I'm tired of Jon Lieber

I said last season that Jon Lieber had become the new Kevin Millwood...Now he's just an annoyance...One minute he's driving some huge truck into spring training and bragging about his weight, the next thing he's complaining about having to go into the bullpen...And then he's injured...No wonder Pat Gillick couldn't trade him in the off-season -- no one wants him...The only way Lieber will ever get into my good graces is if he wins 20 games this year, and three more in the post-season...I'm hoping he's playing in the American League before the trading deadline...I'm sure the Yankees bullpen will have blown up by then, and he'll be thrilled to come out of the bullpen for New York...I find it interesting that Brett Myers said he'd go where ever they want him to go -- all of a sudden Brett Myers is a model citizen...And suddenly, he's not my least favorite Phillies pitcher anymore!

John Vukovich, 1947-2007

Sad news today for Phillies fans, and for Philadelphia -- longtime Phillies coach and former player John Vukovich passed away earlier today. Keep his family in your prayers.

Carl Yastrzemski Must Love This

I've been wondering about this for some time now, and since the TV and print ads are showing up again, it's time to formally ask: I wonder what Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski (the great outfielder for the Boston Red Sox) thinks of the birth control pill "YAZ" appropriating his nickname? I know he keeps a low profile, but I have to wonder if he isn't upset about it? I certainly am, only because I think it's an unfortunate association (or maybe I'm one of the few that still remembers his nickname)...When I was very young, my mother filled out a form from Arnold Bread for the Carl Yastrzemski Fan Club, for which I received (and still have) a little membership card, an "autographed" photo, and a blue cap with a white and red patch on it that read "YAZ."...Some of you may even remember that was my own nickname in high school (because on the first day of my high school's baseball practice in my freshman year, that's the cap I wore)...I got to see him play in person once, in my only trip (so far) to Fenway Park in the summer of 1972! Little did I realize that later that summer, I would attend my first game at Veteran's Stadium, becoming in the process a die-hard Philadelphia Phillies fan...But that's a story for another day...

Phillies Open Grapefruit League Schedule Today!

Our long nightmare is over...Winter is officially over at 1:05 p.m. Eastern time today, when the Phillies play the Detroit Tigers in their spring training opener...So all you crazy sports talk radio people obsessing over Jeff Garcia, A.J. Feeley and Donovan McNabb, staring like zombies at the NFL Scouting Combine on the NFL Network, and sorting through your Eagles jerseys to find a clean one with the name of somebody still on the team -- you can leave me alone now...MY SPORT is in season...Still "the only sport that matters," at least in my opinion...I thought I might get down to Clearwater this year, but work and family are keeping that off the table -- but there's always next spring -- so I'll just have to clutch my opening day at Citizens Bank Park tickets a little closer, wait for my mail to arrive with my 17-game package, and keep my web browser open to the Phillies web site to see how its going in Clearwater and vicinity...I am as excited about this team as I ever get about anything in sports anymore -- and if you've known me for a while, you know that's saying something. Let's Go Phillies!