A Glance of What’s Going On with the Philadelphia Phillies

David Murphy reports in today’s Philadelphia Daily News that Chase Utley has won his fourth straight Silver Slugger award. Utley led all N.L. second baseman in runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs, and extra-base hits.

Tom’s Take: Utley is the best second baseman in the league, and it’s not even close. At the end of the day, when it’s all over, Utley could very well go down as the league’s best second baseman in history, but he’ll be considered right on up there with Ryne Sandberg and Jeff Kent.

 

Jim Salisbury says that there are three third baseman that the Phillies are targeting : Adrian Beltre, Mark DeRosa and Placido Polanco. He also claims that Chone Figgins and Miguel Tejada also interest the Phils, but to a lesser-extent.

Tom’s Take: I like Beltre the most out of the available third baseman because he has some pop from the right hand side of the dish, and is the youngest of the group at 30-years-old. I think he would do great in this lineup while playing at a hitter’s friendly Citizens Bank Park.

 

Philadelphia Daily News Bill Colin believes that the National League should switch to the designated hitter, and it’s time to for both leagues to get on the same page. He says that it would restore the competitive balance that has been lacking from the MLB since 1973 when the American League went to the DH.

Tom’s Take: Personally, I hate the DH, and if it were up to me, the A.L. would eliminate it from their game. There’s no strategy with the designated hitter, and that’s why I love watching baseball.

I like seeing the chess match that N.L. managers play throughout a game. When to pinch hit, when not to. When to pinch run, when not to. Should I bunt or let the hitter swing away. These are all things that N.L. skippers have to make while the A.L. guys don’t.

 

Todd Zolecki reports that Scott Eyre filed for free agency yesterday after successful surgery on Monday. Eyre is considering retirement, and said that he would only pitch for the Phillies. Eyre had a 1.50 ERA in 42 appearances last season.

Tom’s Take: Eyre was great for the Phillies last year, and quite frankly, I did not know how good he was until I checked his stats in Zo’s article. I took a double-take at it, and went to ESPN to check it. I couldn’t believe. Hey, if he’s healthy, and wants to pitch, I think he should be back. He was the team’s lefty this year since J.C. Romero was injured, and suspended.

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