by Jack Kerwin | [email protected]
Drives me nuts …
Just a day removed from celebrating fellow sports, um, enthusiasts from the Philly area for their keen insight with being a bit “chill” in regards to the Eagles and Carson Wentz at this point, my world got rocked back to reality Thursday.
Damn you, sportstalk radio … with your incite-ful hosts and mostly sheep-like listeners. Ugh.
Never had to waver off WIP for these four gems.
1. Missing the Phillies of 5 years ago. In sharing his wish to turn back the clock to what he considered the glory days of a half decade ago, Ange, the self-advertised Morning Show’s “Man of the People,” managed to show that, even with hindsight, he still lacked foresight. Not for nothing, but that season signaled the anchor dropping into the abyss for an organization and fan base still intoxicated by a championship won three seasons prior. Yeah, got it, that 2011 edition set a franchise record for regular-season wins with 102 … and it was doomed to ultimately fail from the get-go with a GM doing the all-in thing with one facet of the game and relying on Back to the Future efforts to cover glaring holes elsewhere.
As the gullible masses bought in that Doc, Cliff and Cole would win the whole shebang themselves, an everyday lineup of broken-down veterans with a combined average age of 32 proved, well, that they really couldn’t … as the Phillies got bounced in the divisional series by St. Louis, and, laughably, got outpitched in the process.
Sorry, there are no fond memories of that season for me. It merely confirmed what already should have been realized, that the team’s run as a National League title contender had ended, thwarted by injuries, advancing years and bad decisions.
Glory days, my arse.
2. Stating the critical need to get guys up to Triple-A. Umm, this may be hard for anyone, particularly Morning Show members it appears, to grasp, but minor-league baseball’s developmental system is not exactly a step-by-step process. It may have been set up that way in theory, but in a practical sense, doesn’t work that way. Put it this way, the best prospects in any team’s pipeline reside in Double-A. That’s just the way it is. Maybe it would help to view Triple-A as more of a waiting station, or athletic purgatory, than the final proving ground before earning entry into the majors – since, really, that happens to be just what it is.
Any young talent worthy of being with the big club has been determined as such by a player-personnel staff long before taking a crack at that last rung on the organizational ladder. Frankly, Triple-A, in many cases, merely serves as a buffer zone for team at the top as it stumbles around, trying to figure out what it can do under roster-limit constraints. Perfect for an outfit such as the Phillies, who are notoriously slow in bringing up their top prospects to Philly. The one benefit for the players themselves … a bump in pay. Other than that, no, it ain’t hastening their journey to the show, especially when a stop at Allentown could be bypassed altogether – just as it often is at other organization’s Triple-A spots.
So, basically, by pushing the “rush to Triple-A” agenda, you’re falling in lockstep with the guys in the big offices at Citizens Bank Park and actually pumping the breaks on kids’ arrivals up here.
3. Comparing Wentz to Aaron Rodgers. In the never-ending fight to rationalize the Eagles rookie quarterback’s drafting at No. 2 overall and impending greatness, a caller shared the belief of many with suggesting how the team’s insistence to sit its newcomer is just a sign that things will work out just as they did in Green Bay. You know, with one Hall of Famer eventually taking over for another. Relatively speaking, of course, since no one is clamoring for Sam Bradford’s bust to be made just yet.
Anyway, the thinking, or non-thinking as it were, goes that since Rodgers sat for a couple years behind Favre and came out gangbusters on the NFL once he got the chance to start that Wentz will do the same. Couple differences, though. The Packers never intended Rodgers to ride the pine. They wanted him to oust Favre ASAP, but the ol’ bugger was tough to move. Oh yeah, Rodgers also happened to be a freakin’ stud coming out of college who had put up stud-like numbers at FBS-level California. Wentz? Individually, he did OK at FCS-level North Dakota State.
Yo, Rhea, hear ya on the outrageousness of anyone suggesting Bradford is in Favre’s class. Wanna hear something even more insane? Try anyone suggesting Wentz is in Rodgers’ class.
4. Saying Bradford doesn't have the resume that Mark Sanchez does. Yo, am all for ripping Sammy Sleeves any time it’s legit, but, Ike, c’mon, get a grip. Enough with equating an individual’s success to what his team does. Not for nothing, but can’t stand Bradford on the field while being OK with Sanchez, and, still, it’s impossible for me to proclaim Sanchez better on past performance.
Yeah, he was part of two AFC Championship-qualifying teams with the Jets … and both of them were fueled by a great defense and strong running game that offset his deficiencies, real or imagined, as the signal-caller. Here’s the reality:
But Sanchez has the better résumé? Puh-leeze.
Drives me nuts.
Drives me nuts …
Just a day removed from celebrating fellow sports, um, enthusiasts from the Philly area for their keen insight with being a bit “chill” in regards to the Eagles and Carson Wentz at this point, my world got rocked back to reality Thursday.
