Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Pink slips and making the cut
Welcome back, Patch readers! This week we'll make out predictions regarding who the Eagles should keep, and who gets a pink slip. Whose bubble will burst? Place your bets! As of this moment of this writing, the Philadelphia Eagles roster stands at 81 players, after cutting WR Gerald Jones, OT Spencer Johnson, DB Jamar Wall, and TE Martell Webb. The fourth and final preseason game is coming up this week, and as history tells us, the starters won't see any playing time. Instead, the backups and bubble players will be featured so the coaching staff can get one last extended look at the players before cutting the roster from 80 to 53. Let's breakdown the team position by position, as we predict who will make the cut. Quarterback: Michael …
Monday, August 15, 2011
A look at the Eagles' first pre-season game
Welcome back, Patch readers! This week, our sole focus will be on the Eagles’ first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. We'll grade out each position and throw in a few notes. Insert witty launch mechanism here! For the past decade, we've heard over and over again how the Eagles’ defensive line would be throwing "fastballs" at defenses, but more often than not, they looked more like knuckleballs, or even slow-pitched softballs. Lengthy is the list of failed defensive line draft picks and free agent acquisitions, so fans had every right to hold their applause when the Birds once again revamped their defensive line. It's time to start a slow clap. If the first preseason game is any indication of what we'll see this season, then it'…
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
A week's-worth look at Philly sports
Welcome back, Patch readers! This week we'll take a look back at some of the prominent stories from the past week, including a red-hot Phillies squad, a long overdue brawl, and Desean Jackson's arrival to training camp. Let's get it started! There's plenty of bad blood between the Phillies and the Giants, dating back to last season when Jonathan Sanchez hit Chase Utley in the back with a fastball. Utley casually tossed the ball back to Sanchez, which resulted in a tense back and forth between the two players. The Giants later ended the Phillies hopes of back-to-back-to-back World Series appearances with a 4-2 series victory over the reigning National League champs in the 2010 NLCS. This season, the Giants came into Citizens Bank Park, and…
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
It's going to be a wild ride until week one of the regular season
Welcome to part two of our special edition of Phour for Phour! With the NFL lockout officially over, nearly five months of trades, acquisitions, and training are now being condensed into a period of a few weeks. Training camp at Lehigh begins tomorrow, and even though free agents can't officially sign contracts with new teams until Friday at 6 p.m., that hasn't stopped anyone from conditionally agreeing to terms in the mean time. It's going to be a wild ride until week one of the regular season, so let's take a look at what has already been accomplished, important milestones and dates, and potential player movement. E-A-G-L-E-S! Coaching Jim Washburn - Defensive Line (replacing Rory Segrest) Washburn is one of the elite defensive line …
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Part one of a two-part column looking at the NFL lockout and the MLB trade deadline
Welcome to a special two-part edition of Phour for Phour! With the NFL lockout officially over, and the MLB trade deadline rapidly approaching, we’ve decided to break our weekly column into two parts. Since NFL player movement won’t begin until tomorrow, let’s take a look at some of the wild trade rumors that surround the Phillies as they close in on Sunday’s trade deadline. Brown and Worley There’s been a bunch of speculation revolving around possibly moving Domonic Brown or Vance Worley in a trade for a right handed bat. I’m here to tell you that moving either player would be a historically bad decision. First, consider the fact that the Phillies are leading the National League in offense during the month of July, averaging just over …
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Flyers Trade Their Captain, Phillies Welcome a New Fan, and Cliff Lee Goes Back to Back
Welcome back to another round of Phour for Phour! This week will take a look at Cliff Lee throwing back to back shutouts, the Flyers making headlines by trading their team captain, and Oswalt being back on the disabled list. We also want to point out that it was "Winner's Weekend" for Patch readers, as five readers who won tickets to a Phillies game got to see Halladay dominate the A's, and another pair of readers watched the Union stink up the first half, only to have them play their best ball of the season in the second. Be on the lookout next week for another pair of free Phillies tickets, but until then, let's get down to business. Game on! The Good Back to Back Cliff Lee seems to have knocked off the rust, as he put together back to …
Monday, June 20, 2011
Hamels Reaches Milestone, Romero Says Goodbye, and Vick Needs A Break
Welcome back to another round of Phour for Phour! This week we'll look at a Hamels hitting a milestone, Romero getting the boot, Oswalt's struggles, and Vick still being protested two years after his release from prison. We're also going to skip a week of ticket giveaways in order to get feedback from the readers. What types of sporting events would you like to attend? Reading Phillies? Lehigh Valley Ironpigs? Philadelphia Union? Or would you like us to continue to give away tickets to Phillies games? Email your suggestions to slavetologic@gmail.com. The Good 1,000 Congratulations to Phillies Ace Cole Hamels for being the third-fastest active pitcher to reach 1,000 strikeouts, behind only Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants and…
Monday, May 23, 2011
We survived the zombie apocalypse, but Phillies' offense are walking dead
Doesn't it feel a bit like Groundhog Day? In our sixth week of Phour for Phour, we're still talking about a Phillies offense which has gone from sluggish, to slump, to historically bad. It also doesn't help that the Phillies are facing a steady stream of playoff teams during this 20-games-in-20-days stretch. Should we panic and pick out our favorite spot on the Walt Whitman? Probably not, but there is legitimate cause for concern. This week we'll take a look at Utley's return, how the Phillies are dropping the ball in their management of Brown, and some questionable decision making by the team in regards to pitching decisions, call ups, and injuries. On the bright side, we narrowly avoid the Zombie Apocalypse, and the Philadelphia (…
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Outdoor Hockey Comes to Philadelphia, the Phillies Continue Their Offensive Woes, and Last Week's Winner Announced
Despite Jimmy Rollins' ninth inning heroics on Wednesday night, it's been an otherwise rough sports week for the Philadelphia fans. Hockey and basketball are in the rearview mirror, football seems like a distant memory, and the Phillies are becoming painful to watch, even when they win. This week, we'll take a look at the excitement outdoor hockey can bring, the Phillies and their continued inability to hit, and the prospects of a stadium for the Flyers minor league club in Allentown. We'll also announce the winner of two free Phillies tickets, and as a new feature, we're adding the Philadelphia Union to our television schedule below. Yes, you've read that correctly. You win, soccer moms. Let's get started! The Good The 2012 Winter …
Monday, April 25, 2011
Phillies pitching continues to dominate as the Flyers and Sixers playoff hopes come back from the dead
Resurrection was the theme on Sunday, as both the Flyers and Sixers gained new life in their respective playoff series. Meanwhile, the Phillies broke out the brooms as Halladay struck out 14 hitters in the finale of a four game sweep of the Padres. In this week’s edition of Phour for Phour, we’ll take an in-depth look at a rollercoaster week of Philadelphia sports, as well as give one lucky reader a free pair of Phillies tickets. The Good - Ville-delphia! After back to back losses to the Sabres, one of which was a heartbreaking overtime loss, the Flyers found themselves facing elimination on Sunday in Buffalo. After the first period, Philadelphia was staring down a two goal deficit, which subsequently led to yet another change at the …
robert peters
1:23 pm on Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Good stuff Keith. Phils offense needs a serious kick in the ass. Hopefully Utley can come back soon and give them a needed boost, but that is off on the horizon. Agreed, schedule is very helpful! more ›