Archive: November, 2010
Daily News staff
Former Phillies general manager Pat Gillick is among 12 nominees on the Baseball Hall of Fame's Expansion Era ballot for the Committee to Consider Managers, Umpires, Executives and Long-Retired Players.
The nominees will be reviewed by a 16-member group at the baeball winter meetings next month in Orlando. A candidate must receive votes on at least 12 ofthe 16 ballots to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Gillick spent 27 years as the general manager for the Blue Jays, Orioles, Mariners and Phillies, winning at every stop along the way, with his teams earning nine postseason berths and three World Series championships. In his 27 years as GM, his teams finished with a winning record 20 times.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
The big news today, obviously, is that La Salle begins its defense of 14th place in the Atlantic 10 with an exhibition game against Philadelphia University at Tom Gola Arena. But it also happens to be the first full day of free agency, which is the time of year when baseball teams who are worth hundreds of millions of dollars attempt to sign baseball players who are worth millions of dollars under the watchful eye of sports writers who are worth hundreds of thousands of Marriott Points.
We've already paid significant attention to the Phillies' free agency game place, and we will continue to do so in the coming days. The first thing we addressed is the bullpen, because I anticipate that being the first area that the Phillies address. History suggests that the outfield market will be slower to develop as Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford and their representatives pore over their various options, but we will provide a comprehensive look at that in the not-too-distant future. The other potential need I highlighted a few days ago in a story in the Daily News, much to the consternation of the apparently-significant Wilson Valdez fan base, was infield depth. Given the public outcry that resulted from the suggestion that Valdez might not have a 2011 roster spot locked up -- the letters are fine, but the horse head in my bed was a bit much -- I should offer a quick clarification: I like Wilson Valdez. Great defender. Terrific arm. Came up big in some big spots at the plate. Most productive utility infielder they've had over the past few seasons. But he had a .306 on base percentage, and that was 34 points higher than his previous career average. He had a .667 OPS, and that was 27 points lower than the mark posted by Jimmy Rollins, who some suggested benching in favor of Valdez in the postseason. He grounded into 20 double plays, tied for fifth in the NL despite having more than 200 fewer plate appearances than the three players he was tied with. My only point? With Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco and Chase Utley all coming off injury-riddled seasons, the Phillies might look for some infield depth that would provide more offensive punch if called upon as a long-term fill-in.
Anyway, there are a few other key dates to keep in mind as the calendar slides toward Christmas.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Some unfortunate news for anybody pulling for Jamie Moyer in his attempt to pitch a 25th season in the majors.
According to reports out of the Dominican Republic, the soon-to-be-48-year-old lefty has re-injured the elbow that sidelined him for the last two months of the 2010 season.
Dionisio Soldevila, a journalist in the Dominican Republic, reported via Twitter that Moyer left a game after two innings Saturday with pain in the elbow. Moyer has been pitching for Escogido in winter league ball in the Dominican in an attempt at preparing himself for spring training, when he hopes to compete for a starting job somewhere in the majors. Moyer, who joined the Phillies midway through the 2006 season, was unlikely to return as a free agent.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
In the paper today, we offered a look at the Phillies' strategy for the upcoming free agent signing period, which begins on Sunday. While the bulk of the attention thus far has been focused on Jayson Werth's impending free agency, and the Phillies' options should they choose not to re-sign him, don't be surprised if Ruben Amaro Jr. zeroes in the bullpen over the next couple of weeks. The outfield market could take some time to develop, and the Phillies might not know their complete list of options until teams are required to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players on Nov. 23. We explained the rationale for such a strategy in the paper, but here it is in a nutshell:
With Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels all coming off heavy workloads, it would make sense for the Phillies to fortify the bullpen so that Charlie Manuel doesn't feel compelled to lean as heavily on his starters as he did in 2010.
The club currently has three players under contract for next season -- Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson and Danys Baez -- leaving at least four open spots and, assuming Baez must compete for a job in the spring, likely five. Expect a slew of young players to get an opportunity to compete for a spot in the bullpen in spring training (Justin DeFratus, Antonio Bastardo, Vance Worley, David Herndon, Mike Stutes, Mike Zagurski, B.J. Rosenberg, Scott Mathieson, etc). But even if they think a couple of them will get spots, the Phillies still will look to bring in an established arm or two. Chad Durbin and Jose Contreras are free agents who the team could consider re-signing, but here is a look at the external options.
Daily News staff
Coming off a franchise attendance record, the Phillies will be increasing ticket prizes in most areas of Citizens Bank Park for 2011 by $2 to $5.
Season ticketholders have been sent renewal invoices this week reflecting the change.
Single-game tickets in the lower bowl from sections 1115-132 and rows 1-6 along the baselines have increased to $65 from $60. Tickets along the baselines in sections 112-114 and 133-135 have also increased $5, to $50. Tickets in the outfield (sections 101-107, 140-148) are $36, up from $33.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
On November 16, Roy Halladay could be named the National League Cy Young winner.
And if Jack McCullum gets his way, the Phillies' ace will be in line for another prestigious honor.
McCullum, the veteran Sports Illustrated writer, has nominated Halladay as his choice for the magazine's annual Sportsman of the Year honor.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
A couple of quick notes. . .
1) The Phillies have claimed infielder Carlos Rivero from the Cleveland Indians to bring their 40-man roster total to 34 players. Rivero, a right-handed hitter from Venezuela who turns 23 on May 20, played short stop in the Indians system. He hit .232/.278/.325 with six home runs in 496 at-bats last season for Double-A Akron. He is a career .255/.315/.361 hitter in the minors.
He sounds like a minor league inventory guy, a la Brian Bocock.
Daily News staff
With the end of one season, the looking ahead to the next begins quickly.
If the oddsmakers are right, we are looking at a rematch of the 2009 World Series with the Phillies and the Yankees.
According to Bodog.com, the odds of the Yankees winning the World Series in 2001 are 4-1, with the Phillies as the second choice at 6-1.
Daily News staff
Jayson Werth is among 142 players who became free agents as soon as the final out of the World Series was recorded last night.
With recent changes to the free agent provisions of the Basic Agreement, the exclusive negotiating period for free agents and their current clubs has been shortened to 5 days (from 15 days). Beginning the sixth day, free agent players are eligible to negotiate and sign with any team.
Here is the list of 142 players and we figured this would allow you to make your own shopping list:
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
We got the first hint in spring training, when Jayson Werth suggested that this would be Davey Lopes' last season as first base coach, and a couple of days after the Phillies were eliminated by the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS the situation had yet to be resolved.
Yesterday, though, the Phillies found out definitively that Lopes would not return for another season on the team's coaching staff.
"I found out about Davey's decision today and clearly we are disappointed that he will not be a Phillie next season," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a statement. "We were hopeful that he would have remained with us as he did a fine job with our baserunners and our outfielders for the last four years. Going forward, we will immediately begin a search for his replacement."
