Sharing all info: September 2010

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Medic Ahlert!

Arnold Ahlert lays out why the Dems are going down in November.

One reason:

The health care bill. The absolute epitome of ideological, public-be-damned arrogance. A horrendous compendium of bribes, exploding bureaucracy, runaway costs, written in secret and unread by those who passed it. It includes a mandate, likely un-Constitutional, forcing people to buy health insurance or pay a fine. The same administration which originally claimed the commerce clause of the Constitution made such a fine possible is now saying that the federal governments's "power to tax" justifies it. Irrelevant. 60% of Americans want this monstrosity repealed, ASAP.

And so much more. Liberals look away.

2010 Chone vs 2010 Results

I took a look back at some of the CHONE projections for some of the key players from your 2010 Baltimore Orioles and compared them with the actual numbers and added a few thoughts.

Wigginton

             AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS   HR
Projected   .271  .326  .451  .777   17
Actual      .254  .319  .426  .745   22

I thought the projection for Ty looked a bit optimistic and it turned out that it was. Those aren't bad numbers for a bench/platoon type though. If the Orioles could bring him back next year in that role, I wouldn't be opposed. In the field he is a jack-of-all-trades but master of none type but he is a capable sub around the infield and as a corner outfielder.

Izturis

             AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS   HR
Projected   .255  .301  .334  .635    2
Actual      .236  .282  .275  .557    1

Izzy came in well under even the paltry projections. You have to wonder if the glove is good enough to justify the weak bat. I love having a guy out there who is going to catch the ball, I just don't know if it's worth the drawbacks at the plate.

Pie

             AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS   HR
Projected   .273  .332  .435  .767   10 
Actual      .271  .303  .399  .703    5

Man, I like Felix Pie but are these the numbers you wanted to see from him in 2010. He was injured but the lack of patience and relative lack of power make him questionable as anything more than a 4th outfielder in the long term

Jones

             AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS   HR
Projected   .294  .349  .497  .846   18 
Actual      .280  .322  .440  .762   19

In a recurring theme, Jones basically held steady instead of making real progress with his bat in 2010. Just another young hitter that is not developing much under the Oriole coaches.

Markakis

             AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS   HR
Projected   .301  .373  .484  .857   19 
Actual      .293  .366  .426  .791   10

Yeah, yeah...Nick is not living up to expectations. I've beat that horse enough.

Wieters

             AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS   HR
Projected   .289  .355  .460  .815   15 
Actual      .252  .322  .383  .706   11

This is a load of crap. Where's the Wieters we were promised? A 15.3% line drive rate? Why can't this kid drive the ball? Buck needs to fix this kid if he hopes to win in Baltimore.

Scott

             AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS   HR
Projected   .259  .337  .471  .808   21 
Actual      .288  .365  .545  .910   27

The only regular to outperform expectations, Scott has put together a career year. My head says trade him, my heart says stick him at first base.

Guthrie

             IP     K     BB    HR    ERA
Projected   184.0  107    57    28   4.65 
Actual      201.1  114    57    25   3.98

“If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, it must be a duck.” Guthrie has outperformed his projections, his FIP and his peripherals for four straight seasons. You have to accept that even though he is not the classic success story, that he is a good pitcher. He doesn't strikeout a bunch of guys, he gives up his share of homers and he doesn't get a ton of ground balls but he limits the walks and finds ways to get the opposition out.

Matusz

             IP     K     BB    HR    ERA
Projected   100.0   80    38    13   4.59 
Actual      169.2  134    61    18   4.40

If you extrapolate the difference in innings, that's a pretty good projection for Matusz. The second half has certainly been encouraging.

Bergesen

             IP     K     BB    HR    ERA
Projected   140.0   73    43    18   4.82 
Actual      163.0   77    51    25   5.02

Fairly close for Bergesen too. Given his strong(er) second half, I like Bergy to improve on these numbers next season. He is, as he always has been, a decent looking back of the rotation starter.

Toomey Hits Back...

... against Sestak's negative ads.

Fair enough.

Pounding the Table with Broccoli

George Will on the record of this Democratic Congress:

It is a lawyers' adage: If you have the law on your side, argue the law; if you have the facts, argue the facts; if you have neither, pound the table. Forgive the Democrats for their current table-pounding.

They cannot run on their record, which has two pillars. One is the stimulus that did not stimulate as they said it would (or else unemployment would not be above 8 percent). The report that the recession ended in June 2009 means the feeble recovery began before stimulus spending really started.

