Phillies Nation

96 Responses to “Carrasco Basks In Futures’ Spotlight”

1. Geoff Says:
   July 13th, 2008 at 10:04 pm

   I was skeptical about him until recently. He is Josh Beckett, he needs to stay.

2. Phil Says:
   July 13th, 2008 at 10:07 pm

   Agreed Geoff. He has nasty stuff. So much potential.

3. Geoff Says:
   July 13th, 2008 at 10:08 pm

   He could be a 20 game winnder with that fastball movement.

4. Gavin Says:
   July 13th, 2008 at 10:11 pm

   He was impressive. He’ll be in the rotation next year.

5. Phil Says:
   July 13th, 2008 at 10:13 pm

   Oh, totally Geoff. It’s nasty. Reminded me just like Josh Beckett’s. Also his curveball did too. His slider was a little Lidge esque. Maybe Lidge can help him out with that.

6. PhillyFriar Says:
   July 13th, 2008 at 10:33 pm

   Not to rain on everyone’s parade here, but Carlos still has a LONG way to go before he’s ready. He’s been pretty good in Reading this year, but his command is still holding him back a bit. He’s certainly not ready this year, and while he could wind up in the rotation next year, it’ll be several years before he’s the finished product.

   All that said, I’d really like to hang onto him unless the right deal presents itself. Among the pitchers rumored to be available, I’d only consider including him in a deal for Bedard or Greinke — and the Royals are allegedly unwilling to move Greinke (a wise move IMO).

7. Phil Says:
   July 13th, 2008 at 10:36 pm

   I would not trade Carrasco for Bedard or anyone. There was a reason he started in the futures game today. He also said he wants to pitch for the Phillies. Carrasco is the man.

8. Bill Says:
   July 13th, 2008 at 10:39 pm

   He definitely needs more work but has the potential to be a number 2 or 3 starter. For the right deal though I would move him. Who really is available though that warrants trading a prospect like Carrasco. Bedard is hurt and the last thing we need is another Freddie Garcia situation.

   http://myteamrivals.typepad.com/phightin_phils_phorum

9. Geoff Says:
   July 13th, 2008 at 10:54 pm

   Yeah carrasco isnt going anywhere. he prob will get a spot start this year just to see what hes like. hell be affixed to the rotation next year though.

10. Geoff Says:
    July 13th, 2008 at 10:56 pm

    The guy we trade for has got to be totally healthy. So its burnett or B list basically. I dont want an injured guy. If bedard is healthy in the offseason hed be worth it but not now.

    carrasco is a number two or three guy when hes ready, NO way you trade that sure thing. thats why they dont have pitching in the first place..

11. dan Says:
    July 13th, 2008 at 11:06 pm

    Anyone see sabathias performance today? Wow.

12. Geoff Says:
    July 13th, 2008 at 11:11 pm

    Yeah. The phillies dont give 100 million to anybody, so i wouldnt worry about it. well never get him as a free agent.

    theyll go year to year with howard. they wont trade him either. ive given up on thinking about that, has like no chance of happening. NONE.

    they will have to suck it up and eat eaton and jenkins contracts though.

13. Greg V. Says:
    July 13th, 2008 at 11:19 pm

    I say we keep Carrasco around! I say we bring him up! He is without a doubt a better option than Burnett and definately better than an injured Bedard.

14. christopher Says:
    July 13th, 2008 at 11:31 pm

    you have to be careful with when you bring him up though. you don’t want another gavin floyd on your hands. i wouldn’t be shocked if carrasco comes up this year, but he would need to put together a string of dominant starts in the minors to warrant it.

15. Greg V. Says:
    July 13th, 2008 at 11:33 pm

    Good point

16. Lewisauce Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 12:16 am

    Carrasco should wait til next year to come up.

    Happ, on the other hand, is ready to be the fifth starter and has earned a shot. He pitched well enough in his two starts to deserve another one. Meanwhile, Adam Eaten-alive-by-hitters has pitched poorly enough to deserve a one-game benching while Happ takes his first start after the break.

