Philadelphia Phillies Decline Pedro Feliz’s Option

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Phillies Decline Pedro Feliz’s Option: Who Should Play Third?

The Phillies have declined their $5.5 million option on third baseman Pedro Feliz, which means that the 34-year-old will become a free agent and likely won’t return to the Phils in 2010.

Feliz quietly hit 12 home runs and drove in 82 runs last year batting in the seven-hole of the Phils’ potent lineup. He was the team’s best hitter with runners in scoring position, hitting for a .336 average.

In two seasons in Philadelphia, Feliz slugged 26 homers and knocked in 140 runs.

I always thought of him as a steady player who would be good for a few homers, but would make his biggest impact playing the field, which he he did. Feliz’s glove work is among some of the best in the league.

He was by far the best third baseman that the Phils have had since Scott Rolen.

By not picking up his option, it shows that Ruben Amaro Jr. finds that there are a few options available on either the trade or free agent market who could provide either more or the same production at a cheaper price.

Here’s a look at who’s out there and where they played last season:

Chone Figgins, Los Angeles Angels — Figgins hit .298 last season with five homers and 52 RBI, but he’s a true lead-off hitter. The 32-year-old has hit .301 and has a .386 on-base percentage over the past three seasons while stealing 117 bases.

Adrian Beltre, Seattle Mariners — Beltre had seven homers and drove in 44 runs in 111 games last year with Seattle. His average was Feliz-like, and he has a good glove, but he has had a poor injury history. He has a lot of pop in his bat despite only slugging eight dingers for the M’s last year.

Mark DeRosa, Cleveland Indians/St. Louis Cardinals — DeRosa has been on the Phillies wish list for a long time. They tried to sign him when he was a free agent, but he decided to go to the Cubs. DeRosa hit .250 with the Cards and Tribe last year while smacking 23 balls out of the park and bringing in 78 runs.

Placido Polanco, Detroit Tigers — Remember me? Polanco came over to the Phils in the Rolen trade with St. Louis, but was later traded to the Motor City because of Chase Utley’s emergence. Polanco hit .285 with 10 homers and 72 RBI last year. He hasn’t played third since 2005.

Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins — Acquiring Uggla would have to come by means of a trade. He plays second base, which some may see as a problem with Utley occupying that space.

But some think Uggla could benefit by moving to the hot corner. The 29-year-old hit 31 homers and drove in 90 runs, but doesn’t hit for a great average as he hit only .243 with the Fish.

Other candidates: Melvin Mora (Baltimore) , Troy Glaus (St. Louis) , Garrett Atkins (Colorado)

The question to you, who should be the Phillies third baseman in the 2010 season?

For more Phillies’ coverage, please go to my blog: Phillies Phandom

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Phillies and Dodgers: The Stove Is Already Warming Up for Next Year’s Race

While literally millions of New Yorkers (including myself) were busy celebrating the 27th New York Yankee World Championship up and down downtown New York’s Canyon of Heroes, the rest of Major League Baseball began offseason business as usual.

The National League Champion Phillies moved quickly in picking up the 2010 club-option on their lefty ace Cliff Lee.

Lee, who went 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts for Philadelphia during the latter half of 2009, will be owed $9 million in the final year of his contract.

Obviously, this was a no-brainer for the Phillies. After being dealt by the Cleveland Indians at the July 31st trade deadline, Lee gave a shaky Philadelphia starting rotation the stability that it desperately needed. Most notably in the postseason.

Lee went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA and a 33/6 strikeout to walk ratio during the playoffs this year.

The Phillies surely expect to be back in the thick of things next year, and with a stud like Lee leading the pitching staff, there is no reason to believe that with a little tinkering, Philadelphia could definitely make a run at a third straight appearance in the Fall Classic.

Across the country, both Los Angeles clubs are reported to have retained their respective veteran centerpieces.

The Los Angeles Dodgers received good news today when their slugging left fielder Manny Ramirez informed the team that he had decided to exercise his 2010 player option for $20 million.

