Open Discussion, week of 16 April 2012

Weekly Discussion

Happy Patriots’ Day. Use this post to discuss all of the randomness in Phillies world this week so we can keep the other posts on topic.

130 thoughts on “Open Discussion, week of 16 April 2012”

  1. I want sincerely thank the Mets manager for not going to a left hander against Nix. I want to thank the Mets catcher and pitcher for throwing a high pitch when Nix missed so badly on two low ball.
    And I want to thank the statue of a ball player they had in left for not getting involved.

    Ty at third early works for me with Polaco for defense. Mostly Mayberry at first and Pierre will have to do in left where is much better than his center field days.
    As Pence goes so goes he team for now

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  2. The Mets played smart ball the first two games but reverted to the Mets we have grown to luv.
    keep it that way
    West coast ! Oh boy. It could be great or not.

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  3. no weekend boxscore updates from the minor league teams? Man now I can’t be lazy and find it all on one page!

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  5. Mayberry is reminding me of Francisco last season. Given the opportunity to claim an every day spot and failing to impress. Hopefully it just means Brown will be back up quicker.

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    1. Mayberry overacheived last season, by quite a large margin. Regression to what we expected this year is not suprising, I don’t think he’s an everyday major league player. I do like him as a 4th outfielder and occasional first baseman, maybe as a platoon guy, though.

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      1. I have to agree, it was way too pessimistic to assume he can carry that over to this season. Guys don’t change that much at his age.

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      2. As much as I was and am one of the people expecting some regression from Mayberry, I think this is premature and overly negative. Obviously the performance so far this year is too small a sample size to mean much of anything – 9 games is nothing! The various statistical projections showing a likely decline are entitled to a little more weight, yet I think there is evidence of a real change of approach last year which needs to be taken into account. Sure, you hear that sort of thing all of the time with players experiencing an unexpected level of success, but sometimes it is true and in this case I sense that it is, at least to some extent.

        My full season projection for Mayberry: .255/.315/.460. Not overwelming, but much better that what we have seen so far this year. And he does provide good defense, if not quite at the level that some of his fans think.

        Is he a long range answer as an outfield regular? Probably not. But a very good 4th OF who can step in to a regular spot if needed and provide signficantly better than replacement level play.

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        1. I pretty much agree, Larry. I doubt he’ll repeat last year’s numbers, and if he did I’d be ecstatic, but he’s still deserving of a chance to prove he can or can’t do it. It’s too early in the year to make that call about him.

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        2. I would take an OPS from Mayberry of 775 in a heartbeat. If he faced lefties about 60% of the time, he might be able to sustain a line like that, which is why I think a platoon role makes a lot of sense for him.

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    3. Yeah he is a really nice 4th OF, but he is starting to prove he just isn’t quite good enough to be a starting OF. That isn’t a bad player or a disappointment because if he was on the bench he would instantly be the best player there, but if this team has championship aspirations he just isn’t a solution in the OF.

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    4. Why should Brown be back up, when he has not hit well in AAA and he still has awful defensive skills? There are other players who have better defensive skills. Give someone else a chance.

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      2. “he has not hit well in AAA”

        Career .294/.374/.458 in AAA. His power isn’t where one would think it would be but to say that he hasn’t hit well is silly.

        (If you’re talking about only this season then he is currently .297/.350/.405 in 10 games)

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  7. I really do not like Juan Pierre, I think he’s lost a step, but plays like he still has the plus plus speed. I hope Brown continues playing well in AAA and forces the issue

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      1. And he gives professional at bats. Name one other player who makes the pitcher throw a strike. I don’t love him but right now he has to play because of how he plays and also because he’s getting in base. Mayberry can’t hit righties again and we know Nix can’t hit lefties so expect a full dose of platooning on this road trip.

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        1. With 0 walks and a BABIP of .368 (far, far above his career line of .313 and far above his best year ever of .341), Peirre is looking like an oak tree whose core is rotten, and time will surely knock over just as soon as the wind gets a bit more gusty. If he’s still in the lineup regularly a month from now I’ll be shocked.

