Cuddyer should be Phillies primary focus
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Cuddyer should be Phillies primary focus
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
They held a parade for the Cardinals in St. Louis on Sunday and any time a team celebrates a championship, it's quite natural to hold that team up under the light to see if there is anything to learn.
It's of no consolation here in Philadelphia that the World Series title still goes through this city. Since 2008, the Phillies have either won the World Series or lost in the postseason to the team that won the World Series. The focus here is that the Phillies have only won once and the postseason losses have come earlier in each of the last three seasons.
None of that matters now. The planning for 2012 has begun and the Cardinals did do some things that should make the Phillies and every other team take notice. The thing Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. fixated on during his team's five-game division series loss to St. Louis was that the Cardinals had a lot of guys who could grind out at-bats.
Amaro was so impressed that he has made it a mandate for the Phillies to pattern themselves more after the Cardinals next season. Scrappers like Ryan Theriot, Skip Schumaker and mostly World Series MVP David Freese were certainly impressive and part of the reason why the Cardinals were able to complete their unlikely run to the franchise's 11th World Series title.
Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa also received a lot of credit for maneuvering his role players during the postseason, but maybe the man who made the most important move for St. Louis was little-known general manager John Mozeliak.
He was the guy who decided to take a chance on Lance Berkman even though the former Houston slugger appeared to be on the decline physically and at the plate. Add in the fact that Berkman was mostly considered a first baseman at this stage of his career and the Cardinals already had some guy named Albert Pujols at that position and it was an even more of a gamble.
As it turned out, Berkman was a sensational $8 million free-agent signing and the biggest reason the Cardinals emerged with the best offense in the National League in 2011. Berkman was even better in the postseason, hitting .313 with 17 runs scored and 11 RBIs in 18 games.
If Amaro wants his players to improve their approach, then it is his job to try to find somebody like Berkman this offseason to add to the Phillies' roster. Chances are, he won't find somebody that good or with such an established track record, but it was an uncelebrated addition like Jayson Werth that once helped push the Phillies over the top.
Minnesota's Michael Cuddyer, a free agent who may command more than the $8 million the Cardinals paid Berkman last season, seems like the best fit for the Phillies. He can play first base, second base, third base and the outfield and has the kind of bat that would make manager Charlie Manuel's lineup better.
Given the uncertain injury situations of Placido Polanco and Ryan Howard, Cuddyer should be the Phillies' most sought-after free agent from another team.
Another veteran maybe worth taking a risk on is San Francisco's Mark DeRosa. He'll be 37 in February and injuries have limited him to 73 games the last two seasons, but he should come cheap and is a great on-base guy when healthy. Other free agents who could help improve the Phillies bench are Jamey Carroll from the Dodgers, Jerry Hairston Jr. from the Brewers and Nick Punto from the Cardinals.
A celebrated addition like Roy Halladay via trade two years ago and Cliff Lee via free agency last year is not likely to happen during this offseason, but sometimes a seemingly lesser move can help a team just as much. For proof, see the Cardinals signing of Lance Berkman.
VOTE: Phillies: Stay or Go?- Funny too because it is the patient hitters that get the HRs. Not the mindless, free swinging, hackers.
— jtj06 - This paper was taking about DeRosa about 3-4 years ago....when he was 3-4 years younger. Please, no more late 30's going on 45 washed up players. And I still cannot be convinced this team as currently set up will start grinding out at-bats when those fences are oh so close in the summer, when the heat and humidity kick in, making CBP a launching pad. I just can't buy it!— DelawareRiverRat
- Martinez and Valdez are only good defensive replacements. They need to forget about that type of player and sign more offensive backups. They get used more for hitting than defense. You need offense on the bench not defense. They should trade D. Brown for a young third baseman like Chisenhall from Cleveland.— REL3
- By the way, is Cuddyer going to play 1st, 3rd, and left field at the same time???? The Phillies multiple players to fill their voids, Cuddyer may fill one!!— billtfla
- As my pop used to say "they just need a swift kick in the seat".. something similar to that at least.— sillybilly
- Did you mean the Chan Ho Park pre-spitball or post-spitball? Face it, no one is going to trade for Howard or even inquire about him. He is going to be here. If Rollins leaves, are we sure that Galvis is the next Edgar Renteria? And if Madson leaves, who is the new closer? Mott? Seriously, the Cards got extremely lucky with him. And remember Cards caught a team with a much better closer and being down 10.5 Mott was successful but if the Braves do not historically choke, then this conversation is mute. He is like K-Rod. How many WS has K-Rod won since 2002? We have alot of holes and Ruben, who is a great GM, does have his work cut out for him. Once Wade is fired, then we will see Ruben's acumen.— kwasi2323
- You've got to be kidding me. Cuddyer should be they're primary focus...BS.
How about getting their bat on the ball, moving runners, not swinging at 3-0 pitches when you're losing by 1 in the 7th inning, not swinging at pitches in the dirt. How bout hitting more than you weigh...for starters.
— Fan74 - How about the lineup earning their salaries and hitting their weight in the postseason. What a bunch of chokes.— Fan74
- everyone has a plan until they get punch in the face— bag-of-donuts
Comment removed.- Don't burn out your starters during the year. They were toast in the playoffs. A fresh Lee would have won game 2 with a 4 run lead instead he looked like Kendrick.— schlippg
- Was Carpenter burnt out? Was Doc burnt out? Stop making excuses for Lee. When a guy makes 20 million a year he is supposed to be a horse. It is not the end of the world to say he didn't have his best stuff and he got beat. His past 3 post season appearances have not been very good. The rest have been great. He has pitched a lot of innings every year..He is supposed to pitch a lot of innings. He looked like KK because he pitched like KK. "They were toast" Who is they?. Lee? — pattymac3
- zwarte piet - one of the dumbest things I have read in a while. You mention Park, Eyre, and Condrey like they were Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, and Mariano. Thanks for the laugh. And you incoherently blamed Manuel for his hands-off approach, I think. Yeah, let's blame everything on Amaro, he is the reason we couldn't score any runs. That's like blaming your kid's coach because he stinks.— Dumpy1133
- With Rollins, Howard, and Polonco plights uncertain and the entire team hitters shaky at best, it is time to look for power hitters as replacements. Jim Thome at first until Howard is completely healed then Thome as a big bat off the bench or a mid-season trade to an AL Team. There is no need to rush Howard back as long as their is another good option, as Mayberry, JR if not Thome but I think Thome is a real cleanup hitter even at his advanced age. A. Ramirez to replace Rollins or Polonco as he has pop in his bat. I am very surprised that Rollins has no offer yet. Amaro, Jr may have another plan. This year Amaro, JR must be decisive and quick with his moves as we know that the fans are extremely disappointed with 2012. If they are going to sign an older reliever than keep Lidge as I think that he has a lot left in the tank. Its Amaro, JR move now, let see how it plays out! It is time to get younger in the infield and Pen. They already hurt themselves by resigning the so-called hitting instructor.— jpelle36
- I disagree, he needs to take his time and figure it out, not be quick just because the fans say so. If the fans ran the team, they'd lose 110 games every year. — seaonasdad
