The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

There have been many positives for the Phillies this season.

Especially after a rocky start, no one could have imagined the Phillies playing this well (and winning as much as they have) through the first two months of the season.

Have they played a good chunk of their schedule against teams many had clearly envisioned to be in the “lower half” of the National League? Yes.  But to be five games over .500 in early June?  It has been a great first two months in the Gabe Kapler era.

With the Phillies’ success through the first third of the season, the popular questions now raised are:

• Can they continue playing this well?
• Can they compete for a playoff spot?
• Should they trade away a few of their young prospects to add a “big piece” now?

Before you seriously start answering these questions, one must take a look at the prospects already in the system to see if they are viable options for this year’s team, along with these prospects’ “ceilings” for the upcoming season (and decide if “win now” outweighs “future potential.”)

The team has already added a few prospects this past week due to injury. At the same time, their offense—never terrific to begin with—has dipped a bit on this current road trip.

This week here at “The Shop,” we’ll take a look at the top-position players within the Phillies system and give you an update on how each is faring along with their chances of improving the team’s offense and how each might “fit” with the current roster.

Joey Meneses

He’s coming off a torrid month of May, becoming just the second Lehigh Valley player to win two “Player of the Month” awards within the same season (Andy Tracy being the other). A former top prospect with the Braves organization, his current .299 batting average and .866 OPS is well above his career average and about the same as league leaders with nine RBI.

Unfortunately, his primary position is first base, and with Carlos Santana signing a big free agent contract this past offseason, it’s not likely Meneses would be any more than a “lefty off the bench” pinch-hitting option who lacks the defensive mobility Kapler loves.

Trevor Plouffe

Plouffe started the year off slowly offensively and has only seen his batting average slide even further during the past two weeks (once dipping below .200).

Plouffe does have Major League experience and can play multiple positions, but with the Phillies still scuffling a little at the plate mixed with Trevor’s age (he turns 32 later this month), he’s probably not a guy who will get a long look in the Big Leagues.

Danny Ortiz

Unlike Plouffe, Ortiz had a great start to the season and can play either corner outfield position, which would help the Phillies with Rhys Hoskins’ injury and less-than-spectacular offensive numbers from alternating right-fielders Nick Williams and Aaron Altherr.

Unfortunately for Ortiz, his bat has also cooled of late. Despite hitting two home runs in the last 10 days, his average has been hovering in the .230-range the last few weeks while his on-base percentage is now an uninspiring .270.

Roman Quinn

Unfortunately, the very likeable and speedy outfielder has found himself on the disabled list—again. Quinn was once again leading the International League in stolen bases before suffering an injury that will keep him out of action for two months.  Injuries have been the biggest issue keeping Quinn out of the Majors, and, unless he has a quick recovery and regains his form in time for a spectacular month of August, the Phillies will have a tough decision this offseason whether to keep him on the 40-man roster or not.

Options at Reading?

Occasionally there’s a great prospect who can make the “jump” from Double-A to the Majors, but talking with my contacts who see this team on a regular basis, no such player is ready for any extended time above Triple-A.

Next week here at “The Shop” we’ll take a look pitching options in the minor leagues and feature video of my interview with one of the top pitching prospects in the Phillies organization.

We’ll also be talking baseball with MLB.com’s Jim Callis, who is busy this week covering the MLB draft for MLB-TV. Jim will join us on Thursday’s “SportsTalk” to give his thoughts on the draft as well as analyze

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

 There is a great fundraising event going on in a number of areas in the RCN-TV viewing area over the next several weeks that you really should know more about.

We had the pleasure on “RCN SportsTalk” to speak with Merry Troper, the Executive Director of a special charity event centered around the sport of lacrosse, called “Shootout for Soldiers,” which raises money for the men and women serving our country in the Armed Forces.

The event has been gathering momentum over the last several years and has turned into much more than a simple lacrosse tournament. The games and the ceremonies strike an emotional accord with veterans and their family members who attend.  There are plenty special events that go on, before, during and after the games.

One of the highlights includes the playing of the National Anthem, by different performers, every hour before each match starts. The match kicks off with two teams made up entirely of veterans playing each other, which starts at 9am on June 23^rd.

