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Kendrick Impresses Again, Should Earn Number 5 Spot

The Philadelphia Phillies told Kyle Kendrick that the number 5 spot in the rotation was Jamie Moyer's to lose. Kendrick took the news as a challenge as he continued to impress today against the Baltimore Orioles. Kendrick pitched 4 shut out innings allowing only 2 hits and maintained an amazingly perfect 0.00 ERA this Spring. 

Kendrick is poised, he has regained his confidence, he has control of all of his pitches, and, if Spring Training ended today, should be the team's number 5 starter. The Phillies are wrong to give Moyer the number 5 job if Kendrick continues to throw this well. 

Everyone knows that Moyer was displeased with his role in the bullpen after Pedro Martinez took his spot in the rotation. Yes, the Phillies are paying Moyer the salary of most team's number 3 starters. But neither matters. What matters is what is best for the team which is Kendrick in the rotation and Moyer out of the pen.

As long as Kendrick continues to pitch well, Moyer going to the bullpen is a no brainer. He would be available for a spot start, he could pitch long relief keeping the team in a game if another starter was ineffective or there was a rain delay. He can pitch 6 or 7 innings giving the rest of the pen a day off if a starter gets knocked out early. He also solves the team's problem for another left hander out of the pen. While he is not a left handed specialist, he would give Charlie Manuel another left handed option. Bastardo and Escalona have shown that neither of them belong on a major league roster.

Unless Kyle Kendrick unravels in the last two weeks of Spring Training, he deserves to be the Phillies number 5 starter. It makes the most sense for the team and will give them a starter that could be a solution for the back end of the rotation for years to come. Sure Jamie Moyer will not be happy about it, but he has been around long enough to know that a club has to do what is best for the team.

Can The Phillies Really Start the Season With The Current Roster?

With less than 5 days until pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater, the Philadelphia Phillies have most of their roster questions answered. The lineup is set, the bench is set. In fact, there will not be any competition for position players at all unless there is an injury. The starting rotation has four solid pitchers but no real solution to the number 5 spot. The bullpen is in disarray. Beyond set up man Ryan Madson, everyone is a question mark. Can the Phillies really go into 2010 with these pitching questions?

 In short, the answer is no. Jamie Moyer may rebound from an offseason in the hospital and prove to the world that age is but a number, but that is a long shot. Kyle Kendrick could regain his poise and recapture the magic he found in 2007. Again, another long shot. The Phillies need another starting pitcher to look at this spring. Going with what they have now is a recipe for trouble.

The bullpen is the biggest concern. While Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero are on throwing programs, they very well may not be ready until mid April to early May. When they are ready, how sure will anyone be that they can be effective again. Danys Baez was brought in because he has closing experience but looking at his numbers shows a guy that is not even as good as Chan Ho Park. With Park and Scott Eyre gone, the team will start the season with a depleted bullpen built around question marks. General Manager Ruben Amaro needs to approach Park's agent again and come to an agreement with the right hander. While that will not solve all of the teams bullpen issues, it will give them some depth should Lidge or Romero not recover or if they are ineffective. 

Looking at the Philadelphia Phillies right now one sees a team with incredible talent but lacking in depth in both the rotation and the bullpen. Depth wins championships as much as stars do. The Phillies need to find that depth now before they go into the season without a fifth starter and a without a bullpen that can hold a lead.

Why Phillippe Aumont Belongs In The Bullpen

MLB.com announced the top 50 prospects in baseball. Outfielder Dominic Brown was ranked 14th while newly acquired Phillippe Aumont was 47th. Aumont may have ranked higher but a sore elbow caused him to miss two months last season. How should the Phillies continue Aumont's development in 2010? He should be given a chance to make the major league roster as a bullpen arm.

Why put Aumont in the bullpen? The elbow issue is reason enough. In addition, Aumont is a hard thrower that can reach 95 or higher on the radar gun. He throws a decent curveball but his change up needs to be improved to compete as a starter at the major league level. While sending him to Triple A could prepare him to be a big league starter, he could get on the job experience at the big league level in a bullpen where the Phillies need all of the help that they can get.

