According to Baseball Prospectus, the Phillies currently have a 16% chance of making the playoffs this year.
The Phillies stand 5.5 games back of the Braves for the division and 2 back of the Rockies (though with 4 other teams in between) for the Wild Card.
Since the creation of the Wild Card, the average number of wins for the Wild Card team is 91.5.
To get to 92 wins, the Phillies would have to go 44-27 over the final 71 games, a streak they have shown they are capable of each of the last 3 years.
Taking all of this in, what should Ruben Amaro be doing as the trade deadline nears?3
Here is a good list of the pitchers, and the position players who might be available at the deadline.
Here are his options as I see them…
Aggressive/Long Term: This would mean going after Roy Oswalt, Dan Haren or another big piece and putting any prospect on the table except Domonic Brown. Both Oswalt and Haren have years and money owed to them after this season.
Aggressive/Short Term: This would mean going after a 1/2 year rental, but giving up quality prospects to do so. Someone like Ben Sheets or Ted Lilly would fall into this category.
Quality Tweak: Try to get a bullpen piece that can pitch near the end of games, or a utility guy who can start for most teams (Ty Wigginton). Cost would be a 10-15 ranked prospect and change.
Minor Tweak: Another 6th-7th inning bullpen arm, a crappy starter (Jake Westbrook) or a non-impact bench guy (Miguel Tejada?) and hope to catch lightning in a bottle. Cost would be a low level prospect.
Sell: This wouldn’t be a forfeit of the season, as the only real piece we have to sell is Jayson Werth and he would be replaced by Domonic Brown. But if the Phillies know they aren’t re-signing Werth, and know Brown is capable of accounting for around 80-90% of his production this year, then why not get a couple quality prospects instead of settling for mostly-miss draft picks. This move would be for 2011 on, while slightly hurting our 2010 chances.
Do Nothing: Go with what you have, knowing they have had hot 2nd halves before.
So what do you think?
Obviously there are a lot of options out there, and you could combine the above together (trade Werth, flip prospects etc…). Right now, I’m leaning towards quality tweak myself. The only high quality prospect I would trade right now is Anthony Gose, and I don’t think he’s good enough to get an elite player. I think a little more stability in the bullpen and a bat to add to the line-up could provide the slight shot-in-the-arm this team needs. The problem right now is the offense, and the bats are already in place, they just aren’t doing their job.
I think mortgaging the future for an Oswalt or Haren would be an overreaction to a season filled with bad luck and injury woes, though I would check the price on Haren and see if you can buy low on him.
I would also strongly consider moving Werth if they can get a real good prospect who could help us in 2011 (a starter, an outfielder to platoon and then takeover for Ibanez, a closer). Dom Brown is just tearing the cover off the ball, and while he might be a downgrade to Werth, the long-term benefit of a quality player on low salary (the prospect we get for Werth) would outweigh that for me.
It’s a tough position for Amaro (though one he mostly put himself in) because this team is underachieving not because of lack or personnel. There really isn’t a spot in the line-up where you can replace someone. A bullpen/bench guy will only help so much. And you almost always have to overpay for starting pitching. We’ll see what he does.
Prospect Update:
Vance Worley has found something in Reading – could it earn him a spot-start with the big club this year? Worley, 22, started off slow this year and some thought he was on his way to the bullpen. However, since May 1st he has a 2.74 ERA in 15 starts. Still, he was giving up too many hits, but in his last 2 starts, he’s been nothing short of dominant. In those 2 starts, he’s pitched 17 innings, allowed 0 runs, 6 hits and 1 walk and struck out 10. He doesn’t have elite stuff, but he could be turning himself into a future reliable starter.
Series Preview: Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals
Monday (7:05): Kendrick vs. RHP Blake Hawksworth (3-5, 4.73 ERA)
Tuesday (8:15): Moyer vs. RHP Chris Carpenter (10-3, 3.16 ERA)
Wednesday (8:15): Blantonvs. LHP Jamie Garcia (8-4, 2.27 ERA)
Thursday (2:15): Hamels vs. RHP Adam Wainwright (14-5, 2.02 ERA)
3 Questions for The Series
- Are you trying to get traded, Jayson Werth?
- Kendrick, Moyer, Blanton: Who steps up?
- Will the Phillies continue doing the opposite of what they are supposed to? (Sweep Reds, nearly swept by Cubs)
Prediction
Even though the pitching match-ups look ominous, I think the Phils tough out a split here. Ryan Howard hits the ball very well in St. Louis and sometimes with this team, they really need their backs against the wall to step up. However, they are going to need to start coming up with a lot more than splits if they want to see the post-season for the 4th straight year.
