Extra points
By Pete Thompson
Generally speaking, I think of myself as a pretty positive person, but my brother Chris shared with me some stats about the Philadelphia pro sports teams that were very “sobering” to say the least.
The Phillies have made 14 playoff appearances in 118 seasons. Meanwhile, the Flyers have only missed the playoffs 14 times in 54 seasons as they have made 40 playoff appearances. The Sixers have 51 playoff appearances in 72 seasons, and the Eagles have 28 playoff appearances in 90 seasons of existence. In terms of total losses, the Phillies are easily the most losing franchise in MLB history, but yet we still believe!
Since I last wrote, the Phillies swept the Marlins in Miami to head into the all-star break on a high note. At Dodger Stadium, a Phillies slugger might’ve gotten “jobbed” in the Home Run Derby. Plus, the Phillies stock up on draft picks in the MLB Amateur Draft. The Flyers “aggressive retool” seems like it’s anything but as they fail to pick up a big-name free agent. Sixers star James Harden explains why he’s willing to work for less money. Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni has a message for his team before training camp opens on July 26th. Plus, the Birds are reportedly a possible landing spot for a disgruntled starting safety from another team. In golf, an Australian with a hot putter wins the 150th Open Championship on the hallowed grounds of St. Andrews. On the local front, a 13U baseball team ends up one step short of their goal. Also, a few guys with local ties are drafted by MLB teams.
I’ll begin with the Phillies as they hit the all-star break with a 49-43 record and playoff qualified if the season was over today. Remember, there are three (3) wildcard spots this year, and the Phillies would qualify ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals by virtue of a tiebreaker. At the break, the three NL wildcard teams are Atlanta, San Diego and the Phillies, but with 70 games left in the regular season, they must keep on winning series.
Like they did in Miami right before the break where the Phillies swept the Marlins in Miami for the first time since 2010. The Marlins have often been a “thorn” in the Phillies side the past few years, so it was nice to see them win 2-1, 10-0 and 4-0 in the three-game sweep. Even more exciting is that they are having success without their big star Bryce Harper.
Harper is named the starting DH for the all-star game, but he’s unable to attend because of his injury. Kyle Schwarber is named as a reserve outfielder and he takes his NL leading 29 home runs to Dodger Stadium. But did you catch the Home Run Derby the other night? Schwarber appeared to have beaten Cardinals legend Albert Pujols, but it looked like ESPN didn’t count one of his home runs and Pujols ended up advancing in bonus time. I got several texts and saw tweets from many people also thinking that Schwarber was slighted at least one home run. Washington slugger Juan Soto ended up winning the Home Run Derby over Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez. Rodriguez put on quite a show though, as he hit 32 home runs to beat Texas’ Corey Seager in the first round and 31 in a second-round matchup to oust two-time defending champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.
Speaking of home runs, if there’s a tie in the All-Star game after nine innings, MLB has come up with a new way to break the tie. Instead of going into extra innings, three players from each league will participate in a mini home run derby that will decide the game, according to rules released by MLB. Each player gets three swings, and the team that ends up with the most home runs wins. Players are permitted to take an unlimited number of pitches without being penalized. Kyle Schwarber was chosen as one of the three players for the National League.
My last baseball item concerns the Phillies and their draft as they select 18-year-old Justin Crawford from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. If the name Crawford sounds familiar, that’s because Justin is the son of four-time All-Star left fielder Carl Crawford. The Phillies have been “snake-bit” in drafting outfielders in the past few years. Let’s hope this one works!
The Phillies had no second round draft pick because of the Nick Castellanos acquisition, but in the 3rd round, they selected another outfielder by drafting left-handed hitter Gabriel Rincones Jr. out of Florida Atlantic University. With their remaining seven picks, the Phillies selected mostly college players, including four pitchers, two catchers and one more outfielder. Again, the baseball draft is all about projecting future talent, so it will take awhile to see if the moves were the right ones.
In hockey, if you ask the Flyers fan base, the organization is making all the WRONG moves as the Flyers fail to land prized free-agent Johnny Gaudreau. This one is frustrating to me only because it was an “open secret” that South Jersey native Gaudreau wanted to come to Philadelphia. The Flyers (and all of hockey) have basically known that for a full season leading up to this off-season. Yet, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher says he was unable to clear the cap space to bring in the talented forward.
