MLB Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Tricks Ruben Amaro Jr. Still Has Up His Sleeve

As the Major League Baseball offseason hits its midway point, just before taking flight at the annual Winter Meetings, a calm has settled over the free agency period. With a little more than two months before conversations about spring training begin, the bulk of the signings around the league have yet to occur.

The Philadelphia Phillies entered the market by making a splash through their acquisition of star closer Jonathan Papelbon but have remained relatively quiet since the deal was finalized. Aside from bringing in a few bats to retool the bench, the club has slowed their approach, along with many other teams around the league.

However, after years of making franchise-defining moves, Phillies fans can rest assured that General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has yet to finish dealing. After watching him lure Cliff Lee away from the big spenders last season and plug holes in the lineup with fan-favorites like Hunter Pence, it’s hard not expect Amaro to be ready to pull the trigger.

So as free agency seems to run into doldrums before the league spurs back to life in just over a week, there is a legitimate chance the Phillies’ front office already has something in the works. Whether it is signing a upper-echelon free agent or making another blockbuster trade, here are five moves that Amaro could still have up his sleeve.

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5 Dream Moves That Would Make Stat-Heads Squeal

As the Philadelphia Phillies continue their swan dive into the free agent pool in pursuit of the next big splash, fans are eagerly waiting for the front office to fill the holes that still exist. After reeling in Jonathan Papelbon and setting the market price for relievers, the Philly faithful have their sights set on acquisitions that could make their team unstoppable.

Rumors are swirling about utility player Michael Cuddyer and more permanent solutions like Freddy Galvis or Jose Reyes. The crowds that are set to continue the string of sellouts at Citizens Bank Park are still unsure of whether they will be flocking to see Jimmy Rollins or his replacement.

So, as the baseball world watches as the National League favorites retool before another run at the World Series in 2012, one can only think of the many directions in which the club can move. Sure, it makes sense to target the areas that failed them during their most recent postseason failure.

But what if their trigger-happy General Manager shocked the world with a move that would all but guarantee the team another title?

The league is expecting Ruben Amaro Jr. to make a few more moves that will build upon an already-talented roster. However, after years of massive moves and franchise-changing trades, is it unreasonable to doubt that the Phillies could make another huge deal this winter?

The assembly of the “Four Aces” last season and their statistical potential brings a unique type of excitement that can only surround the opportunity to make history by the numbers. Here are five moves Philadelphia could make that would leave stat junkies shaking their heads at the limitless impact they could have on the record books.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Changing the Culture with Jonathan Papelbon

Love it or hate it, it’s a done deal. Jonathan Papelbon will be closing games for the Philadelphia Phillies starting on Opening Day 2012. Though the signing ranks among the most polarizing decisions made by the front office in recent memory, the $50 million reliever will now be firing fastballs in the City of Brotherly Love.

Papelbon is no homegrown kid, spending his entire career at the back end of the bullpen at Fenway Park for the Red Sox. The closer is not the prototypical clubhouse leader that adds to the team’s renowned jovial team atmosphere – one of the reasons he has not been readily embraced.

Phillies’ fans shouldn’t be expecting a Hunter Pence-like warmth when he does suit up in 2012, and won’t be getting the humility they’ve seen with veterans Chase Utley or Roy Halladay. After throwing the very qualities that the city typically embraces out with Papelbon’s personality, why would the crowds at Citizens Bank Park even want the prized reliever representing their club?

Locked and loaded with six years of ninth-inning success and his colorful attitude, Papelbon is here to bring home a championship. Since their run in 2008, Philadelphia has maintained one of the most desirable locker rooms in sports, assembling groups of players that truly gel as team.

In the years following their second title in franchise history, not once has that tight-knit crew brought home a World Series trophy, falling shorter with each passing year.

It would be unfair to say that the Philadelphia Phillies have been a failure over the past three seasons, but the hardware isn’t there to prove otherwise. After all, a favorable team atmosphere can’t nail down the final outs in a critical playoff game.

Think back to the apprehension felt when Brad Lidge entered in Game 4 of the 2009 World Series.  Recording the first two outs in the ninth inning seemed too good to be true. As it turns out, it was. The runs surrendered by the shaky reliever cost the team a chance to even the series against the New York Yankees, sending the team into a 3-1 hole.

Imagine if the team was able to trot out a guaranteed shutdown in Game 6 of the 2010 NLCS when Juan Uribe homered off of Ryan Madson to effectively end the Phillies’ run to another chance at glory. Instead of lamenting the missed opportunities that have cost the club dearly over the past three postseasons, General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. set out to change the culture.

