PHILLIES: Free Agency Updates

Not much in the form of big news yet when it comes to the Phillies, or really all of baseball, and free agency.

While it usually doesn’t heat up until around the time of the Winter Baseball Meetings (Dec. 6th-9th in Orlando, FL), things seem to be moving abnormally slow this year.

With that said, here are the updates surrounding the Phillies at this time.

: Jayson Werth, for the time being, is still a member of the Philadelphia Phillies organization. We would be crazy to think this will stand though. It has been reported as most recent as Thursday that there is a “slim to zero” chance that Werth will stay. That had to be expected though. Expect the Red Sox to be the front-runner for the RF’s services, while the Tigers, Dodgers, and Angels could be interested as well.

: With Werth most likely out the door, the search for a right-handed bat to platoon with Dom Brown is on. Names such as Aaron Rowand (remember him?), Jeff Francoeur and Matt Diaz have been surfacing around for a little while as potential candidates. However, the most recent name, Jermaine Dye (per FOX Sports’s Ken Rosenthal), may be the most intriguing candidate. Even being a year removed from the game, and having some defensive liabilities when he did play, I can’t say I would mind seeing him in RF in Citizens Bank Park from time-to-time next season.

: As stated in my last post, the contracts of Greg Dobbs, J.C Romero, and Jamie Moyer were not renewed. Nothing has changed on that front, as each player is still considered a free agent. Quick update on Moyer. It looks like he will finally be on his way to retirement, as he was sent back to Philadelphia earlier week for a MRI on his previously injured left-elbow after feeling discomfort while pitching Winter League baseball in the Dominican. Not quite the end that we imagined for the now 47-year old southpaw, but I don’t think he’ll have much trouble finding a job in baseball as a pitching coach if he does decide to hang up the cleats.

: To make up for the departure of beloved 1st Base coach Davey Lopes, the Phillies another fan favorite to the coaching staff. On Wed., former Phillie Juan Samuel was hired as the team’s 3B coach, while last years 3B coach Sam Perlozzo will now move to 1st Base. Samuel played for the Phillies from 1983-1989, and was inducted into the Wall of Fame in 2008.

: From a minor league perspective, the Phillies farm system has also been quiet. The organization has signed two new players (SS Carlos Rivero and 2B Pete Orr) to minor-league deals. In addition to that, they have also resigned C Dane Sardinha, who hit .205 with 3 HR in spot duty with the Phillies but spent most of the season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, to a minor-league deal as well.

PHILLIES: Off-Season Questions

By now, you know the grim reality.

The Phillies we unable to make it to their 3rd straight Fall Classic. They were outplayed and beaten by a group of castoffs that compromised the San Francisco Giants roster, a team that eventually won the World Series against the Texas Rangers.

To sum up these chain of events, it’s actually quite easy. The Phillies did not deserve to have a chance to win there second World Series in 3 years. In addition to out-performing the undisputed most talented team in the National League, the most surprising element of the series was that the Giants were clearly more motivated than the Phillies.

What does the future hold for the Philadelphia Phillies?

It was almost like you were watching the 2008 Phillies when you saw the Giants and how they performed on the field. Opportunistic, clutch, always able to come up with the big play, manufacture that one run, or come up with that big pitch, a team who had not been to a World Series in eight years dismantled a Phillies team who was expected to roll to the World Series based on their overall talent and experience. In terms of comparing this Giants team to the ’08 Philadelphia team that won the title, their NLCS run was awfully remnicent, in regards to their play and their approach, to how the Phillies took apart the heavily favored Dodgers in 2008.

Well that, and both teams had one common link that helped carry them to victory.

The one, the only, Pat Burrell (and his .143 BA this postseason).

All jokes aside, while it still irks me that Burrell and Cody Ross (who was on the Marlins of all teams three months ago) are celebrating a World Series title while the city of Philadelphia is not, the show must go on.

The show, in this case, is the off-season.

Here are 3 questions the Phillies need to answer before Spring Training starts.

1. Will Jayson Werth be the starting RF for the Phillies on opening day?

Is Werth worth it? In this case, if his rumored asking price for a long-term deal is true (15-18 mil a year for 4-5 years), I am inclined to say no. I think the Phillies will echo that as well, especially with Domonic Brown, the #1 overall prospect in all of baseball in 2010, waiting in the wings. With letting Werth go, and implementing Brown as the starting RF imposes a clear lineup imbalance (over-abundance of LH hitters), a possible platoon for a year with Brown and another RH hitter (Ben Francisco, John Mayberry Jr., or a FA) seems to be economical move, and in my opinion, the right one. Unless Werth is willing to take a paycut (11-13 mil a year over 3-4 years), the most popular player (at least according to the female demographic) on the Phillies will no longer be able to call his home Philadelphia come the 2011 season.

