Moyer talks dragging

I like the idea of signing Moyer, in fact, I love it, but i don't think that they should try to go after Lowe or Burnett. The Phillies' rotation only goes 4 deep. The fifth spot is probably going to be fought over by Adam Eaton, Kyle Kendrick, Carlos Corassco, and J.A. Happ. Nothing against Happ and Carlos, but all of these players are either too young, too inexperienced, too inconsistent, or just plain bad. The Phils should definitely go after, if not a Type A free agent pitcher, at least a solid and consistent Type-B pitcher.

When I said don't I mean do. "I do think that they..."

I really thought the two sides would have worked things out by now.I liked the fact that the Phillies already re-signed Scott Eyre. I think that a gerek Lowe would be a great fit knowing his excellent health record and he would be a great fit for the hitting friendly Citizens Bank Park.Sinkerballers are always welcome !!!
If the Phillies cant sign Lowe and Moyer signs it would be a good idea to sign someone lik e an oliver Perez (25-17) and a 3.79 ERA over the last 2 years or if he's pricey I think Ben Sheets signs an incentive based contract.He was 25-14 over the last two seasons with a 3042 ERA.

I has a typo error. Sheets had a 3.42 ERA

phillies check list

1. resign moyer.
2. resign burrel or get another left fielder.
3. try to get a pitcher like burnett, lowe, sheets or perez.
4. try to get dye .

plus we should have victerino bat second so we have werth sixth so we have more power at the bottom of the lineup.

i think that there are a couple things on your check list that the Phillies should stay far, far away from. firstly, the Phils should either resign Burrell, or make an offer for Raul Ibanez (possibly a contract similar to that, a little more than, Pedro Feliz.) anyone else just does not do the job. i believe that the left fielder should only be a temporary guy signed to a two year deal. this should give the Phils time to work out the kinks with John Mayberry Jr. i have a lot of faith in this guy.

also, the Phillies do not need another injury ridden pitcher, who has underachieved his whole career (check Freddy Garcia...) AJ Burnett is just not a good option here. Ben Sheets is also hurt frequently, and Oliver Perez belongs in the "underachievers" category. the Phils have two of the most coveted young starters in the league in Happ and Carrasco. i personally think that it's time to give Carlos his shot.

i think that Jermaine Dye is a very remote possibility should the Phillies fall out of the running for Burrell or Ibanez. he has the Phils blocked in a no trade clause, and the White Sox are looking to acquire a young pitcher (Happ, Carrasco, Carpenter) and possibly an outfielder (Werth, Taylor =(young prospect)... so i don't really think that any package is worth the year or two you get from Dye.

heres the way i think the lineup should look:
1. Victorino (speed, pace setter)
2. Rollins (good contact, average power)
3. Utley (good contact / power)
4. Howard (above average power)
5. Werth (good contact, pop in his bat)
6. Ibanez (good contact, can go deep)
7. Marson (time to give him a shot)
8. Feliz / Dobbs (better suited for a platoon)

Why not give Happ, who looked ready late last year,
Marson and our new left fielder a real chance this year.
If we're getting a first rate starter, don't let the price include Victorino, or Werth . Those two are keepers.
I think Happ is the starter some are looking elsewhere
for. Let's not mess up what got us to the top.

You said Ryan Howard has above average power? Try Great Power. Phillies need to sign Moyer, and also need to sign Rocco Badelli, They have way too many left handed hitters in there line up, and Ibanez is not the answer.

Moyer will sign a 2 year deal within the next 2 weeks. Not sure for how much. I don't care, it's not my money. But it's a done deal. They signed Mayberry hoping he'll be their left fielder next year making them younger and faster. They think he is ready. Burrell is gone. I'm really not worried about the rest of the starting 8. Bruntlet can fill in for Utley for April and it won't kill them. Besides I saw alot of Iron Pigs games last year and I tell you there is nothing down there at all. Any position help will need to come from the outside anyway. I think Happ is ready to move up. It's now or never. Quiet kid, hard worker. Always out before the game doing his work. Gets down on himself when he gets knocked around but very coachable. Kind of guy who will really benefit being around Moyer. My 2 concerns are Myers and Kendrick. Myers is a head job who doesn't listen to anybody. I'd trade him in a heartbeat. Kendrick has lost his confidence but he will still pay attention. He can still turn it around.

moyer was fairly reliable last year and contributed... he ran out of gas at the end and thats a result of age... i like moyer, but, a 2 year deal makes him 48 on the back end... put the money somewhere else... they need to go sign a solid #2 to compliment hamels... moyer is not the answer long term nor whats needed to repeat... dont be so stingy with the money... reinvest in the team and go get a couple pieces that can give em a legit chance to repeat... that had a fab year and it was a fun ride... i also think they overachieved and need to get some solid parts to the team... a solid #2, with hamels, and a better myers could make they very formidable team... they need to stop going the kmart route and stop signing guys on the back end of their careers... get a dang starter and be done with it... doug humphrey

