The Zo Zone

Nice.

Get us 1 healthy starter, a No 3 or a No. 4 even, and call it an off-season. Good job, guys.

Why do the Phillies not see the urgency to get a GOOD starting pitcher???? Chad Durbin and Adam Eaton stink and are not the answer. They keep talking how they have very few good minor leaguers to make a trade and they don't want to giv eup any of their young pitching. Why not? To get a guy like Bedard, haren, or even Snaatana, non of who are old! They have pitchers like Carrasco, Outman, Happ, Drabek, Savery, Drew Carpenter. They don't want to trade any of them for a stud ace pitcher? These young pitchers who are supposed to be can't miss prospects, certainy can miss. I'd rather have a sure thing. And the 3 I mentioned are still young enough that you could have them for 4 years or more. They do this all the time with their young pitching. What about all the can't miss stud prospect pitchers they have had in the past? Names like Pat Combs, Brad Brink, Bruce Ruffin, Tyler Greene, Wayne Gomes, Carlton Loewer, etc. They could even use guys like Adrien Cardenas(he plys second, so where is he gonna play? Utley could be here for another 10 years)Jason Jaramillo, Travis Mattair, or Quintin Berry. They have the prospects to trade, they just are cheap!

Why do the Phillies not see the urgency to get a GOOD starting pitcher???? Chad Durbin and Adam Eaton stink and are not the answer. They keep talking how they have very few good minor leaguers to make a trade and they don't want to giv eup any of their young pitching. Why not? To get a guy like Bedard, haren, or even Snaatana, non of who are old! They have pitchers like Carrasco, Outman, Happ, Drabek, Savery, Drew Carpenter. They don't want to trade any of them for a stud ace pitcher? These young pitchers who are supposed to be can't miss prospects, certainy can miss. I'd rather have a sure thing. And the 3 I mentioned are still young enough that you could have them for 4 years or more. They do this all the time with their young pitching. What about all the can't miss stud prospect pitchers they have had in the past? Names like Pat Combs, Brad Brink, Bruce Ruffin, Tyler Greene, Wayne Gomes, Carlton Loewer, etc. They could even use guys like Adrien Cardenas(he plys second, so where is he gonna play? Utley could be here for another 10 years)Jason Jaramillo, Travis Mattair, or Quintin Berry. They have the prospects to trade, they just are cheap!

You are VASTLY overrating the Phils pitching depth in the minors. None of those guys mentioned, not even Carrasco, is seen as a 3rd starter in the majors. Look at the offers turned down by those teams who will move an ace: all of them are significantly better than anything the Phils could offer. Its a total scrap heap in free agency, so the ONLY thing the team can do is sure up some depth. If they could make a significant move, they would. Wade killed the depth in the minors and the current team is paying for it now.

Taguchi, solid pickup. Were ready. If we need additional pitching, mid season rental, best option at this point.

Taguchi is a solid signing.

The O's are saying they've listened to all the offers for Bedard and none are good enough. I wouldn't assume the Phillies have enough of what Baltimore wants even if the Phils were willing to trade everything for Bedard. John is right: you can't trade what you don't have. They may still end up with another pitcher before opening day. If they can add Otsuka to the bullpen then at least the pen is that much stronger when the 3 through 5 guys can't go more than 5 innings.

I don't think this Phillies management is as inept as the previous "leaders". I don't remember one post saying that Garcia was a bad pick-up last year, even J-Roll thought they had added a legit #1 or #2 starter, and we see how that turned out. What I'm trying to say is that there is not 30+ number one starters and 30+ number 2's out there. MLB pitching is so watered down that most teams have three #3's and two #4's in their rotation.
World Series titles are won these days by beating the pitchers you are supposed to beat and hope you don't face a true ace three time in a seven game series.

Minor issue: what does this signing do to Chris Snelling? Needs to pass through waivers to stick with the Phillies?

