Deitch Column that his suck-ass paper did not put online

DENVER – Trades are an imperfect science. When two teams agree to a deal, clearly both sides believe the deal was at least balanced, and probably leaning in their favor. The goal for general managers is to make more good trades than bad trades, and the more significant the trade the more a G.M. needs a high success rate. It takes time to make a fair judgment on a trade. However, there are some trades where it doesn't matter some much whether they are good, bad or insignificant. The question begs: Was it necessary at all?

Just before the start of the season Phillies G.M. Pat Gillick decided that he wanted a power-hitting fifth outfielder enough that he traded Rob Tejeda to the pitching-desperate Rangers for veteran David Dellucci.

The season only is two weeks old. However, it hasn't been a great start for Dellucci. He entered Saturday night's game against the Rockies with one hit in 11 at-bats with five strikeouts.

When Dellucci arrived in Philadelphia hours before the season's opening game, it was clear he was shocked by the trade. In Texas he was slated to be a starter after a productive season in which he hit 29 home runs and scored 99 runs. With the Phillies he is a fifth outfielder, and fifth outfielders can expect to see maybe 200 plate appearances in a season – maybe.

Sure, you can make a speech about how baseball is a team sport and that winning should be every player's No. 1 priority. But let's say you were a standout at your place of work, then suddenly found yourself transferred to another office where you became a paper pusher who had far less significance.

Think you would take it in stride? Well, Dellucci is certainly fighting an inner battle over it. In fact, during an interview this weekend he said the phrase, "it's tough" so often he felt the need to apologize for repeating himself.

"It's tough," he said (obviously), "and there are a lot of variables that make it tougher. It's difficult for a player to go from two years of consistent playing time to a bench role. I'd be lying if I said I don't look at some of the opposing players who have 40 at-bats already and think about having 40 at-bats this time last year."

Based purely on statistical facts, it was tough to argue with the trade. Dellucci is a potent threat at the plate, and prior to getting an upgrade in playing time with the Rangers he was one of the better bench players in the majors. And the Phillies didn't give up the farm to get Dellucci. Tejeda could be a decent, bottom-of-the-rotation starter in the majors, or perhaps a good set-up reliever with some seasoning. The opinion of most is that he can be a big-league contributor, but Texas shouldn't expect any All-Star appearances from Tejeda.

The problem is that the Phillies probably would have been fine without making the trade. Chris Coste had an inspiring spring, not just for himself, but it caught the eyes of the other players in the clubhouse. No one would have had a qualm about Coste making the team, and just about everyone thought he deserve a chance to do so.

If having four outfielders became an uncomfortable situation, or if Coste did indeed use all of his hits in March, it wouldn't have been too difficult to find someone willing to make an in-season trade for a fifth outfielder.

Instead, what the Phillies have is a struggling fifth outfielder who knows he deserves better than to see five or six at-bats a week. Coste, meanwhile, is scuffling at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre – and you know that his last-minute demotion is still tearing the career minor-leaguer in a million pieces.

Would Dellucci be struggling like this if he were still in Texas playing every day? Would Coste be unproductive if he were making pinch-hit appearances with the Phils instead of taking International League bus trips?

Maybe. The guess here is that two comfortable and content players in roles in which they both deserved to serve would be more productive than the two restless individuals languishing within the Phillies organization at the moment.

That is a factor Gillick should have taken into consideration when faced with that trade. And a career baseball guy like him should have known better than to ignore the consequences of upsetting the chemistry the way he did.

Sunday, April 16, 2006 -- end of the road trip

Here's hoping everyone enjoys their Easter and Passover holidays. Let's get to it:

Todd summed up Jon Lieber's troubles at Coors Field in Saturday's loss, as well as his rough start to the season.

Also in the Inquirer, Frank Fitzpatrick wrote about Frank "Home Run" Baker and how Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's started the long-ball trend. Fitzpatrick does not muse whether or not the wrong team remained in Philadelphia after the A's moved to Kansas City in 1954.

Jim Salisbury tells about how new Dodgers' GM Ned Colletti used to cover the Flyers for the Philadelphia Journal in the early 1980s. If Colletti does well with the Dodgers, maybe the new trend will be to hire the scribes as the GM? Sounds like a good idea.

Radano stood up for Aaron Rowand in his column, but then questioned Charlie Manuel's lineup in last Sunday's doubleheader in this one. In tribute to Radano's two points of view, a scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High is in order. In this one Jeff Spicoli was played by Oscar-winner and humorless actor Sean Penn, and Jefferson's Brother was played by Stanley Davis Jr., currently a coach in the Arena Football League.

[after Spicoli wrecks Jefferson's car] Jefferson's Brother: My brother's gonna kill us! He's gonna kill us! He's gonna kill you and he's gonna kill me, he's gonna kill us! Jeff Spicoli: Hey man, just be glad I had fast reflexes! Jefferson's Brother: My brother's gonna shit! Jeff Spicoli: Make up your mind, dude, is he gonna shit or is he gonna kill us? Jefferson's Brother: First he's gonna shit, then he's gonna kill us! Jeff Spicoli: Relax, alright? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it.

Nothing from Deitch was found on the Delco Times web site. Only one story from Deitch was found in a Google News search.

Ditto for Randy on the Phillyburbs site.

What the hell?

Ed. note: Phillyburbs submitted today's offerings late. Randy wrote about Jimmy Rollins and his quest for the batting title, while Kevin Cooney columnized on Bonds, and other various baseball topics. Cooney also took a little shot at Bowa...

But the News Journal appears to understand the new media dynamic because Scott Lauber's story on David Dellucci and his work in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina was posted bright and early. So was Lauber's story on the Phillies' winning streak ending in Colorado, as well as the one about the Phillies and their monkey.

Steve Miller wrote about Ryan Franklin's adjustment in his move to the bullpen.

Elsewhere, Vicente Padilla had a rought night in Oakland, where he allowed four home runs over a five-batter span.

On another note, tomorrow is the 110th Boston Marathon. If you're betting, I like Hailu Negussie of Ethiopia to repeat as champion, but don't sleep on American Meb Keflezighi, the silver medalist in the 2004 Olympic marathon.

Enjoy the holiday... Don't eat too many jelly beans.

Saturday, April 15 -- on a roll

Certainly, April 15 is a significant day in American history. Aside from simply being the day when we all have to make sure our taxes are paid up, hallmarks in all of our histories occurred on this day. In 1865, Abraham Lincoln died at the Petersen House on 10th St. in Washington, D.C., just across the street from Ford's Theater where he had been shot the night before -- Good Friday, in fact -- by John Wilkes Booth. Ford's Theater and the Petersen House is located just around the corner from the bar where the "You had your chance" incident occurred in September, 2005.

