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

I think i heard in 2008 they picked the Phils !!

That turned out alright

Cliffy6745 wrote:

Phantom Pain wrote:

I think i heard in 2008 they picked the Phils !!

That turned out alright

Not the case

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseba ... /previews/

Last year was rough on the NL side: Cubs-Mets, ouch.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/b ... index.html

Doh !

I think we can take these predictions with a grain of salt

Schilling: Phillies erred in trading Lee
POSTED: April 1, 2010 By Ashley Fox

MEDFIELD, Mass. - Curt Schilling needed no prompting. The question was innocuous. Did he like this year's Phillies team?

"I think trading Cliff Lee was the stupidest thing they've ever done, and they didn't have to," Schilling said. "They didn't have to do it. It was a stupid, stupid move. They could've had a World Series berth locked up right now with those two guys at the top of their rotation."

Those two being Lee and Roy Halladay.

Schilling knows a little something about pitching power propelling a team to a World Series championship. He and Randy Johnson were unstoppable in 2001, combining for a 43-12 regular-season record and 9-1 record in the postseason. In the World Series against the Yankees, Schilling and Johnson went 4-0 - Schilling pitched Game 4 on three days' rest and left in the seventh inning with a 1-1 tie - with a 1.40 ERA and struck out 45 Yankees in 391/3 innings.

Arizona beat New York in seven games, with Schilling starting Game 7 and Johnson getting the win as the closer one night after pitching in Game 6. Johnson and Schilling finished 1-2 in Cy Young Award voting, shared the World Series most valuable player award, and were named Sportsmen of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

Had the Phillies not traded Lee to Seattle after acquiring Halladay from Toronto in December, the pitching aces, not to mention the Phillies, could have had similar results, according to Schilling.

"Those guys would've finished legitimately 1-2 [as] Cy Young candidates on the same staff," Schilling said. "You've got Cole Hamels in the three slot, which is a dream come true for both. They would've been a 110-win team."

Instead, the Phillies sent Lee, who won both of his starts in the 2009 World Series against the Yankees, to Seattle to replenish their farm system, which was decimated in the Halladay deal. To get Halladay, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. agreed to give up pitching prospect Kyle Drabek, catching prospect Travis D'Arnaud, and outfield prospect Michael Taylor. In the Lee deal, the Phillies got Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, and J.C. Ramirez.

"The Roy Halladay deal, I think, gave them the perception that they depleted their minor-league system," Schilling said. "That's one of those things now where, five years ago, so what? Now, your minor-league system ranking is such a big deal, because that speaks to your scouting and your drafting and all those things. It's a direct reflection on your general manager.

"If they hadn't made that [Lee] deal, I think they felt like their minor-league system would've been trashed, even though it wasn't. They still had a lot of talent. But it was to restock. If you draft right, you can literally restock your system in a year or two now.

"There's no other reason why they made that deal, none whatsoever. That's why they didn't push trying to re-sign Cliff, because I think they felt like he would've been real receptive to it, so then they would've looked even worse, because 'We traded a guy who wants to be here.' "

Schilling said that Halladay is "a fantastic guy" and "a hard worker," but he pointed to Lee's postseason performance last year and shook his head.

"He's coming off a phenomenal run when he came over," Schilling said of Lee. "He showed them [in] October he was going to be better than everybody else. You don't know what you're getting there. Doc's never pitched in October. I think he'll be great and be awesome and all that stuff, but he could get to October and not be the guy. Cliff proved that he can pitch in October. That's a big loss."

The Jeagler wrote:

Schilling: Phillies erred in trading Lee
POSTED: April 1, 2010 By Ashley Fox

MEDFIELD, Mass. - Curt Schilling needed no prompting. The question was innocuous. Did he like this year's Phillies team?

"I think trading Cliff Lee was the stupidest thing they've ever done, and they didn't have to," Schilling said. "They didn't have to do it. It was a stupid, stupid move. They could've had a World Series berth locked up right now with those two guys at the top of their rotation."

Those two being Lee and Roy Halladay.

Schilling knows a little something about pitching power propelling a team to a World Series championship. He and Randy Johnson were unstoppable in 2001, combining for a 43-12 regular-season record and 9-1 record in the postseason. In the World Series against the Yankees, Schilling and Johnson went 4-0 - Schilling pitched Game 4 on three days' rest and left in the seventh inning with a 1-1 tie - with a 1.40 ERA and struck out 45 Yankees in 391/3 innings.