While Ramirez certainly had a down year in 2009 by his statistical standards (.290 BA, 19 HR, 63 RBI), combined with a 50-game suspension for illegal use of performance enhancing drugs, one more year of Manny may still serve Los Angeles well. He should once again act as a sure stronghold while the young Dodger core continues to mature.

Bobby Abreu has also decided to stay in Los Angeles with the Angels, according to MLB Network.

The deal is reported to be at least two years long. However, specifics about the salary are yet to be confirmed. Rest assured, though, that after the year Abreu posted in 2009 (.293 BA, 15 HR, 103 RBI, 30 SB) he will be asking for more than the $5 million he received in the one year deal that he signed with the Angels last winter.

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A Glance at What’s Going On With The Phils

Rich Hofman has an article in today’s Philadelphia Daily News saying that the Phillies should acquire Roy Halladay . Hofman also points out the obvious that the Yankees won the World Series because they had the better pitching, which is nothing but the truth. He also says that retooling the bullpen, and adding to the bench are other priorities.

Tom’s Take: I can’t say that I disagree because the Phils could use another reliable starter since Cole Hamels is a wild card, and you can’t count on J.A. Happ to repeat his rookie season. Could you imagine a rotation of Cliff Lee, Halladay, Hamels, Joe Blanton, and Happ?

Jim Salisbury broke the news that Brett Myers will not return to the Phillies in the 2010 season . Myers was told by general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. that they will not renegotiate a contract with the 29-year-old right-hander. Myers said he’ll be open to starting or relieving for his new team.

Tom’s Take: Brett Myers is best suited to be a closer. He has the stuff to do so, and did it well in 2007. He has the stuff to be a decent starter, but he’s not an ace or even a No. 2 that people have made him out to be. He can be at times, but he’s too inconsistent to be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher. A team looking for a closer may be where Myers ends up.

The Phillies exercised the option on Cliff Lee , which will pay the southpaw $9 million this upcoming season. Lee posted a 4-0 record with a 1.56 ERA in 40 1/3 innings in the playoffs for the Phils.  His contract expires after this upcoming season, and the Phillies will want to offer him an extension. Also, the Phils have until Monday to decide whether to pickup Pedro Feliz’s option.

Tom’ Take: Sweet relief even though everyone knew it was going to happen. Lee is the best pitcher on the Phillies roster, and his deal ends following this upcoming season. Look for the Phils to talk extension with him this offseason or during next year because he’s a guy who they pretty much have to sign. I don’t expect to see Feliz back because of the $5.5 million he’ll be on the books for next year.

David Brown of Yahoo Sports suggested yesterday that the Phillies sign Mark DeRosa and John Lackey . In his scenario that DeRosa would replace Feliz at third base, and Lackey will add some postseason experience and stability to a rotation that needs it.

Tom’s Take: Phillies will need another starting pitcher, and Lackey is a work-horse when he’s healthy. Putting Lackey with Lee and Hamels would give the Phillies a solid three-man rotation. Of course, that is counting on Hamels to right the ship. DeRosa is a good guy to have since he’s versatile and is a decent hitter. As Brown points out, six of his 10 seasons in the MLB, he has made the playoffs. Chone Figgins, Garrett Atkins, and Adrian Beltre are other options.

 

For more Phillies’ coverage, please go to my blog: Phillies Phandom

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Brett Myers Will Not Be Returning to the Philadelphia Phillies Next Season

In a meeting today, Ruben Amaro Jr. informed Brett Myers that they would not attempt to renegotiate.

Amaro did not give a reason as to why he will not renew Myers’ contract, though the $12 million in cap space may be a factor.

Myers said that he felt it coming and is not as disappointed as he expected.

Myers is willing to negotiate to be a starter or reliever with a new team.

