Boy, Bill does know how to skew stats doesn't he. I dont know where to begin, the fact that Thome's OPS is about 400 points higher than Lee's. That Bell will probably be playing second base, not third. That P.Byrd, is old and hasnt put two decent seasons together. That M.Byrd couldn't possibly be worse than Glanville, and hey for that matter Ledee. And when did Glanville become a great fourth outfielder, his class kept him on the team. Giambi's gone, so what? Billy Beane took Mabry for him, obviously his stats arent worth putting up with him....god how do i hate conlin

Twenty years since I first read his drivel in The Sporting News, he's still a freakin' moron.

My favorite line:

I heard or read yesterday that Byrd replacing Glavine and Ortiz replacing Moss is a wash. Actually, Byrd and Ortiz were 31-21 last season, Glavine and Moss 30-17.

Does anyone know which side he's arguing? He seems to be implying it's not a wash, but for the life of me I can't figure out what his point is. Judging by his general demeanor on the Sports Reporters, I'll just assume he was far too drunk to know what he meant, either.

That 'stuff' about total chances at third is gold. I honestly didn't know writing could be this bad, and I live in Toronto.

Anyone want to bet that next week Conlin writes a column claiming he was only being sarcastic in this one and that everyone who attacked him for it is dumb for not realizing it?

Not you, Pete Rose.

Is the Phillies bench that very awful? It's not great but it's not going to be the deciding factor in a pennant race either. Ricky Ledee is a quite a useful player -- decent OBP and SLG. [Whoops, last year looks fluky -- 108 OPS+ vs. 88 career]. If he could only hit .260, he'd be an everyday player. Career range factor is not so good but he didn't look awful in center. Jason Michaels looked okay but Bowa never gave him a shot -- playing Glanville way too much. Looks like an ok 5th outfielder to me.

"Fortunately, no game is scheduled today because Bowa's current bench is Ledee, Jason Michaels, Tomas Perez, Nick Punto and Todd Pratt."

And is it just me or does that look like a decent bench?

Don't forget that this was the guy who ripped perhaps the two best Phillies of all time- Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt. Gotta sell those papers!

Conlin's methods are primitive but I think he reaches the right conclusion, the Phillies are not ready to win this division.

Boy, that Bill Conlin sure is an idiot! I'm glad I took the time to go read that so I could feel better about myself.

Who said I read it (other than the cut and paste jobs here)? He's not worth my time.

If you are upset because you agree with him (which is probably the case), I can't help you there, bud.

Sil Campusano, onetime saviour of the Blue Jays? Man, I love this board if only for the obscure marginal player references.

Will someone explain to me, like I was Bill Conlin, why is it that the Phillies aren't at least going through the motions of offering either Roger Clemens or Greg Maddux a two-year deal?

How about I explain it like I was Bill Conlin, then you tell me if it makes sense.

The Phils' braintrust knows that they need a left-handed starter to compete in the NL East. And no, not Randy Wolf, who was a meager 11-9 and just 4-5 against the NL East. While thoughts of Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux might set some Phils' fans hearts aflutter like the gossamer wings of sugarplum fairies, neither are a good fit with the Phils. Last year, Clemens was 4-5 on the road and, even scarier, 1-2 on turf (with an ERA of 7.27!!) so he'd be a disaster at home or on the road. Maddux fared better, but was still winless on turf with an ERA of 4.50.

Having been spurned by Tom Glavine for the bright lights of Broadway, that are as comforting to Philadelphia fans as the bright light at the dentist's office, the answer to the Phils' problems is Kirk Rueter whose 14 wins placed him 4th among NL left-handers (behind Randy Johnson, Glavine, and Odalis Perez). Perhaps Ed Wade can swindle Giants' GM Brian Sabean with an offer of the unproven Brett Myers and Marlon Byrd, who likely won't turn out any better than Don Carman and Jeff Stone respectively, for Rueter and Marquis Grissom.

Primey for WaltDavis!

Walt, sheer genius. Sheer genius!

