Here’s hoping you enjoyed gorging yourself on turkey and successfully endured your family for one more year.  There isn’t a whole lot going on in the sports world that I care about at the moment, but I figured I share a few thoughts on what is happening while you decide what you are going to get me for Christmas…

The Phillies

• Juan Castro was signed to be Eric Bruntlett’s replacement off the bench.  Though the baseball hot stove has mostly yet to, um, heat up, the “utility guys who can play a good shortstop” market is already taking off with Omar Vizquel and John MacDonald signing contracts that seem a little high considering how much time they will actually spend on the field.  Castro isn’t really an exciting acquisition, but he is a better defensive infielder than Bruntlett, and you could throw a rock out your window (open it first, though) and hit someone who swings a better bat, so Castro ought to be an upgrade there as well.
• The Phillies signed DeWayne Wise, Wilson Valdez, Andy Tracy, and Paul Hoover to minor league contracts, which is mostly only noteworthy if you care about the IronPigs.  Wise is the one guy from that group who has a chance to make the opening day roster, and he is a superb defensive outfielder.  Given that the Phillies still have two bench spots to fill (one will be a backup catcher), I’d like to see a spot go to a guy who has a little pop in his bat.  DeWayne Wise is not that guy.  Still, for a 5th outfielder the Phillies could do a whole lot worse than Wise.
• Jamie Moyer appears to be having some complications from his recent groin surgery, most recently needing to have an infected blood clot removed.  He is said to be doing well and the prognosis is that he will be ready to go by spring training, but it leads me to a bigger issue.  I still think that a top-notch starting pitcher should be higher on the Phillies list of priorities this offseason.  I know the team can’t spend the way the Yankees do and signing free agent John Lackey (the only top-of-the-rotation starter on the market) is not realistic even though that is what I’d like to happen.  I’d prefer the Phillies fill holes at 3rd base and the bullpen on the cheap and go after Lackey mostly because you can never, ever have enough starting pitching.  To me, the 7th spot in the lineup doesn’t seem nearly as important as another really good starter, and bullpen arms are notoriously inconsistent from year to year.  The Phillies probably won’t get back in the Roy Halladay talks either, although I’m dying to know what the final price for him will be.  I’d lead a package with JA Happ and Domonic Brown (mostly because of the organizational outfield depth, though he appears to be a star in the making) in a heartbeat.  I guess the Blue Jays aren’t interested in that, and I don’t actually know if that’s fair value or not.  Another trade candidate that intrigues me is Detroit’s Edwin Jackson.  His price might be almost as high as Halladay’s, however, considering that his salary is more reasonable and he is under team control for an extra year.  The Phillies could kill two birds with one stone by having the also available Brandon Inge included in a Detroit deal, but again I suspect the price would be much higher than Ruben Amaro is willing to pay.

The 76ers

• Lou Williams will miss about 2 months with a broken jaw, and now the Sixers are considering bringing in Allen Iverson.  I’m torn.  On the one hand, I don’t think AI makes the Sixers that much better this year, certainly not good enough to advance past the first round of the playoffs if they can make it there at all.  He takes playing time and shots away from the young guys the team is trying to develop (though Eddie Jordon does enough of that himself).  He ruins the Sixers’ chances of getting a high lottery pick.  On the other hand, I’m not particularly optimistic about the development of our young players anyway, the team is in salary cap hell, and barring a major overhaul I don’t think the 76ers will realistically contend for a championship for at least 5 years.  The Sixers have very little to lose and quite a bit less to gain.  Then again, I don’t trust management to do anything right for any reason ever.  The best move they’ve made in the last 5 years was trading Reggie Evans for Jason Kapono and Lou Williams is the only guy not on his rookie contract who makes a salary that is commensurate with his abilities and role on the team.  The 76ers are a mess and wrapping my head around all the reasons gives me a headache.
• However, I still love Allen Iverson.  I was personally offended that the Knicks did not sign him because as a New Yorker (or at least, I live in New York.  I don’t know if I’m ready to call myself a New Yorker.) I could have seen him every night and probably would have purchased a partial season ticket plan to see him in person.  That would have been the ideal destination, but nobody cares what I think.  It’s too bad really.

The Temple Owls (football)

• For me, Al Golden’s Owls are the feel-good sports story of 2009.  They suffered a loss to Ohio on Friday that kept them out of the MAC championship game but still finished with a 9-3 record, which was their best mark since FDR was in office.  I think.  I don’t know the presidents that well.  Anyway, the Fightin’ Owls easily could have been 11-1 this season, but Bernard “the Franchise” Pierce was out for the Ohio game and Al Golden hadn’t figured out that he was the franchise yet in a season-opening loss to Villanova.  If Pierce gets 25-30 carries against the Wildcats, Temple wins that game by 3 touchdowns.  There is reason to be optimistic about the team next season, as Pierce and scat-back Matt Brown will return to form what should be one of the best rushing attacks in country and a good portion of a feisty defense returns as well.  Perhaps the weakest position on the field for the Owls this season, the quarterback, should improve too as freshman Chris Coyer (who redshirted this season) has a chance to win the starting job next year and provide the passing game with the big plays to the speedy receivers that Temple has on the roster but didn’t have nearly enough of an impact with Vaughn Charlton and Chester Stewart under center.  The Owls will go bowling this season, and I am hoping they end up in Toronto for the International Bowl both because I might like to spend my New Year in one of the 3 best cities in North America and because of what could be an interesting matchup with a Big East opponent (hopefully Rutgers).