Phinally Philly

On the eve of May and the PHillies first series with the New York Mets, there are a few questions that I’ve been thinking about. (That picture from Newsday always makes me laugh. I love it)

1. How great was that Mets game last night? The Mets made such a big deal out of them getting two of the top closers from last season, only to go and watch their starting pitching collapse so far this season. The bullpen was the problem last season, but the starters aren’t pulling their weight so far this season. I tweeted about this yesterday, but I think it’s time for the Mets to learn that you can’t buy a World Series. The Yankees tried it for a few years until they realized it doesn’t work. Now they’re trying to groom their young prospects and get back to the World Series that way. As long as Omar Minaya is the GM of the Mets, they won’t learn that lesson.

2. How amazing has Raul Ibanez been? Read the rest of this entry »

With today’s off day, and a guest post already up about the Fightins’ I figured I’d take it easy and get one of the Random Phillies Gear Sightings that I’ve had sitting here for a while.

There are going to be a few put up with this one.

Today’s sightings come courtesy of Kevin McGuire, who runs Nittanydelphia and Macho Row.

First one comes from a Phillies game last week.

You don’t see many Kevin Millwood jerseys floating around out there, but he did throw a no-hitter for the Phils, so that’s not a bad pick. Plus, Millwood showed some respect for HK a few weeks ago. Read the rest of this entry »

(Brought to you by guest contributor Charles Alexander)

In a town where we have had nicknames for certain teams such as the “Whiz Kids”, the “Wheeze Kids”, and the “Broad Street Bullies”, it’s about time we give a nickname to our current generation of the Philadelphia Phillies. This name is and can only be “The Comeback Kids”. No name more defines what any team is and how this team plays. From 17 back in the standings 2 years ago to 9 of 11 of their wins this year being come from behind victories, this team shows you what it means to be the comebacks. They dig deep and put runs on the board when it counts and now, even more than last year, we should be excited about our Fightin’ Phils. With what I feel is a better roster than last year’s, this team is poised for another post season run. (Any questions of whether Raul Ibanez being better than Pat the bat have been answered by now haven’t they?)

With the current problems with our starting pitching at the beginning of this season the bats give us fans and the team, belief that any game goes the full 27 outs and that the Phightens are going to be always in the game till the end. And don’t worry, our starting pitching will pull out of this slump, J.C Romero will eventually be back, and Jack Taschner will be banished to the minors. That’s when the bats and pitching combo will make this team lethal. What makes me amazingly happy about all this, is the fact that the Mets, are the complete opposite of this Phillies team. Even with their recent additions of J.J. Putz and K-Rod, they can never seem to put a game away. If yesterday’s game against Florida for the Mets is any vision of the future, we will not have to worry about being down against the Mets late in any game. This is why we all should have much faith in our Philadelphia Phillies going into this weekend series with New York. Cole Hamels should have just said “The Mets are just choke artists.” I don’t see the Met’s choking ending with last season. Always remember Muck The Fets…

Jay Bouwmeester will likely move to free agency on July 1st. (photo credit: Joel Auerbach)

I can promise you one thing; you will not see a list of possible free agency pickups by the Flyers anywhere else on the web. I know because I looked for one. While it is obvious the Flyers don’t have much in the way of cap space right now going into the offseason there are plenty of ways to make up for it. On top of that, free agency isn’t always something the Flyers make a big impact in, especially when the team is already competitive. Still Holmgren has a history of “tire kicking” and making sure he investigates every possible player, big-name or otherwise, that he feels could make a beneficial impact on this team.

