Next stop: Cooperstown or indictment?

I always looked at events like Hank Aaron’s 715th home run as “where were you” moments. In that regard I can recall where I was when the ball rolled through Buckner’s legs, when Tug threw the final pitch to Willie Wilson and recently when the Red Sox finally won the World Series.

No, sports moments don’t hold the same cache as truly historical events, but it’s fun to remember the mood, time and place of certain significant sporting moments. Why not? If one is going to invest time in this stuff they might as well do it the correctly by chronicling it.

So when Hank Aaron blasted No. 715 off Al Downing in April of 1974 I was younger than my son is now. Chances are that I was fast asleep or crying or whatever it is that 2-year olds do when Babe Ruth is pushed aside for Hammering Hank.

Thirty-three years and four months after Hank beat Babe, Barry Bonds and his Body by Balco, hit home run No. 756. He did it in the one city that appeared to actually give a damn (or at least they force ticketholders to suspend all logic and rational thought before admitting them into whatever corporation holds the naming rights for that stadium now) while the rest of the sporting public yawned.

Or slept.

When Bonds hit the homer off the Nationals’ Mike Bacsik last night to become the all-time home run leader and officially render all baseball statistics totally and utterly worthless, I had totally forgotten that there was even a game going on in San Francisco. In fact, I was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on the way home and listening to the audio book of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s, All the President’s Men. I hadn’t read the book in at least a decade and figured it was time for a refresher seeing that I fancy myself a bit of a Watergate buff.

What? You thought I’d be listening to local sports talk radio?

Anyway, I suppose there is some irony in listening to the book about the ultimate downfall of Richard Nixon while one of the most beguiled men in America was desecrating the record held by a man who is his polar opposite in nearly every way imaginable.

Other ironies? Bonds passed Hank on the fifth year anniversary of the MLBPA agreeing to (limited) drug testing in the collective bargaining agreement. Meanwhile, commissioner Bud Selig was meeting with former Senator George Mitchell regarding his investigation into baseball’s drug issue.

By the time I finally got home and flipped on the television to see if a Congressional sub-committee had held an emergency hearing to force Major League Baseball to dissolve itself, I couldn’t help but wondering one thing:

Which comes first: Bonds’ 800th home run or his indictment?

***
Speaking of much ado about nothing, Jimmy Rollins expanded on his quote about the Marlins’ Hanley Ramirez, which from the beginning sounded like Dontrelle Willis was having a little fun with his teammate. My guess is that it became a big deal to the scribes following around the Marlins because they have nothing else to write about.

After all, how often can Scott Olsen get arrested?

***
There was an interesting item out there regarding Citizens Bank Park. Apparently our little ballpark in South Philly rates tops amongst PETA’s survey of top 10 vegetarian-friendly ballparks.

Really?

PETA, of course, is the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which could mean they have an interest in vegetarianism. Frankly, I have always looked at PETA and its message as more than a little pedantic, but if it works for them, yay!

But what really interests me about this declaration is that as someone who is labeled as a vegetarian, finding something to eat amongst the waddling masses is always difficult. As a result, it was quite interesting to learn that Rick’s Steaks on Ashburn Alley offered something called a “veggie steak.” After all, it seems as if the addition of the so-called veggie steak is what lifted Citizens Bank Park from an also-ran into the top slot on PETA’s poll.

The veggie dog and flame-grilled Gardenburger were enough to earn Citizens Bank Park a place on the roster of last year's survey. But this year's addition of the Philly mock-steak sandwich--and the rave reviews it has received from vegetarians and nonvegetarians alike who pile on the grilled onions, mushrooms, peppers, and hot sauce--put the Phillies over the top. The stadium also offers vegetarian subs and wraps, tomato pizza (no cheese, please), fruit cups, salads, and, for the kids, PB&J.

"Citizens Bank Park's great vegetarian selection benefits both animals and the health of Phillies fans, who will be less likely to keel over from a meat-induced heart attack as they cheer Ryan Howard's next longball," says PETA Assistant Director Dan Shannon.

