The Zo Zone

As a displaced Bostonian who watched 200+ Sox games over the last two seasons, I can safely say that Lowell would have been a real coup for the Phils. Even if his bat reverts to his career norm, the stellar glove and quiet, calm leadership would have elevated the entire team. He did for the Sox in 2007 what Bill Mueller did in 2004.

Now, Rowand and his people know how much money the Phils are willing to shell out for that reliable right handed bat the lineup needs. I'd like to see him back and in the 5 spot.

I don't have any numbers, but my gut tells me that Burrell got better pitches to hit in the three hole, and the team played well when he was there. Rollins, Utley, Burrell, Howard, Rowand is a nice 1-5. Maybe getting Pat more fastball-strikes to hit is more important than "protecting" Howard. And with either Pat or Utley standing on first base, you have to pitch to Howard. I think too much was made of the "you don't want Burrell clogging the bases" theory. He is glacial. But you have to sacrifice somewhere.

Jimmy needs some luck today for MVP. Maybe an East Coast bias can help him. But Holliday's numbers are very good and he had less of a supporting cast. Funny how three games in October can elevate Holliday and the Rockies to instant, hated rival status.

The Phils have put themselves in a box now, everyone knows they have the money to spend and if they don't the fans will rightly ask why not?

Will Rowand sign for the same package that was offered to Lowell? I like him a lot better (it's the years, not the money) at 4 years and 12.5M than at 6 years and 14M. BUT not if it means no more pitching.

Still advocate we spend it on pitching...one more 4 or 5 starter and a few middle inning arms. Anything left can go to Nunez (our best fielder at 3B)at a discounted price and a spare RH hitting outfielder.

Copying my comment from the other posting as it is more relevant here:

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All these people all over Gillick? What is the deal with that? I have to agree with Tim here and say that Gillick needs to do what he needs to do to land players. While do people feel like they have the right to be in the know?

My guess is that the Phillies had a back-of-the-mind interest in Lowell and were waiting to see how the market unfolded. They did not want to come out of the box talking $18MM per, but they got wind that he was going to sign with the Sox for $37.5 over 3 years and they thought, "perhaps we put a bid in to see if we can land him". They saw that he was about to sign for a little less than what they were willing to pay, so they put an offer out there to improve the team.

Gillick took the correct approach and the management put a legit offer out there to Lowell to bring him to Philly. People should be very happy that they are considering all options and they are looking to spend money to make the team better (after all - isn't that what everyone on these boards is complaining about - management keeping their wallets closed). Their offer to Lowell was a legit offer to land a new 3rd baseman.

Why doesn't everyone take a look at the strategy and sit back knowing that the Phillies appear to be willing to spend regardless of their stated strategy and stop being bitter about the fact that Gillick didn't check with you before he decided to call in an offer.

Jeez. I feel for Pat because he really cannot please anyone these days.

You don't walk into a car dealership with a blank check and tell the salesman you want the top of the line model with all the options. If Gillick had come out and said that they wanted Lowell and he had a increased budget to get him, that's essentially what he would have been doing. Instead he waited to hear what the best offer was and tried to steal him with an additional year. Can't fault him for that. What this should tell us is that, despite the company line of pitching, pitching, pitching, if the right deal and player is there, he will try and do something..

Excellent post Sean. People who complain about the Phillies not being forthright about these things obviously have never had a career in a field the requires serious negotiating. The LAST thing the Phillies want to do in a competitive market is be completely transparent about what their interests are and how much they are willing to pay. Professional negotiators always withold information and are cautious about what they say publicly so as not to undermine their negotiating leverage or reveal their reservation points. The Phillies have no obligation to tell the press or the public what they are doing when they are seeking to get the best deals possible to help the team. Furthermore, this must be a terrible day for all the Phillies-bashers out there who have spent two weeks trashing the team for not being willing to spend money (despite their $105 million payroll being in the top 1/3 of the league). The Phillies just offered a very lucrative contract to a top free agent that would have put them over-budget for this year. So what do these people say now? Eh, I guess they'll just find something else to hang their argument on. They're trapped in 1998 complaining about the team not spending money because they just don't know what to complain about anymore. Can't complain that the team doesn't win because they just won a division title and haven't had a losing season in 7 years. Can't complain about their farm system, because their best young talent is all home grown. Can't complain about the manager because he was in contention for manager of the year and it is obvious the team responds well to him. So complain about management. Sorry guys, nobody cares about management as long as the team is winning.

You don't spend money just for the sake of spending money and appeasing the fans.

If the team has money to spend, they will do so if the right piece of the puzzle is available.

They thought they obtain could Lowell at the last minute and missed out; however, this doesn't mean that they have earmarked $50 million to spend and will do so even if it doesn't improve the ballclub.

I like Gillick's approach, and he is a proven winner.

now that the story is out i wonder if they will go after another 3rd baseman before the season. we now know they were not happy with the spot last season and have given teh impression they don't want it again this year. interesting to see how it plays out.

I have to agree with Sean, Tim & Sam. There is no reason for Gillick to show us his cards.

I hope that if the team address 3rd or centerfield that they keep focusing on pitching as well, I would hate for them to go either or and leave pitching behind.

personally i would be happy if they brought in a guy like Pedro Feliz who is solid at 3rd and isn't a great hitter but, won't hurt you too much either. he will hit around 20-25 hrs and .270 to .280. after the production they have had at 3rd i'd take that in a minute. I really believe that if they do lose Rowand they need to replace him with either a RH bat at 3rd or a RH bat in RF.

naturally i say that assuming that they still will add an additional starter and 1 more arm to the pen

Holliday still hasn't touched home plate yet.

Holliday stole Howards rbi crown away this year and J-rolls MVP with that so called 'playoff' game that shouldnt have counted towards either stat or vote!! Thats bs if it does! They should change the rule if thats the case!

Damn, I said the same thing about a week ago about Gillick not showing his hand in negotiations. That he said they were focusing on pitching and he was saying that, to get in a better position to get Lowell and or Rowand. Nobody even picked up and discussed it. Now, after its obvious, everyone wants to say they knew it.

What a fun blog

Joe, you're right. You had it nailed. You should ask Todd to let you post on the front page every few days.

While no fan of the available pitching ion the free agent market, the money the Phillies have needs to be spent there. Lowell at 4 years was not a good idea, and to re-sign Rowand at anything close to his asking price is ridiculous. The Phillies have a CF in Victorino and do not need 2 of them. They were fine offensivley even with the 3B offensive blackhole platoon they had last year and will be fine again.

J-roll wins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are we sure it wasn't a half-hearted attempt--since it left no time to "court" Lowell by bringing him into town nor time to realistically absorb the offer? Or am I being naive, and are the money and the terms the only consideration here?

Seth Everett said on WIP today that MVP ballots need to be postmarked by the Monday after the season ends and thus the Colorado bonus game would have no bearing on the results. Is he right? I'd been hearing otherwise all along.

The article on the phils website about J-roll winning the mvp says the writers had the option to vote the day after the season or wait til after the one game 'playoff'. Not sure how accurate that is, but it would make sense I guess. A pure baseball person would not include that extra game,its not fair to the other canidates.