So this is your first extensive look at what the 2009 free agency period could be hiding around the corner for the Flyers in terms of what I feel to be their biggest need; defense. Out of the three defensive pairings that suited up for the Flyers the Timonen-Parent pairing was by far the most competent. Those two along with Coburn will be Flyers next season. That much I can guarantee. Jones, Alberts, and Matt Carle have very much questionable futures with the orange and black. Randy Jones has been suffering from a hip injury and has performed terribly all season when in the lineup. His pay of $2.7m/year for a mistake-latent bottom pairing defenseman means that many hope he will be gone before next season begins let alone at the end of his contract the next summer even if it means just waiving him. Luca Sbisa brings everything Jones does while having a much higher potential, more physicality, and better awareness in the offensive zone at a far cheaper price. With Sbisa basically a lock to make the Flyers next season Jones is more than expendable, but getting rid of him might even be addition by subtraction. Alberts on the other hand has received praise from the organization despite playing poorly. Holmgren has talked about re-signing him before he hits the open market on July 1st. At $1.25m/year as his cap hit for this past season many feel that if he is retained at all it should not cost the Flyers more than his current salary. At that price I’d rather have Ossi Vaananen back anyway. Matt Carle is another intriguing issue that the Flyers will have to deal with. He is currently signed for three more seasons at $3.44m/year, but when he plays bad he is definitely a liability. When he’s playing well he helps the team of course, and he was obviously a major part of this team’s turnaround after a terrible start. On top of that the organization has praised his efforts during the postseason. Matt Carle is a likeable guy, but with his salary there might be better options for the Flyers going forward. The only way Matt Carle goes though is if the organization is sure it has a stranglehold on a top free agent defenseman at a reasonable salary.

Other things to note:

• Holmgren mentioned in his recent State of the Franchise address that he does not know where all of these rumors of him wanting to get more physical on the blueline are coming from.
• Holmgren has mentioned that he wants to get bigger on the defensive side of the puck during the STH Town Hall Meetings, but once again denied the need to get a more physical defense.
• Holmgren has also expressed his interest in top free agent defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.
• Holmgren has mentioned that he’s waiting to see what the cap situation is for the next season before heading into the offseason full steam ahead.

JAY BOUWMEESTER – 25 years old
Prior Salary Cap Hit: $4.88m
Size: 6’4 – 212 lbs. 
Acquisition Grade (deal-dependent): A+

It’s possible that the Flyers could attempt to go after Bouwmeester’s rights at the deadline if they intend to go in that direction since it would be necessary that they clear up cap space to fit his salary. If he were to come to Philadelphia it would certainly take a multi-year deal to get it done along the lines of $5.00m as an low starting point to anywhere up to $7.00m as a higher rough estimate. With news that the cap might plateau and even fall in the couple of seasons it is certainly a buyers market. If the Flyers have to sign him for big money it will likely be a 2-3 year deal, but at a reasonable $6.00m or so for a number of years Bouwmeester could find a home in Philadelphia. The only stipulation to his signing with the orange and black though is that Matt Carle becomes useless, and Jones is already useless because of Sbisa. Carle and Jones leaving frees up about $6.14m in cap space which would go a long way to get Bouwmeester under contract, but taking Sbisa’s contract into consideration should Bouwmeester in fact come at only $6.00m/year the Flyers would jump about a million dollars in cap space used up even with Carle and Jones gone. It would also tie up the organization financially with re-signings for Coburn and Parent coming up. It would be nice to give up Briere’s salary for Bouwmeester’s and wash everything away that easily, but in order for the Flyers to function with JayBo under contract it would take the movement of likely Joffrey Lupul to another team as well as Carle and Jones.

Bouwmeester is a top 10 NHL defenseman on virtually everyones top 10 list. He’s a 6’4, 212 lb. specimen that works in the offensive zone and the defensive zone like an future Olympic defenseman would. At 25 he’s still got plenty of potential to realize, and he wants to play for a winning organization which is a big reason for his likely departure from Florida. If the Flyers can gain Bouwmeester the entire city of Philadelphia should give Paul Holmgren the biggest “Thank you!” Philadelphia has ever given anyone.

