By Kevin O’Connor Jr.
DR. SPORTS FAN

Last year’s Cy Young to last year’s champions, sounds like a move towards a successful title defense to me. The Phillies are loaded like a freshman at his first fraternity party!

Now while I definitely want to talk some Cliff Lee today, I’d first like to say a few words about the late Jim Johnson.

While most of us never knew him personally, the former Eagles defensive coordinator was a source of pride for Birds fans this past decade. We love our players and coaches to attack you (see Ryan, Buddy), and we also like a guy that tells it like it is. Johnson gave us both in spades.

With Jeremiah Trotter up the middle and Brian Dawkins, the Eagles made their bones in the early Andy Reid era with a dominant defense. While Donovan McNabb struggled to find his early career consistency with a mediocre receiving corps, Johnson’s crew — led by Dawkins, Trotter, defensive end Hugh Douglass, and defensive tackle Corey Simon — was the heart of the teams that made those first trips deep in the NFC playoffs.

When age and free agency ate away at the talent on the defensive side of the ball the Eagles fell from their high ground in the NFC East. While Dallas and New York gained on us in recent years, last season’s turnaround was keyed by a defensive renaissance.  Johnson’s defense finished third overall in yards allowed and fourth in points allowed (one of the stats that Johnson cared the most about), and once again the Birds had a date with in the NFC Title Game. (I’m just going to pretend that’s the end of the story for the ‘08 team. Please don’t mention anything about Larry Fitzgerald, I’m begging you.)

My dad would always point out how Johnson would wag his tongue between plays. (I used to do the same thing when I colored as a little kid.)

While it made us laugh, we knew it was because Jimmy J. was concentrating hard on what he was going to throw next at the opposing quarterback. Most of the time, the other QB didn’t know what player or what position was about to hit him. I’ll miss that.

Rest in piece, Mad Scientist.

Anyway, on to the good news: the Phillies just sent notice to the rest of baseball that the defending champions are not satisfied with just one title.

The Phils sent three Triple-A prospects (catcher Lou Marson, infielder Jason Donald, and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco) and one Single-A prospect (fireball pitcher Jason Knapp) to the Cleveland Indians for Cliff Lee and bench player Ben Francisco. In other words, we sent four guys there weren’t not good enough to play in the majors for the best pitcher in the AL last year. (Remember, the Toronto Blue Jays wanted starting pitcher J.A. Happ, top minor league arm Kyle Drabek, and top position prospect Dominic Brown for super ace Roy Halladay.)

While the drop off from Halladay to Lee is minimal, the Phillies were able to avoid giving up the three key players in their future. Talk about your no brainers — even Ed Wade would’ve done this.

I know a lot of Phillies fans were dying for Halladay, and you can’t blame them one bit. This trade for Lee, however, has a lot to do with what General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was willing to part with. The rookie GM seems to have pulled a rabbit out of his hat.

Here is why I think the Lee trade is easily more valuable than the proposed Halladay trade.

• Carrasco and Donald are not better than the team’s current options and Knapp is a few years away from any impact, so Marson is the only loss that hurts the team in the near future. Current backstop Carlos Ruiz will never make anyone forget Johnny Bench (or Mike Lieberthal for that matter), and Marson was beginning to look like the catcher of the future. Looks like the team will continue to look for the preverbial catcher of the future. (Of course, if Ruiz has another World Series like he did against Tampa Bay, good riddance Sweet Lou!)
• This move allows the Phillies to keep Happ and Drabek. Young J.A. has been a solid pro in every one of his starts, but more importantly, the Phils have him for cheap for several more years. Giving him away certainly would’ve hurt the back end of the rotation. Drabek, on the other hand, seems ticketed for the front end of the Phillies rotation sometime in the next season or two. Like Hamels before him, Drabek was given the “untouchable” decree from the Phils front office. Now, whether he’ll be taking the Hamels route or the Gavin Floyd detour to stardom…
• The only thing I had against the Halladay trade was not wanting to disturb the current Phillies hot streak. By not dealing anyone from the 25 man roster, problem solved! (On a side note, my dad would like to pass along that he was against the Polanco trade mainly because he thought that Polanco should have been moved to third base. Like the rest of the Philly Phaithful, my dad wasn’t too fond of David Bell.)
• Cliff Lee did win the Cy Young Award over Halladay last season. Just saying.

After giving away zero major leaguers for Lee, the Phillies are ridiculously deep and talented in almost ever facet of the game, and it all starts with the Phillies lineup. From one through six, the Phillies lineup has All-Star caliber players at every spot — with four hitters (Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and Jason Werth) currently on pace for over 30 home runs.

