Crossing Broad

Doc Has Something Up His Sleeve, Dom Brown is 0 for Spring, and Another Doc Weighs in on Uts

Blue Jays fans suck via "likbskippy"

Consider that our triple-D headline, if you will.

- The Phillies beat the Blue Jays today in Dunedin, 6-3. Doc, who threw two scoreless innings (yawn) spoke with reporters after the game and gave to us this little tid bit via Jayson Stark:

This bulletin from Roy Halladay to hitters everywhere: There are "a couple of (new) things I want to work on this spring." Scary

 

The Cy Young award, perfect game, and playoff no-hitter wasn't enough.

He also voiced his disdain for Dunedin via David Hale:

Doc on pitching in Dunedin: "I got sent down four times in that office, the last time was to A-ball. So I’ll be glad to get out of here.”

 

Hale also provided some video of additional Doc comments- after the jump.

- Despite lowering his hands this spring (which were finding their way north again today) Dom Brown went 0-for-4 today (0-for-9 in the spring). By my count, that makes him 2-for-38 between winter ball and spring training. So much for that offseason progression. Yay Ben Francisco!

- Dr. David Rubenstein told the WIP Morning Show today that Utley's injury is likely not severe and shouldn't affect his hitting, since the tendinitis is in his "lead leg" not his trailing leg, which does most of the pushing. I'll buy that. But given the fact that Davey Lopes alluded to Utley having a knee problem last year, I'm not convinced it's just going to go away. Tendinitis has the habit of recurring over and over again. Phil? Phil Connors?

Video of Doc after the jump.

Flyers Hold Steady at Deadline

For fear of writing an even more cliche'd headline, the Flyers didn't do much at today's deadline, other than acquire minor leaguer Tom Sestito. And that's pretty much exactly what they should have done- nothing.

Two weeks ago, they acquired Kris Versteeg to add more scoring, and, over the weekend, added defenseman Nick Boynton for depth. There's not a lot of holes, folks.

Nothing to see here.

Taking Jayson Werth to Task

As I mentioned this morning, from time to time, I will be contributing to CBSPhilly.com. It will give a chance to expand upon some of the stories on this site, plus reach an entirely new audience for CB... because there are no doubt more people out there interested in blurry TV screen grabs, Jeff Carter exploits, and something something Cliff Lee.

Today, I explain my problem with Jayson Werth.

Give it a read. Opine, hate, agree. The choice is yours.

Read it.

Caption This! Car Bomb Loses at Wii

H/T to Pat

Get Tickets to "Welcome" Back Jayson Werth

Our friends over at Tiq IQ put together this nifty little graphic, which shows prices for Werth's return to Philly are below season averages.

Crossing Broad Tickets has all available tickets from StubHub, eBay, Tickets Now, Ticket Network, etc., rounded up in one place, sortable by price and location. Really, no need to go anywhere else.

Get your tickets here to see Werth. I'll be firmly planted in right field.

Also, thanks to the success of our partnership with TiqIQ, they've given us access to their new Multi-Event User Interface before it launches across the their entire network.  In addition to providing a sneak peek at the latest in ticket buying technology, TiqIQ would also appreciate your feedback.  Any comments, questions or issues are welcome!  Please send them to james@tiqiq.com.

Video: Charlie Sheen Drops an Allen Iverson Reference

We're really reaching for ways to post Charlie Sheen stories now, but luckily, mid-way through this rant on the Today Show, Sheen dropped an AI practice? reference... so now we can post it.

Ever miss a day of work?

Not a day that ever cost anybody any money. I missed a day of practice. We're talking about practice, to quote the great Allen Iverson. Practice. Come on guys, we're talking about practice.

 

Amazing.

Lord help us all if Sheen, who is now hanging out with Lenny Dykstra and Brian Wilson, ever buddies up with Allen Iverson (also bottoming out). 

Watch it, after the jump.

So, a Couple of Eagles Asked Brandon Graham for a Loan

Tremendous story by Tim McManus this morning over at Philly Sports Daily. The looming NFL lockout appears to be nothing more than a fight between millionaires and billionaires. But when you consider that many NFL players will play in the league for far less than a decade, sign one lucrative contract (at best), and have no other discernible skill in life, what you're left with is a handful of set-for-life players and a bunch of guys who are going to be broke just a couple of years after they hang it up (78% of them).