Reeling in the big prize on the reliever market won’t divide the clubhouse or handcuff the growing payroll to restrict filling more pressing needs. What it does accomplish, however, is adding a proven winner to a mix of players that have only known early defeat since the start of 2009.

With six 30-save seasons on his résumé to go along with a World Series-clinching strikeout, Papelbon knows what it’s like to win consistently – a feeling that a youthful Phillies’ bullpen needs after turning to several rookies in 2011.

Pap’s impact will be felt more immediately than veteran experience when he joins the team in the spring, replacing a first-year closer in Madson. In extending the large offer to the former Red Sox reliever, Amaro Jr. has upgraded to a steadier late-game choice.

Given the team’s history with back-end arms over the past decade, that should be more than enough for the fans in Philadelphia. Papelbon follows a revolving door of arms that has sent washed-up veterans, inexperienced rookies, and converted starters to finish games in the last ten years.

So if you’re a baseball fan still in awe of the eye-popping figures that were agreed upon by a suddenly free-spending Phillies’ front office, hold your judgments on both the man and the worth of the contract.

If the team receives anything close to what they’re paying for on the diamond, expect to see the saves pile up for Papelbon through 2015.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: The Great Debate over Jimmy Rollins

When the clock ticked past the start of free agency, it may have also began the countdown toward the end of the career of a Philadelphia Phillies cornerstone and fan favorite.

With veteran shortstop Jimmy Rollins about to test the waters of free agency for the first time in his 11-year career, the front office is facing one of the most difficult decisions in recent memory.

Rollins’ value to the team over the past decade has been immeasurable, as he has managed to combine outspoken leadership with confident play on the diamond. Though he has hit his speed bumps with fans and managers over the years, J-Roll has worked his way into the hearts of historically hard-to-please Philadelphians. 

However, the question is not how much to pay the infielder for his services that crowds have flocked to see on a nightly basis.

The debate centers around if the team should even keep him on the payroll next season at the risk of committing to a declining player who relies on his body to fuel his game.

Rollins will be 33 years of age when the 2012 season opens, playing in the first year of a new deal. All that remains to be seen is whether General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. will open up his checkbook and reward the loyalty of a Philadelphia mainstay or allow him to chase greener pastures.

There are legitimate reasons on both sides of the argument concerning the future of the face of the Phils. Is Rollins nothing more than an aging athlete falling out his prime, or is he an indispensable piece of a team that is on the cusp of another title?

Should he stay or should he go?

You decide.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Worst-Case Scenarios This Winter

An October that couldn’t finish soon enough for baseball in Philadelphia has mercifully come to an end. In winning the World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals have reopened the wounds of Phillies fans still tending to broken hearts, but also given the Philly faithful a reason to emotionally reinvest in their team.

Following a thrilling Fall Classic that they played themselves out of, the Phillies now face a string of decisions that will shape both their chance for redemption next season and the direction of the franchise over the next decade. Crucial calls on team personnel and free-agents acquisitions now fall on the shoulders of GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and the front office as the league closes the book on the 2011 season.

While the City of Brotherly Love has confidence in their bold general manager, there is no consensus on which moves will make Philadelphia’s club a stronger threat when 2012 Opening Day rolls around. Only by pulling the right strings in negotiations with returning players and free agents can Amaro Jr. produce a product that will be as feared as last year’s edition of the team.

Having already declined the options on Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge, the front office turns its focus to shortstop Jimmy Rollins and closer Ryan Madson. The two homegrown stars have become mainstays of the organization and fan favorites during their long tenures in the red pinstripes.

As skilled as Amaro Jr. appears to have been over the past few seasons, a wrong decision could steer Philadelphia away from their World Series aspirations, wasting the championship window their pitching staff has opened.

There are many choices that the Phillies can make that would improve their baseball team, but here are five things that could prove to be disastrous for Philadelphia this winter:

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Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Proposed Fixes GM Ruben Amaro Jr. Should Ignore

With one resounding grounder to second base, the Philadelphia Phillies‘ dream season was stopped in its tracks and hurled into an extended winter filled with questions and uncertainty. Instead of hoisting the World Series trophy, the front office will be mired in the war room trying to find a way to get their hands back on it.

The Phillies were on track to win their third championship before being derailed by the Cinderella St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS. Failures in situational hitting, baserunning and most surprisingly, starting pitching all led to the downfall of a team that won 102 games in the regular season.

Two weeks after watching Ryan Howard tumble out of the batter’s box and put an end to World Series hopes, there is little value in wondering what could have been for the five-time defending NL East champions. Philadelphia is now turning a blind eye to the final series in the Major League Baseball season and setting its sights on an offseason filled with intrigue.

