I'm pretty sure Conlin doesn't even read blogs, let alone my tirade-inducing site, so I'll just chalk it up to great minds thinking alike. Seriously though, his column is brilliant today, and I'm not just saying that because I had the same general idea. Check out some of the highlights:
Phils wear gray roadies and bat first. They have the third-base dugout, visitors' clubhouse and top-shelf bullpen, the one where fans can give lefthanded reliever Jack Taschner advice on how to throw strike one. And if deep reserve catcher Paul Bako happens to be catching down there, well, the journeyman called up from Lehigh Valley so Charlie can use Chris Coste to pinch-hit might be hearing helpful hints such as, "Hey, meat, get the donut off your bat."
Not to belabor the obvious . . . But going into battle without injured Raul Ibanez, very ill Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins - .216, .261 OBP - impersonating a leadoff hitter, is like giving your opponent a three-run spot. Charlie Manuel was wearing a brace on his left wrist yesterday after a player ran into him in the dugout Thursday. Or, did Chuck injure it trying to play baseball with one hand tied behind his back?
The man knows his baseball, so if I'm even remotely on the same page, I feel honored. Well said, Bill. Well said.
He should give credit to The Great Paul Revere, for saying the same thing you said last week.
ReplyDeleteIt's kinda funny, because I said the same thing about Andy katz last year. I wrote an article about Darrell Arthur being the difference in the Final Four, and then Katz wrote the same thing a day or so later. I'm still waiting on my check.
Ideas do tend to float around all over the place, but honestly, the Phils thing has to be a common idea among everyone who follows the team.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love how Conlin articulated it. That guy cracks me up.