The second pillar is the health-care legislation. This may not be (as suggested by Michael Barone, author of the Almanac of American Politics) the most unpopular major legislation since the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. But it remains as unpopular as it was when the administration told Americans to pipe down and eat their broccoli.

Read it all.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Heh!

Two Things California Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez Can't Stand: Racial Intolerance and the Vietnamese.

UPDATE: Make up your own ala:

Two Things Joe Sestak Can't Stand: Class Warfare and The Rich.
Two Things Gov. Chris Christie Can't Stand: Being called "Fat" and dieting.
etc.

Good Newz All Around

With all the hype Michael Vick has been getting lately, there's an even better story out there about second chances, kindness and redemption.

Say "Hi" to Zippy and the Hernandez family.

Click here for more photos of these terrific animals and the people who adopted them. Kudos to Jim Gorant, the Villanova grad who covered the story for Sports Illustrated and beyond.

Are Dems Starting to Give Up on Joe?

The Weekly Standard sez:

According to (our) source in Pennsylvania, the DSCC has purchased TV ads for the coming week only in the Pittsburgh media market, where Democrats are facing particularly bad poll numbers. Pro-Toomey groups will be heavily outspending Sestak and Senate Democrats this week, says our source: "Sestak plus DSCC is smaller in every market, except Pittsburgh, than Toomey plus the Club for Growth plus American Crossroads."

The DSCC's nearly $3 million ad campaign over the past five weeks hasn't done much to budge poll numbers in the Keystone state. According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, Toomey's lead over Sestak has been fairly stable during that time, with Toomey holding anywhere from a 6 to 8 point lead over Sestak. Toomey's current lead over Sestak in the RCP average of polls is 6.5 points.

But that's down a couple of percentage points from the last couple of weeks. I think Joe's negative ads tying Toomey to Wall Street may be working. The Dems would be dumb to give up on this race. But then the Dems have been dumb about a lot of things lately.

U.S.S Obama

Senator Star Wars

WSJ's James Taranto frequently (and cleverly) referred to our retiring, party-switching senior senator this way: Arlen Specter (R2D2 Pa.)

Apparently, he has a new phone coming out:

Star Wars-themed R2-D2 smartphone with Binoculars app to launch

p.s. Would that would that make Sen. Bob Casey C3P-O? Because we can see a resemblence.

Fair Acres For Sale?

It won't happen tomorrow or the next day, but as budget pressures increase it's something county council will have to look at. As councilman Andy Lewis says "all options should be on the table."

The county is not legally responsible to run a nursing home. But it is certainly a nice service for the 900 clients who reside at the county high rise for the elderly. The vast majority of them couldn't afford nursing home care in a private facility.

Fair Acres Executive Director Joe Dougherty runs the place at 98.5 percent capacity and as well as any county home in the state. A private owner would cut benefits and salaries of staff and probably some services as well.

In the years to come, the question is, will county taxpayers care enough about having the home to pay for it?

My print column is up.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Who's In Charge Here?

Jonah Goldberg isn't the first person to notice that it is the liberals of the Democratic party who are most responsible for the sad state of public school education in this country but he does a pretty good job of reiterating that fact:

Amidst all of this talk about education this week, there’s an omission that drives me crazy. Yes, yes, the horrid state of American education is an American problem, and to that extent we’re all to blame in some abstract sort of way. But is there another major area of American public policy that is more screwed up and more completely the fault of one ideological side? Which party do the teachers’ unions support overwhelmingly? What is the ideological outlook of the bureaucrats at the Department of Education? Which party claims it “cares” more about education and demagogues any attempt by the other party to reform it? Who has controlled the large inner city school systems for generations? What is the ideological orientation of the ed school racket? Whose preferred teaching methods have been funded and whose have been ridiculed?

You know the answer to all of these questions. And yet to listen to the debate this week, you would think this is all a bipartisan problem because Republicans share the blame for refusing to fund schools enough.

Read it all.

A Yen for Income Equality

Headline: Census finds record gap between rich and poor.

The top-earning 20 percent of Americans — those making more than $100,000 each year — received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S., compared with the 3.4 percent earned by those below the poverty line, according to newly released census figures. That ratio of 14.5-to-1 was an increase from 13.6 in 2008 and nearly double a low of 7.69 in 1968.

Note, they didn't "earn" their income, they "received" it. I guess Obama and the Democrats aren't doing a very good job "spreading the wealth around."

Fitting that the AP article was written by a woman named Hope Yen.

