In the span of three days, the Eagles' preseason went from a giant snoozefest to wildly interesting. If you followed the Reid and Banner regime for the past seven years, you have to admit that the Stallworth trade was totally out of character for the Birds and the dismissal of Reid favorites, Koy Detmer, Todd Pinkston and Mark Simoneau, was absolutely shocking.
Overall, it's nice to see that the Eagles are finally seeing what everyone else does and have stopped trying to prove that they know more about football than the rest of the world. Yes, these moves were no-brainers, but it is a very positive sign to see that they were made. They were not going to compete this year without adding a legitimater skill guy like Stallworth.
I'm chalking these moves up to Heckert being a bigger part of the personnel team. He's the new factor in this equation, so he had to play a big part in convincing Reid and Banner to upgrade the team.
Although, now that Pinky and Detmer are gone, who is going to be the new Eagles' whipping boy? I think Dhani Jones is the best candidate, but another bad year out of Lito could put the bulls eye squarely on his back.
Let's not forget the AJ Feeley move. He's a much better #3 than Detmer. Koy was absolutely finished as an NFL caliber QB. Not only is my wife happy that she has her old heart throb in town to replace Jeremy Bloom, but the return of AJ means that Heather Mitts will be back in town also. And that my friends, is a very good thing.
EAGLES (Bethlehem, Pa.): Here's what worries me about the Eagles: skill players. I have no idea if running back Brian Westbrook can stay healthy for a full year, and a trusted reserve just isn't here. Ryan Moats has fallen out of favor with the staff, Reno Mahe is just insurance, and how can you trust Correll Buckhalter after two straight knee surgeries? And the receivers? When everyone's raving about Hank Baskett, I know there's trouble on the horizon. Now, I like the depth on the offensive and defensive lines a lot. The Eagles are going to be a load on defense -- maybe not as good as Dallas, but I bet as good as Washington. But that offense worries me. There's the same hole here that existed before T.O. Outside of Westbrook, there's not another Philly back or wideout who even remotely scares any defensive coordinators out there. "We'll be fine,'' Andy Reid told me and the rest of the free world about a hundred times. That's what he always says. And sometimes the Eagles aren't.No one can argue this point. King is a respected football writer and he makes a simple, but outstanding point. What skill player on this team scares a defense? Pretty much no one, as King points out. I think that’s why I’m not overly excited about this team. I just can’t see how they are going to consistently move the ball and score points. In today’s NFL, you need a guy that can flat out take it to the house when he gets the ball in the open field. Unfortunately, the Birds’ offense needs about 2 or 3 more players of this nature before I will strongly consider them a contender again.
Now that Ashley Lelie has been traded to the Falcons, it looks like our number 2 receiver behind Reggie Brown will be an undrafted rookie free agent. Last year, Reggie Brown was our 3rd or 4th receiver. Westbrook hasn’t practiced since the hall of fame game due to injury. They don’t sign Stephen Davis. Buckhalter hasn’t played in 2 years. This is getting ugly.Thanks, Tony G. You summed up my frustration in five simple sentences. Although, I would like to add that the most frustrating thing for me is that these holes were evident at the end of season, but the Birds chose not to address these needs.
I still think he'll be a dog in big spots for the Yanks. As I told the people in Boston when I was up there for the Phils trip to Bean Town last month, "you guys want the Yankees to trade for Abreu. If you think A-Rod is dog in the clutch, wait until you see Abreu." I can't wait until the Yanks head up to Fenway and Abreu comes up against Papelbon in a big spot and comes up small. Any other result will infuriate me.
Well, color me infuriated. I would like to personally thank Bobby for proving to us that he underachieved all those years for the Phightins. (Yes, I'm bitter.)