Merry talked about more of the highlights of this year’s event in Washington, to be hosted at Long Bridge Park.

Among the other “Shootout for Soldiers” events coming up include:

Baltimore                           June 20^th-21^st

Washington, DC               June 23^rd-24^th

Philadelphia                      June 26^th-27th

Boston                                July 6^th-7^th

Long Island                       July 12^th-13^th

…and more!

The games have traditionally been very competitive if you are a hardcore lacrosse fan and want to attend the matches for the quality of play, but it’s also important that people in the area of these events try to make an attempt to support our servicemen and women in this worthy cause.

The event has raised millions of dollars over the years and is setting its sights on trying to raise $50,000 for this year’s event in Washington, DC alone.

For more information on the event specifically in DC, go to:

Click on “Shootout for Soldiers,” to get more information on other “Shootout for Soldiers” events taking place in Boston, Long Island, Baltimore, Philadelphia and more!

There, you can learn more about the other cities’ events, as well as find out about ways to help financially, by working as an intern or volunteer, or through other sponsorship opportunities.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

With the warm weather here and the Memorial Day weekend (and unofficial start to summer) nearly upon us, it’s time to talk about the start of the “remote” season for the “RCN SportsTalk” show and our first “wild” episode coming up this week.

For the past several years, we’ve done a number of broadcasts live from “Buffalo Wild Wings” on Grape Street in Whitehall.

We’ve had great shows featuring special guests and we have an exciting lineup of guests for this summer as well.

But first things first.

Our 2018 debut will have members of this year’s Lehigh Valley high school All-Star football team, including Head Coaches Kevin Ronalds and Tom McCarroll.

Both coaches had outstanding fall campaigns (which we’ll be talking about on this Thursday’s show), but we’ll also talk about the top moments of some great football players from this past season, along with their thoughts on the upcoming All-Star contest and next step in their careers.

You can pose a question to our guests and make a comment if you come out to see the show in person and be part of the fun.

Those of you who attend will have a chance to win prizes, but more importantly, you will help a local charity. For this show, proceeds raised in our “patio section” of Buffalo Wild Wings (10% of your total food bill) will go to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of the Lehigh Valley.  Find more information on this Thursday’s event here on the RCN-TV website.

Hope to see you there!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

From time to time we like to honor the young athletes in the RCN viewing area when they are named to special teams or reach accomplishments.

First, here are the current Track & Field performance results for boys and girls student athletes in the Lehigh Valley’s Colonial League:

Boys

Girls

Here are the final results from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conferences Cheering competition: Congrats Easton!

Here is the All-Star list for the EPC wrestling team (Nazareth’s Sammy Sasso was named the league’s MVP).

1st Team

Nate Lackman, Becahi

Matt Maloney, Liberty

Cameron Enriquez, Stroudsburg

Patrick Noonan, Stroudsburg

Patrick Gould, E. Stroudsburg South

Steven Storm, Pocono Mt. East

Cole Handlovic, Becahi

Luca Frinzi, Becahi

Caden Wright, Emmaus

Sammy Sasso, Nazareth

Adam Lizak, Parkland

Cade Wilson, Nazareth

Jacob Frank, Easton

Sami Khamis, Stroudsburg

2nd Team

Peyton Brown, Emmaus

Evan Gleason, Easton

Matt Lackman, Becahi

Kenny Herrman, Becahi

Jonathan Miers, Easton

Ryan Anderson, Becahi

Zach Ortman, Parkland

Lenny Pinto, Stroudsburg

Kevin Vrablik, Parkland

Tyler Delorenzo, E. Stroudsburg South

Tavion Banks, Becahi

Robert Spezza, Becahi

Damen Moyer, Liberty

Hunter Werkheiser, Northampton

Last but not least, the Colonial League basketball All-Star teams for the girls…

…and the boys…

As we get closer to the end of this scholastic school year, don’t forget to send us your lists and/or encourage your school’s athletic directors to pass honors and accolades along to us here at the “SportsTalk Shop” by email at chris.michael@rcn.net and we’ll try to mention them in an upcoming post.

