http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/642 Recent articles about Chase Utley en-us On the day the Bush administration announced its opposition to tobacco regulation, we honor MLB's big dippers. In collaboration with a fantastic new dip enthusiast site, RipDips.com, we present our favorite players at each position who are unashamed to pack a fatty on national television. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:59:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294464 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294464 I just wanted to take a moment and personally thank Jerry Manuel on behalf of every Phillies fan out there for taking Johan Santana out of last night's game. Santana was cruising along last night in complete control of the game. Through eight innings (105 pitches) he had given up eight hits but only two runs. The Phillies just could not get anything going and looked dead. Then the Mets' manager decided to do the Phils a favor and didn't bring Santana back in to finish out the game in the ninth inning, instead opting for Duaner Sanchez. The Mets were up 5-2 at that point and the Phillies had appeared so lifeless all game, I for one wasn't optimistic they were going to be able score no matter who was on the mound. Sanchez then loaded the bases without getting a single out. So long Sanchez (0.0 IP, 3 ER, INF ERA). In comes Joe Smith. With the bases loaded and Carlos Ruiz at bat, I was sure we were about to see a game ending triple play. I've said repeatedly that the best way to get the Phillies out is to let them load the bases and Ruiz has become known as the "Rally Killer" among the Phillies' faithful. Little did I know but the Mets' pitching was so bad last night that they actually allowed Ruiz to not only not hit into a triple play (although let me be fair here, Ruiz tried very hard to hit into a double play, but was helped out by a showboating Jose Reyes who tried to make the out at second all by himself and failed), but allowed him to get his second hit of the game. That's right. As soon as Ruiz got his second hit (and even an RBI!) I knew the game was in the bag. Smith (0.0 IP, 1 ER, INF ERA) exits stage right. In comes Pedro Feliciano. The other indication that the game was in the bag for Phils? So Taguchi not only got a hit, but drove in two runs to tie the game at 5. Ruiz and Taguchi, an unbeatable combination. After giving up the game tying hit to Taguchi, Feliciano gave up a double to Jimmy Rollins, scoring both Ruiz and Taguchi. Chase Utley would then ground out, moving Rollins to third. Pat Burrell is intentionally walked, then Ryan Howard grounded out to the pitcher, scoring Rollins. Out goes Feliciano (0.2 IP, 2 ER, 90.00 ERA). In comes Aaron Heilman who would eventually get the final out with no more damage done. Johan Santana: 8 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2.25 ERA Mets' Bullpen: 1 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 54.00 ERA Thank you Jerry Manuel. ShareThis Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:00:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294364 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294364 July 22, 2008 Pat Gillick, Senior Vice President & General Manager Philadelphia Phillies Citizens Bank Park One Citizens Bank Way Philadelphia, PA 19148-5249 Dear Mr. Gillick, With the recent trade for Joe Blanton from the Oakland Athletics, it has become apparent that the Phillies are not going to acquire an "A List" starting pitcher. I understand that the Phillies just did not have the prospects to get the deal done with the Cleveland Indians for CC Sabathia, and it seems that the Seattle Mariners' asking price for Erik Bedard is just too steep. Rich Harden is obviously no longer available as he was recently traded to the Chicago Cubs, although I do not understand why he is not a Phillie right now considering the Athletics received better prospects for Blanton than Harden. Regardless of why the Phillies were unable to land Harden, it is now irrelevant. What is important now is that we focus on the deals that can be made, and that means Matt Holliday and Brian Fuentes. It has been widely reported that the Colorado Rockies are interested in dealing the pair to the Phillies for centerfielder Shane Victorino, top pitching prospect Carlos Carrasco, catching prospect Lou Marson, and pitcher JA Happ. That certainly seems like a lot to give up, and it is. With Victorino, the Phillies would be losing a quality defensive centerfielder, as well as a switch hitter with some serious speed. Victorino, despite not having as good a season as we all would like, is still a very versatile player that can lead off, hit second, or deeper in the lineup when needed. Most people balk at the idea of trading away a catching prospect because Chris Coste is already in his mid 30's and Carlos Ruiz has been an all around disappointment. This is not an area of serious concern, however, as one of the Phillies' other big prospects is Jason Donald, also a catcher. The Phillies can afford to trade away Marson. Happ was good in his brief stint in the majors this season, but has also had his share of ups and downs. He is a promising young pitcher, but is the type of player you have to give up to get players the quality of Holliday and Fuentes. The obvious big chip here is Carrasco. I can understand your reluctance to part with the top pitching prospect in the organization, especially since there is not a lot of pitching depth in the minors, or the major league club for that matter. Carrasco, however, is the key to the deal. By trading him you lose a lot, but you also stand to gain a lot. Rather than dwell on Carrasco and what the Phillies lose by trading