Myers, a top choice in the 1999 draft, has been disappointing in his big league career, posting a 4.40 ERA and a 73-63 record in his career. However, he has had notable moments as a Phillie, posting three RBI and getting the win in Game Two of the 2008 NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Myers is also infamous for some of his wild behavior, including beating his wife and acting recklessly when intoxicated.

Myers jokingly said that if or when he returns to play against the Phillies, he wants to be treated as harshly as possible.

This move leaves the Phillies with plenty of money to sign a new starting pitcher, some new relief pitchers, a few bench tools, or possibly a new third baseman if they do not exercise their option on Pedro Feliz.

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For Philadelphia Phillies, It Is Time To Chase Away Winter Blues

If in a loss everything would have a Phillies hue, perhaps if Chase Utley would have hit a two-run home run in the late innings of Game Six, and his Reggie Jackson breaking performance could have earned him the World Series MVP in a losing cause.

If the dinger was off Mariano Rivera and pulled the Phillies within a run or two of what was in reality was a 7-3 World Series clinching-victory for the Yankees…

But sadly it is merely a dream not based in any reality and certainly not to take away from the monster-like performance of Hideki Matsui, hitting a home run and driving in six out of the seven Yankees runs in the Yankee clincher.

I just had to justify my headline and get back into reality.

The first order of offseason business is whether to renew the option on third baseman Pedro Feliz. While an excellent defensive third baseman, Feliz does not provide the optimal offensive production out of the position, especially since the team’s catcher does not also.

The club option is Feliz is $5 million in 2010 with a $500,000 buyout if the Phillies don’t exercise the option.

Here what I would do and I will accept, as a fan, whether they keep Feliz or not.

If you sign Feliz, make an effort to sign Cardinals utility man Mark DeRosa, shown above, who will be 35 when the baseball season starts. He can play six positions and has a .272 lifetime average.

If you don’t sign Feliz, you could go after Chone Figgins of the Angels, a 2009 All Star who hit .298 with 42 stolen bases.

The other option would be Adrian Beltre, who battled injury last year with the Mariners and filed for free agency in 2010. He hit .265 in limited time and has two Gold Gloves at third base.

All three want big money; however, ultimately, DeRosa might be the most likely guy to play part time, due to his age.

The pitching staff, especially the starters, are the next biggest question mark for the Phillies.

Cliff Lee, who was lights out in the playoffs and World Series, is due for a $9 million in 2010. A steal in today’s market.

However, any long term talk might involved CC Sabathia money and his seven-year, $161 million contract. The Phillies don’t usually go more than three years, but I would go four for a pitcher like Lee. Even if he will be in his mid-30s nearing the end of the contract.

I’d say bye bye to Brett Myers, first of all, and secondly to Jamie Moyer.

However, Myers may be kept as an option to Lidge in the bullpen, while Moyer has a year left on his contract.

It also will be interesting to see what the Phillies will do with Pedro Martinez. The 38-year-old is entertaining and engaging. But in his performance in Game Six of the World Series, his fastball lacked giddy up through the first three innings, when the Yankees took control of the game in the third inning.

On the strikeout of Alex Rodriguez in the third inning, I saw on television that the fastball hit 90 MPH.

Just like it took time for Martinez to warm up, the Phillies can take time to make a decision on Martinez, unless another team steps up and offers the future Hall of Famer more money and years.

I also would improve the bench. Ben Francisco was the Phillies best right-handed bat off the bench and he did a nice job.

Matt Stairs wants to play one more year, but personally, I think he will be hard pressed to come up with a home run again like he did in Game Four of the 2008 NLCS. I would say thanks, Matt, see you, and good luck.

Do you think it is too early to think about improving?

Nope. Apparently the Yankees are beginning thoughts of obtaining Cardinal’s outfield Matt Holliday and pitcher John Lackey.

And while Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui performed very well in the World Series and are free agents, Damon is 36 and Matsui is 35.

As I have stated many times, since midseason, I wanted to play the Yankees in the World Series.

I am not disappointed.

Without a salary cap in baseball, the Yankees have the money to spend on top talent.