Arizona beat New York in seven games, with Schilling starting Game 7 and Johnson getting the win as the closer one night after pitching in Game 6. Johnson and Schilling finished 1-2 in Cy Young Award voting, shared the World Series most valuable player award, and were named Sportsmen of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

Had the Phillies not traded Lee to Seattle after acquiring Halladay from Toronto in December, the pitching aces, not to mention the Phillies, could have had similar results, according to Schilling.

"Those guys would've finished legitimately 1-2 [as] Cy Young candidates on the same staff," Schilling said. "You've got Cole Hamels in the three slot, which is a dream come true for both. They would've been a 110-win team."

Instead, the Phillies sent Lee, who won both of his starts in the 2009 World Series against the Yankees, to Seattle to replenish their farm system, which was decimated in the Halladay deal. To get Halladay, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. agreed to give up pitching prospect Kyle Drabek, catching prospect Travis D'Arnaud, and outfield prospect Michael Taylor. In the Lee deal, the Phillies got Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, and J.C. Ramirez.

"The Roy Halladay deal, I think, gave them the perception that they depleted their minor-league system," Schilling said. "That's one of those things now where, five years ago, so what? Now, your minor-league system ranking is such a big deal, because that speaks to your scouting and your drafting and all those things. It's a direct reflection on your general manager.

"If they hadn't made that [Lee] deal, I think they felt like their minor-league system would've been trashed, even though it wasn't. They still had a lot of talent. But it was to restock. If you draft right, you can literally restock your system in a year or two now.

"There's no other reason why they made that deal, none whatsoever. That's why they didn't push trying to re-sign Cliff, because I think they felt like he would've been real receptive to it, so then they would've looked even worse, because 'We traded a guy who wants to be here.' "

Schilling said that Halladay is "a fantastic guy" and "a hard worker," but he pointed to Lee's postseason performance last year and shook his head.

"He's coming off a phenomenal run when he came over," Schilling said of Lee. "He showed them [in] October he was going to be better than everybody else. You don't know what you're getting there. Doc's never pitched in October. I think he'll be great and be awesome and all that stuff, but he could get to October and not be the guy. Cliff proved that he can pitch in October. That's a big loss."

I used to live in center city...one night I was out and ran into Larry Anderson. Dude could not have been cooler. We hung out for about 4 hours (for the record, do not try to go shot for shot with LA...he will drink you under the table...just trust me). He was telling me all kinds of stuff about his playing days. I asked him about the '93 team and he told me about how the entire team despised schilling. he said after games the team would be excited to get to the clubhouse and pound beers...everyone except schilling, who would look for the cameras so he could get attention and self-promote himself.

the moral of the story is twofold. don't try to outdrink LA and don't pay attention to curt schilling

The Fixer wrote:

The Jeagler wrote:

Schilling: Phillies erred in trading Lee
POSTED: April 1, 2010 By Ashley Fox

MEDFIELD, Mass. - Curt Schilling needed no prompting. The question was innocuous. Did he like this year's Phillies team?

"I think trading Cliff Lee was the stupidest thing they've ever done, and they didn't have to," Schilling said. "They didn't have to do it. It was a stupid, stupid move. They could've had a World Series berth locked up right now with those two guys at the top of their rotation."

Those two being Lee and Roy Halladay.

Schilling knows a little something about pitching power propelling a team to a World Series championship. He and Randy Johnson were unstoppable in 2001, combining for a 43-12 regular-season record and 9-1 record in the postseason. In the World Series against the Yankees, Schilling and Johnson went 4-0 - Schilling pitched Game 4 on three days' rest and left in the seventh inning with a 1-1 tie - with a 1.40 ERA and struck out 45 Yankees in 391/3 innings.

Arizona beat New York in seven games, with Schilling starting Game 7 and Johnson getting the win as the closer one night after pitching in Game 6. Johnson and Schilling finished 1-2 in Cy Young Award voting, shared the World Series most valuable player award, and were named Sportsmen of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

Had the Phillies not traded Lee to Seattle after acquiring Halladay from Toronto in December, the pitching aces, not to mention the Phillies, could have had similar results, according to Schilling.

"Those guys would've finished legitimately 1-2 [as] Cy Young candidates on the same staff," Schilling said. "You've got Cole Hamels in the three slot, which is a dream come true for both. They would've been a 110-win team."

