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Halladay Loses Rematch
In what was a rematch of his perfect game, Roy Halladay came out on the losing end Thursday, but mostly due to no offensive support. Philadelphia fell 2-0 against Josh Johnson and the Florida Marlins for their third loss in four games. The Phillies seemed to break out of their recent offensive slump, defeating the Marlins 10-8 Tuesday, but the team was only able to record four hits against Johnson last night.
Despite the loss, Halladay looked sharp. The ace set his team up nicely, allowing only one run in 8.0 innings, and striking out eight. Florida scored on a sacrifice fly from Jorge Cantu to take a 1- lead in the top of the 1st, but Halladay would shut them down over the next seven innings hoping that Philadelphia could break through offensively.
Ryan Howard tried to get something going with a double in the bottom of the 1st, but no one was able to drive him home. Another double from Shane Victorino in the 3rd was for not, sending Philadelphia into the 9th down 1-0.
In Halladay’s relief, Danys Baez allowed a homerun to Dan Ugla, putting Florida up 2-0. Another double would come from Placido Polanco, but his last ditch effort in the bottom of the 9th was not enough to get the Phillies on the board, giving the Marlins and Johnson a shuthout.
Up next, Philadelphia will travel to Boston when they take on the Redsox. Jamie Moyer and John Lackey will go head to head at 7:10 PM.
Phillies Look to the Future
While the Philadelphia Phillies are struggling on the field, they are making some off the field decisions that they hope will help build their future team. On day 1, with the 27th pick of the draft, Philadelphia selected left-handed pitcher Jesse Biddle from Germantown Friends High School.
The local prospect is one of two pitchers chosen by the Phillies. With their second round pick, Philadelphia looked to Ball State’s right hander Perci Garner. The 6-3 hurler has proven to be quite athletic, as he was a back up on the school’s football team in 2007 and 2008.
To follow their two pitchers, the Phillies gave Texas catcher Cameron Rupp the nod. Rupp comes from a strong MLB background, as both his father and grandfather played professional baseball.
Of course the path from the draft into a major league game is certainly a long one, but hopefully one of the weeks selections will work out to help the team in the coming years.
Philly Offense Wins Battle of Pennsylvania
Kyle Kendrick took the mound Monday in Philadelphia’s match up with the Pittsburgh Pirates, looking for his second win of the season. The right hander went 8.0 innings (105 pitches) allowing only two runs, striking out four, and leading the Phillies to a 12-2 victory. The win moved Philadelphia to 24-13 on the season. Read more
Halladay’s Efforts Fall Short
In the first game of a double header Wednesday, Roy Halladay returned home to face his old team in Colorado. The Philadelphia ace went 6.1 innings allowing only two earned runs, but his efforts were for not as the Phillies fell 4-3. Read more
Mets Take Game 1
309 pitches and 2 hours and 54 minutes later, the first of 18 meetings this season is out of the way. The top of the NL East went head to head Friday when the Mets traveled to Citizens Bank Park for a weekend series. The game featured a great deal of offense, but unfortunately, it was not on by the Phillies. New York knocked out four home run, and was able to score 9 runs on 10 hits, for a 9-1 victory. Read more
Clash of the NL Best
Tonight, the Philadelphia Phillies will stay on the west coast, traveling up to the Bay Area to take on the San Francisco Giants. Unfortunately, we will not see Halladay and Lincecum square off, but the match up is still intriguing. Halladay, who is tied for first in the league with wins (4), second in strikeouts (28) and third in ERA (0.82), will take on San Francisco’s Jonathan Sanchez. Halladay and the Giants’ left-hander, who is 1-1 on the season and has an ERA of 1.86, will both be looking to avenge their team’s Sunday night loss. Read more
Trading Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols
The very nature of the idea is straight out of a video game. Trading one superstar for another? It just doesn’t happen in professional sports.
Yet according to sources the Phillies have kicked around the idea of looking into a deal with St. Louis that would send Ryan Howard to the Cardinals for Albert Pujols in what would be the biggest trade in baseball history. The report, which can be read on ESPN.com includes a denial by Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro who said, “That’s a lie. I don’t know who you’re talking to, but that’s a lie.”
To be clear, this deal would never happen. You could line up all the reasons why it would be feasible — including Pujols’ impending free agency next year and St. Louis being Howard’s hometown — but you would be wasting your time.
These things just don’t happen. But it is fun to talk about.
So would you make the move?
They both are the same age, Howard a couple months older, play the same position and are on the fast track to the Hall of Fame. While Howard has emerged as the greatest power hitter in the game, Pujols is widely regarded as the best player in baseball. Both players have are loved by their hometown fans and neither has been linked to performance enhancing drugs.
There is no right answer with this one as you couldn’t go wrong with either player.
But who would you rather have?