DEP? No! TMNTs

Officials from the state DEP Office of Environmental Justice held a meeting to explain to Eddystone residents that there wasn't much for them to do about the new shredding facility planned for the old Foamex plant. Basically, they said, it's legal, get over it.

These follks don't need state bureaucrats, they the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The TMNTs know how to deal with Shredder.

Bruce Irvine, Esq., Charmster

Newtown Square politcal gadfly Regi Siberski, a stickler for good, responsive government, recently forwarded this question from an unidentified resident to township officials.

The recent report in September 22, 2010 County Press mentioned
a successful golf outing at the Edgmont County Club to benefit of the
planned Veteran's Memorial on West Chester Pike. The list of donors
supporting the event included Newtown Township and Newtown Township
Police Department.

Can a municipality or its Department of Police be a major
sponsor to any cause and donate tax dollars to support an event without
prior public permission from the full governing body?

Here is township solicitor Bruce Irvine's reply:

regi..again get a life....it was a 100$ hole sposor for a charitible
cause...stop it.....

sposor? charitible? 100$?

Note the charm, the respect for local taxpayers, the spelling! Township solicitor. Nice work if you can get it.

President Meat Loaf?

Chris Christie has positioned himself perfectly to run for the Oval Office.

Happy Halliday

Phils do it again. Win the National League East for the 4th time in a row. Ho hum! It's getting back to (and winning) the World Series that will really impress.

Or are we becoming spoiled brats?

Monday, September 27, 2010

Preseason Predictions Revisited

As the season heads into its final week, it seemed like a good time to revisit my preseason predictions. As it turns out, they were fairly optimistic so they were also largely wrong. Here we go.

* Garrett Atkins won't be a regular with this team by June 15th. Somebody has to come to their senses. Nice clutch hitting in Tampa but that can't last.

Done and done. He was released before the end of June.

* Nick Markakis...breakout! Enos Slaughter for the new millennium. I recycling this from last season.

Yeah. Maybe someday but I'm done expecting anything more than average production from Nick at this point. Wrong.

* Brian Matusz....breakout! Don't be surprised if Matusz is having Tim Lincecum-type success (without the gawdy strikeout totals...but damn good ones) by the second half of the season.

Second half stats from Matusz and Lincecum over their first full season:

K/9    BB/9    K/BB   WHIP   HR   ERA
Matusz         7.0     3.2    2.19   1.30    8  4.27
Lincecum       8.6     4.0    2.15   1.30    5  3.38

Matusz has certainly improved as the season has gone along but not quite to the level I had expected. Close though. The walks are down, the strikeouts are up. Things are moving in the right direction.

* Matt Wieters...breakout! I'm going with the Keith Law prediction of "well over .300 with 20-25 homers" for his sophomore season.

Really wrong on this one. Wieters has actually taken a step back. Not a good sign.

* Adam Jones....no breakout! It would be hard to call this a breakout since he was pretty good last year but I expect that this is the year Jones starts to show people that Adrian Gonzalez is not necessary because the Orioles already have a bat as good in centerfield. Look for an average around .300 with something approaching 25 homers.

Not exactly. If you take away his hideous April, he looks like a guy who can hit at those levels. But he has basically held steady on his production from last year. Wrong.

* 80 wins. That's my guess. And with a little luck...you never know.

You wonder what would have happened if Buck Showalter was managing back in April. But the Orioles were lucky to avoid 100 losses. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

* Ben McDonald becomes a surprise hit on MASN.

He's been fine but no better than Brady Anderson.

* Kevin Millwood 2010 = Rick Sutcliffe 1992

It started out that way but certainly didn't end up there. Sutcliffe finished 1992 with 3.1 WAR for the Orioles. Millwood has 0.9 WAR. Millwood almost met the minimal expectations: league average pitching and eating innings. He pitched 180+ innings, which was good, but a 5.29 ERA is only good for an ERA+ of 80, which is not so good. Wrong.

* Felix Pie forces something this summer...a trade, a position change....something.

Pie has kind of made himself the forerunner for the LF job in 2011 since his return from injury earlier in the season. But a batting line of .274/.304/.401 isn't going to lock it down for him. Thus, I doubt the team makes any moves assuming that Pie will be the man. Not so much on this one.

That was kind of depressing. Anyone ready for 2011?

Segway to Heaven

Owner of the Segway company rides one over a cliff. Too bad. Sounds like he was a good guy.

Nick Markakis and Arbitrary Standards

I'm not above beating a dead horse. This blurb from Phil Rogers column in the Baltimore Sun just got to me...