But how about their starting pitching?

Here are the SEVEN pitchers the Phils can plug from for their eventual starting rotaton: Hamels, Lee, Happ, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer, Rodrigo Lopez, and soon Pedro Martinez. Manager Charlie Manuel has options with his rotation. Here’s my recommendation for ol’ Chuck for his eventual regular season rotation:

1. Cole Hamels
2. Joe Blanton
3. Cliff Lee
4. J.A. Happ
5. Pedro Martinez

After moving Moyer to the bullpen for long relief and waiving/demoting Rodrigo Lopez (who did a great job filling in the past month), this is how I’d set it all up. Hamels and Lee are similar pitchers, so separating them with Blanton — the team’s best pitcher this season — seems logical. My guess is that Manuel will have to decide between Happ and Moyer for the fourth starter spot. My gut tells me that Charlie puts Moyer in the rotation.

Now here’s where it gets tricky. When the postseason roles around, one of the starters will need to be dropped from the rotation. Charlie will have to decide between Happ/Moyer and Pedro for that last spot. That decision I suggest we table until we see just how good Martinez looks in the September stretch drive.

But wait, there’s more!

No it’s not an infomercial, it’s the return of Brett Myers.  When Myers returns from hip surgery late in the season, he’ll go right into the bullpen, which has really been the only chink in the armor of the defending champs this season, surprising given last year’s dominant performance. Now Myers, the closer for the 2007 Division Championship team, joins the late inning fray to help spell Ryan Madsen and even Brad Lidge – both of who have stuggled in 2009.

I’m don’t like to get ahead of myself with these things — growing up in Philly, who could blame me — but this move really makes the Phillies favorites to win the next two World Series titles. (Wow, say that out loud a few times.) With their deep pitching staff, and that lineup, who is going to stop them? No one could stop them last year, and that was before Ibanez and Lee joined the team.

Not that I like to brag or anything, but I’m feeling pretty good about the Phillies chances for a repeat AND a threepeat. It sure is great to be the defending champs!

I’m feeling so good, kind of like I did at that first fraternity party…

By Kevin O’Connor
DR. SPORTSFAN

I am not sold on the MLB All-Star Game. In fact, I rarely even watch the whole game.

Who else finds it odd that this exhibition game has to be for homefield advantage in the World Series? It’s a sad state for professional sports when an All-Star game needs to have postseason implications for it to “matter,” but somehow Bud Selig made that happen.

Additionally, I always think it looks weird when All Star players wear their individual team jerseys instead of an All Star jersey, and it’s a different sort of game when starting pitchers only work an inning just like closers. It just never felt like a normal professional baseball game to me.

But that’s not going to stop me from writing my first running diary on the 2009 MLB All-Star Game.  So with my new 42” HDTV and DVR — I taped the game while I was at work on the West Coast — it’s time for my first Bill Simmons Honorary Running Diary.

Opening Introductions for the Mid-Summer Classic

-The St. Louis fans were giving some nice ovations. Former Cardinals great and current L.A. manager Joe Torre got the best cheers for anyone that is not a current Cardinal. According to everyone and their mother, St. Louis has the best and most knowledgeable baseball fans in the country. (Or was it world?) Chances are we’ll hear that little nugget of information again.

-Congrats to Ted Lilly, the only player booed by the great St. Louis Cardinal fans.  Guess St. Louis really hates the Cubs.

-During introductions, I noticed former Phillie free-agent bust Ryan Franklin made the roster and CHECK OUT THAT FACIAL HAIR! He would’ve been my favorite Phillies player if he had remained on the team with that chin action. Jayson Worth has nothing on this guy.

-How does Joe Buck ruin everything? Had to say “Here we go St. Louis” before Pujols’ intro, didn’t ya? I don’t know why his words made it all so annoying. Maybe I’m the problem … moving on.

-I can’t be the first to say that Tim Lincecum looks like the grown-up version of Mitch Kramer from Dazed and Confused. I really can’t be, right? Please tell me Bill Simmons has mentioned this several times.

-After seeing Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton in the military bit, I’m wondering: Will all living presidents really be on this PSA?

-Bush the first is on. C’mon Jimmy! One more!

-YES!  Jimmy Carter made it. BEYOND COMMITMENT!

-I have DVR. I’m going to skip through the rest of this bit on the military. I guess I’m not BEYOND CARING!  On a related note, I’m going to hell. I hope SPF 50 works down there…

(Truthfully, I am thankful for our armed servicemen, and these people are pretty impressive. I didn’t end up fast forwarding and watched all five in the program.)