COmpletely agree on the Quality Tweak with the caveats you suggest. Phils remain just a few games out of the wild card. Right in the thick of it. Looking long term is not really an option in my mind.
I would need something really good, like a top line pitching prospect, for Werth in order to let him go, and I doubt that would happen now. I am still looking at this year and as he displayed early on, he has a streak in his bat that can carry a team for 10-15 games. So to dump him to me really reduces our chances for this year.
Price of pitching just went up with Pettitte going down for awhile and
Burnett injuring himself. Will Ruben care to outbid Yanks for quality reinforcement of staff? I doubt it. Would guess he’s a little gun-shy after spate of mound personnel misfires.
Here’s a good list of the position players that could be available
and the pitchers
Actually, I’m just going to put those in the post
Good breakdown. I’m a fan of the ol’ sell and tweak maneuver.
Werth has been awful, why not get something for him? Brown can’t be worse and maybe the Phils catch some lightning in a bottle by calling him up.
And I don’t understand why the Amaro hasn’t gotten a bench/inf guy already. It’s painful watching Valdez/Castro/Francisco/insert whomever else.
I’m with Ricky Bo. Gotta shake this team up with a trade of some significance. These 25 are flat together. Catalyst may not be an acquired player, but a teammate or two leaving.
If they could get a guy like Dotel or Guthrie to help their pitching rather cheaply…. for say a (10-15th) prospect and change. I would strongly consider that. I could see J. Guthrie being a typical move of Ruben/Gillick theory. A starter that flies under the radar with average numbers that steps it up for the 2nd half.
How feasible would it be to trade Werth for prospects and then flip those prospects for a pitcher while bringing up D. Brown? I could see RAJ doing that and aiming for a pitcher who is under control for a few more seasons that will help us this year and in the future.
phillyfan,
I followed the whole Ryan Howard discussion on the last thread. I held off on saying anything yesterday, and today I thought about jumping in but I did not have a chance until now.
FWIW, I feel like the disconnect is that you see Howard as an elite player while most of us, myself included, do not.
Howard has elite power. He is not a 5-tool player. He does not have elite speed. He is not an elite fielder. He is not a guy who is even above average across the board, making him elite in the aggregate. I see Howard as a good player who elevates himself to the level of very good by virtue of his elite power. There are many guys that are, or were, viewed as very good players as a result of possessing one aspect (speed, defense, etc…) that elevated them above others. There is a difference between that and an elite player.
To say as you did that, Howard’s fielding, while not anything better than passable, is not an impediment to winning, is not correct. While not catching that foul pop last night did not lose the game for us, don’t you think it was an impediment to us winning? I do. The point is that every deficiency of every player on the field is an impediment to winning. (Would you say, for example, that Rollins’ poor hitting since coming off the disabled list has not been an impediment to winning because he is still playing elite defense?) The fewer deficiencies you have as a player, the higher you rise toward elite level (and the less of an impediment you are to your team’s ability to win——i.e. you help them that much more to win).
Howard’s power is at such an elite level that it more than makes up for his deficiencies in several other areas and is integral to our winning. (This is shown in the numbers on fangraphs, for example, where you will see that Howard’s WinsAboveReplacement value, which he built with his power numbers, is pulled down by his negative defensive rating, among other things.)
None of this is to say that Howard is not a good guy, doesn’t have good character, is not a good teammate, doesn’t have a good work ethic, or anything of the sort. I like Howard. I just don’t think he is an elite player. I also think his new contract, strictly from a paying for production on the field point of view, is out of line. This is another reason why people point out his shortcomings. He will be paid like an elite player so everyone expects elite play from him in all aspects of the game, not just power alone.
Maybe Amaro overpaid for Howard’s power, maybe he didn’t. What does get called into question is whether we will continue getting that power and if not will Howard improve other areas of his game to the point where they will make up for at least some of the value lost as his power declines? If the answers to those questions are no and no, then Amaro signed him to a bad contract. Only time will tell but you can see where the concern arises, can’t you? I mean, the contract is based predominantly on his one elite level ability, his power. If that goes, what are we paying him for (what are we getting from him) and is it worth $25 mill per season?
