That's what I wanna see - Raul in the 7 hole. Ya gotta put him there. You have to, when Jimmy comes back. He looks like he's switching bats with every at-bat. And not that I'm Milt Thompson, but if you look at his swing he's holding the bat stronger with his top hand instead of using his wrists and driving through the ball, as he did last year. He looks too tense in his swing, he used to look extremely loose. And he's just not turning on fastballs, though he had some okay AB's yesterday.
Howard looks to worried about average - you're there to do one thing big man, and that's what they paid you for. Sorry to say it, but home runs are what get cash and that's what he needs to do.
Werth looks God awful - that one game last week where he struck out FIVE TIMES. Yeesh. Utley and Werth should just concentrate on going the other way and up the middle with the ball right now. To get your swing back you need to start by going opposite-to-center on your swings. Then, you can worry about pulling the shit out of the ball.
Also, Leslie Gudel looks like Grim Death.[/quote]
your Leslie Gudel facination is creepily awesome. haha
you're right on about going the other way, up the middle too. well said
Time to Release Raul
Posted by Corey Seidman, Sun, June 06, 2010 10:37 PM
Raul Ibanez is killing the Phillies. I know, I know, there are a number of Phillies that are “killing the Phillies” right now: Jayson Werth, Chase Utley, the shortstop du jour, Greg Dobbs, etc.
But the difference is that the aforementioned players (with the exception of Dobbs) have contributed at some point this year and/or will contribute in the future.
Werth is in one of his “can’t-hit-any-pitch-that-any-righty-throws-me” modes, and Utley is experiencing an uncharacteristic early season slump, but both are talented players in their primes that will assuredly snap out of these funks and go back to raking.
Juan Castro is a cheap utility man and Wilson Valdez is an even cheaper utility man. Defensively, each has done an adequate job filling in for Jimmy Rollins, but they are the walking definitions of “replacement player.”
(Dobbs is 1-for-21 as a pinch-hitter this year, was 9-for-54 in that role last year, but nobody wants to give up on him because he had a good run as a bench bat in 2008. Cuz, ya know, we have SO MUCH evidence to show that 2008 was the real Greg Dobbs, and every other year of his career wasn’t. Whatever, that’s a topic for another day.)
Unlike the other slumping Phillies, Ibanez has contributed absolutely nothing since June 1, 2009.
Raul endeared himself to this fanbase last year by putting together a miraculous April and May, but has hit .234 since with one homer every 30 plate appearances. Wanna take a look at some more ugly numbers?
Ibanez’ slugging percentage in 2010 is .371, lower than David Eckstein, Jeff Keppinger, Will Venable, Jeff Francoeur, and Gaby Sanchez.
He is 85th in the NL in batting average, 65th in on-base percentage, and 70th in slugging percentage.
His OPS+ this year is 89 (100 is league average.)
Ibanez has eight multi-hit games this season (played 54.)
Ibby has been worth 0.2 wins BELOW replacement, and his WAR is 20th out of the 24 NL leftfielders with 100 or more plate appearances
And to top it all off, Ibanez has been the fourth worst defensive leftfielder in major league baseball this season – ahead of only Carlos Lee, Ryan Braun, and Lastings Milledge.
We’re not imagining his struggles.
From a baseball standpoint – and from a logical standpoint - there is no reason Raul Ibanez deserves to play everyday on a contending team. He has been awful at the plate and terrible in the field. Yet he continues to bat sixth everyday while the Phillies top prospect, who also happens to be a corner outfielder, is putting on a clinic in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League.
Domonic Brown is hitting .313/.382/.587 with 10 homers and 33 RBI for Reading. His .969 OPS leads the Eastern League, his .313 batting average is fifth, his ten homers are sixth, as are his 105 total bases. And I reiterate, Brown has done so in a pitcher’s league in which the collective ERA of the twelve teams is 4.06.
