Tag Archive: Writer: Ryan Gillon


Polanco

After a 2010 season where a nagging elbow injury kept him out of 30 games, Placido Polanco arrived at Spring Training Wednesday pain-free.

Polanco’s 132 games played last year were his fewest since 2006. The Phillies’ number two hitter only accounted for 52 RBI last year, and hasn’t hit for fewer since his 2002 season, where he played for both the Cardinals and the Phils.

Polanco still was able to keep his batting average at about .300 (.298 to be exact), but he had a pretty good idea why his production fell off when his injury woes worsened with the wear-and-tear of the season. Read the rest at Crossing Broad.

This rivalry doesn't have the allure it once did.

The Phillies are selling out quickly for 2011.

Vice President of Sales and Ticket Operations John Weber noted this morning that “between [the Phillies] sold-out season ticket base of 28,500, group sales and Six Game Pack sales to date, we’ve already sold 3.1 million tickets for the upcoming season.”

Wow. That’s pretty impressive. What’s even better is that this morning, the Phillies began selling three-game packs today. The new initiative allows fans to commit to less games than they would in a six-game pack or larger ticket plan. They’ll still be able to go to a number of Phillies games and reserve their seats before single-game tickets go on sale next Thursday.

But take a closer look at these ticket packages posted this morning… what is similar about each one of them?

Okay, I’ll tell you.

Every package forces you to buy a Mets game, either on April 6th or 7th. This begs the question… are the Phillies having trouble selling out the second series of the season? Does no one want to see the Mets anymore?

There was a time when there was only one six-pack option featuring Mets games… and that was just two years ago! The Mets have enough problems right now, it certainly doesn’t help things that the allure of what is possibly their biggest rivalry is fizzing out.

Whatever the case is, it seems like no mistake that every Phillies three-game plan includes a “must-select” option for one of these two Mets games.

Having said all of this, there is no doubt in my mind that the Phillies will sell out each of their 81 regular season home games this year. And if they are having trouble with those two games in April, this is a great way to address it. There is a Texas Rangers pack, a division-rival Atlanta Braves pack, and an April 2nd Houston Astros pack that will feature the return of Cliff Lee to the mound at Citizens Bank Park. Glorious.

There’s also a Mets pack, which means… two Mets games…

…I’m not sure how that one will sell in comparison.

"Hey, Don. You hear Fitz wants me in Arizona and not you?"

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported yesterday that Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb at the top of his offseason wish list.

Fitzgerald is entering the final season of his $40 million contract, and the Cardinals brass apparently went to him for advice regarding the quarterback disaster dilemma. Derek Anderson, Max Hall, and John Skelton split snaps in Arizona in 2010 in the wake of the retirement of potential NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. That went well…

It’s understandable that the Cardinals want Fitzgerald to stay in town after 2011, so asking his opinion may not be a bad idea. But the blurring of the line between player and members of the front office could get a little messy. We’ve heard players lobby to bring guys in. Donovan McNabb was very vocal about Terrell Owens joining the organization years ago, but the Cardinals did something different here. They reached out to a player to get an opinion. Just food for thought.

As far as Kolb goes, the embattled backup to Michael Vick, he can’t be traded until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place, and who the hell knows when that’s going to happen? View full article »

Here, Juan Castillo is pictured with two people. All three men are equally qualified to be the Eagles defensive coordinator.

The Eagles have to be the strangest team in the land. They are more puzzling off the field than they ever are on it, and yesterday was probably the most unsettling and confusing example this front office has ever offered us.

The team has hired their offensive line coach, Juan Castillo, to be the new defensive coordinator…

…yes, their OFFENSIVE line coach is their new DEFENSIVE coordinator.

But apparently it’s okay because Castillo was a linebacker in college. And his son currently plays in Iowa’s secondary. Given that knowledge, this should now make perfect sense to you.

Except for that it doesn’t. This search over the past three weeks makes almost no sense to anyone on the outside because until last night’s press conference, the Eagles haven’t said a freakin’ word.

It’s irresponsible how this team handles the media and now Andy Reid and the people above him look completely irrational by making this move. Over the past 23 days, fans and the media have been subjected to rumor after rumor, assumption after assumption, and we have been told nothing.

So we talk, we hear things, we believe sources. Dick Jauron, Jim Mora, Bill Davis, Dennis Allen, Jeff Fisher, Darren Perry, Jon Hoke, Joe Woods, Mike Trgovak, Winston Moss, and it ends with Juan Castillo. This carousel of names, this vat of confusion that Eagles fans have been drowning in should have ended with a name that would make them feel better about the length of this search, something that would create a sense of justification. View full article »

Kolb can keep the visor, but the Eagles will probably want the helmet back.

According to a league source, the Philadelphia Eagles will apply the franchise tag to Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick next month. The move will ensure that Vick remains an Eagle for the duration of the 2011 season, and conventional wisdom suggests that in that time frame, the Eagles will work to sign Vick to a long-term deal.

In the meantime, I’m sure Vick will be pretty happy making approximately $20 million next season, which is about the average  salary of the five highest-paid players at his position. That’s what a franchise tag entails, so I’m sure Vick’s debtors are smiling right now. View full article »

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