    I’m not saying you replace Eaton with Happ permanently (well, I am, but I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves). But even the Eaton apologists will have to admit that he’s pitched so poorly his last two or three starts, and Happ has pitched so well, that at least a one-game switch is warranted.

17. J-Man Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:23 am

    Yea the Phils won’t be trading away Carrasco no matter what…He’ll be in the Phils starting rotation by next season (at least he should be)…Happ has indeed earned himself a few more starts and should take over Eatons spot.

18. Herbert Hoover Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:27 am

    Carrasco pitching in the minor leagues is a boondoggle. As Brett Myers showed today, its hard to be consistent against the Akron Aeros. Its time for all these carpetbaggers to come north and abandon their dustbowl homes.

19. Groty Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 7:33 am

    Carrasco needs some starts as a call up. It will help him. The kid needs confidence.

20. Lewisauce Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 8:19 am

    Twelve straight games after the break against division opponents. And the Mets are resurgent (I am now officially worried about them, and we all should be … replacing the manager has entirely erased the psychological trauma of last September).

    This is gonna be a dogfight in the second half.

21. Lewisauce Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 8:27 am

    This is from the Phillies official Web site:

    “Eaton said after Saturday’s game he believes his self-described mechanical issues can be worked out at the big league level.

    “I didn’t see any mechanical flaw,” Dubee said. “I saw a guy who couldn’t throw the ball in the strike zone after a while. He retired 10 out of 11 hitters with two outs in the fourth, then gave up a base hit and walked a guy [Robby Hammock] hitting a buck seventy on four pitches.” ”

    Ouch.

    It sounds like, once again, the Phillies are getting fed up with this guy. It happens every two months or so. Last time it was Charlie saying something like: “He has to learn how to pitch. That’s his job. I left him in there because at some point he has to pitch his way out of it. That’s what he was hired to do.” It would be one thing if Eaton simply said, “I just gotta throw strikes.” But once again, he’s living in some other universe where where reality doesn’t jive with what the rest of us see.

    How many times are we going to go around on this broken carousel? Adam Eaton has outlived his usefulness (staying away from the argument whether he had any to begin with). It is time for him to go. Happ has pitched well enough to earn Eaton’s next spot in the rotation (Tuesday against the Mets). Happ deserves another start.

22. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 9:05 am

    Happ should permanently take Eatons spot in the rotation. Carrasco should be called up to start until Myers comes back “fixed” or they trade for someone to take the spot.

23. Gavin Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 10:02 am

    RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!RELEASE EATON!!!

    Keep It Simple.

24. Derek Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 10:56 am

    Well it definitely looks like we won’t be getting Fuentes (although i never really thought we would get him anyway)…. apparently the Rox asked for Carrasco or Marson…….

    http://trades.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/07/fuentes_still_a_phillies_targe.html

25. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:02 am

    The blue jays prior insistance of donald, golson, and one of carrasco or marson is absolutely outrageous. that is beyond hubris. gillicik better not buckle over and cave in.

    even worse is the rockies insistence on one of them for a reliever!

    for burnett, you do something like: golson, donald, lesser pitching prospect

    thats MORE than enough. golson is the centerpiece because toronto loves him. you also need to insist on a window to allow his contract situation to be resolved so he cant opt out

26. Mike T. Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:26 am

    Overall, I think we will benefit from the Future’s game. It officially stamped the quality of our minor league prospects, and at the same time it shows the rest of the league what we have to offer. Hopefully Pat the Fat won’t ship away Carrasco. I was skeptical of Carlos up until yesterday, but he needs to stay – no doubt about it.

27. Mark T Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:28 am

    “It is believed that Toronto covets center fielder Greg Golson, a first-round pick in 2004, who is Major-League ready defensively and has found a hitting stroke this season. He missed nearly a month with a fractured ulna bone and torn cartilage in his right wrist, but was activated from the DL on July 10. Catcher Lou Marson, pitcher Carlos Carrasco are also intriguing, and the Blue Jays would reportedly like to package one of those three with a complimentary piece like Jason Donald or Brad Harman.”

    If the Jays want Golson and Donald I would pull the trigger. The only untouchables to me are Carrasco and Marson. The Phils are solid up the middle for a number of years to come, and Golson isn’t a consisten offensive threat.

