Pete

Phillies Spring Training: 10 Biggest Questions

February 20, 2012 By Pete 5 Comments

Spring Training is here, and with it, lots of questions. You can see how this is going to work, so let's just get to it... 1. Should we be prepared to be disappointed by Vance Worley and John Mayberry Jr? I hate to start out with a negative, but these two guys are probably my biggest concerns in 2012. Both of them will be relied upon heavily after very solid 2011 campaigns, and both of them have no track record to suggest that they can replicate that performance for a full season in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Phillies

The Philly Fifty, #28: Chuck Klein, Phillies

February 16, 2012 By Pete 1 Comment

For the complete list and explanation of criteria and scoring, check out the Philly Fifty page Longevity - 5 Klein spent his first 6 years with the Phillies, then came back for 2.5 after a couple years with the Cubs, then after a one year stint with the Pirates, he finished his career with 5 years as basically a bench player. All told, there were parts of 15 years as a Phillie, and over 1,400 games. Peak - 5 Klein finished in the top-2 in the MVP voting from 1931-1933, winning in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Other Sports & News, Phillies

Pre-Spring Training MLB Power Rankings

February 14, 2012 By Pete 10 Comments

Is everyone getting the itch? With the Mariners reporting for pitchers and catchers this past weekend, spring training is officially underway. I have already begun crunching numbers and messing around with pointless predictions because that is how I cope with the anticipation. That being said - here is how I currently have the 30 MLB teams ranked. Keep in mind I did not do this solely subjectively - rather I took the rosters for each team, looked at the 25-man roster's 2011 WAR, adjusted … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Other Sports & News, Phillies

Recapping the Phillies’ off-season, and a 1st crack at the 25-man roster

January 27, 2012 By Pete 16 Comments

Philadelphia Phillies v Oakland Athletics

Apologies for the severe lack of posts - lots of non-blog related life events going on recently. This is about the time of year I forget about everything that happened to the Phillies in 2011 and start getting really excited for 2012. Since I haven't been able to examine each move individually, I figured I'd do an overview of all the moves they've made now that they are pretty set. I'll rank them by size of commitment. 1. Signed Jonathan Papelbon to 4 year, $50 million deal with vesting … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Phillies

The Philly Fifty, #29: Billy Cunningham, Sixers

January 20, 2012 By Pete 3 Comments

For the complete list and explanation of criteria and scoring, check out the Philly Fifty page Longevity - 4 Cunningham played 9 years here with two stints with the Sixers. He started off his NBA career with 7 years here, then took a 2 years hiatus to the Carolina Cougars of the ABA, only to return to the Sixers for his final two seasons. Peak - 4 Cunningham made first-team all-NBA 3 times as a Sixer. His best season was probably 1969-70 when he averaged 26.1 points, 13.6 rebounds … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Other Sports & News, Sixers

The Philly Fifty, #30: Steve Van Buren, Eagles

January 14, 2012 By Pete 3 Comments

For the complete list and explanation of criteria and scoring, check out the Philly Fifty page Longevity - 3 Played 8 seasons, his entire career, with the Eagles. Was drafted in 1944 out of LSU with the 5th overall pick and played until he was 31. Peak - 4 A top-5 player at any position for much of his career. Led the league in rushing yards and total touchdowns in the same year twice. Popularity - 2 You don't run into a ton of Van Buren jerseys on game day. Team Success - … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Eagles, Other Sports & News

The Sixers’ early returns: How players are stacking up

January 5, 2012 By Pete 148 Comments

The Sixers' probably should be 4-1 right now, with a bad loss to a mediocre Jazz team, but I'm not going to complain coming home from an unprecedented 5-game road trip to start the season at 3-2. 5 games isn't enough to make full blown proclamations about players, but it does give you a chance to see how players' games might have changed from the prior year. Let's take a look at the 9-man rotation, sorted by minutes played per game. Jrue Holiday (35.8 min) - Was horrible in the opener … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sixers

2011-12 NBA Preview: Atlantic Division and Wrap-Up

December 30, 2011 By Pete 27 Comments

Previous NBA Previews: Central Division Northwest Division Southeast Division Southwest Division Pacific Division 1. Boston Celtics (3rd in East, 7th in NBA) Who is new: Brandon Bass, Keyon Dooling, Chris Wilcox, JaJuan Johnson, E'Tuan Moore Why are they here: Certainly not because of how they played to start the season. With Jeff Green gone for the year and Paul Pierce hurt, the Celts have started 0-3. Most important player: Rajon Rondo. He's going to have to get the most out … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Other Sports & News, Sixers

2011-12 NBA Preview: Pacific Division

December 28, 2011 By Pete 2 Comments

Previous NBA Previews: Central Division Northwest Division Southeast Division Southwest Division 1. Los Angeles Clippers (2nd in West, 4th in NBA) Who is new: Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, Caron Butler, Trey Thompkins Why are they here: They went from doormat to title contender real fast in the last two years with the breakout rookie year of Blake Griffin followed by the acquisition of Chris Paul. Add in Chauncey Billups, Caron Butler and D'Andre Jordan and they boast … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Other Sports & News

2011-12 NBA Preview: Southwest Division

December 22, 2011 By Pete 11 Comments

Previous NBA Previews: Central Division Northwest Division Southeast Division 1. Dallas Mavericks (3rd in West, 5th in NBA) Who is new: Lamar Odom, Vince Carter, Delonte West Why are they here: The two things that made them different last from year's past were Tyson Chandler and JJ Barea, both of whom are gone. They replaced two good pieces with one, in Odom, but then made typical previous Mavericks' moves in signing name players (Carter, West) who are likely going to be … [Read more...]