Categories: Posts

It's Now Arbitration Time

Today is the day we get the full list of arbitration candidates. Jayson Stark has a good arbitration primer. The Phillies expect eight: Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Ryan Madson, Joe Blanton, Greg Dobbs, Chad Durbin. Stark runs down the Howard and Hamels situations in depth, and says rival general managers think the Phils should try to lock Hamels up with a longterm deal. I’ve stated my case for that, as well.

Here is the money quote:

“That team,” one AL executive said, “is about to walk through a mine field.”

Well, yes, a mine field. But the Phillies know the payroll is about to balloon to somewhere near $125 million. If they know what’s best – and I wrote this before – they would sign Hamels to a big deal and at least ink Victorino or Werth to a multiyear deal. Stark notes the Phils haven’t offered a pitcher anything beyond three years. Now is the time to drop that philosophy. Hamels is a once-in-a-lifetime talent, the next Steve Carlton. Give him six years. Do it. Do it. Do it.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.