    PS – Carrasco is not major league ready yet, and I think a call up would be the worst thing for him. He’d probably get destroyed at where he is now and ruin his mental state with this franchise (a la Gavin Floyd). He needs to work on his control as the “stuff” is definitely there, but unless he shows dramatic improvement in that area this next month, I would look for him next year.

28. Gavin Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:36 am

    Switching topics to the Mets. I for one never underestimated them on this board as many did. I made a comment about a month and a half ago that has rung true.

    The Mets have enough talent that they can win the east. Their problem is that they are a bunch of front runners. If things are going good then its REALLY GOOD. If things go bad its REALLY BAD. Thats their mentality. We have no one to blame but our own team for losing 3 of 4 at home to them to get them on this roll.

    I hate to say it, but they’ll be around the rest of the way, and if we are lucky enough to still be in front at the beginning of September, they will make a run, and we will be crapping on ourselves worried that we’ll collapse.

    All I’m saying is that they are good enough to win…..when they get going, and they have gotten going, so I expect them to keep playing well b/c they’re a bunch of frontrunning losers.

29. Gavin Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:38 am

    Once it starts to turn south again…….they will spiral downward. Just hope it does.

30. Mike T. Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:40 am

    I agree Mark – untouchables are Marson and Carrasco. I think Happ will stay for the rest of the season. If we can’t get a pitcher for a Golson package, we’ll have to throw Myers back in there and see what happens. Carrasco is not ready.

    Unfortunately, a rotation of Hamels/Myers/Kendrick/Moyer/Happ is not going to cut it — that won’t even get you past the first round. It may not even get you into the playoffs, considering the wild card is most likely coming out of the Central.

31. Don M Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:41 am

    Carrasco’s fastball yesterday had so much movement that I really, really thought he kept throwing Slider.. its a nasty pitch.

    He looked to be overthrowing at first, but once he settled in, he looked good.

    Harman isn’t doing much, and Donald is blocked by Rollins.. so to me, those guys are your trade chips along with some middle of the road pitching. I hope they keep Marson, Carrasco, and Golson though.. any of them in a deal for Burnett doesn’t make sense to me.

    Burnett’s current contract allows him to opt-out if he pitches well, and then go sign a new deal somewhere.. or if he pitches crappy, he can keep his contract at $12 Million for next season.. its not a good deal for the Phillies, who don’t seem to have enough for World Series this year, even with Burnett.. i’d rather hang onto our prospects and see if maybe next year we can make a bigger push

32. mick Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:51 am

    As much as I dislike the Mets–They were the best team in the NL east until the last two weeks of the season–They now have Santana and a new manager who has them playing as a team–The Phillies need starting pitching help now or else the Mets could blow right by us.

33. Mike T. Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:51 am

    That’s right – this Phillies team is not a good baseball team. Improvements must be made, or we will not make the playoffs.

34. LetsGoMets! Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:57 am

    Keith Law on the Futures Games:

    Disappointments
    A handful of players didn’t live up to advance billing. Lou Marson was fine behind the plate, but didn’t square balls up and repeatedly hit balls on the ground, even in BP. … Regular-season teammate Greg Golson showed again that his approach at the plate is atrocious, with a very long swing and poor pitch recognition, and he had two very bad reads in left field during the game. …Nate Schierholtz’s approach wasn’t much better, and frankly, he wouldn’t have been my first choice to get four at-bats in the game among U.S. hitters. … Will Inman’s delivery drew a lot of laughs in the scouts’ section — he looks like he’s “doing the pigeon,” for you old-school “Sesame Street” fans — and he throws severely across his body with a fringe-average fastball and a big, slow-roller curveball. He’d have a hard time being a fifth starter in most parks, although Petco Park might make him a No. 3. … Carlos Carrasco was 90-94, throwing slightly across his body with poor command, and he didn’t throw a breaking ball in his inning of work. He did come out of a July 1 start after two warm-up pitches, complaining of shoulder soreness.

35. Don M Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:59 am

    Mike T…. enough dude…. they are obviously a GOOD baseball team if they are 52-44 at the All-Star break, and 4 games over .500 both at home, AND on the road.