John and S, are you kidding me???? None of them are even cosndiered a 3rd starter?? Before you go making statements like that, get a clue! You obviously do not follow the minor leaguers. I can't beleieve you would even say that. NONE of those picthers have been offered in any trades, so I don't know hwere you get that they were turned down. Carrasco, Savery, and Outman are all cosnidered #1 or #2's in the future. Possibly even Drabek who is working his way back from TJ surgery. Carrasco is just as good a prospect as Ian Kennedy or Phil Hughes, (I'll give you that he isn't as good as Joba (but you never know)at least that is what the scouts and people who actually see them play, say. Carpenter is very young(as they all are), and Happ I would say is probably projecred as a 3 or 4. I am sure none of these guys have been offered for Bedard, the Phils don't want to pay for these guys, that's the problem. Where do you get your info.? If the Phils offered 3 of those pitchers(especially Carrasco, Savery and Outman) and maybe 2 hitters, the twins would have to seriously consider it. Like I said though, the Phils won't sign him or pay him. To Chris G, is Chris Snelling really even that good? I don't know much about him except that his stats have never been real good.

Ah ! whata you guys know??? ,..........
And Todd...no owl himself!!! .. Just kidding guys and gals. I just want to thank you all for making this space fun and informative to read and thank Todd for keeping up the good work..I'm the guy who emailed you immediately when the Rockie pitcher dumped something on his shirt.I still think he was cheatin'.. Anyway, I wanted to wish all of you folks Happy Holidays and I look forward to reading everybody's Phils comments as we progress towards Spring Training. Happy New Year, too !!! Kosball

Eastern Division; NL Champions, World Champions. This Taguchi signing is over the top. When you have players the caliber of Taguchi, you don't need pitching.

Merry Christmas Todd, Pat, Ruben, & Dave. Thanks for giving us a championship for Christmas. Now stop spending all your money, you're going to need it later.

I'm concerned about this spending binge the Phillies have been on. I know it's the holiday season but to be throwing all this money around is ridicullous. They had Chris Roberson who could have played with them for $390,000. Why spend money on free agents?

The Phillies are on a tight budget and I hate to see them risk eveything on a player. They need to be more frugal than this.

I can't believe my eyes. I wake up to learn the Phillies sign Taguchi. They are set. Somwthing tells me that this was the work of that shrewd Ruben Amaro. Guys like Taguchi don't grow on trees.

This just goes to show that you don't have to spend money or grow home grown talent in order to be a perennial contender like the Phillies.

What's going to happen to Chris Snelling? I along with the Phillies were counting on him on 2008. This Taguchi signing is just more evidence of the frivolous spending the Phillies do. Spend, spend, spend. Does it ever stop.

Dear Santa,

Very nice addition in Taguchi. But please make all the boys and girls stop whining about the Phillies' lack of starting pitching.

With the signing of Taguchi, the Phillies have surplus pitching to help shore up their other needs. With a stick like his you don't need the kind of pitching you guys are talking about.

Besides I agree with the other guys we have to stop spending money we don't have. You have to realize the Phillies are on a budget. I am also concerned about Chris Snelling. You know they signed him for $450,000. What happens to him if he doesn't play. He represents a big left hand stick off the bench. Can he play third base?

Taguchiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Say it ain't "So".
We, are the champions my friend......

Skip spring training, let's just get right to the regular season.

PLAY BALL!

This signing is smart. When trying to put together a playoff caliber team, relying on injury-prone rookies is not smart (Chris Snelling). Yes Snelling has upside, but Gooch2 is tried and true. The man is a quality bench player and adds veteran depth which should never be overlooked. We all know Patty G needs to add more pitching, namely in the bullpen, but lets not forget he's made some nice moves in the past few days (Durbin, Jenkins, and now Taguchi).

'Carrasco, Savery, and Outman are all cosnidered #1 or #2's in the future.'

---

Last I saw, Carrasco has only two major league pitches and is working on a third. 'Carrasco is a long ways from a finished product' per BA.

Outman has control problems.

Savery is just starting out and had minor surgery.

Baseball America has Carrasco ranked #6 and Outman #14 in the Flordia State League. None of these guys has shown to be a 'can't miss' that you would need in a trade for a big player.

http://phuturephillies.com/category/players/carrasco-carlos/

Anyone have any idea what kind of defense Coste can play at third base? I know he can play the position.

Steve S, look at Baseball Prospectus' top 100 list. Carrasco was well behind Hughes and Kennedy. Those two are already in the majors, and Carrasco isn't close to being ready.

Solid signing to round out the bench, now they have some CF insurance for Victorino. Is Taguchi and good defensive player?