him, I'd rather focus on what they gain by acquiring Holliday and Fuentes. Let us begin with Brian Fuentes. For starters, Fuentes provides the Phillies with that much needed second left arm in the bullpen. As the only left hander in the pen, J.C. Romero is relied upon more than is probably healthy. Fuentes will be able to carry some of that load and take the pressure off Romero. Likewise, with 101 career saves, Fuentes can step in and get a save once or twice a week to give some time off to all star closer Brad Lidge. He would also take the pressure off of Tom Gordon as the 8th inning set up man. Fuentes is arguably more important to the Phillies right now than Holliday. That's not to say that Matt Holliday wouldn't be a huge acquisition for the Phils. As you already know, Holliday is batting .338 this year with 17 home runs and 58 RBIs. Add on top of that 13 stolen bases and you have one of the most complete players in the major leagues. Holliday has hit over 30 home runs in each of the last two seasons and is well on his way to eclipse that mark again this season. The most impressive aspect to Holliday's game is his ability to hit for average despite being one of the premiere power hitters in the league, hitting above .300 in every season of his career except his rookie year in 2004, when he hit a paltry .290. Since it is apparent, as I said before, that the Phillies are not going to be able to land that ace starting pitcher, then you need to position this team to outhit their opponents. This team currently has the type of pitching that will at the very least keep them in every game. With the addition of Holliday, it would give you a starting lineup that looks like an all star roster. Here's an example of what a Phillies' batting order could look like: SS Jimmy Rollins 2b Chase Utley RF Matt Holliday 1B Ryan Howard LF Pat Burrell CF Jason Werth 3B Pedro Feliz C Chris Coste P Cole Hamels Mr. Gillick, I think that that lineup speaks for itself. This is the year that the Phillies have to go for it as the National League is the weakest it's been in year. The only contenders this year are the Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, and by default the Arizona Diamondbacks. That's not a list of teams that are going to make the playoffs; that's a list of teams that are any good in addition to the Phillies. The Phillies need to put themselves into a position to make it to the World Series this year and not worry about four or five years from now. With the aforementioned lineup, and the number of talented pitchers eligible for free agency this coming off season (including Sabathia and Ben Sheets), the Phillies can put themselves in a position to win and compete for the World Series for at least three more years. That is why you need to pull the trigger on this deal and bring Matt Holliday and Brian Fuentes to Philadelphia. Sincerely, Jonathan Atwood HSP Senior Writer Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:33:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294074 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294074 The Mets and Phillies play a three-game series at Shea starting tonight. I still have nightmares thinking about how the Phillies crushed the Mets dream of a National League East pennant last year. Last year the Mets could not take care of business with the Phillies. The Phillies were a cockroach the Mets could not kill. I'm not one of these Mets fans that hate the Phillies. The Phillies have been terrible for so long, I take pity on their fans. I have two friends, Duff and Tim, who are life long fans of the Phillies. Duff grew up with a Bake McBride poster over his bed and Tim owns an autographed jock strap from Larry Bowa. Tim likes to wear the jock strap into the office when he has to make an important presentation. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:34:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293967 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293967 Tonight starts the biggest series of the year for both the Phillies and the Mets, as they face off in Flushing for a pivotal three game set. They come in to tonight's game tied for first place in the National League East with matching records of 53-46. The Mets are riding a hot streak of 8-2 in their last 10 games, while the Phillies are an uninspiring 5-5 during that span. The winner of this series will solidify themselves atop the NL East by at least two games, if not three. The loser could ultimately find themselves in third place in the division, as the upstart Florida Marlins loom just a game back of first place. Despite being shut out last night by the fourth place Braves, the Marlins are a team that could make a run at any moment. Pitching tonight, and making his Phillies debut, is Joe Blanton (0-0, 0.00 ERA), recently acquired from the Oakland Athletics. He will face off against Mets ace Johan Santana (8-7, 3.10 ERA). Santana's record is not what you expected it would be when he was traded to the Mets from the Minnesota Twins this past off-season, and he has not pitched as well as expected, but that record is in large part due to a lack of run support. Over the past thirty innings, Santana has an ERA of 3.30, 25 strikeouts, and only 12 walks, but only one win. Offense, however, has not been a problem during their recent hot streak. Over the past 10 games, the Mets have scored 52 runs, while only giving up 29. Over the past week, third baseman David Wright has two home runs and six RBIs while batting .385. First baseman Carlos Delgado is hitting at an incredible .615 clip with one home run and five RBIs. It appears the Mets are unstoppable right now. However, if you examine the numbers a little closer, the Mets are actually human after