Why are the Phillies trying so hard to accommodate washed-up pitcher Pedro Martinez? It makes no sense at all.
Plan A was to make room for Martinez by demoting the most effective starter in the rotation, J. A. Happ, but the rookie pitcher foiled that insanity by throwing a complete-game shutout.
Plan B is almost equally ridiculous. Yesterday, the Phillies announced that Martinez is starting tomorrow in Chicago and Jamie Moyer is headed to the bullpen — just days after manager Charlie Manuel said the 46-year-old lefty wasn’t suited to be a reliever. So, a mere nine months after the greatest triumph of his long career, Moyer has been relegated to the scrap heap.
Not that they asked, but here’s my Plan C: Pedro joins the Phillies as a long reliever, and he stays there until he proves he’s a better option in the starting rotation than Moyer. If Martinez doesn’t like that, he can leave. It’s simple.
Five years ago, Pedro had every reason to impose his will and issue ultimatums. Today, he should feel lucky he has a job.
TWO FOR THE AGES
Fans respected Johnson, Kalas
Philadelphia has a reputation for being tough on its sports figures, and there’s plenty of evidence to support that theory. In the past few months, however, we have all experienced the flip side. It should be clear to everyone that there is no city better at honoring those who served us well.
Last Friday, the Eagles held a memorial service for Jim Johnson and the Phillies inducted Harry Kalas onto their Wall of Fame. In both cases, the tributes offered to these two great men were eloquent and emotional.
Johnson never received a standing ovation during his decade of brilliant service as Eagles defensive coordinator because he did most of his work behind the scenes. But his impact will be felt forever. Will we ever see an Eagles blitz without thinking of Jim Johnson?
Harry Kalas has been gone for several months now, but not in our minds. The fact that the voice of the Phillies has been silenced still seems unreal, impossible. Will we ever watch a Phillies homer sail out of the ballpark without thinking to ourselves, “That ball is outta here”?
Yes, we get carried away from time to time when our teams let us down. But when someone serves us the way Jim Johnson and Harry Kalas did, we show a love and appreciation that reveals the true character of our sports community.
Astrange thing happened to me as the Eagles faced a flood of bad news over the past week. I didn’t feel the same devastation that all fans should feel when promising young players like Stewart Bradley and Cornelius Ingram suffered season-ending injuries.
Of course, I hope both players recover fully and have great NFL careers, but the overall fortunes of the team have me feeling oddly conflicted this season. It’s getting harder than ever for me to root for the Eagles. Am I alone?
Please try to understand where I’m coming from. No fans of any team deserve a championship more than the loyal Eagles fans. Forty-nine years without a title is longer than any people should ever have to wait. For the fans, I wish nothing but parades, confetti and Lombardi trophies.
My biggest problem with this franchise reared its smug head again last week when Andy Reid lost his mind because a few media members had the audacity to confirm reports of Bradley’s injury before the coach announced it. Reid said he wouldn’t share any injury information that day because the media had breached a longstanding agreement with him.
It wasn’t just the absurdity of his reaction to this minor issue — Bradley was lost for the season regardless of how the story was reported — but Reid’s obnoxious attitude that rattled me. Am I supposed to root for a bully like him?
I was at training camp the morning after and I asked Reid point-blank if he understood that these reporters were competing the same way he battles the Cowboys and Giants. The question simply didn’t register. In his kingdom, the peasants must follow his rules. End of story.
And Reid is hardly the only Eagles official making it difficult for me these days. Billionaire owner Jeffrey Lurie took his legendary cluelessness to a new level last week during his annual state-of-the-team address. In one delusional flurry, Lurie said he could find no flaws in either Joe Banner or Reid, then quickly identified the key to his NFL success as “self-criticism.” Who is he kidding? There may be no team in professional sports less self-critical than the Eagles.
Speaking of Banner, can you name any other NFL team official crowing that he has the best roster in the league? You can’t, because none has. And none will. It is arrogant, self-defeating and — above all — inaccurate.
Whenever I share my misgivings about the Eagles with my radio audience, I always receive the same advice: Root for the uniform. In the past, I have been able to block out the nauseating noise emanating from the Eagles offices and focus on the field. This year, it has been impossible.
The fortunes of the 2009 Eagles are very much in doubt. But one thing is clear. The people running the team are making it harder than ever to be a fan.
Angelo Cataldi is a Metro sports columnist and host of 610 WIP’s Morning Show. He can be heard every morning from 5:30 to 10 a.m. His page runs on Tuesday.
Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages.
