Phillies Nation

18 Responses to “For Mike Zagurski, Time To Prove Worth Again”

1. Phan in TN Says:
   February 22nd, 2009 at 7:28 am

   Zag is exactly the kind of pitcher I would and do cheer for. Granted, I do cheer for Hollywood Hamels on occasion, but we need a regular looking guy who is made of cheese steaks and tastykakes.

2. NJ Says:
   February 22nd, 2009 at 7:34 am

   The kids exactly what the Phils need, a second lefty to throw some innings early while Eyre does the hard graft. A Beimel who could really soak up innings would be nice but if Park is pitching relief but it could so easily result in too many arms for not enough innings, having a guy to lean on early and then send down (barring injuries) wen Romero returns could really set the pen up nicely for the stretch.

3. MDefl Says:
   February 22nd, 2009 at 9:18 am

   This guy is exactly the type who will have a long major league career. It may not be with the Phils in the end though. He is a battler and being left handed helps. I think he will wind up in triple AAA. If he does well, he could be traded. There is something that I really like about this guy.

4. MDefl Says:
   February 22nd, 2009 at 9:22 am

   The whole lefty/righty situation out of the pen has changed somewhat due to the emergence of Madsen as a top 8th inning guy. Now you really just have to worry about a lefty for a batter or 2, typically to get the Phils into the 8th with Madsen and 9th with Lidge. I think Eyre can handle the load by himself until JC returns. Especially with off days in the beginning of the year. I would rather the Phils find a quality RH bat to come off the bench.

5. BurrGundy Says:
   February 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 am

   This article is really well written and makes me a Zagurski fan. He is the John Kruk of the pitching world –pudgy and proud and professional.

6. Gavin Says:
   February 22nd, 2009 at 9:58 am

   Will he be ready for opening day?

7. Greg V. Says:
   February 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 am

   Zagurski has got this “average joe” thing going on. You kind of see it in Joe Blanton too. There’s nothing flashy about them, they just get out there in pitch. I hope Zagurski returns. He looked like he had promise and still does. I figure a strong spring may not put him right in the big league club, put it will put him on the right track.

8. Robbi P Says:
   February 22nd, 2009 at 10:47 am

   I love these types of stories about overcoming injuries to try and make the team. I think it’s this aspect that seperates us from the Yankees. We give our players another shot to overcome their injuries. I guess I could be biased but I don’t think many other organizations don’t give up on their players even when they suffer these long term injuries. I am hoping that Zagurski somehow helps the Phillies during the year. Being polish, I am also secretly rooting for him haha.
   The other player that I’m hoping will contribute to the team this year is Scott Matheison. I feel so bad for this guy. I mean, two Tommy John surgeries? Thats got to be very hard to overcome and that’s what he is doing. I’m hoping he can help out the bullpen in the future as well.
   Is there any update on Drabek’s rehab? I haven’t heard anything about our former first round pick?

9. Joel Says:
   February 22nd, 2009 at 11:45 am

   Zagurski will get his chance this yr. Hopefully he performs the way we hope he can.Also, I think once Romero comes back will help thie bullpen bc he will be fresh and the phils will need a fresh veteran arm around that time. But, guys like Zagurski, Matheson, etc have their chance to make an impact on this team until then.

10. Manny Says:
    February 22nd, 2009 at 12:01 pm

    Nice piece, Tim.

11. fred Says:
    February 22nd, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    Zagurski’s a nice story, but come on guys; he was never that good in the first place, and chances are he’ll be even more mediocre having not pitched for 2 years and suffering TJ surgery. In 21 innings he walked 11, which is awful, and had an ERA of 5.91. If someone that poor gets a spot in our pen, we’re really strugling. It says alot that just to get those 21 innings Mesa, Alfonseca and Davis had to fail first.

12. NJ Says:
    February 22nd, 2009 at 12:38 pm

    But all we need right now is a lefty to fill out the rotation throwing some middle-relief until Romero returns. We just need someone to be available and throw some situational outs and garbage innings so guys like Condrey and Durbin don’t have to and Eyre can thrive on the workload until his innings are cut back.

    Health willing things could work very nicely considering Eyre needs innings to be effective and Romero will be on a short season. Assuming Park relieves, you throw another innings eater in there and your asking or trouble, Zagurski gives flexibility for a role that’s really going to be about keeping the rest of the pen off the mound when it doesn’t need to be.

13. feech Says:
    February 22nd, 2009 at 1:45 pm

    Yeh, yeh great story i feel for the poor guy. With that being said this guy sucks. Everytime i watched him pitch it was when the game was already decided. When he did pitch in close games he was erratic and not very poised. His control was a big issue than and how do you think it will be now after surgery ? All im saying is be careful what you wish for.

14. Mr. A-Hole Says:
    February 22nd, 2009 at 2:20 pm

    Why do you give a shit about this tubby f*ck?

15. Rusty Says:
    February 22nd, 2009 at 2:52 pm

    Great article Tim.

16. » Phillies Competitions: 5th Starter, Temporary Lefty Set-up Man | Blogging-Baseball.com Says:
    February 22nd, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    [...] Nation’s Tim Malcolm wrote a nice piece today tracing Zagurski’s career from his selection by the Phils in in the 12th round of the 2005 draft through to spring training [...]

17. jeff spots Says:
    February 23rd, 2009 at 1:47 pm

    Great article about Zagurski. he is my hero and I hope he comes back even better then before. I love some of the comments that were made on this site. remember baseball is a sport it’s.. entertainment. It’s nice to see the rude comments about a 25 year old human being. For those of you who thinks he sucks.. Did you butt heads play pro baseball? Didn’t think so. Then shut up. Either support his comeback or stop watching it’s a game for fun stupids. Be careful he probably will make you eat your words in a couple of months. Since when did we become such a asshole society? You arm chair coaches get a prozac and enjoy the game…… So he’s chubby.. fat guys kick ass. Go Z

18. Lewisauce Says:
    February 23rd, 2009 at 5:24 pm

    Nice piece, Tim. (Dudes, don’t get upset about Mr. A-Hole; he’s likely just a Met troll.)

    I’m not ripping on Zagurski’s physique, and I know most injuries just happen, but does anyone think that maybe his lack of conditioning maybe contributed to the injuries? I don’t know about the elbow tendon/TJ problem, but the torn hamstring sounds like something that would never happen to, say, a Hamels/Moyer/(in-shape) Myers because those guys are conditioned enough to avoid it.

    Just a thought. I hope Zagurski gets himself together physically and contributes to the Phils in this repeat year.

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