Should the Phillies follow suit? No.

There is only one team that has the huge television contract in the largest market in the country.

It is not wrong. There is no salary cap.

The Phillies took the Yankees to six games. After the Game Four loss, I lost my fear and was confident of the Phillies winning it all by taking Game Six and Seven.

It didn’t happen, but despite losing, it was a great Phillies’ season.

The Phillies have to answer to themselves and find a way to stay competitive, with a great nucleus of talent, and make the offseason and midseason moves to stay as a the team that is hard to beat.

 ** Information obtained from Philly.com

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The New York Week that Was (World Series Edition)

Finally! The waiting is over! After nine long years without a title, the Yankees are champs once again. Nobody suffers like the Yankee faithful. Think of the toll all those championship-less years have taken on an eight-year-old Yankee fan who’s never seen his favorite team win.

After overcoming the curse of Danny Cater by winning it all in ’77 and the curse of hiring a manager named stump with the team’s ’96 Series win, the Bombers have now wiped out the curse of giving us the image of Jason Giambi in a thong.

This year’s Yankees were a heartwarming story of pies to the face and walk-off wins, and they were, of course, built the old-fashioned way: By buying up every free agent star on the market and paying hundreds of millions of dollars to them.

The World Series celebration was more subdued this year because the only people who can afford to go to a Yankee game are the players and their Hollywood girlfriends. But however big their payroll is, they got it done on the field, so they earned it. And the Phillies were certainly no pushovers.

Instead of the usual Player of the Week mumbo jumbo, here are some World Series observations and fun facts:

With their 27^th championship, the Yanks have won 25.7 percent of all World Series. Whether you love ’em or hate ’em, that’s impressive.

Out of all the players in the history of baseball who have styled their hair using bacon grease, Chase Utley is without a doubt the best of the bunch.

Johnny Damon’s mad dash to an uncovered third base was the best play of the Series and will be the signature highlight of this Fall Classic. If this postseason has taught us anything, it’s that other teams can be as boneheaded and fundamentally lacking as the Mets.

Bud Selig is coming closer and closer to fulfilling his dream of having a baseball game played on Thanksgiving.

If it was his last game with the Bronx Bombers, Hideki Matsui made his mark as a Yankee in this Series by batting .615 with three home runs, eight RBI, and driving in six runs in the clincher, which tied a record set by fellow-Yankee Bobby Richardson in 1960.

Matsui also announced after the game that he would be releasing a tell-all book entitled, Stuff I Overheard in the Yankee Clubhouse after Tricking Everybody into Thinking I Didn’t Speak English .

Is there a cooler character than Cliff Lee? He might as well have been throwing pitches between taking bites of a sandwich.

Do you think Tim McCarver tries to predict every little moment at home like he does when announcing a game? “I can tell we’re going to have pot roast tonight, kids, because your mother is opening the oven door with her left hand. And when she wears an oven mitt on each hand, you just know she’s going to be pulling out a big roast of some kind.”

Phillie fans think Joe Buck is pro–New York and Yankee fans feel he’s pro-Philadelphia. But, come on, he hates all of us east coasters. His allegiance is to Anheuser-Busch and St. Louis.

I imagine the word “choking” won’t be coming out of Cole Hamels’ mouth on the radio this offseason.

Alex Rodriguez finally got his World Series ring. Thank God―we were all worried for him. Will he love himself even more now? Imagine the makeout sessions with the mirror this winter.

Jimmy Rollins made a nice fool of himself with his Patrick Ewing-like prediction before the Series. Maybe he should stop with the yapping and use that time to take some extra batting practice. That’s two years in a row he’s left the heavy lifting for his teammates (.217 in this year’s Series; .227 last year).

It looks like Mark Teixeira is the new/old A-Rod, with his .136 average. Lucky for him the Yankees won.

