http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/83 Recent articles about Pat Burrell en-us Reigning National League MVP Jimmy Rollins was benched Thursday for the second time this season by Phillies' manager Charlie Manuel. Rollins, instead of getting to Shea Stadium in Queens to finish off a three game set against the Mets with the rest of the Phillies in the team bus, opted to drive himself and arrived at the stadium after the designated 10 A.M. arrival time set by Manuel. The team bus also arrived to the stadium late, but still got there before their star shortstop. Rollins claimed that he was late because of traffic, which in all likelihood is most likely what happened. "I left ten minutes after the bus as usual but I just got stuck," Rollins said. "I can't change lights and stuff." Rollins was bench earlier this season mid-game for not running out a pop up, a move he agreed with. He does not agree with Manuel's decision to bench him this time. "We're not going to agree on this one," Rollins said. "We agreed last time but we're not going to agree on this one. He's the manager and he has to set a precedent with certain players and you're held up to higher rules. That's fine." Rollins was apparently late to a game one other time this season, but called Manuel to let him know and got off with a warning. Whether Rollins agrees with the decision or not, and whether he accepts the punishment (which he has) as a grown up or not, it does not appear to be having much of an affect on him. When Rollins was bench earlier this season for not running out the pop-up, we all hoped that it would light a fire under the struggling shortstop and motivate him to start playing harder, but all it did was make him run out pop-ups. Rollins still jogs out grounds outs and has been criticized numerous times this season for not running as hard on base hits as he should. Several times Rollins has strolled in second on a hit that, with his speed, could have easily been a triple. In a recent interview on the Comcast Sportsnet program Daily News Live, host Michael Barkan asked Phillies' second baseman Chase Utley which of his teammates is routinely late. After thinking for a few seconds Utley responded "Jimmy Rollins." According to many people who are around the club on a daily basis, Rollins usually arrives to the ball park right before he is required to. He does not appear to be a get there early, stay late kind of guy. It appears to me, and many of the Phillies' fans, that Rollins is mailing this season in. He doesn't feel the need to hustle every single play. He apparently doesn't think he needs extra time to work on his game, which has struggled this season. He still speeds around the bases, just not as fast. He still dazzles in the field, but has made a number of errors. He is the supposed leader of this team, but does not lead by example and apparently finds himself to be too good to ride with the team to the ballpark. I have been villified over the past couple days for attacking the character of Mets' star shortstop Jose Reyes for his immature and classless celebration antics. I am a firm believer in being fair and objective and I cannot question Reyes' character and then ignore the failings of my own team's star. Rollins, as the reigning MVP, has publicly taken up the mantle of the leader of this team, but has failed to act like the leader. I have no idea what Rollins is like behind closed doors, whether he is vocal amongst his teammates, encouraging them when they're struggling, yelling at them when they're slacking off. But I can't imagine it would do much good since Rollins himself appears to be aloof and slacking off. Team leaders need to lead by being vocal, but more importantly by example. I am as hard on Ryan Howard as anyone out there, but I was really impressed the other day when I saw him bust his hump down the line on a ground out that he had no chance of beating out without an errant throw on the play. Pat Burrell, who has had his fair share of struggles over his time with the Phillies, appears to be too laid back to be a vocal leader in the clubhouse, but absolutely leads by example. During his struggles from a couple years ago, Phillies fans were largely behind Pat because they saw how hard he worked at getting better. He was constantly working on his swing, seeking advice from anyone who could give it (which turns out was a big part of the problem), busting his butt every single day no matter how well he was doing. Fans love to see that a player is pissed at his manager for taking him out of the game like Burrell was after Sunday's loss to the Marlins. He was respectful and understanding of his shortcomings, but admitted that it angers him every time Manuel takes him out of the game in favor of a defensive replacement late in close games. Fans want a player with that fire, that drive, that hustle, and that desire. Jimmy Rollins is not the MVP this year. Jimmy Rollins is not the leader of this team. jimmy Rollins needs to prove me wrong. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:51:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295593 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295593 All you people out there telling me that the Phillies have one of the best offenses in the league and have no need for Matt Holliday (.343 AVG, 17 HR, 60 RBI, 60 R, 13 SB), I want you to look me in the eye (figuratively of course) and tell me you still think that. I agree with you that this is one of the best offenses in the league, on paper. A team composed of reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins (career* .277 AVG, 16HR, 62 RBI, 96 R, 35 SB), former MVP and Rookie of the Year Ryan Howard (.279 AVG, 42 HR, 97 RBI, 83 R)*, this year's MVP front runner Chase Utley (.299 AVG, 21 HR, 83 RBI, 85 R, 11 SB)*, and Pat Burrell (.260 AVG, 29 HR, 96 RBI, 75 R)* should be leading the league in offense, and somehow, this team still does. Despite having an awful almost two months of baseball, the Phillies are still second in the National League in runs scored, behind Chicago. To show you just how Jekyll and Hyde this offense has been this year, let's look at the numbers. Since June 1st, the Phillies have scored 181 runs. They have given up 