The Orioles' Nick Markakis remains one of the best hitters no one notices. He entered the weekend with 43 doubles, making him only the third player in history to have four consecutive seasons of at least 43 doubles. The other two were Joe Medwick and Tris Speaker.

OK. On the surface that seems kind of impressive, accomplishing something that only two other players have done in the entire history of baseball and keeping some company with Hall of Famers while you're at it.

But a closer look shows otherwise. A cumulative comparison of the four consecutive seasons of 43 doubles or more for each player:

                    AVG    OBP   SLG   OPS+   2B   HR
Markakis '07-'10   .297   .370  .462   120   180   71
Speaker  '20-'23   .377   .467  .578   169   209   39 
Medwick  '35-'38   .351   .390  .583   158   213   93

And their numbers through the end of their age 26 season:

             AVG    OBP   SLG   OPS+   2B   HR
Markakis    .296   .367  .460   118   205   87
Speaker     .340   .413  .494   168   216   39 
Medwick     .338   .373  .560   147   305  131

You can make the case that Markakis is an underrated hitter but not because he hit a bunch of doubles. Speaker and Medwick were on another level when it came to hitting. Markakis brings one aspect of their game but is not the superior hitter that these guys were. Comparing Nick to those guys because of some arbitrary numbers is misguided and an incomplete assessment of his abilities.

I think there is an "Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome when it comes to local writers and fans assessing Nick's true worth. He certainly was one of the more underrated hitters in the game but coming off what is arguably his weakest offensive season, he has become overrated instead. Decent hitter. Not a great one.

Beware the Ginger Snap!

So says 77-year-old Mary Jane Birkofer of Brookhaven in this e-mail:

I had a recent experience with Sweetzels, the cookies were too hard & crisp and did not soften when dipped in milk. I called Sweetzels and was given a refund but no reason for the problem. On Fri. Sept. 24th I bought Ivins and had the same problem. I called 1-877-932-7948, the number on box. Info on box is SuperValu Inc., Eden Prairie, MN 55344. I was told that they would look into problem and contact National Brands and have them call me. National Brands called and I was shocked to find out they have had several complaints and were trying to remove Ivins from the store shelves because of possible choking on the hard crumbs. They imply that they are overcooked and are manufactured by same baker that makes Sweetzels. My concern was that if I gave a child one of these spiced wafers they could choke or possibly die. God forbid I would have offered one to 2 small children next door. This is Halloween time and all school children look forward to treat of cider and spiced wafers. I suggested that National Brands put ads in local papers and on store shelves place a warning but would be best to remove all wafers from store shelves until a change is made. Ivins' are sold at Acme and Sweetzels at Pathmark, Giant and I don't know where else. I realize that Spiced Wafers are a very local Fall & Halloween treat. In fact my sister lives in Ala. and last season I sent Ivins to her (her choice), she too said they aren't the same as years ago. We are 77 yrs. of age and remember all the happy times at Halloween time and guess we just want todays children to enjoy the treat also. I also suggested that local TV stations could investigate this and report to the public if this is really a serious problem. Thanks for any attention you give this matter.

Mary Jane Birkofer

So there! You've been given fair warning. If you don't want to risk choking and possbily DYING, chew your ginger snap 100 times. Or better yet, go with a nice big piece of soft, moist carrot cake. It has that delicious cinnamon flavor too without the risk of hard crumbs that might KILL YOU or a loved one.

Vicktory!

The play of Michael Vick is the story of the young 2010-11 NFL Season. Having won the starting quarterback job from the young and promising Kevin Kolb, he has performed spectacularly, leading the Eagles to two wins and an almost remarkable comeback victory in game one.

Andy Reid's much criticized decision to start him in game three is looking more and more like a no-brainer. How do you sit down the hottest and one of the most effective QBs in the league?

Given the team's flaws, it's weak offensive line, it's suspect defense (although it played well yesterday) the need to be able to put points on the board is essential. Grind it out, defensive football is the game plan of the past. Wide-open, run and gun is the game plan of this Eagles team. That Vick is showing the maturity to wait just a bit longer for his receivers to get open underneath, is opening the field for him to run, if they don't.

He is an offensive weapon extraordinare. Whether better NFL teams will come up with defenses that better contain and confuse him, remains to be seen. As our Bob Grotz says, Vick is bound to stumble sometime this season. What he has proven already though is that with the receivers he has, and those legs of his, he can strike at anytime.

Now, for those who will never forgive him his past crimes against man's best friends, I sense a softening.