    They aren’t the greatest team in the world, but I feel like you’re trying to creat your own catchphrase with the “we are not a good team” Bullsh!t that you say every other day..

    Do they need to improve, Yes.. but they are still one of the most dangerous teams in all of baseball

36. Mike T. Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    Trying to create? How about: we are just not an above average baseball team right now.

37. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

    They need to do something today. Some kind of move. They need to swipe Burnett by the en dof the week or do something creative. the starters market really thinned over the past week.

38. Chase Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 12:51 pm

    just get a hitter. no need to get a pitcher
    Here is what should be the starting rotation
    1 Cole Hamels
    2 Brett Myers
    3 Jamie Moyer
    4 J.A. Happ
    5. Kyle kendrick

39. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:04 pm

    thats insane. you need insurance in there, you need too many guys

    last year they had too many guys and still ended up with not enough guys.

40. Gnomicide Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

    Just get a hitter? That’s our smallest concern. Why in the world would we ge a hitter over a pitcher?

41. fred Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:10 pm

    We are an above average team, a good team, but not a great team. However, if we got hot in the playoffs anything could happen. Just see what the Rockies did last year, and the Cardinals won it all in 06 with an AWFUl team. We need to get Eaton out of the rotation, get Myers back in along with Happ and go from there because there is simply no value on the trae market. One thing that does need to happen is an extension for Burrell because Golson is not ready for next year, and probably not for 2009 either.

42. dan Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:15 pm

    mike t. I hope you move to queens for the rest of your life

43. Phil Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:23 pm

    Kendrick before Happ. That rotation isn’t good enough.

44. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:26 pm

    no no no

    moyer is a 4 or a 5. if he is yoru 3 in the playoffs then youre not going anywhere

45. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:26 pm

    for a hitter, maybe randy winn or willie taveras

46. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    id roll out something like

    hamels
    number two acquisition (burnett, blanton, lowe, etc)
    happ/myers
    moyer
    kendrick.

    eaton is matt morriss-ed

47. Gavin Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:36 pm

    How bout Backe from Hou or Redding from WAS. Could probably get one of those for a reasonable price.

    Thats not a #! or #2 that we’d ideally need, but they would improve our rotation.

48. Gavin Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:36 pm

    I really want Randy Winn as a hitter. Golson and Taguchi for Winn.

49. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:38 pm

    for winn? you can probably give up like B or C prospects and get him.

50. Phil Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:43 pm

    Yeah, Winn is decent but not great. I’d really like for them to go after DeJesus and Greinke. Give them a blockbuster deal. Bastrado, Donald, Jaramillo(they need a catcher), Harman, and some others.

51. tom Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

    taveras can’t hit.

    we’re all frustrated with the way the last month has unfolded, but let’s not be melodramatic here. the phillies have played mediocre baseball for a month and are still in first place, this time last year they were 4.5 back. were they a good team last year?

    i doubt anyone really thought they’d run away with the division, and true to phillies form it’s going to be another tight stretch run and I might have several coronaries before september ends. but the season is really only about half over, and they’re 8 games above .500 with 3 to 4 9ths of their starting lineup playing below their career averages.

    baseball is a game of streaks and this team has some hot streaks in it yet, with howard heating up and rollins finally getting some rest (a much better career 2nd half hitter), utley coming back to form eventually, pat being pat (always has huge 2nd halfs) they should be alright.

    let’s just take a breather and enjoy being in first at the break and for two seconds pretend gillick will act in the team’s best interest (his best moves have been moves during the season) and semi resolve the pitching issues.

52. PhilliesDiary Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    Guys, check out my blog and my HR derby analysis….Vote for the winner!

53. Bruce Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 2:04 pm

    Mike T~ You sort of made a parody (by design?) of your negativity with your daily proclamation..the Phillies..”are not a good baseball team”. I have yet to read a distinction between good and bad from you when describing the team. Are you saying the 1st place Phillies are a bad team? You do see the need for a qualification, right?(chuckle)

54. harry Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    i think our best shot at a #2 pitcher is bedard, there is talk that the mariners are going to start him one time before the trade deadline to showcase him. i think we could honestly get him without giving up carrasco or marson. burnett i think is out of the question now, he has a 16 team no trade clause and were on it. plus i think we already have a headcase pitcher with a lot of potentional, his name is brett myers.

55. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 2:18 pm

    bedards price will be very high because he wont be dealt until the deadline itself.

56. PhilliesDiary Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 2:35 pm

    Mike T., the Phillies are a good baseball team, just not a great one right now. They have the tools to be that. They need 2 SPs in the mix to improve. Hamels is certainly the ace. Kendrick is not great but he has kept us in games and has been winning. Moyer is Moyer (same as Kendrick I suppose). We need Myers to get his head back. If not we do need help there.

    We have the offense. Sometimes they frustrate us, but the offense is definitely there. If we can upgrade the starters with a Bedard, it would be a world of improvement (won’t beat the Eaton dead horse, but you know what I mean). The relievers have been out of this world, and as long as Cholly doesn’t kill them, we should be fine. But, to that point, in order not to kill the relievers, we need starters to go 7 innings..

57. Phil Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    philliesdiary Kendrick and Moyer can’t go into the 7th inning everytime. That’s why they’re our 4th and 5th starters. I think Happ will be able to once he gets into a grove. Myers will be able to go 7-8 innings every game if he can get his shit together. Hamels will always go 7-9 too. As for wanting Harden. He barely ever goes over 6 innings. His health is too much of a concern and a lot of times he starts getting hit around the 6th inning.

58. Phil Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:19 pm

    Right now I’m reviewing the pitchers that are free agents next year that would be worth going after.

    Ryan Dempster
    AJ Burnett
    Jon Garland
    Derek Lowe
    CC Sabathia
    Ben Sheets

    Chad Durbin is on that list too.

    I say resign Durbin for the pen RIGHT NOW!

    Sign Sheets, Sabathia, or Dempster as a #1 so you have an incredible 1-2 punch. They’re all tough because Sabathia will cost too much. Sheets will cost a lot, and he’s an injury risk, and I’m sure the Cubs will resign Dempster. If they don’t he’ll cost too much, and you won’t know if this is year is a fluke or not. I’d also say try and get one of the other guys, preferably Lowe as a #3 or #4 veteran guy to replace Moyer. Lowe is a ground ball pitcher and will be great in our ballpark.

    Hamels
    Dempster/Sabathia/Sheets
    Lowe
    Kendrick
    Happ/Carrasco/Bastrado/Myers

    That’ll look really good. It’ll give us a lot of depth in our rotation.

59. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:24 pm

    Theyll unload Myers before next season starts, Id imagine.

    Sheets could be gettable. Lowe would be a nice mid-back end guy in the rotation.

    You have to go grab a free agent pitcher or two in the offseason. this way, you see the competition for the 5th starter spot there? thats what you want. instead of relying of all those young guys you rely on one or two of them, whichever shows they are prepared.

60. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    Depth, yes. They need to shift the priority to pitching.

    If they dont address these things then we have the same problem next year and they wont get any better

61. TJ Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:27 pm

    Alot of wishful thinking there Phil, but signing two pitchers is unlikely here and I’m assuming you have Eaton falling off the face of the earth? haha

    But to comment on that rotation, it would be sick as hell although we would have to let “The Bat” go to make room, which I’m not in favor of at all.

62. Phil Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

    I honestly say let Burrell walk. Use his money for a front end starter like Sheets. Sheets is projected to want $15 million a year. Pick him up 5 years $75 million. Lowe would probably be cheap. Could probably get him for 2 years $12 million with an option for a 3rd year at $8 million or something. If you let Burrell walk you still have your core. Then you try out Golson in LF.

    C-Marson
    1B-Howard
    2B-Utley
    3B-Feliz
    SS-Rollins
    RF- Werth
    CF- Victorino
    LF- Golson

    Giles is also on the free agency, so is Vlad Guerrero. That’s wishful thinking though. Imagine Vlad in RF. That would be devastating. He’d be perfect for this ballpark.

63. Phil Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    So you’d rather have Burrell over Sheets/Sabathia/Dempster? That’s insane.

64. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    I agree with the shift in priority in the offseason to securing quality starter depth. I like Burrell too. I kind of want them to use Golson to get a pitcher this season. he has value and you can use him to get what you need for the stretch run. He look slike another strikeout machine doesnt he?

65. fred Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:34 pm

    Free agent pitchers just don’t want to sign up to play in CBP. Also, we rarely pursue big name free agents, with the exception of Soriano and that was unsuccsesful. Resign Burrell and go after Lowe, with Carrasco emerging as a #3 behind Lowe and Hamels. The rotation is then rounded out by 2 from Kendrick Moyer Happ and Myers.

66. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:35 pm

    We have to get past the myth that they cant afford to keep burrell AND go after another starter. youve all been down there. these games are like almost all sold out. theyre printing money down there. its time to invest it back into the team.

67. Don M Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

    They can’t sign a guy like Sheets for 5 years at $15 because they’ll need that money to sign Hamels… and we all know they aren’t using $30M per year on two pitchers… while Rollins, Utley, Howard all make somewhere around $10M… Victorino is going to need a hefty raise, as is Kendrick… Werth… all these guys that make peanuts now are going to need to get paid if we want them to stay..

    You can’t keep dumping guys and bringing up young guys too because it doesn’t work for long periods… or at least you have to be careful with your BIG NAMES that you invest wisely, because if your young guys are good.. you need to pay them serious money to keep them around… thats why as much as we knock ownership and GM Pat Gillick… they have done a good job of being “in the hunt” the past few years.

    If they would increase payroll, they could maybe bring in that extra pitcher at $15 M and maybe that would put us over the top !?

68. Phil Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:44 pm

    Agreed Geoff. They should just bump that payroll to $150 million. They can get a front line starter and Sheets already pitches in a bandbox. He’ll be fine here.

69. Don M Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:44 pm

    And not saying that Hamels is going to get paid $15 M next year… but if they sign him long-term, you know he’s getting at least $10 per year..

    If they could get Lowe, that would make them a nice rotation

    Hamels, Lowe, Kendrick, …Moyer? Carrasco? Happ? Myers?…. pretty solid

70. Don M Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:48 pm

    They should just bump that payroll to $300 million and sign Sheets AND Sabathia AND Lowe AND…… be realistic guys, you know as I do how cheap they are… well, not cheap… but definitely not tripping over themselves to spend the money neccessary to add the right Free Agent pitcher…

    Maybe they’ll think Lowe or someone is a smarter investment than an injury-prone Ben Sheets.. and they’ll have a point… But they need to keep in mind that Hamels, Victorino, Kendrick…would need about $10, $5, and, $4 million per year respectively

71. Phil Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:48 pm

    Lowe isn’t a #2 guy. He’s a #3 or #4. If I were front office I’d lock Hamels up for 8-10 years. Make him our franchise pitcher like Carlton was in the late 70s and early 80s. He has the look and attitude. He’s good with the media. He obviously has the stuff. He likes it in Philly. He likes the team. He wants to win.

72. Phil Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:49 pm

    Yeah, well then lock those guys up for 5 years each, aside from Hamels. Give him 8.

73. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:55 pm

    lock up hamels and kendrick. victorino is not good enough to warrant a long-term cotnract.

    a 150mm payroll would be able to resign burell and lock up hamels and sign sheets at the minimum.

    how much do you think theyre spending?

    theyre not even spending 100mm and so much of that is wasted on peopel like eaton and jenkins. theyve barely scratched the surface of spending real money. well, no, they scratched it when they resigned lidge, that was good.

74. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:56 pm

    they can afford a 30mm boost. tahts hamels and kendrick getting extensions and bringing in lowe and maybe a few other smaller moves.

75. Phil Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:59 pm

    Geoff, can you give me an explanation how Victorino isn’t good enough to lock up long term at $5 million a year?

76. Geoff Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 4:01 pm

    He needs to get better at the plate. Otherwise hes just an overhyped platoon player who can play good defense (which he sometimes can because of his speed).

    he needs to grow up too. hes an immature douche.

