Charlie Manuel and Phils Want to Start Something

The beloved Philadelphia Phillies were accused of stealing signs using binoculars in the bullpen while playing the Colorado Rockies recently. A number of players and teams are accused of this over the course of any given season, but Phils' manager Charlie Manuel got a little testy when confronted with this accusation. Here's what he told CSN Philadelphia:

"“Somebody maybe ought to check the Mets if they did that. Their [bleeping] home record is out of this world and they’re losing on the road. Sometimes that’s a good indicator of getting signs and [crap]. I see somebody setting there at 17-2 at home and 4-12 on the road, I’d get concerned about that. That kind of crosses my mind… I’m not accusing them, but you look at that and – damn. We’re about the same home and road. I’m just saying their record is much better at home and they hit better… ”

I'm not accusing them? Bitter much? Wow. If I'm sitting in first place and have basically owned the Mets for the last two seasons why would I even bother bringing them up like or starting a verbal debate? It's just weird, but that's the Napoleon complex of Philadelphia sports.

Jerry Manuel responded in classic Jerry fashion by saying basically that the Citi Field bullpen was too far away to steal signs.That's probably true.

Usually the verbal jarring is between big mouthed players like Jimmy Rollins and a Billy Wagner, but Grandpa Charlie wanted to make sure he didn't miss out on the action.

Random Thoughts after a Sweep of the Phillies

So much is running through my mind that I can't put together a cohesive post on a single topic so here comes a stream of thoughts:

-Mike Pelfrey looks good. Nice velocity on his pitches and he's throwing strikes. It seemed like every Phillie batter was driving the ball into the ground. That's when you know you're doing something right as a pitcher.

-David Wright might be coming out of this funk. Hitting a home run 420 feet tends to do that to you. Plus he went 3 for 3 with two walks, a homer, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. That can also be interpreted as "productive."

-Jerry Manuel might be the most enjoyable manager to watch getting thrown out of games.

-Shane Victorino is an ankle biter. He's the John Stockton of modern baseball. Weasel of a player who's scrappy and knows how to be really, really annoying and get away with it.

-Is it just me or is it weird having a bullpen that holds?

-The Mets should (I repeat, should) go on a run here. Coming off some huge wins in Atlanta and against the Phillies, they now have the Pirates come into town before a trip out West. If there ever was a time to set this team in the right direction, it's now.

-All the recent success has come with basically no production from Jose Reyes. If he gets hot, this team will start rolling.

-Charlie Manuel is undoubtedly the all time worst looking manager in a uniform.