Replacing Vance Worley's rotation spot
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Replacing Vance Worley's rotation spot
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
Two days after Zack Greinke signed the richest deal ever for a righthanded pitcher, Kevin Correia agreed to a two-year, $10 million contract with Minnesota. Last week, Joe Blanton signed with Los Angeles for $15 million over two seasons.
The cost of doing business in the pitching market is prohibitive, from top to bottom. That's why, as the Phillies seek a replacement for Vance Worley's fifth spot in the rotation, think Chan Ho Park.
No, the Phillies are not signing Park, who recently announced his retirement from baseball. Rather, this situation conjures memories of 2009, the last time the Phillies truly had a rotation battle in spring training. (That is excluding 2010, when Jamie Moyer merely had to demonstrate good health to beat Kyle Kendrick.)
The Phillies had three young pitchers -- J.A. Happ, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco -- as candidates for a job. Then, in January, they signed Park to a one-year, $2.5 million deal.
Sounds a lot like the type of pitcher Ruben Amaro Jr. is currently seeking.
"We’ll probably look to add a low-risk, high-reward type of guy, or somebody’s who’s come back from an injury, or someone like that who can battle for that fifth spot," Amaro said Sunday. "A lot of teams have had some success looking for that guy late in the season and finding that productive guy. So that’s one possibility."
Park, of course, went to spring training in 2009 as the favorite to win the job. He did just that. And by mid-May he was demoted to the bullpen while Happ was installed into the rotation and flourished as a rookie starter. Park thrived as a middle reliever and the reward was solid considering the small risk ($2.5 million) taken.
So forget the Ryan Dempsters, Edwin Jacksons and even Shaun Marcums of the market. They will sign for at least two, maybe three years, given the demand. The Phillies are looking for a one-year deal having already invested $71.75 million in 2013 salary (AAV) for their four starting pitchers.
They possess young talent in Jonathan Pettibone, Tyler Cloyd, Adam Morgan and Ethan Martin. None are proven nor are top prospects, which will probably prompt a cheap addition from elsewhere.
Pettibone, 22, could be the most polished; he finished the season in triple A but nearly doubled his walk rate there. Cloyd, 25, allowed eight home runs in 33 major-league innings after tearing through the International League. Morgan, 22, has a better power arm than those two and earned high marks from two scouts who saw him in 2012.
That depth should be augmented by the sort of veteran, "low-risk" pitcher Amaro described. There is no shortage of such available. A sampling: Joe Saunders, Chris Young, Carl Pavano, Derek Lowe, John Lannan, Jair Jurrjens, Kevin Millwood and Chien-Ming Wang.
None of those names are particularly overwhelming and identifying one that stands above the rest is trivial. But remember, the Phillies are looking to replace the production of Blanton, while banking on Kendrick continuing his rise. Blanton made 20 starts for the Phillies last season with a 4.59 ERA.
Kendrick's final two months -- 3.20 ERA and 51 strikeouts to 14 walks in 70 1/3 innings -- were beyond encouraging in a small sample size because of real mental and mechanical adjustments. He'll be 28 in 2013, and the Phillies have not counted on him this much going into a season since 2008.
