The Zo Zone

I don't buy it he lies so much

Why are the Phillies going dumpster diving for pitchers when there are free angents out there who are perfect fits for this team. Mike Lowell is a perfect example - a leader on the field and in the clubhouse. That's what this team needs to help get them back into October and to go all the way. To hear the Phillies brass say they are focusing on pitching over and over again is getting a little old. They are going to spend money on below average or washed up pitchers when they could be spending money on players who can help feed the "intangibles" into every player on the team. They won't resign Rowand and they won't sign Lowell or Hunter from Min. But they will sign some washed up injured pitcher like Wolf or Colon. Didn't they learn their lesson with Freddy Garcia and Adam Eaton? If they are worried about money, don't they understand that they have to spend a little to make more. Add Lowell to Lidge, Rollins, Utley, and Howard and ticket sales will soar. Make the postseason again and maybe win a game and the money comes rolling in. Come on Phillies...please don't break my heart again.

Looks like it's business as usual for the Phils. They just won't do what it takes to win the big one... all they care about is getting a team good enough to win between 85-90 wins, enough to peak interest but not good enough to win it all. Dobbs/Helms is not a good enough option at 3rd base, nor is Victorino as good as Rowand for CF. But this is what we will have. They just refuse to spend the money they have to do better than capture the wild card (2007's division title was a fluke... the Mets blew it).

They have improved their pitching, but the offense is going to to be worse. If they get another starter, that would be good but they need another hitter too which they apparently aren't going to pursue.

Expect the Phils to be about the same last season as this last one--- not good enough!

My advice to you Ryan is don't get your hopes up. They will be entertaining, but they probably won't win the division. The Mets and the Braves look better than the Phils. Sure, if everything works out they could get into the playoffs, but that will take a lot.

It's Philly sports as usual: make it look to the fans like you are trying to win when you really are only concerned with making money.

24 years and counting....(27 for the Phils).

Does everyone expect him to come out and say yeah it's true? Of course he is going to lie. He wouldn't be a good GM if he didn't lie.

This is infuriating. Let's concentrate on beefing up pitching a bit more--what, sign Bartolo Colon and Kerry Wood? That's going to win us a World Series???

Not only would Lowell be a solid, solid hitter in this park, but he would replace the leadership the Phillies are going to lose when Rowand walks. So you have to pay him $12 mil a year, big deal, it isn't going to cripple the budget, worthless Burrell is off the book in a season. I love Utley and Howard and Hamels, but they aren't leaders, and you need THAT guy in the clubhouse on a World Series push, and who better to get to do that than the FREAKING WORLD SERIES MVP!??!?!?! All the Red Sox said how badly they wanted to bring him back because of that reason, and now that he probably isn't going to New York and Boston won't budge on the 4th year, why not try it?! This is why the Phillies never win anything...they spend money on the wrong players and when there's a guy right in front of their faces, they balk because he costs too much money. Cry me a river. Thank God Gillick is going to retire after this yeat, I can't take this crap anymore.

Don't any of you wonder why the Red Sox aren't offering Lowell what he's asking for?

Better production at third base would be great, but it's not a need. Pitching is. With the lineup the Phillies will have, with or without Rowand, they'll score more than enough runs. But no one can expect to compete for a championship, in any sport, if your defense is near the bottom of the league.

Another reason to not go after overpriced, underperforming pitchers. Carlos Carrasco will probably be ready for a September callup. He is the starter the Phils needed to develop, so I think they can wait rather than overpaying for pitching. I'd rather see the Phils take the $10M or so that they have and sign either Lowell or Rowand. I don't want to go into this upcoming season and have Pat Burrell as the only right-handed power in the lineup. Burrell has been too inconsistent over his career to be reliable.

The phillies need a 5 hole hitter behind Howard. Lowell would fit that bill perfectly. If Gillick is counting on Burrell again he's kidding himself and shortchanging the phillie faithful. Lidge was a definite upgrade to the pitching staff which will send Myers back to the rotation giving the Phils a soild 1-2 punch in the rotation. I would rather see the Phillies develope the minor league arms(Castro,Smith,Carrasco) they have in the middle innings than over pay has been closers.
Okay say we don't get Lowell how about Milton Bradley in rightfield???

I am in Gillick's corner on this one. Go ahead, hate me. The Yankees won a ton of World Series with Scott Brosius at 3B. Good in the post-season but no one ever confused him with Mike Schmidt. If the Phillies could sign a 15-win starter, a decent bullpen guy and re-sign Rowand, we'd be set. Put Dobbs at 3B. Nunez is a good glove and utility guy. Try to deal Helms, whom I don't care for, maybe for a minor-league pitcher. Keep Howard and Utley healthy. When Burrell goes cold for a few weeks, and he will for longer than that, jump in quickly and start Victorino and Werth for a while. I can live with that.