I'm indifferent on Taguchi. Starting pitcher, obviously that's not going to happen. But tell me WHY we can't get a capable third baseman! This Helms/Dobbs thing is going to suck. We don't need TWO platoons on our team (3B, RF) or late inning defensive replacements. How many times last year did we do that with Nunez, blow a lead and then have to have Nunez bat and ground out to second base? Defensive replacements blow the bench and kill us in extra inning games. Please get me a reliable third baseman.

Steve S, lay off the crack. that stuff will rot your brain.

it's amusing that some people think guys like bedard (or Santana...ha!) are there for the taking, and that the Phils just have to "want" to get them. the fact is, they simply don't have enough to offer in trade. sure, they could probably get Santana for a package of Hamels and Utley, but is that something that's going to make the team better in the end?

and bedard isn't going anywhere. it took Angelos 3 years (3 years (too long) to finally work up the guts to trade tejada, so look for bedard to be available in 2 more years.

i like the Taguchi signing. solid backup OF.

you want a reliable 3B? i hear that Scott Rolen might be available for cheap. actually, i wouldn't mind seeing them take a flyer on Ensberg in a short, incentive-laden deal.

First, this is a great signing. Adds depth to the outfield should there be injuries and provides a reliable bat coming off the bench. Second, what is with this "we need a good pitcher" stuff?? Hamels and Myers are good pitchers, potentially great pitchers (moreso Hamels than Myers probably for that 'great' category). Kendrick did very well last year and there is no reason to think he won't continue that this year. And you know what you'll get from Moyer which is a guy who will generally keep you in games, probably will hit a rough stretch when the weather is hot in July/August (he always seems to) and then will be excellent down the stretch. So I assume everyone agrees that our first 4 slots in the rotation are set. Therefore we are talking about a 5th starter (or 4th at best if you want to consider Moyer your 5th). If you look at who is available right now (by trade or signing), NONE of them would be any more than a 4 or 5 starter anyway. So what is the big deal? Whether Durbin or Eaton (or some loser they sign just to make people happy that they're signing someone) is the 5th starter is almost irrelevant because there is no team in the NL that has what people on here would describe as a 'good' 5th starter. In fact, many teams don't even know who their 5th starter IS yet (SEE: The Mets). So there is no urgency adding another starter at this point. And if problems arise mid-season there are a couple quality arms in the minors who should be just about ready for a promotion by mid-season -- guys who are much more highly touted than Kendrick was last year. And there is also the trade deadline/waiver period during which Gillick has added some good arms for the stretch drive (Moyer/Loshe) in the past.

The bench and the pitching are apples and oranges. Taguchi is a solid signing. Their bench (Coste, Bruntlett, Taguchi and the one not playing in the Jenkins/Werth platoon) is very good. Helms? Well, 4 out of 5 ain't bad.

Pitching is a separate issue. I agree, they still need another starter and a lefthanded reliver. I think tey get the reliever, I'm not sure about the starter and ye, this does concern me.

Prospects? You just never know. Remember, Santana was a Rule 5 pickup by the Twins, Kyle Kendrick wasn't supposed to be anything more than a Triple A starter and Tyler Green was supposed to be preparing his hall of Fame induction speech by now. Carrasco, Outman and savery certainly aren't on the level of the Yankees trio but they're better than the Mets, who seem to think every .500 pitcher they have in the Florida State league is the next Tom Seaver; most of them end up being the next Bill Pulsipher.

Merry Christmas everyone, let's hope that jackass Ed Wade hits his head when he wakes up on X-Mas morning, thinks he's still in Phila. and trades Oswalt for Helms- it can't hurt to dream.

Steve S - I never said that none of the Phils' pitching prospects were good. What I said is what was in the news: The O's said none of the trade offers they got were what they wanted for Bedard. You don't know that they wanted pitching prospects. Maybe they wanted something else. I agree that Carrasco and Outman are likely 3's or above. That's why I wouldn't trade them away. Both could be starting in 2009.

