Reporting to Camp
Interesting to see that while all of the Phillies regular position players are already in camp, players you would think would want to get there as soon as possible to get the coaches attention, even if unofficially since they can’t have organized workouts, aren’t there yet. I’m referring to report in Inquirer this morning that players such as Tagg Bozied, Matt Rizzotti, and Freddy Galvis still aren’t in camp. To me, unless they have serious family emergencies or injuries, they should have shown up weeks ago. Maybe it’s a financial thing- which I understand- but this is the opportunity to impress, and given that all three are in position to at least be one of the first call-ups in case of injury, I question their thinking.
Scott Mathieson
Scott Mathieson has been a Phillies prospect I’ve followed closely for the past several years and really hoped he would recover from his two Tommy John surgeries to be the player it looked like he could be back in 2006. Not sure why he has been one of my favorite minor league Phillies- probably his perseverance and seemingly positive attitude in the face of serious injuries twice just went it looked like he could become a full-time major league player. I know he has worked on a splitter with Bruce Sutter, although from an article in the newspaper today, not sure how well it is actually working for him as he still seems interested in developing his slider. It would be a great testament to hard work and dedication if he made the team this year, although I suspect they will send him back to Lehigh Valley to work for at least few months on his splitter. Anxious to see how he looks once the games start.
Domonic Brown- Let him play
Read a quote today from Domonic Brown that I really hope Charlie Manuel reads and takes to heart. Here is Brown talking about why he has been in Clearwater ever since he left Winter Ball from an article by Bob Brookover in Philadelphia Inquirer:
“I wanted to come to Clearwater and work on my swing because I know I had a lot of kinks that weren’t there before. Coming off the bench kind of messed me up as far as my swing and what I was used to doing every day”
To me, the Phillies have only two choices, and the option they should choose is clear. First, no way Brown should be a part-time player- sitting against a really tough lefthander, yes, but other than that either he plays almost full-time in right field or you send him to AAA to play every day. If I had a say in the matter (wow, it would be great to be a GM) I’d tell Manuel- Brown is the right fielder- make sure he gets 450+ at bats- don’t sit him down just because he has a bad game or three. I can’t see that he has much more that he can learn in AAA- we all know he can hit that pitching. I am amazed, but I guess not surprised, by how quickly people seemed to have turned on Brown because of struggles in a very brief time in the majors with no consistent playing time. Yes, Brown struck out a lot, yes his average was low, but that has happened to many players who went on to have great, even hall of fame careers. For example, the best Phillies player of all time, Mike Schmidt, started his Major League career in 1972, with 40 plate appearances. In those appearances, Schmidt hit .206, with 1 HR, and struck out 15 times. In 1973, in 443 plate appearances, Schmidt hit .196, with 136 strike outs, but increased his power to 18 hrs. We all know what happened after that. Will Brown be a Hall-of Famer- the odds are of course against it, but he has all the skills to be one of the best rightfielders ever for the Phillies, with a little patience from Phils fans and more importantly Charlie Manuel.
Charlie Manuel
Interesting that Phillies and Manuel have not come to an agreement on a new contract. According to Manuel’s agent, it’s all about the money, since Manuel wants to get top-five manager money, which I assume means $4 million per year or so. I’ll admit I’ve never been a big fan of Manuel’s style, but to the degree any manager has a real impact on his team, his work has certainly appeared to produce exceptional results. Whether they would have performed any differently under a different manager is of course impossible to say. In-game decisions certainly can play a significant role (and don’t necessarily appear to be Manuel’s strong suit), but really, much of what happens once a reliever is brought into the game or a certain hitter is sent to the plate is independent of the decison made by the manager. No manager can really know how a player will perform on any given day- even the best hitters are lucky to get hits 1 out of 3 appearances and everyone is familiar with the seemingly random ups and downs of bullpens. The role of a manager therefore probably comes down more to keeping the players working together through the almost inevitable struggles/firestorms that occur at least once per season and Manuel seems to have success in this regard. However, Manuel clearly prefers veteran players to younger ones, and often seems to make decisions that negatively impact the confidence of young players. Therefore, as the Phillies begin to move toward the inevitable turnover of some of their veterans over the next 2-3 years, I’m sure Amaro is wondering if Manuel is the right person for that job. With manager in waiting Sandberg in Lehigh Valley (and Mark Parent further down the system), no reason for Amaro to way overpay for a manager. I’d give Manuel a two-year extension, $3 million per year, and tell him that was the top limit. If he thinks he can do better somewhere else, thanks Charlie for your efforts and good luck.