2. Which members of the 2010 roster will no longer a member of the club come 2011?

If Werth goes, who else will join him? Just a couple days into the off-season, we likely know a couple of those names. The Phillies front office decided against exercizing the contract options SP Jamie Moyer, LHP J.C Romero, and UTIL Greg Dobbs, while the contract of 1B coach Davey Lopes was not renewed. With Lopes gone,  Moyer  likely headed towards the retirement home, and Dobbs to the minors,  the only one who even has a chance to come back is Romero, who would have to take at least a 50% paycut and and accept a 1-year deal. Don’t really see Romero as one who would make many concessions when it comes to something like that.

Outside of Romero, Moyer and Lopes, there are only a couple Phillies who are not locked up in long-term deals they could hit the highway. For all those that think SS Jimmy Rollins and OF Raul Ibanez may be on their way out, don’t. That’s not going to happen. Well, at least not this year. The starting lineup outside Werth is almost guaranteed to remain the same. The bench, predicting that the contracts of INF Wilson Valdez, 1B Mike Sweeney and 1B/OF Ross Gload will be renewed, should stay the same as well (although I think they will add an outfielder who specializes in hitting LHP pitching). As of right now, the pitching staff is where the most turnover could be. While the starting rotation seems to be set outside the 5th starter spot, there are four names that could potentially be on other teams at the start of the season.

RHP Chad Durbin (FA)

RHP Danys Baez (Outright release)

RHP David Herndon (Trade/Outright Release)

SP/RP Kyle Kendrick (Trade)

My prediction on this. Even though Baez under contract, I believe he has the highest chances out of the four of not being on the roster due to an extreme lack of productivity this year. And that’s putting it kindly. Outside of that, I think it’s likely that the Phillies bring back Herndon and Kendrick because they are as both under contract as well, and if Durbin is willing to take a one year deal, he should be back as well.

3. Are the Phillies to old?

If the Phillies playoff roster happens to be the 2011 opening day roster, with Brown supplanting Werth and the addition of John Mayberry Jr. as a utility OF who hits right-handed, they will still only have seven players (out of 25) under the age of 30. That will make them the undisputed oldest team in baseball. Now with that, they aren’t THAT old.  There are 3 players who will be 30, and Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins will all be 32 years of age or under, which means that they should be still within the prime of their respective careers.

The point I’m trying to make is that while the Phillies aren’t a kernel of puppies by any stretch of the imagination, they aren’t a softball team at an old age home either. With the way the contracts lay out though, there are not many ways they will get any younger throughout the season. A large majority of the current big league team is, as I said before, under contract, and even if the organization wants to get younger, the Phillies traded away a good majority of their pro-ready prospects in deals to acquire Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Roy Oswalt in the past year and a half.

So to answer this question, I don’t think the Phillies are too old right now, but it’s also clear that they aren’t in any position to get any younger.

As long as they win, age won’t be an issue.

PHILLIES: Breakdown of Trade Rumors

Been a pretty crazy last 48 hours if I do say so myself.

Kyle Kendrick gets optioned to Triple-A, Jamie Moyer gets hurt and placed on the disabled list, Phillies fall to seven games back in the NL East, and last but not least, ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE.

Well, everything except the last one.

Sort of.

Only three games over .500 at the end of July, the hands of the Phillies organization are reaching towards the panic button, and slowly but surely, reaching to push it (and for good reason). With Kendrick and Moyer out of the fold for presumably the rest of the season, that leaves THREE pitchers (Halladay, Hamels, Blanton) who can be deemed as starters based on their big league careers. As most of you know, a normal major league pitching rotation is usually satisfied with FIVE pitchers.

By means of basic subtraction, that means the Phillies have TWO spots they have to fill.

Unless he is dealt, for the time being it looks like one of those spots belongs to J.A Happ. After pitching three scoreless innings with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, Happ was abruptly pulled from his start vs. Indianapolis. In his postgame press conference, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said that Happ “will be helping us”. Can’t be too sure what is meant by that, especially when it is said by the Good Ole’ Southern Boy himself, but  for the sake of the post, the likelihood of Happ being on a plane to St. Louis as the Phillies potential starter on Saturday night against Colorado is high.

The second spot, well, that’s not so clear. By process of elimination (No Moyer, No Kendrick, No Carpenter), that spot belongs to..VANCE WORLEY. Not really a household name, so if you don’t know him, that’s okay, you can keep your fan card. With a 9-3 record at Reading this year, Worley being added to the big league roster instead of one of the stockpile of pitchers at Lehigh Valley completes the unusual move of promoting a Double-A pitcher straight to the majors for his big league debut.

