So people disagree with me on how I feel the new ombudsman at ESPN handled the Cowherd issue. No problem with that. 2 questions to any of you.
Should she have mentioned the fact that what he did was against the law? It's basically the cyberspace version of inciting a riot IMO. (Technical computer terms.... DoS or DNS attack, I'll stick to riot cause it sounds scarier than DoS, like a command prompt that shuts down your business)
Should she have mentioned that ESPN.com had NO mention on their own website other than her column about coverage of the issue, the same week that they completely over-covered the Imus comment that was said in jest?
I disagree with Imus, but his was joking, he even was laughing as he said it. I still think he should have been suspended like he was, but ESPN over-covers a comedic slur and don't mention at all a comment meant to ruin a business?
As an ombudsman, she addressed the issue, sure. But did she address it completely fairly? I still say no. She would not have any "power" to do anything about it, but mentioning all aspects is what I feel she's there for and open as many eyes as possible. Not just to mention the aspects that show ESPN is covering their ass as much as possible.
Anybody feel that Cowherd should not be suspended? Then the ombudsman did her job.
And I'd like to hear your argument for why he should not be suspended.
Last time I talk about this crap. A non-Phillies non-ombudsman post coming next. This blog needs more that ISN'T the Phillies, or it would be called a Phillies blog.
m8r
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
surprise surprise
i am honestly surprised. pat burrell is doing well so far. i'm glad, it's like he gives a damn. he's making some plays in the field, i liked the diving catch he made the other day. it looks like he's swinging more at that inside pitch. his obp is at .500 he's got the second most rbi's he's one of two hitters hitting over .300. things are looking up for the patmeister. he keeps playing like this and he might actually get some cheers instead of boos.
i'm also glad that jimmy rollins is doing well to start. he's hitting like a maniac. he's leading the team in hr, slugging percentage, rbis, and runs scored. did you see him hit that inside the park homerun against the marlins? that was incredible. he is playing his ass off. really, he kind of has to after his preseason predictions.
i realize it's only six games in. pat the bat was a bit of a question mark and i really hope he keeps it up. if jimmy rollins keeps hitting like this, they may have to move him out of the lead off spot.
you know what i am also surprised about? alfonseca. i was really not sure if he was going to be effective or not. right now he seems like their go to guy. you know who's also pitching his ass off? clay condrey. he really doesn't want to go up to ottowa. can't say i blame him. homer simpson had it right when he called canada "america junior". he almost tied the record for consecutive strikeouts by a phillies reliever. he keeps that up, we may have found our elusive setupman/closer.
it's really a shame that we only have two batters with averages over .300. it's a potent offense on paper, but i'm sure i say that every year. hey look at that, speaking of pitching his ass/arm off. cole the pole just struck out two in the first inning.
i'm also glad that jimmy rollins is doing well to start. he's hitting like a maniac. he's leading the team in hr, slugging percentage, rbis, and runs scored. did you see him hit that inside the park homerun against the marlins? that was incredible. he is playing his ass off. really, he kind of has to after his preseason predictions.
i realize it's only six games in. pat the bat was a bit of a question mark and i really hope he keeps it up. if jimmy rollins keeps hitting like this, they may have to move him out of the lead off spot.
you know what i am also surprised about? alfonseca. i was really not sure if he was going to be effective or not. right now he seems like their go to guy. you know who's also pitching his ass off? clay condrey. he really doesn't want to go up to ottowa. can't say i blame him. homer simpson had it right when he called canada "america junior". he almost tied the record for consecutive strikeouts by a phillies reliever. he keeps that up, we may have found our elusive setupman/closer.
it's really a shame that we only have two batters with averages over .300. it's a potent offense on paper, but i'm sure i say that every year. hey look at that, speaking of pitching his ass/arm off. cole the pole just struck out two in the first inning.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
The new ESPN.com ombudsman is worthless
I don't know who reads this site, or who cares even about sports journalism related stories, but I guess it comes under the banner of "Sports" and it involves ESPN, so I get to talk about it.
Colin Cowherd, an ESPN Radio personality, decided on his airwaves to ask his readers to shutdown www.thebiglead.com just because he could. Here's a link or two to information about Colin vs. thebiglead.com. Sure, thebiglead.com has said unfavorable things about ESPN, but that's what these sports blogs are for, to make fun of shit, and ESPN is so big that there's plenty of stuff/people to make fun of. It's why we make fun of fat people, there's just to much to ignore. ALL sports blogs make fun of ESPN sometimes unless they blog is owned by ESPN, in which case they've sold their souls anyway so who wants to read them.
