Philadelphia Phillies: Top 25 Pitching Prospects in the System

When it comes to pitching, the Philadelphia Phillies are filthy, stinking rich, and they aren’t afraid to show it.

After all, how many teams can say they sent three members of their five man starting rotation to the All-Star Game? The Phillies can. How many teams can say they lost a man considered an “ace” on most clubs to a back injury during the season and replaced him with a guy who finished in third place in the National League’s Rookie of the Year voting? The Phillies can.

Impressive tidbits, no doubt, and we haven’t even mentioned the bullpen, which surrendered the fewest runs in the National League last season. Sure, Ryan Madson is wearing a different shade of red (after signing with the Cincinnati Reds,) but so is Jonathan Papelbon.

A lot of teams who have to face this pitching staff like to believe that there is trouble brewing for the Phillies. After all, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are in their mid 30s. There’s no guarantee that Cole Hamels will be wearing red pinstripes after the 2012 season, and Vance Worley shows signs of regression.

But not so fast.

While it may be true that the Phillies’ big league staff has its share of question marks, they’ve spent a dubious amount of time preparing for the future of their pitching staff. By mixing an intriguing blend of college arms and high school prospects, the Phillies have cultivated one of the game’s strongest farm systems for pitching.

The real question is: Just who are they?

For up to the minute Phillies information, check out Greg’s blog: The Phillies Phactor.

Follow @Greg_Pinto

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Philadelphia Phillies: 50 Most Memorable Moments in Phillie Phanatic History

He’s big, green, furry and lovable.

There is only one creature that can fill this description and subsequently these big shoes. That is the one and only Phillie Phanatic. Ever since he first popped out of the baseball in 1978, making his debut to the world, the Phillie Phanatic has captivated millions of Philadelphia Phillies and baseball fans alike.

His antics are hilarious and humorous. No one—celebrities, players and fans included—is off limits from his practical jokes and entertaining behavior.

A 33-year career of skits and more, there is really nothing the Phanatic hasn’t done. He has made countless public appearances throughout the Philadelphia area and met celebrities. The Phillie Phanatic has even U.S. Presidents, and has also appeared on television programs, including The Late Show with David Letterman and The Simpsons.

Needless to say, the Phanatic is one of, if not the most, entertaining and hilarious mascots in sports. He is part of the Phillies family and as much a part of Philadelphia as Rocky and the famous cheesestakes to which the city lays claim.

So take a few minutes, watch a few videos and look back on 50 of the Phanatic’s most memorable Moments. 

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Philadelphia Phillies: Is GM Ruben Amaro’s Spending Becoming a Problem?

Maybe Ruben Amaro isn’t the wunderkind we thought he was.

Maybe he’s flawed. Shortsighted. Impulsive. 

Maybe he’s susceptible to the same spending mistakes as the rest of the sport.

Look at what he’s done to the roster. The team is stuck with three $20 million contracts in Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Ryan Howard, only one of whom pays it back in reliability.

They’ve acquired players at will, via trade (in order: Lee, Halladay, Oswalt, Hunter Pence) and free agency (Lee 2.0, Jonathan Papelbon) emptying out the cupboard (most notably and recently stud prospect pitchers Jarred Cosart and Jonathan Singleton) and piling it on in payroll. 

All that, without regard for unintended consequences. 

Moves like those create a culture without accountability. Like they’re saying: Lose the World Series in 2009? Reel Halladay and Oswalt to compensate. Fall to the Giants in the 2010 NLCS? Bring back Lee and bring on Pence. Stumble in the first round in 2011? Dial up the priciest closer that money can buy.

That’s the solution. That’s the message. 

“There was a hole. We’ll spackle it.”  

It’s not that the slack should’ve been picked up from within. That Howard should’ve tinkered with his swing. That Charlie Manuel should’ve challenged the lineup, benching and shuffling and coaching up the order when it wasn’t producing. That the lineup should’ve learned to stand on its own two feet, instead of leaning on the staff. 

No, no. 