Unusual, yes it was, but it does happen. Unfortunately for Worley,  it may not get that far.

When Moyer went down with a “strained” left elbow around 8:45 P.M ET Tuesday, that was most likely the cue for GM Ruben Amaro to get on the phone and begin to take the steps on pulling the trigger on a deal to obtain a top-notch starting pitcher that has been speculated about for the past two months. And low and behold, by the end of the night, talks with the Houston Astros to obtain ace SP Roy Oswalt were considered “hot and heavy” by multiple sources, including ESPN Baseball Insider Jayson Stark and FOX Sports Baseball Columnist Ken Rosenthal.

So is Oswalt to the Phillies a done deal?

Probably not, there are multiple obstacles.

The biggest one: Oswalt demanding that his potential new home pick up his $16 million option for 2012 is probably the biggest one.  When all is said and done, that could be too steep of a price for the Phillies who will also have Joe Blanton ($8.5 Mil in 2012) under contract and will most likely try to resign Cole Hamels after a 2011 season where he will be making $9.5 million.

That’s a lot of money to be invested in three arms that are not relatively fresh by MLB standards.

Plus, it’s not like money grows on trees. Well, unless you are the New York Yankees..

Also, Ruben Amaro and company seem to have a contingency plan if the Oswalt deal falls by the wayside.  The Phillies are reportedly in talks with multiple teams about acquiring Arizona’s Dan Haren, Oakland’s Ben Sheets, or Baltimore’s Jeremy Guthrie. Truth be told, a deal for any of these pitchers might be more attractive than Oswalt at the end of the day because of a lower asking price and cap-friendly contracts.

With all that has been speculated recently (players at the four main levels of organization have been mentioned) on what the Phillies would have to give up, it’s almost impossible to predict who could be in the deal when a deal is done (and it will be done). However, what we do know is that it is going to take a collection of players, most likely three or four in total, and lastly, another team (Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox have been said to be interested) to help facilitate a trade that would bring Roy Oswalt (or Dan Haren) and prospects to Philadelphia. All things considered, I still think they are leaning towards that kind of blockbuster deal rather than a one-year rental on Sheets, Guthrie, or Jake Westbrook.

With that said, here’s the breakdown of who has been mentioned and how they factor into a possible trade for a top-notch starter.

WHAT THE PHILLIES WILL MOST LIKELY HAVE TO GIVE UP

Possibly 1 Everyday Big Leaguer: Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez

1 or 2 Guys who are MLB Ready (or close): J.A Happ, Kyle Kendrick, Scott Mathieson, Antonio Bastardo, Mike Zagurski, Drew Carpenter, John Mayberry Jr., Joe Savery, Vance Worley

1 Top Prospect: Jared Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, Brody Colvin, Anthony Gose, Phillipe Aumont, Matthew Way

One of the players who is noticeably absent from that breakdown is Domonic Brown. The rationale there is if the Phillies didn’t include him for deals to obtain Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay, then they won’t include him on a deal for any of these available pitchers, especially since his stock has only grown since Philadelphia pulled off a their last blockbuster this offseason.

Now, it’s quite possible that Brown will be moved. Not denying that. However, I’m going to go out there on a limb and say that it will be restricted to just the Phillies clubhouse, where he will prepare to make his big league debut for the organization that has brought him up through the ranks over the last three years.

Even with this estimate though, and the Brown prediction, so many others are fair game. There are 100+ players within the Phillies organization, and maybe 10 have the “untouchable” label that is so difficult to attain.

Then again, Phillies prospect Kyle Drabek was considered “untouchable” this time last year.

And look what happened to him.

Updates will be given throughout the night..

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6:30 PM WED: As reported by Phillies MLB.COM Beat Writer Todd Zolecki, Vance Worley was added as an extra long-reliever, much like Drew Carpenter’s recent 24-hour role with the Phillies. Philadelphia now has FOUR starters (Halladay, Hamels, Blanton, and Happ when he’s added) on their roster. No starter announced for Saturday yet, which was Kendrick’s spot.

11:45 PM WED: Phillies scouts are apparently present for Dan Haren’s start tonight. Not surprising, since CSN’s Jim Salisbury believes the Phillies may stick with what they have in terms if pitching if they can’t get Haren or Roy Oswalt. I still think they get one of the two mentioned, but if that is impossible, there is NO WAY they stand pat. In fact, I’m going to go further. Here are two other names who have popped up in trade rumors because of their alleged availability. Cleveland’s Fausto Carmona and Arizona’s Edwin Jackson.