all. Despite having a tremendous month, the Mets' pitching has been roughed up over the past four games. Of the 29 runs given up over the past 10 games, 25 of them were given up over the last four games alone. Mike Pelfrey, who has five wins over his last 40 innings with a 2.27 ERA, gave up five runs in seven innings in his last start. John Maine only went 4.2 innings his last start, giving up five runs with five walks. In Santana's last game he gave up five runs in only four innings, an ERA of 11.25. Despite winning eight of their last 10 games, the Mets are beatable and if the Phils' bats can come alive like we all know they can, then the Phillies should be able to take this series. Outfieler Pat Burrell is batting .417 over his last 12 at bats with two home runs. Chase Utley is batting .455 over his past 11 at bats and Ryan Howard is batting .308 with one home run and three RBIs over the past week. It is going to be the pitching that decides this series. The Phillies success will hinge on the performances of Blanton and Brett Myers, who is returning from a stint in AAA to face the Mets on Wednesday. Both pitchers have struggled this year, but will be the key to the Phillies success if they hope to make the playoffs this season. Any Phillies-Mets series is exciting and definitely worth watching, but this week's series could set the tone for the rest of the season for both teams. Stay tuned… Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:30:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293865 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293865 Don't look now but the streaking New York Mets have not only climbed back in to the National League East pennant race, but have forged a tie with the Philadelphia Phillies. The slumping Phillies now have a three game set with the Mets starting Tuesday with first place on the line. Philadelphia has been fading fast as they have lost 20 of their last 34 games. www.rawsportsblog.com Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:20:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293280 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293280 Back from my vacation to discuss the Phillies news of the past week a bit browner, heavier, and tired. First on the agenda... 1. The All-Star Game: Brad Lidge's unnecessary pitchers, Chase Utley's performance, and Pat Burrell and Cole Hamels snubs. 2. The Joe Blanton Deal: will he help? 3. Ryan Howard: Mendoza Watch is over, now going for double crown (hr and rbi title). 4. Jamie Moyer: re-up him now for 1 year 5 mil, dude is a legend! 5. Happ/Myers/Eaton: what the hell is going on with this JA Happ, Brett Myers, and Adam Eaton clusterf**k?! 6. Nationally Televised Games: the Phils seems to crap the bed when the spotlight is on them. 7. The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History- #1 overrated player in Phils history...Bobby Abreu. For full breakdown of each thing listed above, click on URL and visit my blog. Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:50:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292771 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292771 OK. Maybe not Chase, but according to Matt P. at The 700 Level it could be his ugly brother. Good enough for me. Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:44:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292659 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292659 Foxsports.com fantasy writer Gerritt Ritt's list of the Top 50 fantasy players in MLB. Josh Hamilton leads in RBI and is hitting more than .300 makes him the first half's top fantasy player. These rankings are updated weekly during the MLB season. Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:50:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292595 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292595 The Phillies made a move yesterday, trading 3 minor league prospects to the Oakland A's for right handed starting pitcher Joe Blanton. While I am happy the team made a move for an arm, I am not so happy about the guy they go after. The Phillies needed a top of the rotation horse much [...] Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:14:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292428 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292428 Although Jon Atwood made some good points in Strike While the Iron is Hot. Trade Howard Now, I am of a different mindset. Trading Ryan Howard might be one of the worst things the Phillies can do. Howard is the premier power hitter in all of Major League Baseball. Players like him come once in a lifetime to a baseball franchise. The fact that he leads the National League in home runs (28), and RBIs (84), while only batting .234 is simply amazing. Speaking of his low batting average, Howard has had his struggles at the plate, but he also leads the Phillies in batting average with runners in scoring position (.333). Although he has some flaws, Howard creates runs and there's no one better in the game at doing that. Of course the big knock on Howard is his strikeouts. In fact if you take away his strikouts this season, and only factor in his at-bats when he put the ball in play, he's batting .362. Unfortunately you have to deal with strikeouts. Strikeouts come with power. Eight of the top 10 players who are on the all-time strikeout list (Reggie Jackson, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome, Fred McGriff, Mike Schmidt, Jose Canseco, Willie Stargell, & Dave Kingman), all have at least 440 career home runs. Outside of Kingman, would you dump any of these players in their prime? I don't think so. Also to be considered when discussing any type of trade of Howard is the draw factor. Don't kid