Rodrigo can be proud! (Me so sad....)

Rodrigo Lopez has been named Orioles Opening Day starter for 2006. This is Rodrigo's 3rd Opening Day start for the O's in the last 4 years. With this start, Lopez will join exclusive company in Baltimore's record books. Just four other Orioles -- Steve Barber, Dave McNally, Jim Palmer and Mike Mussina -- have pitched as many as three Opening Day games for the O's. Palmer and Mussina are tied for the most with six each, and McNally worked five openers as Baltimore's ace.

Pitcher	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP
Barber	121	106	3.36	466	272	59	21	1999
McNally	184	119	3.24	424	396	120	33	2730
Palmer	268	152	2.86	558	521	211	53	3948
Mussina	224	127	3.64	443	443	56	23	3013
Lopez	51	43	4.56	137	118	5	2	748.1

Now Available

The most prolific pinch hitter in the history of Major League Baseball.

Walk this way

At first glance, the Tigers seemed to have some pretty good offensive numbers last season. Especially in batting average, where their .272 mark was fourth best in the AL. They also led the league with 45 triples and were seventh in homers. They were fifth in hits and sixth in slugging.

Yet they ranked 11th in runs. The reason? Walks, or lack thereof. The Tigers walked just 384 times, worst in the AL. The Red Sox, who led the league in runs and bases on balls, drew 269 more freebies than Detroit.

That's 1.7 extra baserunners per game. Not to mention what it does to the opponent's pitch count and helping a team get into their foe's bullpen. And the Red Sox didn't do it at the expense of hitting their way on, either, leading the AL in that category, too. But that also makes sense -- work deeper into counts, see better pitches to hit.

If you looked at the top run-scoring teams in either league last season, most were among the leaders in walks, too. Oddly, strikeouts didn't seem to matter too much as the Red Sox were right up there as well. In the AL, the top six teams in runs were also among the top six in walks. And three of those squads struck out more than 1,000 times.

Much has been made of the Tigers needing to cut down on strikeouts, which would be nice, but they really need to make strides in walks.

If you're a Tigers fan, you have to believe the starting pitching will be good enough to be competitive. If the starters falter, there's no hope, anyway. If the pitching blossoms, then it will fall on the offense to score runs. That will be the key to the first winning season since 1993.

'Los is a loss

The Tigers released 1B/enigma Carlos Pena over the weekend. It's not much of a surprise given that Pena was batting .160 in the spring and Detroit will only have to pay a quarter of his $2.8 million salary by dumping him now.

I love the quote by Pena's agent, $cott Bora$:

"Jim Leyland is a pitching and defense guy. If Jim had managed the club last season and gotten to make an independent appraisal of Carlos, I think this might have gone differently."

Differently? Granted, Pena is a smooth fielder, but he hit .235-18-44 last year and was dropped to the minors during the middle of the season. Chris Shelton took over at first base and batted .299-18-59 with an .870 OPS (compared to Pena's .802). Plus, Dmitri Young can back up Shelton. He hit .271-21-72 last year and is a lifetime .291 hitter. Pena is a .243 career hitter.

Pena was one of the centerpieces in the trade that sent Jeff Weaver from Detroit. Good thing the Tigers also got Jeremy Bonderman in return. Pena seems like a classy guy, so we hope he can find himself somewhere else. But it wasn't going to happen in Motown.

O's to repeat

The Baltimore Orioles easily have the 4th best team in the AL East.




AL East finishes:

2006 - 4th <-bold prediction
2005 - 4th
2004 - 3rd
2003 - 4th
2002 - 4th
2001 - 4th
2000 - 4th
1999 - 4th
1998 - 4th

No more suspense

The curtain closed on whatever drama there was in Tigers camp when Jim Leyland named Justin Verlander the team's fifth starter. The rotation is set, as are the starting position players.

Kenny Rogers, Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Mike Maroth and Verlander will form the rotation. Verlander has a fastball in the high 90s and wicked breaking stuff. This has the makings of a solid group, but still needs to prove itself. There is no doubt a ton of potential.

Joel Zumaya, another top prospect who lost the No. 5 slot to Verlander, will begin the season in the bullpen with the Tigers. There is a report Detroit is interested in Phillies left-handed reliever Rheal Cormier. I guess they didn't see him pitch last season.

