There are somethings money can't buy

A new Phillies trash can to replace the horrible dents I put in the old one: 15 dollars
Peroxide and Band-aids for my bloody knuckles: 8 dollars
Touch up paint to fix the marker explosion on the wall: 10 dollars
A new pair of socks that got bloody from kicking the steel frame on my bed: 3 dollars
A new hamster ball that was smashed: 7 dollars
Watching the Phillies start the season off 1-6 for the second straight year and finding a way to apologize to my dog for screaming at it: ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!!!!!!



Here is something to ponder that a buddy of mine said yesterday:
"I don't know who I hate more right now, the Phillies or the Mets"



And below is an actual letter I wrote up with full intentions to send to the Phillies GM. It is quite long so if you are bored and have the time, read through it. If you don't read it, I don't blame you. I don't want to read about the Phillies problems anymore either.

Dear Mr. Gillick,
My name is Michael Bornmann and I have been a Phillies fan for the past 22 years of my life. I am sure that I don't need to tell you that in that span of time, I have only seen the Phillies go to the playoffs once. And we both felt differently at the conclusion of that World Series.

I am writing to you because I feel like I can speak for a lot of Phillies fans who pay very good money to buy tickets, merchandise and food at Citizens Bank Park. I need not to remind of the horrendous start the Phillies have gotten off to once again. You know how the fans in this city are and something this horrible will not pass by quietly. So the question needs to be asked, what have YOU done to this baseball team to improve it?

You came here to take over for an incompetent GM who could not accomplish a given task, which was to win enough games to get into October. The fans in this city have had enough and you were a breath of fresh air. We knew your track record and could not wait to see what you could do to this miserable franchise.

Your first offseason was nothing to write home about. Trading Thome was the right thing to do and Aaron Rowand seemed to make sense. The farm system got two young, promising arms and we all knew Ryan Howard would shine. Your free agent acquisitions, however, all failed. If they weren't traded or released, they barely hit above .200 on the season. Everyone in Philadelphia gave you a free pass since it was your first year. The Abreu deal was one of the worst in team history. No news to you, we lost 3 more games than in 2005.

Your next offseason seemed better. You had two main objectives. Regardless of what some idiots in the media were saying about protection, you needed to get 5 reliable starters and strengthen a beaten up bullpen. You got Freddy Garcia in return for Gio Gonzalez, a very promising prospect. I was willing to accept this because I also wanted to win now. You also signed Adam Eaton to a 3 year contract. I also let this pass to see what else you had planned. Besides Wes Helms, however, that was all you did. Our bullpen, a major problem in 2006, was not changed.

You kept Charlie Manuel, a man who cannot manage a bullpen at all, for another season. Mr. Gillick, far be it from to tell you how to do your job, but how on God's green earth could you not do anything more than sign Antonio Alfonseca for the bullpen. It was obvious by July that Gordon had little left and we had no in-house options. I have heard you say a countless number of times that everyone is looking for bullpen help and that it is tough to come by. I see this as merely a shallow excuse for a job poorly done. A good GM finds a way to fix patches on a team.

Because of your incompetencies to give our manager a strong set of relief pitchers, this town is now calling for his head. The owners, and yourself, are hiding behind Charlie Manuel letting him take the blame for all of these losses. Sure the offense hasn't been hitting and Manuel is a bad manager, but the real blame of this April belongs to yourself. You are ultimately responsible for what has happened thus far. With a bullpen that the Phillies could have relied on, they would easily have 3-4 more wins. Possibly more. And how many wins did we miss the playoffs by in 2005 and 2006?

It has become clear to us fans over the years that the Phillies owners do not care enough about winning and care only about the money they put in their pockets. And since we all know people will stop going to the ballpark, hence decreasing the money in their pockets, you will have to fire Charlie Manuel to show a commitment to winning. And I personally agree with the move. Manuel being gone can do no harm to this team. But let me present this to you: A club with a payroll at almost a 100 million dollars should not have to fire a manager in April to keep fans interested in the team.

I should note also that all of the stars on this team and the only reason the Phillies have a shot to win are players that you had nothing to do with. Utley, Howard, Rollins, Hamels, Myers, Burrell (yes Burrell), and Victorino were all here before you arrived.

I did not write this letter to be a smartass and if you even read this at all, I doubt you will give any thought to the words I have written. I wrote this to ask you to please fix the state of Philadelphia's baseball situation. There is still a bunch of time to keep fans interested in this team. And I need to let you know that if the Phillies DON'T make the playoffs this season, the blame from me (and possibly thousands more) will rest solely on your shoulders. You have had the time and money to improve this team, yet you have done little to help.

Sincerely,
Michael Bornmann