caught looking

Let me be the first to ask...

2007-08-22T14:09:00.000-04:00

Adam Eaton: Bombs Away

2007-04-24T14:30:00.000-04:00

What's the difference between Adam Eaton and a good pitcher? Two things: mistakes and line drives. A good pitcher minimizes both. Adam Eaton minimizes neither.

Despite gaining the win last night, the Phils' No 4 starter and his shortfalls were on full display. Well, at least we know why he isn't in the bullpen. Giving up all 4 runs on his first spin through the lineup, Eaton was hit hard. He served up a HR to Craig Biggio on the first pitch of the game on a tailing fastball that came back over the plate. He then had Biggio 0-2 in the second only to throw 4 straight balls to load the bases and give way to Mark Loretta's 2-RBI double. After getting on with a single in the bottom of the 2nd and scoring on a triple by J-Roll, Eaton proceeded to give the lead right back by giving up a towering HR to Lance Berkmann. Clearly, despite his wide array of pitches, Eaton is at best, a marginal improvement over a pitcher like Ryan Franklin. The week before in Washington DC, Eaton actually pitched fairly well, but a lapse to Brian Schneider with 2 on and 2 out produced a three-run shot over the right-center wall in cavernous RFK stadium.

For the season, Eaton has given up 4 HRs in 23.2 innings, not a good ratio, but not Eaton's biggest problem. The worse part is that Eaton's ERA is above 6 while opponents are hitting just .259 against him. That is not a great average, but is a mark of a pitcher who gives up alot of extra base hits. It also may point to a location pitcher who's command comes and goes, resulting in a lower average, but more for extra bases. last night, 4 of Eaton's surrendered hits were for extra bases.

The last piece to consider is that, while Eaton's ERA will surely come down from above 6, it may not dip below 5. Eaton's career BAA is .260, but his last two seasons were at .275 in the NL and .299 in the AL. Injuries aside, Eaton shoudl be a major concern in the rotation this year -- with Brett Myers out of the rotation, the team will simply need to score more and more consistantly to win games thown by starters who can get bombed at any second.

On the other hand, Eaton appears to be a competent at the plate with a bat, any ways.

Stuck in Middle Relief with You

2007-04-16T23:29:00.000-04:00

While some posters around the Phlogosphere are calling for the head of Ryan Madson, thanks to three bombs he's given up already this season, he is far from the biggest liability on this staff. That distinction goes to the ill-equipped, ill-conditioned, completely disinterested looking Jon Lieber, the guy who won 17 games in 2005 as the team's No. 1 starter. Shipped to the pen because of the signings of Adam Eaton and Freddy Garcia, Lieber finds himself as both an anonymous middle reliever as well as an apparent injury-risk for 2007. Suddenly, a veteran starting pitcher and contract-year commodity is no commodity at all. While, the ever reliable Mike Radano has it right as usual, saying that Lieber needs to buck up and pitch like a man dispite his shitcan status as an arm with no real role, what if that doesn't do it? What if the pitcher nobody wanted is really just the pitcher ever hitter wants to face.

In Lieber's last appearance, Friday night in relief of Brett Myers, the best play the 37-year-old made was with his glove. That is not a typo. To say Lieber is a fielder of questionable value is like saying a 3-8 start os not the best way to go about making the post-season. It hurts just to think about wasting energy addressing so needless an observation. What's lost in that very nice reflex on the first pitch of his 4th inning appearance is that it was a result of something all too familar right now -- the LDOL, or "line drive off Lieber," a near epidemic among NL hitters so far.

To be concise, Lieber faced 7 hitters in his appearance. Here they are:

Biggio: Line drive back to the box, caught.
Ensberg: Line drive HR.
Berkman: BB on 5 pitches, no swings.
Lee: Line drive to RF, caught by Vicortino. Inning over.

Scott: Line drive single to RF
Burke: Bouncer to SS, double play.
Everett: Line drive shorthop to SS, Rollins bobbles but makes play at 1st. Inning over.

In theory, there are things to like about Lieber working in relief. He doesn't walk many, works quickly, and throws alot of sinkers. What's not to like about him? Well, everything else. He's a contact pitcher who attacks the strikezone without an out pitch, not striking out as many and as you can see, not exactly in his heydey in inducing groundballs. As the season wear on, entrusting any sort of lead to Lieber, or even hoping he'll keep the game close will because a pipe dream. Just our opinion, but fans will long for the likes of Meltdown Madson or whatever phase of control problems 6-Fingers Alfonseca is working through. The team thinks they have a 6th starter and possible bullpen piece. In the offseason, we thought the same. But after watching a late-30s pitcher with an aversion to conditioning yield hard-hit ball after hard-hit ball, its difficult to see what contribution he could make or what piece he could fetch in return.

Keep the Water in the Pool and the Ball in the Park

2007-04-02T23:48:00.000-04:00

Well, if we learned one thing today at openig day, its that we shoudln't expect our club to win to many 2-1 games this year. The offense will need every bit of that 5+ runs per game average if they hope to be in the running for the top of the division. The bullpen is shakey and don't look now, but the starting rotation is probably going to give up a lot of HRs. In fact, each one of the six starters are strong candidates to give up 30+ HRs this year, if they were to pitch 180-200, with the possible exception of Cole Hamels. And only because its too soon to tell what he woudl yield.

Much has been made about Myers' ill-fated pitch in the 8th to Edgar Renteria. Of course, you don't want to throw a fastball 0-2 down the middle of the plate to any major league hitter. From the films, you can see exactly what happened:

Pitch one -- Barajas sets up away and Myers obliges with a down and away slider that Renteria chases.
Pitch two -- Barajas sets up away for presumably the same pitch. Myers leaves this one slightly over the plate, where it catches and freezes renteria for strike two. The crowd comes to its feet.
Pitch three -- On his 105th pitch of the game, Barajas again sets up away but Myers misses badly with a fastball that sits right down Boradway. Renteria catches all of it and hits it about 425 feet to dead center.

What really irks about this at-bat is that Myers was struggling with his fastball the most in the 8th, throwing a few off the outside of his hand that came in high and off the third-base side of the plate. His called third-strike to Criag Wilson was a nasty slider. The flyball Kelly Johnson hit to deep center was a fastball also out over the plate. So, the signs were there, but if Manuel is guilty of anything, its trying to squeak by in the 8th to avoid going to more than one reliever. In the grand scheme of things, managers make this call nearly every game so it can hardly be laid anyone's feet except for fatigue.

As far as pitching goes, the most telltale moment was not this HR nor the one Madson delievered, it was the first one, to Brian McCann. Here's what happened:

-Chipper Jones draws his second walk of the game in two at-bats, this time on 4 pitches. Myers misses outside twice, not by much, and is visably upset.Barajas motions for him to calm down. Myers throws a third fastball outside and seems to expect it to miss. This was the catcher's call and the pitcher seemed to have other ideas. Barajas flashed 1 finger away and Myers did not shake him off. Myers paces around slowly before throwing ball four, on what lookslike a high change-up. Bad sign.

-Andrew Jones takes a slider low and away and then another slider, maybe a curveball, outside and Myers again walks around grousing, oviously frustrated and uncomfortable. He then comes back with a fastball away that Jones pops straight up. That ball should have probably landed in Ashburn Alley, knowing Jones, but instead is an out.

-After a pickoff throw to first, Myers drops a slider low and inside to McCann who golfs it into the seats. His first time up, McCann took two pitches, one inside, one outside, before taking a pitch out over the plate to dead center (off Rowand's glove).

Again, major league hitters are major league hitters for a reason, but its hard not to think that Myers was guilty of losing focus -- again. Its the single most important thing that the New Brett Myers has to get rid now that the extra pounds are gone. Those lapses, as Tom over at Swing & A Miss will tell you, are the only thing keeping Myers from being a top tier National League starter. And, in this case, it put the home team down early on in the game. He will almost certainly have games where his location will be better. But, then again, he will almost certainly have more games where it will be more of the same. He's got get through dicey innings without throwing 2- and 3- run bombs.

Prequel

2007-04-02T01:26:00.000-04:00

Much has been made this offseason about the Phils' strengths and weaknesses. Their offense and starting rotation make them a fashionable pick as the oft-repeated "team to beat" in the East. Their bullpen makes WIP nervous, their outfield has bloggers wondering who will produce, who will surprise, and who will be gone, while their defense is conspicuously absent in most discussions. People would rather worry about the manager, we suppose.

The season's first game provided a glimpse of what it might take to win the National League this year. The Mets, behind, Tom Glavine, easily disposed of the Cardinals in a re-match of the '06 NLCS. Some teams are ready to start the season, while others aren't. Will the Phils be ready, much like the Mets were with Solid pitching, great defense and relentless offense against of the marquee pitchers in the NL? Or will they stumble out of the gate like the Cardinals, flat at home with 10 hits but only 1 run to show for it, a flubbed suicide squeeze, a runner thrown out at home, and leftfielder who turns an easy out into a costly mistake?

We'll be in attendence at opening day, as we were the past two seasons, to find out in person. This year, Scott Rolen will definitely not ruin our day, at least.

Return of the Mad Dog

2007-03-29T10:43:00.000-04:00

Not that we're into trumpeting things we predicted and its not as if it was a hard call to make, but today, Paul Hagan mostly confirms that Ryan Madson, one of the best reliever of 2004 and still above average in 2005, will be the team's 8th innning guy.

After an inauspicious start, he has steadily improved. He has a 1.86 earned run average and hasn't allowed an earned run in his last seven outings, covering 8 2/3 innings.

...

As a rookie in 2004, Madson had a 1.65 earned run average in 51 relief appearances. The following year he made 78 appearances, but his ERA rose to 4.14. Last year he shuttled between the bullpen and the rotation (17 starts) and mastered neither as his ERA ballooned to 5.69.

As revelations go, this one's hardly a main event. Madson easily has the best stuff of any of the relievers outside of Gordon and is the only one with experience in both the 8th and 9th inning, aside from 6-Fingers Alfonseca, who would have been a good pick up 5 years ago.

However, what to expect from Madson is anyone's guess. He hasn't been dominant in anyway since his rookie year, when his tough changeup and low profile worked to his advantage against national league hitters. He also pitched largely in the 7th inning that year (if we recall correctly). His 2005 was not as kind, but there are some things to consider about that:

-His role shuffled around somewhat in 2005, with addition of now-incarcerated Ugeth Urbina, who promptly blew 6 games in his stint with the Phils. Madson went from being the 7th inning guy, to the 8th inning guy, back to being the 7th inning guy during the season. Truthfully, Madson's role with the team has been anything but stable during his 3 years with the club. We dont' tend to think that's terribly important, but to some pitchers, it obviously is. Good command and a solid Spring Training should definitely earn him closer-in-waiting status on this team, with this bullpen as thin as it is.

-While his work load went way up (as did his his ERA down the stretch, which went from 3.12 on Sept 9th to a full run higher by the close of the season), his K/9 jumped from 6.43 to 8.17. So, it's not as if the league completely figured him out in 2005. His stats got worse for other reason, which brings us to point 3.

-Although he made 27 more appearances in 2005 than 2004, he only pitched 10 more innings. That's ALOT of overmanagement by Manuel in terms of using his bullpen. Madson is a guy who could give you 2 quality innings, or he is probably the most likely arm in the bullpen to provide such, so it might be worth thinking about pairing him with another pitcher than can also provide 1-2 innings and alternate the two game to game. Geoffy Geary, who threw an incredible 90+ innings of last year of above-average relief, despite starting out the season as a nobody and even being optioned at one point in mid-season, would mostly likely be that guy. It might be an leap of faith to expect Charlie to handle this type of arrangement, since by all accounts, it seems to be against his 1-inning each nature. However, talent and resources being that they are, the best thing for the team might not being the traditional strategy that Manuel uses.

Right now, if one were to lay out the bullpen assignments, they should probably look this way:

Closer: Gordon
8th: Madson/Geary
7th: Alfonseca
LOOGY: Smith
6th/Longman: Condrey
Mop-up: Segovia
First call-up: Bisenius

Is this a good bullpen? I think we all know, probably not. Not unless one of Alfonseca or Segovia force use in higher leverage innings by catching a little lightening in a bottle. Segovia will probably get shielded, much the way Fabio Castro was last year, being the new guy, but also could be thrown into the rotation mix through injuries, much the way Scott Mathieson was last year. Expecting anything more than the bare minimum of competency from Zegovia probably isn't wise or fair. That's Double-A the wildcard and most important part fo this gang. And that is something we just don't have a read on yet.

Voice of Reason

2007-03-25T10:29:00.000-04:00

We'll take a momentary break from talking about pitching to bring you this quote from today's Todd Zolecki piece on lineup protection for Ryan Howard:

"You could put anybody behind Ryan Howard this year, it really doesn't matter," [Joe] Sheehan [of Baseball Prospectus] said. "What's going to happen is Ryan Howard is going to hit .275 with 46 homers, which would be an unbelievable year for anybody, and people are going to say, 'Well, Pat Burrell didn't protect him.' Because at this point, Pat Burrell is blamed for everything from weather patterns to kidnappings to low home prices."

At this point, there are much much bigger things to worry about. End of story.

For Starters

2007-03-19T14:47:00.000-04:00

With two weeks to go before the start of the season, and opening day tickets safely secured, our silence in these parts shouldn’t misconstrued as apathy. We’re just letting our job overwhelm us, as well as the task of starting our own indie record label. The second item has been made more difficult by a third factor, the continuing elusive whereabouts of our debut CD, currently lost somewhere in a UPS facility in Georgia (the state not the country, thank God). For those that have been following along, our first CD, called Caught Looking only because we really like the title and felt compelled to use it for something, will be officially released as soon as Brown can do something for us. For a sneak peek at the music, you can always hop on over to here.

Once the season starts, however, it will be back to baseball for this site and the dispatches from the music front will be kept to a minimum. We’ve been trying to figure out how to sustain this thing, considering we’re out of market and the explosion of Phillies blogs since last season has made the room a bit crowded. So, we think this year’s niche will most likely be pitching. Not that we don’t love the hitters and all, but really this season’s success is going to be made by how much improved the starters turn out to be and how much luck the club squeezes out of its seemingly overmatched bullpen.

Unlikely late-hour trades not withstanding, it will be interesting to see how the team solves the Lieber quandary. Move him to the pen and he may turn out to answer some questions, but doing so probably drops his trade value to an all-time low, all but quashing the hopes of landing a Scott Linebrink unless something catastrophic happens on a mound somewhere in another division. Flip him for a reliever or what-have-you and then answer me this? Who starts when Eaton gets hurt? How comfortable are you with Eude Brito (who may just make the team as the second lefty out of the pen – the Castro spot) or JA Happ starting a game in the major leagues?

In anycase, we like the Lieber out of the pen idea as a forced solution. The walks are low, he hasn’t really had arm issues since surgery, and as relievers like Bob Wickman demonstrate, it’s a good place to go when conditioning is an issue. Bringing the round guy in from the pen is almost a baseball tradition in the modern age. Lieber doesn’t necessarily hold runners on well and his fielding is lacking to say the least, but he works quickly and is a sinkerballer. On this team, 100 average innings out of the pen might be worth more than 200 average innings out of the gates.

No way to know now, but it’s worth thinking about. Especially since it looks like it’s going to happen.

In other news

2007-02-08T10:13:00.000-05:00

First things first: when I log into to Blogger, I don't like having to choose "old blogger" as my entry point. Seems that the site could have worded that a little better.

Now, for the gravy. The Phils may have the best rotation in the NL East, but the Tigers have the oldest hat stretcher in the majors.

Pitchers and catchers: 8 days.

The Old Man and Me

2007-01-16T14:31:00.000-05:00

Recently, my dad joined the internet revolution. For a mail carrier in his early 60s, this is kind of a big deal. I wasn't sure if he'd be able to fully grasp the whole email - news - sports - email - webcast - youtube - email nexus of surfing and sending, but he's taken to it fairly well so far. I haven't introduced him to the phlogosphere yet, but all in due time. In the meantime, the miracle of cyberspace has brought us the occasional commentary on the hometown club. Here's the latest, in extenso:

"Karim Gracia? Oh brother."

More on this as it develops. No concrete release date for the CD yet either.

We'd Like to Take You Back to Our First Album...

2006-12-26T11:23:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it, CL is taking a break during the offseason. While there is no shortage of news or analysis to be given, there is also no shortage of places to do it, so until spring training begins in a about 100 days (!), posting on this blog will be somewhere between light and non-existant. Most likely, our thoughts will turn up from time to time over at the good fight, where we finally have figured out the login-posting-diary process.

To further confuse things, we'll also be knee deep in promotion for our first solo CD of all original music, to be pre-released in January and officially released sometime in March. And for lack of a better title, it appears it will be called "Caught Looking." Either it will maximize the web traffic or it will prompt repeated questions about why it doesn't contain any baseball songs. Hey, that's just, like, you're interpretation, man.

See you soon. We need another reliever.

Tech-nically Speaking

2006-10-30T09:38:00.000-05:00

Is this comparison really necessary? What about the '04 Yankees? It's not even the same sport! What about something football related?

Mambo for Starter No. 5

2006-10-27T10:55:00.000-04:00

In a few days, the World Series will be over and quite possibly, its champion will be a team that went 3-3 against the Phils this season, including being swept at home under the Arch in August. And while that means a lot of moaning (in addition to the moaning that’s going on already) over the milk spoiled in the final week of the season, it also beckons the next phase of life as we know it – the 2006-07 off-season. It’s free agent time. More specifically, it’s time for an annual tradition in the Delaware Valley: the campaign to bring back Curt Schilling.

Why must this little dog and pony show happen? Well, as we said, it’s tradition and when you have a publicist as relentless as the one the Schill has (himself), its downright inevitable. Plus, the list of free agent pitching won’t overwhelm anybody seeking a championship. Pardon me, the names of those who are realistic signings won’t wow anyone. Mr Zito, and Mr. Schmidt, you are free to go. You are not the drones we’re after. Jeff Suppan, anyone? Gil Meche (more Mariners!), are you out there? Does anyone have an email address for someone named Ben Sheets? Bleh.

Next week, the Schill comes back into town to raise money for the Philadelphia Chapter of the ALS Association through his charity golf tournament, something he’s been doing for years. As some might hypothesize, this would be an opportune time for former Phils ace to make an additional pitch, that is to be the ace once again, most likely in his last year in the bigs. Schilling has all but said that he’s got one more year in him. He’s voiced his desire to finish up in Philly before, we’ve all heard it. If he means it, it’s now or never. The Phils have the money to take him on and it wouldn’t require an inflexible, multi-year contract. At this point, having already won 2 World Series – elsewhere, mind you – he’s the definition of a hired gun. If the team can count ageless wonder Jamie Moyer and the player once known as Jeff Conine among their ‘07 plans, there’s no on-field reason that Schilling couldn’t follow suit. It could even explain why Randy Wolf hasn’t been made an offer yet. Perhaps Gillick knows there are a few options that should be allowed to play out before committing to a fifth starter. One year of Schilling vs. multiple years of Randy Wolf.

Of course, getting Schill, assuming the Phils want him, won’t be quite so easy (is it ever?) First, he’s got a year left on his contract, so he wouldn’t be a signing, he’d be a trade and though the Red Sox wouldn’t get anything for him if they didn’t trade him and he retired, there would and will be a market for him. Somebody will want him. So, the even up Schilling for Gavin Floyd probably won’t happen (and even if it did, Floyd would go 16-9 next year with 4 complete games). Next, there’s the little matter of Schilling not exactly being well-behaved when he is here. The man loves to talk. Not that it should matter all that much, but he won’t be greeted with open arms by all. Finally, who’s to say that he’s got much left in the tank? After suffering through a miserable ’05 in which he was a disaster out of the bullpen, Schilling turned in a below average year for him (ERA+ of 116 when his career average is 127) and gave up more hits than IP for the second straight season. True, he still doesn’t walk many and would certainly fare better in the NL, but he turns 40 next month and his 1.24 HR per 9 innings is due for another jump in CBP.

All in all, this exercise in wild speculation brings up the central question in the Phils’ strategy for ’07: now or later?

The Curtain Calls

2006-09-30T19:11:00.000-04:00

Well, folks that's it. Down the last weekend of the season, so close yet so far away. Again. There will be time for reflection. For now, let's just say it was fun while it lasted.

Or was it?

The Black Hole Returneth

2006-09-27T16:57:00.000-04:00

Question: Which two hitters in the Phils lineup should NOT be situated next to each other?

Hint: In the last two games, Mike Lieberthal and Pat Burrell have combined to leave 17 men on base (Burrell 7, Lieberthal 10).

Answer: The two guys who won't and shouldn't be around next year.

Is It True?

2006-09-25T09:52:00.000-04:00

Do the Phils really have the third best bullpen in the NL? You decide.