The batting order, particularly the top, remains unsettled. But you have to like a lineup of Pudge Rodriguez (C), Chris Shelton (1B), Placido Polanco (2B), Carlos Guillen (SS), Brandon Inge (3B), Craig Monroe (LF), Curtis Granderson (CF), Magglio Ordonez (RF) and Dmitri Young (DH). That looks like some runs.

Everyone better stay healthy, though, because depth is lacking.

Bud better than Bo?

The switch to Budweiser pays an early dividend.

Center of attention

Jim Leyland said that if the season started today, Curtis Granderson would be the Tigers’ center fielder. This is fine with me, and probably not much of a surprise. Nook Logan has tremendous speed and would be great in the leadoff spot for that reason, but hasn’t been able to reach base consistently.

Granderson, who just turned 25, batted .290-15-65 with 22 SB for Toledo last year before joining the big club. He hit .272-8-20 in 162 at-bats. He also smacked three triples.

He played college ball at Illinois-Chicago and was a Baseball America second-team All-American. He was the Tigers’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2004. That season, he played at Double-A Erie and batted .301-21-94 with 14 SB and 89 R before getting a September call-up.

This spring, Granderson is batting .395 with a .531 OBP. He’s got 5 homers and 8 RBI and is 5-for-5 in stolen bases. Logan is batting .188 and has a .291 OBP. He leads the team with 6 SB.

Tearing it up

Non-roster invitee Josh Phelps seems destined for Triple-A Toledo despite a solid spring so far. Phelps is batting .571 with 3 HR and 8 RBI in 28 AB for the Tigers. He’s also got 5 doubles and thinks he could thrive in Comerica by taking advantage of the spacious gaps.

Hard to say if he’ll get a chance to find out. But Phelps is only 27 years old and has shown flashes of being a good hitter. Lifetime, he’s got 57 HR and 212 RBI in 1,203 AB. He batted .309 with 15 HR and 58 RBI in less than half a season as a Blue Jays’ rookie in 2002. He’s got a .268 career average. Most encouraging is that he’s only struck out 4 times, and walked 4 times, this spring.

Phelps most likely would fill the DH role, and could also play first, but the Tigers have got too many players there already. His only hope is to see either Dmitri Young or Carlos Pena traded. Young hasn’t seen much action this spring because of a strained quad, but could be returning soon.

Young is the more versatile player and better hitter. I’m not sure what you could get for the once-highly-touted Pena at this point. Despite his power surges, this is a guy that’s batted .253, .248, .241, and .235 since becoming a Tiger. Notice that each year is worse than the previous season, too. He’s only 27, too, and looks like a hitter – except after he swings. Easily the most frustrating player to watch in recent memory.

Wanted: Tigers

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said yesterday that his squad lacked personality, swagger and meanness. He's not happy about it, either.

Leyland said the Tigers were a great bunch of guys, the best he's been around, but needed to show a little more edge on the field. I guess they need to be tigers, not just Tigers.

Pudge certainly is one guy who can play with a mean streak and attitude. So is Dmitri Young. Beyond that, maybe Jeremy Bonderman. Even so, that's a short list.

Maybe nice guys do finish last.

What are the odds?

According to Benjamin Lee Eckstein/America's Line

To win the World Series:
Yankees 5-2 (favorite)
Phillies 15-1
Mets 25-1
Orioles 50-1
Tigers 75-1
Royals 250-1 (last)

First AL manager fired/resign:
Showalter, Rangers, and Francona, Red Sox, 5-1 (co-favorites)
Perlozzo, Orioles, 12-1
Leyland, Tigers, 15-1
Torre, Yankees, 20-1 (last)

First NL manager fired/resign:
Melvin, D-Backs, and Hurdle, Rockies, 5-1 (co-favorites)
Manuel, Phillies, 6-1
Randolph, Mets, 15-1
Cox, Braves, and LaRussa, Cards, 25-1 (last)

Time to get started

There don't seem to be many questions in Tigers camp this spring. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

Only one spot in the starting rotation is up for grabs, and Justin Verlander appears to have the inside track. He will make his first spring outing today, so I'm sure all eyes will be upon him.

Otherwise, it's Kenny Rogers, Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson and Mike Maroth in the rotation. Time for the latter three to take a big step forward this season.

