2006 Philles Season Thread

[Philly_Crew]

As Hamels dominates, Phils try to determine his future

By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer

The question has been: When? The answer could be: Soon, very soon.

Phillies assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said yesterday that he would be in Philadelphia this week to talk with general manager Pat Gillick. They will try to figure out their course of action for Cole Hamels, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lefthander who has dominated in the minor leagues this season.

"At some point before long we'll have to take a hard look at doing something," Arbuckle said of the possibility of Hamels' promotion to the Phillies. "If he keeps pitching like this, I don't think it'll be a lot longer. But we still have to sort it out."

Hamels, 22, the team's first-round draft pick in 2002, allowed one run and struck out 10 in seven innings Sunday for the triple-A Red Barons.

In three starts for Scranton, he is 2-0 with an 0.39 ERA. In 23 innings, he has allowed one run, 10 hits and one walk, and struck out 36. Opponents have hit just .128 against him.

In 1951/3 career innings in the minors, Hamels is 14-4 with a 1.43 ERA. He has allowed just two home runs in his professional career.

The Phillies seem to have two options if they call up Hamels, which seems inevitable. They can move righthander Ryan Madson into the bullpen, or send righthander Gavin Floyd to Scranton.

Madson is 3-1 but has a 6.82 ERA. In 301/3 innings, he has allowed 49 hits and 16 walks, while striking out 15. Opponents have hit .371 against him.

Madson has pitched well from the bullpen the last two seasons, which could factor into the decision.

Floyd is 3-2 with a 6.16 ERA. In 302/3 innings, he has given up 41 hits and 17 walks, and struck out 19. Opponents have hit .323 against him. He is not a candidate for the bullpen.

Hamels pitched a shutout last Tuesday in Richmond, Va., against Atlanta's triple-A affiliate.

Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox said Thursday at Citizens Bank Park that he recognized Hamels' name in the reports he read. Cox watched Hamels pitch against the Braves in spring training of 2004 and had not forgotten him.

"He's as good as it gets, everything about him - fastball, change-up, poise on the mound," Cox said. "He has ace written all over him."

Did you hear Jodie Mac yesterday talking about the Phillies thinking about bringing him up later in the year to delay his prospects for arbitration down the road?  I had never heard that arguement but thought you or Ed might have an informed opinion.

[Seabiscuit36]

John Russell was just on WIP, he basically was very careful with his wording.  Said Cole has control that he hasnt really seen in a guy who's 22.  Said the changeup is devastating and not something someone his age can usually master.  He didnt want to compare him to any great pitchers because every great pitcher has a look and style of their own. 

[MDS]

-Bring up Cole now
-STFU Wagner, nobody cares

[Geowhizzer]

Did you hear Jodie Mac yesterday talking about the Phillies thinking about bringing him up later in the year to delay his prospects for arbitration down the road?  I had never heard that arguement but thought you or Ed might have an informed opinion.

If a player has two full years of MLB service plus a certain number of days (according to this website, it's 86 days if certain criteria is met) over that, they qualify for arbitration (it's sometimes called "Super 2 Arbitration").

Basically, the Phils are trying to avoid an extra year of arbitration with Hamels.

[Philly_Crew]

Thanks Geo.  When could the Phils bring him up this season for those of us that are mathematically challenged?

[Geowhizzer]

Thanks Geo.  When could the Phils bring him up this season for those of us that are mathematically challenged?

If my calculations are correct, the Phils could call him up around July 9th and not be liable for the extra year of arbitration, based on the last game being October 1st.

[SunMo]

they better not wait that long.

[Rome]

Wagner's still at it, huh?

Haha.  What a bitch ass.   How much do you wanna bet that they have to seal off the area around the bullpen tonight?

[PhillyGirl]

Wagner's still at it, huh?

Haha.  What a bitch ass.   How much do you wanna bet that they have to seal off the area around the bullpen tonight?

Funny thing is, Wagner is the one who begged for the BP to be changed when he was a Phillie because of the fans being too close to him. Now he's back in that same bullpen anyway. 

[MURP]

I heart Mesa.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

ESPN Insider article from Peter Gammons:

Phillies gaining momentum
posted: Tuesday, May 9, 2006 

PHILADELPHIA -- What may be spawning is a Mets-Phillies rivalry that lights up the Northeast Corridor. There is the specter of Billy Wagner's return to Citizen's Bank Park with words that make him a targeted villain cut from the J.D. Drew/Scott Rolen cloth, the color of what may be the two best lineups in the National League, Pedro Martinez kicking off the season series and the realization that the Mets now matter in New York, the Phillies now matter in Philadelphia and these two teams have had such so little history of rivalry that the only time they ever finished 1-2 in a race was 1986, when the Phils finished 21½ games behind the eventual world champions.

What happens between these two teams has a long night's journey into day after the current three-game series, and could be decided by the Pat Gillick-Omar Minaya race to acquire pitching or which phenom (Cole Hamels or Mike Pelfrey) is least damaged by being rushed to the major leagues.

But as they begin their prelude to a rivalry, the weekend helped the Phillies begin to alter some preconceived notions. Look, the Phillies did sweep the Giants and run their winning streak to eight games. The weather was beautiful, accentuating the fact that not only is Citizen's Bank Park one of the best fans' sites in the industry, but, thankfully, it is not The Vet and all the anger management it necessitated. (Giants reliever Steve Kline remembers going there as a teenager, and when a kid dropped a popup in the sixth-inning Pizza Hut Popup Challenge -- everyone got a pizza coupon if he caught three -- Kline says, "They booed him so badly he ran off the field in tears.")

