2012 Spring Training: Don’t Forget About Shane Victorino, Time to Sign Him Now

Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard…

For 44 consecutive playoff games, that “core four” of the Philadelphia Phillies have filled out Charlie Manuel‘s lineup card. Quite often it was in that order. But the order of their importance for each of those 44 games has switched each game.

It’s the group with which they have won five divisions, two pennants and a World Championship.

It’s the group that would allow them to continue to win for the next few years.

Jimmy Rollins got a five-year deal, then a three-year deal. Chase Utley got a seven-year deal. Ryan Howard got a three-year deal, then a five-year deal. Victorino? Just a three-year deal so far from the Phillies, and he is entering the final year of his deal.

Why not give Victorino another deal?

If this is the group they chose to win and lose with, given the long-term deals they already have in place, why not stick with it? Especially if the only person not under contract for the long term is the one best suited to retain, all things considered?

Victorino, in addition to playing in the center of the field, has been in the center of the Phillies’ playoff success in recent years. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone more involved with the success of the team than Victorino.

What was their biggest year of success? 2008. Think about his grand slam off C.C. Sabathia in 2008 that indicated that the Phillies weren’t just a team that snuck in the playoffs, they were a team that were going to take advantage of anything you gave them.

There was his tremendous catch to rob Casey Blake, the tying run, in Game 2 of the NLCS that same year and preserve the game to give Philadelphia a 2-0 series lead. There was game-tying home run in the huge Game 4. He got things started in Game 5 of the World Series with a clutch bases-loaded hit.

In other years, there still were plenty of Victorino moments that coincided with the fight the Phillies were demonstrating. You may forget because of the end result and how long ago it was, but remember he had that big home run against the Rockies in 2007 in an elimination game? That tied the score and kept the Phillies, although temporarily, alive.

More recently, Victorino was the one who finally broke through on Kyle Lohse this year in the opening game of the playoffs to get the Phillies on the board.

He is a guy that has proved many times that he will contribute to winning baseball. He also is a source of fight and energy. Too often, he’s actually the only source of the two, which makes him all the more important.

It’s hard to find a reason not to keep him.

It’s pretty clear he is the only one still in his prime, unless Ryan Howard’s Achilles makes a big recovery and his power returns. In fact, Victorino seems to only get better each season. In 2011, he seemed to have a more all-around game. There was even national talk as late as the last few weeks in August that he was the National League’s MVP. And that’s on a 102-win team.

It was his second All-Star season, and he probably would have extended his streak of Gold Gloves had he hit as many home runs as Matt Kemp (that’s a whole other issue). Until last year, Victorino had won a National League Gold Glove in every season as a starting center fielder.

He also showed his speed is still there, leading the league in triples for the second time in three years, legging out an impressive 16 triples in only 132 games. His total stolen bases were down because of where he hit in the lineup and who was in front of him on the bases (Howard and his bad foot/leg), but Victorino had success when he could run and raised his stolen base percentage of success.

Clearly, Victorino is not on the decline. People may tend to group him with guys like Utley in terms of age because it feels like Victorino has been here just as long, but Victorino is only 31. He actually just turned 31 this offseason. He still has a good amount of solid baseball left in him.

Off the field, there is plenty to like about Victorino. There’s his community involvement, which is exceptional. He is a leader by voice and example. He’s one of the few players on the team that will actually speak. On a team with a lot of robot-like personalities, that’s a good thing to have.

These qualities at the very least negate any second thoughts teams may have about keeping or adding a player. From an investment standpoint, there is not much to not like.

And as it is an investment, why not set yourself up now with some certainty? Who knows if Hunter Pence will be here when the team loses control of him in 2013? He could be in line for a big pay day. And will John Mayberry Jr. and Domonic Brown manning the other spot work out in the long run? Again, it is not as certain as Victorino could be.

So what’s wrong with signing him at to a deal similar to Rollins for the next three, maybe four seasons? In the worst-case scenario, if Victorino declines slightly, he is a player that could easily transition to being a starting right fielder, much like the move Torii Hunter made.

But again, that is in the unlikely event given his age. Signing him for three more years takes him to age 34, which covers the final stage of his prime before his decline.