The  views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

There have been some wonderful stories to follow for local sports fans so far this spring that we have covered on our “RCN SportsTalk” program.  Here are just a few of the Lehigh Valley highlights over the last two week’s worth of shows.

One of the area’s nicest and most skilled coaches took over the reins of the Northampton boys volleyball team this spring.  Sue Arndt has been a successful head coach at Emmaus and Catasauqua high schools, a local AAU program, and with an assistant at Dieruff when that program made a strong turnaround.

The K-Kids have a strong core of now senior players who have had great scholastic careers.  Now led by these 12th graders, the team has already posted some impressive wins this season.  With their aggressive, take-no-prisoners style on and off the court, they are looking to be major players in the post-season.

Speaking of volleyball, the Whitehall squad has gone underrated, in my opinion, for the last couple of seasons.  The Zephyrs were the 2017 runner-ups in both the EPC and the District XI championship games, but didn’t receive much mention in the local preseason previews.

Like Northampton, Whitehall is playing well and is looking to take the next step in the playoffs.

We talked a few years ago about the outstanding job Saucon Valley has done turning around its girls lacrosse program.

Now, defending District XI 2A champs seem determined to stay among the elite teams in the Lehigh Valley.

We caught up with the Panthers, currently undefeated, following another win over a bigger, EPC school and they seemed determine to keep their squad playing at a high level.

The Easton baseball team is once again having a fantastic season under head coach Carm LaDuca.

In addition to posting yet another EPC victory last Saturday, the Red Rovers also took the opportunity to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Easton team that advanced in the state playoffs, featuring both LaDuca and long-time assistant Greg Hess.

The Rovers will see some tough competition in the Class 6A district playoffs again in a few weeks, but another run in the PIAA tournament should certainly not be ruled out for this year’s squad.

With the playoffs upon us, there’s just a few weeks left in the high school sports spring season. If you have an idea for a feature, a team you’d like our cameras to stop by and visit or high school athletes who deserve a “Shout-out” on the show, email me at chris.michael@rcn.net

For more on the above stories and additional interviews with high school teams in the RCN viewing area, you can check out “SportsTalk” through RCN On Demand.

Programming note: we’ll be rebroadcasting our interview with Saquon Barkley (drafted by the Giants in last Thursday’s NFL Draft) on this week’s “SportsTalk” program.

Also, be on the lookout for more information on our first “remote” edition of “RCN SportsTalk” presented by ‘The Morning Call’” out on location. We’ll have several “remote” shows coming up over the next few months.

See more details coming soon here at “The Shop” and on the RCN-TV website.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

It’s been one month into the “Great Experiment” known as the “Gabe Kapler Era” (aka “Be Bold.”) Time to take an objective look at how things have fared so far.

In full disclosure, I am not “heavy” into the analytics that have made their way into every corner of professional baseball. I have always been a fan of stats and using statistical information when analyzing players, but I was not a big fan of being “all-in.” While I enjoyed the movie “Moneyball,” I don’t believe you can use the philosophy started by the Oakland Athletics several years ago and base most/all aspects of building a team on numbers.

Also, (and again being completely honest), I admit I was very critical of Kapler with some of his experiments in spring training and several gaffs that took place during the first week of the regular season.

I was worried.

But I always try to have patience when making my analysis. I had an opportunity to speak with the Phillies Manager during the team’s first home stand at Citizens Bank Park, and I have to admit, he did impress me—for several reasons.

Firstly, he answered all of the questions and issues through the first week of the season (including his outfielder Nick Williams openly questioning his decision and another anonymous player saying his manager should “stay out of their way”).

He didn’t skirt the question or try to say that it was made up. Instead, he said he talked with Williams and addressed those and other issues with the respective players. He was firm in his decisions, addressed them privately but was still open in admitting that everything he has done has not worked out.

This in itself is quite different from previous Philly managers—among them Terry Francona (who later went on to win a World Series). When “Tito” was questioned early in his career (ironically, for not starting his best player on Opening Day—something Kapler also did), Francona starting whining about the media being out to get him and tried to make himself out to be victim, something that will never endear a person to the baseball fans in the Delaware Valley. (I believe he learned his lesson and is much more responsive in media interviews since his departure and not coincidently, had much better success as a manager).

