Phillies Overcoming Injuries, Proving their Heart

Phillies Celebrate a Victory

During the Phillies runs to the World Series over the past two years, they have managed to largely avoid the costly injuries that can derail even the best teams. But the luck that they’ve had has seemingly run out this year as every starting position player (outside of Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez *knock on wood*) has spent time on the DL. Jimmy Rollins was the first to go down. After having a disappointing season last year, Rollins was looking to rebound and had set lofty goals for himself during spring training. Unfortunately, he went down during the third series of the season and missed 58 games. JA Happ joined Rollins on the DL soon after and missed 88 games before making a brief comeback in July. Chase Utley has missed 39 games so far, Ryan Howard is out for at least two weeks, and Shane Victorino still isn’t close to coming back. In all, the Phillies have lost about 470 games to injury.

And yet, the Phillies sit a game out of first place in the NL East.

You’re the best around…

Notice how the city has thrown itself behind it's baseball team

TORONTO — It’s time to face facts, T.O.

No, I’m not talking to Terrell Owens. It’s actually the shortened nickname the city of Toronto has given itself (the T.O. standing for Toronto, Ontario). No, I’m not making that up either, although the message might work for both parties.

Instead this advice is for the sports fans of this fine city (and it is an amazingly fine city), to wake up from their frozen delusions and accept the sobering reality.

The Blue Jays are the best team in your city. Yes, the fourth-place AL East Blue Jays.

A Farewell to The Boss

There really are no words

Admit it, you look at that Sports Illustrated cover of George Steinbrenner and you really don’t know what to think. It is one of the most famous covers SI’s ever done, Steinbrenner re-creating the famous portrait of Napoleon after Steinbrenner was allowed back into baseball. Maybe the theme fit so well because Steinbrenner, the long-time principle owner of the Yankees who passed away last week at the age of 80 was a confusing person who brought out a lot of different feelings in different people.

Who was the real George Steinbrenner? Well if you read, hear or listen to some of the tributes and reaction to his passing, he ranged to being a patron saint to a vindictive bastard and everything in between. He was a winner, a visionary, a reluctant good guy, an arrogant American pig, a convicted felon and the man who turned the Yankees into the media, marketing and baseball powerhouse they are today. And of course, he was the guy whose baseball people loved Ken Phelps’ bat.