It's guys like that who sought assistance from Brandon Graham, who signed a $14 million contract and has a group of trusted advisors:

This makes him attractive to the needy and the greedy seeking some liquid – including his own teammates. By Graham’s count, at least two fellow Eagles have asked him for substantial loans to get them through the lockout.

The most he’s gotten hit up for?

“100K,” said Graham.

“They try not to make it awkward. They’ll come to you like they’re joking, but they’re serious. They’re trying to feel you out, to see what you’ll say.”

Graham always has the same reply: No.

“I’ll be like, ‘What are you going to do with it, other than blow it?’ I don’t want to be beefing with guys on my team because they owe me money,” said Graham.

 

Besides the obvious chuckle that comes with hearing an NFL player asked a teammate for a loan, situations like this allow us to see just how much of a gap exists between the owners and the players.

Pretty much a must read from T-Mac.

Your Monday Morning Roundup

Why didn't you come to the Yankees?

Boom.

In case you were one of the 900 people asking about Cliff Lee's shirt, Nike has said they WILL go on-sale at some point soon. They should be in-stock at the Majestic Clubhouse store at CBP. But if you think that's cool, you should and see what we have coming out at Philly Phaithful.

Couple of quick notes:

- We are going to reduce the frequency of the CB Six Pack. We tried to do it daily, but the fact of the matter is it takes a little while to create all the questions, find the pictures, and post it every morning. It was infringing upon us keeping up on everything that was going on in the sports world. We'll do it once or twice a week- it will be much more creative that way. We'll post the results of the fantasy question when we do the Six Pack this week, and we'll continue to post new questions, for prizes, on a weekly basis.

- Speaking of new features, keep sending your questions, Tweets, or comments for the CB Mailbag. We'll have a second edition coming up this week.

- You can take 10% off your entire in-store purchase at BC Sports. It's simple, click here to view a list of locations, go into the store, save 10%. Simple.

- The folks from the Business of Sports are having another networking event on Monday, March 28th, at the Field House fom 6:30-9:30 (tenative start time). Always a good event, with a number of connected sports folks. You can find all of the details here.

- Beginning today, I will be a featured blogger on CBSPhilly.com. You can find my stuff on the right hand side of the page under CBS Philly Blogs. It will give me a chance to expand on some of the stuff on site and reach an entirely different audience. Our links will also soon be featured on the CBS Philly sports page. 

- You can get the new Mike Richards Shorthanded Assassin shirt or the Flyrish shirt right here.

The roundup:

- Jeff Lurie won an Oscar.

- Chase Utley is hurt- we were right all along.

- Jayson Werth hates the Phillies. GM Mike Rizzo denies that was ever said.

- Pictures of the Phillies golfing in Florida.

- The Sixers are over .500.

- Charlie Sheen and Lenny Dykstra- from Friday, if you missed it.

- And DeSean Jackson shot a Nike commercial this weekend with Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire. 

Angry Lavs

Lavs was not happy after last night's 4-1 loss in Ottawa: [transcription via Philly Sports Daily]:

Q: Can you explain it?

Laviolette: “No.”

Q: You could’ve had four or five goals in that first period.

Laviolette: “Yep.”

Q: Do you think your team was a little bit frustrated because it wasn’t ahead 4-0 after the first period?

Laviolette: “I can’t answer that. That’s a question I can’t answer.”

Q: Peter, obviously with a lot of injuries and illnesses and doing what you had to do today with JvR off – is chemistry disrupted tonight, at all? Did that play a part in it?

Laviolette: “Again, I don’t have an answer 100 percent on that. We were clearly outworked for 40 minutes. I don’t whether you’re right. I don’t whether you’re right. I don’t have those answers. I’d be guessing.”

Q: What’d you think of [Erik] Gustafsson tonight?

Laviolette: “I thought he did a good job. He moved the puck well. I thought he played well.”

Q: How about [Nikolay] Zherdev?

Laviolette: “I thought he tried. I thought he tried to skate hard.”

 

That'd be a first for Zherdev.

Video of the presser, after the jump.

Chase Utley's Body Soreness is Actually Patellar Tendinitis

Oh good. Looks like the Phillies have had their first Eagles moment.