So its not important I guess that Pat Gillick feels a 3B isn't a priority? Wes Helms clearly showed he is not an everyday player and is very lucky to even being on a major league roster. He showed no hitting skills at all. He runs like he's got a refrigerator on his back. He's got a terrible glove and hiss throws are very erratic to 1st base. Summing up there is not one good quality piece to him as a professional ballplayer. Now Greg Dobbs showed a very nice bat. He did show he can be clutch with some big hit and some were big time home runs (last series at Shea Stadium for example). He didn't do that bad at 3B defensively either. But Dobbs is better suited to be in a platoon with Jayson Werth in RF. A nice righty/lefty platoon to bat 7th in the Phils lineup. They combined would put together the same if not better stats than Aaron Rowand can. Yes folks he's highly overrated hitter who strikes out too much and doesn't walk enough. He is above average in CF with a weak arm. Shane Victorino is a way better CF with a way better arm, who has great speed. Due to the fact that available OF help is very thin and/or extremely over priced. This ultimately would be a nice path for the Phillies to sign Mike Lowell. His bat would fit nicely in the 5th or 6th spot in the order. Its a plus that he's right handed. The talent at this time in the major leagues at 3B is very weak. As so is the talent in the Phils minor leagues at 3B. It would take easily the next 3 to 4 years for Phillies fans to see a 3B prospect come up, whomever that might be if he even exists right now. Mike Costanzo was a strike out machine so don't even mention him, which no guarantee of a spot in the majors for the next 2 years.

So hopefully Lowell is signed. Another starting pitcher is brought in to replace Adam Eaton. I'm in favor of Bartolo Colon. Yes he has had the injury bug. But you can take a risk like this if the guy is your 5th starter. I call it high risk/high reward. He's much better than anything the Phillies have had at the #5 spot. Hamels, Myers, Moyer, Kendrick & Colon. Not bad. More bullpen help arrives so we don't have to watch journeymen like Jose Mesa or career minor leaguers like Clay Condrey & Yoel Hernandez. It is important that the Phils add more depth to support Brad Lidge, JC Romero and yes Tom Gordon. These simple moves are made there is no reason why this team cannot make it to the World Series.

Milton Bradley??

tick..tick..tick…BOOM!

His team’s in the middle of a playoff run in September, he gets into an argument with the 1B ump, has to be tackled by his manager and aggravates his knee injury. Lost for the year.

Or. couple years ago in LA. Gets in a shouting match with a fan – at home! – and ends up throwing a beer bottle at the fan.

Yeah, I could see him in Philly.

Scott: Gillick is choosing starting pitching over 3B. That's all. And with Dobbs being able to play 3B, and Helms unfortunately signed, I don't blame him. You'd drop Rowand. I'd pass on Lowell. With Burrell, we need 4 starter-quality outfielders. And we have them if we re-sign Rowand: Victorino-Werth-Rowand(who bats fifth)-Burrell. Get a starter, add a middle bullpen guy. That's enough, and they're only $5 million or so over "the budget" that Zolecki keeps harping on.

Dobbs at third, Werth in right.

I don't care if they sign Lowell. He'd be a nice addition. But if they ultimately don't, they need a better glove at 4rd base. Obviously Helms is a lousy infielder and Dobbs is way below average. As much as Nunez killed you with the bat, the way he played at 3rd base was incredible. I'd rather play him and his glove for 162 then Helms or Dobbs. At least you know what you're getting with him. The only thing we know about the other two is that Dobbsie can hit lefties and Helms can't hit anyone.

Eman, great post. i agree with you completely. Everyone is acting like Rowand is irreplaceable. Victorino is a MUCH better fielder with a great arm. a left-handed compliment for Werth in right is needed. i hope that guy is Dobbs but we would then need a 3B. that's where Lowell comes in. did anyone mention that Lowell grew up as a Mike Schmidt and a Phillies fan in florida? Gillick would have to give him 4 years though and that's risky. his numbers away from Fenway were not too pretty.
has anyone mentioned the Japanese player Fukodome? hearing his nickname being chanted at the Bank would be worth the price of admission alone...

I truly believe that until the Phillies are sold to new ownership, they will never win the pennant. I'm not saying Lowell is the answer, but this ownership is not willing to spend the money to bring home a championship. It's early in the free agent market, but to spend $10 mil or so on the crap pitching that is out there is a waste of money.

