Phillies Nation

42 Responses to “Amaro: Trade A Definite Possibility”

1. Paul Says:
   November 14th, 2008 at 6:14 pm

   Man, if they could get Byrnes on the cheap… I would like that.

2. griffin Says:
   November 14th, 2008 at 6:19 pm

   Byrnes makes a ton of money and has had only one good year. I wouldn’t trade Eaton’s contract for Byrnes’s contract.

   Magglio is the best option but he’ll cost some good prospects.

3. griffin Says:
   November 14th, 2008 at 6:25 pm

   Byrnes makes $17 million over the next two years and has never had an OBP over .353. Yuck.

4. John Fire Says:
   November 14th, 2008 at 6:29 pm

   I do not want to see Byrnes in a Phillies uniform. I also do not want to part with any of the talent you mentioned.

   We finally have some solid prospects… we’re in a good position to continue restocking the minor league system, take some time with the young guys and grow from within. I’d love to see Donald, Marson and Carrasco crack the lineup at some time in the next two years – would hate to see us dump a bunch of guys for one guy in an effort to win now when we can probably get enough offense from a jenkins/baldelli (or other tandem) platoon for 08 without the risk of throwing prospects at a guy like Byrnes who was hurt half the year and hit .209.

5. PhillyFriar Says:
   November 14th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

   If Amaro is open to trading for a piece, why the heck wasn’t he in on Swisher? The asking price was absurdly low — it wouldn’t have cost us Donald, Marson, or Happ — and Swisher’s got a much better contract and is a better fielder than either of Dye or Ordonez.

   I’ll take a wait and see approach, but if we trade for any of the above names — and, in the process, give up any of the above prospects — then I’ll be pretty upset.

6. Tim Malcolm Says:
   November 14th, 2008 at 6:33 pm

   Well, as a commentary, I wouldn’t want Brynes at all. Miserable player offensively most of the time. But I’m throwing his name out there since he’s a right-handed outfielder. And his $17M over two years is right in the Dye alley.

   I still want Bradley and a low-rotation pitcher, though I wouldn’t mind if the Phils make a run at Kerry Wood (just posted).

7. griffin Says:
   November 14th, 2008 at 6:35 pm

   PhillyFriar, I agree with you completely. The Yankees gave up a mediocre prospect and Wilson Betemit for Swisher. Swisher is due 22 million over the next 3 years, which is reasonable.

8. Wilson Says:
   November 14th, 2008 at 6:50 pm

   Swisher is absolute garbage

9. Greg B Says:
   November 14th, 2008 at 6:54 pm

   I say throw some dough around. Wood, Bradley, and Odalis Perez. Why trade prospects when you can buy?

   I don’t know what price to put on a WS championship is, but Phils ownership has got to be bank-rolling at this point. Its got to be worth some contract reaches.

10. vendor71 Says:
    November 14th, 2008 at 8:04 pm

    Byrnes an overrated outfielder too. He can get to balls, but is notorious for taking bad angles and not being ready to throw when he comes up with it. That’s not a good thing. Pass.

11. mikemike Says:
    November 14th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

    Sonnantine from Tampa Bay. when he pitched against us did he impress you. They talk like he is a stud prospect. can’t see it wondering if anyone has seen a lot of him

12. clktwr14 Says:
    November 14th, 2008 at 9:31 pm

    People, first things first Tim sorry but Milton Bradley is a selfish overrated piece of overinflatted testerone, basically he is a immature little brat with juiced muscles, i.e. last game he played with Padres when he sprained his own ankle arguing with the ump, ruined thier chances of making it to the playoffs and look at them now, looking to dump salary instead of adding more key players.

    Secondly Rocco Baldelli, I liked him when he was completely healthy but he can’t even string a week of games together, let alone a whole game, Pass of this chump

    Thirdly, 30 and 90 the number of Burrell’s production the last three years and where have the Phils been let’s see ‘06 finished second in east and third in wild card
    ‘07 won the East
    ‘08 won the World Series
    So you tell me who they should sign?