Look, I suppose vegetarians have to take their victories where they can find them and the “mainstreaming” of such things as veggie dogs, burgers and steaks, I suppose, is a good thing.

But truth be told, there is nothing appealing to me about “veggiefied” versions of steaks, hot dogs and burgers. In fact, I find it all a little insulting and poorly thought marketing. As someone who has made a conscious choice to be a vegetarian, I do not want to eat meat. Hard to believe, huh? That means the idea of burgers, hot dogs and steaks is not something I miss and a trumped up faux version of those things are equally undesirable.

Come on, do they really think that a veggie burger is going to make a vegetarian feel more assimilated and less of a misfit in the American culture? If so, that’s just dumb. Perhaps what the marketing wizards who came up with those ideas don’t understand is that – lean in closer here – VEGETARIANS DO NOT WANT TO EAT MEAT.

There, I said it. And if you want a list of reasons why this vegetarian chooses to be the way he is, you will have to wait or ask nicely. I’m not going to explain my choices for the same way the dude who chooses to gobble up steroid/cholesterol/fat/chemical/feces/carcass-laden dead animals doesn’t find it necessary to explain himself.

Anyway, I have tried the veggie steak and was not really impressed. Mostly that had to do with the fact that the “steak” was made of textured vegetable protein. Unlike tofu, TVP does not take the flavor of what surrounds it. Instead, it tastes like TVP no matter if it’s supposed to be chicken, steak, or duck.

But just like a cheesesteak, the veggie steak has the onions, cheese, roll and grease, which isn’t exactly a drawing card, either. Frankly, a person would be better off just getting a jumbo grilled cheese… that is if they are not vegan.

Sadly, what has been missed in the novelty of the veggie steak is that Planet Hoagie, also on Ashburn Alley, offers a veggie hoagie, which – get this – consists of vegetables.

Imagine that! Vegetarians might want to eat vegetables!

Without the TVP, the veggie hoagie has eggplant as the base and other sandwich-type vegetables that make it quite hearty. It is a little oily, but at least it’s Omega-3 type oil instead of basic cheese-type grease. Baring that, rumor is there is cheese-less pizza around the park, or better yet, drive up to Tony Luke’s on Oregon and Front and get the Uncle Mike – it’s served vegan or non-vegan style.

I wonder if the folks from PETA have ever been to Tony Luke’s?

***
Bob Barker's vegan enchilada bake (per Esquire)

• 12 oz frozen vegan burger-style crumbles (Morningstar Farms' work well)
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
• 2 cans black or pinto beans, rinsed
• 2 cans enchilada sauce
• 1 bag corn or flour tortillas
• 3 cups vegan cheddar cheese, shredded
• One 4-ounce can green chiles
• 1 small bag of Fritos, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees; spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with Pam.
2. In a bowl, coat crumbles with seasoning.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat; add scallions; cook 3 minutes. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute.
4. Add stock; stir 1 minute.
5. Stir in beans; set aside.
6. Cover bottom of pan with enchilada sauce.
7. Place one tortilla layer over sauce; pour bean mixture on top.
8. Follow with a third of the cheese and half the chiles.
9. Add more enchilada sauce and another tortilla layer.
10. Add burger crumbles, more cheese, the remaining chiles, and enchilada sauce.
11. End with the remaining tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese.
12. Cover with foil; bake 30 minutes.
13. Remove foil; sprinkle Fritos on top.
14. Pop back in the oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with vegan sour cream. Reheats in the toaster oven really well. My wife made this for me on Monday without the fritos. It was pretty damn good.

What did you say about my shortstop?

It’s always something whenever the Phillies and Marlins get together. In what is heating up as one of the biggest rivalries in baseball amongst teams not fighting for the division leadership and not battling for the wild-card berth, the Phillies and Fish simply do not like each other.

So they say, anyway.

