Philly Top Five Power Rankings: Charlie And The Blue Chest
By Spike Eskin
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Getting fired was the best thing to ever happen to Charlie Manuel in Philadelphia. Imagine he plays out the season, and the Phillies continue to play as poorly as they had. Charlie leaves, everyone is miserable, the season sort of fades away into nothingness. Instead, Charlie became the poster child for the mistakes Ruben Amaro has made over the last several years.
Still, it couldn't touch the story Hollis Thomas broke this week.
5. Roy Halladay Doesn't Like Headlines
So Halladay pretty clearly and plainly says that he doesn't think that Charlie Manuel was able to keep his players under control and working as hard as they had in previous years. He says he believes that Ryne Sandberg will change those things.
Halladay then takes offense at the fact that a headline said that he endorsed the firing of Manuel.
Endorse definition from dictionary.com: declare one's public approval or support of.
Yes Roy, you endorsed it.
4. The Ryne Sandberg Era Begins
Look at the players, all paying attention to the game!
Look at the players, all coming out of the dugout for the National Anthem!
Look at the Phillies, 4-3 under Ryne Sandberg.
Let's be honest, this is not a tryout for Sandberg, and he is 'interim' manager by name only. He's getting the job at the end of the year. But you have to wonder if a +.500 record during the remainder of the season might make some wonder why the change wasn't made earlier.
Or more likely, they will just go back to stinking.
3. The Charlie Manuel Victory Tour
It's like the Phillies won another World Series, the sendoff that Manuel was given this week in Philadelphia, highlighted by the giant party at Ponzio's that WIP threw him on Thursday.
As I mentioned in the lead, getting fired is the best thing to happen to Manuel's legacy in Philadelphia. That and threatening to beat my dad up twice, in front of cameras. I've got to admit, it's a pretty kick-ass legacy.
2. Michael Vick Is The Starter
Don't get me wrong, Nick Foles played pretty decently during the pre-season games, and at least made the quarterback competition sort of interesting. But at 6.9 yards per pass attempt, anyone who thought Foles really had a shot at the job, when compared to Vick's near-perfect performance, was kidding themselves.
Nick Foles will probably start at some point this season, because it's likely that Vick will at least miss a game or two. But from what I've seen of Foles, that's where he's best suited, stepping in when the better quarterback goes down.
1. The Blue Porn Chest At Veterans Stadium
Good radio is all about great moments. When I was sitting in on the WIP Morning Show on Thursday, and Hollis Thomas told the story of a giant chest of pornography that the Phillies used to keep at Veterans Stadium, and shared with the Eagles, I felt like we had one of those moments.
Is this the biggest story in Philadelphia sports this week? Well to me it is, and it's my power rankings.
Honorable mentions: Brett Brown's Walken from New England accent, Flyers fans watch paint dry like a bunch of weirdos, the Eagles trade Felix Jones
Follow Spike on Twitter @SpikeEskin