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          1. He’s just an out machine who doesn’t hit for power. History also shows that if given the chance, we can count on him making 10-12 outs on the base paths too.

            If this team had the need for a late inning defensive replacement, I think he’d warrant a roster spot. Ibanez isn’t around anymore, so I’m not sure why we need another singles hitter who doesn’t walk. We may be able to get away with that on Polanco, but having several guys like that in the lineup?

            IMO, stick with the Mayberry/Nix platoon until they’re ready to bring up Brown

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            1. “If this team had the need for a late inning defensive replacement, I think he’d warrant a roster spot.”

              That’d be a reason not to have him. He’s a terrible defensive outfielder… he has no arm strength left.

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      1. god that was so colossally stupid it took my breath away. not only running with 2 outs but with a 2-2 count. if rollins gets a hit you are scoring from second anyway. if he takes a strike the inning is over so no reason to run. if he takes a ball then it moves you one base closer but it is a full count so you wouldve been running with the pitch anyway meaning you score just as often as you would from third. there was basically nothing to gain from taking third in that scenario and i would expect a player with pierre’s experience to know that

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    4. Pierre’s a good bench player and he can platoon in left for the time being, but he does not impress me as a very smart guy.

      Take yesterday into account. What kind of idiot attempts to steal 3rd with 2 outs and your #3 hitter is up at bat? You never make the last out at third, especially in that situation when he would have scored anyways if JRoll got a base hit.

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  8. I am fully in favor of calling up Brown immediately and letting him play. I’d rather time the beginning of a hot streak rather than calling him up after he’s cooled off. Seriously, its not like you’d be benching Wille Mays for him. They are getting next to nothing out of the Left friggin field.

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    1. If the biggest concern for the Philllies’ front office is Brown’s defense, then it would that his 10 clean games, is a good sign that he will be called up sooner rather than later. Also working in his favor are the performances of the left fielders (Pierre and Mayberry). If things continue as is, I would think a May 1st call-up would be in order. But it would have to be for everyday playing time. No platooning. We have jerked Brown around enough.

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    1. I’d like to say awesome, but then again Howard and Utley would probably not be up to form due to the time off. I’ll be thrilled with just Brown for now.

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    2. Current ZIPS projection of those 2 guys:
      Utley: 810 OPS
      Howard: 820 OPS
      Brown: .795 OPS

      Current production for the Phils for those 3 positions:
      Galvis: 657 OPS
      Mayberry: 536 OPS
      Pierre 700 OPS
      Thome: 282 OPS
      Nix: 550 OPS
      Wiggington: 730 OPS

      Yeah, I’ll be pretty happy when we get those 3 up to speed in the majors, too.

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    3. Yeah this….
      1. Victorino 2. Utley 3. Rollins 4. Howard 5. Pence 6. D Brown 7. Ruiz 8. Polanco
      looks alot better than this….
      1. Pierre 2. Polanco 3. Rollins 4. Pence 5. Victorino 6. Mayberry 7. Ruiz 8. Galvis

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      1. speaking of potential lineups, why is Charlie so wedded to Ruiz in the 7 or 8 hole? ruiz has the best approach at the plate of anyone on the team currently and second best behind Chase. he works the count, is willing to walk, can drive the ball in the gap. i mean what does chooch have to do to hit higher up in this crappy lineup we have?

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        1. I think with the current team we are running out there, I would not mind seeing him bat 2nd or 6th really. I know he’s not a prototype #2 hitter and doesn’t have the best speed but I’m not sure Ruiz is that much slower, if any, than Polanco now anyway. I would rather see Ruiz batting 2nd and Polanco 7th at this point.

