Phillies Nation

15 Responses to “Machine! Burrell’s Walk-Off Blast Beats Giants”

1. ryan Says:
   May 2nd, 2008 at 11:04 pm

   what a great game. down to the very last strike and pat hits one halfway to city hall. pat’s looking for a big payday this year. if he keeps this up, he may just win himself an MVP (assuming chase utley is abducted by aliens).

   Harry’s call was so great. he was speechless for the first 3 or 4 seconds. he nearly fell outta the damn booth. i love ya harry

2. Matt Says:
   May 3rd, 2008 at 1:35 am

   Wow… Pat Burrell continues to amaze. I won’t say anything that’s already been said, but sum it up with “what a transformation”, I keep waiting for him to revert back to his old self, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen!

3. typhoon Says:
   May 3rd, 2008 at 1:54 am

   Assuming Pat the Bat keeps this up, he will certainly get his first all-star appearance.

4. Lewisauce Says:
   May 3rd, 2008 at 4:40 am

   Tim, do you keep track of how many times a player gets the Ashburn/Jeltz awards? I know it’s not a “real” statistic, but come mid-season, I’d like to see a breakdown of who’s won the most Ashburns and who the most Jeltz’s. Just curious.

   The Phils should work on a contract for the Machine now. They won’t. They’ll let him walk, because that’s what they do. But I even liked the guy during his bad years, and I wish they’d keep him.

5. dan Says:
   May 3rd, 2008 at 9:28 am

   Here’s a question for anyone who can answer- how much does a player in his contract year play better than any other year? Is that why Pat’s doing so well, or did the end of last season ignite him? And if we were to resign him, would he keep these numbers up or would they drop off once the money’s in his pocket?

6. Gavin Says:
   May 3rd, 2008 at 9:55 am

   Players traditionally perform better in a walk year, but I think Pat has fixed some of the holes in his swing and is just playing better. I think its more coincidence than anything with him this time around.

   When will Manuel split Howard and Utley up with Burrell?

7. Lewisauce Says:
   May 3rd, 2008 at 9:58 am

   Dan, my opinion, the numbers would drop off — to a degree. Even still, 3 years/$30 mil is not unreasonable. I don’t see him ever going back to his Mendoza-line years. I see Burrell as — as has been pointed out here before — a guy who plays closer to his potential (and his potential is 40 hr/120 rbi/.300 BA) over the next three years. Let’s say there’s a drop off, and he puts up more like 30/100/.270. That’s still pretty good production from left field, and $10 mil a year would seem to be to be on par with guys who can put up similar numbers. And let’s not forget his intangibles. His teammates believe in him and consider him a real winner and team player. If we lose him, we have two choices: 1.) an outfield of Jenkins-Victorino-Werth, or 2.) bring in an unknown quantity (basically, another Jenkins-type).

   Jenkins-Victorino-Werth doesn’t really excite me. Vic is injury prone, and is never going to provide power from the outfield. Jenkins has been kind of a bust so far, and is certainly on the down-side of his career, and he certainly will NOT be worth keeping when his current contract is up. I believe in Werth, and I’d like to see him play more and Jenkins play less.

   If we bring in some other veteran, whoever it is is going to cost Jenkins-type money at least, and they won’t be able to produce the way Burrell has since July. And frankly, it isn’t just the numbers with Burrell. He’s been getting a lot of clutch hits. That’s why he leads the NL in RBIs. He’s not collecting meaningless solo shots or two-out singles that leave him stranded in the second inning. He’s doing the job with RISP and in high-voltage (i.e. last night) situations.

   Do we want to trust Jenkins or someone like him with that?

8. Tim Malcolm Says:
   May 3rd, 2008 at 10:47 am

   Brian does the Ashburn/Jeltz awards. He’s the one to ask about a tally — that’s a good idea, BTW.

9. Greg Says:
   May 3rd, 2008 at 10:48 am

   Let’s just focus on this year. The Holy Diver! Unbelievable. I was watching on MLBTV on my roommates computer and was so excited, I ran out back stubbed my toe on a brick and then fell over a lawn chair.

10. Brian Michael Says:
    May 3rd, 2008 at 10:52 am

    I used to keep a running tally of the Gameday Awards, but I stopped last year for some reason. I’ll start it up again. I think it’s safe to say Chase Utley is winning.

11. Kwasi Says:
    May 3rd, 2008 at 11:38 am

    Let’s say Pat keeps up this monster pace all year long. He is making 14M this year in a contract year. Would you sign here for less money just because you “love” playing here. Look at Rowand. He took his career year and turned it into 60M guaranteed. I highly doubt Pat will give the Phillies a “hometown” discount. Let’s just enjoy him while we still got him. The Sox will pay him 20M a year to take over for Manny next summer.

12. Matt Says:
    May 3rd, 2008 at 11:48 am

    I think if it came down to it, Pat would give us a hometown discount. Even though he’s gone through hell here, it seems like he genuinely enjoys playing here.

    As for the contract demands, I think he’d want about 5 years, probably 65-70 mill would get it done.

13. Mark Says:
    May 3rd, 2008 at 4:32 pm

    Will “the Bat” keep this up all season? Can’t wait to see what happens when we get Rollins back and when Howard gets hot!

14. Jay Says:
    May 4th, 2008 at 8:53 am

    Realistically, I don’t think he will get 20M next year, because he only has been doing this terror since the middle of last year. He is somewhat of a liability in the3 outfield as he looks like he is towing a bus behind him when he runs and he is getting up there in years. If he gets a contract similar to what he is making now for 3-4 more years he will jump all over that. Can the Phils afford to sign him at what he is making now. Maybe- Maybe-not. We will have to see.

15. Vernon Dozier Says:
    May 4th, 2008 at 10:45 am

    If I were GM, I’d have already begun negotiations with Lidge & Burrell. However, the Phillies seem to have a policy of letting a player become a free agent and “test the free agent waters.” They could have had Wagner fairly cheap at the All-Star break of his walk year, and probably could have had Rowand back if they talked contract during the 2007 season. Once these guys hit free agency, they’re usually gone. I don’t expect Burrell or Lidge to be here in 2009.

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