The only other major question is what will happen with Dmitri Young and/or Carlos Pena. Chris Shelton will play first base, either Young or Pena will spot Shelton and DH. Young reported to camp in great shape. Pena has been enigmatic, to say the least, ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble every time our hopes soar over one of his hot streaks.

If Pudge is healthy and happy, that would be a plus. Ditto for Maggs. Hope springs eternal, but if all things fall into place, the Tigers are a playoff contender. Of course, all things MUST fall into place. There's no wiggle room.

Baseball's Sad Lexicon

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double-
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
-- Franklin Pierce Adams, 1902

Pie-bye Tomas

No one can deliver a shaving cream pie to the face like Tomas Perez. But will the light-hitting, yet popular, Phillie soon be sent packing, along with his Barbasol?

It seems likely now that the Phillies have inked infielder Alex Gonzalez to a one-year deal. That's Alex S, you know.

Gonzalez might provide more power and solid defense, but who will provide the lift in the clubhouse that can only come from seeing a teammate popped with shaving cream while doing the post-game TV interview?

These are the questions that are rarely asked.

Is the new boss the same as the old?

The Phillies trade of Jason Michaels to Cleveland for aging set-up man Arthur Rhodes is the kind of deal that made Ed Wade public enemy No. 1 in Philadelphia.

It would seem new GM Pat Gillick wanted to get rid of Michaels, even though the club denied that his punching a cop last summer outside a bar had nothing to do with the trade. Earlier, the Phils were asking for top pitching prospects in return for Michaels -- and settle for Rhodes.

Now, if the Phillies move Ryan Madson from the set-up role to the rotation, then this deal might have some merit. And if Madson is reliable in that role, then it's like the Phils traded Michaels for starting pitching. So we'll have to wait and see.

Just maybe ...

A gray-haired, straight-shooting manager can lead the Tigers to prominence again?

The latest from Jim Leyland:

"I'm not asking anyone to be patient, I can tell you that. People get sick and tired of hearing that. Tiger fans are sick and tired of hearing that. We don't have that long. ... So I don't have any long-term plans. I have short-term plans. And we better get good pretty quick."

How can this team be Seo stupid?

The Mets have traded their youngest, and probably at least third-best, starting pitcher, and all they got was a couple of relief pitchers and a spot in the starting rotation for Victor Zambrano. Jae Seo is headed to the Dodgers along with reliever Tim Hamulack in exchange for Duaner Sanchez and Steve Schmoll. This may be the worst trade the Mets have made this offseason, and that is no small feat.

In 2005, after his midseason liberation from the minor leagues, Seo had the best year of his major league career. He posted a 2.59 ERA in 90.1 innings, striking out 59 batters, walking 16 and compiling a record of eight wins and two losses. He outpitched Kris Benson and >Victor Zambrano with ease and nearly kept pace with Tom Glavine's post-All Star resurgence. It's doubtful he could keep up that excellence for a full season. But given that neither Benson nor Zambrano has ever pitched that well for even half a season and that both are older and more expensive that Seo, it shouldn't be too hard to see which is the most valuable pitcher among these three.

So, as a result of this trade, the Mets' starting rotation is composed of five pitchers, all at least thirty years old, none products of the Mets' minor league system. I suppose it is possible that they will choose Aaron Heilman to fill Seo's rotation spot rather than Zambrano, but given Omar Minaya's recent obsession with upgrading the bullpen and Heilman's success there in 2005, I don't expect it. So it's Pedro Martinez, Glavine, Benson, Zambrano and Steve Trachsel. It's often been said recently that starting pitching was an area of depth for the Mets. But how can any team be considered deep if they're resorting to starting Victor Zambrano?

The 2006 Mets' rotation got older and worse as a result of this trade. But what about 2007? This offseason the Mets have divested themselves of pitching prospects and now they're ditching any major leaguer with the foul stench of youth, too. Martinez and Benson are the only starters the Mets have under contract for 2007, though they could still control the rights to Zambrano as well. And now, as a result of other recent trades, they have no reinforcements coming from the minors. This deal doesn't only make the Mets more reliant on aging mercenaries in the present, in ensures that they'll have to increase that reliance in the future. To put together a good rotation next year the Mets are going to have to count on continued health from a thirty-five year old Martinez, miraculous improvement from a thirty-two year old Benson and some serious luck on the free agent market. Does this sound like a wise and well-considered plan to you?