Calm Before the Storm

2006-09-22T10:20:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of the season, optimistic projects were that Cole Hamels, the Stave Carlton second coming to end all second coming, might be a September call-up or a mid-season replacement for the beleaguered Phillies rotation, perhaps once Ryan Franklin or Gavin Floyd were cut loose or demoted.

Well, we were sort of right.

He's here, except, now, he's essentially the ace of the staff and the expected Game 1 starter, should the team make the NLCS. How can you not like this kid? In today's Inquier, Todd Zolecki has some numbers on the kid. One surprise was the three no-hitters into the 5th inning -- didn't realize that. Here's an excerpt:

-6-3 with a 2.67 ERA in his last 10.
-1-1 with a 3.97 ERA in two starts against the Florida Marlins, the team he faces tonight.
-He has taken three no-hitters into the fifth inning.
-He has pitched at least six innings in eight of his last 10 starts.
-The rookie has walked two or fewer batters in 12 of his last 14 starts.
-He has had 10 or more strikeouts three times.

While it's exciting to see the kid flash the dominance that made his minor tenure the stuff of legend, the lesson here is not about talent. It's about attitude. While he now seems to typify an almost Bond-movie leading-man style of cool, it wasn't always that way. As referenced in Scott Lauber's piece, Hamels, through injury and self-maturation, has been able to grow out of a temper which used to hamper his pitching. he no longer gets upset aboput hits or bad calls, he shakes them off and gets down to business. To say this a valuable piece of life advice is an understatement. To point out a teammate of Hamels' who would benefit tremendously from the same self-discovery, that would not only be re-stating the obvous, it would essentially be robbing Swing & A Miss of a job. So, we'll leave it unsaid for now.

But what's most exciting in all of this is that suddenly, the team, should it make the playoffs has a rotation with potentially 4 big-game pitchers in it. Hamels is the hot hand and young gun. Myers has been the de facto ace the past two seasons and the only power pitcher on the staff. Lieber's current contract was a direct result of his 2004 playoff performance and Moyer, well, he does more with less than we've ever seen. It should not be forgotten that the last season, the Chicago White Sox won the World Series with their rotation. Not so much their offense and definitely not their bullpen. The current Phils team has a better shot at following that blueprint than any of the past year's near misses.

Now, all we have to do is get there.

Haven't We Been Here Before?

2006-09-19T17:12:00.000-04:00

Et tu, Eude?

And so, 12 months later, we're right back where we started, outside looking into the race for the coveted wildcard playoff spot, baseball's ultimate consolation prize. And right back with us is a diminutive lefthander who could play a critical role in the final couple weeks of the chase. Eude Brito, an AAAA pitcher if there ever was one, entered last night's contest at home against the lowly Cubs to relieve possibly the most disappointed ace of any pitching staff in the league. Verdict: Might as well should have just saved his arm when when it counts. Or counts more, anyway.

Actually, its not Brito the pitcher who is a make-or-break commodity, per se, just the state of the team's bullpen which makes a brito more valuable then he should be. For exhibit A, let's turn to the Phils bullpen and check on the health/value of the cast:

-Gordon: progressively worse stats each month and a stint on the DL
-Rhodes: brutal most of the year and done for the season.
-Madson: not injured, unless you can define injured as someone who gives up baserunners at league-high rates.
-Fultz: part of the un-dynamic duo, who, along with Geoff Geary, could be the most overused tandem in baseball. still effective enough to use regularly.
-Geary: team's best reliever. Finally has a substantial role.
-Castro: shielded and unused for months, is finally insert into a tight situation and yields a go-ahead HR. might as well never be heard from again. forget that he's yielded just 7 H in 21+ innings.
-White: better than expected, which is to say alternatingly effective and terrible. the Larry Anderson of '06.

Much like last year, the bullpen is more or less out of gas. Remember that horrific loss at Shea Stadium on Sept 27th when the bullpen blew the game, not once (Urbina) but twice (Wagner)? Down 1.5 games with only a dozen to go, the team's in the same spot again, with the some of the same problems. While the starting rotation has been better as of late, it's still the offense's playoff berth to win. There can be no flat performaces against the Wade Millers or Victor Zambranos of the word.

As evidenced by last night's tanking, having guys around like Brito, who actually pitched quite well down the stretch last year, is not a luxury. This team needs them.

Beats Working for a Living

2006-08-11T09:14:00.000-04:00

An open date on the schedule had us musing on the meaning of leadership and what make s leader. Balls, Sticks & Stuff prompted this with a post, and we shared the beginning of our thoughts, but we have more on this. We'll be at the game Sunday vs. the Reds, so there's more time for us to develop our outlook on this key aspect of our team. That post will appear by early next week, we're thinking.

Thanks to knowing the right people, caught looking will work tonight as the celebrity member of the Washington Nationals grounds crew at the Nats-Mets game. It provides a rare instance of us pulling for the home team. But it also illustrates why this is a great country. This is one of the dream jobs we've had on the list for quite a while, probably since little league. We hope somehow there's a camera phone to catch it on "film."

What's it like to work the grounds crew? We'll know when we do it, but here are the conditions sent around prior to the experience. Notice that it actually pays, $40.

Tarp crew members must report to the game 2 hours prior to the start of the game. The tarp crew GM or assigned member will meet you at the gate and provide a game credential so you may enter the stadium. You are able to park for free in lot 8a.

As you enter stadium parking, provide the attendant your name and he/she will verify that you are on the parking list.

In terms of attire, please wear khaki shorts / pants and sneakers. A tarp crew t-shirt will be provided upon arrival. No hats may be worn other than a Nationals' hat.

From start to finish, the day is usually 5 hours long. As staff, you are able to bring food and drink into the stadium. You may also purchase food and drink from vendors, but they only take cash and it can be a bit costly.

During the National Anthem please stand in a straight line about a yard from the photo dugout. When we are tasked on the field, please hustle, no idle strolling.

Upon completion of the game, the Crew GM will collect your credential and provide payment. Payment is $40 per game.

Also:
-No drinking of alcoholic beverages
-No fraternization with the teams
-Your t-shirt must be tucked in while working and if you wear a hat, the bill must be faced forward at all times.
-When we finish our workday leave the stadium, no loitering in unauthorized areas.
-Stay out of dugouts and bullpens unless on a specific task.
-Most of all….. have FUN because we have some of the best seats in the house!

We won't be able to wear our Chase t-shirt, though.

Win Some, Lose Some, Expect the Same

2006-08-08T22:13:00.000-04:00

And therein lies the problem. While Monday's 9-6 win over the Braves produced the template for how the Phils will win games for the remainder of the '06 season, Tuesday night's 3-1 klunker shows exactly how they will lose them. On both nights, the starting pitching was good enough to win. Unfortunately, the better of the two performances, by rookie and ace-in-waiting Cole Hamels, did not gain a win, or even a no decision for that matter. Able to squeeze out a run
on a sacrifice bunt byu the pitcher, the Braves did what the Phils could not -- get on the board in teh fist 7 innings for its starter. And so the game the team seemed most likely to win, they drop quietly, setting up a must-win start for Randy Wolf's Rehab in Progess Tour.

Look, there is no reason to think the wild card spot is unattainable. With their recent above average play, the team's standing hovers around 3 games back, certainly striking distance in the soup that is the NL wildcard. But ther are reason this team hasn't been able to take hold of the race thusfar, and recent roster dumpings nonwithstanding, too many of those same problems still fester:

-RiSP: The team still does not hit with runners in scoring position. Utley and Howard are gamers through and through, while Dellucci and Cinderella-story Coste have provided some stropng support. But after that, the dropoff is monsterous. Rowand, Nunez, the pitcher's spot, Rollins and Pat Burrell, when in the lineup, constitute more than a black hole. They've become a veritable Dead Zone. Rowand can't pull balls anymore it seems, and is hitting .223 (51-for-223) since returning from injury on May 27 and less than .200 so far in August. Reports have been that he's battling a host of minor injuries. A good game from Nunez means he still went hitless, but didn't cost the team anything in the field. Tonight's 1-4 performance raised his average.

-Top of the order: Is there a less patient one-two combination that Manuel's recent concoction of Rollins and Victorino. Both are talented, tough-minded players. Neither seem to be able to shake off the need to hack. Both have OBPs around the .330 mark, which is lackluster. While neither strikeout excessively -- 600 ABs would find both somewhere in the 70s, neither walk enough. Which brings us to our next point.

-Patience: In the dog days of August, and with Pat Burrell out of the lineup, the team sees too few pitches on average. As an excellent post over at PhilliesNation details, the team simply doesn't walk enough to expect to win as much as it needs to. Just to show we're not trying to twist the numbers, an encouraging flip-side to this is that this mark is improving relative to the rest of the league: Coming into tonight, the team with 4th in batting average in the NL the past 30 days and ties with the Nationals for most walks in that timeframe with 105. They are also tied with the Nats for the best team OBP at .371. However, their ERA in that timeframe is 4.74, good for the top of the bottom third of the NL. The reds are the only team in front of them in the wildcard who is worse in the department, which segues to our next point...

-Numbers game: Sooner or later, the numbers will catch up with this team. Their starting pitching for the season is among the worst in the league by ERA, although that's skewed somewhat by banished rotation members Gavin Floyd and Ryan Madson. While its been betetr lately, its still below average in the league itself, and it remains to be seen what can realistically be expected of Scott Mathieson and Randy Wolf. Likewise, Dellucci and Coste are both hitting around the .340 mark. There is no way in Hell that is going to continue. That means some of these 6 runs bursts are going to be more like 2 and 3 run bursts very soon. Coste is already showing a few chinks in the armor, with a propensity to chase the slider. Its more liekly that both will end up hitting in the .280 or .290 neighborhood by year's end. That means each of their averages will dip 50 point in 50 games.

-Us. vs. them: We're no scientist or even sabrematrician, but much like last year's national's team, the runs for vs. runs against line is not promising. The team currently has a run differential of -4. Theya re 4 games under .500. That's about right, give or take. While it's not a fool-proof predicter of win-loss, some of the other records aren't too good either: 11-17 in one run games comes to mind.

All of this points, in our mids, to another near miss, barring lightening being caught in a bottle the final few weeks of the season. The schedule the remainder of the season contains 10 games collectively against the Mets and faltering Reds and no other games against teams with winnings records. Lots of Marlins, Nats, Cubs and Astros games. So, it's certainly possible. Not probable, however.

Of course, we'd like to be wrong.

The Wake Up Bomb

2006-08-06T22:58:00.000-04:00

While it may be bad form to blame Charlie Manuel for the bad plays his team makes in the field, one still has to ask: would a quality manager allow this stuff to happen time and again? How can a major league team have a starter essentially throw the game down the first base line on two consecutive nights? This team has never played consistent ball in any aspect of the game under this manager and there is no reason to think it's going to change. He simply can't figure out how to plus the multiple holes in the wall as the water rushes through to the other side. Get timely hitting and pitching buckles. Good pitching outings are ruined by poor play in the field. Bad decisions at the plate beget mistakes on the basepaths. And so on. It never ends with this team.

Following yesterday's rock-bottom prices giveaway, rookie Scott Mathieson couldn't get out of the 4th inning tonight after cruising through the first 3, yet he left having surrendered only two earned runs. His first audition in the Big Apple against his nemesis-to-be, the first-place Mets, started attractively, but ended with a bag over the head. The kid has good stuff and for a 17th round pick who, again, was pitching in A ball at this time last year, he's come a long way. Giving up a bunch of runs to the NL's best offense is nothing to be ashamed of. Walking Endy Chavez does you no favors, however.

Fabio Castro was sited at the end of the game and all fingers pointed to the mound. The diminuative lefthander has a live fastball and a pretty nice curve to go with it. He's got control issues, and leaves alot of pitches high, but he is in no way someone who should be hiding on the roster. With Daniel Haigwood getting rocked in the Rangers' minor league sytem, this looks like a nice little pickup. The team appears to be on cusp of putting together a decent, cheap bullpen for 2007.

While Mathieson and Castro may be ready for primetime next season, if not later this season, Pat Burrell should officially be cancelled and shelved for retooling. The Met killer did nothing in this series to warrant anything more than platoon status the rest of 2006, regardless of how big an albatross his contract is. He is officially overpaid, and has become unwatchable at the plate. Likewise, there is no way that Abraham Nunez will do anything the rest of this season to dispel the notion that he is absolute trash. Imagine this great combination: zero hitting stroke along with nonexistent strikezone knowledge. Nunez isn't good enough to bat 9th for most teams, let alone 8th. Third and finally, whatever the Phils can get for Aaron Roward would constitute the steal of the season on the trade market. Unable to pull anything, Rowand is worthless at the plate and his defense is comparable to Shane Victorino's, which means he adds nothing above what the team has in its unproven 4th outfielder. His folk hero status nonwithstanding, he isn't doing anything on the field to help this team play .500 ball. Not excel, mind you, but play .500 ball.

A humbling experience tonight that shows the team isn't ready to overachieve its way into the postseason just yet.

This Country Was Founded on Property Rights

2006-08-06T16:16:00.000-04:00

Someone want to explain to me how a control pitcher who doesn't walk anyone in a complete game against the leagues best team is unable to throw a ball 15 feet to first base? Anyone else see the extemely sad irony in that? Jon Lieber may say that he takes his fielding seriously, and he may only have 2 errors all year, but we've seen them both, the first one being when he sustained this season's DL injury. This is not a man who takes his fielding seriously enough to work on it. That's the most galling thing about it. Throwing to first base, if he knows he can't make that throw, should be a top priority for a supposed staff ace on a semi-contending team. But, hey maybe we're over-reacting. It's not like he's making $7 million per and it's not like he's got other pitching woes to worry about.

As much at fault as Lieber is the starting leftfielder, who we've defended in the past. Well, that stops here. This team, if it is going to get over the hump, needs players that take charge. Not taking charge and catching that ball in leftfield is bad enough -- a major league outfield busts his ass to reclaim that ball from the shortstop after a bad jump. A major league outfielder takes OWNERSHIP of the play. OK, forget that. In the 9th inning, the same guy took three strikes on the way to a backwards K, a department he leads the league in. Sure, the other team's closer has a reputation for striking hitters out. Striking out is not the crime -- not taking control of the at-bat is. This a game with a playoff atmosphere on the road, on national TV. This was the same pitcher who called you a 'rat' earlier in the season. A major league hitter takes OWNERSHIP of that at-bat. He doesn't look for a walk and leave it to the next guy. He goes down swinging if he has to. Shameful.

Giving away a game like that last night is inexcusable. It should suspend thoughts of the post-season for while, seeing as how's it's enough to make one squawk. So, instead of the playoff-tested veteran getting a series win, now the ball and the responsibility are passed to the rookie Scott Mathieson, he of A ball at this time last year. Let's hope he takes some ownership.

(Baseball) Heaven Isn't Too Far Away

2006-08-04T13:01:00.000-04:00

Call us cynical, but there is no sweeter sound than hearing the boos reign down in baseball heaven as the Phils polish off a sweep of the hurting Cardinals (interesting point: the Cards' run differential this year is +1, yet they are 9 games over .500 with a seven game losing streak. anyone else see a paper tiger?). Unfortunately, we had to watch it all from a hospital bed this week, following a false alarm diagnosis of appendicitis. No matter, things are improving on all fronts, baseball and non. On the field, thanks to explosive run production -- sometimes by longball and sometimes not -- along with competant pitching, the Phils have won 8 of 10, have pulled back into eyeball range of the wildcard stew, and remain above the fold in the nightly national media, althought he last point is mainly due to Chase Utley and the thing that will not be mentioned here.

How can such an underachieving team pull things together so quickly and so convincingly? If only we knew, definitively. But, things are clicking, including:

*Lineup construction: Finally! The current Phils lineup appears perfectly constructed for how the Phils produce. Rollins, when hot, is a fine leadoff hitter with some pop. When he isn't it's depressing. Right now, he's hot, to the tune of 321/389/679 thanks to that two homer game the other night, after having a little injury time off. Dellucci appears to be patient enough to be a good number 2, while the Utley, Howard, Burrell arrangement affords both Utley and Howard more lineup protection than they were getting previously. The new black hole, Rowand and Nunez, is currently split by Cinderella, otherwise known as Chris Coste, the 33-year-old rookie with a hot bat, excellent situational hitting, and occasional pop. If this guy doesn't have a fan club (Coste's Ghosts? Coste's Hostesses) by the next home stand, there is no justice in south Philly. Top to bottom, the team is having excellent at-bats more often than not, fouling off pitches and running deep counts. This maximizes the chances of getting to the starter in the 5th or 6th when he tires and seeing an extra mediocre reliever afterward.

* Starting pitching: Myers and Hamels, a combined 47 years old -- or one Julio Franco, if you're scoring at home -- have emerged as dual aces on an otherwise scattershot staff. Although neither are complete-game workhorses, both have shown to be battlers this year. Myers has pitched reliably since coming back from his incident and Hamels is starting to take off -- he has 44 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings in his past five starts. Together, Myers and Hamels also form an almost perfect twin-bill: Myers is a right-handed power pitcher with a splitter, big curve and a workhorse mentaility. Hamels is a lefthander with a killer change, improving location, and absolutely no lack of self-confidence. They may not be Santana and Liriano, but one can't help but get excited.

* Bullpen management: Sure, cutting Ryan Franklin helps, but somewhere along the line, Charlie Manual decided that he no longer has set roles for every reliever in his bullpen. He's pitching Geoff Geary in the 8th some nights, Aaron Fultz in the 6th or 7th or in mop up, and Arther Rhodes in games when he can't walk in the winning runs. This is a tentative plus, since it means that right choices could leverage more positives out of a fairly inexperienced/washed crew. Much hinges on Madson's production in his new old role and if fairly exciting Fabio Castro earns a promotion from nowhere to Rick White territory. Its hard not to like this card-shuffling though, since it's very un-Charlie.

Another plus of these blowout victories has the been the resting of the presumed back of the bullpen, Rhodes and Gordon. If the mess that is the wildcard truly does come down to the wire and the Phils are truly in the hunt, having these two fresh is a must. Gordon has been everything the team could have asked for this year, aside from blowing that game against the Mets a few months ago.

Which brings us to our last point. This weekend is a golden opportunity for the team to prove its mettle to the baseball public. They face only one of the Mets' big 2 starters in Flushing and will be on national TV both Saturday on FOX and Sunday night again on ESPN. We will see how much Jon Lieber still cares, how Randy Wolf's arm hold out and how Scott Mathieson, who at this time last year was pitching in A ball, does under the bright lights of the Big Apple.

Wild card race or no, there's alot of pride on the line this weekend.

Darkness on the Edge of Town

2006-08-01T01:28:00.000-04:00

This past winter, Billy Wagner had too much to say about the south Philly clubhouse. This guy doesn't want to win. That guy's a rat. Nobody wants to hear the truth from me. Well, anyone who thought that element was expunged was dead wrong. Now, Cory Lidle's learned the melody to that tune. His comments earlier today, the hole still crisp and round on his punched ticket to the AL East race:

"I'm the kind of player that goes to the field every day expecting to win," Lidle told New York reporters. "Unfortunately, the last few years, I haven't had a clubhouse that expected to win with me. It was almost a coin flip to know if the guys behind me were going to be there to play 100 percent. I know that's not going to be the deal here in New York...That's the reason I'm most excited to come over here. I think I'll fit in well and be able to take my game to the next level."

later on...

"It was a mixture of veterans and young players, and sometimes there were mixed signals," Lidle said. "Sometimes it seemed like winning was all that mattered and sometimes it seemed like winning didn't matter at all. That was the opinion I had. I don't know how true that is. A lot of the other guys in that clubhouse didn't all go there with one goal in mind. Everyone liked to win, but they didn't expect to win. I think being with 24 other guys that come to the clubhouse every day and expect to win will raise my level of play."

Lidle's an interesting guy, being the good poker player that he is and all, as well as someone with a reputation for obsessive preparation between starts. These comments ring differently from him than they do out of Wagner, who by most accounts seemed miserable yet duplicitous the entire time he was here. Wagner, along with his bullpen sidekick Tim Worrell saw fit to rip the Philly fans after leaving town, while Lidle stood in front of the local media on his way out and claimed that the negative fan factor was overblown.

By all accounts this season, the additions of Aaron Rowand as keg party host and beer pong champ, along with Arthur Rhodes as bullpen spiritual leader, did some sort of good for the vibes in the clubhouse. That was the line anyway. Granted, that was back before an atrocious June did the team in. So what of these lack of motivations? Is it all Pat Burrell and Mike Lieberthal's fault? Was Ryan Franklin that much of a rattle-shaking crybaby over not getting to start and vie for the league lead in HRs surrendered? Did David Bell's stone-faced mediocrity finally get on Lidle's nerves enough to push the big red button? Are the new guys too quiet still? Perhaps the offseason dropoff at the scrap heap will finally lay this Jimmy Carter-esque aura of malaise hanging over this franchise to rest. Maybe?

