Stop Bashing Pat Burrell

Yesterday was a very lovely day. It was a busy day since it was Mother's Day and my wife and I had to make time for her Mom and my Mom, but it was a pretty good day. I even got a chance to listen to the end of the Phillies game, which was awesome.

So there I am, feeling pretty good about Philadelphia sports; the Phillies having won 13 out of 14 games, Cole Hamels having pitched well, Myers starting to looking like a real ace. I was even rather optimistic about the Eagles; good draft, mini-camp just started.

But then I turned on 610. What a mistake. The way these people whine and complain, you would think the Eagles just got blown out by the Cowboys and that Isiah Thomas was just named GM of the Phillies. The first four straight callers are bitching and moaning about the Eagles not getting a WR and McNabb being a schmuck. Rob Charry, one of the hosts at the time and a complete jackass, is egging people on by agreeing with their inane comments. This is annoying for a number of reasons. First, it's May for Christ's sake. The Eagles haven't lost any games yet, relax already. Second, the Phils are on fire and all anyone cares about is the fact that the Eagles still need a WR. Lastly, Rob Charry is a dickhead.

Finally, someone calls to talk about the Phillies and what do they do?

They fucking complain about Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu. Are you kidding me? We just swept the Reds on the road and we have only lost once in the last two weeks. And the worst part? The nuggets hosting the show AGREE with the guy. I mean, come on.

Can we please take a moment to step back and take an objective look at Pat Burrell this season?

As of today, here are his NL rankings in the major offensive categories:

Homeruns - 9th tied
RBIs - 10th tied
OBP - 13th
SLG - 12th
OPS - 10th
and he is batting .286, which is 41st in the NL, but it is still pretty good. Not to mention, he is the ONLY right-handed power hitter we have on the team. Without Burrell late in the game, all an opposing manager has to do is put in a lefty reliever to face our 3,4,5 of Abreu, Utley and Howard.

Plus, he is doing all of this on a bad leg. Last year he led the team in HRs and RBIs as well, so it isn't like his production this year is coming out of the blue.

So please, get a clue and STOP bashing the guys on the team that are producing. And the hosts of WIP, please know what you are talking about before you go spouting your crap all over the airwaves.