MATTIAS OHLUND – 32 years old
Prior Salary Cap Hit: $3.50m
Size: 6’2 – 220 lbs.
Acquisition Grade (deal-dependent): A- 

It is expected that 32 year old Mattias Ohlund will be leaving Vancouver in order to test the free agent waters. All signs have pointed to his desire to move on and forward from the Canucks. That’s a good sign for the Flyers who would love another legitimate top pairing defenseman as well as a sturdy veteran. He is inconsistent offensively sometimes and doesn’t always play at 100% health, but the Flyers could in fact live with that as long as he isn’t another Derian Hatcher. Since that’s not likely to happen Ohlund makes an interesting possible target for the Flyers. He would likely want an increase in salary from his current $3.50m/year deal, but adding a $4.00m/year to $5.00m/year defender would work out nicely for the Flyers if they intend to move Randy Jones and are willing to let go of Matt Carle. He is obviously not the long term solution that Carle would be at the age of 24, but signed to a moderate contract in terms of length Ohlund could do very well in Philadelphia. Offensively Matt Carle would be missed if the team would go in this direction, and it’s not like the team would be getting a brilliant, young two-way defenseman like Jay Bouwmeester. Ohlund would definitely help shut opposing players down and wouldn’t necessarily have to make up for Carle’s powerplay time with the emergence of Luca Sbisa. That doesn’t mean that Ohlund is completely devoid of offensively ability, but if he’s brought into Philly it’s because he makes a living shutting down guys like Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, E. Staal, and Parise.

OSSI VAANANEN – 28 years old
Prior Salary Cap Hit: $1.00m
Size: 6’4 – 212 lbs.
Acquisition Grade (deal-dependent): B+

Remember this guy who was so casually tossed to the side along with Glen Metropolit when Briere came back from injury? Think we could’ve used him in the postseason when Alberts and Jones were terrible? I’d love to see Vaananen back in Philadelphia if he’ll let us sign him to a $1.30m/year over four to five seasons. He is the right size for a defenseman, and his skating is decent enough to allow him to move the puck. His offensive abilities aren’t great, but they’re definitely underrated. He is a shut-down defenseman in his own right, but can certainly move the puck. This is who the Flyers should’ve kept in the line up, and even re-signed at the end of this season. Letting Alberts go, waiving Jones, and pairing Vaananen up with Sbisa for the 3rd defensive pairing would certainly be a step in the right direction for the organization. On top of that he’s inexpensive.

MIKE KOMISAREK – 27 years old
Prior Salary Cap Hit: $1.90m
Size: 6’5 – 240 lbs.
Acquisition Grade (deal-dependent): B 

Mike Komisarek had a so-so season in Montreal this year, but that’s hardly a major factor when most of the team had an off season. Even though this is the physical monster I think the Flyers could use on the blueline next season to help shut down some of the better offensive attacks that the Flyers see during the course of a season, with recent comments by Paul Holmgren I’m not so sure that this is the kind of direction the organization wants to go in. There are plenty of rumors going around that even with the Canadiens having plenty of room for him next season they will part with their bruising blueliner should he ask for too much money. Defensive defenseman rarely put up many points (see Ryan Parent) and because of this are often left out of the money making side of the blueline. Still at around $3.50m to $4.00m a year the Flyers could use a guy like him hanging around through a multi-year contract. Once again it would mean goodbye to Carle, but unlike with Ohlund you shouldn’t expect any offensive help from Komisarek. He’s a master without the puck, but with the puck he’ll get you about as far as “out of the zone” means. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the Flyers may be looking for defensemen that can move the puck up the ice effectively.

