmy. I do. I just love hits more."
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And finally, my favorite part of the night:
3 guys standing in the aisle, waiting to get back to their seat. These are the rich guys from the letter above. One looked like Chuck Bass.
.
.
Guy in seat in front of me: "Hey guys can you sit down while you are waiting to get back to your seats. No one can see."
Chuck: "I'll sit down as soon as I'm back in my seat. Until then, I'm fine right here."
.
(Let the games begin....)
.
Various guys in our section, there was a huge roar of comments but these were the ones I could make out and remember:
"Hey prissy boy, how 'bout you sit down where you are ... or would that rip your sister's pants that you're wearing."
"In here you are just row 4 seat 12, buddy. Move it."
"I'm gonna steal your BMW and (kiss) your girlfriend in it."
Chuck - "I wasn't talking to any of you, I was talking to him"
"If you are talking to him then you are going to deal with all of us."
"You shouldn't be talking to anybody, pretty boy."
Chuck walks back to his seat, sits down, and looks over at us and says, "You talking to me."
"I'm going to (respect) your girlfriend!"
.
.
......and finally a moment of Zen:
This was a real coat...not a trash bag
The Philadelphia Phillies: A Class Act
by Mike Agnew Jr.There are many different reasons I love the game of baseball. The fact that anyone can play it. The fact that it is much more relaxing to watch. Going to the ballpark, strolling around, hearing the roar of the crowd and running back to get a look at the field to see what happened. There are few feelings that can relate.
Last night I was watching the Phillies vs. Astros and I must admit I was not worried. We needed one more win to lock in another NL East Pennant. I was enjoying the game, reclined on my couch, sipping on a cold beer. I watched the Phillies rack up run after run. By the time we entered the 9th inning I could have not been more relaxed. But then I started to worry. Not because of any feeling of doubt that the fightin's would come out victorious but because I was so relaxed. I should have been on the edge of my seat praying for strike after strike, but I wasn't. I was sitting back and watching my boys do what they do best. Was I becoming complacent with the notion of a Phillies post-season? Did I just expect the win? What happened to the beer-soaked Agnew standing on Broad Street screaming until he couldn't talk?
Then something happened. Something that lit that fire back up inside me. That feeling you get when the mets lose or someone on the Giants gets hurt. The feeling of Mick yelling at Rocky, "Get up ROCK!" or Adrian, "There's one thing I want you to do for me.......Win." Then that single bell tolls.....bong. That feeling of a Mitch Williams' snot rocket right before the final pitch of NLCS Clincher in 1993. That feeling of the spirit of Philadelphia. That feeling that you belong to something great. Something that will continue to impress you. Something that makes us different from everywhere else.
Top of the 9th. 2 outs. No men on. Scott Eyre pitching. He just retired the last two batters. But what's this! Charlie Manual walks out to the mound! He's calling for Brade Lidge to face the last batter! Brad Lidge...the guy who everyone is worried about...the guy who everyone thinks is washed up...the guy who peaked last year....the guy that makes everyone text their friends with "Lidge time. Hold on.", "Oh boy...", and "choke artist". Charlie Manuel trusts HIM? Charlie Manual TRUSTS him? oh...
.
.
One pitch later.....
.
That's right....it was a class act in true Phillies' form. I'm glad Charlie did it. Basically saying, "I'm not giving up on this guy. You got a problem with him, you got a problem with me." I don't know about you, but I trust Charlie. And I have had faith in Lidge. One pitch later and the game was over.
2009 National League East Champions - 3rd year in a row.
The team walking out to the HK in left field was pretty cool too. It reminded me of that game in Colorado a couple years ago....
.
...and don't try to ruin this moment by bringing up Utley's F-Bomb from last year...don't be that guy. That was pure emotion. That was Danny Jackson roiding out and tearing his uniform off. We loved it at the time. Let's remember this instead....
.
The Truth is in the Numbers
by wganterI wanted my Roberto Clemente article to be the first Agnewsmind contribution I made but I am just too excited about Cliff Lee to consider anything else. Sorry Roberto, Phil’s trump you. On to the goods:
Cliff Lee throws baseballs.
I will admit, I was caught up in it. Considering the Halladay trade rumors dominated at least a months worth of our Phillie’s season for 2009, anyone who says they always wanted Cliff Lee is a bold faced liar.
That being said, deep in all of our minds, did we really think the Phillies would get anyone? So when Cliff Lee was picked up in what has to be the most one-sided trade in many years, you had to be ecstatic. I was. I did feel a small hint of defeat since it wasn't Halladay, but then I decided to be a respectable fan and look at the stats. And I must say, it looked pretty stinking good. We got the reigning AL Cy Young winner and a right handed outfielder. I will get into their stats later but consider who we gave up:
Carlos Carrasco: 6-9 with a 5.18 ERA in AAA Lehigh
Jason Donald: .259 BA with 3 AAA teams and 1 Gulf league team and 6 errors in 2009
Jason Knapp: 2-7 with a 4.01 ERA in A ball
Lou Marson: .307 in AAA ball
Besides Lou Marson, who we must remember is still a minor leaguer, we gave them nothing. Not a thing. Jason Knapp, Jason Knap!!! He is playing single A baseball. Give me a break. I haven’t played ball in 5 years but deep down think that there is the possibility that I could squander around in single A baseball for a season or two and maybe if the moon was orbiting closer to earth I would not make a complete fool of myself. Who knows, Agnew could join me and with his broken bat home run skills and pull off a miracle. Dan McGarry could get called in for relief and possibly strike out a few, we all know McGarry had a cannon. Dan Kim could like white people again and play a game or three at first base. McShea could be the single A version of Utley for at least a season, if the stars aligned correctly. Ry and Jon could be the single A Upton brothers, with a little help and not too many broken supersitions. All I am trying to say is that single A ball, not to discount that it is still professional baseball, is a very, very, very long way from the Big Show. And forget the rest of those schmucks. There are two pitchers who have no chance of making this rotation for many years. There is an outfielder who, now with the addition of Francisco, would not even get a backup roster spot in countless years for this all All-Star outfield. Even if they were incredible players in minor league ball, batting 550 with 38 dingers, they don’t have a chance of making the roster for a long time, so we indeed gave up nothing we needed.
