My thoughts on Philly sports currently..
PHILLIES- The Phils lost in their gamble with pitcher Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson accepted their offer of a 1-year deal for $17 million, foregoing free agency. He gives the team a solid, experienced starter next season, to go along with young arms (Jake Thompson) and questionable arms(Aaron Nola). Problem is that the Phillies were hoping Hellickson would've refused their offer and test the free agent market. The Phils would've received a compensation first-round pick next June. Hellickson may be traded to a contender in July, and probably won't play for the team after 2017. That first-round pick may have turned out to be a valuable piece in the rebuilding process. So, the Phils took a chance and lost. Are they regretting not trading Hellickson last July when he was in demand?
3 and 6 game ticket plans go on sale Friday, November 18. I'll get a 3-dame pack, and ad don later in the summer if the team is playing well. Attractive teams like the Cubs and Dodgers don't visit Philadelphia until late in the season.The Red Sox do come to Citizens Bank Park for a short two game series in mid-June.
Howie Kendrick, obtained form Los Angeles last week, will give the Phils a solid, professional hitter. He's a career .289 hitter, but had an off year in 2016. Kendrick immediately upgrades the left field position, and can also play second base (the Phillies are rumored to be seeking a possible trade to the Angels, sending 2B Cesar Hernandrz to Anaheim). Kendrick is on a 1-year contract with an option year in 2018 He won't block the young kids like Nick Willaims or Dylan Cozens, who should be in South Philly by late summer or in 2018. Kendrick is a stop-gap, and if he can help the Phils get to .500 this year, the deal will be a good one.
EAGLES- It would be really refreshing to hear Coach Pederson rightly criticize his awful wide receivers, I understand why he is making excuses for their dropped passes. And the Birds have little other options for now. They could sign Paul Turner from the practice squad. They could give speedster Bruce Treggs more playing time. They could continue to run the ball more often, controlling the clock and giving the wide-outs less chances to fail. They could rely on the tight ends and running backs more to catch critical passes. Otherwise, they aren't going to release a WR now, in the middle of the season, especially if that WR is making a ton of money. Better to bite the bullet, then clean house in the off-season. Draft another young wide-out, sign a DeSaun Jackson or Ashon Jeffries in free agency, and start over.
The Eagles chances this Sunday in Seattle improved with the Seahawks win over the Patriots on Sunday night. Seattle is the better team, playing at home, but the game is needed more by the Birds to keep up in the playoff chase than it is for the Seahawks.
FLYERS- Time has come for goalie Anthony Stolarz to finally play. With the current two goaltenders filing for free agency after this season, the Flyers need to find out if they have their future #1 netminder in Stolarz. The defense has been poor, but the play of the Philadelphia goalies has been the biggest disappointment so far in this early season.
SIXERS- Isn't it time to play Embiid and Okarfor together and see what happens? They need a point guard, and Ben Simmons may fill that bill when he returns from injury, but this season should be a chance to sort out the future. This squad may win more than 10 games, compared to last year, but I would be surprised if they win more than 14 games. The excitement of opening night has vanished. Coach Brown will probably be fired sooner than later. Maybe the Sixers do need a more positive outlook, starting form the coach on down. New players or not, after tanking so many seasons, the organization still has a losing mentality, and psychologically, they need a fresh perspective.
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