Phightins

You ready Kyle????

This winter, the Phillies have signed 2 of the top 4 overall picks from the 1997 draft (Matt Anderson and Jason Grilli) to minor league deals. Funny, since the Phillies had the #2 overall pick that year, and the gentleman they selected never played here ([expletive] you JD).

Millwood supposedly wants $5 million (I'd imagine he will take the Yankees to the bank now more than ever). If I were a Yankee fan I'd want them to tell him to [expletive] off and give some kid a shot.

Revising my wish-list Opening Day roster... Rotation: 1. Roy Halladay 2. Cliff Lee 3. Roy Oswalt 4. Cole Hamels 5. Joe Blanton Closer: Brad Lidge Setup: Ryan Madson LOOGY: JC Romero Middle Relief (LHP): Antonio Bastardo Middle Relief (RHP): Justin De Fratus Long Relief: Kyle Kendrick Lineup: 1. CF Shane Victorino 2. 2B Chase Utley 3. 3B Placido Polanco 4. 1B Ryan Howard 5. RF Domonic Brown 6. SS Jimmy Rollins 7. LF Raul Ibanez/Ben Francisco 8. C Carlos Ruiz Bench: C Brian Schneider 1B/OF Ross Gload OF John Mayberry Jr. IF Wilson Valdez IF/OF Delwyn Young I have become convinced that Domonic Brown needs to be the every day RFer. I have also become convinced that Joe Blanton needs to be on this team, unless somebody offers to take his entire contract or close to it (if the Yankees don't, I don't think anybody will). The other two changes I made...I have Raul Ibanez and Ben Francisco platooning in LF (I think this will almost certainly happen) and I have Justin De Fratus in the bullpen (bound to happen at some point, kid is filthy). This calls for Danys Baez being released, which I doubt happens. So either De Fratus starts in AAA or the Phillies carry an extra relief pitcher and one less bench guy (kind of pointless when 7 innings from the starter is almost guaranteed every night). I would love to see De Fratus on the team one way or the other though.

Word is that the Flyers may be interested in bringing back Ray Emery. Darren Dreger reports that the Flyers, Ducks, and a "mystery team" all have interest. Believe it or not, I'd welcome him back with open arms on a 2-way contract. I am just not sure where he'd fit. Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher in the NHL, Michael Leighton and Johan Backlund in the AHL, and Nic Riopel and Brian Stewart in the ECHL. No matter where Razor goes, he will probably start in the AHL to prove he is healthy and ready to play again. I am wondering if the Flyers will offer him a 2-way deal for this year with a guaranteed NHL spot for next year. Boucher will be a free agent and there is no other clear backup in house. A Bobrovsky/Emery combo for next year (provided Emery is healthy and strong) would be solid. I know he has talked about how much he enjoyed his time here, but I just figured there was no chance it happens. But I guess they are legitimately looking into it.

Joe Blanton is avail.

I know it was against the Nets, but that was a very nice win. Have to pick these wins up with the schedule getting much tougher soon.

I am willing to give him a chance. He was supposedly a hell of an o-line coach (although I am not sure how that translates to d-coordinator, but whatever). The Eagles know more about this guy than any fan or media member, and they clearly took long enough to make the decision. So, as weird as this is, he gets a chance. The puzzling part is that this took so long to happen. When it stretched into this week, everyone assumed they were waiting for a coach from the Packers or Steelers. So for them to go ahead and name somebody from within the organization is kind of weird. Also, Howard Mudd (supposedly one of the best in the business) will take over as o-line coach.

Juan Castillo (former O-line coach) named defensive coordinator. ....Wut? My favorite part is that they took so long to announce that they were filling the vacancy in house. Oh Eagles, never change.

All we got here today was freezing rain. And now it is starting to heat up, so there is a lot of snow from last week melting. Roads are a mess. My street is basically a lake.

Meh. The $10 tickets are nice (and the price for my season tickets is $15/ticket), but there aren't many of those. The rest are pretty overpriced. And if you show up on the day of the game and attempt to buy a ticket at the box office, they will screw you hardcore. They will say they don't have any $10 or $15 tickets available and force you to buy a much more expensive ticket, then you get inside and the entire upper level is empty.

Really hope the Flyers don't get the Lightning in the postseason. Awful matchup.

Haha, basically. Maybe I am really weird, but I love snow as long as I don't have to go anywhere. And I don't mind shoveling either. Driving in the aftermath is fine also, the problem is the other drivers who go into full-on panic/idiot mode at the first sign of snow.

But I guarantee you nobody in camp can execute the towel drill like he can.

Mark Prior!

Sounds like Chad Durbin will not be coming back. Kind of bittersweet. He's been very reliable for the past 3 years and still appears to be a solid pitcher, so it sucks in that regard. Supposedly he is looking for a multi year deal, so I am totally cool with the Phillies moving on. I could easily see Durbin turning into Chan Ho Park 2.0. The good news is that this almost certainly means Justin DeFratus will get a long look in spring training. I am incredibly excited about him.

Lol the new arena has been open for 15 years. But yes, this had to be done. Many great memories in that building but the property is too valuable.

Weekly occurrence this year. I love snow, but this is starting to get annoying. I liked it more in high school, but now that I actually need to get into the city every day, I am not a huge fan. This one hasn't hit us yet, although it is coming. It is freezing and cloudy. My car was covered in ice this morning.

Pics from The 700 Level http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g96/philsphan1210/6a00d83451af4b69e20147e231c874970b-500wi.jpg http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g96/philsphan1210/6a00d83451af4b69e20148c83afd47970c-500wi.jpg http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g96/philsphan1210/6a00d83451af4b69e20148c83af4ea970c-500wi.jpg

Then maybe we will all leave and let you have the entire forum to yourself. Should make for some great conversation, eh?

This team becomes less likable every day.

1. MLB Opening Day 2. NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 3. Any game I have tickets to (any sport, but in this order: MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL, followed by whatever else) 4. March Madness 5. College Bowl Season 6. MLB Playoffs 7. Winter Olympic hockey (I do not care much for any other Olympic sport, to be honest) 8. I guess the Super Bowl

Sweet. Would be a 5 game winning streak if not for that debacle on Friday.

Haha yeah we noticed that also. Pretty funny. But overall it looked like the Hurricanes did a great job hosting (most people who were there have said the same thing).

Team Lidstrom wins 11-10. Patrick Sharp is MVP.