That being the case, this spring is the time to act on a deal. You do not want Victorino to even touch the open market for a number of reasons, the first being that you do not want to risk exposing him to the poor center-field market following the 2012 season.

Assume the Yankees will pick up Curtis Granderson’s option and keep him in New York. After that, the only names that will be on the market that are even worth mentioning are Michael Bourn, B.J. Upton, Marlon Byrd and Grady Sizemore. Unless Sizemore puts together a normal, healthy season (which is unlikely), Victorino will be the best available center fielder. That means he is the Phillies’ best option.

Upton stinks, Bourn probably won’t even be available and Byrd is too old and inconsistent.

Down on the farm, the Phillies don’t have much to replace him with anyway. Tyson Gilles isn’t ready and won’t be in one year. Mayberry patrolling center field full-time is not a very comforting thought, and the same goes for shifting Pence to center. Can they make a trade? Sure, but that only destroys the farm system even more.

Not only does not much being out there mean they can’t replace him if they wait to sign him, but by the time they realize this, his price will become inflated. We’ve seen Phillies outfielders leave before once they hit the open market in guys like Aaron Rowand, Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth. Rowand and Werth left for more money, in part because they weren’t signed. Burrell left for less money, but could he have been upset that the Phillies did not already have him locked up? Either way, looking at the alternatives and their inflating payroll, the Phillies do not want to play games here.

That is why this spring, before the season even starts, is the time to sit down with Shane Victorino and work out a deal. He is part of the core with which they’ve won and will have to be part of the core for them to win with in the future. He’s not replaceable.

He’s been overlooked because of Cole Hamels’ expiring contract, but what makes Hamels a bigger need to address? It’s really hard to find one, especially if you can sign a Victorino and another player with the same money you would dedicate to Hamels to pitch every fifth day.

Victorino has played in 44 consecutive playoff games with the core. Hamels? He’s pitched in only 12 of those games, averaging roughly six innings per game in those starts and is arguably much more replaceable. This is not to say they should ignore signing Hamels, but Victorino should be the first thing to take care of and everything else will fall into place.

The Dodgers overlooked Victorino already in his career, and the Phillies benefited from that. Don’t make the same mistake and let another team snatch him. Get a deal done, and do it before it’s too late.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 10 Things You May Not Know About Roy “Doc” Halladay

Sometimes, athletes or figures that come off as strange characters are the most interesting ones. We are often fascinated by subtle details and facts about them.

Although it’s not run by Mudd himself, it is why the Twitter account @HowardMuddFacts is so popular and entertaining.

Roy Halladay fits that mold as a strange, but interesting person. He is both interesting off the field, as well as on it. Many of the facts about him are results of his incredible pitching ability, but there are some interesting bits about what he did this offseason and whom he has worked with in his younger days.

They aren’t things you’ve heard millions of times—like that he and Chris Carpenter are friends, thanks to John Smoltz—but they are interesting and help shape the man known as Doc.

Here are 10 facts about Roy Halladay you probably did not know.

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MLB Rumors: Would Bringing Back Roy Oswalt Even Make Sense for Philadelphia?

The last Philadelphia (and baseball) saw of Roy Oswalt was the infamous “squirrel gate” game. Oswalt struggled against the St. Louis Cardinals, getting tagged for five runs in six innings in Game Four of the National League Division Series.

It was the end of a very strange, but disappointing season for Oswalt. He dealt with everything, from success to failure, from potential retirement to seeking security in a new deal, and from restoring tornado-affected land to pitching around sprinting squirrels.

What did it all lead to this offseason? Oswalt is still a free agent. He apparently was close to signing with St. Louis, but it appears a deal is now unlikely, as it has a full rotation and not so much money. It also seems to have not so much interest in him anymore.

On a quick side note, it is fitting that Oswalt had a deal with St. Louis apparently break down. He had a few notable starts against the World Champions in 2011, all of which being highs or lows on his roller-coaster season.

His first start against them, on May 17, he made his first start back from leaving the team for a few weeks to tend to his family’s tornado-stuck property. Next, he made what reasonably could have been the last start of his career on June 23, leaving the game early with back issues. The ailment was so bad; he was seriously pondering whether it would prevent him from ever pitching again.