The article I read on the Bedard trade rumors during the winter meetings said the O's wanted a starting pitcher -- not just prospects. And the rumored deals that were out there with LA included starting infielders and outfielders. I don't see that the Phillies have those pieces.

first of all, the Phils top prospects are among the bottom rung of top prospects. they couldn't sniff a top starter. you'd have to trade Hamels or Howard or Utley for one. wanna do that? didn't think so. also, I might have a better chance of making it out of spring training healthy than chris snelling. have you seen this guy's injuries? this guy has severe injuries every year

The Phillies deducted $31 million in salaries with Garcia, Lieber, Rowand, Iguchi, Nunez and Barajas. They turned around and added about $14 million in Lidge, Jenkins, and Taguchi. Now let's give Howard about half of the savings (do they have a choice?)and spend the other half on a decent pitcher or 3rd baseman. I actually think you'd get a bigger bang for your buck at 3rd base for that kind of money but we all know what happens in the playoffs. Would the Phillies be willing to spend more than last year to get a pitcher and a 3rd baseman? Good luck!

Is this the Phillies blog? The same one that lambasts the team for being cheap is now saying they are excessively spending. Wow...

We wouldn't be discussing the Phillies willingness to spend money if they had a farm system that consistently produced sufficient talent to fill their needs and have a surplus to trade. Teams that fall into that category would include Arizona, Colorado, Detroit, Cleveland, and Boston.

Currently the Phillies do not have a 3rd baseman in their system of major league potential. They have perhaps one catcher(Jaramillo), one second baseman (Cardenas),one outfielder (Golson), and a handful of pitchers you have all mentioned.

The Phillies have a terrific nucleus that need to be supported. Since we don't have the players in the farm system and have almost nothing to trade, the Phillies must purchase talent, thus the discussion of money. They either will or will not do it.

This organization is notoriously cheap. Under the Giles regime they fired the entire Latin American scouting entourage to save money. If you want to argue the point, instead of calling me names you may email Bill Conlin at bill1chair@aol.com. He's only covered the team for 45 years.

Come on lets be realistic, the organisation have had a pretty healthy off-season and they did get their frontline pitcher in returning Myers to the rotation.

There isn't a pitcher on the market thats a fit right now outside Kris Benson. Prior, Clement and Colon are not healthy and there is no pitcher any better than what we have as whats on the market is still on there for a reason. Hernandez would be a step-back and right now its just trying to get some consistency from the 5 spot providing the first 4 are healthy. Remember the prospects in-line to make it in to Philly once the roster opens up later in the season.

The organisation should be praised for staying focused after loosing out on Mike Lowell, they made good moves in not giving Rowand 5 years of jumping into taking Inge or signing Feliz. Durbin could be a great move as he either wins that 5 spot or greatly improves the Pen (remember this is a guy several teams were after)

Unless things go south the organisations done everything to put a winning team on the field and players like Taguchi, Durbin, Bruntlett and Madson could be what keeps this team ticking.

Taguchi is a solid pickup, rounds the bench out well, offense and defense. Not a bad Christmas present, I like it.

Never in a million years did I imagine posts about the Phil's spending TOO much money. This is a smart addition for a responsible price.
We surely will carry 12 pitchers, as Todd noted, so replenishing the bench was critical, with Werth and Dobbs playing more as starters.

It's the season of miracles, have a little faith gang.

The Phillies have had an okay off-season. Lidge, Jenkins and Taguchi will probably help them. We'll see about Durbin.

I find the discussion of the Phillies finances intriguing. There is no salary cap in baseball. Teams are swimming in money. Baseball is an entertainment business, that is where the value is derived.

There is no advantage in not spending money on player salaries. Of course it is better if teams have a farm system that consistently provides cheap labor. There is nothing good about going into the season with the Phillies 3rd base situation when there are upgrades available. There are no prizes for the money the Phillies will save if they go with Helms over Feliz or Inge. If the Phillies can upgrade, they should upgrade. It should matter not at all to any of us if the team has to spend more money to improve the team. Such upgrades improve the value of the franchise and if the team plays better will also increase income. And above all else improving the team will increase the entertainment value of the team we all love.

Why the mention of Roberson in the past tense? Did something happen to him that I missed? I thought he was still in the Phil's system!