Would it really be that bad if the Phillies ended up trading for Troy Glaus or even, gasp, Scott Rolen? I mean, they're a year removed from solid production, but both teams are looking to unload them and will likely eat a lot of salary and not ask for much in return. Glaus would kill the ball in CBP and if Rolen would even come here, I think the Phillies' fans would forgive him if it gave them a better chance to win.

Hear me out on Lowell. He's been real solid the last two years, but don't forget his last season in the National League East he hit .236 with 8 homers and 50 RBI's in 500 AB's. Sure he'll put up better numbers than that in '08, but what's he going to do in 2011 when he's 38 and we owe him $15 mil (Yanks offered 4/60)? Ultimately, this guy would turn into Pat Burrell by '09 and it's $15 mil that is earmarked to go to Ryan Howard to keep him here long-term.

Wow, I wonder how the people here don't fall down' more. I really like the idea of signing Colon and Kerry Wood. Its a good idea to get pitchers on the cheap and hope they improve. Chris Carpenter was injured and washed up when Walt Jockerty got him. Its important to remember that Wood pitched well in the bullpen, better than everything we had and Colon won the Cy Young Award less than 5 years ago. He had some injuries but coming back from the DL last year, he pitched well and his pitches were touching early 90's. Some high incentive contracts will get them here. Sign Fukodome and maybe even the Japanese Starter who is projected to be a 3-4 and we have a Pennant winner.

I am tired of people whining about the Phillies' spending. They spend plenty of money, and its important to note that a team that was pretty much equal to the Phillies in terms of records has been the Padres who spend FAR less money. The Phillies aren't cheap but they have money locked up into shitty players named Adam Eaton. Also they have 6 million still going to Thome. And Burrell is good, just not 16 million dollars good. Getting Lidge showed the fans that they really did want to win.

Honest to god I don't even know why I care anymore. You can spend 10 million a year on decrepit old pitchers who will do nothing but post a 5.00 ERA and win you below ten games, or you can spend it on a premiere defensive 3rd baseman who is a great bat and could do great hitting in the 5th spot. If i hear the words "We're concentrating on pitching right now" one more time I am going to hit someone.

Phew thoughts on the Phils:

1) All of this budget talk is non-sense. Let's not forget that baseball contracts are guaranteed... so backloading some deals is usually a non-issue with players. With Burrell's $14M and Thome's $7M coming off next year - we have $21M available to push into next year that we should play with in pursuing Lowell/Rowand. We have a 4 year window to really have a chance to do some damage in the NL - so let's roll the dice and the owners will be rewarded.

2) Given Rowand's contract demands (6 years, $85M), Lowell would be much cheaper and for a shorter duration. Don't get me wrong, I would take Rowand in a heart beat for 4 yrs and $50M- but I wouldn't go any higher than that.

3) We absolutely need a legit RH hitting 5 hole hitter (sorry, we can't rely on Burrell). Otherwise, teams will pitch around Howard and Utley. And not resigning 1 would significantly weaken our already weak bench.

4) If we sign Lowell and let Rowand walk - Geoff Jenkins or another OK hitting OF would have to be signed. Both Victorino and Werth are too injury prone.

5) I don't want any more washed up starting pitchers. Beef up the bullpen with Linebrink, Julio or a situational lefty, and let's hope either Adam Eaton can improve or JJ Happ or Mathieson is ready. Remember, #5 starters don't pitch in the playoffs.

NBC10 tonight reported that the Phils offered Lowell 4 years/$48 million...???

Right on Dan K! The only thing I disagree with is the old warshed up starters. Like Gary said, maybe load the contract with incentives, and if guys like Wood or Colon dont pan out, oh well,not a big hit on the payroll. But if they pitch good and all is well, then it was worth it. I like Wood out of the pen, I think he could pitch well in that role, and Colon has got to better than beat'in down Eaton!!

How come the Phillies never say they are going to add pitching during a good free agent market? They only seem to ever want to add players that aren't on the market. Lowell is a gold glover with pop and will add so much more to this team then some Eaton clone will ever add. I bet the next time there is a good market for pitching, the Phillies will be looking for anything but pitching. Ownership needs to learn how to go for the jugular when you get close to having a good team.

Remember when Gillick said Myers would be the closer next year? Then they got Lidge, and now Myers is back in the rotation. Remember when Gillick said they wouldn't get anyone to replace Utley while he was hurt...and the next day he went and got Iguchi. Remember when Gillick said they wouldn't contend until 2008...and then they contended enough to miss the playoffs by a few games, and win the division the next year. I don't know, I can't remember one time since Gillick's said something and it's actually happened. And I'll worry about next season when it's spring training and I've known what they've done. I'm going going to wring my hands over what they haven't done just days into the FA period, not knowing anything the future holds.