Moyer is worth having around for the sole purpose of his leadership.At this point of his career he's no better than a #3 starter.But he's more valuable than Myers who is the #2.
This has to be a concern to the Phillies.Myers will earn 12 Mil. next year as a #2 and Moyer earned 10.5 Mil last year as a #3.Hamels if signed long term or goes to arbitration will get a nice chunk of change!(He deserves it!)Blanton and Happ look great to round out the rotation.Myers is a free agent after 2009.So do you replace him now or later?
He has had his moments and blow ups!Jason Donald is just about ready to take over at short.Do you deal J-Roll now to like a San Fran for a top starter or trade Donald?Are we really looking to replace a catcher who handles and has the starting pitchers respect with a rookie?Do you release Eaton and eat his 8.5 MIl,or put him in the pen?The Phil's cant affford Burrell so do you want another lefty in the line-up like Ibanez or sign a steady bat like Jim Edmonds?

trade j-rol and let donald replace him? r u crazy? hes the 07 mvp, and clearly can do better than he did in 08. on top of that, hes a freakin bargain at what were paying him, and donald had been working on 2nd base so we can use him at the start of 08. plus hes got another year in the minors before hes completely ready.

jim edmonds bats lefty. we dont need lefties. baldelli is the perfect choice to platoon w/ stairs/jenkins/dobbs in left. he cant play everyday due to his condition, and who wouldnt want to play for the reigning champs? even if u lost to them. he would be very affordable.

moyer did not early 10.5 mil last year, i dont know where u get ur numbers. try 3 million for one of the top 10 starters in the NL in 08. well resign him hopefully for 5 mil or less. 2 yr contract.

if we could unload eaton on ANY team, and offer to pay 70 percent of his contract (i.e. thome situation), id do it in a heartbeat.

dont go after any starter on the free agent market. happ is good and hes ready. y does everyone expect the 5th starter to be amazing? they arent supposed to, he clearly has enough stuff to be a 5th. kendrick needs to develop a changeup in order to play in the majors. a below-average slider and an average sinker are not enough.

if burnett is signed, it would be one of the most boneheaded signings this decade for us.

i think i addressed the majority of the issues here. good day.

sign moyer and go after lowe and burnett and also a left fielder. for second base we have donald while utleys gone.

Can we (the Braves) please have the Flyin' Hawaiian?

I know that's not gonna happen, but that dude can play ball.

http://lukegoddard.mlblogs.com/

Jamie Moyer made 6 Mil last year ! He has an incentive based contract based on innings pitched.I would NEVER trade Jimmy Rollins.I was just running some scenario's by people.The Phillies are not big spenders and the fans will be the ones suffering long term with Adam Eaton signed through 2010 with a 0.5 mil buyout.Jenkins a s a platoon player making 6.75 Mil next year and 7.5 in 2010 with a 1.25 Mil buyout.Ibanez hits lefties better than righties and is a left handed bat ,but will switch leagues and may have to adjust.I would rather see Burrell re-signed though i doubt the Phil's will have the money with Howards and Hamels arbitration.As it looks now the Phillies 2009 salaries average out around 112 Million (Projected with all the arbitration cases)And that does'nt even include a left fielder.I think Donald is quite capable of filling in at second until Utley returns.But the Phillies long term plans are to use him possibly at third after Feliz's last year in 2010 if the Phillies don't buyout his contract.Burnett is a big risk though Lowe has been one of the healthiest pitchers in baseball over the last several years.Plus his ERA was 3.56 last year ,and a sinkerballer which is perfect for our park.I doubt we will ever spend the money plus Scott Borus is his agent!

The Phillies need to make moves on Rocco Baldelli and Juan Cruz. I like the idea of having a platoon in the left field just like at third base, and Cruz stretches out the bullpen. Pitching should be a focus but not a concern. I think the rotation is in good shape, but yes, it could be better. Spending the kind of money on a big-contract bat like Ibanez will take away from what the Phillies can offer their arbitration-eligable players. I think the rotation looks alright on paper as is.
1. Hamels
2. Myers
3. Blanton
4. Happ
5. Kendrick/Carrasco

...And that's without resigning Jamie, who I would love to have back. However, who really knows how much longer he'll be able to perform at a winning level?

As most everybody has said, signing Moyer is a good thing for his pitching and helping with the younger guys. Signing Burrell should be a priority for these reasons. There isn't a right hand bat available that can consistently give you 30/90. He has his cold spells, but so does Howard and a few other Phils, but we don't hear about that. Keep ragging on Pat and he will come back to haunt us if he leaves.

The more talk about the money that's thrown around each
year, the more rediculous it becomes. What Salary Cap?
When is baseball going to do something meaningful to level
the playing field?

How about this. For every half-million a team goes over the cap, why not assess that team by giving their opponents a ten run spot per game. That is, a team going over by one million spots whoever they open against a ten run spot.
That would be the penalty in each of their first two games, and so on. Maybe this is nonsense but the cap needs teeth. Let the big spenders dig their team a hole they
can't get out of.

