06/07 Phillies Offseason Thread

[Rome]

Considering the kind of money that Matsuzaka got, I don't know if it's all that preposterous a stance for the Howards' to be taking at this point.

Two years ago: Rookie of the Year.

Last year: MVP.

Matsuzaka has never thrown a pitch in the Majors yet he's worth $100M+?

I don't know, guys.   

[ice grillin you]

i dont think its an outrageous stance at all....but i also dont think the phillies will pay it

[BigEd76]

The Howard thing is from Randarino's article today.  Like I said though, the Phils can give him a record deal for a 2nd/3rd yr player, but he can't demand anything yet...

[Rome]

I don't see how the Phillies can pay that.

Every other owner would be screaming, carrying pitchforks and lanterns and looking for their owners to be burned at the stake if they did that kind of deal.

A deal like that would totally destroy the precedents that have been set over the past 30 years.  No way that happens.

Also - the Phillies are just about at the edge of their financial spilling point.  Unless they could find a way to dump payroll, I don't see how they could afford another huge contract.

[BigEd76]

They're around $95M right now and that's with Lieber's fat ass and salary still around.  In two years, when Howard is ready for his huge deal, you'll have Burrell, Rowand, Moyer and Gordon off the books and the only huge deals will be the ones signed by Rollins, Utley, Myers and Eaton (and hopefully Garcia)...

[Rome]

If the Phillies had to do a deal like Soriano's, there's no doubt in my mind that they would.  So would any other team in baseball.

Bottom line is, they simply can't do it.  Not if any shred of fiscal sanity is to remain in the game.

[ice grillin you]

phil sheridan in yesterdays inky...

Pat Burrell.

Yes, the enigmatic leftfielder will be back. It is impossible to tell for sure whether Burrell won general manager Pat Gillick over last year, or whether Gillick simply couldn't trade the cloud and has chosen to believe he kept the silver lining.

"You know what, he really didn't have a bad year last year," Gillick said. "You look at his home runs and his RBIs, he had a pretty good year. I know that Pat likes playing here in Philadelphia and likes living here during the season and has a positive attitude about coming back. I think he's going to put up pretty big numbers this year."

If there is a lesson in all this, it is that numbers don't tell the whole story. This galls the sabermetricians and Money Ballers. It is completely lost on those who worry only about their fantasy teams. Nevertheless it is true that there are some things you just can't quantify, no matter what Bill James or Billy Beane say.

This issue is best understood by looking at last year's trade of Abreu to the New York Yankees. Well into October, many e-mailers complained that the Phillies would have won the extra couple games needed to reach the playoffs if they hadn't foolishly given Abreu away. But the fact is, the team didn't really start playing well together and winning until Abreu was gone.

You want numbers? The Phillies' record before the deal: 49-54. After the deal: 36-23.

Abreu is, by any measure, a very talented and productive player. He's a perfectly decent guy. And yet the Phillies were a better team without him (or Bell or Cory Lidle) on the roster.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

The Phillies are probably better off without Lidle this year, too.

[SunMo]

so are the skylines in New York

[Wingspan]

zVORP!

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

so are the skylines in New York

The building he damaged wasn't even that tall.  AIDS

[ice grillin you]

so are the skylines in New York


and flight instructors

[mpmcgraw]

Yea I emailed Sheridan about that.  

He hasn't responded yet, but I will post it here when he does.  If he doesn't respond I am going to email his editor then email him again and tell him it was me just to piss him off.  

I love the internet.  

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

You need a hobby.  I would tend to recommend masturbation or scrapbooking.

[SunMo]

i scrapbook pictures of me masturbating