Those Post-Trade Deadline Blues
Still got those post-trade deadline blues? Say hello to the good doctor.
Those Post-Trade Deadline Blues
Todd Zolecki
Still got those post-trade deadline blues?
If this weren't the Internets, I'd say let's hug it out. But because it is the Internets, I guess we've got to talk it out. The Phillies came up empty before yesterday's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. But look at the bright side: they still have the Aug. 31 non-waiver trade deadline! Not doing it for you? Well, at least the Mets and Marlins didn't do much! No? Still not doing it for you? Well, how about the Phillies have won five consecutive games after last night's 8-4 victory over the Nationals?
Hmmmm ... I see this is going to take longer than I had thought.
Thankfully, Jim Salisbury tries to make sense of all this. He agrees with you: the Phillies will regret not improving their pitching staff. He wrote, "For too many years, ownership did not spend big money - that is, amounts above the recommendations of the commissioner's office - in the draft. The Phils have also come up short in spending in Latin America. (Last year they spent $850,000 in Latin America, this year about $1.5 million. According to multiple sources, both totals were near the bottom among major-league teams.) The reduced flow of top young talent into a system can hamstring a team when it needs to make a trade that might be the difference in winning a championship."
I get a lot of readers who e-mail and say, "The Phillies don't want to go for the jugular." Well, when you're armed with a plastic knife sometimes it's tough to go for the jugular. Salisbury makes a great point that we brought up over the winter when the Tigers got Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis: the Tigers had fistfuls of stud prospects to trade. The Phillies had Carlos Carrasco and a few other guys, but nobody that sniffed what the Tigers could offer. Perhaps the same held true in July, when they fell short in acquiring CC Sabathia and others that really could have made a difference.
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Why is J.A. Happ here? We try to explain.
I guess it does come down to not having enough talent in your minor league system. Phillies can only blame themselves. They sould have made that more of a priority, so that they could make a move at the deadline.— GHOSTPHAYCE- I'm happy to keep Carassco and Marson (unless we can get Roy Halladay for them). Still don't understand the Happ move, unless they plan to pull Myers from the rotation soon. Unless it's to make Myers the setup guy because Gordon is shot and can't come back? Problem with that, does it diminish Myers value if we plan to unload him over winter? We need to get J.C some help, his arm may fall off by September. Of course the Madson love affair continues, why is he here? And I am thrilled to know that Pat ALMOST got us another #4 starter...memo to Gillick: if you think that made anybody feel any better, it didn't.— jimmymack
- jimmymack-good pts but I personally don't care what Myers value is in the off season. They should move him to set-up man now and let him get adjusted. Move Happ to SP position and let the chips fall where they may. Myers is going to get rocked by STL he must be tipping his pitches in addition to losing velocity. Only the Phillies could have confidently gone into this eason thinking he was a solid #2 pitcher. I also like the idea of leaving things where they are and removing Myers/Blanton in the first inning if need be and brining in Happ. Neither has shown the poise of a Moyer/Hamels as far as giving up a cple of runs and settling down, for those two it just becomes an avalanche.— Truth
- Jmack, very good points....but I doubt Halliday will sneak thru waivers anytine soon....he's my choice too, btw....Happ? Maybe we're gonna start a new trend in baseball and go to a 6 man rotation?...Heck, let's make it 7 man rotation....Benson is finally turning a corner in AAA...where are we gonna put him in mid August? If we don't find a spot, he'll walk off to the Mets or somebody else next year and we'll find we groomed someone to beat us regularly...if Myers doesn't duplicate his performance against the Cards, I'd move him to the pen as the setup guy immediately, start Happ and if Happ or Blanton (Eaton) continues to pitch like his numbers say he will (5 runs/game) then I'd make him the long man in the pen and start Benson....of course this means Seanez and/or 2 run Madsen need to go somewhere....maybe down to A ball where they can continue to mop up Eaton's messes....3 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs last night......to a A team!!!! Poor Lakewood......— Mark1npt
- I love how a couple months ago the Phils brass said Benson won't be up this year a couple months ago, yet he's been pitching solid 7 innings with AAA since then. He's gotta be a better option than Blanton. Give him a shot, christ!— scotty82
- Blanton = Eaton = Ashby = Daal = and the beat goes on.....— Mark1npt
- scotty82 - where do you get that information about Benson pitching 7 solid innings for a month? Stop making BS up, some idiots will actually believe you.— Gary Varsho
- I think we all also need to remember that this is still the best team in the division, and they should be in the playoffs. The Mets will eventually have to suffer for playing the likes of Damion Easley, Fernando Tatis, Endy Chavez and Marlon Anderson regularly, and the Marlins pitching and defense is SO BAD that it will cost them a crucial game from time to time. I know it is frustrating going into the last two months not believing we have any chance to win in the playoffs because we can't match up with other teams' pitching, but what happens if the Brewers don't get in? What happens if Rich Harden's arm falls off? What happens if the Phils meet the D'Backs in the playoffs, and get outpitched, but the D'Backs don't hit at all? The season is far from over, and while their chances aren't great, the Phils still have a chance to make some noise, which is more than we can usually say at this point of the year.— acerulli
- I agree, if Myers gets bombed against the Cards it's time to move him to the bullpen. I don't want the Phils to stop using Romero/Durbin as their set up men so Myers will have to be regulated to middle relief. Tough sh*t if he doesn't like it, we're trying to win this division and we can't win it using pitchers that have no command and keep getting bombed every other start. We won't get into the wild card with the Brewers or the Cubs destined to come in 2nd. Happ looks like a good pitcher and shouldn't have to wait behind head cases that can't get their act together. I'm actually glad Eaton pitched poorly. At least we won't have to see him again.— James TL
- Benson has pitched well his last three starts in the minors. Also: The Marlins pitching isn't really bad at all. They've recently gotten back a couple of injured starters, one of which pitched a no-hitter last year. Winning this thing is not going to be easy. I'm actually more worried more about the Marlins than the Mets who just lost Martinez and may lose John Maine.— James TL
- we are what we! are good enough to win the division .if this team did not go into such a bad slump would should be 10 games in front. all the phils have to do is hit! our lineup as is should be good enough.next year we have a few good prospects, marson, donald, corassco. hed we traded then away then the next few years would be in danger,every tteam in the division has holes. and by the way the wild card spot is not out of our reach. we are right in the thick of that if we don't win the division— pattymac3
- jimmymack.....I don't think moving Brett to the 'pen would diminish his value at all. As long as someone is willing to deal for a closer/set-up guy. Which is really what Brett wants anyway. Hope they're at least letting Happ do some long-ball tosses while he's waiting it out.— Norma
- JamesTL, good points...just ignore Varsho, he's a very angry namecalling kinda guy.....the Mets should fade out here pretty quickly, the Marlins may indeed prove to be the sleeper team in the league this year.....just goes to show you what happens when you play your youngsters rather than let them languish in the minors.....like I said before there is really no way we should lose this very mediocre division....we are indeed the tallest midget in this circus (NL East).......the big question remains whether we can beat any of the taller guys.....and get to the "Big Show"......— Mark1npt
- Hey Varsho, some idiots must not read the paper because they talk about all his minor league starts and how he's doing. 7 strong, 3 ERs his last few starts. Know your facts before calling someone out.— scotty82
- so 2 starts = a month? You said he's been going 7 for a month, its more like a week.— Gary Varsho