Very much like the Yankees have used Joba Chamberlain, the Phillies could do the same with Aumont. Keep him on a strict innings count for the season to help ensure his elbow is OK. The "Joba Rules" seem like the perfect answer here. He is a hard thrower which lends itself to success in the pen. He can work on his off speed pitches without over exposure as he would only have to pitch an inning or two. Throwing an occasional curveball and change up, he can learn to master the pitches easier in the pen and on the side.

If he were successful, Aumont would get the confidence needed to move into the Phillies rotation next year or perhaps in 2012. He could also prove to be a great bullpen pitcher and work his way into a closing role where he could dominate the ninth inning for the Phillies. Just remember, even Mariano Rivera was a starter as a rookie. This kid seems to have the makeup of a guy that could be a solid big league set up man or closer. 

Why not see how Phillippe Aumont performs in a bullpen role while filling the needs of the bullpen and giving him a role where he can develop and gain confidence at the big league level. If Aumont can help the Phillies the way Joba Chamberlain helped the Yankees, the trade for Cliff Lee may be a little easier to swallow. Your thoughts?

The Anatomy of The Phillies: Are They Set Up For The Long Haul?

The Philadelphia Phillies seem to have it all together. They have won three straight division titles, 2 pennants, and 1 World Series Championship. Most of their star players are homegrown, players love playing in Philadelphia, and Charlie Manuel has proven himself to be one of the better managers in the game. Ruben Amaro has been able to sign players to multiyear deals and the team's farm system has been rated as one of the best in the game. Can their recipe for success continue? As the core of the team ages, payroll continues to increase, and key players come closer to the end of their contracts, many wonder how long the Phillies can sustain being the premier team in the National League.

 Much has been discussed this week about Jayson Werth and the fact that his contract expires at the end of the 2010 season. From reading Phillies.com, it looks as though the team will let him go. Ruben Amaro said, "We cannot operate with nothing but $15- to $20-million players. And if there's any indication how much the Holliday and Bay signings have on direct impact on where Werth may be at the end of this year, we're going to have to sift through it and figure out what's best for the organization, not just for the next couple years, but also long term. Jayson is under contract through this year. We've had very, very preliminary discussions about what his future might be like here. There will be some difficult decisions down the road. We'll have to weigh where we want to fit in all the dollars and how we want to fit the puzzle together." Read between the lines, Werth will be a Yankee, Red Sox, Cub, or even worse a Met next year. What is the Phillies blueprint for success for the long term? 

One thing that becomes interesting when looking at the Phillies is the fact that other then two older players, Raul Ibanez (37) and Placido Polanco (34), all of the Phillies starters are about the same age, 30. This is a mistake for several reasons. While you have many players in their prime making the team as good as it is, it means that all of these players are or will soon become free agent eligible raising the payroll without adding additional quality players. It also means that when these players turn 34 or 35 and begin to decline, that the team has not restocked with younger players to remain competitive. We saw this same thing happen to the Phillies in the mid 1980's. They did not transition well to young players and did not put together a strong nucleus for another 20 years. 

Consider the Boston Red Sox. They have been one of the top teams in baseball for years. While they have a primarily veteran team, they also have young homegrown stars like Dustin Pedroia that can be the nucleus of their team when guys like David Ortiz are no longer productive. Ortiz will be 35 this year, Youkillis 31, and Pedroia will be 27. The Phillies stars, Howard, Utley, Werth, and Rollins are all the same age. They do not have a young star budding now to lead the next generation of success in Philadelphia while learning from today's stars. Sure you can point to players in the farm system like Dominic Brown, but know one knows if or when or how good he will be at the big league level. Where is the 26 year old position player? What about the 24 year old? We do not have those guys in our lineup or in our system. Even our bench players are in that 30 year old age set. 