In Boston in 1912, Fenway Park was set to host its very first game until news from the North Atlantic reached America's shores that the RMS Titanic had struck an iceberg and sunk during her maiden voyage near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The sinking of the ship helped us develop the world's largest metaphor as well as a perfect representation of man's hubris. It also killed over 1,500 people and was turned into a movie starring Kate Winslet, who was kind of hot in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

During the 1920s, anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti allegedy murdered two security guards while robbing a shoe store, insulin became generally available for diabetics, Rand McNally published its first maps, and Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Norma and Constance Talmadge become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut and in 1955 the first McDonald's opened.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452), Henry James (1843), Bessie Smith (1894), Roy Clark (1933), Emma Thompson (1959), and Samantha Fox (1966) were all born on April 15.

In 1980, Jean-Paul Sartre (aurvoire, gopher) and in 1990 Ava Gardner and Greta Garbo died. Later, in 1998, Pol Pot died.

More significantly, the great and influential Joey Ramone died on April 15, 2001. Certainly the historical significance of Joey's band The Ramones can be debated, but the cultural importance cannot. There has been no decent rock band since 1977 that has not been influenced by The Ramones, and if they tell you otherwise, they're lying.

Yes, some of the songs are silly, especially "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," which was written when the group was really bored, looking for something to do and decided to sniff some glue, but others are remarkable and deft displays of songwriting, like "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg."

Anyway, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Rocket to Russia or the Ramones Mania collection.

Meanwhile, April 15 is also the birthday of Michael Benjamin Finger, who was born in Newark, Del. in 2004. This is a significant birth not only because he is my son, but also because he provides hard, scientific evidence complete with DNA and everything, to prove that I have, in fact, gotten laid.

Thanks to David Letterman for coming up with that joke.

Here's a little birthday tribute to Michael, Leonardo, Bessie and Samantha from Joey and the gang from an appearance on The Simpsons.

Want to know what else is important? How about a baseball team on a three-game winning streak? You know, like the Phillies.

Enough of the blathering, let's get to how the writers saw the local nine beat the Rockies in Denver.

For the Inquirer, Todd wrote about Chase Utley's second multi-homer game in a row powered the Phillies to a 10-8 victory even though he was hitting just .200 in the middle of last week. Todd also wrote about how Ryan Franklin is adjusting to his new role in the bullpen.

Before a night off in Denver, Marcus wrote about how the offense is starting to come around after the first week. He also mentioned Franklin's new role and Ryan Howard's three infield hits this season.

Scott Lauber made the trip to Colorado and chronicled how the Phillies held on during the ninth inning to beat the Rockies. Lauber also wrote about Franklin's difficulty in making the adjustment to the 'pen as well as about the team's trip to the thin air of Denver.

Dennis explained the Phillies wild finish in the win over the Rockies.

Meanwhile, Randy tells how Chase Utley found his stroke after a sub par first week of the season.

For Phillies.com, some guy (not Ken) wrote about Jimmy Rollins' streak that is no more, as well as Franklin's workload and Tom Gordon's congratulatory phone call from Mariano Rivera. The guy (not Ken), also wrote about Utley and the offense's big night in Denver.

Elsewhere, Curt Schilling, apparently, is better than ever. While Kevin Millwood picked up his first win as a Ranger. Also in Arlington, the Rangers are worried about "The Curse of Dellucci."

There it is... sorry this was so late today. If anything is missing, let me know and I'll add it. Just be careful with all of those skate punks on Larimer Street.

The walls come crumbling down

Over the past three Aprils, Barry Bonds hit .378 with a .593 on-base percentage and 18 homers (tied for his most in any month over that span). Based on those numbers it’s fair to say that Bonds isn’t exactly a slow starter.

So why is he hitting .188 with just one RBI and no homers through the first six games of the season?

Do you really have to ask?

As if the news couldn’t get any worse for Bonds, the word that a federal grand jury is investigating whether or not Bonds committed perjury when he testified before a grand jury in the 2003 BALCO case.

According to a few lawyers I talked to, as well as ESPN legal analyst Roger Cossack, federal grand juries rarely convene unless they have the goods. Moreover, a charge like perjury to a federal grand jury usually means jail time.

The implications something like this could have are unprecedented. Buster Olney wrote that it could give MLB the impetus to separate itself from Bonds. According to Olney:

But a conviction of Bonds in a steroid-related matter would effectively provide Major League Baseball with the opportunity to distance itself from his accomplishments. And I think baseball will seize on that chance.

Say Bonds were to finish next season with 765 homers, breaking Aaron's record, and say, for example, that late in the year Bonds' lawyers arranged a plea bargain that kept him out of jail but provided a firm confirmation that he had, in fact, been untruthful about his alleged steroid use.

It would be too late for Major League Baseball to suspend Bonds' playing career. But nothing would prevent MLB from announcing that, as a matter of policy, it does not recognize Bonds as the all-time home run champion. Hank Aaron, Bud Selig could announce, is the official home run champion of Major League Baseball.

So why is Bonds hitting .188 with just one RBI and no homers through the first six games of the season?

It’s probably because his world is crumbling all around him.

About last night Fans must have liked to see Chase Utley have a breakout game at the plate with a pair of home runs, as well as Ryan Howard pick up a couple of hits to lift his average to .355 despite the fact that the big slugger says he still doesn’t feel comfortable at the plate.

Nevertheless, who would have guessed that in a game where the Phillies smashed three home runs in the first inning off Braves’ pitcher Kyle Davies (did he throw anything but fastballs in that first inning?), that a leadoff walk to Bobby Abreu in the seventh inning would have been one of the biggest at-bats of the game?

During that plate appearance, Abreu forced reliever Lance Cormier to throw 11 pitches by fouling off five pitches with two strikes. Following the walk, Abreu advanced to third on Pat Burrell’s nine-pitch single to right before scoring what ended up to be the game-winning run on Utley’s sacrifice fly.

Who says Abreu isn’t clutch?

Meanwhile, notorious slow starter Jimmy Rollins is playing very well with a hit in eight of the nine games this season, including his 14^th leadoff homer against the Braves last night.

However, if you think Rollins has overhauled his game, the numbers tell a different story.

His on-base percentage is a very hefty .415, which comes largely because he has a .395 batting average. In 40 plate appearances Rollins has walked twice and a season after he faced a team-low 3.42 pitches per at-bat, the shortstop has faced even fewer pitches per plate appearances this season at 2.88. Among the regulars, only Mike Lieberthal’s 2.82 pitches seen per at-bat is remotely near Rollins’ number.

Still, it’s hard to say anything bad about a guy who is hitting the ball. Because Rollins bats leadoff, opposing pitchers don’t want to start off by getting behind in the count. Rollins realizes he’s going to see something thrown across the plate and is using the knowledge to his advantage.

On a funny note, after Rollins stopped at second in the sixth inning when he could have tried for a two-out triple (it would have been close), Courier Post scribe Mike Radano sent me an IM that read: “He’s just trying to pad his doubles.”