Releasing Raul
For weeks, I’ve been trying to figure out a peaceful solution to this problem. Ruben Amaro finds himself in a self-inflicted predicament, because Ibanez’ full no-trade clause all-but prevents the Phillies from sending him away and eating salary.
(Honestly, it wouldn’t matter if Ibby didn’t have a full NTC, because his age and lack of value would have been enough to make reluctant all 29 potential trade partners.)
So release him. Cut ties with an expensive underperfomer. Amaro did so twice last year, when he released Geoff Jenkins and Adam Eaton. The Phils cut Jenkins while paying his $6.75M salary in ‘09, plus an additional $1.25M club buyout for 2010. Eaton, too, earned a hefty chunk of change upon his release – $9.15M to be exact. All told, the Phils paid $17.15M for the right to rid themselves of two underperformers with bad contracts.
Ibanez is in the second year of a three-year, $31.5M deal of which he has already collected about fourteen million dollars. Subtract 14 million from 31.5 million and what do you get? 17.5 million, or just about exactly the amount of dead money the Phillies gave out to Jenkins and Eaton last year.
Financially, releasing Ibanez is no worse than releasing those two, and while consecutive years of dead money may be hard for a GM to explain to his superiors, it’s better than paying a player to hurt your team.
Letting Go
This is not an overreaction. These are not the exagerrated words of a WIP caller. There is no impulse or emotion guiding my thought process. Ibanez has been a black hole in the Phillies lineup for a year, and if his two-month hot streak took place at any time other than his first two months here, none of us would feel much of an attachment to him.
Is there ANY logical reason to keep him? Let’s take a look at the possible counter-arguments to cutting ties with Ibanez.
1) “He was great last year, you can’t cut him”
Response: No he wasn’t. He had two great months, one horrible month, and three average months. Plus, last year doesn’t matter anyway. Ibanez is a year older now, and 38 year-olds don’t typically rejuvenate as seasons wear on. He’s had three more awful months this season and is providing less value than 19 other left fielders on the fifteen other NL teams.
Just as Dobbs’ 2008 was an apparition, Ibanez’ April-May 2009 was an unsustainable, fluky time period that we only believed in because it coincided with our introduction to him. Does it make any sense at all to put more stock into the 210 plate appearances in April-May ‘09 than in his 560 plate appearances since?
2) “He’s a veteran and a good clubhouse guy.”
Response: So was Ken Griffey Jr. before he retired. So is Nick Punto. So was Clay Condrey. And Tomas Perez. And I’m sure Kevin Sefcik enjoyed patting his teammates on the back. Can we talk about baseball, though? And not ponies and unicorns riding in fields of daisies?
3) “He’s making too much money. Can’t give up on him for that reason alone.”
Response: So, because he is still due about seventeen million dollars, you have to pay him that and allow him to hurt the Phillies by going 2-for-every-9, pulling up short on balls other outfielders would get to, and clogging up the basepaths?
Oliver Perez is making a similar amount of money with the Mets, and they finally had the sense to stop pitching him every fifth day. Things got so bad that they sent him on a phantom DL trip. There is absolutely no need to let a player’s contract handcuff you in more ways than one.
4) “Just designate Greg Dobbs for assignment and move Raul to the bench.”
Response: You could do that. But it would mean having a five man bench that consists of three outfielders: Ibanez, Ben Francisco, and Ross Gload. Sure, Gload can technically play first base, but how many times would you sit Ryan Howard in favor of Gload? Dobbs, despite all of his struggles, can still play a slightly-below-average first, second, third, left field, and right field.
Plus, releasing a player with $17M left on his contract is still more realistic than making that player a $17M pinch-hitter. You coerce Raul to waive his no-trade clause, and if he doesn’t imply, you give him the outright release. Let him spread his wings and fly back to Seattle, a team so desperately in need of an offensive upgrade that they would probably take him back.
5) “Domonic Brown isn’t ready to step in and play everyday in the major leagues.”
