Fear Itself is Afraid of Cole Hamels

Cole Hamels is awesome. It's become blatantly obvious now that all those idiots who were giving up on him last season...well...are idiots. (Please note that TheWizWit team called this one back in March. Yes, we're that smart.) After one sub-par year (see very end of this post) fans were ready to give the ole' heave-ho to the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP. People called him soft, immature and made entirely too big a deal out of his comments during the World Series (if you didn't understand what he meant when he made those comments then you probably listen to WIP too much). But thankfully, Cole has gone out there in 2010 and made each and every person who tore into him last year look pretty dumb.

Like Andy Reid time management dumb.

Ruiz Turns His Swag On, Signs New Deal

Carlos Ruiz was the only arbitration eligible player remaining for the Phillies. Like the Durbin, Blanton, and Victorino before him, Ruiz has cashed in with a contract extension.

The deal has been reported, but not made official by the Phillies yet. CSN Philly is reporting it to be a 3 year deal worth $9 million. MLB.com has said it is a 3 year deal worth $8.85 million with $5 million option for a fourth year.

Either way, one of the more underrated players on this team is locked up (along with most of the core players on the team) for the next few years. Not enough can be said about the way Ruiz manages the pitching staff, plays defense, and blocks balls in dirt. His hitting has improved over the years, and is a career .303 hitter in the playoffs.

Phillies fans and women across the Delaware Valley can rest assured their Chooch will be sticking around. Have you noticed how many women have come to love Ruiz? It's rather impressive. He could probably steal my girlfriend if he wanted.

Andy Reid Loves Contract Extensions, Hoagies

The long rumored extension of Andy Reid has officially been announced. A press conference has been called for 11:30 this morning at the NovaCare complex.

Plenty of people won't be thrilled with the idea, but you'll be stuck with Andy Reid and his throat-clearing for another 3 years.

Real News: Eagles Ink Celek

ESPN is reporting Brent Celek and the Eagles have agreed to a six-year contract extension.  The deal is expected to be finalized today and announced later this week.

Six years is a long time, but we all know that NFL "contracts" mean nothing anyway. 

Reid Sticking Around, Now Why Don't You Go Cry About It

Like it or hate it, Andy Reid is going to be clearing throat in your ear for many more years to come. Nothing has been finalized; no details of length or compensation have been released; but this is as good as done - whether you like it or not.