As far as the HOF talk, he’s got a long way to go. For now, he has put together an impressive string of power numbers at the beginning of his career. Thing is, there have been many, many players who have had very good, even dominant, stretches during their careers, but it takes longer than just a few years to tally the numbers needed to enter the HOF discussion. Consistency and longevity separate the great from the very good. Howard has to maintain his power numbers for quite a while before he gets there. I hope that 5 years from now he’s still putting up 45/135 seasons and we can start talking about it.
In my opinion I do not believe any sort of major shake up is necessary. I think the starting pitching we have is good enough to get to the playoffs. I think the problem lies in the bullpen (especially now that Jose Contreras has lost it). I would love to see the Phillies go after late-inning relief help. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Phillies make a run at Soria, Dotel, Frasor, Downs or Qualls. Also, though not on the list maybe Matt Capps could become available (i’ve always been a big fan of his). Lastly, I’d love to see us get add to the bench somehow. I have no faith in our pinch hitters this year…
In regards to trading Jason Werth, I’m indifferent as to what happens. Though currently I tend to be leaning towards trading him for bull-pen help and a prospect or two. I just don’t think the Phillies will have the funds to resign him at the end of the year.
b.ski:
We can disagree and that is fine. But I take issue with your definition of elite.
>>FWIW, I feel like the disconnect is that you see Howard as an elite player while most of us, myself included, do not. Howard has elite power. He is not a 5-tool player. He does not have elite speed. He is not an elite fielder. >>>
In your definition of elite, there may be no elite players in a generation. I tend to use elite in comparison to his peers. There are no 5-tool players who are elite in all tools in the game today and maybe not in the history of the game. Certainly there are no first-base man today that fit this defniition of elite. Albert Pujols and Mark Tex would come close but clearly are not 5-tool players (speed). So I have to ask you if you really mean 5-tool as definition of elite. the last I can think of was Bonds in his prime – 15 years ago.
>> He is not a guy who is even above average across the board, making him elite in the aggregate. >>
This definition is more manageable. But you realize it still leaves out a guy like Pujols who has just average speed (now lets not fudge and say he has above-average speed “for a firstbaseman”). Mind you, I think AP is elite as a 4-tool player with a very average 5th tool. I think JRoll was elite in his prime, even though he was only hitting 20 or so homers. A-Rod was still elite even after he stopped running much. Johnny Bench was elite even though he had only 3 tools. There are alot of players that were considered great or elite that only had 3 tools. Not sure you have to be above average across the board to be elite in the agreggate. I think you can so dominate select areas that you can be elite overall and that is where Howard fits in. If you stand out as your generation’s ultimate power hitter, I think you are considered elite.
“But you realize it still leaves out a guy like Pujols who has just average speed”
Untrue. He might not steal bases, but baserunning metrics have Pujols as the 27th best baserunner in the MLB this year. Ryan Howard is ranked 659th out of 684.
This is not below average baserunning, by the way, this is horrible baserunning.
phillyfan,
I didn’t mean to make it sound like I’m saying you need to be elite in every phase of the game to be considered an elite (great) player. What I am saying is that you either need to be so in more than just one category, or you need to be above average across the board.
I think you understand what I really meant, which is this: Being elite in one area can elevate you to the status of a very good player, but you need to produce above and beyond in more than one area to even begin to be considered elite. Like I said, lots of guys are (or were) great in one area and I view(ed) them as a good or a very good player with an admirable skill that helped their team win. Nothing wrong with that. I’m not denigrating them. I like(d) watching them. I appreciate what they are (were) able to do. Still doesn’t make them great or elite in my book.
It may very well be that I set the bar for elite, or great, higher than most. If so, so be it because I feel it should be reserved for the true top-tier players, who should be set apart from the rest and who deserve the designation and the recognition for achieving such a high level of play (and doing so on a consistent basis leads to the HOF——see where I’m going with it?).
The difference with me is I don’t see that Howard is dominating his area to the point where he is considered the ultimate power hitter of his generation. He is certainly out in the lead but not waaaaaay out there to the degree that you portray him to be, like there’s no one even within shouting distance. Maybe if he were I’d feel differently but the separation isn’t there to the degree I need to even begin to consider calling Howard a great or elite player.
Interesting thoughts re trade deadline Pete. I read you often but don’t comment much.
