The Phillies traded 27 year old relief pitcher Michael Schwimer to the Toronto Blue Jays today for 22 year old Low A 1B prospect Art Charles. Schwimer, who spent a good portion of last year with the big club ran into problems with the organization towards the end of the year last year after a disputed injury to his arm left the tall righty out of action for the final six weeks of the season. Schwimer was 2-1 with a 4.46 ERA in 35 games and helped stabilize a very rocky Phillies bullpen in the middle of last season. His relationship, which had been described as rocky at times with the Phils organization became a bit more rocky when Schwimer refused to report to AAA Lehigh Valley last August after being sent down by the Phils. Schwimer cited arm problems and publicly stated he should have been placed on the DL, rather than sent down (which would have ensured his major league salary). He didnt pitch in another game for the organization after that.

Charles was drafted in 2010 by the Blue Jays in the 20th round of the draft out of Bakersfield College. The 6’6, 245 pound left handed hitter, batted .236 in just over 200 AB’s split between rookie ball and Low A. He does have some power, as he hit 13 HR’s last year, but was crippled by a strikeout rate that hovered around 30%.

The analysis of this trade is that it stinks. While I have never hid my admiration for Schwim ( I know him and like him quite a bit as a person), the Phillies traded something for what looks to be nothing. Schwimer did have options remaining this year, meaning he could have been sent down to the minors for another year. He was undoubtedly progressing as a pitcher, and while never likely be be a closer, he does continue to have the potential to perform in a middle relief role with competency and success.

Schwimer was a victim of “telling it the way it is” as opposed to telling it the way the organization would like it to be on several issues over the last couple of the years. Its tough to fault a guy for voicing his honest opinion. That being said, when the honest opinion is coming from a 27 year old middle reliever and that opinion differs from the organizations opinion, you are likely to find yourself in Buffalo for the next baseball season (Toronto’s AAA affiliate).

Good luck to a good guy.

So some guy says the Phillies are aggressively pursing Giancarlo Stanton. It would have to be aggressive, otherwise, they’d just be waved out of the room and a large man in a suit would show them the door.

Rube: GIVE ME STANTON, NOW!!!  I’VE GOT NEARLY UNLMITED SUPPLIES OF FRINGY RELIEF ARMS IN THE HIGH MINORS AND ALSO SOME KIND OF KNIFE IN MY POCKET!!! No, I won’t show you the knife. Oh, trust me, it’s a knife. Like one of those ones with the wavy edge? What’s that? Serrated? Am I saying it right? Ser…serrated? 

THAT’S RIGHT, I’VE GOT A SERRATED KNIFE, A CATCHER OF YOUR CHOICE, AND A LOWER LEVEL THIRD BASEMAN, PLUS A FUTURE #4 STARTER. DUDE! BRO! COME ON! DON’T TASE ME, BRO!

Pope who did what? I missed it. Busy noticing our ballplayers announcing their arrival times via Twitter. CHRIS NICHOLS GETS IN TO TAMPA TONIGHT AT 7:30 Y’ALL!

Keith Laws list came out today, some surprises.

Continue reading Keith Law Org Top 10 →

For those of you who live in the MD/DC/Northern VA area, or those who like to hit the road for whatever reason, I am thinking about trying to set up a meet-up for one of the late-May Reading games in Bowie. It’s a Tuesday-Thursday series after Memorial Day, and all three nights are 7:05 starts.  I’d prefer to wait until it gets closer so we can at least make an effort to go see one of our preferred prospects on the mound. 

So I guess for now, just drop comments here so I can see if people are interested at least in the abstract.  Then as we get into early May I’ll ask again, pull your email addresses from WordPress, and we can work on a plan via email.

Here is your weekly general discussion. Guys are arriving for camp already. Good times.

Rather than post these all individually here is a summary of the prospect lists that have come out this week. (will add more details over the day)

MLB.com Top 20: (http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2013/)

1. Jesse Biddle (60)
2. Ethan Martin (80)
3. Tommy Joseph
4. Jonathan Pettibone
5. Roman Quinn
6. Larry Greene Jr
7. Adam Morgan
8. Sebastian Valle
9. Cody Asche
10. Austin Wright
11. Maikel Franco
12. Phillipe Aumont
13. Shane Watson
14. Justin De Fratus
15. Carlos Tocci
16. Darin Ruf
17. Brody Colvin
18. Mitch Gueller
19. Andrew Pullin
20. Mitch Walding Continue reading Some Prospect Lists: February 5 →

No one will make the argument that either Ruben Amaro Jr or Charlie Manuel were great baseball players, though they did play a combined 14 years in the major leagues. Neither was an everyday player so it is difficult to compare them to other players, and their use as pinch hitters and replacements greatly skew their per/162 game numbers.

