2010/11 Phillies Offseason Thread

[phillycrew]

I would prefer Madson in the closer role.  I think he has the right pitches and mentality.  It will be a miracle if Contreras is able to pitch as well as last year.

[SunMo]

the right mentality?

whenever lidge is hurt, madson shteins his pants everytime he has to close

[smeags]

yeah haven't we tried the madson experiment enough ?

[MDS]

you can bitch all you want but madson will close if lidge cant go

strap in

[phillycrew]

the right mentality?

whenever lidge is hurt, madson shteins his pants everytime he has to close

After he recovered in July 1.64 ERA and 0.89 WHIP.  5 blown saves.  VORP.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Trying to catch up here...

Utley - DONE
Polanco - DONE
Lidge - DONE

Am I missing anyone?

[ice grillin you]

ibanez

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Is he injured, or just old and awful?

[ice grillin you]

old awful and cleansed of all steriods

[Don Ho]

ibanez

That would fall under the WELL DONE category.

[ice grillin you]

he doesnt sound too confident about it but conlin has the phils winning it all in his annual prediciton column

With Opening Day just 2 weeks away, it will take a Lourdes miracle for Utley to be ready. Look for a DL assignment any day. Meanwhile, it is hard to visualize him having anything resembling a meaningful season without a clean-up of the inflamed cartilage. The rest of the story is that aside from the patella problem, Utley's knee is arthritic.

From the pending disaster in the middle of the batting order, we limp to the back end of the bullpen, where closer Brad Lidge appears to be nearing the end of the line. He has lost 10 mph off the fastball that once made him one of the all-time power relievers. An 86-to-88 fastball in the ninth inning is fuel waiting to be thrown on a fire. Bicep tendinitis? A polite term for sore shoulder.

Ryan Madson has the best stuff on the staff. But does he have the Right Stuff it takes to close? And can weathered powerhouse Jose Contreras perform the end-game role if Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee decide Madson is too valuable to move out of the eighth inning?

Despite the glitches and question marks, this remains a powerful team. The fistful of aces is going to take the Phillies deep into most games.

Rollins is in a contract year. Raul Ibanez, Ben Francisco and a rededicated John Mayberry have been killing the baseball. Carlos Ruiz looks more and more like a catcher whose bat has caught up to his defense. There are still health-related roster decisions to be made. Josh Barfield and Delwyn Young have versatility and pop. Ross Gload is solid.

The clock is ticking on this ballclub, however. There is no expiration date stamped on teams to warn of their impending demise.

Hey, somebody had to eat the first oyster.

Even a century seems like a reach. But that's where I'm reaching. An even hundred wins, a fifth straight East title and, what the hell, World Series rings, as well.

[Rome]

Where are you Havas you icehole?

[ice grillin you]

watching the tournament

[Rome]

So the Phillies were bragging about the attendance at the game yesterday (10,800-plus) and it occurred to me that they really are quickly closing in on the Yankees in terms of smugness & cash register-itis.  That place was absolutely ridiculous.  It was so crowded it ruined the entire experience.  I've been going to spring training games here since the 1980's and yesterday was the worst ever. 

They had at least 3,000 too many people there and although I understand it's a business and they're in it to make money, how much is enough when the fans who actually show up end up leaving early (which I did and I noticed quite a few others doing too).

Whatever, though.  They do the same shtein at The Bank too, so it's not like this is something new.

[ice grillin you]

yup just like the bank...ashburn alley is a train wreck