yourself, on team that consists of Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, and Pat Burrell, people are there to see Howard. Especially on the road. It's not only chicks who dig the longball; everybody digs the longball. By losing Howard, you lose money at the box office. That in-turn hurts the front office form acquiring the high-priced players needed to take the Phillies to the next level. Speaking of money, a situation was blown out of proportion this spring when Howard won his arbitration hearing, and was awarded $10 million. I never understood this fuss. Have you looked at baseball contracts lately? Tell me where you can get a former Rookie of the Year, one season removed from the MVP, and has hit a combine 105 home runs and 285 over the past two season for $10 million? If anything, he's a bargin. I know a lot of the hype surrounding it was the fact he received a $9 million dollar raise, but as much as people don't want to hear it, baseball is a business. This is nothing new. Ty Cobb held out for more money, Dizzy Dean went "on strike" (during a pennant race), and Joe DiMaggio missed spring training on a regular basis while holding out for more money. Besides, since when is a fan allowed to judge a player on their contract? I know fans tend to be harder on players with big contracts, as I'm guilty of it myself (my personal line is once Howard strikes out 200 times, he'll be getting paid $50,000 a strikeout), but is that really right? Do you look at a guy who works at Kinkos and think "For the money he's making, he should be photocopying twice as much." It's silly, and to a point, it's really not your business. Aside from money, a big factor you'd have to consider in trading Howard is who will replace him? I've heard fans come up with brilliant ideas like convert Burrell to a first baseman, and give him an extension. Let me get this straight. You want to trade possibly the greatest power hitter in Phillies history so a guy who's older than Howard and with half the power (lest not forget, he makes more money than Howard), can convert from left field and play first base? Talk about a a poorly thought out idea. Burrell at first base wouldn't even be an upgrade on defense. The logical option if Howard were to be traded would be trying to sign Mark Teixeira, but that's crazy talk. If you think for a second the Phillies, are going to shell out upwards of $20 million a season for Teixeira, you need to lay off the sauce. It's not going to happen. What the Phillies would do is bring in a player like Hank Blalock and work on converting him to first base. Talk about a downgrade. Before you trade a player of Howard's stature, you need to have someone who can replace him (IE - when the Phillies dealt Thome to the White Sox). By even considering dealing Howard at this point in the season you are taking a giant step back. You don't deal your best run producer in the middle of a pennant run. Unless you are getting equal valued superstars in return (which you won't), you're telling your fan base you are giving up on the season. If Howard were to be dealt, you wouldn't be getting the likes to Ben Sheets in return, you'd get a couple blue-chip prospects who can contribute in 2010. Howard, Utley, Rollins, Hamels, & Brad Lidge all aren't eligible for free agency until 2011. There's a core in place here in Philadelphia so this team can win for multiple seasons. By dealing Howard your messing with a good thing. While Howard could use a little more time with Milt Thompson cutting down on his strikeouts, dealing him to another team because we'll get more for him now then when he can bolt in 2011 is the wrong move. Howard needs to stay, and lead the Phillies to victory for years to come. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:03:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292080 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292080 The first half of the 2008 Major League Baseball season has been full of surprises, from the Tigers to the Rays to the Padres to the Braves. Most surprising of all, at least to the Phillies faithful, is that at the All Star break the Phillies were in first place atop the National League East. The Phillies are currently a half a game ahead of the Mets and one a half games up on the Marlins. Lets go through the majors and recap the season so far. AL East Perhaps the biggest story in the majors this year is the surprising play of the Tampa Bay Rays, who at the break were just half a game behind the first place Red Sox, and that's with a seven game losing streak. The Rays have been bolstered by one of the most talented young lineups in the majors in years, as well as some timely defense and a great, young rotation led by ace Scott Kazmir. They are definitely the Cinderella, the darlings of the 2008 season, much to the chagrin to their division rivals the Red Sox. Boston fans are upset that some of the media focus and the limelight has been diverted from their beloved Sox. The reigning champs continue to be one of the best teams in baseball, despite losing pitcher Curt Schilling for the year (and perhaps for good) and a decline in production from slugger David Ortiz (including a stint on the disabled list). It looks like this could be the first time in years that the New York Yankees won't make the playoffs. They currently sit six games back of Boston and it just looks like there is too much talent in Tampa and Boston for the Yanks to make up enough ground. That being said, I am loathe to ever count the Yankees out of anything. Red Sox win division. If it wasn't for the Rays, the debacle in the AL Central would be the biggest story of the season. The Tigers, whom I picked to win the World Series, are a disappointing .500 on