07/08 Phillies Offseason Thread

[Rome]

I see the Chuck LaMar hiring is finally paying off.

[SunMo]

Chris has always had a great bat, but he has battled some injuries in the past," Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "We feel he will be healthy this coming year and adds a lefthanded hitter and some depth to our outfield."

"some injuries"
Broken left hand; and ligament damage in his left wrist (2000); a stress fracture in his right ankle (2001), a broken right thumb and blown-out left knee (2002), more problems with his left knee (2003) and deep bone bruise in his right wrist (2004). Then problems to his right knee, which knocked him out last season. That's almost one big injury a season this decade

[PhillyPhreak54]

He looks retarded. Seriously.

[BigEd76]

Snelling was signed out of Australia in 1999 by the Mariners.  Gillick luvs him sum ex-Mariners

[Geowhizzer]

Dayn Perry's latest "gem" about the NL MVP (part of this article about the award winners):

This is certainly the award with the most crowded field, and that means a compelling debate.


With that being said, Rollins was not the guy. Not even close. Rollins is a smart, hard-working ballplayer and a good leader, and he's got baseball skills for days. However, he's not the MVP. He didn't deserve to win the Gold Glove at short (is it too much to ask that we make this award about, you know, actual defensive ability?), and his power numbers were aided greatly by his home park, which has been the best power environment in all of baseball throughout its brief existence. Rollins' OBP of .344 is also nothing special considering the context.

As for Holliday, the runner-up, he had without question a great season. However, his numbers were inflated by Coors Field, and he played a non-premium defensive position.

Prince Fielder? The best power hitter in the NL, but his defense at first base (also a non-premium position) left much to be desired. That's overshadowed by his production with the bat, but it still matters.

If the award were about offense and offense only, then Hanley Ramirez would be the runaway winner. However, his defense is so brutal at short that it knocks him down a peg or three.

So all things considered, here's who should have wo it: David Wright of the Mets.

On the year, Wright authored a batting line of .325 AVG/.416 OBP/.546 SLG with 74 extra-base hits, all while playing his home games in a park that's quite tough on right-handed batters. Throw in his Gold Glove defense and his 34 steals in 39 attempts, and you've got an MVP season. It's also worth noting that Wright hit like a house afire down the stretch (.394 AVG/.516 OBP/.657 SLG in August and .352 AVG/.432 OBP/.602 SLG in September/October), even as the rest of the team fell apart. He also delivered in clutch situations: Wright batted .310 with runners in scoring position, .332 with runners on, .346 in "close and late" situations, .375 when the score was tied, .353 when the margin was one run, and .366 when the margin was two runs. Heck, Wright even slugged a robust .614 in games against the rival Phillies this season. When it came to producing in the clutch, Wright this year was better than Rollins, Holliday and Fielder. Overall, once you correct for home park and positional scarcity, Wright has better offensive numbers than anyone in the NL except for Ramirez. Once defense is taken into account, Wright easily moves past Ramirez in terms of overall value.

In other words, no matter how you slice the numbers, Wright was a better player in 2007 than Rollins or Holliday or Fielder or anyone else in the National League. As indicated in the brief discussion above, if you choose not to give the award to the best player in the league — Wright, who put up the best numbers and delivered in the clutch — in favor of an inferior player who happened to have better teammates, then you're penalizing said best player for things beyond his control. That doesn't make any sense.

That's also why David Wright, without question, should have been the NL MVP.

[ice grillin you]

dayn perry is a classic seamhead from the billy beane school of baseball...he used to write for baseball prospectus.....in short hes a farging moron

[SunMo]

i can't believe how many people even have wright in the conversation, everything i'm seeing is pro-wright over rollins instead of holliday.

wright finished exactly where he should have.

[Rome]

Who farging cares what those stat geeks have to say?  None of them ever picked up a bat or put a glove on past little league anyway.  Let them analyze statistical minutia until their blue in their pasty, pimply, four-eyed faces.  Bottom line is Rollins produced historic numbers on offense while leading off most games and at the same time performed at a gold glove-level at arguably the most difficult position in the field.  He was also the unquestioned leader of a team that didn't collapse like a salvation army suit down the stretch.  In fact, he carried his team for vast stretches of a season where the other two legitimate MVP candidates on the team were hurt or mired in long slumps.

I've said in the past that postseason awards are nothing more than self-congratulatory popularity contests and I still believe that.  That said, if anyone deserves a "most valuable" award, it's Rollins, because without him the Phillies were a sub-.500 baseball team. 

[MDS]

did these dingbats forget that the farging mets choked their coke snorting eyes out? farg new york.

[rjs246]

Dingbats? Ok, gramps.

[Sgt PSN]

He was also the unquestioned leader of a team that didn't collapse like a salvation army suit down the stretch. 

I don't know what that means.

[Munson]

Dingbats? Ok, gramps.

[rjs246]

Stop.

[BigEd76]

The Phils signed Brandon Watson for Lehigh Valley

[Rome]

The Angels signed Torii Hunter to a five year/90 million dollar deal.

Insane.