***The Official Philadelphia Phillies 2012 Thread***

Ledbetterman10

PureandEasy

I knew the glory years were over, but I didn't think they'd crash like this.

But it's a long season, need to stay optimistic.

it's hard but i'm trying

pjhawks

PureandEasy wrote:

I knew the glory years were over, but I didn't think they'd crash like this.

But it's a long season, need to stay optimistic.

it's hard but i'm trying

it's hard not to think this could just be one of those years where everything goes wrong. i still have some faith that they are not nearly as bad as this but it's getting more difficult. as bad as we thought they might be offensively without utley and howard they have actually been worse.

PureandEasy

pjhawks wrote:

PureandEasy wrote:

I knew the glory years were over, but I didn't think they'd crash like this.

But it's a long season, need to stay optimistic.

it's hard but i'm trying

it's hard not to think this could just be one of those years where everything goes wrong. i still have some faith that they are not nearly as bad as this but it's getting more difficult. as bad as we thought they might be offensively without utley and howard they have actually been worse.

exactly, I thought Victorino, Rollins and Pence would pick up the slack somewhat

Cliffy6745

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/ ... ve-an-mri/

The Fixer

pjhawks wrote:

PureandEasy wrote:

I knew the glory years were over, but I didn't think they'd crash like this.

But it's a long season, need to stay optimistic.

it's hard but i'm trying

it's hard not to think this could just be one of those years where everything goes wrong. i still have some faith that they are not nearly as bad as this but it's getting more difficult. as bad as we thought they might be offensively without utley and howard they have actually been worse.

you would think the manager would take some blame since he's a 'hitting guru'

they need to start winning series. would be nice if they scored some runs for hamels today

JK_Livin

Laynce Nix and the Phyladelphya Phyllyes!

The Fixer

last paragraphy sums things up pretty well. amaro needs to go. he's done enough damage


Back in December, when the Phillies were still deciding on their future with right-hander Kyle Kendrick, I suggested that they cut their ties with the veteran swingman. Pitchers like Kendrick, I argued, are plentiful in the world of baseball, so paying upwards of $3 million per season to keep him around just wasn’t worth it. The Phillies initially avoided arbitration, agreeing to a $3.585 million salary for 2011, but in February, they announced they had signed Kendrick to a two-year, $7.5 million deal.

We have gone over Kendrick’s abilities ad nauseam here, so I won’t waste your time going over those. For passers-by, here some some relevant links:

•Phillies Must Make Tough Choice Regarding Kyle Kendrick [Link]
•Phillies Sign Kyle Kendrick for $3.585 Million [Link]
•Kyle Kendrick Receives 2 year, $7.5 Million Extension [Link]
•Kitschy Kyle Kendrick [Link]
As a result of Cliff Lee‘s placement on the disabled list recently, Kendrick moved into the starting rotation, making his first start of the 2012 season last night against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was absolutely terrible over three innings of work, allowing 11 hits, including a home run to Justin Upton and four doubles, and a total of seven runs. In true KK fashion, he walked one and struck out one out of 21 total batters faced.

Kendrick is certainly not nearly as bad as he looked last night, but in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, there are four pitchers who reasonably could have been called upon to make a spot start or two in Lee’s absence: journeymen Dave Bush and Scott Elarton, left-hander Pat Misch, and right-hander Austin Hyatt (who, unlike Kendrick, is getting Triple-A experience before Major League experience). Their existence and placement in the Phillies’ system is entirely independent of Kendrick’s, so the Phillies would have had just as much of a contingency plan if they had non-tendered Kendrick as opposed to the route they chose.

Kendrick is not, in any respect, noticeably better than any of those four options. What Kendrick has is lore: he was the Phillies’ unsung hero in the 2007 season. As Matt Swartz pointed out on Twitter, the Phillies have been paying for that fluky performance ever since:


Matt Swartz
@Matt_Swa If Kyle Kendrick's luck had come in a different order, he would never have been given this much rope. This is 5 yrs based on a couple months
23 Apr 12 ReplyRetweetFavoriteKendrick also gets too much credit for his versatility — his ability and willingness to bounce between the bullpen and starting rotation at a moment’s notice. While that is nice, it has no practical benefit. The Phillies still had to make a roster move (recalling Joe Savery) in response, so while it appears that Kendrick eats two roster spots for the price of one, he is just a mediocre pitcher who really doesn’t fit anywhere but in a Triple-A rotation as an innings-eater.