    Lastly the article was talking about pitching not fielding.

13. clktwr14 Says:
    November 14th, 2008 at 9:40 pm

    Greg B
    Look above post for Bradley opinion.

    Odalis Perez, what cheap stuff are you smoking enough of the cheaper and lousier brother stuff here in Philly, i.e. Mike Maddux, Jeremy Giambi, Ken Brett, Vincent DiMaggio, Juan Bell, Mark Leiter, Dominigo Cedeno, Frank Torre, Tim Worrell, if Moyer choses not to resign here then make Oliver Perez an offer.

    Kerry ” I need to knock on Wood just to maek through a season ” he is way too injury prone, hell I heard he step on a pebble and his foot started to bleed.

    Any Manny lovers forgot that piece of trash who beats up on sixty year old traveling sect.

14. griffin Says:
    November 14th, 2008 at 9:54 pm

    Just a note, Odalis and Oliver are not brothers.

15. clktwr14 Says:
    November 14th, 2008 at 9:56 pm

    OKay, I stand corrected , I just figured they were, Thank You griffin

16. mikemike Says:
    November 14th, 2008 at 10:35 pm

    but are they cousins.

17. Memphis Says:
    November 15th, 2008 at 3:03 am

    Magglio would be great. He makes a ton of money ($16M), but he’s a gamer. Reminds me of Utley, quiet, dude just loves to play baseball. Plays with heart. Fan favorite in Detroit. Puts up really nice numbers in a huge ballpark. Only concern is if his salary becomes an issue with Rollins, Utley, etc. I’ve always wondered about the impact of one guy making a lot more money (2x) than other guys on the team. (Burrell’s number could be tolerated because he’s always been here.) And Magglio’s 34. And he has a limited no trade clause, Philly may not be on his select list of 10 teams. I got all excited about Holliday. I’m not going to get all that excited about Magglio. It’s just not likely to happen.

    Never liked Byrnes, the guy is always hurt. That is a terrible contract. Not a real fan of Bradley — I don’t see him playing 80-100 games in the outfield and staying healthy. Love the bat, but little else. He’s a DH. Maybe Tim has a different take on defensive ability.

    Burrell is still a solid option, but anyone arguing for Burrell has to check out his brutal second half last year. It could be an ominous sign that the decline has started. That has the potential to be a really bad signing, and I like Pat.

    Unless Amaro can pull of a trade for an OF (maybe Cameron, move Vic to RF? not a real fan of Cameron, just saying), we may be looking at Baldelli or Juan Rivera. Either could be a bust, but either would be a needed righty bat with upside, at a reasonably low cost, sort of fits the Werth mold of taking a chance, see what happens. I could live with it IF they spent some money on pitching. If we choose the cheaper fill-the-gap route for LF, and it doesn’t work out, we could still make a mid-season deal. The options could be different/better. If there are deals to be had now (e.g., Swisher), by all means, let’s be active. But it doesn’t have to be now.

    We’re always talking about splashy moves, either a trade or a signing, and that’s great, I love the chatter, but I’m thinking this may be a low-key winter. There are absolutely no so-called experts thinking the Phils will do anything significant.

    Question on Moyer: If we didn’t just win a title (love writing that), if Moyer wasn’t the local guy, if he was on another team last year (16 wins or whatever), and was coming on the market now, would you be interested? Going on 47 years old? I’m not sure I would be. Crafty SOB, but I don’t know how he keeps it going. Maybe I do one year with a club option for a second year. No more. He’s not a guy that eats innings, he has trouble getting 6 each time out.

    And if we don’t sign him, what low/medium cost pitching option do you like? Penny? Vasquez (via trade)? Looper? Big Unit? Garland? Odalis? None of the above? I think I’d put Penny on top, despite the obvious risk. A Penny-Rivera winter?