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  10. Seriously missing the box scores… :/

    As to the big club, the explanation for their play and the team as a whole is summarized extremely well by looking at team stats and their comparitive league ranking. Ready? Ready? Here we go…

    Offense:
    RUNS 28 – Rank 27th
    BATTING AVERAGE .260 – Rank 7th
    ONBASE PERCENTAGE .297 – Rank 24th
    SLUGGING PCT .345 – Rank 24th

    So what does that tell us, A – Runs scored has been unlucky and we should score more as statistics normalize. They’ve actually got a pretty good BA average, but they don’t know how to take a walk and have no power.

    As to pitching, no point in reviewing it, because quite clearly there’s no problem there.

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    1. It takes 4 singles to score a run, good luck with that. With little power shown to date, the opposing outfielders are playng at little league depth. Even Rollins would have trouble going 1st to 3rd or scoring from 2nd on a single with where the outfielders are playing. We need some alley power, it doesn’t have to be homers, to open things up. That’s what Nix and Wig showed yesterday. Let’s hope that starts things going for each of them.

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    2. Next to last in walk with a big 17. In the math of scoring runs this is unacceptable especially a team with 5 Hrs . In plain english they don’t scare anyone.

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  11. Dom Brown has gotten a pair of hits the past few games. That’s the good news. The bad news is he DH’d yesterday. Means his defense must still not be all that great — which is probably delaying his call-up. Any injury update on De Fratus? I see Anthony Hewitt returned and wasted no time striking out… but he did get a hit. Contreras is returning and taking Savery’s spot. He needs to show he’s still got what it takes. For now, Qualls should still pitch the 8th. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Was at the game yesterday and it was brutal to watch until the Phillies finally put together some runs late. Papelbon has not had a 1-2-3 inning yet. For all the $$ he’s making and arrogance he’s exuding I expected more. I know it wasn’t a save situation yesterday but man up and pitch a clean inning. 3rd base is gonna be a huge concern this year. Polly’s body is broken and he just doesn’t have it anymore. Should not be hitting in the two hole. No speed. No walks. Good for nothing more than singles and batting below the Mendoza line now. Sadly, we’ve got no other options besides Wigginton. Hector Luna certainly is not the answer.

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      1. You’re right. He did. My bad. But he’s been a little sloppy since then. I know it’s early — maybe I’m just venting over that ridiculous contract the Phillies gave him.

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      2. Closers never get 1-2-3 innings when its not a save situation. No adrenaline rush I guess. I wouldn’t worry about Pap just now, he’ll be fine.

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    2. Dom has zero errors through the first 10 games of the year (not sure how many at DH). That’s at least partly encouraging.

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    3. The Brown DH thing good have many reasons from they wanted to just give him a small break to rewarding one of the guys riding the bench with a start. They wouldn’t bench him for his defense at this point. I do think he was pressing early on (watching this offense and you were in AAA you to would be trying to mash to prove you could fill a hole).

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      1. I don’t know about that. AAA is for development. His biggest area for development is his defense. It’s too early in the year for him to need a break defensively. That’s a red flag for me cause the same thing happened after he butchered a few balls in Spring Training.

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        1. In spring training he was injured, he hurt his leg so he couldn’t play defense. While AAA may be about development it is also a taxi squad of veterans that could be useful for the club and part of the job is to keep them all happy so that they will stay in the organization.

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          1. I specifically remember them DHng him after a rough outing in the field. It had nothing to do with an injury. Dom is the only positional prospect on that team. You can rotate the CF and RF positions but Dom should be playing everyday in LF.

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          2. Yeah, I think yesterday was about Sandberg giving Brown a break–day game after night game and whatnot. While he doesn’t have any errors, he has taken some bad/late routes and there was a dive/miss that turned into a triple which could have been deemed an error or at least a mis-play.

            I’m not hating, though. He’s looked good at times and his attitude has been good as well. He’s heating up at the plate. As above, it’s my opinion that he needs to play, and play every day–whether it’s LHV or Philadelphia.

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            1. If it’s route running, that’s not mental that’s really just not having good instincts right now. I sure hope they are hitting him a ton of fly balls before games to help him gain experience fast in this area as this is something that can be fixed and shouldn’t be a long term problem if he puts the work in. Everything I hear about him says he has and will.