What's interesting here is that hours before the Lidle story hit the wire, Bobby Abreu finally stepped out of his decade-long nice guy character to touch on the most popular criticism levied at him:

"I play hard," the rightfielder said last month as trade rumors swirled - to many fans' delight. "I might not dive. I might not run into walls. I play every day. I play when I'm hurt. I hear what people say. They say I don't play hard. They say I don't care."

Abreu whipped a red uniform sock and tugged it on.

"I care," he said then.

His face set harder than it ever had been in his nine seasons as a Phillie.

"We'll see how they feel about me when I'm gone," Abreu said.

Well, if you're in to connecting dots, its hard to turn this opportunity to draw down. While pure stat heads and overally numerical minds love to downplay the importance of the clubhouse chemistry or individual makeup or sum-of-the-parts thinking or whatever you want to call it, is there not at least something to be said for basic human behavioral tendencies? What is fostering this dull, flatlining culture? Why does it survive year and year out? What assurance is there that it won't pop up again around a new nucleus? Who was the last player to leave Philadelphia and say "I enjoyed my time there?"

Our problems go way beyond a bad trade or two, folks.

Parallel Lives

2006-07-31T11:16:00.000-04:00

Before we get back to talking about the ballclub, we should make the announcement. In anticipation of the July 31, 4 pm EST non-waiver deadline, we've agreed to a deal that will provide some modest salary relief to our current employer as our employment moves on to a larger, more nationally-recognized organization in downtown DC. Much like Bobby and Cory, moving on to the "empire" may raise some eyebrows, but, in reality, the time had come: the current team was going to lose us sooner or later, anyway. (We didn't even have time to blog, for crying out loud.)

Our new, clean-shaven pennant race begins August 28.

The Deadline Approacheth

2006-07-28T17:48:00.000-04:00

Expect a big Caught Looking deal to be done and announced by the Monday deadline. Future prospects involved.

No Blockade on Castro

2006-06-29T18:00:00.000-04:00

Earlier today, the beleagured (and beerleaguered) Phils traded AA starting pitcher Daniel Haigwood, one of the left-handed spoils of the Jim Thome deal, to the Texas Rangers for a another lefty, diminutive Dominican Fabio Castro. Reaction from the blogosphere has not been mixed. In fact, its been the purest of concoctions: terrible trade and senseless act are probably the two best qualifiers. Heck, even we were stunned at first, sounding in our own head like a certain manager out of explanation. Why trade a starter prospect when we need starters? Why fortify the bullpen when its the closest thing to a redeeming quality among a mid-season nosedive? Why pick up a half-pint Rule 5er?

Not so fast on the Castro damnation. It looks like the front office wanted to promote a few pitchers (Happ to AA, Maloney/Carrasco to Clearwater) and in order to do that, someone had to be moved. Maybe Haigwood could have gone to AAA, or maybe, with Floyd, Brito (bleh), etc., already there, perhaps he became expendable. Let's be honest, Haigwood and his 87 mph fastball was a long shot for the big league rotation anyway and never really considered for relief. He was the least valuable piece of the Thome trade from the start. Who's to say flipping him for something in a newer, slightly different model isn't at least a defensible move? Actually, this deal might make some marginal sense. Here's what the BA handbook had to say about Castro:

After Chicago left Castro off its 40-man roster, he raised his profile with a strong winter in the Dominican League. His fastball was better than ever, sitting at 91-93 mph and touching 94. He was nearly untouchable down the stretch in high Class A, not allowing an earned run while striking out 16 in his final 14 innings. Castro compliments his fastball with a good changeup that acts like a splitter at times. He also has a tight curveball with downward spin and a good feel for pitching. Despite his slight frame, Castro is durable and wants the ball every day. His delivery is clean and has some deception, though he needs to work on staying more upright so his stuff doesn't flatten out. His stuff is good enough for him to start, but he profiles as a lefthanded power arm out of the bullpen because of his size.

Sure, we still need a catcher, a third baseman, a bench, starting pitching, and a coaching staff, but this deal is not a slam dunk minus. No one expects the Phils to hang onto Cormier or Rhodes or both for very long. While other needs may be more pressing, this might make some longer-term sense. Don't be blinded by the abhorrent current state of the big club. This was not a senseless act.

By the way, we're still not paying attention.

Official Statement on Bobby Abreu

2006-06-28T16:52:00.000-04:00

It's time.

Summer of Yawns

2006-06-15T12:30:00.000-04:00

We haven't posted in a while. Why? Because, as it turns out, Mike Radano has again crystalized our thoughts eloquently. Yes, we're still paying attention, but we've been rendered utterly speechless.

-A 20-game road trip? 10-10.
-# of games the starter pitched at least 8 innings? 2, back to back starts by Myers in May, in fact.
-RiSP avg? .235, worst in the NL.
-Management? Can't remember to pinch-hit for stunningly overmatched Abraham Nunez in the 9th against Billy Wagner.
-Leadoff hitter? About .250.
-Defense? Non-existent.

We're going to work on enjoying the weather until after July 4th. See you after the nation's birthday.

Storm Brewin'?

2006-05-18T12:33:00.000-04:00

Who knew that in only his second major league start, King Cole would be called upon to stop a modest, yet troubling, losing streak? The Phils have dropped two straight walk-off games in Milwaukee, last night on bad pitching and the night before on bad throwing by a pitcher. The bullpen has returned to the top of the list of worries, followed closely by the god-awful bench, injuries, and Gavin Floyd. The offense saved itself last night from being including on that list by stringing together a few hits to score three in the top of the ninth. Last year, it seemed the criticism of the Phils' late-inning nonchalance never ended. One year later, the squad has the Cardiac Kids thing down, even if it doesn't always result in a W. A win that is, not a second term, second generation president. Just wanted to clear that up.

So, this afternoon, Cole Hamels takes the mound against [insert Brewers left-handed replacement starter with a 9 ERA here.] Where have all these southpaw pitchers come from? Looks like the book is out and on the market on the Phils: can't hit lefties, worst in the NL with RiSP, worst hitting starting rotation, Van-Damme-it's-weak bench, and free-swinging leadoff guy in a huge slump. Last night's installment of "This Is Your Lefty," saw some guy send down 6 of 6 in the late innings before former Phils Rule 5-er Derrick Turnbow came in and flippin' struggled.

Currently, the vaunted offense is not so vaunted, injuries or no injuries. So, in the interim, we've been treated to some good pitching. Until the middle of sixth inning last night, that is. Gavin Floyd plunked the leadoff batter in the first, then surrendered a solo HR after getting a DP. As with his outing against the Mets, he then turned bulldog and sat down 12 straight at one point. In the 6th, however, he allowed a baserunner and then a string of hits, before leaving the job of plating runners to Rheal Cormier and his fat-part-of-the-bat non-bender. Cormier's first pitch to Prince Fielder was sharp and Fielder flailed at it. Every pitch after that? Not so good. A string of doubles later, plus a subpar inning by Geoff Geary in the 7th and the Phils were in a hole. Thanks to Arthur Rhodes and his traveling circlus of balls outside the strikezone in the 9th, the comeback proved to be superfluous.

Floyd is a bit of an enigma at this point. Fasano insists that he will get better now that he's using a two seamer, but we still see a two-pitch pitcher without the benefit of consistent location. While Floyd's command was a lot closer to acceptable last night, his pitching from the stretch was not. His troubles in the 6th innings all seemed to stem from the sudden change in delivery. Not having to deal with baserunners for four innings showed that the former first-rounder can handle a potent lineup and get into a groove. His lack of command from the stretch and non-existent changeup (the over-under on how many he threw last night is "one" -- which do you want) expose his very much work-in-progress status.

As mentioned only a few posts ago, the team cannot suffer a letdown during this stretch of baseball if it hopes to hang with the Mets all season. Losing two of three to the Brewers is not the end of the world -- the Mets just did it last week -- but getting swept could be a catastrophe by the time the Red Sox, Mets, and Brewers again stop by in the next two weeks. The legend of Cole Hamels may be ready to be written -- nay, already written -- but the demands on him at this point are kind of silly. This team, despite a nice run lately, is deeply flawed. It is still streaky, still deficient in some critical offensive areas, still undependable on the mound in the middle innings, and still perpetually a man short in situation after situation. Some moves have got to be made soon. Dare we say it? The bench needs one of those whatshumacallits... "professional hitters".

In the meantime, it don't take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Can (should?) a 22-year-old rookie be today's shelter from the storm?

Red Means Both Stop and Go

2006-05-16T10:04:00.000-04:00

One color, two very different teams. At least over the weekend. You may remember the Reds from such roles as first place, Central Division. Well, that was a long time ago. Over a week, in fact. After tearing up the league with its potent offense, the Little Red Machine That Couldn't trotted out a merry-go-round of confused hitters for six games, barely making the scoreboard in most of those. Meanwhile, the Phillies Phestival came a week early, showing up on the road in Cincinnati to showcase its new strength: starting pitting. Cole Hamels: one-hit ball in his major league debut. Jon Lieber: perfect through 6 2/3 and one out from a CG shutout. Brett Myers: the usual 7-inning, one-run game. Anyone else see three guys who might like to try on a post season series? The wily veteran, the stud power pitcher, and the cocky left-handed rookie. Sounds like something to read about in October.

We're getting ahead of ourselves here, obviously. Looking in the near future, the Phils have a pretty formidable run staring them in the face. They will be in Milwaukee for three against the respectable Brewers, owners of the most HRs in baseball at the moment -- powered by their own slugging first baseman vying to be rookie of the year -- and takers of 2 of 3 from the Mets over the weekend. They then return home to square off against Red Sox Nation, then visit Shea for three, back home for the Beeracrats and the Nats to close out May. June then begins in earnest with 11 straight games on the road, starting out West.

No doubt, the team is playing good ball right now, the best it's played all year, which, after April, ain't saying much. Lately, the pitching has been sold and the hitting has been timely, if not hot. Their reward? The Mets have cooled off and the Division is a two-horse race at the moment. No rest for the weary in Flushing, either, as the Cards and Yanks come calling before another NL East showdown May 23-25. In that series, if the rotation holds through days off, the Mets will see Gavin Floyd again, followed by King Cole and then Lieber.

One thing about the Phils current starting rotation, for probably the first time since the team has started winning 80-plus games, all five spots feel taken. Granted, Hamels has had just one performance -- and what a performance -- and Floyd has been spotty, but there are no Paul Abbotts or David Coggins taking up space every fifth day. While in reality it's probably too much to ask, the level of play, pitching and otherwise, absolutely has to stay at its current high water mark through to June. No dropping 2 of 3 to lowly Washington. No getting their doors blown off by the cocky Sox like last year. No laying eggs at Shea. They've made incredible progress, injuries and all. If the last two weeks of ball felt like the stretch run at the tail end of last year, the next stretch feels like a trial run through the playoffs. The rookies have been good to the Phils thusfar. How long can it be expected to last?

The next two weeks could be the answer, one way or the other.

Living in the Limelight

2006-05-10T17:58:00.000-04:00

Last night's sweet-as-the-punch victory over the hated Mets provided a thousand-and-one big stories, but really, the one to focus on is unquestionably Brett Myers. Simply put, the Phils need an ace and they will not be underbid in the free agent market this year or next, so it stands to reason that as Myers enters his late 20s, the job is his for the taking. Helped by a quick offensive strike last night, Myers pitched the best game any of us has seen him pitch in a while for a few obvious reasons:

1. He out-pitched one of the best of the past 10 years.
2. He cruised through seven innings in a hitters' park against a potent offense.
3. In the eighth, with fatigue staring him in the face, he gave up the big one (a fairly cheap one at that), shook it off, and made the next three hitters look helpless.

Should the Phils make the playoffs this year, Myers has to be -- HAS TO BE -- the Game One starter and last night's performance will be what the team needs, the fans want, and the stage requires.

It is great to see that it is possible.

Presenting, the King

2006-05-10T12:30:00.000-04:00

It's go time. Who wants to watch the game Friday night in northern Virginia?

That King Cole

2006-05-09T16:25:00.000-04:00

If the Greatest Prospect in the History of Major League Baseball was any sort of secret at the beginning of the season, those days are gone, long gone, much like no. 713 was Sunday night at the Cit.

Aside from a large crop of stories this week following his third straight mucho impressario outing for AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Cole Hamels has become the stuff of legend in the blogosphere, the mainstream media, and even on the radio. En route to a fortuitous lunch time meet-up with a fellow DC based baseball fan, Hamels became the subject of discussion on the Fantasy Focus radio show on XM Channell 174. Some dude called up asking if it was a wise idea to pick up Hamels immediately and stash him away. The answer was yes -- an answer so last week for us when we nabbed as the secret weapon in our CBS Sportsline League.

As far as the real world, however, things couldn't be more encouraging. For the second straight week, Hamels was named International League Player of the Week. In addition, he was named the top prospect in all of minor league baseball. His stats are pretty well documented pretty well everywhere else. Right now, he is the organization's Dontelle Willis in Steve Carlton's clothing. Sooner or later, the Phils almost have to make a spot for him. What change is made will be the subject of debate up until and even after the moment that change is actually made.

Currently, Pat Gillick is on record as saying he wants to see Hamels rebound from getting roughed up to get a sense of his emotiional resiliency (translation: "I got one softy already soft-tossing on the big club, I can't hadnle another.") Gillick has a reputation as a patient man -- would he care to make it interesting? The thought is, this roughing may not happen in the minors at all, at least for another month. While Hamels has thusfar faced relative subpar competition in the International League, it ain't going to get much tougher in the near future. Scranton, currently in first in their division, does not have a many bumps on the schedule at the tail end of Spring. If the rotation holds, Hamels' next four starts would be:

May 12 vs Ottawa
May 17 at Rochester
May 23 vs Indianapolis (assuming no rotation skip for day off)
May 28 vs Louisville (sunday)

Of those starts, second-place Rochester (17-12) appears to be the toughest game, both because it's the only one on the road and rochester is second in the league in team batting average. All four teams, however, are in the lower half of the standing in slugging percentage and OPS. So, exactly what kind of test Gillick expects is anyone's guess. The best team in the IL, Charlotte, currently riding a 12-game win streak and a league best 24-6 record, doesn't show up on the schedule until mid-June. If everything stays on rotation, Hamels would get the first game of that set, June 13 at home.

That would be awful long time to wait just to see if the league's best team can touch the country's top-rated prospect.

Met With Pride?

2006-05-08T18:22:00.000-04:00

Having watched this team sporadically and listened intently for the first six weeks of the season, our original evaluation of the 2006 Phils, pre-8-game winning streak, was that what we have here is failure to do anything especially well. Over the course of April, the team hit poorly in scoring situations, pitched poorly in most situations not involving the 9th inning, and fielded poorly from time to time through the game. And while the current hot streak shows us a team that is fun to watch and entirely capable of wining games from both ahead and behind, let's not get too overanxious. The last three opponants have been a mix of the bad (Marlins), floundering (Braves) and the old and creaky (Giants). Much like last year's 12-1 homestand -- which saw the team go west and struggle in Seattle, scoring 4 runs in 3 games -- the Phils need to pull themselves together when this streak finally ends and they feel their confidence slipping.

That is a worry for another day, however, and that day will be tomorrow when the Mets come to town for a three game set, a trifecta that will show which team is in fact in control of the suddenly medicre NL East. There are so many reasons to want to beat the Mets from their status as the red-headed step-child of New York baseball to the problems they gave the Phils last year to the whole hate-able aura of the thousands of lunkhead fans who come to Philadelphia to out-attitude south Philly's most obnoxious. Last night, Jon Miller or Joe Morgan -- we forget exactly which -- made exactly one good point about the Phils in between sometimes ridiculous discussion about the world of Barry Bonds: when Aaron Rowand came to Phils spring training in clearwater (in a pickup truck driven cross country from the Golden state), he made a point to take every single member of the 40-man roster out for lunch individually at some point. Why? Just cause. Just cause that's what someone looking to lead a team does. And Rowand, currently putting up a nice 311/354/513 line reminiscent of his 2004 career year on the South Side, has been exactly as advertised, probbaly better since moving to the 6th hole. He has been the public backbone this team desparately needed.

What this team never needed, however, was a whiny, self-promoting, public-emoting, media-controlling, virtue-extolling, Biggio-homer-cajoling left-hander throwing teammates under the bus both in season and in the following season. Billy Wagner, with all the class of 'school on Saturday' continues to answer the question no one really seems to be asking: what happened behind closed doors in Philadelphia last year? The answer to you and I is 'not enough to win playoff spot.' For Wagner, however, it appears to be "not enough to make me feel part of a team I was looking to get off of from Day One when I said 'I don't want to be here if there's going to be a bunch of kids (rookies?) running around.'" Last year, some thought Wagner was trying to rally the troops. Looking back, maybe he just wanted to be noted in courtesy class.

Personally, whether or not the Sandman ever enters from Tuesday to Thursday this week, it should be secondary to winning each game before the ninth inning. The Phils have their two best pitchers going in the first two games, their offense seems be adjusting nicely to the newest correct lineup, and they will be at home in front a decent size crowds that want nothing more to laugh at the other team from New York, it's big-spending ways, and its suddenly sensitive stopper.

Thankfully, the good guys rose to the challenge last night in front of a national audience.

Hopefully, there's more in store this week.

Floyd the Barber

2006-04-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

Despite play as shakey as a grandmother's pointing index finger, the Phils managed to take 2 of 3 on the road against division rival and very vulnerable Atlanta Braves, a squad currently trotting out a winless starting rotation that looks like its about to implode in the sky. Early on, yes, but is it really so hard to imagine that one year, maybe this summer, it all goes horribly wrong for the 14-year division champs?

Last night, Gavin Floyd turned in a nice, if not overwhelming, outing, giving up single runs three times in 6 innings, but generally throwing the ball aggressively and -- here's the most reassuring part -- hard. Floyd's fastball, which failed to show up with him in his debut in south Philly against the Dodgers, returned en masse last night, topping out at 94 and sitting above 90 virtually the entire night. After 6 innings and 95 pitches, Floyd handed the ball to the increasingly confusing Phillies bullpen.

Staked with a 5 run lead before Ryan Howard made the first out, Floyd showed us exactly what every half-interested Phillies fan will take from him this year: velocity, something remembling control (although far from commanding), great breaking stuff, flyball outs, and most importantly, a short memory. For instance, after Howard showed us the Dorn Ole play on a double-play chopper hit to him in the first, Floyd pitched out of the jam somewhat, allowing only a sac fly. After Jeff Franceour suddenly awoke with a home run in the second, Floyd sent the side down in order. And, in the sixth, Floyd still threw the ball as if he were fresh, giving the Phils two-thirds of a solid game on the mound.

Ryan Franklin solidfied his job as least trustworthy pitcher, however, coming in to relinquish another gopher ball in his quest to lead the majors in home runs yielded, despite beingin the pen. With Eric Milton picthing better so far, perhaps Frankjlin has a shot. Meanwhile Aaron Fultz 2006 still does not look like Aaron Fultz of 2005, but after hitting the first batter he faced in the seventh, the side went down in order. Finally, Tom Gordon appears to be settling into a niche in the closer's roll that is somewhere between the domination of Billy Wagner and the frustration of Jose Mesa. While no Joe Table, Flash will allow baserunners this year, although the "wild pitch" in the 9th was most definitely a passed ball on Fasano -- he may be an excellent best friend, but he has got to learn to block ball sin the dirt and not pancake them. How well Gordon gets out of jams will be the jury on his season on the ninth.

And for all you Pat Burrell haters out there, witness the play of the game that ended up saving the v ictory for the Phils. With Abreu on first and looking highly runnerish, Burrell worked a deep count by laying off two straight fastballs low and away. Then, as Abreu broke for second, Pat the Bat poked a ground ball right down the hatch of where second baseman Marcus Giles was before he moved to cover second. Hit and run? Check. Abreu moves the third on the play, allowing him to score on Utley's sac fly. It was perhaps Burrell's best at-bat of the year and precisely the kind of thing this teams needs to keep doing to scratch out enough runs to give it's staff enough run to pitch: situation hitting.

On to Colorado, .500 ball in site.

AA Battery

2006-04-07T09:36:00.000-04:00

Taking a break from the already underachieving biog league club, we ventured to Bowie, Md., last night to witness the Class-AA season opener for the Reading Phils against the hometown Baysox. Besides the cheaop tickets and the invitation from a softball teammate and college buddy, we were looking forward to seeing one of the mid-level squad's golden arms pitch. In this case, it was Scott Mathieson, better known as the Canadian pitcher who nearly gave up a home run to Chase Utley in the WBC.

Bowie's stadium is weird -- located in kind of a suburban megaplex behind the home depot -- the chill in the air prevented more than a few hundred people from attending the game. The majority of attendents were of the young pursuation and the excitement of every foul ball in the stands seemed to grow inning by inning. To be fair, this game had more foul balls than any we'd ever seen. That probably has something to do with opposing aces on the mond as well as rusty hitters.