Secondly, Kapler has cut back a bit with making in-game decisions solely based on numbers. He’s left his starting pitchers (who have pitched surprisingly through the first three weeks) in longer than he initially said he was going to do and has rarely gotten caught without available players—even while working with a shorter-than-typical bench.

These things have paid off with an impressive record (albeit against playing some of the worst teams in baseball during the season’s first four weeks).

However, Kapler has won over one skeptical observer so far with the way he has handled his club. I’m still not 100% convinced that they are playoff contenders this season, but I haven’t been impressed with very many other teams so far this year, and I’m certainly more confident of the Phillies’ direction than I was a month ago.

For more insights and Phillies interviews with manager Gabe Kapler, pitcher Vince Velasquez, Maikel Franco, Hector Neris and more, look back through recent episodes of “SportsTalk” through RCN On-Demand and here in previous “SportsTalk Shop” blog entries.

We’ll continue to talk baseball on this week’s “SportsTalk” show with Oakland Athletics pitcher Lou Trivino. Lou was born and grew up in the RCN of Pennsylvania region and just made his MLB debut last week. He will have some great stories to tell about his rise to the Big Leagues and what his first few games in the Majors have been like.

Also on this Thursday’s program, we’ll bring in beat writers from different areas to recap the NFL Draft, with an emphasis on the teams most popular with fans within the RCN-TV viewing area.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

There’s a great story involving sports fans in both the RCN DC and Pennsylvania viewing areas.

A new beginning got underway at Lafayette College as standout DMV player and coach Caitlyn de la Haba is completing her first year as the school’s head softball coach. 

As a player, de la Haba posted some ultra-impressive numbers in both high school in Virginia and at Villanova University:

• HS team compiled an overall record of 82-1 (she was a four-year starter, three as a pitcher)
• Team Ranked #1 in the country by USA Today
• As a pitcher, registered 65 shutouts, 26 no-hitters and 13 perfect games
• Earned Back-to-back Gatorade Player of the Year honors
• Led Villanova in appearances during all four years, winning 55 games
• Finished on the Wildcats’ all-time leader with 75 complete games and 3^rd with 660 strikeouts 

We had the opportunity for “RCN SportsTalk” recently to talk with Coach de la Haba and three of her key players.

Two of the senior leaders include Sam Sweigart and Miranda Skurla.

Samantha has been a constant for the team as the starting second baseman for the last three seasons.

Miranda has also been a key member of the team handling both first base as well as the hot corner for Lafayette the last several years.

Both have been key in bridging the gap between the gap to the “next generation” of players and have been part of a solid defensive infield. The Leopards have played a number of tough games late in the season but stressed that they were excited to be at the forefront of an exciting new era for their program.

We also spoke with junior shortstop Brooke Wensel, the Patriot League’s defending “Defensive Player of the Year,” who looks to lead the “next generation” towards more success for the 2018-19 campaign.

De la Haba said that the new direction of the team will be to build on solid pitching—a tried and true formula in this sport. With the renewed interest and excitement generated from the first year at the helm, it’s easy to see why there’s so much optimism on the horizon for this program’s future.

For more on the Lafayette softball program’s “new era,” check out their “SportsTalk” feature on RCN’s Video On Demand!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

When Maikel Franco was climbing up through the Phillies minor league system, I remember talking with the hot, young prospect the day before Opening Day—on a particularly frigid April afternoon. It was Franco’s first spring in the Northeast. As I approached him, our exchange went like:

FRANCO: “Man, it’s cold out there. It’s not normally this cold up here in April, is it?”

ME: “I’m afraid so.”

FRANCO (smiling): “That’s no good…I’m not a cold weather hitter.”

True enough, Franco struggled for the first two months of that season until the weather did warm up for good. Once that happened, he made a rather quick ascension up the minor league ladder.

Since then, Maikel has battled issues of inconsistency—coming randomly over the last couple years—regardless of what the thermostat was registering.

I recently approached Franco in the Phillies clubhouse—a few minutes after he hit his fourth career grand slam and his fifth consecutive game where he hit a home run at Citizens Bank Park, a streak that dated back to the end of last September—another chilly time for baseball.