Ideally, that "low-risk" pitcher can move to the bullpen if ineffective and one of the younger arms is promoted. The Phillies may have some $20 million to spend, but that sum could disappear once a corner outfielder and veteran reliever are added.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Comments (88)
You guys who knock Amaro are morons. The team has won 5 division titles in 6 years. They had a bad year, it could happen to anyone, anytime. To say pitching is not Phillies strength is to decalre to the world you have no idea of what you are talking about. To say the Phillies are cheap is even more absurd. Yes they canned some guys last season, because the team needed a shake up. Pence is a bonehead and Vic was sulking over his contract status, I liked Blanton but he is far from irreplaceable. Amaro is far from done, they will likely spend another $40 mil or so on next years team. They are trying to get Hamilton, if they don't, they move on to Ross or someone else. They will sign another starter. Someone who will come at a reasonable price, that makes good business sense. I think it is likely to be Lannan, but maybe Edwin Jackson or Brett Myers is in the mix...maybe all three?— Paul SoTX- and I was correct last year too when I criticized Clueless Rube's awful 2012 pre-season that doomed them last year:
4/23/2012: "everything I said all winter was proven accurate beyond anyone's worst nightmares --instead of attacking the messenger, fans who really cared about the team who would have applied minimal critical analysis would have realized I was correct..a fan's "obligation" is not to support the team right or wrong but to urge them to get it right -Warbiscuit"
— warbiscuit - Ugh every time I think about giving away Worley and May for Revere I get nauseous.— bingbangbong
- thx ghostofcallison and advantasux too -- at least some of you get it --- to really get under the skin of newly blogging morons like cdedrick and stantheman, I'll re-post my sanctimonious post from last year:
4/24/2012 "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.... Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."—Dietrich Bonhoeffer...for years Harry Markpolos tried to tell people that Madoff was a fraud and you couldn't get such results legally playing by the rules.. for years I and others have been trying to tell people that you couldn't win a championship putting all your budget into a couple of starters and aging former stars while having no clue how to evaluate talent, no idea how to put together a team with depth, balance, bench and bullpen and then just trading away all your top prospects to try to cover your mistakes, that it too was a ponzi scheme and that it would come back to bite you ... I can stop posting these annoying and repetitive postings when Amaro is fired and acknowledged as the incompetent fraud and charlatan that he is
— warbiscuit— warbiscuit - You're welcome, but you don't need to thank me, brother. We've got your back. There are so many Montgomery/Amaro/Manuel kool aide drinkers on this site that I'd be surprised if they have been fans of our Phillies for more than 4 or 5 years. Amaro is (in my opinion) the worst GM we've had. Supposedly, he has the purse strings. If that is the case (and it should be, because the Phillies have immensive TV royalties due in the near future) Amaro should be signing the absolute best available to win that WS championship while the team's window is still open. Is he? Could anybody say he's doing his best to win it all now? Not unless they are delusional, like your self-proclaimed "buddy" dope biscuit. Just understand that there are a lot more of us out there that are in your corner than the moronic "dope boy".
- Jair Jurrjens - is not the Jair Jurrjens of the past. Check out his stats, arm strength, velocity, and consistency. The Braves knew he was washed up and let him go. Don't waste the money on an injured/weak arm pitcher.— MooseBreathMints
- before the apologists blast me, let me modify slightly what I said below regarding the Phils pitching and what I really believe: while they have some young talent and "could" be ok, after Hamels and Lee, every one else is a huge question mark, and Dubee and Manuel are generally awful at working with young pitchers and middle relievers...while I can't stand Paplebon and think he'll be a constant source of frustration and a bunch of awful losses until his contract expires in another 3 years (gulp), Phils unfortunately are "set" with him as closer and so closer is the "least" of their problems...however I am skeptical that Halladay will ever be anywhere near "elite" again and am very skeptical about Kendrick, and Phils are clearly in need of 1, 2 or maybe even 3 more quality starters even if some of their many young relievers manage to surprise...— warbiscuit
- @Cdedrick: yes, we know Gillick hit quite a lot of homeruns with low risk, high reward players (werth, victorino, eyre, durbin, romero, coste, stairs, etc) because he apparently could evaluate talent and players and team needs; we also know that Clueless Rube is about 0 for 18 in picking "low risk high reward" players (baez, contreras, schneider, herndon, martinez, tashner, willis, Gload, Nix, Thome, Francisco, Mayberry, Bowker, Qualls, lindblom, etc) because he apparently has zero ablility to evalute talent or team needs.. we also know that Clueless Rube actually discarded for nothing the few "low risk high reward" players who accidentally fell in his lap who ended up being quite valuable for other teams (Voglsong, Grilli, Moss) so what we know is Cluless Rube is an absolute disaster as a g.m.— warbiscuit
- and that's how I know Gillick may supposedly be an "adviser" but unlikely has any influence on the mad imbecile -- if he or any adult were in a room when Clueless Rube has a phone or a pen in his hand, he probably just tries to get out of there as fast as he can -- Rube reminds me of a 1 year old playing with a phone in her hand and making believe she's an adult -- can't anyone find the Clueless one his gameboy?— warbiscuit
- @daytstrum -- you said it all as i might have (and perhaps did on occasion :)) --good to see there's another fan who totally gets it....— warbiscuit
- I think that's why we got Young, folks...so we can try HITTING our way through starters 4 and 5! 'Course it would help if we would do a little more of that for 1, 2, and 3, too. Then again two of those pitchers can hit enough for themselves to win games. That'll have to do. The committee isn't big enough to solve 4 and 5 now.