Response: What does he have left to prove? Does he have to take his .313/.382/.587 slash-line up to Triple-A and show that he can also hit against washed up former major league pitchers? The Eastern League and its 4.06 ERA is every bit as much of a test as anything the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs face.
Brown is a dynamic left-handed hitter with fleet feet and a much better glove than Ibanez. He is no less ready at this exact moment than he will be in March 2011.
Bringing Brown up and inserting him into the six-hole would add a much-needed spark, help break up the monotonous stagnance this lineup is prone to, and allow the Phillies to see what they have in him, in order to better judge what their move will be in the offseason (re: Jayson Werth.)
Final Word
I am not deeming Domonic Brown the savior to a team that has fallen to 11th in the NL in runs scored, nor am I saying that his wampum stick will definitively play in The Show.
I am merely explaining that anybody – literally…any replacement player – would be more valuable than Raul Ibanez right now, and when you couple the bleak outlook for Ibby with the fact that the Phils’ top prospect plays the same position, the answer is very simple.
If it’s not so simple to you, please give me one good reason the Phillies should continue to send out a slow, overmatched 38-year old corner outfielder who has done nothing in the last year other than bounce balls to the right side of the infield.
And no, “being a good guy,” or “being part of the 2009 NL Champs,” doesn’t count.
I'm proud of you. You posted an article that didn't mention worthless stats like RBI or wins. Dude mentioned WAR, SLG %, OBP, and OPS. He called him Ibby though...what's up with that? could be the worst baseball nickname of all time
just another case of amaro doling out a horrendous contract. he's on a mission to bring the phils down come hell or high water
seems like I'm the only one here that's following the draft...if these draft-related posts get annoying, just let me know and I will stop posting stuff.
Phillies select Jesse Biddle, LHP at #27
June 7, 2010
Biddle was a fast riser up draft boards in the last month, and with the local connection, it wasn’t a huge surprise that the Phillies took him. You’ll hear the Phillies braintrust talk about how they “have to take the best player available”, but that wasn’t the case here. They took a guy they knew they could sign, with a bunch of premium talent still on the board. Biddle isn’t a reach of Anthony Hewitt proportions, but he wasn’t the best player available, and there were 4 or 5 premium prep prospects still on the board at this pick. Still, this isn’t a big reach, and he wouldn’t have gotten to the Phillies at #77
You can read his scouting report here and here is an older report from Summer 2009
You can see his scouting bureau video here and an older video of him here.
He’s a big, tall LHP with plus velocity and the chance for two average secondary pitches. He is projectable, and LHP is something the Phillies lack in their system, at least the high ceiling variety. This is certainly a good pick, but there were much better players on the board. As is the case every year, what the Phillies do later in the draft will determine the ultimate grade. I view this pick as a little above average, maybe a B? The real action starts tomorrow.
Update —> Something else to consider. Biddle, on raw talent, was probably in the 30-50 range. The Phillies next pick wasn’t until 77. If they’d waited, he’d have been gone by then. This might have been a reach, but it wasn’t a huge reach. He was getting consideration at #14 overall, he’d have definitely gone in the sandwich round. This isn’t an Anthony Hewitt or Kelly Dugan-esque reach. This is a solid pick, even if its not the guy I really wanted.
Time to Release Raul
Posted by Corey Seidman, Sun, June 06, 2010 10:37 PM
Raul Ibanez is killing the Phillies. I know, I know, there are a number of Phillies that are “killing the Phillies” right now: Jayson Werth, Chase Utley, the shortstop du jour, Greg Dobbs, etc.
But the difference is that the aforementioned players (with the exception of Dobbs) have contributed at some point this year and/or will contribute in the future.
Werth is in one of his “can’t-hit-any-pitch-that-any-righty-throws-me” modes, and Utley is experiencing an uncharacteristic early season slump, but both are talented players in their primes that will assuredly snap out of these funks and go back to raking.
Juan Castro is a cheap utility man and Wilson Valdez is an even cheaper utility man. Defensively, each has done an adequate job filling in for Jimmy Rollins, but they are the walking definitions of “replacement player.”