I was a little upset that one of the websites I check daily was shutdown for 48 hours, but not as upset as I was reading ESPN's first response on espn.com. Their new ombudsman, a woman who's 62 years old and lives in bumblefuck New York (right in touch with the sports journalism world, and her age puts her at the perfect age to.... die, soon hopefully) gave this as a response.
Lets say I own a radio station, and one of my personalities does something to shutdown a business for 48 hours, which is precisely what Schrutebag did (Schrutebag is the nickname the sports blogs of Deadspin, KissingSusyKolber, and Withleather came up with in TheBigLead's absense), then I'd punish said personality in some way. Not ESPN, they just let all their journalists know that this will not be tolerated. I'm sure they said it in a very menacing tone, or an e-mail with caps to let them know they're serious. DO NOT DO THIS THIS IS NOT OK THIS IS IN CAPS SO YOU KNOW WE MEAN IT!!!!!
Basically, they're saying that Schrutebag gets a free pass because there was never an express written rule on the book not to crash a website, even though it is against the law to do so. ESPN Radio should have suspended him immediately, anything other than simply issuing a warning to all personalities that THIS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!!!!!
The worst part is the ombudsman's response. She was specifically picked as the ombudsman to call out ESPN when shit like this happens and they don't respond appropriately, instead she basically says that all is OK because they issued the strong warning. If you look, they actually used italics to show how serious they were. Her job is a week old, she had her first chance to call out ESPN from the inside, and she screwed it up worse than a Romo hold. She said since there wasn't a rule on the book, and now that there is, ESPN did a fine job in quickly getting that rule on the book. Ummmmmm, shutting down a business is OK? You didn't know it wasn't OK? Well, now that we have the rule, you know. That sounds like logic meant for a 4 year old, they do something wrong, you teach them it was wrong, then punish them if they do it again. She really fagged out of this one.
Call out The Worldwide Leader, say he should be suspended, make people interested in what you have to say for the next 2 years. That would have been speaking for the common man, thinking like someone who does not work for ESPN. Instead she stayed completely in the middle, saying it was wrong, but the response was OK and never mentions any repercussions that could have/should have happened. What the fuck good are you if you don't even call out your company's employees when they are blatantly wrong?
Here's to another 2 years of ESPN going farther down the toilet without anybody from the inside helping to fix it, even the woman hired to do just that.
(The fag out link is not gay porn for those of you not following the story, it's Billy Packer being hilarious)
m8r
Colin Cowherd, an ESPN Radio personality, decided on his airwaves to ask his readers to shutdown www.thebiglead.com just because he could. Here's a link or two to information about Colin vs. thebiglead.com. Sure, thebiglead.com has said unfavorable things about ESPN, but that's what these sports blogs are for, to make fun of shit, and ESPN is so big that there's plenty of stuff/people to make fun of. It's why we make fun of fat people, there's just to much to ignore. ALL sports blogs make fun of ESPN sometimes unless they blog is owned by ESPN, in which case they've sold their souls anyway so who wants to read them.
I was a little upset that one of the websites I check daily was shutdown for 48 hours, but not as upset as I was reading ESPN's first response on espn.com. Their new ombudsman, a woman who's 62 years old and lives in bumblefuck New York (right in touch with the sports journalism world, and her age puts her at the perfect age to.... die, soon hopefully) gave this as a response.
Lets say I own a radio station, and one of my personalities does something to shutdown a business for 48 hours, which is precisely what Schrutebag did (Schrutebag is the nickname the sports blogs of Deadspin, KissingSusyKolber, and Withleather came up with in TheBigLead's absense), then I'd punish said personality in some way. Not ESPN, they just let all their journalists know that this will not be tolerated. I'm sure they said it in a very menacing tone, or an e-mail with caps to let them know they're serious. DO NOT DO THIS THIS IS NOT OK THIS IS IN CAPS SO YOU KNOW WE MEAN IT!!!!!
Basically, they're saying that Schrutebag gets a free pass because there was never an express written rule on the book not to crash a website, even though it is against the law to do so. ESPN Radio should have suspended him immediately, anything other than simply issuing a warning to all personalities that THIS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!!!!!
