That Balls Outta Here » closer

Brad Lidge Cool with Papelbon Deal, In Case You Were Wondering

Justin Klugh — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:00:12 +0000

When your team signs a player who plays the same position as you, there is a tendency to feel threatened. Not Brad Lidge, though! Brad’s just fine.

There’s really no guarantee or reason that Brad will be playing for the Phillies next year, but still, there he is, working out at Citizens Bank Park, despite no matter how few promises have been made to him and how many security guards are slowly advancing upon the leg press. (more…)

Billy Wagner Apparently Drunk Dialed by Desperate Phillies

Justin Klugh — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:10:58 +0000

If reaching out to Travis d’Arnaud is calling your ex, getting in touch with Billy Wagner is drunk dialing your high school fling who accidentally burned down your parents’ house.

Which the Phillies apparently seemed keen on doing before the Papelbon deal went through. With the speed and intensity at which the Phillies are operating this offseason, I was giving them a lot of credit for seemingly having a plan and executing it without much distraction. It inspires confidence, and other positive emotions that seem foreign and confusing this time of year.

But calling Billy Wagner… that is not healthy behavior. (more…)

Let’s Get to the Bottom of this Papelbon Thing

Justin Klugh — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:07:55 +0000

By now, it should be clear that I have a problem with the Jonathan Papelbon signing. Not just the four year, $50 million part of it, or the Ryan Madson part of it, but mostly, how all these things add up to the new closer’s dynamic with the fanbase.

I can’t imagine something that would matter less to a player than what we on the internet think of him. If I had their kind of money I’d just start my own internet and ignore that this pit of buzzing, round-the-clock bitching and judgment even exists. But this blog doesn’t take up a small portion of cyber space to talk about things logically. No, quite often, we deal with the emotional toll being a Phillies fan involves, which I think we can all agree is far more interesting/fun/terrible/worthless. (more…)