The Philly Sports Blog

Here are some rumors:

A team source says the Phils are prepared to dish out at least $75 million over five seasons for Soriano, who hit .277 with a career-high 46 homers, 95 RBIs and 41 steals last season for the Washington Nationals, most out of the leadoff position.

If the Phils land Soriano, their next move would be dealing left fielder Pat Burrell, who has two seasons and $27 million remaining on a $50 million contract that includes a no-trade provision.

In a meeting late this summer with general manager Pat Gillick and assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr., Burrell was forewarned that the team wants to move him and asked to provide a list of places he'd go, the team source said.

Dealing Burrell to Arizona for catcher Johnny Estrada is a possibility.

The Phils prefer a major upgrade in left field because they want better lineup protection for first baseman Ryan Howard, who led the majors with 58 homers in 2006.

-from Phillyburbs.com

I was planning on writing about the Eagles wonderful effort today, but alas, I could not find any motivation. Sound familiar?

I was offered free tickets to the Hershey Bears hockey game on Saturday night, and oh boy am I glad that I took them. On Saturday night, in the Giant Center in Hershey, I saw a wonderfully played game by the Washington Capitals AHL team, the Hershey Bears, and they played a wonderful game! I go to my in-laws house to pick up my kids after, and am notified by my father-in-law that the Flyers lost 8-2. 8-2! After I my wife and I get home and put the kids to bed, I rush to my computer to look at the Box Score of the game. I didn’t look pretty.

Thankfully, or maybe unthankfully in this case, my parents have Comcast with On Demand, and I was able to relax at their house and scan through the game Sunday afternoon. I did watch the 1^st period and they looked great! Besides a few bad bounces, they played a strong first period. After that, I watched for about 15 minutes and then decided to scan through the rest of the game.

Pathetic!

That’s all that came to my mind while watching the rest of the game. How could a team that played so well against the #2 team in the East two days earlier and then look so good in the first period of this game just deflate in the second and third? Is it lack of leadership from the Captain and Alternate Captains? Are the Veterans not stepping up like they should? Interim GM Holmgren has a lot on his plate. He’s already made some calls and has his finger on the trigger for a trade or two, but he’s going to wait, and wisely I might add, to see if this team will pick itself up or if not, he will need to make trades.

I’ll stock pile some trade rumors, who doesn’t love reading those, and post some over the next few days. Hopefully tonight the Flyers will play a bang up game against the banged up Blackhawks and we can deflect the trade talk for a few more games.

Sixers start their season on Wednesday at the ‘Cove against Atlanta. Will I watch the game? Unless I’m at my in-laws, I probably will not. The Sixers haven’t excited me in a while. They can be a very offensive team, but their defense leave’s a horrid taste in my mouth. Coach Cheek’s has tried to instill in this team a nice Defensive System, but let’s face it, this team is built to score, not defend and since they can’t defend, the only way for them to win is to outscore the opposition, and when you have a horrible defense, as the season goes on, the offence gets warn down quickly. And lets face it, the offence lives and dies with Allen Iverson. Only when he’s out does this team understand that it needs to rely on defense, because they don’t have the offense to out score their opponents.

Predictions:

What do I see this team doing? I don’t see them winning any more than 35 games. This is the same team as last year and then they only won 38. Iverson and Webber are getting older and while they will perform well, don’t be surprised if they slow down a bit this year.

If my predictions of a sub-par season come true, don’t be surprised to see some trades. Chances of trade:

Iverson: They really tried to move him this past off season, but alas, were unable to work anything out. I don’t see them moving him during the season. 30%

Webber: Has two years left to his ridiculously high contract. He’s not getting any younger and his play is starting to decline. Rumor had it that the Sixers tried to trade him to the Knicks in August, but it fell through. There are not suiters for him now, maybe in the off season, but I don’t see anyone desperate enough to take him now. 20%

Korver: Young, can hit the three, though when it comes to defense, not a lot there. For the right price, could go to a contender who needs some outside help. 50%

Iguodala: This guy has the potential to be a superstar or to be a sixth man. Fearless on either side of the court. If the Sixers do have a fire sale, don’t look for them to trade him. He is some one to build around. 0.1%

Green: Before his injury last season, he too could have been someone to build around. But this season is the test. If he gets off to a good start, and a fire sale occurs, look for him to stay, but if the price is right, don’t be surprised if he goes. 60%

Dalembert: Big man who can play a big game, or a big hide. Two years ago in the playoffs, he stepped up BIG TIME and earned himself and nice contract. But since, he has been inconsistent. Part of the Sixers success lies on his shoulders this season. If he steps up, he’s not going anywhere, if he doesn’t, look for him on the trade market. 50%

That’s all I’m going into for now. I'll update my thoughts on the Sixers at least once a week while the season is on. Check back soon!