The Phillies claim they are committed to putting a team on the field year in and year out that can be a winner. Unfortunately, if they can keep this team together, they will be good for the next three or four years then have no plan but to add free agents or unproven players. That is not a recipe for success. 

Maybe the right thing is to let a player like Werth go and try to replace him with Dominic Brown or another younger player. While no one wants to see Jayson go, you have to ask yourself how the team gets some younger stars by keeping everyone on the team when they are all the same age. I want the Phillies to win this year, but I also want to see them have a chance to win for the next ten years. It is called building a tradition of winning. If the Phillies are committed to the payroll that they have, there is no reason they can not continue to put a winner on the field year in and year out. They just need to replace their players systematically and strategically. I would have preferred to see Victorino go instead of Werth, and that can still happen, but however it happens, we need to see younger stars in the Phillies lineup very soon.

Discuss Jayson Werth and the Phillies on PhillySportsComplete.com's new discussion forum!

What Does The Victorino Deal Mean to Jayson Werth

The Philadelphia Phillies have been aggressive about signing their players to medium and long term deals. Placido Polanco got a three year deal, Roy Halladay received an extension, as did Joe Blanton. Now Shane Victorino got a deal while Carlos Ruiz is close to an extension. But where does this leave Jayson Werth? 

Werth is a free agent at the end of the 2010 season yet there has been no discussion about him receiving an extension. Werth is arguably the best right handed slugger that the Phillies have had since Mike Schmidt. His 36 homeruns were second most since Schmidt while he had a .373 OBP and stole 20 bases hitting .268. He plays Gold Glove caliber defense and has a rocket for an arm saving the team runs. In addition, he plays heads up baseball. He knows how to make things happen. He steals a base when the team needs it, takes the extra base, draws a clutch walk, and gets the clutch hit. Is this a guy you let go?

Unfortunately it seems as though the Phillies have looked at their budget and consider Werth the odd man out. With almost $130 million committed to 14 players already in 2011, the raise that Jayson will warrant is probably not in the team's plans. Consider, if Jason Bay got $16 million beginning in 2011, and Werth has another season like he did in 2009, he could command the same as Bay or even more if the Yankees or Red Sox get involved. Add that the free agent market will be thin with only Werth and Carl Crawford slated to be top choices and Jayson could price his way out of town if he hits the free agent market. The Phillies could be looking at prospect Dominic Brown to fill Werth's shoes.

Not acceptable. The Phillies have a predominantly left handed lineup already. Werth is the only balance the team has. Letting him go will be a big blow to the league's best offense. Shane Victorino and Dominic Brown can not fill the hole that Werth would leave. While you will see others say that Werth is an injury liability, they are wrong. Werth's injury problems are not the type that will come back to haunt him. He will be 31 this year and should be one of the better outfielders in the game for the next 3 or four years. Why not give him a 3 year extension?

Beg borrow or steal, Ruben Amaro needs to find the money and sign Jayson Werth long term. Letting him go would be a huge mistake and one that the Phillies can not afford to make! They need to get him signed before Spring Training. Werth is worth it! 

Read more about Werth's future in Philly.

Offseason Ponderings: How The Phillies Have Changed

If you are a lifelong Phillies fan like I am you have seen it all. With that in mind I was thinking about the Cliff Lee trade last summer and the recent Roy Halladay acquisition and realized how much the Phillies have changed for the better. They now understand that when it comes to getting pitching, you have to go with a sure thing.

When I was a kid, the Phillies needed pitching help when Steve Carlton's era passed and the team brought in Shane Rawley. Now Rawley was a nice pitcher, if he was the third guy in your rotation. But the Phillies touted him as our number 1. He was to match up against Dwight Gooden, John Tudor, Orel Hershiser. You get the picture.

Then there was Chad Ogea. Ogea never had a really good season in the big leagues but had one great World Series appearance against the Marlins in 1997 ensuring him (at least in the Phillies front office) to be a lock for the top of the Phillies rotation. Of course the Phillies also never took into consideration that his knee was battered from the tragic boating accident that took the lives of Tim Crews and Steve Olin and left he and Bob Ojeda injured.

