Eagles Training Camp Preview

Well, this week the Eagles start arriving at Lehigh University for the start of training camp, so I figured it was only fitting that I do my first preview of the upcoming season. The first major concern is the fact that the Eagles still haven’t signed first round draft pick Jeremy Maclin. Normally, this would be big news, but the simple fact is that not many of the first round draft picks are signed for any of the teams. As I explained in my post regarding Donovan McNabb’s new deal, the current collective bargaining agreement allows for an uncapped salary year in 2010-11. Many of these first round picks are reportedly trying to see if they can actually get shorter term deals so that they can then capitalize if there is an uncapped year.

This brings me to the first thing to look for in camp – when does Maclin report. We all remember the great rookie season that DeSean Jackson had last year. One of the things that many Eagles fans know all to well is how complicated the Eagles offense is and how the coaching staff is reluctant to use rookies, especially rookie receivers, for that very reason. Every day of camp that Maclin misses will put him further behind in the learning curve and more in the coaches dog house. In my opinion, if he’s not signed and in camp by the end of the week, I think it spells trouble for the Eagles rookie receiver.

Ad for what else I’ll be looking for, one of the biggest positions that concerns me ironically is running back. Those of you who know me know that Brian Westbrook is one of my favorite players (Go Nova!). Unfortunately, I think that Brian is starting on the down side of his career as running backs notoriously age the quickest due to the repeated pounding that their bodies take. The problem then becomes the depth, or lack thereof, at running back. I really like the drafting of LeSean McCoy, but it remains to be seen how he will transition to a pro offense where he is asked to pick up blitzes, something he was not asked to do in college. As for their other back up, Lorenzo Booker, I am less than impressed.

So at the running back position, there are two things to look for as training camp progresses. First is how much Brian Westbrook is participating in practices. I seriously doubt he will play in any preseason games, and I actually hope he doesn’t for risk of injury, but he should be involved in the practices at some point. Once the season starts, I doubt he will participate in practices at all, but given the fact that there are some new players on the offensive line, I would hope he would get some work in with them before the season starts. The second thing to look for is how the coaching staff feels that the two backups are doing. The way you will know that is by whether or not you hear talk of them bringing in a veteran running back to help out. That will mean that they do not have confidence in McCoy and Booker to do what they want, especially in their pass blocking schemes.

The final thing I will be looking for (or listening for) is the one player I am most anxious to see and I think could provide the biggest contribution as a rookie. That player is Cornelius Ingram – tight end out of Florida. It has been some time since the Eagles have had some regular contribution out of the tight end position. Early in McNabb’s career, he loved to go to his safety valve in Chad Lewis. The Eagles drafted LJ Smith to be that next player, but he never quite panned out to have that connection with McNabb and in my opinion, was a major disappointment. I think Ingram has a chance to be a great addition to the Eagles. As I said when they drafted him, a lot depends on how well he rebounds from an ACL injury he had his last year at Florida, which is why I am so anxious to see how he performs. If he turns out to be completely healthy, I expect great things from him and his jersey might be the next addition to my closet.

Well those are just a few things I’ll be looking for during the Eagles training camp. As the preseason starts, I’ll give more thoughts.

The Tale of Two Pitchers

Tonight the Phillies start the second half of the season against the Florida Marlins. As they come out of the All-Star break, they enjoy a 4 game lead on those same Marlins, so obviously this four game series becomes an important start to the second half. However, that is not the big story for the Phillies this week. Instead, it is the news and rumors surrounding the Phillies pitching staff that is the real big news of the week.

Ever since Brett Myers went down with an injury earlier this year, the Phillies have been looking for another starter to fill out the rotation. So far, they have tried Kyle Kendrick, Antonio Bastardo and Rodrigo Lopez. Kendrick was a disaster. Bastardo started out well, but eventually the league caught on to him. Finally, I’m worried about Lopez’s durability. In only his second start, he had shoulder soreness and had to leave the game early.

That brings me to the news of the week. As had been rumored for a few weeks, the Phillies announced yesterday that they signed three time Cy Young award winner Pedro Martinez. Let me state right off the bat that when this rumor first came out, I thought it was a horrible idea. Pedro is now 38 years old and in his last few years with the Mets, he had struggled to get through five innings of work. While I really like Jamie Moyer, that is usually all he can pitch as well. Occasionally, Jamie will get into the 7th inning, but that is the exception, not the rule. If you already have one pitcher who is regularly going to demand 3-4 innings out of your bullpen, can you really afford to add another like him? For that reason, I have reservations about Pedro. (Of course as I write this, Jamie Moyer pitched 7 innings of scoreless, 1 hit ball against the Marlins tonight.)

All that being said, I have to give Reuben Amaro some props on this move. The Phillies only signed him to a one year deal worth the small sum of $1 million. In other words, the Phillies are taking very little risk in this deal. If Pedro somehow finds the fountain of youth, he will be a steal. If he turns out to be an old washed up pitcher, they have not risked that much and can easily release him.

However, I hope that the Phillies do not assume that their search for another starting pitcher is over now that they have signed Pedro. While everyone remembers the domination that was Cole Hamels in last year’s playoffs, easily forgotten is the fact that Brett Myers was a very good pitcher in the post season and he and Hamels were a great 1-2 punch at the beginning of every series. The Phillies currently have no one this year that can fill that role. Which brings me to the real rumors of the last few weeks – Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay.

