- You couldn't ask for a better Opening Day for the Phillies. Great , spring weather, a sell-out, excited crowd, and the debut of superstar Bryce Harper in Philadelphia. The defending National League East champion Atlanta Braves were the evil opponent. Ace Aaron Nola was on the mound for the good guys. Who could ask for more?
The first Phillie up in the first game hit a home run. Andrew McCuthen may be the biggest surprise this season. We pretty much know what Harper will do but if McCuthen can come anywhere near what he accomplished in Pittsburgh for so many years the Phillies truly will be a dangerous team.
There is no end to the line-up. McCuthen leads off and can supply power as he did yesterday. He could also walk and steal a base. The options are unlimited with Cuth.
Segura will hit .300 and do the little things needed to win. If teams pitch around Harper there is Hoskins hitting behind him, capable of bashing grand slams as he did in the opener. Realmuto should crank 20 or more home runs and hit around .300. Herrera, Hernandez and Franco lurk near the bottom of the order, providing no break for an enemy hurler, all able to hit with power.
Last year, two outs in an inning meant wait til next inning to score. Not anymore. The team is like a DeSean Jackson a football field- able to score anywhere, anytime.
I don't expect the Phils to score 10 runs every game. But they will be exciting. If one guy is slumping there are plenty of bats to pick up the slack. They sent a message to the Braves, and to the rest of the National league. I can't wait until they face the Mets with deGrom and Synderguard. Classic power pitchers vs classic power hitters.
Most of all, Opening Day was just a taste of things to come in South Philly. Times have changed, as the Phillies actually won on Opening Day. They play Saturday afternoon against Atlanta then close out the season Sunday night on ESPN before heading to Washington for Harpers' first visit back to his old stomping grounds.
- Eagles GM Howie Rossman did it again. He stole a good running back to fill the void in the Birds' backfield, trading for Jordan Howard from the Bears for a 6th or possibly 5th round draft pick in 2020. Howard tailed-off a bitlast year, and he's not the pass catcher the Eagles like in their backs, but he is a solid runner and he's only 24. This is his last year on his rookie deal. It's a low-risk situation for Philly. If he performs well this fall, Rossman can re-sign him. Mys ense is that the Eagles still draft a young back next month, possibly in the 4th round, where they have twp selections.
- The Sixers bounced back Thursday night win a home victory against Brooklyn. As always, Joel Embiid led the way, scoring 39 points and collecting 13 rebounds. They need to win 6 of their last 8 games to total 54 wins, more than last season, as they enter the playoffs.
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