Phillies Offseason Talk

[SunMo]

i pulled this of PhilliesPhans, from someone who pulled it off Rotoworld:

Free agent B.J. Ryan recently told a friend he does not want to deal with the "stress" of pitching for the Yankees. He's expected to take a closer's job elsewhere.

GET RYAN!

[Rome]

Oh, goodie.  Wagner is "interested" now.   

Excuse me while I vomit until it leaks out of my ass and ears.

Save that vomit, bro. You'll need it for when a bum like Braden Looper is attempting to close games for the Phils this year if they don't re-sign Wags.

Either that or you'll need it for when you watch your Orlando Magic play.

Or maybe when I watch the Flyers blow two goal leads in less than a minute?

[Sgt PSN]

i pulled this of PhilliesPhans, from someone who pulled it off Rotoworld:

Free agent B.J. Ryan recently told a friend he does not want to deal with the "stress" of pitching for the Yankees. He's expected to take a closer's job elsewhere.

GET RYAN!

[PG]Those aren't real sources.  That's preposterous.[/PG] 

[MDS]

sounds good, i guess. hes gotta be option #2.

[BigEd76]

There's a Salisbury interview with Thome in tomorrow's Inquirer.  Here's the main quotes/points from it:

-- "I know how baseball works. I understand that, hey, it might be time for me to move on. That doesn't mean I want to. But that's just the reality of it."
-- "Ryan's a good player and I'm a good player. I'm sure it's difficult on the organization. But there needs to be resolution. It's not fair to Ryan Howard's party. It's not fair to our party."
-- "I'm a man. You're not going to hurt my feelings one way or another. If you think I'm older and my best years are behind me, that's OK. If you want to play Ryan Howard, that's OK. You don't win the rookie of the year without being a good player. I understand the business side of baseball."
-- "At the time I signed with the Phillies, I never even thought about the no-trade clause. I signed a six-year deal, and I honestly thought it would take me to retirement. But I am thinking about it now because my name is out there and they haven't said 'Jim Thome is our first baseman'."
-- Thome says he will only accept a trade to a midwest American League team with a shot at winning a title.
-- "I can't pinpoint a team yet, but it would have to be close to home. Cleveland would be a place. Would it be the only place? No. Chicago would be there."
-- If the Phils eat over half of Thome's salary, Cleveland could be interested again. Shapiro declined comment.
-- Thome won't make excuses for his performance, but he admitted that he was hurt from day one, saying he didn't give his back enough time to heal coming out of spring training. He doesn't know how he hurt the elbow, but he couldn't stand the pain of throwing anymore.
-- He's heard people talk about how he can't turn on a fastball anymore and how he's experiencing steroid withdrawal. "I never doubted my ability. It was just frustrating that I didn't have my true ability because I was hurt."
-- On the steroid accusations: "Laughable. I've heard all that stuff and people have asked me about it. Here's what I tell them --- go look at my family photo. Everyone in my family is big. If I ever took a steroid, I'd blow up so much I wouldn't be able to swing a bat. I've never even taken a supplement in my life."
-- Despite the uncertain future, he has no regrets coming here. "Philly has been great to me. If I have to leave, hopefully I'd be lucky enough to go to another city that would treat me as well as Philly has."

[MDS]

hes got some roid rage, no?

[Geowhizzer]

I loved the Thome signing at the time.

However, in retrospect, the Thome signing was probably a mistake- not because of Thome, but because they already had a potential stud first baseman ready to come up, even at the time of the signing.  Howard had potentially two years wasted being Thome's understudy.

Also, the Phils could have used that money to try to get the stud ace that they are presently lacking.

Not sure who they could get from the White Sox or Indians.  Love to see that young stud White Sox pitcher in the Phils' rotation, but that's a pipe dream.

At least Ed Wade isn't making the decisions anymore. 

[SD_Eagle5]

Thome's much too humble for this city. He needs to criticze the fans and/or management to fit in.

[rjs246]

Goddamned Roid monkey.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Thome's much too humble for this city. He needs to criticze the fans and/or management to fit in.

True. True.

I like Thome. I wish there was a way to keep 'em both. Too bad Howard is a certified butcher in the OF.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I'd give them Floyd for Blalock

Floyd and a prospect.

SOLD!

[SunMo]

Newsday is saying that Wagner's going to hold a late morning news comference at Shea Stadium today. 

I don't think it's to announce a signing though, he is probably just going to answer questions about his visit.

Linky

[MDS]

let them overpay for him.

[SunMo]

somebody on PhilliesPhans posted this...

According to the White Sox official site board,espn radio 1000 in Chicago is reporting that the Phillies and White Sox are in serious discussions about a deal that sends Thome to the White Sox,for Rowand and either Contreras or Brandon Mcarthy.

[MDS]

hmmm. well, um, conteras would be prett-ay nice. rowand is good player. he can hit 2nd or 6th (probably better off 6th). mccarthy is a young guy, i think we'd be much better off with a proven guy in conteras.

the big part of this deal is obviously how much of thomes salary will be picked up. considering conteras makes upwards of 8 mil a year, id say they are taking on a large sum of it if he is part of the deal.