The bullpen Watching Ryan Franklin nearly cough up a four-run lead in last night’s Phillies victory, I started thinking about just how important good relief pitching is. It also solidified my own theory – at least I think so – about a team’s chances if it doesn’t have a good relief corps.

If I were building a baseball team from scratch, my first area of emphasis – after I got a bona fide ace starting pitcher (or two) – would be the relieving corps. For some reason, I always had it in my head that a good team was built from the back to the front. Meaning, the guys who were on the field at the end of the game were very, very important.

In recent memory, those great Yankees teams from the late ‘90s were built with an ironclad bullpen, and so were the Angels in 2002 and the Red Sox in 2004

Actually, I thought the Phillies of 2004 were going to be a bona fide contender because the bullpen appeared to be so strong. I even wrote as much.

Anyway, my eyes tend to gloss over when I read statistical-laden prose regarding baseball. I know all of that Baseball Prospectus stuff is great and informative, and sometimes even correct, but a lot of it puts me to sleep (though I try to read Will Carroll’s injury column every chance I get). So when I was looking for something to prove myself correct, I dug up something written by BP’s Rany Jazayerli and Keith Woolner from a story written on July 8, 1999. Based on the author’s research, it seems as if a good ballclub must have a strong ‘pen.

From BP:

What we found was that teams with good bullpens actually won more games--about 1.3 more, on average--than would be expected from their totals of runs and runs allowed, while teams with bad bullpens won about 1.6 fewer games than expected. This is, we believe, the first time any study has pinpointed a subset of teams which routinely outperform or underperform their Pythagorean projection.

Unfortunately, I got a little sleepy when reading the entire story, but for those who have a subscription, it can be read here.

Phillies vs. Braves in Atlanta

Strike!Cory Lidle appeared close to getting knocked out of the game before the fifth inning, and though he gave up 10 hits -- five for extra bases -- the cagy veteran cruised through his final two innings.

Know how? He threw strikes. In the fifth and sixth innings, Lidle threw 17 pitches and only one of them was a ball. It sounds so easy, but often it's so difficult -- throw strikes. Trust your fielders. Believe it or not, the Phillies are pretty strong defensively, so throwing strikes should not be a problem. Lidle didn't have a problem in throwing strikes -- of his 89 pitches, 62 were strikes and he didn't walk anyone.

Besides, Bill James' 10th idiom of his 15 virtues of sabermetic knowledge is: A great deal of what is perceived as being pitching is in fact defense.

So pitchers, take heed from Cory Lidle's final two innings of Wednesday night's start in Atlanta. Throw strikes. It will make you look good.

*** Maybe it's me, but those baggy uniforms with the bloused pants the Braves are wearing really look silly.

*** Since I questioned Charlie Manuel's decision to put Aaron Rowand in the No. 2 spot in the batting order, the center fielder is 4-for-10 with a homer, a stolen base, and two RBIs. Better yet, he's only whiffed once.

The Phillies lineup would still be better with Chase Utley batting second.

*** The Phillies' starting lineup came into Wednesday night's game with a .156 batting average against Braves' starter Jorge Sosa. In four innings, the Phils went 4-for-17 with an error and three walks off the young righty.

*** A trend continues: the Braves bottom third of the batting order went 7-for-12 with five extra-base hits. This season, the 7, 8 and 9 hitters are 37-for-93 (.398) with 21 RBIs.

That can't continue.

*** Here's a fun fact: Jimmy Rollins has a hit in 25 straight road games. Since 1990, 12 men have hit in 25 straight games on the road.

*** It's hard to have a must-win in April, but the Phillies certainly picked one up on Wednesday night to improve to 2-6. Aside from Lidle's outing, closer Tom Gordon looked particulary sharp using just a cutter and a changeup.

Pat Burrell snapped an 0-for-10 skid with a homer in the seventh, while every starter reached base... hard to complain about that.

So what is there to complain about? Well, neither Geoff Geary nor Rheal Cormier could get out of the eighth. Plus, Manuel still had Rowand hitting second.

Ten years already!?

Watching a game from Turner Field makes me think about the summer of ’96 when Atlanta was the home for the Olympics and the Braves’ field was configured quite differently. These days, it’s a typical nouveau ballpark that have popped up in nearly every American city, only Turner Field, nee Olympic Stadium, plays slightly in favor of the pitchers.

Since the Braves bread-and-butter has always been their pitching prowess, it makes sense that the stadium developers would skew things that way. It also gets very hot and humid during the summertime in Atlanta, which often causes the baseball the sail a little farther. They didn’t nickname the Braves old stadium the Launching Pad because it was kitschy.

Anyway, I always have to remind myself that some of the most memorable sporting events that I have ever seen occurred in that stadium during that summer 10 years ago. I’ll never forget Muhammad Ali, dressed in white, dramatically appear out of nowhere to light the Olympic torch. Now I’m not one who gets all choked up or overly-sentimental at sporting events – that’s just not how I am, because it’s just a game – but imaging Ali atop that ramp that hot summer night still gives me chills.

Along with baseball, track, specifically the distance events, is my favorite sport to watch. Most people would call these two sports among the most dull to watch, but I can’t really think of anything more interesting. Needless to say, the track events at the Olympics are about as exciting as sports spectating gets.

Call me crazy.

Anyway, the track events on that famously hard track that ringed Turner Field produced some events that running geeks still talk about. Like, for instance, when American Bob Kennedy brazenly surged to the lead at the top of the curve of the last lap in the 5,000-meter finals. It was a move that was so daring and unexpected that I shrieked (not smart since the race wasn’t aired until nearly midnight and woke up the entire house) and thought of what a bad-ass Kennedy was even though he faded to sixth place.

That was how Prefontaine must have done it, I thought.

Along that outfield warning track is also where Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia beat Paul Tergat of Kenya in the 10,000-meter dream race where Geb solidified his legend with an Olympic record. The two will meet up again in the London Marathon next weekend in possibly the greatest collection of marathoners ever, but more on that at a later date.

But the image that really sticks in my mind is Michael Johnson coming off the curve in the 200-meter finals so fast that either his gold shoes were going to burst into flames or he was going to soar into the humid sky. How can anyone forget the shock on Johnson’s face when he turned around to see the clock and saw that he had just moved faster than any human being on two feet?

If it were up to me, I’d have plaques placed on the spot where all of those memorable events occurred.

Dunphy replaces a legend at Temple

Nearly twenty-five years ago when Temple’s president Peter Liacouras was looking for a coach to turn his school’s middling basketball program back into a big-time, perennial powerhouse, he decided to hire an up-and-coming, 50-year-old man to restore the glory. A “best-kept-secret,” John Chaney was not exactly a household name beyond the insular world of Division II basketball, specifically, the small school PSAC, where Chaney guided little Cheyney State into one of those teams that just scared the living daylights out of people.