PHILLIES: 10 Questions at the All-Star Break

Out of all the things that are up for discussion, debate, or argument regarding the first half of the Philadelphia Phillies 2010 season, one thing is for certain.

They went into the all-star break on a high note.

Sure, they may have only scored two runs combined in their final two games, and Roy Halladay may have pitched a nine inning shutout and got a no-decision in the outing, but the end result saw four game sweep against the NL Central leading Cincinnati Reds, with Phillies and the hometown fans at Citizens Bank Park being the beneficiaries of three consecutive walkoff wins.

Do the Phillies have enough resiliency to return to glory?

Not bad for a team that has dealt with more injuries than any team in professional baseball not named the Boston Red Sox, a six-week offensive slump, and had their season literally hanging on life support last week after losing a series to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates

On paper, the Phillies may look like they have underachieved for the first half of the season. As the NL champs and frontrunners to return to another World Series, being in third place and 4.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East with a 47-40 record going into the break doesn’t live up to expectations. However, if you have watched this team or read The Philly Phour, you understand that their is a common silver lining when you take into account all that is happened in the first 87 games. Looking at the reasons stated previously, things could obviously be much worse. Taking into account the injuries, the slump in May/June, and the three losses to Pirates last week first hand, it’s honestly a miracle that Phillies are still in contention at this point of the season.

It’s even more of a miracle that they have done all this without trading away half their farm system in a panic move.

With the roster from the last two years still basically together and getting healthy, and coming off four straight wins against a top-tier NL team ,  it’s difficult to predict what will transpire in the next 75 games. There are still so many questions that reside with this team, and it’s future for the second half of the season.

10 Questions

1. Will the Placido Polanco and Chase Utley get back in time to help resurrect the season?

2. Can the Phillies offense start giving Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels more run support?

3. Will Ryan Howard regain his power stroke without sacrificing his near .300 batting average?

4. Will the underachievers (Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez) start playing near the all-star level they are capable of?

5. Will the overachievers (Kyle Kendrick, Brian Schneider, Wilson Valdez, Jamie Moyer) be able to keep playing at the level we have been accustomed to seeing during the first half of 2010?

6. Speaking of Moyer, will his 47-year old arm be able to hold up down the stretch?

7. Will Ruben Amaro pull the trigger on a trade to acquire a UTIL infielder, bullpen help, or a top/middle of the rotation starter?

8. Can Brad Lidge find some form of the consistency that was present in 2008?

9. Will the Phillies organization decide to part ways with a member of the Phillies outfield trio (Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez) to make room for phenom Domonic Brown?

10. Can the Phillies stay healthy?

If the majority of the answers, especially the last one, are YES, then I still am confident that the Phillies will come back, win the NL East for the 4th straight year, and make their third consecutive trip to the Fall Classic.

Whether that happens or not, it’s going to be a entertaining next couple months if you are a Phillies fan to say the least.

PHILLIES: Walkoff Winners

Not much time to spare here at Penn State during Arts Fest, so unfortunately, I have to make this post relatively short.

Via the walkoff longball, the Philies have won their last two games against the Cincinnati Reds in dramatic fashion to say the least.

While the end result was the same the last two nights at Citizens Bank Park, the trips to these finishes couldn’t have been more different.

On Thursday night, the dramatics clearly could have been avoided. Runs given up from Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge in the 8th and 9th inning respectively ruined another solid outing by Kyle Kendrick, and gave more proof that the Phillies needs at the trade deadline are far greater than just a utility infielder and a middle of the rotation starter. In the end of it all, both Madson and the much maligned Lidge were bailed out by an unlikely source, Brian Schneider, who with his leadership and overall solid play (not even considering the walkoff) has really has justified Ruben Amaro’s decision to sign him as the primary backup to Carlos Ruiz when many teams thought his career was over.

On Friday night though, from the standpoint of a Phillies fan, the dramatics were encouraged and needed. Down 7-1 going into the 9th inning and with the way the season has gone so far, no one in their right mind could have imagined the Phillies winning that game. No Chase Utley, no Placido Polanco, no offense for the first eight innings of the game, no chance right?

It’s probably good no one relayed that negative (and somewhat justifiable) mindset to Greg Dobbs and Cody Ransom.

The three-run homerun by the new and improved Dobbs and the game tying two-run game tying HR by the recently called up Ransom capped off a stretch of six unanswered runs for Philadelphia and tied the game up at seven apiece, making it the largest deficit the Phillies have come back this season. After another unsung hero, Nelson Figueroa, pitched a crucial two-inning stretch for his second consecutive game, the stage was set for a usual suspect to finally deliver. Ryan Howard, on a breaking-ball thrown by All-Star LHP Arthur Rhodes (not usually the best situation for Howard), showed why he will join Rhodes on that NL All-Star team. With one swing of the bat, Howard sent shockwaves through Citizens Bank Park, as his two-run blast capped off an improbable comeback gave the Phillies their second walk-off in as many days against first-place caliber team.