the season. Even more surprising, the Indians are in last place, 12 games under .500. The Chicago White Sox are sitting pretty atop the Central at 14 games over .500, led by 10 game winner, and former Phillie, Gavin Floyd. Erratic closer Bobby Jenks, despite being on the DL, has 18 saves with a 1.95 ERA. On offense, the White Sox have a tandem of heavy hitting outfielders in Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin. I have to admit, I'm not overly impressed by the White Sox. In large part, I think they have overachieved so far this season. I think they will come back to earth, which will leave an opening for the Minnesota Twins to step in and take the division. The Twins, led by first baseman Justin Morneau, DH Jason Kubel, and catcher Joe Mauer, are right on the tail of the White Sox, just a game and a half back, and with star pitcher Francisco Liriano waiting in the wings of AAA, the Twins are poised to move into the post Santana era. Twins win the division. AL West Until the Texas Rangers find someone who can pitch (Vicente Padilla currently leads the team in wins with 10), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the prohibitive favorites to win the division for years to come. The Rangers can hit, led by the top individual story of the year Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley, but their pitching is a joke. They boast a rotation of Kevin Millwood, Padilla, Jamey Wright and Kason Gabbard. Until they can get at least one pitcher, they could have all the offense in the world, they still won't be able to compete with Los Angeles. The Angels' pitching rotation, which boasts John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver, not to mention closer Francisco Rodriguez who is on pace to shatter the single season saves record, is arguably the best in the majors. Their offense, while not being the power heavy lineup that Texas or Boston has, plays small ball like no other team in the majors. The obvious offensive leader is Vladimir Guerrero, accompanied by Torii Hunter. But the offense works so well because of intelligent baseball guy like Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick, and Garret Anderson. The Oakland Athletics have basically traded themselves out of contention and the Seattle Mariners have the worst record in baseball. Needless to say, Angels win the division. I think the Rays win the AL Wild card this year. They are too talented to fall behind the likes of the White Sox or Rangers. In the end however, the Red Sox have too much experience and skill to be taken down. They beat the Angels to go on to the World Series. NL West Many commentators are calling this the NL Worst, and it's hard to argue with that. After starting out red hot, division leading Arizona is now one game below .500. That's right. The division leader has a losing record. Need I say more? The reigning NL Champion Colorado Rockies are fourth in the division with a record of 39-57, topped only by the San Diego Padres, an incomprehensible 37-58. The Dodgers are one game back of the Diamondbacks, trailed by the San Francisco Giants in third place. This division is a crapshoot at this point, but the Diamondbacks' pitching, led by Brandon Webb and Dan Haren is just too good and the offense is not going to continue to struggle in the mighty fashion it has over the past month or so. With up and coming stars like Mark Reynolds, Conor Jackson and Chris Young, the Diamondbacks are going to eventually right their ship. Arizona wins the division. NL Central This is the best division in baseball. The Cubs are tied with the Angels for the best record in baseball. Four and a half games behind them are the Cardinals, with the Brewers just a half game behind them. All three of these teams are going to be better in the second half. The Cubs traded for Rich Harden last week, and the Brewers added reigning AL Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia. The Cardinals are getting ready for the return of Adam Wainwright and former Cy Young Chris Carpenter. Both pitchers are aces on almost any other team in the majors. The Cubs and Brewers already have bona fide aces on their teams in Carlos Zambrano and Ben Sheets, respectively. This is, without a doubt, the toughest division in baseball in some time. I think the Cubs are ultimately the most complete team in the league, and certainly the division. Now let me just say, here and now, there is no way Ryan Dempster continues to pitch this well. He just isn't this good. He will come back down to earth. But even with The Dumpster coming back to reality, the Cubs are bolstered by some serviceable pitching in Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, in addition to Zambrano and Harden. On offense, the Cubs' lineup reads like it's very own All Star roster, led by Derek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, and Geovany Soto. Cubs win the division. NL East The Phillies came into today with a half game lead over the Mets. The Marlins sit just one game behind the Mets. It is a division up for grabs to say the least. The Marlins boast a talented, young roster rivaled by only Tampa Bay and Arizona. Led by Hanley Ramirez, Mike Jacobs, Dan Uggla and Josh Willingham, they have an offense that puts the in a position to win every night. That being said, their pitching is thin, with Ricky Nolasco leading the team with 10 wins and a 3.70 ERA. The Braves are most likely looking to scrap this year and go into rebuilding mood, if only temporarily. First baseman Mark Teixeira is a free agent at the end of this year and chances are that the Braves are going to move him before the trade deadline. Their pitching is pretty banged up, and old. John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton are all currently on the disabled list. Not to mention that they are six and a half games out of first place. The Mets pose the biggest threat to the Phillies' playoff hopes. Winners of nine straight coming into the break, the Mets are batting .320 as a team during that time. They also only gave up a total of 19 runs over the same span. They are hot, no doubt, led by Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Fernando Tatis. But therein lies the problem for the Mets. They have been winning in large part as a result of the contributions of usual bench players like Tatis, Endy Chavez, and Damion Easley. The Mets' pitching is also suspect after you get past Johan Santana and John Maine, neither of whom have been stellar this season. After having a impressive season last year, Oliver Perez is 6-5 with a 4.44 ERA. His record is somewhat deceiving, as he has been wildly inconsistent this year. Pedro Martinez continues to battle being really old. Originally set to return this week, his next start is being skipped. I just don't think the Mets have the talent to overcome a Phils team with a much more potent offense and what could end up being a more stable pitching rotation. The Phillies acquired Joe Blanton from the Athletics Thursday, and while Blanton has not had much of a year so far this season (5-12, 4.96 ERA), he has show some real talent and a change of location could be all he needs to break out. More importantly, the addition of Blanton means that Adam Eaton is out of the starting rotation. Brett Myers is progressing nicely in AAA and is set to return to face the Mets on July 23rd. JA Happ threw a no hitter today in his minor league start and it is only a matter of time before he is brought up to the major leagues for good. The biggest cause for concern for the Mets is that the Phils' struggles have in large part been due to a lack of offense. This coming from one of the most offensively talented teams in the league. Jimmy Rollins, Chasey Utley and Geoff Jenkins are eventually going to turn things around. Ryan Howard continues to lead the league in home runs and RBIs. Pat Burrell is going to eclipse his usual 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. And that's without the possible addition of another bat, like Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. I say this with the caveat that I generally have no faith in the Phillies in ever winning anything, and at the risk of tempting fate, I pick the Phillies to win the division. I pick the Brewers to win the NL Wild Card this year. I'm going to be very cliche and pick the Cubs to win the NL Pennant over the Brewers. I think unless the Phillies add a serious starting pitcher, ala Erik Bedard, they are not going to be able to compete with the Brewers in the playoffs. That will bring us to the ESPN's ultimate dream, a Red Sox Cubs World Series. Bristol could fawn all over the lovable losers from Chicago and Boston. Seriously though, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. Boston wins, again. (Just threw up again) Should be a very exciting second half. Continue to check out Hot Stove Philly as we bring you all the latest scores, trades, rumors, and general sports drama. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:54:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292015 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292015 Some rumors actually pan out. Multiple media outlets are reporting the Phillies have acquired pitcher Joe Blanton from the Oakland Athletics for Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman, and Matt Spencer. Blanton has struggled this season going 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA, and his ERA away from McAffee Stadium is less than desirable 5.73, so the Phillies definitely rolled the dice with this move. Cardenas is considered the second best prospect by the Phillies. A supplemental first-round pick in the 2006 draft, Cardenas is .309 with 4 home runs and 23 RBI's for Class A Clearwater. He's a prospect with a bright future ahead of him, but he's blocked by Chase Utley, who's signed with the Phillies until at least 2011. Outman was once projected as a mid-rotation starter, but initially struggled after being converted to the bullpen. Spencer appears to be a throw-in. The outfielder possess some power, but has struggled this season at Clearwater batting a meager .249. I like this trade. While the Phillies gave up one of their better prospects in Cardenas, they land a mid-rotation starter whpo consistantly get deep into games. While Blanton has had struggles this season, he's only twenty-seven, and has a bright future ahead of him. He also is a groundball pitcher, possessing a 1.30 GO/FO ratio, and doesn't give up home runs (his career average is 19). He is also under arbitration control until 2010, so they just didn't add a starter for two months, but two-plus seasons. By making this deal, the Phillies also keep their "Big 3? prospects, Carlos Carrasco,Greg Golson, and Lou Marson, so if the Phillies want to make another deal before the deadline they have the chips. It also spells the end of Adam Eaton. I know some fans will not like this deal, base on Blanton's current struggles, but remember this. If this deal was made prior to the season, Phillies fans would have loved it. Blanton was scheduled to start Sunday for Oakland, so his probably debut will be Tuesday in New York against the Mets. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:20:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291928 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291928 So I was kicking around the idea of trying to go to the All-Star game last week. Yes, I'm a big-time procrastinator but I thought I might have a chance to grab a deal on two tickets from someone with a last minute conflict. This was not the case. Any seat in the stadium was ridiculously expensive. Upper deck seats had a face value of $150 and they were selling for ten times that amount. I soon realized that I never had a shot to be in Yankee stadium for the game and the grump factor took over. Who can afford those prices? Certainly not the everyday fan. Those prices really pissed me off. Yankee Stadium with all its history is going to be retired and the All-Star game has been taken over by corporate America. I was/am sick and tired of being priced out of sporting events to make room for some dude to schmooze his client. Lame. Lame. Lame. I was ready to watch the All-Star game as an emotionless game with the players going through the motions and the fans not caring. At least the fans in the seats not caring because they weren't really fans. Real folks couldn't afford the $750 face value nonsense. Am I right or am I right? I was wrong. I expected half hearted cheers. What I heard were boos. And they were great. This is what it sounded like when a certain Jonathan Papelbom walked on to the field (fyi- the language in this one isn't so clean). Those were real 100% Yankee fans acting like Yankee fans and giving Papelbom exactly what he should expect from them. I'm guessing you already saw Utley's introduction but if you didn't, here you are (this one is also not so clean but it is funny and it was on TV). There were also real live Mets fans in attendance. I know many people out there looked at this as classless. "It's an All Star game… Come on." I felt exactly the opposite. After resigning myself to the fact that Yankee stadium's capacity had been filled with tourists and business execs, the boos were like a familiar warm fuzzy blanket. Red Sox players, especially ones that behave as Papelbom did in the days leading up to the game, should be booed every time they set foot on the Yankees' home field. There was an unexpected buzz in the air and there was no mistaking that the game was being played in The House that Ruth Built. J.D. Drew got booed when he went in the game, then cheered when he hit a home run, then booed again. It's not often that anyone gets that kind of reception. Boos are part of baseball. Remember the "root, root, root for the home team… if they don't win it's a shame," part of Take Me Out to The Ballgame? Well, they sing that song at All Star games too. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:48:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291847 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291847 The Phillies have been actively working the phones over the past several weeks trying to make a trade that would bolster their pitching rotation. The Phillies lack of serious starting pitching was made to look even weaker after the Milwaukee Brewers traded for Indians' ace CC Sabathia and the Chicago Cubs traded for Oakland star Rich Harden last week. The Phillies were one of a number of teams that were in negotiations with Cleveland to acquire Sabathia's services, but in the end they just didn't have enough to offer. Instead of being able to trade for Rich Harden, who when healthy is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, it looks like the Phillies will wind up acquiring Joe Blanton from the Athletics. Blanton is Oakland's number two starter and despite showing some serious talent in previous years, has really struggled this season, going 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA. The Phillies have reportedly been negotiating with the Seattle Mariners over the past couple weeks in an attempt to acquire their disgruntled ace Erik Bedard, but it appears that they're not going to be able to pull off that deal, and Bedard is currently on the DL and wants out of Seattle. Even more importantly, Seattle wants Bedard out of Seattle. And all indications point to the Phillies not bringing him back to the East Coast. Why are they having such a hard time bringing in a legitimate quality starting pitcher? Because the Phillies have a very weak farm system. As you have noticed, I'm sure, by reading Jay's On The Farm columns, the subject of his pieces are the same handful of players over and over again. This is not to say that the Phils don't have any talent in the minors. There are several highly touted players in their farm system, most notably Carlos Carasco and Adrian Cardenas. Carasco is the Phils' most highly touted prospect. He has been rated as the number one pitching prospect in organization two years in a row by Baseball America. Cardenas is the most likely prospect to be traded as his primary position is second base, which is in all likelihood going to be occupied by Chase Utley for many years to come. Cardenas is ranked the number two prospect in the organization, and is batting .309 with 16 stolen bases. Other prospects are SS Jason Donald, C Lou Marson, LHP Josh Outman, 2B Brad Harman, OF Greg Golson, and LHP Antonio Bastardo. Other than Carasco or Cardenas, no one really blows you away, although the upside potential is definitely there will all of them. Nevertheless, the farm team is not teeming with trade bait. But the Big Show is. Ryan Howard is prime trade bait. In Howard's short career he has been named the NL Rookie of the Year, NL MVP, Home Run Derby Champion, and he has led the league in home runs and RBIs over the past three years. He also broke the single season record for strikeouts last year and is on pace to shatter that record this year. Howard, in his second year, demanded that the Phillies pay him $1 million. The Phillies wanted to give him $900,000, which was the record for a second year player. The two sides went to