http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/21350 Recent articles about Lincoln Holdzkom en-us Phillies: *Another spring training gone past and yet more Rule 5 causalities for the Phils. The forever dumpster diving Pat Gillick tried to find cheap "talent" via the Rule 5 draft again this offseason, but alas Lincoln Holdzkom and Travis Blackley proved to not be talented at all, much like their counterparts Ryan Budde and Jim Ed Warden from 2007. *Lefty journeyman Vic Darensbourg and Independent Leaguer Gary Knotts were assigned to the minors. Personally I think Vic would do better than Condrey, JD Durbin, or whatever trash Gillick plugs into the final bullpen spot, but I suppose he'll have to prove himself as an Iron Pig first. *Youngsters having a go of it this spring- toolsy outfielder and 2004 1st round pick Greg Golson posting a .429 average and a 1.143 OPS. Shortstop Jason Donald with 7 at bats, 2 homeruns, 6 rbi...not too shabby. Rising pitching prospect Drew Carpenter 4 shut outs innings against the Yankees yesterday. *Chris Snelling (out of options) and Wes Helms (out of talent) are still battling for a roster spot. Right now the roster looks to be set with positional players: C- Ruiz, Coste, 1B- Howard, 2B- Utley, SS- Rollins, 3B- Feliz, UTL- Bruntlett, Dobbs, and, OF- Burrell, Victorino, Jenkins, Werth, Taguchi. I don't quite understand carrying either of these guys on the roster, especially not in the case of giving up a 12th pitcher. *Speaking of 12th pitcher, here's the staff right now: starting rotation- Myers, Hamels, Moyer, Kendrick, Eaton, and relievers- Romero, Gordon, Madson, Condrey, Chad Durbin, and JD Durbin. That's correct, that bloody wanker JD Durbin looks to be heading north with the club, that same JD Durbin of 4 losses, 8 homeruns surrendered, and a 12.33 era this spring. Gillick WTF?!?!?!? *There are rumors swirling that Patty G could make a last minute move and swap Wes Helms to the Giants for lefty Steve Kline or to the Reds for lefty Mike Stanton. Waiver wire possibilities include lefties Aaron Fultz and Tim Byrdak and righty Rudy Seanez. Personally I'd take any of them over JD Durbin. ____________________________________ Pirates: *Reliever Tyler Yates was acquired from the Braves for minor leaguer Todd Redmond. Redmond will likely become a 20 game winner for the Braves in the future, while Yates will continue to suck despite the change of atmosphere. *Apparently Tyler Yates is God's gift to the pitching kingdom, because following the trade pitchers Juan Perez and Byung-Hyun Kim were both released with Jaret Wright being reassigned to the minors. *All of America was gravely concerned with the battle for PNC centerfield, and the winner has been named Nate McLouth. Nice try Nyjer Morgan, but McLouth has potential McDonald's advertising campaign written all over him shall he become a star. *Masumi Kuwata, a Japanese import last season, decided to hang up his cleats and call it a career. No offense to him, but the Pirates won't be missing him. *What does every low-budget team need in order to rise out of the ashes like the phoenix? A can't miss pitching prospect. No! A slugging position player who can put the offense on his back and carry the team. No! A light-hitting glove-sturdy firstbaseman. Hell Yes! Doug Mientkiewicz has officially made the Pirates squad...please hold your applause. Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:47:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/219941 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/219941 Tracking the springs of Rule 5 picks Travis Blackley and Lincoln Holdzkom has made me think back to other Phils that were Rule 5 picks. Recently there was Fabio Castro (who we acquired midseason in a trade), Shane Victorino (we offered him back to the Dodgers, but they passed...idiots!), and then way back in the early 90's to Dave Hollins. We actually selected Hollins in '89 from the Padres, while the Phils sat through a horrible rookie showing from him during the '90 season- .184 batting average over 72 games. Dave fit right in with the rest of the 1990 Phillies though, because they all left a bad taste in your mouth like eating a urinal cake (the cake part is misleading). After his horrific rookie campaign which was really a year of protection on the 25-man MLB roster that he should have spent in the minors instead, he came back with authority and posted a .298 average while playing himself into a starting 3rd base role for the '92 season. Hollins went on to place 20th in the NL MVP vote in '92 and play an integral part of the fabled '93 teams success while also being named to the All Star team. After that he suffered some injuries and was really never the same player again, eventually getting traded to the BoSox midway through '95. From 1995 on his career was a whirlwind, being shipped from city to city. In '96 he began the season with the Twins and was later traded to Seattle for David Ortiz (yes the Big Papi David Ortiz). From 1997-98 he stayed put with the Angels then went on north of the border to Toronto in '99, took a season off in 2000, came back with the Indians in 2001, and ended with the Phils who signed the washed-up shell of Dave Hollins for a final hurrah in 2002. During spring training of '02, he was bitten by a spider (believed to be a brown recluse) which aggravated his diabetes and he only was able to collect 17 at bats that final season posting an ugly .118 average. Hollins career line: 983 games, 578 runs, 870 hits, 166 doubles, 112 homeruns, 482 rbi, 47 sb, .260 avg., and a .778 OPS over 12 seasons. He played predominantly 3rd base, but saw time at 1st base too. He was also a switch hitter that mashed lefties like they were a red potato. Hollins' nickname was "Head", which was bestowed upon him by John Kruk because of his psycho tendencies. Of note, he's Jason Weitzel of BeerLeaguer's, favorite player. ___________________________________ Spring Fling: *A representative from Random House Publishing contacted me and they're sending me a copy of Chris Coste's new book The 33-Year-Old Rookie for free. *Kris Benson threw 57 pitches over 4 inning in a minor league game yesterday, bettering his chances at helping the Phils sooner rather than later. *Scott Boras sob story Kyle Lohse finally signed yesterday with the Cardinals for 1 year and slightly over $4 million...should have taken the bigger contract Patty G offered you, schmuck! *I've never mistaken Cole Hamels as the definition of "healthy", so the fact that he's battling flu symptoms is not a surprise to me. Let's just hope this flu doesn't turn into a busted arm. *The Phils finally turned in a W after 9 innings yesterday, beating the Reds 10-7. It was an ugly win though, as Moyer got rocked for 4 runs over 5 innings. