Laces Out | Vick Debuts With Eagles

I wanted to watch the Eagles tonight against Jacksonville just to see Vick play, but I couldn't find a station that was carrying the game among my hundreds of cable channels. What is the point of having all those channels anyway? Do people actually watch them all? Enough people so that those channels can make enough money to actually turn a profit and keep broadcasting? You gotta be kidding me. So I ended up reading a live blog on ESPN and waiting for the game recap to be published.

Seems Vick played early in the game, just six plays total, and got his feet wet without making any mistakes. Coach Reid didn't make us wait too long to catch a glimpse of Vick, inserting him on the second play of the game. The crowd didn't boo him much (not surprised). He said after the game that he's about 70% of the way there in terms of his fitness level, and he just wants to contribute to the team in whatever way he's asked to. Good man.

Earlier in the day, a sad / funny story came out from Richmond VA. Seems the CEO of the local SPCA, a woman by the name of Robin Starr who has been outspoken against Vick's cruelty to dogs, inadvertently killed her own dog by leaving it in the car all morning while she was at work; the dog suffered kidney failure.

Now, I'm not entirely convinced I know what the word "ironic" means, and I'm not always sure I know when something is or isn't ironic. But I'm pretty positive this story is ironic.

Inside The Park | Johan Santana Out For Season

Not that it really matters that much since the Mets' season is already shot, but ace starting pitcher Johan Santana is done for the season after finding bone chips in his elbow. He will require surgery, and should be ready to return by spring training next year.

Do you get the sense that the whole team is just quitting at this point? Not that Santana's injury isn't real or anything. But I can't help but wonder if the players have all started their offseason planning. Wagner is gone. Santana is gone. Wright still isn't back. No Reyes, no Beltrain, no Delgado. Who else do they have? The other night, Fernando Tatis was batting cleanup. I think he has 9 HRs this year. It's just crazy.

Inside The Park | Mets Must Be Cursed

This one's for my good friend Michael, a die-hard Mets fan who must be feeling pretty okay about moving out of NYC just so he can stop reading about the Mets. I turned on the TV today to catch the Phillies-Mets contest this afternoon, mostly to catch a glimpse of Pedro. What a debacle for the Mets.

Oliver Perez, whom the Mets deemed worthy of signing to a hefty three-year $36M contract before the start of the season, got chased out of the game before the first inning was over after giving up six runs on two two long homers. Pedro Martinez, whom the Mets deemed not worthy of even being re-signed to a minimal contract, beat them on 6 innings of mostly strong pitching. And just when it looked like the Mets had an opening and might rally in the bottom of the ninth against shaky closer Brad Lidge, cruel and wicked Fate slammed the door shut.

The game stood at 9-6 when two fielding errors led to an unearned run and put two additional runners on board, still nobody out. Mets call a double steal on what looked like a hit-and-run scenario, and Jeff Franceour smokes a liner up the middle. But second baseman Eric Bruntlett was right on top of it because he was moving to cover second base on the steal. In the blink of an eye, he stabbed the line drive for the first out, stepped on second base for the second out, and tagged Daniel Murphy coming from first base for the final out. Unassisted triple play.

What a demoralizing way to end a rally. What a demoralizing season it's been for the Mets overall. I hate the Mets as much as I hate the Celtics and the Cowboys, but I really feel sorry for Mets fans. They're not bad people, but this season has just been the pits.

Their team has been decimated by injuries to their top players: Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and now even David Wright. That's the meat of their lineup right there, all sitting in the trainer's room. It looks like they may have to pay someone to take Billy Wagner, who has an enormous contract and has been injured, off their hands.

The most bizarre story of the season is probably the Tony Bernazard episode. Bernazard, who was a team executive, apparently went to a minor league game and was so disgusted with the play (and probably the attitudes) of the players that he got into a shouting match with the players and ripped off his shirt and challenged them all to a fist fight. What on earth is going on with the Mets?