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    5. Dom Brown at DH makes no sense to me. He’s not going to improve his fielding at DH.

      That said, this year the Phils really would prefer to give Brown the better part of a full season at AAA. I don’t foresee an early call-up, no matter how much Churlie wants to.

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  12. On another note. Clearwater has a very good bullpen. Bonilla,knigge,neris,whatcott. Have not givin up runs. Bonilla was a good starter but moved to pen cause he could be in Philadelphia as soon as 2013 as a reliever. Very good stuff. 91-96fb and best change up in the system.

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    1. The Phillies really don’t need more reliever prospects. Hopefully the plan is to let Bonilla move back into the rotation this season about halfway through.

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    2. No one really knows why Bonilla is in the pen. Some have opined on here that its to save him innings and that he’ll start games later in the year. I don’t know if that’s true or not. It could just be that they don’t see a starter when they look at him. I do know that a rotation with Colvin, Biddle, Garner, Morgan and Wright will get lots of starts. Also, Nick Hernandez is hoping to join this rotation by the all star break. Its very early but Morgan and Wright look the most likely to go to AA first which is a huge disappointment to all of us rooting for Colvin to show that last year was the exception. Having said that, Morgan and Wright are both looking very good. And how about the back to back starts by May and Pettibone? Let’s hope we get to see that for years to come.

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  13. i hope at some point we get the new “Whiz Kids” late summer, next year whenever.because this team is boring. We all like exceptional plays and except for pitching, Rollins,Ruiz and Galvis you might as well go watch the delco league. There is juice in winning because the other team screwed up. Thank god for the five starter.
    When do I get impressed with Papelbon?

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  14. Except for the pitching, Rollins, Ruiz and Galvis, you might as well watch the Delco league? Those are some pretty exceptions.

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  15. One third of the lineup? Its hard to name a great play for hit by anyone else before sunday

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  17. I watched the 4 game Reading series, liked what I saw from Leandro Castro, Sebastian Valle, and Cesar Hernandez the most out of the non pitchers. May looked very good and while Buchanan had some struggles he battled. Miguel Abreu seems to be doing well and Tim Kennelly made a great catch at 3rd, he dove and slid into the wall/railing.

    What’s the outlook for Castro and Hernandez, they seem to have some interesting tools but I admit I don’t know them all that well.

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    1. Castro doesn’t seem to hit enough to play a corner spot in the majors although he did hit 10 homers last year in not that many at bats. He hasn’t played that much CF for us because there always seems to be a better defensive outfielder where ever he’s played but he can play all 3 spots. He tends to swing at everything and not take any pitches and the thought was that would hurt him as he went higher. This year, he started well and then cooled off but he’s a good player. I don’t think he profiles as a major league starter.
      Cesar had a great year 2 years ago in WPort and then skipped LWood and played at CWater last year. He struggled mightily the first half but slowly improved through the year. He has definitely added muscle this year and seems to be hitting balls into the gaps more. Defensively, he could play in the majors already with very soft hands and smooth actions. He has a 2B arm but its plenty good enough for 2B. If he can hit 300 this year at AA with some extra base hits and steals, he would be back on track as a possible starting 2B in the majors. He absolutely has lots of ability and has a chance.

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      1. If Castro stays relatively healthy this year, he is just the type of Outfielder that would get taken high in the rule 5 draft. Because he can play CF, he does not have to be a great hitter. He doesn’t take any walks, but he isn’t a strike out machine either. He also has speed. Castro will be on a major league roster next year, if he is left unprotected. He hits enough and has the secondary skills that can translate to 5th OF.

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  18. Maybe Angels would be willing to give up Jersey guy Mike Trout for Dom Brown and Trevor May…just day-dreamin’

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    1. Wouldn’t happen, and I think at this point May, Biddle, and any 3B and SS prospects we have are untouchable. Which I like. It’s easier to find OFers than anything (except 1B). While Trout looks to be a future all-star, who knows really? I’d rather take a gamble on May than Trout at this point in time, but that’s just my opinion.

