Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro must have been listening to Beyonce’s “Let me Upgrade You” when he finally decided to make the first big move in the off-season picking up Raul Ibanez from the Seattle Mariners. The Philliess could not have found a better fit for the five hole spot. Batting behind cleanup, Ibanez has [...]
I sit here and listen to Howard Eskine on the radio, not becuase I like him, not because I value his opinion, but becuase others do. I listen because I love to argue and prove that his pompass, know-it-all solutions are not always right. This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Major [...]
Okay, A.J. Burnett does have a career 3.81 earned run average playing for the Marlins in the nl east and the blue jays in the al east, not exactly the easiest divisions to pitch the last several years. However, going in to the 2008 season, he was 69 and 66 for his career. And, as [...]
Let’s be honest with ourselves here. Just because we won the World effing Series does not mean that we do not need to improve on a few positions across the board. I am one week removed from the happiest sports moment in my life and the only thing I can think about is who is [...]
Upon hearing that the Philadelphia Phillies named Juan Samuel to its Wall of Fame, I was upset. No, that is the wrong word…perplexed. This wall should display the best of the best, the cream of the crop. So, why would the Phills name a player who only played six and a half years of his [...]
I have been listening to WIP for a straight week and every other caller is complaining about who is going to fill in the DH spot. “I don’t think it’s fair for the NL team.” “The AL team has a large advantage.” “Who are the Phills gonna start in DH against lefties?” Before I retort, [...]
Name three pitchers on the team…matter of fact name one. There are few if any things to be happy about if you are an O’s fan. You can be happy about Ramon Hernandez’s career .314 CS%, or that Kevin Millar is only making $2.75 million this year. You could be happy about the play of [...]
I am tired of hearing all of the hoopla about Adam Eaton being a terrible pitcher. Is he a little overpaid…yes but who isn’t these days. Should we throw him up on a Phillies crucifix just yet…no. Let’s take a look at the Phillies 4th and 5th starters in Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton. Their [...]
We are all well aware of the remarkable combination of speed and power this offense brings to the table finishing atop the AL in runs (968), on base percentage (.366), and slugging percentage (.463) and finishing 4th in stolen bases (123) in ‘07. Not too bad for a team that lead all of baseball with [...]
Toronto’s pitching staff is from top to bottom is by far the best in the AL East. Take a look at these numbers…3.71, 3.75, 3.81, 4.08 and 4.13. These are the ’07 ERA’s of Toronto’s 5 starters this year; Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Jesse Litsch, Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum. And, this of course coming [...]
As a starter for the Detroit Tigers this past season, Durbin finished 6-7 with a 4.88 earned run average. While this is an improvement over Adam Eaton’s era which measured just shy of a dozen, sorry I meant a bakers’ dozen, and he will be a solid addition to the pitching staff, it will not [...]
The Rays hands down, and please quote me on this, will be the funnest “never heard of’s” to watch since the “evolution of dance” guy on YouTube. I am predicting a finish of no worse than third place in the AL East in 2008, if they remain healthy. Dioner Navarro, starting catcher batted .285 after [...]
The Boston Redsox may have been the defending World Series Champions in ‘07, but chances are they will finish in the middle of the 86 wins they had in ‘06 and the 96 wins this past season. And, here is why: Starting Pitching –With Curt Schilling almost indefinitely missing a strong part of the season, [...]
If the Phills do not pick up a 3rd basemen this off-season, which by the looks of it will not happen, management may want to think about promoting from within. In his first full season in the minor leagues, 22-year-old Jason Donald topped the .300 for both single-A Phillies affiliates. Appearing in 134 games, Donald [...]
When general manager Ed Wade traded Scott Rolen to the St Louis Cardinals in 2002, the Phills in return received Bud Smith and Mike Timlin and Placido Polanco. Although Smith and Timlin only contributed only to the payroll Polanco became the hard-nosed player and quick fan favorite that we all grew to love. This in [...]
138-19-8789 Yep, its Charlie Manual’s social security number…just kidding. The 138 represents the total number of stolen bases for the Phillies last season. The 19 represents the total number of times the Phills were caught stealing. And, the 8789 represents the team stolen base percentage (87.89%), easily the highest in all of baseball. This may [...]
We all know how consistent Johan Santana has been throughout his short lived career. We could look at his two Cy Young Awards or his Gold Glove Award. We could look at his stats over the past five seasons in which he has averaged over 16 wins, 230 strikeouts, and a 2.89 earned run average. [...]
With the Phillies incessant on pitching as their top priority, management remains unwilling spend top dollar on a high quality 3rd Basemen. And, lets be honest with ourselves because it does not take a sports genius (although Howard Eskine agrees) to realize that Mike Lowell had no intention on becoming a Phillie. It was nothing [...]
You ask any Phills fan who won the ’07 NL MVP and we all would have given the same hands-down answer the second the on-field celebration started when the Phillies clinched their first playoff birth in 14 year…J-Roll. Much like the Phills playoff chase, the NL MVP race was a close one. Winning by only [...]