And now the news comes out that the Mets are sticking with beleaguered and unpopular general manager Omar Minaya. Man, I would not wish this kind of misery on my worst enemies ... which I guess would be Mets fans anyway. But I wouldn't, really. They just need to euthanize this wretched season. There's no way next year could possibly be this bad or this weird.

Inside The Park | Jim Rice Disses Jeter

The AP printed a story today about new Hall-of-Famer Jim Rice giving a speech to the kids before the start of this year's Little League World Series held, as always, in Williamsport PA. During his talk, he urged the kids not to look up to today's players because they love themselves more than they love the game, and because steroids has tainted the current generation.

"You see a Manny Ramirez, you see an A-Rod, you see Jeter ... Guys that I played against and with, these guys you're talking about cannot compare," Rice said. "We didn't have the baggy uniforms. We didn't have the dreadlocks. It was a clean game, and now they're setting a bad example for the young guys." Flexing the muscles in his right arm, Rice said, "That's all the steroids you need ... It's called God-given talent."

Rice went on further to urge the kids to respect their coaches and parents, and to work hard on the weakest parts of their game. He, for example, had to work really hard to improve his fielding.

Okay, so his heart is in the right place, and the message he's trying to convey to the kids is certainly a good one: don't be a self-absorbed, celebrity-craving steroid user with poor work ethic. I get it. Good for him. But he really hung those other guys out to dry. He's basically saying he believes that those guys accused of taking steroids really did do it. Manny, A-Rod ... wait, Jeter? I think he went a little far with Jeter.

Derek Jeter in my mind is the last great hope of baseball. He seems clean, he plays hard, is apparently well-liked all around, and he's good-looking to boot. Now if he ends up getting named as a cheater, well the world is coming to an end. I have no love for the Yankees, but I respect Derek Jeter enough to leave him off the list of people I think are cheaters. Is he a bit of a pretty-boy? Sure. And he likes to have fun around town, no problem. You can't tell me they didn't have a few swingers back in the '70s and the '60s. Some of those old-time baseball players were notoriously shady characters off the field. Leave Derek Jeter alone.

And I always cringe when I hear old-timers talking about how today's players can't compare to the stars of the olden days -- Wilt Chamberlain, Babe Ruth, Ben Hogan, guys like that. Gag me. Have you seen footage of these old guys play? They can't compare alright -- they're not even close. Players of today are bigger, stronger, and faster. And it's not all steroids, gramps. It's better training, better nutrition, better technology ... everything. I don't bother comparing athletes of different generations because the circumstances are just completely different. Each athlete should be measured against their own peers and that's it.

Inside The Park | Cliff Lee Rules

I've been spending way too much time thinking about Michael Vick and Pedro Martinez. It's time to give attention to athletes who are actually performing. Cliff Lee has been nearly perfect in his first four starts since being traded to the Phillies on July 29th, and he's won over the hearts of Philadelphia fans while also making them instantly forget about Roy Halladay.

We have forgotten that Lee was actually our second choice when the Phillies were pursuing a front-line pitcher at the trade deadline this year. No disrespect to Halladay, but we got the best pitcher available. We got Lee for lesser minor-league prospects than Toronto was demanding for Halladay, and Lee costs about half as much to our payroll (not that I care, really).

And what has Lee done since he showed up in our clubhouse as the consolation prize? How about an ERA of 0.83, WHIP of 0.73, a whopping 34 strikeouts in 33 innings, and 4 wins in 4 outings, including 2 complete games. And just for laughs, he's also batting .385 with two runs scored.

Lee works efficiently, minimizing time between pitches to help keep the game in a rhythm and give it a sense of urgency. He throws a lot of first-pitch strikes and seems to have a great ball-strike ratio. He attacks hitters and then trusts his defense. Lee keeps his head down and plows forward, both on the mound and in front of the media. He downplays his success and talks about working hard.

