Extra points
By Pete Thompson
I’m writing this before I fully know what the Phillies will do at the MLB trade deadline, which is set for August 2nd at 6 p.m.
Hopefully, Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies make a move to bolster their starting pitching, but I will have to wait to write about that until next week.
In the meantime, since I last wrote, the Phillies bounced back to win two out of three against Atlanta and then swept the Pirates in PIttsburgh for the first time since 1968. As I write this, they are a season-high eight games above the .500 mark and a full game in front of St. Louis for the final NL wildcard spot. The Phillies also got some good medical news on the potential return of Bryce Harper to the lineup. The Phillies also did make one minor trade prior to me writing, but I still get the feeling that more is to come. Eagles training camp is underway with all eyes on the first preseason game which is fast approaching. Plus, the NFL hands down a verdict on DeShaun Watson. The big news with the Sixers is that the NBA is investigating the team for possible tampering. Elsewhere, an NBA legend passes away in Boston. In hockey, the Flyers get more bad injury news from a player that they hoped would be on the ice for opening night. On the local front, I checked out “The National” in Atlantic City last weekend. Plus, a Mainland alum moves up a level in minor league baseball.
Let’s start with the Phillies as they are 6-4 over their last ten games as I write this and on a five game winning streak thanks to a sweep in Pittsburgh last weekend. According to the Phillies media notes, that’s the Phillies first four game sweep against the Pirates in Pittsburgh since July 11-13, 1968 at Forbes Field. The starting pitchers in those four games for the Phillies were Larry Jackson, Chris Short, Jeff James and Woodie Fryman. Dick Allen started all four games for the Phillies and went 9-for-19 in the series with a 1.239 OPS and Roberto Clemente started all four games for the Pirates and went 9-for-16 with a 1.463 OPS. Don’t you just love going to the “wayback machine” for stuff like that?
As I write this, the Phillies are reportedly interested in pitcher Noah Syndergaard, the former Met who’s now with the Los Angeles Angels as a starting pitcher. Syndergaard turns 30 in a month, but still gets a lot of ground balls with a sinker that has been as effective as at any point in his career. The Phillies have reportedly been sighted at Syndergaard’s last few starts. He is a free agent at the end of this season and is owed about $7 million for the rest of the season. But, the man they used to call “Thor” wouldn’t cost much prospect-wise, which is appealing to the Phillies, an organization that has been trying to build its farm system. Syndergaard has a 3.83 ERA this season through 15 games started. He has been pitching on six days of rest, while the Phillies have a five-man rotation, so Syndergaard would have to adjust to a different workload if he were traded to the Phillies. Stay tuned.
The Phillies also got good news about reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper as he had three pins removed from his left thumb on Monday August 1st, just 33 days after they were initially inserted to stabilize a fracture. It was a significant step in Harper’s attempt to play again this season, and it came one day before the trade deadline.
The one move the Phillies did make before I sat down to write this is to acquire backup infielder Edmundo Sosa from the Cardinals for lefty reliever JoJo Romero. Sosa can fill in at shortstop, second base, and third base, but I viewed this as the first piece of another move. Again, more on this next week when the picture becomes clearer.
One move that is being announced as I’m writing is that the San Diego Padres are the winners of the “Juan Soto Sweepstakes”. According to Jeff Passan with ESPN, the Padres are trading for Soto and Nationals first baseman Josh Bell. After turning down a recent 15-year, $440 million contract offer from the Nationals, Soto will now join a loaded & young Padres team that features shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and third baseman Manny Machado near the top of the lineup. Remember, the Padres are one of the teams the Phillies are chasing for a national league wildcard spot. This could get interesting!
In football, the Eagles continue with training camp as their first preseason game is set for Friday August 12th at home against the New York Jets. A lot has been made about how little hitting is actually taking place at Eagles camp these days. I found out on the radio with Josh Hennig on 97.3 ESPN that the Birds brought in a strength & conditioning coach from the Rams in order to hopefully cut down on the “soft-tissue” injuries that plagued them in the past. The Rams won last year’s Super Bowl, so I feel optimistic about this change!
