Tmil42's Board-To-Board with Falcon02520

Thanks :)

Wow, I made a mess out of that, didn't I?

1) It%u2019s a little ironic that I get this question the day after Larry (I refuse to call him Chipper) Jones gets hurt again. It%u2019s apparently not very serious (he%u2019s going to try and play tonight), but it%u2019s another example that he%u2019s just not as durable as he used to be. I mean, he%u2019s no Moises Alou, but he hasn%u2019t played more than 140 games since 2003. When healthy, though, he%u2019s still the best offensive third baseman this side of A-Rod. He%u2019s been among the elite third basemen for the past 13 years, and I don%u2019t see that changing this year or the next, even though he%u2019ll turn 36 on April 24th.

My guess is that he%u2019ll cool down at some point (I mean, he%u2019s not going to hit .458/.494/.764 all year), play about 140 games, hit 28 or so HR, and finish top-5 in the MVP voting. At the end of the year, people will say what they%u2019ve said for the past 4 seasons (I call it the Ken Griffey Jr. Dictum): %u201CImagine if he hadn%u2019t gotten hurt.%u201D

2) I%u2019m going to reword your question a little bit: the Phillies aren%u2019t going to miss Jimmy Rollins%u2019 defense as much (Bruntlett is a defensive whiz, despite the hiccups he had in his first couple starts) as they will his offense and his leadership on the field (if you buy this sort of thing, which I do). Chase Utley is single-handedly keeping the Phillies afloat right now.

What Rollins needs to do is focus on getting completely healthy. So much of his game is predicated on speed that if he%u2019s got a lingering injury, he won%u2019t be effective. If Rollins tries to rush back, odds are pretty good that he%u2019ll aggravate that injury and won%u2019t be able to be the guy he was in 2007 (I%u2019m on the record as saying that David Wright should have won the 2007 MVP, but I can live with Rollins taking home that award). If Rollins misses more than a few weeks, I believe that the Phillies are pretty much screwed.

The Phillies desperately need Ryan Howard to get going at the plate (.186/.318/.386, 27 K in 70 AB). I%u2019m not that worried about the strikeouts (although they are a little extreme), as Howard%u2019s a guy who strikes out a ton anyway. He had a slow April in 2007 also, with a stat line of .221/.396/.390, with only 3 HR. Howard will come around, but with Rollins on the DL, he can%u2019t afford to wait much longer. Utley isn%u2019t going to hit a home run in every game, although it certainly seems like it at this point. If Philadelphia falls more than a few games behind the Mets this year, I%u2019m not sure they have the horses (or baseball players, for that matter) to erase a 7- or 8-game deficit. I honestly don%u2019t think it%u2019ll get to that point, as I expect a close race between the Phillies and Mets (sorry Braves, no bullpen means no chance in this division) throughout the season.

I'm a Mets fan because of my mom. I'm sure you'll find that parents provide most of the background for people's favorite teams. I only seriously started following the Mets in 2002 or 2003, in the days of Joe McEwing and Rey Ordonez, and I've been a rabid fan since then.

Thanks a lot Falcon, I really appreciate it, and it means a lot coming from you.

I understand all about school. I'm going on spring break starting tomorrow, so I'll hopefully have some time to write an article or two. I'm not sure why so many people vote for my comments...maybe they have a brain disorder.

Right now I'm working pretty hard on getting all the 2007 stats in for the MLB players. Plus I'm not great on coming up with original ideas. We can't all go to spring training like you ;-)

No problem, Falcon. I was only joking, too. I also think you're a great writer.

Thanks for the heads-up on that article. It was a good read.