18. Brooks Says:
    November 15th, 2008 at 4:14 am

    Losing Marson would be a huge mistake – let him prove that he should stay. A catcher that can hit, wow…

19. The Dipsy Says:
    November 15th, 2008 at 10:10 am

    Tender readers, why is everyone so fixated on offense? How many of you would agree with me that a RH LFer who could produce 10/50/.285/10 in a platoon would be just fine when paired with Jenkins/Dobbs. I hope the answer is “many of you”. He is going to bat seventh, with Victorino in front of him against RHers. I need him to hit and run, move runners and not strike out so much. How much would a player like this cost? 4 mill.? I say, please relax. We will get him before spring training.

    Secondly, regarding payroll. I just can’t believe that out of all the post season games we hosted we didn’t clear AT LEAST 20m in cash. Where I come from we call this “gravy”. Use it and get a pitcher (or two). I notice that, in these “challenging economic times” that the brass saw fit to raise ticket prices. Such a bold move represents either: 1) A commitment to increase payroll in order to allow the team to be in a position to defend and build a brand name for years to come; OR 2) Sheer unadulterated greed. Its probably the latter but I like to think its the former. On the offchance that it is the former lets get:

    Derek Lowe. A sinkerball pitcher in a homerun park. At this point, I would give him 3/45m. But he wants five years? No way. But….okay, here’s 5/45m Lets face it, Hamels/Myers/Blanton/Moyer ain’t gonna get it done. Lowe is a #2 for a chamionship caliber team and that what we are. Repeat after in a whisper “Rollins….to Utley…to Howard…..DOUBLE PLAY! And the Phils are out of the inning!

20. Keith Says:
    November 15th, 2008 at 1:00 pm

    “The Dipsy Says: OR 2) Sheer unadulterated greed. Its probably the latter but I like to think its the former.” Looking like an extra $3 per game for me. I don’t mind it as their expenses go up just like anyone elses. They have only one opportunity to raise prices and that is prior to the season starting. Once the season starts income is pretty much fixed. Sorry for jumping off topic.

21. mikemike Says:
    November 15th, 2008 at 3:34 pm

    I am so glad in one respect that I don’t pay to go to games. The yankees spending, and the boras greed are making this game like basketaball, unafforable to go. I just think it’s crazy that a thirty six year old player calls 45 million for two years not serious. well let somebody else pay it won’t be me. lucky I also work for cable and don’t have to pay. How much money do they need. it is nuts in my opinion.

22. therookie300 Says:
    November 15th, 2008 at 4:40 pm

    With ticket prices going up this year they should be able to swing some deals to get this ball club ready for the start of the season.

23. mikemike Says:
    November 15th, 2008 at 7:57 pm

    Doesn’t anyone think it’s crazy that the teams have to wait for the yankees to do there buying and then its there turn. No one can outbid them so the players are waiting for the yankees to pick who they want and then the rest can bid. This sport needs a salary cap with a 2 for 1 tax if you go over and non guaranteed contracts. Stop the buyouts gordon get 1 million for not coming back. Tell me that isn’t nuts. A player who is hurt and can’t pitch gets that money to go away. well who pays for that, us of course. Screw them.

24. NJ Says:
    November 15th, 2008 at 9:45 pm

    I’m actually happy to see the Yankees muscling the other ‘players’ around to fill their ‘needs’. The Yanks being so aggressive has certainly handcuffed the Mets and Cubs who are more than willing to flash the cash to appease their fans and I think the Yankees pursuit on the big names is going to create a bigger divide in the market between the guys getting paid and those who thought it was pay-day which could work out well for us. The more big pieces that are taken off the table, the more aggressive we can be in addressing our needs by going after the guys getting forgotten.

