phorever wrote:

djbigf wrote:that's a ridonkulous story. fuqua was buddies with david's dad buddy and he managed bell in the minors. he'd be the last person in the organization who'd've thought to bench him.

so, let me get this straight. you're right, and any evidence that contradicts you is ridiculous.

a revisionist-history tall tale by cholly hardly counts as "evidence". i can't believe that donnellon bought it...yes i can, he's a pretty lousy writer. any baseball writer worth his salt would know that manuel is a bell family friend, but i guess donnellon's not really a BB writer, he's a half-assed opinion columnist.

djbigf wrote:

phorever wrote:

djbigf wrote:that's a ridonkulous story. fuqua was buddies with david's dad buddy and he managed bell in the minors. he'd be the last person in the organization who'd've thought to bench him.

so, let me get this straight. you're right, and any evidence that contradicts you is ridiculous.

a revisionist-history tall tale by cholly hardly counts as "evidence". i can't believe that donnellon bought it...yes i can, he's a pretty lousy writer. any baseball writer worth his salt would know that manuel is a bell family friend, but i guess donnellon's not really a BB writer, he's a half-assed opinion columnist.

Still waiting for your "evidence" that Polanco didn't want to play third.

i like where this is goin

djbigf wrote:

phorever wrote:

djbigf wrote:that's a ridonkulous story. fuqua was buddies with david's dad buddy and he managed bell in the minors. he'd be the last person in the organization who'd've thought to bench him.

so, let me get this straight. you're right, and any evidence that contradicts you is ridiculous.

a revisionist-history tall tale by cholly hardly counts as "evidence". i can't believe that donnellon bought it...yes i can, he's a pretty lousy writer. any baseball writer worth his salt would know that manuel is a bell family friend, but i guess donnellon's not really a BB writer, he's a half-assed opinion columnist.

And Cholly was Thome's mentor and he shipped him out of town. So yeah, the fact that Manuel is a Bell family friend does not mean anything. It must be fun to be able to say whatever you want, reject any evidence to the contrary, yet provide no evidence of your own. Is this Glenn Beck?

you guys know this is his whole deal right?

the cubs are locked into some awful contracts

soriano 10-14:$18M annually

zambrano who was in the bullpen for half of these season 10:$17.875M, 11:$17.875M, 12:$18M, 13:$19.25M vesting player

aramis ramirez who has a player option after his worst season since he was on the pirates 10:$15.75M, 11:$14.6M player option

fukodome who just has never lived up to the hype 10:$13M, 11:$13.5M

carlos silva 10:$11.5M, 11:$11.5M, 12:$12M mutual option ($2M buyout)

Some IDIOT Bob Picozzi or whatever was on ESPN Radio complaining about Felix being the favorite for the Cy.

Among his more cliched points (and he made every one possible) was one so unbelievably hilarious I almost drove off the road:

"So he has more strikeouts. Can someone tell me how strikeouts help you win games?"

Soren wrote:you guys know this is his whole deal right?

i do now. he's on my ignore list from now on.

Soren wrote:you guys know this is his whole deal right?

JDSesque

JDS, blast fromt he past

philliesphhan wrote:The article I read on Bautista earlier claimed when he came to the Jays that the hitting coach got him to stop trying to hit to all fields, any kind of hits not just HR, because it was making him late on everything. So, maybe they knew from seeing video of him or just seeing him swing in person that all his power is in pulling the ball cause that's what they got him to do this year.

I also thought it was kinda weird that 43 of his 50 HR this year are against righthanders. It seems Toronto's park is a lot more hitter and HR friendly this year which certainly explains his home/road splits

H .296 .420 .754
R .238 .348 .503

That's weird too because before this season, Uggla had the same type of reverse platoon split

Carlos Gonzalez!

bleh wrote:Still waiting for your "evidence" that Polanco didn't want to play third.

Hey now people, let's not jump to conclusions here. For all we know, the dude interned with the Phils as Polanco's personal sack scratcher or whatevs and has all the inside poop and dirty little secrets that we ordinary fans had no access to.

I did a Lexus-Nexus search on newspaper articles containing Polanco+Utley+Bell betwen 11/1/2004 and 6/10/2005 to look for quotes from Polanco about playing third. I also found a few other articles about the situation. Here is what I found:

The Philadelphia Inquirer
MARCH 4, 2005 Friday CITY-D EDITION
Polanco worried about fill-in role
BYLINE: Todd Zolecki INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. D06
LENGTH: 554 words
DATELINE: CLEARWATER, Fla.