In fact, they still talk about Chaney, who was much more unbridled than during the later years at Temple, putting on shows on the sidelines while his teams took care of business at places like Millersville, Kutztown and Shippensburg. Certainly, no one back then thought Chaney was heading for the Hall of Fame. Count him in that bunch, too, since he has always maintained that he would have never left Cheyney had they offered him tenure.

But they didn’t and we all know how his story turned out.

So 25 years after Temple took a chance on 50-year old Wild John from Cheyney State, Temple announced that it will take a chance on a 56-year-old basketball lifer. This time, though, the choice to take Temple back to its basketball glory days is Fran Dunphy, who has spent the past decade-and-a-half nearby at Penn. It was there that Dunphy won title after title in the Ivy League in very much the same way Chaney did in the PSAC.

Obviously, there is a quite a difference between the Ivy League and the state schools of Pennsylvania. And certainly Dunphy is not quite the “unknown” that Chaney was when he arrived at Temple despite being tabbed with such a label.

“He’s one of America’s best-kept secrets,” Chaney said.

That in itself is quite a feat. Dunphy had taken Penn to 10 NCAA Tournaments, and compiled over 300 victories all without offering a single scholarship to any of his players. In the history of the city’s Big 5, Dunphy is one of just six coaches to win more than 300 games at the same school. Yet with four starters returning from last season’s team that cruised to the Ivy League championship before losing to Texas in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament, Dunphy could have very easily relaxed for the rest of his career, earning tournament bid after tournament bid while cultivating his legendary status at 33rd and Walnut.

But there is something kind of boring about that for Dunphy. Having spent his entire life with basketball programs that were almost big time, but not quite as an undergrad and assistant at La Salle before taking over at Penn, Dunphy, deep down, knows he will never get to the Final Four with the Quakers.

Yes, of course there are many challenges remaining at Penn for Dunphy. After all, it’s hard work to get to the top and stay there year after year. But if George Mason can go to a Final Four with Jim Larranaga as the coach, why can’t Dunphy do it?

Then again, Chaney never got to the Final Four at Temple, one of the winningest basketball programs in the country, though he came awfully close five times. Plus, recruiting kids to play for Temple is a lot different than at Penn. That’s not a knock on either school, it’s just the way it is.

So with his dreams and wanderlust, Dunphy will dig in on North Broad Street where his teams will play in a fancy new building complete with all of the modern amenities that coddled college basketball studs expect. Those things come with bigger expectations and more pressure, but it seems as if the unflappable Dunphy, seemingly rejuvenated by the switch, can handle it just fine.

He just seems like the man Temple was looking for.

“It’s as I once said, you want to stay your course,” Chaney said. “That means when you have made a decision on who you want to come into our high-profile program, you want to be sure you’re bringing in a great person.”

One week down

Though the Phillies opened the season with three games against the fearsome St. Louis Cardinals, I don’t think too many people thought they would look this bad in the first week. Certainly, when the club broke camp with a 19-win spring, optimism was reasonably high and the Phillies were something of a trendy pick to make it to the playoffs.

Heck, even this guy was suckered into the positive vibes coming from Clearwater.

But after the 1-5 opening week and a three-game series in Atlanta beginning tomorrow, it might be a good idea to re-evaluate those preseason picks.

As Frank Costanza said about his lawyer, known as The Man in the Cape (and convincingly played by Larry David): “He doesn’t follow the trends.”

He was on to something.

Nevertheless, it isn’t time to panic, Phillies fans. Bobby Abreu is starting to swing the bat, and it seems as if the starters – excluding Gavin Floyd – are on the right path. Besides, after the three games against the Braves, the schedule eases up a bit. Starting next Friday, the Phillies play 18 of their next 28 at home against the likes of Colorado, Washington, Florida, and Pittsburgh.

Making his way Everyone in Chicago, it seemed, was in love with Aaron Rowand. With a game that is all grit and intensity, including the ability to run gap to gap as well as any centerfielder in baseball, it was only a matter of time until he owned Philadelphia, they said.

But so far it appears as if Rowand has some work to do in order to win over the fans. No, it’s not as if Rowand has at the bottom of the trough with David Bell and Mike Lieberthal, or even the everyday, run-of-the-mill player, for that matter. But though Rowand has been an above-average fielder (the sun-blinded error, notwithstanding), he hasn’t exactly been inspiring, either.

The reason for that was the 0-for-13 skid and the two hits he collected in his first 18 plate appearances with five strikeouts before Rowand picked up a pair of clutch singles on Sunday. What’s more, Rowand doesn’t seem like the best fit for the No. 2 spot in the order where he started in four of the last five games, especially since he has averaged 105 strikeouts and just 31 walks over the past two seasons.

Regardless, based on the emotional reception Rowand heard from the fans at the ballpark formerly known as Comiskey when he went to pick up his World Series ring last week, it looks like there is something about the guy. Maybe the fans need a few more hits to go with the mellifluous way in which he covers the outfield.

Then again, it’s only been a week… maybe I ought to lighten up?

Sitting still Earlier I wrote that the Schuylkill Expressway was the worst stretch of pavement in the United States. Upon reflection on my drive to the ballpark this weekend I have to admit that the statement is wrong and I should amend it.

The Schuylkill is not the worst road in America… it’s the worst expanse of concrete in the world.

Please note the correction.

Deitch Column

PHILADELPHIA – It has been tough going for the Phillies' marketing department in the early going. They promoted the start of the season with a "Paint The Town Red" campaign that seemed to have a main purpose of turning the Phanatic into a mascot for the underworld. Once the season started the only thing that got painted red was the Phillies' derrieres, thanks to four straight spankings.

Saturday was feted as "Kids' Opening Day." There were two problems with that well-intended promotion: 1) The game was rained out, and 2) the press release for the event read "Kid's Opening Day."

Either there was only one kid scheduled to attend Saturday's game, or the Phillies were promoting crappy grammar to our youth.

OK, enough kicking the Phillies while they're (still) down. The point of this is to give an early alert to Scott Palmer, John Brazer and the other members of the Super Happy Club to be prepared for what could be a very, very interesting first weekend of May at Citizens Bank Park.

That weekend the Giants are coming to town, and there is a very strong possibility that Bonds' infamous quest to catch and pass Babe Ruth could reach its zenith in Philadelphia.

Bonds entered Saturday sitting at 708 career home runs, six short of the Babe's mark of 714, second on the all-time list. With 26 days between now and the start of the May 6-8 three-game series with the Giants, it wouldn't be surprising at all to see Bonds arrive in Philly with 712, 713 or 714 career homers.

One can only imagine what a Philadelphia crowd will have up its collective sleeve if Bonds is close to or tied with the Bambino that weekend. Heck, some fan in San Diego put down his sushi plate long enough to throw a syringe in Bonds' direction on opening day. Phillies fans might throw Victor Conte onto the field.

It will be tough for the Phillies to take any direct shots at Bonds, even good-natured ones. Here's hoping the Phanatic (non-underworld version) pulls out his powerlifting skit while Bonds is in town and has a couple of oversized prop bottles of "Cream" and “Clear” there to help him get his barbell overhead.

