By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Eagles quarterback Dennis Dixon believes he can be the Eagles starting quarterback.

PHILADELPHIA—I’ve always been a firm believer in the idea that successful athletes not only have the raw ability and the determination to work at bettering themselves in their sport, being in the right place at the right time or having the right people around you—i.e. teammates or coaches-is also a determining factor.

Covering the Eagles organized team activities for the last couple of weeks, the one player that I see that could be an interesting case of what I mentioned in the previous paragraph is Dennis Dixon, who is competing for the Eagles starting quarterback spot.

So far, he is the one quarterback in Eagles camp that seems to have a firm grasp of head coach Chip Kelly’s. After playing in both Pittsburgh and Baltimore as a backup, Dixon is hoping that he can take that experience in addition to what he learned playing for Kelly at Oregon and be the Eagles starting quarterback in 2013.

“I thought that one thing I’ve learned is leadership and you got to make sure that the other 10 guys are all ready to go,” Dixon said after practice on Monday. “At the end of the day, you got to be able to know your plays.”

Dixon is one of those interesting studies in what if his circumstances were different? During his senior year in 2007 with the Ducks, there was a strong possibility that Dixon would win the Heisman Trophy and be high draft pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

In the last 10 games of his collegiate career, Dixon had thrown 20 touchdown passes and threw for 2,136 yards before the injury to his anterior-cruciate ligament in his left knee ended his season.  His Heisman hopes died and his draft stock plummeted dramatically.

Pittsburgh drafted Dixon in the fifth round to be a backup to Ben Rothlisberger. Oddly enough, Dixon actually started three games during his tenure with the Steelers and had a 2-1 record.

He left Pittsburgh after the 2011 season and served as a scout team quarterback as a member of the Baltimore Ravens taxi squad.

I think Dixon’s chances are his good of being the Eagles are as good as anybody else’s considering that he knows the offense better than any of the quarterbacks competing for the job. That certainly bodes well for him.

Maybe this is the point where Dixon’s takes off. To be honest, I don’t know if he’s going to win that job or not. But if he does and he performs well, it will be another story of a guy finding the right situation to elevate his career.

That is always the beauty of sports is when players can find the right venue to display their talents.  Of course, there are plenty of instances in sports where talented guys have found themselves in the right situation after being cast aside in another circumstance.

John Unitas was cut by the Steelers in 1955 and playing semi-pro before getting his opportunity in Baltimore.

Perhaps the most famous story in sports of an athlete finding the right place to achieve success in his career was that of one John Constantine Unitas.  He is one of the all-time great quarterbacks in NFL history.

But when Unitas was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955, he was the fourth quarterback on a team that wanted to keep three quarterbacks. Even though he had one of the strongest arms in the Steelers camp that year, Pittsburgh head coach Walt Kiesling thought Unitas was not smart enough to be an NFL quarterback and didn’t allow him to take a snap in a game.

When the Baltimore Colts called Unitas in for tryout in 1956, he was living in Pittsburgh and working as a construction worker while playing semi-pro football for the Bloomfield Rams at six bucks per game.

Of course, you know the rest of the story, Unitas, who called his own plays, became the quarterback who elevated the two-minute drill into an art-form, re-wrote the NFL passing records and led the Colts to two NFL Championships and one Super Bowl title.

Eagles fans know the story of Randall Cunningham, who actually had a human highlights film of a career with the Birds. Unfortunately, he didn’t win enough playoff games-one to be exact-and was maligned for being just a running quarterback.

During Cunningham’s time in Philadelphia, he never had a good offensive line, a running game, or a good offensive coordinator. Cunningham was ultimately let go a year into then Eagles head coach Ray Rhodes regime.

After a one-year retirement, Cunningham was back up quarterback with the Minnesota Vikings in 1997 and came off the bench to lead the Vikings to a comeback win over the New York Giants in the NFC Wildcard game.

In 1998, Cunningham became the starter of the Vikings after Brad Johnson went down with an injury. Working with offensive coordinator Brian Billick and armed with receivers like Cris Carter and Randy Moss, he threw 34 touchdowns and passed for 3,704 yards while completing 60 percent of his passes.

It was the best statistical year of his career. You have to wonder what would have happened if Cunningham had good offensive assistant coaches like Billick who could have really tutored him in perfecting his passing skills earlier in his career.

Equally as important, if Cunningham in his Eagles days would have had a running back like Robert Smith, a more mature Carter (who played with Cunningham in Philadelphia earlier in his career) and a superstar like Moss playing wide receiver, I think could have been an even better quarterback for the Birds.

For the first three years of O.J Simpson’s career in Buffalo, he was considered a bust with a propensity to fumble and could not catch a pass out of the backfield. It looked as if he was going to become another Heisman Trophy winner who couldn’t make it in the pros.

