The Zo Zone

Lets hope the Phils can trade him for a decent minor leaguer or better. He is an established major leaguer, so he could fetch something good.

if a helms speaks and no one cares, does it make a sound?

Let's hope someone (San Fran?) would pick up his contract for a bucket of baseballs. File this signing in the "Barajas File."

Really-Who cares?
File under another retread Phillies Phailure.

Well, if the Angels could be snookered by the Phils, they could trade Helms, Eaton and a couple of those Allentown guys to the Angels for Joe Saunders. Last year I mentioned this guy as one the Phils could use. He is a lefty with 15 wins in his belt. But, this Spring, he is the 6-7th man out of their rotation. Perhaps he could be had.

Its a poker game with Helms. Its known that the Phils have too many 3rd basemen and Helms is the odd man out. If a team that wants him waits long enough, the Phils will eventually release him. But if a 2nd team wants him, they might offer something before the Phils relaese him. I think someone will lose a 3rd baseman to an injury during spring training and Gillick will strike up a deal.

The bat the Phils signed when they signed Helms is not the one they got. The worst that could be said is that Gillik's crystal ball malfunctioned on this one. And yes, Garcia and Eaton both turned out to be damaged goods who clearly failed to meat expectations (though Eaton still has a chance to redeem himself this year). On the other hand, we have JC Romero, Jason Werth, Jamie Moyer, Jeff Conine, Tad Iguchi, and others whose performance far outshone their histories. Perhaps the best move was the one NOT made -- NOT trading Ryan Howard when he asked to be dealt. No GM can bat 1.000, and certainly the biggest fish on the free agent market have gotten away, but all-in-all I would have to give PG no worse than a B+ in his tenure here so far. This year's signings and the Lidge trade will decide his final grade.

Harry, Gillick inherited a ton of talent and he was brought in to take the team over the top. In Philaelphia, judging from the celebration after the NLDS; over the top may be a division title. In most cities it is at least a singular victory in the playoffs. This is where Gillick has phailed. Yes, he brought in some feel good stories. He has not done enough to bring the team over the top. As a result his grade is a C...
Furthermore Harry, don't be a typical FAN. Eaton can not redeem himself for last year. Unless he wins 18 gms. He was horrible and a 15-12 5.25 ERA is not good enough. It means the offense carried him...

Why is Werth listed here as a bench player? He's the starting right fielder now.

Harry, Gillick got a team to the playoffs that hasn't been there since 1993. He made a few mistakes that miserable people want to crucify him for but, even Theo Epstien admits to mistakes such as CoCo Crisp. Heyman of CNNSI rates Gillick as the 6th best GM in baseball. Only Billy Beane and the Indians GM, both working within a budget at or lower than the Phillies, are rated higher. This can be attributed to the farm system that Gillick inherited.

Yes Eaton can redeem himself. 18 wins gets you Santana money. Eaton money should buy a few less wins and an ERA at about 4 to 4.5 That should be considered redemption.

Glenn, if you were the Angels GM, would you trade Saunders for Helms and Eaton? To boot, Helms and Eaton earn approx $18m over the next two seasons. Saunders is a 26 year-old Lefty, the Angels should get a lot more than Helms/Eaton.

Truth, I don't always agree with everything you write, but your post above is 100% on. Gillick is at best going with a C grade. his hiring was supposed to be just as important as signing a big name free agent. he was supposed to have the big impact in the front office that would make this team a legit contender. he now has them as a NL contender but still hasn't put the final pieces in place that can make them a serious WS contender. and even if they do win it all (fingers crossed and praying), it was still supposed to be sooner than this.

Keep Helms.
He could take over for the beer man in the upper deck who cant go to his left.
Oops....I forgot, Wes cant either.
Maybe he could get a job in Texas peddling B 12 shots.

It's true, Rollins, Utley, Howard, Burrell, Myers, and Hamels were here when Gillick was hired. He also had Thome, David Bell, Bobby A., Lieberthal, Wolf, and Jon Lieber. He got Rowand, Werth, Moyer, Dobbs, Iguchi, and Romero. He won the NL East in his second year. Not bad. If the team fails to make the playoffs this year, then you could categorize Gillicks' three-year reign as a failure. He is re-building the farm system and has not loaded the payroll with "no-trade" contracts. If this is Gillick's last season as GM, he will be leaving the team in much better condition than he inherited. Gillick is surrounding his stars (J-Roll, Utley, Howard)with good players.