The performance of the Phillies’ bullpen was no surprise, but the rest of the Phillies didn’t look like the Phillies. What happened to Ryan Howard (he broke the World Series record for most strikeouts, with 13, and batted .174), Rollins, Shane Victorino (.182), and even Pedro Feliz (.174)? That didn’t resemble the Philadelphia team we’ve seen over the last few years.

Andy Pettitte was the winning pitcher in each postseason series clincher for the Yanks this year. Every Yankee fan knows he’s the pitcher you want in a big game. They also know if they need steroids, Pettitte can round some up for them in a pinch.

Joe Girardi: lucky or genius?

The Yankees announced this morning that they will be charging a nominal $2,500 fee to each fan who attends today’s parade. “If we ripped them off before we won the World Series, think of what we can do now that we’re champs. They’re not the greatest fans in the world for nothing,” they stated in a press release.

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Philadelphia Phillies: A Topsy-Turvy Series Ends Upside Down

There’s an old song that sums it up:

 

After you go, I can catch up on my reading.

And after you’re gone I’ll have a lot more time for sleeping.

And when you’re gone, it looks like things are gonna be a lot easier…

 

You might know the rest, but if you don’t, the punch line is:

 

I’m bluer than blue.

 

And blue doesn’t have the same zest as pinstriped red.

 

Sooner or later, I knew I’d have to quit my nail-biting manicures, start addressing the cellulite that now conforms to my seat in section 145, and stop postponing an appointment to get my roots colored a shade that’s cooler than gray (and I’m still thinking pinstriped red).

 

But for the Phillies, I would have annoyed the eyes of others until after Game Seven. Fortunately my face never flushes red, even when I’m blue.

 

And when I’m down, I like to sing. It’s not pretty but it gives me a warm feeling that doesn’t offend people like peeing in my pants.

 

The last note of the season was just like any other: one team won and one team lost. That doesn’t make the Phils losers—it just makes them the team that didn’t come out on top, even though that’s where I prefer it.

 

I’m sorry. Was I thinking out loud?

 

But when you lose in the Big Apple, Yankee fans start roostering.

 

Roostering? You know what that is. It’s acting like a big cock with a little brain.

 

My fellow Phils’ fans, don’t take it personally. Remember, there’s always next year. And I have no regrets over this one. I just heard a girl sing, “Life’s like an hourglass glued to the table…,” and I’m not wishing back a single grain of sand.

 

I loved every second of this season and every heart-wrenching moment of the 4-2 series loss even as great records were tied, dubious one’s broken, and a team that continues to dominate the MLB gouges its way through history like a greedy derivatives trader.

 

But that’s baseball. Of 105 World Series seasons, New York’s amassed wealth has only tacked 27 years to their championship wall. I feel like there’s hope for the middle class yet. At least I’m hoping someone in Congress is rooting for me the way people were cheering for the Phillies.

 

My poor Phillies…I imagine losing Game Six feels like you’re on stage and you forgot your next bit, which wouldn’t be important except the punch line is the segway to your next joke, which is what you’re feeling like now.

 

Not that I know how that goes.

 

For this series it was obvious; the Phils forgot something. For most of the last five games, the thrill of Phillie pitching was missing. GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. addressed that concern before the postseason but the deals he swung weren’t enough to make up for a staff that couldn’t find the melody it sang in 2008.

 

Game Six was a reminder that some days are diamonds, some days are dissonant. Pedro Martinez looked strong in the first inning, struggled in the second, and crumbled in the third before sucking it up for the fourth. Our bullpen relapsed to inconsistency in the fifth to help Yankee momentum pull ahead by more runs than the Phillies would even score.

 

And the bats lost their snap.

 

The lineup had pitches to hit but watched them smack Posada’s glove like a middle-aged woman thinking of the ass of a certain center fielder.

 

Not that I have any experience with that metaphor. But Game Six wasn’t a mixed metaphor of anything. It was literally a loss.

 

Chase Utley had hit into only five double plays all season but racked up his second in this series Wednesday night. The Phils had runners on base in every inning, but ran up the stat for runners stranded faster than runs scored.