With yesterday's game safely in hand in the middle of the fourth quarter, Mrs. Spencerblog and I took our two mutts for a walk.
For the first time, she admitted Vick's talents and the Eagles' need of them. Still, that didn't keep her from mentioning the fact that, among his other numerous crimes, he'd taken his own family's dog and threw it to a trained killer just to see how long she'd last.

We - the dogs and I - ignored her. It's too awful and gruesome to think about. We choose to believe he is a changed man.

And yet, his new success could re-inflate that old sense of entitlement that comes (for some) with being praised beyond all common sense and proportion.

Did those many months in prison, chasten him or is this all an act? Eventually, we'll find out.

In the meantime, the NFL's first big game of the season is coming up this weekend; Philadelphia vs. Washington. Vick vs. McNabb. The Thrilla in South Philla. Should be fun.

"Stop Me, Before I Spend Some More!"

Henninger: Tea Party needs to become the Stop-the-Spending Party.

What the tea party and independent voters sympathetic to it are about is giving the United States the tools to compete again in the big global game. It starts with Stop-the-Spending. To the Democrats now demonizing the tea party and its candidates, those three words mean Armageddon, the end of their game.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Party of NO... More, thank you!

The Party of NO More, thank you!

Spooky Times

Chesco Judge, SE Delco give cases the boot.

HOPE? Nope!

Obama "Hope" Artist losing it.

Friday, September 24, 2010

BOO!

The show will go on tonight at the Pennhurst Asylum.

Chester county Common Pleas court Judge Richard Shenkin turned down an "emergency" injunction request to prevent the attraction from opening.

The petition filed on behalf of a Pennhurst neighbor named Saul Rivkin by Attorney Stephen Siana failed to show "immediate and irreparable harm" to him or the community, according to the judge.

That was good news for the some 90 part-time employees (a dozen or so attended the proceeding) who will go to work tonight hoping to scare the bejesus out of paying customers.

Attorney for Richard Chakejian, Brian Calloway, pointed out that his client had done everything that was asked of him by the township to open the attraction.

More later.

The Fat Man Sings

Fresh off his appearance in Delaware County, Gov. Meat Loaf appears in California to stump for Meg Whitman. And when a heckler attempts to give his two cents, the Guv lets the "divider" have it.

Incidentally, after my Wednesday column, in which I wrote what I thought were flattering things about Gov. Christie but made note of his being rotund, I got an e-mail from someone named Charles P. Sexton, who complained I was not respectful enough of the New Jersey governor.

"You are the last guy I ever expected make fun of a person because they may have a personal problem such as weight control."

I wrote this man back and asked he if he has the personal problem of being "out of his mind?"

During Christie's campaign for governor, his opponent Jon Corzine ran ads seeming to attack him for being fat. Christie went on Imus and made fun of himself and his corpulence. Corzine ended up looking ridiculous for bringing it up.

Christie is now the antithesis of the cute, blow-dried, sleek and smooth talking pol, which makes him a breath of fresh air to a lot of voters. He is direct, blunt, and built like a an defensive lineman. That, by the way, is how he comes at his opponents. Good for him.

In writing back to this Sexton fellow, who - I believe - once had something to do with Delaware County politics, I suggested he read the column again and to stop being so sensitive (or pretending to be).

In reply, he admitted he'd never heard of Meat Loaf (shame on him) and that he still loved me. What could I say to that, but my standard: "I love you too, sweetie."

God, help me.

UPDATE: He also invited me to lunch, which reminded me of this scene from Albert Brooks' "Lost in America." (Stay with it for the pay off at the end).

(Spoiler Alert: "Don't have lunch with this man. Be very careful. He'll want to take you to lunch. Don't do it. He'll tell you all about the future, how good the future is going to be here. I've seen the future. It's a bald-headed man from New York.")

I've seen the future too. It's a fat man from New Jersey.

The Dems' Business Bashing Isn't Working

Kim Strassel explains why Joe Sestak's attempt to demonize Pat Toomey as the Congressman from Wall Street is failing.

Something significant is happening on the electoral battlefield, and it has an "Inc." by its name. Many candidates running as Republicans could as easily be sitting for a business profile. Twenty months of Democratic business-bashing has not turned the electorate against entrepreneurs. Quite the opposite. This election is highlighting a political turn, not unlike that of the late 1970s, in which voters are looking to free-market, pro-growth candidates to turn back government.

Pennhurst Is Not Auschwitz...

... and the lawsuit to prevent the haunted asylum scare-fest from opening is bogus. My print column is up.