Summerslam - To cap off my weekend, I dropped by the home of my buddy Sammy (aka, Tagament, Latino Heat) to watch WWE's Summerslam on PPV with him and Big Daddy Chad. The card was pretty uneventful until the 40-something Cactus Jack battled the 50-something Ric Flair in an "I Quit" match. I cannot overstate how much this match made the trip worthwhile. I haven't seen that much blood since the hey day of the Ric Flair/Dusty Rhodes feud of the mid to late 1980's. To my amazement, all the old standby's of the ECW were in play, including a barbed wire wrapped baseball bat, folding tables and chairs, and thumb tacks. In case anyone is interested, Flair pulled out the win. (By the way, if I was in my mid-50's and had to roll myself through a batch of thumb tacks to make a living, I'd demand someone to please put me out of my misery.)
Matt Kenseth wins the GFS Marketplace 400 - It's never a bad day when your favorite driver wins a race when you picked him to win in your fantasy Nascar pool. (By the way, I've now mentioned the PGA, the WWE and Nascar in consecutive topics. To say I have very diverse interests would be the understatement of the year.)
Finally, I want to send my deepest condolences to my very good buddy Vinny and his entire family on the passing of his father, Ray, who died Friday morning after a long, gallant fight against Cancer. Mr. C was a great father and grandfather, he will be missed greatly by all those who had the privilege of knowing him.
I don't want to get all political on you guys, but I implore all of you to please contribute to Cancer related charities. We've all lost too many good people to this horrible disease.
The lack of a consistent righty power bat behind him creates a huge dilemma for [Ryan] Howard, who took the Golden Sombrero on Monday night - four impatient strikeouts after a first-inning single. He needs a productive longballer with the promise Burrell exuded when the Phillies made him the first selection in the 1998 amateur draft. Pat was supposed to ease the acid reflux of the J.D. Drew fiasco the year before, but things just haven't worked out for the Midnight Mayor of Center City.Conlin summed up my frustration with Burrell's play and lifestyle in one simple paragraph. I guess that's why he is in the Philly Sports Writer's Hall of Fame (if there is such a thing) and guy's like me are yammering away on a stupid blog.
Chris Coste’s second book was done. On a disc, edited, designed and ready to be published — if only he had the money to print it.
At 31, with a wife and a daughter back in Fargo, N.D., living for the eighth consecutive year on a minor-league salary, Coste did not have an extra $10,000 floating around. And besides, he was still holding out to write a different ending.
Really, only one would suffice.
In October, Coste (pronounced coast) will sit down at his laptop and leaf through eight months’ worth of notes written on a steno pad and collect his thoughts.
Then he will try to explain how someone who never earned a varsity letter in high school, who attended a Division III college, who went undrafted and who spent enough time toiling in the International League to discover the best Mexican restaurant in Durham, N.C., reached baseball nirvana at 33.
“I’m not worried,” the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Coste said. “It’s not like I have any shortage of material.”
On May 21 the Philadelphia Phillies promoted Coste, a catcher, from their Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa., because the reserve infielder Alex Gonzalez had retired without warning.
For someone who routinely dreamt that he was working out with Jim Thome in the Phillies’ weight room only to wake up in Charlotte, N.C., — or Buffalo, or Indianapolis — the circumstances hardly mattered.
After an inauspicious beginning — he went hitless in his first 13 at-bats — Coste has worked his way into regular playing time, batting .340 with four home runs and 20 runs batted in, and turning his hometown, Fargo, and its sister city, Moorhead, Minn., from Twins country into a stronghold of Phillies fans. Local newscasts include nightly updates of the native son — even if he does not play.
“He’s been all that everyone’s talking about around here,” Bucky Burgau, Coste’s coach at Concordia College in Moorhead, said in a telephone interview. “You can’t walk three feet without hearing Chris’ name.”
Last month in San Diego, a former junior college teammate who works for the Padres sought out Coste to tell him about the dozens of people who scan the box scores daily for his name.
Cleveland manager Eric Wedge, who managed Coste for three years in the Indians’ farm system, receives regular updates of his former pupil’s progress from a coach.
Yankees catcher Sal Fasano, who lost his backup job with the Phillies because of Coste’s emergence, cried when Coste was promoted. “If I was going to lose a job to someone, I’m glad that it was to Chris,” Fasano said. “He paid his dues, and he deserved it.”
