PHILLY SPORTS CORNER

Currently in Philly sports..

PHILLIES-

I'm glad Brock Stassi made the team. He may not be the future, but he gives the team some youth and freshness compared to Chris Coughlin. Plus Stassi is so glad to have made the team, I think he will do well as a bench player and back-up at first base for Tommy Joseph.

I look for Aaron Altherr to have a big year. He may be the fourth outfielder, but I think he will play a lot this summer, as the Phils will seek to rest veterans Howie Kendrick and Michael Saunders to keep them fresh. Altherr brings power, speed and defense to the line-up. He was ready to claim an everyday spot in right field last spring before he hurt his wrist. Now, Altherr looks healthy and seems hungry to show what he can do. I envision him as a 40 doubles, 15 homers guy in the majors if given the chance to play and if he stays healthy.

I also like that the final two bullpen slots went to the pair of lefties, Morgan and Rodriguez. Luis Garcia may have good stuff but he is too inconsistent, and seems to have a problem with his nerves and composure in the big leagues.

Although Opening Day for the Philadelphia club starts on Monday, all season long I'll be keeping an eye on both Lehigh Valley and Reading. That's where the future is. Other than the progress of young prospects like Alfaro, Crawford and Williams, I'll be interested to see if the "Bash Brothers"- Cozsins and Hoskins- can hit with power at the triple A level where the pitching id tougher and the ballparks are more spacious. The Bash Brothers coming to Philly would completely change the Phils' offense in Citizens Bank Park. The teams till needs much to contend- including an ace no. 1 guy and a proven closer. But they are headed in the right direction, and their young stars look legit, which will either make Phillies fans happy or provide Phillies organization with much-valued trade chips down the road.

Aaron Nola struggled all spring in Clearwater. I wanted him to start the year at Lehigh Valley to work on hid control. He says he is healthy. He will probably start in the rotation as the no.5 starter, which will give him plenty of rest and take some of the pressure off Nola to compete against other aces on competitor's staffs.If Nola isn't right by Memorial Day, he is either hurt or he's just not as good as the organization imagined ( and, once again, the organization over-rated one of their young players). Time will tell. Buy luckily, even if Nola is shut-down again, the Phils have more starting pitching depth than in a long time to fill the gap.

EAGLES-

The free agent signings of Patrick Robinson and Chris Long this week were low risk- high reward. They help in the short-term, as the Birds look to stabilize their defensive line and defensive back situation. They still need to draft both positions heavily in a few weeks.But it lessens the urgency somewhat.

Draft speculation runs wild. About the only scenario I haven't seen speculated on recently ia trade on drat  day plan of trading up in the first round to grab a certain player ( like last year when they selected Carson Wentz).

The schedule will be out in two weeks. Reports have the Birds asking for back-to-back roads games in the west coast with the Chargers and Rams. That way the Eagles could stay in California all week and avoid the grueling travel. Ideally, the Eagles would play on Sunday, then again on Thursday so the time on the West Coast is limited. Also ideally, the two California games would be late in the season, November or December, when both the Rams and Chargers should be ready to pack in losing seasons, and the warm LA weather gets the team away from the cold climate in the East.

FLYERS-

Despite the fact that the Flyers have been playing well this past week, it's too little, too late and they will not make a playoff berth this season. Give the squad credit for not giving up, but one wonders where the fire was previously when the hockey club needed to stay in the wild card race?


SIXERS-

The 76ers are playing out the string. Dario Saric should win the Rookie of the Year award after the season ends.But the real interest will be in May, when the Draft Lottery occurs, and in late June, when the team finally make their long-awaited selections in the draft.Summer will be a time to keep an eye on the recovery of Embiid, Okafor and Simmonds.