The most interesting parts of spring training are usually checking out how the new additions to the roster look in red, and also getting a look at the young prospects who you probably won’t see on TV during the season. We know that Roy Halladay made a serious first impression, but right now it’s young Domonic Brown that is stealing the show.
Brown has no shot of making the Major League roster this year – but his early performance in spring training is certainly getting people excited for when he might.
With Shane Victorino out, Brown has found himself getting a lot of AB’s with the regular line-up, and so far, he’s been the best offensive player in camp.
In 5 games (3 starts), he’s 8 for 14 (.571 BA) with 5 RBI, 2 BB (.625 OBP) and only 2 strikeouts. For good measure, he’s been showing off his arm in outfield as well (rated as his best tool by BA) with three outfield assists already.
Just a small sample, sure, but it’s a great start to what is a very important year for Brown. If he dominates AA and maybe even AAA – it’s going to be tough to keep him out of the line-up in 2011. [...]
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March 7, 2010
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Given that the Phillies will play 76 of their 162 games against the 4 teams in their division – we’re going to give them some special attention. We will start with the Nationals, who have been the doormat of the division for the last couple years, but are finally moving in the right direction after canning their front office and winning the Stephen Strasburg sweepstakes.
Line-Up:
I was concerned about the Nats line-up causing some trouble last year, and they were decent (9th most runs in NL), but not decent enough to keep the Nats from the worst record in baseball. They played very well with Nyjer Morgan in the line-up, but lost him to a season-ending injury. A full season of him could really help this team. Same goes for Jesus Flores, who looked like a good young player before injury derailed him as well. They signed Pudge Rodriguez to back him up and mentor him. If these two guys come back strong, and Adam Kennedy fills the black hole at 2B, the Nats could be in the upper half of the NL in runs in 2010.
Starters: [...]
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March 7, 2010
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This afternoon’s game against the Raptors is the first is a 3 game set that is sneakingly important to the long-term future of the team.
We have the Raptors tonight, Indiana Tuesday and the Bobcats Wednesday. These three games are “winnable” if the Sixers bring even their B+ game. We can’t have that.
Right now the Sixers are on a 5 game losing streak and these three games are critical if we want the team to reach the goal of losing 10 streak for the second time this season.
A 10-game losing streak and a 12-game losing streak in the same season by a team with this payroll and even modest expectation to be a fringe playoff team should be all the evidence ownership needs to shit-can Jordan and Stefanksi. On top of that it continues standings decline to a better draft pick. This is all for the betterment of the squad long term.
See, I’ve been having this terrible nightmare that at the end of the current nightmare, an even worse one will ensue. [...]
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March 7, 2010
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I am going to miss most tonight’s game. I’ll watch the firs half or so before I head out for the night. Can’t say that I am upset about it though.
Sixers are going for their 5th straight loss and another likely blowout. That is, if the Celtics decide to bring at least their C game. The way the Sixers are defending right now it’s hard to see them beating anyone and the Celtics are capable of completely dismantling the Sixers offensively if they are in the mood to.
Match-ups: Jrue vs. Rondo and Thad vs. KG.
This is your game thread. [...]
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March 5, 2010
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Tomorrow is a crazy day in the NFL. Unlike other sports, when free agency opens in the NFL, everyone seems to sign at once. This got a little crazy last year, when we signed Stacey Andrews, and then the whole Brian Dawkins drama unfolded. This year, there is speculation that we might be in on many big name free agents, including Julius Peppers, Antrel Rolle and Darren Sproles.
I will keep this page updated today and tomorrow (and through the weekend if necessary) with any rumors I read. Please add anything I miss in the comments field.
(5:06pm): The Eagles released LB Will Witherspoon. Are you serious? We finally get an athletic LB who can somewhat guard TE’s and we release him? They’d better sign someone great to replace him. Can’t believe they did this.
(2:00pm): First FOXSports said that Aaron Kampman was visiting the Birds! Then they said he wasn’t, we were just talking. Now, no one really knows what’s going on.
(1:59pm): Chester Taylor off the board, signs with Chicago.
(10:53am): Though he will probably sign with the Lions, apparently the Eagles called Kyle Vanden Bosch shortly after midnight.
(10:14am): Be prepared to hear more about this: Fox29 is reporting that Andy Reid wants to keep McNabb, but the majority of other front office people don’t. Ugh.
(10:07am): Feel free to go buy a Leonard Weaver jersey now. Weaver signed a 3-year extension with the Birds for $11 million, $6.5 guaranteed. Good move, hopefully they get him more carries next year.
click through for all the updates!
[...]
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March 5, 2010
There is little in baseball that you can take less meaning out of than someones first appearance in spring training. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going try.
Roy Halladay took the mound yesterday for the first time in Phillies’ red and quickly showed that he is worthy of all the hype surrounding him this off-season.