25. clktwr14 Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 12:22 am

    To all of Pat Burrell’s naysayers on here, let’s look at his Defensive numbers this year cause I just did, 202 POs, 12 Assists, 1 Double Play, 216 TC ( not sure I think that means total catches) Fielding Precentage .991, with 2 errors, I don’t think he is a defensive liability like everyone believes, the numbers to me show he isn’t, what are the Oscar-awarding left fielder from the Dodgers/Red Sox numbers defensivly, what are Baldelli’s numbers besides the The Cat scans and MRIS from this past summer, Magilo Ordonez’s numbers besides what he would do not to get hurt so he can cash in, hmm last but not least Milton Bradley didn’t even play the field for Texas did he ? so tell me Phillies fans who do you want in left field an actor who thinks he deserves more money then God, a young player who can’t even string two games played together,a man who won’t even play his heart out and cry when he get’s booed by the fans for lack of effort, a immature little brat who didn’t touch a blade of left field grass last season, or a man who played here in Philadelphia and when Pat Gillick was going to trade him, PAt saw him training himself to get better by working on the offseason on his swing in his own private batting cage , see this are the things most fans don’t remember but I recall them because I do was once a Pat the Bat basher, until I heard and saw what he did at second half in 07 and the first half of 08, Pat and Chase were the first two Phils ever to get twenty home runs by June first and Howard was slumping, but I forgot the most common of all arguments we got talent in the minors, who are not ready for the majors, need any reminders just look at the Astros centerfield and the Orioles minors system for one of them, quick but couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.

    Bring back Pat and Jaime, add by trading some of the deadwood in the farm system.

26. KM Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

    Could you Burrell’s numbers if he showed up all season?? This guy has NEVER put together a full season, and that is precisely why he needs to go. His numbers are hollow, and you can determine that through his runs produced numbers, and the formula for that is – rbis + runs scored – homeruns = runs produced. Do that, and then compare him to some of the better hitters in the game, like Chase Utley, David Wright and you will see what I mean.

    The guy does play everyday, and even plays through injury, but in no way does he merit a contract bigger than the Phillies have already offered him. He makes the routine play in the easiest position to play, but he has absolutely no range, and can not run the bases to save his life.

    I have said it before, we can not let our emotions get the best of us here. Burrell has been through a lot with this team, and he has become a fan favorite, but he is not what is best for our team. We need to get faster in the outfield, and we have to add another contact bat to our lineup.

27. KM Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 12:48 pm

    I like Ordonez, but he would cost a ton for a 35 year old guy. I also like Dye, but the same goes for him at 35. These 2 guys coincidentally have the same birthday (Jan 28, 1974).

    I know his contract isin’t ideal, but I would love to make a deal for Juan Pierre. For one, he is only 31, which would make him younger than Ordonez, Dye and Burrell. Second, he is a career .300 hitter and he averages 54 steals a season. This would be the perfect bat to put in our order. He could bat leadoff, second, sixth or seventh. I’d like him to bat in the 7 spot, and break up all those righties at the back end of the order.

    1. Rollins
    2. Victorino
    3. Utley
    4. Howard
    5. Werth
    6. Pierre
    7. Feliz
    8. Ruiz
    9. Pitcher

    Pierre could be had for cheap, and could really help the back of the lineup. He doesn’t have a strong arm, but he has a ton of range in the outfield and would allow flexibility in the other positions. Because Pierre would be taking Burrell’s roster spot we could play him in left, but he has a weak arm. We could also play him in center, move Victorino back to right, and Werth over to left.

    The only issue I see with Pierre is his contract, I believe he is due like 10 million next season. Contract aside, he is exactly the type of player we need in the lineup – speed – contact – defense.

28. mikemike Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 1:04 pm

    NJ That lets wait and get the lesser players worked once in twentyeight years. I knew there cheap owners winning would make fans think it the way to go. This team right now has two to three year windoow. If they went out and signed a #2 starter and a top outfielder. they would be telling us they are comitted to win. the salary they would add would only be for one year cause a starter takes Myers place who is at 12 and free next year. Plus jenkins 8 million, felix 5 million eaton 8.4 million goes away.As much as people love Blanton in reality he only had 6 quality starts out of 15 games. so take that and project 33 starts he would only have 13 quality starts. lets hope he is better than that.

29. NJ Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 1:48 pm

    I don’t think ownership flashing the cash shows a commitment to winning, all it does is breed greedy, impatient fans which is clubs like the Mets and Cubs have an increasingly small margin in error because their so trigger happy on the market.