At least that was the sentiment of Marlins’ left-handed starter Scott Olsen, who told the press during the stretch run of the 2006 season that he really didn’t like the Phillies. Of course it should also be noted that there were also reports that Olsen’s teammates didn’t much care for him, either, and that came before his recent arrest for driving under the influence, resisting an officer with violence and fleeing and eluding a police officer. He’s the same guy who was given a black eye last season from former teammate Randy Messenger during a confrontation. Olsen also got into dugout dust-ups with teammate Miguel Cabrera and former manager Joe Girardi.

In other words, consider the source.

But the word around the sweaty and sultry ballpark on a Tuesday afternoon where the air was so hot and thick that it felt as if it were closing in like the walls of a trash compactor, was that the shortstops had a bit of a beef going.

Not that media types pay attention to that sort of thing.

Nevertheless, the apparent flap began when Marlins’ pitcher Dontrelle Willis cut out a story in Tuesday’s edition of the Philadelphia Daily News containing a quote from Jimmy Rollins said Marlins’ shortstop Hanley Ramirez cannot be ranked amongst the best shortstops in the league because, well, he plays for Florida.

“Hanley (Ramirez), in Florida, is just Hanley in Florida,” Rollins told the Daily News. “I can throw him out of the books. Jose (Reyes) in New York - he's the man. He's in New York.”

Everyone seemed to laugh it off as nothing more than good-natured ribbing, except, of course, Ramirez. So when Ramirez pasted the first pitch of the game from Jamie Moyer over the left-field fence, a few of the folks sitting in the press box claimed that Ramirez gave Rollins an old-fashioned stare down on his way around the bases.

Because nothing says, “if I played in this band box I’d have many more homers than you,” like a good evil eye.

Needless to say, we probably haven’t heard the last of this one. Judging from the way the marlins react to everything, something is sure to get them bent out of shape for one reason or another.

Everything, that is, except the results on the scoreboard.

Just waking up and everything has still gone crazy

After getting home at 3 a.m. after being at a baseball game that lasted 14 innings and nearly five hours, it’s safe to say that I’m a bit fried today. But rest is for the weak, right…

Man, do I ever need a nap.

Anyway, because I’m struggling to string together cohesive sentences this afternoon, I’ll just ramble on with a few observations about the Phillies and the latest from the sports world.

• After last night’s win over the Nationals the Phillies have a 24.5 percent chance to make the playoffs. Really? Yes, really. At least that’s math according to Ken Roberts, who created an “Odds of making the playoffs” web site.

Here’s what Ken does: after every game – and we mean every game – the odds of a teams’ chances to make the playoffs are calculated and posted on his site. Then, a glimpse into the future is proffered showing not only how the odds change if the Phillies win or lose their next game, but how the odds change pending every result on the full schedule of games.

Yes, it’s good stuff and you should check it out by clicking here.

• To start it off, I had never seen a game go from a sure end to tied up and headed for extra innings like the way last night’s ninth inning played out. For those who didn’t see it, speedy shortstop Jimmy Rollins raced around the bases when his relatively routine fly ball just short of the warning track in left-center field was jarred loose when outfielders Ryan Church and Ryan Langerhans bumped in to each other. Standing at third, Rollins raced home when Church’s relay throw skipped away from shortstop Felipe Lopez to force extra innings.

The most surprising thing about Rollins’ dash around the bases? That it wasn’t ruled an inside-the-park home run by the hometown official scorer.

• Meanwhile, when Ryan Howard hits a home run, he really wallops it. Not only do his homers sound different than other players’, there really is no doubt that they are going out – he doesn’t hit too many that scrape into the first row.

• No one with the Phillies will say it -- though Charlie Manuel’s body language was downright funereal -- but Chase Utley’s broken hand is just about the worst thing that could happen to the team right now. Forget about his statistics and the fact that Utley is an MVP candidate, and his hard-nosed style of play… it was because of Utley that the Phillies were able to stay in the playoff race despite injuries to Freddy Garcia, Tom Gordon, Brett Myers, Jon Lieber and Ryan Howard.

Yes, losing Utley is very significant. And that just might be the understatement of the year.

• The Phillies gave out a Cole Hamels bobblehead figurine last night and had a sold-out crowd. Here’s my question: What is the allure of that stuff? I can understand baseball cards and other memorabilia-type collectibles (kind of), but why are bobbleheads still popular? Just chalk it up to the ever-growing pile of things I don’t get.