-Even amongst the other four living presidents, it’s pretty apparent that Obama can hold his own in a speech.

-Cool scene on the field when the All-Stars went up and congratulated those soldiers. I thought this was going to be too corny for me but man was I wrong. Well done.

-Can things get any worse, Hollywood? Michael Strahan has his own sitcom? Note to self: Move to L.A. They are running out of actors.

-Sheryl Crow seemed nervous during the national anthem. (Can’t say I blame her.) She did, however, hit her stride by the end.

-I love it when they bring out the stealth bomber for a flyover. I wonder though, does anyone even know it’s there? Shouldn’t it just pass over without anyone knowing? Oh wait, that joke’s shot after a loud jet-like sound just came over the TV.

-New promo for House looks sick. This is very much the way House should have ended up – in a mental institution. For a show that was exactly the same for five seasons to finally come through with a new angle, they’ve earned my viewership in the fall season.

-CLEVELAND SHOW! Sold. Can’t wait.

-Major League Baseball seems like a fraternity to me. When you’re a Hall of Famer, they trot you out like alumni, talk about how great you are, and give you a nice colored jacket. Speaking of which, I’ve been meaning to visit the College of New Jersey one of these days…

-The crowd’s reaction to Obama has to be the perfect indicator of his standing with the American people: a tremendous ovation with an undercurrent of boos. I can see tomorrow’s FOX News headline now: “St. Louis lustily boos Obama, why Sarah Palin would’ve thrown an 86 mph strike for the first pitch.”

-It’s been more than 40 minutes since the All-Star game was set to begin, and I just gained nothing from the experience. Here is what we’ve learned in the past 40 min: (1) We should be proud of our soldiers. (Check.) (2) President Obama cannot reach the plate, but. George W. Bush can certainly bring it.

-Ken Rosenthal is abnormally tiny. Whose idea was it to have him stand right next tall professional athletes in interviews? I blame Joe Buck.

The GAME

-Ichiro nearly put the NL in the whole before I blinked. That might’ve been game right there, especially since the AL is undefeated in All Star Games since ‘96. Losing streaks always wear heavily on a ball club, but can it transfer between All-Star rosters? I vote yes.

-This just in, Derek Jeter is good at two-strike hitting according to color man – I mean play-by-play announcer – Joe Buck.

-Ouch!!! Yankees fans must love seeing Jeter get hit in by a pitch in the All Star game. Oh wait, this one matters so way to take one for the team Captain Yankee! He’ll do anything to win a game.

-I think Jeter is fuming like Ben Affleck was in Dazed and Confused. If Lincecum is limping when he returns to San Fran, chances are Jeter paddled him circa 1976 after the game.

-Thanks to the defensive wizardry of both Lincecum and Pujols, 2-0 AL after a half-inning.

-How underrated is Michael Young? The six-time All-Star just made a slick defensive play at third to rob a screamer by Pujols. The guy started his career playing shortstop, switched to second base to accommodate Alex Rodriguez, back to shortstop after he left, and now he’s the All-Star starter for the American League at third base. Wow. Henceforth, Young shall be known as the Underrated Michael Young in these circles.  In other news, the NL went down in order.

-Obama’s making Tim McCarver giddy in the broadcast booth during the president’s visit to the broadcast booth in the bottom half of the second. Joe Buck, meanwhile, is in the zone, talking to Obama as though he were as inconsequential a guest as Dave Winfield. Somehow Joe Buck’s kudos to Obama seemed like how he would congratulate a grade schooler on a B- grade for an English quiz.

Now if Stan Musial were in the booth…

-Joe Buck does not miss an opportunity to hate (that’s disrespect or “diss” to those not up on the lingo) on anybody. He just had to get in that shot about the Nats firing their manager.

-Obama likes the Phillies! This is great. (That is Philly Phan moment number one to those keeping score at home.)

-In case anyone else was wondering, Joe Buck wanted to remind everyone that the NL hasn’t won an All-Star game since ’96. I count two references to that dubious stat. Both by Joe Buck. Something tells me Buck has at least five more in him by the end of the night.

-Back-to-back-to-back hard-hit singles by NL hitters David Wright, Shane Victorino, and “Which Molina?” (judges: Yadier) ties the game at two! Extra points to the Flyin’ Hawaiian for good hustle sprinting to third, forcing the errant throw that tied it, and Molina for the hometown excitement. (Philly Phan moment number three.)