Phillies fans love players like that. They like it when players keep their heads down and play hard. In his most recent game, Lee beat out a dribbler down the third-base line by running as if his life depended on it. You don't see a lot of pitchers taking their at-bats so seriously, and it's easily recognizable to fans. And he's spent his entire career in the pitcher-coddling American League where he doesn't have to hit. This guy is doing everything right. He almost makes us forget that Cole Hamels is struggling this year.

All credit goes to Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, who went hard after Halladay but had the good sense not to mortgage the farm and instead go after the next best thing. Lucky for him, the "next best thing" turned out to be the 2008 American League Cy Young winner and a hard-nosed, competitive bulldog of a pitcher like Cliff Lee. Now we've got Lee for the stretch run of the regular season and throughout the playoffs, as well as all of next season and the playoffs, before we have to think about re-signing him. Way to go, Rube. Way to go.

I Love Philadelphia

Read this article. I love Philadelphia. I love the Eagles, the Phillies and the Sixers. It's a great town, and I'm proud to call it home. Janelle says that the only people who move to Philadelphia are people from Philadelphia. So be it. After living in Philly for four years, Janelle is an adopted Philadelphian and now she loves the city too. I'm happy to be moving back. Go read that article.

Laces Out | In Defense Of Michael Vick

Janelle and I caught the Michael Vick interview on 60 Minutes tonight. The interview was conducted by NFL sportscaster James Brown, and featured some tough questions mixed with quite a few pointless soft lobs. Sitting on either side of Vick were the irreproachable Tony Dungy and, surprisingly, Wayne Pacelle -- president of the Humane Society of the United States.

Vick handled himself admirably throughout the interview with Brown. He was appropriately contrite and remorseful, never mincing words when taking full responsibility for his dog-fighting days. At one point he admitted that "football doesn't even matter" compared to what he did, and that he didn't deserve to have that $130M contract he forfeited when he went to jail. I kept waiting to hear him try to blame anyone else, but he never tried to make excuses for his actions. The closest he came was when he told the story of his first exposure to dog fighting at the tender age of 8, and how police looked the other way even though they knew what was going on.

I don't know whether or not I believe Vick when he says that he is sorry about what he did to the dogs, and that he is a changed man and loves animals. But if he's lying, he's certainly an outstanding actor. He played his part well, and his team of superlawyers -- hired to rehabilitate his image -- have trained him perfectly. He seems credible, but I don't know if I trust my eyes.

But I do believe Vick may very well be rehabilitated, and that he intends to walk the straight and narrow. Not because of anything he said during the interview, but because of my own intuition. I think it's meaningful that a man of such character as Dungy stands by him, that a former enemy like Pacelle wants to believe in him, that a savvy businessman like Jeffrey Lurie (the Eagles owner) chooses to take a calculated gamble on him. I think it's significant that all the people who have spent time actually talking to Michael Vick -- Dungy, Pacelle, Lurie, coach Andy Reid, commisioner Roger Goodell, even his agent Joel Segal -- think that he has what it takes to turn his life around. They may all have ulterior motives for saying they believe in him, but you have to admit it's a long list.

I'm also impressed that he managed to surround himself with the right people. He is saying all the right things, making all the right promises, and even arranged a timely national interview on a respected show like 60 Minutes. At the very least, this is a very well-coordinated effort to get him back to his life. If you think about the list of disgraced athletes over recent times -- Mike Tyson, OJ Simpson, Barry Bonds, Kobe Bryant, to name a few -- you realize what a difficult feat this is to achieve. Not everyone manages to organize so well. So there's that.

Cynics say that he's only sorry because he lost all the money and the lifestyle. They say the Eagles signed him only to win, to make more money and not just to give some poor schmuck a second chance at life. Well *of course* the Eagles are in it for the money and the athletic potential that Vick brings to the team. That's so obvious, it doesn't even deserve to be mentioned. What the team's brass, from top to bottom, have been addressing is the risk that's involved in signing a convicted felon who has done time behind bars for cruelty to animals. They're spending all their effort in managing the public relations aspect, but it goes without saying that the Eagles signed Vick because they believe he can help them win.