(Dobbs is 1-for-21 as a pinch-hitter this year, was 9-for-54 in that role last year, but nobody wants to give up on him because he had a good run as a bench bat in 2008. Cuz, ya know, we have SO MUCH evidence to show that 2008 was the real Greg Dobbs, and every other year of his career wasn’t. Whatever, that’s a topic for another day.)
Unlike the other slumping Phillies, Ibanez has contributed absolutely nothing since June 1, 2009.
Raul endeared himself to this fanbase last year by putting together a miraculous April and May, but has hit .234 since with one homer every 30 plate appearances. Wanna take a look at some more ugly numbers?
Ibanez’ slugging percentage in 2010 is .371, lower than David Eckstein, Jeff Keppinger, Will Venable, Jeff Francoeur, and Gaby Sanchez.
He is 85th in the NL in batting average, 65th in on-base percentage, and 70th in slugging percentage.
His OPS+ this year is 89 (100 is league average.)
Ibanez has eight multi-hit games this season (played 54.)
Ibby has been worth 0.2 wins BELOW replacement, and his WAR is 20th out of the 24 NL leftfielders with 100 or more plate appearances
And to top it all off, Ibanez has been the fourth worst defensive leftfielder in major league baseball this season – ahead of only Carlos Lee, Ryan Braun, and Lastings Milledge.
We’re not imagining his struggles.
From a baseball standpoint – and from a logical standpoint - there is no reason Raul Ibanez deserves to play everyday on a contending team. He has been awful at the plate and terrible in the field. Yet he continues to bat sixth everyday while the Phillies top prospect, who also happens to be a corner outfielder, is putting on a clinic in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League.
Domonic Brown is hitting .313/.382/.587 with 10 homers and 33 RBI for Reading. His .969 OPS leads the Eastern League, his .313 batting average is fifth, his ten homers are sixth, as are his 105 total bases. And I reiterate, Brown has done so in a pitcher’s league in which the collective ERA of the twelve teams is 4.06.
Releasing Raul
For weeks, I’ve been trying to figure out a peaceful solution to this problem. Ruben Amaro finds himself in a self-inflicted predicament, because Ibanez’ full no-trade clause all-but prevents the Phillies from sending him away and eating salary.
(Honestly, it wouldn’t matter if Ibby didn’t have a full NTC, because his age and lack of value would have been enough to make reluctant all 29 potential trade partners.)
So release him. Cut ties with an expensive underperfomer. Amaro did so twice last year, when he released Geoff Jenkins and Adam Eaton. The Phils cut Jenkins while paying his $6.75M salary in ‘09, plus an additional $1.25M club buyout for 2010. Eaton, too, earned a hefty chunk of change upon his release – $9.15M to be exact. All told, the Phils paid $17.15M for the right to rid themselves of two underperformers with bad contracts.
Ibanez is in the second year of a three-year, $31.5M deal of which he has already collected about fourteen million dollars. Subtract 14 million from 31.5 million and what do you get? 17.5 million, or just about exactly the amount of dead money the Phillies gave out to Jenkins and Eaton last year.
Financially, releasing Ibanez is no worse than releasing those two, and while consecutive years of dead money may be hard for a GM to explain to his superiors, it’s better than paying a player to hurt your team.
Letting Go
This is not an overreaction. These are not the exagerrated words of a WIP caller. There is no impulse or emotion guiding my thought process. Ibanez has been a black hole in the Phillies lineup for a year, and if his two-month hot streak took place at any time other than his first two months here, none of us would feel much of an attachment to him.
Is there ANY logical reason to keep him? Let’s take a look at the possible counter-arguments to cutting ties with Ibanez.
1) “He was great last year, you can’t cut him”
Response: No he wasn’t. He had two great months, one horrible month, and three average months. Plus, last year doesn’t matter anyway. Ibanez is a year older now, and 38 year-olds don’t typically rejuvenate as seasons wear on. He’s had three more awful months this season and is providing less value than 19 other left fielders on the fifteen other NL teams.