The Phils seemed to be ready early, knocking out six singles in the first 3 innings and scratching out a run in the second. Conversely, Mathieson was tough early, sending the first seven batters down in succession by throwing hard -- his fastball popped Jason Jaramillio's glove at 96 two or three times --and little else. His first spin through the lineup, only one hitter caught up with anything he through and that was an 88 mph slider that Michael Bourn amazingly ran down in the gap in leftcenter with a spectacular diving catch.

By the second time, through, however, was a different story. Mathieson walked a few batters, and gave up a two run dinger to leadoff hitter Jeff Fiorentino on a slider that he apparently developed in the Arizona Fall League in order to drop his curveball. With all due respect to whatever his pitching coaches tell him, Mathieson might want to think about keeping that curve, or some form of slurve, around, since essentially all his pitches were coming in at the same speed and same angle. Mathieson seemed to throw almost all fastballs the first three innings, as everything was straight and between 91-94. By the 6th inning, Mathieson's pitch count was over 100 and while his velocity was still pretty solid, with the occasional dip in the mid-80s, his fastballs appeared to lose a few mphs and were getting higher and higher.

The other player we were very interested in watching was catcher Jason Jaramillo, who seemed not entirely confident behind the plate (one very bad passed ball as well as some communcation problems with Mathieson), and had both a good at-bat at the plate and very bad one in which he swung at three straight balls low and outside to K. Jaramillo, a switch hitter, posted a .300-plus average last year, so we don't expect too many bad showings at the plate this season.

While some of us have been excited to see Reading this season, they have an absolute dearth of power. Only two players on the roster had more than 10 HRs last season at any level, while Bowie, a team that finished 6 games over .500 last year, has 4 players with more than 20 HRs. It will be interesting to see if Reading can generate enough offense this year to support their talented pitching staff.

We left in the 6th because of the chill, with reading down 3-1. That's how it ended.

S.O.S.

2006-04-06T12:10:00.000-04:00

You have got to be kidding.

Narrowingly judging our 2006 installment of the team by a single game -- last night's thrilla in the Phila -- there is positively nothing new that's positive about this team. The bright spots all phans know and love -- namely Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley -- are there, but aren't new. Complimenting those ups are the same old downs, the ghosts of mediocre seasons past. Witness:

-Bobby Abreu pulling up yet again on a sinking pop fly to shallow right, instead of sliding in for an entirely makeable, fairly injury-possibility free, shoe-string catch play. This, of course, eventually led to a run.

-Brett Myers in a huff, first about Bobby, then about pitches called balls which every angle of replay will clearly show to be balls. Balls, on the other hand, are what Myers has to suggest anything doing with the umpires affecting his pitching.

-Despite us defending him at Opening Day during his 2 for 3 performance at the plate, Mike Lieberthal is, more often than not, terrible in all aspects of the game. Blaming him for Myers' mental breakdown is unfair, but a ten-year vet has also got no excuse when his pitcher is self-destructing and he does nothing about it. Throwing a ball into CF in the 9th was galling, although not as galling as a game-ending, directionless impatient at-bat with the bases loaded by a pitcher who had just walked two batters. Fond memories still exist of Mike the Catcher circa 1999 (or even 2003), but not anywhere near the new stadium they don't.

-Charlie Manual almost insisting on making moves that confound the developed portions of the brain, sending up perhaps the bench's worst hitter, Alex Gonzalez, as the first pinch-hitting option, when Abraham Nunez, Shane Victorino, and David Dellucci would all be more potent options, and mishandling elementary situations like using a mound visit to buy time for a pitcher warming up in the bullpen. Despite being the team's fourth OF, it looks as though Shane-O is destined to be Pat Burrell's better pair of feet this year.

The optimism many of us so readily nurtured throughout the offseason has been met not just with underachievement, but familiar, frustrating underachievement. The grass we envisioned is already looking like weeds, and if you think we're being altogether presumptuous at a too-early junction of the race, well forgive us if we've seen it before. We have, and for that, we're just as insane as everyone else in this asylum.

Foul Balls Can Kill

2006-04-04T10:17:00.000-04:00

Not to restate the obvious, but Jon Lieber did not perform well yesterday and only gave fuel to those lighting the "Not an Ace" fire underneath the team during the pre-s...well, actually, since the day Lieber was signed. But why didn't Lieber pitch well? Well, I'm not sure he didn't pitch well. That is to say, Lieber is a location pitcher, not a power pitcher and while he does not walk many, he does give up plenty of hits. Even more than that, he gives up a lot of contact.

One need look no further than the first inning, when Lieber sent the first two Cardinals down on Ks and then appeared to have Pujols rung up, only to be denied by Jerry Crawford's annoyingly conservative strike zone. This kind of situation does not help a guy like Lieber, who is not quite a nibbler, but certainly not a guy who typically strikes out the side in the first inning, as he did yesterday, following Jim Edmond's RBI triple to score Pujols.

In reality, much of what happened yesterday to Lieber can probably be attributed to three things:

1. Small stike zone
2. Rain
3. Cardinals lineup

Let me expand on point number 3 because its the most important. The Cardinals did themselves a great service by fouling off a ton of pitches the first time through the lineup yesterday. By the time David Eckstein came up the second time -- in the third inning -- Lieber's pitch count was already in the 50s. He had been thowing strikes pretty consistently, but when the wheels came off in the 4th, it was only the second time through the lineup. Remember, the Phils didn't start solving Carpenter until the third time through, when they had seen a few more pitches and, admittedly, last year's Cy Young winner certainly tired some. But, they did solve him to some extent. Thereby, the Cardinals showed exactly how to beat a pitcher like Lieber yesterday, aside from having a couple lights out hitters in the middle of the lineup: they were able to force him to throw all his pitches the first time through and made him pay for it the next time.

Jukio Santana's excuse, on the other hand, remains a mystery, aside from Manuel's first great bungling of the season. More on that next post.

On Lieber, however, BS&S hits the nail on the head with the Phils de facto number one. His success may be steady from year to year, but certainly not from start to start. At some point this year, Lieber will most likely come up big with a hot streak. What happens in the other starts is the concern. It feels increasingly that his performance depends largely on factors he can't control -- that the law of averages seems to catch up with him in big ways sometimes.

FInally consider what Lieber has said about his last two starts, yesterday and his last spin in spring training. He said he felt good throwing the ball. There was no "I didn't have my slider" or other talk abotu not being able to dial up his pitches. Lieber threw to the glove like he always does and even thought his mechanics were much imporved. Yet, after fouling off pitch after pitch the first time through, the Cardinals lineup starting banging out hits on first and second pitches the next time threw. This is how you beat a pitcher who throws alot of strikes.

Next time, maybe those balls are hit right at the infielders. Let's hope so. However, they will get hit.

Beer Here

2006-03-31T11:48:00.000-05:00

CBP does indeed have a grand beer selection and Joe SixPack has it covered here.

So you fools Monday.

Judgement Day

2006-03-30T16:21:00.000-05:00

Previously, we lobbied for spring surprise Gavin Floyd to start the year at AAA in order to show us more consistency. The Phils, however, have awarded Floyd's recent improvement on its merits with a spot in the rotation. Furthermore, they have shirked the natural, reflexive tendencies that have haunted them in the past and used some progressive thinking to keep their homegrowns in the starting ro' while moving their free agent acquisition to the pen.

So, for now, the word has been heard and it is good.

Let the Maddogs Lie

2006-03-29T11:28:00.000-05:00

The controversy today follows the continuing saga of the back end of the Phils rotation, namely who will constitute the #4 and #5 slots in the rotation come next week. The assumed undercard has Ryan Madson at 4 and Ryan Franklin at 5, with Ricardo "No options" Rodriguez as the defacto long man out of the pen and spot starter, leaving Gavin Floyd on the outside looking and and awaiting a chance while hopefully pitching well at AAA. And that is exactly the way it should be, for reasons argued previously.

However, conflicting reports in the Philadelphia newspapers have Manager Charlie Manuel cryptically saying that he has already made a choice and that recent events will not effect his decision. While the some reports have the sound of Madson moving back to the pen, Marcus Hayes' story has a completely different tone, one of Madson having reached a point of safety with rotation status, a theory all but corroborated completely by Randy Miller's piece on the same subject.

Last night, Madson made his best case yet for staying put. He cruised into the 7th inning against the Yankees and their expected starting linup on 72 pitches, yielding a palty 4 hits a walk and no runs. At one point, he threw 15 pitches to 8 batters, all for outs. His comments reveal a young pitcher who wants some ownership and his performance over the 4 last months demonstrates that he has earned it, pure and simple. This talk of needing him in the bullpen is disengenuous. Look at this staff and this division: Is he not needed in the starting rotation?

To address this proposition once and only once, let us be clear -- there is no way in Hell that Ryan Madson should not be starting a game in the first week of the season. He has been the Phils' best pitcher in the preseason and the increasingly popular argument of 180 innings starting being more valuable than 70 innings in relief certainly holds water here. If the Phils have 4 pitchers who can log 180-200 innings, then one or twice a week, they won't even need a 7th inning guy. What makes anyone think that Maddog, after two years an appreentice to the eighth inning first to Tim Worrell, then to Ugueth Urbina, would want to and should want to again take up the mantle of Assistant Manager of the Eighth Inning to one Auther Rhodes? Madson, has done everything -- yes everything -- one would ask of a young arm battling to make the starting rotation.

Furthermore, the memories of Madson's knockout 2004 out of the pen have faded with a surprisingly average 2005, including the last month of the season when his arm was shot. The notion that the bullpen needs Madson instead of, say current projected 7th inning guy Julio Santana, is not that strong a case. Consider (WHIP/ Avg / ERA):

Madson: 1.25 / .259 / 4.14
Santana: 1.26 / .221 / 4.50

While Santana is by no means a dominant pitcher, he actually posted a better batting average against than Madson last year, albeit with a higher ERA. Santana has a career GF/FB ratio of 1.25, although it dipped last year under one. The Phils would certainly do well to monitor this situation, but to start the season, some combination of Santana, Fultz, Cormier, and Geary should be able to handle the seventh inning when it's necessary. Booker and Tejeda, also, are waiting in the wings for an opportunity to do so. Plugging Madson back into the role would not be the wisest use of available resources.

Whatever happens with Gavin Floyd, Madson's status should remain unaffected. Finding some combination among Franklin, Rodriguez, and X AAA pitcher is a completely different problem. Solve it indepently of this one.

Goin' Up North

2006-03-28T15:42:00.000-05:00

In honor of Opening Day (capitalized for importance), Deadspin is running a series on 4 things you don't know about each team in MLB. Today just happens to be Phillies day on the site. Cast your vote for most painful stat below: is it the 10,000 losses or the 97 -year World Series championship drought from 1883 to 1980.

Well, Gavin Floyd has done. He's gotten basically the entire cadre of Phillies watchers -- media and bloggers alike -- on his side to begin the season on the opening day roster. A million to one shot you say? A miracle, you theorize? Neither. All it took was exactly three good spring training starts. It took 15 innings. Suddenly, the prospect many love to doubt is the team's #4 or #5 hurler.

Wouldn't it be great if it were true?

Unfortunately, a few things stand in Floyd's way, at least initally. First and foremost, The Phils have exactly five starters ready to begin the season: Jon Lieber, Brett Myers, Cory Lidle, Ryan Madson, and Ryan Franklin. Remember that rotation; chances are, it's going to change by mid-season. However, for now, that is exactly what it should be. Floyd, along with Robinson Tejeda, should go north on Opening Day and continue going north, past the Delaware Valley, into the Poconos. Here's why:

Depth
For the first time in God knows how long, it could be the Phils' who are playing the depth card on the mound in the division as opposed to the Braves. Laughing yet? Think about it. This year, with a handful of decent prospects at both AAA and AA, the club would do well to get the most out of it's more experienced arms (Lieber, Lidle, Franklin) before they potential breakdown or stink up the joint by mid-season. Last year, Lieber was terrible in mid-season, while Lidle and Padilla both spent time on the DL or away from the club for "personal reasons." Franklin, while a below average pitcher, is durable and throwing well early on. Likewise, Ricardo Rodriguez, the de facto long man on the staff is a converted starter projected out of the pen. While neither of these pitchers are great, they could have some use in the big picture. They are capable of having good games and are going to be paid. Why not try to maximize them as assets? What sense does it make to throw them in the fire now? Better options avaialble, you say? Well, consider the next point.

Stamina
A 162-game season is a long race for which the team will need the horses. How nice would it be to have some extra arms to throw into the mix as the season progresses and the stretch run begins. Remember Eude Brito's great start against the Braves at home last year? Tejeda's stretch of shaky but quality starts in mid-season. Neither of those were going to be duplicaqted through a full season. But used in moderation, these contributions were key. Until pitchers like Floyd, Tejeda, and Brito finetune their offerings, they should be viewed and utilized as essential role players. As fallback options, they should only be promoted to full-time status as actual fallback options. Releasing Ric-Rod or moving Franklin to the pen (where he will undoubtedly be less happy and possibly even less effective as a guy with no one good pitch) would leave the club with no recourse should plans fall flat. Bad move in general. Really bad move this early.

Unknown
It hasn't been given much attention, but there has got to be a very realistic skepticism about how much Ryan Madson can give a team as a starter. By all accounts his spring has been encouraging. He seems to have the head and the arms to be a quality starter. But he hasn't started full-time since 2004 and that was at AAA ball. What are the chances that he lasts a full season and throws 180 innings in his first year as as starter? Maybe 50/50? This means that there WILL be opportunities to the next in line throughout the season. Would it kill the club to have a few hungry wannabes ready to go a step down from the show? How many times have we seen the Braves call up "nobodys" who contribute down the stretch?

Time
The prospects, Floyd in particular, but Tejeda as well, need to demonstrate sustained success and control before they should be called on to be major contributors again. While the franchise has also operated in a methodical fashion in the area of player development (and "methodical" might even be an understatement), in this case, it's the right thing to do. Keep those arms warm. Be ready to go soon.

Not yet, though.

Everybody's Talkin' At Me

2006-03-27T10:37:00.000-05:00

Two fantasy drafts, two selections of Ryan Howard. So, we'll be following ther big fella pretty closely this year, as if that weren't always the case.

However, the biggest story of the weekend, besides our good fortune on draft day (and in non-baseball news, George Mason U.), was Howard's jawing episode with Boston crybaby Josh Beckett (Cory Lidle: "Nobody likes him" which is interesting since Lidle did the same thing last year after surrendering a gopher ball). It went like this:

-Beckett throws pitch.
-Howard swats it to CF, stares at it.
-Beckett tells him he looks like an idiot.
-Howard tells him to relax and goes to dugout.
-Beckett continues talking from dugout next inning.
-Howard drops glove and begins walking toward Beckett.
-Beckett pursues acting career by feigning toughness.
-Benches empty, Sal Fasano leads the 5th brigade in from the bullpen.

Making too much of this is for beatwriters and birdbrains, so we'll just say this: all efforts will be made to secure tickets for regular season showdown between the Phils and the Sox in South Philly in May and at Fenway in late July. Craigslist will be scoured. A high dollar amount will need to be paid. Good luck will be needed.

Elsewhere, Howard gets some recognition nationally, intimating that the kid used to be in the marching band, needs to develop a proper showboating technique (please, no) for his homeruns, and is quite capable of never forgetting an offhand remark on the field.

Elsewhere, Marcus Hayes asks a completely legit question with no real answer: What else can Chris Coste do? The Phils' own version of Crash Davis has been, besides Ryan Howard, the team's best hitter this spring is seriously threatening to take Thomas Perez's spot on the roster. Such a move will probably ruffle a few clubhouse feathers and quite possibly, signal to Bobby A that the time is indeed nigh, but even if its for the first month of the season until Coste comes back to planet earth, it's the right move. Grabbing another Michael Tucker or Jose Offerman would not get the team anything more than promoting Coste, except perhaps, some one could roam the outfield twice a month. We hope this one plays out along the lines of yesterday's NCAA cinderella story. I mean, how can you not root for this guy?

Finally, what is keeping college kids from wearing the big white P? The team think it's direct attention. Prepare for Rooftop Thursdays. Moreover, check out the new features at CBP this season. Mechanical bull?

Tomorrow Can't Come Soon Enough

2006-03-24T12:36:00.000-05:00

One big reason the major league club continues to fritter about with their third base situation is plus-prospect Mike Costanzo, the Phils' top pick in the 2005 draft. Costanzo is the answer to the dryspell at the hot corner since Scott Rolen left town and the franchise is more than willing to fast track him, thinking he will be the franchise's next Mike Schmidt, as opposed to the next Rick Schu.

Costanzo made his pro debut last season at short-season Batavia. He got off to a slow start, but finished hitting .330 during the final month. He wound up batting .274, with 11 home runs and 50 RBI in 73 games.

However, he wasn’t happy with his overall performance. He committed 21 errors and led the New York-Penn League in strikeouts with 89.

At 6-3, 215lbs, the 22-year-old has got nice size and power for both the hot corner and the middle of the lineup, most likely Pat Burrell's spot in 2-3 years. More than that, Coatanzo is the Anti-Burrell a Philly native with the fire of Pete Rose as opposed to the laisse-faire attitude of a west coast prickly pair.

But time will tell. Coatanzo is still slated to start off in high single A ball.

Scott Graham's HR Call, Put on A Loop

2006-03-24T11:46:00.000-05:00

OK, let's not get our hopes up, shall we? What makes us think a below league average pitcher for virtually his entire career (in a picther's park) is going to be anything but Cory Lidle on a bad day this season? I'm not exactly sure how the Phils will get rid of Frankln, because it appears that he stays healthy and is durable innings-wise, but there is NO WAY this guy turns in a good season pitching in this ballpark. Look at Lidles home vs. away number for a year ago:

HOME: .323 / .831 AWAY: .262 / .730

Quite a diffrence. Keep in mind, most would agree that Lidle is a BETTER version of Franklin. You want to trot Franklin out for nothing but away games? Great idea. You want to move him to mop up duty, we'll see how he reacts, but he is not and will not be an effective pitcher for this club in this ballpark this saeson. It would take a miracle. Here's Franklin in Safeco and the road last year:

HOME: .276 / .781 AWAY: .283 / .795

Franklin's numbers are comparable in Safeco to Lidle's on the road. His away number will probably stay about the same, though there's no way to really know this. They may benefit slightly from a switch in leagues for the first half of the season along with the lack of a DH in the NL. However, consider one final stat, the dreaded groundball to flyball ratio, career-wise, for each pitcher:

Lidle: 1.77
Franklin: .80

That, my friends, is going to be a problem. What sets Lidle apart, besides the fact that he is better than Franklin at keeping the ball down, is probably his preparation. As Lidle himself has even said in interviews, he does not possess the greatest stuff; he's gotten this far based on his work ethic in studying hitters, game preparation, and pitch mixing. Chances are, this is what Franklin has never fully developed: craftiness. Maybe Lidle's techniques will rup off on the newcomer to the NL. More likely, however, in 3-game sets when a team gets to face Lidle, then Franklin presumably 2 nights later, pitchers with similar styles, Franklin will get hammered.

And that is bad news for the Phils, unless it's good news i the form of either gavin Floyd, Robinson Tejeda, Scott Mathieson, Daniel Haigwood, or most unlikely, Cole Hamels.

Hold the Jethro

2006-03-23T17:44:00.000-05:00

Dammit. The AQUALUNG was touched up for 3 ERs in one inning of work today. The AQUALUNG wasn't touched up in that fashion all season last year. He still has the third most career saves on the team. His spring training stats are now:

G: 8
IP: 9
H: 15
ER: 6
BB: 3
K: 10
Sv: 3

This game was also subjected to a rain delay. Let's hope Manual, Dubee and company were looking the other way.

Dark Side of the Moon

2006-03-22T13:15:00.000-05:00

A week off from blogging was necessitated not by any sort of baseball-related reason or even immersion in the NCAA (although it should be noted, we are in second place in a 50-person plus pool thanks to our upset special picks, namely Syracuse, Iowa, Kansas, and Tennessee -- yup we got those all taken care of). Nope, we were on vacation in the south. In our absense, we didn't receive a word of update on baseball. Certainly, major developments are order.

There is, however, no reason to panic. When we last left Gavin "Pink" Floyd, he was still struggling with his command, yet in one week, optimism has made a grand re-entrance. Sort of.

Now, after two solid starts, the talk is back about moving Floyd into the big league rotation. Mike Arbuckle is back to trotting out marquee names (Chris Carpenter and Jon Garland) as comparables to the Floyd. Cooler heads, however (and no offense meant), know this is just the beginning of what Floyd needs to do. He needs to command a spot in that rotation by owning hitters at the AAA level. His fastball needs to get back up into the 90s consistently, his curve needs to return and be dialed up anytime anyhow, and the walks have got to disappear. This kid, whether he is soft or not, is very close to Vicente Padilla in terms of his tendencies and problems. He walks too many. He abadons a game plan. He has a great arm and potential. He shows flashes of promise. He appears to not be mentally up to the challenge in jams.