Steven's first game behind the Flyers Bench turned out to be a winner! A 3-2 Shootout win for the Flyers, knocking off the Number 2 team in the East. This was a great game and hopefully a stepping stone on their way up the standings.

Forsberg looked very good last night. He had that sweet Powerplay goal in the 3rd and gave the Flyers their 2nd goal in the shootout. The Captain played like a captain last night.

Gagne, what was he thinking when they had that 3-1 in the second? Forget trying to get Ruzicka his first NHL goal...there are over 70 games left...worry about his one first! But he did redeem himself in the shootout by starting it all off with a pretty goal.

I was very impressed with the special teams last night. The Penalty Kill looked very good and the Powerplay scored, and that's all that matters there. I hope the Flyers are on the right track, and I hope they turned the corner last night. I still think they need to get a good speedy defenseman, and I don't know if they will be able to this season. If they do this season, they should make the playoffs, not much more. With the current D now? Let's just say I won't hold my breath and lets also hope I'm wrong.

Hopefully I'll post some time this weekend about the Sixers...Don't worry, I didn't forget about them, thought with all indications I'm getting from them so far, I think I will be wishing I did.

If the following rumor is true, oh god this will be a long season. Brochu is reporting that Holmgren is in talks with Jason Allison. That's right, the slow as molasas, Jason Allison. Jason is looking for a contract in the $3 Million a year range. Not worth it!! The only way I'd take Jason is if he agreed to play for the league minimum...but he won't do that. If Holmgren signs Allison, his first job as a GM will be short lived, or at least I hope so.

Another rumor Brochu posted is a trade with Phoenix sending Robert Esche for Mike Comrie and Keith Yandle. I think Esche got the short end of the stick with Hitchcock and I'd like to see him play a bit more under Stevens before they do anything rash. Comrie is a speedy Centerman, made just right for the new NHL, but the Flyers have to many Centers as it is. Keith Yandle is a very talented Defensemen for Phoenix. You can read more about him here. If they do pull the trigger on this deal, it might be a good one and give their D some more speed.

What a weekend...or more specifically, what a Sunday! Sunday starts off like any other day, but starting as early as 8am, there was chatter on the internet that the Flyers did the unthinkable. Bobby Clarke resigns and Ken Hitchcock is fired. Shocking, exciting and mind numbing all at the same time. Rumors have circulated since Snyder's tirade last week that Clarke and Hitchcock's jobs were in trouble, but most people thought it was just smoke, and no real fuel to it. Little did we all know that Clarke has been thinking about resigning for almost TWO WEEKS! If you look back at the past few months, you could tell Clarke wasn't full hearted into everything.

Unfortunately for Hitchcock, he was tied to Clarke and when he stepped down, Hitchcock was gone too. Hitchcock is not a bad coach...far from it. If you look at his all time record, 408-249-100 in the regular season and 66-51 in the playoffs, you can see he can coach and bring in the wins, but it's obvious that he lost this team, and with Clarke gone, there wasn't anyone to fight for him.

What's happening now? With Holmgren in as Interim GM and Stevens the new Head Coach, don't expect to many changes. Steven's will keep Hitch's systems, but the big difference being the players seem to respect him more, so hopefully he can motivate them and get them to play at an NHL level where Hitch couldn't. As for Holmgren, it will be interesting to see what he does between now and the end of the season.

Will Holmgren and Steven's be back next year? Snyder will look into that at the end of next year. There are two that are rumored to be the front runners already, one is Holmgren, and the other is King's Assistant GM and form Flyer Goalie Ron Hextall. We'll see after this season is over. As for Steven's, it depends on this team. If he can get this team playing at the level they should, he deserves to be back. But we'll have to wait and see.

Now onto the Eagles...

Can these guys please show up for the first half just once?! And if they do, please stay around for the entire 2nd half?! This team should easily be 7-0, but with their three loses, they decided not to show up in the 4th quarter, and the last two games, the didn't show up in the first half, came out in the second half to take over the game to fall asleep in the end of the fourth.

Also, the offence couldn't hang onto the ball. Three times McNabb was intercepted and two of those were returned for touchdowns. Take those two interceptions away, Eagles win at least 21 - 6. McNabb will bounce back from this, but the Eagles young receivers need to learn to protect the ball. Defenders in the NFL not only go for the tackle, but the ball at the same time. Need to step it up guys!

Andy Reid had a team meeting this morning to discuss this and other issues. Let's hope the show up next week...for the whole game.

A bit of Phillies news...

In a shock to me, the Phillies signed Jamie Moyer to a two year contract. I couldn't be more excited. I really thought that Jamie would either retire or leave to go back to Seattle. Thankfully he didn't and the Phillies will definitely benefit from it!

