06/07 Phillies Offseason Thread

[Rome]

Say what you will about Banner but at least his teams have reached the playoffs in six out of the last seven seasons.

Amaro has the arrogant part down.  Now all he needs is the modest success bit and he'll be Banner's doppleganger for sure.

[ice grillin you]

outstanding ny times piece on howard

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/sports/playmagazine/04play-howard.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

[BigEd76]

Randy Miller with the anti-Phillies spin in his articles again:

...eventually his agitation and disappointment with Phillies management came spilling out.

"Go ask them," Howard blurted out in a raised voice. "They're the ones with all the money."
.
.
"Obviously the amount of money I'm getting is a large amount, but in the scheme of things, you look for different stuff," Howard said.
.
.
Howard is receptive, but doesn't appear optimistic after two years of being disappointed.

"You never know," he said. "I don't believe anything until it happens. They have their plan. As far as I'm concerned, if it happens, it happens."

[ice grillin you]

his highway homer yesterday was lunacy

[ice grillin you]

salisbury in the inky today sums up the howard deal perfectly

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/16824719.htm

But from the get-go, these negotiations weren't as much about money as they were about making a statement. The Phillies say Howard is a special player. They say they want him around for many years to come. For these reasons, the Phillies needed to go above fair and appropriate. They needed to set aside the constraints of service time and the guidelines of the commissioner's office. They needed to do it for this one guy.

In a high-profile negotiation like this, the Phillies may have made a PR gaffe by ignoring the symbolic impact of paying Howard $1 million in a renewal. In the big picture, it's not a whole lot more than $900,000, but it sounds better, and in this case perception means a lot.

[BigEd76]

If you have TVUPlayer installed (or you get NESN), today's Phils/Sox game is on.

[mpmcgraw]

Apparently the Phillies offered incentives to Howard so that he could reach over 1 million, but Howard declined it. 

Ha.  That makes sense. 

[PhillyPhreak54]

outstanding ny times piece on howard

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/sports/playmagazine/04play-howard.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

badass

[BigEd76]

Phils won 12-9 in 10 innings.  World Series.

Hamels pitching tomorrow vs the Yankees on CSN.

[ice grillin you]

i watched most of it today...greg dobbs is making a huge push to win the last bench spot

most importantly eaton looked very good

[PhillyPhreak54]

Dobbs is on fire. If he keeps this up that'll really solidfy the bench. He can play 3rd too so if Helms stinks the joint up Dobbs can play there. Looks like he'll beat Coste out.

[BigEd76]

Game is on CSN right now.  Matthews is in the booth and said Chris "Coasty" is battling for a bench job...

[ice grillin you]

i was just about to post that sarge is a train wreck

[Seabiscuit36]

Phils' Hamels expects to win 20posted: Monday, March 5, 2007  |  Feedback  |  Print Entry

In print, the words seem jarring: Cole Hamels, a 23-year-old with 23 major league starts, said Sunday he expects to win 20 games this season. For Hamels, he said the expectations are "20 [victories] every year."
But maybe you had to be in the room to know he wasn't bragging, that this was really all about goal setting and about currying belief in what he can achieve, if he applies himself correctly. And Hamels appears to be doing everything he can to achieve those 20 victories: early arrivals at the park in Clearwater, Fla., 90 minutes to two hours every day in cardio work, a dip into an ice tub to help treat his aching back.

He is 6-foot-4 and seems to have the lean, angular strength of a mountain climber, and on Sunday he completely controlled the Yankees over three scoreless innings. He looks absolutely prepared to be a difference maker in the NL East this season.

Brett Myers has developed into a steady, front-of-the-rotation pitcher, and starters Freddy Garcia and Jamie Moyer are plow horses, usually consistent and unspectacular; Jon Lieber is similar in the way he works. Adam Eaton, the free agent signed during the offseason, sometimes shows great stuff but must stay healthy.

But Hamels is the kind of talent who can lift a team from the pack to a division champion, the way Francisco Liriano did last season for the Twins. It's evident this is something Hamels believes he is capable of doing, if he applies himself, if he is responsible.

Hamels holds himself accountable for not working hard in the past. Asked about his reputation as a pitcher who could not stay healthy, he evenly replied, "I brought that on myself, and I have to correct it."

Twice this offseason, shortstop Jimmy Rollins has said he thinks the Phillies are the team to beat, and Hamels said he fully supports Rollins. When you first hear that kind of talk, Hamels said, "At first, it catches you off guard. ... There are things that you think but can't say. But hey, he said it. It's out there."


Rollins believes in the Phillies, and Hamels believes in the Phillies and Cole Hamels.


Twenty victories? It's not an idle boast.


• Hamels has been living in the weight room, writes Jim Salisbury.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I expect Hamels to win 25 this year and the rest of the pitching staff to win roughly 50-60 max.