Comments on: Ryan Howard

By: frankenslade

frankenslade — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:53:24 +0000

I decided to take a second to catch up on a past post and went to this one, which I was surprised to see because the card is not from your childhood. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m such a huge Phillies fan and an editor in my everyday life. I can’t help but replay the key dozen or so killer moments from the Phils over the last few years (as well as the key moments from my teen years, the only other time when the Phils were also a bit of a powerhouse for an extended period). Although aesthetically I wish Lidge would have gone high rather than low at that moment (it’s just cooler), the guy’s sincerity and humility in the many lows and recent highs that have followed his perfect 2008 season have never been in question. I hope my team can give me another 6 weeks of thrills and absolute moments of achievement, and I hope all of your teams do the same for you in coming seasons.

Meanwhile, can I was thinking about my original childhood baseball hero this morning, Willie Montanez, and can use your help: http://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/index.php/townspeople-helping-townspeople-find-rock-n-roll-holy-grails

By: jfmahonxx

jfmahonxx — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:11:03 +0000

12. I would jump up in the air repeatedly like Tug McGraw did in 1980 against KC (same thing I do when I win a softball game). Mitch Williams when he got a strike out to close out the Braves in 1993 jumped up in the air with his legs spread in opposite directions and it looked like he was touching his toes with his hands. The Mitch Williams picture made the front page of the NY Times. Lidge's reaction by dropping to his knees was cool. I was at all three games in 1980, 1993 and 2008, and the pitchers' reaction is indelibly stuck in my mind.

By: Sox Fan In NYC

Sox Fan In NYC — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:14:57 +0000

11. Perhaps a bit insensitive to the nature of the subject, but I think we need to incorporate this into every day life. boss: "Did you complete that issuing of documents I asked you to take care of?" me:"I did, thanks to Jesus Christ for giving me the strength to accomplish that task while avoiding the tantalizing Cardboard Gods newest update"

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:20:47 +0000

10. 9 : Interesting point. I think the behavior of last year's NL pennant-winners tells the changing story: Christ has gone corporate. The Rockies had (and still have, I guess) that organization-wide Christliness, which had an element of being sort of quiet about it, as if there had been company-wide meetings to tell all Believers to go light on the subject in interviews. But guys like Lidge and, a little earlier, Trot Nixon keep that old-school shout-out style alive. But it may never be like it was in the glory years, when I won real money betting on which team in the Super Bowl would have the first guy to kneel and pray after a touchdown.

By: ramblin pete

ramblin pete — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:05:51 +0000

9. I felt a warm pang of nostalgia come over my body as Brad Lidge effusively thanked Jesus Christ in his post-pile-up interview moments after he (and He) closed out Tampa Bay in the bottom of the ninth.

Is it me, or is this a rarer occurence than in the God-fearing ’80s and ’90s? Maybe football has more of it going on. I remember making book on the number of times Reggie White would mention his Lord and Savior when interviewed during the Packers’ playoff appearances a decade ago.

Then again, maybe Lidge was just impulsively exclaiming a vernacular interjection of overwhelmed disbelief: “Wow! I’d like to thank – (whew! Jeeee-zus Christ!….) my family, and teammates and the fans, etc.etc.”

But somehow I doubt it.

After all, Jesus Christ could hardly be expected to extend any hand of divine providence to the Rays – a franchise whose President, General Manager, and Principal Owner are all members of a tribe that does not deign to worship Him.

By: ToyCannon

ToyCannon — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:33:25 +0000

8. I played the Howard tackle over and over and it makes me wonder how these guys pull muscles while walking to the water cooler and yet can take a hit like that and then have a ton of manhood pressing on their body parts and come out of it no worse for wear. It was a great celebration and hopefully their last for a while. At least the NL won something.

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:56:33 +0000

7. 6 : "an easy mistake to make" I totally agree. I had certainly glanced at the card a few times without seeing it. When I did it warmed my heart a little, made these newfangled slick cards a little more like the cards I grew up with, and a little more human. As some jazz guy once said, I think Jon Hendricks, "It wouldn't be jazz without the mistakes."

By: DXMachina

DXMachina — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:50:03 +0000

6. Hah! Got it. The problem with stuff like this is that it looks correct on a quick scan. It's an easy mistake to make, especially if one is doing lots of similar set-ups.

By: Peanut

Peanut — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:03:38 +0000

5. I found the Howard mistake on my third read-through.

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:41:05 +0000

4. 3 : Correction: "Behold the Unsprtable" should be "Behold the Unsortable" Stay tuned for the inevitable correction for this comment...