Flyers had a MAJOR shake-up today. Clarke and Hitchcock are out, Holmgren and Stevens are in. I'll write more on this tomorrow. For now, check out www.philadelphiaflyers.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SUNRISE, Fla. - Olli Jokinen scored the game-winning goal late in the second period and the Florida Panthers beat the Flyers, 3-2, tonight, the Flyers' fifth consecutive loss.

Ed Belfour had 25 saves for the Panthers, who started the season 4-0 at home for the first time since 1995-96, when they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Jozef Stumpel and Juraj Kolnik also scored for Florida.

Simon Gagne had two goals for the Flyers, who last lost five straight from March 28 to April 4, 2002. Goalie Antero Niittymaki stopped 23 shots.

Mike Van Ryn passed across the ice to Jokinen, whose shot from the right of the crease got past Niittymaki's glove with 1 minute, 43 seconds remaining in the middle period to break a 2-2 tie.

Gagne's second goal came 6:38 into the second period after a shot by Sami Kapanen was blocked by Belfour. Gagne got the rebound and poked the puck into the net to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead.

The Panthers tied it 34 seconds later when Kolnik's shot from the top of the right circle beat Niittymaki on the glove side.

The Panthers scored on their first shot on goal. During a Flyers power play, Stumpel picked up a loose puck at center ice, and his shot from the slot went through Niittymaki's legs for a short-handed goal 2:01 into the game.

The Flyers tied it at 1 at 16:45 of the period when Mike Knuble passed across the front of the crease to Gagne on the right side and he put the pack past Belfour on the glove side.

Pat Gillick wants Pat Burrell gone. Oh, he won't come out and say it, he can't, but if you read between the lines, you can definitely tell Burrell's days playing left field in red pinstrips are over.

"We're going to have to continue to look for a little more offense," Pat Gillick said. "We know that at this point, Pat has had a difficult time protecting [Ryan] Howard. We're going to have to continue to have to make an adjustment in that area. And naturally, we're going to have to continue to improve our pitching."

That statement and the fact that Pat tried to move Burrell this past season before the trade deadline shows you that Burrell is gone. Now Pat just needs to find a buyer. The market for Burrell is slim and his huge contract makes it slimmer. Pat is an average fielder and shows flashes of power at the plate. Many speculate that his inconsistent power is due to injury and having to play out in the field. If that is true, then that cuts almost all NL teams. The only NL teams that would consider him are those that are most desperate, and I really don't see any out there like that. So that leaves only AL teams.

People believe the Phillies had a trade lined up that would have sent Burrell to Baltimore in exchange for starting pitching, but Burrell, and his wonderful No-Trade Clause, rejected that. That deal might still stand, and the prospects of riding the bench or DHing every day might change his mind. The other usual suspects are the Yankees that there infinite wallets, and the Red Sox.

I can't see the Yankees. They have Matsui in LF, the only position Pat can play, and Giambi in DH. Unless the Yanks trade Matsui to the Phils, not happening, or they trade Giambi, not happening either, there is no reason for him to go to New York.

That leave the Red Sox. Ortiz is DH, so that isn't an option. That leaves LF. Now, you're thinking, they have Manny, Burrell isn't an improvement there. Right, but Manny, being Manny, for the past few offseasons has moaned about wanting out. Manny and Manuel have a very good Manager/Player relationship from back in Cleveland and Manny and Pat make almost the same salaries...the Phils would need to pick up more since Manny makes more, but Manny would be an upgrade and would be PERFECT protection for Ryan Howard. Pat in Boston would be a fresh start and with the smaller LF, he wouldn't be a defensive liability.

Will this happen? I doubt it. I put the odds on Pat not being a Phillie next season at about 65%. It Gillick can make a deal, it will be made, but the options are small. If Burrell isn't traded, look for the Phillies to trade Rowand. With the wonderful play of Victorino, and highly touted prospects Michael Bourn and Chris Roberson making strides this past season, Rowand has become expendable, especially if he can bring them a good starter or a top set-up man.

With the Flyers putting three players, Petr Nedved, Niko Dimitrakos and Nolan Baumgartner, on and clearing waivers, there are still rumors floating that Flyers Management is not yet done. Flyers chairman, Ed Snider, went on the record after their embarrassing 9-1 lost to Buffalo on Tuesday as saying:

"We have a lot more to do," Snider said. "I've got to evaluate and analyze the entire situation. This is just a start. I need a complete understanding of exactly what's going on. I have no idea what's going to happen next and I don't want to speculate as to what I'm going to do. But this is a start. I've got to evaluate this. I have ideas and theories, but I'm going to straighten this out.

"We started right after the game last night in determining what we have to do and waiving these three players, but this is only a minimal start."

So what does the mean? Expect GM Bobby Clarke and Head Coach Ken Hitchcock to be on a tight leash in the next few weeks. It was Clarke's moves this past summer that weakened this Flyers team, and expect him to make more changes (trade Esche or Umberger or both for D men?) in the coming weeks.