Anonymous, first of all who the hell are you to insult me??? Of course your name is anonymous. I know more aboutbaseball than ypou will ever know. I don't know if the Orioles are or aren't trading Bedard, he is just a name that has been out there you frickin moron!!! I am someone who ACTUALLY follows the minir leaugers. As someone pointred out about the prospects, trying to make me look bad, Carrasco is the 10th best pitching prospect in all of baseball!!!! As far as your genius comment about me smoking crack, that must have been your mom when she was born. The Phillies haven't even made an attempt at a FRONT LINE starter, because they don't want to pay the salary, because they are on a "budget." They will not be trqding Utley or Hamels as you suggest. You do realize that the Twins lose Sanatana at the end of the year for abasically nothign you frickin genius!

Let's not go crazy here. This is not a team that needed an overhaul. I am happy this team was disciplined and did not throw a bunch of money at another sub-.500 career almost-5.00 ERA starter. The Lidge-Myers move should be an improvement both in the rotation and the bullpen. The Phils are cheap? They spent a potential All-Star in Michael Bourn to get it done. The nucleus of this team is Rollins, Utley, Howard, Ruiz, Hamels, Myers, etc. And that's solidly intact. Taguchi, Jenkins, etc., are solid additions, and they retained Romero. I've come to contentment with Dobbs-Helms at 3rd. The big Q's are: 1) What will be the impact of Rowand's departure? and 2) Will they be hurt without the late-inning glove at third they had in Nunez. But you really can't fault the Phils for losing either, as Rowand was too expensive, and Nunez couldn't hit.

Gotta' say I'm pretty psyched about 2008.

It's funny how some of you want to rip the farm system but really know niothing about them except the few top name pitchers. And even them you think you actually know about. Where you get that none of them are better than a 4th or 5th started is insane. First off all remeber, we are talking about MLB, which has such little talent overall because of expansion. The Phils top pithcers are some of the best "prospects" in baseball. They may not have a ton but do have some. As far as others, I bet you haven't heard of most of them! Brad Harman, Travis Mattair, Adrien Cardenas, Drew Carpenter, Kyle Drabek, Dominic Brown, Travis D'Arnaud, Freddy Galvis, Quintin Berry, Jason Donald, Lou Marson, Jason Jaramillio, and of course Carrasco, Outman, and Savery who are right now the gems of the system. I was just saying that just because these guys are they best they have, it doesnt' guarantee success, just like the Pat Combs, Tyler Green, Carlton Loewer, Wayn Gomes, Brad Brink etc. crew I mentioned above. Sometimes you have to trade these "can't miss" prospects for something where you know what you are getting, unless you know you have a Cole Hamels. Now get off my back. Maybe part of the reason these guys aren't quite as far along as say Ian Kennedy or Phil Hughes, hmmmmmmm, maybe because they are younger????

The trade rumors made it sound like the O's wanted an existing starting pitcher, not a prospect. Unless they want Eaton, we'd be out of luck there. Now, those rumors may have been off, but the supposed LA deal mentioned existing starting infielders and outfielders. As jrquixote says: they don't have an abundance of position players in the farm system, at least none ready for prime time. Golson maybe. I think the pitching prospects the Phils have are pretty good. Carrasco and Outman sound like they're close to being ready for prime time. Savery and Drabek sound further out to me. Someone like Bastardo could surprise us and come up faster. A few of these guys have already had their share of injuries. I'm thinking if we can get two quality pitchers up by mid-2009 we should be happy. I don't think having a few almost-ready-for-prime-time pitching prospects alone is enough to land a Bedard. The Phils would have to be careful how much they give up. They already need a starter and I can't imagine that Moyer's going to be in the rotation much longer. You have to imagine that they're looking ahead a bit and thinking they need to hang on to some of their pitching prospects as part of filling at least 2 positions in the rotation next year. Unfortunately, they let their farm system go too long. They need to build back up some position prospects in my opinion. Remember that they traded Costanza away to get Lidge.

Right now it seems like some of these guys -- Mathieson, Zagurski, Happ, Segovia -- might be able to help in the pen as middle relievers. Going younger would avoid another Joe Table situation.

Maybe the Taguchi signing means the Phillies are ready to unload Burrell for a serious pitcher or two.

Who would take Burrell for a serious pitcher? And you are forgetting the big thing that would prevent us from getting anything significant in a trade for him. He has a no trade clause just like abreu did. he can pick which team he would go to.