DEREK MORRIS – 30 years old
Prior Salary Cap Hit: $3.92m
Size: 6’0 – 221 lbs.
Acquisition Grade (deal-dependent): B

Unfortunately Derek Morris is getting up there just like Mattias Ohlund. With plenty of seasons in Calgary, Colorado, and Phoenix he was once a very good defenseman in his prime. At 30 he’s not quite fallen off the map, but it’s obvious that his offensive production is slipping. Still with his ticket out of New York basically punched by the Rangers’ need to re-sign numerous restricted free agents, he would make a solid defender to add to the Flyers. At $4.00m to $5.00m on a two to three year deal he could help out the Flyers quite a bit, but this would mean Matt Carle has to go. Carle is much younger and his offensive production is better even though Morris is all around more solid. The one thing to like about Morris is his skating as well as his hard shot. At the blueline he is aggressive and thorough which is a very nice thing to have. Unfortunately he does seem to suffer from the same mental lapses that many of the Flyers have, but they occur less frequently with this veteran. 

PAUL MARA – 29 years old
Prior Salary Cap Hit:  $1.95m
Size: 6’4 – 219 lbs.
Acquisition Grade (deal-dependent): C+

Paul Mara is another Ranger likely headed out of New York due to restricted free agents needing their first real NHL contracts. With the size that Holmgren mentioned he was looking for and the solid skating to keep the flow going out of the zone Mara could be a solid option in the $2.00m to $3.00m range should Holmgren decide to not re-sign Andrew Alberts. Mara is a better version of Alberts and can lead the rush effectively. At a bottom pairing he could do well in Philadelphia as long as Jones’ salary comes off the books. He would be an expensive 3rd pairing guy of course, but with solid skating and size he could be a player the Flyers might look into. He’s certainly better than Jones and Alberts, possibly combined, and would certainly cost less than the two of them. If the Flyers can reasonably convince him to play at less than Jones’ salary and get rid of Jones I would say to go for it on a short term deal, especially if the Flyers cannot make any better defensive upgrades.

JOHNNY ODUYA – 27 years old
Prior Salary Cap Hit: $0.60m
Size: 6’0 – 200 lbs.
Acquisition Grade (deal-dependent): C

He is at least on par with Alberts and an upgrade to Jones defensely and salary wise. Johnny Oduya from the Devils for a $1.00m/year 1 season contract is at least worth a shot. He is not big at all, but skates very well and is apparently a good locker room presence. Again, he isn’t much more than a cheap replacement for Alberts should Alberts want a deal for about $2.00m a season. He beats Jones’ $2.70m any day, but many are hoping that it will be Sbisa who takes Jones’ spot. 

FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN – 28 years old
Prior Salary Cap Hit: $1.65m
Size: 6’0 – 213 lbs.
Acquisition Grade (deal-dependent):  C-

I’m not sure how much of an upgrade Beauchemin would be for Matt Carle at all. If the Flyers are looking for an extra player on the 3rd pairing to help them out they can find players that will come for far less than Beauchemin. On top of that he is coming off a season of only 20 games played with the Anaheim Ducks thanks to a torn ACL. I haven’t heard much about his availability, but this isn’t the type of guy to upgrade the Flyers defensive core. He’s too expensive to be a bottom line pairing, and he’s not necessarily better than Matt Carle. He is physical and has a wicked slap shot, but the Flyers said that they likely weren’t going for more physical. His offensive production is also often inconsistent, and he can get beat one on one. This warrants a “No thank you.” from the Flyers.

JORDAN LEOPOLD – 28 years old
Prior Salary Cap Hit: $1.50m
Size: 6’1 – 200 lbs.
Acquisition Grade (deal-dependent): C-

Just like with Beauchemin, Jordan Leopold may not exactly be an upgrade to Matt Carle. He may be more solid and well-rounded than Carle, but he hasn’t faired so well up in Calgary since heading there right at the trade deadline. He would likely command $3.00m to $4.00m which isn’t worth the hassle of moving Carle. Why would we move Carle to get another Carle at relatively the same price? Both do the same things well and have problems with the same things. This is completely unnecessary. The Flyers shouldn’t go in this direction.

