Morning Phil-Up: Kings Waive Mike Richards

With the heavy amount of Marcus Mariota to the Eagles rumors floating around, it was only a matter of time before Philadelphia started to hear some trade rumors for Nick Foles as well.

After all, if the Eagles are going to go all-in to try to bring Chip Kelly’s guy in here, it wouldn’t be very practical to keep Foles around. In fact, it would actually be pretty essential to move him.

Quarterback controversies almost never end well for any team, regardless of which passer initially emerges on top. At the first sign of trouble, there’s going to be great pressure from players and fans to make a change and go with the other guy. The locker room wouldn’t be very happy if Chip decided to play Mariota from the jump and get off to a rough start as he goes through growing pains while a former starter that they’ve won with before sits on the bench.

Trading Foles would also be important because it would become necessary for the Eagles to restock their assets after Kelly sells the farm away just move up for Mariota. A young quarterback like Foles would be of decent value to some team, and should be able to get the Birds a pretty decent return.

As you begin your morning, be sure to check out these articles from around the web.

Kings Waive Mike Richards – CSNPhilly

Former Flyers’ captain Mike Richards has been waived by the L.A. Kings.

Richards, 29, had been struggling heavily, scoring just five goals to this point in the season. Once a top line center with the Flyers, the former captain had been reduced to a fourth-liner with the Kings.

The obvious question for many Flyer fans is whether or not a reunion would be possible for Richards and the orange and black. After all, once a Flyer, always a Flyer, right?

The organization has had a long-standing history of bringing back former players after letting them go. In recent years, the team has brought back the likes of Simon Gagne, Brian Boucher, Ray Emery, and R.J. Umberger. So why not Richie?

Unlike most of the former Flyers, Richards’ tenure with the team ended with some pretty bad blood between the player and organization.

At 29, Richards is still young enough to turn things around and rediscover his old form. However, I think he’ll be continuing his career in a city other than Philadelphia.

David Buchanan Working On Curveball – Philly.com

David Buchanan was one of the few bright spots for the 2014 Phillies.

Buchanan posted a solid 3.75 ERA in 20 starts, compiling a 6-8 record while helping stabilize the team’s rotation.

However, a spot in the rotation is anything but guaranteed for Buchanan.

The Phillies still have Cole Hamels, and expect Cliff Lee to be healthy. They added Aaron Harang, and expect Buchanan to compete with Jerome Williams and Miguel Alfredo-Gonzalez for the final spots in the rotation.

To help improve his game and get an edge, Buchanan has been working on developing his curveball.

Buchanan used his curve only 9.4 percent of the time in 2014, and its a pitch that he wants to have more confidence with moving forward.

A key for any pitcher to succeed in the big leagues is to keep hitters off balance and guessing about what they might do next. Making the curve a regular part of his selection can only help Buchanan moving forward.

Papelbon Trade Is a Tough Sell Because Of Amaro’s Terrible Contracts – Crossing Broad

Over the weekend, there were reports that the Phillies were close to a deal with the Brewers to ship closer Jonathan Papelbon out of town.

However, Brewers’ general manager Doug Melvin came out and stated that the deal had hit a snag, and for the time being talks had stopped.

One of the problems that the Phillies have had with moving their veteran players have been the terrible contracts handed out to them by Ruben Amaro Jr.

Papelbon’s contract calls for an easily attainable vesting option in 2016 that will scare a lot of potential suitors away. It’s hard enough to deal Papelbon because of his terrible clubhouse reputation, and a vesting option just makes things that much worse.

Terrell Owens Weighs In On Deflate Gate – Philly Voice

Former Eagle and NFL star receiver Terrell Owens threw out his thoughts on the Deflate Gate scandal.

Owens believes that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are “telling tales” and that any professional athlete knows the difference between an inflated and deflated ball and how important that can be for a player’s performance.

Is Owens speaking the truth, or just trying to stir the pot while make himself relevant again?

We’ll go with the latter.