The Phillies are feeling especially fortunate that Polanco accepted salary arbitration despite knowing that he had lost his everyday job to second baseman Chase Utley.
If Polanco had rejected arbitration and signed elsewhere, the Phillies would have had Tomas Perez or Chris Gomez, whom the Phillies selected in the Rule 5 draft from Baltimore before selling him back to the Orioles after Polanco returned, potentially filling in at third.
"I don't even know why I'm here," Polanco said. "I don't know what happened. Maybe because I accepted arbitration. . . . I don't know what my role is going to be. If David's hurt, I guess I'll be playing third. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't think they know. I just hope David comes back at 200 percent."

Philadelphia Daily News
MARCH 4, 2005 Friday 4STAR EDITION
Polanco not placid about No. 8 hole
BYLINE: MARCUS HAYES hayesm@phillynews.com
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 120
LENGTH: 688 words
DATELINE: CLEARWATER, Fla.

Of course, Polanco, 29, would rather simply be traded so he can settle into a role, play every day and set about improving his resume so he can score a long-term contract while he's still in his prime. The Phillies were much more willing to trade him, said general manager Ed Wade, before Bell got hurt.
They have no viable everyday backup to play third; they picked Chris Gomez in the Rule 5 draft, but when Polanco came back they sent Gomez back to Baltimore.
"I don't even know why I'm here," Polanco said, then, more resignedly, he said, "Whatever my role is, I'll accept it."

Philadelphia Daily News
MARCH 22, 2005 Tuesday 4STAR EDITION
At third, Polanco might be answering the bell
BYLINE: MARCUS HAYES hayesm@phillynews.com
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 58
LENGTH: 571 words
DATELINE: CLEARWATER, Fla.

David Bell says he will be ready for Opening Day.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel says: Prove it.
Bell hasn't played in a big-league preseason game this spring after straining his back taking ground balls on Feb. 21, his first day of work. It is the third straight year he's had back problems.

Meanwhile, Placido Polanco has replaced Bell as the starter at third base. He's hitting .452 (19-for-42) with one strikeout.
He's also a .295 career hitter making $4.6 million after unexpectedly accepting arbitration to back up 2000 first-round pick Chase Utley at second base and Bell. That's $100,000 more than Bell, a career .256 hitter, is making.
It wouldn't be a shock to see Polanco open the season starting at third base. It appears that if Manuel and general manager Ed Wade determine that Bell isn't playing well enough or isn't feeling well enough, Polanco will get the start April 4.
Asked yesterday directly if Polanco could start the season at third base, Manuel replied, "We've got Bell and Utley and Polanco. Polly's got to get some playing time."
So, does that mean Polanco is the guy?
"I'm not even going to say that," Manuel said, "yet."

Displeased at his own choice to return to Philadelphia as a backup, Polanco, 29, was happy to hear Manuel addressing what could be a serious dilemma.
"He's going to be fair," Polanco said. "He's in a tough situation. David Bell's a proven player. I think he's going to put the best lineup out there."
Beginning tonight, when Bell is slated to get two major league at-bats and play in the field against the host Yankees, Manuel has just 12 more games to determine what that lineup is. *
Don't make too much of this.
Trailing by two runs, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for third baseman David Bell in the eighth inning of Tuesday night's game. Afterward, Manuel allowed that utility man Placido Polanco might get some playing time at third.

Philadelphia Daily News
APRIL 28, 2005 Thursday 4STAR EDITION
Manuel: Don't read into Polanco-for-Bell move
BYLINE: MARCUS HAYES hayesm@phillynews.com
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 91
LENGTH: 504 words
DATELINE: WASHINGTON

That happened sooner than later. Polanco started at third base yesterday. Manuel made sure to make it clear that Bell simply was getting a day off to help him improve his batting average.
"David Bell is my third baseman," Manuel insisted. "I think the rest is going to help him."
Manuel said that he and Bell discussed yesterday's "rest," and Bell's hitting woes as well, though Manuel didn't offer specifics as to what he thought Bell's problem is. Manuel said Bell agreed with the decision.
Bell entered this season as a career .219 hitter in April. His season average stood at .211 when he spoke with Manuel, .194 with runners in scoring position.
Polanco was hitting .269 when he started yesterday's game, .385 with runners in scoring position. He was 7-for-18 in his previous four games, and went 1-for-4 yesterday.
Manuel said Bell will start tomorrow when the Marlins visit Citizens Bank Park.
He was asked whether Polanco might play more at third if Bell keeps struggling.
"I don't know," Manuel said.
Bell said yesterday he didn't think getting the day off was a big deal. When he was pinch-hit for the night before, his reaction was: "I'm not the manager. It doesn't matter what I think."
Manuel clearly is sensitive to any appearance that Bell's job is in jeopardy, so he made every effort to assure that it isn't.
"I knew when I put [Polanco] there, I'd open a can of worms," Manuel said.

