Phillies sign Madson to 3 yr deal!!!

by **kruker** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 14:54:41

WhiteyFan wrote:
FTN wrote:Madson will never start again.

Hes not a starter.

They used to think he was?

Things change. I highly doubt Ryan even considers being a starter again. He's good at what he does and seems content at it, why mess with that?

by **Monkeyboy** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 14:55:47

jerseyhoya wrote:
Monkeyboy wrote:Nice job, Ruben. (Man, that was hard to type)

It's true. Hoping your team does smart things and succeeds does suck.

You know what I meant. Don't be obtuse. I'm obviously happy with the signing.

by **VFB** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 14:57:42

redtube loading?

by **smitty** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 15:02:05

Madson's career ERA as a reliever is 3.18. Although many relievers are not consistently good from year to year, Madson pretty much has been.

For some reason, Madson decided to start letting loose with his fast ball around June of last year. I remember us talking about it around mid season or so last year.

He seemed to start throwing his fastball more and using it as an out pitch instead of to set up his change up and curve. It worked pretty well too.

Normally, a three year big dollar contract isn't the best idea for a veteran reliever but:

Madson is only 28.

He's been mostly good to very good during his career.

He seems to be getting even better.

He's not a ROOGY or a one innning guy exclusivly. He's pretty valuable.

The Phils bullpen looks very good right now. Add in a couple of young guns at some point -- it would be nice if some of their young guys could get in the mix -- and you have some really good depth as well. They have the consistent and valuable vet part covered with Lidge, Romero, Eyre, Madson and perhaps Durbin.

by **DiamondDerby** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 15:56:34

smitty wrote:Madson's career ERA as a reliever is 3.18. Although many relievers are not consistently good from year to year, Madson pretty much has been.

For some reason, Madson decided to start letting loose with his fast ball around June of last year. I remember us talking about it around mid season or so last year.

He seemed to start throwing his fastball more and using it as an out pitch instead of to set up his change up and curve. It worked pretty well too.

Normally, a three year big dollar contract isn't the best idea for a veteran reliever but:

Madson is only 28.

He's been mostly good to very good during his career.

He seems to be getting even better.

He's not a ROOGY or a one innning guy exclusivly. He's pretty valuable.

The Phils bullpen looks very good right now. Add in a couple of young guns at some point -- it would be nice if some of their young guys could get in the mix -- and you have some really good depth as well. They have the consistent and valuable vet part covered with Lidge, Romero, Eyre, Madson and perhaps Durbin.

Good post, Smitty, you saved me the writing. I suspect Madson's velocity increase was two things. First, he paced himself when he was starting and he may not have adjusted naturally back to throwing harder when he resumed his relief role. Second, he had some tendinitis or something like that in 2007 and Phils criticized his unwillingness to pitch more than one inning, commenting that he needed to let loose. I suspect it took him until mid-year 2008 to really trust that he could let loose. Lo and behold, his physical maturity over the last few years then matched his mental ability to let loose and other factors, such as his mechanics and ironing out his other pitches. We could have a backup closer here.

Also agree that a lot of the young guys want to remain a part of what is going on here. Nice.

by **Bakestar** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 15:59:45

I think the real bump in Madson's velocity to the mid-90s occurred sometime around late August; I wish I could find the proof to back up my observation but I just can't right now. And it correlates with the ridiculous September-October he put together, so maybe that's why that date sticks in my mind.

If Madson can maintain about 85% of the gains he made late in the season, he's gonna be fine.

by **Grotewold** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 16:19:26

Were my eyes playing tricks or did his wind-up get less funky late summer

by **TenuredVulture** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 16:22:46

I wonder too if at least some of this is clubhouse chemistry/playing for Charlie/desire to repeat.

Think about--it does seem like a decent place to play. You've got as good a chance as almost anyone else outside the Yankees and Red Sox (who aren't signing you anyway) to get back to the post season. These are players who've thrived in Philly.

Someone should do a study of how much home town discounts other WFC get.

by **Monkeyboy** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 17:15:22

traderdave wrote:Some people mentioned Sheets earlier (perhaps tongue-in-cheek); is there any indication of what it would take to sign him? I'm not sure I have even heard rumors involving Sheets at this point.

I don't think it will happen unless they are going to move their payroll over 140 million, which is unlikely, IMO. If they could, however, shed some salary by moving Myers or Jenkins, then Sheets could be a real possibility. I'd trade Myers for Sheets, plus what we get for Myers, in a heartbeat.

by **Bakestar** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 17:19:16

If only there were a thread on the front page for this...

by **lethal** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 17:31:35

by **smitty** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 17:51:12

Bakestar wrote:I think the real bump in Madson's velocity to the mid-90s occurred sometime around late August; I wish I could find the proof to back up my observation but I just can't right now. And it correlates with the ridiculous September-October he put together, so maybe that's why that date sticks in my mind.

If Madson can maintain about 85% of the gains he made late in the season, he's gonna be fine.

I went to pitchfx at MLB.com and found games in June in which he was hitting 94-96 MPH. I remember some of us commenting about it during the game threads about that time. I thnk that's when he started to really let loose.

by **kruker** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 17:52:42

We were all thinking the radar guns were off.

by **Wizlah** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 18:00:01

pleasantly surprised. Still a bit wary about 3 year deals, but like Smitty said, if you're going to offer one to a player, now's the time to do it.

Part of me did wonder whether boras got the phils to bid against themselves - the talk of him not taking the 3 year deal, then coming back. But on balance, reasonable value, and it's nice for our bullpen to have to solid mainstays in lidge and madson who aren't pushing 36.

by **Monkeyboy** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 18:06:50

Bakestar wrote:If only there were a thread on the front page for this...

I've been going back and forth between the two threads and think I got confused which thread I was in.

Where am i?

by **Bakestar** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 18:26:26

Remember when Billy Beane wanted Chase Utley and Ryan Madson for Barry Zito?

by **Grotewold** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 18:53:20

Bakestar wrote:Remember when Billy Beane wanted Chase Utley and Ryan Madson for Barry Zito?

He should write a book.

by **Bakestar** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 18:57:26

Grotewold wrote:
Bakestar wrote:Remember when Billy Beane wanted Chase Utley and Ryan Madson for Barry Zito?

He should write a book.

by gr » Tue Jan 20, 2009 03:06:16

"computer numbers" never gets old. always gets a laugh from me.

very good signing. isn't it fun when your team has a pretty solid bullpen?

on an unrelated note, going back to the salaries table that FTN posted, that rollins contract turned out real nice.

by **JFLNYC** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:45:36

JFLNYC wrote:
cartersDad26 wrote:
JFLNYC wrote:The article mentions their are incentives in the deal, so they may have made the difference in his decision to take the deal.

probably involving the worst stat in sports - the Hold?

Also might be saves, on the theory that if Lidge goes down, Madson might have to step in and close.

The deal calls for Madson to receive a $1 million signing bonus, $2 million this season, $4.5 million in 2010 and $4.5 million in 2011. He can earn $1.5 million annually in performance bonuses if he becomes a closer: $150,000 each for 30, 35, 40 and 45 games finished; $200,000 each for 50 and 55, and $250,000 each for 60 and 65.

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Phillies sign Madson to 3 yr deal!!!