Re: throw cutter, win baseball.

Cole Hamels knows...

anyone of you see that Salibury article that attributed some of Halladay's success to using Kendrick's change up grip? It was rotflcopter.

WheelsFellOff wrote:

stevelxa476 wrote:

Philly the Kid wrote:Not that I think the Phils would ever pursue it -- but Lee was pissed to be traded. Why would he even want to come back?

$$$

We ain't got enough.

Issue our own.

Grotewold wrote:

phorever wrote:i would first try to get victorino inked for less.

You don't think Amaro thought of that?

As for the other stuff...whether you like it or, not most/all teams prefer veterans in roles like top lefty off the bench -- given Dobbs' struggles last year -- and 7th-inning reliever (and closer insurance....). I am all for saving money where you can, but there's no way in hell a World Series contender with a bullpen as awful as last year's would entrust a valuable spot to Scott Mathieson at this point. I hope he throws the $#@! out of the ball and wrestles a spot by October, but they couldn't bank on that in March.

And that's not even getting into post-2010. While far from a sure thing I'd lay good money on the Mariners' prospects helping this team more than those we would have gotten in compensation for Lee. And certainly much sooner.

phorever as usual making good points. However, this is becoming a rite of spring with us. The Phillies, first Gillick and now Amaro, will fill out the roster with (in reality) inexpensive vets. When you add up their salary, you say to yourself: "we could have used that dough to sign international studs or bust slots or sign some free agent guy or whatever."

The point is a good one. But I'm pretty sure every year the Phils will sign the "reliable veterans" to fill the bench. They have signed some clunkers like Taguchi and they suffered through Bruntlett's twilight of a mediocre career phase. But overall, this method has been pretty successful.

The Phillies have little in the way of immediate help from the farm after trading Marson and the Donald and Drabek. Mathieson isn't ready yet. Mayberry is a righty hitting extra OFer). So they fill out the roster with the reliable vets and still have the other guys for depth.

The other thing is -- Chuck loves the vets. So his comfort zone fits in with the team philosophy. I think overall Chuck is a very good manager so this is a good trade-off.

I agree that there are other ways to do things. Eschew the milllion or so bucks each for these bench vets. And add it up to do other things (like keep Lee) and ffill the bench and pen with cheap guys. How much money does this fee up? I don't know -- how much do the cheap guys make?

Another thing about this is I believe the Phils may have a veteran role player budget. They follow this budget plan and sign these guys every year. It's a plan at least. In theory anyway.

But the Phils way has been pretty successful. It doesn't mean there isn't a better way to do things and it's great to discuss them and kick different ideas around. But I'm liking the Phils' technique more than I used to. It works somehow.

I was so close to just scootering down and buying whatever tix I could get at the door -- but I had a weird feeling. Even Doc can't be perfect. And needs to win a cheap one 10-7 once in a while...

He'll be strong in the next start. I don't see him as a guy who slumps for long.

You didn't go see Roy Halladay pitch in person when you live in the damn city because you had a weird feeling he was going to lose?

jerseyhoya wrote:You didn't go see Roy Halladay pitch in person when you live in the damn city because you had a weird feeling he was going to lose?

Seriously, that's just bizarre. I had a weird feeling too, but it turns out it was just gas.

jerseyhoya wrote:You didn't go see Roy Halladay pitch in person when you live in the damn city because you had a weird feeling he was going to lose?

Dude, SF is the city of feelings. I'm certain there were people AT the game, not even baseball fans, because their qi took them there.

scootering down

Woody wrote:scootering down

That should have been hash tagged #woodybait

it's like, as soon as any form of the word scooter appears in a sentence, i immediately ignore everything else written in its immediate proximity. it's fascinating.

Coincidentally, talking baseballs have that affect on me as well.

Woody wrote:it's like, as soon as any form of the word scooter appears in a sentence, i immediately ignore everything else written in its immediate proximity. it's fascinating.

Well, I've named by scooter Woody -- if you are good I'll let you take him for a spin some day...

Hop on my Woody and take a ride.

Bakestar wrote:

rainbow: ROY G BIV?

drsmooth wrote:

Bakestar wrote:(Big picture that doesn't need quoted again)

rainbow: ROY G BIV?

The G stands for greatness.