Jimmy Rollins
I’ve read a lot this winter about Jimmy Rollins and his new Yoga exercise routine. Great that he is doing something to hopefully forestall additional injuries that have marred what was a great career until two years ago. Just wonder what he was (or more appropriately wasn’t) doing the other offseasons. You would think that athletes, knowing how much money is out there, and realizing they only have a short window for potential greatness, would do everything they could to be in the best physical shape possible. I’m not saying they can’t take a few weeks off in December to refresh, but come on, how hard is it to get to the gym three/four times a week, lift some light weights, do some stretching- the things the average person tries to do even when they aren’t earning $9 million a year (don’t even get me started on Pablo Sandoval- wow, lay off the ribs kid!!) Interesting to see if Yoga really has helped- and as a Phillies and Jimmy Rollins fan, I really hope it has. It would be exciting to see the old Rollins out there, he added so much energy and excitement when he did play regularly.
Now, where he hits in the lineup is a different story. I know he wants to hit leadoff, but according to statistics, doesn’t get on base enough to be a true leadoff hitter (plus, he drives me crazy with his penchant for swinging at the first pitch). However, moving him to the sixth/seventh spot doesn’t help much since the Phillies don’t really have a true leadoff type- Shane looks like he should be, has the speed to drive pitchers crazy when he gets on base, but based on his performance when he was leading off, he doesn’t perform any better than Rollins did when he was healthy in 2007-2009. I say, let Jimmy stay on top, put Victorino in the 5th spot, with Brown hitting 6th and Ibanez 7th, and somehow get Rollins to understand it doesn’t hurt the team to walk versus grounding to second to start off every game. Should be a great offense again if the players avoid injuries.
What to do with Joe Blanton
Well, as we start Spring Training (YAY!!!) one of the biggest questions surrounding the Phils is what to do with overpaid innings-eater Joe Blanton. Now, that probably does a disservice to Blanton, who, at times, has pitched very well for the Phillies. But, I’m sure, like most of us, Amaro wishes he had not signed off on the 3-year deal for Blanton, and realizes the best thing for all is to find a willing trade partner- and no, that isn’t the Texas Rangers and Michael Young. My recommendation, mainly because it makes the most sense, is for the Phils to trade Blanton to Toronto for Juan Rivera. Rivera makes a little more than $5 million this year, and would be off the books next year, saving $3 million this year and the whole $8.5 owed Blanton for next year. Toronto could certainly use a veteran presence, and have the money after somehow getting the not-so-bright Tony Reagins in Anaheim to take Wells and his incredibly bad contract. Rivera would be a better 4th/5th outfield option than Mayberry (no way he ever hits a major league breaking ball) and could provide surprising offense based on some good offense output in the not so distant past. The only other real option I see for a trade of Blanton right now is the Yankees, but I can’t see the Yankees viewing Blanton as much of an upgrade. What do you all think?
Predictions for the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies
These are my predictions for the year:
Lineup Order: Jimmy Rollins AVG: .293 HR: 17 RBI: 86 SB: 37
Placido Polanco AVG: .302 HR: 9 RBI: SB: 5 Chase Utley AVG:
.289 HR: 28 RBI: 110 SB: 17 Ryan Howard AVG: .269 HR: 38 RBI:
132 SB: 3 Shane Victorino AVG: .278 HR: 14 RBI: 77 SB: 45
Domonic Brown AVG: .276 HR: 15 RBI: 81 SB: 21 Raul Ibañez
AVG: .272 HR: 20 RBI: 73 SB: 2 Carlos Ruiz: AVG: .259 HR: 11
RBI: 69 SB: 1 Bench Ben Francisco: AVG: .278 HR: 15 RBI: 71
SB: 14 Pitchers Roy Halladay: 20-11, ERA 2.89 Cole Hamels:
19-7, ERA 3.21 Cliff Lee: 18-10, ERA 3.14 Roy Oswalt: 15-9,
ERA 3.46 Joe Blanton (traded to Toronto) Kyle Kendrick: 10-7,
ERA 4.21 Vance Worley (minimal time in ML- 4-2 when Oswalt
out injured in July) Brad Lidge: Saves 46 Next post I’ll
address three major issues facing Phils in Spring Training:
Joe Blanton trade, Domonic vs Ben, and where to hit
Rollins
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