The Zo Zone

Durbin won't see the sixth inning tonight. The Pirates are scoring runs. His cockiness is
not a characteristic that flatters him. Learn
from a veteran like Moyer. Let your play show
the people your ability.

Has the league found out how to pitch to Howard this year? He had major holes in the minors. He is showing those holes this year.
He needs to take some pitches to left field.

What is the team's batting average with men in scoring position the last two weeks? I know Howard has been very poor!

The Phllies need six runs tonight with Duurbin on the mound. That is nearly impossible with the Pirate hurler this evening. I can see twice as many strike outs than runs.

Ed Wade...a Philadelphia treasure. What can you say?

Primanti's doesn't even merit mention on this blog.

what's the word on madson and bourn? haven't heard anything on them for a couple of weeks. i suppose no news is bad news in this case.

Todd, you rule. Primanti's sandwiches are the pits.

Oh, this is a Phillies blog, you say? Huh.

I was at RFK last night, and I was MELTING in the heat. I have no idea how Cole was able to get through 6 2/3, let alone with a shutout. What a stud. There were a ton of Phils Phans there, and he very nicely acknowldeged those of us who gave him a standing O when he left the game. Very cute.

Ed Wade...a Philly treasure? In my 50+yrs, no GM has put together, a core group of players up through the system this talented. Kudos to Ed Wade and Mike Arbuckle. My apologies to Mr Wade, for the way this city trashed him. Thats my opinion. Lets sit back and see if the Phillie fans can give him his due. Who hired the Manuuel to nurture these young stars ? People tend to forget, the 1980 championship team, were under achievers, before the Rose acquisition. Thats right Dallas, it was Rose, not you who led this team ,to the only championship since 1915 ! jimmymac,good stuff.....

Todd... Hopefully you didn't actually eat one of those sandwiches. They like to put fries on everything in Pittsburgh, so watch out for the salads too (no I'm not kidding there are really fries on the salads).

I always suspected Ed Wade's head was in the clouds... that was too easy.

Primanti's seems to be one of those over-hyped local places that only the tourists visit... kind of like Pat's and Geno's.

For all you folks at this past series: I wish I could've been there with you. I couldn't make it to RFK for this one, but I'll be there for the weekend series in September.

For the people who have commented on Ed Wade: I'll give him this much credit - he built the core of the team through the draft. That much is true. But when it came time to man up, talk to ownership and (a) make trades that actually amounted to something or (b) ask for an increased payroll, he never budged. He and his staff may have had an eye for amateur talent in the draft, but he couldn't deliver when it mattered most.

When was the last time the Phillies signed a quality free agent? Isn't that the mark of a great GM? Seems like a long time. I Don't think Wade did a good job. The jury's still out on Gillick. I know Garcia was supposed to be good but obviously he isn't. There were reports last September that his velocity was down but the phils went after him anyway. It always seems that this team only does what's necessary to 'appear' to be a good team. I think the Phillies management only cares about making money. Why care about winning when thousands of people show up every home game? I doubt the Phillies are better than the Mets OR the Braves! I hope I'm wrong. Only time will tell.

Oh.... and Ryan Howard is becoming very frustrating to watch. Like Gary Matthews says, He's go to move closer to the plate and concentrate on hitting the ball to left field. He can still pull the inside pitches but most teams seem to be pitching him up and in with fastballs and with junk low and away. I hope Howard hasn't gotten too proud to take critism.

James L ,you ask when Phils signed quality free agent ? The answer , Jim Thome , Ed Wade signee ! That should also answer V's question about increasing payroll . Guys, it takes a real man to admit he's wrong . Come on you can do it. Let me hear you say it. I was ...... Very good. Don't worry, He's not coming back. Just show some respect for the job He did.....

Just like one bad outing by Tiger Woods doesn't mar an entire career, one good, expensive signing (even if it is Jim Thome) doesn't make up for all the sloppy management Ed Wade oversaw.

Yes, we were all thrilled when Thome was brought on board. Yes, it looked like Wade had done his job.

But he got too cozy with that one signing. How else do you explain leaving the rotation in the condition it was in? How else do you explain leaving a cinder block at third base (David Bell) without trading for a reasonable replacement? How else do you explain guys like Alfonso Soriano and Billy Wagner either walking away from the Phillies or laughing at them from across the bargaining table?

I lived in Pittsburgh for a couple years to go to Carnegie Mellon University, and I pretty much lived on The "O" and Primanti's. I love both. At the risk of becoming blasphemous, I'd rather eat a Primanti's sandwich than a cheesesteak.

Count me with Scott as one of the few eastern-PA natives that likes Primanti Bros. A Cap & Cheese is with a cold beer is just perfect.

Ryan Howard is emotionally and physically spent. It's obvious in his at-bats and now his fielding is suffering. He needs a day off. Charlie should sit him down against the tough lefty tonight and maybe tomorrow as well.

Folks, I'm not at all sure Ed Wade was the whole problem. I was not unhappy to see him go, but more because I hoped that this ownership group would get outside of their comfort zone by bringing in an outsider, which I felt they sorely needed. I sent a blistering letter to Bill Giles and did not renew my four season tickets in 2005 because of the ownership and was proud to be part of the 600,000 attendance dropoff. And I will always beleive that the drop in attendance is exactly why the reacted by hiring Gillick. I did renew in 2006.
Nobody bitched when Wade signed Leiber and Thome, both considered pretty good pickups at the time (like Garcia this year) and traded for Wagner. He fired Francona, hired Bowa and will forever be blamed for losing Schilling and Rolan because he had no money or leverage to keep them, again thanks to the tight fisted, small market minded ownership. He wasn't the worst GM, he wasn't the best. But I'll give him props for the players we have here now.
And special props to Todd for pointing out Bill Conlin's column (as always, great). In a competitive world, I think it's pretty classy to feature another paper's columnist.

Jim Thome was not THAT great of a signing. YES, he turned this city upside down with enthusiasm, and yes, he mashed the first two years.

BUT, why sign a position that YOU DON'T NEED. Howard was waiting in the wings, and we signed an injury prone, old slugger who we eventually HAD to trade.

Not only that, but we had to pay A GOOD PORTION of Thome's salary.

YET another reason NOT to trust management. They have no future planning.

Ed Wade was a loser. I'll give him some credit if he drafted all those players mentioned in the article, but I'm pretty sure Arbuckle had something to do with that.....

So Myers went with some godawful rap-rock noise. Ugh. Too bad. I've been hearing Foo Fighters' "No Way Back" a lot lately, and I think it would've been perfect:

"Pleased to meet you, say your prayersThere is no way back from here..."