The good news is, Floyd not only speaks English and communicates with those around him, heappears to be open to taking critiques. In the case of Kerrigan, that was a bad idea. In the case of this year, it can only be good. For those that have seen him pitch, Floyd's mechanics have been his downfall for the better part of the last two years. He became wooden and hesitant. It was painful to watch him throw at times. Perhaps letting the talk of not being a power pitcher get to him, he began the pursuit of pinpoint location, which he has never achieved with anything even approaching consistency the last two years.

Now, with a seemingly reborn lease on life, Floyd is taking it easy and it is coming easier. Perhaps someone handed the kid a Malcom Gladwell article or two, or perhaps having people ahead of him in the pecking order and a full year of struggling under his belt finally led to an epiphany. Whatever it is, there is little doubt that the big club will need re-enforcements on the mound at some point this season and, like Robinson Tejeda last year, Floyd's best chance to re-establish himself will almost certainly come by mid-season audition. This particular prospect represents alot of the unfilled promise of the Phillies' farm system as a whole. If the franchise is to take a leap forward in the next three years from doorstep to dance, Floyd is one of the primary chips that need to fall into place. Perhaps 2006 will be for Floyd what 2005 was for Brett Myers.

For now, we'll be watching this story at AAA ball.

Punchline

2006-03-15T12:43:00.000-05:00

Everything you need to know about the World Baseball Classic can be summed up in this sentence: Endy Chavez starts for the Venezuelan team. Thus far, he is 2 for 12 with 2 HRs.

A Breathless Ninth

2006-03-13T15:58:00.000-05:00

Phils come from behind today to best the Tigers split squad (no Polanco) 3-2. Ryan Howard launches his 7th HR of Spring Training. We don't have a count on Ks, but believe he has Ked less than 7 times. Not tremendously meaningful, but encouraging perhaps. Ricardo Rodriguez got the start in place of the announced Jon Lieber, who opted to do a bullpen session to work on his changeup. Ric Rod worked into the 4th and gave up a 2-run dinger, for a line of 4 IP, 5H 2 ER 0BB 1 K. Yoel Hernandez worked a scoreless 8th for the win, despite yielding 3 hits and a walk. However, today's big news:

SAVE - AQUILINO LOPEZ (2)

There's no breathing for the opposition when the Aqualung makes an appearance. 1-2-3 in the 9th for the save.

Tomorrow: Cole Hamels, the greatest pitching prospect in the history of Major League Baseball (that's TGPitHoMLB in case you're Tom G), will face batter off the mound with a baseball in his hand for the first time since July. Hamels said recently that he feels "awesome."

Second Hands News

2006-03-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

There is a long tradition of players coming to Philadelphia with high or at least respectable expectations, stinking up the joint, then recovering somewhat, following their leaving town for rosier pastures. In fact, it has happened so much that there should be an award for the player who, each year, personifies this when-in-Rome, burn-it-down, see-you-when-I-come-back-to-town epidemic. Let's call this the Lance Parrish Award for the time being, in honor of his 1990 in Anaheim after the misery of '87-'88 in Philadelphia. Most prevalent on the mound in recent years, past winners of this award could include:

2002: Andy Ashby
2003: Johnny Estrada
2004: Jose Mesa
2005: Co winners Roberto Hernandez and Todd Jones

Could be that throughout the season, the Lance Parrish Award Watch will take effect if there are a mulitude of candidates. Right now, Tim Worrell and his constant belly-aching are front runners (yes, they count as a tandem) for the award if he can piece together a 2006 resembling the second half of his 2005, post-Philly. However, early projections should not ignore non-roster invitees Brandon Duckworth and Terry Adams, who are attempting to comeback (...again...) from beyond nowhere on the barren fields of the Pittsburgh Pirates major league club. Adams so far this spring has thrown 3 innings and yielded nothing but a walk, a very un-Adams like statline. Duckworth has pitched five innings this spring, allowing only one run while fanning seven, earning serious consideration for starting job. In the majors.

While it's still too early to call, we'll be monitoring this situation into the regular season. Duckworth and Adams, consider yourself "on notice."

Multilateralism Between the Lines

2006-03-09T10:44:00.000-05:00

I'm sure we all saw it last night. Over and over on the highlights if you, like me, were near a TV with Sportscenter on. Chase Utley swinging, Chase Utley celebrating, Chase Utley retired for the third out. Soon after, the U.S. retired as a team to that bastion of marquee names and baseball talent, Canada. Canada?

Sure, why not? With names like Eric Cyr, Chris Begg, Ryan Radmanovich, Adam Loewen, and whoever that single-A ball guy was who pitched the 9th for Canada against guys like ARod, and Texiera, what's to stop Canada from besting the multi-million doallar players of these great United States? Seems pretty intuitive! Aren't the hitters supposed to be way ahead of the pitchers at this point? Granted, when Scott Mathieson and Chase Utley eventually report to Phillies camp, they probably have the making of a nice running joke in the locker room, but should the Scott Mathieson's of the world be able to be the Chase Utleys of the world (even if it took a slack of 406 feet) on an international stage?

Could be that this is exactly what Bud Selig wants: someone besides the U.S. to win. A broader appeal world wide for the American national pasttime. It would be good for the sport! Maybe. But then again, who cares what Bud Selig wants? What could it possiblly do for a sport that already draws the best from every corner of the globe? Who cares about an international baseball tournament in March? Who cares about another format where players make their living in the U.S. then return to their native country swearing their undying allegiance to their (in most cases) birthplace for the sake of a few weeks of competition? If I wanted to watch this type of boundry-bending backstabbing, we already have the U.N. and its pet network, NPR.

Congratulations, Canada. There's nothing wrong with being the world's tallest midget. Now, bring on the real baseball, please.

Blackout

2006-03-07T13:30:00.000-05:00

Why, oh why, did I buy the MLB.tv package for spring training if they're not going to show the spring training games on it? Second day in a row, afternoon start, no video. In anycase, Ryan Howard has already parked an HR in his first at-bat of the day. Madson pitching.

UPDATE: Phils win again. Ryan Madson with another apparently strong outing, pitching 3 innings and giving up 1 hit and 1 ER and walking no one. The Aqualung, in relief, allows two hits and a run, but claims the victory. In two innings of work, Lopez has 5 Ks!

Cue the Jethro.

Grand Opening

2006-03-06T12:35:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the bench as well as some depleted opponants, the Phils record looks really nice after the first weekend of Spring Training. Some interesting players are making something of a name for themselves in the early going, including career minor leaguer Chris Coste and Tim Worrell trade property Matt Kata, neither of whom seem destined to make the club nor have their last names pronounced correctly. Peter Bergeron is an intriguing player while Josh Kroeger hasn't made too much of an impression yet. After moving from first to third on a wild pitch yesterday, Michael Bourne might just be the living incarnation of Willie Mays Hayes.

If this is to be the year, the heart of the order -- Abreu, Burrell, Utley, and Howard must all deliver. The outlying areas of the lineup will go through their streaks. The Big 4 simply can't. Call it a premature preseason assessment, but it stands to reason, with the pitching the way it is and the bottom of the order essentially the same, this team will not be able to endure cold spells from the big boppers. They must hit good pitching better than they did last year.

So far, Utley and Howard appear to be in midseason form, while Burrell could be in for a surprise consistant year if his foot holds up. Reports are he slugged on one foot all season in '05.

In other news, Abreu seems to be his old steady self. A 14-year-old kid -- now a proud owner of a Biobby bat and autograph -- is thankful for that.

Play-by-Play: Game #1

2006-03-02T13:30:00.000-05:00

At 1:15 pm, the Phils opened their Spring Training preseason against the NY Yanks. Thanks to the miracles of live-blogging and MLB.tv and my lunch break, here's what happening:

Starting Line-up:
Jimmy Rollins.........ss
Shane Victorino......rf
Pat Burrell..............dh
Chase Utley............2b
Aaron Rowand........cf
Abraham Nunez......3b
Alex S. Gonzalez.....1B
Josh Kroeger............lf
Mike Lieberthal......C

RHP Sean Chicon vs. Ryan Franklin

Top 1: Phils go in order. Sean Chicon throws about 10 pitches.
Bottom 1: Johnny Damon doubles on second pitch off Ryan Franklin. Jeter, Sheffield and A-Rod go in order. Damon left at 3rd. Franklin throws about 15 pitches. He is definately a nibbler.

Top 2: Utley and Rowand pop up, Nunez gets first hit, single to right. AGonz works full count and walks. Wild pitch, runners at 2nd and 3rd. Kroeger grounds out to end inning.
Bottom 2: Giambi and B Williams single off Franklin, runners at 1st and 3rd. Posada gets SacFly, Williams to second. RBI single by Cano, Williams scores. This is what Ryan Franklin does. He gives up hits and runs. 2-0, 1 out. Damon singles.

**we duck into a meeting and we miss the Phils' two spot in the top of the third, thanks to a homer from Pat Burrell. Thoughts from here will be more recap-ish, less real time.**

I missed most of Madson's appearance, but, from what I did catch, he appeared to be throwing well. Reserves Chris Roberson and Shawn Garrett give the Phils a 5-3 lead after 6 innings.

Santana has shaky defense behind him, but gets out of top 7th with a DP. Mostly AAAA and AAA types in now. Missed Gavin Floyd's performance -- fanboards say he looked shaky and he gave up an oppositefield HR to Phillips. He did get out of the fifth by retiring A-Rod. Not as good as Madson, but much better than Franklin. Top of head guess: 2 IP, 2H 1ER, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 1K.

Bottom7: Chris Coste hits solo HR off single-A pitcher. 6-3 Phils.

Top 8: Geary pitches scoreless inning. Sal Fasano give preview of his ability to allow pitches hit the backstop at anytime. Could be a tough year behind the plate. Sandoval does not look ready to play infield with the big league club.

-----------------------
Phils win 6-3.
WP: Floyd
LP: Mike Myers
SV: Geory

HRs: Burrell and A. Phillips

Truthiness

2006-03-02T10:36:00.000-05:00

Save for some unforseen outlandish occurrance, we won't be blogging about the upcoming WBC because it's a fraud event. This is spring training time, have the international minds no comprehension of what that means? It means equal parts anticipation, excitment, newness, hope, and some good weather sprinkled in, just as seasoning.

But enought of that nonsense. News from the Phils camp is light today. How light? Light enough that Jim Salisbury writes about Larry Bowa, the Yankees' new third base coach. Well, at least we don't have to suffer the uncomfortable nature of his analysis of the Phillies on ESPN's Baseball Tonight. Such inciteful phrases like "Welcome to arena baseball!" and "Philadelphia's a tough place to play." Thanks, LB. Waive that guy around, will you. Congratuations on your new job, baseball's version of a road construction "Slow/Stop" signholder.

Meanwhile, Ryan Madson is starting to get some serious ink as a serious starting candidate, although his move out of the pen is far from a done deal. Trouble is, Madson is exactly what the bullpen is missing right now. However, Madson is exactly what the rotation is missing at the same time: a young, crafty right hander with good stuff --up to 3 out pitches -- and a driven demanor. His presense ini the pen would calm a few folks down and make everyone better by virute of more suitable roles. His presense in the starting rotation would almost certainly push Brett Myers to improve more. If the Phils are serious about both Myers and 2006, not to mention Madson, then starting rotation it should be. 180 IP is better than 80 IPs any year and Madson has already demonstrated success all the way up the minor league ladder as a starter. No hyperbole here: He is as much the key to the season as anyone else on the team, perhaps the frontrunner.

One things that's nice to see, if even for the sheer preceived novelty of it, is Mike Lieberthal taking chage of Madson's repetoire, showing him how to most effectively use his various pitches. Certainly, pitching in relief and starting a game are two different animals with two different pitch selection styles, but does this not sound like the battery mates' first conversation ever? Almost makes one forget Madson has been in the league two-plus years already.

Elsewhere, David Bell has a bad back and Pat Gillick thinks he should have traded A-Rod instead of A-Griff back in his Seattle days. Most likely, there will be no such second thoughts about the Thome-Hopward mini-kerfuffle.

Finally, today's entry closes with probably the greatest example of truthiness ever witnessed on the Colbert Report, CL's absolute favorite show at the moment. Witness the genius, as our hero interview political commentator and Sharon Osborne look-a-like Arianna Huffington:

Colbert: I understand you have a blog.
Huffington: Yes, it's called the Huffington Post Blog.
Colbert: Quick question -- Which is easier to start, a blog or a lemonade stand? Because my seven-year-old son has done both.

Amen.

We'll All Flotilla On

2006-02-28T18:39:00.000-05:00

Alright. Not even to the start of the Spring Training schedule yet and we're already treated to an update on our old friend Vinny Pads, former all-star and staff ace in Philadelphia, though recent;y departed for muggier pastures in Arlington TX. In the story, "Twenty things to know about Padilla," Rangers fans are already being prepped for his non-communicative style and fussbudget in-game tendencies, including his habit of nodding yes each and every time the catcher lays down a single finger. Some other nuggets are as follows:

9. Padilla was the Diamondbacks Rookie of the Year after posting a 2.31 ERA in 27 relief appearances in 2000.

12. He pitched two scoreless innings in the 2002 All-Star Game but was the last pitcher used by the National League and his stiff back was one of the reasons why the game was called after 11 innings with the score tied at 7.

13. Over the past four years, Padilla has hit 49 batters. Only Victor Zambrano, Jeff Weaver and Kerry Wood have hit more. He hit 50 batters with the Phillies, the third most by a Philadelphia pitcher since 1930.

17. Opponents batted .205 off him with runners in scoring position last year and .238 combined over the past four seasons, 23rd best among Major League pitchers.

19. The Rangers tried to trade for him in the middle of last season with the idea of putting him back in the bullpen. But the Phillies wanted Volquez in return.

Filed under the Zeppelin-like category of "What Is and What Should Never Be," # 19 shows that Ed Wade tried to move Padilla in mid-season 2005, but was unsuccessful in asking for an undrafted minor league pitching prospect (and slender one at that: 6-1, 160?) with extremely average numbers in A and AA ball. For a guy with ace stuff not to even draw a trade such as this says something about the league's regard for his ten-cent headed ways. Of course, turns out that Texas ended up getting him for a guy with a shattered elbow, so one really can't blame them for saying no the first time.

It was a sad statement when Padilla was traded for an average player like Ric-Rod. It's even sadder that his value didn't improve an iota despite two solid months after the all-star break. What a waste.

TIMMY!

2006-02-27T10:49:00.000-05:00

It's one thing to be ripped by a star -- when John Smoltz talked about how much of a joke Citizen's Bank Park is for pitchers. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've heard it before. At least, however, there's some sliver of truth in it and it comes from a respectable source. It's a defensible position to some point, as hard as it is to hear.

It's a whole 'nother story when you get ripped by a stiff. Tim Worrell, who've spouted off against before, decides to take shots at Philly fans from afar this spring training as a man who was granted a much-requested release by the club last season. That's right, he's not a part of the organization anymore, yet, he can't let it go. The non-Gothem version of Two Face kept his smile wide when talking to the gallery recently, yet couldn't and wouldn't hold his tongue whenh talking to the Sacremento Bee. According to Paul Hagen, Worrell's misery could be laid at the feet at the fans for his time on the east coast:

"Philly is a tough place to play when things go right," he told veteran Giants beat reporter Nick Peters. "I'm a West Coast guy. I grew up in California [Pasadena] and I live in Arizona. It's a different mentality back there. I don't want to say it's wrong, but I'm just not used to it.

"It was a night-and-day difference, a shock to my family. [Philly fans] want to win, but they seem happy being miserable."

For a guy who was as responsible as any member of the 2005 Phillies for missing the the playoff's, Worrell seems oblivious to the fact that his alledged *cough cough* personal problems *couch couch* mixed with his anemic performance may have been the catalyst for the cascade of boos showered upon him early last season. Blowing two games opening weekend might have something to do with. Collecting a million bucks in a blue collar town while taking the easy way out during a mental meltdown may have set a few people off, Tim.

No matter though. The Philly fan is happy being miserable. We love having guys like Worrell who underperform and overblame. We take comport in their contribution to an organization's continued underachievement. Your right, Tim. Why did you ever leave us? What are we going to do if, God forbid, we win with out you?

Paging Dr. Hamels

2006-02-24T10:53:00.000-05:00

This spring has found thankfully less talk about the greatest pitching prospect who has ever existed in the history of Major League baseball, but today at least two stories have hit the wire, including an excellent profile/recap by the always reliable Jim Salisbury. In it, he takes a look at the long and winding road of Cole Hamels, yet de-emphasizes the young lefthander's potential in favor of getting inside the mind of the 22-year-old.

While most fans who know about Hamels have heard the legend -- how he struck out Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez in '04 spring training with that nasty changeup of his -- what they don't know what is going through that reputed 10-cent head of his the last two years, when he broke his pitching hand in a bar fight and dealt with a never-ending array of back problems. Somewhat surprisingly, Hamels admits to not taking his talent seriously enough the past two seasons - not stretching, not taking care of his body, not working:

"I've taken a lot of things for granted," the tall, slender lefthander said. "I was a player who got by year to year on talent. But talent only takes you so far. Talent stops when you injure yourself.

"The fact of the matter is, I've learned you actually have to work to be successful at this game. I've learned it the hard way, but in order to be a better person and player, sometimes you have to learn the hard way."

The question this season, besides the obvious one about his health, is "has he actually learned and what will be the result?" For someone who has exhibited a lax conditioning ethic, a lot of work lies ahead and a attitude adjustment is essential. Is Hamels the type of player -- the type of person, really -- who will shake off the ghosts of promise past and begin the regiment that propels him from being a double-A part-time mystical presense to an every fifth day Major League pitcher and beyond, to stardom? From the Phillies standpoint, the love affair has cooled somewhat since the acquisistions of the dynamic duo in the Thome trade. As Salibury wisely point out, for the first time, Hamels is in danger of sinking on the minor league future stars depth chart. He now has all the motivation a player should need to take care and take advantage.

Elsewhere, the health issue is examined and the revelations are a little bit disturbing. As is probably public knowledge, Hamels lost the second half of 2005 to a significant back injury. Initially, the club thought he had a routine back spasms, then maybe a stress fracture in his lower back. Finally, the diagnosis a "transverse process," a bulging disk that is pressing on a spinal nerve in his lower back. Sound painful and chronic, neither of which make any of the least bit optimistic about the stud's story. In fact, the kid is trying everything now to get into the best possible physical condition: physical therapy, vitamins, even a decompression chamber designed to relieve the stress on his spine. Hamels has his work cut out for him this season.

In all likelyhood, because of lowered expectations and hieightened caution, an injury free season could buy Hamels a ticket to the Majors for the September call-ups. It wouldn't be the Rookie of the Year scenario that Hamels posited recently, but realistically, it would be an early Christmas miracle.

The Late Show

2006-02-23T11:41:00.000-05:00

Day two of the Kalas Crisis fins Bill Conlin turning in an A-plus of a column on the Phils' latest PR disaster, even weaving in one of the best cinematic charcters of the last 10 years by referencing Harvey Keitel's The Wolf from Pulp Fiction. If only the Phils would now, "pretty please with sugar on top, fix the f!#&-ing franhcise." A must read. OK, enough of that.

Examining how the games will look in the second hour of play this year, Marcus Hayes pulls a rare rabbit out of his hat today by filing a decent story profiling the pitchers who vie for the presumed trio of open slots in the bullpen this season. Correctly, he identifies Tom Gordon, Arthur Rhodes, Rheal Cormier and Aaron Fultz and the already-ins. Curiously, much like Beerleaguer, Hayes sees righthander Geoff Geary as an inhabitant of "no man's land." Santana with his $800k guarenteed contract appears to have an inside track at a spot, with his full year of major league service and servicable numbers with Milwaukee last year. Unfortunately, it appears that Santana has reported to camp in the middle of a Brett Myers imitation -- heavier and not in shape.

Hayes reprises his article from Saturday by laying out a case for Ricardo Rodriguez to make the pen, despite having minimal major league relieving experience, major arm troubles the past two years, and no minor league options left. We disagreed with this previously. Randy Miller sees a man with the inside track at a spot. Ric-Rod is not a power pitcher of consequence and team already has a enough nibblers; ideally, he would be dealt for a prospect of some sort, although he could be lost to the waiver wire as well.

We have to say, career minor leaguer Chris Booker seems less impressive each time we read about him. He's taken nine years to get through the minors and is currently damaged goods. It's entirely possible that his 91 Ks in 65 IP last year are a AAAA phenomenom, but the Rule 5er is worth a look before he is given back to a division rival. Because of the urgency of his keep-or-give-back status, righthander Booker essentially subsumes righthander Aquilino Lopez in the pecking order, seriously jeopardizing any hopes of a Jethro Tull summer.

