it seems there’s a rising tide of VEBers interested is us signing rafael furcal. over his career he’s shown himself to be perfectly capable of league average offense, a very nice value from a shortstop—and i’m going to go ahead and assume he wasn’t going to sustain a 160 OPS+ had he not been injured. how good is his defense? i honestly have almost never watched him play and am not nearly as familiar with the sabr-type fielding stats as a lot of you guys. how about his speed and base running? i did get to watch the game last night but not very closely (had other stuff going on). is he really a more attractive option than others like a ben zobrist or jhonny peralta type? figured i’d ask here since this isn’t worth a fanpost (and nobody seems to read the fanshots…)

have a great weekend yourself.

Can we institute the “Courtesy Runner” rule used in high school so I don’t ever have to watch Brett Meyers run the bases again?

is billingsley just throwing everything down the middle?

step one: learn to throw chad billingsley’s curveball
step two: throw it to ryan howard
step three through n: repeat
step (n+1): profit!

but I almost thought that was Skip Schumaker playing third base for the Phils.

goes horribly, horribly wrong.

Ok, so maybe Billingsley isn’t a big PTC guy.

Something tells me we aren’t gonna see another 2 hour 37 minute game today.

that is, homer to left

if the guy has said mean stuff about your city or something, that’s one thing. but so often fans in various cities boo guys because they’re awesome. if the other team sucks, what’s there to be proud of? wouldn’t you rather the competition be worthy? i just don’t understand it.

everything he hits finds some hole on the field where no one can make a play on it.

What the hell. So, does this validate pitcher batting eighth?

i shudder a little every time i hear that…

2 freaking innings? We outplay them for all but 2 freaking innings this series and we are down 2-0?

but deep in my mind I know the Phillies have the better chance to beat either the Red Sox or Rays in the WS. So as a NL fan it wouldn’t kill me to see the Phillies advance to the WS…especially if it’s the Red Sox in the WS.

Check.

me likey.

The Dodgers had to get a win in Philly to make this a series. I’m afraid the Philly offense is just too much for Manny to try and beat by himself. Kemp, Either and Blake really need to start getting some clutch hits if the Dodgers are going to have a chance to even the series up in LA.

Let’s do this!

Why is this game on TBS? and why did I not already know this?

makes me frustrated. How can a pitcher look so awful and get away with it over and over and over again?

is giving Dice K.

if he doesn’t throw strikes.

And yes Chip, that was the most exciting routine flyball to JD Drew I’ve ever seen in my life!

and nimble never took steroids.

No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter
No hitter

they’re not known for it, but they’re good.

And BTW, Chip, letting your best hitter swing 3-0 isn’t a gamble. It’s what you do. Could you imagine him saying that Albert “had the take sign” if he didn’t swing 3-0?

He’ll have to throw a ton of pitches if he’s going to do it himself, after that wild first few innings – 90 pitches through 6 innings doesn’t sound like no-hitter numbers, but I guess if you’ve got 4 BB and 8 K….

the right handed JD Drew just hit one through the hole, 2 JD Drews on.

up now!

batting now?

James Shields. the franchise’s 1st playoff game ever against a damned good offense and he’s come up nails! (knock on wood!)

that one was good, too. Guess he doesn’t like the high strike

rike!

as the missed strike a couple of pitches ago.

Well, I guess, according to pitch trax, it was exactly the same pitch!

what’s shields, 25? He’s been awesome!

or a walk and a blast?

Or just a blast?

I hope they don’t pick up your option!

now that there’ll be no history, go Rays!

That’s pretty slick.

when Wainwright got Floyd w/ 2 on and nobody out in the 9th of the ’06 game 7? HUGE!

even w/ Crawford’s speed there

your fastest guy on 3rd w/ no outs and you can’t get him home! Terrible!

for this performance, Chip.

for the WS?

Ok, Chip, now you aren’t even making sense.

and lots of it!

better luck next decade, Tampa.

Do you take donations?

hope he’s ok!

If we are going down, let’s do it in ugly fashion!

a serial killer in the stands.

I need antacids, damn. Or a Franklin.

now we’ve got a chance. And I’d like to do it before Papelbon comes in. He’s filthy!

Do it!

on that one, Buck.

Ok, that was a hard play.

and we get a hit out of it too

It’s time to go get Dice-K.

like some Bryan Adams music! Yeah! Rock on!

stupid swing there.

Greenlighting Longoria is no big deal. Greenlighting Pena against a lefty w/ 2 on and no out is absurd! He should’ve taken 3!!!!!!!!!!

let’s get ’em Evan!

pact with Satan.

of Varitek’s well struck balls.

Let’s get crazy.

to go w/ Price

future HOF’er?

has awful skin in HD.

gets "Lidge’d "

3 aces?

Inside Straight? Royal Flush?

Well at least there is parity in the National League in the past 10 years. There will be a total of 9 different NL teams that has gone to the World Series since 1998. 10 if you include this year (Dodgers or Phillies)

In the American League…5 teams. With the two big East spenders dominating the post season. It would really have to suck being an AL fan that doesn’t root for the Red Sox or Yankees.

I just watched.

I don’t need Cal Ripken to tell me what I saw for myself.

one day, Carl Crawford hopes to be referred to as the ‘well rounded, talented’ Carl Crawford.

“if you let the bottom of the order beat you, in the national league, you’re going to lose games” — harold reynolds

Ranks up there with any of the better moonman-isms.