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February 05, 2007
Prince Philip's Coronation
Recently I found myself reading about pitchers like Rapid Robert Feller, Bullet Bob Turley and Rocket Roger Clemens. And, it dawned on me: "The first name alliteration thing has a way of working out for power pitchers."
As my thoughts started to turn towards "Yankees power pitching prospect Philip Hughes" (go ahead, say that three times fast), it dawned on me: Is there a better nickname for this kid than "Prince Philip Hughes"?
From my personal standpoint, it sure beats "Orange Crush."
I'm pretty happy that my suggestion for "Worm Killer Wang" has taken off at various on-line outlets for Yankees fans. And, I still hold hope for "Rico Bergman" this season.
But, I think "Prince Philip" may be one of my better nickname suggestions. (Why Derek "Cupid" Jeter never took off, I dunno?)
A "prince" is "an outstanding man, especially in a particular group or class" according to at least one dictionary. OK, that fits here.
And, the "Prince Philip" copy/combination has not been used in baseball before - although another ace, Tigers pitcher Hal Newhouser, had the handle "Prince Hal" back in the day. (And, before Newhouser, there was "Prince" Hal Chase, but, he was a "Dark Prince" sort of guy.)
Prince Philip,
Prince Phil,
Prince Philip Hughes,
Prince Hughes...
None of it sounds bad. And, I don't think it means anyone would confuse Hughes with "TAFKAP" or Big Daddy Fielder's kid.
Heck, I'm running with this one until I hear something better. If you should hear it somewhere - just remember that you heard it here first.
Posted by Steve Lombardi at February 5, 2007 11:09 PM
Comments
i dont wanna bring anyone down, but Project Prospect did a comparison of Beckett/Prior vs. Hughes/Bailey, and basically said they wont be as good as the earlier duo.
http://www.projectprospect.com/rbtb2-5/
but if Hughes avoids Prior's injuries, and maintains superior control than Beckett, who knows?
Posted by: Travis G. ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.waswatching.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 6, 2007 04:21 AM
No offense Steve, but I'm really hoping the Rico Bergman thing doesn't take off.
Posted by: Jen at February 6, 2007 09:21 AM
Hey, Jen, trust me - when you start blogging again, and you have to look up the spelling of Mientkiewicz each time you want to use it, you're going to thank me for Rico Bergman! ;-)
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at February 6, 2007 10:24 AM
Heh. I'm sure I'll come up with something. How about just #11? Or Mient...
I like the alliteration idea, but Prince Philip really doesn't really qualify? You need something that starts with an "F" sound.
Posted by: Jen at February 6, 2007 10:41 AM
The thing about "Rico Bergman" is that he's been called Minky forever. So he already has an easy-to-type, easy-to-spell nickname.
As for Phil...
I'm not in love with Prince. Jen is right about the "ph" sound. Like "Phenom."
I'll be sticking with "Mr. Hughes." That's what I called him way back when he was tearing up A-ball, and that's what everyone around me now calls him.
Posted by: baileywalk at February 6, 2007 11:41 AM
When I hear "Phenom," I think Clint Hurdle. I hope Hughes is better than that.
"Mr. Hughes"?
Mr. Hughes was one of the 70-year-old-ish people that I probably delivered newspapers to, after school, when I was a kid in the 1970's.
I can't call Prince Philip that. I'm too old.
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at February 6, 2007 11:50 AM
~~~The thing about "Rico Bergman" is that he's been called Minky forever. So he already has an easy-to-type, easy-to-spell nickname.~~~
But, Rico is so sauve......
"Minky" sounds like the pet name that some guy named "Agador" would give to his favorite fur coat.
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at February 6, 2007 11:57 AM
"Minky" IS totally a pet name. Which is appropriate, because Doug is such a dog (with his bat, not personality-wise).
The "Mr. Hughes" thing just popped into my head. There was a guy who said he sat down and interviewed Howard Hughes and would release an authorized biography, but it turned out to be a fake, and Hughes held a now-famous conference call to dispute the claims. It was a big controversy. I believe the name of the book was to be "Mr. Hughes." When I saw how poised and mature-beyond-his-years Phil Hughes was, that name came to me and I've since called him "Mr. Hughes."
He's only 20, but if you hear him talk and see how he carries himself, he sort of DESERVES the "mister."
Anyway, I've said it so much now all my Yankee-fan friends say it, too.
The rhyming nickname thing might be easier if you used "Hughes" instead of "Philip."
Posted by: baileywalk at February 6, 2007 01:36 PM
Prince Philip was the prince's name in Sleeping Beauty. I think it could work.
http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:ZRwtpV-NlnKCRM:http://www.vegalleries.com/dis-opc/65sleep2.jpg
Posted by: Cail at February 6, 2007 05:16 PM
PHIL THE THRILL!
Posted by: adam at February 6, 2007 06:00 PM
Fresh Kill Phil?
Posted by: brockdc at February 6, 2007 10:02 PM