Thursday, October 12, 2006
Cory Lidle: March 22, 1972 – October 11, 2006
I was stunned to hear that Cory Lidle died in an airplane accident yesterday in New York City. The former Phillie had just left the team in the Bobby Abreu deal just a few months ago, and everyone assumed that he was going to be a part of the Yankees rotation for the next several years. The Phillies had stolen Lidle from the Reds in 2004, and he had generally pitched well for them. His Fielding Independent Pitching ERA was an impressive 3.52 and 3.60 in ’04 and ’05 respectively. I liked what Cory Lidle brought to the Phillies: he didn’t strike a lot of guys out, but he got outs, didn’t give up a lot of walks and kept the ball in the park.
I can’t say that I know enough about Cory Lidle the man to make many judgments, but his avid interest in aviation, though it ultimately led to his death, suggests to me that he had a restless spirit and wanted to challenge himself, which I find very admirable. I suppose the allure of flying is to soar hundreds of feet, if not thousands, above the chaos that engulfs our daily lives. I suppose that is where Cory Lidle found peace and serenity and I hope that he enjoys that same peace and serenity in the afterlife. Godspeed, Cory.
Baseball was played in the backdrop of this tragedy, and the Detroit Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the ALCS by beating the Oakland A’s 8-5 yesterday. I am very surprised that the A’s dropped the first two games at home, but I wouldn’t give up hope yet. 0-2 is manageable. I am deeply impressed by how the Tigers have put themselves together and have become such an impressive group in the post-season. These guys are really pitching well and their much-maligned offense is clicking. If they go to the World Series, as is looking increasingly likely, they are going to be a rough, rough team to beat.
Tomorrow night, Rich Harden vs. Kenny Rogers. The A’s kinda gotta win, because 0-3 is basically impossible to return from and the ’04 Red Sox were a once-in-a-lifetime team.
Meanwhile, baseball will be played in New York as well: Mets start against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight … with the way that the Tigers are playing I think it hardly matters who wins this thing, but it will be interesting to see which Cardinals team shows up and if the Mets dearth of pitching will hurt them.
If I could shift sports … it was only a matter of time before Mt. Owens blew up and I think it happened yesterday with T.O.’s little tantrum to the media where he bitched about not getting the ball enough. My favorite part was when T.O. acknowledged being told that the Cowboys base offense wouldn’t change to accommodate him, but he signed on with the ‘Boys anyway and expected them to make him the focal point of their offense. I could just imagine Bill Parcells slapping his hand to his face and groaning when he heard that.
Thanks to this last week I think you can safely say that T.O.’s days in Dallas are numbered. How long do you think a master motivator / manipulator like Bill Parcells is going to put up with this crap? He’s had to deal with the T.O. show all summer long and now that it is fall and he’s right back to acting like a spoiled child, when will Parcells simply say: “Enough is enough”? And yet here is T.O. doing what he did in San Francisco and what he did in Philadelphia: blaming the quarterback, reaming out the coaches for not adjusting their plans to fit his designs, and making his battle about him vs. the team and not the team vs. the rest of the NFL.
I was watching the NFL Network’s replay of the Eagles and Cowboys and I was struck by what everyone said afterwards about Lito Shepard’s first pick, when T.O. broke up the field and Bledsoe underthrew the route: Troy Aikman speculated that the play was more a miscommunication between T.O. and Bledsoe than Bledsoe making a bad throw. In the post-game, Bledsoe claimed he and T.O. had a miscommunication and that was why the pick happened. T.O.? Usual act from him: veiled accusations that the play was Bledsoe’s fault. The unbiased observer (Aikman) faulted T.O. for a miscommunication, Bledsoe took responsibility for his end of a mutual mistake, T.O. blamed someone else.
Eagles – Saints this week. Not to denigrate the Saints, but I don’t believe that they are anywhere near as good as their 4-1 record suggests. Three of their four wins were against the Browns, Packers and Buccaneers. Combined record of those teams: 2-12. I was impressed by their emotional homecoming win over the Falcons, but can they sustain that emotion? I doubt it. They haven’t come into contact with a team as explosive and aggressive as this one yet.
Stay tuned for Part II of the Wiz Kids tomorrow.
I can’t say that I know enough about Cory Lidle the man to make many judgments, but his avid interest in aviation, though it ultimately led to his death, suggests to me that he had a restless spirit and wanted to challenge himself, which I find very admirable. I suppose the allure of flying is to soar hundreds of feet, if not thousands, above the chaos that engulfs our daily lives. I suppose that is where Cory Lidle found peace and serenity and I hope that he enjoys that same peace and serenity in the afterlife. Godspeed, Cory.
Baseball was played in the backdrop of this tragedy, and the Detroit Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the ALCS by beating the Oakland A’s 8-5 yesterday. I am very surprised that the A’s dropped the first two games at home, but I wouldn’t give up hope yet. 0-2 is manageable. I am deeply impressed by how the Tigers have put themselves together and have become such an impressive group in the post-season. These guys are really pitching well and their much-maligned offense is clicking. If they go to the World Series, as is looking increasingly likely, they are going to be a rough, rough team to beat.
Tomorrow night, Rich Harden vs. Kenny Rogers. The A’s kinda gotta win, because 0-3 is basically impossible to return from and the ’04 Red Sox were a once-in-a-lifetime team.
Meanwhile, baseball will be played in New York as well: Mets start against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight … with the way that the Tigers are playing I think it hardly matters who wins this thing, but it will be interesting to see which Cardinals team shows up and if the Mets dearth of pitching will hurt them.
If I could shift sports … it was only a matter of time before Mt. Owens blew up and I think it happened yesterday with T.O.’s little tantrum to the media where he bitched about not getting the ball enough. My favorite part was when T.O. acknowledged being told that the Cowboys base offense wouldn’t change to accommodate him, but he signed on with the ‘Boys anyway and expected them to make him the focal point of their offense. I could just imagine Bill Parcells slapping his hand to his face and groaning when he heard that.
Thanks to this last week I think you can safely say that T.O.’s days in Dallas are numbered. How long do you think a master motivator / manipulator like Bill Parcells is going to put up with this crap? He’s had to deal with the T.O. show all summer long and now that it is fall and he’s right back to acting like a spoiled child, when will Parcells simply say: “Enough is enough”? And yet here is T.O. doing what he did in San Francisco and what he did in Philadelphia: blaming the quarterback, reaming out the coaches for not adjusting their plans to fit his designs, and making his battle about him vs. the team and not the team vs. the rest of the NFL.
I was watching the NFL Network’s replay of the Eagles and Cowboys and I was struck by what everyone said afterwards about Lito Shepard’s first pick, when T.O. broke up the field and Bledsoe underthrew the route: Troy Aikman speculated that the play was more a miscommunication between T.O. and Bledsoe than Bledsoe making a bad throw. In the post-game, Bledsoe claimed he and T.O. had a miscommunication and that was why the pick happened. T.O.? Usual act from him: veiled accusations that the play was Bledsoe’s fault. The unbiased observer (Aikman) faulted T.O. for a miscommunication, Bledsoe took responsibility for his end of a mutual mistake, T.O. blamed someone else.
Eagles – Saints this week. Not to denigrate the Saints, but I don’t believe that they are anywhere near as good as their 4-1 record suggests. Three of their four wins were against the Browns, Packers and Buccaneers. Combined record of those teams: 2-12. I was impressed by their emotional homecoming win over the Falcons, but can they sustain that emotion? I doubt it. They haven’t come into contact with a team as explosive and aggressive as this one yet.
Stay tuned for Part II of the Wiz Kids tomorrow.
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