They say that the problem could be cured from the outside, mitigated away by padding the payroll. 

It’s enabling the Phillies’ track record of denial.

That’s why Howard hasn’t caught heat for five 170-plus-strikeout seasons in his last six. Why Manuel wasn’t roasted for letting the lineup stumble to averages like Carlos Ruiz (.059), Howard and Placido Polanco (.105), Raul Ibanez (.200) and Pence (.211) in the NLDS without batting an eye. Why there was no reprimand for a lineup that let Halladay, Lee and Hamels fry for a combined 33 starts with two runs of support or fewer for a combined 8-20 record (of 96 starts total, or 34 percent).

Now, I’m not sure what’s worse: That the team can’t re-sign Hamels, or that we feel it has to find a way to.

That’s how crazy this thing has gotten. Rather than team-building like champions—through the player draft and farm system—the Phillies cop out like spoiled children, shopping and buying and whining at the first sign of a problem.

There was hope that Amaro would stop himself. With the Jim Thome signing came not only an answer to first base while Howard nurses his ruptured Achilles, but also the first glimmer of pragmatism. They addressed a problem with a practical solution. 

Then came Jimmy Rollins, for three years and $33 million, and Jonathan Papelbon, for five years and $50 million, and there that momentum went. The Phillies needed a shortstop and could’ve used a closer—who knew whether Ryan Madson would re-sign or replicate his 32-for-34 season from a year ago?—but both were like treating a headache with a lobotomy. 

#Overkill.

What’s worse is that that money could’ve been chalked up as savings. In declining options for Oswalt and Brad Lidge, the Phillies could’ve applied that $28.5 million toward top-priority stuff. Say, locking up Cole Hamels beyond a one-year, $15 million patch. 

Now? Hamels, inarguably the toast of the upcoming 2013 free-agent crop, might not fit the budget. 

“This is certainly going to test the limits of how much growth is within this organization,” Tom Verducci of SI told Mike Gill of 97.3 ESPN Radio South Jersey Tuesday. “It’s going to be a squeeze, no doubt.”

“When (Hamels) gets to free agency, he’s going to be looking for $20 million a year, and I think he should get it,” said ESPN’s Keith Law Tuesday. “I don’t know that the Phillies are going to be able to do that with the other commitments they’ve made.”

Then what?

Unless losing Hamels is addition by subtraction, and the team can and will elevate its game on command to compensate for losing the best up-and-coming left-hander in the game, that’s a problem. 

And it started with Amaro. 

“This all comes back to the mistakes that Amaro has made,” said Law. “These kinds of financial moves are hamstringing the franchise.”

It’s the same spending that torpedoed the Red Sox. Instead of milking mild victories in signing Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez away from the Evil Empire for the better half of a decade (and distancing itself from similar losses in C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira in 2008), the organization found itself saddled.

In the wake of the “Fried Chicken And Beer In The Clubhouse” fiasco and with the front office up to its ears in sunken costs, Theo Epstein bailed. He knew he couldn’t repair a broken franchise with broken talent of its broken players. So did Terry Francona, a guy way too talented for so unceremonious an exit. 

This is where the Phillies are headed. This is where Amaro’s whims are taking them. 

It sounds sacrilege. Why? Because of the Phillies’ charm, how they’re the consummate underdog team of blue-collar players without the burdens and egos of front-runners. 

Or at least they were. 

That’s not them anymore, not any more than it is the Red Sox, who once tap danced on the improbable all throughout those magical Four Nights In October 2004, now better known for slugging OPB and wolfing KFC. 

Losing Hamels might be the first piece to fall. 

But this thing started crumbling a long, long time ago.

Matt Hammond is a producer for 97.3 ESPN Radio South Jersey, and writes for 973ESPN.com. Follow Matt on Twitter at @MattHammond973. 

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Would Letting Cole Hamels Walk Be Bigger Mistake Than Trading Cliff Lee?