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      1. Your thinking seems backwards. I don’t think the Angels wouldn’t trade Trout for the entire Phillies minor league system at this point.

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        2. I was saying it wouldn’t happen because the Angels wouldn’t do it, not the Phillies. I was just expressing my personal opinion of prospects (I’d rather have pitching prospects than OF prospects) after that.

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    2. The only deal that I could even imagine prying Trout away from the Angels would be for Bryce Harper, and neither team has any reason to even think about that. Trout is about to be the rarest thing in sports, a cost and team controlled superstar

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    1. Because the season is 9 games old. Do you really expect RAJ to hold a presser to announce that the Phils need help at 3B?

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      1. And even acknowledging that we have a need at 3B, what would you have us do about it? RAJ is obviously looking everywhere he can if he signed Fontenot. Our only real option for an upgrade is to overpay in a trade, and if we’re going to do that why not go for a 1B? Pay less for the offense and keep the good defense.

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    2. You guys are writing Polanco off too fast. He looked very good in spring training but he didn’t play that much. I don’t know if he’ll ever be what he was but I don’t see why he can’t be. He’s a timing driven line drive hitter who’s looking for his timing right now. He’s still one of the best defensive third basemen in the league. This early in the season, it only takes a few 2 or 3 hit games to get your average back up. Let’s relax and wait and see.

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        1. ‘This blog seems to be all about overreacting to small samples’……i like to think it is more of foresight.

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  20. Pierre is an excellent 4/5 OF at his price. He’s hitting .350, but he’s been playing mostly gaint righties. He is much better against lefties! he had a .430 OBP last year against lefties and his carrer mark is also better against lefties. Nothing wrong with singles by a lead off hitter.

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    1. There would be nothing wrong with singles by a leadoff hitter if

      1) He was capable of doing anything else.
      2) That didn’t make Cholly want to bunt the #2/3 hitter.
      3) He led off every inning. You’re only the leadoff hitter once per game. While a single works with no one on, no one out, it doesn’t work so well with a runner on 1st, 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth down by 1.

      Also, a leadoff hitter should be able to walk.

      I don’t like Pierre, if you couldn’t tell.

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    2. Like I said a little further above…

      Pierre’s a good bench player and he can platoon in left for the time being, but he does not impress me as a very smart guy.

      Take yesterday into account. What kind of idiot attempts to steal 3rd with 2 outs and your #3 hitter is up at bat? You never make the last out at third, especially in that situation when he would have scored anyways if JRoll got a base hit.

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  21. Polanco is a serious liability for this team. I’m sorry, but the guy hasn’t been good offensively since April of last year. He’s good defensively still, but it seems as if he’s almost an automatic out when he steps up to the plate.

    I’m glad Brown has finally gotten his swing together and that he’s finally starting to hit the ball. The Phillies need to start scoring w/ RISP, hopefully Brown will come up soon and give them a spark to do that.

    My dream lineup when everyone’s healthy

    1) Rollins 2) Victorino 3) Utley 4) Howard 5) Pence 6) Brown 7) Ruiz 8) Polanco 9) Pitcher

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    1. I really don’t think Utley is a #3 hitter anymore, at this point I like Rollins, Pence, or Victorino better in that spot. I think Utley is more of a top of the lineup kind of guy getting on base at this point more than a power bat that can drive the ball. I also wouldn’t mind seeing them start Howard a little further down in the lineup when he first comes back until he gets his timing down, maybe something like this…

      1. Victorino 2. Utley 3. Rollins 4. Pence 5. Howard 6. Ruiz 7. Brown 8. Polanco / Wigginton

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      1. I see your point on Utley, but I don’t like Pence batting clean-up. He’s got some pop in his bat, but not enough IMO to bat 4th. If you bat Utley 2nd, I think Pence would be a better option in the 3 hole since he’s more of a good all-around player.