While Eude Brito seems to also have little chance of making the club, despite the startiong rotation needing a lefty, hayes best work of the column comes on his reporting of fireballer Yoel Hernandez's injury troubles, not previously known to CL. A closer in the making, Hernandez apparently has good stuff but is probably a year away from making the big club as a 7th or 8th inning man.

Finally Robinson Tejeda continues to be the most intriguing case of the spring, a spot starter last year with a 99 m.p.h. fastball screaming to be used in the 8th inning, but control problems which worry the management to no end. Tejeda has all but rejuvenated the terms "effectively wild" and "escape artist" in the local lexicon by squirming through a few months of outings last year. When Manual says "make us make a decision" about pitchers in spring training, he's probably looking no further than Tejeda and Gavin Floyd. It is not a stretch to say that the Phils need Tejeda to develop this year -- he's the hardest thrower in the organization and having lost Billy Wagner up the turnpike, the bullpen could seriously some heat. In short, he needs to be the '06 version of '04 Ryan Madson for the Phils to be serious this year, whether or not he pitches in the WBC. Otherwise, career starter Ryan Franklin could find himself giving up flyballs in the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings.

Beef, On A Roll

2006-02-22T12:33:00.000-05:00

The news from Paul Hagen yesterday regarding Harry Kalas' continued lack of pull within the organization is really just too upsetting to ponder for more than just a moment. Suffice to say, as a fan in their early thirties, Kalas' voice is inextricably linked to Phillies baseball. Whatever political pitfalls exist behind the curtain, the mere idea of a 30-year plus broadcaster being forced to work with a guy who is so plainly unqualified, unappreciated, and undesirable and who never played the game as opposed to an intelligent former member of the vaunted '93 World Series team is really a complete shame. Sure, there are other factors at work and no side has handled itself with absolute decorum (probably, Kalas went public with his beef to win the court of public opinion after finding only deaf ears within the organization), but there really appears to be no upside to the latest developments in the broadcast booth. Not for the fan, anyway. Shame.

Yesterday, Jimmy Rollins continued to grab the spotlight in his usual way, forecasting big things for himself without the benefit of precedent. There's talk on other blogs about J-Roll's self-set goal of scoring 150 runs. Not bloody likely, for obvious reasons. Jimmy = leadoff the way The Vet = green grass. But beyond that, there's something more annoying at work here.

People have hammered Rollins in the past for his not being the prototypical leadoff man who works counts and does whatever he can just to get on base. He swings at high fastballs, from his heels, tries to reach the warning track when a nice liner out of the infield will do, and so on. In Rollins' defense, he is only leading off because the organization has done such a poor job at coming up with better options; Rollins would probably be a very good 6 or 7 hitter.

However, yesterday found several stories trumpeting Rollins's hitting streak, his confidence and his high opinion of his skills. While having a swagger is something Philadelphia sports fans appreciate, it shouldn't be at the expense of a fair amount of reality. Until last year, he never had a hitting streak above 20 games nor an average above .290. Rollins' best year in terms of OBP stands at .348, a full 50 points below Abreu's career mark. Yet, in his mind, Rollins is set to go after "The Mark", the 56-game hitting streak by Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio. In one story, Rollins is talking about how he comes to play when the bell rings, conveniently forgetting that the season starts in April, not August:

"When the pressure was on, I definitely showed up to play," Rollins said of the end of 2005. "That’s something I look forward to doing from day one, but sometimes it doesn’t happen until the last 30 games. When the bell rang, I was out there doing my job. That’s one thing I like. I think I knew it about myself, but it’s nice to go out there and prove it."

Meanwhile, in the Bucks County paper, the news is that Rollins is not only relishing the attention, he's finally getting around to doing something which has apparently been his life's work.

"Every single year since my rookie year (2001), I've told my brother that I'm going to break Joe DiMaggio's record," Rollins said, referring to the legendary Yankee's 56-game hitting streak set in 1941. "Up until now, that was impossible."

Of course, before the season begins, we’re all concerned, very much concerned, with the 27-year-old Rollins’ legacy. Rollins, with his trademark confidence in tow, has absolutely no questions to answer:

"I have no doubt, when I leave the game, I'll be regarded as one of the best shortstops. Hopefully, it'll be all the way around. If I don't think that, if I don't feel that, then I shouldn't be playing this game."

To say that is presumptuous is allowing for a liberal use of the term 'presumptuous.' No one begrudges Rollins his lofty ambitions or his seemingly limitless confidence. However, one has to wonder about his connection to reality. Rollins has a long way to go before he can even say his name in the same breath with Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and the pre-injury Nomar Garciaparra. Of course, one roots for Jimmy to reach those heights, however one has to be very weary of a man with his head in the clouds, but no feet on the ground. Rollins has much to work on with his hitting style and approach. Confidence may be an asset but patience is indeed a virtue and for Rollins to shirk patience in favor of his aggressive nature, both at the plate and, to a lesser extent, with the media, is trading one avenue for another instead of employing them both. Who says he can’t drive on both streets? Can’t a hitter be both aggressive and patient? Can’t a guy have confidence and goals, but tempered by the self-awareness that there is still work to be done and a development process to follow?

Maybe Rollins is ready to pick up where he left off. Maybe, though, that’s the problem.

All Apologies

2006-02-21T18:14:00.000-05:00

For our first non-Phillies, non-baseball post, we'd like to address a very serious topic around these parts: Lindsey Jacobellis. We have considered her and her actions in many capacities and have arrived at the following conclusion:

She is still hot. Top 5 hot. We still love her as much as ever. In fact, moreso now, through her humanity and fallibility. Infinitessimal as it may be, the chances of her accepting our marriage proposal just got ever so slightly better. Amatuer as we are at snowboarding, our young lass may have met her match at mistake-making.

But we digress.

Getting the Rod

2006-02-20T18:42:00.000-05:00

One issue that has received plenty of ink this off-season has been the pitching. The need for better starting pitching, for role assignments in the middle innings, and for solid command out of the ageless back-end of the bullpen. The field is pretty wide open, yet some arms have been all but ignored. One of thos arms belongs to Ricardo Rodriguez, the righthander aquired ffrom the Texas Rangers in the Vicente Padilla trade just before the arbitration deadline.

We raised the point of Rodriguez's relative anonymity Friday night at the beer roundtable, but really there wasn't much to say. He's a soon to be 28-year-old who's arm has been shattered the past two season by batted balls. As it happened, Marcus Hayes was tuned into our train of thought and filed a story that night on Ric-Rod which appeared in the Daily News the following morning. There's little of consequence in the story, other than the intimation that Rod's problems -- besides the injuries -- have been a poor throwing motion, caused in part by unfulfilled rehab. At least Rod can point to the arm injuries; what's Gavin Floyd's excuse?

Rodriguez also has a little '05 Floyd in him as a starter who will be presumably tried in a bullpen slot. We all know how that worked for the former first-round pick. Rodriguez actually pitched in relief in 72 of his 166 minor league games, but only in three of his 39 major league outings thusfar. Finally, and perhaps the most significant revelation in this non-saga, The Inqy reports that the righty has no options left on his contract, a document which does not appear to be of significant dollars anyway.

Bottom line, we're looking at a twice season-ending injured pitcher with delivery motion problems vying for a spot he has very little major league experience in. He is neither an overpowering thrower (100 Ks in over 200 IP) , nor does he show much in the way of hitter command (career 1.45 WHIP). If the Phils carry 12 pitchers, he has an outside shot, mostly because some of the other competition have options remaining. However, at 11, a bullpen of Gordon, Rhodes, Fultz, Cormier, and probably Julio Santana with competition from the likes of Tejeda, Rule 5er Chris Booker, Geoff Geary, and darkhorses Aquilino Lopez and Yoel Hernandez leaves little room for Rodriguez to nake the 25 man roster. Likewise, for the organization to cut a more expensive innings eater like Franklin out of the rotation, Ric-Rod would have to leave no doubt as to his capabilities and production this year. Seems a bit far-fetched given his history.

Inexpensive as he may be, if Rodriguez does not overly impress in spring training, look for him to be cut or dealt.

Hops Spring Eternal

2006-02-20T14:45:00.000-05:00

Friday night was spent split between waiting in traffic on I-95 from DC to the Delaware Valley, driving all over King of Prussia trying to find Kildare's, and tossing back the ale with other members of the "Phlogosphere." Having already met Shallow Center last year at opening day through his bro, we also were treated to sitting down with the authors of Balls, Sticks & Stuff, Beerleaguer, and Swing & A Miss for the first time. No matter your pursuit in life, it's always nice to find kindred souls for diuscussion and while there was the requisite talk about the local 9 (as well as the local 25, the local 40, and the entire minor league system), we were honestly just as happy to talk non-baseball as well. When Mr. Goyne and yours truly wrapped up the evening by packing it in around 12:30, it was enough to make one wish that we hadn't moved to DC. Again.

But, perhaps that's what baseball can do to a fan.

Yet, imagine our surprise when we picked up the Philadelphia Inquirer the next day to find nhot only a story on the outlook of the local Phillies blogging collective, but to find our own little site included in it. We we hadn't known it had previously been a post on Blinq earlier in the week, so we were outright surprised to read the following passage, which closes the story:

GR, who maintains a love-hate relationship from Arlington, Va., with the local nine, does a nice job on a site called Caught Looking of sifting through the Philadelphia baseball beat writers' spring previews for morsels to gnaw. He's blunt:

"Most of the news around the horn lately is little more than the standard crust in a pie yet to be baked."

His bio states what all of these dutiful bloggers are thinking. He lists his interests this way:
"Mixing baseball, music, city planning and God knows whatever else. When do pitchers and catchers report?"

They have. This week. Finally.

Kind words and yes, mom, we've already thanked the author. What we want to know, however, is, did Mr. Rubin follow us to the bar Friday night? Each author mentioned in the print story was in attendence, save for Brian Michael of Phillies Nation, who lives in London. To quote Durso's favorite band, that's a stange magic. In any case, we're honored, humbled, surpised, and mostly embarressed a bit for the scores of other bloggers who do as good if not a better job of dissecting the circumstances, ideas, and numbers surrounding phranchise.

It's very weird to think that actual card carrying members of the media pay attention to this type of thing sometimes, but by the same token, it was brought up over beers Friday night that no other team seems to have quite the array of blogs dedicated to it that the Phillies do (perhaps the Red Sox). Make of that what you will, we guess. For now, its nice to be part of the team. CL is just going to take it one game at a time and, Lord willing, we'll help the blogworld in any way that we can.

Remind us to change that bio by the way. We've kept it all-baseball, all-the-time so far.

Metaphysically Speaking

2006-02-17T09:48:00.000-05:00

There appears to be an answer to the question "What's the worst thing about jail?" It is, in fact, "all the free time one has to dream up crazy ideas to be obsessed about."

On the other hand, its hard to read the phrase...

Reality is created and guarded by numeric patterns that overlap and awaken human consciousness, like a giant matrix or hologram

...and not think he's talking about Sabermetrics.

The Curse of Mickey Rooney

2006-02-16T17:25:00.000-05:00

While it's only been 26 years, perhaps the Phils' current championship drought is due to the fact that the franchise both has a curse and has heretofor been unable to attach a clever, marketing-friendly monicker to its troublesome spell. In any case, a new england psychologist and childhood Phils fan blames Mickey Rooney for the '64 collapase.

Works for me. Down with the Mick.

Leadership Lessons

2006-02-15T16:55:00.000-05:00

Jim Salisbury along with Todd Zolecki do some nice work covering the Phils, but we have to disagree 100% with the former's assessment of the latest Brett Myers kerfuffle on the (web)pages of the Philly Inqy today. According to Salibury, Brett Myers had this to say to the media in reference to Pat Gillick's overcited remarks about the Phils not being good enough:

"Hearing that is irritating, man," Myers said after a workout yesterday. "I don't know if it's reverse psychology or if he's selling us short, like the fans. I'm not 100 percent sure where he's coming from.

"But nobody should be happy about it. How can you be happy when someone says you're not good? If guys took it the way I did, it should [tick] them off. It should motivate them to want to show him something."

Great. Those of us looking for a breakout season from a more mature Myers have already been put on notice. Halfway through February, the starting pitcher with the highest ceiling on the staff is quite upset about the shruggable. By getting upset in the pre-preseason, Myers is already proving WIP's Mike Missenelli right when the midday co-host says things like "To me, there's nothing cool about the guy." This is the 2006 season's version of I HAD X NUMBER OF WINS! Which of course is what we all wanted to hear going into an already iffy spring training.

But Salisbury and our beef intersect later in the article when the writer asserts the following:

You also have to like the fight and the resolve Myers is showing. It even sounds a little like leadership. In his conversation with Gillick last month, he assured the GM that he took a No. 1 starter's mind-set to the mound every fifth day. He went to bat for fellow staff member Jon Lieber.

Actually, no it doesn't sound like leadership at all. Leadership should never be mistaken for emotion. This is the same problem Myers has on the mound. When he gets upset, he begins to pitch like he's upset. He begins to ride adreniline closer to the 100 mph mark. He gets away from what serves him best. He, in effect, throws a fit worthy not of a champion, but a frustrated contender. Leadership and coolness must always be on close terms. Aaron Rowand is not getting upset. Ryan Howard is not throwing a fit when people repeatedly say he can't hit lefties. Jimmy Rollins is not complaining that he is being dogged for underproducing for 3/4 of the year. For a closer representation of leadership, take a look at Chase Utley's reaction:

"I wasn't offended by what he said," said Chase Utley, another early arriver to camp. "I think Pat was only being honest. He's saying we need a little more help. I don't necessarily agree, but he's the guy who runs the show."

Arriving early and not being distracted from the job at hand is leadership. Understanding and being respectfully concilatory show leadership. Focus and accountibility are hallmarks of leadership. So far, with the 2006 preseason not even underway, Brett Myers is not exhibiting growth, maturation, or leadership. He is already making us nervous.

No Contende

2006-02-15T12:40:00.000-05:00

A day after considering the opening for Carlos Ruiz behind the plate in the majors, Marcus Hayes reports today that, in reference to the World Baseball Classic, "Catcher Carlos Ruiz could make the Panamanian team, but he isn't expected to contend for a spot on the major league club."

Not expected to contend? Not expected to make it is one thing. Not expecting to contend sounds like being written off. Granted, taking Hayes with a grain of salt is standard practice in these parts -- in fact, whenever Hayes' name comes up, the value of a grain of salt skyrockets -- but if this is true, it's a puzzling development. Why wouldn't there be some competition at a spot which sorely needs improvement?

Hard to believe, Harry.

Today's Truth-mitzfah

2006-02-13T12:58:00.000-05:00

As Donald Rumsfeld would say, there are things which are known and things which we know we know and then there are things which aren't known, but are known to be known and, well, you get the idea.

Most of the news around the horn lately is little more than the standard crust in pie yet to baked. First, out of Alabama, where Job Lieber attended college after leaving that bastion of high school baseball in western Iowa, it is known that the Phils ace last year preferred to work with backup catcher Todd Pratt because he pushed Lieber to be more aggressive. One has to wonder why a 10-year vet like Lieber would need to be told such, but the revelation probably revitalizes the moans of letting Pratt walk. Considering Tank's age, however, it wasn't an entirely bad decision. The real kernals of value in this story are unsaid: (1) Mike Lieberthal, signed years ago as a member of the current cornerstones of the club, appears to lack the one basic skill all catchers should have -- the ability to run a game from behind the plate. Again, known, but it is true so much to a point that the staff's best pitcher would rather not work with their number one catcher and has no problem making that known. This is a ridiculous situation if you really think about. The other item is that (2) the Phils could really use a quick maturation by Carlos Ruiz, despite his having never played a game in the majors. By most accounts, his defense and actual catcher skills are much better than what the big club currently has. The team needs the Lieber of early and late season, not the midseason guy who went 5-10 and, quite frankly Stephen A. Smith, sucked.

Next, it is known that Cole Hamels believes he is fine. This is great news, or would be if it were true. However, its truthiness is under review until Hamels actually does something with a baseball for the first time in six months. Granted we are talking about the greatest minor league pitching prospect in the history of baseball as an american institution, but please remember (1) he hasn't thrown off a mound in 6 months and (2) he has pitched exactly 4 games at double A. To say that he is a consideration for the show right now is either crazy or sad.

Beyond that, we've got spring previews. Over in Delaware County, Denny Deitch was the first writer to point out the Phils' heavily CBP-ed schedule in the firts few months of the season. In fact, the team plays 33 of its first 53 games at home which means a few more things: (1) a mediocre start like last year's would almost certainly be a killer and (2) the offense should get off to a nice start while it will not be a surprise to see some big ugly number from the pitching staff, including flyball specialist Ryan Franklin. While the offense could have 2 or 3 all-stars, the starting staff is really going to have to bear down mentally in a number of 9-7 games possibly. No rest for the weary bullpen, either.

Finally, the bad news. Reports persist that the team's fifth outfielder will actually be an infielder. Kind of ridiculous.

Your Mission

2006-02-08T15:17:00.000-05:00

Explain to me how Alex S. Gonzalez is anything other than another David Bell.

Back in the E.R.

2006-02-03T11:07:00.000-05:00

Any thoughts phans and phils alike might have had of seeing southpaw hurler Cole Hamels make the big league club were put to rest weeks ago when it was announced that the 22-year-old top prospect was basically slkated to begin the 2006 where the 2005 season left off -- in Reading PA, pitching for the double-AA minor league affiliate. Unfortunately, it looks as thought the '06 will also begin where it left off healthwise for Hamels. According to Jim Salisbury in today's Inquirer, Cole Hamels had an MRI on Wednesday after experiencing more soreness and inflammation in the area in his lower back.

How many different ways are there for one to say ouch?

While the Phillies will head to spring training in a couple weeks (!) with several question marks about them in the area of starting pitching, the second coming of Steve Carlton languishes in the mid-minors, a victim of injuries both seemingly untreatable and unbelievable (Breaking an arm against a car in a a football game? Who over the age of 12 has that happen to them?).

All the rhetoric in the world from Pat Gillick about this being a just a bump in the road (what the hell street is this and is it even drivable anymore?) does not change the fact that, if not for an injury-riddled last couple years, there would be a lefthander -- a pretty good one -- staring down hitters at CBP this summer. While its not completely 100% lock-and-load out of the question that it could still happen, one shoudl not ignore that Hamels has...

(a) Not pitched competitively since mid-July '05
(b) Not been throwing off a mound in the offseason, only doing soft-toss on flat ground
(c) Seen a number of back specialists, who by allk accounts, have not been able to agree on the cause of Hamels' problems
(d) Thrown exactly 4 games at AA ball.
(e) Is young, slight of build, and a pretty hard thrower (mid-90s). A trifecta for back problems.
(f) Is directkly responsible, by way of his injury merry-go-round, for the signing of Ryan Franklin.

While the last point may not be fair, it does demonstrate how important the Jim Thome trade will be over the next two years, as the acquisition of Gio Gonzalez and Daniel Haigwood could prove to be the antidote to Hamels' troubled run at the majors. The stories will start soon enough if both lefties pitch well this season, but for now, Hamels is taking most of the attention and expectations.

Lim-bo, Lim-bo, Lim-bo

2006-01-25T19:58:00.000-05:00

Who would have thought, in the dead of January, that Phillies fans would be on the edge of their seats waiting to see if their fourth OF was indeed going to be swapped for a 36-year-old lefthanded reliever? Caught Looking, that's who. Everyday is Phillies day here. Stay tuned. Oh the suspense. In all seriousness, though, how is it the club can be enamored with a veteran left reliever who can't get lefthanded hitters out (Arthur Rhodes' spilts: 155 vs RH, .286 vs LH), but aren't particularly interested in a solid starter for their incomplete rotation? It seems very short-sighted. Chances are, however, the flip side is true: Boston must have very little interest in Jason Michaels.

As spring training draws nearer, expect to see a lot of stories like this one, talking about the Ryano's prospects for a season of bonafide stardom versus his vulnerability to a sophomore slump. Maddening to say the least. Thank God Jim Thome was traded weeks ago. Just throw the ball and let's hit already.

Finally, Aaron Roward is ready to be everyone's bro. The first time he hits the wall, they should ring the Liberty Bell behind Tony Luke's.

Arms Race

2006-01-24T11:16:00.000-05:00

We will withhold our official thoughts on the proposed Jason Michaels deal until its announced later today. Truth is, it's already been covered ad nausium in the phils blogosphere so any critiquing we would do (we don't like the deal all that much) would be repetitive anyways. Suffice to say, the biggest questions surrounding this deal are:

(a) is this the most we could get in return for Michaels alone?
(b) what would have it taken to get what Boston is offering Cleveland for their CF
(c) is Authur Rhodes the de facto player in return because he's a lefty and
(d) does Rhodes, with his low innings count the last 3 years, inability to get lefties out (they hit .286 off him last year), extended personal leave and high number of inherited runners allowed to score in '05 represent an appreciably better candidate to be set-up man than Aaron Fultz?

