I friggin hate the phillies

[wow444]

And if you're saying that Ryan Howard has regressed, how does that fall against upper management, and not in the purview of the coaches?

Again, I'm pointing at the roster wide piss poor plate appearance that seems to have coincided with the signing of another mediocre BS 3rd baseman who thinks walks are a disease.

I don't hold Manuel responsible for Howards poor plate approach, because he should know better, and if the whole contract thing got in his head (which it probably did) that ain't Manuel's fault either.

I would have agreed with you on Howard before his torrid September, but if the Phillies win the NL East he needs to be the MVP.  He is the best power hitter in the game and has become Mr. September.  Poor approach at the plate has been going on much longer than this year and IMHO is absolutely the Manager's issue.  I guess we just disagree.  But it drives me crazy also.

[jemagee]

He only deserves the MVP if you over value the HR and the RBI (which it sounds like you do) and if you ignore Albert Pujols and feel that MVP only should be won by someone who makes the playoffs or iks close to the playoffs.

I would have agreed with you on Howard before his torrid September,

Less than 20 days could be called small sample size in terms of the entire season.

So what the hell did the brewers do today?

[wow444]

Oops he did it again....

I think Milwaukee did what many investors are doing.  PANIC PANIC PANIC!  Ryan Howard did it again!  I am a big fan of Bill James et al.  Isn't a HR the best thing that can happen during an at bat?  RBI's are a two way street.  You need someone to get on base and someone to knock them home.

[jemagee]

There's a lot more to it than what you just said, Home runs are very nice but they need to be taken in context of the players entire performance.

I read a blog that had an interesting take on the melvin firing.  They viewed it purely as an 'excuse' firing for the Brewers who know they are going to miss (and according to the numbers have a better record than they should) the playoffs, but now they've 'made a change' to show the fans they are trying, thus maintaining interest for the last two weeks AND for next year...it's as plausible (and dumb) as firing your manager with 2 weeks to go for any other reason i've heard

[Derek Bodner]

There's a lot more to it than what you just said, Home runs are very nice but they need to be taken in context of the players entire performance.

Howard's top 5 in mlb in OBI% as well.

[jemagee]

I never said howard wasn't having a good season i said that he's regressed the past two seasons from the season previous...and it's a disturbing trend....and he's having an out of control september / 2nd half of the season, it doesn't erase the first half of the season and the piss poor performance at the start of it...which means if he starts out similarly next season, he'll be booed mercilessly and i'll still have concerns about his 100 million dollar efficacy.

He's currently mashing left handers in a way that's totally out of control and not maintainable...he's on a hot streak, they don't last, and cold streaks happen as well...it's why you should look at the entirety of the season and the entirety of the body of work instead of selectively looking at things....unless you're a member of the BBWAA of course

The phils REALLY need to win the divsion btw - if it works out as I expect it, it's the difference between the dodgers and the cubs in the first round...whichever round the phils play the cubs i don't see them beating them (barring massive pitching injuries to the cubs)...getting through a round would be nice

[wow444]

Agree 100% on winning the division.  I agree you have to take the whole season into account but that's pretty good if he finishes out well.  If Howard was going down hill I would see him limping through September, not dominating the league.

[jemagee]

Agree 100% on winning the division.  I agree you have to take the whole season into account but that's pretty good if he finishes out well.  If Howard was going down hill I would see him limping through September, not dominating the league.

Unless it carries over to next april/may/june it's nothing more than a hot streak

[Reality]

Cover those tats, Myers. 
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors/post/Phils-Marlins-add-gamesmanship-to-pennant-race?urn=mlb,109239

[Derek Bodner]

Agree 100% on winning the division.  I agree you have to take the whole season into account but that's pretty good if he finishes out well.  If Howard was going down hill I would see him limping through September, not dominating the league.

Unless it carries over to next april/may/june it's nothing more than a hot streak

More like regression to the norm.

[jemagee]

More like regression to the norm.

Meaning his 2006 AND 2007 seasons were above the norm?

[Derek Bodner]

More like regression to the norm.

Meaning his 2006 AND 2007 seasons were above the norm?

Meaning that his start of 2008 was so far against the norm that a similar hotstreak was bound to follow, and that his early season struggles is no more a basis for predicting his future performance than his current hotstreak is sustainable in future years.

[jemagee]

So - did you buy the playoff tickets or not?

[Derek Bodner]

Yeah, I did.

[jemagee]

Excellent, not just pray for a divsion win, cause beating the dodgers and then losing to the cubs is much better than losing to the cubs

I know I said i wouldn't do it anymore - but this one was too juicy to pass up (i'm one who believes he IS a good GM when the steinbrenners don't interfere and that Santana would NOT make the yankees a playoff team this year)

Brian Cashman (New York): : What should I spend my 80 million dollars on in the not so distant off-season?

 Buster Olney: Brian: Is that how much the Phillies have to spend this off-season/