2009 Phillies Offseason Thread

[Sgt PSN]

i doubt that a 6mil annual salary is going to break the bank with this team.  as cheap as ownership was for years when it came to payroll, they seem to have enjoyed the taste of winning over the last 3 years and realized that if they spend a little more money up front and put a quality team on the field, that the fans will show up at the stadium in full force.  i bet ticket sales and merchandise sales have been better over the last 3 years than they were for the previous 10 combined.   

gotta spend money to make money.  the phils get it.  the eagles, not so much. 

[Rome]

the seamheads are killing the move.  shocker.  pete happy is evidently a better offensive player than peanuthead because the stats say so!  well, some of them do, anyway.

[Eagles_Legendz]

I don't think any stats show he's a better offensive player.  It doesn't really depend on any specific metric, Polanco is better offensively across the board.

Their OPS+ the last 5 yrs:

Polanco's OPS+ since 2005:
120
80
121
101
88

Feliz OPS+ since 2005:
85
79
80
81
81

Feliz K's more, is worse on the basepaths, walks slightly less, and his career OBP is LOWER than Polanco's career AVG. 

[Eaglez]

Polanco definitely has a better approach at the plate than Feliz as he relies on coming through the ball quickly and poking base hits.  Prototypical player who tries to hit for average and if he drives one out then so be it.  He still knocked 10 out of the park in a pretty cavernous Comerica Park so he should hit a bit better with the short porch in right with the Phils. 

I'm only concerned that his arm is somewhat weak at 3rd.  I think his glove with be the same, but it's just a matter of having a strong enough arm to get the close plays at 1st.  I consider this an upgrade over Feliz.  I didn't want Beltre because he's another guy that just tries to mash balls out of the park and has a high K to BB ratio.  They already have 4 guys in the lineup that take that approach on most at-bats, they don't need more. 

[Eaglez]

Also if they are thinking of hitting Polanco 2nd maybe they should move Jimmy down in the lineup and have Shane try and lead off.  That way Jimmy doesn't have to resist the temptation to go hacking and gives him the opportunity to drive in more runs, which he still obviously has a desire to do.  Plus Shane has shown himself to be a pretty good contact hitter and consistently hit for average last season, always staying around the .280-.300 mark.  Couldn't hurt to at least try it out. 

[ice grillin you]

Also if they are thinking of hitting Polanco 2nd maybe they should move Jimmy down in the lineup and have Shane try and lead off. 

i would definitely do that....but even if you dont move jimmy down i want shane in the two hole over polanco...i love that one two speed punch at the top of the order and polanco doesnt get get on base more than shane and while he does strikeout less its not like shane is choke jr

[Eaglez]

Yeah the only problem is that you lose that speed at the very top.  But at least this is a good problem to have. 

[Sgt PSN]

Also if they are thinking of hitting Polanco 2nd maybe they should move Jimmy down in the lineup and have Shane try and lead off.  That way Jimmy doesn't have to resist the temptation to go hacking and gives him the opportunity to drive in more runs, which he still obviously has a desire to do.  Plus Shane has shown himself to be a pretty good contact hitter and consistently hit for average last season, always staying around the .280-.300 mark.  Couldn't hurt to at least try it out. 

that's why figgens was my preference.  rollins can hit, he just isn't a leadoff guy.  drop him in the order and his numbers go up across the board. 

[Eaglez]

I'd take Figgins over Polanco too but it was obvious the Phils feel they don't have the resources to go out and get him so I think this is probably the 2nd best option.  3 years 18 million with a mutual option for a 4th doesn't seem too bad.  He's 34 but he doesn't hit for power so you should be able to project that he will hit in that .300 range for the duration of his contract as long as he can stay healthy, which he has been for most of his career.  His approach doesn't concern me that he will just fall off a cliff like other 34 year old power hitters may. 

Nothing ground-breaking but first impression to me has me think it's a pretty solid signing. 

[ice grillin you]

it will be interesting to see if figgins really gets what he wants...with the way the market is im actually suprised the phils didnt wait it out on polanco so that they dont get bitten as they did with the numbers they gave ibanez

[Drunkmasterflex]

$6M on a payroll expected to be over $150M is nothing.

Look, I wanted Beltre but I have to believe he was asking for truly ridiculous money and years, so I'm fine with peanuthead.

And before anyone regails me with the benefits of Feliz's glove, let me remind you he was less than stellar last year.   Whatever Polanco lacks with the leather he more than makes up with the bat, so shut it.

Agreed 100%.  Feliz had some errors last year at key spots.  3 years 18 million in baseball=nothing

[Eaglez]

With revenues down for a majority of teams I don't think Figgins gets what he wants this off-season either.  I heard he was looking for $34-36 million for 4 years (not sure if it was 3 with an option or 4 years).  He'd probably have to knock off $10 million to get teams bidding for him but even so that gives the Phils a few million in savings to go after bullpen help, a potential 5th starter and a new bench. 

Plus I heard the Red Sox were thinking about targeting Polanco and moving Pedroia to SS so they were probably trying to avoid a bidding war like they did last year when the Angels were seriously targeting Ibanez. 

[Rome]

Agreed 100%.  Feliz had some errors last year at key spots.  3 years 18 million in baseball=nothing

When I first saw the $10-12M headline I thought it was a per year thing.  $6M for an all-star is nothing even if he's going to be playing out of position.

And let's not forget that he can actually play second at the same level as True Grit, so that means more rest and hopefully more productivity at the end of the year for Chasey.

[MDS]

fine move

the reality of the situation is the win/lose the world series on the arms of lee and nicole and the bats of ace, choke and werth. everyone else is there to chip in.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Solid move. Like I mentioned before, I loved Polanco when he was here. He can play 3rd well, he's very good at 2nd if he has to give Grits a break (like Rome mentioned) and the money isn't terrible. His offense and ability to play small ball and pop one here and there is nice.

As far as the seamheads? Who gives a shtein. Those cultists are a joke. I get sick of hearing them cry about made up stats, algorithms and spreadsheets. farging clowns.