so we better keep 13 or 14 in the pen, and try to get to Paps as SOON as possible! And even that won't guarantee much as we saw last year. Get ready for another rough ride, y'all...after all it is '13.— ocpizza - Gelb refers to the Phillies "starting four" but WHO is he referring to as the so called fourth pitcher?......Kendrick? I am already gagging....Kendrick is bush league and always will be barring some miracle. He can pitch two decent games then get butchered and driven out in two innings, he has no sustainable consistency. It was an egregious error trading off Worley, knowing that Halliday is questionable but then again, Amaro never considers reality or contingency plans...those are alien concepts to his minimal cognitive skills. I have never witnessed a GM who willfully destroys his own team by creating huge deficits he didn't need to do, making irrational, incredulous, almost sabotaging trades, decimating the farm and throwing away players that could have filled holes he now needs to fill again. Its laughable if not tragic. Look at his track record, he gives up Feliz at third for Polanco who never turned in one full season, he traded away high end prospects to get Cliff Lee before he traded him only to end up having to save face by reacquiring him for far more than he would have paid had he just kept him, then he would not have had to trade MORE players for Oswalt then turn around and dig a deeper hole by letting Werth go then trading for Hunter Pence, depleting MORE farm prospects then ends up dumping Pence and VIctorino only to find himself having to trade AGAIN for outfielders he already had......is this a Monty Python comedy or a warped reality show depicting the inept machinations of a clueless GM?— daystrum
- Saw quite a few Phillies minor league games in 2012 in person and on MiLB-TV. The game Ethan Martin pitched for Reading against the Trenton Thunder in the Eastern League playoffs even in defeat was one of the best. He pitched 7.2 innings gave up one earned run and struck out 11 with no walks. The Trenton play by play guys said it was the best pitching performance they had seen all year. They said his fastball was sitting at 91-95 mph to go along with his breaking stuff. Interesting to see if he gets a shot in the major league camp for the fifth starter role.— Dull
- sorry to burst everyone's bubble (not really) but Phils pitching staff is far from a "strength" any more: after Hamels and Lee, the makeup of the staff for 2103 appears far below decent:
a. Halladay may have had a nice career, but he clearly appeared to be washed up as his 4.49 era last year would have ranked 43rd among 47 NL starters had he enough innings to qualify;
b. If you're relying on Kendrick as a no. 3 or 4, you're in trouble..yes he shocked everyone (including Rube who would have given him away for mere salary relief in July) by putting togther a fine stretch in Aug and early Sept but that's the first time he's had any consistent starts since 2007, and his last couple of starts he looked like he was back to "form"
c. don't get me started on Papelbon, who is routinely voted the most overrated pithcer in basebal and was single-handedly responsible for destroying any chance the Phils ever had last season to get back into the race, as he was awful in big spots -- the most undependable "big-nmae" closer in baseball right now; when he comes into any situation every fan knows that no lead is safe
d. not a single reliable name in the rest of bullpn -- all serious question marks, with an awful piching coach and a manager who has no idea whom/when to use his pitchers...
good luck— warbiscuit - Wow. Could you write any dumber of an article?? truly dumb and meaningless. Lannan, Jackson really?? And why denigrate the young Phils Pitchers who look good. Just like the Outfiled. They're set _ RUF, Revere and Brown. Now with Young at 3B they're set. Go Phightins'!!!— Phillyexp
- Go with at least one of the kids - they have the tools - now's the time - NOT when you are forced to. Do not even TALK about Oswalt, Millwood, Pavano, or for Pete's sake - Zambrano, as I read yesterday.— dwp66
- i can't help but think of the night in late july/early august 2 seasons ago when carl pavano came in here with the twins and absolutely shut us right down until one of the young subs hit an eigth inning homer— SyddBarrett
- A few more names to add to that bargin basement style pitcher:
Bret Myers-- maybe he is more mature now, could start or releaf.