People across the city took to the streets, airwaves and television to voice their displeasure, sickness and flat-out anger when the Philadelphia Phillies announced that they traded away man-crush Cliff Lee. Lee had seemingly just finished dominating the team that everyone loves to hate most (New York Yankees) when GM Ruben Amaro was finally able to land his main target in Roy Halladay.

Lee was traded on the same day in a move that was intended to “replenish the farm system.” The city of Philadelphia is much too smart to accept such an explanation for a move that was clearly financially motivated.

The Phillies knew that Lee was expecting a huge payday via free agency (ironically from the Phillies, but that’s another story), and they made the decision to get prospects for a guy that they would be unable to re-sign.

Lee is a Cy Young-caliber pitcher, but when he was shipped to the Seattle Mariners the city took it personally.

How dare our beloved Phillies trade away a guy that embodies everything that is great about our city? Blue collared and tenacious, he was a guy that just seemed to “get it” when it came to being an athlete in the greatest sports town in the world. 

Credit to Ruben Amaro and the rest of the Phillies ownership in swallowing their pride and re-signing the player that they never should’ve traded in the first place to a monster deal. Now the clock is ticking on Ruben Amaro to re-sign his youngest and brightest star, King Cole Hamels.

Cliff Lee has already etched his name into the minds and hearts of Philadelphia for his great postseason, but Cole Hamels delivered a World Series to a championship-starved city. Hamels is reportedly seeking a Cliff Lee-type deal, and many around MLB are questioning whether the Phillies will pony up another $20-25 million a year for a starting pitcher.

 

News check, Ruben—pay the man!

Hamels will be 28 this season and may not even have entered his prime yet. Pretty scary to think about considering he is 74-54 with a 3.39 ERA and 1.14  WHIP over his young career.

Not to mention, he is 7-4 in the postseason. Hamels has everything that you would want in a starting pitcher. He throws in the mid-90s, has a great cutter and one of the best changeups in MLB.

Again, he will only be 28 this season; an age when many pitchers just start tapping into how great they can truly be.

The New York Yankees are salivating at this point with the opportunity to sign one of the game’s best in Cole Hamels. Ruben Amaro was able to ink Hamels to a one-year, $15 million deal to avoid arbitration, but his work is just beginning.

Citizens Bank Park sells out every night, and the Phillies led MLB again in attendance in 2011. Popcorn, ice cream, cheese steaks, adult beverages and merchandise for the Phightins sell as soon as they hit the shelf.

Cole Hamels must be re-signed by the Philadelphia Phillies to a long-term extension. Ruben Amaro’s legacy and the future of this franchise depend on it.

Follow me on Twitter @jiann481

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Philadelphia Phillies: Domonic Brown Most Likely Begins 2012 in Triple-A

When will Domonic Brown finally land in Philadelphia to stay? Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Jim Bowden of ESPN that John Mayberry Jr. and Laynce Nix will most likely start the year as the left field platoon.

In Bowden’s words, “Unless Dominic Brown really wows them in ST [Spring Training]… he goes to AAA.”

Phillies fans have to be wondering how much longer this will go on. Last year, Domonic Brown was thought to be the answer to the departure of free agent Jayson Werth. However, that didn’t quite end up as the Phillies planned or hoped.

Brown ended up appearing in only 56 games and hit just .245 with five home runs and 19 RBI. Eventually, because of this lack of production as well as the acquisition of Hunter Pence, Brown was sent down to AAA to learn how to play left field and prepare for 2012.

However, that didn’t work as well as the Phillies had planned it either. In 41 games at Lehigh Valley, Brown only managed to hit .261 with three home runs and 15 RBI. According to Todd Zolecki of Phillies.com, Brown’s confidence was shaken by his difficult stretch. Losing confidence is never healthy for anyone.

Of course, Brown hadn’t been having a lot of success and he also was trying to learn that new position, but he also did not quite develop into the left fielder that the Phillies were expecting for 2012 either.

What this doesn’t mean is that Brown is necessarily a bust. He has the tools to put it together again.