And, though I feel like I've asked this before, for what? Duaner Sanchez is a twenty-six year old relief pitcher with a career ERA of 4.19 and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 124:71 in 174 career innings. He's had two consecutive seasons in which he's pitched at least 80 innings and posted and ERA under four. But over the last three years, lefties have hit .302/.361/.476 against him. That would seem to suggest that in order to get optimal value out of Sanchez, Willie Randolph would have to pay attention to such statistics and use him accordingly. That plan is about as reasonable as the one in the last paragraph.

In 2005, the Mets' best reliever was Roberto Hernandez. He was acquired not in exchange for one of the team's best major league pitchers, but for the cost of a minor league contract and a spring training invite. That's what it took to get a relief pitcher who had a season significantly better than any on Duaner Sanchez's resume. Instead of throwing valuable players away chasing a name, the Mets made a smart move and took an inexpensive chance. The fact that they apparently didn't learn anything from its success does not bode well for their digging their way out of the hole they are currently digging.

The cost of this move in 2006, the difference between a team with Seo in the rotation and Zambrano in the bullpen and one with Zambrano in the rotation and Sanchez in the bullpen, may only be a handful of wins. It may be even less than that. The Mets are clearly going for broke this year, and this trade made not impede their march toward the playoffs at all. But the team's recent moves leave me more and more concerned about the aftermath of this approach. Omar Minaya doesn't seem to even have an eye toward 2007, let alone beyond that. The Mets' window to win a World Series with Pedro Martinez and Carlos Delgado may be closing. But I hope, when it does close, that Minaya hasn't slammed it shut so tight that David Wright and Carlos Beltran won't be able to pry it back open.

In memoriam

Some of the former big leaguers who died in 2005:

Don Blasingame
Nelson Briles
Chico Carrasquel
Donn Clendenon
Pat Kelly
Al Lopez
Rick Mahler
Gene Mauch
Vic Power
Dick Radatz
Bill Voiselle
Earl Wilson

National Bohemian vs. Budweiser

The St. Louis Cardinals signed former Orioles drunken party boy/starting pitcher Sydney Ponson to a 1 yr deal. Ponson's agreement with the Cardinals calls for a $1 million base salary and allows him to earn an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on starts.

Ponson amassed a 76-91 record with a 4.81 ERA while in Baltimore, presumably on a diet of National Bohemian ("It's crisp, It's cold and we're proud to say..... It's brewed on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay").

Perhaps the move to St. Louis and a switch to Budweiser (King of Beers) will prove to be an upgrade for the sot.

The last drunk to be banished from the Orioles to the National League was Dennis Martinez.

Adios

The Padilla Flotilla is heading to a new port in Texas. As Randy Miller wrote on Phillyburbs.com:

"Uncle! Or so Vicente Padilla can comprende: Tio! At last, the Phillies waved the white flag and gave up on a reclusive Nicaraguan pitcher who never consistently transformed his so-called great arm and great stuff into stardom."

Nuff said.

How about a closer from Houston?

Yesterday's Houston Chronicle tossed out the idea of the Astros trading Brad Lidge to the Phillies for Bobby Abreu. There was no indication this deal was under discussion by the teams, but it is interesting.

Although it seems the Phils are shopping Abreu for a quality starter (Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano have all been sought, reportedly), a deal for Lidge could make sense if Philly can't get a starter and decides to move Ryan Madson to the rotation.

The Phils signed Tom Gordon with the idea of him being the closer, but he could easily slide into the set-up role vacated by Madson. It would seem an unlikely move, but one that might have some merit? I think most fans would feel better with Lidge closing -- despite his World Series meltdowns -- rather than Gordon.

Also, the Phils are reportedly close to signing Braden Looper. Unfortunately, I'm not making this up. Looper-to-Gordon doesn't do much to instill confidence.

Finally, Phils radio host Tom McCarthy will be heading to WFAN to join the Mets broadcasting team. Tom is a fine announcer and classy guy. Good luck to him, although he will be missed in Philly.

Meow!

Detroit has jumped into the winter signing fray by bringing back Todd Jones to be the team's closer. Jones saved 142 games for the Tigers from 1997-2001 when he was traded to Minnesota for starter Mark Redman. Last season with the Marlins, Jones saved 40 games, just two shy of his career high that he set with Detroit in 2000, and had a career-best 2.10 ERA.