77. Phil Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 4:08 pm

    Almost every player on the Phillies needs to get better at the plate. Most of all ROLLINS! He used to be very impatient at the plate, then last year he was patient and he was great, and now again this year he is shitty again. Patience at the plate usually comes through experience. He’s getting there. He hasn’t even played a full season yet. I think Victorino is going to become a really good player in time. He’s already showing signs that he has amazing potential.

    As far as his maturity, the whole team is like that. I think he has ADHD or something. He’s always so hyper. He is full of energy. He is the spark plug this year that Rollins was last year. Come on Utley, the most serious guy on the team made Pat Burrell Man or Machine shirts? That’s hilarious and immature. I like the idea that they’re loose in the club house and like to have fun. Baseball is about having fun.

78. That Guy Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 12:27 am

    Couldn’t agree more Geoffy. They are printing money at CBP. They could honestly afford A-Rod but they are not baseball fans, just businessmen. They have no rooting interest in the phillies, just the bottom line.

79. That Guy Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 12:32 am

    Couldn’t agree more Geoffy. They are printing money at CBP. They could honestly afford A-Rod but they are not baseball fans, just businessmen. They have no rooting interest in the phillies, just the bottom line.

80. NJ Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 6:29 am

    Vic gets a raw deal from a lot of you guys, he’s shown increased maturity this year as a player and who was it calling Jimmy out in the clubhouse the other week…? This guys taking the brunt of the abuse for the holes in the offense when some of the big names on this team float on by. Rollin’s has been aweful, he only shows up in the game the odd night and this teams set-up for him to be the catalyst. Howards hot streak is being raved about but where’s the situational hitting from him? As said before how can a guy be playing well if most of his longballs are coming with the bases empty and if he’s not hitting a longball in that situation he’s straddling the mendoza line. Granted the guys above have to do a more consistent job of getting on base for him but he’s got to show more than just going deep on a regular basis.

    Going back to the theme for this post, lets get feeling good about CC and Marson for ‘09. We have a lot at stake finding the right time to bring these guys up and lets have them finish the minor league season, taste the clubhouse in Philly and have them ready to make an impact in ‘09.

81. Lewisauce Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 8:31 am

    I agree with NJ. Vic gets a lot of unwarranted heat from the fans. He’s been playing pretty well all year (at least since Charlie talked to him in May). The real problems are Rollins and — I hate to say it — Utley. Utley hasn’t been himself since June 1. Rollins hasn’t been himself all year. K-How has improved, but still … there are problems at the top/heart of the order, but I think Vic is generally not one of them.

    That said, he’ll never be a superstar who deserves a big payday. So all this talk of paying him a lot to keep him is off base. When his arbitration years are done (I think next year?), you can keep him around for roughly Pedro Feliz money, possibly less.

    It’s not a worry, not anything you need to really factor into payroll. The real payroll issues are Burrell, Hamels, K-How and No. 1 Pitcher to be Named Later. (In the “We can dream” category, finding a way to jettison Eaton’s and Jenkin’s salaries would be awesome, but it ain’t happening.)

82. Mike T. Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 8:48 am

    Right on, sauce.

83. Geoff Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:01 am

    I like some guys to be loose, but without someone like Rowand it seems like their mentality has become decidedly less serious.

    Although, Chase Utley, the most serious guy on the team, drops the F Bomb last night at the NY fans, i like it.

    Nobody is letting the Phillies off the hook for Eaton’s and Jenkins salaries. Its like a combination of the Silva signings, basically that we are going to have to pay them off to get out of here. The jenkins signing is already proven to be bad and theyre stuck with it for years now. Terrible, crippling move when you pair it with Eaton.

    Victorino isnt worth much more than the contract that they just gave to feliz. i like the feliz contract, its a low-risk, cheap contract. if they cant get that to victorino, then its time for him to move on down the road.

84. Geoff Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:02 am

    it sounds like they are getting burnett too, by the way. theyre just trying to get him to let them off the hook for that 24mm in the alst 2 years without giving up carrasco

85. Mike T. Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:15 am

    Burnett for real? Man, I’d give them So Taguchi and Mike Zagurski for him, that’s it.