 

I don’t know how Kate Hudson snagged Alex Rodriguez because we couldn’t get him to chase a breaking ball dressed in a short skirt. But our Big Sexy, Ryan Howard, finished his season in the eighth by striking out on three tries like an email asking Jayson Werth for a kiss.

 

Not that I’d know how that feels.

 

Hideki Matsui was like a Pokemon nemesis. When the series began, I didn’t know how to spell his name. Now it’s tattooed in my mind. In Game Two he hit a home run on a pitch just off the ground like he was Happy Gilmore. Then in Game Six he was buying RBI two-fers like a frat boy at a cheap happy hour. And he was overindulging.

 

For Matsui, impairing the Phillies started with the first hit. He lit up Brett Myers, absolutely had his way with Pedro Martinez, and eventually wore down Cliff Lee and Ryan Madson.

 

When Charlie Manuel decided to pitch to Matsui for the third time in Game Six and pushed J.A. Happ to the mound like a reluctant youngster on the first day of Kindergarten, I was thinking the skipper should have just positioned the outfielders in the stands.

 

Instead, Matsui spun a double to ring up two more RBI to make the stadium as high as a drunk in a martini bath. As he stood on second, wincing from his bad knees, I think I saw him slur the words, “Dōmo arigatō.”

 

That’s Japanese for, “Thank you very much.” Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. Come back soon.

 

And “soon” came back in the fourth. So who do you call when the Asian threat is threatening to hit for the cycle?

 

Scott Eyre?!

 

Earlier in the day Scott had chowed his first chocolate Twinkie, unencumbered by the calories, because the truth is he doesn’t have to look good to face a few batters a game. He’s only got a chip in his elbow and that’s a far cry from the one I have on my shoulder with Charlie’s decision to pitch to the veteran Matsui in the seventh. Why not intentionally walk him?

 

Because Charlie wanted to walk Jorge Posada, who bats .182 against Eyre and was o’fer in the game to pitch to Robinson Cano. Cano only hit .320 in the regular season and had never faced Eyre and would have loved to find his groove in the series against an ailing lefty.

 

Somehow Charlie knew that Cano would strike out to end the inning. It’s like he received a tip. I wish those would have started coming sooner.

 

But they say the series tipped toward the north because Joe Girardi did a great job managing his pitchers.

 

What? He only had four of them. That’s less complicated than a game of tic-tac-toe. His bullpen could have been filled with plastic GI Joes for all that mattered. Yankee hits just happened to land in the grass while the Phils seemed like they were playing a great game of pinball with theirs.

 

And $423.5 million worth of quarters buys a win. Game over. It’s an indication that domination isn’t estranged from denominations. It’s proof that you can buy the best baseball team but not everyone can buy into a football team.

 

But we’re really all just whining because every time they win, we wish they didn’t. But each year they get beat, this debate isn’t crucial.

 

So let’s debate something more important—my Phillies MVP pick of the series. Allow me to first preempt my choice. I know Chase Utley led the team in series RBI and tied a legend’s record for single-series dingers. I also know Cliff Lee looked as comfortable as an old hat on the mound in Game One and pitched the only two games they won. But the man behind the plate was there for all six: Carlos Ruiz.

 

He once wished me Happy Birthday on Phanavision in Spanish and I pretended he said, “I’ll make you happy.”

 

I love it when he talks dirty. But that’s not why I picked him.

 

Chooch. Shoot. I wish the Phillies could have matched your patience at the plate. He upped his average from .246 in the regular season to .333 in the postseason for the highest average and on-base percentage of any Phillies position player in the 2009 postseason. He was also second only to Chase Utley in my personal favorite stat, slugging percentage, which is a measure of the number of bases you take with each at-bat.

 

I love a man who takes charge.

 

He had the team’s only run in Game One, hit the team’s only series triple in Game Six, was second only to Shane Victorino in fewest strikeouts (two), and tied Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth for series walks with five.

