PHILLY SPORTS CORNER

The latest in Philly sports..

SIXERS-

* Neither Dario Saaec or Joel Emiied won the Rookie of the Year award last night. Milwaukee's Malcolm Brogdon did, even though he averaged less points per game and did not win Rookie Player of the Month last season.

Ironically, the Sixers should have two more shots at that award this year, with Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz contending.

* Speculation about the starting line-up. If healthy, Embiid stars at center, with Fultz and Simmons and Covington sure-fire starters. The final slot should go to a free agent signing, maybe a J.J> Reddick, someone who can shoot and stretch the floor when Embiid and Simmons kick the ball out.

One interesting name floating around is former Sixer and Laker Lou Williams as a bench player. He would give you instant offense off the bench. Along with Holmes, Sarac and McConnell, the second unit would be strong.

* All eyes will be on the upcoming schedule release. When will LA and Lonzo Ball come in? Will the Sixers be showcased on any profile dates, such as  Christmas Day? Of course, games against Golden State, Cleveland and Boston will always be special.

Also of interest will be the number of back-to-back games Philly plays. Will Embiid and Simmons play together then, or one on each back-to-back games? Coach Brown will have some intriguing decisions to make, depending on health and minutes restriction imposed by the Sixers doctors.

Getting off to a good start is always a key, developing confidence will be important for such a young team on the rise.


PHILLIES-

* Odubel Herrera....I said last summer that the Phillies would regret giving Herrera a contract extension. He wasn't consistent enough back then, and he had not hustled 100 percent of the time last summer. A big front office mistake.

Now he is making several mental ans lackadaisical mistakes every week. He just doesn't seem to get it or care, no matter how much the coaches talk to him.

Funny, the manager seems to have a communication problem with Herrera. He almost seems afraid f Herrera, fearful if he hurts the player's feelings that Herrera will have checked out

There continue to be no consequences for Herrera's bad behavior. Yesterday , again, he failed to run out a tapper in front of home plate with two men on base. Instead of pulling him from the game- 1st inning or not- Mackanin allowed Herrera to continue to play.

Herrera's laziness should've been dealt with earlier in the season. Now, it seems like Herrera and other young players are pushing the limits and doing whatever they want.

Herrera will never be a special player. He has the tools, talent galore. He can run, hit and plays decent center field. He makes scatterbrain plays on the base paths and is wildly inconsistent at the plate, often swinging at bad pitches in the dirt or above eye level.

He is annoying with his stupid bat-flips, but there hasn't been many of those lately, not with the way Herrera is not getting on base.

An interesting theory floating around is that the Phillies' front office is trying to trade Herrera, thus they are showcasing him for a deal down the road.

I hope so. I could easily see an outfield consisting of Tommy Joseph or Nick Williams in left, Altherr in center and Dylan Couzins in right.

Herrera's bad attitude is like a losing, negative cancer on the team. Other immature players see how Herrera plays and also see no consequences for such laziness, so they are trying to get away with it too.You don't want the up-and-coming kids form Lehigh Valley to start to take on Herrera's personality. So, in that way, maybe the really bright stars in Lehigh Valley should not be promoted just yet into this toxic atmosphere.

Herrera's trade  value may not be at it's highest right now, so, bad attitude or not, it may behoove the front office to keep him until after the season is over, then aggressively shop him around Baseball.

* Speaking of which, 2B Scott Kingery finally jumped up to triple-A Lehigh Valley. He went 1 for 5 in his first game, making two spectacular defensive plays in the 5-4 10 inning Iron Pigs loss to Pawtucket.

With the snails' pace the Phillies farm system  generally proceeds I wouldn't hold my breath about seeing Kingery in Philadelphia until maybe September. Certainly he should compete for a job in spring training. He, along with Hoskins, Couzins, Alfaro and Williams.

* Freddie Galvis may not get on base as much as anyone would like. But he plays a mean shortstop and he cares. He is one of the few Phillies- players or coaches- who has passion about baseball and takes this losing season really hard. After another loss yesterday, Galvis spoke out again, his frustration boiling over, especially about the topic of playing hard.

You don't need talent to play hard. That should be the philosophy of baseball players at any level, form Little League to high school to college and pro ball. Hustle and play hard. I agree with Galvis. The team isn't good enough yet to win many games. But dammit, you're getting paid well to play a  kid's game, at least try and care about winning, losing and most of all, have some pride in the way you play and conduct yourself, on and off the field.

I'm not sure what will happen to Fredie in the future. He is 27, and his offense probably won't improve much. J.P> Crawford may emerge from his prolonged slump and become the hot prospect he once was. Or another shortstop could be found. To me, you bat Galvis 8th, live with his offensive production, cherish his glove-work, and take his winning, caring attitude everyday and build on that.



* Unless Pete Mackanin starts being more of a disciplinarian during the second half of 2017, I would expect him to go, especially with the team destined to lose 110 games. Larry Bowa would provide leadership and fire as an interim manager. Lehigh Valley manager Dusty Warthen would be the leading long-time answer, especially since he manged the core players such as Hoskins and Alfaro, at both Reading and Lehigh Valley.

Some thing has to change and someone needs  to take responsibility for the massive decline. Klentak deserves the majority of the blame, but unless Andy MacPhail or John Middleton pull the plug on Klentak, it will be Mackanin and his coaching staff who will take the fall for  this ugly season.'

And just think- there are 4 full months to go.