- The Philadelphia Phillies- Status: Poor but Improving- This is going to be a rough season. After finishing last in 2014, the Phillies are going to be picked to finish last again. The positive news? They traded Jimmy Rollins and got back a Padres first round pick and Dodgers second round pick on the mound. Kyle Kendrick, A.J. Burnett, and Roberto Hernandez all pitched at or below replacement level, and are gone. There's reason to believe that Marlon Byrd, Chase Utley, Ben Revere, Carlos Ruiz, Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, and even Ryan Howard could all move on this year or next, returning some prospects, cutting some payroll, and maybe even clearing space for free agents. Of course, the downside to that is a very, very young team in the near future, a team that will be expected to lose. While they may only really miss Hamels, Lee, Utley, and Revere of that list, they won't all be replaced with equal talents quickly. So, expect a last place finish in 2015. More so, the system they have isn't deep, as only top prospect Maikel Franco of the "elite four" as I refer to Franco, Aaron Nola, J.P. Crawford, and Roman Quinn, is likely to help in 2015 much, and Crawford and Quinn haven't seen AA yet. The Phillies will need another good draft, hope for guys like Aaron Altherr and Jesse Biddle to suddenly click, and then hope they get some good returns on their trades. In short, things are moving too slowly, and they are going to be really badly in 2015, but the Phillies at least started to rebuild by trading Rollins and Bastardo. Their current haul of five players, counting their Rule 5 picks, this off-season is a start though.
- The Philadelphia Eagles- Status: Above Average and Unclear- Over the last two football season, counting last year's playoff game, the Eagles are 20-13 since firing Andy Reid. Considering they were 4-12 before that, you have to give that some love. Chip Kelly has shown he can win football games in the NFL, and the team is actually exciting to watch. With that said, they went 1-3 against the big boys in the NFC West, they lost football games to four of the six playoff teams in the conference, and didn't even compete well against the top two. The offense needs to look for an answer at quarterback, straighten out LeSean McCoy's contract situation, replace Todd Herremans and get deeper on the line, and straighten out the receivers if Maclin leaves. The entire secondary on the defense needs work, and Demeco Ryans might need to be replaced too. After special teams, really no unit is close to set. Chip Kelly is by no means in any kind of trouble with a 20-12 record through two regular seasons, but perhaps there is more to prove in 2015. The coming draft and free agent period is the first critical one of his tenure.
- The Philadelphia Flyers- Status: Very mediocre and stationary- The Flyers made the playoffs last year and lost in the first round. Right now, they'd miss the playoffs, and they have a -9 differential. They've had issues with health and consistency, and obviously defensive play. They're not much of a contender, and they're only good randomly. This is probably the worst situation of the four teams, as they aren't good, aren't contending, and aren't getting better. Frankly the issue is a stagnant owner. With all of that said, you just have to give this front office time, as they're new.
- The Philadelphia 76ers- Status: Awful and building- Ok, so this team has 4 wins, and might end up under their own low record of nine. Joel Embiid might not play a game this season. Nerlens Noel is improving each week though, Michael Carter-Williams is excellent, and they've received flashes from K.J. McDaniels. The future is far away though. Furkan Alder is a work in progress, Dario Saric remains in Turkey, and a certain lottery pick from this year's team (if not more) still lies ahead. The good news? They have cap space. They have a good GM. They have a good coach. They have some really good young talent. They also lost by 40 tonight to Golden State though, which is really awful.
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