86. Geoff Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:20 am

    Theyre haggling over details. carrasco, marson, and golson are supposedly off limits in all trade disscussions. I would seriously try to make this trade only giving up B prospects. you dont give up A prospects unless its for CC sabathia or rich harden

87. Mike T. Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:27 am

    Yeah, absolutely not. There’s no one even left to negotiate with that deserves Carrasco, Marson or even Golson.

88. Don M Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:30 am

    2 things I strongly disagree with:

    NJ – Its not Howard’s fault that people aren’t often on base when he goes yard… a bunch of times its to lead off an inning…AND he leads the NL in RBIs, so obviously he’s doing a nice job of hitting with men on base and doing more than “going deep on a regular basis”

    Sauce- Victorino OFFENSIVELY is definitely underperforming this year… he and Rollins are both supposed to be the table setters, and up until this weekend, Vic had been pretty crappy at being on base and being dangerous… he hasn’t really been all that good on the bases as of late either.. and couple Caught-Stealings and he got picked off twice in the past week I think.. and he always looks at Lopes shaking his head, and then Lopes nods like “yea, you were out”..

    the 3-4-5 have been dangerous all year, but its the 1-2 that need to be on base more often.

89. Geoff Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:39 am

    Definitely not. Theyre not winning the world series unless some miracle happens, so just go get someone to make sure you at least win the division again. Burnett if its for cheap, Blanton, someone like that.

    Erik Bedard is not getting traded.

    Ive been calling for A-list guys, but they TOTALLY missed the boat on that. The only two legit A list guys were Sabathia and Harden. Bedard got taken out of the running.

    Now if they dont get Burnett, whos a tweener between A and B, then youre best bet after that is Joe Blanton and guys like that. Ugh.

    Im so mad at Gillick, he sat back and gave away the national league to the Cubs or brewers basically. Just totally sat there and did nothing. They couldve gotten one of those guys.

    Now you got nothing and the best you can hope for is AJ Burnett? hah. Its better than not having him, but its not remotely close to matching the Cubs/Brewers moves.

90. Mike T. Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:40 am

    At the Home Run Derby, they should let the local radio or tv announcer of that stadium make the calls. Just imagine Vin Scully, Harrk K or even Michael Kay for last night — even though “See ya” is a bit annoying, it’s way better than the big fat douche, Chris Berman. I used to like Berman in the 90’s – and I still like him for the Fastest 3 Minutes – but not for the derby, he’s a piece of shit.

91. Geoff Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:43 am

    Agreed. Berman is the very worst national guy. Big, fat, buffoon up there huffing and puffing. He helped ruin the NFL for me too. I want that piece of trash as far away from a baseball frield as possible.

92. Don M Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 10:24 am

    I was pretty sure he was going to wreck it with his crappy nicknames…Justin Mor”no soup for you”……. I thought he was going to ruin all the stuff..

    I can’t stand anything on ESPN anymore to be honest with you…

93. Phil Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 10:33 am

    I like John Kruk and that’s about it.

94. Geoff Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 10:45 am

    Agreed, the baseball tonight crew has been serviceable. I dont mind them except for tim kurkjean and steve phillips get on my nerves on some occasions. gammons also gets fed tons of disinformation by teams and runs with it like all the time. gammons has been trying to will the phillies into getting paul byrd, which would be a disgrace.

    rosenthal is wrong about half the time too. olney and stark are generally more accurate.

    ESPN is total garbage, its not even really news. its the same as the evening news, just going and shoving an agenda down your throat in brainwashing fashion.

    espn only covers the sports it has contracts to broadcast. they dont broadcast the nhl so they act like the nhl is some fringe thing. they have contracts to cover nascar and they act like nascar is the greatest thing in the world.

    whoever wins the championship, according to espn, in any sport they cover, automatically becomes the greatest team of all time.

    its so bad.

95. Phil Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 10:56 am

    Ken Rosenthal is wrong most of the time, but he is a knowledgeable guy about the game and is a Phillies fan. I like him.

96. Geoff Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 10:59 am

    I will listen to what he has to say, but like gammons, the agents and teams spin stuff to him to influence the trade market or the free agent market to their advantage. he does know a lot about baseball though, so i do liek him.

    the mid-level guys are usually right the most.

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