The worst part is the ombudsman's response. She was specifically picked as the ombudsman to call out ESPN when shit like this happens and they don't respond appropriately, instead she basically says that all is OK because they issued the strong warning. If you look, they actually used italics to show how serious they were. Her job is a week old, she had her first chance to call out ESPN from the inside, and she screwed it up worse than a Romo hold. She said since there wasn't a rule on the book, and now that there is, ESPN did a fine job in quickly getting that rule on the book. Ummmmmm, shutting down a business is OK? You didn't know it wasn't OK? Well, now that we have the rule, you know. That sounds like logic meant for a 4 year old, they do something wrong, you teach them it was wrong, then punish them if they do it again. She really fagged out of this one.
Call out The Worldwide Leader, say he should be suspended, make people interested in what you have to say for the next 2 years. That would have been speaking for the common man, thinking like someone who does not work for ESPN. Instead she stayed completely in the middle, saying it was wrong, but the response was OK and never mentions any repercussions that could have/should have happened. What the fuck good are you if you don't even call out your company's employees when they are blatantly wrong?
Here's to another 2 years of ESPN going farther down the toilet without anybody from the inside helping to fix it, even the woman hired to do just that.
(The fag out link is not gay porn for those of you not following the story, it's Billy Packer being hilarious)
m8r
Wanted: David Montgomery
It's time for Monty to go. Its Time. We've had two GM's with the same results: Glaring Bullpen deficencies and an inability to manufacture runs. We've had what, five managers in the time span as well?
The buck has to stop somewhere. And that somewhere has to be the front office. We've let our farm system rot into the ground. Our free agent signings have been questionable at best. Thome was the best signing in the entire time frame, and he had one good season in Phill. This year, we pick up a pitcher whose never had a winning season(or a complete one for that matter), a bunch of filler outfielders , and shoddy bullpen pieces.
It's time to Show Monty the door. Let fucking Giles make the decisions. That way, when the team still sucks, people might actually do what they need to do, which is boycott this team.
Maybe then the whole mantra of spending money to make money will sink in, and we can get the ball rolling. Were in arguably the toughest division in baseball, and make personell decision that rival a last place AL team.
What the Fuck? Thats all i can say. What in the holy god of fuck, are they thinking?
I'm actually happy i live out of market. And that is sad.
The buck has to stop somewhere. And that somewhere has to be the front office. We've let our farm system rot into the ground. Our free agent signings have been questionable at best. Thome was the best signing in the entire time frame, and he had one good season in Phill. This year, we pick up a pitcher whose never had a winning season(or a complete one for that matter), a bunch of filler outfielders , and shoddy bullpen pieces.
It's time to Show Monty the door. Let fucking Giles make the decisions. That way, when the team still sucks, people might actually do what they need to do, which is boycott this team.
Maybe then the whole mantra of spending money to make money will sink in, and we can get the ball rolling. Were in arguably the toughest division in baseball, and make personell decision that rival a last place AL team.
What the Fuck? Thats all i can say. What in the holy god of fuck, are they thinking?
I'm actually happy i live out of market. And that is sad.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Falling back into baseball, part 2
So, basically hockey ruled with action, baseball bored with slowness. Hardcore sex vs. making love. Now that I'm older, I appreciate both again, just like I'm sure I would have appreciated both back then if I got either.
It's tough coming back around to baseball because I've basically missed 10+ years of the sport, and also that means that I'm 10+ years out of touch with the history of the sport. The shenanigans that they pull adjusting, wandering, scratching, nose picking, etc. between pitches adds to how tough it is to get back into the sport on a nightly basis. But then again, foreplay's not always my strong suit either. I like the action. I've come to terms with baseball now for what it is, something to watch on a nightly basis that is a step up from anything else on television that's not named Heroes, Jeopardy, or Wheel of Fortune, and it's right on the same level as Deal or No Deal (unless it's a Schrutebag contestant) and The Black Donnelly's.
The playoffs are another problem with baseball. Instead of being more interesting, they're actually less interesting because you get Joe Buck (hate him) the awful Fox broadcast, and the shenanigans between pitches are even more pronounced (they're allowed a little bit due to cold weather, I understand, but it's ridic.) Throw in the extended commercial breaks, the 14 pitching changes needed from the 5th inning til whenever the game ends, and the games drag on worse than a night at the bar when you realize after you're drunk, it's karaoke night. The playoffs are supposed to suck me in and make me want to watch, not drag out every tiny nuance that makes baseball a 3 hour game instead of a 2 hour game, now creating a 4 hour monster.