Bedard is signed for another 2 years i believe, at least. Like the one guy said, it took the O's 3 years to finally trade Tajada, so Bedard isnt going anywhere anytime soon. They can wait til they have a situation like Santana(ROLEN TOO!) where he is the final year of his contract and says he wont resign, so you must trade him to get something for him. The Phils have had a great ofseason!!! Very active, some signings may not be top-notch guys, but there really isnt much out there to sign.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, FELLAS!

PEACE ON EARTH! GOOD WILL TO MEN!

Anon and Steve, this isn't nuclear physics. I know those names you mentioned, and quite frankly, most of them are aways away from contributing. How you think a package of those guys gets you Santana is beyond me, especially over what the Yankees or Red Sox can offer. Hughes, Kennedy, Melky, Lester, Ellsbury, Buckholz have all already reached the majors and started contributing in big situations.

Carrasco pitched 70 inn above A ball and had a near 5 ERA. Outman pitched 40 inn past A ball and had a 4.50 ERA. Drabek was injured almost all of last year. Savery was drafted after surgery and hasnt even reached A ball. Those hardly compare to what prospects other teams have, and those are the Phillies "gems". As for the other guys you mentioned, almost all of them are in low A ball. Just because you say the Twins would take these players for Santana doesn't make it so. The Phillies would get laughed off the phone if they tried to deal for Bedard or Santana.

Zo, any input on this? Do the Phils have the prospects in the minors to make a run at either pitcher?

The idea that the Phillies can or should empty out their farm system to get someone like Bedard is fundamentally absurd.

Either Carrasco, Outman, Savery, etc. are can't-miss prospects or they aren't.

If they aren't, then the Orioles won't trade Bedard for them.

If they are, then the Phillies shouldn't trade them for Bedard. Somebody above argued that it's fine to dump all of your prospects to get Bedard since you'll be able to keep Bedard for four years anyway. First of all, that isn't even true - Bedard's FA-eligible in 2010, so you'd only be guaranteed to keep him for two years. But even if you could keep Bedard for four years, if Carrasco, Outman, and co. are can't-miss prospects, once they get here you can keep them for SIX years EACH - AND you can use the leftover budget space to sign free agents at other positions. Those are enormous assets you'd be giving up in exchange for instant gratification.

How do you guys really see inge or feliz as definite upgrades over helms? I am no helms fan either, but those guys aren't very good either.

And god forbid 2 platoons. No team has ever won with 2 platoons. The '93 phils what a bunch of failures they platooned both corner of spots and they simply won the last true NL pennant.

overall the phils have made wise moves, lets hope they can sign an otsuka type reliever.

and once again to all you guys complaining about the moves they have not made 3B/P, name a realistic upgrade or keep your mouth shut.

now if you want to talk about a couple of guys who may be upgrades that we can get how about freddy sanchez or ty wigginton?

Whew, I can read a lot of passion in the above comments. However, I am glad to see the Phils making some moves, especially with Jenkins and Taguchi(excellent pinch hitter and good fielder). We just need another starter and another bullpen specialist and we may be ready to win the N.L. East again.

While the moves made by the Phils aren't jaw-droppers, I like them especially given the few possibilities out there. I don't want the Phils to make a move for the sake of making a move, so what we have done so far is looking good. As for 3rd Base, I'd see if Hank Blalock is available.....I haven't heard much about the availability of Freddy Sanchez, but if he's really available, then I'd take a look at him as well. I don't know who it would be at the moment, but if we could get a bonafide 3rd starter who will eat innings and keep us in the game, then let's go for it. Can't wait 'till Spring Training.

The Phils have made the team better so far this offseason, thats more than I can say for our NL east opponents. And just think if Helms and Eaton perform like they did 2 years ago(hey ya never know), thats like getting something from nothing, cause everyone expects nothing from those two.

Feliz Navidad, Chicos.

Wes Helms can neither hit nor field, almost anyone would be an upgrade. The Phillies offensive production at 3rd base was dead last in baseball last year. Dobbs is good off the bench but he cannot field at all.

If the Phillies can get better, they should. There is no reason to "stand Pat". I can't imagine being complacent with the Phils. We can make a move in the N.L. but have absolutely no shot against the Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, or Yankess.

