Despite the Eagles’ recent success, it still appears that General Manager Tom Heckert is going to move on.
A league source has confirmed to the Philadelphia Inquirer that Heckert is interviewing with the Cleveland Browns this weekend for their GM job. The Browns had to get permission to talk with Heckert, which the Eagles granted.
While Heckert carries the title of GM for the Eagles, he does not have final say in personnell matters, and is probably looking for a position where he has more say. President Joe Banner and coach Andy Reid have a heavy hand in what goes on with the Eagles. When teams have expressed interest in Heckert before, the Eagles usually promoted him to ensure that he stayed, but last year the team openly supported his bid to be the new GM of the Atlanta Falcons.
Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro Jr. came up through the ranks of the Phillies front office as a salary negotiating specialist, as did Assistant GM Scott Proefrock.
That’s good because they have a lot of negotiating on their plate as there are eight Phillies’ players eligible for arbitration starting yesterday, January 5.
The biggest names are pitcher Cole Hamels and now the perennially arbitration eligible slugger Ryan Howard. This will be Howard’s third year of arbitration, while it is Hamels’ first.
Both Hamels and Howard would be huge lockups if the Phillies could negotiate a good long term deal for both. That being said, signing either player is not a major priority for the club, as they are both under contract until 2012 and 2011, respectively.
Howard won his arbitration contest last year, garnering himself $10 million for the 2008 campaign. He followed up that victory with 48 homeruns and 146 RBIs, as well as a second place finish for what would have been his second MVP award in three …
The Phillies have signed free agent Marcus Giles to a minor league contract. The deal is said to be worth $600,000. Giles last played for the Padres in 2007 where he struggled batting a meager .229 with 4 home runs and 39 RBI’s. In 2008 he signed a minor league deal with the Rockies before being released prior to the start of the season. The Dodgers signed him to a deal thereafter, but after being sent to Las Vegas, Giles decided to hold out in hopes a major league team would come calling. Giles ended up sitting out the entire 2008 season.
This is another no-impact signing. Although he’s only 30, expections should be real low. Giles has a good glove, but offensively he hasn’t produced since 2005. That’s three seasons ago counting his year vacation. At best he’s insurance should Chase Utley not be fully recovered from hip surgery. Unless his bat is hot, once Utley returns, expect Giles to be optioned to Lehigh Valley.
Major League Baseball officially suspended J.C. Romero this afternoon. While some hoped Commissioner Bud Selig might step in and do the right thing, he chose to stand firm on baseball’s drug policy, even when the guilty party did nothing wrong. Before taking the suppliement, Romero ask his nutritionist, his trainer, and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to review the contents, and all three approved its use as no substances in listed were on Major League Baseball’s banned list.
Well just because the commissioner of baseball chooses to turn a blind eye to flaws in his drug policy doesn’t mean you, the fan, have to. We at Hot Stove Philly have started an online petition in support of J.C. Romero and his innocence.
While he did test positive, Romero took all the necessary precautions to ensure this would not happen, and if Commissioner Bud Selig chooses not to do anything it doesn’t mean fans of Major League Baseball can’t show their …
The Pat Burrell era in Philadelphia officially ended Monday, as it is being reported that he is close to a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, reportedly worth $16 million.
While Burrell is certainly not as big a signing as CC Sabathia or Mark Teixeira, he has been one of the league’s best power hitters over the past decade. Over his nine years in the majors, all with the Phillies, Burrell has averaged 29 homeruns, 92 RBIs, 73 runs scored and 87 walks.
“At the end of last year, obviously, I got a chance to know the team pretty well,” Burrell said at a news conference in St. Petersburg, Fla. “I think this team is going to be competitive for a long time. As a little bit older player . . . I’m here to help.”
Yes, his career average is just .257 and he goes through mind numbing slumps at times, but Burrell is the kind of player any major league manager would love to have on …
Relief pitcher J.C. Romero has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for violating their anti-doping policy.
While Romero isn’t the first player to be suspended for the use of performance enhancing drugs, his situation is different than most. The league doesn’t feel he’s a cheat, but that he’s guilty of “negligence” for using a supplement that contained banned substances. I still don’t see where there was any “negligence.”
Romero purchased a supplement at GNC in Cherry Hill, NJ. Prior to taking this supplement Romero went over it with his trainer and the MLB Players Association. All parties said the supplement contained no banned substances. Since this was an over-the-counter, FDA regulated supplement, there should have not been an issue.
Romero failed a drug test in August, than another in September. Major League Baseball reviewed what Romero was taking and found something that will trigger a positive result. Unfortunately, no one from the league or the MLBPA informed Romero.
“One thing I’m …
For all those fans who were hoping that the Eagles’ front office would finally get rid of coach Andy Reid (including me) this offseason, their 26-14 victory over the Minnesotta Vikings on Sunday squashed any chance of that happening.