Jones will get $11 million for two years, which looks like a steal compared to the going rate for relievers. He will be the Tigers fifth closer since the start of last year, following Troy Percival, Ugie Urbina, Kyle Farnsworth and Fernando Rodney. Gee, is it any wonder Alan Trammell got fired?

It seems Jones' 2005 season compares favorably to that of Wagner or Ryan, who got wheelbarrows filled with $$$$. Jones converted 40 of 45 save chances, Wagner 38 of 41 and Ryan 36 of 41. Jones had a WHIP of 1.04 while Wagner was 0.84 and Ryan was 1.14. Jones had a K/BB ratio of 3.88 while Wagner was 3.95 and Ryan was 3.57. Opponents had an OPS of .559 vs. Jones, .494 against Wagner and .572 vs. Ryan.

So, Wagner has a slight edge statistically, but I'll take Jones' contract over Wags any day. Ditto for Ryan, who couldn't even match Jones. Plus, Jones actually liked playing in Detroit, which should be a plus.

Detroit also is rumored to be signing Kenny Rogers for $16 million over two years. Here is where the trouble begins. The Tigers want a veteran to help their young guns like Bonderman, Maroth, Robertson, Verlander, etc.

But is a guy who had very public outbursts against the media the dude you want showing the way? A 41-year-old guy, at that. I'm not thrilled with this move, but maybe all Kenny needs is a fresh start. He has averaged nearly 15 wins and 32 starts over the past four seasons.

Quote me

It doesn't seem that time away from the game has dulled Jim Leyland's edge -- which is a good thing. Here is another offering from the Tigers new skipper, who was asked about having veteran leadership in the clubhouse:

"I'm supposed to be the leader," Leyland said. "That's why they hired me. The leaders on the team are the guys who hit .330 with 30 homers and knock in 140 runs. I never saw a guy who hit .200 be the leader. I don't buy that stuff."

Speaking of speaking up, new (and very rich) Blue Jays pitcher A.J. Burnett pulled no punches about the fire sale the Florida Marlins are undergoing: "They'd better teach Dontrelle Willis how to play all nine positions," he said yesterday.

Mets appease fans nostalgic for the old days of inexplicable trades

The Mets have acquired catcher Paul Lo Duca from the Marlins for minor league pitcher Gaby Hernandez and another as yet unnamed minor league pitcher. Hernandez had been the best pitching prospect in the Mets' system for a good week and a half following the trade of Yusmeiro Petit to Florida in the Carlos Delgado deal. Hernandez is only nineteen years old and a long way from the majors, but he had put up excellent numbers in rookie ball and low A ball before having some trouble in high A. He had a lot further to go than either of the two top pitching prospects the Mets have traded in the last year and a half. But given that the top honor now goes to either a guy who hasn't signed yet or a guy recovering from Tommy John surgery, this trade has really left the ranks of Mets pitching prospects barren.

And for what? The New York Daily News says that Lo Duca "is regarded as one of the top offensive catchers in the game". I wonder if the people who regard him as such realize it's not 2001 anymore. Last year he hit a dismal .283/.334/.380 and that was the second time in the last three years that his slugging percentage was .380 or lower. Even free agent defensive specialist Bengie Molina has managed to slug .400 each of the last three years. Molina's played in a better offensive environment than Lo Duca has, but when a player needs his numbers to be put in context to explain why he didn't hit as well as Bengie Molina, he's not going to be much of an offensive force in any environment. Lo Duca just isn't a good hitter anymore. And he's never been known as a good defensive catcher. The Daily News also brings up his reputation as "a team leader and positive clubhouse presence," but really, that's the sort of thing you say about a guy who's actual baseball abilities don't merit much praise.

So for this nice guy who's not very good at playing baseball, the Mets gave up Gaby Hernandez. And another pitcher. And, oh yeah, 12.5 million dollars over the next two years. The only thing that made sense about the Mike Cameron/Xavier Nady deal was the money the Mets saved. And now they've given that all away to a guy who didn't even hit as well as Ramon Castro (.244/.321/.435) last year. There is some speculation that perhaps the Diamondbacks want Lo Duca as part of a deal for Javier Vazquez, in which case this may make sense. But if not, this is a really awful trade.

Big news

Just when it seemed the Tigers would fail to make a move, the Free Press reports today that Detroit signed Bobby Seay to a minor-league deal.

