Archive for the ‘Phillies’ Category

For those of you who do not know me there are a few things that you must know. 1. I detest the Ryan Howard contract (but that is for another time) and 2. I hate, and I mean HATE, Kyle Kendrick. It doesn’t matter how good he does in a game or season, I will still hate him. I think this hate stems from him having a great 2007 season and then letting me down by becoming a suck tastic pitcher that has been unable to develop secondary pitches and just clog up the rotation and inflate the budget This “Kendrick’s Korner” will be a running piece during the season that will showcase any noteworthy Kyle Kendrick news (both good and bad), including tons of vitriol.

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It’s January. It sucks. It’s cold, spring training isn’t here yet, and hardly anything is happening in the baseball world.

The Lakewood BlueClaws saw fit to throw us a bone.

I’ll just leave this here.

H/T to the BlueClaws and @tonyisdynamic.

STOP THE PRESSES! According the MLBTR the Phillies have signed a former first overall pick Matt Anderson

The Phillies have signed Matt Anderson to a minor league deal, a source tells Jerry Crasnick of ESPN (via Twitter).  Anderson was taken with the top pick in the 1997 draft by the Tigers.

Anderson, 34, appeared in 245 games for the Tigers from 1998 to 2003.  The right-hander registered a 4.89 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 during that span.  He last pitched in the majors in 2005 for the Rockies where he was called on in 12 games.  Anderson’s last stint in affiliated baseball came in 2008 when he saw limited action with the White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate.

Championship

Ok, ok its just a depth signing but it couldnt hurt.

Time for a little Philadelphia baseball history. The focus will be on baseball legend and Hall of Fame pitcher Charles Bender. Here’s his card from the 1909-1911 T206 set, also known as “The Monster” set. I just received it in the mail today!

Charles Albert Bender - Philadelphia A's and Phillies HOF Pitcher

You may notice the PSA slab says “Chief Bender”. Born a member of the Ojibwe tribe, Bender was stereotyped and discriminated against his entire career. The nickname “Chief” has stuck and is unfortunately the name he is universally known by today. Despite having to face the constant discrimination, Bender was known for being an extremely kind and tolerant person. He was also known for being an incredibly smart pitcher, evidenced by Ty Cobb, who called him the most intelligent pitcher he ever faced.

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Another year of Phillies history is in the books. Though the season ended on a sour note, there were many memorable moments during the year. Here are the top 10 moments of the past year. Feel free to argue with the list, but you’re most likely wrong!

Top 10 Phillies Moments of 2010

10.) Jamie Moyer throws a 2-hit shutout at age 47

On May 7th, Jamie Moyer set the record for oldest pitcher to throw a shutout thanks to his complete mastery of the Atlanta Braves. Only two batters reached base with one being eliminated on a double play. After being told of his record, Moyer responded “cool.” It is easy to understand his subdued attitude once realizing that he will be breaking that mark again in 2012 when he makes his triumphant return from TJ surgery. The quest for 300 will not cease! 33 to go…

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9.) Phillies Acquire Left Fielder Roy Oswalt

Thank you Scott Barry for making this possible.

Roy Oswalt certainly deserves a lot of credit for helping the Phillies obtain their 4th straight division crown. But the moment that will stick out in the minds of fans is when he was forced into left field on August 24th against his old team. Before tossing Ryan Howard from the game, Scott Barry openly mocked the slugger like all good umpires should do before running a guy. With no players left on the bench, Ibanez moved to first and Oswalt trotted out to left field. And of course, this happened on the first pitch. Oswalt eventually made the last out in a 4-2, 16 inning loss, but no one can take away his 1.1 UZR/150 in left.

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Disclaimer: This is just a what-if scenario and a way to maximize the lineup

So, the Werth signing has come and gone and we are all upset about it. What will we miss about it? Will it be the right handed power? The plate discipline or good outfield defense? The beard? Well, only time will tell, but we will most likely miss the right handed threat in the middle of our lineup. Now I bring up this scenario: what if we didn’t sign Ryan Howard to that horrendous contract and instead used that cash on Jayson Werth? Well, I’ll dissect that contract, what-if we resigned Werth and the potential options that we could have pursued if we had that $25mil a year back after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Long Drive hopes everyone had a great holiday season. We should be back on regular posting schedules now that the bulk of the holidays are behind us. Continuing with our Outlook Series, today’s piece covers the plethora of talent the Phils have in the outfield. If you’ve missed any of the other editions of this series, click the related links at the end of the post to catch up!

State of the Phillies Organization – Outfield

Domonic Brown leads a pack of young outfield talent in the Phils system.

Overview

The loss of Jayson Werth hurts the current outfield talent, but help is on the way in Domonic Brown. After an extended cup of coffee, which was laden with bench time, Brown is ready to begin his rookie campaign. He will be given every opportunity to win the job outright in spring training, but nothing has been guaranteed to him. In the minors, a slew of toolsy talent permeates all levels of the organization.

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That’s more or less what the Nationals had to do once Werth heard that Cliff Lee was going to Philly. From Yahoo sports,

“When he found out I was coming here,” Lee said, “he wasn’t the happiest person in the world.”

What? Are you gonna cry now? Werth had to say this,

“The news in Philadelphia, they got their boy back, I guess,” Werth said. “That’s fine. I think that’s good. I like that. If you’re going to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. They make their plays, and we’re going to make ours.”

Actual Picture from his presser

Awww, thats cute. He hasn’t played one game yet and he’s already in denial. Like the article says, Werth will have many chances to settle it on the field. Some, how many of those chances do you think he will actually capitalize on? If its against Lee and Halladay, I’d have to say very few.

State of the Phillies Organization – Middle Infield

Most Productive Double Play Combination Since 2005

Outlook

Despite battling injury in 2010, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins posted a combined 7.5 WAR. Questions will loom going into the season of whether both can stay healthy as they enter their decline phases. Nonetheless, if they can stay on the field, Chase and J-Roll will represent the best middle infield duo that baseball has to offer. The status of the minor league talent is a much different story. No starters are expected to emerge in the near future. If management is unable to resign Jimmy after the season, the replacement will almost certainly come from outside the system.

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Derp.

via High Cheese

“…I got a long text message from him last night booing me, in classic Philly style. He was upset. But hey, that’s how it works sometimes. Business is business. I think he was half kidding. I told him he could still have been on our club if he accepted arbitration.”

Oh Jayson.  Thanks for your time here, but GTFO.  You could’ve stayed and reaped the benefits of, you know, actually winning a game here or there.  Grass isn’t always greener outside of Philly.  Sowwy, Charlie.