Damn you, sportstalk radio … with your incite-ful hosts and mostly sheep-like listeners. Ugh.
Never had to waver off WIP for these four gems.
1. Missing the Phillies of 5 years ago. In sharing his wish to turn back the clock to what he considered the glory days of a half decade ago, Ange, the self-advertised Morning Show’s “Man of the People,” managed to show that, even with hindsight, he still lacked foresight. Not for nothing, but that season signaled the anchor dropping into the abyss for an organization and fan base still intoxicated by a championship won three seasons prior. Yeah, got it, that 2011 edition set a franchise record for regular-season wins with 102 … and it was doomed to ultimately fail from the get-go with a GM doing the all-in thing with one facet of the game and relying on Back to the Future efforts to cover glaring holes elsewhere.
As the gullible masses bought in that Doc, Cliff and Cole would win the whole shebang themselves, an everyday lineup of broken-down veterans with a combined average age of 32 proved, well, that they really couldn’t … as the Phillies got bounced in the divisional series by St. Louis, and, laughably, got outpitched in the process.
Sorry, there are no fond memories of that season for me. It merely confirmed what already should have been realized, that the team’s run as a National League title contender had ended, thwarted by injuries, advancing years and bad decisions.
Glory days, my arse.
2. Stating the critical need to get guys up to Triple-A. Umm, this may be hard for anyone, particularly Morning Show members it appears, to grasp, but minor-league baseball’s developmental system is not exactly a step-by-step process. It may have been set up that way in theory, but in a practical sense, doesn’t work that way. Put it this way, the best prospects in any team’s pipeline reside in Double-A. That’s just the way it is. Maybe it would help to view Triple-A as more of a waiting station, or athletic purgatory, than the final proving ground before earning entry into the majors – since, really, that happens to be just what it is.
Any young talent worthy of being with the big club has been determined as such by a player-personnel staff long before taking a crack at that last rung on the organizational ladder. Frankly, Triple-A, in many cases, merely serves as a buffer zone for team at the top as it stumbles around, trying to figure out what it can do under roster-limit constraints. Perfect for an outfit such as the Phillies, who are notoriously slow in bringing up their top prospects to Philly. The one benefit for the players themselves … a bump in pay. Other than that, no, it ain’t hastening their journey to the show, especially when a stop at Allentown could be bypassed altogether – just as it often is at other organization’s Triple-A spots.
So, basically, by pushing the “rush to Triple-A” agenda, you’re falling in lockstep with the guys in the big offices at Citizens Bank Park and actually pumping the breaks on kids’ arrivals up here.
3. Comparing Wentz to Aaron Rodgers. In the never-ending fight to rationalize the Eagles rookie quarterback’s drafting at No. 2 overall and impending greatness, a caller shared the belief of many with suggesting how the team’s insistence to sit its newcomer is just a sign that things will work out just as they did in Green Bay. You know, with one Hall of Famer eventually taking over for another. Relatively speaking, of course, since no one is clamoring for Sam Bradford’s bust to be made just yet.
Anyway, the thinking, or non-thinking as it were, goes that since Rodgers sat for a couple years behind Favre and came out gangbusters on the NFL once he got the chance to start that Wentz will do the same. Couple differences, though. The Packers never intended Rodgers to ride the pine. They wanted him to oust Favre ASAP, but the ol’ bugger was tough to move. Oh yeah, Rodgers also happened to be a freakin’ stud coming out of college who had put up stud-like numbers at FBS-level California. Wentz? Individually, he did OK at FCS-level North Dakota State.
Yo, Rhea, hear ya on the outrageousness of anyone suggesting Bradford is in Favre’s class. Wanna hear something even more insane? Try anyone suggesting Wentz is in Rodgers’ class.
4. Saying Bradford doesn't have the resume that Mark Sanchez does. Yo, am all for ripping Sammy Sleeves any time it’s legit, but, Ike, c’mon, get a grip. Enough with equating an individual’s success to what his team does. Not for nothing, but can’t stand Bradford on the field while being OK with Sanchez, and, still, it’s impossible for me to proclaim Sanchez better on past performance.
Yeah, he was part of two AFC Championship-qualifying teams with the Jets … and both of them were fueled by a great defense and strong running game that offset his deficiencies, real or imagined, as the signal-caller. Here’s the reality:
- Sanchez has completed 56.7 percent of his passes in the NFL, throwing 86 TDs and 84 INTs, for a passer rating of 74.3.
- Bradford has completed 60.1 percent of his passes in the NFL, throwing 78 TDs and 52 INTs, for a passer rating of 81.0.
But Sanchez has the better résumé? Puh-leeze.
Drives me nuts.
RSS Feed