But then he came back, and had a pretty strong finish, minus a few hiccups. The highlight was his start on Sept. 17 which clinched the NL East against the Cardinals, tossing seven shutout innings. The NL East was wasted though as he broke down in Game 4 in the playoffs, being affected by the squirrel.

And those four starts represent how Oswalt’s offseason has gone: Some early questioning of his future, disappointment, change of plans and demands, some hope, but then having it all thrown off by a break down. Maybe the squirrel ran by when he was signing the contract, threw his signature off, and he forgot the count of dollars and years afterwards.

Whatever happened, it was just another weird development in his offseason.

Why is this all important? FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi reported recently that the Phillies remain an option to sign the right-hander Oswalt. The 34-year-old remains without a team after becoming a free agent nearly three months ago. The Phillies are being described as “open” to the idea of bringing Oswalt back.

Before we go any further as far as negotiations and dollar figures, would bringing Oswalt back at a normal price make sense for the Phillies?

No, it’s hard to say that it would.

First, they have a full rotation already. If you consider Joe Blanton the No. 5 starter, the team has a fifth starter making $8.5 million this season—good luck moving that contract. If you consider Vance Worley the No. 5 starter, he posted a .786 winning percentage in 21 starts.

They have plenty of depth, as well. Kyle Kendrick is as solid of a sixth starter as you are going to find. Joel Pineiro could realistically be a fourth starter on most big league teams. He could even be a candidate to start on opening day if he were a Met. Pat Misch, David Purcey and company are solid emergency-type guys anyway.

“You can never have too much pitching” is the famous line, often used by Amaro himself. You can have too much pitching if it’s costing you too much money. Allocating a few million dollars to a pitcher just for depth purposes is a waste.

The money, and overcrowding the pitchers’ depth chart is just the start of it. What about the questions about whether Oswalt’s heart was in it all season? It’s hard to at least not question it. He did take off a pretty long time just to clean off a property from a tornado. He also was not even sure if he wanted to play this year. It wasn’t until he gave up six runs in a late September game against the Nationals that prompted his agent to speak for him and say he is not retiring.

 

This is just speculation, reading body language and putting some translation into actions, but that was for a team that was expected to win the World Series, in which he struggled to invest his heart. What if this team has unexpected struggles, then where is his heart?

More importantly, the biggest reason it would not make sense to pay him more than a few million? They do not need him. At all, really. That’s not just because of their depth.

Oswalt won only nine games last season and had a sub-.500 record. The Phillies aren’t missing much if they lose that from a team that won 102 games and got better in the offseason.

It is very reasonable to think Vance Worley can win 11 games again this year, if not top that. Joe Blanton seems like a near lock to top his one win, if not multiply it by a dozen or so. Kyle Kendrick can probably get close to eight wins and a .571 winning percentage if there’s an injury and he needs to fill in for someone. 

On top of all of this, we have no idea how Oswalt’s back will hold up throughout the season.

Now, fortunately we have seen Amaro actually do this quite a few times over the past few offseasons. He remains in contact with a player who remains unsigned for quite some time during free agency, but most of the time he resists overpaying. He did it this offseason already with Lidge, keeping in touch with the reliever. Chad Durbin is another example, as the team did not bite on him as he remained without a team late. Chan Ho Park, too, if you wanted another example.

You have to hope that is exactly what this is. They just do not have any reason to get on this roller coaster. That could seriously damage backs, too—for both of them. For the Phillies, their backs can only stretch so much before they bang their head on that luxury tax.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 10 Players Under the Most Pressure in Spring Training

It is now officially February, the month baseball begins to come back. Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in less than three weeks and Philadelphia again will be a buzzing baseball town with the 5-time NL East Champions getting set for their 2012 season.

As they do, they have decisions to make regarding roster spots, lineups and pitching staffs. The players also have to get into game shape or improve for the following season.

These things, and a number of others, place pressure on the players to get themselves ready for the season.

