http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan RSS Feed for Inq Col Phil Sheridan en-us Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:21:06 GMT http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20091110_Phil_Sheridan__Amen_to_getting_right_Eagles_on_field.html With the up-front acknowledgment that we're mining for gems in a mountain of muck, there was a glimmer of insight somewhere in the middle of Andy Reid's Monday Socratic dialogue with the media. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20091109_Phil_Sheridan__Once_again__time_is_trouble_for_Eagles.html Andy Reid's reasoning wasn't terrible when he sent his field-goal team out with 4 minutes, 33 seconds showing on the clock. His math was another story. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20091108_Phil_Sheridan__Eagles__road_to_playoffs_goes_through_Dallas.html One week after the big two-part grudge match against New York - and just days after the Phillies' dismissal from the World Series - the Eagles face the NFL equivalent of those Damned Yankees. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20091106_Phil_Sheridan__Life_goes_on__Gloom_now__but_Phils__future_still_bright_.html Five postseason series in a row had ended with the Phillies spraying champagne in clubhouses from Milwaukee to Los Angeles to Denver to South Philadelphia. The ritual of donning swim goggles and dumping buckets of ice and water on teammates' heads, a novelty in 2008, had become almost routine by the time the Phillies won their second consecutive pennant. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20091105_Phil_Sheridan__In_this_Series__the_Phillies_didn_t_play_like_champions.html NEW YORK - The greatest 13-month stretch in Phillies history ended one night too soon for the simplest of reasons. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20091104_Phil_Sheridan__For_both_teams__age_before_beauty_on_the_mound_tonight.html NEW YORK - The Old Goat has a little company, and the 2009 World Series rides on the way the two pitchers handle the pressure tonight. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20091103_Phil_Sheridan__Phillies__Manuel_now_look_like_a_genius.html Chase Utley's bat must be magic. The moment it connected with A.J. Burnett's fat first-inning fastball, Charlie Manuel's IQ went up 50 points. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20091102_Phillies_struggling_to_recapture_2008_form.html The Phillies set their clocks back an hour yesterday. They were not able to set them back a year. Part of what made their run to the 2008 World Series championship so exhilarating was the way the Phillies would deliver the big hit at just the right time. Whether it was Matt Stairs' series-changing home run against the Dodgers in the National League playoffs or Carlos Ruiz's 50-foot single against the Rays or a strikeout by Brad Lidge, the Phillies came up with exactly what was needed in the clutch. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20091102_Phil_Sheridan__Eagles_merit_cautious_optimism.html In most NFL seasons, the Eagles' laugh-riot 40-17 dismantling of the New York Giants would count as a statement game. First day of November, weather turning cold, first big NFC East matchup - you would come away from such a game believing something definitive had been established. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/phil_sheridan/20091101_Phil_Sheridan__A_rattled_Hamels_done_for_the_Series_.html For three innings, he was Cole Hamels, dazzling the New York Yankees like it was 2008 again. And then he was Cole Hamlet, lost in his own head again. The transition happened right before the eyes of 46,000 fans in Citizens Bank Park and a national TV audience of millions. Most important, it happened in front of his teammates and his manager, who had good reasons to doubt their erstwhile ace long before Game 3 started.