It just as easily could have been Bush or Hyatt getting taken for seven runs in three innings last night, but they wouldn’t have been on the books for $7.5 million over two years while doing so. Kendrick’s performance last night was just a painful reminder of the superfluous way GM Ruben Amaro has doled out money since taking over for Pat Gillick after the 2008 season. From needlessly signing Ryan Howard to a five-year contract extension in 2010, giving bench bat Laynce Nix, reliever Danys Baez, and catcher Brian Schneider two guaranteed years, and awarding closer Jonathan Papelbon the largest contract ever for a relief pitcher, the Phillies have been terribly inefficient and backwards-thinking. When you run a payroll in excess of $170 million, money can cover up a lot of mistakes, but it won’t be the case as this roster continues to age and key pieces — such as Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino — have the potential to change their addresses.

The Fixer

god damn hamels is awesome. making it look easy today

Cliffy6745

The Fixer wrote:

god damn hamels is awesome. making it look easy today

Annnnnnd it looks like a spot on the Yankees just opened up for him. Motherfucker

eeriepadave

Happy 34th Birthday Phanatic!

The Fixer

nice to finally win a series. now they need to win 3 of 4 from this terrible cubs team. heading down tomorrow night to see doc pitch. sadly I'm more excited to hit xfinity live than I am to go see this team

Wobbie

The Fixer wrote:

god damn hamels is awesome. making it look easy today

too bad your GM couldn't get a deal done

Johnny Abruzzo

imalive wrote:

The Fixer wrote:

god damn hamels is awesome. making it look easy today

too bad your GM couldn't get a deal done

Fucking idiot.

The Fixer

like to give some props to my high school baseball team (washington twp, nj), currently ranked 25th in the country by USA Today. We had an alumni game there last weekend. def a good time. program has produced some beasts

The Fixer

trevor may dominating AA. I don't think he's ready for the majors, but I wonder if they would consider trading him. He's their top prospect and was ranked in the top 100 by BA. Could bring a decent bat back in return.

Or maybe they think may could be their 5th starter when lee comes back and they could trade blanton/worley. I'm sure blanton wouldn't bring much in return, but worley could prob get them something decent. I'd trade him in a heartbeat if they think may is ready.

this picture would look a lot clearer if dipshit would get hamels done.

JK_Livin

The Fixer wrote:

trevor may dominating AA. I don't think he's ready for the majors, but I wonder if they would consider trading him. He's their top prospect and was ranked in the top 100 by BA. Could bring a decent bat back in return.

Or maybe they think may could be their 5th starter when lee comes back and they could trade blanton/worley. I'm sure blanton wouldn't bring much in return, but worley could prob get them something decent. I'd trade him in a heartbeat if they think may is ready.

this picture would look a lot clearer if dipshit would get hamels done.

Only dipshit? You are getting soft.

The Fixer

JK_Livin wrote:

The Fixer wrote:

trevor may dominating AA. I don't think he's ready for the majors, but I wonder if they would consider trading him. He's their top prospect and was ranked in the top 100 by BA. Could bring a decent bat back in return.

Or maybe they think may could be their 5th starter when lee comes back and they could trade blanton/worley. I'm sure blanton wouldn't bring much in return, but worley could prob get them something decent. I'd trade him in a heartbeat if they think may is ready.

this picture would look a lot clearer if dipshit would get hamels done.

Only dipshit? You are getting soft.

it's a family program. wait til I have a few beers at the game tonight

The Juggler

the mlb at bat app is awesome. finally got it this year. i wish there wasn't a 30 second delay with the broadcast though.

comes in handy when walking the dog or watering the grass and stuff (it is still april right? where's all the fucking rain at?? :x )

on the other hand....the phils struggling only amplifies how horrible mccarthy and wheels are on tv. i can almost tolerate them when winning 102 games...but not this year so far.

long season gentlemen. if they can continue to hover around .500 and not fall too far behind come mid june or so, we'll be alright when re-reinforcements come back. this stupid extra wild card might come in handy this year.

The Fixer

The Juggler wrote:

the mlb at bat app is awesome. finally got it this year. i wish there wasn't a 30 second delay with the broadcast though.

comes in handy when walking the dog or watering the grass and stuff (it is still april right? where's all the fucking rain at?? :x )

on the other hand....the phils struggling only amplifies how horrible mccarthy and wheels are on tv. i can almost tolerate them when winning 102 games...but not this year so far.

long season gentlemen. if they can continue to hover around .500 and not fall too far behind come mid june or so, we'll be alright when re-reinforcements come back. this stupid extra wild card might come in handy this year.

problem with this theory is that no one has any idea what those 'reinforcements' are going to provide...or if they can be depended on for the rest of the year assuming they do come back

if they want to actually do something in the playoffs this year (assuming they get there) they are going to have to improve this shitty offense. Not gonna be easy