The following are the ten Phillies who will be under the most pressure during Spring Training.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Reflecting on Pat Burrell’s Legacy in Baseball

Although seemingly lame on its surface, “Pat the Bat” was the perfect nickname for Pat Burrell. Not only did it rhyme, which of course made it cool, but it did what all nicknames should for athletes: It described their game.

Pat Burrell was as much of a bat as Walter Payton’s game was of sweetness, Jerome Bettis was a bus or Ed Jones was tall…too tall. Why? He did exactly what a bat could do…he could hit something hard, while being solid itself. The key word though is could, not would. Bats, and Pat being one of them, could hit something hard.

Burrell always seemed to require someone to swing him, though, otherwise he was like a bat that was not picked up or was just sitting on the bat rack and not doing anything. Something needed to fire him up, in order to whack something. When he did, he did it well. But that’s how I will remember Pat Burrell.

I think back to when he was coming up, not paid yet and starting to break into the league. Larry Bowa inserted him into the cleanup spot in 2002 and he took off from that point, going on to hit 37 home runs that season while driving in 116 runs for a very mediocre baseball team.

Then, he was rewarded with a big contract and the team added Jim Thome in the 2002-03 offseason. So with Thome and his MVP season on board swinging away, Pat the Bat went back on the rack.

A few years later, Charlie Manuel came on board as the new manager. Manuel of course was the players’ coach-slash-hitting guru. His approach to managing swung Burrell, literally and figuratively.

Instilling confidence in Burrell, he swung him for a career-high 117 RBI. Burrell’s average would slip nearly 25 points the next year, all while Ryan Howard emerged and there was no need to swing Pat’s Bat.

The bat would sit on the rack until 2007, when the Phillies were starting to crumble with injuries. Chase Utley was among the biggest injuries faced in the second half, and it was around that time Pat would start being swung.

Why? The team was desperate for a 3-hole hitter, so that got Burrell going. He would explode for a .435 average in July and ten August home runs.

They were part of his second-half power surge of 22 home runs. The team needed a nice swing and a long drive to get away from the awful start to which they began the season.

Within that 2007 season were a few of the hardest swings the bat ever swung. Burrell and a former Phillies reliever had gotten into a feud through the papers, with Pat Burrell calling Billy Wagner a “rat.”

Twice did the “bat” swing hard and drive one far off the “rat” in big games, twice leading to Phillies victories to complete sweeps against the New York Mets, as they would win the division by one game.

This was the following year after Burrell and Wagner got into it. It’s not the only time a Mets closer has caused Burrell to swing hard, as he often would battle with Armando Benitez. Burrell three times burned Benitez with home runs, each of which caused the two to boil even more with each other.

The bat seemed to always swing well when it was mad. I still have the image in my head of Pat Burrell ripping a two-run home run to left field in 2005 against Texas and slamming his bat down viciously.

The cause? Bobby Abreu, at that time the hottest hitter in the world, was plunked by a pitch. That was enough to make the “bat,” his protection in the lineup, swing and take one for a long drive.

It’s one of plenty images we’ve seen of Burrell being angry and looking to do something viciously.

Remember his seemingly unnecessary and childish staredown with Roy Halladay in the 2010 National League Championship Series? Well, in the at-bat immediately following that one, Burrell would rip a double to left field and then proceed to later score the last Giants run of the night.

His biggest “Pat the Bat” moment was in the 2008 World Series. His hit in Game 5, his only hit in the series, led to the series-winning run.

But even in a moment that big, he needed to be swung. Jimmy Rollins had barked at him in the clubhouse tunnel right before the at-bat, which got the “bat” swinging.  

In all these cases, he needed something or someone to swing him. He never seemed to do it himself or automatically.

His teammates even used him like a bat. One of his other nicknames around the ballclub was “Bait,” because of his ability to get women at bars and clubs.

In a different sense, his teammates were using him to hit something. It was really just like a bat though. Pat the Bat.

Even when he walked around in the gimp outfit as “The Machine” in Brian Wilson’s interview, you have to wonder if that was really him doing that automatically. You have to think that Brian Wilson picked up the bat and swung him in that direction to seriously go on national television dressed like that.

