Phillies Hire Sandberg as AAA Manager

What could have been

In 1982, a terrible mistake was committed.  Contract negotiations between the Phillies and long time shortstop Larry Bowa had broken down, and he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for their shortstop, Ivan Dejesus.  That Bowa remains a Philadelphia legend to this day and nobody remembers Dejesus as anything other than a name in a trivia question about this trade should tell you just how bad this trade was to begin with.  However, the real travesty is that the Phillies also threw in a minor league prospect to send to Chicago, a young second baseman by the name of Ryne Sandberg, who went on the become a hall of famer and one of the greatest second baseman ever.

Now, in an attempt to right this horrible wrong, Sanberg has returned to the Phillies organization as the manager of the AAA Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.  Sanberg was recently named the AAA Manager of the Year after a successful stint as manger of the Cubs' affiliate, and was thought to be one of the front runners to replace Lou Pinella as Cubs manager.  Sandberg is a rising star as a manger, and could possibly be groomed as an heir to Charlie Manuel, which would result in the sight that should have been an icon of the 1980's and 90's; Ryne Sandberg in Phillies red.

Where are they now? Quincy Douby

Before former Villanova assistant Fred Hill ran Rutgers' basketball program into the ground, the school produced a star known as Quincy Douby.  Douby was the face of Rutgers for three years, and was the Big East's leading scorer for the 2005-06 season, during which the Scarlet Knights achieved a great moral victory by taking a highly ranked Villanova team to overtime. A 6'3" gurad, Douby weighed only 175 pounds, but despite looking like an awkward stick figure on the court, Douby was a pure scorer. Douby left Rutgers after his junior year, and was a first round selection by the Sacramento Kings in the 2006 NBA Draft.  Douby played three seasons with the Kings, but never averaged more than 11.8 minutes per game.  Last season, Douby played in Turkey and was the top scorer in the Turkish League; a league that will soon feature Allen Iverson.  Douby is currently playing for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the China, helping to spread New Jersey's fine culture into new markets.

Eagles, Vick, Return with a win

Vick was sharp in his return

The Eagles returned to action after the bye week yesterday with a 26-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.  It was Michael Vick's first start since sustaining a rib injury against the Washington Redskins in Week 4.  Receiver DeSean Jackson also returned from a concussion, and immediately resumed his exciting connection with Vick.  Vick threw for 218 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another touchdown, while Jackson had receiving yards.

The controversial hit

Credit must also be given to oft-maligned defensive coordinator Sean Mcdermott, who had an effective game plan to contain Peyton Manning which was well executed by the defense.  Cornerback Dmitri Patterson made his first career start replacing the ineffective Ellis Hobbs, and did a commendable job covering Reggie Wayne.  Unfortunately, the most talked about play on the defensive side was the hit by rookie safety Kurt Coleman that resulted in a concussion for the Colts' Austin Collie.  A penalty was assessed on the play, and Coleman potentially faces a fine under the NFL's new rules to eliminate hits to the head.  While it is certainly regrettable that Collie was injured, the officials clearly reacted to the result of the play rather than the intent, and made a horrendous call.  It is clear while watching replays of the hit that Collie was pushed into Coleman, who made no attempts to hit or injure him, any contact to the head was purely accidental.  What should have been a fumble with an Eagles' recovery turned into a penalty which ultimately resulted in a Colts' scoring drive.  This was a potentially game changing call by referees far too anxious to enforce the league's controversial new rules.

Following this win, the Eagles are now 5-3, with key divisional matchups against the Redskins and Giants the next two weeks.

 In other news, the Dallas Cowboys were humiliated by the Green Bay Packers on national television by a score of.  The loss drops the Cowboys' record to 1-7, and reports indicate that Wade Phillips will be fired as head coach.  

Werth's Replacement?

A rumor has spread about the possible return of a certain Phillie.  He wasn't a Phillie for very long, but he was popular in his short time with the club, and recently played in the World Series.  I am talking of course about Aaron Rowand.  Rowand posted a career season with the Phillies in 2007, hitting .309 with 27 home runs and 89 RBI's while winning a Gold Glove. After that season, Rowand signed a five year free agent contract with the San Francisco Giants, where he hit only .230 this season and lost his starting job.  Rowand is a Philly kind of guy known for his competitive attitude, but skill wise he is clearly on the downside of his career.  While a change of scenery may help in out, his production would likely be a significant drop off from Jayson Werth. 

Werth Watch

This offseason we will be closely monitoring Jayson Werth's free agency.  Some potential good news is that according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, the New York Yankees are focused on acquiring pitching, particularly Cliff Lee, and are not planning on pursuing Jayson Werth.  With the Yankees supposedly out of the picture, the biggest threat to watch for appears to be the Boston Red Sox, who are hoping to land either Werth or Tampa's Carl Crawford to bolster their outfield.  Crawford is said to be the principle target of both the Red Sox and Angels. 

From the Phillies' perspective, we must hope for the Red Sox to sign Crawford, as it is unlikely the Phillies would outbid the kind of offer Boston would likely make.  If the Yankees and Red Sox were both uninvolved, one would hope that Werth would care enough about winning to stay in Philadelphia.

Election Update: Congrats Jon Runyan

I'm not one to interject politics into a sports blog, but I must congratulate one of my alltime favorite Eagles, Jon Runyan on being elected as the U.S. Representative from New Jersey's 3rd District.  Runyan anchored the Eagles' offensive line from 2000-2008.  His presence in the huddle will be missed, but his presence in Congress is probably for the greater good.  With the retirement of former Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning from the Senate, it is now up to Runyan to represent Philly sports on Capitol Hill.

Mediocre Middle Reliver of the Week: Peter Moylan

For this week's mediocre middle reliever of the week, we feature Atlanta Braves right hander Peter Moylan.  Moylan is coming off a solid season in which he appeared in 85 games and posted a 2.97 ERA.  Moylan is best known for his unconventional path to the big leagues.  A native of Perth, Australia, Moylan was first noticed by Braves scouts while pitching for the Australian national team at the 2006 World Baseball Classic.  Moylan has been a regular in the Braves' bullpen since 2007, and has helped open a whole new continent to mediocre middle relievers.

Where are they now? Rob Kurz

Former Notre Dame center Rob Kurz was one of the Big East's most infamous doofuses in recent years.  With teammate Luke Harongody, Kurz was part of a frontcourt not lacking in large, lumbering Caucasians.  After graduating in 2008, Kurz was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Golden State Warriors.  In his first season, Kurz appeared in 40 games, averaging 3.2 points per game and 2.0 rebounds.  Prior to the 2009-10 season, Kurz signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but did not make the final roster, instead playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA's Developmental League.  This season, Kurz has moved overseas, and is currently playing for Spain's CB Granada.