Just as Dobbs’ 2008 was an apparition, Ibanez’ April-May 2009 was an unsustainable, fluky time period that we only believed in because it coincided with our introduction to him. Does it make any sense at all to put more stock into the 210 plate appearances in April-May ‘09 than in his 560 plate appearances since?
2) “He’s a veteran and a good clubhouse guy.”
Response: So was Ken Griffey Jr. before he retired. So is Nick Punto. So was Clay Condrey. And Tomas Perez. And I’m sure Kevin Sefcik enjoyed patting his teammates on the back. Can we talk about baseball, though? And not ponies and unicorns riding in fields of daisies?
3) “He’s making too much money. Can’t give up on him for that reason alone.”
Response: So, because he is still due about seventeen million dollars, you have to pay him that and allow him to hurt the Phillies by going 2-for-every-9, pulling up short on balls other outfielders would get to, and clogging up the basepaths?
Oliver Perez is making a similar amount of money with the Mets, and they finally had the sense to stop pitching him every fifth day. Things got so bad that they sent him on a phantom DL trip. There is absolutely no need to let a player’s contract handcuff you in more ways than one.
4) “Just designate Greg Dobbs for assignment and move Raul to the bench.”
Response: You could do that. But it would mean having a five man bench that consists of three outfielders: Ibanez, Ben Francisco, and Ross Gload. Sure, Gload can technically play first base, but how many times would you sit Ryan Howard in favor of Gload? Dobbs, despite all of his struggles, can still play a slightly-below-average first, second, third, left field, and right field.
Plus, releasing a player with $17M left on his contract is still more realistic than making that player a $17M pinch-hitter. You coerce Raul to waive his no-trade clause, and if he doesn’t imply, you give him the outright release. Let him spread his wings and fly back to Seattle, a team so desperately in need of an offensive upgrade that they would probably take him back.
5) “Domonic Brown isn’t ready to step in and play everyday in the major leagues.”
Response: What does he have left to prove? Does he have to take his .313/.382/.587 slash-line up to Triple-A and show that he can also hit against washed up former major league pitchers? The Eastern League and its 4.06 ERA is every bit as much of a test as anything the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs face.
Brown is a dynamic left-handed hitter with fleet feet and a much better glove than Ibanez. He is no less ready at this exact moment than he will be in March 2011.
Bringing Brown up and inserting him into the six-hole would add a much-needed spark, help break up the monotonous stagnance this lineup is prone to, and allow the Phillies to see what they have in him, in order to better judge what their move will be in the offseason (re: Jayson Werth.)
Final Word
I am not deeming Domonic Brown the savior to a team that has fallen to 11th in the NL in runs scored, nor am I saying that his wampum stick will definitively play in The Show.
I am merely explaining that anybody – literally…any replacement player – would be more valuable than Raul Ibanez right now, and when you couple the bleak outlook for Ibby with the fact that the Phils’ top prospect plays the same position, the answer is very simple.
If it’s not so simple to you, please give me one good reason the Phillies should continue to send out a slow, overmatched 38-year old corner outfielder who has done nothing in the last year other than bounce balls to the right side of the infield.
And no, “being a good guy,” or “being part of the 2009 NL Champs,” doesn’t count.
I'm proud of you. You posted an article that didn't mention worthless stats like RBI or wins. Dude mentioned WAR, SLG %, OBP, and OPS. He called him Ibby though...what's up with that? could be the worst baseball nickname of all time
just another case of amaro doling out a horrendous contract. he's on a mission to bring the phils down come hell or high water
you might want to reread the article...rbi was in there as was batting average which you said was worthless this time of year when defending utley the other day. and "wins"......huh?
anywho, i think i was the only one here against this signing on day one, and i still think it was a bad move.
beat it raul!