    I think we’ve become so fixated on winning windows and frankly I expect this team to competitive for a half decade past the ‘3 year window’ and impatient dealing in the high stakes end of the market just results in a team being dismantled before the ‘window’ closes. We won in spite of bad deals and I’d rather see us play high-stakes with a winning hand. What do the teams above us in payroll have to show for flashing the cash?

    Last years payrolls-
    NY Yankees—–209,081,579…
    Detroit—–138,685,197: Trying to shed any payroll they can from bad acquisitions
    New York Mets—–138,293,378: Putrid depth because they keep piling money into big names to appease their narrow minded fans
    Boston—–133,440,037: The best development system right now in the majors
    Chi.White Sox—–121,152,667: Trying to shed bad deals and bad attitude players.
    LA Angels—–119,216,333: On the verge of loosing the core of their team because they can’t afford to retain all of their players.
    Chi.Cubs—–118,595,833: Jack of all and masters of nothing with a rotation with major health concerns
    LA Dodgers—–118,536,038: Can’t afford to maintain payroll
    Seattle—–117,993,982: Doing great aren’t they…
    Atlanta—–102,424,018: Far from being the perrenial power house we remember
    St. Louis—–100,624,450: still have to slot in unknowns even with that payroll number
    Toronto—–98,641,957: ” ”

    Would you feel good in 3 years time when your wondering why Howard’s long gone, their are massive holes because no-one was groomed being blocked by giving in to guys who demanded long-term deals and then scratch your lead at how a 39 year old Derek Lowe’s the highest paid player on the team… Sign that FA number 2 and ‘top’ outfielder plus the arbitration raises and we’d be in the top 3 in payroll and be locked into multi-year deals.

    I’d rather see us get active in developing the next Ryan Braun of David Price to extend the window of opportunity.

30. NJ Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 1:49 pm

    Ryan Braun or David Price^

31. mikemike Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 2:04 pm

    The teams they have a ton of championship between them. We are one of the oldest franchise in baseball with two , the mets have that many in 40 years the yankess 28 cardinal multiple ones angels expansion more than us the only team is the cubs. the teams you mention add up to a lot of championship. but you are satisfy with one every 28 years. then good for you. this team will not contend with out hamel and howard and both of them aren’t sign and mostly likely will leave.And if you followed the draft they have been cheap in the international market, and let a lot of top ten choices go unsign. Also drafted players who would sign cheap like tyler mach. who after one year quit top ten player who shouldn;t have been drafted that high only reason was he would sign cheap. when he prove he didn;t belong he guit every heard of joe saunders they tried to low ball him in draft he didn’t sign. took salvery because he would sign instead of a stud like poterllo, top detroit pitching prospect. It is not only in the fa market but in the draft. right now the we are six years of top ten without any top players to show for it.

32. mikemike Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    One of the things you really don’t get we are the fourth largest market in baseball. The top market that doesn’t have two teams. Detroit is at 138.000.000 they aren’t near us in market size. Do you realize we border within one hour 4 states, the angels are not shedding payroll that is a untrue statement, they are going after texirira and Cc and others dont’ know where you got that information. atlanta is a small market with a large payroll. you say Chicago white sox made bad deal what does that have to do with payroll that is a bad G.M. signing bad players and the same with New York Mets, overpaid for Beltan and brought in a lot of older hurt players that is a bad G.M. And they still will go to 155 million this year.

33. NJ Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 2:32 pm

    Which is why the money needs to go into the draft and not free agency, we can’t look at 1 championship in 28 years and start buying like the Mets unless we’re asking Amaro to drop trou’ and grab his ankles and suddenly 2-4 years away from a championship we’ll look just like the White Sox. The reason the Red Sox are so succesful is their commitment to their system which is affording them the opportunity to go after select free agents because they can constantly bring up prospects.

