Keith Olbermann Cannot Give Up Sportscasting

Yes, that’s right: He called him Lieberthal. Yes, the Phillies were mentioned on television tonight! Whoo!

The Phillies Are Total Assholes (And That’s Awesome)

To be honest, there was no real need for Utley to ram the catcher there. He could have simply slid and made it safe — it seems — but Utley was going for the kill when he left third base, and he wasn’t about to change his mind. Yes, Utley’s shoulder smash into Dodgers catcher Russell Martin was the winning run, too.

But, man, if I were on the other team, I’d be like, “What an asshole that Chase Utley is.” (Also, notice how he runs back and touches the plate afterward to make sure he’s called safe? Awesome.) But the last time the Phillies made the playoffs, they had a team full of assholes — and a scholar of Daultonian Metaphysics — and they almost won the whole thing.

Now, Utley seems like a good guy, as do a lot of the other Phillies players. But that’s fine. The 1993 team was full of jerks off the field, we need some guys who do whatever they want on the field!

Anybody up for the challenge? What’s that, Mike Lieberthal?

Thanks, Mike. You dropped the ball, then you managed to hit a little girl in the head. Next time catch it — and hit the girl harder. In tonight’s game, look for Ryan Howard to dropkick an infant, Jimmy Rollins to hit a fan in the head with a bat and Bobby Abreu to take it all in, smiling, on a lounge chair.

Utsy move keys win [Daily News]
Feb. 17: Daultonian Metaphysics, explained
Archives: Sal Fasano’s Blooper of the Year

Blogicized: The Trouble with Barsky

• Ahh, it’s good to see Barsky’s just about as funny on 94.1 FreeFM as he was on any of his other 500 Philadelphia radio jobs. When’s the next phone scam? [The Trouble With Spikol]

• With the NBA trade deadline on Thursday, here’s some possible trades the Sixers could make, including some that trade the entire team. Sounds good to me! [Green Bleeder]

• Bob Casey apparently breaks his silence on the campaign trail — I know he’s probably spoken before, but it certainly hasn’t seemed like it — and comes out against discrimination. Coming up next, strong stances against murder and one for law and order. (Editor’s Note: He’s pissing off the right wing blogs, though, so he’s doing something right.) [All Spin Zone]

• Mike Leiberthal is bored. But, really, who else is going to catch for the Phillies? Someone who can hit? That’d make too much sense. [Beerleaguer]

Mike ‘n’ Mike on the Phillies?

Yesterday, ex-Inquirer scribe Jayson Stark reported on ESPN.com that the Phillies were in preliminary talks with Mike Piazza, the ex-Mets catcher and Norristown native. Assumedly, he’d spell Mike Lieberthal at catcher a few times a week and play first when Ryan Howard needed a day off. He’d also DH in away interleague games.

The Phillies downplayed the talks yesterday, which probably means they’re going nowhere. Piazza will likely sign for more money in the AL where he could DH fulltime.

But it’d be a good move if the Phils could get him for cheap. Although Piazza’s numbers are declining, heck, lots of guys’ numbers are declining. A Mike Piazza in the twilight of his career is better than a Tomas Perez in the same situation, even if the latter throws pies very well. He’d be a stronger righthanded bat of the bench that anyone else on the squad right now. And, hey, even when he plays catcher, it’s not like the Phillies don’t have experience playing with a bad defensive catcher.

Plus: Think about all the people who’d be censored on WIP for saying, “Piazza and Lieberthal on the same team? Which one’s the pitcher and which one’s the catcher?” Oh, wait. They allow jokes like that on there, probably. Then it’d get old pretty fast.

Sources: Phillies, Piazza have preliminary talks [ESPN.com]
Phils downplay report of talks with Piazza
piazza?!?! [PhilliesPhans.com]