How GM Ruben Amaro Jr. chooses to handle personnel over the next four months will go a long way toward determining the longevity of the team’s playoff window. With the bulk of their historic staff under contract heading into the 2012 season, there is reason for optimism among the gloom hanging over the city.

Tweaks, minor changes, adjustments—however you choose to describe what needs to be done to keep the Philadelphia Phillies in position to return to glory, it does not include a fire sale that would change the face of the franchise.

If fans are still bitter from the loss at home in Game 5, it would be wise to hold off before shipping away superstars or selling the farm to push the team over the top. The ballclub is still a talented bunch, a fact Amaro Jr. keeps in his back pocket heading into negotiations.

The Phillies GM still faces a tall task in the coming months and will have to answer for his decisions in a city that is always tough to please. Here are five moves that Philadelphia and its front office should look to avoid making before next season: 

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MLB Philadelphia Phillies: Picking Up the Pieces and Moving on

Though it finished with one painful groundout to second, the end of the Philadelphia Phillies’ season will be remembered as a dream that disintegrated slowly in front of a stunned, sell-out crowd. Deflated, broken and let down, 46,000 red-clad Phillies fans trudged out of Citizens Bank Park to join a dejected city that was only guilty of falling into the trap of high expectations.

As the NLCS carries on without the favored Phillies, the team’s faithful are left a week later wondering what could have been had any of the Game 5 balls hit to the warning track been picked up by a gust of wind. With defeat so fresh, it’s only natural to look back at failure instead of thinking ahead to next time this ball club will play a meaningful inning.

Six days after 2011 came crashing down, the organization and its followers are picking up the pieces of a best-of-five gone horribly wrong. But when your star player hand-delivers the best team in baseball to rock bottom with one tendon-tearing swing, what pile of wreckage do you sift through first?

Blame. Someone has to be the fall guy for Phillies’ fans to close the book on the premature ending to such a fine season. Much like last year, however, there is more than enough culpability to go around in Philadelphia’s clubhouse.

Coming off of a regular season where fans could choose a new hero on a nightly basis, the aftermath of the NLDS loss to the St. Louis Cardinals has transformed that positive attitude into a rousing round of finger-pointing. This time, failure lands on the shoulders of a number of offensive stalwarts, including Ryan Howard, Placido Polanco and even Carlos Ruiz.

Was is the subpar starting pitching of their historically dominant rotation, or did Charlie Manuel lose the chess match to St. Louis mainstay Tony LaRussa. Even with two key hits in important situations during the series, is it fair to say the Phillies shed their label as a team that couldn’t hit when it mattered?

In truth, it was a combination of each that led to the Molotov cocktail that burned down Philadelphia’s playoff hopes, a perfect storm that built the ideal brand of bad baseball. But after a six-month layoff, 162 games will rise from the ashes and serve as the end point for 2011’s disappointment.

As Phillies’ nation counts down the seconds until Roy Halladay throws the first pitch on Opening Day 2012, there is a considerable amount of work that needs to done in order to prepare the team for a run at redemption. Buried in the rubble are the expiring contracts of Raul Ibanez, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Madson, the options for Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge, and the recovery of their much-maligned first baseman.

The City of Brotherly Love likely won’t lose much sleep over the departure of their aging left fielder, as John Mayberry, Jr. and Domonic Brown seem poised to step into the role. Platooning the two young stars is not out of the question for Manuel, who may look to capitalize on nightly matchups depending who takes the mound.

Rollins is an interesting case as the offseason draws closer, representing the loyalty-vs.-compensation debate with a pinch of age thrown into the mix. The veteran shortstop has been the team’s outspoken leader during their string of five straight NL East titles, backing up his talk with an MVP season in 2007. It would be tough to see the Bay Area-native walk away for a deal that takes him into his late-thirties. Reportedly seeking a five-year agreement, Rollins will not give Philadelphia a hometown discount and could suit up for another team next year.

The smart money would say that the Phillies are going to drop the inconsistent Lidge and hand his paycheck over to Madson, a lifetime Philadelphia reliever who has finally become comfortable with the ninth-inning duties. Keeping a top bullpen intact will be crucial to another hot start in 2012.

The largest source of optimism for Phillies fans is certainly the return of their three aces for the 2012 campaign. The new season could see Kyle Kendrick take the place of Oswalt, who may be bought out of his contract for $14 million less than his salary. If the pitching is there, Philadelphia will once again be a top club when Opening Day rolls around.