While it remains unclear what impact these last two games will have on the rest of the season, after seeing the jubilation on the faces of those that were once a few days ago so dejected (Shane Victorino in particular), is appears that the “swagger” that Jamie Moyer and Charlie Manuel said was missing from the team after the Phillies 2nd loss in three games to the division-leading Atlanta Braves on Wednesday might in fact be back after a season-long hiatus that has seemed like an eternity.

It’s about time.

PHILLIES: Is Jamie Moyer An All-Star?

As the manager for the NL 2010 all-star team, Charlie Manuel is going to have one heck of a decision to make when picking out his starting rotation for the game that will take place on July 13th in Anaheim.

In addition to the usuals such Ubaldo Jimenez, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Tim Lincecum, Roy Halladay and Johan Santana, the National League has a couple other starters that should be in consideration for an all-star nod from Manuel and the rest of the NL coaching staff when the selections are made.

What about Josh Johnson? The Marlins ace gets marginal run support at best, but yet is still 8-3 and ranks 6th in IP among NL starting pitchers. Even better, Johnson’s ERA (1.83) is second in the NL, a ranking that is only behind Ubaldo Jimenez in that category.

What about Mike Pelfrey? The Mets righty has arguably been the best pitcher on his staff to this point of the season. Statistics agree.  Pelfrey’s win total (10), and  ERA (2.71) are among the top 10 in the NL, and most importantly, are both better than his teammate, Johan Santana.

What about Stephen Strasburg? The rookie may only have three wins, but his dominance and record strikeout pace (41 K’s in 25.1 IP) has allowed him to live up to hype that no player has ever had to live up to before. Plus, he has given Nationals fans a reason to show up to games every fifth game. That alone should get him into the all-star game.

What about Jamie Moyer?

That’s right, JAMIE MOYER.

Does Jamie Moyer's 2010 resume warrant him a trip to the 2010 All-Star Game?

While his 4.30 ERA is nothing to write home about and his outing against the Red Sox two weeks ago (1 IP, 9 ER) may be one of the worst performances this year by a starting pitcher, Moyer is basically playing with the houses money at this point. Due to the fact that he barely made the starting rotation out of spring training, and is approaching social security status, he is doing more with that money than anyone else his age has done previously. As the oldest player baseball at 47 years old, Jamie Moyer is tied for 4th in the NL in wins with nine, a total that ties him with Phillies ace (and Cy Young Candidate) Roy Halladay. Keep in mind, Moyer has won nine or more games before the all star break TWICE (2001 and 2003). In both those seasons, Moyer went on to win 20 games.

Is it likely that Moyer, at his age, with a fastball which has a speed that wouldn’t even get you pulled over on most interstates and highways, will achieve those numbers and make the all-star team to boot?

Probably not.

But, I am going to play devil’s advocate on this one.

If Charlie Manuel and company decide to do the unthinkable, and give Moyer the nod ahead of some of the superior flamethrowers in the game, they might have a compelling argument. Unlike some of the frontrunners such as Halladay, Lincecum, and even Jimenez, Moyer is probably pitching the best he has all season right now. Besides that slip-up in Beantown, Moyer has won his last four decisions, going 7+ innings in each start (one complete game). In addition his stats and recent pitching performances, Moyer’s presence in the all-star game could provide an interesting challenge for the AL hitters. Could you imagine facing an Ubaldo Jimenez 90-92 mph CHANGEUP in during one at-bat, and then a Jamie Moyer 81 mph FASTBALL during the next?

I know I couldn’t.

VOTE FOR JAMIE!

PHILLIES: Tazing, Moyer’s Masterpiece, RIP Robin Roberts..

“DON’T TASE ME, BRO!”

In the 10-month history of the The Philly Phour, we’ve touched on a variety of topics and concept besides sports. Facial Hair, Bad Genetics, New Years Resolutions, Religion, this list goes on..

However, we now have another one to talk about.

Tazing.

Over the past week, there has been an absolute media firestorm over an incident at Citizens’ Bank Park on Monday that ended up with a 17 year-old kid being tasered by a ballpark cop in front of 45,000 fans after streaking (running, but with clothes on) across the field. As of 7:00 PM the night after, it was the top searched story on both Yahoo and Google, and was one of the top read stories of the day on both ESPN and CNNSI websites.