So, hockey, took me away from the sport, I aged a little, started coming back around to it, and now it's up to one simple fact if I'm going to be hooked into watching it on a nightly basis.....
Can the Phillies win a game?
It's tough coming back around to baseball because I've basically missed 10+ years of the sport, and also that means that I'm 10+ years out of touch with the history of the sport. The shenanigans that they pull adjusting, wandering, scratching, nose picking, etc. between pitches adds to how tough it is to get back into the sport on a nightly basis. But then again, foreplay's not always my strong suit either. I like the action. I've come to terms with baseball now for what it is, something to watch on a nightly basis that is a step up from anything else on television that's not named Heroes, Jeopardy, or Wheel of Fortune, and it's right on the same level as Deal or No Deal (unless it's a Schrutebag contestant) and The Black Donnelly's.
The playoffs are another problem with baseball. Instead of being more interesting, they're actually less interesting because you get Joe Buck (hate him) the awful Fox broadcast, and the shenanigans between pitches are even more pronounced (they're allowed a little bit due to cold weather, I understand, but it's ridic.) Throw in the extended commercial breaks, the 14 pitching changes needed from the 5th inning til whenever the game ends, and the games drag on worse than a night at the bar when you realize after you're drunk, it's karaoke night. The playoffs are supposed to suck me in and make me want to watch, not drag out every tiny nuance that makes baseball a 3 hour game instead of a 2 hour game, now creating a 4 hour monster.
So, hockey, took me away from the sport, I aged a little, started coming back around to it, and now it's up to one simple fact if I'm going to be hooked into watching it on a nightly basis.....
Can the Phillies win a game?
Youth Sports/Why I'm not so into baseball Part I
I might have finally figured out why I'm not so into baseball anymore...... ice hockey/roller hockey. This is part one, so there's no real point here yet, just background info. Hopefully I wander into something of a thesis in part 2, or part 3 if I can't do it in part 2. We'll see what I vomit onto this screen through my keyboard.
As a kid, baseball was my sport. Sure I played in basketball and soccer leagues, even kept playing in a travel soccer league one year after I stopped playing travel baseball. Remember when playing a sport in a "travel" league made you feel like a big shot? And I sucked at baseball, and I still made the travel team. I couldn't pull the ball at all, but still managed to get on base all the time thanks to good hand eye coordination and poking it to the opposite field. Basically, I bailed out all the time like a bitch but put my bat in the right spot while bailing. Looking back, this makes me feel like less of a man-child and makes me realize that really, I was just a nerd who enjoyed sports. It's like looking back on your family's old house that you remember as being amazing, then just realizing when your mom shows you where you used to live, it was a fucking trailer. And I thought I was an athlete growing up, pussy little m8r bailing out playing baseball. If I was in the stands 11 years ago watching my little self play, I'd be yelling "What're you scared of, the balls coming 43 miles an hour" and "Jesus, don't bail out, they put in the special needs kid to pitch and he's throwing the ball with a claw that's attached to his crutch!"
But I digress
All those sports ceased to matter once I found the amazing sport of roller hockey around my 12th year of existence. It's like realizing you've been playing Civilization your whole life when there's Warcraft 2 out there. Lets make that analogy work somehow. Civilization (Baseball I realized organized basketball sucked at all levels about age 8 and soccer, well, we're in America, nobody cares about it) is a fine game. I've played it a few times and enjoyed it while I was playing it. There's one problem, it's so fucking slow. Turn based gets old, especially if you're playing against someone who has to make the perfect move, every move, even if it's just where to put his first fucking building for optimal movement later in the game. Warcraft 2 however (hockey) was amazing. You mean, I build up my land at the same time the other people are building theirs? The game doesn't take 7 hours? There's action every few minutes? Fuck Civilization, I'm never playing you again, Warcraft 2 forever!!!
Just like baseball vs. hockey.
Playing roller hockey, there were several realizations.
First, it's a sport I could play with just a couple other people, you needed a goalie, and 2 others. Baseball, you need a lot of people otherwise it's just one guy hitting, and a bunch of assholes chasing down his flies. And yes, chasing mine down were easy, cause I even bailed on in batting practice. This is a major selling point when you don't have any transportation other than your own 2 feet or your roller blades/bike after school on a weekday after school. We almost always, every day Monday-Friday had a game of roller hockey somewhere. This is why I'm comparing roller hockey in the street and organized to just organized baseball. The only time you play baseball is organized, hence THE major selling point of roller hockey being able to play it and actually have fun everyday as a kid.