—That’s the basic gist of it. The Flyers, should they get a significant upgrade to Matt Carle could very well try to move him to sign someone like Bouwmeester or Ohlund. Other than that though it may just be best to keep him. Either way Jones has to go, and I’m leaning to the point where Alberts has to go. If no major upgrades to Carle are available I can’t imagine the Flyers doing much in free agency on the blueline. Trading for RFAs isn’t out of the question, but it’s hard when generally all the teams the Flyers would be trading to would need to dump salary in order to re-sign the RFA while the team on the other end likely has to drop the RFA because of their own salary issues. That doesn’t mean the trade possibilities are only RFAs though. If they feel they can’t get Bouwmeester the organization may try to upgrade the defense through trades of currently signed players. The possibilities for who it could be are endless though so don’t expect a list for that. We will have to wait and see how everything shapes up. My five favorites to see wearing orange and black next season rank like this: 1) Bouwmeester, 2) Bouwmeester, 3) Bouwmeester, 4) Ohlund, 5) Vaananen.

This story really flew under the radar, but on Tuesday former Phillie flop Freddy Garcia was released by the Mets. Garcia signed a deal with New York in the offseason in an attempt to try to make their starting rotation, but things weren’t going so well for Freddy with the Mets AAA affiliate. He had an 8.18 ERA and his fastest pitch was clocking in at just 85 on the radar gun.

Obviously you have to feel for Freddy: I’m sure if it were up to him he would have stayed healthy during his time in Philly and made us feel at least a little bit better about giving up Gavin Floyd for him. Instead he defects to a division rival only to have to come to grips with the fact that his playing career may be over.

Here’s what Freddy had to say, via Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News:

I want to do the best things I can the next couple days. I want to feel better. Hopefully it will work out for me but I don’t know. I’m working really hard to try to get right but my shoulder doesn’t respond. I’m going to try my best. If not, I guess I’ll go home. I don’t know. That’s it, man.

Freddy Garcia is the ultimate reminder that you can never truly judge who gets the best out of a trade immediately after it happens. At the time of the deal the consensus opinion was that the Phils got a proven winner for two inconsistent prospects. Now Gavin Floyd is coming off a 17 win season for the White Sox (although he has struggled so far this season) and Gio Gonzalez has a 1.54 ERA in the A’s AAA system.

We here at Phinally Philly like to think of ourselves as very technologically advanced. That being said, of course we are all on Twitter.

The twitter account for the site is @Phinally. All of the posts are put up there as well as other stories and tidbits that we think are interesting to Philly sports fans.

The site account is managed by Roman Zubarev. He can be found doing his own thing at @romez.

My updates can be found @kierankelly. I will warn you though. While there are many Philly sports tweets in there, I also go into a lot of other things as well. If you’re into technology, sports, and random things, then definitely follow me.

Chris Shafer, certified hockey expert, can be found @shafer22. If you’re a Flyers fan, or even a hockey fan in general, Chris is the man to follow. He is amazing with the sheer amount of hockey knowledge that he has.

Mike Santa Barbara, resident Sixers writer, can be found @Mike__SB. He’s full of Sixers tidbits, but is also on the ball with all of the other Philly sports teams as well.

David Foley is the jack of all trades here at Phinally Philly. He’s a Philly boy stuck out in Southern California. You can follow him @phillyfoley.

Our latest addition is Dany Sloan, from The Sound of Philly. In addition to covering all the teams on his own site, he’ll be pitching in here at Phinally, mostly on the Eagles and Union.

We’re going to try and convince Zolo the Troll to come back out from under the Commodore Barry in time for the Union starting play at home, so keep an eye out for him.

If you guys are on Twitter, let us know. Start following and get the latest Philly sports news.

-KK

The Mets made big news this past offseason in acquiring two of the top closers in the league, J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez. They were supposed to settle the bullpen and stop blowing leads like they did last season.

Welp, today they blew a huge one. Johan Santana pitched a great game, only to have J.J. Putz blow it in the 8th, allowing the Marlins to come back and win the game.