In 1972, the Bills brought in Lou Saban to coach the team. Thanks to a couple of offensive linemen, Saban built Buffalo’s offense around Simpson. He was arguably the best running back in the NFL from 1972 to 1976.

Simpson became the first running back in NFL history to gain over 2,000 yards in one season. Saban recognized Simpson’s talent as a ball carrier and transformed him from a guy who was going nowhere fast to a player who ran his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Chicago Cubs gave up on Lou Brock, who went on to have a Hall of Fame career in St. Louis.

In the middle of the 1964 season, the Chicago Cubs were unhappy with rightfielder Lou Brock, who had trouble fielding his position (especially in Wrigley Field) and wasn’t the home run hitter the team had projected him to be.

So the Cubs traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Ernie Broglio, who had 18 wins the previous season. At the time, people covering baseball felt that the Cubs got the best of the deal.

When Brock arrived in St. Louis, Cards manager Johnny Keane moved Brock to left field and told him to focus on using his speed instead of trying to knock the ball out of the park. Brock took Keane’s advice and was the catalyst to the Cardinals run to the 1964 World Series.

Needless to say, Brock finished his career as the all-time leader in stolen bases. He has also had over 3,000 hits with a career batting average of .293. Meanwhile, Broglio won just seven more games for the Cubs before retiring in 1966.

Brock has a statue and plaque highlighting his accomplishments in Cooperstown. One team’s bust becomes another team’s success story.

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report and Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Ben Revere’s two out single in the eighth started the Phillies come back. Photo by Webster Riddick.

PHILADELPHIA—After the Phillies were shut out by the Cincinnati Reds the previous day, Charlie Manuel talked about the importance of his team hanging in there and not quitting.

“You stay aggressive and keep working on trying to get a good ball to hit. Not trying to overdo it, but just stay within yourself and do something. … Never get down, play 27 outs,” Manuel said.

For a team that was scoreless for 16 and two-thirds innings, that mentality would pay dividends in the Phillies 3-2 walk-off win over the Reds in the series finale at Citizen’s Bank Park Sunday afternoon.

The back-to-back homeruns off the Reds hard-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman by third baseman Freddy Galvis, who hit the game-winner and Erik Kratz, whose homer tied it gave the Phillies an improbable win.

“As soon as I hit, I thought hit it good,” Galvis said. “It was the first time in my life (hitting a walk off homer). I don’t think I’ll forget it.”

The Phillies ninth inning heroics were set up by the speed and hustle of centerfielder Ben Revere, who had three hits in four at-bats. It was his last hit that put the Phillies on the path to victory on a day when it looked like they were going to get shut out again.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth and the Phillies trailing 2-0, Revere smacked a hard grounder to Reds first baseman Joey Votto who dived for the ball and gloved it, but couldn’t get the ball to the pitcher covering first base in time put out the Phillies speedy centerfielder.

“It’s just all about hustle,” Revere said. “I could have just gave up on the play. About a week ago that could be an out, but no way today because I was feeling comfortable at the plate.”

After stealing second and a walk to Michael Young, Revere scored on a single by Chase Utley to cut the Reds lead to 2-1.

“Maybe that was the moment to get stuff going off of this,” Kratz said. “Anytime Ben gets on base, he can score from anywhere because of what he can do on the base paths.”

Kratz’s game-tying solo homerun should have been the game-winner if Chapman had not picked off pitcher Cliff Lee, who was pinch-running for Delmon Young who walked to open the bottom of the ninth.

“That was brutal. I’ve never been so disappointed when a guy hit a home run to tie the game in my life,” Lee said of his gaffe.  “That was bad. I felt horrible. Fortunately, Kratzy hit the home run and Freddy right behind him and that was a really good feeling. They made up for my mistake, which was unacceptable and basically brutal.”

Rookie Jonathan Pettibone kept the Phillies in the game. He gave up two runs on seven hits in seven innings. Photo by Webster Riddick.

For about seven and two-thirds innings, it was looking like the Phillies offense was going to waste another outstanding effort by a starting pitcher. Rookie sensation Jonathan Pettibone definitely pitched well enough to win. The offense’s late heroics turned a certain defeat into a no-decision.

In seven innings, Pettibone allowed just two runs-solo homer by Jay Bruce in the second inning and an RBI double to Todd Frazier in the sixth-and seven hits. He had four strikeouts and three walks.

More importantly, Pettibone and relievers Justin De Fratus and Antonio Bastardo kept the game within reach and didn’t allow the Reds to score anymore runs after the sixth inning.

“It was huge,” said Kratz, who came into the game in the third inning after Carlos Ruiz left the game with a strained right hamstring. “It doesn’t matter if we would have gone through seven guys in the bullpen or one guy, as a catcher you come out and you tell them we got to keep it right here.

“We got to play it like it’s a zero-zero game. You can’t let them get to three. Chapman with a two-run lead is tougher than Chapman with a one-run lead.”