Second, I'm never standing around unless I'm a goalie, and in roller hockey, since we struggled to get enough people/equipment for 2 goalies, the one goalie almost never stood around anyway. Baseball you're always standing around. Batting as a kid, everybody had to hit, so there were 13 or so people in the lineup, not just 9. This means you got 2-5 PA's a game (I had an excellent K/PA ratio as a child) depending on how many automatic outs there were with hitters 6-13 on your team. Those parents of the automatic outs were so cruel, when your kid hasn't gotten on base unless the other team said "Hey, lets let this guy hit off the tee now, sure he's 13, who cares?" or the other team brought in their girl pitcher to face the bottom half of your lineup, wouldn't you realize you're just scarring your kid for life?
And third, physical contact/physical exertion. I know now that I was a pussy for bailing out at the plate, but I figured it out at age 12 that I was a pussy for playing baseball, period. Jesus fucking christ, hockey's a real sport, especially if there's no ref and you're playing on blacktop with no helmets or pads (except the goalie, we weren't stupid). Sure, we wore the pads our parents bought us while we learned to skate, stop, etc. But soon as we could get around out there, the pads were collecting dust more than Liza Minelli's vagina. Roller hockey made you skate, hustle, and hit. Baseball made you stand, swat gnats, and wish you were dead some games. Hockey I sweated when playing, baseball I sweated while standing in the sun. Hockey I came home with bruises and scrapes and blacktop burns, baseball I came home with a shitty tan and bug bites on any exposed part of my body.
There's more to come, this post is long enough already, this is what happens when I get a full day off that's not a weekend, and I wake up at 8:30 am.
As a kid, baseball was my sport. Sure I played in basketball and soccer leagues, even kept playing in a travel soccer league one year after I stopped playing travel baseball. Remember when playing a sport in a "travel" league made you feel like a big shot? And I sucked at baseball, and I still made the travel team. I couldn't pull the ball at all, but still managed to get on base all the time thanks to good hand eye coordination and poking it to the opposite field. Basically, I bailed out all the time like a bitch but put my bat in the right spot while bailing. Looking back, this makes me feel like less of a man-child and makes me realize that really, I was just a nerd who enjoyed sports. It's like looking back on your family's old house that you remember as being amazing, then just realizing when your mom shows you where you used to live, it was a fucking trailer. And I thought I was an athlete growing up, pussy little m8r bailing out playing baseball. If I was in the stands 11 years ago watching my little self play, I'd be yelling "What're you scared of, the balls coming 43 miles an hour" and "Jesus, don't bail out, they put in the special needs kid to pitch and he's throwing the ball with a claw that's attached to his crutch!"
But I digress
All those sports ceased to matter once I found the amazing sport of roller hockey around my 12th year of existence. It's like realizing you've been playing Civilization your whole life when there's Warcraft 2 out there. Lets make that analogy work somehow. Civilization (Baseball I realized organized basketball sucked at all levels about age 8 and soccer, well, we're in America, nobody cares about it) is a fine game. I've played it a few times and enjoyed it while I was playing it. There's one problem, it's so fucking slow. Turn based gets old, especially if you're playing against someone who has to make the perfect move, every move, even if it's just where to put his first fucking building for optimal movement later in the game. Warcraft 2 however (hockey) was amazing. You mean, I build up my land at the same time the other people are building theirs? The game doesn't take 7 hours? There's action every few minutes? Fuck Civilization, I'm never playing you again, Warcraft 2 forever!!!
Just like baseball vs. hockey.
Playing roller hockey, there were several realizations.
First, it's a sport I could play with just a couple other people, you needed a goalie, and 2 others. Baseball, you need a lot of people otherwise it's just one guy hitting, and a bunch of assholes chasing down his flies. And yes, chasing mine down were easy, cause I even bailed on in batting practice. This is a major selling point when you don't have any transportation other than your own 2 feet or your roller blades/bike after school on a weekday after school. We almost always, every day Monday-Friday had a game of roller hockey somewhere. This is why I'm comparing roller hockey in the street and organized to just organized baseball. The only time you play baseball is organized, hence THE major selling point of roller hockey being able to play it and actually have fun everyday as a kid.