Seay is 27, left-handed, and had been sent to the minors on an outright release by the pitching-rich Colorado Rockies. He had an 8.49 ERA in 11 2/3 innings for the Rockies before going 1-0 with 3 saves and a 2.38 ERA at AAA Colorado Springs.

Feel the excitement.

Rumors, rumors, rumors

The NY Post is reporting that the Phillies have moved into the Manny Ramirez sweepstakes, saying that the Fightins would trade Bobby Abreu. The deal is being held up because of the disparity of the players' contracts, the paper said.

This would be a very curious move, regardless of Ramirez's offensive prowess. It would throw the Phils outfield into shambles, presumably with Manny in left and Pat Burrell moving to right. That's two lousy corner outfielders, so I guess we'd find out if Aaron Rowand is truly a Gold Glove in center. He'd better be.

The Post also reports the Mets are talking about sending Kris Benson to the Orioles for Jorge Julio. This, I think, would be a good deal for the Mets. Julio, despite his troubles last season, is only 26 and has produced in the past. We're still waiting for Benson, 31, to blossom into the star he was supposed to be. No one, perhaps in the history of the game, has clung to the "potential" tag longer than Benson.

Of course, the tabloids will regret losing Mrs. Benson.

Tom Gordon reportedly will determine his destination in the next two or three days, his agent said.

A year or so from now, Joe will be disappointed with the Wagner signing. He wasn't as automatic last year as the NY press would have you believe. And he hasn't hit 100 mph on the gun in a while, outside of one game in Washington.

Mets spend money wisely for second consecutive offseason

The Mets have had a busy week, plugging superstars into two positions that were glaring weaknesses last year. They spent a lot of money in both cases, and gave up some good young players in one. But unlike the numerous bad deals that got the Mets into their recent mess, they're paying a premium price for premium players. Giving up your best pitching prospect is a lot less idiotic if the guy you're getting in return is Carlos Delgado rather than Victor Zambrano.

Delgado's qualifications require little interpretation. After a down year in 2004 which saw him hit .269/.372/.535 and miss some time due to injury for the Toronto Blue Jays, Delgado signed with the Marlins. He exploded upon the National League, hitting .301/.399/.582 with thirty-three home runs in a stadium that dampens offense similarly to Shea Stadium. Even accounting for the fact that he is thirty-three years old and not that great defensively, he is an enormous upgrade over the guys the Mets were sending out to play first last year. They hit .227/.303/.391, posting an OPS lower than the National League average at shortstop or catcher. A bat like Carlos Delgado's was a large part of the difference between the 2004 Mets and a playoff team.

The Mets did give up some valuable players in exchange for Delgado. Mike Jacobs was far from a proven major leaguer, let alone a star first baseman, boasting just one huge month in the bigs on the heels of a good year in AA. But he is a good young player with potential to be more and could provide real value to a team that doesn't have Carlos Delgado to play first base. Still, Yusmeiro Petit is the real prize of the package the Marlins received. Just twenty years old, he's already mastered AA, striking out more than a batter per inning with great command in each season of his three year minor league career. Scouts have always said he wouldn't be able to maintain that success at the major league level, but I was looking forward to seeing him try. I'm sorry to see him go, but I can't quibble with a deal that gets the Mets an elite player like Delgado.

And then there's Billy Wagner. First things first, the money is absurd. Paying a guy more than forty thousand dollars per out is just silly. But that's just the nature of the closer position these days. If you can prove yourself capable of getting people out in the ninth consistently, you can get a contract wildly out of proportion to your real value. If the Mets hadn't given him this deal, someone else would have. And, of course, they are the New York Mets, so ten million dollars isn't going to break their backs. At least they have a great closer.

And that is certainly what they have. When Billy Wagner steps on to the mound, he will strike out more than a batter per inning. He will walk about a quarter of the number of batters he strikes out. And he won't give up too many home runs. The only question is how often he'll step on the mound. He missed almost sixty games due to injury two years ago and will be at least thirty-seven when he finishes this contract. As crazy as BJ Ryan's contract with Toronto may be, he might have been a safer bet for the Mets. But if Wagner stays healthy, the Mets will have as good a chance at preserving a ninth inning lead as any team in baseball.