Be careful Jeags...some people here get upset if you don't love every guy on the phillies.
for the record I liked that signing, but hated the contract. 3 years was too long and 30 million was too much...especially since they knew they weren't trading dom brown. amaro loves overpaying for guys (in years and dollars)
Be careful Jeags...some people here get upset if you don't love every guy on the phillies.
for the record I liked that signing, but hated the contract. 3 years was too long and 30 million was too much...especially since they knew they weren't trading dom brown. amaro loves overpaying for guys (in years and dollars)
Once again your full of shit. I never said anything about not likeing players. All I said is you hate 2 of the most productive players this year. Let alone the best hr and rbi guy in the game the last 4yrs.Your like a woman always adding shit that wasn't said flame on.
Be careful Jeags...some people here get upset if you don't love every guy on the phillies.
for the record I liked that signing, but hated the contract. 3 years was too long and 30 million was too much...especially since they knew they weren't trading dom brown. amaro loves overpaying for guys (in years and dollars)
Once again your full of shit. I never said anything about not likeing players. All I said is you hate 2 of the most productive players this year. Let alone the best hr and rbi guy in the game the last 4yrs.Your like a woman always adding shit that wasn't said flame on.
you're!! you're means you are. learn it!! It's not that hard to learn 2nd grade grammar.
RBI. funny
Phils just took the backup QB from ball st in round 2. Catcher from Univ of Texas in round 3. And a rag armed lefty from U of Tennessee in round 4. Uninspiring draft so far. Hopefully they have some tough sign guys targeted in the next 5 rounds
Ill spell any way I want there buddy,and if u don't like tough shit. What are u the grammar police on a pj message board.all u do is cry and lie,yeah wins and rbis are pointless genius I tell ya. You and billy bean can go hang out in the basement together any time u want troll.
Man, the language in this place is starting to become like the comments section of philly.com - c'mon, people! I thought we all liked the same team here!
With that said, the freaks of this city who comment there like to believe that the reason this team sucks right now is because of the 'binoculars theory' and Charlie should be fired. Some wise and intelligent people we have I tell ya...
Ill spell any way I want there buddy,and if u don't like tough shit. What are u the grammar police on a pj message board.all u do is cry and lie,yeah wins and rbis are pointless genius I tell ya. You and billy bean can go hang out in the basement together any time u want troll.
you should try mastering elementary school grammar. the name calling is cute too
and I don't know what YOU'RE talking about with the lie comment. when have I lied?
Man, the language in this place is starting to become like the comments section of philly.com - c'mon, people! I thought we all liked the same team here!
With that said, the freaks of this city who comment there like to believe that the reason this team sucks right now is because of the 'binoculars theory' and Charlie should be fired. Some wise and intelligent people we have I tell ya...
all goes back to my theory about the majority of philadelphia fans. not the brightest bulbs
Probably not real easy to move those tickets with the Flyers on?
I remember you saying you have some pretty legit seats, right?
yeah, my seats are money. right on the LF foul line railing (steve bartman seats). A bunch of buddies are heading to my place for the flyers game, so I'm definitely out. My wife doesn't want the tix either. they're on stubhub, but I think I'm gonna be stuck with these tix. If anyone wants them, let me know. You can either stop by and pick them up from me or I'll give you my info and you can have them reprinted at the box office (think it costs 5 bucks)
Probably not real easy to move those tickets with the Flyers on?
I remember you saying you have some pretty legit seats, right?
yeah, my seats are money. right on the LF foul line railing (steve bartman seats). A bunch of buddies are heading to my place for the flyers game, so I'm definitely out. My wife doesn't want the tix either. they're on stubhub, but I think I'm gonna be stuck with these tix. If anyone wants them, let me know. You can either stop by and pick them up from me or I'll give you my info and you can have them reprinted at the box office (think it costs 5 bucks)
Thats sweet dude. Great seats. I had a saturday package at the old Yankee Stadium but lost them last year when everyone got priced out and downgraded.
how much do you want for those tickets fixer? i might take them off your hands...