I think the point is that commenting on how bad Conlin articles are is just beating a dead horse.

It's possible. If he framed his argument the same way you did, there would have been no problem understanding that. I have seen similar posts that were defending the object of our criticism, so who knows?

Primates seem to take great joy in pointing out how bad certain writers are.

I agree with you (up to a point). Gammons gets beat up here all the time, but I don't really dislike his columns.

However, Conlin (and some other "friends" of the Primer) should not be writing at all. That they do is annoying to the majority of us.

Antonius:

Koppett, absolutely. Although I generally like Rob Neyer too.

Can we include Roger Angell?

"Can we include Roger Angell?"

Angell is my all-time fave baseball writer, but I wouldn't consider him a columnist.

A .350 Pinch Hitter! Wow, 7 out of 20! With a sample size like that, he must be clutch.

Yeah, they really could have used a guy like that last year so they could pinch-hit for their starting centerfielder.

If I could only read one sportswriter and it had to be someone not on the Internet, well.... it'd be Jim Caple, except that without the Internet, I never would have encountered him. I would have mainly been limited to writers in the Philadelphia papers. In which case the answer would have to be.... Bill Conlin. Damn.

Conlin was actually supposed to be good at one time; I guess sometime back in the late 70s when he was Hugh Alexander's and Dallas Green's late night drinking buddy and he had all the "inside information." He still acts that way nowadays, even though his columns are for the most part pretty bad. Kinda like watching Steve Carlton pitch circa 1986.

Conlin still is good, in that his writing is something other than a rephrasing of team press releases. Most writing in the two Philly papers is either an echo of whatever Bowa and Wade are saying, or the usual curmudgeonly stuff about how the game ain't what it used to be.

To put it another way, in a Philadelphia paper, "Maybe the team's propaganda should be taken with a grain of salt" is a revolutionary statement.

One other point.

I lived in Philly over 20 years ago. Conlin wasn't any good then, either. There aren't that many sports writers/commentators who are worth reading/listening to. Perhaps it's a difficult job to do, I don't know. There must be some explanation as to why guys like Conlin, Lupica and the like have kept their jobs despite a constant display of limited talent. I haven't figured it out. I just don't waste my time reading them or watching their silly self-promoting shows.

Angell is terrific but as mentioned, not a columnist. Koppett is as good as any. Martone is good as well. Neyer is ok sometimes, just not as polished. I'm sure there are a few others but I'd be surprised if there are many.

Although he's not a columnist, Tom Tippett of Diamond Mind writes some interesting stuff that can be seen at their website.

He did get one thing right. The 8 hole is tough to break a new guy in in the NL because with the pitcher batting next the 8 hitter won't get too many good pitches to hit. Byrd'll probably just draw extra walks because of batting there, but some young guys would be lost there.

I like Neyer, too. However, I wasn't familiar with his work until this year (though I knew of him from Bill James).

I think Mike Beradino is another good one.

And the people fighting over home run balls in McCovey Cove are WORSE than sharks.

Philly newspapers do not just report management propaganda. In fact, its mostly just synical of management, not expecting anything. So when they are good (or make obviosu moves to try and be good), the media (fat bill) have to find other things to say. The argument may have been valid, if he had an statistical evidence besides RBI's. Maybe that the Phillies OPS at first base goes from 700 to 1100. But the point is, when there is no obvious team to rip in Philly, and Iverson isnt shootin up the neighborhood, than they take out on the Phillies.

Philly newspapers do not just report management propaganda. In fact, its mostly just synical of management, not expecting anything. So when they are good (or make obviosu moves to try and be good), the media (fat bill) have to find other things to say. The argument may have been valid, if he had an statistical evidence besides RBI's. Maybe that the Phillies OPS at first base goes from 700 to 1100. But the point is, when there is no obvious team to rip in Philly, and Iverson isnt shootin up the neighborhood, than they take out on the Phillies.

Maybe Bill Conlin will shut up now - the Phillies just acquired Kevin Millwood from the Braves for catching prospect Johnny Estrada.

Are the Braves on crack?