Carson Wentz out for the year

Yesterday versus the LA Rams on a TD scramble run, QB Carson Wentz suffered a knee injury that will end his 2017 season. He was in the conversation as the MVP of the NFL if not the frontrunner. It is a serious blow to the Eagles but is it a death nail? 

Enter Nick Foles as the replacement. He is an athletic capable "short-term" option that can fill in with little downside. Wentz is a playmaker which will be the largest differential. But Foles is plenty capable of running the offense and not changing what the Eagles do. In 2013, as a starter for the Eagles, he threw 27 TDs with only 2 INTs and a passer rating of 119.2. That was the Chip Kelly's offense. This offense has leftover parts from that offense but is scaled to an NFL operation. The prior offense was built to out-scheme the defense. It is an offense he can run effectively. He also has players around him that can support a share of the load. RBs Blount and Ajayi can effectively rush the ball. Foles can effectively throw to Ertz, Agholor, Jeffries, and Smith.  

The Eagles can survive but certainly will need to limit turnovers. Do not expect different play calling, and to expect Foles to maintain the playmaking capability of Wentz is too much to ask. Yet, he can thrive if not asked to win games via ad lib. Foles can make the throws, he can make the right calls at the line of scrimmage and essentially, carry on with the Eagles chase to the SuperBowl. Don't write them off just yet.  

World Baseball Classic Selection

Team USA has its best team ever in this tournament. They will also be run by a very strong and respected manager in Jim Leyland. This team was put together based on the idea Team USA has not fared well and needs to put their best foot forward. The assembled team is a plethora of All-Stars who can hit and play defense. The ONLY question on this team is starting pitching.

The roster has these players on it. Catchers are Lucroy and Posey, 1B are Goldschmidt and Hosmer, 2B Kinsler and Murphy, SS Crawford, 3B Arenado and Bregman, Carpenter can play 1B or 3B. The OFs are McCutchen, Jones, Stanton and Yelich. This team can hit!

The starting pitchers are Archer, Stroman, Roark and Duffy. There is no Cy Young winner but they are all number 1’s except for Roark and he had an ERA under 3.00 last season. They will benefit from solid relief pitching. It will be bolstered by Andrew Miller! It will also have Robertson, Neshek, Gregorson, Clippard, Dyson, Givens and Jones.

They are in Pool C with a home field advantage. The Pool C games are being played in Miami at Marlins Park. They are paired with Canada, Colombia and Dominican Republic. Two teams come out of each pool and Pool C should see Team USA and DR advance. DR are the second favorites in this tournament. They have Cueto as the main pitcher, but the starters are not as strong as the USA has. They have a strong infield with Machado but will be minus Beltre (hamstring). They have strong OF led by Marte. Even though they are strong, TEAM USA is better.

Team Japan is probably the 3^rd best team in the tournament and has always played well. The finals should have them in it.

The action starts March 6^th in Korea. Pool C action begins March 9^th and TEAM USA sees their first game on March 10^th. 

WBC Odds per Bookmaker

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC -FUTURES

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC -FUTURES - FEB 10
7:10 AM	ODDS TO WIN WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 2017 USA     ODDS+200 2K USD NO BUY Dominican Republic     +250 Japan     +300 South Korea     +1000 Puerto Rico     +1000 Venezuela     +900 Cuba     +1800 Netherlands     +2500 Mexico     +2500 Canada     +5000 Chinese Taipei     +5000 Italy     +8500 Field - Any Other Country     +3500

The BEST way to get into MLB without a doubt.

Signed up again for another year today.

Getting Coffee Report a new look for 2017

These pages will soon be loaded with recaps of MLB games! I am awaiting the moments and thinking of the coffee I will consume! Baseball sure has a better feel than other sports.