Friday Finale: Non-tender deadline and more
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Friday Finale: Non-tender deadline and more
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
One last post before we close up shop for the night. Here's what's on the radar:
1) Tonight is the deadline to tender contracts to unsigned players. Any player who is not offered a contract will become a free agent. There is a chance you might see a Phillie from last year's squad end up as a free agent, but we'll have to wait and see.
2) The Phillies don't expect to officially announce the Raul Ibanez acquisition today, so look for a nice press conference/jersey presentation early next week.
3) All day today I have had potential line-ups running through my head. It'll be very interesting to see what kind of magic Charlie Manuel works with his new toy. I'll say this: I tend to think that the Ibanez signing effectively negates the Greg Dobbs-to-left field talk, since the Phillies now have three left-handed hitting corner outfielders in Ibanez, Geoff Jenkins and Matt Stairs. Against right-handed pitching, Manuel now has the opportunity to throw a line-up on the field of all but one left-handed hitter: Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Greg Dobbs, Geoff Jenkins followed by Carlos Ruiz.
4) For what it's worth, here are the OPS numbers of Ibanez and Burrell from the last four years:
Ibanez (2005: .791, 2006: .869, 2007: .831, 2008: .837)
Burrell (2005: .893, 2006: .890, 2007: .902, 2008: .874)
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it's like they signed an older, lefthanded Burrell. i'm trying to make sense of it. i keep hearing about Ibanez being a great clubhouse guy, but we've heard the same about Burrell. it's strange that they didn't even consider bringing him back and moved on rather quickly. is there more to this?- Ibanez is more of an RBI guy... Burrell hits more HR's and draws more walks which is what goes into OPS so those numbers don't tell the whole story. I liked having a big righty bat in the lefty line up though for balance... I think it's safe to say that Burrell won't get 3 years 30 million on the open market— Defenestrating AJS
- The funny part to me is that Ruben claimed they were going to try and get "more flexible and athletic". Ibanez might be slower than Burrell Def. AJS -- RBIs are a lame stat to measure a player by. They are completely team dependent. A crappy hitter could get close to 100 RBIs if he batted fourth for the Phils— HappyPete
- I would have much rather they trade Donald for Delmon Young. I'm not so sure about this. Ibanez is currently a better and more consistent offensive player than Burrell, but we're still going to be yanking our Left Fielder for Bruntlett in the 7th.— Frank Lloyd Wrong
- my point exactly dave with regards to ibanez v. burrell. youth too is on burrells side here. typical phillies move...on the cheap. they'll wind up acquiring a few utility players here and there. then sign a journeyman free agent starter to a minor league contract. ho-hum! i'm beginning to get the feeling amaro is another puppet for ownership to manipulate. just look like your making an effort to appease the fans but don't dare spend our money. we'll never enjoy the pleasures of being a large market team until this regime sells.— mdriban
- lets not all forget - they won the World Series....cut them a little slack. and you wonder why the entirely country blasts us; don't be a stereotype!!!— bl303784
- No, mdriban, the problem with this move is not that they're cheap, it's the exact opposite: they WASTED MONEY. I'd much rather have had them take the cheap route and sign Burrell to a one-year deal. Ibanez is worse than Burrell in every aspect of the game.— sil campusano
- What does that say to Pat - and the rest of us - to give the impression (or did we all make it up?) that they wanted to go younger and more athletic, then get someone older and not really more athletic? (I'm not sure about that last. I have seen some ? about his defensive abilities, however.) I agree with Happy there. On the other hand, the market was slim for LF. Ibanez did have 45-60 more hits than Burrell each of the past 3 years, so don't discount the RBIs stat, Happy. I'm trying to do as bl suggests and have a little faith in mgt. Gillick supposedly likes Ibanez, and he's been known to have some good instincts! Still, I'd feel better if Ibanez were 30.— gbrettfan
- What are you all smokin?....jeez, Burrell is slow as a mule in the field and on the basepaths....he strikes out way too much batting behind another guy who strikes out way too much......please forget about OPS......this is a win-win all the way around for us....quit smokin'.— Mark1npt
- Man I can't believe how many people are hung up on the age thing. Haven't we learned anything after spending 2 years with Jamie Moyer on the mound? Why not wait till the season starts and watch the guy play and see if he is a liability before all the carrying on. The mans numbers show no sign of going down hill yet so relax.— Wally 24
- It might of been nice to at least tell us who the Phillies player who is in a free agent situation after to night Dave. Come on man don't leak a rumor and not finish it.— Wally 24
- "Ibanez is worse than Burrell in every aspect of the game" Pat Burrell .250 ave, 86 RBI Raul Ibanez .293 ave, 110 RBI I guess hitting and driving in runs are not aspects of the game...— Defenestrating AJS
- No they're not, AJS. The fact that you think otherwise shows you don't understand baseball. All you know is the cliches that get fed to you by TV announcers like Tim McCarver. Batting average is a stupid stat. OBP and SLG are 1000 times more important and Burrell's better at both. RBIs are also a stupid stat because they depend just as much on how often your teammates are on base when you hit as on how good you are. And it doesn't give Burrell the credit he deserves for walking a lot. It's almost always better to walk when there are men on base than to knock in a run with an out. The guy behind you might not be as good at knocking people in, but if he succeeds, he'll succeed with twice as many men on base and your team will usually come out ahead in the end.— sil campusano
- you guys have to think about how good ibanez will be in our park. He has played at one of the most pitcher friendly parks for years. A lot of his doubles will turn into home runs here. Plus he may not be a great fielder but he is better than Burrell and won't require us to waste a bench spot on someone to field for him after the 7th. Also, the guy has hit 5, 5, and 3 triples the last three years, so he is definitely faster on the basepaths than Burrell is. Burrell had a good run here, but his time is done, Ibanez is cheaper and we are only on the hook for 3 years. This is a win in my book.— robm0202