In baseball, there are no guarantees or givens, evidenced by the greatest Phillies team in franchise history being shown the door after just five October games. The front office can put the best talent on the field, making upgrades around the infield if necessary, but success is had by the teams that can come through when it matters most.

With the ability up and down the roster locked in for at least another year, Philadelphia can take comfort in knowing they still have one of the most feared squads in Major League Baseball. Picking up the pieces is much easier when you are being led by three Cy Young candidates and a dugout full of hustling fan-favorites. 

But when October rolls around in a little less than 12 months to the day of when the Phillies’ Achilles heel was exposed, talent will be far outweighed by the team’s ability to come through in the clutch.

For a team and fan base that was left speechless by monumental disappointment and unexpected defeat, another chance at the ultimate prize can’t come soon enough.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: 20 Most Memorable Moments in Postseason History

Another October has come and gone for the Philadelphia Phillies, albeit much sooner than anyone outside of the St. Louis area expected.

After getting bounced from the 2011 NLDS by the Cardinals in five games, all fans can do is begin to pick up the pieces.

Perhaps just as disappointing as the team’s finish itself is the vanishing opportunity to create any more October magic, playoff heroes or indelible moments in franchise history. No more games means no more drama for a team that seemed primed to win the World Series for the second time in four years.

But, after the Game 5 loss to St. Louis, the clock ran out on the Phillies’ 2011 season.

Although there will be no additions to the growing list of the team’s postseason war stories, the collection of events that helped shape the organization is permanent and frozen in time.

Looking back at almost a century of postseason play will provide its fair share of glorious memories and haunting visions. Beginning with the team’s first NL Pennant in 1915, Philadelphia has given fans a database of thrillers that seem to come in bursts.

The ranking of each item on the list will always be up for debate, but one cannot deny that each of the following has left its mark on the franchise and its fans in some way.

Without further introduction, the top 20 postseason moments in Phillies team history.

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Philadelphia Phillies vs St. Louis Cardinals: Live Reaction from NLDS Game 1

As the calendar flips to the start of October, so does the switch on what is sure to be an electric month in Major League Baseball.  The postseason always delivers enough magic to keep fans coming back in droves to witness the next great moment in baseball lore.

Tonight’s NLDS Game 1 matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies promises to be no different and should be packed with energy from the very first pitch.

From the moment that Roy Halladay takes the rubber until the cleaning crew begins prepping Citizens Bank Park for Game 2, Bleacher Report will have you covered with an array of commentary, reactions and updates.  With fine pitching on the hill and two explosive offenses battling this evening in Philadelphia, you can expect a constant stream of action in the opener.

This crucial Game 1 will feature the reigning Cy Young winner Halladay squaring off against ex-Phillie Kyle Lohse, with the winner moving one game closer in this best-of-five sprint to the NLCS. Trying to replicate his no-hitter in Game 1 last season against Cincinnati, Doc will have to silence Albert Pujols, a rejuvenated Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday deep into the evening.

Keep it here and stay tuned in for discussion, questions and an interactive experience as two of the National League’s best kick off a thrilling series! 

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: 7 Reasons They Hope To Miss the Atlanta Braves in October

The last time fans saw the Philadelphia Phillies on the diamond in October, they were dodging a San Francisco Giants team sprinting toward the mound to celebrate an NLCS title at Citizens Bank Park.  As the MLB season comes to a close, an even more talented Philadelphia ballclub looks for fall redemption against a much different National League playoff landscape.

Last October’s failure came courtesy of a matchup that anyone following the Phillies had come to fear. After dispatching the Dodgers from the postseason in each of the past two years, the Giants were the latest to challenge the Phillies from the NL West.  Viewed as the only team that could compete with Philadelphia because of its deep rotation, San Francisco rode consistency on the mound and situational hitting to a victory over the Phillies in six games.

What caused baseball’s best regular-season team to falter in the last NLCS was an inability to overcome the only team that matched up with their strengths and weaknesses.  Whether it was good right-handed starters combined with gifted lefties, a shutdown bullpen or a raucous home environment, the Giants always had an answer for the favored Phils.

Looking ahead to the upcoming playoff tournament, the Phillies are sure to be heavy favorites to represent the National League in the World Series, just as they were before being ushered out of contention a year ago.  Standing in their way and hoping to match up with Philadelphia much like the Giants did are the NL East rival Atlanta Braves.

Sporting a successful youth movement and a very strong core, the Braves could potentially show Philadelphia a very sudden exit in a seven-game series.  Because of the intriguing similarities to the Giants team, the Phillies must show a great amount of poise if they are to avoid falling into last year’s trap. Here are seven reasons that Philadelphia should want to miss Atlanta come playoff time…

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