Well, I can’t say I saw this one coming. But when it comes to the city of Philadelphia, I guess anything is possible.

The real issue here is..WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?

How can people take issue with a cop using proper force to restrain a fan that is crazy enough to run onto the field during a game? While it turns out that this 17 year old kid was virtually harmless, the cop has no way of knowing if the kid is drunk enough, stoned enough, or crazy enough to make do something more stupid than running on the field during a professional baseball game. Who knows, that kid could have had a bomb attached to his chest, and if that were the case, the cop would have been viewed as a hero for saving the lives of innocent fans, not have his job on the line like he does now. The point is, the cop had no way of knowing what the kid was capable of, which is why he had to treat that specific case as serious as any other, regardless of his age or demeanor.

Besides, what’s the difference between tasing someone, and tackling a kid to the ground and dragging him off the field by physically assaulting him in the process?

I think I’d personally rather get tazed.

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER

We all knew Jamie Moyer was old, but his age was put into perspective on Friday night. With his two-hit, complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves, the 47-year old southpaw became the oldest pitcher in baseball to pitch a nine-inning scoreless game in major league baseball history.

How does he still do it?

What a job by Moyer. This masterpiece was put together the same guy who was sent to the bullpen for the playoff run last year and was battling for the last spot in the starting rotation this spring training. For me personally, my respect for Moyer runs deep because he is a homegrown Philadelphia product (Souderton High School Product), who has pitched in four decades without overpowering stuff and by mastering the art of pitching, something that players with incredible pitching tools (countless examples) still cannot not do. It’s crazy to think that his first CG shutout was in 1986 with the Chicago Cubs, two and half years before this Philly Phour writer was born, just shy of 24 years prior to his gem Friday night.

In the future, Moyer will make a tremendous big league pitching coach. Maybe even a big league manager. But for the time being, a guy who at his age should be relegated to a couch or at best bench or bullpen coach duty is now second on the team in wins (4), and has played a huge role in keeping the Phillies afloat without two regulars in the starting rotation (J.A Happ and Joe Blanton) for the better part of the last month.

And to think a groin injury almost forced the ageless wonder to retire at the end of last season..

Crazy.

RIP Robin Roberts

Sad to hear about the passing of one of the “Whiz Kids”. One of the most recognizable figures in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies. As much as I would like to write about this, being 21 years old, I don’t think I would do the legend justice but just analyzing some of his career statistics. I’m going to leave you with some words from Phillies Columnist Paul Hagen, who summed up the legacy of the 2nd winningest pitcher in Phillies history (behind Steve Carlton) perfectly in an article published a day after his death.

PHILLIES: J-Roll to the DL, Other Injury Updates, Pitching Struggles

As stated in the last post, it wasn’t a question of if Jimmy Rollins was going to be placed on the 15-day D.L with a strained calf. It was when it was going to happen.

The answer?

Rollins will spend at least 15 days on the bench due to a strained right calf

The Phillies placed Rollins in the disabled list retroactive to April 13th, making him eligible to on April 30th against, who else, but the Mets. While he is only slated for a two week D.L stint, it has been rumored that this calf injury may take closer to a month to heal, so don’t expect J-Roll to come back until at least the first week in May. In the mean time, utility infielder Juan Castro will start in his place, and the Phillies have already called up Wilson Valdez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley for insurance.

Rollins’s injury just adds to the list of injured Phillies players just two weeks into the season. While Rollins and Jayson Werth have battled the injury bug when it comes to position players, the majority of the damage has been done to the pitching staff. Brad Lidge, Joe Blanton and J.C Romero have all been on the D.L since the start of the season, and it appears that J.A Happ now may miss his next start due to forearm soreness, an injury that bothered him at point of his rookie season last year.  If Happ does end up missing his next star, my guess is that the Phillies will go with a four man rotation, or have Andrew Carpenter brought up from Lehigh Valley to fill that void. In terms of the return of the walking wounded, a return for Blanton is nowhere in sight, while Lidge and Romero are each “progressing” when it comes to their respective rehab processes.

I put “progressing” in quotes because it depends what you call progress. While Romero is already up at Lehigh Valley and may be back by the end of the week, Lidge has been inconsistent in his first two rehab appearances, showing a live arm (fastball clocked at 91 mph and a slider in the mid-high 80′s) but also a lack of production (gave up four runs in an innings work last week while rehabbing at Single-A Clearwater). It may be a week or two, but when Lidge is back in a Phillies uniform, he will most likely take the closers spot from Ryan Madson, who is a perfect 3 for 3 in save opportunities.

But that’s a discussion for another day.

