It's Almost Baseball Season...kind of

Brand New Padres Outfield (NY Post)

We are about two months away from baseball season and there have been a number of offseason moves that will impact Major League Baseball. From the likes of Jon Lester to the Cubs, Max Scherzer to the Nationals, this season will be quite an interesting one. Our hometown Phillies will likely still be one of the bottom feeders as it is probably time to blow that team up as they began to with trading Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd. They still have a decent one, two punch with Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee in the rotation, but the offense will probably struggle this year. With that being said, other than the Phillies it’s time to take a look at a few teams who made big moves this offseason.

Public Relations and Rebuilding: Phillies vs. Sixers

Sam Hinkie, 76ers GM (Philly.com)

As we sit a little over a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting and near the halfway point of the NBA season, the Sixers and the Phillies each find their respective immediate futures rather bleak. The Sixers sit at 7-30 as of Wednesday morning, and winter projections have the Phillies trending further below their 73-89 record from a season ago.


Despite the current mutual futility, it feels as if the Sixers are closer to a significant upswing than their neighbors across the street. Part of this feeling stems to some degree from the honesty and public relations savvy with which the respective managements have approach the rebuilds.

Well Worth the Investment: Roberto Hernandez

Newly Acquired SP/RP Roberto Hernandez

On December 18, 2013 it was reported that the Phillies were indeed inking Roberto Hernandez to a 1 year deal with a base salary of $4.5 million.  Included in the deal, are several incentives of varying amounts based off the amount of innings pitched by Roberto in 2014.  Hernandez was coming off a rather poor 2013 with the Tampa Bay Rays, turning in a 4.89 ERA at seasons end.  What he did provide the Rays with was innings every 5th day in the rotation.  This kind of pitcher was sorely missed on the 2013 Phillies' squad.  Going along with Bert's ability to eat up innings all year, he has a very healthy career 57.1% ground-ball rate, a stat that plays well within the confines of hitter friendly CBP.  I'd say the Phillies' front office realized that information, along with the fact the NL and more specifically the NL East is a much easier league & division to pitch in, and decided that Hernandez was their man for the 5th spot in the 2014 rotation.  

What the Phillies? The Scoop on this Year's Draft

7th overall pick of the Philadelphia Phillies, Aaron Nola

Last Thursday the 2014 First-Year Player Draft started with two rounds that night followed by 3-10 on Friday, concluding with rounds 11-40 on Saturday. The MLB draft differs from the NFL and NBA and to an extent the NHL in the sense that the majority of first round picks don't stroll on to the stage for everyone watching to see their excitement filled faces. For most, not seeing the face of the draft pick that their team is getting puts a damper on the casual fan's desire to view the draft.  On top of that is the fact in most cases baseball players aren't bursting on to the scene immediately after they are drafted like in the NFL and NBA.  NHL prospects sometimes take longer to reach the big club too, but not as long as most MLB prospects. 

Blocking The Plate - Do You Know What This Means?

Tony Gwynn Jr. meets Jeff Mathis at the dish, for a little more than dinner

  I thought I did, but after watching this play unfold in the Sunday afternoon Marlins, Phillies game I was left perplexed by the new rule blocking the plate rule implemented by MLB.  When the rule was first announced and explained to me via MLB Network, I have to admit I didn't know what the foul ball they were talking about. From the get go it seemed like a whole lot of gray area added to a play that was clean cut before the rule came about.  You either blocked the plate and got ran over, or you blocked the plate and got ran over.  If you are unfamiliar with the new rule, here it is, in that same article, veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski was outright about his displeasure with the new rule.

Words of Wisdom from Phillies College Media Night

By Ellen J. Staurowsky, Professor, Drexel Sport Management

Recently the SMTSU Sports Complex introduced a new segment focusing on professional development advice from mentors and advisors.   The purpose of the segment is to “bring insight to anyone . . . looking for a little 'boost' if they are down or courage to keep on moving”. 

Opening Week: Phillies Edition

 Dust off those Phillies shirseys (shirt-jersey) and jerseys you thought you wouldn't be using this year, the Phillies are 1-0 and started this year off with an unexpected offensive explosion in today's most exciting opening game.  If you predicted two touch downs by the Phillies in their opening game vs. the Texas Rangers today then head to your nearest lottery ticket provider immediately.  Seen as one of the club's bigger question marks entering the season, the offense looked like a well oiled machine today posting a whopping 14 runs out scoring the Rangers 10.  Since 2011 the Phillies offense has been sputtering, dropping all the way to 26 of 30 last year at just 3.77 runs per game. If you clicked on that link, take note of the four teams under the Phillies for the 2013 season...not pretty.  Anyways, they lead the league so far this year with 14 runs per game and finally the team's key contributors on offense are all fully healthy.  While today's outburst was terrific, consistency is a must if this team wishes to make some noise one last time.  Lets take a look at some of the highlights from today's game.

Under Further Review: Phillies Extend TV Deal with Comcast

In 2014, there is no greater flex of the muscle for a Major League Baseball team than the size of their local television contract. The New York Yankees set the bar high with the creation of their very own network in the YES Network. Then this past year, the Los Angeles Dodgers inked a massive deal with Fox Sports for a reported 25 years and $8.5 billion. And that was coming out of bankruptcy (Dodgers get to keep $6 billion under the court agreement) and a new ownership group. The Seattle Mariners and Root Sports set a very solid number for the mid-market teams at $115 million per year.

This time it was the Philadelphia Phillies' turn to step up to the plate and negotiate their local television home run. By the initial looks of it, they may have hit this one out of the park.

Phillies Offseason Outlook

Carlos Ruiz (2008).

Long List of Needs

Ruben Amaro Jr. and company have their work cut out for them as the free agent season starts to heat up in the MLB.  With the "Winter Meetings" underway in sunny Florida, the Phillies' front office is beginning to sculpt their plan for improvement.  Just a few years ago the club may have only needed to upgrade at one or two positions.  Now, heading into 2014, the team has a handful of positional and team needs, complicating how the front office plans to improve the team.  This list includes the following:

For the Second Straight Year: Phillies fans having bad deja vu

For The Second Straight Year...

Closer for the Phillies, Johnathan Papelbon.

 ...the Philadelphia Phillies phailed to make the Playoffs or play well enough to post a record above .500.  In 2012, they finished right at the mark going 81-81. This year they finished with a 73-89 record, good for 7th worst in the majors.   Sunday September 29th, marked the last game for the Phillies, which they lost... sort of.  On the field they did lose the game, off the field the organization got a small victory that day for the team's poor play over the last week over the season.  That victory: drafting 7th overall in next year's draft.  That player will not be playing in the MLB next year, and maybe not even the year after that, but the future will improve.

MLB Opening Day: Philadelphia Counting on Phillies

It’s finally April, and April doesn’t only bring showers. It beings the beginning of Major League Baseball. It’s been a rough year for Philadelphia sports teams in the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013, but the Phillies could be the glimmer of hope for Philadelphia sports fans and the city itself. The Eagles have cleaned house and are picking top five in this years draft, the 76ers are a measly 30-43 right now, and the Flyers are sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic Division. Philadelphia Sports fans have had a rough 2012 and 2013 so far.