Meet Raul Ibanez
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Meet Raul Ibanez
Todd Zolecki
The Phillies introduced Raul Ibanez this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
Here is some of what he said:
On being 36 years old and being able to maintain his productivity throughout the length of his contract: "I love hearing it. It's one of the things I enjoy because I know that I can continue to be productive. I know this. The good Lord has blessed me with ability. He's blessed me with what I believe to be an incredible work ethic, and an incredible drive to attempt to succeed no matter what. So I think I can continue doing this for a while. As a man I couldn't have come here unless I was able to do that."
On if he feels fresher because he didn't become an everyday player until he turned 30 in 2002 with the Kansas City Royals: "That's exactly how I feel about it. That's exactly how I felt when I was 30. Guys kept telling me, 'Wait until you're 30. You can't train that hard when you're 30.' Then I heard, 'When you hit 35, those day games after night games are going to be killers.' So, finally, I talked to Edgar Martinez about it. I said, 'Edgar, what is this thing about 35. Everyone talks about 35. What is this? At 35 I feel just as the same as I did when I was 30.' ... Edgar said to me in his super wise way -- it's like going to Yoda, you know? -- he said, 'That's for the guys that don't work as hard as we do.' He told me his best years were after 35. His best year was when he was 37."
On his success last season against lefthanded pitching, which is relevant because he fits in the middle of a lineup that includes Chase Utley and Ryan Howard: "I think I've always had quality at-bats against lefthanded pitching. But last year I did implement more into my routine, seeing lefthanded breaking balls. I did do that more. I have a cage in my house and I spent time hitting off of a breaking ball machine a little more."
On his defense: "I hope people will be pleasantly surprised. I think in this game you get a label and it's very difficult to shake that lable. People will come up with whatever formula they can to try to prove that label."
On if he has heard how tough Philly fans can be: "I've heard that before. Everyone has heard that. It's irrelevant. I'm here to help the club win. No matter what, however accountable they're going to hold me, I'm going to hold myself 10 times more accountable than that. Being held accountable is not a bad thing."
On if he cared to make a statement about the Phillies-Mets rivalry after Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez called the Mets the team to beat (never hurts to ask, right): "I'm sorry. I'm a pretty boring guy."
Love those positive comments. 2009 = the year of the repeat. Jeff Gross for Mayor.— mick314- As a Mariner fan, I am going to miss Raul immensely. The Phillies have got themselves a real good player and solid citizen. He worked so hard and was the one consistent hitter in the middle of the lineup. I think his numbers will improve, as he didn't have that much of a supporting cast in Seattle. We wish him the very best in Philadelphia.— huskydon
- Mick--can't be mayor, I don't lie and/ or steal. I will, however accept any tickets to games you want to send my way lol— jeff gross
- El Zorro: I havent heard anyone anywhere say Donald won't be a good defensive SS. In fact, his value keeps going up as he has good season, then good Olympics, then good Fall league, etc. The question may be if his arm is strong enough to play third or not— jeff gross
- Jeff, I read it somewhere. Don't remember where. I also saw him played this year in the Futures Game, where the best USA minor league prospects played the international players and he made an error. I have to check, but he made a good amount of errors at AA. Maybe he can get away with it at the ML league level because of his offensive potential, like Hanley Ramirez, or he can become another Alfonso Soriano, a former second baseman playing the outfield now.— EL Zorro
- Jeff, I just check Donald his defensive performances the last two years and it's worse than I thought. He made 25 errors in 2007 between Lakewood and Clearwater with a combined fielding percentage of .957 in 134 games. Last year at AA Reading he made 18 errors in 91 games with a .948 fielding percentage. That’s an error every 5 games, which will project to more than 30 in 162 games in the majors, if my math is correct. In the other hand, I don’t think he will have any problems making the throw from 3B, because in SS you cover more ground and have to make the throw from deep short.— EL Zorro
- We'll see what he can really do in spring training. I think it's a given that he's no Bowa or Rollins in the field, but he's no Howard either— jeff gross
- Now that you mention Howard, it will be a big problem having 50 errors between two of your infielders.— EL Zorro
- I was really impressed with the press conference AND Todd's article in the paper this morning. Ibanez not only seems like a really nice guy, but I love the fact that he can be seen as a leader in the clubhouse. Can never have too much leadership. Also agreeing to a little bit of a pay cut to come to the Phils says a lot. I also liked that he said he could "feel the excitement coming through the TV" when the Phils won. You sure didn't hear much of that, outside of Philly! I think he's going to fit in real well in our town! Welcome Raul!— Norma
- There is no downside to Raul aside from his age which probably won't be a factor until after his contract is up...big deal, so we don't re-sign him in 3 years....as much as I love Pat, or Manny or Milton Bradley I can think of plenty regarding each of them....— Mark1npt
- I'm happy with Ibanez being a Phil and think it'll be an upgrade over Burrell, who I've also always liked and who has been a bigger plus than most seem to realize. There is a potential downside to Ibanez though; that .300+ avg againt lefties is a one-time thing in his career so far, and there's no guarantee he'll repeat that. And I do agree that at the least, he'll have to prove that he can play younger than the clock says he should. Still, I'm expecting it to be a good pickup and a plus move both in the field and in the lineup.— marty
- The Ibanez signing is a great move. To protect Howard we don't need power, per se, but average. If the 5 guy is getting on base consistently, then you can't IBB Howard too often. As for teh RHB we need, look for a trade involving the looser of the back up catcher war, one of our Pitching prospects (kendrick or happ) and either Jenkins or Stairs for a RH outfielder and a few mid range prospects. Probably happen week or two before opening day.— jeff gross
- Everyone seems to be worried about how old Ibanez is...well, I'm here to tell you that there are many people in baseball who think that Pat plays much older than his 32 years......there is no downside with Ibanez....he's going to look 29 playing on this team compared to what we've grown accustomed to seeing with Pat....and I love Pat, er, not in a gay kinda way but in a true fan kinda way.....— Mark1npt
- Why can't I see all the comments until I type something?— James TL