More recently there was the signing of Jon Leiber. Leiber was another pitcher brought in to be an ace despite having had Tommy John surgery. Leiber was a nice pitcher if he was your fourth guy, but the Phillies brought him in as the ace. How did that turn out?

You get my point. The Phillies have finally realized that when it comes to pitching, you have to get a sure thing. Roy Halladay is as close to a sure thing as you can get. And just think, had the Phillies followed their old ways, we would be sitting here half excited about the Phillies signing John Smoltz to a three year deal to be the teams ace. In the press conference, the Phillies would try to sell us on how they think he can return to his form of the mid 90's and lead the team to victory.

Aren't you glad the Phillies organization has changed? I know I am!

The Day After: Thoughts on The Halladay and Lee Trades

Many Phillies fans have said that if the Phillies were going to end up trading Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor anyway, why didn't they just make the deal at the All Star break and the team could have had Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee and perhaps (ok probably) won the World Series? After thinking it through, the deal makes more sense when you consider the following.

 The price for Halladay went down. While the team still gave up Drabek and Taylor, they did not have to include J.A. Happ. While I am not sold that Happ will be anywhere near as good as he was in 2009 ever again, I think he can be a serviceable number 4 or 5 pitcher that can eat innings. The Phillies also received $6 million to meet their precious budget and the ability to ensure that Halladay would be in Philadelphia long term. There is no way that a contract extension could have been done midseason. 

The other thing that I and many other fans thought was about the seven prospects that were traded in the deal. And were the prospects that the Phillies received from the Mariners for Cliff Lee really as good as Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor? But wait, they do not replace Drabek and Taylor. They replace the players traded for Lee; Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Jason Donald, and Jason Knapp. Donald had surgery and hit only .239 at Triple A. Knapp is scheduled to have surgery making his future uncertain. Carrasco had an 8.87 ERA going 0-4 with the Indians after a sub par year in Triple A. Marson only hit .243 at Triple A after being traded and is probably the only prospect that could stick at the major league level at least in the foreseeable future making Phillippe Aumont, J.C. Ramirez, and Tyson Gillies look like they upgraded the farm system. 

When you look at it this way, the Phillies received Halladay for less then they would have in July, are sure to have him longer, and now have upgraded their farm system. Not too bad when you look at it that way. While we can only wonder what the Phillies could have done had they kept Lee for 2010, restocking the farm system gives the Phillies a brighter future while giving them more chips should they have a mid season need in 2010. A day after and I am feeling much better about this deal. Are you?

Umpires Live Up To Their Reputations

The umpiring this entire post-season so far has been horrific.  So bad in fact, that the sports league known well for its lack of interest in getting anything right the first time, has finally made a change.  No, there are still no consequences for bad umpiring.  That change may be another 3 or 4 decades down the road.  But in breaking a tradition that has been in place for 24 of the last 25 World Series, the umpiring crew will not include a first-timer for the 2009 Series.

Each year, the league has rewarded at least one umpire who never called a World Series before.  In the last two years, there were 3 new umpires involved in each.  But after a string of blatantly awful calls this post-season, only veteran umpires with World Series experience will be put on the field.  Those umpires are Joe West, Dana DeMuth, Gerry Davis, Brian Gorman, Jeff Nelson and Mike Everitt.  The first 3 have at least 25 years MLB experience and all have worked at least one World Series.

But the question still remains, why all the bad calls?  I have a few theories:

- Revenge: After years of being harassed and demeaned by angry fans, coaches and players who claim that they are terrible, these umpires decided to show us all the true meaning of “You suck, ump!”

- Manny has his own t-shirt; the umpires felt left out.

- Constantly asked, “Are you blind?”, these umps finally realized that being blind = free government disability benefits.  Awesome.