Instead, the Phillies sent Lee, who won both of his starts in the 2009 World Series against the Yankees, to Seattle to replenish their farm system, which was decimated in the Halladay deal. To get Halladay, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. agreed to give up pitching prospect Kyle Drabek, catching prospect Travis D'Arnaud, and outfield prospect Michael Taylor. In the Lee deal, the Phillies got Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, and J.C. Ramirez.

"The Roy Halladay deal, I think, gave them the perception that they depleted their minor-league system," Schilling said. "That's one of those things now where, five years ago, so what? Now, your minor-league system ranking is such a big deal, because that speaks to your scouting and your drafting and all those things. It's a direct reflection on your general manager.

"If they hadn't made that [Lee] deal, I think they felt like their minor-league system would've been trashed, even though it wasn't. They still had a lot of talent. But it was to restock. If you draft right, you can literally restock your system in a year or two now.

"There's no other reason why they made that deal, none whatsoever. That's why they didn't push trying to re-sign Cliff, because I think they felt like he would've been real receptive to it, so then they would've looked even worse, because 'We traded a guy who wants to be here.' "

Schilling said that Halladay is "a fantastic guy" and "a hard worker," but he pointed to Lee's postseason performance last year and shook his head.

"He's coming off a phenomenal run when he came over," Schilling said of Lee. "He showed them [in] October he was going to be better than everybody else. You don't know what you're getting there. Doc's never pitched in October. I think he'll be great and be awesome and all that stuff, but he could get to October and not be the guy. Cliff proved that he can pitch in October. That's a big loss."

I used to live in center city...one night I was out and ran into Larry Anderson. Dude could not have been cooler. We hung out for about 4 hours (for the record, do not try to go shot for shot with LA...he will drink you under the table...just trust me). He was telling me all kinds of stuff about his playing days. I asked him about the '93 team and he told me about how the entire team despised schilling. he said after games the team would be excited to get to the clubhouse and pound beers...everyone except schilling, who would look for the cameras so he could get attention and self-promote himself.

the moral of the story is twofold. don't try to outdrink LA and don't pay attention to curt schilling

i've always respected him for speaking his mind--especially during the lean years when we were being told philly was a small market town. he is annoying, but he's truthfull.

The Jeagler wrote:

The Fixer wrote:

The Jeagler wrote:

Schilling: Phillies erred in trading Lee
POSTED: April 1, 2010 By Ashley Fox

MEDFIELD, Mass. - Curt Schilling needed no prompting. The question was innocuous. Did he like this year's Phillies team?

"I think trading Cliff Lee was the stupidest thing they've ever done, and they didn't have to," Schilling said. "They didn't have to do it. It was a stupid, stupid move. They could've had a World Series berth locked up right now with those two guys at the top of their rotation."

Those two being Lee and Roy Halladay.

Schilling knows a little something about pitching power propelling a team to a World Series championship. He and Randy Johnson were unstoppable in 2001, combining for a 43-12 regular-season record and 9-1 record in the postseason. In the World Series against the Yankees, Schilling and Johnson went 4-0 - Schilling pitched Game 4 on three days' rest and left in the seventh inning with a 1-1 tie - with a 1.40 ERA and struck out 45 Yankees in 391/3 innings.

Arizona beat New York in seven games, with Schilling starting Game 7 and Johnson getting the win as the closer one night after pitching in Game 6. Johnson and Schilling finished 1-2 in Cy Young Award voting, shared the World Series most valuable player award, and were named Sportsmen of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

Had the Phillies not traded Lee to Seattle after acquiring Halladay from Toronto in December, the pitching aces, not to mention the Phillies, could have had similar results, according to Schilling.

"Those guys would've finished legitimately 1-2 [as] Cy Young candidates on the same staff," Schilling said. "You've got Cole Hamels in the three slot, which is a dream come true for both. They would've been a 110-win team."

Instead, the Phillies sent Lee, who won both of his starts in the 2009 World Series against the Yankees, to Seattle to replenish their farm system, which was decimated in the Halladay deal. To get Halladay, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. agreed to give up pitching prospect Kyle Drabek, catching prospect Travis D'Arnaud, and outfield prospect Michael Taylor. In the Lee deal, the Phillies got Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, and J.C. Ramirez.