However, this news definitely does mean that the Phillies are going to be patient. They are not trying to rush Brown and are not putting much pressure on him to instantly be a contributing piece at the Major League level. Perhaps this will be a more successful approach.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Why Does Roy Oswalt All of a Sudden Seem an Afterthought?

He’s not even the white elephant.

Not only isn’t anybody talking Roy Oswalt, nobody’s thinking him either.

Ask yourself: When you mull over the Phillies‘ future, what first comes to mind?

Is it the guy who schlepped through a so-so 2011? Or the one you hope will round out your rotation for the rest of your buoyant future (Cole Hamels)? Is it the one with a creaky back who’s only going to get worse? Or the one brought in to fortify the core of your lineup for the foreseeable future (Hunter Pence)?

This is all you need to know: Nobody—NOBODY!—has offered Oswalt anything.

“No one has yet (that we know of) offered Roy Oswalt a contract,” wrote Craig Calcaterra yesterday.

That’s what Oswalt’s been reduced to. In December, Oswalt reportedly fished the waters for a three-year deal. Not even a nibble. That’s now changed, with his asking price coming down considerably to earth: a one-year deal and the neighborhood of $8-9 million.

The market isn’t doing Oswalt any favors. With Hiroki Kuroda’s one-year deal with the Yankees, worth $10 million, Oswalt’s value is deflated by one desperate-for-pitching team.

But you’d have to think Oswalt would factor into the Phillies’ plans.

Right?

“Having Oswalt and being able to back a couple of guys up one spot so you have a legitimate sixth starter would make a lot of sense,” scouting guru Keith Law of ESPN told Mike Gill of 97.3 ESPN Radio South Jersey yesterday.

 

Especially since the cupboard’s all but cleaned-out. The Phillies flipped Baby Aces Jonathan Singleton and Jarred Cosart to Houston in the Pence deal. They bumped Vance Worley, 11-3 and stunning as a starter, to the bullpen for the postseason.

And don’t hold your breath on farm-system reinforcements.

“They have very little depth at the upper levels,” said Law. “They have a lot of good pitching prospects; they’re all in A ball. They don’t have a guy who’s going to be able to step in and be more than just a fringy replacement if they were to lose a starter to injury.”

Trevor May (No. 87 overall, according to ScoutingBook.com, for his time in Single-A Clearwater), Jonathan Pettibone (No. 152, Single-A Clearwater), Phillippe Aumont (No. 180, Triple-A Lehigh Valley)? Not bailing anybody out any time soon.

So why haven’t the Phillies sunk a prayer (and $8 million) into Oswalt?

Why didn’t the Cubs, who dumped $4.5 million into Paul Mahlom (6-14 with a 3.66 ERA for Pittsburgh in 2011) over that and the marginal $3.5 million to meet Oswalt’s ask?

Why hasn’t anybody?

Remember: With the soon-to-be stretched-out playoff bracket, more teams have more opportunities than ever before. That includes fringe teams like Toronto, long buried beneath the big dogs of the AL East.

“I think it brings a lot of other teams into play,” Tom Verducci of SI told Gill yesterday. “Especially if we’re going to expand the postseason this year and have that second wild card in each league, that begins to bring some other teams into the mix who otherwise might not be in it.”

What gives?

“On the face of it, it seems absurd that he should still be out there and willing to do one year and $8 million. A healthy Roy Oswalt? Yeah, I’ll do that twice over.”

How we should read into the (in)activity: “I have a feeling that we have the market telling us, ‘we don’t like what we see’ in terms of Oswalt’s back.”

Oswalt missed 16 games in 2011 from lower-back pain, aggravated from the time he spent tending to his home after last April’s tornadoes hit Mississippi. He went 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA in 2011, finishing on an uptick with humble-but-reputable monthly performances for August (2-2 with a 3.71 ERA) and September (3-2 with a 3.51 ERA), after sputtering badly in June (1-4 with a 5.81 ERA).

Speculation has the Phillies opting elsewhere.