Coste grew up an only child, the son of a single mother living in government housing. Many of his friends, he said, fell into trouble and went to prison.
But Coste never let himself stray from a life devoted to baseball. Every Tuesday and Thursday, his grandfather, Bob, took a 5-year-old Coste to his softball games, forging a passion for baseball.
The harsh winters in North Dakota made it difficult for high schools to play a full schedule, so Coste played American Legion baseball in the summer, and after a miserable season at an Illinois junior college, returned home to his high school sweetheart, Marcia, and attend Concordia.
“If you closed your eyes while you walked by the batting cages, you could tell when Chris Coste was hitting,” Burgau said.
But scouts were not attracted to a youngster with no position, and Coste put his professional hopes into the independent Northern League, which in 1996 fielded an expansion franchise in Fargo-Moorhead.
Coste, fresh out of Concordia, was attractive to the new franchise. The Redhawks were so desperate for a backup catcher and a second baseman, Coste said jokingly, that they signed someone who rarely played second and had never caught.
Coste borrowed a worn mitt, and after the regular catcher signed a minor-league deal with the Montreal Expos, was given $140 to buy a few new ones at a local sporting goods store.
“He’s the only guy I know if you told him to climb Mount Everest, he’d give it a go,” Redhawks manager Doug Simunic said in a telephone interview.
To augment his $900 monthly salary, Coste worked in the team’s sales and merchandise department, designing T-shirts, holding dizzy-bat races and selling advertising space on the stadium’s outfield fences.
For a few months he considered writing a behind-the-scenes account of life in the minor leagues, and while sitting in on a front-office meeting, he found his title. Manager Doug Simunic was probing Coste for the whereabouts of a teammate, and Coste told him, “Hey I’m just the catcher.”
He published 2,000 copies of the 228-page book (which also contains photographs of his wedding held at home plate of Fargo’s stadium) and vowed to write another book later.
Coste spent three more seasons tearing up the Northern League and then latched on to the Indians’ organization for three seasons. In 2002, at Triple-A Buffalo, he was hitting well above .300 in mid-August, shortly before the major-league rosters could expand on Sept. 1, but he was not called up.
“If I never made it, so what?” Coste said. “I’m not going to be on my deathbed regretting my whole baseball career. People ask me this, and I can honestly say that I never thought of a time when I’d quit. Never. Anyone who knows me well enough knows that they’d have to rip the uniform off my back to get me to stop playing.”
Which helps to explain why Coste has spent the last three Christmases in Obregon, Mexico, playing winter ball. While Marcia and their daughter, Casey, were back in Fargo, Coste and a few teammates usually splurged for dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse and then gathered around a tree purchased at the local Wal-Mart.
Coste signed with the Phillies as a minor-league free agent in October 2004, thrived last season at Scranton, and in spring training, got a chance to shine after Ryan Howard fell ill 10 minutes before an intrasquad game.
Coste went 4 for 5, then started playing nearly every day to fill the void created by the World Baseball Classic, batting .463. And then the Phillies acquired David Dellucci on the eve of opening day.
Coste promised not to feel sorry for himself, but he struggled miserably his first month at Scranton. In May, however, his daughter came bearing a gift: a green Care Bear with a four-leaf clover on its belly, and Coste’s luck turned.
He hit homers in consecutive games, and the next morning, he received the call from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre manager John Russell, ready to fill in the final chapter of his second book, “RollerCoster: A Ride Through the Minor Leagues.”
“I’ll never say that I appreciate this more than anyone else,” Coste said. “But I appreciate this as much as any baseball player ever could.”
Enough said. This guy is flat out frightening to look at. He HAS to be a player. I really think he will add something to the defensive line this year. A defensive tackle rotation of Mike Patterson, Bunkley, Darwin Walker, and Sam Rayburn should be a huge improvement over the dreck that they threw out there last season.
