Carlos Ruiz To The Union A Done Deal, Per Jonathan Tannenwald

(Originally published at The Brotherly Game)

Last week, reports surfaced that the Philadelphia Union were rumored to bring him Guatemalan forward Carlos Ruiz.  Now it appears as if it it is more than just a rumor.  Per Philly.com's Jonathan Tannenwald, Carlos Ruiz to the Union a done deal.

I was told to expect an official announcement of the [Carlos] Ruiz deal tomorrow or Tuesday. I was not given any details about whether there will be a formal introduction, the way there was for Faryd Mondragón and Carlos Valdés.

While some may be hesitant to bring in Carlos Ruiz, nicknamed El Pescadito, because of his known penchant for diving, he figures to directly replace the role of the departed Alejandro Moreno.

After a 7-year run in MLS which saw him play 164 games and score 90 goals for Los Angeles Galaxy, FC Dallas, and Toronto F.C., Carlos Ruiz spent 2009 with Olimipa in Paraguay before spending 2009-2010 in Mexico with Puebla and Aris Thessaloniki F.C. in Greece in 2011. 

Carlos Ruiz would be an interesting fit for Piotr Nowak and the Union as Ruiz is a known diver as mentioned above, and Nowak frequently takes a no nonsense approach with his players.  But the good may outweigh the bad as El Pescarito has a penchant for being able to put the ball in the back of the net.

Oh, and CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH!

Say Hello To Leonard Weaver's Replacement

Get well soon Church Van. Hello Runaway Beer Truck!

Welcome Philadelphia's New 3rd Basemen

I tweeted this as an "ugh" but the more I think about it, the more I consider it a "meh". The Phillies have signed Placido Polanco to play 3rd base for 3-years and $18 million. From Reuters

Personally I would have preferred Beltre despite his injury proneness but the Polanco signing does have an upside despite the obvious downside of he has not played 3rd base regularly in years. I would consider him the exact opposite of Pete Happy, if you will.

Polanco, who played second base for the past four seasons with the Detroit Tigers, will move to third base to replace Pedro Feliz, who is expected to sign elsewhere as a free agent.

A .303 career hitter, Polanco played for Philadelphia from 2002 to 2005 before being traded to the Tigers for relief pitcher Ugueth Urbina and infielder Ramon Martinez.

"We're very happy to have Placido back in a Phillies uniform," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told Major League Baseball website mlb.com.

"He's a professional hitter who will enhance our lineup. As a Gold Glove infielder, we're very confident that he will make a smooth transition back to third base. Polly also gives us some added versatility at second base if and when Chase (Utley) needs a rest."

Polanco hit .285 with 10 home runs and 72 RBIs in 618 at-bats last season with Detroit.

The Dominican has played 322 games in his career at third base, but only nine since the end of the 2004 season

Personally I would have preferred Beltre at 3rd base despite his injury proneness as I really felt he was the complete package for a 3rd basemen, but the part that worries me is that Polanco has only played 3B 9 times since 2004. Polanco has a solid consistent bat which is something that I do like (then again, I guess you can say the same about Pete Happy being consistent. Consistently bad, but it was consistent) and while he was a golden glove fielder I am worried that he will be prone to errors regularly playing a position that he has not played in a while, especially in the beginning of the year.

For those that do not know or do not remember, Polanco is actually a former Phillie. He played 2nd base for us at the start of the decade until some guy named Chase Utley emerged. The rest is history. Although there is a great irony here. When Utley emerged, everyone wanted to keep Polanco and move him to 3rd base. Well, 5 years later, Placido Polanco is our new 3rd baseman.

Polanco will likely bat 2nd in the line up and through no fault of his own, Victorino will be moved down to the spot Pete Happy used to occupy, the 7-hole. Polanco just fits better at the top, although personally, I would prefer Victorino leading off and J-Roll moving down to the 7 as I think his best days might be behind him.

Am I uber-excited about this move? No, I'm not, but for a line-up like the Phillies that needs something to compliment the power hitters, this can be a good move, provided Polanco's glove does not let him and the team down.

HE'S BAAAAAAAAAACK!!!

After announcing his retirement through Steven A. Smith on Mike Missanell's radio show a week ago today, Allen Iverson is not only out of retirement but he is back in the city where he belongs, the city that loves him, the city of Philadelphia. Yes, Allen Iverson is once again, a Philadelphia 76er. From CSN Philly

Allen Iverson is rejoining the Philadelphia 76ers and is expected to make his debut Monday at home against the Denver Nuggets.

Iverson’s brief retirement is over after signing a free-agent contract with Philadelphia on Wednesday, three years after their acrimonious split led to his trade and seemingly ended any chance of his return.

The Sixers needed a replacement once they lost starting point guard Lou Williams, who’s expected to miss eight weeks after jaw surgery. Williams, who averaged 17.4 points and 5.1 assists, broke his jaw in a loss to Washington on Nov. 24.

Iverson, his agent and business manager met with team president Ed Stefanski, coach Eddie Jordan and two other members of the organization Monday to talk about returning.

“Without really seeing him on the floor, I would like to compare him to Brett Favre, a guy who people think is too old to play and he’s almost having an MVP year,” Jordan said. “That’s off the top of my head. When I woke up this morning, I said, ‘Maybe he can be that.’ It’s not a big maybe. I think he can be that.”

The 34-year-old Iverson announced his retirement last week after a stint with the Memphis Grizzlies. The 10-time All-Star was NBA MVP in 2001, when he led the Sixers to the NBA finals.