“I think that train has left,” Jim Sailsbury of CSN Philadelphia told Gill yesterday.

A thought we shouldn’t have had to ask for.

Matt Hammond is a producer for 97.3 ESPN Radio Atlantic City, and writes for 973ESPN.com. Follow Matt on Twitter at @MattHammond973.

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MLB Free Agency 2012: Cole Hamels Philadelphia Phillies’ Future Still Uncertain

This Cole Hamels thing just got complicated.

It shouldn’t be. Not yet.

With word that Hamels and the Phillies avoided arbitration with a one-year, $15 million tide-you-over-type deal should come relief.

Relief of no hurt feelings; how would you feel if your boss scrounged up reasons to diminish your value, common during often-heated arbitration banter?

Relief of a problem postponed; chalk up some $50,000 and countless hours in savings, from the prepping costs of a hearing that won’t happen, and talks that have turned completely on the long-term. 

Relief.

This? Anything but.

It’s questions. Uncertainty. Anxiety.

How much is Hamels worth?

Can the Phillies afford it?

Does Hamels even want to stay?

Might the Phillies feel forced to ship him out?

Peeling back the layers won’t find you any comfort either. With production and accomplishments like Hamels—a career 3.39 ERA and four-of-six years of sub-3.5 ERA stuff, and that 2008 World Series MVP—he’s likely to clean up on the open market. Maybe not the stuff of record books. But he’ll bust the bank, no doubt.

 

“As a free agent, you’re starting to talk about (C.C.) Sabathia money: seven years, $161 million,” Tom Verducci of SI told Mike Gill of 97.3 ESPN Radio South Jersey yesterday.

That only becomes more likely in the coming days, with Tim Lincecum on the cusp of becoming the fifth $20 million pitcher in history, following a wake set by Sabathia, Johan Santana, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, and blazing a green paper trail for Hamels. Last night, word broke that Lincecum’s camp offered the Giants $21.5 million. San Francisco countered with a flimsy $17 million that won’t hold up.

That only inflates Hamels’ value, maybe beyond the Phillies budget.

Whether the team can’t spill into luxury tax spending or doesn’t want to, the organization has been clear about its intentions to keep it (relatively) cheap. You might scoff at that—the Phillies have spent their way up the MLB team payroll ladder from No. 13 in 2007 to No. 2 a year ago, almost doubling from $89.3 million to $172.9 million—but it’s reasonable to believe their pockets all stretched out.  

“I think it’s going to be very difficult,” said Verducci. “(Re-signing Hamels) is going to be a squeeze no doubt.”

Think about it: Where’s the money supposed to come from? Save for $28.5 million in savings on Brad Lidge and Roy Oswalt—the team declined their options in October—the Phillies don’t have money coming off the books any time soon. And you can consider that money all but already spent, with a new deal for Jonathan Papelbon (four years and $50 million) and a presumed future option for Roy Halladay ($20 million in 2014).

Then what? Without the profit potential of unsold tickets—the count on the consecutive home sellouts your fandom has funded is up to 204—what’s there to be optimistic about?

Will the team bump ticket prices? On Aug. 1, the height of the summer and peak of a record-setting regular season, the average Phillies game ran fans for $69.39, according to SeatGeeks.com, the third-highest in the sport, behind only the Red Sox ($83.13) and Cubs ($77.38).

Think the Philly faithful will go for that?

Is an upstart TV station (think: YES Network) really practical? The ceiling on expected inflows from a team-run network was set by the Yankees, whose 34 percent-owned regional sports channel pulled $400 million in revenue in 2011. True, even broaching that ballpark would give the Phillies money to buy Hamels three times over.

But what’s the likelihood of such a power move, especially in time to make Hamels happen?

The Phillies have one more year left on their cable deal with PHL 17, and their agreement with Comcast ends in 2015, the sum of which were worth $24 million a year ago. That number is bound to climb; the Rangers new TV deal with Fox Sports Southwest will pay out $75 million per year in a market that can’t touch the ratings of a Big 4 like Philadelphia.

