2012 - Philadelphia Phillies, At Least Cole is Staying

[Don Ho]

Why in the farg do you pitch to McCann with 2 outs, men at 2nd and 3rd with Uggla who can't hit shtein right now on deck? 

[Sgt PSN]

Why in the farg do you pitch to McCann with 2 outs, men at 2nd and 3rd with Uggla who can't hit shtein right now on deck? 

I'm not watching, but that doesn't make much sense.  Especially since I know he's handled Uggla well throughout his career. 

Career BA vs Hamels

McCann - .275
Uggla - .Bacardi

[Don Ho]

The only highlight worth watching tonight is Triple A at his usual best in left field.  Dropped a pop up and got tko'd by the wall.  Of course his three stooges act costs them a run. 

ALL 6 BRAVES RUNS SCORED WITH 2 OUTS!

[MDS]

its kind of funny but if they lose tomorrow they are selling

amaro basically said they need 2/3 or sweep or its over. well, whats left of this horrible season is on you, fatso. make it happen and get me something for victorino.

[ice grillin you]

i have been against it the entire time but whats the over under on months until non south jerz fans realize how horrendous heidis deal was....will his back have to go out or will he have to average 12 wins a year over the next three seasons

has anyone ever done less and got paid more than him

[MDS]

Part of me wanted to keep him, part wanted olt and more from Texas

Bad contract or not he's a top tier pitcher in his prime. Those guys don't grow on trees.

[ice grillin you]

hes not a top pitcher by any means....he had one amazing run in october of 2008....other than that hes been nice...but not anywhere remotely close to 6-144 nice

what ace would have gone out and walked six guys in any game much less the first game after you get caked off against your division rivals that you are chasing in the biggest game of the year thus far

[Don Ho]

Both of you bring up good points.  Like Todd I was part of the "yes it's a lot but good pitching doesn't grow on trees, he's young, Doc and Lee are falling apart before our eyes and they ain't got shtein in the system" contingent.  Wasn't Like he got roped out there, what 6 hits but damn those career high walks were killer.  Still fuming over the fact he pitched to McCann with Uggla due up.  Plus this collection of boneheads left men in scoring position numerous times, again.

[SD]

hes not a top pitcher by any means....he had one amazing run in october of 2008....other than that hes been nice...but not anywhere remotely close to 6-144 nice

what ace would have gone out and walked six guys in any game much less the first game after you get caked off against your division rivals that you are chasing in the biggest game of the year thus far

Agree with Don in that you both make good points. The contract is awful but that's roughly his worth on the open market. I'm glad they kept him because you need starting pitching and he can be very good at times. The goal should be to get younger, meaning if there's a market for Lee/Halladay/Blanton etc. they should be doing what they can to move them for prospects and using their money on a younger staff.

The crossroads is no more, now that Hamels is back in the mix they're going to restock for next season and give it another run. They'll sell last year as an aberration to the fans who will eat it up. They'll fix the bullpen and we'll see a bunch of offseason articles from the players saying they're back. For all the RAJ lovers this will test how good of a GM he really is.

[ice grillin you]

i do agree with that....once you sign heidi you have to go all in every year and try to win a world series...i just dont believe thats gonna happen because of the perfect storm of pretty much their entire roster getting old at the same time and having no farm system

[SD]

Here's my hope: They can sucker the fan base into believing they're contenders for the next 3 or 4 seasons. Even if they play .500 ball the fans will come out. You do that and let the A ball talent develop while adding some pieces at the same time. This is what I would do. I doubt they go that route but at some point you have to stop paying every decent player $20+ million and be smart with your money. Even if they don't have sell outs a 75% full park will still turn enough of a profit for them to add to the payroll until they can get their own network and really go wild.

The above is an easy sell for next season, especially if they add a few pieces to the bullpen. They'll say "we had injuries" then add a few pieces to the pen and the fans will drink the kool-aid. To me it's all about keeping fan support as high as possible while developing the farm system. You do that and you can sustain decent baseball for the next 10 seasons or so.

[Sgt PSN]

I don't think .500 ball would cut it for 3-4 years.  They could possibly get away with it for 2 more years at best and still maintain high attendence. 

[Geowhizzer]

hes not a top pitcher by any means....he had one amazing run in october of 2008....other than that hes been nice...but not anywhere remotely close to 6-144 nice

what ace would have gone out and walked six guys in any game much less the first game after you get caked off against your division rivals that you are chasing in the biggest game of the year thus far

Steve Carlton.  Can't say it was after he was "caked off," but he did it July 2, 1980 vs. Montreal.  He also did it June 29, 1972 against the Mets, July 26, 1977 in Los Angeles, and September 24, 1977 against Montreal (actually 7 in that game).  He also had a handful of games in those years where he walked five.

In case you're wondering, I specifically chose those years beacuse they were Carlton's Cy Young years.

[SD]

I don't think .500 ball would cut it for 3-4 years.  They could possibly get away with it for 2 more years at best and still maintain high attendence.

.500 ball all year long means they're somewhat in it. That's all they need to maintain support. The people who live in reality will know they're in the shteinter but the sheep who go to games won't know the difference. Phils fans are teetering on Flyers fandom at this point.

[ice grillin you]

hes not a top pitcher by any means....he had one amazing run in october of 2008....other than that hes been nice...but not anywhere remotely close to 6-144 nice

what ace would have gone out and walked six guys in any game much less the first game after you get caked off against your division rivals that you are chasing in the biggest game of the year thus far

Steve Carlton.  Can't say it was after he was "caked off," but he did it July 2, 1980 vs. Montreal.  He also did it June 29, 1972 against the Mets, July 26, 1977 in Los Angeles, and September 24, 1977 against Montreal (actually 7 in that game).  He also had a handful of games in those years where he walked five.

In case you're wondering, I specifically chose those years beacuse they were Carlton's Cy Young years.

were all those games more or less to save the phillies season?

did he also receive a monster deal the day before and have anything to possibly prove

also dont ever mention arguably the best left handed pitcher of all time and heidi in the same sentance again...thanks

I don't think .500 ball would cut it for 3-4 years.  They could possibly get away with it for 2 more years at best and still maintain high attendence.

.500 ball all year long means they're somewhat in it. That's all they need to maintain support. The people who live in reality will know they're in the shteinter but the sheep who go to games won't know the difference. Phils fans are teetering on Flyers fandom at this point.

yeah with an extra wild card spot now available .500 pretty much will always have you in the mix...at least until september...its gonna make for some really interesting trade deadlines