arbitration and Howard was awarded a $1 million contract. The next year he demanded $10 million, the Phillies offered $7 million. The two sides went to arbitration again, and again Howard won. It appears that Howard is going to take the Phils to arbitration to each off season until his contract is up in 2011, at which point he is going to demand (and command) a ridiculous contract. This is not the Phillies of old. This team is no longer afraid to shell out some money to bring or keep talent to Philly, but within reason. The Phillies are not going to be able to pay, or willing to pay, the kind of money that Howard is going to demand. And I do not entirely fault Howard for demanding the money he is, or will. How many players have the record that he does? If he continues to hit the way he did the last month before the all star break (.284, 11 HR, 30 RBI, .965 OPS), then he will right in the mix for his second MVP award. The man can hit, no doubt about it. When Howard doesn't strike out, he is hitting over .450. That being said, that stat is part of the problem. Howard has also struck out 129 times this year. He struck out a total of 199 times last year. He has only walked 48 times. That means he strikes out almost three times as many times as he walks. You also have to take into consideration that Howard continues to be among the tops in the league in intentional walks, which decreases the amount of walks that he gets through patience and a good eye. Let's face it, Howard is a one dimensional player, perhaps the most one dimensional player in the majors. He either strikes out, or hits a home run. In the past month, Howard has one double and one triple. So out of 13 extra base hits, 11 of them are home runs. That is terrible. Nevertheless, Howard is absolutely a key part to this team and its offense. You can't ignore the power numbers, which are the best in the game since he's been in the majors. That is why I think it is the perfect time to trade him. Unless Howard has indicated otherwise to Phillies GM Pat Gillick, it does not appear he is really planning on staying here. He wanted to sign a long term deal after his rookie season and instead the Phils offered him a one year deal worth the $900,000, which at the time was the record for a second year player. This disappointed Howard (and for the record, I think the Phillies should have bit the bullet and signed him for at least close to whatever he was asking for) and now I think he is just going to price himself out of Philadelphia. Instead of going year to year through arbitration, the Phils should deal him to either the Yankees or Red Sox. Both teams have the money and the record of giving huge contracts to their players, and both are going to have a void in the next couple years that Howard is perfectly suited to fill. Howard is a mediocre first baseman at best, but he isn't on your team for his defense. He is a player built for the American League and their stupid DH. Both the Yankees and Red Sox are going to be in need of a DH in the next couple years. The Yankees current DH platoon of Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Hideki Matsui are about as banged up a bunch of highly paid veterans as you'll find anywhere in the majors. By 2011, at least two of these guys will be gone, whether through retirement or free agency. He would be the perfect replacement to fill the void that would be left by Giambi's bat. An equally compelling team are the Red Sox. Current Boston DH David Ortiz (33 years old) is not getting any younger and has had a somewhat disappointing year. His power is down this year, and there has been some speculation that this could be related to the release of the Mitchell Report this past off season. Whether Ortiz's power is down due to steroids or because he is having an off year or because he is starting to decline, he is getting older and is not going to start getting significantly better. To the contrary, Ortiz is going to start declining over the next few years, if he hasn't already started. Howard is young enough to play first base for a number of years in Boston, or New York, while the current DH plays out the rest of his career. Howard would bring the Phillies a serious number of prospects that they could use to a) bolster their farm system and help them build for the future or b) turn around and trade them for a serious starting pitcher that is on the same level as Sabathia or Harden. They should trade for Matt Holliday, who would help fill the void left by trading Howard. They can give up some of those prospects in the farm system right now for Holliday. Then by trading Howard, they can use those prospects for a starter. Yes, that depletes the farm system for a number of years, but this team is young enough right now to contend for the World Series for years to come. They don't need the farm system to be bountiful right now with the exception of using those players as trade bait. If Howard does actually want to stay here and will take a deal that won't make it impossible for them to sign and trade for other important pieces, then that's fine. Keep him here. I have no problems with Howard spending his entire career in Philadelphia. But I believe the Phillies are going to lose him eventually to free agency, so they should try and get the most for him that they can before he bleeds them dry and prices himself out of a trade. The time is now, they need to strike while the iron is hot. This is the best opportunity the Phillies have had to make it to the World Series in years and they need to take their shot now. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:42:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291715 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291715