And I'm sure a lot Vick's remorse is based on the shock of losing everything he had, all the benefits of being an NFL superstar that he thought were his god-given right. And what's wrong with that, exactly? Anyone who said they were only sorry about the dogs and weren't the least bit sorry about losing the money would be lying. I don't mind if the money is part of the reason he's sorry; that's natural. What I want to know is that he realizes what he did was wrong, that he won't ever do it again, and that he will go out and try to prevent other people from making the same mistake.

Vick is now under a microscope. He has gotten so much press coverage in the last week that everyone will be watching to see what he does next. Being in a large media market like Philadelphia will only further ensure that he does not escape the spotlight. People will watch to see if he behaves well, keeps his nose clean, and follows through on his pledge to be a champion for the Humane Society. And this is as it should be.

I believe Vick has earned the chance to come back, as well as the right to live his life. I do not forgive his past actions. But he has confessed his guilt, and he has paid the penalty according to the law. He has a long road ahead of him, with millions of eyes watching his every move. But anyone who begrudges him the opportunity to make his living in the NFL, doing the only thing he knows how to do, doesn't believe in this country's justice system or its penal system. Those people who lobby actively for the further ruination of Michael Vick, instead of sitting back and watching what happens, are essentially vigilantes demanding mob justice. They believe that people who commit wrongs in society should be judged and penalized by the public rather than by the legal system.

Keep in mind that fellow NFL player Donte Stallworth spent just 30 days in jail for killing a person while driving drunk, and will only be banned from playing for one year. Keep in mind that fellow Philadelphia newcomer Pedro Martinez is known to have been involved in cockfighting, but has never been banned from playing his sport. Yet we hear very little outcry about those cases. The mob mentality, you see, is fickle and inconsistent. That's why we have a legal system instead of mob rule.

If Vick fails to say and do the right things from now on, and his detractors would then like to say "I told you so" with their noses in the air, I think that's fine. But we should give him a chance to show whether his rehabilitation is real and his remorse is genuine.

Laces Out | Eagles Sign Michael Vick?

Wow, I didn't see that one coming. Don't the Eagles already have a top quarterback in McNabb and semi-solid backup in Kolb? AJ Feeley as the third string sounds fine. I didn't really think QB was one of the positions we needed to shore up.

This officially makes Philadelphia the City of Second Chances. First it was Pedro, and now Vick. I'm all for second chances (sort of), and I'm quite okay with signing Pedro Martinez to see what he's got left in the tank. The guy is a future Hall of Famer and maybe the most intense pitcher I've ever seen. But Michael Vick? I'm a little less comfortable with him being on my team. Feeling this way makes me realize I'm not as forgiving as I think I am.

Let's look at this. Vick is a tremendous athlete, a number one draft choice and formerly highest paid player in the NFL. He's got tremendous ability and potential, and he was on his way up in the league. Two years ago the guy gets sentenced to two years in prison for running a dog-fighting ring. Dog-fighting, really ... who does that? Sounds like a story out of some third world country that I have nothing to do with. Sounds like it's from another planet. Dog-fighting ... really?

Now he's served his sentence, and he's been allowed to seek employment in the NFL again. He's even got a 60 Minutes interview coming up in which, it is rumored, he is contrite and remorseful. People around him say he is rehabilitated and transformed. Really, I believe the guy deserves a second chance, and we should forgive but never forget. He's lost his aura, he's lost his money, he's lost his job ... and who knows what else he lost in prison. The guy has paid for his mistake. The reason we let people out of jail is because at some point you've paid your debt to society and you have the right to move on.

But just because I think he deserves a second chance doesn't mean I like the idea of him on my team. Sure, he's probably still an elite athlete. I'm sure he still has his cannon arm, can run circles around McNabb at this point, and I read somewhere the other day that he's a lot more accurate than the stats seem to indicate. At $1.6M, he's a bargain. And now he's got Tony Dungy, one of the most respectable people associated with the NFL, in his corner serving as a mentor to keep him on the straight and narrow.