-The NL takes the lead! It’s now a 3-2 game after Home Run Derby champ Prince Fielder’s ground-rule double brings home Molina.

-After inspiring hope in the country’s educated liberals in the election and now the NL in the second, President Obama steps down from the broadcast booth/inspiration chamber after Hanley Ramirez can’t bring Fielder home. So ends a fun bottom half to the second.

-“No, thank you so much Mr. President.” — Joe Buck.

-Did Tim Lincicum really make the major leagues because his dad put down a dollar bill to make him finish his windup? See dad, you should have just given me more money when I was a kid, and I’d be a pro ballplayer — making millions. What a ridiculous commercial. (When I’m in hell, I’ll remember that it’s a public service announcement reminding dads to be more active with their children.)

-How is Ryan Franklin this good? My best guess: that squirrel on his chin.

-1-2-3 inning for Ryan Franklin in the All-Star Game. I would have bet my life in 2006 that I wouldn’t have typed those words. My life.

-I love Taco Bell — ask anyone. I even liked that corny “If you like Pina Coladas” commercial. No joke.

-Bank of America is going to get a terrific tax break for its charitable donation during tonight’s All-Star Game (BofA is donating $5,000 for each hit in tonight’s game). The only other possible charitable donation from BofA: their customer service reps give you a break on the first of seven $35 overdraft fees for transactions that totaled $8.50. But I don’t want you to think that happened to me last year … twice.

-Buerhle with a quick 1-2-3 inning. Still 3-2 NL after three.

(Just took a quick hot-tub interlude. That is reason No.56 for buying a DVR. Reason No.1, you ask? Taping the All Star game while at work so that you can watch it when you get home.)

-The Underrated Michael Young sends a hot shot past David Wright for a two-out single, but Aaron Hill can do nothing about it as we go to the bottom half of the third with the NL leading 3-2.

-Will anyone actually see G.I. Joe in theaters? I for one never envisioned Channing Tatum and a Wayans brother (judges: Marlon) starring in the film adaptation of one of the all-time great little-kid cartoons. I’ll believe anything Nostradamus said if we find out he predicted this.

-Is MasterCard really giving out the perfect pair of jeans? If so, who determines the perfect jeans? Personally, I prefer my jeans broken in, in that medium color (between faded and dark), and just about to have holes form in them. It’s a shame because the perfect pair of jeans are about to become very ugly looking when hole rips open on my backside…

-If playing other All-Stars is any indication, the AL definitely has more top-of-the-rotation guys.

-First positive thing Joe Buck said all night (officially) took place with Carl Crawford at the plate with no outs in the top of the fifth: “If you are trying and attempting to keep a scorecard at home, I applaud you.” President Obama was in the booth with him three innings ago. So let’s recap: becoming the first black president is ok, but you should be really proud of yourself for keeping score at home during the All Star Game

-Two minutes later, Joe Buck commented on how Carl Crawford keeps his pants low. Apparently one of the fastest players in baseball should pull up his pants so he can run faster. I now have concrete proof for why I can’t stand listening to Joe Buck call/comment on a game.

-Chase Utley is the heir apparent to Derek Jeter. That play he made towards second base — turning the opposite way before firing to second to force out Crawford — was a heady, gusty play. Bite me, New York fans. (That’s my fourth Philly Phan moment of the diary. For those keeping score at home, Joe Buck applauds you.)

-Pujols follows with a tremendous diving snag, possibly making up for his terrible first-inning defense. The St. Louis fans just got louder after that play.

-Mauer ties it with an RBI double the other way (after which McCarver reminded us that good hitters hit the ball everywhere), scoring Jeter. Mauer might chase .400 in the second half, and according to Sports Illustrated, off the field he looks forward to mowing his grass. He sounds exactly like the type of person whowould thrive in the grassy meadows of New York City. Just wait until the Yankees offer him a modest $240 million.

-Pujols again with the defense! The second backhanded stop by the Wizard of Offense allows the NL escape further damage in the top of the fifth. Joe Buck deadpans, “It’s what makes him great.”

-Do you care who the Pepsi Clutch Performer is? What is it with all this annoying corporate sponsorships? Aren’t they loosing money and trying to spend wiser? On an unrelated note, I could really go for a Pepsi right now.

-Did I mention Utley was Jeter’s heir apparent? Utley bobbles a tailor-made double-play ball but still starts the 4-6-3 to end the top of the sixth. How long until some baseball stat geeks determine that Utley has limited range at second base?

-It’s all about the Roosevelts, baby! (BTW, I had Taco Bell on Friday and Saturday.)