- If players can get away with using steroids, cheating on and beating on their wives and setting bad examples for children everywhere, why shouldn’t the umpires able to blow a few calls?  No biggie.

- Sheer entertainment value:  Who doesn’t LOVE a good argument?   And watching two 60-something year-old men go at it like hormonally enraged teenagers just adds to the appeal and the TV ratings.

- More instant replay = same pay, less work.  May as well have a robot call the balls and strikes.  The ump can just supervise.

- Chicks dig bad boys.

So forget about those missed hit by pitches, the double play that wound up being only one out or that guy who called a runner out for leaving base too soon when he never even looked at the runner; these umpires are clearly on a mission.  And everyone loves a good controversy.  So umps, you go on with your bad selves!  We all cannot wait to see what you pull out of your back sides next.  I just hope it is not a yellow penalty flag, because that is totally the wrong sport.  Best of luck to ya!

Manuel photo by Jenn

Complacency After The Cliff Lee Trade?

Many times when a team gets a big trade acquisition it gives them a shot in the arm and they go on a winning streak. Of course the Philadelphia Phillies have been white hot and faced some great pitching on their recent road trip. In fact their 3-4 record does not sound all that bad considering the pitchers they faced. It just is after the way they have played recently and on the road all season.

The concern is the team getting a feeling of over confidence and thinking they can phone in the division title. One thing this team has never done in the past is taken things for granted. They scratched and clawed for the division title the past two seasons and while they won in the playoffs and World Series with relative ease, they did so because they played hard.

2009 is different. After a dismal June that saw them hold first place despite poor play, they have won and not looked back. With a sizable lead in the standings they then acquired the American League reigning Cy Young Award winner. Sure it would be easy to say they have the division wrapped up. But the Phillies can not afford to do so. While the Mets are floundering, the Braves and Marlins are still a threat. A five game lead is a nice cushion, but by no means does it wrap up the division. Just ask the 2007 Mets.

The Phillies should feel confident after making the trade for Cliff Lee. On paper they have solidified themselves as the best team in the league. Now they need to play up to those expectations. They need to come home from this road trip, put their noses back to the grindstone, and set a lofty goal and go for it. How is this, win 100 regular season games!

Schmidt to Howard: Where are the Legitimate Sluggers Between?

Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt retired in 1989 and said he thought he would be the last player to reach 500 homeruns. Since then he has been passed on the all time homerun list by Barry Bonds (762), Ken Griffey Jr (621), Sammy Sosa (609), Mark McGwire (583), Alex Rodriguez (572), Rafael Palmeiro (569), and Jim Thome (558). Most of these players have been linked to steroids. In addition, the other great sluggers since Schmidt have all had shadows looming over them about performance enhancing drugs. Manny Ramirez has been suspended, David Ortiz is now in question. Do I even mention Jose Canseco?

The only exceptions from the 1990's have been Ken Griffey Jr. and Jim Thome. Neither have had questions about drug use and both have been overshadowed by cheaters who did. Sadly injuries derailed Griffey from being the greatest slugger of all time. Had he not been hurt, he may have hit 800 or more homeruns. Then there is Thome, quiet and reserved and a guy who would rather talk about his teammates and winning then himself. Had the cheaters not tainted the game, guys like Thome and Griffey would truly be given the credit they deserve.

Fast forward to today. Ryan Howard and Albert Puhols lead a new generation of post steroid power hitters. Prince Fielder, Mark Teixeira and others can be added to the list. But as I looked at the legitimates compared to the illegitimate, I realized how lucky Philadelphia Phillies fans have been. We have had Schmidt, Thome, and Howard all play in our uniform. Schmidt was the greatest of the 70's and 80's and now Howard is the best since joining the league as far as homerun production. Considering there have only been a handful of legitimate sluggers, looking at the list the Phillies have had the most and arguably the best.

My hope is that this era will go away. That the cheaters will never get into the hall of fame, and the guys who were deservant will get the honor and recognition they deserve.