Ranking the Penny-for-Penny Value of All Philadelphia Phillies Players

In a season where the Philadelphia Phillies can lay claim to the highest payroll in the National League and finish near the bottom of the National League East, you better believe that fans are going to start asking questions.

How can a team with a payroll that rivals the behemoth New York Yankees, currently in first place in the American League East, fall victim to teams like the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves?

Well, there is a simple answer. They’re not spending wisely. You can spend all the money in the world on this sport, on one team, but if you’re not spending money on the right players and personnel, you’re not going to win. It’s as simple as that.

When a team like the Phillies isn’t winning, however, the conversation is anything but simple. People want to know and will be quick to point out players that are making far too much money, the best steals on the roster, and even which players should be guaranteed money long term.

So let this slideshow serve as something like a “primer.” Heading into the offseason, we’re going to hear a lot about the Phillies’ payroll and the massive, albatross contracts that saddle it.

If you really want to know who’s burdening this club, however, you have to look at the penny-for-penny value. That’s right. You have to compare the amount of money that each player is making to the value of their services on the club.

So naturally, cheaper players are going to be more valuable. That won’t stop some big-money players from being extremely important to this roster though. It also won’t stop big-money players from tying down the payroll like an anchor.

So in this battle of perceived value versus guaranteed money, who on this club is coming out on top?

*Note: This slideshow is discussing the 2012 season only. We will discuss the player’s 2012 salary and their value to the club for this season.

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7 Reasons Charlie Manuel Needs to Keep His Job as Phillies’ Skipper for 2013

With the way the Philadelphia Phillies 2012 season is going, it should really come as no surprise that seven-year skipper Charlie Manuel‘s managing decisions have been questioned.

As typically happens when a team is underachieving the way many believe the Phils have this year, Manuel has found that his job is anything but safe.

Of course, the record and overall inconsistent play has been a source of concern for the Phillies and their fans. Manuel just hasn’t been able to get the job done this year with the players that he has had to work with. He has done the best that he could, but as critics will say, there is a lot that he could have done differently.

Who knows if the Phillies would be looking at making the playoffs if Manuel did things a little differently? No one really and with the bullpen’s utter failures, it is hard to believe that any manager could have made this a playoff-caliber team.

Part of the reason why Manuel’s future with the team is in question is because of Ryne Sandberg.

Currently managing the Phils’ AAA affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, Sandberg, despite having just four years of minor league managerial experience, has already been tabbed as the potential successor to Manuel. The players are high on him and he was recognized as the 2011 International League Manager of the Year.

For the Phils and the fans, promoting Sandberg could seem like the perfect choice. After all, he was already scouted by both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs, the organization Sandberg built his Hall of Fame career with, for jobs last year. The Phillies had to sweat it out and wait as fortunately neither team chose him.

The Phillies, who made the regretful decision to trade the young Sandberg when he was just a prospect in the system, are not going to make the mistake of letting him leave again. They are committed to giving him a chance as right they should.

It just shouldn’t be next year, though.

In order to thoroughly explain why Manuel deserves to keep his job, the best way to do so is to compare him to Sandberg, his would-be successor. After the comparisons, it should be clear that Manuel, and not Ryno, should be the Phillies manager at least until his contract expires following the 2013 season.

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25 Least Exhilarating Summers in Philadelphia Phillies History

At this point in the season last year, heading down to Citizens Bank Park to check out the Philadelphia Phillies was at the top of the list for fans’ summer plans.

Now, they’d rather take a nap. It’s been that kind of season.

Sure, the Phillies have their excuses, but at the end of the day fans don’t care about excuses. They care about having a team in the postseason hunt and getting ready to gear up for October baseball. But there will be no October baseball for the Phillies after this summer.

There was no big name, All-Star addition at the trade deadline. Instead, they sent a pair of former All-Stars packing: Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence.

But in a funny, peculiar kind of way, Phillies fans should find some kind of comfort in knowing that as sad as this season has been for the Phillies, it isn’t the saddest by far. It’s not even in the top 25.

So if you’re looking for a reason to cheer up, here is what I can do for you. Take a look at this history of the least exciting seasons in Phillies history and be thankful that it isn’t this bad.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Should Phils Try to Re-Sign Juan Pierre This Offseason?

Remember when Juan Pierre was battling with Scott Podsednik to win the fifth outfielder spot on the Philadelphia Phillies’ 25-man roster in spring training?  Remember when, at times, it seemed like Podsednik had a slight edge?

