PHILLY SPORTS CORNER

Much going on in Philly sports.....

SIXERS-

The NBA draft lottery is tomorrow night. We will have plenty of time to discuss who the Sixers should select in the 1st round. The best the team can do tomorrow night is get picks 1 and 4. 1 would be their own pick or swapping picks with Sacremento. 4 would be the Lakers pick, if the selection falls out of the top 3.

Look for LA to get a top 3 pick. I'm not saying that the lottery is rigged, but I'm sure the NBA would love for the Lakers to get good again. Having a high pick-preferably a no. 1- would go far in helping a Lakers rebuilding plan.

Boston has Brooklyn's selection, the Nets stupidly trading away the pick to the Celtics years ago. Boston is already good. A high pick makes them even better. Again the league would love for the Celtics to become contenders.

The Sixers also have 4 second round draft picks in June. Look for the organization to try and package a few of those picks to move back into the lower end of the first round. The Sixers don't want to pay all of those draft choices.

Joel Embiid will be at the lottery for the team. I'm not sure if he is a good luck charm, keeping in mind his history of injuries.Still, it would be fun to see his reaction if the Sixers are lucky enough to get into the top 3.

PHILLIES-

The team continues to flounder, now 9 full games behind Washington in National League East. The bullpen keeps blowing leads.

Meanwhile, Manager Pete Mackanin got a contract extension last week, covering 2018, with a club option in 2019.Pete should have a chance to manage the young core of players when they hopefully get really good.However, the manager has actually had a worse year so far than last season. There doesn't seem to be much discipline on the squad, as players continue to make stupid mental mistakes and lack of hustle is sometimes evident with guys failing to run hard.

When GM Matt Klentak gave Mackanin the expension last week, Klentak noted how "the team always play hard" and how "anyone can see how much better the Phillies are" compared to seasons past. Is he watching the same team? Guys like Herrera and Franco are slackers. I would say that the offense is a little improved, although they still strike out too much. But the pitching staff is a total disappointment. The starters can't go seven innings, which taxes the bullpen. There is no real closer on the staff, and no real ace.

Which brings us to pitching coach Bob McClure. Over the weekend he questioned some of the pitch calls by catcher Cameron Rupp, especially after Nationals' star Bryce Harper beat the Phils with a walk-off homer last Saturday night.McClure is right, but he also got himself into trouble by publicly bashing Rupp.

McClure is going to be fried after the season, especially if the bullpen continues to stink and there is no improvement from the young pitchers ( most notably Vince Valasquez). Rupp will probably go too, with the emergence of hot prospect Jorge Alfaro. Rupp is a solid catcher, nothing more. He may be a supplement for a team in contention, but Alfaro is the future.

I agree with giving Mackanin the extension. You didn't want Pete to be a lame duck through out the season. Mackanin needs to manage better, but he also needed the leverage of knowing he's going to be in Philadelphia for a while so he can work with the young kids.

It's really only a 1-year extension. If Mackanin can't handle the job as teacher this summer nad next, the Phillies can always cut bait and start fresh with a new skipper, just as the team hopefully will jell in 2019 and beyond.

Some points I've made before which still need to be stressed: Vince Valasquez should be put in the bullpen immediately. Let him get his feet wet there. He always seems to lose it around the 5th inning.So, in the 'pen he can let that 99 MPH fastball explode and not hold back.

Odubel Herrera is an over-paid, average player. The Phillies will regret extending his contract. He's been a disappointment at the plate, only batting around .260 so far this spring. He is what he is- a Rule 51 guy who was good the first half of 2016, made the All-Star Game, and hasn't been the same since.

Is he injured? Did the money go to his head and he just doesn't care anymore? Even before getting his money, Herrera was know to dog it in the field and on thebnasepaths at times.

Aaron Altherr can play center field much more fluidly. Mickey Moniak and Roman Quinn are lurking in the farm system. Trade Herrera this off-season (preferably in a package to get Mike Trout).

Dylan Cozens hit the longest home run ever in Lehigh Valley over the weekend. He has 9 HRs now, along with Rhys Hoskins' 9.  With Herrera gone, the future Phillies outfield could look like Quinn or Nick Williams, Cozens and Altherr, a nice combination of speed and power.

Finally, I'm not crazy about the current Phillies announcers, especially on TV. John Kruk is good in a folksy way, ala the late, great Richie Ashburn. Ben Davis has disappointed me so far this year. He's not honest enough and needs to call out the players when they are struggling. I like Larry Andersen on the radio. Kruk and Mike Schmidt talking baseball on Sunday afternoons is interesting, but Schmidt alone is dry and boring. Play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy is ok on TV.

I guess we got spoiled all those years by Harry Kalas and Ashburn.

EAGLES-

The Birds had OTAs this past weekend, a chance for the rookies to show what they can do. I still think the team needs to find depth at corner back and running back before the season opener in September. I also expect some deals, as bubble guys like Jason Kelce and Mychal Kendricks are still on the roster.

Single game tickets go on sale tomorrow and I'm hoping to get seats to the home opener vs. the Giants and the December 5 tilt against AFC foe Denver.The Raiders and Cowboys should be interesting games, but who wants to go to the Linc on Christmas night and New Year's Eve?Washington on Monday Night Football will be a highlight, and an October clash with Arizona should be fun. Games vs. San Francisco and the bears ? Who cares.

FLYERS-

The countdown is on until the NHL draft in June, when the Flyers pick second. They should get a quality player at that spot. The question is, will Ron Hextall and the organization allow the kids to play, or will they continue to be a little too over-protective and let them simmer with the Phantoms? The goal tending situation will be interesting as well. Mason looks like he won't come back. Nurweirth is under contract but will he go in the expansion draft? Or will the team trade for a veteran goalie while bringing one of their prized goal tending prospects to Philly as a back-up?