There has been speculation that the Philadelphia Eagles will prevent tight end L.J. Smith from becoming a free agent by franchising him for $4.522 million in 2008 the Philadelphia Daily News reported.

Quarterback Donovan McNabb said he would like to see Smith back, recovered from the injuries that cost him most of the season.

"He's a big part of our offense," McNabb said.

Source: Philadelphia Daily News

Who wins the NL East this year?

I have to stick with my Phillies.

Here's what Jayson Stark had to say...

If Johan Santana was good enough to carry a team to a World Series by himself, the Twins would have played in about five of them already. But now that we've got that away, no sane human would dispute that Santana is a contract extension away from changing the face of the NL East.

Two days ago, the Phillies were the clear-cut favorites in this division. It's safe to say they aren't anymore. But does that mean the Mets are a lock? Not necessarily, according to the baseball men I surveyed in the last 24 hours.

The case for the Phillies

This may come as a shock to all residents of Queens, but we did find several bright, rational NL executives who still pick the Phillies.

Remember, they did outscore the Mets by 88 runs last year, whomped 82 more extra-base hits and drew 92 more walks. In fact, if you go around the diamond, how many positions are there where the Mets are definitively better than the Phillies? I'd give the Mets two -- third base and center field.

The Phillies also catch the ball better. And would it really surprise anybody if the Phillies' top two starters -- Cole Hamels and Brett Myers -- won just as many games as Santana and Pedro Martinez?

Finally, keep in mind the reason that one NL front-office man picked the Phillies -- depth. The Phillies were deep enough last year to survive injuries to Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Hamels, Myers, Shane Victorino and Flash Gordon. And the Mets obliterated their system to make this deal, leaving them with "not much of an underbelly" if they have injuries. And everybody has injuries.

The case for the Mets

In case you hadn't noticed this, Santana is merely the best pitcher in the whole solar system. He's a franchise-changer, a season-changer, a league-changer.

Since 2003, the year he moved into the rotation, the Twins went 105-47 (.691) when he started, and only 335-323 (.509) when anybody else started. In other words, they played like a 112-win team when Santana pitched -- and like an 82-win team when anyone else pitched.

Now drop that guy into the middle of a team like the Mets -- a team that had an ERA a half-run lower than the Phillies' last year without him -- and you have a staff that one NL executive now ranks with the Padres' as potentially the best in the league.

The verdict

First off, just because we're having this fun little debate, it doesn't mean we're writing off the Braves. But the either-or format in the Hot Stove Heaters constitution means somebody has to get lopped off this discussion. So hold your e-mails. Thanks.

Now, back to the debate. I think this is a close call, but Santana represents such a gigantic upgrade over Kyle Lohse, Livan Hernandez or anyone else on the Mets' Plan B list (let alone their pre-Johan roster), he personally swings the balance of the division.

Just the fact that he's left-handed -- and last year had nearly twice as many strikeouts (62) as hits allowed (39) against left-handed hitters -- makes him Ryan Howard's and Chase Utley's worst nightmare. Then add in the fact that the Mets didn't give up anyone of major significance in 2008, and the Mets have to be the pick. But feel free to differ.

That's why we're here.

Where does your favorite Super Bowl QB rank?

This is kind of old, but I just found it. It kind of goes along with my previous article.

I recently moved to New York after living in Pittsburgh for 9 years. And I've always made fun of Pittsburgh fans for being fickle. The Steelers get some loyalty, but overall I think Pittsburgh's average sports fan is very fair-weather. In fact, it was rare that I found someone who was an actual Pirates fan.

But this year, I'm incredibly ashamed of the fact that I root for the same team as so many "fans" who seem to form their opinions based on gossip and not facts. I'm still confident that most Philly fans are as passionate and die-hard as they come, but I didn't know there were so many of us who seem to know almost nothing about the Eagles or the sport in general.

We all know McNabb could have had a better season than he did - although, when you look at the numbers, it wasn't a BAD season.

Among QBs who have thrown at least 14 passes per game:

291-473 for 3324 yards, 19 TDs, 7 Ints and an 89.9 rating (9th best rating in the league).

Now I'm not saying that's enough to get it done. But it takes easily over a year to recover from his injury. Let him heal up, give him a healthy O-line, give him a big-time WR who scares defenses (who on the current roster inspires real fear in DBs?) and watch him return to his Pro Bowl form.

He's already shown that he's well on his way. Look what he did over his last 3 games.

76-117 for 816 yards, 5 TDs and 1 INT.

And even today he's STILL not 100%.

So for those Philly fans out there who are begging and pleading for the Eagles to get rid of McNabb (it physically hurts how stupid that is), please THINK before you speak.

p.s. All you idiots who say Tony Romo is a better QB than McNabb have no Idea what you're talking about. Romo just had a better YEAR. That's like saying Phil Mickelson is a better golfer than Tiger Woods because he beat Tiger in a tournament.

How can a guy who has NEVER (that's never) WON A PLAYOFF GAME be better than a guy who has been to 5 Pro Bowls, is a 5-time NFC offensive player of the week, 3-time NFL offensive player of the week, 4-time NFC offensive player of the month, FIRST in winning percentage among active QBs with at least 95 starts, one of only 7 players in NFL history with over 20,000 passing yards and 2,500 rushing yards, first player EVER to throw 30+ TDs with fewer than 10 INTs in one season, FIRST among active passers in TD-INT ratio (and INT percentage), second all time TD-INT ratio (and INT percentage), 7 playoff wins (most in team history), 19 career 300-yard passing games (most in team history), and I could go on. By the way, and most importantly, he knows what it's like to play NFL football in February.