HOWARD TO GET MRI

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard missed Sunday’s game because of soreness in his left knee. Team officials said Howard will get an MRI Monday in Miami where the team will begin a four-game series against the Marlins.

Howard said the knee had been bothering him for awhile and that the pain was bothering him more than normal Saturday night.

“It’s been acting up since Spring Training and I was able to tough my way through it,” Howard said. “(Saturday) it just kicked up a little bit.”

When asked if he thought that soreness was affecting his hitting in any way, he said it’s been tough trying to push off that knee. Howard has just four hits in his last 33 at-bats.

“We’ll see if the rest helps it,” Howard said.

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Kyle Kendrick struggled in 10-0 loss to Cincinnati. Photo by Webster Riddick.

PHILADELPHIA—You knew at some point this season that Kyle Kendrick (4-2) was going to have one of those games where he would struggle and his team would not score enough runs.

In Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, Kendrick found himself in several jams and was actually lucky to just give up four runs on eight hits with four walks in six innings on the mound.

Kendrick’s lackluster performance was further complicated by another episode of “Disappearing Acts” by the Phillies offense and the Phillies bullpen which enabled the Reds to turn the game into a 10-0 laugher of a victory over the Phils in front of 41,817 fans at Citizen’s Bank Park.

“Kendrick got hurt by a three-run homer from (Ryan) Hanigan, but at the same time he battled, he kept us in the game and of course, we couldn’t score and the bullpen let the game get out of hand,” said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.

Pitching deep into counts and allowing a man to reach base in every inning during his tenure on the mound, Kendrick was constantly pitching his way out of trouble. The Phillies were fortunate that the lead wasn’t larger.

Kendrick’s worst inning of the game would occur in the second inning. After giving up consecutive singles to third baseman Todd Frazier and leftfielder Donald Lutz, catcher Ryan Hanigan crushed a three-homerun to the leftfield seats.

“It seemed like the whole game my command wasn’t very good and I fell behind a lot,” Kendrick said. “It was one of those days where I had to battle. It was a tough day all around.”

With the silence of the Phillies bats that’s all the runs the Reds would need. Before departing the game in the sixth, Kendrick gave up a run-producing double to Reds shortstop Zack Cozart that scored Hanigan.

Of course, the Phillies bullpen—B.J. Rosenburg, Jeremy Horst and Phillipe Aumount helped the Reds put the game out of reach by allowing the Reds to score four runs in the eighth. Cincinnati also added a pair of runs in the ninth. The runs in the eighth were charged to Rosenburg. For the game, Phillies relievers gave up six runs on eight hits.

“I think it’s about getting ahead in the count kind of thing,” said Phillies reliever Chad Durbin. “I thought Rosenburg’s stuff was outstanding today. He just had some poor luck. Horst gives up one there instead of a double.

“Phillipe makes a wild pitch, but it’s a matter of getting ahead. All of them did other than Horst. They got behind and they battled back.  It’s a day in, day out thing. It’s having a three-run lead instead of being down three.”

Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo (4-4) pitched seven and two-thirds innings and allowed no runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

Meanwhile, the Phillies big hitters-Ryan Howard and Chase Utley went a combined 1-for-7. By the time Howard doubled to begin the bottom of the ninth, the outcome was already decided.

While Manuel has said the team is going to eventually come around on the offensive end. He also said the team has to keep their heads up and not let things snow-ball into something worse.

“We’re in that area where we start doubting ourselves instead of just keep firing,” Manuel said. “You stay aggressive and keep working on trying to get a good ball to hit. Not trying to overdo it, but just stay within yourself and do something. … Never get down play 27 outs.”

As silent as their bats were, Phillies hitters were equally a quiet during postgame interviews as none were available to speak to reporters after the game. When the media gathered to interview Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins walked away and told reporters:

“There’s nothing to talk about, write what you saw.”

What fans saw today was a team that couldn’t do anything right.

Cole Hamels has struggle in his eight starts this season. Photo by Webster Riddick.

For the Chris Murray Report

PHILADELPHIA—In a week in which the Phillies face the possibility of not having starting pitcher Roy Halladay until maybe September or possibly not at all, the Phillies are facing a crossroads in the early season with a combination of injuries and players not playing up to their potential.

Phillies team doctor Michael Ciccotti said for Halladay to come back in September, he would have to get to the point where he has all his range of motion in the shoulder.

“(Halladay) needs to meet certain milestones before he can progress to the next level,” said Ciccotti. “If he achieves his range of motion if he’s strong and he can pick up a ball. If he can go to a mound and he can pitch and he’s comfortable. He has to pass those tests along the way and if he’s not comfortable and we’re not comfortable, we’re not going to let him get on the mound and pitch.”