Don't worry, Super Happy Club – tell Bonds to sue me if he's offended.

***

Inspiration at times comes from within.

For instance, after Gavin Floyd was God-awful in his season debut against the Dodgers Friday night and was summarily booed off the field when Charlie Manuel had to take him out of the game in the third inning, someone in the press box said that the fans should be taken to task for aiding and abetting the destruction of Floyd's confidence (or lack thereof).

Which leads to this response: If Gavin Floyd is so fragile that hearing some boos after a genuinely lousy performance is going to undermine his ability to compete in the major leagues, what makes you think that you can ever trust him to pitch in a clutch circumstance?

This isn't to indict Floyd. He wasn't the one who complained about the booing, and perhaps he will go out there for his next start and be tremendous. However, for anyone to complain about the fans when their team has stumbled out to an 0-3 start and the player getting booed has paved a yellow brick road to 0-4 with his ineffectiveness is silly.

Was Floyd under the gun after the Phils were swept by the Cardinals? Yes, he was. But those are the proving grounds for pitchers. Those are the starts where a young pitcher can let his manager know that when it comes down to a big start in September, he can be trusted.

Floyd blew that test. The Phillies used the fourth overall pick in the 2001 draft and $4.2 million of signing-bonus money on Floyd. It matters. He has to live up to that investment. It might not be fair, but who thinks their line of work is fair?

A show of hands?

There's no reason to give up on Floyd yet. Pitchers, the best of them, have rough outings. But if one bad outing turns into two, and two turns into three, and three turns into four … well, after that expect to see Cole Hamels, a prospect who isn't short on guts. <!-- D(["mb","

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Hamels, incidentally, pitched six shutout innings in his debut for Class A Clearwater, and could get promoted to Double- or Triple-A with one more statement start like that.

***

Ironically, the final game of Ruth's career came May 30, 1935, in Philadelphia against the Phillies. The Phils had just swept Ruth's Boston Braves in a doubleheader that day. Apparently he couldn't bear the thought of playing for a team that actually was worse than the Phillies (the sweep improved the Phils to 11-22 and dropped the Braves to 9-25).

Rainy Saturday

For some reason it bothered me that the Bobby Abreu’s Gold Glove Award was being put together as it was being presented to him. In fact, Abreu had the award in his hands when the golden decorative baseballs were placed in their proper holders.

And no, as Ken Mandel pointed out in the press box while waiting for the rain to stop, Abreu did not allow the balls to drop in front of him before he picked them up and put them where they belonged.

*** It was fun to see Dick Allen at the ballpark on Saturday. Allen, a favorite of my uncle Jim, showed up to present Ryan Howard with his 2005 Rookie of the Year Award. Though Howard officially received the award in New York last December, the Phillies wanted to re-gift it on the field before Saturday’s game against the Dodgers. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate.

Anyway, Allen, the 1964 Rookie of the Year and 1972 AL MVP, was none for his prodigious power and out-spoken nature in an era before juiced balls, maple bats, band-box ballparks and media saturation. Part problem child and free spirit, Allen’s colorfulness would undoubtedly make him a celebrity in today’s game.

When talking about Howard and old-time baseball, Allen was engaging and truthful. In fact, when asked if he had ever seen a player with Howard’s power to the opposite field, Allen said: “Yeah, Rico Carty, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays… ”

Then he paused and raised his eyebrows as if to say, “You want me to keep going.”

The response did not come off as a slight on Howard. Instead, it showed how the Phillies new slugging first baseman is part of the baseball oracle.

*** Along with his parents, Howard’s five-year-old son presented him with his Rookie of the Year Award. As someone with a son a week away from turning two, seeing Howard with his boy and parents was the highlight of my day.

I imagine it would be awesome to watch your dad hit homers and receive big-time awards just as I imagine it would be the greatest thrill ever to watch your son accomplish Herculean feats.

Randomness

From my perch in the press box, I can see Mike Radano updating his blog. It’s the only baseball blog I read, which isn’t a knock on the other baseball blogs but he has access and the others do not.

Now if Radano could learn how to spell he’d be dangerous.

*** Media-favorite and former Phillie, Yankee, Cub, Giant, White Sox, Indian, Brave and Astro, Kenny Lofton, was back at the ballpark on Friday night.

Kenny is currently on the disabled list with the Dodgers.

*** On my way to the press box lavatory, I literally ran into Jay Johnstone. No one was hurt, but the first thought that popped into my head when nearly trampling the Dodgers’ broadcaster was, “Hey, I read your book when I was a kid.”

The book was called Temporary Insanity and it wasn’t too bad for jock-lit. There were plenty of good stories about all the crazy things baseball players like to do in their free time, including some of the finer details about Johnstone’s time as a Phillie farmhand where he spent most of his energy terrorizing his manager Jim Bunning.

Bunning, of course, is currently the senior Republican senator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and based on a conversation I had with him in 2003, he still has not let go of the mental anguish Johnstone caused him.

My favorite story from the book was when Johnstone caught wind that Bunning had been trying to nail him for any team rule infraction he could. So just to steam his manager even more than already necessary, Johnstone spread the word that he was organizing a wild, beer-drinking and card-playing night in his room at the team hotel. Thinking he was finally going to get his chance to burn Johnstone once and for all, Bunning showed up at the room after curfew only to find Johnstone sitting on his bed and reading a book.

During our conversation in 2003, Bunning said he campaigned for Johnstone to be called up to the Phillies so he could be rid of him. That turned out to be a pretty good move because Johnstone hit .303 with 33 homers, including going 7-for-9 in the 1976 NLCS, in five seasons with the Phillies.

Getting traded from the Phillies (to the Yankees for Rawly Eastwick) turned out to be a good move for Johnstone’s career. After leaving Philadelphia in the middle of 1978, Johnstone went on to win two World Series rings with the Yankees (’78) and Dodgers (’81).

*** Radano’s colleague Kevin Roberts has taken to inserting Gavin Floyd’s name into the popular Chuck Norris Facts. For some reason it’s still very funny.

*** Based on the volume of the boos, it sounds as if Scott Rolen is more disliked by the Phillies fans than J.D. Drew. In fact, it sounds like Drew would fit right in with the home team -- it wouldn't be any worse than the reception David Bell or Mike Lieberthal receive every time they dig in at the plate.

*** Sports Illustrated baseball writer Tom Verducci was at Friday night's game. The matinee-idolesque Verducci was a favorite with certain elements in the Phillies Scribes Fantasy Football League.

*** I live in Lancaster, which is closer to Camden Yards than to Citizens Bank Park (that’s a different story), so I have to drive on the Schuylkill Expressway when I go to the park (well, I don’t have to, but you know… ). After spending some time sitting in the car while not moving I had plenty of time to think about some things and I’ve determined that the drive into Philadelphia is the worst of any city.

