Pronger perfect for Flyers

Chris Pronger will fit perfectly with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Needing a guy who could make life miserable for the other team according to Flyers GM Paul Holmgren, the Flyers stole the spotlight at Friday night's NHL draft, trading for one of the best defenseman in the league.

Considered by many the meanest and nastiest defender in the league, Pronger will provide a huge boost to a team that lacked a power guy in the back last season, especially when it comes to the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

"It’s obviously a city that is very passionate about the sport of hockey," Pronger said. "The style of play the Flyers have been known to play certainly fits my game. They got some great young talent. I hope to help develop the team, not be one of the top teams in the league, but win the Stanley Cup. That’s why we all play the game. To win."

The trade came at a high price for the Flyers, who gave up winger Joffrey Lupul, promising young defenseman Luca Sbisa, this years first round pick, next years first round pick, and a conditional pick next year.

However, the Flyers are in a position where they have been close to winning now and Pronger certainly makes them a better team.

Pronger, 34, will become a free agent after the season, but Holmgren will look to sign him to a longer deal.

Pronger also brings a veteran leadership to a team that sorely lacked it last season.

From a public standpoint, the deal for Pronger came out of nowhere. Prior to the draft, all of the talk was about the Flyers trying to trade with Florida for the rights to Jay Bouwmeester. However, nothing materialized on that front.

No arms available for Phillies

There is no question the Phillies need help at the top of their starting rotation.
The starters have the worste ERA in baseball. Yes, worse than the lowly Washington Nationals.

They needed help prior to Brett Myers going down for the season due to an injury. Now they need even more help.

Not only has the starting pitching put the Phils behind in many games, but its inability to go deep into games has caused the bullpen to be overworked.

So yes, they need a big arm to stick behind ace Cole Hamels.

The problem is that there are no big arms available and there may not be leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.

Here are some of the names that have been mentioned and where their teams stand on trading them:

Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays - He would be at the top of my list, but no way the Jays trade him. Halladay will be a free agent after next season and is a true ace. Toronto is in second place in the AL East, five games behind Boston. No way they make the playoffs, but Toronto can't give up now. Halladay is not going anywhere.

Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres - Not sure that Peave goes anywhere as he is on the shelf with an injury. Peavy also has a no trade clause and has already expressed his desire to stay out west. With the injury I think Peavy will stay with the Padres. I'd love to see him in a Phillies uniform but it's not going to happen.

Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros - I'd take him but the Astros always make a run leading up to the deadline and I can't see them giving up their ace.

Brad Penny, Boston Red Sox - With Halladay and Peavy not on the trade market, Penny has become a hot name. However, the Red Sox just placed Dice-K on the DL and say Penny is not going anywhere. They have a deep staff and do not seem interested in thinning that out, at all. Penny would be in the second tier of pitchers, but with how bad Dice-K has been, I think the Sox will hold on to him.

Jason Marquis, Colorodo Rockies - Rumors have sufficed that the Phillies had a deal to trade JA Happ and prospects to Colorado for Marquis and Ryan Spilborghs. I don't get that. They need to add to their staff and trading one of their starters would make no sense. Besides that, no thanks on Marquis.

Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians - It's possible the Indians would move Lee, but he has not been great with a 4-6 record. He had a great year two years ago but I'm not sure how much he could help the Phillies. Plus, he is another lefty and his name has not come up much in rumors with the Phils.

Erik Bedard, Seattle Mariners - Injury prone, said to be bad in the locker room. No thanks. Seattle in only 2.5 games out of first in the weak AL West anyway.

Aaron Harang, Cincinnati Reds - I'd put Harang in the second tier. Reds are only 4.5 games out right now though. I think the Reds will hang on to him.

The races are so tight and pitching is hard to come by anyway. I can't see a big arm becoming available.

The Phillies have a record of picking up pitching the past few years and the addition of Joe Blanton last July worked out great in the end.

Unfortunately this year it is going to take a bigger move. The arms are just not available.

Could current losing steak be a blessing in disguise for Phils?

The Phillies have stunk lately.

Losers of six out of their last seven games, the Phillies continued to struggle at home tonight, losing to the Baltimore Orioles, 7-2.

Amazingly, the Phillies are in first place despite a 13-20 home record. They are a major-league best 23-9 on the road.

Prior to this losing streak, the Phillies had been a hot team, winning 10 of 13.

Of coarse, I never want the Phillies to lose. However, with a little over a month until the trade deadline, they can't let anything get in the way of disguising their shortcomings.

Winning tends to disguise problems a team has, while losing makes those weaknesses well known.

The Phillies pitching has struggled all year and with the loss of Brett Myers, the Phils are in major need of adding a top of the rotation starter.

JA Happ and Antonio Bastardo have done a serviceable job of filling in, but they are not going to be enough to allow the Phillies to make a strong push in the playoffs.

