Loretta courted?
Add Mark Loretta to the Phillies list of potential targets, with Philadelphia being one of at least four teams interested in the free agent infielder. The Pirates, Diamondbacks and Dodgers are believed to be the others, according to a report on ESPN.com. Loretta, who would perfectly if Chase Utley and Pedro Feliz are slow to recover from their respective injuries, may be particularly attractive if he's not offered arbitration by the Astros. He was offered and accepted last year, and Houston might not risk it this time. -- Ken Mandel
Could be an excellient signing to be an insurance policy while Chase Utley and Felix Pie get back into game shape for the Phillies.
Both players are suppose to be ready near the beginning of the season, but Loretta gives them a added bonus of a competent players to use in the mean time, and is an above average fielder.
rays Renegade
http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com
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Loretta would be an interesting pickup for the Phils. He's a good defender at three infield positions, and is good against lefties and off the bench.
http://www.hotstovephilly.com
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Pie?
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felix pie isnt on the phillies smart guy!!!
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cut him a break, lol, you know that he meant Pedro Feliz.
anyway, I, on the other hand, think that this would be a total waste of money. the Phillies already have at least two very capable infield replacements in Eric Bruntlett and Jason Donald. they will most likely share time until Utley is ready to go. (which could be as early as Opening Day.) they also have Greg Dobbs, who believe it or not, was traded for as a second basemen from Seattle.
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As a pirates fan i dont mind having a guy that can play any infield position he was like chris gomez this year but better than chris gomez i hope pirates pick him up!!!!!
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haha, that's not exactly where i want him to end up..lol.
also, i think your mistaking me for someone else. i have never posted there before, haha. :)
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Loretta is a better righthanded pinch hitter than Iguchi and Coste were in 2008.I think he would be a nice addition off the bench.His fielding at second is below average but better than average at third base.The only other thing would be to get him some time in left field like they did with Bruntlett.He is a much better hitter than Brunlett.I really did'nt expect the Phillies to offer Burrell arbitration because if he accepted they would be over 130 Million in payroll in 2009.And we all know that is'nt happening unless Eaton and Jenkins get traded for minor leaguers.LOL !
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Phighthinphils:Hope Phillies don't sign him,we want him on the mets,the guy can play the entire infield,we miss you on the mets blog at the NYPost.lol.
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He's too old-pass.
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I have an interesting trade scenario for the Phillies.Lets assume Burrell is'nt comming back.A great trade partner could be the Arizona D-Backs.They currently have two right handed hitting left fielders in Connor Jackson who also can play first .They currently have Chad Tracy penciled in as their starting first baseman.And they have Eric Byrnes.Jackson is 300 hitter and young and hits for some power and Byrnes stuggled last year but is a good all aroung player.The D-Backs are looking for starting pitchers and bullpen help and also keeping their payroll down.They are losing Randy Johnson.the Phillies have Kendrick who could fit nicely in their rotation plus throw in someone like Durbin.
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You want to give me Connor Jackson for Kendrick and Durbin? DONE! Send over the paper work...
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Eric Byrnes is not going anywhere-his contract is not flexible enough to make it lucrative for the Dbacks and he is an enormous fan favorite there who even has his own TV show-not to mention being the heart and soul of the clubhouse. Conor Jackson is their franchise player and Tony Clark can't come close to Jackson's production at first base. They can't afford to let him go or their run production will go even lower-which is hard to imagine. Chad Tracy is an injury risk and has missed a lot of time each year in the league-he also has the pop that's missing from their lineup and will sorely continue to need if Justin Upton and Chris Young continue to lag in their development. Burrell has a house in Mesa and likes the area, but right now the Dbacks don't have the right pieces to make a trade work. And lose Kendrick and Durbin-no way that would make sense. Both have proven they will be an important part of the Phils' future.
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Correction to jdstern: Tadito Iguchi only rejoined the Phillies in September 2008; the bulk of the 2008 season he played for San Diego and was released. If you recall, Iguchi filled in at 2nd base "last year" when Chase broke his hand. He did not sign with the Phillies, instead preferring to sign with a west coast team at the end of 2007. I think you are confusing Iguchi with "So Taguchi," the pinch-hitter on the Phillies' payroll for all of 2008. The Phillies acquired him at the close of last year. He was the darling of the Cardinals but did virtually nothing for the Phils in 2008.
With respect to Coste, who is the alternate catcher with Ruiz, Coste rarely pinch-hit this season and was benched in September mostly in favor of Ruiz because Coste's at-bats were falling off.
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