The Mets have spent this kind of money on players in their thirties before. Some of those contracts are just expiring now and some haven't yet. But Billy Wagner isn't Kevin Appier or Pedro Astacio. Carlos Delgado isn't Mo Vaughn or Jeromy Burnitz. And that Roberto Alomar deal really seemed like a good idea at the time. This time the Mets appear to have gotten a couple of great players with a few years left in them. They added twelve wins to their record in 2005. I think they just added a few more.

Konerko back to White Sox

And he said it was in large part to the team bringing in Jim Thome. So I guess that's a vote in Chicago in favor of that trade.

Meanwhile, since the Tigers are off the radar screen right now, we'll entertain with this quote from new skipper Jim Leyland: "It's not enough to play hard, you've also got to play smart. I played hard, too, and I never got out of Double-A."

Bye bye Billy

More on the Wags signing by the Mets: According to the NY Post, Wagner said the Phils made a mistake by trading Jim Thome and are going backwards. So, it sounds as though William probably wasn't returning to the Zen no matter what was offered.

Phillies appear to be hot on Tom Gordon as their closer. I hate this idea.

Pat Gillick looks to have made another solid move by signing Abraham Nunez, who might take the majority of ABs at third base, but can play just about anywhere and is a switch-hitter.

Has anyone heard from the Tigers?

Good times, bad times

Time to catch up on some wheeling and dealing. The Phils made an incredible deal in getting Aaron Rowand and a top pitching prospect in exchange for Jim Thome. White Sox fans seem to be devastated about losing Rowand, which might be a good sign for Phils fans.

On the downside, the Phils lost Billy Wagner to division rival New York. It will be interesting to hear Joe's take on this signing. Personally, I don't think it's a terrible thing for Philly -- did you really want Wags signed until 2009 at $10 million a season? New Phils GM Pat Gillick hates signing pitchers for more than two years.

"I'd almost rather pay two years at $10 million-$12 million [per year] than three years at $9 million," Gillick said. "I just want to have more flexibility, because you've got to be able to change your roster."

Which makes sense, if you can pull it off.

Anyway, the Phils can now focus on other relievers. They're pursuing Trevor Hoffman and Tom Gordon, from reports. They're not talking to Kyle Farnsworth, which makes no sense to me. He would seem a better option than Gordon, who has pitched a good many innings as a set-up man for Mariano Rivera in NY. The Indians, Orioles and Tigers also are chasing Hoffman. Bob Wickman and Todd Jones also are available.

I'd almost rather roll the dice with Octavio Dotel, who is a risk coming off surgery, but might be a great bargain. Especially when you consider Farnsworth is the only pitcher in the previously mentioned group who is under 37.

Nice call Sparky

The York Daily Record reports that the Orioles are in serious negotiations with Angels free agent Paul Byrd for a two year deal worth 10 - 13m.

FYI - Sparky had advised this move several months ago (in private conversations), but I did not realize he had Flanagan's ear.

Well armed

One would have to guess the Red Sox are nowhere near finished dealing, not even counting Manny.

Wells wants out and the team apparently will try to send him west, as he requested. Right now, they’ve got way too many starters – although most of them can’t stay healthy for a full year: Bronson Arroyo, Matt Clement, Wade Miller, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield and Wells, plus Josh Beckett.

Red Sox wonder, "Who needs a GM anyway?"

A potentially crazy offseason is underway in earnest as some big names find themselves in a glamorous new location while the 2003 World Series Champs really put their back into their latest rebuilding effort. Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell are apparently headed to Boston in exchange for prospects Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez as well as a player to be named later. Somewhere, George Steinbrenner is displeased.

Now, Josh Beckett may be the most unproven star athlete this side of Michael Vick, but that doesn't mean he's not a fine pitcher. The 178 2/3 innings he pitched in 2005 were a career high. But, as has been well documented, his problem has largely been blisters rather than arm trouble, meaning he's made it to his mid-twenties with a relatively healthy arm. He still needs to figure out how to stay on the field for 200 innings or so if he's going to turn into the ace so many have been predicting for years that he would be. But 160 innings of Josh Beckett is not a bad worst case scenario.

A full season of Mike Lowell, however, might be pretty scary. The three-time All-Star third baseman utterly collapsed in 2005, batting a laughable .236/.298/.360. The Red Sox have the sort of budget that allows that to gamble on his bouncing back, but that's far from a certainty. He will only be thirty-two years old, and if he does regain his old form this deal could look like grand larceny, but right now, Lowell is just the salary the Red Sox have to take to get Beckett.