If you recap the Flyers moves this offseason, they include Justin Braun, a veteran defenseman who was already in Philadelphia until the trade deadline last season, Nic Deslauriers, a gritty winger who admitted scoring isn’t really his thing, and Tony DeAngelo, an offensive defenseman in both meanings of the word “offensive.” Needless to say, a few fans found their way to the Flyers practice facility last week with signs that read “Fire Chuck”.
My biggest problem with the Flyers is that they are so afraid to use the word “rebuild” with their fan base. Instead, they phrased it an “aggressive retool”, and yet the moves they made indicate to me that they will probably struggle again. Very disappointing how far this franchise has fallen.
As I write this, Sixers guard James Harden is still finalizing the details of a two-year deal after opting out of his $47.36 million player option for the 2022-23 season. He is talking about why he agreed to take less though, in an interview with Yahoo Sports. “I had conversations with Daryl, and it was explained how we could get better and what the market value was for certain players. I told Daryl to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign and give me whatever is left over,” Harden told Yahoo Sports. “This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship. That’s all that matters to me at this stage. I’m willing to take less to put us in position to accomplish that.”
I know some of the cynics out there say Harden’s move is an easy one given how much money he has already banked over his career, but I consider this to be one of the most selfless moves by a Philadelphia pro athlete in my lifetime. I mean, can you imagine Ben Simmons doing this?
Regarding Simmons, the Brooklyn Nets have announced that they will entertain the 76ers in their Oct. 3 preseason opener. This exhibition could provide the first opportunity for Nets guard Ben Simmons to not only don a Brooklyn uniform, but to also face his former team. Put me in the category of “not going to happen”, as I’ve even gone so strong as to offer the opinion that I don’t think Simmons will ever play pro basketball again! The guy is a mess, as far as I am concerned.
Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni has sent a message to Eagles that addresses the increased expectations placed on the franchise in 2022. In an interview with the Eagles official website, Sirianni says “ “I think the message is exactly the same as far as how we prepare and everything like that,” Sirianni said, via the Eagles website. “It’s just noticing the fact that, hey, there’s going to be a lot of people telling you how good you are. Probably more so, right? Or how good you could be. But that’s still what could be.” The coach went on to say “”The same amount of work is going to be required regardless if you have high expectations or low expectations. You have to work. You have to work. How many times have we seen a team start off really hot and maybe buy into the hype? So, that’s going to be something. I’m very conscious of that as far as I know what some of these guys are hearing as far as outside noise.”
Meanwhile, the one position that the Eagles didn’t improve either via the draft or free agency was at safety. Well, now it looks as though one might fall in their lap! According to several reports, disgruntled safety Jessie Bates wants out of Cincinnati and the Eagles might be a good landing spot for the 25-year-old. Throw in the fact that current Eagles assistant head coach Jemal Singleton coached Bates in Cincy, and there might actually be something to this NFL rumor.
I love golf, and have to acknowledge the final round 64 shot by Australian Cameron Smith to come from behind and win the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews. Most folks were pulling for Rory McIlroy, but Smith ripped off five birdies in a row at one point en route to that final round 64 to finish all alone at -20 under and to seize the Claret Jug. Cameron Young from the United States was all alone in second at -19 under, while McIlroy finished solo third at -18 under. Tiger Woods failed to make the cut, but didn’t rule out a return to St. Andrews whenever the Open returns there.
On the local front, I want to thank Mike Gill and the folks from the Atlantic Shore 13 U Babe Ruth Baseball team as I did some public address work for them in the Mid Atlantic Regional Tournament. The Devils did not advance to the Babe Ruth World Series, as they had hoped, but I certainly enjoyed watching some stars of the future do their thing at Titus Field in Ventnor.
Finally, a tip of the cap to St. Augustine alum Josh Hood and Pinelands Regional alum Noah Dean as they both were selected in the MLB draft. The Seattle Mariners picked Hood, an infielder, in the sixth round with the 186th overall pick. The Boston Red Sox took Dean, a left-handed pitcher, in the fifth round with the 159th overall pick. I love seeing “local” guys realize their dream and get drafted by a big-league club.
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