Here are their career slash lines:

Amaro – .235/.310/.353

Manuel – .198/.273/.260

But what is more interesting to me is what they were like in their peak year.

Amaro (1992) – 427 PA, 7HR, .219/.303.348, 37 BBs, 54 SOs (though on small sample size his 1996 season line of .316/..380/.453 over 130 plate appearance is pretty good) – Delmon Young’s highest amount of walks in a season is 35

Manuel (1969 – rookie year) – 194 PA, 2 HR .207/.320/.280, 28 BBs, 33 SOs

Continue reading Ruben Amaro Jr & Charlie Manuel and the value of the walk →

The battle for the five spots in the Lehigh Valley rotation will prove to be interesting once SPring Training gets under way in less than two weeks. With the addition of several veterans with major league experience, what first looked like a youthful rotation of up and coming prospects now looks like a mixed bag of the up and comers combined with those with major league experience that could provide several spot starts for the Phils without total implosion and ruining confidence.

First the givens. It is extremely likely that Jon Pettibone will be the #1 starter for Lehigh Valley absent a very unlikely chance that the Phils take a shot on him right out of the gate with the big club. Pettibone was extremely impressive on each occasion I saw him throw, and it would surprise me if he didnt spend big league time this year. The #2 starter should be Ethan Martin, who was an impressive 5-0 with a 3.18 ERA in his 7 starts with Reading after being acquired from the Dodgers. Just 23, Martin has good upside so long as he can maintain his command which he has struggled with in the past. Tyler CLoyd should be penciled in as the #3 starter. Coming off an incredible year in which he went a combined 15-1 between Reading and Lehigh Valley, it would be a struggle for anyone to replicate the success of CLoyd’s outstanding 2012. Ultimately, I see CLoyd as a guy who will give you a quality start almost every time out that could fit in a middle relief, innings eating role for the Phils just fine if needed.

The battle for the #4 and #5 spots is where things will get interesting in the Spring. As of now, I am unsure of the Phils plans with BJ Rosenberg. I like the way Rosenberg throws, but he has bounced back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen which has not helped him. He was never adequately stretched out to see what he could really do and his short time with the Phils was very rough at the outset, before he settled down. Several minor league veterans are in the mix for the #4 and 5 positions as the Phils have re-acquired both Rodrigo Lopez and Brian Bass as well as Aaron Cook who who has over 200 major league starts under his belt. Cook floundered with the Red Sox last year, but threw well in AAA Pawtucket and gives the Phils another viable option if (when) the Lannan/Kendrick duo struggle. Finally, there are reports that the Phils have re-signed Tom Cochran, a 30 year old lefty, who after struggling a bit at the beginning of the 2012 season with injuries, ended up being one of the IronPigs most consistent pitchers last year.
5.
My final prediction for the Opening Day rotation: 1. Pettibone; 2. Martin; 3. CLoyd; 4. Cook; 5. Cochran. I suspect Bass comes down with a early turf toe ailment that will place him on the DL until another body is needed in the rotation.

After a bit of a break over the last few months, I feel reinvigorated and hope to be back writing substanitally more as we enter SPring Training. Matt and Brad have done a tremendous job keeping things moving with excellent, insightful pieces since we last spoke. I hope and pray they continue to contribute as the site continues to grow during the upcoming baseball season.

A problem that James ran into periodically when he was running the site was the actions of a few commenters ruining the conversation for the majority. Put simply, abuse will not be tolerated. Those who chose to be disrespectful will be banned from the site. Those who choose to attempt to bring down the site and try to manipulate their IP addresses will be investigated. Put simply, the site should be the forum that Phillies fans go to discuss and debate what is going on in the Phils minor league system. WHen it gets personal, you will be escorted out of the site.

Ok, enough of the lecture. Just re-introducing myself the the group as we soon hit our 10,000,000th page view. Not kidding. 10,000,000. Thank you all for supporting the site and looking forward to a very exciting 2013.