Mike Pelfrey-- he is what he is, but maybe worth a look.
Francisco Liaiano
Jonh Lannen
Remember we are talking about 5th starter, long releaf, staff filler— Philvegas - How about Dickey? Seems as if the Mets aren't too interested in signing him. A knuckleballer would add interest to the rotation.— sabelotodo
- Another hand wringing common tatering in order to insight the boo boo birdies!
GOOD GRIEF!— BEMiller - Will miss Vance and his competitive attitude.— amishjoe
- I like Lannan, even though he broke Utley's hand...— chesapeake
- Dustin Moseley is worth a look. He and Chris Young. Young can probably teach Cloyd a thing or two.— JayW
- So, he's at it again. "We're looking for low risk, high reward....." This guy is like a broken record. Like a hoarder, looking for more used up cr*p to add to his legacy of bottom feeding. Qualls, Willis, Baez, Wigginton, Nix, Martinez, Herndon -- it goes on and on while the Phillies continue to regress. What a hapless GM we have. I never thought any GM could make Wade look good. Amaro has proven me wrong.
- perfectly stated post! — advantasux
- Thank you, sir! And then, there's the self proclaimed "dope" (below) who just can't help chiming in from the depths of his mother's basement. I guess we made a new "friend". Maybe he'll leave Warbiscuit (for whom he couldn't qualify to wash his jock) alone for awhile now that he's found others to cyber-bully from behind the safety of his keyboard.
- Before last year each of the first 3 yrs won more games then the last, some key injuries and a couple of bad bullpen decisions led to a bad 1st half of last year and you whine like we're the Royals. Funny thing about losers like you and your cousin Toolbiscuit is just once I'd like to hear you make suggestions instead of a daily diet of whining and complaint no matter what move is made — DogBiscuitthedope
- Still waiting, basement dweller, for YOUR first suggestion, other than trolling and waiting to pounce upon another man's opinion. Other than protecting your BFF Amaro, just what would you suggest? More of the same bargain basement pick ups? Actually, I couldn't care less what you would suggest. It's obvious you sport a bone for anything Amaro scavenges from the dregs of the scrap heap.
- Jair Jurrjens— PhightinPhil
- Why not head on down to Pappy's farm, hitch a ride on the ol' tractor pull, and see if Roy Oswalt wants to pitch...ya know...give back some of that $16 million he got paid in 2011 to basically do nothing but rehab is chronically bad back? Heck, why not offer to pay for a full time chiropractor to travel with the team..ya know..to coax the "other" Roy into tossin' a few with his buds. He looked so overpowering last season when he finally decided to pitch for the Rangers...and that amazing 4.46 ERA.....Not a bad option huh?— drhoffman
- Jurjens was hurt, Lannan got hosed...they are both still young and have some experience as an MLB starter. They also have played for the other two good teams in the division, and they probably can help with some insider knowledge. Sign them both, if this offseason is any indication the price of doing business in free agency is taking off, they are going to need more starters in a season or two at most because that's all Halladay and Lee have left. Kendrick can go back to long man/spot starter.— Paul SoTX
- Adam Eaton should be available......— Servo
- Go in-house with one of the kids, if not, Javi Vazquez is pitching again in the PR league. He was pretty good his last season with the Marlins, the second half in particular. He decided to retire instead of playing for for the controversial Ozzie Guillen, the same manager he had a pretty nasty relationship in Chicago.— EL Zorro
- hummmmmm....seems my rather witty comment from earlier this morning has disappeared from the list....how did that happen?— Mark1npt
- too witty, no doubt, and probably made too much sense. It had to go! — advantasux
- Ruben reminds me of the dumb blonde who had a blow out on one of her front tires. Lacking a spare she took a good wheel from the back of the car, and replaced the flat one in the front. You don't accomplish anything weakening one part of line up to strengthen another. It's time to ante up the bet to have a chance at winning the big pot. Maybe the cards you're holding should have been discarded, and replaced. If you can't afford the ante, fold your hand and continue to watch someone else grab the pot. It's not a new feeling, you've done it before.