Second, I'm never standing around unless I'm a goalie, and in roller hockey, since we struggled to get enough people/equipment for 2 goalies, the one goalie almost never stood around anyway. Baseball you're always standing around. Batting as a kid, everybody had to hit, so there were 13 or so people in the lineup, not just 9. This means you got 2-5 PA's a game (I had an excellent K/PA ratio as a child) depending on how many automatic outs there were with hitters 6-13 on your team. Those parents of the automatic outs were so cruel, when your kid hasn't gotten on base unless the other team said "Hey, lets let this guy hit off the tee now, sure he's 13, who cares?" or the other team brought in their girl pitcher to face the bottom half of your lineup, wouldn't you realize you're just scarring your kid for life?
And third, physical contact/physical exertion. I know now that I was a pussy for bailing out at the plate, but I figured it out at age 12 that I was a pussy for playing baseball, period. Jesus fucking christ, hockey's a real sport, especially if there's no ref and you're playing on blacktop with no helmets or pads (except the goalie, we weren't stupid). Sure, we wore the pads our parents bought us while we learned to skate, stop, etc. But soon as we could get around out there, the pads were collecting dust more than Liza Minelli's vagina. Roller hockey made you skate, hustle, and hit. Baseball made you stand, swat gnats, and wish you were dead some games. Hockey I sweated when playing, baseball I sweated while standing in the sun. Hockey I came home with bruises and scrapes and blacktop burns, baseball I came home with a shitty tan and bug bites on any exposed part of my body.
There's more to come, this post is long enough already, this is what happens when I get a full day off that's not a weekend, and I wake up at 8:30 am.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Utley Rebut...ley
First off: Awesome! Glad to see the use of numbers in baseball discussions, rather than relying on "gut feelings" (no matter how large those guts might be). The reason baseball is the best sport ever invented is because literally every single action performed on the field of play can be represented by a number. The least we can do as baseball fans is pay attention to those numbers. I didn't know about that Utley/Burrell strikeout rate thing; now I do, and I am a better baseball fan for it.
I will say this, however: Strikeouts really aren't a big deal. I know they make baseball players look silly, and therefore get baseball fans all hot and bothered, but an out is an out is an out, and strikeouts are just another way of making outs. Really, which stat is more significant, K/PA ratio or OBP? Last year Utley OBP'd .379, by the way; Burrell got on base at a .388 clip. I'll concede that this makes Utley more valuable than Burrell by virtue of his position -- a .379 OBP from a 2B is freaking outstanding -- but still. By any objective measure, whether Phillies fans want to hear it or not, Burrell is a valuable asset in a lineup. Ignore dumb stats like BA (or even worse, BA with RISP). A hitter's only job is to get on base, and Burrell does that at a high rate. He's good. He was good in '05; he had virtually the exact same year statistically in '06 (true; you can look it up); and he'll be good this year, despite what 40,000 booing dopes at CBP would have you believe.
Know who isn't good? Adam Eaton. Holy hell, how are the Phils paying this guy $8 mil a year? At least Gil Meche had the decency to win his first start as an overpaid mediocrity. Eaton didn't even bother. Hey Bolger: Remember when the Phillies traded Eaton and two other guys for Andy Ashby? Remember who those other two guys were? No fair asking Jeeves!
I will say this, however: Strikeouts really aren't a big deal. I know they make baseball players look silly, and therefore get baseball fans all hot and bothered, but an out is an out is an out, and strikeouts are just another way of making outs. Really, which stat is more significant, K/PA ratio or OBP? Last year Utley OBP'd .379, by the way; Burrell got on base at a .388 clip. I'll concede that this makes Utley more valuable than Burrell by virtue of his position -- a .379 OBP from a 2B is freaking outstanding -- but still. By any objective measure, whether Phillies fans want to hear it or not, Burrell is a valuable asset in a lineup. Ignore dumb stats like BA (or even worse, BA with RISP). A hitter's only job is to get on base, and Burrell does that at a high rate. He's good. He was good in '05; he had virtually the exact same year statistically in '06 (true; you can look it up); and he'll be good this year, despite what 40,000 booing dopes at CBP would have you believe.
Know who isn't good? Adam Eaton. Holy hell, how are the Phils paying this guy $8 mil a year? At least Gil Meche had the decency to win his first start as an overpaid mediocrity. Eaton didn't even bother. Hey Bolger: Remember when the Phillies traded Eaton and two other guys for Andy Ashby? Remember who those other two guys were? No fair asking Jeeves!
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