How about this one, Helms and Ryan Howard for Albert Pojols? I want a hitting first baseman who doesn't strike out nearly 200 times a year. Pujols only struck out 58 times last year.

Case, honeslty besides drafting what has Gillick dont to improve the farm?
Look at the names besides Rowand that he has brought in off your list. Nice aquisition's, I agree, but not season changers.
Same with Brumlett, Jenkins, So Iguchi et al. I say again we will miss Rowand. This outfield looks pretty week. Not trying to rain on the parade, just holding P.G. accountable.
If Lidge doesn't hold up it's over his reign of retreads is a complete phailure. I hate to say it but he's an eigth inning guy. Once you lose the mojo it's gone.
Honestly, every other orgainzation in baseball seems to be able to turn a strong armed kid into a closer. What about Savery et al.
Throw him into the fire, thats the kind of pheel good story I want.
Every year this team waits another year and the kids end up breaking down, for some reason.

There are no true GM's in baseball anymore. They're only buyers and sellers, like used car lots. If you have an owner that allows you to spend what you want then you buy and sell quality machines. If you have ownership that has a budget in mind that won't get it done then you buy and sell lemons.

Truth, good points. The Phils are the defending NL Champs, we haven't said that in 14 years. The "season changers" are here. Rollins, Utley and Howard will carry the team. Abe Nunez and Kyle Lohse were other Gillick acquistions that helped win the NL East last year.

I don't know if Lidge lost the Mojo, but he is a legit Closer. You would prefere to "throw a kid into the fire"? After a Blown Save, Savery would get booed out of town and people like you would accuse the Phillies of being cheap because they didn't spend the money on a Closer with experience. Right???

Did Billy Wags lose his mojo when Biggio took him out at CBP in '05? Or, when Burrell took him deep twice last year? With a weak F/A pitching pool, Gillick added Lidge and moved Myers back to the rotation, thus making the rotation stronger. Was Carlos Silva a better option? Would you like Geary and Costanzo back?

We now have legit Pitching prospects in the Minors. Savery, Carrasco, Outman, and Carpenter could be ready as early as July. If we need an arm for the stretch drive, there are talented prospects in place. Gillick didn't trade them for a steroid user(Miguel Tejada).

Rowand had a great '07, but let's see how he performs in a Pitchers park in San Fran. He will struggle in that big OF. Victorino is a defensive upgrade with a better arm. Gillick utilized Rowand's money to sign Feliz, Jenkins, and Taguchi. Feliz plays a great 3rd and will hit 25 HR's in the bandbox. Jenkins, who will only face RH pitching, will hit 22-23HR's and split time with Werth. We now have a bench with Dobbs, Taguchi, Werth, and Coste to pinch-hit. Eric Bruntlett will spell J-Roll or Utley on occasion and is a better offensive reserve than Nunez.

In a bad season, Lidge had more K's than Wags last year. Becasue he is in a contract year, he needs to have a great season before testing the Free Agent market next winter. Nothing like a motivated Pitcher!

Gillick is re-stocking the farm and signing good players to surround his Superstars. Some of his F/A signings (Helms/Barajas/Eaton) haven't worked out, but he hasn't made a bad trade that put the franchise back several years (Billy King). Once the team enters post-season, the GM's job is complete. They are responsible to build a team to win a 162-game race. In the playoffs, anything can happen. Did anyone think the Rockies would win the NL this time last year?

The Phillies got a minor leaguer for David Bell so maybe we can get one for Helms. You never know with minor leaguers, maybe they are nothing but that's what the Red Sox thought about Jeff Bagwell.

Maybe the Angels will throw in John Lackey and Vlad to sweeten up the deal for the Phillies...

Case, great counter arguement. You are correct when you say the season changers are already here. I hope what we brought in was enough...