182. Now let's take out the game against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 13th in which the Phillies won 20-2. With that game out, the Phillies have scored 161 runs and given up 180. That figure says a couple things. First off, they were really good in the beginning of this year. In April and May they scored 302 runs and only gave up 236. That is the run differential of a playoff team. Second, the fact that they are still the second highest run scoring team in the NL also shows just how weak the NL is this year. You can't say it's the pitching, because the Phillies have given up less runs in June and July then they did the first two months. Granted July isn't over yet, but even the Phils will be hard pressed to give up more than 50 runs in one week. This team just is not hitting. They aren't hitting with runners on base, with runners in scoring position, with no runners on. They aren't hitting. During the month of July, Utley has two home runs and five RBIs; Rollins hasn't had a home run since June 16th, and has seven RBIs this month; Geoff Jenkins has 16 hits since June 1st, with six of them coming in the first six days of that month; Jason Werth has six RBIs in July and Pedro Feliz has seven. The team's Jekyll and Hyde nature was never more evident then this past series with the Mets. The Phillies were the Kings of the Come From Behind Win last year and they showed that Never Say Die attitude on Tuesday when they scored six runs in the 9th inning to beat the Mets 8-6. After getting manhandled by Johan Santana through the first eight innings, this team showed an incredible amount of character (which they have lacked for the better part of the past two months) and grit and did not give up. Then they dropped the ball and let the momentum gained from that inning fade off and played like garbage the next two days. Despite a rocky outing by Brett Myers on Wednesday, the game was still tied at three coming into the sixth inning. The Phillies were very much in a position to win when the bullpen gave up three runs and you could just see the air go out of this team. They just laid down and conceded. Thursday the Phillies absolutely blew a beautiful gem thrown by Jamie Moyer and once again made the erratic Oliver Perez look like a Cy Young Award winner. Moyer went seven strong innings giving up only one run. J.C. Romero came into the 8th inning and gave up two runs. Romero has unequivocally been the Phillies best reliever this season aside from closer Brad Lidge. He has also pitched more innings than any other reliever and it is starting to show. Romero gave up a total of six runs in all of April, May and June. He has given up five so far in July, which is still remarkable and I am not dumping on him at all. But he needs some help; he needs another lefty in the bullpen that cane take on some of the situational responsibilities. This was the biggest series of the season and the Phillies blew it, despite having the biggest inning of the year. They had the momentum; they had first place; and I still believe they have a better team. The Phillies have just been way too inconsistent this season and the Mets have gelled together since the firing of manager Willie Randolph. This is going to be a very tough road over the remaining 60 or so games, but I still think the Phillies can pull it out. They have to start this weekend against the Atlanta Braves. * When calculating the career stats, I took out the player's first season and this season, as neither were full seasons. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:47:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295456 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295456 Yesterday, I told the Mets to burn this image into their memory. I told them to use it as motivation for their games against Philadelphia and beyond. Well after Jose Reyes hit his three run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the Mets in the lead for good, Reyes showed his rebuttal to Jimmy Rollins' celebration. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:45:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294766 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294766 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 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 As the Phillies run out of South Florida with their tail between their legs, they head to New York in a first place tie with the Mets, and the surging Marlins only half-a-game behind them. Not exactly where you thought the Phillies would be when just five weeks ago they found themselves four games up on the Marlins and seven in front of the Mets. Unfortunately reality has set in for the Phillies, and they've found themselves in a month-long tailspin. Unlike the woes of last season, it's not just the pitching. In fact, outside of Adam Eaton and Brett Myers, the pitching has been good. The problem with the Phillies is the offense and leadership, or lack there of. The Phillies should have buried the Marlins this past weekend, but were only able to manage 11 runs in the series, including only two yesterday, wasting another brilliant effort by Cole Hamels. When it comes to the offense it isn't that the Phillies aren't hitting, they're not having too much trouble getting on base. They're just not able to come through with a hit when runners are on base (they stranded a total of 25 runners on base over the weekend). Even when they are getting the opportunities, they're not capitalizing or hustling. Unfortunately, yesterday's game should have never seen extra innings. If Jimmy Rollins actually ran the bases when Shane Victorino hit a bloop down the left field line in the seventh, he would have easily scored but he figured the ball would go foul, so he only ended up on third. He didn't see a need to actually run the bases (good to see his benching did some good), because if it's foul, it's wasted energy. Instead it's a wasted performance. The Phillies have become a team that's chock full of talent, but have no leadership. Without leadership, the offense is going to the plate without a plan, thinking of how they can be a hero instead of how they can win a ball game. Their frustrations are beginning to show, and they're taking it