Pot Calls Kettle: "Dirty, Nasty!"

New York Dems compliment each other:

Spitzer: Cuomo ‘Dirtiest, Nastiest’ Of Politicians

Got to love the story's kicker:

Cuomo’s campaign said his record, credibility and honor speak for themselves, then added: “As do Mr. Spitzer’s.”
Spitzer, who resigned in 2008 amid a prostitution scandal, has said he’ll support Cuomo for governor, although they’ve had conflicts.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Around the Oriole Blog-O-Sphere: Spoiler Alert Edition

Brooks Robinson's career nearly spoiled in Vancouver? Read the true story here!

If you're going to bunt, at least be good at it. Roar from 34 tries to identify the best bunters in Baltimore.

Some guy wrote a Dear John letter to the Baltimore Orioles over at Yahoo Sports.

Hot off his victory against Boston, Expatriate (Baltimore Sports Report) ponders the second-half resurgence of Brad Bergesen.

Funniest. Post. Ever.

Neal S of The Loss Column ponders the strangeness of facing the Red Sox in late September with nothing for Baltimore to spoil.

Forget playing spoiler. Patrick Smith at Bugs & Cranks believes the Orioles have finally come into their own. Almost.

Paul Swaney of Stadium Journey recently reviewed Harbor Park, home of the Norfolk Tides. If you enjoyed that one, he's also reviewed Camden Yards, Harry Grove Stadium (home of the Frederick Keys) and Prince Georges Stadium (home of the Bowie Baysox).

On a subject that is close to my heart, The Oriole Way presents his review of new beer bar Alewife...one that happens to be less than half a mile from Gate H at Camden Yards.

The Eutaw Street Hooligans honor Nick Markakis for being only the third player in MLB history to hit 43 doubles for four straight seasons.

Michael Vick "Maligned"?

From today's lead story:

Before Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid changes his mind yet again about his starting quarterback, many Delaware County fans are lining up behind the man once maligned as a “dog killer.”

The definition of "malign" is

To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about; speak evil of.

Michael Vick wasn't maligned as a dog killer. He is an admitted and convicted dog killer.

He not only killed them, he tortured them. In saying so, I am not maligning Michael Vick, just accurately describing his past actions.

Still, count me among the people who believe he deserved the second chance the Eagles have given him. He did his time, paid his fines, and lost $100 million in the bargain. He has apologized for his crimes and past behavior. He is taking part in animal cruelty prevention programs. It is hard to say what more he could be doing to deserve the second chance he has been given.

Having signed him and paid him millions of dollars, the Eagles organization can be expected to use him on the football field as it sees fit. Starter or back-up, Vick has so far proven himself a capable (and exciting) NFL quarterback. Millions of football fans will be interested to see how he does this Sunday and the rest of the season as the Eagles starter. And why shouldn't they be? His is a fascinating story of a poor kid rising to the height of sports stardom only to fall almost as far as a man can fall. He is working his way back to excellence on the field and respectability off it.

What football fan won't be interested in how Vick and the Eagles do this weekend?

Some critics of Andy Reid starting Vick, say he is postponing the Eagles chances of going to another Superbowl. They say that young Kevin Kolb, the man Reid said was is his Number 1 quarterback, will need time to develop and Reid is denying him that time by starting Vick. These same critics say that Vick doesn't have what it takes to take a team deep into the playoffs. To win in the playoffs you need a well-defended pocket passer, who can surgically pick apart a defense. Maybe so. But right now the Eagles's offensive line isn't among the best in the league. And right now, the Eagles are a better team with a QB who can escape the rush and run for a first down when one is needed.

Good sports franchises have the patience to develop young players who appear to have great potential. All the Eagles have to do is look across the parking lot to see such a franchise. But then, football is a little different than baseball. The season is shorter. Every loss means more.

As far as the Eagles are concerned, that they let a team like Detroit put up 32 points against them, does not auger well for their defensive talents. If they aren't going to stop teams, they are going to have to score a lot of points against them. Who better than to have a double-threat like Vick behind center?

Suddenly, this is not the rebuilding year, Eagles fans were led to expect it would be. Suddenly, the Eagles are thinking now, not tomorrow, not two years or three years into the future. Now.

For a fan-base as demanding, as invested, as emotional as the Eagles fan base is -- the future is always NOW!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Independents Flocking to Toomey

Toomey has "slim" lead against Sestak. The real news is that he is up 18 points among Independents. That's a big number.

He Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth

Governor Meat Loaf and other matters... my print column is up.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

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