Wes Helms began his major league career ten years ago, as a member of the Atlanta Braves. He spent the parts of four seasons with the Braves before begin dealt to Milwaukee in a package for reliever Ray King. Given the current Braves needs, could there be a chance Wes might be on his way back to the “Little Apple”?
We can only pray…
Rumor has it the Braves are looking for an experienced bat for the bench, and have a surplus of bullpen arms they are looking to deal. The Phillies have a bench bat in Helms, and are looking for a bullpen arm. It sounds like a match made in heaven. Could there be a trade on the horizon?
In most cases I’d probably say no. Teams rarely trade within the division, especially two teams that are going to fight for the NL East title, but in this instance I can see this happening.
There’s a zero percent change that Helms makes the Phillies out of camp. The choices are to trade him, …
It’s a notable feat for a team to go on a 10-0 run at any point during a game, but when a player goes on a 10-0 run on his own… it’s truly amazing. Andre Iguodala’s abilities as a team leader and genuine Star have been a point of contention in the media and with the fan base his entire career, but last night he figuratively choked his critics and brought back nightmares of Andrew Toney raining jumpers to the horror of Celtics fans.
Trailing by 5 heading into the fourth quarter last night in Boston, the Sixers turned on the jets and outscored the seemingly lackluster Celtics 29-19 to take the win, and more importantly build further on the great momentum they’ve created for themselves.
With the 95-90 victory, the Sixers move ahead of Toronto for the 6th playoff seed, just a game back of Washington for the 5th. And you can thank Andre for that.
With just over 8 minutes left in the game, Eddie House’s3 point jumper put the Celtics up …
Brad Lidge hoped to be ready for Opening Day, but that’s not going to happen. The Phillies placed Lidge on the 15-day disabled list. Given the Phillies are allowed to retro-act Lidge’s placement on the disabled list, the first day he will be available to the Phillies will be on April 5th in Cincinnati.
Although it’s a bummer that Lidge will not be available for Opening Day, starting the season on the disabled list isn’t a bad thing. Lidge isn’t going on the DL due to knee pain. His knee is pain free, so the surgery was successful. Lidge just needs a little more time to build arm strength and to sharpen his slider. Him joining the team in Cincinnati is a realistic option.
It also gives Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee a little more time to sort out the final spots for the bullpen. Given what is available, the Phillies will now probably go with the 11-man pitching staff, meaning Chris Snelling will make the team as a 25th man. Clay Condrey …
Yesterday the Phillies placed Scott Mathieson, Mike Zagurski, and Francisco Rosario all on the 15-day disabled list. Mathierson is recovering from ulner nerve transreposition surgery and Zagurski is recovering from hamstring surgery. Both players have seen no action this spring, and were expected to begin the season in the DL. Rosario was a different story. Diagnosed with a right shoulder strain, there were no prior reports about an injury. This does explain why he hasn’t pitched since March 14th.
Despite his 5.91 ERA this spring, Rosario was one of the favorites to land to the final (or two) spots in the bullpen. He allowed 7 earned runs in 4 appearances, but 6 were in a start on March 14th, the last time he took the mound.
Rosario’s trip to the DL opens the door for Clay Condrey. Condrey is a pitcher who’s never impressed me, but hasn’t had a terrible spring.
Assuming the Phillies carry twelve pitchers, Condrey’s competition is limited. Travis Blackley, JD Durbin, and Vic Darrenbourg would be his primary competition. Given that Blackley and Darrensbourg are …
If you were wondering who that goatee’d pitcher was who got the start against the Twins yesterday, his name is Adam Eaton. Yeah, that same Adam Eaton, who made it a habit to get booed off the mound at Citizen’s Bank Park. That same Adam Eaton, who makes $7 million a season, but was left off the playoff roster. That same Adam Eaton who when he goes on the disabled list, Phillies fans don’t mind.
I think you get my point…
Eaton took the mound in Fort Myers yesterday against the Twins and had his best outing of the spring. Eaton pitched five and a third innings, allowed one run and four hits. He struck out four, and amazingly, walk none. Mark this down as back-to-back good outings for Eaton. In his past two appearances he’s allowed only one run in eight-plus innings (with no walks).
As good as Eaton has looked, I take any positive progress with a grain of salt. Until he can really string something together, he’s always a question mark.
The …
When the Rangers took the ice last night at Wachovia Center, they came to Philadelphia with a seven game winning streak on the Flyers home ice. Their intentions were to keep that streak alive and crush any playoff hopes Philadelphia might have. Regardless of the Rangers intentions, this was a must-win game. When you’re sitting on the bubble of the playoffs, sandwiched between the Bruins and the Sabres by only a point, every game is a must-win. But it’s always a little sweeter when you beat a division foe.
The Flyers started off strong and took an early lead on a Mike Richards goal. They played near flawless hockey the first two periods, playing tight defense and getting shots on goal. Unfortunately the puck couldn’t find it’s way past Rangers goalie Stephen Valiquette.
The score remained 1-0 through the remainder of the first period, and continued into the second.