    I agree with you wholy on the drafting and recruitment front. I think the reports on the prospects from the last two drafts are extremely promising but the Phils have to do more, considering so much of the leagues elite talent is earning under $1m because of the recent success of the draft we have to follow that trend rather than hand-cuf ourselves to free-agents.

    We are not the best team, the best funded team, most supported and marketable team to create BoSox money and we have to respect that our margin of error is small and next years success will rely on better years from Howard, Utley and Rollins who did not have good years. If the $12m Myers isn’t going be the number 2 he was down the stretch then you trade him and then there’s an arguement for going after Lowe, that’s management now onwership.

    I agree the ownership has been cheap in accepting reaching on guys like trading for Garcia or adding Eaton or Jenkins instead of paying that bit more, but the ownership is nothing like the Marlins and if the way there were doing things with the people the appoint didn’t work…

    When we hand’t won in 28 years is was all about that, now straight after it’s about how we’ve only won twice in our history. We critisize the players pressing but encourage so many fans pressing in the pursuit of a dynasty or nothing has been achieved in the recent history of the club.

    I have a lot of issues with J-Roll’s attitude but he was right, this teams focus had to be to re-write history and step out of the shadow of the 1980/1993 team. When Sox won Red Sox nation was about what history they could create after breaking the curse, we on the other hand seem to have the attitude “yeah we won but who cares it’s not good enough”. At this point stablising the system is more important than how big the names are in it.

34. NJ Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 2:39 pm

    What does bad deal have to do with payroll… absolutely everything! The White Sox have to dismantle becuase their tied into bad deals and can’t afford to go after the guys they want until they’ve shed those deals. If we hadn’t been tied into bad deals with Thome, Abreu, Burrell, Jenkins, Eaton then the FO would have much more flexiblity but the answer isn’t taking on more bad deals and this is a championship winning team! their doing something right otherwise we’d be rubbing noses with Washington for god sake!

    Philly has a great local market for it’s teams but it doesn’t attract fans outside of PA in the way NY, LA and Chicago teams can (and does). I say that as a fan outside the PA/East coast area where people are Yankees, Mets, Red Sox and Cubs fans.

35. mikemike Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    My point on payroll and bad deals is this, If you have a G.M. who overpaids for mediorce talent then the club has to get rid of that general mananger and eat the contracts , If you are a commited owner then you eat the contract and go on, that why I can’t understand the mets, I have even asked Mets fans how can they give minaya a contract extension, he overpaid for a lot of older hurt players and still keeps his job.

36. NJ Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    Believe me mikemike I wasn’t happy with the moves Gillick was making but I realised these pass few months the Phils FO has done a better job than given credit for. I’d love to see Lowe and a guy like Ordonez but there are so many recent reminders of how quickly things can go south when you can’t keep a young core intact constantly re-energized from within. I can understand how adding another tested arm to the bullpen can be and solving the RISP that was there all year is as likely to be solved by Rivera as it is Ordonez and Rollins, Utley and Howard have to be more consistent.

    I don’t see all Myers, Moyer and the 5th starting having miserable years as well as the bullpen falling apart and if it does I don’t think 1 more decent arm in the rotation would stop that from happening. If we’re going to reach by overpaying on a pitcher I hope it’s Tawaza which would show a commitment to sustaining the ‘window’.

37. clktwr14 Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 3:36 pm

    mikemike, do you want to know why the Mutts hold onto Minaya, it’s his name and natioality , Wilpon knows he needs to appease his Hispanic players and fans in Queens, to pay for that new landfill called Citi Field.

    NJ, have you notice on Phillies telecasts, their are plenty of fans from outside of PA, I noticed that in Florida there are plenty of transplants but they remain Phils fans, I noticed the Phils are probably one of the fastest growing fan base in the Majors right now, even before wining the World Series because people are tired of the Mutts, Skankees. Beaneaters, Squaws, the Pale Hose etc., but also Angels are also growing in fans.

38. NJ Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 3:48 pm

    what I meant is the Phils don’t covert proxy fans on mass in the way the other mentioned teams do swallowing up ‘new’ fans, I wish it wasn’t true and hope the Championship will extend the Phils fan-base.