The Phillies must add a big arm.

Prior to this losing streak, there was a thought that maybe, just maybe they could get by with what they have and hope the starters pitched well.

But now the weakness is even more of a glaring need.

I haven't even touched on the bullpen yet. Clearly overworked, the bullpen has been terrible as well.

So while the losing streak is not a good thing, it does remind the Phillies brass that they must improve the rotation as well as the bullpen.

It's been made clear over the past week that what they have is not going to cut it.

If you could be any current athlete, who would you be?

Imagine being Tiger Woods, strolling down the 18th fairway, needing a put to win the US Open. You get to the green, eye up the put, and sink it. The crowd goes nuts as you pump your fists. You are the best golfer in the world and maybe the best of all time.

Imagine being LeBron James. You are young, the best player in the game, and many compare you to the best of all time, Michael Jordan. You are one of the most marketable athletes in the world and have the ability to take over and dominate a basketball game.

Many people would answer the question, if you could be any current athlete who would you be, with Tiger Woods or Lebron James.

Not me.

Don't get me wrong. It would be tempting to choose Woods or James.

But my answer takes me to my favorite sport, favorite team, and the position I played as a kid.

I would be Phillies second baseman Chase Utley.

Surprised?

Utley is not the best baseball player. He probably is not even in the top 10. He is not the most well known athlete. He is not the most loved athlete in his sport.

But what Utley represents is a hard worker, someone who does not complain and plays through injuries. He played much of 2008 with an injured hip. While many expected he was hurt, nobody knew for sure. He did not even reveal the injury to manager Charlie Manual.

I'm not saying Woods and James are not hard workers. They did not becomes the best without hard work.

But Utley does something Woods and James do not. He plays baseball.

Baseball has been a love of mine ever since I was a kid. I always dreamed I would someday be a major league ballplayer. And I dreamed that I would play for the Phillies when they won the World Series.

Utley has that. He plays for the Phillies, he has a world championship, and he plays second base, just like I did.

So while he does not have the glamour and popularity of Woods or James, he he a life in which he plays the game I always wanted to play. He plays it well. He plays it hard. And he plays it on the team I always wanted to play for.

Crosby snubs Wings, misses handshake

It is a playoff custom, shaking hands with your opponent after the series has ended.

Sindey (Cindy) Crosby must have forgotten.

As I was puking after seeing the Pens win the Stanley Cup last night, I noticed that Crosby was not in line shaking hands with the Red Wings. NBC kept showing shots of Crosby hugging guys in suits and not shaking hands.

Because I was watching TV and could not see everything that was going on, I was wondering if I was not seeing everything.

My curiosity was confirmed today, as foxsports.com confirmed what I thought (http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/9677784/Did-Pens'-Crosby-snub-Wings-on-handshakes?).

Kris Draper confirmed that Crosby did not come to shake hands until after many of the Wings had left the ice.

"Nick (Lidstrom) was waiting and waiting, and Crosby didn't come over to shake his hand," Draper told an Associated Press reporter a couple hours later as he was leaving Joe Louis Arena. "That's ridiculous, especially as their captain, and make sure you write that I said that!"

And the excuse from the Penguins GM?

"It was a young team celebrating its first Cup and some of the guys might have been a little late getting into the handshake line."

Absolutely ridiculous!

It's tradition. More than that, it's a lack of respect.

Even more reason to hate the Pens and Cindy.

Hilarious Mets loss

Earlier today I wrote about the Mets not being able to make big plays when they needed to.

Tonight, it was a little play they could not make that cost them.

With two outs in the ninth inning and two men on, Alex Rodriguez hit a lazy flyball to second baseman Luis Castillo, who camped under the ball and then dropped it.

Derek Jeter scored from second, Castillo threw the ball to second for some reason, and Mark Tiexeira hustled home from first base to score the winning run.

I couldn't help but laugh. What a terrible loss for the Mets.

Phillies have what it takes, Mets do not

Great story in the New York Post about the Phillies coming through in the clutch and the Mets not doing the same.

Look at the last two nights. After the Mets won the first game of the series, they had a chance to move closer to the first place Phillies. Instead, Chase Utley hit a game-winnin extra inning homerun to steal the second game of the series. Last night, Raul Ibanez hit a three-run homer in extra innings and the Phillies ended up winning two-of-three.

In the past few years, when the Mets have had a chance to close things out, they have not been able to.

In 2007, the Phillies overcame a 7 1/2 game deficite in 17 games to win the NL East. In 2008, the Phillies overcame a 3 1/2 game deficite to win the division for the second straight year on their way to a world championship.

The Phillies have the makup of a winner. They have guys who get big hits when they need them. They have guys who make a big play when they need it.