Even if Lidge comes back nowhere close to his 2008 form, I still have to say that it will be a boost to the Phillies pitching staff when he joins the active roster.  Outside of Happ, Madson, Jose Contreras, Chad Durbin, Cole Hamels of sorts (2-0, 5.06 ERA), and of course Roy Halladay, the pitching has been suspect to say the least. While Nelson Figueroa and Danys Baez have been inconsistent (7.71 ERA for Baez) and Antonio Bastardo has been productive but has had some issues with his control (1 BB per inning), both David Herndon and Kyle Kendrick struggled mightily adjusting to life in the big leagues, and Jamie Moyer has had difficulty regaining his strength after an off-season of surgeries to repair a torn groin. Whether Lidge will succeed or not is another question, but just getting that familiar, veteran face in the bullpen, someone who has saved 41 straight games at one point of his career, will undoubtably send some sort of positive shockwaves through the clubhouse, especially for those who have been struggling.

One last note.

If the Happ injury lingers, and the status of Joe Blanton remains to be unknown, look for the Pedro Martinez rumors to heat up.

Remember, it wasn’t so long ago that Pedro when the Phillies names Martinez the #2 starter for the 2009 World Series.

PHILLIES: Howard for Pujols Swap, Final Roster Thoughts, Countdown

IT’S OFFICIAL!

The Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols swap that Buster Olney reported last week is..never going to happen.

This is not a personal attack on Olney’s reporting skills, because I’m sure he was correct by saying it was talked about in the Phillies clubhouse, because I’m sure it was. However, the concept, or dream for that matter, of obtaining the best player in baseball (Pujols) is something that undeniably comes up in every clubhouse, the Phillies not being any different.

On the surface, it may make sense. Ryan Howard, a two-time MLB All-Star in the prime of his career returns to his hometown of St. Louis as part of a trade that sends the player who may go down as the best player in Major League Baseball history packing for the City of Brotherly Love.

Wow, would that make some headlines or what!

A Pujols for Howard swap is unlikely to say the least.

In all seriousness though, the possibility that this deal may happen before both players become free agents at the end of the 2011 season  is just as likely as the Washington Nationals winning a World Series by that time. While the Phillies seem like the perfect trade partner, due to the fact that they have more money than the Cardinals to satisfy Pujols’s demands of his next contract (should be the largest in MLB history) along with having Howard on their roster, who would possibly take a hometown discount for his next contract to play in his hometown for the rest of his career, it’s just to complicated of a deal to actually have a chance to go down.

Here’s the case that I am making against this deal for the Phillies..

First of all, the deal has flawed logistics on both sides. As it stands right now, Ryan Howard is making more money than Albert Pujols. Crazy, I know. I’m sure that won’t be the case come 2011, but for the Cardinals to think that they can’t afford Pujols but CAN afford Howard is extremely far-fetched, hometown discount and all.

Minus the financial hoopla, for the Phillies, the main question is why. Why would they make this deal? Sure, the allure of having the best player of baseball on both sides of the diamond is tempting to say the least, but this deal would surely have the capability to disrupt the chemistry of a team who has already gone to the last two Fall Classics, without Pujols.

Lastly, let it be known that Ryan Howard is not just a role player that you can replace. Yes, the critics say that he  may strike out an inordinate amount, or make an error in the field that leaves you dumbfounded at times, and to that they are right. But, to them, I say this.  At the end of the day, when the schedule reads “Game 162″,  Howard’s 40+ HR’s and 120+ RBI’s have been among the leagues best every year since he became a full-time starter in 2005. Along with his production, his presence both on field and in the community and strong chemistry with Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and company has been vital to allowing the Phillies to reach the status of a potential dynasty.

You can’t expect anything more out of your cleanup hitter.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE

The Phillies are a little over a week from solidifying there 25-player roster to start off the season, and pretty much everything is working out the way it should. Minus the decision on the final spot in the starting rotation, everybody’s position on the team is pretty much set in stone. For everyone who thought that Dominic Brown had a shot to make the opening day roster, I think his demotion to the minors after a 2 HR performance earlier this week shows that those within the organization feel that their 20 year-old #1 overall prospect needs a bit more seasoning.

Herndon will mostly likely be the most surprising addition to the Phillies 25-man roster

While Brown’s demotion made the headlines, the real surprise of this projected list was not who was left off the roster, but who will most likely be on it.

