By Tal Venada, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

For the Philadelphia Phillies faithful, missing the 2020 playoffs was squarely on the MLB-worst relief corps. Clearly, this is a must-fix shortcoming for the organization to end their postseason drought of nine seasons because the locals don’t want to see or hear a full 162 replay summed up in three words. And now pitching!     

Measured Relief:

Costwise and talentwise, replacing the entire pen is not a realistic goal because free agents JT Realmuto and Didi Gregorius could re-up to reprise their 2020 roles. And the Phillies also need a rotation piece due to a departure. So, the front office has those openings to plug, as they compete for solid relievers.

IN OTHER WORDS:

“What we need is more people who specialize in the impossible.” - Theodore Roethke

In ‘21, games played and attendance will depend on the pandemic in April especially after losses of $100-120 million per deep-pocketed franchise. And wealthy spenders are reluctant due to 2021’s financial uncertainty over the offseason and into March, so this will affect offers and trade-based decisions.     

Though some will question certain moves, be aware of the pitfalls. To illustrate, some hurlers dropped 2-5 mph off their fastball due to lacking the adrenaline they have with a rooting home crowd or jeering away spectators. And 2020’s stats could also be deceptive due to only 60 contests and interrupted winter routines.  

Despite fans’ beliefs, most bullpens have only 3-5 solid arms out of eight. The others are middle relievers who appear in low-stress situations: mop-up duty, long relief, extra innings, and frames before the sixth. By comparison, all stats are not equal.   

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

On Tuesday afternoon, the Eagles made a change that could really turn their season around.

For the past few weeks, Eagles fans have seen the benefits of what the return of healthy players can do and the team made another move that could return a defender soon.

The team activated defensive end Genard Avery's practice window, allowing him the next 21 days to get healthy and on the field.

Avery, the team's fifth defensive end, has played just 68 defensive snaps. While he has 1.5 sacks on the year, his snap count is unlikely to get above about 20% of the total defensive snaps in any game.

Tight end Zach Ertz also currently has his 21-day practice window open.

The YWT Podcast is back after another two weeks. There is still no hockey on the horizon just yet, but the guys offer up the latest news and some jersey talk as well.

The guys talk about the latest updates in the NHL's return-to-play plans for a 2020-21 season and where things currently stand. The guys also take an extensive look at the Reverse Retro jerseys released a couple weeks ago and give their grades for every jersey in the bunch.

Join Kyle Collington and Kevin Durso as they give you some quality hockey talk.

You can listen to this episode of the podcast below and be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts and Podbean. 

You can also watch the episode and subscribe to watch all episodes of the YWT Podcast on YouTube.

As always, we want you to follow the podcast on Twitter @YWTpodcast, follow Kevin Durso on Twitter @Kevin_Durso, and follow producer Mike Giletto Jr. on Twitter @Mike_Giletto.

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Eagles, coming off a terrible loss to the division-rival Giants, headed to Cleveland in a game that could turn their season around.

The 6-win Browns were a beatable team, much like the Ravens were earlier in the year.

But beatable was does not mean that the Eagles would win.

Darly Morey and the front office continue to tweak the Sixers' roster in preparation for next season. Reports have come out that the team has agreed to trade guard Zhaire Smith to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Tony Bradley.

The 76ers are trading G Zhaire Smith to the Pistons for C Tony Bradley, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 22, 2020

This trade ends Smith's lackluster tenure in Philadelphia. After being drafted 16th overall in the 2018 draft, Smith has had trouble making it on the court for the Sixers. Injuries and illness plagued him since being drafted, appearing in just 13 games as a Sixer. A change of scenery could be good for Smith, and he is going to situation in Detroit that will allow him to see the floor in a less pressure situation.

In return they will get Tony Bradley, a 6'10 center who has spent the last three seasons as a member of the Utah Jazz. Bradley is just 22 years of age, and shows a lot of promise in his game.

Bradley appeared in 58 games for the Jazz last season. He would average 4.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 0.6 BPG playing a little over 11 minutes a game.

The recent moves the Sixers have made has created a log jam at the guard and wing positions, making it very unlikely that Smith would have seen the court this season. This move lessens the jam at guard, and gives the team added depth at the center spot behind Joel Embiid and Dwight Howard.

Bradley could provide solid minutes in the front court if Embiid or Howard miss a game or are rested. His 6'10 frame with a 7'5 wingspan provides great size and fits with team's defensive identity. At 3.5 million dollars he is also a cheap option for big man insurance this season.