    To be brief what I’ve been trying to say in the above is the Phils FO has to emulate what the Red Sox have done by constantly extending the window of opportunity by finding young controllable and cheap talent to then be able to pay big for the right guys (would point to Howard and Hamels). Unless your the Yankees, Mets and Cubs living off FA then your better served by focusing on creating a support core that look forward to and not back on arbitration years so you can lock up and add big guns.

39. OZ Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 8:16 pm

    LOVE our players! HATE our owners!

    Wade talks = disregard. Amaro talks = disregard. George W. has more credibility.

    Go WORLD CHAMPS PHILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

40. Memphis Says:
    November 17th, 2008 at 12:48 am

    I find it somewhat hard to believe the reluctance of Phils management (and fans) to pay players, either our own guys or FAs. The owners make money and try to get by with the lowest payroll possible to keep a competitive team. Trying to get and keep good players for low cost is very hard to sustain (witness the Phils historic lack of success, look at Oakland). Then we win, and this be-cheap business model is somewhat validated. We can pass on Holliday, stay away from Dye, Ordonez, Lowe, Penny, etc. But our chances of getting back to the playoffs with the same rotation and less offense in LF is not good. We were 3 games better than the Mets. I can almost guarantee (no matter how much the Mets spend this winter), they will be 3 games better next year. So we’ll need to get better. You don’t do that by keeping the payroll the same or cutting it. We have to spend some money, either the minimum (keep our own guys) or stretch it to take advantage of this unique window in Phils history to go for multiple titles. It’s not a large window. Does spending money guarantee getting better? No. But if spent in a smart way, it does give us a chance to be better. I like that Amaro will be patient, but that should not excuse him from being aggressive if a smart deal (that might increase payroll) is there. Losing a righty bat with pop behind Howard will hurt. Bringing back Moyer is a risk (I’ll venture a guess he won’t win 16 next year). There are lots of options (we’ve all discussed) that we could do, and many of them involve spending money. I would think that “standing Pat” after winning a title, with a terrific core on this team, may be disappointing. I’d like to see us go for it, make a key move or 2 to get better. I think many of us would like to see that.

    Not only does this say something about 2009, it says something to Utley and Howard and Hamels when it’s time for them to finally cash in on a big FA deal — it says big money will not come in Philly. Frankly, if we let Howard walk when it’s time, that would be fine with me, but Utley and Hamels are 2 of the premier players in the league, and I wonder if we’ll be able to keep either when it’s time to pay them 15M/year. It’s a shame. Sustaining good teams requires not only getting those good “young and controllable” guys (even the Mets have Wright and Reyes) but also opportunistically acquiring and paying for key talent, making smart deals even when the pickings are slim. Can you win without it? Yes. Are you likely to keep winning without it? No.

41. From Section 113 Says:
    November 17th, 2008 at 10:04 am

    The Swisher trade comparrison isn’t fair since he’s probably going to be used as a 1B and we have Howard. In the out field I wouldn’t want him hitting .219 for us. He’s overrated and though doesn’t cost as much as a Burrell does and a Magglio might, his contract does run a bit longer than I would like and if he contiues his putrid/anemic offensive production he will become the Eaton of our offense. When you look at his stat and realise he did that in Chicago it looks even worse.

42. NJ Says:
    November 17th, 2008 at 10:30 am

    The more I think about it the more I accept a player due a resurgence like Juan Rivera is likely to be as productive as a guy earning 5 times his expected salary, the offensive success will be down to the success of the guys already here. Rollins should be healthy which could be a factor as it will with Utley and both will need to avoid this years slumps, Howard will need to sacrafice some of that power and be able to adapt to whatever situation at the plate instead of always going for the solo shot or constatly looking lost with RISP. Whover it is replacing Burrell if he doesn’t return will need to have the guys around him hitting more situationally otherwise it’s clear, what we’re really looking for is a high priced human pinyata which is essential what Burrell was.

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