I was thinking along the lines of a quality tweek myself….its just that i was thinking that trading werth – for the right deal – would be a quality tweek. In the sense that, at the very least, you’re replacing one quality player with another (brown for werth). Granted brown may struggle with the transition, but at the meantime Werth is not setting the world afire anyway. And obviously, I figure that getting something back for a guy you probably couldn’t keep anyway is a good move if it doesn’t hurt you much in the here and now. Granted, you would not have much power from the right side, but charlie has been sitting Ibanez anyway when matchups dictate. It might also be the kick in the pants that this roster needs to get them going.
All this is not to say that i want to see werth traded. I happen to like werth as a player, i remember rooting for him to win the every day job over jenkins. But if it were to happen, i think i’d be ok with it.
The question of what i’d want back for him is more complicated, and i’m not sure i’m decided on that yet. a solid catching prospect might be nice start to any package.
I’m getting sick of Shane swinging at the first pitch and popping up…Charlie needs to sit him down and have a talk to remind him he isn’t a home run hitter and never will be….
I’ve been reading trade Werth opinions for a month now. Not that federal law requires the after the trade strategy be attached to it, but what is the rationale behind the extra lefty bat with no righty bat to replace what JW is doing, let alone what he should be doing.
Werth, short term trade bait that he is would still qualify as a trading chip of minimum decent value to as high as a few clubs lined up if it becomes well known that the Phils want him out. Amaro says starter, the fan base says reliever. The truth lies in all precincts from number 3 starter to just about any non starter. For about the 100th year in a row, the Phillies need pitching. Now and in the future. So you might as well try to trade the chip of value for that.
But the question remains. Where is the righty bat going to come from? You have to at least have a plan. Is there a free agent that excites the Phils? A righty bat in the system that’s ready? In some ways, this reaks of a trade the Phils have to make. And at the same time, one they may well regret.
Backed into the corner that they are, budget wise and limited prospects to trade, you might as well play it out and hope for the best the rest of the way with regard to those tied up into 2011.
I wouldn’t mind seeing the Phillies make a run at Soria, Dotel, Frasor, Downs or Qualls. >>
Do you have any idea how much greater an acquaisition Soria would be over the rest of them, and unfortunately how much more expensive he would be?
It’s not that far from saying you’ll try to get Roy Halladay, and if you can’t get him, you’ll settle for Joe Blanton.
from b.ski….<<I just don’t think he is an elite player. >>
I think he is. Any player that can carry a club like he can is elite. I don’t care that his game is flawed in some areas. I don’t see a whole lot of difference between what you guys are saying about him versus if you put Reggie Jackson in the conversation. Reggie was a lousy defender, struck out eons of times, but he sure could finger roll. Phillyfan probably goes overboard on the guy, but he’s probably closer to the truth than you guys depending on logic and stats. And if he never does it again, you won’t see many of his like in a Phils uni over the years.
Parting shots for a Monday night….
Why has there been so little mentioned and written about comps of this year’s Phils to the 1979 squad which for some strange reason, I have so little recollection of?
Whatever happened to Chris McC, a guy who always posted good reads on here?
Why was I so close but unable to finish throwing up this morning when I talked to 2 yahoos that replied to my I don’t think the Phils are making the playoffs with stereo I don’t know, all the guys on ESPN say watch out for the Phillies.
Whatever happened to Ted Savage, and I hope that my thinking of him when I think of Domonic Brown is purely precautionary.
I can just imagine some of the off air conversations the Phils broadcasters are having about this outstanding season.
Is it just my imagination, or are Philly fan and I really the only 2 peeps around here that spell b.ski’s name as right as b.ski is actually a name?
Why did Crash Allen have to say he was booed when he first got to Philadelphia? Not that I remember, but I seriously doubt that was the case.
Out of about 18 contenders, wouldn’t somebody be interested in trading for Jamie Moyer for half a season at now less than 4 mil?
I really like Jim Jackson, who at least makes it arguable as to the best Phils pre post game host in comparison to Temple’s own Bob Bradley.
Will Ruben Amaro be around long enough to walk into CBP on the last day of Ryan Howard’s contract.
I hope The Other Stu sleeps well toniht. Another guy that sure can finger roll.
“But you realize it still leaves out a guy like Pujols who has just average speed”
Untrue. He might not steal bases, but baserunning metrics have Pujols as the 27th best baserunner in the MLB this year.>>
Pete, with all due respect, AP is not a 5-tool player. I know there is a fancy metric out there that attempts to measure “effective baserunning”, but AP does not have elite speed in the traditional sense of a 5-tool player as b.ski used it and we were discussing. He talked about elite speed. That is no shame. AB is still an all-time great.