As it stands now, the Phillies (20-22) are 3.5 games out of first place behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East and they are now down two starting pitchers. John Lannan, who had strained ligaments in his knee, is expected to be off the disabled list in June.

But the real issue facing the Phillies is that their run of success that goes back 2007 and includes one World Series title, two National League pennants and five National East titles is slowly coming to an end.

That’s not to say the 2013 season is a done deal by any stretch of the imagination because we’re not even at the All-Star Break just yet. The Phils can still contend for a playoff spot and a division title, but they don’t have a lot of margin for long stretches of games where they struggle to hit, have bad starts by their pitchers or have their bullpen blow games.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins recently told MLB.com that team could be broken up if they don’t start winning on a consistent basis

“We’ve just got to make sure we do what we need to do before they blow it up,” Rollins said.

You have to think that at some point Cole Hamels (1-6, 4.61 ERA) is going to break out of his current funk. If he doesn’t do it anytime soon, then more than likely, the Phillies will be sellers by the time the July 31 trade deadline.

Oddly enough, Phillies starters outside of Halladay, Hamels and Cliff Lee, have combined for a 7-2 record so far this season while aforementioned big three are combined 7-12.

“We haven’t gotten the pitching performance — other than Lee — the guys at the top of the rotation haven’t pitched the way we know they can pitch, in particular Roy wasn’t very consistent, although he threw a couple good games,” said Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.  “And Cole hasn’t been real consistent. But I am less worried about Cole than our offense, which has to come around and be a little more consistent.”

While the offense has played better within the last week or so, Amaro said he is concerned about Delmon Young, who is 2-for-11 on the current homestand and Ryan Howard, who is also 2-for-11, in the Phillies last three games.

“Right now, we have to be patient and see if Delmon starts swinging it and Ryan is going to have to start swinging it,” Amaro said. “If those guys do, then’ we’ll be OK. If they don’t, then we will have to figure out what we are going to do.”

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Howard has to work on finding some consistency at staying on the baseball.

“He’s not right yet,” Manuel said. “His swing is not consistent right now and he’s got to keep working until he finds it.”

The Phillies, whether they want to or not, are going to be finding how good or not so good their minor league farm system is getting ready pitchers are ready to start in the big leagues. So far, Jonathan Pettibone (3-0, 3.41 ERA) has raised as few eyes with his performances on the mound since being called up from Lehigh Valley.

At some point, teams around will the league have a better understanding of what Pettibone is doing on the mound and they will make the appropriate adjustments. If Pettibone can work through that, the Phillies will be in good shape.

Another possible “X” factor for the Phillies starting rotation is Zambrano, who recently signed a minor league contract with the team. In 12 years in the majors with the Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins, Zambrano is 132-91 and has a 3.66 earned run average.

If the 31-year-old Zambrano can overcome his volatile past which includes fights with teammates and he comes back and still has something left, it will certainly give the Phillies a much-needed boost.

“We’re just trying to find some additional depth and some options for us,” said Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock. “It’s low risk and hopefully high reward …It’s one of those thing where just get him down there and see where he’s at. From the reports we got the other day, he’s in pretty good shape. We have to get a gauge of where he’s at.”

Meanwhile, some of the players feel that they are on the verge of putting together a run of game that would put them near the top of the division.

“I’ve been feeling that way the whole season,” said Phillies leftfielder Domonic Brown. “We’ve got a great team here. We just got to put it together.”

For the Chris Murray Report

Cole Hamels is 1-6 on the season and the team is 1-8 in his nine starts.

PHILADELPHIA—The Phillies 10-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday was not because of a solid pitching gone to waste because of a lack of hitting by the Phils.

That’s because the starting pitching by the ace of the Phillies rotation wasn’t good at all. By the top of the fifth inning, Cole Hamels had thrown 106 pitches, given up five runs on six hits including a pair homeruns. The Phillies (19-22) were in a 5-1 hole.

“What you saw was he was having a hard time putting the ball where he wanted to go,” said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. “He thought he had some close pitches. Evidently, he didn’t get them, but at the same time, he was having trouble locating his pitches.”

Hamels record dropped to a dismal 1-6. The Phillies are 1-8 in the games that Hamels has started for the Phillies. In 2012, the Phillies were 21-10 in his 31 starts.

“I’m constantly making adjustments,” Hamels said. “I feel healthy, I feel strong. I’m able to throw all four pitches for strikes at times, but not able to do it nine out of 10 times, especially when you’re not able to do it off the bat to get ahead of a hitter, you’re not putting him in an uncomfortable at bat.

Throughout his time on the mound, Hamels did not have command of his pitches and threw a large amount of pitches. By the second inning, he had thrown 50 pitches. In his defense, some of Hamels balls came as the result of some questionable ball and strike calls by home plate umpire Dan Iassogna.

Hamels to his credit still put the onus of his bad performance on himself and what he didn’t do.