If you didn’t know who David Herndon was at the start of this month, I wouldn’t have blamed you. The Rule 5 pick and 2006 5th round pick of the Los Angeles Angels, who most people inside baseball circles will tell you did not figure into the Phillies plans at the start of spring training, has pitched himself into a envious position, as he will most likely make the opening day roster as a situational reliever in the bullpen. While his stay in the big leagues may be shortlived, as Brad Lidge and J.C Romero are due to come back from their injuries around the time of opening day, Herndon will most for all intents and purposes join the loser of the Kyle Kendrick/Jamie Moyer battle for the 5th starter’s spot, Jose Contreras, Chad Durbin, Antonio Bastardo, Danys Baez, and Ryan Madson in the bullpen for at least the start of the season.

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS

12 Days until Opening Day..

PHILLIES: Week One Spring Training Recap

We are almost a month away from Opening Day, and already, just a week into Grapefruit and Cactus League play, there are some rumblings coming from Clearwater that may have an impact when looking at the Phillies 25-man roster when they march into Washington to start off the 2010 campaign. Here are three things that can be taken from the opening week of Spring Training.

1. Kendrick vs. Moyer

Can Kendrick's Spring Training performance be the deciding factor on the final spot in the starting rotation?

This may not be the Battle of Gettysburg or anything, but this battle for the fifth and final spot in the starting rotation has arguably the main daily headline coming out of Phillies’ camp so far this Spring Training. On one side you have a 47-year old ageless wonder with 250+ wins and a professional baseball resume that dates back to before all four writers of The Philly Phour were born. Crazy, I know. On the other side, you have a ex-rookie phenom, who with a new and improved arsenal of pitches, could in fact be entering the twilight of his career at the age of 25, something you certainly can’t say for the first candidate. With that said, while Moyer’s body of work certainly makes him the favorite to retain this position that he held for much of the 2009 season, in this first week of Spring Training action, Kendrick has elevated the level of competition in this battle. As an obvious beneficiary of 2 months of training with Roy Halladay, Kendrick’s 5 scoreless innings of work less far has not only generated a certain around Brighthouse Field, but has left little margin for error for Moyer, who is slated to pitch his second “B” game tomorrow while still recovering from off-season groin surgery. I know many are expecting the man making a cool 8 million a year (Moyer) to prevail, but look for this battle to develop into a full-fledged war in the next two weeks, especially if Kendrick’s dominant performance continues.

2. The Prodigal Son

If somebody would have asked any baseball insider to name the player who would lead the Phillies in BA, hits, total bases, and outfield assists at this point of Spring Training, I doubt that Dominic Brown would be mentioned before the likes of Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez, and Jayson Werth, but when you look at the 2010 Phillies Spring Training stat sheet, the Phillies #1 overall prospect stands alone on top. Brown, who at the age of 20 is far from a finished product, has been reckoned to the likes of 5-tool players of the past such as Daryl Strawberry (without the drug use), making him a top-20 prospect in all of baseball. Brown undoubtably has some expectations to live up, since the Phillies decided to choose him over former top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek when trading for Roy Halladay, and may not get a chance to live up to them this season sitting behind three 2009 all-stars on the depth chart. However, if this prodigal son of the Phillies’ organization continues to play at such a high level, a 2010 big-league debut may become a reality, especially if Shane Victorino’s current injury woes continue and the 38-year old body of Raul Ibanez decides to shut down like it did during the second half of last season.

3. Roy Halladay

In a year-long process that ended up sending seven top prospects and the savior of the 2009 playoffs to new destinations, the Phillies finally got the man the wanted in their clubhouse. This same man, in reality, holds the fate of the organizations success for the next five years in his hands (right hand to be precise). Talk about pressure. For Roy Halladay though, who went through the first of many tests as the newest ace of the Phillies this week, the results were promising. Not surprising, I know, Halladay has done that for much of his career, but this test was a little different. In Toronto, he was dealing the with the equivalent of multiple choice questions. In this context, starting in Clearwater, he moved onto essays and short answers, and by throwing two scoreless innings in his first outing and receiving praise from all those around the organization, Halladay could be primary author to the storybook script of the Phillies season when all is said and done.

Other News and Notes:

: J.C Romero, while on schedule, will most likely miss the first two weeks of the season while recovering from off-season surgery.

: Shane Victorino’s shoulder is still being monitored, meaning his playing time will vary for the next week or so. According to all reports, this is nothing more than a precautionary measure, and the Flyin’ Hawaiian will be more than ready for Opening Day.

: While Halladay, Kendrick, and Cole Hamels have all been considered bright spots in camp when it comes to pitching, Joe Blanton and Jose Contreras both struggled in their Spring Training debuts, giving up 9 earned runs combined in just 5.2 innings of work. This is more concerning for Contreras, who should take up a great role in the bullpen, especially in the beginning of the season with the health of Brad Lidge and J.C Romero in question.