This was as silly as the seemingly rehearsed Spring Training home run he hit off former teammate Cole Hamels in an exhibition game at Citizens Bank Park. Burrell homered, leading off, then immediately left the game. There was reason to think this, too, was an act of someone swinging him.

And so that will be Pat Burrell’s legacy in my mind: being one of the best nicknames in sports. He contributed to an increasingly weak category, nicknames in sports.

No “Tony Plush” nonsense, just a catchy, rhyming nickname that was appropriate. I will actually think of his nickname more than I ponder the quality of his career.

It is an interesting question: Did the Bat do enough? To do enough, was it swung enough and swung correctly with the first overall pick?

Nicknames aside, Burrell did have a nice career for a No. 1 pick, winning two World Series in three postseason appearances.

Those were team accomplishments, but individually he did well for himself, collecting six 27-plus home runs, 85-plus RBI seasons, and slugging a respectable .472 percentage. But isn’t that what a bat should do?

It’s the question that his career and legacy will face, being a No. 1 overall pick. Was he not swung enough? And would you have swung this bat with the first overall pick or would you have taken the pitch?

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Philadelphia Phillies: Valdez Trade Creates Tremendous Opportunity for Galvis

Are you ready, Freddy? You have a big chance to advance your career right now, Mr. Galvis.

The Phillies traded Wilson Valdez to the Cincinnati Reds on Jan. 25 for left hander Jeremy Horst. In doing so, they traded the final member of their major league infield.

The spot leaves a void on Charlie Manuel’s bench that includes only Ty Wigginton and Jim Thome as reserves. Neither of the two veterans have any chance of being put in at shortstop, regardless of it being in a backup capacity. Essentially, Jimmy Rollins, who has taken three trips to the disabled list the past two years and four such trips since 2008, lacks a back up.

The front runner to take the final spot is Michael Martinez, a utility player who spent all of 2011 on the big league roster. Martinez had to be on the roster though, or the Phillies would risk losing him. That risk doesn’t exist anymore.

Presumably, he would be the front runner to take the spot. But let’s never count Michael Martinez as a lock to make any team’s roster. He’s Michael Martinez. He’ll be 30 years old by the season’s end, and could not even crack the Nationals’ roster once, not even as an injury replacement or September call up in some of Washington’s worst years.

 

Making 234 plate appearances last season, Martinez hit .196 last season. He didn’t just struggle with pinch hitting; the switch-hitter hit .203 in games in which he started. In his best month, he peaked at a .247 clip in July.

In other words, he can be beat.

 

Who can beat him? There is only real in-house candidate that could compete with him being capable of playing shortstop: Freddy Galvis. The 22-year-old with a slick glove certainly has the defensive capabilities to replace the reliable glove Valdez posses.

Does he have the bat? Well, Galvis actually has improved each season offensively to project some type of major league competence. His respective annual batting averages from 2007-2011 have for the most part climbed upward: .203, .238, .240, .233, and .278. That’s all while climbing from low A ball to AAA, obviously facing increasingly challenging competition.

 

There is reason to think he could perform at least within reach of Martinez’s .196, if not .25 points higher. Again, they would not be losing anything in the field either and from all accounts would actually be making an upgrade over Valdez and Martinez. Additionally, he brings adequate foot speed checking in somewhere between 40 and 45 on the traditional “20-80” scouting scale. Galvis stole 23 bases at two combined levels last season, but was caught 13 times. He could work on his base stealing, but his speed is by no means a “deal breaker.”

It would benefit both he and the team if Galvis could top Martinez for the last spot. Realistically speaking, Martinez does not have much a future with this team. To his credit, he made the team as a 28-year-old rookie last season, but we’ve likely seen his highest potential.

Having established that as the case with Martinez, let’s peak into Galvis’ future.

Galvis is the most apparent “shortstop of the future,” Jimmy Rollins’ heir apparent. At 22 years old, he could put himself in position to learn the game by watching a collection of accomplished, established veterans for 162 games as a front row spectator. It would beat filling out a spot in the Iron Pigs’ lineup each night.

 

There is a track record of that type of success in Philadelphia: a young prospect sitting on the bench, backing up a veteran as part of their way to transition into becoming a big league player. The players who have done this while playing for the Phillies within the past 10 years have outperformed those who did not.