If they're going to resign Moyer to be as much of a tutor to the younger pitchers as to take a spot in the rotation, then it would make sense to fill the fifth slot with a young guy. As intrigued as I am with the idea of pursuing Ben Sheets to go with Hamels and Myers, I can't imagine Moyer will cost a huge amount of money, why not resign him and fill the fifth slot with a guy he can help bring along.

They should resign Burrell if they can, but that's a huge if. He's only going to get older and it would be silly to overpay. That being said, Burrell wants to stay in Philadelphia, so they may be able to get some kind of discount. If not, a Baldelli/Jenkins platoon would make sense, though they'd need to sign another right handed outfielder in case Baldelli goes down despite being a platoon player which would still be a major possibility. Even still, they won't be able to replace Burrell's production if they don't resign him. As good as Ibanez is, they don't need another left handed bat, and Dye would probably not be worth the price. If they can resign Burrell within reason, they should. Otherwise, fill it as best they can and prepare for a bit of a dropoff in production at that position.

I like the prospect of having Moyer back in the rotation as much as the next guy, but he is definately getting to a place in his career where if he begins to lose it, it may go quick. Like the end of last season. Next year it will probably come a little earlier. I would just hate to see him become a Maddux story. Myers was nearly sterling throughout the second half and you can count on Hamels, Myers at the topp of the rotation. If Moyer really wanted to help the team at this point he would sign a contract so the team can move on with other priorities. Don't be down on Kendrick he is young and has more than met his expectations. The Phils have won the majority of his starts and he will only get better.
Burrell needs to be prepared to take a paycut if he wants to stay. I would like him to stay but I would be just as comfortable with Werth completely replacing him and the phils finding another guy in right instead of left. Right is more of a platoon position than left.

Excuse me? Why should Moyer take a low ball offer to "help the team". Everybody else deserves to get paid but not him? Why? Who led the team in wins last year? Why do you have so much faith in Myers and Kendrick? Because one is young(Kendrick) and ones a head job(Myers)? What did Kendrick do this year to make you think he's going to get better? Just because he's young? You've got no problem paying a guy (Myers) who could self destruct both on the mound and in life at any moment,and I pray he doesn't do either, but good old Moyer is suppose to take whatever the Phillies offer for the good of the team? What, he's just lucky to be here? I think you've got that backwards. 16 wins last year. SIXTEEN. You mind telling me where those 16 wins are gonna come from? And yeah I know he's 45. Actually he just had a birthday. Now he's 46. I don't care if he's 110. Until the guy shows me he can't pitch on a regular basis I want him back. And he deserves to get paid.

Ok this is by far the best thing for the team. Trade Myers, Kendrick, and prospect outfielder Dominick Brown to the White Sox for Jermaine Dye. Im sorry Burrel, you are to inconsistent, we would get a draft pick for him. Sign Juan Cruz for even more Bullpen Depth. Sign Nick Punto even if utley is back it could give Utley or j-roll, or Feliz a needed day off. Or even be able to start Feliz, pinch hit Dobbs against a tough righty. then put in Punto so Dobbs doesnt play in the field late n games when he hits for Feliz. The resign the smartest pitcher in the league. Sign Derek Lowe the way he pitched by throwing ground ball after ground ball is a perfect fit in Citizens Bank. So the Rotation and line-up look like this.....
Rotation

Hamels
Lowe
Moyer
Blanton
Happ

Notice it splits up good too L R L R L

Bullpen
Cl Lidge
SU Cruz
SU Madson
lefty Spec Romero
7th in Durbin
Lefty Eyre
Condrey

Lin-up if Utley is healthy

1. SS Rollins
2. LF Werth
3. 2B Utley
4. 1B Howard
5. RF Dye
6. CF Victorino
7. 3BFeliz/Dobbs
8. C Ruiz
9. P

If Utley Isnt healthy

1. SS Rollins
2. CF Victorino
3. RF Dye
4. 1B Nose
5. LF Werth
6. 3B Feliz/Dobbs
7. 2B Punto/Donald
8. C Ruiz
9. P

On the Bench you need a utility infielder, a backup catcher, a good hitter, and a fast dude

Punto
Coste and/or Marson
Jenkins
Stairs
Dobbs/Feliz
Bruntlett

this is interesting, except, it's not going to happen. Ruben Amaro said that he wants "to upgrade an already strong staff", meaning he's not looking for a drastic change, just a little extra help. the Phils are going to sign back Moyer and let Burrell walk. we have plenty of prospects who are ready to step up, and this could be the year they shine. i would love to have Punto back, since he is so versatile, but Dye is out of the question. (the White Sox are looking for a young pitcher who is, or is close to, major league ready. aside from the fact that the Phillies are on his blocked list, it would cost them either Carrasco, Happ, or Andrew Carpenter.) sending young pitchers to the White Sox hasn't really worked out for us so far...(see Gavin Floyd..)