Hamels shows old form on mound
I believe it is foolish to get wrapped up in Spring Training statistics, particularly when they come from players who have already secured roster spots.
When a player goes through an 0-for 10 stretch at the plate, it’s not something that gets me worked up, and likewise if a young player goes through a 7-for-10 stretch I don’t jump to the conclusion that the Phillies have the next great thing on their hands.
But once in awhile I see something in Spring Training that holds my attention. Today Cole Hamels did exactly that.
The notion that the Phillies chances of winning a second World Series in three years hinges on Hamels being the pitcher of 2008 and not the sub-.500 one of 2009 has been exhausted to death. so I am not going to go into it. Phillies fans know Hamels has to pitch better and become a strong No. 2 behind Roy Halladay. What they want is to see it.
Today we got a taste.
Hamels retired the first nine batters he faced and struck out four in a 3 2/3 innings appearance in the Phillies 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It wasn’t all good news for the young left-hander, as he did give up a solo home run and walked a pair, but the fact that he was able to find a groove is a good sign for the team. Hamels is experimenting with a couple pitches so he could be excused for some troubles, but they have yet to show themselves this Spring.
It was only 3.2 innings and it’s only Spring Training, but Hamels took a step forward in what will be a long quest to prove that an ugly 2009 is behind him.
It should be noted that while Hamels was showing he was ready to be a top of the rotation pitcher, former Phillies prized prospect Kyle Drabek was giving the Blue Jays a taste of why they traded Halladay. Drabek started the game and pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just a hit and a walk. Not much was hit hard against Drabek as five of the six outs came on ground balls.
Like with Hamels, it is much to soon to predict what this season will hold for Drabek.
But for today, the results were very positive.
Wright thinks Mets will win NL East
I guess this counts as “We’re the team to beat” Part 4.
Like the Phillies, the Mets opened Spring Training action yesterday and it didn’t take the team long to show off it’s confidence for the upcoming season. Despite a 72-90 year, David Wright believes the Mets are World Series contenders.
The following is an excerpt from a NY Post report:
“We’re expecting to go out there and win the National League East and go deep in the playoffs and win the World Series,” Wright said, a day before Mets pitchers and catchers were required to report to spring training. “That is the expectation I’ve gotten from the guys who are here early, and I [expect] this team is to get back to where we are winning the National League East.”
You can read the entire article here.
OK, it’s not exactly the type of verbal jab that Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Beltran have made in the past, but for now it’s going to have to be good enough.
Something was missing last year with the Mets out of the race. Part of what made the two previous NL East titles so great was the way it came down to the last week against a big time rival.
On paper the Phillies should be at least eight to 10 games better than the Mets this season, so the New York-Philadelphia rivalry may be put on hold for another year. Then again, the Mets still have a solid core and a counterpart to Roy Halladay in Johan Santana, so maybe things will tighten up again.
David Wright sure thinks so.
Even though Wrights comments were mild and meant as support for his teammates, the media is sure to run with this story, so expect some type of rebuttal from Rollins and company.
If nothing else, it should give the rivalry a nice kick in the butt after a year off.
Phillies pitchers and catchers report
Roy Halladay is there.So is Cole Hamels.
J.A. Happ? Check
Brad Lidge? Check.
The pitchers and catchers have arrived at Clearwater, Fla., one day earlier than tomorrow’s mandatory date.
According to philly.com every pitcher has reported except for Jamie Moyer and Jose Contreras. (There’s an old persons joke just begging to be inserted with that).
So good news baseball fans; despite the snow that appeared outside our windows today, baseball is ready to get going again.
The only real news of the day is that J.C Romero said he expects to break camp with the team, implying that he will be completely recovered from his elbow surgery and ready to pitch at full strength by Opening Day.
That’s good news for the Phillies, as Romero is the only lefthander in the bullpen that has succeeded at the Major League level.
News will be pouring in over the next few weeks about every player and the Phillies roster. Hope springs eternal for every team this time of year.
For the Phils that hope is real.
It may be snowing outside, but baseball is back.
Rival fan base lashing out at ownership
While the Phillies have locked up their key pieces and brought in the best pitcher in baseball the New York Mets have done little to suggest they will compete this season. The team did acquire Jason Bay and is expecting a healthy return from the likes of Jose Reyes and Johan Santana, but that has done little to ease the nerves of the team’s fan base. The team is short on quality starters, and experience at first base and catcher. Meanwhile Luis Castio is still the starting second baseman.
In the last week fans have seen Ben Sheets, John Garland, Joel Pinero, and Bengie Molina signed away by other teams and now there is little, to nothing left on the market.
Here is a small sample of how Mets fans feel about their organization right now.