to the press. Pat Burrell vented to the Inquirer about his displeasure about being benched late in close ball games. Charlie Manuel also went to the Inquirer to rip the offense, and Rollins will talk to anyone who will listen. Unfortunately it's Rollin's comments that stick out in my head. "He's pretty much right, but we'll get out of it," Rollins said. "We don't get concerned until late. Coaches do that now. We go play." Rollins, referring to Manuel's comments about the offense, really shows what this team is about. Lack of concern, and a lackadaisical attitude. This team really believes because they've played well down the stretch the past couple years, there's no need to worry. They had the same attitude in 2005 & 2006, when they finished one and three games (respectively) out of the Wild Card. It's sort of amazing how winning the division last season erased Jimmy's memory. Someone in the clubhouse getting this team to focus on playing winning baseball could go a long way. In 1976, Pete Rose, then a member of the Cincinnati Reds commented to Joe Morgan about the Phillies. "That team's got a lot of talent. All they need is a leader." As Phillies fans know, they got that leader in Rose, and he led the Phillies to their only World Championship. That's what the Phillies need right now. Don't get me wrong, they could use a shakeup in the lineup. While some thought the failed deal for Matt Holliday and Brian Fuentes would require the Phillies giving up too much, I disagree. It would have given them a player with the tools to win a World Championship (both on the field and in the locker room); something this city sorely needs. I don't see many more moves being made by the Phillies before the trading deadline. At least move that would mean something. In saying that, my feeling is it's going to get worse before it gets better. The Phils are getting ready to take on a Mets team that has had pitching struggles since the All-Star break, but has still found ways to win, in splitting a four game series with the Reds. Even though they are having their own obsticles, they have something the Phillies lack. Hunger. I wouldn't be surprised if the Phillies find themselves in third place when they take the field Friday against the Braves. The Phillies need a wake-up call. Maybe third place is what it is. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:13:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293542 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293542 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 The Phils have an off day after dropping back into a first place tie with the Mets, but there is still a ton of news and information to pass along: *Manuel upset Charlie Manuel is upset with the hitters after not coming through with more offense to support Cole Hamel's good outing yesterday. He was especially upset with the clutch hitting, noting that the Phillies "situational hitting is absolutely terrible". The Phillies offense has been inconsistent all year, exploding for 20 runs at times and looking feeble at other times. *Burrell also upset Any chance that Pat Burrell was going to come back to Philly next year is probably being ruined by Charlie Manuel. Manuel still insists on sitting Burrell in the late innings of any game where the Phils have the lead and Pat isn't happy about it, saying " "I'm upset, absolutely. I'm upset, and I have been for a long time. It's not personal. I don't want to ever come out of close games." Burrell is continually being taken out of games where he could have been up in a key situation later on so I can see why he is upset. While I understand the reasoning of removing a bad fielder during the late stages of a close game, Manuel is too quick with the hook in one run games. Losing Pat's bat is sometimes a bigger loss than any mistake he could make in the field. *Big Mets series starts tomorrow The Phillies and Mets are once again locked into a tie for first in the NL East, but a three game series that starts Tuesday will give us a division leader, at least for now. Pedro Martinez is injured so he will miss his next start, so the pitching match-ups look like this for the series: Tuesday: Joe Blanton vs. Johan Santana Wednesday: Brett Myers vs. John Maine Thursday: Jamie Moyer vs. Oliver Perez Two interesting starts for the Phillies, with Blanton making his debut facing off against Santana and Myers making his return against a hot Mets team. *Holliday rumors still circulating I think it's a bit of a non-story because everything I have read said the trade talks are off, but the Phillies have been rumored to be going after both Matt Holliday and Brian Fuentes of the Rockies in a possible blockbuster deal. The deal would gut the Phillies farm system, forcing them to give up Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson and other top prospects, plus Shane Victorino. Seems like a bad deal unless the Phils can get Holliday to agree to a contract extension since he will be a free agent at seasons end. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:16:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293278 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293278 After another loss to the Florida Marlins courtesy a Jorge Cantu walk-off bases loaded single, three Phillies expressed emotions, all of it anger. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:31:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293138 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293138 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 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 For clutch hitting, a consistent approach, an unreal April and solid months in between, Pat Burrell has been the Phillies most valuable player in 2008, even before yesterday's three-run dong. Sorry, Chase Utley. Pat the Bat is the man. If this is indeed his final season in red pinstripes, he's going out with a bang. He's on pace to set a career high in home runs, on-base and slugging percentage. His ballpark adjusted 151 OPS+ would also set a career... Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:27:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290221 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290221