PHILLY SPORTS CORNER

Philly sports as we ease into the weekend..

PHILLIES-

*Andy MacPhal, where are you?

*Odubel Herrera continues to pound out doubles( he leads the league now with 22- but also continues to make boneheaded mistakes on the base paths, getting caught in an awkward double play in Atlanta Tuesday night when he froze between first and second base.

Herrera has had an interesting week, red hot a the plate, his average zooming close to .250 after flirting with .220 recently. First, there was the Mike Schmidt comments incident (Schmidt is entitled to his opinion and is not a racist but his comments were stupid and out of touch). Then, another example of lack of hustle, or dumb fundamental baseball.

Whatever you think of Herrera, he is unique. When he wants to play, and doesn't get complacent with his big contract extension, he can show passion on the field with his bat-flips and bravado style. He is often fun to watch yet frustrating too.

I thought Herrera would be good trade bait in the off-season. But now that it looks like CF prospect Roman Quinn may need elbow surgery on his non-throwing arm, the Phillies may just hang onto Herrera for awhile. CF youngster Mickey Moniak, their firts pick overalls election last year, is still years away ) add to the fact that the Phils are ultra-conservative about promoting their prospects). Aaron Altherr can play a smooth center field.

So, despite the aggravation, I'm betting that Herrera will stick with the team for the foreseeable future.  An outfield next year of Herrera, Altherr and either Nick Williams or Dylan Cozens would shone, a nice mix of defense, power, youth and speed.

*The Phillies pick no.7 in the first round of Monday's major league draft. Draft the best available player, as the team needs help everywhere, and one can never have enough pitching. But key positions to focus on would left-handed pitching  and third base. Power is a premium and speed always kills.

*After a modest 4-game winning streak, the team is back to it's losing ways, going down in the last two games vs. the Braves. I predicted a split in Atlanta. Now I think they will lose 2 out of 3 in St. Louis and get swept in Boston.

The hitting remains inconsistent. Ben Lively gave the squad another solid effort, but let's face facts- Lively looks like a solid back-of -the-rotation kind of pitcher, not a stud ace. The Phils need an anchor, a Cole Hamels-type.  Out of all the young hurlers the team has  promoted so far, none of them look like a no.1 starter.  Clayton Kershaw will be a free gent after the 2018 season. Just sayin'....

* Meanwhile, Lehigh Valley continues to cruise in first place. I'm tire of begging the organization to bring up the kids. Hopefully the will at the trade deadline in July and beyond. Until then, I';m in a state of apathy, not caring anymore, which is deadly to a franchise when your loyal fan base just doesn't give a damn anymore. Same old, same old. And until something changes and the logjam in the minors is broken I have better things to focus on this summer than a 100-loss baseball team that sucks.

If the Phillies organization doesn't care, why should I?

With that said, I have tickets to a pair of Phillies games next week. Thursday night against the Red Sox and Father's Day (Hawaiian shirt giveaway ) vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks.

I thought about selling the tickets on Stub Hub but who would buy them?

EAGLES-

It looks like the Birds won't make an offer for WR Jeremy Maclin after all. Of they could get him on a 1-year deal, like they did Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, then it's worth it. After all, they currently have two unproven rookies on the roster, the two free agents, and question marks in Agholor, Beckham and Matthews.

Maclin would bring consistency and stability, if he's got anything lefy in the tank. He may only have a few good years left, but he has something to prove, a hungry player looking for even bigger money after a good season.

Although it's been reported that Agholor looks good in OTAs ( remember, it is only OTAs- what happens when Agholor flashes across the middle and drops yet another catchble pass because he's about to get hit?), you know what you have in Agholor. Matthews is stable but will never be a no. 1 receiver. Why not sign Mackin to a 1-year deal if he will take it? Release or trade Agholor, trade Matthews. Then you've got a core of Jeffery, Smith and Maclin, with youngsters Hollins and Gibson.More weapons for Carson Wentz.

My guess is that Maclin will get a longer-term deal elsewhere, maybe Buffalo or Baltimore. and in mid-season when Agholor starts to drop balls again and becomes a head-case- again- the Eagles will regret not signing Maclin.

MORE-

*The Sixers are gearing up for the upcoming draft, working out ;players and pondering if the Sacremento Kings really want to move up to pick no. 3 and trade away their no. 5 and 10 selections. If the Sixers don't have a clear-cut choice at 3, seek the trade. You may still get your guy (Monk or Tatum) at 5, plus get a good player at 10 to add depth to your roster. But if the team knows who they want, don't fool around and get screwed in the end. Take your guy at 3 and stick to it.

*The Flyers have a clear decision at no.2 in the NHL draft. Nolan or Hischer, whomever the Devils don't select. Their real work will come later in the draft when depth is needed. Also, what's up with the goaltender situation?

* The Atlanta Braves have a new stadium. The Phillies finished playing a 4-game set there last night. All accounts are that it's  nice place, nothing special, nothing we haven't seen before. To me, I can't stand it from a TV viewer's perspective.

I hate the seats, which ren' bleachers or even wooden seats. Looks like every seat is like a lounge chair, living room type of cushion. That's what it looked like- watching baseball in your living room. The white box seats in the outfield look like over-sized milk containers, or private booths. The scoreboard is gigantic and the organist is clever  ( playing Brahms's Lullaby when Andrew Knapp- "nap" stepped to the place).

There's no distinction to the venue, like at Pittsburgh or San Francisco or even at Citizens Bank Park.  It's the usual stuff.

Back in the early 70s when the old ballparks started to die, such as Connie Mack Stadium, the fad was the cookie-cutter, multi-purpose type venue,like the Vet or Three Rivers. Now, with the old style parks, it's still cookie-cutter. Everyone has a fun zone for kids, a team museum ( although the Phils could use one) or an Ashburn Alley kind of place to hang out. Baseball stadiums aren't hosting football teams anymore in the fall, Atlanta's new park just isn't anything special, or so it seems on TV

Kudos to places like Arizona ( swimming pool)and Kansas City ( dancing fountains and waterfalls  beyond the outfield fence)  for being different. Otherwise, "new" stadiums like in New York and Washington- boring, same ol' stuff..

Finally, both Golden State and Pittsburgh are within one win of championships in the NBA and NHL. I predicted the Warriors and Penguins would be victorious. Golden State is an awesome team, but the debate is on: how would they fare against some of basketball's greatest teams? Would the Warriors beat the Jordan-led Bulls? The Doctor J- Sixers? or the Kareem-Magic Lakers?

Different times, different eras, hard to say. What matters is that Golden State is the best now. Unless the Warriors disband, or they simply become too full of themselves, I can't see anyone in the NBA seriously challenging them in the near future.

The Sixers? Make the playoffs first.

As for the Pens, it comes down to star power, and, hard to say, Sidney Crosby is the best. Another victtory would give Pittsburgh two straight Stanley Cups in a row. Like the NBA, another team will have to step up to wrestle away the crown in the near future, but hockey seems like a more competitive league than pro basketball.

The Flyers? Not even close.