“You can get squeezed anytime, but when you’re going 3-2, it’s hard to call a strike when you throw ball after ball,” Hamels said. “In different situations 0-2, 1-2 not getting pitch here or there, you’re attacking the strike zone, you’re being aggressive.

“When you’re not attacking the strike zone and not being aggressive, you’re not going to get those calls. The outcome was my effort and my pitching ability.”

The Phillies would cut the deficit to 5-3 in their half of the fifth on a two-run double by Jimmy Rollins, but that’s about as close as they would come. Rollins was 2-for-4 with three runs batted in for the game.

The Phillies relief pitchers were equally as horrid as the starting pitcher, giving up five runs on five hits and a home run. The combination of Chad Durbin, Jeremy Horst, and Phillipe Aumont could not keep the Indians off the board after Hamels left the game. In the sixth inning, Cleveland pushed two more runs across the plate on a bases-loaded single Asdrubal Cabrera.

In the top of the eighth a three-run homer by second baseman Jason Kipnis effectively ended the competitive portion of the game and sent most of the 38, 440 fans at Citizen’s Bank Park to the exits. Kipnis was 3-for-4 with three runs batted in and two doubles.

“The object of the game when you bring somebody in if you’re behind or tied or even if you got a lead, you gotta hold the other team,” Manuel said. “If you’re going to give up runs, especially when we’re losing that makes it really tough, we got hold them. Can you do it all the time? No, but you have to do it a higher percentage.”

The Phillies have gone 5-4 in their last nine games. At times, they have looked like a team on the verge of going on a run to be a contender and push their record above .500. Just when it looks like things are about to look up for the Phils, they’ve come down to a crashing halt.

“It’s just a matter of continuing to get over that hump,” said Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard. “It’s winning like three games and it’s trying to limit that step back. You’re winning three games and you lose that’s cool. Being able to bounce right back, that’s the thing. We go into this off-day and try to bounce back on Friday.”

Notes—The Phillies signed former Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins pitcher Carlos Zambrano to a minor league contract. The volatile 31-year-old right hander is 132-91 with a 3.66 earned run average in a career that spans over 12 years.

The team said Zambrano would have to go through an extended spring training down in Clearwater, Fla.and he would make a start with the Phillies Triple A affiliate at Lehigh Valley. It could take a up to a month or so for him to be ready with the big team. He could ask to be released if he’s not with the Phillies by July 1.

John Mayberry Jr. was 3-for-4 with three runs batted in against the Cleveland Indians Tuesday night.

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

PHILADELPHIA—For the third time in as many games, the Philadelphia Phillies actually scored enough runs to go along with a solid effort from a starting pitcher.

Is it the beginning of the end of their hitting woes?

“I think it’s a matter of time,” said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. “I think we can end up having a good offense, but we have to stay at it and keep going.”

In any event, the Phillies will be happy they came away with a 6-2 win over a Cleveland Indians team that mercilessly bludgeoned them into submission by scoring 19 runs in two games two weeks ago.

Center fielder John Mayberry Jr. was 3-for-4 with three runs batted in and said it was good to get a win over the Indians after the beating the Indians gave the Phillies in Cleveland.

“You try to forget about it, but it’s definitely in the back of your mind of how the series went in Cleveland,” Mayberry said. “We definitely wanted to come here in front of our home fans and play well. We did that (Tuesday) night.”

Tuesday night, the Phillies offensive performance supported a solid effort on the mound by 22-year-old fifth starter Jonathan Pettibone (3-0), who allowed just two runs on four hits in six and two-thirds innings of work. He also had three strikeouts and two walks.

“Pettibone pitched brilliantly, I thought,” said second baseman Kevin Frandsen, who had a solo homer in the first inning. “He kept us in there when were 2-1 down and he kept fighting, fighting and made great pitches. That’s a stud right there. He’s a rookie, but he didn’t back down.”

Pettibone’s biggest challenge came in the Indians half of the third inning when he hit two straight Indians batters-first baseman Nick Swisher and catcher Carlos Santana-to load the bases with two outs. He got out of the inning by getting third baseman Mark Reynolds to fly out to second to end the threat.

“It’s big, after escaping with no runs, especially after second inning, giving up two you don’t want to dig yourself too big of a hole that early in the game,”  said Pettibone, who retired the last 13 men he faced. “Getting out of that inning, I was able to build off that and go from there the rest of the game.”

The Phillies bullpen came up huge as well. With Antonio Bastardo pitching in the Indians half of the eighth inning, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera tripled off the wall in right center field. Bastardo struck out Swisher, but walked Santana.

Manuel brought in reliever Justin De Fratus who got Reynolds to pop out to second. Jeremy Horst replaced De Fratus and then struck out Brantley to strand Cabrera at third to end the threat.