Anyhow, to test my hypothesis further, take a look at this guy that starts at outside linebacker for the Birds:
He does not scare me in the least. He looks more like the kind of guy that is selling my sister in law illegal drugs in Key West, than a guy that should be starting for a NFL football team. Since we all know he can’t play, I think my theory holds some water.
Primeau still not ready - The Winner of the Master of the Obvious Award for the weekend goes to Ray Parillo of the Inquirer for reporting that Primeau is still suffering from concussion like symptoms and does not appear that he’ll be ready for the start of training camp. As I opined here some time ago, it is time for Primeau to stop holding this team hostage. It is now beyond ridiculous. The team is about three weeks from starting training camp and Primeau still can’t skate heavily. It’s time for him to call it career and save his dignity. Plus, it would really help the team to shed his salary so it can re-sign Gagne and give it trade flexibility to pick up another defenseman.
Handzus Traded - On Friday, the Flyers dealt Zoooooos and his hair to the Black Hawks for 26 goal scorer, Kyle Calder. I'm sure this will shock my boy George, but I love the trade. We got rid of a guy who was very solid in the "Old NHL", but looked horribly overmatched in the speed based "New NHL". Calder supposedly meshed well with Jeff Carter in last Spring's World Championships and can put the puck in the net. Plus, he has good speed, can pass the puck and can kill penalties. Those guys don't grow on trees, folks. Hopefully, his success will carry over now that Calder will be in Orange and Black and likely playing on a line with Carter and Umberger.
Lieber stinks, Burrell Gutless - I missed the game on Saturday since I was golfing up in the Land Of Cheese, but my buddy The Captain reports that Lieber blew the game by throwing a ball into right field and Burrell looked like a deer in the headlights during a crucial at bat in the 9th. Wasn't it only a year or two ago that Burrell owned the Mets? As the Captain told me, "it seems like Burrell hasn't been the same since we graduated High School back in the late 80's." That may be a humorous exaggeration, but I'll keep shouting it until the cows come home....Burrell needs to go.
Sixers for Sale - The report from last Sunday's Boston Globe seems to be picking up steam. One potential buyer that has surfaced this past week is former New Jersey political power broker, Charles Kushner. Not only did he attempt to buy the Nets in 2004, but he helped disgraced former New Jersey Governor, Jim McGreevey, rise to prominence. Plus, he is currently in the pokey serving an 18 month sentence for tax evasion. What a guy. Of course, this is who will buy the team and the Sixers will constantly be under the microscope to make sure they aren’t trying to circumvent the salary cap. On the bright side, if Kushner buys the team, he and AI can share stories about their time in the clink.
Entourage - Thankfully, a good friggin' episode. The angle with Johnny Drama and the Masseuse and E and Seth Green were flat out classic. The fight at the end was even better...Thank you, Doug Ellin. I was starting to think you were taking writing tips from David Chase.
The Land of Cheese - The Philly Sports Wife and I had a great time in the Land of Cheese (aka Wisconsin) with my good buddy Matt, his wife and their three children. My buddy lives in Wausau, WI which is not in the middle of the netherlands like I originally thought. His area reminded me of Gloucester County, NJ. The weather out there for this time of year was absolutely gorgeous, 80 degrees with sunny skies and low humidity. (I truly can’t stand the humidity around here during the month of August.) I played some golf with his work buddies and had some surprising success. Plus, the people out there were super nice, although there were an inordinate amount of cute blondes with horrible tattoos. Overall, it was a fun weekend.
"As an owner, I'll admit to you that I'm a risk taker. I'll always try to be aggressive and take risks and be willing to make mistakes."
This statement remindes me of the scene in "Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery" when Austin tries to convince everyone how aggressive he is while playing Black Jack against Number 2. After Number 2 successfully wins a hand by taking a hit on 17 and then states to the dealer "I like to live dangerously", Austin attempts to show his bravado by taking a hit on 19 and says "I TOO like to live dangerously", but foolishly busts on his hand.