“We had, at times, a rocky road with Allen Iverson, but we also had a fantastic run with Allen,” Peter Luukko, COO of Comcast-Spectacor, which owns the 76ers and Flyers, told The Associated Press. “The expectations with Allen have changed dramatically. We’re not looking for Allen to individually lead this team the way he has in the past.”

[...]

Jordan said Iverson will likely start in place of rookie Jrue Holiday.

“I told him I would like for him to start, and that’s where it sort of ended,” Jordan said. “And he was really like a kid at Christmas. That’s how he sort of explained it to me. He’s really excited and we’re looking forward to it.”

The man who is all but shunned by the rest of the league is back in the city that loves him. This is great. And so what if this is not the best way to build a championship team, the Sixers are currently a car wreck of a team that is getting nowhere way too fast. A change needs to be made. While there were no expectations of this team to win a championship, there was and maybe now still is the expectation that they can be a bottom of the pack playoff team that can win a playoff game or 2.

This may not make the most sense basketball wise but financially speaking they need it and for the first time this year, Sixers tickets are selling like Philly cheesesteaks and also for the first time this year on Monday, I will do something that I have not done all season: watch a Sixers game.

A.I. is back in Philly. I love it.

And Now For Today's Holy Shit Moment

From Chris Mortensen's Twitter account.

WOW! I'm shocked. But in a good way. Kevin Kolb showed what he was made of against the Ravens. A.J. Feeley sucks. And the Eagles nearly had a coaching intern play because of Kolb's injury. Sadly, though the NFL did not allow that move and instead that Eagles brought up Temple graduate Adam DiMichele.

I've always been for Vick's reinstatement into the league, and assuming he can still play, I'm happy to have him with the Eagles.

Mark your calendars for December 6. Regardless of whether Vick is starting or not for what would be a presumably injured McNabb, it should be a show when Michael Vick returns to Atlanta....

Update: Vick's contract is worth $1.6 million for 2009, according to Fox's Jay Glazer, and the Eagles can pick up a 2010 option for $5.2 million.

The Eagles Have Finally Signed Jeremy Maclin

Well it's about time! As you may or may not have noted, my Eagles preview was typed late last night so I was unable to give you the news that Jeremy Maclin has reached a deal with the Eagles. It is a 5-year contract. CSN Philly has the details.

Late Monday night the Eagles and first-round pick Jeremy Maclin agreed to a five-year deal reportedly worth $15.5 million, $9.5 million of which is guaranteed.

That deal is worth slightly more than the one received by the 20th overall pick, tight end Brandon Pettigrew, who according to NFL.com signed a five-year, $14.6 million deal that included $9.4 million guaranteed.

Maclin is the 23rd first-round pick to agree to terms. However, the negotiation process cost him the first 13 practices of training camp, valuable time considering how complicated the offense is for rookies to master.

The wide receiver out of Missouri will be trying to earn playing time in a deep group of receivers led by second-year pro DeSean Jackson along with veterans Kevin Curtis and Jason Avant.

The Eagles also hope Maclin can preserve Jackson by handling the punt return duties.

Didn't we initially get DeSean Jackson for punt returning duties? Amazing the difference that one year makes.

I said this before, but I'll say it again. Jeremy Maclin is a good kid and I am proud to have him with the Eagles, now that he is actually signed with the Eagles. And despite missing practices, Maclin is confident that he can make the time up. Once again via CSN Philly

“I pick up things very easily,” Maclin said. “I think I’m smart and I can do things like that. I’m going to take what I learned in minicamp and hopefully translate it out here.”

In addition to the minicamps, Maclin also participated in Donovan McNabb’s annual camp in Arizona.

“I think not only was it connecting on a football level but also on a more personal level,” Maclin said. “It’s kind of off the radar. You’re kind of out there doing your thing, having fun, joking around, talking to each other but at the same time getting work in.”

Suffice to say, I look forward to Jeremy Maclin being in an Eagles uniform! Actually, I just can't wait to see Eagles uniforms. Period.

Guess Who's Once Again An Eagle....

As if there wasn't enough things going on today, now there's this news from the Eagles. According to Les Brown of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Eagles have brought back a certain Quarterback. No, Koy Detmer is not coming back to once again be the holder. Or is brother Ty. No, it's not Randall Cunningham. It's not Mike McMahon. It's not Jeff Garcia. No, you're wrong if you think it's Bobby Hoying. If you had Doug Pederson, congragulatons! You're a winner!

A source close to the situation confirmed last night that Doug Pederson, everyone's favorite former Eagles quarterback, is returning to the team in a coaching role. It would seem to make sense that Pederson would coach the quarterbacks, replacing Pat Shurmur, who was just hired to run St. Louis' offense by ex-Eagles assistant Steve Spagnuolo. But indications are that someone else will coach the QBs and that Pederson might just replace "offensive assistant'' Mark Whipple, who left the Birds yesterday after 1 year on the staff to become the offensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes.

Definitley an interesting move. Hopefully he'll be a better coach than he was quarterback (am I the only one that remembers that Reid brought him in until McNabb was ready to start?).

And while his quarterback career was rather forgettable, I can actually get excited over this hire. He was seen by many during his playing does as a player-coach, so we'll see how he does, but I think he'll do just fine as a coach, whether it be QB coach, offensive assistant, or whatever ends up happening. And perhaps, that this is an indication that the Eagles are going to have some major shake-ups this off-season, I'm happy! That is, as long as they are the right moves (*cough*cough*Trade for Anquan Boldin and draft Beanie Wells*cough*cough*)

Doug Pederson Returning to the Eagles as coach (Philadelphia Daily News
Na Brown is Next! (Russakoff Rules)