While very talented, the Mets do not have this. They wither when it counts.

Anyway, here is a link to the story.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06112009/sports/mets/phils_make_winning_plays__mets_dont_173609.htm?&page=1

Remembering the Phillies World Series title

October 29th, 2008 was a day Phillies fans will never forget. Share your story of that day as a comment to this post. Below is my story:

Imagine waiting for Christmas morning, but the day never coming. Year after year you hope for just one present, but Santa does not deliver.

That's what it has been like for Philadelphia sports fans.

Until this past October, the Philadelphia Phillies had not won a World Series in 28 years. The city had not experienced a major sports title in 25 years.

I'll never forget October 29th, 2008. It was one of the best days of my life.

But before we get to that, my story actually begins on October 26th. I remember waking up that Monday thinking, Holy Cow, the Phillies had a shot to be crowned World Champions that night. I couldn't think of much else at work. The anticipation was too much.

By the time the game started I could hardly control my emotions. I was stoked.

After jumping out to an early 2-0 lead on a Shane Victorino hit and the game continued on, I began to wonder if there would be a rain delay and how long I might have to wait to celebrate. At that point, little did I know I would have to wait more than 50 hours.

As the rain continued to come down I had mixed emotions. It was not baseball weather and really not playable. But at the same time, I just wanted it to be the ninth inning already.

After Tampa Bay tied the game and it went into a rain delay, the nail biting began and the patience was wearing thin. Eventually the game was suspended.

The next couple of days at work were brutal and I was useless. All I could think about was the Phillies and wondering if they would play that night.

Wednesday came and it looked like there might be a chance. As game time crept closer and closer I had a huge knot in my stomach. No longer was the game a marathon but a three inning sprint.

Two days of playing every single possibility in my mind had finally come to an end.

To no surprise, Geoff Jenkins was called in to pitch hit. To much surprise, the Rays did not bring in David Price to pitch.

Jenkins led off the seventh with a double as I jumped out of my seat. He later scored, giving the Phillies a lead.

Of coarse, things could not be easy as Ryan Madson gave up a home run in the top of the seventh to even the game.

I was worried, nervous, and expecting the worse. They had a lead and gave it up. Things never went right for the Phillies.

I was stunned when Pat Burrell crushed a double in the bottom of the seventh and the Phillies took the lead on a base hit up the middle by Pedro Feliz.

Of coarse, I still expected the Rays to tie up the game and take the lead.

But it didn't happen.

The ninth was not easy as closer Brad Lidge allowed a runner to get to second.

With the Phillies one strike away from a title, I could barely talk. See, I was three months old the last time they won the World Series. All I have known as a Phillies fan is suffering through one terrible year after another. And the years they came close ended in horrible heartbreak. In 1993 Joe Carter hit a walk off homer to win it all for the Blue Jays. In 2007 the Phillies were swept by the Colorado Rockies in the first round.

As Lidge prepared to throw what would be the final pitch, all I could muster was telling him to throw a slider.

I did not have trouble letting the emotions out after that though. As Eric Hinskie swung and miss, I leaped into the air, pumping my fist, screaming at the top of my lungs.

A lifetime of waiting was over. Santa had delivered the present.

Phillies have what it takes to repeat

The Phillies starting rotation got off to such a bad start this season, it seemed there was no way the Phillies would have a shot to repeat as World Champions.

The last couple of weeks have changed that thought.

Led by their ace, Cole Hamels, the pitching is back on track and riding a seven game winning streak, the Phils have jumped out to a three game lead in the NL East and are the second best team in all of baseball.

The winning streak started with a sweep of the lowly Washington Nationals. J.A. Happ pitched well in the first game, allowing three runs in five plus innings. Hamels struggled a little bit in the second game, but a mammoth grand slam by Ryan Howard carried the Phillies to a 9-6 win. The Phils completed the sweep behind Jamie Moyer's six innings and one run allowed. It was also his 250th career win.

June began with a three game sweep of the San Diego Padres. Joe Blanton won the opener after going seven strong innings and allowing three runs. Rookie Antonio Bastardo won his major league debut over former Cy Young award winning Jake Peavy in the second game and another strong outing by Happ (seven innings, no runs) earned the Phillies the sweep.

After a brilliant complete game shut out of over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, the Phillies seven game winning streak ended yesterday. Moyer pitched great, allowing two runs in seven innings, but an error in the bottom of the ninth cost them the lead and the game.

There were a lot of worries about the staff a few weeks ago and the Phillies were looking around for another starter. Then Brett Myers went down with a season-ending hip injury and the pursuit of pitching has intensified. Until they can find another top of the line starter, the Phillies have got to be happy with what they have seen lately.

There is no question they will hit. And if the question about whether or not they can pitch effectively is removed, then there is no reason the Phillies can't make another run at a title this season.