Prior to last night’s Eagles game vs. the Giants, Cole Hamels and Pat Burrell were on hand for the ceremonial coin toss at the 50-yard line. Via E at The Level:

[Pat & Cole] received a loud ovation from the crowd at the Linc. They received another ovation with 6 minutes, 45 seconds left in the first quarter when they were introduced a second time after the Eagles congratulated the 2008 World Series champions on both giant end-zone scoreboards.

But before getting that coin toss thing out of the way, the Phillies duo took time out of their busy schedule to pose for a pic with five attractive Iggles cheerleaders. They are true pillars of the community:

After the jump, more (less sexy) pics and an interview with EaglesTV…

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This post is directed directly(nice word choice, dumbass) at Chuck Manuel. You’ve been great this whole season, rallying the team with your wily Southern twang. You’ve provided awesome soundbites. You’ve let the Delaware Valley fall in love with you. But I gots an issue with you…

Please don’t take Pat the Bait out in the 8th or 9th inning tonight. I know defense is important, but for the good times and the bad, Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell have been the face of the Phillies for nearly a decade. Not to say you owe it to him, but you owe it to him. Fuck Eric Bruntlett, Pat deserves to be on the field for those final outs. They could be his final outs as a Phillie. It would be a total dick move to take him out as Brad Lidge closes it out.

We want to see this:

Not this:

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I’m not saying tonight was a must-win, but tonight was a must-win.

Through 5½ innings, the game looked exactly like every other Cole Hamels start this year – give up a couple runs early, get a couple runners on base, strand the runners on base, work your way out of jams.  Honest to God, I saw it happen about 20 times this year.

But then the Phillies came up to bat in the bottom of the 6th…

Sensing that the sweaty mess of a pitcher on the mound for the Dodgers was about ready to give up a few runs, Shane Victorino stepped in the box and took three straight pitches (2 balls, 1 strike) before fouling one off to even the count at 2-2.  Then the speedy center fielder hit a chopper to shortstop and Rafael Furcal tried to hurry the exchange from his glove to throwing hand and wound up slinging the ball a few feet to the right of James Loney.  Loney was pulled off the bag, the ball riccoceted off his glove, and a split-second later, Shane was standing on 2nd base.

It was all reminiscent of the Game 1 win over the Brewers, when Rickie Weeks dropped a juggled toss from Bill Hall at first base opening the flood gates for the eventual 3-run double by Chase Utley.

So, the next batter Lowe faced after the err was again Chase Utley.  One heart-of-the-plate fastball later?

Shortly thereafter, Pat Burrell answered the age-old question: Man or Machine?

After that blast, the Dodgers wouldn’t threaten again. Lidge entered in the ninth — THE END.

But remember — Shane’s speed started everything.

SHAAAAAAAAAAANNEEE!!!!!

And no, “sign your wife’s shirt” is not a euphemism for “bang her repeatedly” — although it very well could be. Take a look at one gentleman’s YouTube submission entitled, “Pat Burrell autgraphs [sic] my wife’s shirt”:

haha, Pat says, “Just hold it tight and don’t move.”

Something tells me that’s not the first time he’s used that line on a young lady in San Diego, AMIRITE? The woman counters with, “You’re my favorite and I like your butt.”

You stay classy, San Diego. (Get it? Like that character said in Anchorman?)

It was a rather disappointing afternoon when the 2008 All-Star rosters were announced, being that Chase Utley (starter) and Brad Lidge were the only Phillies named to the squad. I guess it’s understandable; there were a bunch of deserving first baseman and that below-.225 average for Ryan Howard ultimately did him in. Surely Cole Hamels couldn’t maneuver a spot instead of awarding one to another effing Cubs player, nor could Jimmy Rollins have a more dependable shortstop replace him than the venerable Christian Guzman. Seriously, congrats to all who made it.

Although, now that I think about it, perhaps the most egregious error was the omission of one Pat Burrell; he of the LF-leading 21 home runs and impressive .995 OPS.

Well, have no fear. For once, we as a fanbase, have a chance to correct this mistake…

Vote 4 Pat!!!

From now until 5 P.M. eastern standard time on Thursday, July 10th, YOU decide the final roster spot in the National League. The choices are: Pat Burrell and other people.

HOW TO VOTE: To vote for Pat Burrell, go to the MLB.com page that allows you to access the form. From there, a pop-up window will appear, and you’ll have to fill out the form and register your vote for Pat.

EVEN BETTER WAY TO VOTE: I know there’s some text-messagin’ mutherfuckers out there that live on your dumb phones. Well this is your perfect opportunity to put your addiction to good use:

Text message the code “N1″ to number 36197 on your fancy phone
Within a minute-or-so, you will receive a message stating,

You voted for Burrell in the Monster All-Star Final Vote. Vote Again. Ends 7/10 at 5 p.m. ET. Try All-Star Alerts, Text “Get ASG” to 65246. Std msg fees apply.

The two key phrases there were “Vote Again.” and “Std msg fees apply.” Unlike the MLB.com vote where you can vote a maximum 25 times per e-mail address (use a few!), the text message votes seem to be unlimited. Now folks like myself, who rarely use the text message and has a limit on his phone plan, will vote the maximum number of times until it starts to cost me money. For the rest of you with your unlimited plan — GET TO TEXTING. Text non-stop. Text when you get up (”N1″ to 36197), text when you’re on the train in the morning (”N1″ to 36197), text when you’re in the bathroom (”N1″ to 36197) text during your lunch break (”N1 to 36197), text whenever you get a chance.

TAKE 10 MINUTES OUT OF YOUR DAY AND JUST KEEP RE-SENDING THE SAME TEXT!

Pat Burrell deserves to make this year’s All-Star game.
Pat Burrell will make this year’s All-Star game. Do your part, dick.

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