Polanco was out at third base as usual Monday when Delwyn Young of the Pirates hit a weak pop-up back to the pitcher’s mound. Polanco ran over to retrieve the fly ball when he stumbled over the mound and collapsed to the ground in pain. Trainers rushed to his aid and helped Polanco back to the dugout. Early reports projected that he may be out 2-4 weeks with a knee injury. While the knee is the correct source of the problem, Polanco said later that no MRI is needed and that he expects to be cleared and ready to go by the end of the week. Okay, we can exhale…for now.

Halladay was Halladay again. He pitched 5 strong innings giving up his first run of spring training along with 3 hits while striking out 6. Halladay said after the game that he his gearing himself up to throw 100 pitches by his last start of the spring, but felt really strong today.

The scare to Polanco was just that. Tuesday is a big day for him though to test out how sore the knee really is. I injured my knee playing wiffleball a couple years back and finished the tournament I had that day only to hobble to the doctor’s office the next day. I had torn my meniscus and had crutches for two weeks.  My wiffleball dream had been put to rest.  Without an MRI, let’s hope that he is up and running soon with minimal pain. The Phillies have the day off on Thursday and Polanco expects to play Friday if he is called upon.

According to the Inky’s Kate Fagan, Jordan’s days are numbered and Stefanski could be next:

Comcast-Spectacor is ready to fire 76ers coach Eddie Jordan, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.

Several other sources also indicated that the organization will “seriously evaluate” Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski, who hired Jordan less than a year ago.

One of these sources indicated that the company had considered terminating Jordan earlier, but likely was “deterred” by the early-season firing of former Flyers coach John Stevens.

Comcast-Spectacor owns both franchises.

These sources indicated that Jordan could be fired before this season ends – if it becomes obvious he has lost the team – but more likely after the final game of this dismal season.

One of these sources also characterized Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider as “up in arms” about Jordan’s coaching effort, with another source with intimate knowledge of the management’s thinking calling Jordan’s coaching “baffling.”

At this point of the season, I think we can all agree on a few things. For one, Jordan’s coaching is utterly “baffling,” and I am sure half of the site’s readers could handle this team better. There’s been a few names thrown around as potential replacements, like Stan Van Gundry and Avery Johnson, but we’ll save those debates for another time.

And it’s about time that Ed Stefanski is “seriously evaluated.” I mean excuse the language, but what the fuck what was he thinking when he hired Jordan and gave that terrible contract to Elton Brand?

If I were Ed Snider, the two Eddies would be out the door now, and the I’d hope the team would drop each and every game to round out the season. It’s extreme, but this team needs desperate help now.

One answer could come today when free agent safety Marlin Jackson visit the NovaCare complex at 3pm, after his scheduled 11am talk with reporters. Jackson, who shares an agent with Avant, will be visiting the Ravens beforehand.

Les Bowen wouldn’t be surprised if Jackson landed in Philly, ACL issues notwithstanding. He’s relatively young, at 26, and has shown the ability to perform on a high level.

The Eagles need to improve, and they need to do it quickly. Signing a guy like Jackson would go a long way in bringing them back to elite status,

Torres is an outright central attacking midfield type, one that will benefit by playing under the direction of Fred, and he has a real chance to shine on this brand new club.

His career with Colombia has been brief, as he debuted with second division side Alianza Petrolera in February of 2008. He scored just one goal during the campaign.

The following season saw him make the jump to América de Cali, in the first division. He started all 15 games that he took part in, debuting against Club Santa Fe.

Happy trails, Reggie. Let’s hope Kevin Curtis follows you.

Staying with the receivers for a moment, the team also locked up Jason Avant for five years. The restricted free agent had a bit of a breakout year last season, proving to be dependable for the team, especially in third down situations. According to ESPN, the deal is worth $18 million, $8 million guaranteed.

I enjoyed reading about the news conference from this afternoon, which is detailed in the Philly.com story:

e told of being disappointed when the first day of the draft, and the first three rounds, passed without his named being called. Avant said he was bolstered by a call from then-Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, whom Avant had met through one of his brothers.

“He called me and said, ‘You just have to let this be fuel for you; to prove a lot of people wrong. That it’s not about a 40 time, it’s about being a good football player.’ I’m just thankful to coach [Andy] Reid and those people that were there, [wide receivers coach David] Culley, and all those that helped draft me for looking past the 40 time and really focusing on what type of player I was. I owe a lot of people for it and I’m just thankful for that and I’m going to continue to try to make them proud.”

I like guy’s hustle and hope they thrown to him even more this season.

While the 30-year old midfielder may be getting a little long in the tooth, he’s had a storied career and he brings a wealth of experience to the brand new club.

Fred began his career in his native Brazil, playing for a few different clubs, including Olympic Barbacena, Tupi, and America. He spent the ‘06-’07 season in the A-League, playing for Melbourne Victory. He was voted the best player of the season by Australian football show “The World Game,” and during the final against Adelaide United, Fred had four assists.

He migrated to the MLS the following season, inking a deal with DC United, despite coming off a hugely successful campaign in Australia. This was one move that was all about money.

Fred returned to the A-League on loan with the Wellington Phoenix (the only side in New Zealand) for what was supposed to be six matches. He played just three due to the passing of his father.

As the Union’s first season inches closer to kicking off, let’s hope Fred can return to his winning ways and provide the new club with much-needed veteran guidance.

From 1973, here’s another classic clip from Soul Train, this one combining the talents of Teddy P and Harold Melvin.

I’ve never had any interest in the MLS mostly due to the lower quality of play and the absence of a Philly team. Now that the Union is about to begin their inaugural season, I am planning to jump into the league headfirst.