Anyhow, the point being, when you try to prove to everyone how aggressive and risk adverse you are, you are really telling everyone that you aren't all that much of a risk taker. A risk taker would have cut guys like Dhani Jones and Todd Pinkston when they proved that they couldn't play. A risk taker would trade for Jerry Porter even though he has a bit of a 'tude and hope that the organization learned how to better handle problem children after the T.O. mess. A risk taker would have signed a guy like Julian Peterson or LaVar Arrington to improve a weak area. A risk taker wouldn't save 20% of his cap every year saying it's a rainy day fund. A risk taker WOULD spend to the limit to give his team the best chance of winning.
As much as some other people in this city infuriate me when they get in front of the press, the Eagles constant self promotion always annoys me. I guess it goes back to the "Gold Standard" comment. Lurie needs to refrain from making statements like these until the Birds win a Super Bowl. After that happens, he can go around patting himself on the back where ever and whenever he prefers. He will have earned it. Until then, please shut the hell up.
"He was on the Internet during a game. I told him he's got to be out there [in the dugout] for the first pitch and he got mad at me. I didn't have anything to say to him after that. He didn't want to win. He didn't want to go out there and root the team on. He's in the clubhouse doing something else. We've got a young pitching staff. He's got to be out there."Ok, so the guy has a 5.67 ERA, which may grow by the time this article is finished, but he at least knows how to defend our Phillies. For that, I commend him. He showed better verbal presentation skills in two days than Cholly and Gillick have all year. Something tells me the press should have gone to good ol' Arthur up in Boston after the Myers Fiasco. I'm pretty he would have given us a company line we all wanted to hear.
Rangers pitcher Vicente Padilla was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated nearly a month ago, Dallas County court records indicate.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels acknowledged that he was made aware of the arrest, which took place July 7, three days before the start of the All-Star break.
"We weren't informed of it until this evening but are actively looking into it now," Daniels said. "The Rangers absolutely do not condone drinking and driving and take the issue very seriously. I'm working to understand the facts and can't address the situation appropriately until then."
Padilla does not speak with the media. Padilla's attorney, Ron Conover, declined to comment on specific details surrounding the arrest. Conover did, however, say Padilla had a blood alcohol content less than the Texas legal limit of .08.
"He was under the legal limit for the state," Conover said. "He was not intoxicated at any time while operating a motor vehicle."
The next step would be a hearing date, but that date had not been set, Conover said.
Padilla, who is scheduled to pitch for the Rangers on Wednesday, had made his last start before the All-Star break on July 5 when he beat Toronto. He did not pitch again until July 13 at Baltimore. He spent the All-Star break in Nicaragua attending to a home that is under construction.
"I'm learning from two of the best in the NFL."
Everybody watches and everybody has an opinion. The wide receivers are the object of so much attention, so much discussion.
Are they good enough? Can the Eagles win the Super Bowl with what they have? Will they look to add to the mix?
These are questions to which I do not have answers. Time comes into play here.
What I know is what I observe and, having seen this group since May, I have some thoughts of my own on the current state of the Eagles' wide receivers ...
First of all, there are no slouches in this group. There were times when, just for giggles, Donovan McNabb would wind up and chuck a fastball at an unsuspecting receiver and see if the youngster could get his hands up quickly enough to prevent a football from wedging into his facemask.
Reggie Brown is working on the little things that add up to big things on the field
This group has represented itself well. Top to bottom, it's a hard-working, professional group. So, kudos to the kids.
Along those same lines, it may be the most promising group I've seen in terms of the ceiling of some of the young players. Reggie Brown, Jason Avant and Hank Baskett are three kids who have a chance to play and play very, very well in this league.
Brown is the headline guy, of course. He missed a day with a hamstring tweak, but he was out there on Monday sizzling again. Brown has prepared himself superbly for the opportunity, and he is unfazed by the pressure that comes with being deemed the go-to receiver in the offense.