They entered the third period, where’s they’ve struggled recently, clinging to their one goal lead. The Flyers have fallen asleep in the third period as of late, where they’ve allowed eight goals …
In the Spring of 2008… Pedro Martinez’s dwarf friend will hit Johan Santana in the head with a baseball bat, after the concerned Santana asks him, “Whose your Daddy?”. In turn, Santana misses the rest of the season… two weeks due to the concussion and the remainder of the season because he’s afraid to leave his house.
In the Spring of 2008… Ryan Howard will get off to a record breaking start, hitting 23 home runs and knocking in 73 by April 30th. However, he will not take another at bat for the rest of the season, due to 437 consecutive intentional walks.
In the Spring of 2008… After striking out 32 consecutive times looking to start the season… Pat Burrell finally admits to needing glasses. He finishes the season with a .303 average with 48 home runs and 132 rbi’s, stealing the MVP award from Chase Utley. Asked if the specs had a negative effect on his love life, Burrell replies, “No way man, Giggity! Giggity! Giggity!”
In the Spring of 2008… When …
Brad Lidge was originally scheduled to play in a minor league game against the Yankees yesterday. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate, and the game was rained out. It didn’t stop Lidge from getting some work.
Lidge pitched a “four out” inning in an interquad game against minor leaguers yesterday afternoon. In his first game situation this spring, Lidge retired four of the five batters he faced, striking out three. The only base runner he allowed, Jayson Werth, advanced to first on a six-pitch walk.
Lidge felt no pain, and was happy with the outing:
“There’s nothing better than facing hitters,” said Lidge, who threw 12 of his 19 pitches for strikes. “That was a lot of fun. I was glad to get out there and feel good. I felt a lot better [command-wise], and I think that was because of having actual hitters and being able to lock in with an actual game surrounding.”
Lidge will pitch in a minor league again on Sunday, and see some Grapefruit League action next week. Barring no setback, …
Although the 76ers organization promised they hadn’t made any special plans for Allen Iverson’s much anticipated, first game back to the Wachovia Center, it didn’t matter because the Philadelphia faithful welcomed him as a hero returning home. Iverson graciously received his 50 second standing ovation and kissed the center court during warm-ups. The moments before the game contained a feeling of nostalgia. It was the first time in fifteen months that Iverson set foot on the floor that he so vigorously competed on many times before. This time, A.I. donned a different uniform, and he was here to beat Philadelphia, nostalgia or not. The Sixers knew this, and after tip off, they were all business.
Some of the key elements that allowed the Sixers to come away with a win included the 30 points scored by bench players, along with solid performance by Andre Miller. Miller finished with 28 points, 1 rebound, 12 assists and 1 steal. Not to be outdone in the building he used to call home, …
When the Phillies acquired Chris Snelling from the Rays last November, I figured he was being brought in as a fourth outfielder. Similar to what the Phillies did last season by signing Jayson Werth. Snelling is a guy with a ton of talent, who has never been able to show it because he’s never been able to stay healthy. While I wasn’t real pleased with the possibility of a right field platoon of Werth and Snelling, I figured Pat Gillick had more up his sleeve.
Then the Phillies signed Geoff Jenkins to be Werth’s platoon partner. That made more sense to me. I’d be happy with a Jenkins/Werth platoon, with Snelling assuming the role of a 5th outfielder. Then two days later, the Phillies signed So Taguchi, virtually leaving no spot on the roster for Snelling.
Snelling came into camp aware of the Phillies situation, and also knows he’s out of options, so the Phillies cannot send him to Triple-A without clearing waivers. The Phillies are also aware of this and they value …
Earl Bennett, a junior from Vanderbilt, has apparently caught more than the 236 passes in his three years of college; he has now caught the eye of the Eagles’ personnel department. Listed at 6 feet and 209 lbs., Bennett is expected to be a second round selection. He was an all-Southeastern Conference selection three times and led Vanderbilt in receiving during his entire tenure. The Eagles’ are very interested and are rumored to have requested a personal workout with Bennett. Hopefully, he can make an impact over time unlike draft busts Freddie Mitchell (1st round pick in 2001) and Todd Pinkston (2nd round pick in 2000). That still doesn’t help the immediate receiver need but at least they’re working towards the future.
Bennett ran a 4.48 in the 40 at the scouting combine. He caught 75 passes for 830 yards and 5 touchdowns in his final season. I would prefer someone bigger or that could possibly make an immediate impact like the Detroit Lions’ 2007 first round draft …
From PhillyBurbs:
First base coach Davey Lopes underwent successful prostate cancer surgery at Clearwater’s Morton Plant Hospital. Lopes is expected to make a full recovery and rejoin the Phils sometime in April.
It’s good to hear everything is looking positive with Lopes and his battle with prostate cancer.
On a baseball note, I was talking with some people yesterday about Lopes, and the possible effect of him not being at first base this season.
In his first season as the Phillies first base coach he definitely had a positive impact on Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth. The Phillies set a Major League record in stolen base percentage (87.9%, 138-for-157), and finished second in the NL in stolen bases (138). His base running tutelage helped the Phillies down the stretch. It will be missed if Lopes does miss significant time, but at this point he should return in April.
We miss you Davey and wish you a speedy recovery.
