Roy Oswalt, Domonic Brown Keep Philadelphia Phillies Faithful…

Tomorrow night Roy Oswalt will take the mound in a Philadelphia uniform.

After the 32-year-old ace dropped his no-trade clause and accepted the move from the Houston Astros to the Philadelphia Phillies, Oswalt joins a team dedicated to winning. That is exactly what Oswalt is looking for, and he may be exactly what the Phillies need in order to win their second World Series in three years.

The Phillies were the clear winner in this trade with the Astros. The Phillies received one of the best pitchers in the league along with $11 million. In return, the Astros received J.A. Happ and two prospects, Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar.

With Oswalt, the Phillies immediately jump into World Series contention.

Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels lead a Philly pitching rotation that could prove to be the best in the league.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. agrees as he said, “To have Roy Oswalt, Roy Halladay, and additionally Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick, we stack ourselves up as one of the best rotations in baseball.”

It is a rare luxury as a manager to sit back and think to yourself, “Who should I start tonight, the active league leader in complete games, a World Series MVP, or a three-time All-Star?”

Sure, Amaro, Jr., is rectifying a mistake when he let Cliff Lee go, but at least he realized his mistake, and made sure to go out there and get Roy Oswalt. This pitching rotation will prove to be something special, but that is not all that has people smiling in the City of Brotherly Love.

Dominic Brown, their new prospect called up due to a Shane Victorino injury, proved to be a success.

In his first at bat in “The Show,” Brown nearly hit a home run, but settled for a double. Brown’s major league debut was something special, as he went 2-3 at the plate, with two RBI and two runs scored.

Could this be a taste of the future?

With Brown having so much success in his first ever Major League game, we can be sure to see more of this young slugger as the Phillies look to win the NL East and contend for their second World Series title.

The Phillies are riding a seven-game win streak and look to continue tomorrow night at Washington against the Nationals.

With Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, and Jamie Moyer all on the disabled list, Roy Oswalt and Domonic Brown are exactly what the Phillies need at this integral part of the season to continue their winning ways.

Even with all these injuries, the Phillies look as good as they have all season, but they’re not done yet. They are still 2.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East race with two very important games against the Nationals coming this Friday and Saturday.

The Phillies should be thanking their lucky stars for Oswalt and Brown, who will prove to be essential in their mission to win the NL East and return to the World Series.

This team is on a seven-game winning streak with four of their star players on the DL; imagine what they will do at full strength.

And the cherry, or cherries on top, are Roy Oswalt and Domonic Brown.

 

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Philadelphia’s Gem: David Akers a Figure of Consistency for the Eagles

Being given the responsibility of your team’s kicker in the NFL is an unforgiving one.

When you are called upon, you are expected to deliver, no matter what the situation.

Some kickers cannot handle the pressure of making that winning field goal in the fourth quarter as time expires.  Promptly, they are released without second thought. 

With this in mind, when a kicker succeeds at the highest level for one team, it is a symbol of his character and consistency.

There are few in the NFL that demonstrate character and consistency better than David Akers.

He has quietly become one of the faces of the Philadelphia Eagles franchise.

However, his journey to the top was not without doubt and uncertainty. 

Before his NFL career began, in the year 1997-1998, Akers worked as a substitute teacher at Westport Middle School in Louisville, Kentucky.

When opportunity knocked at the end of the year, Akers joined the Washington Redskins for his first chance at a starting position as kicker in the NFL.

He would find out it wasn’t meant to be however, as the Washington Redskins released Akers in 1998 after a short time with the squad. Having no other choice, he returned to his wife in Atlanta, where he picked up a part-time job as a waiter in Lawrenceville, GA.

After being on the waiver wire three times, and being released by the Washington Redskins, Akers finally signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on January 11, 1999.

He began his career in Philadelphia behind veteran Norm Johnson as a long field goal and kickoff specialist, until winning the starting position in 2000.

He would never look back.

For the next ten years, the Eagles would rely on Akers and his consistency time and time again.

If there is a clutch kick that needs to be made, David Akers is going to step up. He has had as much to do with the past ten years of the Philadelphia Eagles’ success as anyone.

He is the only player on the current Philadelphia Eagles roster who has played under Andy Reid for all 11 years of Reid’s tenure in Philadelphia.

With the stroke of his left foot, David Akers has delivered countless victories for the Philadelphia Eagles, becoming his franchise’s all-time leader in points, field goals, and extra points. 

This year, Akers was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s with his 30 playoff field goals in that time span, third only to Adam Vinatieri and Gary Anderson.

David Akers is the NFL’s leading points scorer since the year 2000 with 1,169 total points; a testament to his unwavering attitude to be the best he can be for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Without question, David Akers has used his determination and longevity to become one of the greatest kickers in NFL history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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