On another note, last year (or maybe the year before, I forget) the Nationals gave out a Chad Cordero bobblehead figurine at a game at RFK. Within hours of bringing it home my son ripped the head clean off the body and for the past year or so there has been the head of Chad Cordero, complete with that geeky unbent brim of his cap, staring up from the bottom of the toy box in our living room. Perhaps that’s the appeal of the bobblehead doll… ripping the heads clean off.

• Speaking of ripping the head clean off and one man’s inability to understand events occurring in the world, I’m still attempting to grasp just what the hell happened at this year’s Tour de France. Frankly, I haven’t been able to come up with anything other than some non-sequitors and random ideas.

For instance:

-- Perhaps it’s because I am an American and believe in a persons’ right to due process, but I just don’t understand how a man who never failed a drug test or violated any laws or rules of the sport could be bounced from an event he was about to win. Look, I know never failing a drugs test isn’t the best argument and I know all about Michael Rasmussen’s reputation, but if the Tour, the UCI and whatever other governing body is attempting to destroy cycling really disliked the dude and had valid reasons to boot him from the race, they should have never allowed him to start.

Now look what they have on their hands. It’s nothing more than a race that no one views as legitimate.

-- I always am amused by American sportswriters whose idea of exercise is actually getting up to manually turn the channels on the television opining about cycling. I also do not understand how one can legitimately write about sports without a basic understand of training and performance-enhancing drugs. Get these people out of the press box now, because writing intelligently about sports doesn’t really have much to do with the games any more.

-- Alexandre Vinokourov? Wow. Who would have thought the Tour could have sunk lower than that fiasco?

-- Along those lines everyone is quick to point out how “dirty” cycling is. But here is a fact: if MLB and the NFL acted like the UCI and the Tour de France, there would be more than 1,000 new players in those leagues tomorrow. It seems as if all cycling officials have to do is point at a guy and he's out. Forget facts and protocol. The players in MLB and the NFL should be thankful every day that they have a union that supports them.

-- Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Michael Rasmussen were all booted from the Tour de France this year despite never failing a drug test. Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Mark McGwire have admitted to using performance-enhancing substances and got new contracts.

Which sport is “dirty” again?

-- I’ve been asked if the current scandal in France will affect Floyd Landis’ case at all. My knee-jerk reaction is, “No, because they are mutually exclusive. Floyd’s case has to do with one specific test from one stage of last year’s race. This year’s scandal, they say, is about the ‘culture of doping.’”

Since I don’t believe Floyd is a part of that culture, nor do I believe he is a doper, I didn’t think it has anything to do with him.

But upon retrospect, maybe it does in the always fickle court of public opinion. Maybe Floyd suddenly becomes guilty because he rides a bike and won the Tour de France?

Either way it makes me happy to be a runner instead of a baseball player or cyclist.

-- Meanwhile, other folks have asked me why they just don’t cancel the rest of the Tour. What’s the point anymore? It’s a valid question, but the answer comes down to the bottom line. The rest of the ride to Paris is economical, complete with all of the pomp, circumstance and corporate sponsorships.

They don’t put those corporate logos on their uniforms because they look nice.

The reason the Tour continues is the same reason why Bud Selig doesn’t go all French on Barry Bonds and pull the cheater from the field. It’s why the Giants re-signed Bonds – he makes a lot of people money...

Especially people like WADA president Dick Pound.

Integrity? Ha!

New York state of mind

Just how are we expected to sleep at night knowing that a menace to society like Paris Hilton is out of the slammer and under house arrest? Someone please answer that question…

***
Speaking of slammers and dubious fame, Jimmy Rollins, author of the “team to beat” quote that whips the partisans into a lather whenever he shows up at Shea Stadium, had a pretty big game last night.

And it’s pretty safe to assume that he enjoyed every second of it.

“It's a great place to do it, in New York against this team,” Rollins said after the game.