 

But most importantly, he was the only starting position player from either team who earned his way to base every single at-bat for an entire game. And he accomplished that in both Games Three and Six. That feat put him behind only Hideki Matsui for the player to earn his way on base the most times in the World Series.

 

But in the end, it was the fat lady from Broadway—not Broad Street—who sang the Halleluiah Chorus.

 

Well, with the season over, all that’s left are trade talks and contract negotiations. So I’m stuck with headlines that just aren’t as interesting—like, “Mariah Carey drops a bombshell.” If she dropped a load right there on the floor I could care less. And Glenn Beck had an emergency appendectomy. I hope they installed it on the end of his nose so he’d look just like his counterpart, Pinocchio.

 

Hey, that was kind of fun. Who knows, I might find the offseason amusing. But now I have time to work on that next story, reacquaint myself with my family, research this new great wrinkle-buster, and fine tune my fantasies of wearing Jayson Werth as a hat.

 

But not all was lost. The Philadelphia Phillies were the NL East division champs (again), whipped through the NLDS (again), dominated the NLCS (again), and made the Yankees sweat for six games in their second consecutive World Series appearance.

 

Not too shabby for a team the New York Post called the Frillies.

 

And when I started my postseason posts on the greatest Phillies team ever, I never imagined my thoughts would make me the number one humor writer on Bleacher Report—if only for a moment.

 

Not too shabby for someone who throws like a girl. Maybe next season I’ll turn that hourglass over and start again. Just like the Phillies.

 

Thanks for reading. I’m touched—I’m really humbled.

 

I’m even more humbled that a reader cared to send me his Shakespearean revision on the last game of the season. I’ll publish it here, with his permission:

 

“A glooming peace this morning with it brings.

The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head.

Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things.

Some shall be pardoned, and some punishèd.

For never a series gave more willies

Than that of the Yankees vs Phillies.”

 

 

Hey, there’s only 97 days until spring training. So in the meantime, sing loud—it’s a big world with bad cell service.

 

Peace.

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Phillies’ Emergence Threatens World Series Chances of Low-Budget Teams

Can a low-budget team win the World Series? The answer is a qualified yes.

But it appears to have gotten harder just within the past year or two. That’s because historically it has been easier to do so from one of the two leagues than the other.

Who are the high-budget teams? I drew the line at a payroll of $100 million for this year.

Start with the two New York teams, the two Chicago teams, and the two Los Angeles teams. Then add Boston, Detroit, and Seattle in the American League, and Philadelphia and Houston in the National League.

In the American League, if you said that three of the four contenders will be Los Angeles, New York, and Boston, you’d be right most years. Only the American League Central has any real competition, with all but Kansas City having won the division within the past five years.

Who were the low-budget World Series winners? The St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. The Florida Marlins in 2003. The Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001. All National League teams.

There was almost an exception to the rule in 2008 when the low budget Tampa Bay Rays won the American League pennant, only to to be defeated by the high budget Phillies from the National League for the World Series.

Why this is so can be seen from the following matchups: New York Yankees and New York Mets. The Yankees have gotten to the postseason in all but one of the past 14 years, with the Mets, only occasionally, leaving room for others in the National League East.

The Los Angeles Angles vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers. They both tend to get to the postseason, but the Angels tend to go further.

The Chicago White Sox vs. the Chicago Cubs. The White Sox are a credible postseason threat, the Cubs aren’t.

Consider Detroit (and Minnesota) possible alternatives to the White Sox. Cleveland has lost its “teeth” with the departures of CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee.

Boston is a counterweight to the New York Yankees on the east coast in the American League, and Philadelphia is more than a match for the New York Mets in the National League.

On the other hand, Houston’s and Seattle’s postseason chances are basically no better than those of other teams with lower payrolls.

The National League West is quite competitive, with every team except the San Francisco Giants (who won the pennant in 2002) having won a division title in the past five years.

