On his ride back from soccer practice, our son heard the news that Phillies were not picking up the option on slaphitting utility infielder Abraham Nunez. (Thank heaven for that, by the way.) Here’s our conversation:

Lad: Abraham Nunez! Is he fired?
Dad: Basically, yeah. But his time that he was supposed to be in Philly was done, so they’re just not going to bring him back.
Lad: Wasn’t he good?
Dad: Not very good.
Lad: What about Charlie Manual? Will he still be a Phillie?
Dad: Yep, they just re-signed him, so he’ll be back next year.
Lad: But wasn’t he bad too?
Dad: Well, they made the playoffs, so they must have thought he did a good job after all.
[Pause.]
Lad: I think I’m going to be an owner. What do I have to do to be an owner?
Dad: Kid, I like the way you think. First get millions of dollars, then buy a team.

Quoth the lad this evening, “I’ll bet the Phillies will finally win a World Series when I’m an old man.”

During the first quarter of the Eagles game:

Lad: Give me an E!
Parents: E!

Lad: Give an an A!
Parents: A!

Lad: Give me a D!
Parents: D!

Lad: Give me a S!
Parents: S!

Lad: Give me an E!
Parents: E!

Lad: What’s that spell?
Parents: EAGLES!

During a commercial break:

When are the Phillies going to come back? I really miss the Phillies. I love them. I can’t wait for them to start playing again.

Little one, I couldn’t be prouder

My son’s favorite ballplayer is Ryan Howard, the big, boyish slugger for the Phillies. He was up to the plate. My wife mentioned that he was a daddy who had a little boy, who might be at the game.

Lad: Ryan Howard has a son?
Mom: Yes, he does.
Lad: Is his wife there too?
Mom: He isn’t married.
Lad: [Incredulous, and maybe a little bit scared.] He can’t be a daddy if he’s not married!

Okay, so Rick Santorum and our four year old are about on the same level.

But then we talked about how some families are different, and all was right with the world. Especially after Ryan Howard hit a double, knocking in two runners.

Tom G. and I have knocked heads over Phillies issues before. But he’s got the right idea on his new campaign, so I’m throwing in my support for the Madson ‘06 campaign.

Frankly, I only care a little bit that Madson wants to start. Most pitchers want to start. What I care about is that Madson probably could start and be reasonably effective. 200 innings of above average pitching is worth *at least* twice as much as 100 innings of above average pitching. This one’s a no-brainer. Which is to say, it’s something that the knucle-heads who are career “baseball men” are likely to botch.

“I know there’s a hole in the bullpen, but there’s also a hole in the starting rotation…I don’t think it should be held against me because I was used in the bullpen when I came up. If it was up to me, I’d start. But they’ll make the decision.” ~ Ryan Madson

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In our continuing collection of cool conversations with my preschool-age son, we have this little bedtime exchange that made this daddy’s heart go pitter pat.

Me: I hope the Angels win the game tonight. I hope they beat the Yankees.
He: Do you like the Yankees?
Me: I don’t like the Yankees.
He: I do not like the Yankees also. Why do we not like the Yankees?
Me: Those Yankees have won too many times. I like other teams to get a chance to win.
He: Like the Phillies!
Me: (excitedly) Yes! You’re right! I really want the Phillies to win. But they can’t win this year. They’re all done playing for this year. But maybe next year the Phillies can win.
He: (whispers in a conspiritorial tone, and points at me) Yes, maybe next year the Phillies can win.

Cheers, my little one. Tonight, the baseball gods have shone down on your little head. The Yankees (boooo!) have been vanquished by the Angels (yaaaaay!). The Astros (yaaaay!) have dispatched those infernal Braves (hissssss!)

And Ed Wade’s terrifying reign of incompitence has finally been brought to an end in our town.

Phillies fans: when Larry Bowa was fired a year ago, I wrote a couple entries on this here blog about how scapegoating the skipper would have no effect on the Phillies; I remain convinced that almost everybody over-attributes baseball success and failure to managerial performance.

I also believed that blaming Bowa would only allow the organization to leave its flaws unmended for another year. Never mind that our $15M fat slugger was already showing signs of decline in 2004; or that our catcher was a drain in both halves of the inning; or that we failed to effectively arbitrage your infield surplus; or that we were overspending on bullpen mediocrity and failing to making sufficient headway in improving the rotation through trades or organizational development. Lord how I prayed all off-season that he would trade David Bell and keep Polanco, knowing full well that Polanco was bound to be the odd man out.

I propose that my assessment of Ed Wade last year should now be his epitaph:
Perfectly consistent. Staggeringly uncreative.