Well, after batting .308 in 97 games and eclipsing his stolen base total from last season in 54 fewer games, Pierre has arguably been one of the Phillies best offseason acquisitions.

But what happens after this season?

Pierre signed with the Phils prior to the start of spring training with a one-year, $800,000 deal.

As he draws closer to becoming a free agent once again, should the Phillies attempt to re-sign him to fill a similar bench role next season?

According to an article by Todd Zolecki on the Phillies’ website, manager Charlie Manuel thinks that the entire National League could have a place on their roster for Pierre next year.

“Juan Pierre is a very special player for you,” the manager said.  “There are a lot of things you can do with him.  He really plays big up in the National League.  I think he’s a bigger National League player than he is in the American League.  The older he gets, the more his age gets.  He can definitely play longer being a National League player, I think.

“I can see a spot for him next year, yes sir.  I can see a spot for him on about every National League team.”

At 35 years old, Pierre is batting .308 with 93 hits and 29 stolen bases in 97 games, but has batted .188 in 48 at-bats against left-handed pitching. 

Pierre is another left-handed bat in the Phillies’ lineup, and does not have the strongest arm in the outfield.  However, his consistency at the plate combined with his speed on the bases and leadership in the clubhouse make for attributes the Phillies’ roster could welcome next season.

After trading Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence and Joe Blanton, and with Placido Polanco potentially becoming a free agent, the Phils could have multiple new faces on their roster next season as they try to return to their winning ways.

So, should they attempt to re-sign Pierre in order to have another veteran presence in a clubhouse with new faces?

Pierre is a versatile player at the plate and on the base paths, as he can bunt for a hit and steal his way into scoring position.  However, the Phillies have limited options for their batting lineup when he starts.

With Jimmy Rollins essentially locked into the leadoff spot (he’s batted .216 in74 at-bats from the three-spot), Pierre has batted primarily from the two-hole in the Phils’ lineup.  From 2009-’11, Pierre had 1,507 at-bats from the leadoff spot and just 62 at-bats from the two-hole.

Rollins has batted .215 against left-handed pitchers this season, meaning that with Pierre in the lineup, the Phillies would have two very similar players at the top of the order.

Furthermore, where does Pierre fit in the Phillies’ outfield?

If Domonic Brown, Nate Schierholtz, Laynce Nix and John Mayberry, Jr. all return, and at the major league level, that would only leave one available outfield spot.  However, chances are very high that the Phillies will try to acquire at least one, if not two outfielders during the offseason.

If the Phillies add two outfielders, it could be hard to find a roster spot for Pierre.  If just one is added, the team may have to decide between Mayberry, who can also play first base, and Pierre for a final outfield spot.

However, a transaction involving Mayberry, Nix or Schierholtz could easily result in the Phillies having an open roster spot for Pierre, if he chose to re-sign.

Having an experienced player whose strikeout and walk totals are nearly identical, and less than 20, would give the Phillies’ bench another great advantage next season. 

Pierre’s performance this season has made him more than simply a bench player.  Rather than a player who can pinch hit or run late in games or serve as spot-starter to give someone a rest, Pierre has proven he can fill in for extended periods of time should an injury arise, while starting three to four times per week regardless.

A lot could depend on the money he is looking for, as well as the other roster additions the Phillies make.

Pierre has already gone from a player who was signed just prior to the start of spring training, to someone who is already on the Phillies’ radar before the offseason even begins.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

5 Ways Philadelphia Phillies Can Fix Their Bullpen This Offseason

In hindsight it probably wasn’t a smart decision for the Philadelphia Phillies to head into this season with a bullpen featuring primarily young and inexperienced pitchers.

Injuries to Michael Stutes and David Herndon weren’t expected to cause them to miss nearly the entire season, and players such as Antonio Bastardo and Chad Qualls were supposed to provide a seamless late-inning transition to closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Instead, the Phils’ bullpen in the second-half features players such as Michael Schwimer, Jeremy Horst and B.J. Rosenberg.

Not quite what was expected for a team whose top major league ready prospects primarily consist of relief pitchers.

As David Murphy wrote on Philly.com in June, the Phillies spent approximately 11.68 percent of their entire Opening Day payroll on the bullpen for this season. From 2008-2010, the percentage was above 19 percent. Murphy also points out that approximately $17 million of the nearly $20 million paid to the bullpen goes to Papelbon, Jose Contreras and Kyle Kendrick. The team’s plan to use young and inexpensive relievers this season has not worked out the way it might have hoped.