“In the final analysis, what the front office has done was cut the budget significantly while saying publicly they will spend what it takes….to just get by. Getting Bay was good, but they have done nothing else but pick up some cheap risk and retreads. Meanwhile our division rivals got stronger. There is no commitment to winning on the part of this ownership. It’s all a ruse.”
“the nats are strasburg and harper away from kicking the mets butt.”
“Why should I pay to see this team play”
“This current ownership and FO would screw up a 1 car funeral. Until they leave and professional management is brought in it will NEVER improve.”
About the ownership: “I wouldn’t trust those idiots to bag a McDonalds order right.”
On the Mets options this season: “1) trade the prospects for the best pitcher they can get
2) throw away this season and play with what they have.”
On the Nats signing Orlando Hudson instead of the Mets: “Awesome!!! You have a player that has wanted to be a Met for the past 2 years now and the Nats make the moves to get him! Yeah.. this team don’t deserve a player like that! The Mets will take the place of the Nats in dead last in the NL East! Way to go Mets! You can thank Omar for his brilliant move on Castillo as to why Hudson is not a Met.”
Season outlook: “This team will be lucky to win 75 games….But you should buy tickets because it is a new Stadium, there will be dedications to some former Mets, Omar/Fred spent 140 Mil, If you don’t go then you are not a “real fan” and the sadistic fans could watch Santana struggle to win 10 games because his team is soooooooo bad!”
It looks like not everyone is excited about Spring Training.
Three becoming the number for the Phillies
For the third time in a week the Phillies locked up one of their starters with a three year deal.
It is being reported that Carlos Ruiz and the team have agreed to an $8.85 million, three-year contract that avoids salary arbitration.
Ruiz joins Joe Balnton and Shane Victorino as members who have joined the three-year club last last few days.
Three has indeed been a magical number for the organization. When the team acquired ace Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays, they singed him to an extension that guaranteed to keep him in town for the next three years. The team then worked quickly to lock up Balnton, Victorino and Ruiz for what they hope will be three more years of success, including this year where they look to make their third trip to the World Series in — you guessed it — three years.
This is great news for Phillies fans as almost all of the starters will be in place until at least 2011 and most until 2012. Given the age of the core there is no reason to expect decline from the majority of the players and improvements are still possible. The one player who has yet to be locked up is Jayson Werth, who could taste the free agent market after the upcoming season. With the payroll already set to pass $140 million and not much coming off the books next season outside of Jamie Moyer’s $7 million it may be difficult to keep Werth, who appears on the verge of stardom.
Baseball is a business and it is impossible to keep all of the pieces together, but Ruben Amaro Jr. has done an excellent job of keeping the large majority of things the same.
Now all that is left is making sure the level of play remains the same.
The signing of Ruiz basically closes the book on the Phillies’ offseason. Last week the team added veteran — and I mean veteran — pitcher Jose Contreras, so the bullpen is pretty much set. I wouldn’t mind seeing another starter added to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation, but with the Phils maxed out on funds, anyone they bring in would be a long-shot at best.
With that said it would be hard to grade this offseason anything lower than a B+ with the only flaw being the decision not to roll the dice on keeping Cliff Lee for one more season and giving the team the best rotation in the game.
Halladay in, Lee out; prospects in, prospects out
Aces coming and going, prospects in and out, who said December isn’t baseball time?
The Phillies have reached an agreement that will bring Roy Halladay to Philadelphia from Toronto in exchange for prospects. Halladay has also agreed to a 3-year, $60 million contract, with a fourth-year option.
Meanwhile, Cliff Lee is headed to Seattle in a move being made to clear cash and restock the farm system.
So is it a good move or bad move? Did the Phillies give up too much or get a steal? Couldn’t the team have kept Lee for the season to form the greatest rotation in baseball?
Let’s discuss.
What the Phillies get: It is rare in sports that a team can acquire a player that is a sure thing. Halladay is exactly that. He sports a career record of 148-76 with a 3.43 ERA and a Cy Young to his record. Consider that all of those stats came in the offense-heavy American League and you can figure Holladay to do even better in the NL. He has never dealt with lingering injuries and consistently gives his team over 200 innings a season. He also had nine complete games and four shutouts last season. In short: He is the definition of a front line ace.
The Phillies also get a bunch of unknown in pitching prospects Phillippe Aumont and right-hander Juan Ramirez, as well as outfield prospect Tyson Gillies. Reading up on these players the verdict is pretty split. Some have said the Phillies basically got back in talent what they gave away to Toronto, while others feel that there is not a player in the bunch with the potential of Kyle Drabek, who is heading to the Blue Jays. Aumont (21) is considered the best of the bunch, but struggled in AA last year going 1-4 with a 5.09 ERA in 15 starts.
What they lose: Cliff Lee became Mr. Philadelphia in his short time with the Phillies. From his workman-like attitude to ability to dazzle on the mound, fans loved Cliff Lee. He did everything and more than the team could have asked for when they acquired him from Cleveland, highlighted by his 4-0 postseason record.