The difference with me is I don’t see that Howard is dominating his area to the point where he is considered the ultimate power hitter of his generation. He is certainly out in the lead but not waaaaaay out there to the degree that you portray him to be, like there’s no one even within shouting distance. >>>
B.ski – Its kinda right there in total HR and RBI over the last 4 years b.ski. Do the math and compare him to the #2 guy. We are talking guys like Pujols and Arod and Manny (HOF’s or under consideration – certainly guys who defined offense for their generation) in their prime, and Howard’s numbers kinda dwarf them. 8-10 more homers a year and 15-20 RBI a year more on average is alot when you get to those types of numbers and when it is exceeding other future HOF’ers that are recognized for their power.
OK – I’ve got to put a stop to this “5-tool” business. It is not possible for a first-basemen to be a 5-tool player. The 5 tools are…
OK – I’m going to sum this all up so we can stop talking about it.
Never seen a guy with such promise fall apart like Werth has. His head just doesn’t seem in the game. Its kinda sad.
Team remains right there for the WC. I would resist anything but a quality tweak. I have faith in this team, which at the moment is alot easier since it is in the NL. Just a bunch of teams with a bunch of holes ahead of them. If on September 1 they are 5 or more games out of the WC and 8 or more out of 1st, I may give up the ghost.
LT, I really wonder about Utley. To me that is a very pressing question.
Peter Gammons comments…
Is Jayson Werth going be a candidate for the Red Sox to acquire?
Well, I think he is. I’m a big Werth fan. He’s such a great athlete and he’s not had a great year. I think he’s been a little bit distracted because of the whole free agency thing. I think if the Phillies feel they are out of it, and I’m not sure they think they can catch the wild card or the Braves, I think they might try it. The question is going to be, if you’re going to give up three players, you’re going to have to sign him. … The one team I keep wondering about if they drop a few games back, if the Dodgers start dropping back, would they talk about Andre Ethier. He’s going to make $10-$12 million next year, the coaching staff feels with their bizarre ownership situation, they don’t want to pay Ethier and might trade him now. That would be a fascinating guy to go after.
I hope The Other Stu sleeps well toniht. Another guy that sure can finger roll.
Huh?
You seriously doubt Allen was booed by racists in Sept. of 1963 in sweet, dear old Connie Mack Stadium? I don’t. Not even for a second. His ears were there in the on-deck circle and the batter’s box; yours weren’t. You must not well recall America’s cultural divide, and the temper and mores of the times.
Spring of ’63: Arkansas Gazette editors told reporters not to mention Allen would be the first black Traveler. Opening night in Little Rock still featured the tension that the newspapers had hoped to avoid. Marchers, led by White Citizens’ Council leader Amis Guthridge, picketed the ballpark, carrying signs that read, “Don’t Negro-ize baseball” and “Nigger go home.” Governor Orval Faubus, a nationally known opponent of school integration, threw the game’s ceremonial first pitch before a standing-room-only crowd of 7,000, including about 200 black fans. As the national anthem played before the game, out in left field, the Travelers’ first black player repeated the twenty-third Psalm to himself.
The first pitch resulted in a routine fly ball hit to left. Allen later recalled: “I froze….The ball flew over my head. I missed the ball because I was scared. I don’t mind saying it.” He made amends for his fielding error later in the game. He hit two doubles, the second of which led to the Travelers’ taking the lead and winning the game.
Allen was the last player to leave the park that night. He found a note on his car’s windshield that read, “Don’t come back again, nigger.”
[source: encyclopediaofarkansas.net]
1,005 miles didn’t eliminate bigotry and idiocy and white resentment. Maybe he had to say he was booed because he was.
Read this quote from Rollins on Zolecki’s blog: “It’s not over,” Rollins said. “You can write it like it’s over. But the guys with the bats and the balls they control what the pen says. … We’ve still got time. We either make it more time or less time. Six games (behind Atlanta). If we catch fire all of a sudden and do what the Chicago White Sox did (a 26-5 stretch from June 9 – July 15) then you can say we have a lot of time. We can make it a lot of time or a little time.”
It really is looking like it will take something along those lines for us to make the playoffs. That is an awfully tall order. Last year we were 20-7 in July. The last time prior to that we had won 20 games in a month was in May of 2001 (we had a 19-win month in Sept. 2004). If you look back over the past 3 seasons we have predominantly been in the 16-17 wins per month range with a couple 15-win and 18-win months along the way. This July we are 7-9 so far. Depending on what happens over the next 11 days we may very well need to put up back-to-back 20-win months in August and September. Not to be negative or a wet blanket but, being this far into the season and still not firing on all cylinders, it just doesn’t seem very likely is all.