It’s worse than driving to Boston or Washington or New York. Worse than Denver, Cleveland or Las Vegas.

Yes, there might be some places where it’s very difficult to drive, like Los Angeles or Atlanta, but over the past two days, the Schuylkill Expressway was the worse patch of concrete in America.

One in a lifetime hitter

Albert Pujols is the best hitter I’ve ever seen. Yes, that’s what I said. Albert Pujols is the best hitter I’ve ever seen.

Sure, I caught the tail end of Rod Carew’s career and I remember seeing him play a few times on NBC’s Saturday afternoon Game of the Week with Tony Kubek and Joe Garagiola in the late ‘70s with that big old chaw in his right cheek and that crazy batting stance of his. When my friends and I would play ball in the courtyard behind our home in Washington, some one would always imitate Rod Carew or Lee May, who was the DH and star for the Orioles before Eddie Murray came into his own.

And yeah, I remember George Brett, especially during the 1980 season when one of the 12 channels we got back in those days would cut in to the regular programming to let everyone know that Brett’s latest hit pushed him over the .400 plateau.

Then there was Tony Gwynn, who was as pure a hitter as there was and made it look like he was using a tennis racket at the plate. I remember a doubleheader at the Vet on July 22,1994 when Gwynn went 6-for-8 – four hits in the first game and two more in the second. For some reason it always seemed as if Gwynn got nine or 10 hits that day.

All of those guys are great hitters, but for some reason I think Pujols is the best. Maybe it’s the combination of power and hitting artistry. Mix that with his ability to deliver in the clutch – like that homer in the ninth during the NLCS in Houston last October – and it’s hard to deny that Pujols is heading for something otherworldly.

As big as the biggest ever… like Aaron or maybe even bigger.

Now here’s the crazy part: Pujols is only 26. He was born the year Brett hit .390 and the Phillies won the World Series. Born in 1980 with five years already under his belt, Pujols has blasted 204 homers, with a .332 lifetime average while coming off a season where he had a career-low 117 RBIs.

Just wait until he hits his prime.

I remember being at Yankee Stadium during the 2003 season when Tony LaRussa told reporters that Pujols was the bets player he ever managed. Later that year I remember being in the Phillies clubhouse at the Vet and listening to Mike Schmidt describe Pujols’ approach to hitting in hushed tones. Schmidt couldn’t believe that a player so young had so much knowledge about hitting.

“Look at how he spreads out,” Schmidt said, crouching into a copy of Pujols’ stance. “He treats every pitch like he already has two strikes.”

After the opening three-game series at the Bank, it’s hard to imagine the Phillies’ pitchers facing a better hitter. With three homers in the first two games, including one that might land sometime this weekend, in a 5-for-10 series with six RBIs and a 2.000 OPS, the baseball fans in Philadelphia might not see a better hitter come through town.

End of the line Oddly, the Phillies were only 21-17 during Jimmy Rollins’ 38-game hitting streak. For as much as a catalyst he was during the team’s stretch run late last season, it felt as if the team was as good as Rollins.

Perhaps more telling was that the Phillies were 15-7 during Rollins’ streak when he scored a run and 30-10 in games in which Rollins scored a run after the All-Star Break in 2005.

Maybe that means the Phillies are better when Rollins gets on base as opposed to when he gets a hit.

One for 123

The talk around the ballpark on Wednesday was Paul Hagen's trenchant expose on the recent futility of the Phillies. The venerable ball writer has put together a three-part series examining everything from the team's injuries to its corporate culture and emphasis on marketing instead of putting the best team on the field. Here's the series:

April 5: Anatomy of a drought April 6: Bad luck - or bad decisions? April 7: Gillick is main ingrediant

One down, 161 more to go...

Last year on Opening Day, Charlie Manuel sat on top of the bench in the middle of the dugout and fielded question after question about why he chose to start Placido Polanco at second base over Chase Utley during his pre-game meeting with the writers. Actually, if an interview session were a prize fight, someone would have come in and stopped it.

But no more than 30 seconds later, Manuel walked up the dugout steps to talk to the TV folks who asked wistful inanities like, “Charlie, does Opening Day ever get old?”

This year, Manuel was asked why he chose to start Abraham Nunez at third base over David Bell, but there was none of the rancor or a challenging nature to the questions. It seemed as if everyone was OK with the skipper’s decision even though Bell was a little unhappy with sitting on the bench.

What a difference a year makes.

Either way, Opening Day always reminded me of going to church on Christmas. The press box is always packed with people who aren’t going to be back next time. They take care of their yearly obligation early and might show up at the end if there is a pennant race.

Etc. Jim Salisbury had an interesting story in Tuesday’s Inquirer about Cardinals’ manager Tony LaRussa’s role in Jimmy Rollins’ final at bat. According to the story, LaRussa told his pitcher Adam Wainright to quit nitpicking and throw something around the plate after the count had reached 3-0.

Also in the Cardinals’ clubhouse, Scott Rolen heard sarcastic boos from some teammates when he exited the training room and headed toward his locker. It seems as if they find the Philly fans’ treatment of the former Phillie very funny.

Which, of course, it is.

Rolen told me that he thinks his former teammate Jimmy Rollins has a really good chance to threaten Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. The reason, Rolen said, is that Rollins has the ability to beat out an infield hit with his speed, and he can bunt for a hit.

“He has all the tools,” Rolen said.

But, it’s not all about simply having the tools. There’s a mental part to it, too.

“Give him credit because he has to go out there and do it.”

When with the Phillies, Rolen and Rollins had different ways of doing things that sometimes caused a bit of (very minor) friction between the pair, but one thing for sure is that Rollins has a ton of respect for Rolen. Before a game in Washington last season, Rollins talked about how much he admired his former teammate as a player.

Then again, Rollins is a true fan of the game and anyone who is a fan of baseball has a real admiration for Rolen.

Apropos of nothing, Rolen and Randy Wolf are probably the most interesting and entertaining ballplayers to talk to. Rollins is up there, too, especially when talking about certain minutia of the game. Once, probably in late 2001 or 2002, he demonstrated to this writer how to come to a quick stop after running at full speed. It seems as if there is a proper technique and form to everything in baseball.

He has a point… Before Sunday’s exhibition against the Red Sox, Manuel talked candidly about his lack of double switches last season. It seems as if Charlie didn’t think he had the artillery to yank a starter out of the game.

In fact, when Manuel contemplated a double switch, he said, he’d look to his right from the corner of the dugout and didn’t think Tomas Perez or Endy Chavez could get it done.

It’s hard to disagree with that.

New Season begins with old streak

Part of the allure of baseball’s Opening Day is the idea of renewal. For at least one day every team is in first place and every team has a chance to win the World Series. It’s that baseball-as-a-metaphor-for-life wispiness that pervades public radio and Roger Angell’s dispatches from The New Yorker. All baseball fans get caught up in that saccharin sweet romanticism at one point or another. It’s hard not to.