It's spring training... everything is still possible... Eaton pitches well... Helms has a few hits... and packaged together gets us a couple A or AA players for the future. Nobody is counting on them for this season, so let's get something for down the road.

Jeff, I'm pretty sure Werth and Bruntlett are platooning at right.

Oooops! Meant Werth and Jenkins platooning at right.

I have to agree with Case on his assessments here. We will miss Rowand's leadership but he isn't necessarily the poster boy from consistency on the field. You obviously are putting his .262 average, 12 HR, and 47 RBI in his first year with the Phils in the back of your mind. He's had 2 seasons over .300, 3 at or below .270 and a few within the .280-.290 range. His 27 HRs this year was his highest career total too. You have to think about it this way, it was his contract year. Don't be surprised if Burrell puts up much better numbers this year too as he's looking for his next pay check.

Gillick has done a decent job, he's put talent around the core of this team. As for Lidge, only time will tell. If things don't work out, maybe they can orchestrate a trade witht he Angels for K-Rod who is in the final year of his contract and is looking for something similar to the 3 yrs, and $45 that the Yanks gave Rivera.

Contrary to popular belief, Werth IS still a bench player as Jenkins (barring injury) will be getting a bulk of the ABs. Bringing in Bruntlett give the Phils a chance to rest Rollins if need be, Taguchi is one of the best pinch hitters in the game and the power numbers of Feliz and Jenkins will go up playing half of their games in CBP. I'm thinking close to 30 for Feliz being an everyday 3B in a smaller park and about 25-30 for Jenkins once again being in a smaller park. If only their averages would rise we'll be in really good shape.

Oh, and someone forgot to mention J.A. Happ as a top pitching prospect.

It doesn't suprise me that Helms would be a Phillies blogger's favorite. He is cheap, which usually translates with this bunch as valuable.

Wes Helms can't play. Milwaukee gave him a chance to be everyday 3rd baseman in 2003 and he flopped. During 2004, 05, and 06 he was a scrub, maxing out as an $800,000 utility player with the last place Marlins in 2006. So where does starting 3rd baseman and $2.5 million come from?

The Phillies would be lucky to give him away. Likely they will have to give him away and pay his salary. So much for being cheap. More often than not it doesn't pay off.

The reason that Ruben "Little Ed" Amaro is still with the Phillies is because he has flopped as a candidate with a half a dozen ball clubs despite being a Stanford educated Hispanic G.M. Even the Pirates weren't interested in his orthopedic ward wonders such as Werth, Snelling and T.J Bohn. It doesn't work for pennant winners or last place teams such as the Pirates. Rube and the Phils don't get it.

So continue to fantasize about teams lining up for Helms.

Tell me, "Truth." Did you model your posting name on "Little John" of Robin Hood fame? (For those who may not remember or who have forgotten, he was about 7' tall.)

Helms was signed to be a role player, and hopefully play a decent defense. He could have been like a Scott Brosius type, not great, but a solid role player. It didnt work out, so the Phils will move, it happens. Pat Gillick is a good GM, he tries to get role players to surround the stars. Aquiring pitching is a little tougher cause there is much out there to be had. Alot of good pitchers werent so good the first couple years of their careers, and when given time, they get better. Since the FA market sucks for starting pitchers, aquiring alot of average arms could turn out one solid arm, who knows. I think Gillick has done a great job!

TonyO -
When did helms become popular around here? He's been bashed by Phils fans since last June. He's terrible. But, like Eaton, we're stuck with him for more than a year and have to hope for some benefits to come out of the signing. He will be booed and have plenty of negative blog comments as soon as he blows his first chance in a big game.

Contrary to Clinton's post, Helms was signed to be the Phillies starting 3rd baseman before last season. This despite having failed repeatedly at being an everyday player. Helms never could field and he lacks the athleticism to be a major league 3rd baseman. Despite this, our "excellent GM" signed him because he was cheap, there is no other answer. Wes Helms is the only tenured major league player signed to be a starter for $2.5 million.

It's not a surprise he flopped, it was entirely predictable. It will be difficult for the Phillies to get rid of him. Wes was 4 for 32 coming off the bench last year. What kind of role player is that?