High Heels On The Field

Brad Lidge: So When Does He Get His Statue?

 You just witnessed the creation of a Philadelphia hero.

And that will last until the end of time.

But at Citizen's Bank Park, certain Phillies are honored with a glorious statue. Mike Schmidt greets you at the gate. So now that Brad Lidge has become the guy who recorded the final out to bring us a World Championship, I wonder when he gets his honor. It will come. No doubt about that.

It's not just that he recorded the final out, of course. His PERFECT season was so magnificent, so beyond what anyone could have imagined or expected that he must be honored on a huge level.

I say within five years, the Phillies need to commission an artist and have it done, unveiling before the start of the season with a huge ceremony.

You know. Like in "Rocky."

(Clubber Lange is not invited. And neither is Adrianne's fur unless it's on an animal.)

*Photo to the right is courtesy of the Notre Dame photo department. They were kind enough to give me photos for the Junior Baseball story. Is that a slider?

To My Pals At Sports Boards

For those of you who don't know http://sports-boards.net/ is a place I used to post daily with Phillies fans and crazy knuckleheads who love to argue, debate and celebrate their teams. I have not been a poster on any boards in quite some time (FaithHill.com has to be wondering what happened to the crazy Phillies fan), but my people from Sports Boards are the most knowledgeable and passionate Phillies fans you will ever talk Phillies baseball in your life.

To all you guys from there who posted this morning and to those of you who thought of me and sent e-mails post-win, thank you and I'm so happy to hear from all of you. I miss talking with you all and having our infamous arguments (Dykstra still rules the earth. What up, Jersey Devil?! Wink).

Oh, and, Hey Look It's Chase Utley! - Hey! Look! We're World Champions!

Love,

BMF's Brother

Good Morning, Sweet Victory

There are things that Philadelphians hold dear and when we love something and believe in something it is with full conviction. In a city, and overall a state, that has a strong religious foundation, particularly Catholic, and a city and a state that loves it's sports teams religiously, it was truly fitting that Brad Lidge fell to his knees prayer-like as he made the final out of Game Five of the World Series.

It is truly hard to believe and not because this team wasn't capable, but because the fans got so used to losing, being close, having a chance, falling short, being crushed and so on and so on.

What makes it all the more special is the feeling that this particular group of Phillies understands and appreciates our longing on a very personal level. Guys such as Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell have been here for so long and can relate to the desire and heartache Phillies fans felt about all the losing all those seemingly endless years.

Native son Jamie Moyer understands our suffering because he suffered too. He was a Phillies fan all his life. How incredible is that? A Phillies fan gets to wear a World Series ring.

Then there is Geoff Jenkins and Matt Stairs who've waited their whole careers to be in the post-season, be in a World Series and, finally, put their hands on that gleaming trophy that means they are the best in the game.

The only way I can describe this feeling is to say it feels like I'm ten on Christmas morning. I feel sleepy and excited and overwhelmed and can't wait to play, because...

Here we come Broad Street!

Go, My Friends: Paint The Town Red

45

54

80

08

Guardian Angels: Vuk, Marzano, Irene Mary (Granny), Grandma Irene (Shane), Mama June (Charlie), Tugger, "The Pope" Paul Owens, Corey Lidle and so many who loved this team and believed that this would happen.

Thank you to this group of Phillies who each had a special quality that endeared them to the fans.

Thank you to the beloved - Charlie Manuel.

Thank you to the great writers who cover this team.

Thank you Mitch Williams. You are where you belong. Celebrating with a World Championship team.

And to Ed Wade. Thank you.

Celebrate, Phillies fans. Hold that head up high and be proud of our baseball town.

Dream Of Broad Street, Phils Fans...Believe

I got a sixty-nine Chevy with a 396
Fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor
She's waiting tonight down in the parking lot
Outside the Seven-Eleven store
Me and my partner Sonny built her straight out of scratch
And he rides with me from town to town
We only run for the money, got no strings attached
We shut 'em up and than we shut 'em down

Tonight, tonight the strip's just right
I wanna blow 'em off in my first heat
Summer's here and the time is right
For racin' in the street

We take all the action we can meet
And we cover all the northeast state
When the strip shuts down we run 'em in the street
From the fire roads to the interstate
Some guys they just give up living
And start dying little by little, piece by piece,
Some guys come home from work and wash up,
And go racin' in the street.

Tonight, tonight the strip's just right
I wanna blow 'em all out of their seats
Calling out around the world, we're going racin' in the street.

Bruce Springsteen

The Show Goes On For Now

8:37? Are we sure?

I'm still wondering who goes in to start for the Phils. I've heard some say Scott Eyre and some say Ryan Madson. I even heard J.C. Romero.

In this situation I would think everyone wants the ball and everyone is raring to go.

Hey, does anyone know where Brett Myers was yesterday? At the shooting range.

Sounds about right.

Tim Brown Says The Skies Opened When The Rays Tied It...Really?

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AuBBXj6m.2PQJLdqeNC3YG0RvLYF?slug=ti-suspendedgamefive102708&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

The skies didn't open when the Rays tied it. If you could see me through my computer you'd see me rolling my eyes to the point where they may roll right out of my skull.

Tim is a great writer, but certainly the Rays and the Phillies would disagree that the skies officially opened right when the Rays needed them too. Does anyone recall Jaimie Moyer being shown walking across the field in a downpour?

If You're Anywhere Near A Phillies Fan, MOVE

Inky columnist John Gonzalez posted some of the mail he's getting from fans.

Holy cow, my people! Calm down. Don't get that defeatist attitude. Bash Madden. It's fun. But don't bash yourself for believing we're going to win. Have Phaith.

I love the headline on this though:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/20081029_Gonzo___Does_God_hate_the_Phils_.html

And the answer is no. He loves the suffering and the poor and the tired and the lost. In other words, Phillies fans are just His cup of wine.

Conspiracy Theory Shot Down

OK, so maybe the world isn't against the Phillies.

Or at least the umpires aren't.

In the words of Baby's father in Dirty Dancing, "When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3667915

With that said...we got a little problem on our hands, folks.

Bad calls and bad weather. This is a Phillies fan's World Series. Honestly. It really all just fits.

In all seriousness, this is pretty awful. If we don't have the best officiating in the competition for the World title in baseball or any sport, we're not giving the best players in the sport and their dedicated fans what they deserve.

Burning Up

Well, I'm gettin' angrier.

Here's some gems for you from the (shocking!) St. Petersburg Times:

PHILADELPHIA — Manager Joe Maddon heard Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton's explanation that the curious dark splotch on the bill of his cap during Game 4 was "just dirt from the ball."

And, the day after raising the issue, Maddon said he wasn't buying it.

"Umm, I don't think so," Maddon said Monday. "That's very unusual. How many guys have that mark on their hat?"

I don't want to have to rename my blog "Mad At Madden" or something, but ya know, wow what a troublemaker and a poor sport. It seems to me someone was quite worried about how poorly their team was doing and is trying to create issues and diversions. Pretty cheap.

And then, there's this:

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/article873330.ece

Once again there's a lumping together thing going on here. And once again the author of another "Phils fans are the worst!" diatribe tries to say it's not all of us, but...then calls out the ENTIRE CITY for condoning it.