“Our bullpen did a real good job,” Manuel said. “De Fratus and Horst got some big outs.  Bastardo, I thought, pitched good. We started the eighth with a triple and we left him there. That was good.”

Meanwhile, Frandsen got things going for the Phillies offense in the first inning when he smacked a solo home run to the left field seats off Cleveland left-handed starter Scott Kazmir (2-2).

The Indians took a 2-1 lead in their half of the second inning on a single by left fielder Michael Brantley that scored Santana, who reached on a double and Swisher, who singled to start the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Phillies would take the lead for good on a double by Mayberry that brought home catcher Carlos Ruiz, who reached on a walk and Domonic Brown, who got on base with a lead-off single.

In the sixth inning, Brown, who was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, added to the Phillies lead with a frozen-rope of a home run to right field. Mayberry and Freddy Galvis added a pair of RBI singles in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach.

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Matt Barkley tells reporters he believes that he can start for the Eagles in 2013.

PHILADELPHIA—Shortly before the 2011 NFL Draft, soon-to-be Carolina Panthers  quarterback Cam Newton declared to the world that he wanted to be an “icon and an entertainer” as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

Of course, a lot of us sportswriter types, especially one from CBS Sports.com, got their collective panties in a bunch when Newton said that because they thought he was being arrogant and immature.

Apparently, Newton’s youthful bravado and self-confidence unnerved an uptight sports media establishment. Now the whole icon thing was a bit goofy on Newton’s part, but you had to admire his self confidence at the time.

Do you really want your quarterback to be unsure of himself? I saw Newton’s icon declaration as a silly expression of youthful exuberance, but I admired his uncompromising belief in himself. Self confidence in a 22-year-old quarterback or a sports writer is a damned good thing.

When Eagles fourth-round draft pick and former Southern Cal star Matt Barkley rolled into the Eagles rookie minicamp last Friday he said he expects to be competing for the Eagles starting job. That declaration raised a few eye brows among fans and media, especially with experienced players like Michael Vick, Nick Foles, Dennis Dixon and G.J Kinne all fighting for the starting nod.

At the end of the day, I’m not mad at Barkley for coming into camp with that kind of attitude and neither is Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. Barkley has a chip on his shoulder and wants to prove that he was better than a fourth-round pick.

“I would hope anybody that came into this place isn’t sitting here and saying I think I’m going to be a really good, solid backup,” Kelly said.  “I want our guys to come in here and show us everything that they can do, and our job as a coaching staff is to put the best guys on the field the first game against Washington that will help us win, and if that’s Matt, that’s Matt, so we’ll see how that goes.”

That’s the thing you have to like about this Eagles quarterback competition is that you have bunch of guys that are unafraid to claim it for themselves.  Vick came into the pre-draft mini camp saying that it was his job to lose, especially after last year’s tough season.

“It’s still my team, still my job and that’s the mindset you gotta have,” Vick said. “I believe in myself and my abilities and I believe in the guys on this football team.”

And then you have the case of Dennis Dixon who has a 2-1 record as a starting quarterback and has been struggling to find a place in the league after a season-ending knee-injury late in his senior year at Oregon.

After being a backup in Baltimore and Pittsburgh since his rookie year in 2008, Dixon believes that he can be a starter with the Birds.

“Anybody in their right mind would love competition and that’s what we have,” Dixon said. “And I’m quite sure that Michael Vick and Nick Foles would say the same thing as well. We’re excited. We’re just excited to work and let the chips fall where they may.”

Foles and Kinne will also have something to say in the outcome of this competition as well. They both believe that they will emerge as the starter when the dust settles.

It’s always given that you’re starting quarterback is a guy with a strong, accurate arm and has the ability to read and pick apart a defense.

You also want your quarterback to have some swag and an unshakeable belief in himself even when times are bad on the field.

I remember the first time I covered an NFL game as a reporter back in 1985, I saw then Washington Redskins Joe Theismann at his locker after a tough loss to the Eagles. He confidently answered every tough question, looking every reporter in the eye as if he welcomed the scrutiny.

No quarterback comes into any situation whether he’s a highly-touted rookie, a journeyman, a high-price free agent or a guy just trying to hang on for another pay check, hoping to be the starter.

I can never get a mad at a rookie quarterback or any position when he comes and says he’s going to be the man for a team.

“But if anybody came in here and said they were really vying for a backup job, then they would probably be on the bus down 95 pretty quick,” Kelly said.

Nuff said.

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

(From left to right): Michael Vick, Dennis Dixon and G.J. Kinne take turns throwing the ball during the first day of OTAs. Photo courtesy of PhiladelphiaEagles.com.

PHILADELPHIA—If you drive by the Eagles NovaCare practice facility in South Philly and you’re hearing Nicki Manaj or hearing “What is Love,” a song made popular by a Saturday Night Live skit, you’re not driving by a nightclub nor is there a special on Margaritas.