However, because these players are still young and considered to be some of the team’s best prospects, there’s a chance that having a year of experience under their belts will be all they need in order to have improved performances next season.

But with only two relievers who currently have an ERA under 3.50, the Phils must still look at ways to address their bullpen, in addition to the other tasks on their to-do list after this season.

Here are five different ways the Phillies can fix their bullpen this offseason.

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10 Reasons Why the Phillies Must Reload, Not Rebuild, in the Offseason

The Philadelphia Phillies were supposed to be leaving questions like “rebuild or reload” for franchises well-versed in that dilemma: your Pittsburgh Pirates, your Milwaukee Brewers.

This is generally the province of the middle-market team, with payrolls south of $100 million and often records south of .500.

But the Phillies spent over $173 million this season only to see all of their careful plans laid to waste by the upstart Washington Nationals, the stalwart Atlanta Braves and, at various times, the rest of the National League. 

With 45 games left to play, the Phillies still have 10.5 games to make up and five teams to pass just to secure the second wild card.  Even if you are not good at math, you know the numbers say it is not going to happen.

Here are 10 reasons why Ruben Amaro Jr.’s answer to the question at hand has to be “reload.”

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9 Options for the Philadelphia Phillies at Third Base Next Year

Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. needs a third baseman for next season.

Amaro told the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s Matt Gelb that he recently discussed how difficult the position is to fill with several of his fellow GMs. The Phillies have even considered the possibility of playing catcher Carlos Ruiz at third base for some games next season. It wouldn’t be a permanent switch. The intention would be to give Ruiz’s knees a rests while keeping his bat in the lineup. 

However, just the fact that the Phillies have discussed such a possibility speaks to their desperation. Quality third basemen are not easy to find. Those teams that have one aren’t very likely to trade him away. It’s a treasured commodity around baseball.

Yet Amaro should have plenty of options for next season if he casts a wide net. The question is whether he’ll pursue a long-term solution for third base during the offseason or perhaps look at a one-year, temporary stopgap at the position. 

If Amaro wants to go big, he may want to wait one year and see if the New York Mets sign David Wright to a contract extension. If the Mets decide they can’t give out that kind of contract, however, or if Wright decides he wants to play someplace else, the Phillies will surely be one of the teams ready to pounce.

Bringing in a placeholder will certainly be easier (and cheaper). But it seems increasingly apparent that Amaro is tired of worrying about third base and wants a reliable player who can man the position for multiple seasons. 

Here are nine players that Amaro should have on his shopping list when he begins calling his colleagues around baseball after the season. 

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25 Offseason Moves the Philadelphia Phillies Could Make to Reclaim NL Throne

The Philadelphia Phillies‘ season could be compared to a dinghy moving through a field of ice in the water.

When you’re forced to hop into a small boat and navigate through a field of ice, you know you’re already facing big problems. That’s what the Phillies faced this season when they were forced to open up the campaign without Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.

Sure, you can navigate around the big chunks of ice, which is what the Phillies did when they brought in guys like Ty Wigginton, Laynce Nix and Freddy Galvis to play first and second base in the absence of their All-Stars.

Those are moves you make to plug holes in the boat. You don’t want the water pouring in and threatening to take the whole thing down, but some holes are just too big to fill. So when Roy Halladay went down, it was kind of like hitting the proverbial iceberg.

The water poured into the boat and the Phillies had no way of stopping it. It rushed in and flushed their postseason hopes away, and now the club is forced to look toward the future.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The Phillies made a pair of moves at the trade deadline to free up some space under the luxury tax so that they could fix this thing. In the following slideshow, I’ll take a look at a few scenarios that could lead the Phillies back to the top of the NL East in 2013.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Old Guys Got Hurt; Also, Water Is Wet, Sun Is Hot

Ask someone who does not know much about baseball why the Phillies’ season is in the hopper and you generally hear some variation of “they had a lot of injuries.” The only sane response to that is, “of course they did.”

There was a time in baseball when players got better as they got older. It wasn’t that long ago, actually. 

Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs—after never having hit even 50 before—at the age of 36. Roger Clemens went 20-3 at the age of 38. Luis Gonzalez hit 57 home runs—after never having hit even 32 before—at the age of 33. 

Yes, 2001 (the year all that happened) was awesome, if that was your sort of thing.

Draw your own conclusions as to whether all of those feats were nature, coincidence or something else.