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:00:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/198204 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/198204 *Grand Pappy Moyer has been named the #3 starter, meaning Kyle Kendrick will slot into the 4th spot with Brett Myers already claiming ownership of #1 and Cole Hamels playing bridesmaid. Since when did naming the #3 starter become such a big deal? I understand the hoopla surrounding the #1 starter because he gets to open the season, but after that so what? Who will land the coveted 5th spot...well, I can assure you it won't be Johan Santana. *Rule 5 pick Lincoln Holdzkom has been granted free agency. He was offered back to the BoSox, but they didn't have room on the 40 man roster for him, so he becomes a free agent. Reports have him signing a minor league deal with Philly and going to the minors. *Brad Lidge must have visited a witch doctor or faith healer because he'll soon be ready for game action and may just yet be ready for Opening Day after all. *Phillies spring record: 4-10, sounds eerily similar to past April starts. Some disheartening spring era's: JD Durbin 9.64, Travis Blackley 8.22, Kyle Kendrick 16.43, Joshua Outman 9.45, Carlos Carrasco 9.45, Chad Durbin 7.20, Cole Hamels 12.60, Adam Eaton 15.75, Tom Gordon 13.50, Joe Savery 10.80, John Ennis 27.00, and JC Romero 9.00. Most of us knew pitching was going to be a struggle, but thought our prolific offense would carry us...not so much so far. Abysmal spring averages: Geoff Jenkins .171, Jimmy Rollins .133, Pat Burrell .214, Chase Utley .214, Wes Helms .217, Jayson Werth .190, Ray Olmedo .125, Chris Coste .200, Jason Jaramillo .083, TJ Bohn .111, Brad Harman .167, and Matt Cervenak .000. Come Opening Day all of these crap-o-rific stats are erased, but I must admit the Phils "success" in past Aprils doesn't lead me to believe that these stats are a fluke altogether either. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 06:11:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/195498 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/195498 Things were quiet from Phillies camp yesterday as they relaxed on an off day. They did make one minor move, taking Rule 5 draftee Lincoln Holdzkom off their 40 man roster, making him a free agent. Since he was taken in the Rule 5 draft, the Phillies had to offer him back to his original team, the Red Sox, who refused Holdzkom, making him free to sign with any team. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:05:17 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/194064 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/194064 Private Matters: 1. What to do with Wes Helms? The man is a butcher at 3rd base, meaning his only real position is 1st base, but his bat failed miserably in Philly last season and caused the dynamic duo of Patty G and Rube to cast their line for the big catch of Pedro Feliz. This leaves good ol' Wesley without a spot on the 25-man roster and the Phils need to trade him...but nobody seems to want him. 2. Who fills out the bullpen? Five men are assured spots- Brad Lidge, Tom Gordon, JC Romero, Chad Durbin, and Ryan Madson. However, things get very dicey after them, and there's even the slight chance that Durbin snags the 5th spot in the rotation. The competition: wild fireballer with upside Francisco Rosario is out of options, Jars of Clay Condrey is good at times and abysmal at others, Fat Mike Zagurski is still recovering from injury, non-roster invitee and darkhorse candidate for second lefty Vic Darensbourg, Thee Model Dictator Fabio Castro, Rule 5 pick Lincoln Holdzkom, the enigma of JD Durbin, Pirates unwanted treasure Shane Youman, fallen prospect Joe Bisenius, recovering Scott Mathieson, and the improbable John Ennis. I say trade Chris Snelling and Wes Helms for some bullpen help! 3. Who is the 5th starter? We've got Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Kyle Kendrick, and Grand Pappy Moyer written in permanent ink for the rotation. Not sure who to pencil in for the last spot though. The competition: fan favorite and comeback player of the year candidate for '08 Adam Eaton (I just blew up the sarcasm meter), Rule 5 pick Travis Blackley (also an Aussie- yeah BloodStripes!), previously mentioned Chad and JD Durbin, and newly signed Kris Benson. Jose Mesa Where Art Thou?: Born Jose Ramon Nova Mesa, or more fondly referred to as Joe Table, has yet to latch on with a club and it's already spring training. The alleged 41 year old seems to have more lives than Contra (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, b, a, select, start), so it's in the realm of possibility that it's only a matter of time before he pops up in someone's camp...I just hope it's not the Phillies. Mesa has already had two tour of duties with the Phightins and neither was particularly that great, although I will acknowledge his 102 saves for us. If he's looking for a reunion, he should go suck up to one of his other ex-teams (Orioles, Indians, Giants, Mariners, Pirates, Rockies, or Tigers). Honestly though, it's probably the end of the road for Mr. Table, and it's been a long bumpy road with 1022 career games and 321 saves...guess he's really not as bad as I make him out to be. Click on URL for full article and classic pictures. Sat, 16 Feb 2008 05:42:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/145234 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/145234