by Michael DeLuca
After team’s were forced to cut their rosters to 53 men on Saturday, August 30th, a few nice new wide receiver options have opened up for the injury plagued Philadelphia Eagles. While the team will tell you they’re not in the market, it is widely assumed they will be adding another target for quarterback Donovan McNabb before the start of the season. Let me know what you think of the following options… Read the rest of this entry »
Anna Benson provided the only ASSet to the Kris Benson signing
By John Ryan
On Saturday afternoon, the Phillies officially cut ties with SP Kris Benson.
The move represents a waving of the white flag from the Phillies perspective who basically used a combination of the Pedro Feliz signing and the Kris Benson signing as reasoning for not bringing back all-star Kyle Lohse.
Benson sported a 1-6 record with a 5.78 ERA in stints with the Lehigh-Valley Iron Pigs, the Clearwater Threshers, and the Reading Phillies. While Benson did have an impressive stretch in AAA where he gave up just 9 ER’s in 33 IP, his 5.78 ERA ultimately doomed him, as well as his disastrous last start on August 27 where he pitched just 4 innings and gave up 6 ER’s.
With the trade for Joe Blanton and the emergence of J.A. Happ as an impact call-up from AAA, Benson was deemed expendable. Benson himself admited he probably wasn’t going to be ready for the 2008 season, and also stated he didn’t see himself pitching past 6-7 innings per outing. Read the rest of this entry »
College....
Today is the start of the college football season and Thursday night the NFL will kick-off. Both games are flat out great, the NFL has more of a national following, but the college game has deep roots in so many areas of anywhere USA. Lets take a look at which game is better :
Tailgating: When it comes to getting ready for the game, the College game is at the pro level and the NFL is amateur hour. Many NFL fans say that it’s just college kids getting to the game at 8am for a 6pm start – that’s not true. Grown men and women flock to their favorite campus on Thursday’s many times parking their Winnebago’s or truck outside the stadium preparing for a long tailgate weekend, not just a few hours before kick-off like their NFL counter-parts. Advantage – College
Atmosphere : The NFL stadiums are getting bigger and the concourses may be better, but inside the stadium, the noise at a college game can’t be matched. While the NFL has 65,000 seat stadium, college stadiums can hold sometimes anywhere from 90,000 to 110,000. The band, the students, the mascots – Read the rest of this entry »
IS ANYBODY GOING TO MISS PAT GILLICK?
DIDN’T THINK SO!
By John Leon
Once again the Phillies shoot themselves in the foot. They acquired Matt Stairs for a prospect and correct me if I’m wrong but don’t they need some arms? Now, Stairs is a professional hitter and make no mistake about that, but once again “Stand Pat” didn’t address what the Phils actually needed. All he is, is another Russell Branyan.
They got a hitter that fits perfectly into the mold of what they already have, a home run threat that strikes out a lot, has little or no speed, is left handed and plays 3 positions, outfield, first base and pinch hitter. Do you think that maybe they could have acquired a speedy player that might help create some runs, instead of getting another one of what they already have? Read the rest of this entry »
By Mike Gill
According to Ken Rosenthal of www.foxsports.com, the Phillies have acquired left-handed hitter Matt Stairs, formally of the Toronto Blue Jays.
PCPSports Take: The Phillies get a decent left-handed bat that will replace Geoff Jenkins and take some at-bats from Jason Werth against right-handed pitching. He does have some pop, he is not the type of contact hitter the Phillies need right now.
He has 87 strikeouts in 320 at-bats, thus far and is 40 years old. He did have a real nice 2007 season, hitting .289 with 21 home runs and 64 RBI for the Jays. He has been used primarily as a DH this season, but has been used as a LF, RF and 1B in the past. Look for his impact to minimal at best – thumbs down to this move.
by Michael DeLuca
Each December, at the annual Winter Meetings, the Rule 5 Draft occurs. Without going into any great detail (so as not to bore your pants off), the concept behind the Rule 5 Draft is that if a team values a player that is languishing in another organization’s minor league system, enough that they feel he warrants a spot on their active 25 man roster, they may select that player. Once a team selects a player in the Rule 5 Draft he must remain on that team’s 25-man major league roster for the entire season and may not be optioned or designated to the minors. The selecting team may, at any time, waive the Rule 5 draftee. The draftee can also be traded, but his new team must abide by the same rules, keeping the player on their active 25 man roster for the entire season. Lower level minor leaguers can be selected, so long as they are promoted to the next level andremain there. The basic reasons behind this draft are to keep teams from stockpiling young talent in the minors and to ensure that players worthy of competing at the Major League Level can do so. Read the rest of this entry »
…AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME
The Post Season Awards with a month to go
by John Leon
It’s the end of August and as the pennant races are in full boil, it’s time to throw my 2 cents worth in for the post-season awards as they stand right now. There’s still a month to go, but the candidates look pretty locked up and there are always wild cards, so here we go. Read the rest of this entry »
by John Ryan
There once was a boy who’s father drove a cab in New York City just to support his family. The b
oy was Pedro. Pedro Alvarez; gifted baseball player and former millionaire. Former because his agent, Scott Boras, decided six million dollars wasn’t good enough. Alvarez, who agreed to his contract at the eleventh hour and fifty-ninth minute with Pittsburgh’s brass, reneged when Boras convinced the player that six million wasn’t enough. Why wasn’t it enough? It wasn’t enough because someone in the draft got 6.3 million, and so is life as a Boras client. Read the rest of this entry »
by John Ryan
When the 2008 season ends (and the Phillies presumably miss the playoffs), Ryan Howard will have amassed statistics that to this point are only comparable to Babe Ruth. That’s right. The Sultan of Swat. The Colossus of Clout. The Great Bambino (not the Great Bambi, that wimpy dear). What does that mean for the Phillies? Nothing, yet. Ryan Howard will be a Philadelphia Phillie in 2009. In 2010? That’s a question of debate, and it’s answer probably lies somewhere between a coin toss and a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest. When the St. Lunatic lines up at the cash register after 2009, the Phillies will presumably decide that historic contracts are not their organizational philosophy and trade Howard to what could amount to nothing (or maybe something, depends on the GM). Read the rest of this entry »
by John Ryan
With yesterday’
s news of Jay Mariotti’s (of ESPN’s Around the Horn fame) departure from The Chicago Sun-Times, news quickly spread about his future plans. Firstly, he will still be a regular contributor to “Around the Horn,” (doesn’t it seem like the artist formerly known as STAT Boy on PTI always lets him win anyway?) and secondly, he will now enter the world of internet news because he considers the world of print media to be dinosaur-like. Funny, didn’t he practice a dinosaur-like culture for the past 17 years that catapulted his uselessness onto ESPN for regular contributions? For a man who has burned more bridges in Chicago than any arsonist could ever attempt to do in one lifetime, he sure is being less than humble on his way out. Read the rest of this entry »
Recent Comments