        I’m also not sure if I want Ruiz batting that high in the lineup. He’s a solid player who has been doing well this season, but I think he does better hitting 7th or 8th than he does 6th.

        Nonetheless, all of this is speculation until we see how Utley and Howard are when they come back. I just hope these guys can rebound from their injuries.

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  22. I personally want to hear “Utley’s knees have been injected with a non-steroid mystery substance that jesus gave him after decending from heaven. His knees as healthy as a 14 year old boy and legs the strength of 10 oxen. Howard meanwhile will post a .550 OBP this year because during Jesus’s visit he replaced Howards eyes with that of an eagle.”

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  24. How about Jorge Soler? I’m sure the bidding will get crazy though whenever he’s declared an FA. Time to get young were we can.

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  26. I don’t care what anyone says John mayberry Jr will turn it around its only eight games give him some time

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    1. The problem is that he is hitting like his scouting report and years of data right now and not like what appears to be anomaly last year. He is one case where small sample size may actually be last year ad not what he has done so far this season.

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      1. Lets not forget…he was drafted in the first rounbd….twice…after HS and after Stanford…so some scouts had to have a clue about his potential and abilities.

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        1. Let’s not forget he’s 28-years-old, has not had a major injury, and his only MLB success came last year. Some guys are what they are. While I agree it’s too early to start calling him BenFran I seriously doubt he’s more than what he’s shown in his professional career, which is a bench/platoon type player.

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  27. I don’t think there are any easy answers to the Phils’ infield problems. The best approach for them may be to patch the IF with high quality utility guys and aging veterans on one-year deals for the next three years. By 2015, maybe one or two of their young IF prospects will be high quality replacements as the Phils enter a new era.

    To offset lost IF offense, it’s important that the OF pick up some of the slack. Pence and Vic are fine, but the Phils really need strong offense from LF. That’s why Brown is so important.

    For those who believe that the Phils can’t extend Hamels, Pence and Vic because of the luxury tax, think about 2014 when the luxury tax threshold is $189 million and the Phils can get a fresh start. Utley’s, Blanton’s and Polanco’s salaries will be off the books by 2014. That will give the Phils $37 million to cover salary increases to Hamels, Pence, and Vic and to pay for Utley’s, Blanton’s and Polanco’s replacements. If Trevor May continues to improve, Blanton’s replacement is cheap.

    I think that Halladay and Lee are strong enough to remain top pitchers at least through 2014. Hamels will be 30 in 2014 and may become the Phils No. 1 by then. In any event, with these three, I think the Phils will remain playoff contenders through 2014.

    In sum, if Brown and May come through and the Phils extend Hamels, Pence and Vic, the Phils should remain a top team for a few more years.

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    1. And Rollins who is playing great right now, and Howard will be back hitting at some point, and Pap, and their young bullpen piece coming. The Phillies have shown that they will spend the money needed to stay championship caliber. They just need the players to earn their paychecks and stay healthy and hopefully get lucky every once in awhile.

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    2. The phillies are now much like the yankees (though not quite to the same degree), they’ll make the playoffs 80% of the time and have as good a chance as anyone to win it all. That said, if the roster were to remain the same for the remainder of the year (no ultey howard, brown, or trade deadline pick-ups) I think they’re a boarderline wild card team. Not because any particular team in the NL East is better, but because they look like a 90 win team and I’m sure someone (not sure who) from the division will end up with 92 wins.

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  28. Re: Jorge Soler
    Ben Badler of BA indicates as of 17 April, Jorge Soler is stiil not officially a free agent….teams cannot legally negotiate with him or his agent. Keeping my fingers crossed that Ruben and Phillies win out.

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    1. I agree Chooch should move up in the order and am also on the Non Pierre (Pun on Juan) bandwagon. He is not a speedster any more and doesn’t possess leadoff qualities. I would like to see Dom get a legit shot. I don’t understand why they havent corrected his catching style on flyballs. He holds the glove horizontally which isnt conducive to the ball actually landing and staying in it.

