06/07 Phillies Offseason Thread

[Rome]

romey how far is clearwater from port royal?

Clearwater is about 3 hours north of Port Royal.  I think Geo lives there, actually. 

[Rome]

Sielski:

Good to see all those Phillies fans, so outraged last summer over the franchise's handling of Brett Myers' arrest for domestic abuse, picketing and protesting outside Citizens Bank Park last week after the Phils gave Myers a three-year contract extension.

Have to admire them for sticking to their guns — no way they'd let the team's potential success this season compromise their principles. Heck, that's what sets Philadelphia's sports fans apart from all other cities' fans.

It was cold out last week.  farg you, Sielski.

[ice grillin you]

Clearwater is about 3 hours north of Port Royal.  I think Geo lives there, actually

my mother in law lives there...im goin fourth of july this year but i want to go there and then hit spring training one year...problem is i got a 13 hour drive just to get there...3 more hours might be too much...i was hoping it was closer

[Geowhizzer]

Igy, does your mom live in Port Royal in Naples?

If so, Romey is right, and Clearwater is about 3 hours north.  If you plan the trip, you can stop on the way down or back to hit it.  You'd only be about an hour out of the way from I-4.

Of course, if your talking about Port Royal in Naples, someone in your family has some serious money.  That's the wealthiest part of a very wealthy city.  CEOs and people like Bob Seger (allegedly, though I've never seen him) live there.

Being a teacher, it's obvious that I don't live there. 

[ice grillin you]

haha...im an idiot

she lives in palm coast (like 25? minutes north of daytona)...port royal is the name of her street


and its my girls mom not mine

[Rome]

Palm Coast is 20 minutes north of Daytona Beach, IGY.  It takes us about 2 1/2 hours to get from my house to the ballpark depending on traffic.

We usually leave no later than 7:00 AM to get to Clearwater before the traffic gets nightmarish, and trust me, it does over there.

[BigEd76]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

The Cardinals admit they will search outside the organization for a starting pitcher if Braden Looper, Ryan Franklin and Brad Thompson fail to distinguish themselves. A similar would need arises if closer Jason Isringhausen isn't ready to open the season since Adam Wainwright would be needed to close. Rookie lefthander Chris Narveson, who has not thrown more than 150 innings in any of seven professional seasons, serves as a secondary candidate.

With payroll flexibility, a surplus of relief pitchers and outfielders and increased depth in their minor league system, the Cardinals have leverage to deal for a starter.  The Philadelphia Phillies may move former 20- and 17-game winner Jon Lieber this spring...

Boston Herald:

Philadelphia:  Expect a deal for a reliever in spring training because the Phillies don't have a true setup man for Tom Gordon. The bait is sixth starter Jon Lieber. Lefty Fabio Castro, Ryan Madson, and free agent Antonio Alfonseca are all early candidates to contend for the role. The Phillies have a stacked starting rotation (thanks to newcomers Freddy Garcia and Adam Eaton) and lineup, and they'll introduce new starting catcher Rod Barajas. Look for a lot of attention on outfielder Pat Burrell, who needs to step up.

...and a couple of comments on Manuel being on the hot seat:

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

4. Who will be the first manager fired and who are the others on the hot seat?

Remarkably, Seattle's Mike Hargrove survived a last-place finish by his team last year. If the Mariners don't start quickly this season, even Jeff Weaver won't be able to save Hargrove. Others who might follow are Baltimore's Sam Perlozzo, whose team has spent considerable money in an effort to try to catch the Yankees, Boston and Toronto, and Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel. Manuel had one foot out the door last year before St. Louis, and Ryan Howard and a pitching revival sparked a late second-half surge.

New York Newsday:

Managers Working For Their Jobs
.
.
3. Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia

Saved himself with the Phillies' strong finish last season, but Phils GM Pat Gillick didn't hire Manuel.

[MDS]

No shtein. He's canned if they don't start out the year over .500. Probably Memorial Day is the deadline.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Today was when it really hit me how excited I am for baseball to start. The Inky with Howard on the cover of the sports page and then Jimmy Rollins' interview on SF tonight helped put me out of my football misery.

[MDS]

Have fun shooting yourself in the eyesocket in September when they choke. I'll be pulling the trigger myself, too.

[PhillyPhreak54]

It'll be fun.

[Sgt PSN]

Can't say that I agree with Cholly being outted by Memorial Day.  Not that I don't think it would happen, just don't think I'd agree with it.  Gotta wait and see how this team starts out though.

All those games in April that, according to some folk around here, "don't matter", have been proven to very much matter the last couple of years when this team misses the playoffs by a game or two. 

[SunMo]

i hate Charlie as a baseball manager more than anybody, but at this point, it seems like this team plays for him.

so while he may not be able to manage his way out of a paper bag, he might be the right guy for this team.

[MDS]

Can't say that I agree with Cholly being outted by Memorial Day.  Not that I don't think it would happen, just don't think I'd agree with it.  Gotta wait and see how this team starts out though.

All those games in April that, according to some folk around here, "don't matter", have been proven to very much matter the last couple of years when this team misses the playoffs by a game or two. 

If they suck he'll be out. Dude is on thin ice, needs to get out of the gate hot to keep his job. Yada yada yada they need to be over .500 by the end of may or else he's out.

[SunMo]

all you need to know is that they hired two former managers for their staff.  if that doesn't tell you that he's on thin ice, nothing will.