But this year’s Opening Day for the Phillies was marked by the notion of continuation or extension rather than rebirth. Actually, the baseball world had its eyes trained on the Phillies opener against the Cardinals to see if something that began last season could break the invisible force field of a new season in an idea that flies in the face that everything Opening Day represents.

We’re talking of the streak, of course.

Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins coolly carried his epic, 36-game hitting streak that was momentarily halted for five months only to pick up right where he started. With a flair for the dramatic, Rollins dramatically added on to his streak by lacing a double to right field on a 3-0 pitch in his very last at-bat of the day to make 2005 morph into 2006. In fact, the build up to that final pitch offered to Rollins was so mind numbingly exciting that it made nearly everyone in the park forget that the Phillies lost by eight runs.

Think of it: Rollins’ streak could have ended if the pitch was just mere inches away from home plate. Rollins could have drawn a walk – a very good thing for a leadoff hitter to do – but his chance at making a run for immortality would have vanished into thin air faster than the trot from home to first base. He could have done his job yet been penalized for it.

Of course, it didn’t happen that way, but Rollins, unselfishly, says he would have taken the walk.

“If he would have thrown one I couldn’t get, I would have taken it,” Rollins said earnestly. “I wasn’t going to give the at-bat away. Luckily, he gave me something to hit.”

Do you believe him?

No, me neither.

Yes, we believe Rollins’ goal is to help the Phillies win games so they can finally advance to the playoffs. And yes, we believe that he is sincere in this sentiment. But if reliever Brad Thompson kept the 3-0 offering anywhere in the vicinity of the 215 area code, Rollins was going to swing.

Believe that.

That’s not a knock on Rollins. Au contraire. The very idea that Rollins is just as excited about his streak as the fans are is quite refreshing. Want to talk about it? Just walk up to Jimmy and ask him about it, he won’t be hiding in the training room to dodge the questions and attention. This is a once-in-a-lifetime feat. Why shouldn’t it be fun?

“It’s fun to talk about it,” Rollins said. “It’s brought a lot of attention to the team, which is the best part. As far as the streak goes, I’m not any more excited about it now than I was. I was blessed to be in this position and you have to be willing to accept that if you are in this position. That’s one thing I think I’ve been doing. You have to be willing to talk about it.”

Better yet, Rollins said if the streak becomes the focal point of the game and helps brighten the looming dark cloud brought about by the Barry Bonds steroid controversy, then bring that on, too.

“Hopefully, I can be a major part of what's going on in baseball," Rollins said. “Barry Bonds is going through a situation. He's from the Bay Area, which is my hometown. Two stories are running together. Barry's trying to accomplish something. I'm trying to accomplish something. He's in a controversy. Right now, I'm on everybody's good side. Hopefully, I can keep that going and going, and everybody can concentrate on what's good about baseball.”

Certainly that can never get old.

More on the trade

For my money – what there is of it – Buster Olney is the best baseball writer in the world right now. Oh sure, there might be other guys who are more analytical in regard to the Baseball Prospectus-type of writing that all of the kids are talking about, but numbers and statistics always left me cold. Baseball is about stories, and Olney is really quite interesting.

Yes, I lean toward the “Moneyball” theory in putting together a team, but at the same time I take more stock out of what an old scout or storyteller can teach me about the game than anything some guy with an MBA can show me on an Excel spreadsheet.

Besides, last summer former Inquirer writer Jayson Stark told me how hard Olney worked on his daily dispatches for ESPN after I had revealed to Stark how much I enjoyed his colleague’s work.

Gushing and name dropping aside, Olney had an interesting perspective on the Phillies’ deal for David Dellucci.

Here’s an interesting excerpt from Buster’s ESPN blog:

Phillies GM Pat Gillick knows Dellucci from his days as GM of the Orioles, and I don't think he'd be picking him up knowing that David would only be pinch-hitter type. There's more mad scientist in Gillick than any general manager I've covered; he always thinking two or three moves ahead, and he won't always tell you what he's doing. You have to think, on the face of it, that the acquisition of Dellucci is merely the first domino to fall.

Olney wonders if Pat Burrell is more hurt than anyone is letting on, or if there will be future deal involving Bobby Abreu. Nevertheless, it’s pretty fair to say that Gillick has been bold in putting together this year’s team… well, maybe he’s not bold per se, maybe we’re just not used to such proactive behavior.

It's 4:51 a.m., do you know where your new fifth outfielder is?

Phillies' GM Pat Gillick pulled off a late-night trade for the left-handed hitting, fifth-outfielder he coveted in the early hours of Sunday morning. For promising right-handed pitcher Rob Tejeda, and minor-leaguer Jake Blalock the Phils picked up David Dellucci from the Texas Rangers. In other words, Gillick dealt Vicente Padilla, Blalock and Tejeda to Texas for Dellucci.

Dellucci is a 32-year-old, .259 hitter who spent the past two years with the Rangers, and has also spent time with the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Orioles. Last Season Dellucci had a career-high 29 homers and 128 games.

In 2001, Dellucci was a pinch-hitter for the World Champion Diamondbacks.

According to the UPI, the Rangers' GM Jon Daniels, said:

"It was hard trading David. He's been with us for two years. He has a strong relationship with the players and the community. He was pretty shocked."

According to the UPI, the teams had been working on the deal for nearly a week.

With Dellucci in the fold, that means the Chris Coste/Tomas Perez era in Philadelphia has ended... at least for now.

Back to work

Remember that old feeling you had on the first day of school? You know, kind of like your junior year when you know your way around, have a little bit of confidence, but still don’t have any real clout? Well, that’s the way it felt walking back into the ballpark for the exhibition with the Red Sox today.

And of course with any new year, there are a few changes here and there. The most noticeable were in the Phillies clubhouse, where Jim Thome’s things had been cleared out of his old locker just to the left of the double doors opening to the showers and Brett Myers had taken over. Instead of Billy Wagner slinking around and chattering away in the corner closest to the training room, Flash Gordon had parked his stuff.

On the other side of the room, a row of California kids had blossomed with Mike Lieberthal, Randy Wolf, Jimmy Rollins, Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell all staking their claims right next to each other. Interestingly, Burrell had moved his stall clear across the room from a macho row of sorts where he held court with departed pals Jason Michaels and Todd Pratt during the past two seasons.

Interestingly, Burrell’s old locker was being used by aging wunderkind Chris Coste. If location, location, location is truly the most important aspect of real estate, then it appears as if Coste might be hanging around in Philadelphia for a little while.

Stay tuned.

Rowand is in center Newcomer Aaron Rowand’s prowess in center field was quite noticeable in his first home game at the Bank today. Yeah, he had that nifty sliding catch to take away a hit from Boston, and he appeared to glide like a gazelle when tracking down a well-struck ball to the right-center power alley.