And now on to the gem that we acquired and how Lee is just as impressive as Halladay or anyone else in the league for that matter. I heard 610 all week, I listen religiously and really need to ween myself off it sometimes. I heard it in Dziewit’s voice, the let down and disappointment in no Halladay. As Dziewit said, “I was told I was getting Olive Garden. Then when the time came to eat, Gags and Jenny said we were getting Mack and Manco’s. Even though Manco’s is the best pie on earth, I had my mind set on OG.”
So the reigning AL Cy Young winner. To digress for a second. Are the Phillies the World Champions of Baseball? I think yes. Not because they have the best record this year, but because they won the World Series in 2008. I am not living in the past, I want to win it again, but we are the champs. So Cliff Lee, the Cy Young winner of the AL (a much more potent offensive league I might add) is now, in my mind, the best pitcher in the national league. Until the end of the season, when Lincecum wins it.
Take a look at the past 10 years of Cy Young winners in the AL:
1998 Roger Clemens Toronto Blue Jays 20–6 0 2.65
1999 Pedro Martínez Boston Red Sox 23–4 0 2.07
2000 Pedro Martínez Boston Red Sox 18–6 0 1.74
2001 Roger Clemens New York Yankees 20–3 0 3.51
2002 Barry Zito Oakland Athletics 23–5 0 2.75
2003 Roy Halladay Toronto Blue Jays 22–7 0 3.25
2004 Johan Santana Minnesota Twins 20–6 0 2.61
2005 Bartolo Colón Los Angeles Angels 21–8 0 3.48
2006 Johan Santana Minnesota Twins 19–6 0 2.77
2007 C.C. Sabathia Cleveland Indians 19–7 0 3.21
2008 Cliff Lee Cleveland Indians 22–3 0 2.54
Take out the ridiculous years Pedro had in 1998 and 1999 and Cliff Lee has the lowest ERA. He also has the best record of 22-3, that is a win-loss percentage of .880. You have to go back to 1978 when Ron Guidry of the ‘Yanks went 25-3. Since the beginning of the Cy Young in 1956, only Ron Guidry has had a better record. No Cy Young winner in the NL has ever had a better win-loss percentage. Consider how impressive that is in the power house, home run happy, modern baseball era with the lively ball and that should be exciting for Phillies fans. But no, we say Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball. Of course he is not a reigning Cy Young winner, nor has he won a Cy Young since 2003. That was 6 years ago and he was a spry 28 years old then. Cliff Lee was 30 when he won, last year. Remember that people.
On to this year, forget that Halladay has gone 1-3 since coming back from his injury this year. Broken goods? Cliff Lee came from Cleveland with a 7-9 record and a 3.14 ERA. Jason Verlander, who is on a much better Detroit team, a Cy Young candidate, and league leader in wins with 12, has a 3.16 ERA. Do not let the record fool you. Lee has gone 9 games this year in which he has given up 3 runs or less and gotten either a no decision or a loss, this includes an 8 inning shutout to the Boston Red Sox. Shutting out a team whose veins are literally exploding with the likes of HGH, steroids, and other illegal performance enhancing substances is impressive enough, but taking a no decision and still respecting your abysmal Cleveland team is downright honorable. Include two more games in which he gave up 4 runs for either a loss or a no decision and that is quite possibly 11 games in which the Phillies dominant offense would have given him the “W.” As they did last night with 5 runs in support! But what about the ERA at 3.14? Take away his first two starts that he blew up in and his ERA becomes 2.40, I credit the Fightins for that stat calculation. He is also in the offensively powered AL and looking at the league leaders, I only see 5 pitchers with an ERA below 3. Actually, only 5 pitchers have an ERA below 3.14. So Lee, the reigning CY Young winner was tied for 6th in his league in ERA. His league that includes possibly 6 teams that could dominate the playoffs and take the World Series from the NL, who right now look to only have two contenders in the Phillies and the Dodgers. One of those contenders just got quite a bit better.
Oh and Ben Francisco ain’t too bad either.
For all of Phillies nation, after seeing last nights spectacular performance:
I hope we can now talk of how we have the best pitcher in baseball, and let us not forget the current World Series MVP in Cole Hamels. This is a special team right now. Let’s enjoy it.
Oh and just to get a jab in, take a look at what those lovely Met’s are doing since they can’t seem to win a game:
Wow, it really couldn’t be any more perfect. You can’t make this stuff up.
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