— phineas - that's the way the Phils used to conduct business. Now, with so many positions weakened and so little left in the farm system, it's a new ballgame. When a GM goes to work knowing he needs to address just one or two areas, he can be aggressive. When the same GM is left with multiple positions to address and precious little capital with which to do it, he plays a shell game.
This is the legacy achieved by Rubens A. Moron, Jr. The Nats and Braves, Dodgers and Giants are playing with strong hands. The Phils are playing from a position of weakness.
It's the Reign of Ruin!— advantasux - Not even joking - Jamie Moyer is a free agent and pitched last year in the majors.— RUlaw
- First off, thank God we didn't sign Blanton to the deal the Angels just did. He must have a HOF agent. I have no idea which of these re-tread starters could emerge BUT, with $24 million left to spend, it sure sounds like Nick Swisher or a comparable corner OF to me. Ross will surely sign for less and that's not enough for Hamilton.
What makes me nervous is whether KK can truly be a good No. 4 starter. I like him and he was among our most valuable players in 2011, effectively swinging between long relieve and starting games -- which a ton of guys cannot do. But Kendrick is far from dominant.— eman - Well i don't like Edwin because of his agent and Marcum because he's a big injury risk but I don't get necessarily why this matters,tt
They will sign for at least two, maybe three years, given the demand. The Phillies are looking for a one-year deal having already invested $71.75 million in 2013 salary (AAV) for their four starting pitchers.
— rc1000 - Well i don't like Edwin because of his agent and Marcum because he's a big injury risk but I don't get necessarily why this matters,tt They will sign for at least two, maybe three years, given the demand. The Phillies are looking for a one-year deal having already invested $71.75 million in 2013 salary (AAV) for their four starting pitchers. (HTML deleted)— rc1000
- After signing Greinke and a Korean pitcher, the Dodgers have about 8 starting pitchers. Figure Harang, Capuano, Billingsly or Lilly could be available.— zeke128
- The Phils better keep all of their young guns. Hamels is the only starter they can count on.— Boru
- We have seen Cloyd. He is a disaster. and to "gentian"-stop with the 1990's Howard Eskin impression. The Phils don't dumpster dive anymore. We also don't want to pay the luxury tax, and either does the Yankees. For the Amaro haters- get a life. You think you can do better? It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, isn't it? You are pathetic.— Philsfan56
- Best guess is RAJ spends the bucks on a corner OF and reliever. The Phils don't need another "vet" starter with Doc and Cliff. Keep Kendrick and Cloyd in the rotation and please get some dependable offense. Pitching didn't kill the Phils last year......lack of run support did!!! Period!!— streetrat
- Brandon Webb is out there too. He wants to come back and given his track record, we could have a ben sheets-braves situation. Give him a look— samarea51
- I agree with the no has-beens. Might as well go with a kid and my vote is for Adam Morgan... just think of the fun the former "wolf pack" and other pitcher groupies can have every five days with the Captain Morgan suits on.— sjuhawk416
- Replacing one loser (Blanton) with another retread loser (whoever) = Loser, Amaro is a genius.— HappyHarry
- The more I think about it, the FO has gone backwards this offseason. They seem to be downsizing in order to max out profit, running the Phils as a business instead of as a baseball team. The only solution for the fans is to keep the seats empty.— Seegs
- You can say what you want about some of the moves this team has made but to call them cheap is simply moronic. "The only solution is to keep the seats empty" Because they haven’t completed the roster by today that indicates they're worried about the bottom line? Some people simply amaze — DogBiscuitthedope
- if the genius GM doesn't pony up significant $$$ to sign Hamilton or a good pitcher, then this poster @Seegs is dead-on accurate! — advantasux
- how telling that the good work done by this GM over the past three seasons has the Phils behaving again as they needed to several seasons ago. Let's weaken our known strength - starting pitching - strengthen another area, and then let's backfill that previous strength with more garbage.
Amaro hasn't even begun to spend money this offseason. Revere and Young cost less than $7MM. Ruf and Brown and DeFratus and Aumont have real shots at roster spots and will cost nothing, replacing so many older guys who pulled down decent money.