It’s the 2013 version of Eagles organized team activities for new head coach Chip Kelly who has definitely put his own unique stamp on the team’s culture. As the team goes through its various drills, mostly dance music with a few rock songs thrown in for good measure is being pumped in through loud speakers.

Some players see the music as a way of getting used to cheering crowds on the road while others are experiencing it the way they experience on their I-pods or in the weight room when they’re working out. Eagles wide receiver Eagles DeSean Jackson said the music is forcing him to concentrate even more on what he’s doing on the field.

“It’s almost like a football game where you have the crowd, everybody screaming and all that other stuff,” Jackson said. “You just have to go in there and focus in, you can’t worry about the music.”

In between the different drills, a computerized voice blares over the loudspeakers and simply says: “Period 20 Teach.”  That’s when the coaches walk through the various schemes that they just ran on the field.

Meanwhile, if you’re trying to get a reading on who’s ahead in the race to be the Eagles starting quarterback, Kelly’s not going tell you anything just yet. At Monday’s practice, the quarterbacks were working with a mixture of starting and backup running backs and receivers.

“It’s May 13^th and we’ve got a long ways to go before we set a depth chart or do anything like that,” Kelly said during his post-practice press conference.

Last week at a team charity event, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin said Michael Vick got most of the reps during the pre-draft minicamp last month and appeared to more than few people that he was getting most of the work at Monday’s practice.

“He hasn’t,” Kelly said. “Count them up. Someone charted them, I would imagine. (Vick) and Nick switched to different groups. We’re just trying to get the reps off and trying to get film and look at it.”

Relying on the eyeball test based on the idea that Kelly wants his quarterbacks to make quick decisions with the football. Vick seemed slow in going through his progressions, but was accurate with his passes.

Dennis Dixon, who worked with Kelly at Oregon, seemed to be the most comfortable with the offense in both the seven-on-seven drills and the 11-on-11drills.

Former USC star and seventh-round draft pick Matt Barkley did a good job of getting the ball out and quickly finding the open receiver. He doesn’t necessarily have the strongest arm in the world. According to Kelly, Barkley has done a good job of learning in the offense in the four days he has been with the team.

“Matt has been really good. Really thought he picked up things quickly,” Kelly said. “He’s an extremely hard worker. He’s every morning at six a.m. working at whatever it is to work on.”

Nick Foles looked comfortable in the offense and made some decent throws, but made some bad throws, too.  He also made some good reads when he handed the ball off in the running game. G.J. Kinne was about average, nothing to write home about.

Speaking of the running game, LeSean McCoy said the tempo of the offensive is a good thing for the running game and that there will be more touches for the Eagles running backs in this offense.

“There’s definitely a difference,” McCoy said. “Being able to run the ball a lot more because if you look at (Kelly’s) track record, a lot of his backs touched the ball quite a bit.  Sometimes, a big hole may be happening when a guy (on defense) might be out of place. With the backs we have here you don’t need that much room to get going.”

One of the features of Kelly’s up-tempo offense is that the players, as they are going up to the line of scrimmage will be getting the plays signaled in from the sidelines similar to the way it was done at Oregon.

“I think the game is about making quick decisions,” Kelly said. “The difference here that we didn’t have in college is we can communicate to the quarterback and there’s a lot to put on him, so there’s a whole system involved in that. We can talk to him.”

For the Chris Murray Report and The Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Roy Halladay has struggled in his last two outings of a sore right shoulder. Photo by Webster Riddick.

PHILADELPHIA–If you were wondering if there was something physically wrong with Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay after two disastrous starts in which gave up 17 earned runs in five innings, you absolutely right.

After the Phillies 14-2 loss at Citizen’s Bank Park to the last-place Miami Marlins in which he gave up nine earned runs in less than three innings, Halladay told reporters after the game that he had been experiencing soreness in his right shoulder since an April 19 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“My shoulder was bothering me,” Halladay said. “I woke up and I really didn’t think anything of it. I thought it was regular soreness. It kind progressed over the last two weeks or so. ..I felt good all spring, I felt good all year. It was after that start against Pittsburgh, I had soreness in there and I wasn’t able to get rid of it.”

 Meanwhile, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Halladay will be on the disabled list sometime within the next day or so once the team decides who they’re going to bring up from one of their minor league affiliates. He said Halladay will be examined by doctors in California.

“Clearly, it does seem like he’s not healthy,” Amaro said. “It was pretty apparent with his performance today unfortunately.”

Halladay apparently kept his condition from manager Charlie Manuel and Amaro. Because Halladay is a proven veteran, he felt that he was able to pitch his way through his soreness.

“Listen, he’s a competitor. If he feels he can pitch, he can pitch,” Amaro said. “Clearly, he wasn’t pitching to his custom level and it was apparent today and after his last outing.”

