Not big news, but news nonetheless. The Phillies made their first move as champions today, re-signing left-handed reliever Scott Eyre to a one-year, $2 million dollar deal. Seems like a little much for a situational lefty, but it is much less expensive than the 3-year, $11 million deal he signed with the Cubs prior to this.
Eyre was 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 19 appearances for the Phillies after he was acquired by the Cubs. He also pitched in 5 playoff games, giving up 1 run in 3 IP. I wouldn’t expect a sub-2 ERA for an entire season, but Eyre is nice bullpen arm, and I’m happy to have him back.
Eyre’s signing means that the Phillies will return virtually every arm from the NL’s best bullpen. Lidge in the 9th, Madson in the 8th and Romero, Eyre and Durbin in the 7th. Condrey will likely stick around as the long reliever which leaves one spot open for Rudy Seanez’s replacement.
I would expect a one-year deal with Jamie Moyer to be the next move we see.
Some other Phillies related notes around baseball:
- It looks like the A’s gave up at least Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez for Matt Holliday. The Rockies get a closer and long-term solution in CF. Gonzalez is a better position prospect than anyone we have in our system, so the Rockies did pretty well. A comparable package from us would have been Madson, Carrasco and another prospect. In retrospect, I’m glad we didn’t get him.
- We won’t have to wait long to see the Phillies opener. ESPN announced today that the Phillies and Braves will kick off the 2009 MLB season on Sunday, April 5th at 8pm. Hopefully it’s Hamels vs. Hudson, not Hamels vs. Peavy.
- The Marlins and Nats made a trade today, with Josh Willingham and Scott Olson going to the Nats in exchange for Emilio Bonifacio and minor leaguers P.J. Dean and Jake Smolinski. A strange move by the Nats. This is how they have a roster full of guys like Ronnie Belliard and Austin Kearns. A bunch of decent players, but no superstars. This move might get them 5 more wins next season. This is a team that needs to be drafting well and bringing up players through their own system, not trading prospects for OK players.
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Can we get an Eagles post? I have been a Reid/McNabb backer for as long as I can remember. I constantly fight my dad about McNabb. And while I can’t figure out what is wrong with Donovan, I have to wonder how someone who claims to be in such great shape comes so close to throwing up again and again. I mean, how could they not get a play off before the two minute warning? I kept waiting for Donovan to heave.
It has also become increasingly clear that Andy Reid is a major liability and will never lead this team to a championship. His in game coaching is disastrous – there is no reason to have made that first challenge. Does he thing the refs have a TV from the 1960s and would not have seen Jacobs was down? Why waste the timeout when you know you aren’t winning. And the play calling is just horrendous. There is now a clear track record of these same two issues time and time again. And its not like Reid is a great talent evaluator, which is weird that this is often seen the other way around. Why do we not draft players in the first round? That trade with the Panthers looks worse each week. Why do we keep cutting first round through third round picks? Every now and then we get a Trent Cole in the fifth round but those are few and far between.
This Eagles team is not going to win a Super Bowl anytime soon. I know how bad the years were before Reid and McNabb but with our ownership, I don’t see it falling to that level again. It’s time to cut the cord with Reid and least and start over. As long as Steve Spanolo (sp!) can find an offensive coordinator who does not follow Reid’s approach, can we please bring him back?
Good signing by the Phils. Short term and not a lot of money. Amaro is starting off just like he said he would so I’m guessing you’re right, Pete. A one-year deal for Moyer should be next.
About the Holliday deal. I read earlier that there is a good chance the Rockies will turn around and trade Street to someone else. From the A’s side, I’m guessing that if they are not in contention we’ll see Beane move Holliday at the trade deadline. There is always somebody in the hunt who is willing to give up a couple prospects to fill a need and try to make a run and Beane knows that very well.
note: apparentely the prospects the Nats gave up were not as good as I thought – so possibly not a bad trade for them