current free agent OF:

Left fielders
Bobby Abreu (39)
Jason Bay (34)
Brennan Boesch (28)
Johnny Damon (39)
Chone Figgins (35)
Scott Podsednik (37)

Center fielders
Scott Podsednik (37)
Grady Sizemore (30)

Right fielders
Brennan Boesch (28)

Every one of those players is better than Delmon Young.

ok, maybe not Chone Figgins, but he's not much worse.

smitty wrote:We'll never win anything with these owners so this news can only be considered great. Hope we get Mark Cuban to own the team he's great.

I know you are obviously being sarcastic, but as a sport that has historically had asinine unwritten rules I'm not sure that Cuban would be a bad owner to have.

that's why he'll never be an owner. it's an old boys' club and he's an outsider

cshort wrote:

Roger Dorn wrote:I'm hoping Amaro gets the boot before that happens, I just don't think he has a long leash and it wouldn't surprise me if he's let go sooner rather than later. Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I think we a solid GM this can be a contending team again in the short term.

I think we need to look at scouting as well. There needs to be significant improvement in that area at both the minor and major league level if we plan to compete with teams like the Braves. They consistently produce good prospects, and they contribute at the major league level before they're 26.

Yup. It may take a decade or so because of the current dynamics. You need to develop your own stud talent... 1 or 2 stud bats, a few plus bats, a handful of plus arms. Orgs don't let their good players reach FA (at least not until they're old) or deal stud prospects anymore. You can't buy or trade your way to a championship (division, et al) anymore.

Sizemore is only 30. Jesus. His age 22-25 seasons he accumulated 107 HRs, 719 H, 115 SB and a .281/.372/.496 line. If he had stayed healthy we'd be talking about his hall candidacy. What a shame.

Colby Lewis out for year with bone spurs in hip. Would really like to sign him in the offseason to an incentive-laden deal.

Soren wrote:Sizemore is only 30. Jesus. His age 22-25 seasons he accumulated 107 HRs, 719 H, 115 SB and a .281/.372/.496 line. If he had stayed healthy we'd be talking about his hall candidacy. What a shame.

Imagine if the Expos didn't dump him, Cliff, and Brandon Phillips for 17 starts by Bartolo.

Ben Badler‏@BenBadler5m
No. 4 international prospect Luis Encarnacion is eligible to sign when he turns 16 on Friday. I'd be shocked if the Phillies don't sign him.

Get um.

kimbatiste wrote:Ben Badler‏@BenBadler5m
No. 4 international prospect Luis Encarnacion is eligible to sign when he turns 16 on Friday. I'd be shocked if the Phillies don't sign him.

Get um.

That would be awesome.

Gelb said he has heard the same. Million plus bonus.

Who else even has a million plus bonus slot remaining?

devers will probably get a little more from the red sox

kimbatiste wrote:Ben Badler‏@BenBadler5m
No. 4 international prospect Luis Encarnacion is eligible to sign when he turns 16 on Friday. I'd be shocked if the Phillies don't sign him.

Get um.

Which means we'll see him on the Phillies in 2023 based on their minor league progression plan. Have to save that service time.

Guy on WIP yesterday asked a great question....was Ruben Amaro a better MLB Ballplayer or better MLB GM?

he was really good 2009-2011, regardless of what that set the team up for the past two years

I remember Amaro going apeshit right after Dykstra's injury in 1992 and a WIP caller suggesting we flip Nails for Bruce Hurst

I was going to tell you not to sleep on Bruce Hurst but man,
when it got bad, it got real bad real quick.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... br01.shtml

Barry Jive wrote:he was really good 2009-2011, regardless of what that set the team up for the past two years

How many of us said or thought "flags fly forever"? I mean, I feel like when this run was going everyone was on board with it. Damn tomorrow for the chance to win today, and we all knew that during that span we were going to have to pay the piper. That's not to completely excuse what's happened the past two years, but we all saw the writing on the wall, we knew all these guys were signed into their mid30's and were likely going to decline. I know I hoped there would be some youth coming up and replenishing the core as it aged, and a more graceful decline for guys like utley, but that hasn't happened. Is it due to shitty drafting/scouting, regression to the mean after having a run if drafts that produced utley, Howard, hamels, ptb, and jimmy or something else? Who knows, I certainly don't, but I'm glad that the core was kept together as long as they were. I'm not sure what the alternatives where, but no team, with a max payroll, was blowing itself up after the kind of seasons the phills had in 2010 or 2011 and I think that is what it would have taken to avoid the shit show we have now. We can argue until the Internet shuts down about signing willingham instead of pap, or not signing the jroll extensions, but honestly, none of that really matters, that's just rearranging the deck chairs, you know. If we were truly going to reload, it would have involved moving on from Victorino, Rollins, Werth or someone of that caliber while they were signed for future years for top end prospects in 2010 and risking the run that you we were on. Personally, I wouldn't do that, in 2010 and 2011 the Phillies were the best team in baseball, we didn't win the WS either year, but I don't think there's anything that would have changed that, that's baseball and when you have the best team, you've gotta go for it. You might not get the chance again for another 10 or 20 years. It sucks that we suck now, but I'll take it after the run we had.

+1