With the Blue Jays struggling at 2 games under .500 and in 4th place in the tough AL East, they have started shopping their ace pitcher Roy Halladay. This season, Halladay is 10-3 with a 2.85 ERA and 106 strikeouts, compared to 17 walks. If that isn’t enough, Halladay was the starting pitcher for the American League in the All-Star game. It is believed that the Blue Jays are looking for some top prospects in exchange for Halladay. However, Halladay does have a no-trade clause, so the team that trades for him will have to be a contender as Halladay has made it clear he wants to pitch in the post season – one thing he has not done yet.

Enter the Phillies. The Phillies are one of the few contending teams to have a number of top prospects. Some people have suggested that it may take the Phillies trading current starting pitcher J.A. Happ along with minor leaguers Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor. For those of you who don’t know, Kyle Drabek is one of the Phillies top pitching prospects, currently in AA Reading. He was the Phillies first round pick in the 2006 draft. Michael Taylor is an outfielder, who just today was promoted from AA Reading to AAA Lehigh Valley. In Reading, Taylor was batting .333 with 15 HRs and 65 RBIs. There are many fans who say we shouldn’t give up these three players for Halladay.

What do I say? Can I drive them to the airport?

While this trade would give up three potentially good players, that is all they are – potential. Halladay is the real thing. Many people think we need to think about the future, but for the Phillies the future is NOW! Obviously as the reigning World Series champs, the Phillies have a core of a team that is a championship caliber club. Unfortunately, due to free agency and the like, the Phillies may only have three more years with this core until players like Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels hit the free agency market and then it will be unlikely this team stays together. So you may save Drabek, but he may have no offense left when he gets to the majors in a couple years.

Instead, the Phillies have the opportunity to put together a dynamic offense with one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball – Hamels and Halladay. In the post season, if you have two top flight starters, you are really hard to beat in an extended series the way the majors have set up the playoffs. Remember the Diamondbacks of 2001 with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling? The D-backs road those two all the way to a World Series title.

With the current lineup, the Phillies have a chance to do something very special – win multiple titles. Doesn’t this city deserve that? After all those years of heartache, Philadelphia deserves a team that has even a mini-dynasty and wins two or dare I say even three titles. Halladay allows you to honestly think about that possibility for the next two seasons as it should be noted he is signed until the end of next year. Trading for Halladay I believe would make the Phillies the instant favorite to win the National League and maybe the whole thing.

One other thing to consider: when it comes to the National League, the LA Dodgers are clearly the team to beat, but there one weakness is that they do not have that one ace pitcher. They have several good starting pitchers who would be a #2 starter on many squads, but they don’t have that #1 pitcher, like a Cole Hamels. First of all, if the Phillies got Halladay, their starting pitching would get that much better against the Dodgers, but also consider the reverse. What if the Dodgers (or any other contender) traded for Halladay? Do you really want to face him in the post season? Personally, I’d rather see him wearing the red pin stripes than pitching against them.

J-Roll – The Straw that Stirs the Phillies

Well if there was any doubt, this weekend proved that one of the main problems with the Phillies through the month of June was Jimmy Rollins. In fact, the case could be made that he is one of the reasons the Phillies seem to be suffering a bit of a championship hangover this season. He came into this weekend hitting .212, not exactly what you want out of your leadoff hitter.

Fortunately for the fightin’ Phils, the rest of the NL East has been in a bit of a funk as well, especially as they went through inter-league play against the AL East. As a result, the Phillies were still barely holding onto first place in the NL East.

Charlie Manuel had tried a number of things to get Jimmy Rollins going again – from dropping him to sixth in the lineup and even giving him an occasional day off. Most recently, he gave J-Roll off for four games. Initially, it didn’t seem to work as he came out and promptly went 0 for 8 in his first two games back. But then he showed some life in the last game in Atlanta Thursday night as he went 2 for 4.

Going into the weekend series against the Mets, I was anxious to see how the Phillies would respond to coming home after a dreadful stretch which ended with them getting swept by the Braves in Atlanta. They also entered the weekend tied with the Marlins for first place. As I tuned in Friday night, I was especially interested in how the Phillies started off as I thought that would show whether they understood the urgency of the moment. Sure enough, after new pitcher Rodrigo Lopez put the Mets down 1-2-3 in the top of the first, Jimmy Rollins lead off the game for the Phils with a double. That lead to a 3 run first inning and the Phillies cruised to a 7-2 victory over their rivals.

However, it was just a preview of Jimmy Rollins’ weekend. During the series against the Mets, J-Roll went 5 for 11 (AVG of .455) with 2 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 3 walks for an OBP of .571. Perhaps more importantly, he only struck out once the whole weekend. When Jimmy is getting on base, the Phillies just win. I know that the common wisdom is that the critical hitters for the Phillies are Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, but those hitters do not get RBI opportunities if the guys in front of them are not getting on base. If you want more proof, consider this: as I write this, Jimmy Rollins lead off tonight’s game with a walk and that started a huge 10 run first inning in which he also hit a double, drove in a run and scored two runs (all in the first inning).

All this to say, it’s no surprise to me that the Phillies seem to be turning around just as Jimmy Rollins seems to be turning his season around as well, because as Jimmy goes, so go the Phillies.