The point is there are moves that people would love to do, but you have to be realistic… 2 years ago everyone wanted Barry Zito… look how well that turned out. I really like the Phillie stance of not going too long on a deal for a pitcher, as a fan it sucks, but as fans that really know the sport, we have to realize what is better for the team.

Like all the morons that wanted the Phillies to pay Howard $20 million this year… WHY? They have him under control for the next few years…making $10 million a year is more than enough for the ryan K howard. Same thing with Hamels… lets see this guy win 18-20 games, stay healthy for a year, and then worry about overpaying him…

Also…again, we see this all around the league now: the brewers just signed ryan braun to a 7 year extension. this is what you have to do. the rays signed kazmir and shields longterm.

its really dangerous to meddle with arbitration with people like hamels and howard. they get really ticked off and it messesd up their mental approach (with howard). if i were a gm id see someone like hamels, look at the going rate for someone like him (fausto carmona) and tweak it and then offer him the deal. thats what every other GM does and gillick did with utley and jimmy. its all about buying out arb years and FA years. to their credit, chase utley is a bargain right now because they locked him up long term.

i like what bean has done with his team. they suffered for a while but he got rid of a lot of overpaid junk for primo prospects. although dan haren isnt junk of course, they just got an offer they couldnt refuse. Brett Myers as the Yankees closer post-rivera? interesting…

I agree that if the guy isnt horrible, he can close. Now, if youre a very good pitcher, you can be a lights out closer. Id make two rotation moves. First, Id take myers and sell him as a closer to someone that needs one. I see a lot of teams on the mlb stats list that have too many blown saves. Basically, if a team doesnt have a top 10 closer then theyd be interested in myers. You trade them myers plus a prospect or adding madson is a good idea and you take a number 2 guy in return. Blanton eats innings but the A’s wouldnt do that. Baltimore would take it with cabrera (he is better than our number 3 so id take him). id take burnett and try to extend his deal for 3 years if he stays healthy down the stretch. i dont care about their self-imposed salary cap. im trying to win here… id also go out and get a starter to solidify the back end of the rotation and replace adam eaton. im not counting on benson, if he can help us thats fine.

there are some other guys as well but i have to end my mid-morning break and get back to work.

Question: If the Phillies (22-19) are “not a good team”, what team is in the NL East Division at this moment?

???

its like the marian hossa thing. the penguins wont be able to keep him, so if they dont win the cup they gave up a bunch of guys for no rings

by the way, you gotta like the rays stepping up to the plate and signing their top two starters long-term. good for them. who did the mets give up kazmir for anyway? i dont remember. couldnt have been a good trade.

If you were another GM… would you give up young top pitching prospects, or an established #2 for Ryan Howard or Brett Myers??

Eaton was a bad signing, but considering what Silva, Vicente Padilla, etc… get per year, its not that bad. The key to winning right now is developing your farm system through trades and draft…. not trading away your system for stars (ala Yankees).

I really think that they need to decide that Brett Myers is a closer, not a starter… and sell that idea to a team that needs a Closer. Get what you can for the guy and def by next year Carrasco is in the rotation, maybe see what happens with Savery, Outman and those guys