PHILLY SPORTS CORNER- PHILLIES

- Bryce Harper is a Phillie! My thoughts..

- I love the contract- 13 years, $330 million. Comes out to about $25 million a season, which gives the team plenty of room to sign more future free agents, including mike Trout in two years.It also allows the organization to extend current players like Hoskins and Realmuto.

- Harper, to his credit, made a total commitment to Philadelphia. No trade, no opt-out. He wants to stay in Philly for the entire 13 years. He wants to retire as a Phillie, and hopefully go to Cooperstown as a Phillie. So, the reports that Harper did not want to play in Philly, or that his wife wanted to stay on the West Coast, were false.

- Harper idolized Mickey Mantle while growing up. Ironically, on March 1, 1969, Mantle retired.

- Since Harper will be hitting most of his home runs in right field at Citizens Bank Park, and Harper will be patrolling right field for the next 13 years, the RF area at the ballpark should be given an appropriate name. What about "Harperville" or "Harper Valley R.B.I. ?"

- In the end, the Dodgers were only offering short-term deals, and the Giants couldn't offer more. Plus with San Francisco currently rebuilding, and their park not being very hitter-friendly..and add in California taxes, it didn't make sense for Harper to play on the West Coast.

- The Phillies sold 100,000 tickets since the Harper signing leaked yesterday.

- Harper will be officially introduced on Saturday with a news conference. His first game with the Phillies will probably be next Tuesday when the Phils play in Clearwater.

- Washington Nationals fans seem pretty bitter that Harper bolted for a National League East rival. The Phillies visit Washington for the first time on Tuesday, April 2.

- Kudos to Phillies' management for getting Harper. I've been critical of Klentak, MacPhail and Middleton in the past. But give the devil it's due. Management has given the fans joy and hope. It will be a fun summer and beyond. Plus the Phillies will sell tons of tickets and merchandise. The city is already going nuts. The positive energy and public relations is priceless.

- Whether Harper bats second, third or fourth, the line-up is stacked from top to bottom. Whoever hits around Harper will get better pitches to hit. Hoskins should have a great year. As a lefty-righty power duo, they will terrorize National League pitching for years to come.

- Philadelphia may be a football town, but the Phillies have recaptured baseball magic in the city. The stars are young, from Harper to Embiid, to Wentz and Hart. All of our sports teams have young stars who should shine for years to come.

- John Middleton deserves all the credit. He said he was going to spend "stupid money" and he did. He said he would do whatever it takes to reclaim the world championship trophy . He wasn't just talk and no action. No more rebuilding. No more are the days of getting bums like Jerome Williams or Peter Bourjous.  It's a new day in Phillies history and Philly sports history.

- How many Bryce Harper jerseys will they sell this season?

- It will be fun to scoreboard watch this summer, meaningful September games, and dream of the playoffs and maybe the World Series. Fun to write different line-ups and think of the July trade deadline when the Phils can make their final push. No August/September collapse this season.  As the area gets 4 inches of snow this morning we are thinking warm summer days and tons of fun on the horizon.