Despite some questionable play calling throughout the game by Reid, Jim Johnson’s defense handled a clearly mismatched Tavarus Jackson with two turnovers, including an Asante Samuel interception returned for a touchdown, holding the young quarterback to just 15 completions on 35 attempts for a paltry 164 yards.
Even though Adrian Peterson scored two touchdowns, they were the only two scores the Vikings had all day. Peterson ran the ball 20 times, but had just 80 yards total rushing, including one 40 yard rush. So for the NFL’s most dangerous player, the the Eagles contained Peterson and ensured that he would not inflict too much damage.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Sunday’s game, and the most heart warming, was that Reid stuck with the run, even though it struggled for …
On last night’s Hot Stove Live, the MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported that free agent pitcher Derek Lowe has rejected the New York Mets’ three-year, $36 million offer, and is still holding out for a $16 million annual salary. While it’s unknown if the Mets are willing to give $48 million over three years, Heyman did say the Mets’ biggest threat for Lowe are the Phillies and the Atlanta Braves, while the Boston Red Sox and a “mystery team” also remain in contention.
After adding Brad Penny, the Red Sox’ rotation seems full. As for the “mystery team,” anytime you deal with Scott Boras (Lowe’s agent), there’s always a “mystery team” involved, even if it’s non-existent. Outside of the Milwaukee Brewers or St. Louis Cardinals, I cannot see any other “mystery team” in play. Odds are Lowe will be pitching for a National League East team.
Hot Stove Take: While I’m not sure if $16 million a year is in the Phillies’ budget, I would …
The Flyers snapped a two-game losing streak Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of one of their best players.
Just fifteen seconds into the game, winger Simon Gagne was blindsided on a hit by Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa.
Gagne, coming off an impressive recovery from a series of concussions suffered last season, appeared to injure his right shoulder and did not return.
Immediately after the hit, Gagne went down and Flyers’ captain Mike Richards went after Bieksa.
“He hit Gaggy. I kind of saw it out of the corner of my eye. I felt it was kind of a cheap hit, a late hit and from behind,” Richards said. “So I felt I had to do something about it. I thought it was a hit that should have been a penalty and there wasn’t a call.”
It’s that kind of action that can win a team over for a captain.
Gagne went into the game with 18 goals and 22 assists. He led the Flyers with a plus-18 …
Former 76er star and self-proclaimed non-role model Charles Barkley was arrested early Wednesday morning on suspicion that he had been driving while under the influence of alcohol.
Gilbert police Lt. Eric Shuhandler saw the Hall of Fame forward blow a stop sign around 1:30 AM while conducting a law enforcement task force that targets drunk driving. When pulled over, Barkley reportedly refused a breathalyzer test. He was given a blood test however, but the results were not immediately available.
After being cited and processed, Barkley was released and left in a cab, according to Shuhandler.
“There was nothing unusual about how he was taken into custody,” Shuhandler said. “He was treated exactly like we treat anybody else.”
The one-time Phoenix Sun was arrested in the Old Town area of Scottsdale, a very popular spot in the Phoenix metro area.
No comment has yet been obtained from the former star.
Barkley played 16 season in the NBA, including his first eight with the 76ers. He then went on to …
Responding to a question asking him to assess his play this season during his weekly press conference Wednesday, Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb responded that he feels he’s played great.
“I think I’ve played great,” McNabb said. “I don’t look at the stats aspect of it, but if you do, then it is better than it has been in years. Offensively, we’ve been able to do some good things, and some things, obviously, we would love to change. I don’t regret any of the things that I’ve done this year. I’d love to do better in this game coming up … Certain things are just an inch away, not getting a first down here, or whatever it may be. Obviously, if we were able to get that done. we wouldn’t be sitting in this spot right now.”
Huh? Great? Really?
To be fair, McNabb has been much better than his critics have claimed this season, and over his career for that matter. But the leader of a team who tied the Cincinnati Bengals, lost to a Washington Redskins team with the …
The Phillies have signed pitcher Gary Majewski to a minor league contract, with an invitation to spring training. Majewski was the backbone of the Nationals bullpen in 2005 when he 4-4 with a 2.95 ERA.
In 2006 he started the season strong for Washington going 3-2 with a 3.58 ERA, but after being dealt to the Cincinnati Reds at the trading deadline, he developed shoulder problems and went on the disabled list after only 19 appearances. This fueled speculation that Nationals general manager Jim Bowden knew of Majewski’s shoulder injury at the time of the trade, but made the deal anyway. Bowden has denied these accusations.
Since Majewski’s shoulder problems he hasn’t been the same pitcher. Over the past two seasons he’s gone a combine 1-4 with a 7.14 ERA at Cincinnati and 3-2 with a 3.88 at Louisville (the Reds Triple-A affiliate).
This obviously an impact move. At best it’s rolling the dice on a pitcher who’s struggled with injuries, but if healthy has …