This game comes on the heels of the Mets advertising the upcomnig Phillies-Mets series with a commercial being shown in the New York area.

Seriously? I think they need to start winning games before they go out and tell other teams to choke on something.  They can show all the highlights they want in that video, all the Reyes fist pumphing bullshit too. It don’t mean shit. Fact is, they’ve choked the past two seasons. Simple as that. Hamels just called them out on it. 

I’ve got something the Mets can choke on, but they seem to be doing a good job of choking on K-Rod so far this season. 

Mets don’t stand a chance at the Bank this week. It’s going to be awesome.

-KK

(From Scottt Lauber)

According to various sources including NBA.com Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard has been suspended for Game 6 against the 76ers.

Howard elbowed Sixers Center Samuel Dalembert in the head during the first half of the Magic’s game 5 win. The elbow at the time drew a technical foul, and it was known that the league would take a look at it and that a suspension was possible. 

According to the same sources the Magic will also be without another starter, guard Courtney Lee. Lee was accidentally elbowed by Howard while the two went up for a rebound. Lee was diagnosed with a fractured sinus, his status for a possible game 7 and the rest of the playoffs is uncertain. 

-Mike Santa Barbara

It’s a series that the “experts” said would go 5 games at the most. It’s a series that the “experts” said wouldn’t be close at all. 

Well, it’s a series that the Sixers have been in since the start. 

The effort is there from the Sixers, however, it’s the little things that they do not do that has cost them the three games they have lost in this series thus far. 

Looking at the shooting percentages from last night, they are nearly identical. However, the Sixers defense finally broke down and was unable to stop the Magic from throwing daggers from behind three point range. The Sixers not making their foul shots was a problem before and it continued last night. 

Below is the list I wrote in my last article of things the Sixers had to do to win game 5 lets see  how they did:

1. Control the Tempo Early

The Sixers did a good job of sticking with the Magic in the first half. However, in the second half the Magic controlled the play leading the whole way. 

2. Take Higher Percentage Shots

Just like #1 the Sixers did a good job shooting higher percentage shots from the field in the first half. In the second, once again a different story, they chucked up desperate shots and completely ridiculous looks from three.

3. Keep Up the Defensive Intensity

I feel like a broken record, but it’s the same story with this one as well. The Sixers did a good job staying with the Magic in the first half, and things fell apart in the second half. 

4. Get to the Line and MAKE Your Free Throws

The Sixers did a better job of getting to the line, but they continued to shoot a lousy percentage from the charity stripe. Simply inexcusable and a big reason why they lost game 5.

5. Establish SOMETHING, ANYTHING Inside

Four out of Five here. The Sixers did their best, made an effort to get the ball inside to try and get past that tough Orlando defense. However, AGAIN, they were not able to establish this in the second half. 

So what’s the meaning of all of this? 

Orlando is just flat out the better team. Something we all knew coming in, but they have taken the Sixers best shot and they have shot back. Good teams make the changes needed to gain the advantage. In the second half of last nights game the Magic did what they had to do to pull away from the Sixers. They played tougher defense and were more aggressive toward the basket and made the Sixers abandon their game plan to try and catch up. 

The Sixers aren’t done yet, heading back home for game 6. The 5 things they have to do to win list hasn’t changed, and they still must do these things to win game 6. Getting a lead early would be a great help. The frustration that the Sixers have caused the Magic this serious were obvious even in the first half of game 5. Just look at Dwight Howard’s elbow to the head of Samuel Dalmebert. So there is no reason that one half of basketball should decide this series. The Sixers will once again have to dig deep, remember it isn’t all over when this series is over. There is a future building here, there are many people who have a lot invested in this team and how they respond now will go a long way to determining what this team will be. 

-Mike Santa Barbara

Ah yes, Raul Ibanez you sure are the man. Better late than never right? I apologize for the delay, but as the Flyers writer for a couple websites on top of some of the other NHL teams I cover the end of the NHL season marked the beginning of my busy season with articles on top of articles. But rest assured Raul! You deserve the title of man, and so you are going to get it.