Rollins, of course, slugged a two-out, two-strike three-run home run in the top of the seventh to resuscitate the Phillies’ silent offense and lead the way to a 4-2 victory. The most important part is that the Phillies climbed over the .500 mark again and have a chance to go for the sweep over the Mets tonight when Cole Hamels pitches against John Maine.

For any fan of young, stud pitchers, tonight is the game to watch.

For now, though, Rollins gets another game at Shea until mid-September which means the fans there get to boo him for his game-winning homer and innocuous comments.

Seriously, why do fans get worked up over something so mundane as a guy believing his team is good? Someday, perhaps, I’ll get it… then again, probably not.

Be that as it may, the idea of Rollins becoming a villain to the New York sports’ fans has been floated out there, though Rollins says he doesn’t think he’ll ever reach the heights of hatred that Reggie Miller or someone like that.

“I think I smile too much,” Rollins laughed. “Maybe if I was a mean guy I'd make for a good villain. But I enjoy playing the game. Eventually you get tired being mad at a happy guy.”

Nah, Reggie Miller seems to be a happy-go-lucky guy and it didn’t seem as if the New Yorkers ever got tired of booing him. Then again, Michael Jordan used to carve the Knicks apart and that didn’t stop anyone in the Big Apple from buying Nikes.

Nevertheless, Rollins says he wouldn’t mind becoming an assassin like Reggie Miller.

“I hope I could be a Reggie Miller. Shoot, that would be great.”

Of course Reggie Miller was disliked for what he did to the New York fans during the playoffs. Rollins and the Phillies will have to get there for the rivalry to really bloom.

***
If there is one thing we learned about Jose Mesa back when he was saving more games than any pitcher in Phillies’ history it was the big fella was really in good shape. It might not have looked that way to an outsider, but there were very few players on those Phillies’ teams that worked out as much or as hard as Joe Table.

Perhaps that’s why Mesa, listed as 41 years old, is getting another look-see after being released from the Detroit Tigers. Nothing is promised now, but reports are that the Phillies will work out the veteran reliever to see whether he could be a worthy addition to the front-end of the bullpen.

Hey, what does it hurt?

Mesa saved 111 games for the Phillies from 2001 to 2003and he saved 320 games (including 70 for the Pirates in 2004 and 2005) during his 19-season career. But after putting together a solid season for the Colorado Rockies in 2006 (3.86 ERA in 79 games), Mesa has struggled for the Tigers this season. So far he’s been in 16 games and has a not-so sharp 12.34 ERA.

Nonetheless, if the Phillies like anything about Mesa it wouldn’t be too difficult to find a spot for him in the ‘pen.

***
Here’s some good news if you like to drink coffee… it’s really, really good for you.

According to a new meta-analysis in the magazine Gastroenterology, there is a strong likelihood that caffeine consumption decreases your risk of liver cancer. Even better, according to a study in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, caffeine consumption could make you a faster runner – actually 1 percent faster if you have a penchant for distance running.

The best part: a 23-year study of 13,000 Californians in Preventive Medicine found that moderate caffeine consumers had a significantly reduced risk of death.

So get out there and get drinking. It will make you faster for a long time.

Could Rollins outgrow leadoff spot?

If one looks at it literally, Jimmy Rollins was correct in saying the Phillies were the team to beat in the National League East. At 2-8, boy are they ever the team to beat.

Yet despite sparking his teammates to back his words with winning baseball, Rollins has more than stood out through the early going of the season. Notoriously a poor starter during most of his career with the Phillies, Rollins leads the league with six homers, is second with 12 runs and is third in OPS (1.201) and slugging percentage (.783). Meanwhile, he slips into the top 10 in RBIs (11), on-base percentage (.418) and walks (8). A season after setting career highs in all of those statistical categories save for on-base percentage, Rollins, 28, appears to be settling into his prime.

But that’s where it gets curious. Is Rollins settling into his prime as a leadoff hitter or as a middle-of-the-order slugger? Certainly all followers of the Phillies have opinions on the topic, but the only one (or two) that matter aren’t budging.

The fact of the matter is that Jimmy Rollins is the Phillies’ leadoff hitter now and for the foreseeable future.

