2006 Philles Season Thread

[dis12]

Burrell nixed deal to Orioles, sources say
By PAUL HAGEN
hagenp@phillynews.com

ST. LOUIS - What if Pat Burrell had been traded to the Orioles?

According to multiple sources, the Phillies had a deal in place (possibly for pitcher Rodrigo Lopez) that would have sent the leftfielder to Baltimore, but he was unwilling to waive his no-trade clause.

"I was never approached by the Phillies," Burrell said last night.

The explanation, according to sources, is that he was approached informally on more than one occasion by an Orioles employee and that, on each occasion, Burrell made it plain that he would not accept a trade to Baltimore.

In Burrell's defense, he wasn't exactly asked to move to a contending team. The Orioles are buried deeper in the standings than the Phillies.

Still, it's an interesting what-if to ponder. Had Burrell not blocked the move, for example, it's unlikely the Phillies would have traded Bobby Abreu to the Yankees.

Thanks, Pat.

put Pat on the bench!!

[PhillyPhreak54]

The thing that disturbed me the post in Stark's piece was when he mentioned the possibility that the Phillies might be in desperate financial trouble.

How the farg can that be?  And if it's true and he wasn't simply talking out of his ass, then why would the Phillies (Monty & Giles) be so insistent about never selling the ballclub?

Strange.

Could be a good thing. Maybe force the fargs to sell the team.

[Rome]

It would definitely be a good thing.

To make this kind of trade, just for the joy of cashing out, simply tells the sport that either you think Abreu is outrageously overrated or your team is in major financial trouble -- or both.

Maybe I'm misreading and overreacting to what he wrote, but it sounded to me like he was suggesting that they were close to insolvency.  Why would Stark make a comment like that without any hint of it first from the local rags?

[ice grillin you]

Maybe I'm misreading and overreacting

[PhillyPhreak54]

Romey,

I read on the PhilaPhans MB from a poster that said she spoke to Paul Hagen around the AS break and he said that there were some troubles. She said that Giles had to sell even more shares of his portion to another one of the owners and that there were some other troubles that could be brewing.

I would love nothing more than to see these people have to sell.

[Wingspan]

Romey,

I read on the PhilaPhans MB from a poster that said she spoke to Paul Hagen around the AS break and he said that there were some troubles. She said that Giles had to sell even more shares of his portion to another one of the owners and that there were some other troubles that could be brewing.

I would love nothing more than to see these people have to sell.

what i had heard a few weeks ago was that the montgomery also had to go to the rest of them to get more money, twice already this season. and operating costs had to be reduced before the end of the season, which is why abreu was just given away.

attendance and consessions have slipped far past what they were willing to live with and are losing money. and things like the railing padding and moving the wall back have really eaten into the cash flow.

they wouldnt be able to sell right now either...they have too much stadium debt to make it worth it. 

i got this info second hand (from a collegue of mine who works for one of the owners)...take it for what it is worth. could be true...could be bullshtein, but i had this for a few weeks...but it makes sense.

payroll will not be what it was the past 3 years. if revenue doesn't pick up on it's own, you can kiss utley and howard goodbye in a couple of years as well.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Romey,

I read on the PhilaPhans MB from a poster that said she spoke to Paul Hagen around the AS break and he said that there were some troubles. She said that Giles had to sell even more shares of his portion to another one of the owners and that there were some other troubles that could be brewing.

I would love nothing more than to see these people have to sell.

what i had heard a few weeks ago was that the montgomery also had to go to the rest of them to get more money, twice already this season. and operating costs had to be reduced before the end of the season, which is why abreu was just given away.

attendance and consessions have slipped far past what they were willing to live with and are losing money. and things like the railing padding and moving the wall back have really eaten into the cash flow.

they wouldnt be able to sell right now either...they have too much stadium debt to make it worth it. 

i got this info second hand (from a collegue of mine who works for one of the owners)...take it for what it is worth. could be true...could be bullshtein, but i had this for a few weeks...but it makes sense.

payroll will not be what it was the past 3 years. if revenue doesn't pick up on it's own, you can kiss utley and howard goodbye in a couple of years as well.

Nah, you're saying exactly what the poster said Hagen told her.

And that is one of the reasons why I think they will not have a big payroll next year. They drop it now and it will never reach the level it was again.

[ice grillin you]

ABREU: I AM BOBBY HUSTLE
By GEORGE KING and BRIAN LEWIS

August 2, 2006 -- Bobby Abreu is ready to show Yankees fans that he is anything but a player who is guilty of not busting it every minute he is on the field, as he has been accused.