On point d, consider: Longer career? Yes. However, Rhodes is a rent-a-player with a one-year contract. Can he really be counted on to do something Fultz isn't capable of? Does this mean our 7th and 8th inning guys are left-handed.

For what it's worth, out on the lake, MLB writer Anthony Castrovince says he hasn't gotten a single email supporting this whole inclusive deal from the Indians perspective. On the other hand, despite the usual rumors to the contrary, this almost guarentees that Bobby Abreu will remain a Phillie.

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The Nationals are eyeing former Phils Ugeth Urbina, despite his legal troubles in South America. This signing, outside of the obvious concerns with Urbina's relationship with freedom, would make sense for the Nats. Urbina can still be effective and would benefit from the extreme flyball-friendly RFK stadium for the next 2 years (or however long it takes DC to build a baseball stadium). This would also enable Urbina to be the next pitcher in a long line of vet relievers who tanked in Philly, but followed it up with success elsewhere.

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NY Newsday is reporting that Philly is a possibly landing spot for Mike Piazza, who is seeking a $7 million deal. Let's see, hits .260, can't really throw anyone out, has big contract. Uh, I'm pretty sure we already got one of those.

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Not to open old wounds, but Tim Worrell has left a scar upon this blog from which it probably won't ever recover (of only to make things more dramatic). Let's a take a trip down memory lane:

Nobody ever seems to know what Worrell is thinking, especially the Phillies, who employed him last year. About two months into last season, the ex-Giant asked to be placed on the disabled list to deal with "personal problems." For the next two months, the Phillies paid him about $1 million to not pitch. When they began to press the issue, Worrell asked to be released -- a convenient way out, since he would continue to be paid (if he had retired, he would have forfeited another million or so). That irritated the Phillies, who thought they had been more than fair, but they did him a huge favor by trading him to Arizona, his home state. The Giants took over from there.

Damn him.

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Today's column shows that Bill Conlin is more than capable of amusing himself in the sports doldrums of January.

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The Brett Myers Weight Watch continues.

Time Served in the Public Eye

2006-01-19T18:55:00.000-05:00

While Jason Michaels is busy planning his community service time for this spring outside the stadiums of Florida, citizens have sprung into action inside the baseball park in South Philly, as old stomping grounds, members of the 2006 Phils talked to kids about growing up and the like. Nice to see. One suggestion, however. If any member of the Phillies' front office sees this story, they should contact the school and ask for an address to send some sort of autographed paraphanalia to that unlucky kids. Little things mean alot.

Someone's Got A Case of Wade-itis

2006-01-19T18:34:00.000-05:00

This time around, it's Delco Daily Times columnist Jack McCaffery. Check out this paragraph from his column today:

If Ryan Howard does not sophomore-slump, and if Chase Utley continues his stampede toward becoming baseball’s foremost second baseman, and if Rowand adds that certain championship something in center, then there is reason to include the Phillies’ everyday eight in any conversation about worthy contenders. And should Mike Lieberthal and David Bell play to their capabilities, the Phillies’ lineup has the potential to dominate. So if Gillick’s plan is to see if all of that happens and then to adjust on the fly, it is not as outrageous as, say, panicking and paying the going eight-figure price for noted late-season wheezer Kevin Millwood.

Bleh!!! Give Jackeroo credit, though, he did manage to change it up a bit by slipping a "should" in before mentioning the Blackhole Sons in the middle sentence. Nonetheless, if he's begins to see stars swirling around Thomas Perez and develops expensive crushes on elderly middle relievers, he might want to fork over the co-pay and get some nice medication to play with.

I Told Him We Already Got One (Oh yes, it's-uh verrry niiiice)

2006-01-19T12:11:00.000-05:00

As the Phils continue to search (presumably) for a top-flight starter to fill out their rotation and avoid handing the ball to Ryan Franklin -- ever -- it begs the question "do they already have one?" There are a few prospects in the minors, for instance Floyd, Hamels, and the dynamic duo from the Thome trade, the closest thing the Phils have had to a true ace since Curt Schilling was in town is, well, Curt Schilling junior. And while, Myers' maturity is a topic with potential for endless discussion (ditch the pizza, learn to cook, baby), exactly how does he stack up at this point in his career with other big name pitchers, keeping in mind that he is but 24 years old.

Well, at the risk of looking lazy, someone already ran the numbers for us. Not exactly sure what the blog protocol is for something like this, but commentor Shore in one of the threads on PhilliesPhans.com posted this on Myers.

Through age 24, Myers has 109 starts, 501 K, 235 BB. Those are pretty good raw numbers, so I ran a quick-and-dirty study. Only 10 other pitchers since 1945 have, through their age 24 seasons, made 100 starts with >500 K and <250>
Roger Clemens (104 / 694 / 216)
Bret Saberhagen (143 / 677 / 215)
Javier Vazquez (123 / 656 / 225)
Jake Peavy (106 / 635 / 218)
Ismael Valdes (118 / 613 / 228) S
teve Carlton (103 / 586 / 242)
Tom Seaver (104 / 583 / 208)
Andy Benes (108 / 542 / 220)
Jim Nash (103 / 528 / 219)
Bill Gullickson (109 / 510 / 204)

These guys averaged, as 24-year-olds:
15-11, 3.16 ERA, 176 K and 63 BB in 224 IP.
Myers: 13-8, 3.72 ERA, 208 K and 68 BB in 215 IP.

Age considered, his career to date is NOT out of line with some quality ace-level pitchers.

Son of a Howard, Starting Fresh

2006-01-18T11:18:00.000-05:00

Out of the heartland comes a story on Ryan Howard's upbringing, his father, his days crushing the ball in college and his finally formally receiving the Rookie of the Year Award, joining Scott Rolen as the only Phillies to win the accolade in the past 25 years. Most phans are assuming big things from Howard this season, so it's probably good that he is projected to still hit in the sixth spot oin the lineup. One hope however, that he is eventually moved to fourth, giving Pat Burrell a chance to look at outside corner strikes lower in the order.

Meanwhile, the search for another starter continues. Of course, the Phils have a fairly well-pedigreed starter candidate already on their roster who they are currently grooming for a job, albeit with bullpen service as a backup plan still dancing in their heads. Signing an experienced setup man is still a possibility, but realisticly, it's just as likely that an aquilino lopez or chris booker emerges to fill the role through pre-season auditions. In other news, Ted Lilly signed a one-year deal with the Jays worth $4 million. Also, Erik Bedard inked a 1-year, $1.4 million deal to return to the Orioles. Granted, Bedard is an emotional retard and Ted Lilly stinks, but suddenly the Ryan Franklin signing looks that much worse.

That's the ugly news. The other side of things is that the Phillies were and are a bigger mess to clean than is fair. Gillick's comment that his team is not good enough to win the division has been given too much attention on the web today. Simply put, it's not news. Anyone who's watched baseball the past few years and half-paid attention this off-season knows that this team hasn't won anything and still has holes to fill. This year, for a change, the organization is addressing those not by recruiting specific players, but by inviting volume, competition, and to some extent, youth. Likewise, the claim that Gillick has tipped his hand in negotiations with other teams by admitting to his teams hurling shortcomings is a ridiculous claim. No one doesn't know it. What Gillick has done, in the meantime when it seems he's waiting for Godot, is to wait out a mediocre market to find he couldn't have spent his money any better and sooner and the time to trade is never imminent.

Patience is a four-letter word in Philadelphia, but it is still a virtue.

On the Other Hand...

2006-01-06T09:40:00.000-05:00

...the Phillies may have needed to sign a starter quick to offset the loss of a Gavin Floyd, Ryan Madson, or Robinson Tejeda, in a package deal with Bobby Abreu to the Orioles for Miguel Tejada, our new David Bell-less third base option. Probably just the customary heresay as part of the continued rumblings of one Manny Rameirez, but the possibilities are intriguing.

F is for Franklin

2006-01-05T14:31:00.000-05:00

That rousing round of indifference you hear across the Delaware Valley (and parts elsewhere belonging in heart and mind to the Phillies' City-State) is the sub-tepid reaction to Pat Gillick signing starting pitcher Ryan Franklin. A quick look at Franklin's career suggests that, at $2.6 million for 2006, this righthander might as well be any one of his namesakes. You choose: either the token black kid from the Peanuts comic strip, the unsigned hard-core band from Philadelphia in the late 90s, the token purple (black) hipster on Sesame Street in 1971, the first American, or G.O.B.'s token black ventriliquist dummy from season two of Arrested Development. Obviously, this boat is already a bit crowded. No offense to Ry-Frank, but his only distinction seems to be that he is perhaps the worst pitcher ever to allegedly take steroids.

The 33-year-old was non-tendered by the Seattle Mariners after giving up too many home runs the past three years (95!) in a pitcher's park. Naturally, a team with one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the NL is a logical landing spot for the former 23rd round selection (in 1992, no less). However, since the Phils are moving their left field fences back a few feet for '06, this is entirely a moot point. Also, the Phils are planning on raising the mound ten feet every five games so Franklin's K numbers go up. Finally, CL has just learned that first base at CBP will be moved to 105 feet at the top of every inning in an effort to get Franklin's WHIP under 1.4.

Franklin had much better numbers in 2001 and 2002 when he was used out of the pen (in his late 20s, yes) as a middle reliever in 40 games each season. Since $2.6 mill is a lot to pay a guy who hasn't pitched in relief in 3 years to join a bullpen already swelling with average arms, we are going to guess this means Cory Lidle has officially been promoted to the number 3 slot in the rotation.

With less putrid options out there (Wade Miller) or minor leaguers invited to make the club (Floyd, Hamels, Tejeda), this signing gets a failing grade.

Wiley Veterans

2005-12-30T14:51:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have yet to see it, the Phillies recently released The Vet, a two-DVD love letter to their old ballpark. We purchased this for our dad and were able to watch some of it before leaving PA to come back to VA. Some parts of it are terribly funny (or funnily terrible, perhaps?), including a reel of old promotional commercials from as far back as 1979. A lot of bang for $15. Comparatively, our Ryan Howard t-shirt cost $22.

In terms of Veterans Stadium memories, our most memorable, as sad as it might be to think about, would have to be sitting in the upper deck by the rightfield foul pole on Oct 15, 1983, to witness Game 4 of the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. The visiting eventual-champs got the best of Cy Young Award and Game 1 winner John Denny, 5-4, including a singles-packed first inning and a late-game bases-loaded walk. Howard Cosell called the game and seemed ready to launch into one of his famous incantations as the Phils notched a run in the bottom of the ninth to rally, but ultimately, the great mouth was silenced as the Phils could do no more. Deep in centerfield that day, a solitary banner hung from the bottom of Phanavision: "Shut Up, Howard."

Whether for Cosell or Eskin, truer words have never faced a sadder ballpark.

Millwood-Dollar Man

2005-12-27T19:15:00.000-05:00

Scott Boras is a genius. Or rather, he is very good at what he does. That is to say, Kevin Millwood is not a $12 million dollar per year pitcher and certainly not for five years. I don't care whow nice is ERA was, he's unfit (is he ever going to get around to getting in shape?), unefficient (meaning, he works so slowly), and unlucky (you've seen the stats, I bet - on batted balls, he's the "unluckiest" pitcher in MLB). He is also un-no. 1 when it comes to his spot in the rotation. One thing that will be interesting to see this year: how patient is Rangers pitching coach Mark Connor is going to be with Slow-as-Molassas Millwood, Headcase Padilla, and Distractable Adam Eaton all in the asme rotation.

Since there probably won't be much happening until the new year, hop on over and download some music while you're around. Free of charge (better hurry!)

Should All the Season Be Forgot

2005-12-27T11:22:00.000-05:00

Want to relive the Phils' 2005 season all over again? Me neither, but I did it and you can, too, by going here.

We're Living Here in Allentown

2005-12-23T10:36:00.000-05:00

Imagine our elation when it was announced this morning that the Phils AAA affiliate will move from Scranton to Allentown for the 2007 season. While we don't get home as much as we used to, the thought of hanging out with our dad at games in the Lehigh Valley when ever we do make it home to the 18091 area code is just too cool for a school of thought. Being able to dial up the house and say "hey let's go see hamels pitch this Saturday" for instance is phan-tastic.

We do, however, hold a special place in our hearts for Scranton and the S/WB Red Baron's stadium, a minor league representation of the late, great Veterans Stadium in dimensions, wall, and astroturf. A few years back, sometime around 2000 we think, dear old dad and his pals at the post office somehow pulled off a major league coup: the boys of the Delivering 18072 convinced the park's grounds crew to welcome us into Lackawanna County Stadium for a grounskeeper vs. mailman day of softball (yeah, that's what we said). Naturally, we were recruited as a ringer, even if we pop up too many times at the dish. Instead, as a late inning edition to left field, we protected a lead by breaing down on a sinking liner and making a sprawled out, diving catch for the third out in the sixth. We even got a huge strawberry on our left arm from the turf. The entire 3 second-moment was something we had been waiting to feel our entire lives to that point (and since, to be honest). We thought the big club would notice. They didn't but, it's their loss. No matter.

Thank you, Scranton, and good night.

Quick Thoughts

2005-12-21T18:21:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays, everyone.

-The Phils should look into signing non-tendered, groundball reliever Dan Kolb to a one-year cheap deal if possible. Sure, he was death last year for the Braves, but with the current state of their pen, it is worth investigating whether or not he could be the 2006 version of the 2005 version of Todd Jones. It's time we got lucky for once.

-The time to trade Bobby Abreu has passed for now, unless the words "Boston Red Sox" and "Matt Clement" are involved, along with a few other words. All other rumored options, including Brad Penny, Derrick Lowe, Brad Lidge, Barry Zuckercorn, or whoever are substandard. Keep him and milk the last few months of his Philadelphia value before trading him next season when the asking price is right.

-Is it possible that moving the fences back in left field could backfire? Who hit more anemic HRs in 2005, the Phils or the opposition?

-Finally, two economists agree/debate about the free agent market, specifcally for relief pitching, over at the Wall Street Journal. Except that they get off on all sorts of tangents, including strikes, stadium deals, and luxury taxes. Well, it was a good idea for story anyway. Conclusion: The cntracts this off-season aren't all that big.

One Night in December

2005-12-15T16:01:00.000-05:00

Before we get off on another jaunt here, one beef: just last week, we were the top result when one searched for "caught looking" on Yahoo.com. Now, all of a sudden, we're 6th? Our yet to be assembled marketing department needs to step to the plate and take a few cuts at this, to put it in obvious fashion. Now, onto the anecdote.

Earlier this week, a rare baseball author event grabbed our eye that we just could not pass up: H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Friday Night Lights and the newly-released Three Nights in August, a grand-scale dissection of both baseball itself and one manager's reputed genius, appeared at an Olssons Books event, hosted by the George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. Bissinger, every bit the crotchety and overly self-referential writer character, at least on stage, was mercifully flanked by two bigger draws than himself: author and former lawyer John Grisham, whose multi-million selling legal "thrillers" (yawn!) and resulting omnipresent movie adaptations do very little justice to his comfortably low-key southern humor, served as moderator, while Bissinger occasionally interrupted the star of the show, 3 Nights focal point Tony LaRussa, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. All told, three guys on stage, all sitting, all above 50 (we think), should not have been this interesting. But, as they say, baseball is a funny game, and the mostly likewise audience of senior members, along with a few students, seemed to enjoy the twisting narrative of LaRussa and company.

Because of previous engagements -- we're currently in rehab for some serious elbow tendinities, Vicente Padilla-style -- CL was not able to make the 7 pm start time, but showing up around 7:45, we were able to persuade the box office to waive the $25 price tag, so we could waltz in for free for "what can't be more then 10-15 minutes left" we hypothesized. Imagine our joy when the program pushed into the Q&A session around 8:30.

What we witnessed for those 45+ minutes was a fairly open, engaging manager talking about not only the book that bares his one-weekend witness, but his entire array of philosophies, from how to handle pitchers ("I don't pay much attention to pitch counts and even less to my pitching coach when it comes to starting pitchers -- pitching coaches get too emotionally involved with their starters to make in-game judgments alot of times") to what he can offer major league hitters ("I can teach them how to handle pressure and to save at-bats with two strikes on them -- other than that, it's entirely up to them"). Through the course of the evening, LaRussa showed a knack for deadpan humor and seemed cordial, in a gruff way of course, to the audience, which in all fairness, contained a pretty nice contingent of "life-long" Cardinals fans. LaRussa had the good sense to praise both the Nationals' season and their manager and the somewhat surprising timing of having followed the day's latest development on the ever-frustrating DC stadium deal.

After the Q&A session began with a thud, thanks to the first questioner finishing his question with a ridiculous "How are you going to handle getting a Nationals beatdown next year?" (drawing even more ridiculous applause), the format provided probably the highlight of the night, at least the second half -- LaRussa, in painstaking detail, replaying and explaining his thought process when Albert Pujols hit that two-out, ninth-inning go-ahead HR of Brad Lidge in the NLCS. LaRussa, all the while, as the questioner so clearly illustrated in his question, "almost refused to celebrate perhaps the biggest moment of the season to that point. What the hell was going through your mind?" It was the type of innocent question most of us ask in our heads when we see two incongruent events happening simultaneously. This kid actually asked it out loud and LaRussa had no problem answering it fully. It was a strange and extremely compelling couple of minutes; not even pins would drop.

While I've seen and heard alot about both LaRussa's body of work as well as his apparent weirdness, I've heard enough to know I'd like to know more. Not necessarily just about the man, but about the game, both physical and mental. Baseball is definitely a game given to obsessions.

The Flotilla, Tex-Mex Style

2005-12-12T16:33:00.000-05:00

More on the coming and goings later, but for now, Vinnie Pads has been dealt to the Rangers for former cornerstones Mark Messier and Mike Richter. Whoops, check that -- for nothing yet, but soon something. If nothing else, Pat Gillick is on a quest to make the Phillies his team, not a collection of inherited players from deals of the past both prudent and questionable. Perhaps someone should tell the former Stand Pat that this isn't the mafia and there's no great rush to start divorcing yourself from role players and trading chips so quickly. What are we trying to hide? But then again, if it is the mob, perhaps it's none of our business to ask.

What we know is that of Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects, the Rangers have exactly four:

52. Thomas Diamond, RHP - 6-3, 230 pound hard-thrower who was the organization's Nolan Ryan Award winner last year
59. John Danks, LHP - Curveball thrower who apparently struggled at AA in '05
77. Joaquib Arias, SS
98. Ian Kinsler, SS

Both Diamond and Danks were first round picks (Diamond in '04, Danks '03), so getting them for Padilla could prove difficult. Unless Gillick pries away one of the top two, however, this isn't much of a trade to worry about. The rest of the Rangers' top ten list looks this way.

Coldblooded

2005-12-06T10:49:00.000-05:00

It's a little tough to think about baseball with snow on the ground. We're also in the middle of a job search, a new apartment search, throwing arm rehab, the holidays and, oh, did we mention we just had a birthday last week? Sabremetrically speaking, we appear to be entering the downside of our athletic career production, having posted more injuries than catches in last week's flag football game. Yes, we are busy.

But we'll suck it up.

Pat Gillick is reportedly making the most of his lifetime of connections by power-networking at the Baseball winter meetings in Dallas (no doubt, enjoying the non-Toronto, non-Philadelphia, non-Seattle, non-Baltimore weather -- what's with this guy's penchant for northern cities?) by facilitating the reporting of trade possibility after trade possibility after trade possibility. Most involve the Phils getting fairly reputable starting pitching, ranging from the promising (Mark Prior) to the overrated (Matt Clement) to the wildly overrated (Carl Pavano) to the Randy Wolf-like (Barry Zito), to the Barry Zito-like (Erik Bedard) to the Andy Reid-like (David Wells), plus a few others who's names whiz by like some fan telephone polls on the main street thoroughfare (Odalis Perez, Mark Redman, Jerod Weaver, Bob Lahblah).

Cook with the hotstove if you must, but either the Phils attain a pedigreed hurler or Ryan Madsen enters the rotation, hoping to provide the youthful promise and spark that as eluded Gavin Floyd to this point, save one night in St. Louis this past Spring. For the Phils to really make out in this deal, especially if dealing their best hitter, they ideally need to find someone who fits these criteria:

1. 3 years of major league service or more
2. Not in the last year of their current contract
3. A 3:1 groundball to flyball ratio
4. Can log over 200 innings consistantly
5. Has career WHIP under 1.3
6. Lefthanded, but not essential
7. Under 30-32 years of age
8. Limited injury history
9. Has mental durability to enjoy pitching in Philadelphia for a manger not particularly strong at handling pitchers.