Even with all that, I'd rather he wasn't on our team. I mean, let me put it to you this way: I wouldn't want my sister dating him (I mean, if I had a sister). He's a criminal, and his character will now be forever questionable. He deserves a chance to prove that he's straightened out. I just wish he was doing it in Buffalo or somewhere. Not in Philadelphia.

As my brother pointed out when we were talking about this trade tonight, the Eagles build their team around character guys. They emphasize character when drafting and when signing free agents. The one time they threw that principle out the window, Terrell Owens ruined the locker-room chemistry (after registering a glorious first season, it should be mentioned). Maybe Andy Reid's changing his tune a little. Maybe he's gotten used to the idea of giving people second chances. Lord knows, he's had enough drama in his own family to know about needing second chances.

Whatever the reasons for this move are, one thing is for sure: it's going to be a lot of fun to see how the PR team spins this. They've got a little time to figure out their strategy; Vick won't be allowed to play a game until at least Week 6, and only if he's needed. And if Donovan McNabb gets injured and Vick replaces him, the Eagles are going to be in the national spotlight every single week, and not for the right reasons. Vick is a PR nightmare, and we just signed him.

And I'll *really* feel conflicted if Vick ends up leading us to a Super Bowl victory. It makes my head hurt just thinking about the swirl of contradictory emotions I'll have to sort out if that happens. I sort of hope that he doesn't work out well, and we cut him before he ever plays a down for us. Just so I don't have to decide whether or not to root for him when he suits up for the Eagles.

Inside The Park | Pedro Update

Well it seems the Phillies brass surprised a lot of people today, announcing that Pedro Martinez will replace Jamie Moyer in the starting rotation and bumping Moyer to the bullpen. They've been saying all along that Moyer is not fit to pitch in relief, and I agree with them on that point. But I've also said that Moyer is the least deserving of a spot in the rotation now, so I am surprised but pleased.

Looks like Pedro will be making his debut for the Phils on Wednesday against the Cubs. Here's hoping he's a real bargain at $1M for less than half a season. I wonder what will happen with Moyer at this point. He's obviously a leader in the clubhouse and an excellent mentor for the younger players. He's also a fan favorite. Perhaps he will be reinserted into the rotation when and if Pedro fails, or if someone gets injured. Curiously, Moyer leads the Phillies in wins (10) despite an ERA in the stratosphere.

I'm starting to worry a little bit about the Phillies. No, they'll make the playoffs because the rest of the NL East seems content to let them walk to the title without putting up a fight. But come playoff time, I'm not sure the Phils have what it takes to repeat. Neither Cole Hamels nor Brad Lidge seems like the pitcher he was last year, and those guys were crucial to last year's World Series run. We'll see what those guys are made of as we start heading down the home stretch here in the regular season and into the postseason. Go Phillies!

Inside The Park | Pedro Looking Good For Phillies

Pedro Martinez struck out 11 batters in 6 innings of work today pitching for the Phillies' Double-A team as part of his rehabilitation course before joining the big-league team, hopefully sometime soon. His performance has been up and down so far as he works out the kinks from being out of action all year, but this last game pretty much says to me that he's close being back to form.

When he returns to the majors, it's going to present a problem for the Phillies coaches because they will have too many starting pitchers. That's a nice problem to have heading into the final months of the season, but it's a problem nonetheless. Cole Hamels, newly acquired Cliff Lee, and workhorse Joe Blanton clearly belong in the starting rotation. Of the remaining pitchers, including Pedro, it's hard to say who should start and who should head to the bullpen. If the Phillies are smart, they'll make Pedro earn his way into the rotation instead of handing him a spot.

J.A. Happ is the youngest, and he did start the season in the bullpen. But he's also been money as a starter this season. Tonight, he pitched a complete game shutout against Colorado and struck out 10 batters. He was highly coveted by Toronto at the trade deadline when the Phillies were trying to acquire Roy Halladay, but the Phillies were rightfully reluctant to let go of such a talented young player who is already major-league ready. This is the kind of guy you want in your pitching lineup heading into the playoffs, and it would be hard to send him to the bullpen.