"The Roy Halladay deal, I think, gave them the perception that they depleted their minor-league system," Schilling said. "That's one of those things now where, five years ago, so what? Now, your minor-league system ranking is such a big deal, because that speaks to your scouting and your drafting and all those things. It's a direct reflection on your general manager.

"If they hadn't made that [Lee] deal, I think they felt like their minor-league system would've been trashed, even though it wasn't. They still had a lot of talent. But it was to restock. If you draft right, you can literally restock your system in a year or two now.

"There's no other reason why they made that deal, none whatsoever. That's why they didn't push trying to re-sign Cliff, because I think they felt like he would've been real receptive to it, so then they would've looked even worse, because 'We traded a guy who wants to be here.' "

Schilling said that Halladay is "a fantastic guy" and "a hard worker," but he pointed to Lee's postseason performance last year and shook his head.

"He's coming off a phenomenal run when he came over," Schilling said of Lee. "He showed them [in] October he was going to be better than everybody else. You don't know what you're getting there. Doc's never pitched in October. I think he'll be great and be awesome and all that stuff, but he could get to October and not be the guy. Cliff proved that he can pitch in October. That's a big loss."

I used to live in center city...one night I was out and ran into Larry Anderson. Dude could not have been cooler. We hung out for about 4 hours (for the record, do not try to go shot for shot with LA...he will drink you under the table...just trust me). He was telling me all kinds of stuff about his playing days. I asked him about the '93 team and he told me about how the entire team despised schilling. he said after games the team would be excited to get to the clubhouse and pound beers...everyone except schilling, who would look for the cameras so he could get attention and self-promote himself.

the moral of the story is twofold. don't try to outdrink LA and don't pay attention to curt schilling

i've always respected him for speaking his mind--especially during the lean years when we were being told philly was a small market town. he is annoying, but he's truthfull.

I think he has a little too much of that 'holier than thou' act to him.

the bloody sock was fake...he's a poseur

Nothing is fucked here. And I'm not gonna lie, the Braves are nearly hitting wayyy overrated level the way everyones pushing them. Heyward's going to be a stud, but they don't have enough of a bullpen, too many what-if's with their rotation, and that lineup still doesn't impress me till it does something. Writers and the such are just trying to find something - anything - to make the NL East look competitive. I still like the Marlins more too.

Everything in April works in the Phils favor - even with Blanton out - except for a lot of road games. Luckily, they're against no one good for the most part.

Jearlpam0925 wrote:

Nothing is fucked here. And I'm not gonna lie, the Braves are nearly hitting wayyy overrated level the way everyones pushing them. Heyward's going to be a stud, but they don't have enough of a bullpen, too many what-if's with their rotation, and that lineup still doesn't impress me till it does something. Writers and the such are just trying to find something - anything - to make the NL East look competitive. I still like the Marlins more too.

Everything in April works in the Phils favor - even with Blanton out - except for a lot of road games. Luckily, they're against no one good for the most part.

the braves are legit. their rotation is scary and their bullpen is pretty solid. wagner, saito, medlen...you could make the argument that those 3 are all better than anyone in the phils pen. The braves main question mark is gonna be can they keep enough core guys healthy. that's a big if.

the phils are still the favorites to take the division, but don't sleep on atlanta.

The Fixer wrote:

Jearlpam0925 wrote:

Nothing is fucked here. And I'm not gonna lie, the Braves are nearly hitting wayyy overrated level the way everyones pushing them. Heyward's going to be a stud, but they don't have enough of a bullpen, too many what-if's with their rotation, and that lineup still doesn't impress me till it does something. Writers and the such are just trying to find something - anything - to make the NL East look competitive. I still like the Marlins more too.

Everything in April works in the Phils favor - even with Blanton out - except for a lot of road games. Luckily, they're against no one good for the most part.

the braves are legit. their rotation is scary and their bullpen is pretty solid. wagner, saito, medlen...you could make the argument that those 3 are all better than anyone in the phils pen. The braves main question mark is gonna be can they keep enough core guys healthy. that's a big if.

the phils are still the favorites to take the division, but don't sleep on atlanta.

Hudson AND Jurrjens have been ridiculously injury proned. And Lowe was a TOTAL BUST last year. Wagner and Saito - two more that you don't know what you're going to get out of them over an entire season. Too many what-if's to be overrating them.

Lowe was a bust but he killed us last year.