As you can see, being serious also means being limited. By all accounts, after the first 8 points, Barry Zito really is the frontrunner or best deal. He momentarily stalls at point number 2, but otherwise fares as well as anyone put to the test (I believe he's a flyball pitcher, but how many lefthanded groundball pitchers are their, really?). However, number 9 is a different story. Zito is loved by many, but in many ways does not seem like he would pass the "Philadelphia test". He is a career west coast guy, having grown up in San Diego, played college ball at USC, and has been with A's ever since. He surfs, plays in a rock band (perhaps he can jam with Brett Myers), has a radio show, has appeared in a stage production, and is generally known to be hanging out. No one can doubt his talent or accomplishments, but he's a Hollywood guy. One has to wonder how a career Californian would react to being shipped to someplace where it actually snows.

To be perfectly circumspect, one has to wonder.

Moonshot is No Pie in the Sky?

2005-12-01T11:09:00.000-05:00

CL knows what you're thinking and the answer is, "you're welcome." We opined, oh how we opined, a few weeks ago what it would be like to bring Moonshot Manny to town to patrol, sort of, the outfield and stalk the batter's box every few innings. Actually, we were just as enamored with his "girl power" which, in this case, means his ability to draw alot of sassy sweethearts the ballpark, but who gives a rat's ass what was on our mind, perhaps we were on to something for once?

It appears that, in a world with a dearth of suitors for the plaintiff, perhaps bringing Manny Ramirez to town could actually happen, or is reported as being discussed in a more serious manner than one would think when the Red Sock previously said no thanks to Philly. The implications of this are many, as it would essentially swap a steady, stoic RF with questionable defensive abilities for a steady, eccentric, cocky-as-all-hell swaggercat (that's our term, please request permission to use it) LF with questionable defensive abilities. How much the Phans would embrace the kind of player who is supremely talented but is known to dog it remains to be seen. Quite frankly, Steven A. Smith, we could see this going either way. OF deficiencies could be very conveniently forgotten the first time a Moonshot reaches the leftfield bleachers -- at whatever distance they'll be at next year -- to cap a 9th-inning rally. That is what M to the R brings to the table.

Another ramification is, of course, who plays where in that OF? Being that Pat Burrell and Ramirez are both LF guys, someone has got to jog over to right to shag fly balls. What's the over-under on when in the season Brett Myers would first roll his eyes at a ball in RF he thought could have been caught? I am guessing, second start, first inning. Or, do the Phils turnaround and deal Burrell as well, this time for a pitcher? Bad baserunning is not enough to send a guy packing, but needing to win more one-run games certainly is and all those Pat the Bat 9th-inning strikeouts (ask about our name) has got to weigh on front office minds. It is an interesting quandary -- play one guy out of position or deal the guy who is a good friend to your new CF. Granted, this is all based on a story in the NY Post, but that's how these things start sometimes. It's certainly more plausible (and considerably more welcome) than the Eskin reported Bobby Abreu for Jason Schmidt move, a disaster waiting to happen for the Phils.

Dealing Abreu seems more than possible at this point. Dealing both corner outfielders seems almost inconceivable. Then again...

Fly us to the Moon, Manny.

The Old Billy Buhrooooooooo

2005-12-01T00:27:00.000-05:00

Oh, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy....

While it's been awhile since we held Billy Wagner's character in high regard, we had taken him for a fairly good poker player the last few months. So, imagine our surprise when he goes and shows us that he's really just the kind of gambler who does not know when to hold'em or when to fold'em. At least there's time enough for counting the money, now that the dealing's done.

Wasting no time at his introductory press conference with his new club in Flushing (as in, the sound of money going down the toilet in huge chunks), Wags called his own pitches approximately in this order: one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one...you get the idea. For a guy who was so happy to go to New York, who was "finally ready," who is now nice and close to his farm in southern Virginia, who has the best chance of his career to be on a winner (Houston, we have a problem with memory), lucky #13 sure had a lot to say about his former player. Sounding like a spurned ex-lover, Wagner sang every variation and remix of the "just don't feel appreciated, nobody wanted me, I want the best for my family, it's not about the money" medley the human ear can take. Good Lord, get over it already.

There are too many revelations about this story to go through -- from the Phils offering exactly what Wagner asked for back in 2003 only to see the ante upped repeatly for no apparent reason to conflicted reports about who offered what when -- but let's concentrate on two of Wagner's claims which show him to be a fraud saying anything to justify his wants to himself and presumably anyone in the Delaware Valley still listening:

#1: Wagner on his new (would have been) teammate:

"While the Phillies were getting rid of one guy, the Mets were buying up talent, and that's hard to overlook." The "talent" Wagner referred to is slugger Carlos Delgado, whom the Mets picked up the same day the Phillies traded Jim Thome to the White Sox last week.

This is by far the most insulting comment Wagner has ever let out of his one-pitch mouth. To Wagner, signing one guy to a big contract is a commitment to winning, while trading one guy with health problems and a younger, equal replacement for a world series champ ring-wearing regular and two hot prospects is simply getting rid of a guy. Aaron Rowand should tape this comment to his locker because it's a slap in the new Phillie's face. Forget that Rowand would be a defensive improvement in back of Wagner, how about the fact that getting young arms is exactly what a team committed to winning does?

Truth: Wagner was uncomfortable with the Thome trade becasue as a 34-year old vet, youth movement, even if it improves a club, is not in his interest. How much do you want to bet that Wagner took one look at the Thome trade and thought "if I sign here, that could be me"?

#2: Wagner cancels phone call:

Wagner was so impressed with the Mets' offer that he had his agent cancel the conference call with the Phillies, who, sources say, were ready to raise their offer and add a fourth-year option. "I knew they wouldn't match all the Mets had done," Wagner said of his decision not to speak one last time with the Phillies. "They were still worried about age and all that stuff organizations worry about."

It's tough to reconcile this line of thinking with real events and basic logic. The Mets behind the Phils last year, they were not as good a team. After speaking with Gillick a few weeks ago, Wagner and his agent were "encouraged" by the new GM and the direction of the team. For team to truly be concerned with winning, it has to make rational decisions based on multiple lines of reasoning. Spending is not a line of thinking. Worrying about "all that stuff that organizations worry about" is exactly what organizations are supposed to do. Who wants to work for an organization that doesn't consider that stuff? Isn't that the very quality assigned in the dictionary to the term "ignorance"? If Wagner has such contempt all of a sudden for his former employer's commitment to winning, why would he ever have entertained re-upping with them in the first place? Or is Gillick the guy who's not committed to winning? Surely, Wagner wouldn't hold a grudge against an organization for a guy they've since fired? Doesn't firing the mistake show a committment of some sort?

Truth: When hearing that the Phils could go to a fourth year on their offer, Wagner had Stringfellow cancel their call before the Phils could offer because the last thing he wanted was for the Phils to take away his best reason for walking. Having previously said that all things being equal, he'd like to return to Philly, that would not have been good for his M.O. or his leverage with the Mets.

So, blowhards like Howard Eskin and their incoherent contempt for the Phils front office can have their day of haughtiness. This was really the only move the Phils could make and sleep at night. Have a good 2006, Billy, because being an underperforming vet with a big contract is no fun in any town. Give Mike Piazza and his $16 million/year a hollar to talk about that one.

Start Spreadin' the News

2005-11-28T17:31:00.000-05:00

thank god. now, where are our draft picks in return?

4 Months and Counting

2005-11-28T12:30:00.000-05:00

CL has secured a ticket to opening day, 2006, April 3 versus St. Louis at 3:05.

Anyone else going?

Bravo / Encore

2005-11-27T23:21:00.000-05:00

Last week's deal of Jim Thome was exciting, a revelation not to be overlooked in the annals of Phillies offseasons. It brings to town a type-A personality and everyday break-a-legger, something the team has been short on the last few years. Rowand has already said all the right things, already mentioning the same walls Mr. Lofton didn't go anywhere near, including comparing the Cit to a cathedral, while phans across the Delaware Valley probably snuck in a quick prayer session between Thanksgiving and this week's latest football farce. Amen.

But we knew all that already, right? Well, perhaps, in reading between the lines, as we all are wont to do -- especially in November, right? -- it could realistically be reasoned that two more very important items have revealed themselves.

One: Pat Gillick is a pro GM. Granted, that's not much of a stretch, so maybe we should amend that and say, Pat Gillick is a pro GM now and capable setting an agenda and following it. case in point: the quest to deal Thome apparently started through Cleveland, with Patty G establishing the bidding at "outfielder Coco Crisp, top pitching prospect Charles Lofgren, and another prospect." Sound familiar? It's exactly the deal Gillick got from the White Sox, a starting CF and two stud minor league arms. Whatever charm, charisma, or acumen that Gillick has, it served him well as he somehow dealt from strength while actually existing in weakness. However he did it, he went to Cleveland, was heard, and then peddled his papers elsewhere, appealing to Sox GM Kenny Williams' love of aging stars. Our new GM is not at the dinner table, he's more accurately cooking, serving, and enjoying the spread. Let's eat.

Two: Going more out on a limb, it seems almost a lock that, should there be one more deal this offseason, it will absolutely not involve Pat Burrell. Besides being the only right-handed power bat in the lineup and all that tactical stuff we already have been over, Burrell is a guy the team has already lived and died with over the past few seasons. Somewhere in the front office, the suits probably think that should this team make the playoffs and hit its stride, they would want Burrell to be a part of that story. In fact, on the Rowand trade, Burrell was part of that story too, quoted as saying "This town will go crazy for this guy. He'll run through anything. He'll be great here, tremendous. He may be the next Lenny Dykstra here." OK, so out of all the players on the team, we have Burrell's opinion, which involves a well-loved CF from yesteryear. Remember, Dave Montgomery's e-mail after the season which stressed the future and named a few players thought to be the embodiment of that future? In much the same way, CL maintains that Burrell's presence in this story says the same about his future here. Sure, Burrell and Rowand are apparently friends of years, but what does it say about this year's home run derby champ that his thoughts this off-season are nowhere to be found? Burrell, for all his flaws, is much closer to the heart of this team than many people probably realize. A laid-back California boy who is frequently spotted out at the city bars and is reputed to be fairly approachable, he represents both the promise of this team these last few years along with its incredible struggles. CL would not be surprised to find out that Pat has been written into the opening day line-up already. In ink.

Meanwhile, Bobby has been invisible; outside the rumor mill, of course. That, along with his fear of walls, probably means he's just not a Gillick guy. I expect he'll be moved by Opening Day.

A Day at the Races

2005-11-25T03:19:00.000-05:00

Shouldn't that read "one horse's ass race?"

Well, I am betting that the Mets win this race, while the Phils merely place. In fact, if they show, even better.

There are other races to watch.

The First Day of the Rest of our Phillies Lives

2005-11-24T21:31:00.000-05:00

This is definately one time when we don't mind admitting that we were wrong. About a month ago, in the beginning stages of this blog, CL went out on a limb and predicted that Jim Thome would not be moved until after not only the start of spring training, but the regular season as well. This was based on nothing scientific, only the overall culture Dave Montgomery has presided over since the late 90s, the seeming aversion to big trades, and new GM Pat Gillick's own admission that he was going to take time to get to know everything and maybe do this here or there. All of this added up to slow progress.

Or not.

With the trade of Jim Thome before Thanksgiving, just days after a front page profile of him ran in the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer -- how's that for a conspiracey? Gillick must have known he was getting close and possibly let a beat writer or two in on the knowledge -- the Phillies have begun what could very well be one of the most engaging offseasons in club history. And begun it well, thank you. This is good for many reasons, not least of which being that their division mates seem to be following suit. The Marlins are unloading, the Mets are opening their pockets, and the Braves are the gold standard taylors for making annual alterations. In sending their former franchise cornerstone to his hometown along with an envelope of cash, the Phils welcome their newest starting centerfielder to town (as opposed to last week's newest starter there) along with two highly-touted left-handed pitching prospects into their farm system.

As is generally agreed upon by both Phils bloggers and Southside Chi-town web gurus, both teams appear to have addressed weaknesses through these trades, but the NL almost certainly made out better. The two prospects were apparently rated #3 and #6 in the White Sox's minor leagues, including a barely-out-of-his-teens, projected ace southpaw with good K numbers at single-A ball last year. At the top level, the team appears to have added its 6-slot hitter for next year, and one with a large patrol area in centerfield. Based on this trade alone, Gillick has proven himself to be the guy the Phils needed right now to turn things around right now. Three players for one is hard to beat.

The move is not without its side effects though and they are pretty obvious: along with the acquired, the team has a surplus of players in the outfield, including two very expensive corner starters and two very inexpensive role players in center. Add to this a few highly-regarded minor league outfield prospects and you have a legit logjam both short and long term in the grass at CBP. With pitching still an unaddressed need, it stands to reason that another off-season move could bring a live arm to the mound for the price of one near the fences. Burrell should be safe as the only right-handed power in the lineup. Will it be the high-priced Abreu, the displaced former CF starter Victorino, or the perennial odd-man out Michaels? Sounds like Bobby has been shopped, inquiries on Michaels have been stopped, and plans to start Victorino have flopped. What happens from here is anyone's guess. It could be that Gillick himself doesn't know. Whatever it is, CL humbly suggests that Endy Chavez is thrown in.

One wildcard to the deal: In Jim Thome, the organization had a stand-up guy who liked to play in Philadelphia. No one can say yet for certain that Aaron Rowand, a Chicago Bears fan who was visably disappointed to leave the windy city, will feel the same. Here's to hoping he doesn't lose that willingness to run through walls.

King of the Jungle

2005-11-18T18:31:00.000-05:00

Bill Lyon, the sports columist to end all sports columnists, is retiring from his post at the Philadelphia Inquirer after a career spanning, well, the entirety of my life. His work was immensely vital to the shaping of this (still?) young writer's mind. It was Lyon's friendly pacing of prose that a young GR shamelessly aped during his career-starting stint as a sportswriter for the Lancaster New Era and Sunday News back in the 90s. Therefore, I left a comment in the forum which reads thusly:

Bill-
Thanks very much for your work. It's probably not the most prudent thing to bring up, but your career service is the same as my age. I imagine that, like other young 30-something sports fans, reading your column became more and more of a given over the years. Growing up in the Lehigh Valley, I remember through my teens thinking "this guy probably has the best job in the world in the best sports town in the world." Of course, I have no idea whether or not that's actually true, but looking back, my sentiments were probably more due to your consistant quality of writing than any single game or season I witnessed. Between your style and your residence, you seemed to have everything a sports-minded writer like myself could ever want. On a personal note, I learned more about how to use words from your consistant output than I ever did in any classroom, newsroom, or bookroom. So, for that, I thank you.
Enjoy your retirement, you've earned it.

-gr

Anyone who does not appreciate or is not familiar with Bill's effortless style of writing should read probably one of the best columns ever written, a eulogy for the man who created the greatest comic strip of all time about a boy who continued, no matter what, to play the greatest game of all time.

The greatness of Bill's writing cannot be fully explained. It must be experienced.

Put Me In, Coach

2005-11-18T12:01:00.000-05:00

Right now, Shane Victorino is batting lead-off for Team USA in the Olympic Baseball qualifying tournament and smacking the ball every which way, it seems. And, according to words uttered on Daily News Live yesterday, the starting centerfield job for your 2006 Phils is Victorino's to lose.

Hail to the Victorino.

A seemingly small move like this represents just how different this Phils club has become in the last month. When in Ed Wade's eight-year tenure do you remember someone up-and-coming being given this kind of confidence vote in the off-season, especially over a "proven veteran"? Perhaps the days of Gregg Jefferies and Kenny Lofton are gone, although the later certainly provided ample value last season, his injury and lone gunman way of life nonwithstanding. Maybe this will eventually be a club with a little more fluidity through the ranks, with recent stars like Burrell, Myers, Utley and Howard having paved the way for a mini-renaissance.

The truth is, the best full-season player in AAA last year deserves this shot and it might not be much of a stretch to grant such a prospect that kind of shot. But before we all get haughty and hesitant, attaching Marlon Byrd's name as a qualifier to every sentence on the subject, it bears mention that GM Gillick has announced this "move" 5 months before the start of the season. Again, Wade would be and was miscast in this part. Gillick is a guy that seems to have a very clear mind on how to establish an organizational culture from the top down. As I type this, his 68-years-of-age isn't entering my mind every five seconds. His energy is actually palpable. I feel good about next season already. His blue-chip Rule 5 prospect provides more youth, presumably at the top of the order, and is every bit as promising for a good year as anyone else the team could conceivably bring in to fill the spot. At a discount price, to boot. After all, if you don't trust your best prospects to produce, why even have a farm system to begin with? While it's certainly possible that it may not work out, it's a prudent move nonetheless and crosses one more thing off the list of gotta-haves this off season. CL likey the decision almost as much as we likey the timing. Go win the gold, Shane, we've got a spot waiting for you when you're back.

A small grey lining in the whole thing is the continued repression of Jason Michaels from the/a starting lineup. From J-Mike's perspective, it must be incredibly frustrating to be regarded as a bubble player for so many years, but the flipside, little consolation though it may be, is that the Phils might have one of the best fourth outfielders in the majors. All the more reassuring to know that Endy Chavez, should he remain on the squad, is still at the bottom of the depth chart.

New York State of Mind

2005-11-15T17:56:00.000-05:00

I call it accidental arrogance. Or, I would if I thought it was accidental. The wancors in the New York media provide the tweak of the day, getting CL just a bit perturbed by their item on Billy Wagner. With the Metropolitans in hot pursuit of the Virginia Ham, city meets country in every aspect of stories filed over the past week. In some cases, you can't get past the headline, without running head-first into some allusion to the yocal coming local.

Never-you-mind that this tour of the city will include southern Connecticut and West Chester County New York (did his initial visit to Philly in '03 include Malvern and King of Prussia? Certainly the 422 bypass will wet his appetite for staying in the Delaware Valley). So much for the cosmopolitan aspects of the upper West Side or the bohemian charm of the Village. My man wants a yard, fellas.

But, to be honest, that's not why we're irked. No, its more a case of the Big Apple, in time honored tradition, ignoring its junior partner in the mid-Atlantic, leaving our City of Brotherly Love to rock itself to sleep at night alone. Its a case of ignoring the last two years of history.

It's plucking the best closer in the National League from us and the Daily News not even having the common courtesy of running a file photo from the last two years with the story. That's right. Apparently, the Mets are signing Billy Wagner straight from Houston, as if his tenure with the Phils is nothing more than an abberration, as if the big city team is ashamed their new star ever spent time in the east coast's second city.

Thanks for the memories.

Tidbits ('Tiddy Biddies' for Snoop Dogg fans)

2005-11-14T16:38:00.000-05:00

-Does anyone have a subscription to Baseball America? If so, let us know what they say about the Phils' top 10 prospects.

-On this day in 2001, Larry Bowa was named NL Manager of the Year. The unfortunate side effect of this one-year genius of Bowa was three more years of Bowa.

-In more serious matters, Tim McGraw's song "Live Like You Were Dying" was named song of the year Thursday during the 11th annual Inspirational Country Music Awards Show. Though McGraw didn't actually write the song, it obviously resonates given the passing of his father, the irrepressible Tugger, last year.

-Ryan Howard is in danger of becoming soft, hanging out with the likes of Todd Pinkston. Someone get that kid some tougher friends.

-On the lighter side, its also the birthday of Lionel Simmons, the beloved L-Train.

Manny Being Money

2005-11-10T11:43:00.000-05:00

For any of us who entertained the idea of the Phils acquiring Moonshot Manny to be our new clutch slugger and swaggercat in leftfield, the whispers appear to tell us this much: dream on. It doesn't take an Aerosmith fan to realize that this deal was most likely pie-in-the-sky thinking. Sighing, very much sighing.

It sure would be great to have that kind force in the middle of the lineup - one that inspires in opposing pitchers actual fear; one that snears first at delivery, then again after depositing that delivery somewhere on the avenue. His temperament and lack of defensive skills nonwithstanding, he is THE premier right-handed slugger in the game. Imagine hearing this on opening day: batting 3rd, Utley; batting 4th, Ramirez; batting 5th Howard. In this park? Are you kidding? Suddenly thousands of red t-shirts with #24 on the back would be crawling through the south Philly confines, many of them attached to female fans us single folk would lear and oggle for too long. IT MUST BE SUMMERTIME!!!!

Alas, if the reports are true, it's not what the moneyman would want, regardless of his friendship with former skip and current local general Charlie Manual. He would nullify such a trade. His $18 million contract probably would throw a wrench in things as well, even if one of the current Phils' big boppers were moved in his financial entirety in kind. Whether or not it would be a wise move, its sad in this regard:

Why not, Manny? Why not us? We have the bars, the nightlife, the foolish devotion and passion, the city history, the sports drought, even the homer-friendly park. You can even have your own fan group in the tradition of Thome's Homies, the Wolf Pack, the Padilla Flotilla, Burrell's Girls, and Lieberthal's Neanderthals. Imagine looking up every at bat to see Manny's Fannies!

Tell us what you want: your own sandwich? An open tab at the Turf Club? Private booth at Delilah's? WHY WON'T YOU LOVE US?

Painful.

One last thing

2005-11-08T15:37:00.000-05:00

This is just a note to say that football will never be discussed on this blog.

Next question!