When exactly will Amaro pay what is needed to upgrade this team in time for 2013?
— advantasux - Another day another stupid advantasux comment. Dude they're not starting to play games next week you know. They have spent $$ year in and year out, when we thought they were done they found more to sign Lee and because they haven't spent to the ceiling by December 11th you continue to whine daily. Go play with Toolbiscuit. — DogBiscuitthedope
- was starting to feel badly that none of my comments these past two weeks had drawn any blowback from you. Have seen once again that your only contribution to this board is to ridicule the opinions of others, and wanted desperately to be included.
Thanks. Now, why don't you try posting your own thoughts for the rest of us to read instead of torching those if us with whom you disagree? Go ahead, write what you think...my guess is, none of us will bother to ridicule you.
Let me take a guess which way you went on November 6th...not hard to figure.— advantasux - Kevin Millwood, NO WAY!— CoettaGarner25
- Maybe if the Phillies didn't throw away Vance Worley and top pitching prospect Trevor May for a slap singles hitter this wouldn't be an issue.— bdd5014
- I'd have no problem with the Phils trying Lannan, Saunders or Jurrjens, if the latter is physically able to pitch. I'd have a BIG problem with Millwood, who was one of those players who clearly didn't want to be in Philadelphia. (Good ol' boys seem to have that problem a lot, viz. Oswalt.)— Dave Clemens
- Only reason we need a veteran is, all things being equal, we don't want any kids to get shellshocked and have their development ruined. If a starter is going to have a 5.00 ERA, I'd rather it be someone who's been around the block, not one of our young guns who we need to bring up at the right pace. If Pettibone or Morgan need more time at AAA, put a place stopper in the 4-5 spot. The right power bat will make up for the reduction in pitching prowess. Has to be the right bat, though -- a scrub will kill that balance.— The K Man
- Derek Lowe is worth a chance.— Cazptain Philadelphia
- 1 of Scott Kazmir, Brandon Webb or Rich Harden through June. After that, bring up the prospect performing best at AAA and stash the pick-up as long man in the pen.— Claudio Vernight
- @bisquit...agreed....IO had a photography body back in the old days that used to tell me it took about 400 photos to maybe get 1 or 2 he could use in a magazine. I think most MLB GMs will tell you, you have to sign about 10 or 20 of these re-tread guys to maybe find 1 diamond in the rough. Even Gillick bombed out on some guys and he's a HOF'er.— Mark1npt
- Clueless Rube's prior "low risk high reward" pitchers: Baez, Herndon, Willis, Qualls, Pineiro, etc...when an imbecile has zero ability to evaluate players and judge talent, and just takes whatever leftover trash is out there, it's pretty much a certainty you'll end up with useless trash— warbiscuit
- You know, RAJ was the assistant GM to Gillick ( and did most of the advance scouting) when they took "low risk,high reward" chances on these guys- Shane Vic, Jayson Werth, Chad Durbin, Chris Coste, etc. You don't hit big on every one of those type signings, you just hope to get lucky on some. Why be such a negative loser type? Don't watch the damn team if complaining is your main goal... — cdedrick05
- @cheeseteak...you can't re-find a bad knee. The damage is permanent. When cartilage is gone it's gone. That's the shame sometimes. I'm sure he still feels like he can pitch, and his mind knows how to pitch and his arm is still decent with good "stuff". But the knee has betrayed him and ruined his career. He's not the first player that's happened to, look at Chase.— Mark1npt
- I THINK THEY SHOULD GO AFTER(ROBERTO HERANDEZ..A.K.A..FAUSTO CARMONA)I THINK HE'D BE A PERFECT FIT....— pearljamkevin315
- Clueless rube past "low risk high reward" pitchers: Baez, Herndon, Willis, Qualls, Pineiro, etc...when an imbecile has zero ability to evaluate players and judge talent, and just takes whatever leftover trash is out there, it's pretty much a certainlty you'll end up with useless trash— warbiscuit
- But dopey tool you loved Qualls when he signed? Beat it El Dope Oh — DogBiscuitthedope
- what a child you are, my friend. You just cannot play well with others, can you?