What does Gillick have to gain by being honest with the media? Think about it, the only thing it can do is weaken his bargaining position with the free agent. If he tells the media he is looking for a 3rd baseman, the agent asks for more and sticks to it since he knows they're looking for a 3rd baseman. All the GMs do it. Didn't the Yankees say they'll never negotiate a new contract with A-Rod a few weeks ago? Now they hugged and made up and are talking about the new contract the Yankees said would never happen, but notice that the price came down.

If you were playing poker, would you show the other player what cards you were holding?

There is absolutely nothing to gain by being honest with the media and plenty to lose.
The media just has to fill air time and has newspapers to sell. Its entertainment. The GMs know it and the media knows it. Its a game they play.

RESIGN ROWAND! He plays all-out every day, is a great leader in the club house, and the phans love him. And let's not forget he has World Series experience. Management knows what they're getting with him and he's a great fit with this team. Offer him 5 years, $65M and I think he'll take it from the Phils (remember he wants to play for a team that has a chance to go to the World Series). Next year we get rid of Burrell's $14M and Thome's $7M which will more than make up for Rowand's salary. I'd rather have Rowand in the outfield after next year and let Burrell walk. I question why the Red Sox won't offer Lowell more; age, playing for a contract? Rowand's only 30 and can hit 20 - 25 dingers in the Bank. He'll be a fixture in the Phils outfield for the next 5 years (Remember Gary Maddox?). The guy's a Gold Glove, All Star who wants to play in Philly. What else does Phillies management want? With the level of pitching talent out there right now it's a crap-shoot. Resign Rowand and look for a #4 or #5 starter who can pitch out of the bullpen in case Eaton should surprise us (Ho, Ho, Ho, or should I say Ha, Ha, Ha?) next year.

Right. Same old, same old. God forbid should the Phillies go after someone who has major talent and wants a decent sum of money. No, don't bother with Lowell. Let him help some other team win the World Series. Oh, right, he already did that.

Going for a surplus of pitching is the smart move...leaving aside Adam Eaton, does anyone think Kyle Kendrick is a sure thing to repeat his 2007 performance? And Moyer's not getting younger.

I see a lot of griping about the Phillies overpaying for mediocre talent. If they meet the contract demands of Lowell or Rowand, how are those contracts going to look two years down the road?

I like both Rowand and Lowell, but the Phillies need to focus on devloping their own talent rather than badly overpaying veterans coming off career years.

Surplus pitching? Lets say they do sign one more starter and a bullpen arm, they'll have Dobbs/Helms at third and Burrell, Victorino and Werth in the outfield. I don't think thats a product that going to sell very well to Philly fans. This is entertainment, they will sell lots more tickets with Rowand in there and or Lowell at third. Burrell and Thome will be off the books next year and Eaton the year after that. Plus with no truely major league ready 3rd baseman in the minors, they need to fill that hole for a few years until someone comes up or, a trade is made or another free agent is signed. Just because a few free agent signings went bad should they assume all of them will?
Imagine how Philly fans will anticipate the season with Rowand and Lowell in there instead of Werth and Helms/Dobbs? The idea is to sell tickets, they know that. Remember the anticipation last year when Garcia and Eaton were signed? Rollins went so far as to say Philly was the team to beat.

Was anyone really excited when Eaton was signed?

Steve - outside of some good young arms and a SS in A ball, there isn't any talent in our farm system to develop. Our scouting department and minor league farm system is one of the worst in baseball! So who is going to play 3B or OF for the next few years if we don't adress it now with free agency? This is why keeping Rowand and/or signing Lowell or trading for a young decent 3B (Blalock/Atkins) should be priority for the Phils!

in fairness to the Phillies scouting and minor league system, they have produced Howard, Utley, Rollins, Ruiz, Hamels, Madson, Kendrick and Myers the last few years. true, the system is bare right now, but that's because all the good players are on the major league team right now. just think, if Rolen didn't demand a trade, the Phils would have a homegrown infield of Howard, Utley, Rollins and Rolen. not too shabby.

If I hear about Ruben Amaro Jr. one more time my shirt is going to look like Manuel's uniform from barf stains. You don't hear about the assistant GM for any other team, just the Phillies. What are Amaro's credentials for being a GM? Obviously not baseball skills because he was the worst player ever. Granted he went to Stanford, but most likely was a dual major in home economics and shopping. Ultimately, his only credential is that he speaks spanish. This allows him to talk to Carlos Ruiz about whether a raise from $12 a week to $14 would be amicable, seeing as how the rest of the Phillies are American (confirming they do absolutely no scouting in latin countries because that would require effort). I'm assuming he is doing more than simply changing Gillick's pampers, but I still don't want to hear what he has to say until he is actually the GM.