Screen Shot 2011-08-15 at 9.21.26 AM Is that a tattoo on Cole's right arm?

Let’s get this out of the way: today’s my birthday. I’m 28- officially pushing 30. However, if I was a baseball player, I’d just now be entering my prime. That means you can expect 2-3 years of increased productivity on CB: more timely updates, more hilarity, and an inflated worth that might eventually lead to me signing a ludicrous contract with a local media outlet… or the Washington Nationals.

Let’s hit it.

 

Couple of quick notes:

– Quizzo at Drinker’s last week was a raging success. We didn’t rage, per say, but everyone did have a good time. We’ll be doing that the second Thursday of every month, so mark your calendars accordingly. Also, make sure to stop by fine Drinker’s establishments for $1 hot dogs during all Phillies games (Tex-Mex Dog for the victory) and $1 Rolling Rock ponies all-day, every day.

– Philly Phaithful has rolled out two of their finest products ever over the last two weeks. First, the HP3 Good Game, Let’s Go Eat t-shirt, and now the Ed Wade gift that keeps on giving jam. You can grab both right here. Hot seller alert.

– Take 25% off Fatheads and MLB and NBA dartboards at BC Sports. Click here for store locations.

– Finally – very important – beginning Thursday, we will be conducting six consecutive live Phillies blogs. But not just any live blog. No, no. The folks at One Two See are inviting CB readers to take part in a private beta for their brand new interactive live blogging software (read: it’s never been used before). They are a Philadelphia-based company who plans to roll out this technology over the coming months and years, and we were chosen as their test partner. The platform not only allows for live running commentary of games, but also a live user comment stream, the option to pitch questions to the host (me), a live score-tracker (complete with pitch-by-pitch updates), and an endless stream of trivia and polls. 

I am very excited to show this off to you. However, I’d ask that you keep in mind that this is a beta product, and with that comes the potential for minor hiccups during the live blog. In fact, we are going to have some sort of prize for folks who submit voluntary feedback on the product. Consider yourself on the ground floor of what promises to be a hot market over the next few years, with companies aiming to bridge the gap between TV watching and internet surfing. One Two See is leading that charge, and we’re thrilled that they chose Phillies fans to be their guinea pigs.

 

The roundup:

Let’s Go Eat: The Movement.

– Today’s must-read: Hunter Pence spoke with reporters this weekend and talked about everything that makes fans love him: [CSN Philly]

“I feel very welcome. I feel like Philly is a good city that my personality fits in good with. I like the city's mentality — bring your lunchbox to work and let’s get after it,” Pence said. “I feed off of it, I really get excited just watching how Utley goes about it. And Victorino, too. I feel like I have similarities to both of them. I feel really comfortable with who I am here on this team and in this city. I know when I come to the field I’m going to give everything I have on that day. I’m not going to accept anything less. My goal every day I wake up in the morning is I’m going to give all I have on that day and I'm going to get better every day.”

 

Philly.com has a story, as well.

– Bill Lyon, legend, writes about Andy Reid. To be honest, I think we’ve all bloviated about Big Red enough, but there’s something about the way Wild Bill works his words that makes anything he writes readable. He is one of the rare people who could write about taking a poop and you’d read it. Thankfully, however, this one is all about football.

– Tim McManus writes about the next step for Michael Vick and Rob Ellis says this could become an Eagles town again. While I’m not sure we have to choose and think this debate has been rubbed raw like a 17-year-old getting an over-the-pants handy at the prom, Rob’s piece, as always, is worth reading.

– Sean Forman of Baseball Reference called Ryan Howard the seventh best player on the Phillies, based on SABR stats. I’m going to take a deep breath, show you the link where Craig Calcaterra calls Howard overrated, warn you that Craig is trolling on you, then post the link to Forman’s original article. After taking some time to absorb, laugh, punch babies, and piss on a calculator, I’m going to come back later and rip this shit apart.

– Donnie Wahlberg was at CBP on Saturday. Here he is with the most overrated player in baseball:

Screen Shot 2011-08-15 at 9.21.44 AM

A few more here.

– Macy’s is installing one way, I-see-your-undie mirrors in their dressing rooms, ya know, to prevent stealing. If you need me, I’ll be crawling around on my hands and knees with pirate eye in the junior’s department at your local mall. Kidding. Mostly.

– Jack McKeon finally went crazy and optioned Philly fan favorite Logan Morrison this weekend. While I’m not sure LoMo is the hero most of you make him out to be, he was hitting .240 with 17 home runs and 60 RBI. That’s hardly worth of a demotion, especially on a bad team like the Marlins.

Perhaps all that Tweeting got him in trouble:

Screen Shot 2011-08-15 at 9.03.32 AM

– Finally, the Harry Kalas statue dedication was postponed until tomorrow night. Here's a picture (from behind) of HK's statue at CBP.

Screen Shot 2011-08-15 at 9.06.10 AM
via (@cubishboy)

H/T to Daniel for the LoMo stuff