OK, we get it, you approve of and applaud everything the Phils and their GM do. No problem, that's your opinion. Some of us disagree and are tired of what appears to be a steady decline in the results year to year and what now appears to be a huge gap between the better teams (most of whom spend far less) and our team (consistently among the top 3 - 4 teams in spending for the past several seasons). That spells failure to many of us.
I know how tough it must be for you to accept that some of us feel differently than you.
Get over it and grow up, it happens!— advantasux - Steady decline year over year, another child with a sense of entitlement. Whah Whah we did not get to the Playoffs every year. Hey genius what team has won more games over the last 4 yrs? — DogBiscuitthedope
- Agree w high water. All we've heard about for years now was the strength of our minor league pitchers. Now that we've traded 2/3 of the "baby aces" (Cosart and May) where do we stand? Why don't these kids convert into at very least middle of rotation starters? To not give Pettibone, Cloyd or Morgan that 5th spot for at least the first 25-30 games is just stupid. The only vet on that list i'd take a "shot" at is Jurjens. He was a stud, maybe he can refind it?— cheesesteak17
- I would give Lannan a shot as the 5th starter. He was a decent pitcher on some really bad Nats teams. He looked pretty good when the Nats called him up last year. If he does not pan out, then bring up the young pitcher that is doing the best at AAA.— jicook
- Lannan is a solid arm shipped down to some stupid Rizzo isle of Elba last season in DC. The 2012 version of Chien Mien Wang could not sniff his jock. Lannan proceeded to be good in the minors and then came up after Straus was shut down and helped that team push through with some momentum into the playoffs. He would have given them much better season results than Edwin Jackson who for some reason continues to get $10M a year deals and then doesn't get asked back to the dance. I still covet Marcum but Lannan would also make me feel warm inside. I think he would get even better working with Cole, Doc and Lee. He might even be able to give the team some insight into the Nats' scouting reports on our own guys.
— Cakes - Jamie Moyer is available.— pic man
- Thats why the Phillies will never win a W.S with RAJ as GM— scootch
- why aren't the young pitchers ready to compete? seems like we've been hearing about them for years.
- How come everything Amoron says that we read or hear is dominated by how much money he can save? He sounds like a poor soul who has to shop at KMART. Is that the mindset one needs to compete for a pennant? Thing small and you will fail!!— gentian
- You mean like Halladay,Lee, and Howard and Hamels who all make 20 million per year? And Utley who makes 15 million, and Paplebon who makes 12 million and JRoll who makes 11 million? You can knit pick RAJ if you want, but NOT spending cash cannot be a reason. They have to stay under the luxury tax to avoid paying out teams like Pitt, KC, Cleveland,etc. — cdedrick05
- Chris Young— WFChamps
- Love to see Pettibone or Adam Morgan ease into the rotation in the 5th spot... or use a cheap vet early then ease a kid in May / June— cdedrick05
- So Rube is looking for a "low-risk pitcher coming off an injury." Sounds about right
- Jurrjens would be worth a Minor League contract or a very modest 1 year and let him compete with our youngsters.— HTBNM#
- Kendrick/Young in 2013— jamarder
- PAVANO/Millwood ? An insult to even bring up those names. Best to go with Pettibone or Cloyd thru first 30 or so games, then re-evaluate.
Sidewinder gets it. Need EZ to weigh in on this.— NewMick314 - No old has beens, never was, or retreads. Put a kid in there.— Sidewinder7
- Stretch out Rosenberg in the Spring, and give Pettibone a true shot......if a surprise trade with the Mets for a disgruntled R.A. Dickey DOES NOT take place...If you can't hit it, might as well trade for it. — bearsfriend
- Wondering if Jair Jurrjens is worth a shot. He pretty much imploded after his ASG appearance, but the kid had some talent. If he's healed up, he could be a good risk. But that's a big IF.— Dave14
- He might be if the Phillies had a pitching coach like Dave Duncan that was able to work with pitchers rather than just being a statistician charting all the numbers during a game. I can't understand how Dubee was one of the coaches that was kept. — SONNY BOY
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About this blog
The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
Matt Gelb
Inquirer Staff Writer
Bob Brookover
Inquirer Baseball Columnist
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