But first Raul, even though you have clearly waited long enough I need to go over the honorable mention for the week. So who was it that actually came close to unseating your hot streak? That would be of course a man who does not actually play for a Philadelphia team.

Andy Reid is never going to throw on the midnight green jersey or the helmet and strap it up with the rest of the Philadelphia Eagles. That goes without question, but this week was the week when he is at his best; the week of the NFL draft. Sometimes it doesn’t go as the fans would like, but no one can argue with the results he’s produced since he took over befor his very first draft day selection, Donovan McNabb. No one can argue with first round choices like Corey Simon, Lito Sheppard, Shawn Andrews, Mike Patterson, and Brodrick Bunkley. Jarome McDougle was out of his control, and nobody wants to discuss First-Down Freddie. Still the selection of Brian Westbrook alone makes up for both of them not to mention AJ Feeley, Correll Buckhalter, Michael Lewis, Sheldon Brown, LJ Smith, Todd Herremans, Jason Avant, Desean Jackson, and an ongoing list of players who were at least moderately successful with the Eagles.

This weekend during the NFL draft he saw a player he really liked fall nearly into his lap. When he began getting phone calls about teams trying to move up to his pick to get WR Jeremy Maclin out of Missouri. Andy knew that when he denied those teams the opportunity that they would try to move ahead of him, and so he himself made the move up to get Maclin. He then watched the board fall once again into his lap and managed to get a Westbrook-esque running back with LeSean McCoy. This of course was after he used another first rounder weeks before to acquire pro-bowl tackle Jason Peters from the Bills. He then traded down acquiring picks later in the 2nd day as well as some next year, and at one point had six 5th round picks. He used two of them to acquire starting cornerback Ellis Hobbs from the Patriots adding to the elite depth at secondary, and then got a tight end that before a season ending injury his senior season at Florida would have likely been a late first rounder to early second in Cornelius Ingram.

It was incredible weekend for Eagles fans that begged forever to get more offensive weapons for McNabb. He now has his weapons. They aren’t fully developed yet, but if they turn out to be good pick ups there’s not many teams who will be able to compete with this offense at the skill position. On top of that Andy revamped the offensive line and added secondary depth. That’s hard to beat as far as a week of Philadelphia sports is concerned.

Still Ibanez can top it. He gets a little help because the “week” for the You Are The Man segment was extended through Tuesday, but that doesn’t take anything away from the amazing week he’s had. It’s already well known how much he is doing with the Phils to help us forget about our beloved Pat Burrell. A quick rundown of Ibanez’s stats for the extended week, and you’ll know exactly why he’s the talk of the town in Philly. In nine games in 10 days Ibanez came complete with 9 runs scored, 12 hits, 3 homers, 9 RBIs, and a 0.351 batting average. Not all that bad for a week the Phils go from a record of 4-6 to a record of 11-8 which happens to be much easier on the eyes for Phillies fans hopeful for a repeat.

Oh by the way. Can you guess when most of this magic was going on? It just wouldn’t be the Phils unless they made it interesting. They had more comebacks late in the game this week than many thought was humanly possible. Ibanez of course was at the very center of this “new” Philadelphia trend sweeping the red at Citizen’s Bank Park. On Friday at Florida they score 7 runs in the 9th to win 7-3. The next day they tie Florida in the 9th and win in the 10th with 2 runs. Then they clean up the Marlins for the 3rd straight day to the tune of 13-2. Finally, in back to back games Monday and Tuesday at home against the Nationals, Ibanez sums up the Phils’ week with a brilliant offensive display.

For this extended week you are the man Raul Ibanez. You lead the team in runs, you lead the team in hits, you are tied for the lead in home runs, and you’re 2nd in RBIs. Not bad for the “old man” that Philadelphians saw you as when you got signed here in the offseason.