But where Rowand’s ability really stood out was when he deftly played a carom high off the center field triangle area in the deepest part of the park. Instead of racing to the base of the wall and getting caught in a no-man’s land where the ball could rocket over his head, Rowand played it cool, waited to see where the ball would land, and then properly played the hop.

Had he not missed cut-off man Jimmy Rollins in short center field, Rowand would have had a chance to nab a runner scoring from first on the double.

Jimmy talks streak Here’s my recording of Jimmy Rollins’ post-game conference where he talks about his epic hitting streak one last time before the season starts.

Missing is the short conversation Rollins, Mike Radano and I had about the shortstop’s experiment with contact lenses during the spring. No, Rollins doesn’t need glasses or anything like that – he was just testing out a pair of sunglass-styled lenses that made his pupils look orange.

And like any novice contact wearer, Rollins battled that “lens sweat” where it took roughly 20 hours just to get one lens in.

Bonds… Barry Bonds Interestingly, Rollins addressed the Barry Bonds/steroid investigation crisis and how his hitting streak could potentially create a diversion. Though Bonds’ name didn’t come up very often today, the pall of the pending investigation seemed to suffocate the joy of the beginning of a new season.

Twice during the past month, I wrote a short column for the CSN e-mail blast about the Bonds story long before it was decided by Commissioner Bud Selig that an investigation was necessary. But because of events that trumped the column’s newsworthiness, it never was blasted through the ether. So if you’ll indulge me, I’ll just reprint the dead-letter here:

We interrupt this calm, quiet spring training for Bonds.

Barry Bonds.

Perhaps more than any event that has occurred since Charlie Hustle, Pete Rose, was banned for life for betting on his sport, the allegations that Bonds was a frequent and sophisticated steroid user printed in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated and the soon-to-be released tome "Game of Shadows" by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, will resonate long after the slugger is old, hobbled and scrawny.

But whether or not Bonds injected, swallowed or vapo-rubbed the cream, the clear, Deca-Durabolin, insulin, human growth hormone or those cattle 'roids really isn't the issue any more. Since he is already guilty in the court of public opinion as well as the minutia gathered by two bloodhound reporters, there really isn't much Bonds can do to restore an image that was nearly as low as someone who enjoys dropkicking puppies. The issue is whether Major League Baseball will truly investigate the claims John Dowd-style.

Dowd, of course, was the investigator who nailed Rose. He also said in a recent published report that commissioner Bud Selig should hire an outside investigator to research the allegations.

"If you do nothing, you leave a cloud on the game," Dowd told reporters.

Certainly Dowd is correct. Whether or not the greatest offensive era in the long history of baseball was simply a matter of correct chemistry rather than unquenched assiduity is a fair question to ask for fans that were blissfully duped all of these years.

But if Selig and his merry men only choose to dip their toe into the steroid pool to see if the tepid waters unmask simply the obvious, then it really isn't fair.

Bonds, owner of the record for most home runs in a season and rapidly approaching the all-time records set by Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, appears to be alone in the spotlight. And whether the allegations prove to be true or not, Bonds likely is not the only player in baseball history to use performance-enhancing substances. So if baseball is truly serious about a real investigation, which Selig said he is, then Bonds must only be the tip of the iceberg.

Did Mark McGwire use more than androstenedione before or after his historic home run chas in 1998? Do regular B-12 shots really cause one to fail a drug test as if he were using Winstrol, as one-time future Hall-of-Famer Rafael Palmeiro claimed?

More interestingly, will Jose Canseco be remembered as the man who forced baseball to address its dirty little secret once and for all?

Finally How could we just let the impending divorce of Anna and Kris Benson pass without a comment? Seriously, if an ex-stripper and a professional athlete can’t make it work, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Hey look... a blog!

Great. Just what the web needs – another blog. It’s kind of like putting another reality show on TV, only not as bad…

Anyway, in a world wide web saturated with sites filled with statistical analysis and outsider speculation, this blog will try to offer a tiny peak behind the curtain. Better yet, we hope it will be fun and informative filled with interviews, audio clips, photos, more than the occasional musing, as well as the occasional guest. In other words, an informal supplement to the every day coverage of the local baseball team here in Philadelphia.

Starting on April 1, when the Phillies make the trip back north from Clearwater, we’ll dive right in. Let’s play ball.

Wright will return

Even with the vision of missed jump shot after missed jump shot chipping away the paint from the rim, and the sting of defeat still working its way down the solar plexus, it’s easy to imagine Jay Wright finding himself back in the same point of the NCAA Tournament in the not too distant future. It’s also not too difficult to imagine a different result than the 75-62 defeat to Florida on Sunday afternoon just one game shy of the legacy-making Final Four.

You see, Wright, just 44, is built to last at Villanova. Just this year he was rewarded with a contract extension that lasts until 2013 and will compensate him well enough to keep him in those sharp-looking, single-breasted suits. More importantly, Wright seems to have received the extension for doing something that is often rare in sports these days:

He paid his dues.

Aside from the long car rides beating the recruiting trail as an assistant at Rochester, Drexel and Villanova, before taking over at Hofstra, Wright has restored the luster to ‘Nova that was lost during the angst-filled final days of Rollie Massimino’s run on the Main Line. He has embraced the Big Five series instead of brushing it aside as a trite hometown obligation, while turning his program into a bona fide powerhouse that isn’t going to tiptoe up and surprise any one.

Better yet, Wright’s first group of players to go through a four-year run won more games during that span than any other in school history, all while the coach did all the little things that he prodded his kids to do.

Sure, in the end coach is only as good as his players, but special talent like Randy Foye and Allan Ray always seems to wind up playing for the right coach. And they really seem to make it hard for all of us ‘Nova haters.

More tourney talk Since Villanova won the 1985 tournament, the Big 5 is 0-8 in regional semifinals. ‘Nova has gone down twice, St. Joe’s nipped by Oklahoma State two years ago and Temple has lost five finals under John Chaney.

But even though the local team has finally been sent home, the early word on this year’s tournament is that it’s the best one in a long, long time. Forget about 11th-seeded George Mason making it to the Final Four for a minute, in 60 games the underdog team has won 20 times, while only three games were decided by 20 or more points.

Add in the five overtime games and the fact that no No. 1 seed made it to the final weekend and it’s hard to argue about how compelling this tournament has been.

Then there is George Mason. A diverse, yet regional school that was only founded in 1957, George Mason not only put together one of the greatest upsets in tournament history when knocking off UConn in the regional final, but also strung together one of the most impressive runs to become the highest seeded team to make it to the Final Four.

Not bad for a team that some of the experts said shouldn’t even be in the field.

Certainly there weren’t too many people who thought Mason would beat Michigan State in the opening round, let alone defending national champion North Carolina to get to the Sweet 16. Then with the victory over Wichita State and the No. 1 team in the country, it seems as if the Patriots are a legitimate contender to win the whole thing.

Now all we need to do is find someone who can name a player on the team.