Note: I am not guaranteeing Galvis will be an All-Star, just identifying a trend.

Chase Utley was a dynamic threat of the bench in 2004 and the first part of 2005, in addition to being an injury replacement for David Bell and Placido Polanco in 2003. Ryan Howard eased in 2004-05 as well, also at times being an injury replacement.

Shane Victorino was Pat Burrell’s late inning defensive replacement and pinch runner in the first part of 2006, then played increasingly more games once Bobby Abreu was traded and Aaron Rowand was injured. Carlos Ruiz was a part-time catcher from 2006-08 before easing into the starting catcher role. Michael Bourn was a backup center fielder in 2007 and extra legs off the bench, and although he was traded to Houston, he was able to become an effective All-Star starting center fielder.

Why does it work? One particular reason is the younger players learn from the proven, established veterans. Utley was there with David Bell, a current minor league manager, and Placido Polanco, who is widely regarded as a future manager. Ryan Howard backed up a future first ballot Hall of Famer in Jim Thome. Carlos Ruiz played behind a two-time All-Star catcher. Shane Victorino roamed the outfield with the all-out Aaron Rowand, and Bobby Abreu, who had one of the best approaches at the plate in the National League.

Conversely, people who were thrown right into the starting role did not really reach their potential.

Pat Burrell was widely considered a player who performed below expectations. Granted, he had a productive career in Philadelphia, but not nearly as successful as he was expected or projected to be. He became a full-time player less than two years after being drafted.

 

Domonic Brown has struggled as a full-time player. Marlon Byrd had a solid first year, but then struggled for the remainder of his tenure in Philadelphia. He fell off the map until he became a backup and then became an All-Star.

In general, those who eased into the role, going from reserve to starterd fared well.

Look around the horn and at their contracts. Placido Polanco could be a free agent in less than eight months. Chase Utley’s deal expires following the 2013 season. Jimmy Rollins could be gone after the following season. It would be nice to have at least an idea of how Galvis looks against major league pitching. His 150-200 at bats as a utility player would be more telling than 500 or so in AAA ball.

If it looks promising, Freddy Galvis and his pre-arbitration year’s salary would look pretty good to calm down the flaming projected payroll, which guarantees $104 million to just six players. Of the six, three of them are in the infield. A salary of less than half a million could allow them to explore external, more costly options in other positions or keep impending free agents. Wouldn’t you like to see Cole Hamels back? It’s usually best to install an internal option anyway, that is how the 2008 championship team was built.

So the Phillies have plenty of reason to allow Galvis to pursue this opportunity. Galvis just has to make the most of it to make that half a million or so salary truly be a bargain.

If he can show up in Spring Training and prove he is adequate at the plate, he has a real opportunity in front of him to advance his career significantly. It does not even need to be adequate, just better than Michael Martinez.

Galvis could then spend the next season learning under the wing of team leader Jimmy Rollins, future manager Placido Polanco, and the ultimate gamer Chase Utley.

He has a solid opportunity here of which to take advantage. Are you ready, Freddy?

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Philadelphia Phillies: 10 Dark Horses to Make Their Opening Day Roster

The Phillies appear to be set with making big moves for the 2012 season.

However, that does not mean that the projected roster could change.

Injuries are a big question mark with this team and Ruben Amaro has left some room for spring training competition in the bullpen. With both of these being the case, roster spots could be won with solid performances down in Clearwater.

The following presentation will list the 10 biggest dark horses to break camp on the team with the Phillies.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Learn from Yankees/Pettitte Divorce to Sign Cole Hamels

Cole Hamels recently signed his one-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2012 season. It is the last year he is under club control.

There is every indication that they will try and push back the year that will represent his last season under the club’s control.

Ruben Amaro acknowledged that the Phillies would like to bring him back, but the agent for Hamels, John Boggs, threw the gauntlet down when he implied the Phillies would have to significantly exceed Jared Weaver’s $85 million contract.

This may be an indication that Amaro’s group thought that was Hamels’ value and that the two sides are off in negotiations. Regardless, it would be wise for Amaro to not let his youngest ace get away from Philadelphia.