Rodrigo Lopez is a recent acquisition who has filled in as the fifth starter since Brett Myers went down, and the Phils won three of his four starts, which is probably more than they were expecting out of him. But he's already out of the picture, sent to the bullpen when Cliff Lee arrived.

Jamie Moyer is a 23-year veteran who was an integral part of the Phillies' playoff run last year, but this year has struggled quite a bit to recapture last season's magic. You'd say he's the most deserving of a demotion, except that he isn't a bullpen type of pitcher. He throws in the low 80s and doesn't overwhelm anyone, and really makes his living outsmarting batters the second and third time he faces them in a game. There's also the issue of respect for his experience and age (he turns 47 this year), but that's less important in my opinion; as a team player, which he definitely is, Moyer should be willing to do whatever is best for the Phillies, even if it means going to the bullpen. The more important issue is that he wouldn't be very effective there.

And that leaves Pedro Martinez, one of the greatest pitchers in history and certainly of our time. Pedro pitched the 2006 season in typically dominant form, but injured his hip toward the end of the season. Probably due to poor compensatory mechanics, he subsequently injured his lower leg and his rotator cuff too, ending his season in 2006 and preventing him from pitching most of 2007 as well. He returned at the end of 2007 and had several excellent starts which boded well for the next year.

Unfortunately for Pedro, he injured himself at the beginning of the 2008 season and lost about 2 months, and when he returned his velocity just wasn't there and he was ineffective. He wasn't re-signed in the offseason, and no other teams wanted to take a chance on him either. He pitched one solid game for his country in the World Baseball Classic, but still no takers. So he has sat out the entire 2009 season without a job, until the Phillies called last month and signed him to a teenie weenie million dollar contract to pitch the rest of this season.

Pedro has said he's a team player and he just wants to be back in the bigs, and that he wouldn't mind being a "backup", whatever that means. But when you've had as great a career as Pedro, and you're as fiery a competitor as he is, you don't come out of involuntary retirement to pitch out of the bullpen, even if your new team is the defending World Series champion Phillies.

There's an additional factor to consider in this decision, and that's the lefty-righty situation. The candidates for the starting pitching jobs are four lefties and two righties. The two right-handers are Blanton, who is definitely staying in the rotation, and Pedro. You'd like to have three lefties and two righties for balance, but that would mean either Moyer or Happ would have to go to the 'pen. If Pedro goes to the 'pen, that would be four left-handed starting pitchers.

Normally, having four left-handers in your starting rotation might not be too big of a problem, but in this specific case it might be. It seems that the Dodgers, whom the Phillies are likely to face if they want to get back to the World Series, feast on left-handed pitching this year. Both Moyer, who is aging, and Happ, who is inexperienced, might get victimized by that situation in the playoffs. That would seem to point toward sending one of them to the bullpen and letting Pedro be the fifth starter.

The right thing to do is to make Pedro earn his spot in the rotation by outpitching Jamie Moyer. If he can't, he should do his "backup" thing like he said at the beginning. If he does, then the best thing for the team is to marginalize an aging and increasingly ineffective Moyer by putting him in long relief with occasional spot starting to keep him active. His best days are behind him, and maybe his biggest contribution to the team at this point will be his experience, which he can do by mentoring the younger pitchers like Happ and Hamels.

It will be interesting to see how the Phillies work this problem out. I haven't read anything that indicates which way they are leaning, but I'm betting they start Pedro in the bullpen and slowly work him into the starting rotation while pushing Happ into a relief role by the playoffs. It might not happen instantaneously, but I see that happening. They won't send Moyer to the bullpen, and the Phillies didn't pick up Pedro from unemployment just to pitch in relief. Happ will probably just have to pay his dues as the youngest pitcher, knowing that he's going to be a big part of the Phillies' future.