"I'm just out there trying to get better every day. I'm working on everything. I think I need to improve every phase of my game," he said. "I have all the confidence in myself. That's never been a problem. Even before last year, I knew what kind of player I could be.
"If you just go out there and work as hard as you can every day, good things are going to happen. I see the hard work paying off."
Baskett, the revelation of training camp in the first week, is a big, strong kid who has caught just about everything thrown his way in camp. He's quick in and out of his cuts and he uses his body very nicely.
I will be interested to see how Baskett reacts now that fans are actually coming out to see what he's all about. There are expectations now for Baskett, who is battling the inevitable rookie wall, the heat, and first-team cornerbacks who are savvy enough to take away his strengths.
Avant joined the party on Monday morning and he was tremendous. I saw him all through the spring and noticed how well he uses his body, how strong he is with his hands and ability to separate using his muscle. Avant is quick in and out of his cuts. He may not run a great 40-yard dash time, but he plays fast.
So it was great to see Avant on the field on Monday. He was immediately part of the offense and McNabb went to him with regularity. It's early on Avant, but the spring practices and Monday -- the times when he wasn't injured -- are really promising.
There are other kids who have caught my eye. Bill Sampy, J.J. Outlaw and Michael Gasperson have had their moments. Gasperson is more polished than the others, having been around for part of last season. I like Outlaw's toughness and his quickness, and we shall see in the preseason games how much he is able to step up and be physical against bigger cornerbacks. Sampy has a chance. He's a good player with good feet. I like the way he runs routes.
So, rounding it up, the future of the wide receivers is exciting. Brown can be a top-shelf receiver. It's hard not to be excited about Baskett and Avant, both from watching them play and from talking to those who really know.
The next question on the docket is this: Do the Eagles have enough among their veterans at this position? I think so, but there are some caveats.
Todd Pinkston has been on and off the practice field nursing his Achilles tendon injury and, well, the goal is to have him ready for September, not necessarily August. Is there concern? I don't know that. I know that it would be encouraging to see him on the field every day working out the soreness, and that every practice he misses increases the anxiety level of Eagles fans.
Jabar Gaffney has largely had a solid camp. I like the way he gets open. He has only missed a throw or two in this camp -- one on which he was wide open Monday morning on a crossing route -- and I think Gaffney's shiftiness is intriguing.
There is every reason to believe that Gaffney can be a first-down-maker in this offense. We'll know a little bit more in the next 10 days, after games against Oakland and Cleveland.
Greg Lewis, to me, is a fine fit as a reserve wide receiver. He's going to get open. He's going to get good matchups. He is going to move the chains. I like him where he is as a third or fourth receiver here.
WR Darnerien McCants has made plays, so is he ready for prime-time duty?
Darnerien McCants is an interesting guy to watch. He has made a bunch of plays in this camp -- including a 95-yard catch and run on Sunday -- and he has that big body and soft hands that make you think he can be big time.
So why isn't he big time?
I don't know.
I need to see McCants more in game situations when he goes against defensive backs who haven't seen him every day in pratice for the last three months.
Justin Jenkins has been as reliable as anybody, but he has to prove he can get to a top-end speed sufficient enough to play well in this league. Carl Ford makes me notice him almost every day. He has quickness and good hands and, well, a good preseason could vault his stok.
A couple of other kids -- Derrick Fenner and Jermaine Jamison -- are just too new to make much of a legitimate opinion on. Jeremy Bloom? He needs to get on the field.
The third question is this: Will the Eagles make a move to improve their wide receivers? That remains to be seen. I've heard all the rumors. I've listened to a thousand fans wonder what happens next.
My stance is that the Eagles will move forward with what they have. There is plenty to work with here. There are also some question marks, which is why everyone watches, sees, talks.
The wide receivers are a work in progress, no doubt about that. There are injuries and inexperience to work through. There is plenty of talent here -- I just think it's going to be so interesting in two years to see where Brown, Avant and Baskett rate --- to develop and grow.
But, hey, don't let me stop you from chattering. The focus is on the wide receivers, and a single preseason won't change that.