He beamed his big smile again when I recounted that story to him. He quickly pointed out he feels that he has figured things out at the plate, even on a night where the wind chill factor was in the mid-30s.

Here’s the rest of my conversation with Maikel along with his comments on how effective his new batting stance has been…

At the time of this conversation his batting average was .308. However, after the two series against the Reds and Rays (in the warm climate/indoor stadium of Tampa Bay no less) and one game in “Hot-lanta” (although it’s been anything but warm in Georgia this week), Franco’s season BA has dropped to .214 (as of press time) and his slugging percentage has dropped over a hundred points.

Clearly, it still remains to be seen if Franco is the proven, everyday, power-hitting threat the Phillies organization had clearly envisioned back when he was still in the minor leagues. With Scott Kingery’s strong acclimation to Major League pitching and Mitch Walding hitting well at Triple-A (currently with a slash line of .342/.405/.579), he certainly has to feel some pressure. But if he can hit like he did the first two weeks of the season in the cold weather, perhaps there is still hope that he can still be a part of the team’s future.

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One of the top high school games we covered for “SportsTalk” last week was a great contest between Central Catholic and Northampton. Here’s a sample of the highlights and “players of the game” interviews from that contest.

For more features, be sure to check out to check out our show on Thursdays at 7pm, On-Demand and our podcast: rcn.com/atvn/sports-talk

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 

When I first created the “SportsTalk” program on RCN-TV, I wanted to feature some of the incredible people from the RCN viewing area. Recently, I had the good fortune of interviewing a very special individual on our show.

Jack O’Halloran has continued to have a tremendous career, in sports, movies, books, productions and, in many other circles of life.

Jack, born in Philadelphia, grew up in the Delaware Valley and fought some of the greatest names in boxing history, and acted alongside some of the cinema’s biggest names of all time.

A California Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, Jack shared his personal stories of Mohammad Ali, George Foreman, Ken Norton and other great, ranked fighters.

He is developing his 2010 novel, “Family Legacy,” into a film (looking to release it next year) which deals with thought-provoking questions and unique aspects of American life, in addition to writing and producing other projects.

As an actor, Jack’s most well-known role was that of “Non” in the classic “Superman I” and “Superman II” films. He told us wonderful stories about his friends and colleagues – Sarah Douglas, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando and Christopher Reeve – as well as Robert Mitchum, James Earl Jones, Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, Ted Kennedy and many other well-known celebrities.

He talked with me about his excitement following his childhood team, the Eagles, to the Super Bowl this past winter, and shared a great story involving former Birds Hall of Fame Quarterback Sonny Jurgensen, Head Coach Joe Kuharich and how he “almost” went to play for this favorite team. Check it out!

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Speaking of the Eagles, we also caught up with CBS Sports/247 NFL Reporter Jeff Kerr on “SportsTalk” to get his insights and observations on the current Eagles team and general NFL off-season news. He also shared his opinions on potential roster moves, more free agent acquisitions, Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, the NFL Draft and the latest rumors…

Tune in for more insight from Jeff on the NFL Draft on this Thursday’s “SportsTalk” show, live at 7 pm on RCN-TV

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

With the expanded playoff format, we are just a couple days removed from the final Pennsylvania high school basketball games of the 2018 season.

Strangely enough, as I’m typing this on the second day of April, I’m looking out my window and seeing at least three inches of snow on the lawn. In keeping with the weather outside, it’s time for our final look at the winter basketball season with video highlights from all of RCN-TV’s exciting coverage of the Pennsylvania high school playoff races, featuring teams from both the Lehigh and Delaware Valley areas!

Don’t forget RCN customers can see all these games in their entirety for free, at any time, by viewing the games through RCN On-Demand.

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This week on “RCN SportsTalk presented by ‘The Morning Call’” we’ll start our transition from the winter to the spring high school sports season by meeting two of the Lehigh Valley’s defending District XI champions—the Allentown Central Catholic lacrosse team and the Emmaus volleyball team. Coaches (both of them voted “Coach of the Year” by the “Call”) and their players from both teams will be in-studio to talk about last year’s success and preview the upcom