Feliz Navidad, otra vez.

Happy Holidays!

There is a long way to go until the end of spring training. A lot can happen. Finding a good third baseman may be a hard find. Anyone out there for trade at the moment is damage goods of one sort or another (Scott Rolan for example)We may have to live with our third base situation until mid-season.

In the meantime we have a good chance of winning the National League East again. Beyond that you just never know do we. Ask the people of Denver.

Inge and Feliz are better than Helms; Mike Schmidt at age 55 is better than Helms. The question is whether it's worth what it would cost to get them and it isn't. If we're gonna take a flier, why not sign Dallas McPherson to a Minor League Deal?

Inge and Feliz are better than Helms; Mike Schmidt at age 55 is better than Helms. The question is whether it's worth what it would cost to get them and it isn't. If we're gonna take a flier, why not sign Dallas McPherson to a Minor League Deal?

Ah...guys? The way you've laid out the bench against a righthanded starter is Coste, Bruntlett, Helms, Werth, and Taguchi. That's ZERO lefthanded hitters, and that ain't going to happen. Helms will be traded by opening day. Gillick is waiting in the weeds for the price to drop on Feliz, and then Dobbs will go to the bench full time. Book it. Even then, I think they're going to need a second lefthanded stick or switch-hitter on the bench against righthanders. I'm not so sure we won't see Burrell traded (with his permission), Werth as a full-time starter, and Taguchi platooning with Jenkins. That would open a spot for either Snelling, Jaramillo, or Roberson. You can thank me later.

bedard is coming off a sore elbow,throws violently and is 29 years old,the core of this team is home grown,keep the young arms gillick..

Merry Christmas to everyone! I was one of the guys hyping up Feliz on this blog before the Jenkins deal. In my mind Feliz would have been great defensively and Dobbs would have been our platoon outfielder but Jenkins and Dobbs are the same type of player granted Jenkins is a better defensive outfielder. But offensively I think they will be about the same. Now that they have Jenkins their offense has more power, strikeouts and lefties. But I think they did a good job this offseason. Good bargain hunting and I think this team is one lefty in the bulpen (maybe Zagurski can fill that role) from being a legit NL contender. We'll just have to pray that we don't face the Diamondbacks Webb and Haren in a series. That said, the Phillies are the best NL team to match their top two starters. Hamels and Meyers are probably the 2nd best NL one-two punch, which is reason for hope considering the slugging lineup. Remember all those years after we traded Schilling when we didn't have good starting pitchers. Pitching is the name of the game and we had Robert Person as our top starter. If we will win anything it will be on the backs of Hamels and Meyers.

Hats off to the coolest, classiest Philly athlete this side of Westbrook...Jimmy Rollins.
Not a word have we heard of any discontent about the MVP's contract. Jenkins will make as much as J Roll this year? Please.
We make so much of the personality quirks of our stars in this city. Jimmy Rollins is the guy that I hold up to my kids as a worthy sports roll(e) model.....
If management never gets it done for these three (you know who they are), it will be the biggest disgrace in our(long)sports history....

Pedro Feliz is one of the worst hitters in all of major league baseball. Anyone who advocates bringing him in is an idiot.

Nobody who has a career on-base percentage of .288 deserves a spot on a major league roster, let alone in the starting lineup of a contending team. Feliz stinks. At the plate, I'd rather have Helms, any day of any week. Just look at their career stats. Helms is the better hitter, hands down.

Taguchi was a solid pick-up. Cheers! Gillick and the Phillies have never shied from a solid pick-up, as long as the price is right. Unfortunately, the roster 7 - 15 is not strong enough to make this signing the "icing on the cake." The rotation could be awful beyond Hamels and Myers. Yes, I include Kendrick, who, like all young pitchers, will be forced to deal with adjusting hitters. The bullpen remains a mess. I'm sure not many arguments there. And you must have injury concerns for Hamels, based on inning pitched increase the past 4 years and a barking elbow last September, and for Gordon.

Steve S,
None are considered #1 starters. Carrasco is considered a possible #2, which is good. Outman and Savery are considered not better than #4's with futures in the bullpen more likely. Don't believe all the local hype. The national publications are unbiased and provide more valuable evaluations.