Kyle Drabek is the one prospect that people in Philly have been raving about for the last two years. Drafted in the first round in 2006, Drabek is 19-10 with a 3.70 ERA in his minor league career. In AA ball last here he pled up 150 strikeouts in 158 innings. Amaro always said he would not give up Drabek in any trade, including one for Halladay. He changed his tune and hopefully for the right reason
Michael Taylor was another top prospect and a guy that figured to be a replacement for Raul Ibanez in a couple of years. Last year he hit .320 with 20 home runs in AA, showing the talent the Phillies hoped for when they drafted him in 2007.
Travis D’Arnaud was considered more of a long-term project at the catching position and would have had little chance of breaking through a farm system already stocked at the position.
Verdict: As long as the Phillies can win another championship with Halladay leading the way it doesn’t matter if Drabek becomes a superstar. The Phillies want to win now and Halladay fits that bill. Trading away Lee doesn’t though. The Phillies are sticking to their story that they can’t push their payroll over $140 million but with all of the money made from the past two postseasons there is no reason to believe they couldn’t have scratched out another $9 million for Lee.
In the end, they gave up prospects and got an ace while they also gave up an ace to get prospects. No holes were filled, while none were created. For now one has to give this move at least a mild thumbs up for the fact that the man many consider the best pitcher in baseball is now wearing a Phillies uniform.
Halladay In Philly – Deal Could Be Close
MLB.com is reporting that Roy Halladay is in Philadelphia to take a physical and possibly to try to work out a contract extension. The Phillies would like to have an extension worked out with Halladay before completing a trade for the Blue Jays right hander. Halladay wants to pitch in Philadelphia and will waive his no-trade clause if the Phillies and Blue Jays can work a deal out.
Although it is unclear what package the Phillies are going to offer, one possibility being rumored is that the Phillies would first trade Cliff Lee for prospects and then flip those prospects to the Jays for Halladay. Lee is a free agent after the 2010 season and he has said he wants to test the free agent market rather than sign an extension during the season. Since Halladay has said he wants a trade done before Spring Training, the Blue Jays have likely moved off the package they wanted at the trade deadline when they required both J.A Happ and Kyle Drabek. Another possibility is that a third team has entered into the mix, possibly the Seattle Mariners who would acquire Lee from the Phillies while Halladay would go from the Jays to the Phillies and the Jays would get a mix of prospects from both the M’s and Phillies.
In other news, former Phillie Randy Wolf met the Milwaukee media today after signing a 3-year, $29.75 million dollar deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. Wolf’s contract is the 3rd largest in the club’s history for a pitcher. Wolf was 11-7 with a 3.23 era last year for the Dodgers in a career high 34 starts.
Free Agent John Lackey appears to be close to signing a 5 year, $85 million dollar deal to join the Boston Red Sox. Lackey was taking a physical today so a deal could be close.
Like a trade: Phillies take Schneider, Mets grab Coste
Nothing says “hot stove” like backup catcher signings!
While it’s not the kind of news that will get fans screaming in excitement about another World Series run, the Phillies addressed one of their needs on Tuesday, signing former Met Brian Schneider to be the team’s backup catcher.
While Schneider doesn’t bring much of a bat to Citizens Bank Park, he is a solid defensive catcher and is certainly an upgrade over Paul Bako. It is a homecoming of sorts for Schneider who played his high school ball at Northampton High School, near Allentown.
Last season he was one of the many Mets who suffered an injury during the season and underperformed when healthy. He hit just .219 in 51 games.
However, Schneider is a quality defensive cather, having thrown out more would-be base stealers than any other catcher in the game. While he doesn’t have the arm he did in the early part of the decade, he is sill serviceable.
Speaking of catchers, former Phillies’ fan favorite Chris Coste has traded places with Schneider, signing with the Mets on a 1-year deal. Although he is now playing for the rival of his former team, Coste made it clear that his he never wanted to leave the Phillies.
Below is a brief piece from an interview Coste had with Comcast SportsNet:
“It was the Mets,” Coste said. “It’s the last team I ever saw myself playing for. I knew I was going to accept it, but had to think about it for a few days. It wasn’t my choice to leave Philly,” Coste said. “I never wanted to leave Philadelphia, I will always consider myself a Phillie.”
For those of you keeping score, the Phillies bench now has four residents, with Ben Fransisco, Greg Dobbs and the newly acquired Juan Castro joining Schneider. A replacement for Matt Stairs has yet to be signed.
It is clear that the final bench player must have some pop in his bat (likely an outfielder), since Dobbs, Castro and Schneider do not fit that bill. On Thursday we will look at some of the candidates that could fill that roll.
In the meantime, who do you think the Phillies should add to the bench?
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