Going back to his last start against the Cleveland Indians, Halladay has given up a grand total of 17 earned runs, 12 hits, seven walks, two hit batsmen and four homeruns.  He hasn’t been able to pitch beyond the fourth inning.

The competitive portion of Sunday’s game ended in the first and third innings.  In the first inning, the Marlins scored five runs on two hits because Halladay had absolutely no command over his pitches. He walked three batters and hit another in the back.

“He couldn’t find his pitches today,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “He didn’t have his location and command. It was a combination of things. He kept falling behind and when had to come in and throw the ball in the big part of the plate he got hit.”

 Halladay gave up a two-run double to Miami rightfielder Marcell Ozuna that was almost a home run.

Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria hit a bases loaded triple to put the Phillies in a 5-0 hole after one half of an inning.

But Hechavarria wasn’t done with Halladay. In the third inning, the Miami shortstop hit a grand-slam home run that sent Halladay to the showers.  For the game, Hechavarria had seven runs batted in.  It was 9-0 and the rout was on.

With Halladay definitely out of the starting rotation, the Phillies, starting with their seven-game road trip to San Francisco and Arizona, will be playing a stretch of games against teams with winning records with the exception of the Marlins.

“I think our road trip is big,” Manuel said. “I think we need to win today’s game.  I think we need to win tomorrow’s game. I come here with the mindset that we’re going to win. We definitely need to start winning some games.

Last season, it was late May in which Halladay wound up on the disabled list and the Phillies went from being a game above .500 to being 13 games below .500 prior to the All-Star break. They were in a huge hole from which they never recovered.

In addition to Halladay’s problems on the mound, the Phillies offense in the last two games of the Miami series could only muster just two runs. After being shutout in Saturday night’s loss, the Phillies managed to score two runs (one earned) in the eighth.

“Until we start hitting the ball and start making better contact and doing things right, we’re going to struggle,” Manuel said. “We’ve got to come out and play-get runners on base and hit the ball. With the lineup that we got we better get some extra base hits because we’re not getting a whole lot out of our speed right now.”   

Brown is getting better with each game. Photo by Webster Riddick.

For the Chris Murray Report

PHILADELPHIA—When Phillies leftfielder Domonic Brown was struggling in just about every aspect the first time he came up the big league club in 2011, there was a huge sentiment among fans calling the local sports talk stations that said he was a bust.

Even though he was the best prospect in the Phillies organization and lacking in significant league experience, there were more than quite a few fans and local media folk calling for the team to cut ties with the rising young star.

Coming into the 2013 season, Brown had a grand total of a year and 78 days of service as a major league player and had never played a full 162-game season.  How can somebody be a bust win just a short period of time? Can we at least wait until the guy has a full year or two before we make that kind of judgment?

So far this season, Brown is getting a chance to play on a regular basis and for all his critics out there, he’s not playing badly at all. We’re not ready to anoint him as the team’s next superstar just yet nor are we saying he’s a lock to make the National League All-Star team.

“You definitely can find your rhythm when you’re playing every day because that’s what I’m used to,” said Brown, who went 0-for-3 in the Phillies 2-0 loss to the Miami Marlins. “I’m not used to coming off the bench. It’s been a blessing for Charlie to tell me I’m going to be in the lineup every day.”

But Brown is starting to show the potential that the Phillies were raving about since the team selected him in the 20^th round of the 2006 draft.

In his last nine games coming into Saturday’s game against the Marlins, Brown is batting .382 with two doubles, three homeruns and eight runs batted in over his last nine games. He is currently tied for second on the team in homeruns (five) and is third on the team in runs batted in with 14. Brown has also batted .353 with runners in scoring position.

“When the season started, he was working to hold his own,” said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. “I think right now you’re starting see that some of the at-bats he’s putting on that’s how he was doing it in the spring. He was very consistent in the spring. He showed his power, he showed his talent. We’re starting to see that and that’s good.”

During spring training, Brown batted .356 with seven home runs and 17 runs batted in. Manuel said playing on a regular basis at the major league level and being around batting coaches like Wally Joyner has helped him as well.

“I think being around the game, learning about the major leagues and learning about himself,” Manuel said. “I think he talks a lot with our coaches, he’s relaxed and feels a lot better about himself.”

Of course, the name of the game for Brown will be consistency and doing it on a regular basis. That also means doing in the field as well. Since Brown misjudged a ball that turned a routine single into a triple in the Phillies home-opener versus the Kansas City Royals, he’s done a solid job playing the outfield.

For a team that already has sluggers like Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, Manuel believes that Brown has the potential to hit a lot of home runs for the Phillies.

“I think he’s capable of hitting some. How many he hits, I’d like to let him play and see how many hits,” Manuel said. “(30 home runs) is not beyond the realm of possibility.”

We’ll have a quite few games to see if that all rings true.