-Joe Buck: “Justin is the first All-Star Upton.” The First All-Star Upton grounds out to end the sixth. Mid-Summer Classic is still tied, 3-3.

-Just received former WWF wrestler Bret Hart’s autobiography Hitman in the mail today from Amazon. There’s a story inside about when the Hart Foundation put their finishing move on Vince McMahon at a party after a taping. I can’t wait to read this one.

-Papelbon looked less than impressive after allowing two loud outs to start the bottom of the seventh. Thanks to a web gem by Crawford and a weak jet stream in right, the Red Sox closer narrowly avoided giving up back-to-back dingers. Still, it was another 1-2-3 inning for the AL after he struck out Werth on a full count.

-We’re through seven innings and each team has used six pitchers. What are the chances we see any relief pitchers throw more than an inning tonight? Personally, I’m all for Charlie Manuel giving K-Rod three or four innings of work… (Anyone remember that Brad Lidge warmed up basically every inning from the ninth on in last year’s marathon All Star Game? I do. Thank goodness he didn’t break down in 2008 like he has this year. Last year’s World Series title has calmed me down considerably.)

-Big triple by Curtis Granderson as the First All-Star Upton played that fly ball like a back-up Little Leaguer. Still though, not many guys get triples to left field.

-Adam “I am definitely not Pacman” Jones steps up in a big spot after Charlie Manuel had Heath Bell intentionally walk Victor Martinez — much to the chagrin of Joe Buck. But really, can you tell the difference between a compliment and a complaint with him? The guy has the emotional range of a 1950s sitcom father. I wonder if McCarver donates half of his paycheck to Joe Buck because — let’s not kid ourselves here — Joe Buck does 50% of the commentary in addition to his play-by-play duties.

-Pacman – I mean Adam – Jones comes through with a clutch sac-fly to right, scoring Granderson. Never thought clutch sac-fly and All-Star Game would ever go together – thank you Bud Selig! Utility-man extraordinaire Ben Zobrist strikes out. It’s now a 4-3 AL lead midway through the eighth. There’s been clutch hitting throughout the AL’s 12-game unbeaten streak. With Joe Nathan and Mo Rivera looming, it’s looking like lucky number 13 for the AL. (Conversely, it would be unlucky number 13 for the NL in case you were wondering.)

-Why is Gatorade calling itself G? I guess cornering the lucrative sports beverage market isn’t good enough, so now they’d like to have the letter “G” all to themselves. At least now they can sponsor episodes of Sesame Street.

-Is Adrian Gonzalez diabetic? Did anyone else see what appeared to be an insulin pump on the back of his hip? Anyway, his eighth inning walk stopped an 0-for-18 streak by NL batters. Naturally, the next batter, Orlando Hudson, hits one up the middle off Jason Bartlett to put runners on the corner for Phillies slugger/swing-and-miss specialist (not to mention St. Louis-native) Ryan Howard.

-No defensive shift for Howard? Wait, nevermind. Joe Madden was just a little late in setting that one up. You would think he wouldn’t forget facing Howard and the Phillies in the World Series right? (That’s five Philly Phan moments.)

-Now the rest of the NL knows how it feels to watch Ryan Howard strike out in a key spot. It sucks. We go to the ninth with the AL holding a slim one-run lead.

-I think outside the bun.

-Congratulations to Carl Crawford, FOX’s choice for the Mercedes Benz Attention Assist of the Game. Now when I go to the store to buy a Pepsi, I think I’ll stop by the Mercedes dealership and have them laugh at my credit rating.

-Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez sits ‘em down in order. I hope Manuel knows that, should the game go to extras, K-Rod can go three or four more innings.

-Mariano Rivera (who else) will take the mound in the ninth for the AL. We all agree on this right, Rivera is the best closer of all time? As the Phoenix would say: book it.

-Tonight’s keeper stat, courtesy of Joe Buck: the AL has won the last three All-Star Games by one run. We’re now two outs from four straight nail-biters to the Junior Circuit.

-Eliminator (a.k.a. the cutter) on the outside corner for strike three retires Brad Hawpe. Only Miguel Tejada stands between the AL and homefield advantage in the World Series for the 56th consecutive time, or something like that.

-Eliminator jams Tejada and the AL takes the Mid-Summer Classic and homefield advantage in the World Series.

I hope you enjoyed my running diary of the 2009 MLB All-Star Game. I’m glad to be back writing some columns again, and hopefully there’s more where that came from. In the meantime, I’m going to retire for the evening. Special thanks to TBS for the Mighty Ducks showing immediately following the game.