Remember this raised eyebrow from Wednesday?

Chase will sit out at least the first spring training game, because of body soreness from "intense training." My eybrow, it's raised.

Well, the eyebrow don't lie- Chase does. Ruben Amaro told reporters this morning that an MRI revealed Utley has patellar tendinitis. What is patellar tendinitis? I thought you'd never ask: [itendonitis.com]

Patellar tendonitis is a condition that is described by an injury affecting the tendons that connects the patella or kneecap to the tibia or shinbone. The patellar tendon functions primarily to assist the lower leg muscles, allowing movement. This tendon is generally in use while a person is jumping, pedaling the bicycle, and when kicking a ball.

This commonly occurs when the patellar tendon is overused during workouts, causing stress on the tendon. The body may attempt to repair the small tears, but if it can't keep up, the inflammation in the tendon may worsen. Soon, the pain will grow until it becomes constant. Patellar tendonitis commonly occurs in athletes who are required to jump frequently in sports like volleyball, soccer, and basketball. Due to the nature of stress involved in this injury, it is often called as the jumper's knee.

 

Rest is generally the cure for mild tendinitis and Chase says surgery has not been explored as an option.

Utley's knee is fine when hitting, but it becomes inflamed when running and fielding- just two of three movements needed for baseball.

He will be out indefinitely. Happy Sunday!

Jayson Werth Hates the Phillies

Truth.

Just in case you were still wondering what sort of reception you were going to give Jayson Werth upon his return, this should help you make up your mind.

In the absence of a competitive Mets team, the Nationals are quickly becoming our biggest rival. They signed Werth and reportedly made a run at Cliff Lee. Their fans are planning to stage a coup in their own ballpark. And now come these comments from Werth and GM Mike Rizzo.

In an article in the Washington Post, Tom Boswell detailed one of the reasons our lowly friends to the south grossly overpaid for Werth: The edge he brings with him.

Boswell recounted an event that we told you about on Wednesday, one where Werth applauded new teammate Drew Storen for brushing him back. Werth walked-it-off against Storen last September and said he would like his new Stanford educated teammate even more if he threw one at him in batting practice.

Shortly after that encounter, Werth walked behind the cage where Rizzo was standing: [Washington Post]

Once Werth got back behind the cage, Rizzo said, "I hate the [expletive] Phillies." The GM then ran off a list of borderline dirty plays and purpose pitches in recent years by the Nats' nemesis. "I hate the Phillies, too," said Werth. Unspoken, but hanging in the air was a new idea for the Nats: So, let's play more like the Phillies: mean, grimy and a little nasty.

Can Werth fill that bill? There's no guarantee. In Philly, he was just part of a whole team portrait with tobacco juice dribbling through chin stubble. His manager's nickname was "The Red Devil," some coaches had a hothead history and Chase Utley, whom Werth emulates, was Mr. Spit in Your Eye. The Phils staff didn't exactly consider Werth, who has his moods, a low-maintenance star.

 

What a perfect asshole. I wonder what he hates the most- the fact that the team gave him a second chance when no one else was willing to do so, the World Series ring he won, or the fan base that turned him into a cult hero. Which is it, Jayson?

Mets Were Bailed Out by Baseball Last Fall

Mets owner Fred Wilpon and Prince Harry

Like a car company in the Obama era, the Mets received bailout money from Major League Baseball last fall: [New York Times]

The Mets have exhausted baseball’s standard bank line of credit, tens of millions of dollars that Mr. Selig and the sport’s owners make available to teams for a variety of reasons in the course of a year. The owners also have more than $400 million in debt on the team. Thus, the additional money provided by Mr. Selig — done in secret last November — might have been crucial in keeping the club functioning. Three weeks ago, after months spent denying that they were in any significant financial trouble, Mr. Wilpon and Mr. Katz announced that they were willing to sell 25 percent of the club, which is valued by Forbes magazine at $858 million. In recent days, the men indicated they were willing to sell even a larger share of the team, but they have insisted they do not want to give up majority ownership.

 

Funny how a team with a $140 million payroll needs a bailout. That's what a Ponzi scheme will do to you.

Much more at the New York Times.

The Amazin' Mets, folks.