Over the next few weeks leading up to game one, we’ll be looking at each and every player on the roster. First up will be keeper Brad Knighton.

Born in North Carolina, he attended UNC-Wilmington, and played for the MLS development league team Indiana Invaders. Undrafted by the MLS after graduation, he attended a New England Revolution tryout in ‘07, and was good enough to be invited to the team for the preseason.

He won a spot as the Revolution’s third-choice keeper and a developmental contract with the club, making him the first soccer player from UNC-Wilmington to be on an MLS roster.

Knighton was with the Revs for the entirety of ‘07 and part of ‘08 before being loaned to Portland Timbers of the USL to get him some valuable first team experience.

Knighton was selected by Philadelphia Union in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft on November 25, 2009.  As one of the team’s three keepers, he has a solid chance to emerge as a starter.

He can be found on Twitter at @bbknighton.

I drove up to the parking lot at the field to test that idea. I wanted to see how far I could go with myself and my word.

I drove down the entranceway, and came across an elderly man who was wearing an orange vest. I said hello with a smile and told him that I was a reporter for TheSoundofPhilly.com and was there to meet someone to talk to about the new season and spring training in general. He looked at me through his sunglasses and said, “Ok. You can park over there in the media section.”

He pointed to a gravel section of the parking lot where a bunch of cars were parked. I drove around and took my spot next to a port-a-potty. All of the sudden, i heard the man yell, “Hey!” My heart jumped. I felt that this was as far as I would get. What a waste of a trip!

“You gotta move your car back! You parked on the gas line!”

I sighed and waved. I moved back, parked the car, and took my keys out of the ignition. I grabbed my supplies and moved onward to the front office. So far, so good.

I opened the front door and noticed two men in suits sitting in the lobby and looked at myself and realized I was not dressed up for the occasion. Nevertheless, I walked up to the woman at the desk and confidently reiterated my story I told to the parking lot attendant. She looked at me and said that I was to go through the doorway behind her to the left, go down the stairwell, and speak to the man who was behind the desk downstairs. I made it through the second checkpoint with no questions asked. I raced down the stairs to my next challenge.

Opening the door to the bottom level, I saw another large security desk. Double doors sat on both sides of the room, and a Phillies emblem had been tiled into the floor. The man behind the desk had a large name tag sitting up on his desk for everyone to see. I told Ron what I had told the previous employees. He told me to sit down in a chair and he would see about getting me my credentials and have a girl walk me around and answer any questions I may have had. I couldn’t believe how hospitable and inviting everyone had been. I sat down and waited.

Thirty seconds into sitting down, the double doors swung open. I looked up and saw a man walk through. In full uniform, minus the jersey, Shane Victorino walked into the room. He walked by me and said hello as he moved from one set of doors to the other set across the room. Ron said something to him about getting married and I just kept my cool. I am a professional here.

Another thirty seconds go by and the doors swing open again. This time an older gentlemen in a sweater vest came into the room and looked at Ron. Ron said, “Hey Wheels.” Chris Wheeler turned to me sitting down, waved, and said hello. I said hello back and immediately thought of Harry, but let it go.

Ron got up and went to the doors. He turned back to me and said, “Well….come on!” He waved for me to follow him. This was it! I was in! I did it!

We walked down the hall and got to the first office on the right. It was the office of Bonnie Clark, Vice President of Communications. Ron introduced me to her and she said hello and asked her what I was there for. I explained that I was there to do a report on the spring training and would be delighted to speak with anybody about what was going on at the ballpark this year to attract fans.

She asked me if I had my credentials. I said that I didn’t and asked her who I needed to speak with to get them. She got upset at that point and asked me who I was with. I told her TheSoundofPhilly.com and she asked me to sit back down and she would be with me in a second. I did as I was told and she came out a minute later and said that she didn’t know who I thought I was, but I needed to apply for credentials like everyone else and come back when I had them. I thanked her and walked out.

I mean, really, what more could I have asked for? I made it pretty far without showing a single thing and I got to see a few people associated with the organization. What I have learned is that the MLB needs to do a better job of opening up the media availability to the blogosphere. The blogs of the world are the words of the people. They have their finger on the pulse of the fanbase. They are not run by coorperations and they are not told what to write. They are objective and they are varied. They are run by fans who dedicate their time to getting the word out to the world about the team that they care so deeply about. Access to the organization would allow a better public relations standpoint with the fans and show an openness to the community.

I implore professional baseball to take another look at this rule and change it. We do this for free and we do it because we love the teams, the city, and the hundreds of thousands of loyal fans that are chomping at the bit to get all the information they can about the players they love.

This is another fine contribution from Michael Hendricks.  Please visit him on Twitter at @JudeNewcomb

The ‘00-’01 season aside, the greatest Sixer team in (not really) recent memory was the ‘82-’83 championship team.

Consider this: after several years with the Houston Rockets and coming off an MVP season, Moses Malone became an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Sixers. He joined an already powerful team that consisted of Julius Erving, Andrew Toney, Maurice Cheeks, and Bobby Jones. There would be no doubt that this team would win a championship, and they handily brought it home.

Malone also won his second straight MVP award, and is only one of two players in any of the major sports to do so in consecutive seasons on different teams. The other is Barry Bonds.

Until 2008, it would be mark the largest championship drought of any city with all four major sports teams, and currently, it’s one of the last great basketball memories Philadelphia has.

I was 4, so I don’t remember any of it, and with the current Mickey Mouse operation in place, it’s unlikely that another Sixers parade down Broad will be happening anytime soon.