Halladay threw 24 pitches, 21 for strikes, but didn’t leave a single pitch over the plate. He struck out 3, and allowed only one baserunner, on a error. His velocity and precision were startling for a pitcher’s first outing. His pitches were diving and darting around the strike zone, showing some serious movement.
Yes, it was only a spring training game, but if you watched it, you couldn’t help but think that Halladay was prepared for a World Series game. Hopefully he’ll need to be in October.
On a side note, Kyle Kendrick also looked very good, and I’ll be posting updates of the 2 battles in spring training (5th starter, final bullpen spot(s)) [...]
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March 5, 2010
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1. St. Louis Cardinals (NL Ranks: 4th best Line-Up, 5th best rotation)
Why I Have Them Here
The best player in baseball (Pujols), 2 Cy Young candidates (Wainwright and Carpenter), a top-of-the-line manager and pitching coach and a relatively weak division. When the playoffs started last year, I thought they would represent the NL in the World Series, and all the key parts are still there.
Biggest Concern: Chris Carpenter’s Health
I was going to write a whole rant about how Ryan Franklin sucks, and there is no way he’s going to repeat his 2009 season, but I’ll settle for this sentence and move on to more important things. When healthy, Chris Carpenter is a perennial Cy Young candidate. 2009 was no different, as he posted the lowest ERA of his career, 2.24. But his injury history doesn’t give one a lot of confidence he can stay on the mound. He made 13 starts in 2002 before being lost for the season and then missing all of 2003. He pitched well from 2004-2006, but then missed virtually all of 2007 and 2008 with injuries. A healthy starter makes about 32 starts a year and since 2002, Carpenter has made just 54% of his possible starts.
Most Important Player: Matt Holliday, OF
Don’t get me started on this contract. 7 years, $120 million? Really? For Matt Holliday? When no one else was really bidding? When the guys has exactly 1/2 season of quality play outside of Coors Field? You think he’s going to be worth $17 million in 2016 when he’s 36? Don’t get me wrong, Holliday is a nice player, certainly worth some money. But there’s no way I’m going over 5 years, $70 million for him, especially when the priority should be to re-sign Pujols to a lifetime deal. He’s the most important player on this team because he has to live up to that contract by being a quality 2nd option to Pujols in that line-up, much like Jeff Kent used to be for Barry Bonds.
Best Newcomer: Brad Penny, SP
Will Penny follow Joel Pinero, Kyle Lohse and John Smoltz (among many others) as mediocre/over-the-hill pitchers that suddenly get awesome once Dave Duncan gets a hold of them? My guess is yes.
2. Milwaukee Brewers (NL Ranks: 6th Best Line-Up, 7th best rotation) [...]
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March 3, 2010
Another Sixers loss likely. The question really is by how much.
After the game the questions will be who blames who and for what. At what point will the players stop letting the coach beat them them down to the media and start to fire back? Will Ed Stefanski do or say anything publicly the rest of the season?
Chances are if we get blown out Jordan will go to his post game insult file and the players will act like he isn’t directly taking shots at them. As much as I like players taking the high road, at some point someone has to say something. If for no other reason than to show they actually give a crap to defend his teammates.
No Brand tonight so it will be interesting to watch the Josh Smith vs. Thad matchup.
This is your game thread. [...]
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March 3, 2010
First and foremost the Sixers still sucks. The players, the coaches, the GMs and ownership.
Now that we got that out of the way three things to talk about.
1. Iverson is Gone
It’s official, Allen Iverson is done for the season and his career as a 76er is over.
“After discussing the situation with Allen, we have come to the conclusion that he will not return to the Sixers for the remainder of the season, as he no longer wishes to be a distraction to the organization and teammates that he loves very deeply. It has been very difficult for Allen and the team to maintain any consistency as he tries to balance his career with his personal life.” ~ Ed Stefanski
The word is the Sixers wanted this to happen and might have gave A.I. a little gentle shove in this direction. Whatever. He wasn’t just outright released and is still getting paid.
Only thing that matters is that his daughter gets well and he gets a proper 76ers retirement when the time comes.
This is good for the Sixers scouting people, our future coach and future GM. One less veteran to take minutes from young players that need to be on the court for development and evaluation.
2. Elton Brand is Broke – AGAIN
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March 2, 2010
Expecting another loss tonight for the Sixers. This is so depressing. I wouldn’t mind it at all if I wasn’t blogging about the team, but having to write something every game has become drudgery and very unpleasant.
Brand has a calf strain so expect him to either miss the game or play quite horribly. Still no Iverson or any word related to Iverson’s return.
The Sixers are now 6 and a half games out of the 8th playoff seed with 24 games to play. More importantly, the Sixers are only 5 games out of the 3rd worst record in the league.
To that end I hope Brand doesn’t play. I’d also like to see Speights and Jason Smith get forced playing time so they can be evaluated more thoroughly.
This is your game thread. [...]
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March 1, 2010
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