“I’m not saying I want to do anything,” manager Charlie Manuel said on Friday with his daily powwow with the writers. “I haven’t even thought about (a lineup change).”

Certainly Manuel has more important things to worry about than moving Rollins out of the leadoff spot, and frankly, Manuel seems to be taking the if-it-ain’t-broke approach where he can. In fact, since Manuel took over as skipper from Larry Bowa one of the first things he did was put Rollins at the top spot and to stop worrying about it. After bouncing around from the top third and bottom third of the order with Bowa in charge, Rollins has just 35 at-bats outside of the leadoff spot since Manuel took over before the 2005 season.

No doubt there were plenty calling for Manuel to move Rollins out of the top spot based on his pedestrian on-base percentage and his long stretches where he drew nary a walk. But now it seems as if Manuel’s patience has been rewarded.

“I feel like for me to want to move him we would have to need something down in our lineup,” Manuel said. “But I wouldn't do that (now). ... I don't plan on doing that. I'm not saying I won't do anything, but I haven't thought about (moving Rollins).”

Rollins, Manuel says, is a lot like his boyhood hero Rickey Henderson except for the walks of course. The quintessential leadoff man, Henderson bashed nearly 300 home runs during his long career, which was a terrifying dichotomy for the opposition when his all-time best stolen bases and second-best walks are measured in.

At the same time, Alfonso Soriano swiped 41 bags and smashed 46 homers hitting mostly in the leadoff spot for the Washington Nationals last season.

With stolen base numbers that hover in the mid-30s to low 40s, could a season like Soriano’s be in Rollins’ not-so distant future?

“He hit 25 last year. I’m not setting an amount on him and hopefully he’s not setting an amount,” Manuel said. “If he hits the ball out front with a good short swing, that’s what a home run is.”

Rollins, it seems, definitely knows what a home runs is. But will he get so familiar with the round-tripper that he outgrows his spot at the top of the Phillies’ batting order?

Kudos MLB, kudos

We like to give credit where credit is due even if it’s to a entity that seems to enjoy bad press, bad decisions and sticking it to its best customers and fans. But when Major League Baseball decided that it would allow any player (one per team, though) who wishes to wear No. 42 in tribute to Jackie Robinson on the 60th anniversary of his debut on April 15 (as well as the 10th anniversary of the league-wide retirement of the number), it was a great move and a smart decision.

For the Phillies, Jimmy Rollins will wear No. 42, which makes sense. Rollins has always been a big proponent of the old Negro Leagues, its history and lore.

But for as smart as MLB was in allowing players to pay tribute to Jackie Robinson, don’t expect too much more of it – especially in the NFL. According to The Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon, who appeared on ESPN Radio with Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann this week, the NFL does not want to celebrate its history as it relates to individuals.

Said Wilbon:
“Baseball gets it right. Baseball understands individuality. Football understands it, too – football doesn’t want it. Football wants not to have it. That’s how they can trot out replacement players, because if there is no individuality, players can never have strength. They can never be equal (because) the team is always greater. The jersey is the greatest thing that football offers. Major League Baseball does understand this and I’m glad they have relented and will allow any person who wants to wear No. 42 on April 15 to wear it. … The NFL doesn’t want to pay tribute to anybody.”

There certainly are a lot of examples of how the NFL beats down on any type of individuality rearing its head. Remember when Peyton Manning wanted to wear black high tops as a tribute to Johnny Unitas or when Jake Plummer wanted to wear a small No. 40 on his helmet as a tribute to Pat Tillman? The NFL warned the players that if they strayed beyond the vanilla ordinances of the league’s bylaws by the slightest centimeter they risked fines, suspension or no recess.

Baseball surely has screwed up royally in this regard, too, but at least they recognize (like the NBA) that the players are the best public relations they have.

Talkin' baseball

Jimmy Rollins says the Phillies are the beasts of the NL East.

Cole Hamels chatting with reporters this afternoon.

Charlie Manuel talks baseball with a few writers.

Charlie wants Ryan Howard to just say no to too many interviews.