January 28th, 2010 by Johnny G | 8 Comments | Filed in Baseball, General
On Saturday the Phillies came to a 1 year agreement with veteran right hander Jose Contreras. Sources believe the deal is right around the $1 million range. After a brutal start to the season in the American League with the White Sox, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies and pitched extremely well. This has been a common trend for players coming from the AL to the NL, where they face much weaker competition. Overall he finished the season 6-13 with a 4.92 ERA and his overall flexibility is a great asset to any team. He can start or relieve and throws 6 pitches from 3 different arm slots, which makes him very deceptive when he drops down to a submarine style, three-quarters, or straight over the top. His splitter is also one of the best in the bigs.
This is the only move this entire off-season I have agreed with besides the Halladay deal, minus the Lee trade. At Charlie Manuel’s press conference on Wednesday he stated that Contreras would come out of the bullpen in all likelihood but in my opinion he would be of much greater value pitching every five days in the rotation. Right now if you leave Contreras in the pen, you are leaving the 5th rotation spot to a competition between Kyle Kendrick and a recovering Jamie Moyer. That is not exactly something I would be excited about, going into this season with expectations of another World Series run. Money will most likely play a factor, as Moyer is owed almost $7 million for this season. As I look at it, he’s going to get his money one way or the other, so why cost your team games being stubborn. He is 47 years old and was largely ineffective last season. He is coming off of three different major surgeries this off-season. Kyle Kendrick is essentially a one trick pony that the league has figured out to this point. In his rookie season he showed tremendous poise while getting by with just his sinker. The second time around the league that simply is not enough. Until he develops a legitimate second “out” pitch, he will struggle at this level. Jose Contreras was a great signing at a cheap price but now Amaro and Manuel have to use him in a way where he can be at his greatest value to the team, and that is in the rotation.
Tags: Baseball, Contreras, MLB, Phillies, veteran
January 22nd, 2010 by ChrisLeo33 | 1 Comment | Filed in Basketball, College Sports
The Big Five is Alive!!
Well, if you have been following the Big 5 in Philadelphia this year, you know we have several contender’s at the national level. It looks to be an exciting March for Philly College Basketball.
Here is the skinny of it if you have not been following. The season began with 3 of the 5 teams expecting big things (Villanova, Temple, LaSalle). St. Joseph’s was a watcher, and Penn an underdog to say the least. LaSalle has not fulfilled all hopes but at least has a winning season. St. Joe’s did not pan out, and Penn only has one win.
On the other hand, Villanova and Temple have fulfilled all expectations and more so far. Temple holding a record of 16-3 and Villanova holding an impressive record of 17-1.
Could we be in for another run for the NCAA Championship?
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Big 5, College Basketball, contender, impressive record, LaSalle, lasalle explorers, lasalle st, ncaa championship, st joe, St. Joseph's, Temple, U of Penn, underdog, Villanova
