phorever wrote:from philliesphans, 21 april, 2004, when utley was around the age asche is now:

JFLNYC wrote:....Utley has done nothing against major league pitching to suggest his numbers would be anything more than Bell-like....

JFLNYC wrote:My saying something really stupid about Utley doesn't change anything about Asche. At most it means I may be saying something stupid about Asche (gee, there's a shocker!). My stupidity doesn't make Asche a better player or the reincarnation of Chase Utley.

Bucky wrote:so we're saying projecting success for young players is an inexact science

Philly the Kid wrote:What will Ryan Howard do, if it's June 10th, he's batting .229 with an OPS of .675 ??

Is there a point at which he'd retire? Work out a settlement w Phils and try to hook to be a DH somewhere else?

Or would he just go out there every day, massively sucking as fans boo ?

And -- would the Phils ever just bench him? How would he react to a full benching?

Squire wrote:Nightengale tweeted that the Phils are currently doing extensive homework on Dodgers prospects as it would relate to a possible Phillies trade*. Dodger nation indicating that the Dodgers might also want to expand deal to include Rollins and/or Chooch.

CalvinBall wrote:The Hamels to la made up rumor is funny

Hamels, bastardo for pederson lee urias

ReadingPhilly wrote:Non-tender deadline was midnight. Still no word on brown, revere and bastardo. Can't imagine they are non-tender candidates, but some speculation of trying to trade them.

The Phillies and several sources denied the initial report, but it resurfaced Wednesday with Eskin saying he had two additional sources confirming that Montgomery was out as team president and that Middleton will indeed get the shares needed to become the team's majority owner. Middleton owns 48 percent of the team.

The Phillies again put out a statement, but they did not put out the fire. In fact, they threw gasoline on it.

"Of foremost concern to this organization is David Montgomery's full recovery from his surgery this past spring," the statement said. "There has been no determination made regarding his future status. Phillies ownership will continue to confer with David about their collective vision for the future."

If Eskin's report is not true or even based on some truth, the Phillies should have included a statement from Middleton saying he is not trying to become majority owner. It should also have said that Montgomery will return as president if his health allows it. Instead, the statement was vague and invited more speculation.