The Philadelphia Inquirer
JUNE 9, 2005 Thursday CITY-D EDITION
Phils finally deal Polanco;
Matter of timing: Wade acts quickly to add a high-quality reliever.
BYLINE: Jim Salisbury
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. D01
LENGTH: 783 words

At least with this trade, no prospect like Adam Eaton or Johnny Estrada was given up. Polanco wasn't coming back next year, and his exit gives Utley - a player who is productive, popular and homegrown - the everyday chance he deserves and, frankly, was promised.
There is a potential downside to this deal. The Phillies are committed to David Bell at third, even though his production has been spotty. That's a reality. But what if Bell, who has a history of back problems, gets hurt? Polanco would sure look nice then.

This one was horrifying/hysterical:

Philadelphia Daily News
MAY 13, 2005 Friday 4STAR EDITION
Correction Appended
IT'LL TAKE SOME WRECKING BALLS;
HOW MONTY AND A NEW GM CAN START FIXING THE PHILS
DECONSTRUCTION PROJECT
BYLINE: BILL CONLIN
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 134
LENGTH: 1411 words

This is going to be a long, bloody process, Monty, but remember the old Italian saying: The fish rots from the head. You have $180 million tied up in long-term contracts - second only to the Yankees' obligations down a road only they can afford to pave with gold.
Instruct the new man to do what he can, starting with the ongoing Placido Polanco soap opera. If Charlie Manuel, or his impending successor, likes the guy's bat so much, then he has to play him at third. Period. David Bell is a gamer, but he's played in poor health since his free-agent arrival, the signing that knocked Polanco off third base.
Or . . . Let the new man trade Placido for prospects. One hint: That Polanco-Ryan Howard package deal with the Dodgers probably won't fly. First base is no longer viewed with alarm by the Dodgers now that Hee-Seop Choi has started putting up big numbers.
Next, and it gets interesting here . . . Wagner, a helluva pitcher, a gamer and an asset - to a contender, that is - has been hinting he might retire next year. Let that potential distraction play out elsewhere. Wagner could be the final piece of a lot of bullpen puzzles as the pennant races unfold. Again, he can bring a sack of prospects.

I never found that quote from Polanco about refusing to play third base. But I'll keep searching. I'm sure it's down there somewhere, let me take another look.

Or . . . Let the new man trade Placido for prospects. One hint: That Polanco-Ryan Howard package deal with the Dodgers probably won't fly. First base is no longer viewed with alarm by the Dodgers now that Hee-Seop Choi has started putting up big numbers.

R

O

F

L

when has Hee-Seop Choi ever put up big numbers?

"Listen here you beautiful bitch, I'm about to fuck you up with some truth." -- ph-f**king-dave

kimbatiste wrote:

djbigf wrote:

phorever wrote:

djbigf wrote:that's a ridonkulous story. fuqua was buddies with david's dad buddy and he managed bell in the minors. he'd be the last person in the organization who'd've thought to bench him.

so, let me get this straight. you're right, and any evidence that contradicts you is ridiculous.

a revisionist-history tall tale by cholly hardly counts as "evidence". i can't believe that donnellon bought it...yes i can, he's a pretty lousy writer. any baseball writer worth his salt would know that manuel is a bell family friend, but i guess donnellon's not really a BB writer, he's a half-assed opinion columnist.

And Cholly was Thome's mentor and he shipped him out of town. So yeah, the fact that Manuel is a Bell family friend does not mean anything. It must be fun to be able to say whatever you want, reject any evidence to the contrary, yet provide no evidence of your own. Is this Glenn Beck?

In fairness to this moron, it's a fucking message board. Reject any evidence to the contrary? He isn't being tried for murder or listening to his girlfriend accusing him of cheating. Jesus.