The National League Central is less competitive over the same period, with the Cardinals and the Cubs monopolizing the division title (although the Houston Astros and Milwaukee Brewers have won wild cards).

In the National League East, the Philadelphia Phillies, after having won second-place spots behind the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets in 2005-06, won three division titles in a row plus two pennants (and one of the two World Series).

In the past five years, the high-budget Phillies have occupied three slots (out of 10) in pennant races, the high-budget Dodgers two, and the high-budget Astros and Mets, one each. Only the St. Louis Cardinals and Colorado Rockies, among low-budget teams, have competed for (and won) pennants.

The emergence of the Phillies has changed the picture, at least in the National League East. With the addition of Cliff Lee (and others), they appear to have cemented their status as division winners for some years.

That’s bad news for the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, who have won the division in the past. What’s worse, the East has contributed no wild card contenders in the past five years (although the Florida Marlins were such in 2003).

Moreover, the Phillies, like the New York Yankees, have recently improved their ability to advance to the World Series, meaning that we may see one or more additional Phillies-Yankees Series in the near future.

This may make the National League as uncompetitive for low budget teams as the American League has been.

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What’s Next For Pedro Martinez?

Unless he’s pitching against your favorite team, it’s quite difficult not to be a fan of Pedro Martinez.

Martinez is more than just a future Hall of Fame pitcher. He’s an entertainer that often leaves his opponents baffled one minute but cracking up with laughter the next.

Lost in the Yankees’ celebration of their 27th championship, and a Phillies team whose pitchers seemed to be struggling, there was Martinez. He was a mid-season acquisition that propelled the Phillies back into the World Series and was able to answer the bell two final times on the biggest stage in the game.

After a performance in the NLCS where he looked like the 1999 version of himself, he had a subpar World Series that saw him lose both of his starts. That will leave him with many questions to answer this offseason.

One must be careful when evaluating Martinez as a possible starter in 2010. On the one hand, he pitched phenomenal on extended rest. On the other hand, he struggled when called up to make consecutive starts on regular rest.

To be fair, reports have come out that Martinez was suffering from the flu for both his starts.

Martinez was able to show, in spots, against the Yankees just how effective he can still be. He has enough pitches in his arsenal with a wide enough variance in speed to still make batters look foolish.

He needs to continue to pitch similarly to Brewers’ closer, Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman lost significant speed off his fastball but was still able to put together an All-Star season at 41 by pitching smarter and relying on movement over speed.

Martinez needs to continue to be able to accept his new makeup as a pitcher, but he also needs to spend the entire offseason preparing and training for it.

He has not made more than 24 starts in a season since 2005. Teams won’t be willing to take a chance on him, no matter how good he may be, if he can only make a handful of starts. It’s quite unlikely he’d go to a non-contending team, so he will be heavily counted upon to be a key member of a rotation.

The Phillies will likely be the top suitors for Martinez again. There will be several other teams that will come calling as well. He will be wanted, but will he reciprocate the feelings to a courting team?

Once Martinez decides if he will pitch in 2010, he must then figure out just how much he wants to pitch in 2010. He may decide to be a half-season pitcher like this season.

That will cost him a few million dollars, but it would also save a lot of wear and tear on his arm. It would also give him a chance to basically hand pick which contender he would want to pitch for.

Of course no one would blame Martinez for walking away at this point either. He is a sure-fire, first ballot Hall of Fame pitcher. He dominated the game in the middle of the biggest offensive era in the history of the game.

His final two performances would only serve as a footnote in his career, not as a defining moment of it.

Martinez may view his legacy differently. If sports fans have learned anything from the Brett Favre saga, it’s that the legacy’s ending belongs to the individual, not the millions of fans.

Only Martinez can decide how he wants to be remembered.

Regardless of his decision, Martinez will be remembered as one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game. Despite his small stature, he was a giant on the mound that dominated peers far superior in size with a style and charisma that likely won’t ever be duplicated.

To read more by Jesse Motiff, click here .

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