But as far as the 2012 Phillies are concerned, all you need to know is that it is not 2001 any more. In 2012, players in their 30s and 40s do not get bigger, stronger, faster and better. Instead, they get smaller, weaker, slower and worse.

And they get hurt. Boy, do they get hurt.

Somehow, the Phillies’ front office never saw any of this coming. As an object lesson then, here is a quick look back at the “unforeseeable” injuries that in retrospect aren’t quite so shocking.

Jim Thome, 41 years of age, was going to be a stopgap at first base until the incumbent came back from his own horrific injury. Quickly, though, it became apparent that Thome’s body could no longer handle the rigors of first base, even sporadically. The Phillies traded Thome to the Baltimore Orioles, putatively so he would be in a position to DH some and prolong his career. 

As of this writing, Thome is on the disabled list with a neck issue.

Jose Contreras, 40, was going to serve as a valuable linchpin at the back end of the bullpen. His earned run average was over five when his right elbow more or less exploded. He will not pitch again this season and the jury is very much out on whether he will ever pitch again.

Roy Halladay, 35, was supposed to make another 34 or 35 starts, win another 15-20 games, post an ERA under 3.50 and lead the pitching staff. But he couldn’t do that once he came up with a lat injury that knocked him out for almost two months. Again, it’s not as if Halladay was making a Cy Young case before hitting the disabled list, not at 4-5 with a 3.98 ERA.

Cliff Lee, 33, was also thought to be an “every fifth day” pitcher. But when his manager, Charlie Manuel, inexplicably decided to have him pitch ten innings, in San Francisco, in April, Lee missed three turns.  Is the left oblique strain Lee complained of soon after that game the reason he is presently 2-7?  Maybe not. You doubt it helped much, though.

Carlos Ruiz, 33, was slotted as the everyday catcher. He would get appropriate breathers from Brian Schneider, 35, but Chooch was the man on whom the plan largely depended. Ruiz, after all, was entrusted with handling more than $50M worth of starting pitching and an eight-figure closer. 

That Ruiz hit .335 with 14 home runs was just icing on the cake…right up to the point where he came up with Plantar fasciitis and landed on the disabled list. He will remain there for the foreseeable future. 

Schneider would have helped out, but he missed the entire month of July with his own injury.

You are almost 600 words into this article and you still have not read the names Chase Utley, 33, or Ryan Howard, 32. You may have heard that they missed some time, too.

Well, at least Jimmy Rollins, 33, stayed healthy.

Then again, the calendar still says “August.”

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Cole Hamels: Phillies Ace a Serious Cy Young Candidate

Cole Hamels is an invaluable player for the Philadelphia Phillies and a serious Cy Young candidate for the National League this year.

The Phillies are second to last in the NL East, with an under .500 record. They are 18.5 games behind the Washington Nationals who are at first place. So yes, the season is looking bleak for the Phillies.

But, there’s always a silver lining. Hamels is ranked No. 13 among MLB pitchers and is in the race for the NL Cy Young Award.

Jim Salisbury from CSNPhilly.com reported that,

Hamels was brilliant in pitching his second straight shutout in leading the Phillies to a 4-0 win over the Miami Marlins on Monday night…twenty-two consecutive scoreless innings have improved his record to 13-6 and lowered his ERA to 2.91, which ranks among the 10 best in the National League.

Hamels has been delivering excellent pitching for the Phillies despite their poor record this season. Manager Charlie Manuel believes Hamels has great command of his pitching. “He’s commanding the low part of the strike zone and he can go high when he wants to. He has his changeup, his cutter, his fastball,” (via Jim Salisbury from CSNPhilly.com).

According to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News (via bostonherald.com), Hamels is a strong pitcher set to replace Roy Halladay as the starter in the pitching rotation. He’s already well on his way. Hamels “has logged 22 straight innings without surrendering a run” since August 2nd.

Hamels is a three-time All-Star and was both the National League Championship and World Series MVP in 2008. He’s been a great pitcher for several years now but this could be the year that he gets the Cy Young to put the cherry on top of his stellar career. 

The MLB may have written the Phillies off toward any playoff contention (and rightfully so), but Hamels could give the team one piece of good news. If he keeps up his performance and adds more shut outs, Hamels could definitely claim the Cy Young award.

Hamels is every bit as good as his six-year contract extension implies, and he’s worth every penny. The Phillies signed Hamels to a $144 million contract earlier this season.

Winning the Cy Young award would only confirm Hamels as a smart investment for the Phillies.

He’s got my vote.

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