Jeags u can longer post in the Flyers thread...
i like baseball a million times more than hockey dude. gotta stay true to form. plus the game will be over in 2 hours with those two horses on the mound. will be able to watch most of the 2nd and 3rd periods down at mcfaddens or something.
The Jeagler wrote:
i like baseball a million times more than hockey dude. gotta stay true to form. plus the game will be over in 2 hours with those two horses on the mound. will be able to watch most of the 2nd and 3rd periods down at mcfaddens or something.
I hear ya
Your seat is still open on the bandwagon
My drinking team has a hockey problem
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
how much do you want for those tickets fixer? i might take them off your hands...
nothing man. just don't want the tix to go to waste
don't run onto the field.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
I thought it was an 11 year old girl getting puked on... :?
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
I don't care that Ramirez threw a sloppy throw to second - Ibanez swings at the first pitch with the bases loaded and no outs. You gotta be kidding me.
I don't care that Ramirez threw a sloppy throw to second - Ibanez swings at the first pitch with the bases loaded and no outs. You gotta be kidding me.
I don't care that Ramirez threw a sloppy throw to second - Ibanez swings at the first pitch with the bases loaded and no outs. You gotta be kidding me.
I don't care that Ramirez threw a sloppy throw to second - Ibanez swings at the first pitch with the bases loaded and no outs. You gotta be kidding me.
utley is such a fucking beast
Hopefully he turns it around...
Because they're all pissing me off right now.
that's why he's great. he doesn't have to be hitting to help this team win. that slide was awesome. can't say the same thing about others...specifically the guy with the highest salary on the team
that's why he's great. he doesn't have to be hitting to help this team win. that slide was awesome. can't say the same thing about others...specifically the guy with the highest salary on the team
I hear ya. All I know is this team - this year - hasn't given me the same feeling this team has from '05-'09. The feeling that even if they're down by 6 runs, even by eight runs, that there's a chance they'll come back. Haven't seen or had that feeling all year. Don't see that same grittiness as before. But, it's early, we will see.
Comments
That's what I wanna see - Raul in the 7 hole. Ya gotta put him there. You have to, when Jimmy comes back. He looks like he's switching bats with every at-bat. And not that I'm Milt Thompson, but if you look at his swing he's holding the bat stronger with his top hand instead of using his wrists and driving through the ball, as he did last year. He looks too tense in his swing, he used to look extremely loose. And he's just not turning on fastballs, though he had some okay AB's yesterday.
Howard looks to worried about average - you're there to do one thing big man, and that's what they paid you for. Sorry to say it, but home runs are what get cash and that's what he needs to do.
Werth looks God awful - that one game last week where he struck out FIVE TIMES. Yeesh. Utley and Werth should just concentrate on going the other way and up the middle with the ball right now. To get your swing back you need to start by going opposite-to-center on your swings. Then, you can worry about pulling the shit out of the ball.
Also, Leslie Gudel looks like Grim Death.[/quote]
your Leslie Gudel facination is creepily awesome. haha
you're right on about going the other way, up the middle too. well said
I'm proud of you. You posted an article that didn't mention worthless stats like RBI or wins. Dude mentioned WAR, SLG %, OBP, and OPS. He called him Ibby though...what's up with that? could be the worst baseball nickname of all time
just another case of amaro doling out a horrendous contract. he's on a mission to bring the phils down come hell or high water
Phillies select Jesse Biddle, LHP at #27
June 7, 2010
Biddle was a fast riser up draft boards in the last month, and with the local connection, it wasn’t a huge surprise that the Phillies took him. You’ll hear the Phillies braintrust talk about how they “have to take the best player available”, but that wasn’t the case here. They took a guy they knew they could sign, with a bunch of premium talent still on the board. Biddle isn’t a reach of Anthony Hewitt proportions, but he wasn’t the best player available, and there were 4 or 5 premium prep prospects still on the board at this pick. Still, this isn’t a big reach, and he wouldn’t have gotten to the Phillies at #77
You can read his scouting report here and here is an older report from Summer 2009
You can see his scouting bureau video here and an older video of him here.
