Breakthrough

Weekly Column

Weekly Column

Time to Move On

After many months of frustration, fans of the Fightin' Phils just need to move on. These words need to be spoken and understood by Phillies fans: WE ARE NOT GETTING CLIFF LEE!!!!!

With the Phillies acquiring Roy Oswalt from the Houston Astros, the Cliff Lee issue needs to be put to rest. I like hundreds if not thousands of Phillies fans were hoping that we could make a deal to get Cliff Lee here before the 2010 trade deadline. Once the he went to Texas, we felt a little twinge in the heart. To me, I really enjoyed watching his enthusiasm for the game come out. His confidence as well. He was very simply a great player to watch and root for.

Now we move on to support our newest Phillie, Roy Oswalt. He is talented and can definitely help us get back to the playoffs. Philly fans, true knowledgeable Philly fans know this. They know he is not a certain lefty pitcher who is currently employed by the Rangers. They know he can help us and we need to let him.

Now my concern turns to whether or not Rauuul Ibanez can continue to improve his performance for this year. If his rise is no fluke and he is truly getting healthy, we could seriously challenge for the division once again. Once Utley returns, the team is set. The poor hitting is behind us and the now we need the pitching to stay solid.

Another summer that has provided great hope leads to a fall with another shot at the post-season. It has been said we are living in a a very unique time to be a Phillies fan. It is almost August and I can see us playing beyond game number 162. What a great feeling.

John Rosemond Weekly Parenting Column

After reading this column from John Rosemond, I felt the need to hold on to it and share it. Rosemond shared a few points that needed to be shared and reflected upon: 1. Even if you have administered good parenting skills, that will not result in a child that follows everything you have tried to instill; 2. free will is s blessing and a challenge; 3. explain to your child that they may not understand what you are doing as a parent, but at some point you will--hopefully.

Weekly Column

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Lee's trade

Cliff Lee should not be finding out he is being traded like he did. that was very wrong. he came in and got us to the world series and 2 games from winning it. so very simply this tells me, amaro wanted haladay all along. crappy approach. lee finds out he is traded as he is hunting? Maybe that is for another player, an Eric Bruntlett type, but not the stud pitcher who did so much for this franchise in 2 months. I will always root for the phils, but I am not the proudest of them at the moment for the way this deal unfolded.

Dwight Gooden: Relection on the Present through the Past

Is there another Dwight Gooden out there? Gosh I hope so. Is there another Dwight Gooden out there? Gosh I hope not.

Why the conflicting view points you ask?

As a Philadelphia Phillies fan, there was nothing more frightful then to look at the morning paper, under the current baseball standings where they list the probable pitchers getting ready to toe the rubber on the mound tonight, and see Dwight Gooden pitching against the Phillies. Did we have a chance? How bad was he going to shut us down tonight? I hate Dwight Gooden.

Oh, but what talent. Could he pitch, oh could he pitch. And could he pitch at such a young age. He was going to be a nemesis for the Phillies and the rest of the National League for some time to come. Man, I hate the Mets.

His name comes back because of an article in the New York Daily News explaining his trials of late. He is trying once again to over come his addiction to drugs.

And while I am interested in what becomes of Dwight Gooden, I am more concerned with a Dwight Gooden fostering right before our eyes.

Is there a young phenom pitcher, maybe on somebody's current roster, who is just getting ready to explode on the baseball scene. Who has the athletic ability to overwhelm us who love the game. But who is going to be just getting ready to head down a path of drugs and lies. Of rehabilitation attempts that fail because they aren't getting to the root of the problem.

Is there an athlete who is so uncertain about how to be a successful athlete, that he will feel the need to seek the lures of drugs? What is it that causes this? Somewhat of a rhetorical question, but important nonetheless.

And we all know this is not saved for athletes. Everyday people are suffering through the same trials that more famous people suffer. Only, they don't have to suffer in front of millions.

But I am just wondering not if, but who the next Dwight Gooden is. And in this case, my thoughts are not only about baseball performance. I hope if there is another Dwight Gooden, we can get to him before he loses as much as Dwight Gooden lost. What we lost as well.