The reason is not because of his regular season success, that part is easy. Nineteen players have won more regular season decisions than Hamels’ 74 since his arrival in 2006. Six left-handers have exceed him in that category in that span as well.

Not one person has surpassed his seven career postseason wins in that span, however, and that is his biggest value. That is what separates him from Jared Weaver, not the fact the Philadelphia is not where he grew up before reaching the majors.

History has been said to repeat itself and we can look to history, with regards to the postseason, to fully understand Hamels’ value and importance to a team looking to compete for multiple championships in the coming years.

Following the 2003 season, the New York Yankees let their postseason ace Andy Pettitte walk in free agency. Pettitte fled the Yankees to go to Houston, a city close to where he grew up as a child. The Astros immediately became a contender.

The Yankees did not drop off much, except for being able to close out series’, something Pettitte greatly aided them in doing. In 2004, the Yankees undoubtedly could have used him against the Boston Red Sox in their epic collapse. The following year, in 2005, they could have used him in their sudden death game against the Angels (or earlier in the series). In 2006, they certainly could have used him over their Jaret Wright/Cory Lidle combination.

Did they perhaps take it for granted that they are the Yankees, that is where Pettitte came through the system, and that they could easily sign him after the season? Maybe, it would make sense. We’ve seen them take this approach with several other players, including Rivera, Jeter and Pettitte in future seasons. Whatever the flaw was, it hurt them big time.

The first lesson? Do not underestimate the power of a player getting a chance to return to his hometown or the area he was from to pitch.

Do not think Cole Hamels is above waving goodbye to the Phillies to return to where he is from, on the west coast. “Hollywood” Hamels, as he is called, would be a logical fit to join Clayton Kershaw and maybe another arm in Los Angeles when the Dodgers have more money following this season. Sound familiar to Pettitte teaming up with Roger Clemens and incumbent Astros star pitcher Roy Oswalt?

The second lesson is that postseason games are won by dominant pitchers.

Clearly, the Yankees could have used Pettitte’s value in the years he was not there. Javier Vazquez, Kevin Brown, Jaret Wright, John Lieber and Esteban Loazia, although successful regular season pitchers, for whatever reasons struggled in the postseason. It was not wise to assume their regular season success would translate in the postseason.

It is fresh in most people’s minds that the Phillies went down in Game 5 of the National League Division Series in a game Roy Halladay allowed one run. No, Hamels did not pitch in that game, but remember, the Phillies would not even have been in that game if it were not for the series of 0’s Hamels posted on Game 3’s scoreboard.

So for Philadelphia, do let mistake number one allow you to  commit mistake number two. Do not even put Hamels in position to walk away. Lock him up before he can even grab a map to see the proximity of Los Angeles to his hometown of San Diego.

And most importantly, DO NOT overlook the fact that you still need to win in the postseason. Regular season wins are replaceable, but it does not equate to postseason success.

Just ask the Yankees of the mid-2000s.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 12 Biggest Missed Opportunities of the Offseason

The Phillies, looking at the current team compared to the 2011 team have had a good offseason as they now have a better team.

They’ve upgraded two spots on the roster, the only two spots they touched: Closer and the bench.

Having said that, there is reason to believe they could have done a better job.

I say that because there are some missed opportunities this offseason.

Here is a look at their biggest missed opportunities of the offseason, opportunities to make it an outstanding offseason.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Amaro Changing and Following Gillick’s Championship Model

After serving as an assistant to Hall of Fame General Manager Pat Gillick for three seasons, you would like to think that Ruben Amaro Jr. learned a few things from him.

Being a three-time champion as an executive, Gillick has a lot from which to learn. Perhaps there was a blueprint model to take away from his work.

Amaro has actually acted as quite the opposite of a General Manager since taking on the position following Gillick’s retirement. The current Phillies executive has seemed to focus only on collecting the big-name players like Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence.

Big name players are nice, and obviously their big names indicate their ability to contribute, but they are not necessarily part of the Gillick model.

Gillick, aside from winning championships, was best known for two things as part of his blue print model: making the subtle move, and thinking outside the box.