He’s a big, tall LHP with plus velocity and the chance for two average secondary pitches. He is projectable, and LHP is something the Phillies lack in their system, at least the high ceiling variety. This is certainly a good pick, but there were much better players on the board. As is the case every year, what the Phillies do later in the draft will determine the ultimate grade. I view this pick as a little above average, maybe a B? The real action starts tomorrow.
Update —> Something else to consider. Biddle, on raw talent, was probably in the 30-50 range. The Phillies next pick wasn’t until 77. If they’d waited, he’d have been gone by then. This might have been a reach, but it wasn’t a huge reach. He was getting consideration at #14 overall, he’d have definitely gone in the sandwich round. This isn’t an Anthony Hewitt or Kelly Dugan-esque reach. This is a solid pick, even if its not the guy I really wanted.
you might want to reread the article...rbi was in there as was batting average which you said was worthless this time of year when defending utley the other day. and "wins"......huh?
anywho, i think i was the only one here against this signing on day one, and i still think it was a bad move.
beat it raul!
for the record I liked that signing, but hated the contract. 3 years was too long and 30 million was too much...especially since they knew they weren't trading dom brown. amaro loves overpaying for guys (in years and dollars)
you're!! you're means you are. learn it!! It's not that hard to learn 2nd grade grammar.
RBI. funny
Phils just took the backup QB from ball st in round 2. Catcher from Univ of Texas in round 3. And a rag armed lefty from U of Tennessee in round 4. Uninspiring draft so far. Hopefully they have some tough sign guys targeted in the next 5 rounds
With that said, the freaks of this city who comment there like to believe that the reason this team sucks right now is because of the 'binoculars theory' and Charlie should be fired. Some wise and intelligent people we have I tell ya...
you should try mastering elementary school grammar. the name calling is cute too
and I don't know what YOU'RE talking about with the lie comment. when have I lied?
all goes back to my theory about the majority of philadelphia fans. not the brightest bulbs
trying to sell my tix so I can watch the flyers game...figures I'm gonna miss that pitching matchup
where you sitting?
Ah shit forgot about that. They got us a suite on the left field line, which is awesome since it has a TV.
Yeah going to be a good matchup.
I remember you saying you have some pretty legit seats, right?
yeah, my seats are money. right on the LF foul line railing (steve bartman seats). A bunch of buddies are heading to my place for the flyers game, so I'm definitely out. My wife doesn't want the tix either. they're on stubhub, but I think I'm gonna be stuck with these tix. If anyone wants them, let me know. You can either stop by and pick them up from me or I'll give you my info and you can have them reprinted at the box office (think it costs 5 bucks)
Thats sweet dude. Great seats. I had a saturday package at the old Yankee Stadium but lost them last year when everyone got priced out and downgraded.
how much do you want for those tickets fixer? i might take them off your hands...
Jeags u can longer post in the Flyers thread...
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
i like baseball a million times more than hockey dude. gotta stay true to form. plus the game will be over in 2 hours with those two horses on the mound. will be able to watch most of the 2nd and 3rd periods down at mcfaddens or something.
I hear ya
Your seat is still open on the bandwagon
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
nothing man. just don't want the tix to go to waste
don't run onto the field.
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
can i puke on an off duty policeman?
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
utley is such a fucking beast
Hopefully he turns it around...
Because they're all pissing me off right now.
that's why he's great. he doesn't have to be hitting to help this team win. that slide was awesome. can't say the same thing about others...specifically the guy with the highest salary on the team
I hear ya. All I know is this team - this year - hasn't given me the same feeling this team has from '05-'09. The feeling that even if they're down by 6 runs, even by eight runs, that there's a chance they'll come back. Haven't seen or had that feeling all year. Don't see that same grittiness as before. But, it's early, we will see.