I mentioned 1979 a few weeks ago. Maybe that’s what 2010 is all over again. It is funny that both seasons came on the heels of 3 straight division titles, that each time we had signed a big name free agent in the off season that was supposed to be able to get us over the hump (1979) or another WS title (2010), and that both seasons were (are being) derailed by injuries and sub-par seasons from other key contributors. Like I said then, I can only hope that day follows night and that 2011=1980.
With all that in mind, I think Amaro, if he is inclined and able to make a deal or two before the deadline, would be better served in looking to position us best for next year and beyond instead of looking for a quick-fix, shot-in-the-arm for the stretch run this year.
Amaro really messed this whole thing up….. I have been saying before the season even started that I wasn’t sure about this years team. Sure we had the big names like Haladay, Hamels, Utley, Howard etc…… but as Pat Gillick proved to us the year we won the World Series its not about the big names so much but rather the cheap guys who come in with a chip on their shoulder. When I looked at our roster this year I saw a talented team with not a whole lot behind it. Who has going to give us the shot in the arm when we needed it?
The trading of Cliff Lee was obvisouly a huge mistake… no one can ever convince me we couldn’t have had both Halladay and Lee but i’m not even going to go their since many have touched upon it numerous times. The thing with Amaro that has really frustrated me are the signings of players like Ross Gload and Danny Baez…. players who are at best average mlb players (I would argue awful MLB players) who Amaro overpaid for no reason. When these two signings took place I was so confused to the point where I thought I was missing something and convinced myself they were good moves.
Another thing I think Amaro has completely undervalued and I think its something most MLB fans don’t think about much is team chemistry. I understand each plate appearance is a one on one matchup but Polanco does not seem to mesh with this team. The moment we signed Polanco I thought it was a huge mistake. Yeah his numbers are good but doesn’t being on the field consistently mean something? He always seems like hes injured which can’t shock anyone given his age and while his numbers are good it doesn’t mean a whole lot if he is not on the field. His defense is meh… and I would argue his numbers have never contributed to winning baseball… I am not a fan.
If I am Amaro I try to get a little creative at this deadline. I look to see if I can trade Werth first for a number 2 type pitcher ( Lester, Haren) If that doesn’t work I try to trade him for a few prospects and maybe a cheap bench player with little downside. I trade Werth regardless because it doesn’t seem we have the resources necessary to re-sign him in the offseason and I want Dom Brown to come up now because we serisouly need new blood. Another thing I would look to do is get someone like a Kelly Johnson or a Nyjer Morgan just for some versietly and depth on the bench. When it comes to pitching I look for Rodriguez from Houston or Guthrie from Baltimore.
The fact of the matter is this team is stale, boring and not playing well. I blame this on Amaro but he still has time to atleast get something to get this team going again.
“Amaro … would be better served … .”
Is that the same as “Phillies fans (consumers) would be best served”?
Because that’s the organization’s civic responsibility. And we know solvency isn’t a problem.
Strategic planning and execution towards ‘next year and beyond’ for this year’s dollars in a horrible economy isn’t a fan bargain, though it carries some merit.
6 games out of 1st & 3 out of wild card in late July isn’t time to fold up the tent (3 more weeks of .500 ball probably would be). Amaro, if permitted by ownership, should be proactive in hunt and aggressive in action for personnel changes to bolster team performance. Strong GMs pay off right about now with shrewd transactions.
Just a couple of questions…
Is there any word about Happ’s status? I know he was shipped down but I haven’t followed to see if he’s even pitched lately.
How much longer to you give Werth to come around before deciding that he isn’t an asset anymore (at least for this team)? I don’t think “disinterested” fully explains how he looks at the plate.
jjg,
I’m not saying to fold up the tent and forget about this year. I’ve wanted Amaro to make a move to help the club for a while now and I still do.
What I’m talking about is not just getting a rental player whose contract is up at the end of the year. I definitely want someone who will make a difference now and maybe provide the needed spark to make a run this year, but, since the odds are continuing to get longer against us now, someone who will also be around to fill a need in the future.
really working the pitch counts early tonight….
let’s see what you got, Mr. Carpenter (Drew)
What happened to Moyer?
pulled something, didn’t look too serious, but with a 47-year old, you never know.
I would take Single A pitcher X over Dannys Baez at this point