Tough times call for
tough decisions. That's why the Phillies and Sixers need to consult with
the good people at AllStarInc before doing ANYTHING!
While the euphoria
surrounding the return of Chase Utley to the Phillies lineup was met with the
reality of another tough loss Wednesday night, the future still looks bright
for the boys in pinstripes.
How you may ask?
In addition to getting
Utley back, you have Ryan Howard also looming on the horizon...whenever that
may be.
Adding quality players
to the mix also subtracts players of lesser quality. It's a double win.
Meanwhile, the events of
the past three months should prove to the Phillies brass the EXACT reason why
they CANNOT trade Cole Hamels.
Two thirds of the "big
three" have had injury and game struggles this year. Roy Halladay
and Cliff Lee have shown a human side of their career that we haven't seen
before. Whether it's injury or age or whatever other reason, it does
magnify the incredible season Cole Hamels is having.
Cole just keeps getting
better and better.
If the team was not
prepared to compete again anytime soon, I'd THINK about possibly dealing him
for a mega prospect and star studded package. But that's certainly not
the case here.
Even if the Phillies
don't get back to the playoffs this season, they will still be considered one
of the favorites next year with the current cast (even all one year older).
I would anticipate Phils
GM Ruben Amaro making a move very soon to bolster a bullpen that is as solid as
the Titanic. As the team gets more and more healthy, the club will take
care of itself.
My best guess is that
when you see the team start to play their NL East foes head to head in the
coming weeks, you will see some serious gains in the standings.
Across the street from
Citizens Bank Park, the Sixers management is huddling at the Wells Fargo Center
trying to decide what to do at tonight's NBA draft.
Please...please...please...DO
NOT trade for the Raptors' Bargnani or the Lakers' Gasol. Stay the
course...stay the course....keep adding young talented players to the mix and
keep getting better and better.
Believe it or not, the
Sixers are in a really great spot when it comes to tonight's NBA draft, but
they could REALLY improve their spot by making a move.
I'm not looking for them
to trade up at all though. I'm hoping for them to acquire a second pick
in the first round in about the same area that their own pick lies.
At this time, Doug
Collins and his boys select with the 15th pick. The thought process is
that they desperately need to add a big man who can score, rebound, AND play
defense. What a concept, huh?
For what they need,
having a pick at 15 can accomplish their objectives.
The problem is that many
of the big men available at 15 are question marks, but COULD be big winners.
Why not double your
chances of being successful and find a way to take a shot on TWO different
players and hope that at least one winds up working out to be what you want?
How do we make this
happen? Well, (at the time this blog was written) Houston currently has
the 12th, 16th, and 18th pick in the first round. I seriously doubt
Houston uses all three picks in this year's draft. The 16th and 18th picks
would be great targets for capturing what I'm talking about.
If Chase Budinger
(traded from Houston to Minnesota) can land you the 18th pick in a trade,
then Andre Iguodala can certainly get you more than that. Yes, I know the
money owed Andre is more than what Budinger is due, but the talent level is
different too.
I'm not sure Golden
State (a team with 3 picks in the top 35) will deal the 7th pick overall, and
I'm really not interested in pick #30 as an alternative.
I doubt the Sixers can
package their two 2nd round picks to move up high enough to get a guy worth
trading for, but I suppose they could also throw in a future 1st pick to make
something happen if a team isn't interested in Iggy.
The guy I would like to
see in a Sixers jersey is Perry Jones from Baylor. Jones is a super
athletic kid with a very big body. The knock on Jones is that he
sometimes doesn't play his hardest. I leave that to Doug Collins and his
Sixers teammates to fix.
Another big player who
could be available is Jared Sullinger from Ohio State. Sullinger's stock
has dropped sharply from a year ago when he was talked about as a
"National Player of the Year" kind of guy.
The knock on Jared is
that he's not quite as athletic as the rest of the bunch and isn't as explosive
as many others being considered in the first round. He kind of reminds
some people of Elton Brand.
In my mind, Sullinger is
a future star. The kid knows how to score and rebound. He comes
from a big conference and is ready to step into a big role.
If Sullinger drops to
the middle of the first round, I would love to see the Sixers find a way to get
both Jones and Sullinger. If they can do that, they may have TWO studs on
the front line for years to come. Both are ready right now, unlike last
year's pick of Nikola Vucevic who may still workout.