Even then: If a boost for Texas wasn’t enough to land the Rangers C.J. Wilson, what’s to think something similar (and something later) guarantees the Phillies Cole Hamels?

When Hamels does hit the market … What? Still holding out hope that he’ll sign an extension? Even now, this far into the process and this near to free agent waters?

That’s unlikely.

Said ESPN’s Keith Law, also to Gill yesterday: “I think once you get this close to free agency, and you’re a player of Hamels’ caliber, you probably want to just get to free agency.”

And why wouldn’t he? Remember: It’s not this often that players that good make it this far.  Most coveted players, top pitchers especially, settle for extensions well before buyers get a chance to bid. Take Jered Weaver, for instance, who agreed to nestle in Los Angeles with the Angels for five years and $85 million. You have to believe with the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs—all high rollers, all viable, all desperate for starting arms, all itching for a lefty—Hamels has the opportunity to get what Weaver didn’t.

And that doesn’t even include the Dodger Effect. The once-hallowed franchise is about to get solvent and relevant, and quick. When it does, what the Dodgers offer as a destination—competitiveness, promise, opportunity of a weak division, excitement of a reclamation project, weather, lifestyle—rounds out everything on every ball player’s wish list.

“Let’s face it: the landscape is going to change next winter when the Los Angeles Dodgers become a big player,” said Verducci. “Knowing Cole is from Southern California, why not at least see what the options are at the end of the season.”

And then there’s that.

Some aren’t as sold on Hamels affinity to his roots. Said Comcast SportsNet’s Jim Salisbury: “If its’ the perception that he wants to play in Southern California, it’s probably wrong,” alluding to the stars that aligned in 2002, when the San Diego Padres could’ve taken him in the player draft, and Hamels’ happiness that they didn’t.

“He’s flat-out said he’s happy they didn’t take him.”

But that was then, with one franchise bound for a 66-96 (last in NL West) finish. What’s to say that’s not different now, with the Dodgers? What’s to exclude the rest of the sport?

“If I’m any other club looking at a potential free agent starter, I’m looking at Hamels,” said Law.

Starting to make some of the deals Amaro swung sting. That $125 million deal through 2016 for Ryan Howard hurt bad enough on the last pitches of the Phillies last two seasons. That’s like salt in the eyes now.

“I wasn’t a fan of the Howard extension the day it was signed,” said Law. “But it looks a lot worse now.”

Especially with Hunter Pence due up for arbitration, a situation still unsettled.

But that’s not even the worst of it. What if talks between the sides stall? What if the Phillies chances slip? What if 2012 goes the other way, and the team is coasting easier than it did all through 2011?

Could a perfect storm converge on an ultimatum: to trade Cole Hamels?

“I would say that that’s ridiculous, but they traded Cliff Lee in less dire circumstances,” said Law. “I suppose it’s possible.”

Like I said: This Cole Hamels thing just got complicated. 

Matt Hammond is a producer for 97.3 ESPN Radio Atlantic City, and writes for 973ESPN.com. Follow Matt on Twitter at @MattHammond973.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Does Cole Hamels’ 1-Year Deal Mean It’s Time to Panic?

The Philadelphia Phillies signed former World Series MVP Cole Hamels to a one-year, $15 million deal avoiding arbitration. The deal was initially reported by Jon Heyman over Twitter.

The team coming to terms with a player before arbitration is not uncommon, as the process can become nasty and potentially lead to a player leaving town. The Phillies clearly did not want to disrespect Hamels with a low-ball offer and gave him a nice pay increase from his 2011 salary.

Hamels has already made two All-Star nods by the age of 28, and it’s not insane to think that Hamels hasn’t even tapped his potential yet. Pitchers often post their best numbers after 30, as they learn how to handle hitters better and control all of their pitches.