Former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil was at Birds practice on Monday 8-1. The 85-year-old will be formally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton on Saturday August 6th. Expect lots of tears to be shed during his induction speech as former players like Ron Jaworski, Bill Bergey and even Vince Papale will be on hand for “their coach”. Congrats Coach Vermeil!
One final football item and that’s about DeShaun Watson. The NFL has suspended the Browns QB for six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy after accusations of sexual misconduct made against him by two dozen women in Texas. The punishment handed out by the game’s disciplinary officer, former federal judge Sue L. Robinson fell well short of what the NFL had asked for: an open-ended suspension of at least a year for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
In basketball, NBA investigating Sixers for possible tampering in free-agency pursuit of James Harden, P.J. Tucker and Danuel House. The Sixers had the cap space to sign Tucker to the full mid-level exception and House to the bi-annual exception because Harden declined his $47.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season. ESPN, which first reported the news, said that “there have been questions about whether there’s already a handshake agreement in place on a future contract [for Harden] — which would be in violation of collective bargaining rules.” We will keep an eye on this developing story as well.
The other big basketball news was the sad passing of Celtics legend Bill Russell. Russell passed away on July 31st at the age of 88. The 6-10 big man won 11 championships with the Celtics, and helped usher basketball into the modern era. Many folks like to debate who was better…Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell? To me, Wilt was the more dominant player, but there’s no doubt that Russell WON more. Plus, Bill Russell was such a force for change off the basketball court, I can’t badmouth the guy. To this day, some of the Hall of Famer’s on the court accomplishments are unchallenged some 53 years after his retirement in 1969. However, his accomplishments off the court as a civil rights activist, coach, broadcaster, and ambassador of the game are what I’ll remember the most. R.I.P. Bill Russell.
From hockey, the latest “gut punch” for the Flyers came on July 26th when it was revealed that promising young winger Bobby Brink would be out for five months following hip surgery. Considered one of the Flyers’ top prospects, Brink recently tore the labrum in his left hip during an offseason workout. The 21-year-old led the NCAA in scoring last season with 57 points and won the national championship with the University of Denver before signing with the Flyers for the final 10 games of the season. Brink, who had four assists during his NHL cameo, was expected to compete for an opening-night roster spot for the Flyers. According to reports, it is hard to envision Brink playing for the Flyers before January at the earliest. He joins Ryan Ellis and Joel Farabee as Flyers players who are likely to miss the start of the season. Consider me very pessimistic about the Flyers and their chances this upcoming season.
I’ll close with some local items as I finally got to experience the “National Sports Collectors Convention” for the first time when it came to the Atlantic City Convention Center last week. What an amazing event as the “crown jewel” on display was a Mickey Mantle rookie card with a 9.5 rating. Auctioneers expect the card to go for almost $10 million, which would be the new record for any sports collectible. I enjoyed walking around the convention floor and I even got some autographed items I’ve had in storage for years authenticated. The “National” as it’s known, has been in Atlantic City four times since 1988. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait too long for it to return!
Finally, not long after I wrote last week, Mainland alum Chase Petty was promoted from the Dayton Dragons to Single-A Daytona in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Petty is currently ranked as the #6 prospect in the Reds organization by MLB.com and #7 by Baseball America. He was acquired by the Reds from the Minnesota Twins in a trade for Major League pitcher Sonny Gray and minor league pitcher Francis Peguero on March 13, 2022. Congrats Chase! Keep making us proud!
I’ll close with my usual thanks and let you know that I am very thankful for your readership and hope you will patronize the businesses you see in the pages here. Remember, the LOCAL in Shore Local comes from the support of those businesses, so please support them!
Pete has been the local “sports guy” at the Jersey Shore since 2004. After a decade with TV 40, he joined 97.3 ESPN radio to talk Eagles, Phillies, Sixers & Flyers with Mike Gill on “The SportsBash” from 2-6 p.m.
Pete is proud to be a “voice” for the annual ShopRite LPGA Classic each June, and does emcee work for groups like the National Football Foundation, The Old Grad Awards, and The 200 Club of Atlantic County. You can hear Pete each Tuesday and Friday on 97.3 ESPN at 5:00pm, and if you see him out & about in the community, he requests that you please say “Hi”. Send comments to PBrooksT@aol.com
