2008 Philadelphia Phillies Season/Playoff Thread (Die Mets Die)

[PhillyPhreak54]

Jenkins is ballin tonight...RBI single, diving catch and a farging bomb.

In other news, Carlos Ruiz continues to blow.

[SD_Eagle5]

Ruiz is the reason the club values Marson so much.

I hope they bring Moyer back next season. I'm pretty sure he could pitch till he was 50.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Whenever he's done he needs to slide on over to the pitching coach spot.

[ice grillin you]

i would trade every player from clearwater on up to get holliday

did mds really use as a reason not to get holliday because pat burrell wouldnt resign....lol

people need to remember that just because carrasco is their best prospect doesnt mean that hes that great of a chip...hes projected as a #3 starter

and phreak if you wanna go double or nothing on our myers bet ill bet that blanton goes less than 7 inn more than he goes 7+ this year

[Rome]

i would trade every player from clearwater on up to get holliday

I agree completely with this.

[MDS]

both burrell and holliday are free agents after this year. so logically the phillies are only going to keep one.

basically you want to give away the farm for a half a season of a unreal lineup, then over-paying holliday when burrell basically gives you the same production, when of course the biggest weakness continues to be on the mound?

[ice grillin you]

both burrell and holliday are free agents after this year. so logically the phillies are only going to keep one.

if they didnt get holliday they shouldnt resign burrell

basically you want to give away the farm for a half a season of a unreal lineup, then over-paying holliday when burrell basically gives you the same production, when of course the biggest weakness continues to be on the mound?

their farm sucks so yes id give it away for holliday....even tho hes missed like 20 games holliday has equal numbers to burrell this year and hits like 60 pts higher...plus he can field and run...you equating those two players is unbelievably outrageous

[PhillyPhreak54]

i would trade every player from clearwater on up to get holliday

did mds really use as a reason not to get holliday because pat burrell wouldnt resign....lol

people need to remember that just because carrasco is their best prospect doesnt mean that hes that great of a chip...hes projected as a #3 starter

and phreak if you wanna go double or nothing on our myers bet ill bet that blanton goes less than 7 inn more than he goes 7+ this year

I'm tempted. But I may end up losing because it's the NL and they use PH's here and because Charlie has lapses at times and doesnt do what should be done.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Holliday's fielding is not hat good, igy.

[MDS]

he hits 3rd, burrell hits 5th behind two outstanding run producers and gets taken out of every game in the 7th inning because his manager is an idiot. theres your reason why their equal.

and yes, hollidays road splits indicate he isnt the same kind of player away from coors.

holliday will command a fargload of money after this season. money that phillies ownership doesnt need to be spending on a left fielder when burrell is doing what hes doing and there is a giant, gaping hole in the rotation and guys like sheets and sabathia on the market.

id much rather have burrell and sabathia than holliday and another adam eaton clone.

[ice grillin you]

Holliday's fielding is not hat good, igy.

who said it was
hes like utley
passable
where as burrell is a travesty and cant get to any balls

[ice grillin you]

id much rather have burrell and sabathia than holliday and another adam eaton clone.

well thats a legitimate argument altho not very realistic...all im saying is dont compare holliday to burrell cause theyarent even on the same planet as offensive players

after this year is done holliday will have already had three years easily better than burrellls best career year...the two players arent even on the same planet and holliday is just hitting his prime...burrell belongs as a dh in the AL

its a waste of time to even discuss cause theres about a 3% chance the phillies would ever get someone as good as holliday but holy shtein a man can dream

[BigEd76]

Holliday isn't a FA until after 2009, his agent is Boras, and like todd said, his numbers away from Coors aren't as great

[PhillyPhreak54]

I'd take him, sure. But he's far from a savior.

But it doesn't matter...because Adam Eaton says they're winning the whole thing!!

Phils' Eaton takes move to pen in stride

By Jim Salisbury

Inquirer Staff Writer
MIAMI - Adam Eaton took the news well. After racking up a 6.06 ERA in 49 starts over the last two seasons with the Phillies, he really couldn't protest the team's decision to bounce him from the rotation.

"I understand it," the righthander said in the visitors' clubhouse at Dolphin Stadium last night before the Phillies resumed business after the all-star break.

Eaton became the odd man out when the Phils acquired righthander Joe Blanton in a trade with Oakland on Thursday. Blanton will join the team tomorrow and likely make his National League debut Tuesday against the Mets in New York.

Brett Myers is expected to return from the minors and start against the Mets on Wednesday. Myers pitched for single-A Clearwater last night and took the loss while allowing two earned runs over 62/3 innings.

Signing Eaton to a three-year, $24.5 million contract before the 2007 season has proved to be a costly mistake for the Phillies. He is making $7.6 million this season, a hefty paycheck for a long reliever, and the team still owes him $9 million for next season.

Eaton, 30, would have lost his job in spring training had anyone stepped up and taken it. In recent weeks, the Phils had hoped to replace him with a high-end starter such as CC Sabathia, but they couldn't match the offer Milwaukee used to pry the lefthander away from Cleveland earlier this month.

The urgency to replace Eaton grew over the last few weeks as he recorded a 9.64 ERA in his last five starts and was rocked for 17 hits and 14 earned runs over 61/3 innings in his last two. Those two starts caused Phillies officials to step up their pursuit of pitching, and that resulted in Blanton.

"He's mentally tough, he likes to pitch, he eats innings, and he's durable," manager Charlie Manuel said. "Our people think he can help us."

Blanton, 27, ranked third in the American League in innings pitched (7522/3) the last 31/2 seasons - from 2005 to this all-star break. He had 12, 16 and 14 wins, respectively, from 2005 to 2007. He was 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA in 20 starts this season. One of his wins came when he pitched seven innings and allowed just a run against the Phillies on June 24.

The Phils hope Blanton can have an impact similar to that of Kyle Lohse, last season's stretch-drive acquisition. Lohse was 6-12 with Cincinnati. He started 11 games with the Phillies and the club was victorious in nine of them.

Pitching coach Rich Dubee described Blanton as "a strike thrower."

"He attacks the strike zone and he commands his stuff pretty well," Dubee said. "I think he can be a piece to help us get into the playoffs and further on. Maybe a change of scenery can help."

Blanton has not been officially added to the active roster, so the Phillies didn't have to subtract a player from the team before last night's game against Florida.

They entered last night with the best bullpen ERA (2.77) in the majors. Eaton has pitched only twice as a reliever in his nine-year career, and his work could be inconsistent.

Can he right himself as a long man?

"We hope," Dubee said. "We hope."

"I'll do anything to help the team," Eaton said. "I'd like to be a starter, don't get me wrong, but it's not up to me. I'm on one of the best teams in the big leagues. We're going to win this thing, and I want to be on it when we do."

[PhillyPhreak54]

Something brewin'?
The Phillies still are looking for relief help and possibly a hitter, though it remains to be seen what they can pull off with their thin farm system, which lost two top prospects (second baseman Adrian Cardenas and pitcher Josh Outman) in Thursday's trade for pitcher Joe Blanton.

The Rockies are dangling lefthander Brian Fuentes - at a very high price. It's worth noting that the Rockies had a scout watching double-A righthander Carlos Carrasco, the Phillies' top pitching prospect, last night in Bowie, Md. Phillies scout Charley Kerfeld, one of general manager Pat Gillick's top lieutenants, was at the game, checking out Carrasco. The Rockies also are considering trading all-star outfielder Matt Holliday