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  30. Pretty interesting article by Tom Verducci over at Sportsillustrated essentially arguing that the modern closer role is overrated and a failure based on the returns to salary and the injury potential associated with the position. The article puts words to/formalizes what a lot of people around baseball and at this site probably already thought or have mentioned at some point. I know Papelbon is good and has the track record, but I still can’t get over that contract. Even if he does stay healthy and maintains production over the life of the deal, considering the mounting payroll in Philly and the young arms in the system I still believe there were more cost-effective alternatives to address the position especially long term.

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  31. 2012 Draft notes:
    For the first time since 2008, the Phillies will pick four times in Major League Baseball’s top 100 draft picks. The official order for June’s draft was released Tuesday. Changed compensation rules as dictated by the new collective bargaining agreement have changed how picks are assigned. The Phillies will select 40th, 54th, 77th and 95th. Compensation for losing Ryan Madson is the 40th and 77th pick. The 54th pick is awarded for losing Raul Ibanez. And 95th is the Phillies’ second-round pick. For signing Jonathan Papelbon, the Phillies forfeited their first-round pick at No. 31. Boston was also awarded the 37th pick for losing Papelbon. In 2008, when the Phillies last had four top 100 picks, they selected Anthony Hewitt, Zach Collier, Anthony Gose and Jason Knapp. Gose and Knapp were used in trades for Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee, respectively. The draft is shortened from 50 to 40 rounds under the new CBA. The Cardinals have five of the first 59 selections and the Blue Jays hold five of the first 60 picks.

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  32. The big question is will Jamie Moyer make it to win 300 by age 59. And will it be against the Phils/

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  33. Interesting the differences in how Ruben compiles his bench vs how Pat Gillick did. It seems Ruben goes more the route of veteran guys who have been platoon / bench players before whereas Pat went the route of younger guys looking for opportunities to play, basically high risk / high reward guys. Having said that, you would think Ruben’s bench would be better but there would be less upside of one of those guys turning into a regular someday with potential. What’s funny is it seems the opposite is true.

    Gillick brought in Werth and Dobbs, who both were still relatively young looking for an opportunity and both blossomed into bigger roles in their time here, with Werth obviously becoming a much better player than Dobbs. He gave Victorino an opportunity to play more and that obviously worked out, but really Dobbs, Werth, and Victorino were brought in as bench guys.

    The players Ruben brings in – Gload, Thome, Pierre, Wigginton, Martinez, Schneider, etc are all guys who are past that point in their career really and at best will be good bench players. With our glut of position players at higher levels of the organization the past two years, it would have been nice to bring in a bench player or two that is younger with an upside rather than some of the names above.

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    1. I think Gillick’s approach is far preferable. The advantage of bringing in a young, cheap player is that you can easily dump him if he fails. Bring in a veteran (especially on a multi year deal) and he becomes an albatross if his skills erode.

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  34. Hypothetically, the Phillies fall out of the playoff race in June and Cole Hamels hasn’t been signed to an extension. The teams that have the money and need for him this year and beyond would be the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Dodgers, and Cubs. If the Phils would then look to trade him, they’d likely be after young major league talent or prospects that are near or already major league ready. How do the minor league systems of those teams match up with the Phils’ needs – 3B, LF, 2B, Starting Pitcher?

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    1. Rangers have the money, more or less, depending on what they do with Josh Hamilton……prospects-Profar, ss, Perez, LHP and Olt, 3rd.

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  35. Another rough start for Biddle. Maybe the first adversity he’s faced. Will be interesting to see how he’ll respond.

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  36. mayberry is absolutely awful right now. another garbage at bat with the bases loaded. wonder if he’ll get send to AAA and they’ll recall brown. he seems to be playing his way into a demotion.

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    1. Mayberry is out of options you risk losing him if you send him down. There really isn’t a logical person to let go to bring up brown because they signed Nix to that two year deal.

