By Mark Ashby Vaughan
Brandon Phillips, 2nd baseman for the Cincinnati Reds, has accomplished what Tony LaRussa, John Mozeliak and the so-called team leaders of the team had been unable to do all year – awaken the sleep-walking giant called the St. Louis Cardinals.
Until the Cardinals headed to Cincinnati for a 3-game series a few days ago, the team had been in what seemed like a season-long funk. The team has played uninspired baseball for weeks upon weeks; letting sure-fire leads slip away (a 9 to 3 lead going into the bottom of the 9th), had bungled base-running blunders (Molina trying to go from 1st to 3rd on an infield hit) and sloppy fielding (see any side-arm throw by Brendan Ryan or any throw from Felipe Lopez).
All of that changed with the unsolicited, juvenile, noisy pronouncement from Brandon Phillips prior to the first game of the series. In case you’ve been under a rock the past few days, this is what Mr. BP had to say about our beloved Cardinals:
"I'd play against these guys on one leg. We have to beat these guys. All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them. They're little bitches, all of them. I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear: I hate the Cardinals."
Apparently, BP is not aware of the old adage about it being better to let sleeping dogs lie. Nor does he seem familiar with the concept of not providing your opponent with any extra incentive to beat you.
Least of all, BP doesn’t live by Dizzy Dean’s famous "It ain't braggin' if you can back it up" quote from some years ago, getting just 2 hits in 14 at-bats with 1 RBI and 1 run scored during the three-game sweep by the Cardinals.
Thank you, Brandon Phillips! Now awakened, perhaps the Cardinals will play the way that they are capable of the rest of the year.
Written by:
