But would it surprise you if next year's Opening Day starting lineup was this (or some variation of it):

Revere
Rollins
Utley
Howard
Dom
Ruf
Asche (or Franco)
Chooch
Pitcher

Would it surprise you if the bullpen additions were a couple of guys like Durbin and Adams?

This is what I am expecting, but if the best alternative is McCann/Beltran instead of Ruiz/Ruf, that still doesn't look like much of a contender.

We had our run, were in position to win four straight WFCs, but during that time we didn't develop a new nucleus and there's not much outside help either. Ruben and Cholly will take the fall, whatever you think of them. Splitting hairs about fringe moves they could make = what Trent said.

Bye Delmon

Delmon gone.

Ruben Amaro wrote:"I think Freddy is going to be an everyday player at some point, but he’s still working on some things offensively. He’s done a pretty good job down there. He's not lighting it up offensively, but he’s done a pretty good job and he's outstanding defensively. It's just a matter of him growing up. He’s a young kid. He's 23 years old.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phil ... Mu4R9xb.99

yeah 23 years old is way too young for a phillies prospect. better to wait till he's 26 or so and get a good 5 year career out of him.

John McDonald
Mini Mart
Casper Wells


These guys are really on the 25 man roster right now

Sam Hinkie's sweeping influence

I think Wells is a useful player. Far more useful than Delmon effing Young or Laynce Nix

Ace Rothstein wrote:John McDonald
Mini Mart
Casper Wells


These guys are really on the 25 man roster right now

3/5s of the bench.

JFLNYC wrote:What actions could he take between now and the beginning of next season that would convince you he doesn't mean what he's saying right now?

I disagree with your interpretation of what he's saying now, and don't really care one way or the other. But to answer your question, he could tell Sandberg no one is guaranteed a full-time job next season. That's a big one. Or, yeah, a bold acquisition like McCann or Choo, not that I would go in those directions, necessarily.

You didn't mention the rotation, but Halladay's $40M was a big factor the past two years. He'll either be back on a lesser deal or replaced by someone who figures to be good. Gonzalez is another factor. If those guys are both here, can they flip Kendrick for prospects or re-allocate that money?

The bullpen is a thicket. He needs to make a better assessment health and performance wise than he did with Adams and Durbin, obviously, but I don't think it's glass-all-full of me to say we're due for a break or two out there one of these years.

Trent Steele wrote:I think Wells is a useful player. Far more useful than Delmon effing Young or Laynce Nix

Qualifications:

1. Not Delmon Young
2. 30 D, 25 HR in 664 career AB
3. RH, hit LH pretty well (for a waiver claim)
4. Not Delmon Young

Pretty much a home run.

Shore wrote:

Trent Steele wrote:I think Wells is a useful player. Far more useful than Delmon effing Young or Laynce Nix

Qualifications:

1. Not Delmon Young
2. 30 D, 25 HR in 664 career AB
3. RH, hit LH pretty well (for a waiver claim)
4. Not Delmon Young

Pretty much a home run.

Also is a pretty good defender who I believe has played some CF

Trent Steele wrote:

Shore wrote:

Trent Steele wrote:I think Wells is a useful player. Far more useful than Delmon effing Young or Laynce Nix

Qualifications:

1. Not Delmon Young
2. 30 D, 25 HR in 664 career AB
3. RH, hit LH pretty well (for a waiver claim)
4. Not Delmon Young

Pretty much a home run.

Also is a pretty good defender who I believe has played some CF

Yeah. I like him enough. Not Delmon or Nixxy as mentioned above and that's an automatic improvement.

I root for anyone named Casper anyway so there's that too.

Grotewold wrote:Gonzalez is another factor. If those guys are both here, can they flip Kendrick for prospects or re-allocate that money?

Sounds like that's an enormous "if" at this point.

Grotewold wrote:I disagree with your interpretation of what he's saying now, and don't really care one way or the other.

I don't think I'm misconstruing what he said:

"One is we just didn't get production of the players who are sitting on the DL right now. That hurt us. I believe we were a contending-level team if we had Ryan Howard and he was on the field. And then we lost Domonic [Brown] at a pretty critical time for us. I still believe we are a contending team with those guys on the field."

He said, but for the guys on the DL, they're a contending team.

If he's being sincere, we may get more tinkering around the edges this off season. If he makes big moves, it suggests he wasn't being sincere. Based on the moves he made this past offseason, I think he's being sincere. Maybe he's not, but time will tell. That's all I'm saying.

Since when did we start believing a word that Rube said?

JFLNYC wrote:

Grotewold wrote:I disagree with your interpretation of what he's saying now, and don't really care one way or the other.

I don't think I'm misconstruing what he said:

"One is we just didn't get production of the players who are sitting on the DL right now. That hurt us. I believe we were a contending-level team if we had Ryan Howard and he was on the field. And then we lost Domonic [Brown] at a pretty critical time for us. I still believe we are a contending team with those guys on the field."

He said, but for the guys on the DL, they're a contending team.

Strictly with that particular quote, OK, although "we just didn't get the production of the players sitting on the DL" could also mean those guys didn't produce when they were in there. Which he has repeatedly said about Howard and is obviously true of Halladay.

JFLNYC wrote:If he's being sincere, we may get more tinkering around the edges this off season. If he makes big moves, it suggests he wasn't being sincere. Based on the moves he made this past offseason, I think he's being sincere. Maybe he's not, but time will tell. That's all I'm saying.

Last offseason and this offseason aren't apples to apples. He has more information on Halladay (good or bad) and Howard, Revere and Brown, Pettibone, Gonzalez (or not), and on and on. But again, if we come north with a team like the one you mentioned upthread, leaving a lot of money on the table, I will be disappointed. I don't think that's gonna happen.

Wheels Tupay wrote:Since when did we start believing a word that Rube said?

It comes and it goes.

Guy is a liar who lies. Told the truth once and then had to lie about it to make up for it.

Likes the dippin dots though.

That's no lie.

FWIW, Rangers GM Jon Daniels was quoted this morning saying he doesn't expect a deal for Alex Rios

Now there's a guy we can trust.

Rockinghorse wrote:FWIW, Rangers GM Jon Daniels was quoted this morning saying he doesn't expect a deal for Alex Rios

GMs be lyin' sumbitches