Sometimes it was the subtle move that was a result of out-of-the-box thinking. And sometimes when he thought out of the box, it produced a move that ended up being quite subtle.

But always, the move, no matter how outside the box or how subtle it was, led to his primary claim to fame of being a champion. They were moves of a champion, covering all corners and thinking on all realms.

It was taking a chance on a frail outfielder from Japan who looked nothing more than a slap hitter in the United States. Or selecting a future MVP in the Rule 5 draft. More recently, it included trading a franchise’s cornerstone and most consistent player for a package that was centered around a person whose most notable accomplishment since the trade was tying for lead in scoring for the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm basketball team.

Each of those moves were with a purpose. They also produced a calculated result. Winning. Gillick’s most recent example of that was assembling the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies. That offseason his signings included Geoff Jenkins, Pedro Feliz, So Taguchi, Chad Durbin and Rudy Seanez.

Additionally, he resigned J.C. Romero and traded for Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett. Each move, though subtle, had a purpose. Geoff Jenkins was to provide veteran leadership and a hunger to win. Taguchi was going to bring the experience of a World Series champ and Eric Bruntlett was going to give Charlie Manuel flexibility to do things like double-switch and pinch run.

And while being subtle, he also thought outside the box. Brad Lidge was seen as being done as a competent closer, his confidence shaken after his infamous home run allowed to Albert Pujols in 2005. Gillick thought a change of scenery would do him well. Chad Durbin was primarily a starting pitcher before being brought in to Philadelphia, nothing more than a number five starting pitcher. Gillick thought sliding him full time to the bullpen would allow him to thrive with the movement on his pitches.

A few months of 162 games and three postseason rounds later, he had himself a World Series championship group. After three years of failing to build a champion like his mentor, Amaro has operated to a different tune this offseason. He has been following the Gillick model; thinking out of the box and making subtle moves.

Along with bringing back leader and franchise icon Jimmy Rollins, his moves this season have included adding Jonathan Papelbon, Jim Thome, Dontrelle Willis, Laynce Nix, Ty Wigginton and Brian Schneider to the 2012 roster.

He’s following the Gillick model: subtle and out-of-the-box moves with a purpose.

Jim Thome was given a little over a million dollars to provide that hunger for a championship, missing a ring from his Hall of Fame resume. Jonathan Papelbon will provide an edge to a clubhouse and bullpen that can sometimes be dual and lacking characters.

Ty Wigginton will be able to slide both around the lineup and around the field. Brian Schneider will continue to work with Vance Worley to ensure he is the real deal. Laynce Nix will provide insurance should Ryan Howard take a while recovering from injury or John Mayberry Jr. struggles.

Thinking out of the box, Amaro sees Willis as a failed starter who has a chance to thrive being a left-handed specialist out of the bullpen.

Each move has a calculated, anticipated product. The plan is that the sum of each of those part’s contribution results in a championship.

This is different from his previous three offseasons. They each have featured a big-splash move, but not many of his have been the small ones needed to make a successful championship run. The only time you could possibly point to Amaro doing this was before 2010, but in reality he was just plugging roles. Juan Castro was a downgrade from Bruntlett’s speed and versatility.

Ross Gload was not the threat off the bench that Matt Stairs was, and Danys Baez nor Jose Contreras were nearly as dominant or versatile out of the bullpen that Chan Ho Park was. In most of those cases, he was replacing Gillick’s guys. None of which seemed to have an apparent purpose aside from just filling in holes.

Last season, aside from adding Cliff Lee, his only other notable move was selecting Michael Martinez from the Rule 5 draft. Martinez essentially replaced Greg Dobbs, which resulted in a downgrade.

This offseason, the purpose seems to be there. He’s not just filling in holes but he’s improving the team by bringing in role players that have a purpose. Incredibly, he upgraded a 102-win team with moves that can further strengthen their ability to compete for a marathon championship run. They have all been subtle moves, some of which have been out of the box.

But it’s the purpose that brings more promise to the team. The model now says it is time to watch, enjoy and compete through the same 162 schedule plus playoff rounds Gillick had to go through. It just part of the Gillick model to a championship, a model updated and proven successful as recently as his final season.

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