The hottest rumor of the offseason is the Phillies’ interest in free-agent third baseman Chone Figgins. The conventional wisdom is that the Phillies like his glove and love his plate discipline.
That may all be true, but I would be shocked if the Phils ended up with Figgins. Signing Figgins would leave the Phillies with no choice but to break the news to Jimmy Rollins, once and for all, that he shouldn’t be batting lead-off.
The stats don’t lie. Rollins is a lousy at the top of the lineup, and is getting progressively worse. His .296 on-base percentage was the worst of his 10-year career.
What this all comes down to is standing up to a team leader, telling him that he would serve his club better down in the order, where his lack of plate discipline wouldn’t be an issue. Who’s going to do it? No one. And that’s why the Phils will not sign Chone Figgins.
Any day now, the Eagles are going to announce a major contract extension for coach Andy Reid. We can only hope the news is accompanied by a laugh track.
Someday soon, a national media figure will proclaim that Donovan McNabb is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Those who have watched him for more than a decade here will provide their own laugh track for that one.
And now I have an announcement. No longer do I want both of these maddening men to leave. No, I’ve lowered my expectations. Now, I just want one to leave. I don’t even care which one, as long as one of them is gone at the end of this ridiculous season.
In Sunday’s brutal loss to San Diego, it was Reid’s turn to antagonize us with his usual formula for disaster: a slow start, a flurry of special-teams penalties, hideous red-zone play-calling, astounding short-yardage failures and wasted timeouts followed by insulting explanations.
McNabb actually received praise for his monster numbers. Only a cynic like me would point out that McNabb was 4-for-12 with a puny 22 yards on plays inside the red zone. And only an ingrate like me would mention that McNabb was effective only against a prevent defense.
The Eagles would tell you that I am no expert on the complicated game of football, and they would be right. But I am the closest thing to an expert when it comes to Eagles fans — 20 years of talking to them every day on WIP is a powerful credential — and I can tell you that they have had enough.
Either Reid or McNabb should go — for the good of the team, for the sanity of the city. The best guess right now is that McNabb will be the sacrificial lamb once the Eagles lock themselves in with a new deal for Reid. That’s fine with me because it represents a much-needed change, although it’s more logical to get a new coach. People who think Reid is still performing at a high level aren’t paying attention.
Did they see the coach roll out Eldra Buckley on a key third-and-1 play in the second quarter? Did they see Michael Vick attempt one pass, a wounded duck behind DeSean Jackson? Did they see Reid run 13 times and pass 55 against the 26th-ranked run defense?
I could go on, but you get the point. Reid is terrible pretty much all of the time now. McNabb is just terrible when it matters most. Together, they are football poison. The Eagles’ hierarchy must see that by now. Don’t they?
Goodbye, Andy. Or goodbye, Donovan. Just go, one of you. Please.
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lidge: elbows and lies
Did the Phillies know he was hurt?
The truth about Brad Lidge’s terrible season is beginning to emerge. Unfortunately, there are more questions than ever.
Last week, Lidge had surgery on his hip and his pitching elbow, although the Phils and the pitcher had insisted all season that he was in perfect health. But the real question hasn’t been answered. Did the Phillies know about these problems as they rolled him out there to blow 11 saves and then Game 4 of the World Series?
Obviously, these injuries were serious enough to require surgery and a rehab that could last as long as three months. Does that sound like someone in perfect health?
And there’s one final question to ponder as the Phillies try to decide who is going to close their games in 2010. Was Lidge ineffective in 2009 because he was hurt, or was he ineffective because he is, by nature, an inconsistent relief pitcher?