"A lot of people don't see me play more often," said Abreu before going 0-for-3 in last night's 5-1 victory over the Blue Jays . "They don't realize how I play the game.

"Now, everyone here will see the real way I like to play the game. You will see the hustle every day here and you guys will decide if [the bad reputation] is true or not."

[BigEd76]

"A lot of people don't see me play more often"

um, we've seen you for 9 years.  Good job with that 0-3.  At least you ran really hard on that groundout to show everyone we're wrong...

[PhillyPhreak54]

The way the national media is slobbering over his 9 pitch AB to draw that walk leads me to believe that not too many people watched him here.

I heard three or four people gushing over him drawing that walk and couldn't blieve it.

I do hope Bobby does well in NY though. Hate the Yanks, love Bobby A.

[Wingspan]

Romey,

I read on the PhilaPhans MB from a poster that said she spoke to Paul Hagen around the AS break and he said that there were some troubles. She said that Giles had to sell even more shares of his portion to another one of the owners and that there were some other troubles that could be brewing.

I would love nothing more than to see these people have to sell.

what i had heard a few weeks ago was that the montgomery also had to go to the rest of them to get more money, twice already this season. and operating costs had to be reduced before the end of the season, which is why abreu was just given away.

attendance and consessions have slipped far past what they were willing to live with and are losing money. and things like the railing padding and moving the wall back have really eaten into the cash flow.

they wouldnt be able to sell right now either...they have too much stadium debt to make it worth it. 

i got this info second hand (from a collegue of mine who works for one of the owners)...take it for what it is worth. could be true...could be bullshtein, but i had this for a few weeks...but it makes sense.

payroll will not be what it was the past 3 years. if revenue doesn't pick up on it's own, you can kiss utley and howard goodbye in a couple of years as well.

Nah, you're saying exactly what the poster said Hagen told her.

And that is one of the reasons why I think they will not have a big payroll next year. They drop it now and it will never reach the level it was again.

the stadium debt is the key. they almost can't sell because of it. apparently most of their numbers and revenue projections were based on an unrealistically high attendance mark, something like 85% capacity. well their attendance dropped dramatically from 2004-2005 (2004 was an average of 40,125 per game, in 2005 it dropped to 32,905 per game)...a 20% year to year decrease.

now it wont go down another 20% this season, as it is right now, the attance is 32,841 per game. with 24 more home games to go. (the last sunday game attendance was the worst sunday of the season btw, if you take the higher of the two games).

the phils went from a 90%+ capacity in 2004...to 72% capacity in 2005....if it falls to under 70% for 2006. the owners are in deep shtein, and then you will see an even deeper salary purge.

thome was gone in 2006 whether ryan howard was in existance or not, the fact that howard emerged save them from yet another embarassing situation.

this is fast heading back into the 1994-99 range

[Geowhizzer]

Or 1916-1920

Or 1925-1930

Or... dang, this team is depressing.

[Seabiscuit36]

ive been on vacation since friday so i just got caught up on the thread.  I still am in disbelief that Bell was traded for a player and not a bag of baseballs.  The Abreu trade was what i thought it would be, the Phils getting raped to save money.  Look at the Carlos Lee trade, I think bobby is better than Lee and look what texas/milwakee moved for him.  Thanks Pat for being a fleshpop, he must have found some more skanks around the ballpark to keep him happy. 

The Cormier trade was actually a great move by Gillick.  We all knew going into training camp that this team wasnt going to win you a World Series, and maybe in 3 years they could get a legit shot.  Then training camp came and they played ridiculously good and like every year, hopes got up.  Then the real phils comeout and drain everything out of the fans.  They need to get a true #1 ace like Zito but you know he'll end up with the Mets.  And with this crap about ownership and money, just sell the team tomorrow to Cuban!

[PhillyPhreak54]

And they have no one but themselves to blame. I hate those fargs.

If they had hired a competant baseball man and allowed him to put good people around him years ago then they wouldn't be in this spot.

They overrated the fans too. Monty and the boys thought if they gave us a new stadium we'd come out and buy up stuffed Phanatic dolls and all of that shtein just for the helluva it.

And we have to suffer through this crap. farg 'em. I hope they drop dead.

[Wingspan]

The Abreu trade was what i thought it would be, the Phils getting raped to save money.

it's not rape if the phils asked for it.