Sure, Barry Bonds got booed, and there were a few signs. But the booing was nothing compared to what he got at Dodger Stadium, nothing compared to what Drew and Rolen experienced. It was not obscene, simply a combination of an aknowlegement that many fans outside San Fransisco do not recognize what he is doing as a run for anything but a hollow number, and it was an expression of their contempt for what they perceive as his contempt for them. Fair enough.

In fact, Bonds had nothing to complain about in terms of Philadelphia. A dozen Phillies players approached him behind the batting cage before Sunday night's game, and either hugged him or shook his hand -- offering their good lucks. When he hit the mammoth home run off Jon Lieber, the crowd gave him a rousing standing ovation, and when he came up in the eighth, flash bulbs went off all over the stadium on every pitch. The Phillies players in the dugout stared up at where the ball landed for nearly ten minutes, and when Pat Burrell came in from left field, he said, "I thought it was going out of the stadium. I'm glad nothing got hit to me because I couldn't concentrate the rest of the inning. I was in such awe." 

Bonds feels there is no joy surrounding his chase of Number Two, but, in reality, Philadelphia gave him some. He feels he is unfairly targeted when the players' fraternity knows the percentage of players using illegal performance-enhancing drugs was astoundingly higher than outsiders dreamed imaginable. He also feels that the media is draining him, and while teamates complained about the media all weekend, all Bonds had to do was go to the PR staff, say he'd go to a room for two minutes, smile and there wouldn't be 60 media members standing around the clubhouse watching him watch television because he declined to be interviewed, interfering with teamates. "When this is over at the end of the year," he said, "I'm just going to go away and disappear." For a man whose OPS in 1992 and 1993 were each higher than any season posted by Henry Aaron, Frank Robinson, Joe DiMaggio or Reggie Jackson, this is a pitiful statement of "be careful what you wish for."

While the national focus last weekend was on Bonds, the Phillies stole the spotlight before three packed houses. They also seem to be piercing another preconceived notion that this is a robotic team. Anyone seen all the model racing car teams led by Arthur Rhodes, Shane Victorino, Aaron Rowand, et al?

"The knock that this team had no heart was really unfair," says one veteran player. "Heart was not the issue, not with Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins and Bret Myers and Ryan Howard. But what is true is that a lot of the really good players here are not very outspoken. That's not heart, it's personality. But in comes Rowand and Tom Gordon and it's as if the personality has dramatically changed."

Rowand is one of those baseball characters -- dirt dog -- that was a vital part of the world champion White Sox and has transformed the Phillies, all while playing center field as well as anyone in the game. In spring training, he made it a point to go to lunch or dinner with everyone on the team. He goes up and down the dugout offering what seems to be the right charm at the right times. "He was the perfect guy to bring to this team," says Burrell. And when Charlie Manuel decided to take Rowand out of the two hole, move Utley there and get Howard into the fifth spot, Rowand said, "I don't care where I hit. Fit everyone else where the lineup works best, then give me my place. It's all about winning."

Gillick hasn't bombed this team, but he has subtly altered the personality. Look back to his time in Toronto and Seattle, and Gillick's history was finding the right people. He couldn't keep both Howard and Jim Thome, so he freed up money with the Thome deal, got a center fielder who could track everything between Bobby Abreu and Burrell and brought in a personality. The people he brought in for much-needed depth include David Dellucci, Tomas Perez and Sal Fasano, while Gordon has been the best closer in the league in the far-easier role of knowing that he will get up once and pitch one inning, safe from the exhausting up-and-down role in New York.

Gordon is throwing 94-96 heat with his wicked curveball, and his cutter has been extremely effective against lefties. "I talked to Mariano Rivera at least once a week," says Gordon. "We talked a lot about the cutter. I learned I couldn't use his grip, but in terms of the philosophy of using the pitch, he has helped me a great deal."

There are issues here, beginning with the starting pitching. Other than Myers and Cory Lidle, the starters have been spotty. Jon Lieber made imnprovement Sunday. Gavin Floyd has had consecutive starts that were termed "better" by Manuel, with a few frozen headline moments. Ryan Madson has yet to find it; he escaped with his stuff Saturday despite the fact that 10 of the first 15 Giants reached base -- and none scored.

The fans want Hamels, who has allowed one run and fanned 26 in 23 innings in Triple-A. He has a great change and what Manuel says "is an unusual feel for pitching." He's also allowed only two home runs in his minor league career. Unfortunately, that career includes less than 200 innings, and the sample doesn't include bouncing back from adversity.

Until Mariners owner Howard Lincoln refused to add payroll in Gillick's last seasons in Seattle, his history in Toronto and Baltimore was to go get what he needed, like David Cone and Rickey Henderson. So what the pitching staff looks like in August could be different than what it looks like now.

But there will be no lack of effort to make 2006 the first legitimate Phillies-Mets race. We may come to regret the last time they are scheduled to meet is August 14-17 at CBP, but what baseball may still embrace is that that could be one of the best weeks in New Jersey Turnpike history.

I heart Aaron Rowand.

[Rome]

The people he brought in for much-needed depth include David Dellucci, Tomas Perez and Sal Fasano, while Gordon has been the best closer in the league in the far-easier role of knowing that he will get up once and pitch one inning, safe from the exhausting up-and-down role in New York.

Uhhh...  no.   

[MDS]

Tomas over Alex Gonzalez

[PhillyPhreak54]

If that lackey David Montgomery is the one behind the arbitration thing (if its true) with Hamels then he should have his nuts cut off.

Bring.

Him.

Up.

Now.

[PhillyPhreak54]

I'm pumped about tonights game. I can't wait to get this thing started.

Pedro is going to get killed.