Dismantling a Champion

With the losses so far it is clear the Phillies will return to bottom dwellers of the NL East. For sure!

Thanks for playing into my overly sarcastic mood.

where are we gonna find someone to replace the power bat and pinch hitting prowess of so taguchi!?!?!

In the Babe Ruth Leagues...

Taguchi did have one key hit for the team this year though. A double over the Mets right fielder that cleared the bases in a great comeback in Shea. Other than that? Ugh.

or maybe one of the ball girls...

Clearly the bullpen will need a makeover as well. Walrond will be tough to replace. I predict a bullpen ERA of 7.43 in 2009. It was fun while it lasted guys!

Losing Gordon, Walrond, and Seanez is a recipe for disaster...c'mon Rube and do your job!

Seeing all them name sup there brings a smile to my face!

That's the point, I don't view any as a big loss. Seanez was decent as the 12 man on the pitching staff, but he can be easily replaced. Gordon was a mess, Walrond had zero impact, and Steve Smith was a joke of a 3rd base coach.

steve smith gone = larry bowa back at 3rd

At the parade there was a guy in a Jeremiah Trotter jersey by me shouting to Amaro on the float and telling him he needs to "get cranking" this off season and shouting to him "WE NEED A PITCHER!" I said to the guy I says "Dude, we just won the World Series for crying out loud! Loosen up!" Maybe that guy knew more than I did.

Gotta love his forward thinking haha...he was set for the game Sunday AND for next baseball season!

damn it noo phillies now taguchi can sign with the Mets man with him and Pedro Martinez the mets have already won. Tom Gordon is the most dominant closer in MLB how could u let him go.

They gotta resign Pedro first...

mark my words.... steve smith was let go and will be replaced by - LARRY BOWA!!!!

tommy gordon - bum
so taguchi - bum
wes walrund - bum
rudy seanez - dont need him

I'm a huge Larry "Red-Ass" Bowa fan, but there's a -13% chance at him returning to Philly as the 3rd base coach while Manuel is the manager. Those two have entirely different philosophies.

yeah but i SWORE seeing bowa cheer on the phillies during the dodgers series....

Rudy's a bum too! Hes painful to even look at.

Looks like theres a TON of great relievers on the market this year, can't wait to see which pitchers we pick up.

i cant wait to see who the mets are going to pick up and ruin :)

Well rumor has it they're tryin to trade with Tampa for a pitcher...who we'll obviously light up since we OWN Tampa pitching. I just hope it works out as well as when they traded Scott Kazmir to the Rays.

DTRIK - i heard its sonnenstine or however u spell it. id love to see the mets get him, we unloaded on him!!!

ALSO: Mets are hot after F-ROD... i hope not...

After winning the Series in 1980 the Phillies traded away half there team. How did that work out? 13 years before getting in another and 28 before winning another. You would think they would learn!!!

actually, the phils were in the series in 1983 too. good try

It still goes to show how stupid they were to trade half the team after winning the WS!

were not trading anyone valuable away. if anyone, lets hope its adam eaton lol

Amaro isn't really going to dismantle the team. The players that have been let go so far aren't crucial to the team's success.

I hope it stays that way!

Taguchi- He had maybe 2 or 3 moments in 2008 where you said, wow clutch play. He's replaceable, we got that fast kid i forget his name, was called up late in the year. His turn.

Seanez- He definately gave us some good innings in 08, but cmon, the guy is old and who knows what you get in 09 from him.

Moyer- I think they will bring him back unless they plan on going after a Burnett for example. That would be GREAT. I do think Amaro is gonna sign another starter with value.

Burrell- We knew this was coming, should be no surprise. And while losing his bat will hurt a bit, we'll platoon Jenkins and Bruntlett out there unless they sign someone, which is not far-fetched. This one hurts most though no doubt.

Les Walrond, need I say more.

The core of this team is solid, in tact, and in place for years. How can these free agents be compared to Chase Utley, the BEST overall player on a world series Champion. That is flawed logic.

Have phaith people, we got firepower and pitching still. We got the fire to win. And the Phils will make atleast one big signing. Start gettin excited, another run starts in 4 months.

Dobbs can play left too, forgot.