Phillies Offseason Talk

[Geowhizzer]

I'll start it off with my own Conlin-esque "If I was King of the World"- at least the start of it.

1.  I'd sign Rafael Furcal and switch him to 3B.  Doubt he'd do it, but dream big!  What other options at third base?  Mueller? Randa?  Helms?  Larson?
2.  Re-sign Wagner ASAP.  Give him three years, dang it.
3.  Release Lieberthal, Bell, and Tomas Perez.  Trade them if possible- even if only for batting practice balls.
4.  Sign AJ Burnett.
5.  If he refuses his option (doubtful), sign Kyle Farnsworth or LaTroy Hopkins as a set-up guy.
6.  Get a catcher, either through trade or FA.  Of what I saw, there isn't much in the market this fall.  We could go purely defensive and sign a Charles Johnson, who has nothing left in the tank offensively.  Or we could go Back to the Future and get Benito Santiago.    I'd say get Ramon Hernandez.
7.  Trade Thome to anyone- ANYONE- that will take him and give something back.  Thanks, Jim, and good-bye.  Ryan's taking first base.

There's a start.  I know- I suck at the GM thing.  Not as badly as Ed Wade, though. 

[BigEd76]

3.  Release Lieberthal, Bell, and Tomas Perez.  Trade them if possible- even if only for batting practice balls.

This isn't the NFL.  That's $12M right there.  And don't expect any major free agents.  They have over $70M committed to 11 players already....

[Geowhizzer]

That's why the "If I was king of the World."  I fully expect all three to be starting once again for the Fightins.

And I suppose the "impact starting pitcher" will be along the line of John Halama. 

Dang it, Ed, I like my version better!

[SD_Eagle5]

7.  Trade Thome to anyone- ANYONE- that will take him and give something back.  Thanks, Jim, and good-bye.  Ryan's taking first base.

I think they're going to try the Howard to LF experiment again instead of trading Thome.

[Geowhizzer]

7.  Trade Thome to anyone- ANYONE- that will take him and give something back.  Thanks, Jim, and good-bye.  Ryan's taking first base.

I think they're going to try the Howard to LF experiment again instead of trading Thome.

Does that mean Burrell's gone?  Howard+Thome+Burrell+Abreu+Utley= many, many K's- one of the main reason that the Phils' offense is so inconsistent.

[Geowhizzer]

If NOTHING else is done, please, please, PLEASE get rid of David Bell.

[SD_Eagle5]

I'd rather see them move Abreu for a decent starter. If worse came to worse Bobby could play Center...I guess  Now getting him to waive his no trade clause is another story.

[Geowhizzer]

I'd rather see them move Abreu for a decent starter. If worse came to worse Bobby could play Center...I guess  Now getting him to waive his no trade clause is another story.

Would that make the outfield Howard-Lofton/Michaels-Burrell?

Talk about a defensive nightmare!

People like to compare Howard and Burrell to Greg Luzinski in the outfield.  In a nutshell, Lofton and Michaels are no Garry Maddox.  And even Maddox had Bake McBride in RF- not another Luzinski.

[SD_Eagle5]

I'll gladly trade defense for offense especially at CBP. Its fun to speculate, but I get the feeling we'll be heading into next season with pretty much the same team as we finished with this season (I'm sure the relief pitching situation will be entirely different though). Even if Wade's not around, another GMs gonna take a look at the young talent on this team and keep it as is. Charlie will most likely get another year because the players like him.

[Geowhizzer]

I'll gladly trade defense for offense especially at CBP. Its fun to speculate, but I get the feeling we'll be heading into next season with pretty much the same team as we finished with this season (I'm sure the relief pitching situation will be entirely different though). Even if Wade's not around, another GMs gonna take a look at the young talent on this team and keep it as is. Charlie will most likely get another year because the players like him.

I think that the team will look almost identical, from top (Wade) to bottom (Tomas Perez).  At most, 3-4 minor moves, and probably a new closer when Wagner signs with the Red Sox or Mets.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Burrell or Abreu must be traded to free up salary and to add a #1 pitcher.

But before I get into my wishes...they must fire the dope first.

[MDS]

As long as T. Perez and E. Chavez are back, I have no problems.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Burrell or Abreu must be traded to free up salary and to add a #1 pitcher.

But before I get into my wishes...they must fire the dope first.

I vote for Burrell.  He's a very good player at times, but his stats make his trade value higher than his real value.

[rjs246]

I vote for RPGs. As in rocket propelled grenades. One for each square foot of the stadium and seven for each fan's face.

[Wingspan]

0 - 6 AGAINST THE GODDAMN ASTROS YOU STUPID SONS-A-BITCHES