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      1. Oh Well! Far be from me to say I told you so when he was signed. I also noticed he had trouble turning a DP. He had to wait until Rollins actually got on the bag to throw.

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  37. As frustrating as the Phils hitting woes are, you cannot help but marvel at Freddy Galvis’ fielding prowess. You really do have to watch him for a while to understand just how great he is in the field. He has this ability to spread himself out, roll over, spring to his feet, release the ball in a blink of an eye and get good velocity on his throw that I have never seen in any infielder. I think we are looking at a guy who is probably a 2+ WAR fielder – perhaps even close to 3 WAR. His hitting is not where we would like it to be, but he’s coordinated and he’s built himself up. There’s no reason to believe that he cannot become an average middle infield hitter and might even grown to a plus offensive player over time, as Vizquel and Ozzie Smith did. He’s a special little player that Freddy Galvis.

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    2. I agree, for the first week or so of the season he didn’t get many tough chances but then you start to realize that’s in part due to his great range. This past week though he’s had some real tough plays to make and he has made them all. Don’t think he’ll win a gold glove this year because a) Utley will come back at some point and b) gold gloves are based on some other factors unfortunately, but I think he is playing like a gold glove caliber 2B right now. Amazing.

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    3. I know this has been the running dialog that has been shot down, but with Galvis’s glove big league ready and really a valuable asset is it really that unreasonable to start thinking about Rollins at 3B as a stop gap because Polanco has been awful. That left side of the infield would be incredible defensively and Rollins has arm to spare to play 3B. When Utley is back you would essentially have four guys for three spots and you mix and match and we never have to ever see Wigginton play 3B ever again (or see Mini-Mart on the major league roster).

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  38. Is my old mind failing me but didn’t Mayberry have an OPEN stance last year. Why the change?
    It is painful watching Polanco’s weak ABs and slow running. A fine player should not go out this way

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    1. Charlie playing Pierre over him vs a LHP last night is very telling. I said when spring training started this season’s offense at the start was going to be about the emergence of Mayberry and Brown having to fill some big shoes. Mayberry has failed in his opportunity the first 2.5 weeks. Brown had too many injuries in spring to be considered and has been largely underwhelming at the plate and in LF in AAA.

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  39. I think the Phils should do the following:
    1) release Frank Gailey- he is 26 which is old for A+ and he has bad numbers so far
    2) release Tug Hullett- he is old for AA and doing terrible
    3) Send Jim Murphy to Reading (to replace Hullett) – he deserves a shot
    4) Send Chris Duffy to Clearwater (to replace Murphy)- he is old for Lakewood and had always put up good numbers but never gets a chance to play everyday
    5) release Juan Morillo and move Jordan Whatcott to Reading and Colby Shreve to Clearwater- Whatcott deserves a shot at the next level and Morillo is the odd man out. He has already shown he can handle A+ pitching. Colby Shreve has spent to much time in Lakewood. Shreve’s spot in Lakewood could get taken by a guy in extended spring training.
    6) release Brandon Tripp- he is way to old for A+. They should give a younger guy a shot.

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    1. I agree with Gailey and Hullett…I can’t see Murphy moving up because he is not better then Ruff or Susdorf…Maybe call up Barnes to be a reserve at Reading. There will be some moves that effect the bullpens when De Fratus comes back to AAA. Somebody may get released from AAA or sent down. I like Tripp at Clearwater. He gives them some extra base potential. Not getting that from Hewitt now.

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    2. Not saying any of these things are true but I would assume many of the guys you want released are actually there because:
      1. It is like having an extra manager / hitting instructor
      2. They are good at helping the actual prospects adjust to life at that level
      3. The team wants to keep good will with the player to eventually have them move to scouting or managing a low level affiliate
      Just wanted to put forth the idea that there is a lot more than on the field production for these veterans that makes them important, they can be their for their clubhouse presence and leadership to help a group of teenagers and really young adults adjust to being professional baseball players

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