Hamels has a mid-90s fastball and a top-five changeup in MLB. Those things don’t come around often from a lefty. GM Ruben Amaro gave fan-favorite Cliff Lee a monstrous five-year deal worth $120 million, so would a guy that is obsessed with pitching really allow his most valuable piece to walk via free agency?

That very question has all of Phillies Nation shaking in their boots at this moment.

The good news is that the New York Yankees (whom many believe to be Hamels’ top suitor) added two pitchers in Hiroki Kuroda and Michael Pineda this past week. The bad news is that Kuroda was only given a one-year deal and the Yankees have a seemingly limitless bankroll. 

Not to mention they’d like to pull a fast one on the team that stole Cliff Lee from them a year ago.

The Phillies have a ton of money invested already into this team with the massive deals given to Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Cliff Lee. It was reported that Hamels will seek a Cliff Lee-type deal, instead of the once thought Jared Weaver contract standard.

Hamels has every right to ask for such a contract. He is younger than Lee and has won a World Series for a team (as their ace) that has sold out more than 200 consecutive games.

Hamels understands how valuable he is to this team and this city, but don’t expect him to take a huge hometown discount to stay in the City of Brotherly Love.

Hamels will be as coveted a free agent as we’ve seen to hit the market in the last decade. He’s that good.

If the Cliff Lee contract will prevent the Phillies from re-signing Cole Hamels, does the Lee signing become a travesty in the minds of the Philly Phaithful? Probably not, as Lee is often compared to mystical creatures like “unicorn” and “titan” in this city. 

He was given a standing ovation (myself included) when he blew Game 2 of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals, after all. Not too many players have that kind of pull in Philadelphia.

In conclusion, I find it hard to imagine that Cole Hamels will be in any other uniform than Phillies pinstripes for the remainder of his career. Let’s not deny the fact, however, that as each day goes by without King Cole locked up long-term, the anxiety level goes up.

Would a team that has relied so heavily on their pitching let their youngest and brightest star walk? Maybe, maybe not, but even with the ink on Hamels’ new one-year contract still wet, it’s officially time to panic.

In this writer’s eyes anyway.

Make sure to follow Joe Iannello on Twitter! @jiann481

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Philadelphia Phillies: How They Can Replace Ryan Madson

The surprising and dominant play of Ryan Madson during the 2011 season had Philadelphia Phillies fans excited about his future. Unfortunately that ship has sailed, as he is now a member of the Cincinnati Reds. 

That leaves a big hole to fill for the Phillies, but it looks as if Ruben Amaro Jr. has gone to the free agent market to solve that problem.

The closer is such a crucial role in the way baseball is played today. With a dynamite starting staff who can go late into games, the Phillies need that explosive pitcher who can shut the door.

Here is a list of guys who can do just that. 

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25 Sweetest Swings in Philadelphia Phillies History

Pitching may be the name of the game for the Philadelphia Phillies nowadays, but this is a franchise whose history is littered with prolific offenses and players who know how to square up a round ball with a round bat, and that’s not an easy thing to do.

For an offensive player, hitting is like fine art. These men spend years mastering their craft, each with his own personal, unique flare. The best hitters, like the best artists, are normally those who have perfected the many nuances of their profession. Like a master artists’ fine brush strokes, a hitter with a sweet swing can do a lot of damage.

But before we look at the sweetest swings in the history of the Phillies’ organization, it is important that we define just what a “sweet swing” is. To me, a sweet swing is one that comes naturally. Hitters with such a swing normally share a few traits. Their bat stays in the strike zone for a long time and there is very little, if any, extra movement in their swing.

Hitters with a “sweet swing” are usually very balanced at the plate, and although each and every swing is different, they all pass the eye test—they’re aesthetically pleasing. A “sweet swing” gets right down to business, with all of the aforementioned traits in mind, this swing passes over the plate for just a split second, making contact with the ball and sending it hurtling in the opposite direction.

Now that we have defined what qualifies as a “sweet swing,” let’s take a look at the best the Phillies have to offer.

For more, up to the minute Phillies’ information, check out Greg’s blog: The Phillies Phactor.

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