As for the other side, the Marlins get a couple of interesting prospects. Ramirez is a highly touted shortstop whose appeal has always been more "tools" than stats. This year he hit .271/.335/.385 in 465 at bats for AA Portland. His defense gets good reviews, but he's still got some improving to do before he'll start looking like an impact player at the major league level. Sanchez, on the other hand, is rather intriguing. After losing the entire 2003 season to elbow surgery, he's spent the last two years striking out more than a batter per inning at three different minor league levels without walking too many batters. Even predicting that he'd have a major league career as good as Beckett's would be foolishly bold, but if the Marlins are going to seriously rebuild, this is the kind of guy they should be getting in exchange for their high-priced stars.

So the Red Sox made a good deal for themselves that could wind up looking okay for the Marlins in a few years with some luck. As a Mets fan, of course I'm happy to see Florida taking a year off from competing for a division title. Seeing them exchange one of their premier players for a less than exorbitant price gives me some hope about the Carlos Delgado trade negotiations, too. But one thing is for sure. Sportscenter is going to show some highlights from game six of the 2003 World Series tomorrow.

The 2005 Mets: Season In Review

For the New York Mets, 2005 was a year that felt disappointing as it was happening. They seemed so close to returning to the playoffs for the first time. And then they just fell apart like they always do. But the September collapse obscures how far this team came in one year and all the obstacles they had to overcome to do it. This team had some glaring weaknesses, and some bad luck on top of that. And their manager didn't seem the type to make lemonade out of lemons so much as the type to send the lemons out to pitch to the opposing team's best hitter in the eighth inning of a close game. Still, this team improved its record by twelve wins to go 83-79 and did it in a way that it seems like something they can build upon rather than a fluke.

The Mets' offense scored the seventh most runs in the National League, up from twelfth in 2004. And they did it with just one truly extraordinary hitter in their lineup. And that guy was the least experienced hitter they had. With some holes that shouldn't be too hard to fill and several important hitters still on the right side of thirty years old, the Mets' offense is a good one with some room to grow. Here's what it looks like, position by position.

C: National League average: .250/.314/.388
Mets average: .245/.322/.436
Mike Piazza: .253/.329/.456 (371 at bats)
Ramon Castro: .240/.318/.428 (208)

The Mets have become accustomed to this position being a plus over the years and 2005 was no exception, though the gap between Met catchers and the average NL backstop has shrunk considerably in recent seasons. Piazza's numbers were similar to 2004 but for the startling drop in his OBP. Things aren't likely to get much better for him as time rolls on. I still think he could be a useful part-time catcher in 2006, but it seems he has other plans and the Mets will have to look elsewhere. If this is the end, it's been a great seven and a half years and worth every penny as far as I'm concerned. He has been the greatest offensive player in the history of the franchise and I look forward to his being the second Mets cap to adorn a plaque in Cooperstown.

Castro was an able backup and could fill the same role in 2006. He wouldn't be a great choice to start, but there isn't much on the free agent market this offseason. Putting bats at positions where bats are expected should be more of a priority for the Mets than furthering the Carter-Hundley-Piazza lineage of catchers who can hit. Giving guys like Castro and Mike Jacobs a shot may be the best they can do for now.

1B: NL: .280/.361/.483
Mets: .227/.303/.391
Doug Mientkiewicz: .245/.328/.416 (269)
Mike Jacobs: .296/.364/.673 (98)

Where have you gone John Olerud? A franchise turns its lonely eyes to you. It's been six years since the Mets have had a first baseman worthy of the title, and while they did reach one World Series after the man in the funny hat left town, filling this slot with guys who can't hit isn't a strategy likely to get them back there. Mientkiewicz missed almost half of the season, and that wasn't the bad news. Getting on base is the only thing he's ever been good at offensively and he couldn't even do that this year. Eleven home runs were a nice surprise, but not nearly enough to prevent this position from being an offensive anchor in the nautical sense.

Jacobs had a heck of a month after a late August callup, playing almost exclusively at first base despite his history of catching. Oddly, his ESPN.com profile lists him as a catcher despite the fact that he didn't register a single major league plate appearance as such. One hundred major league at bats aren't a lot to go on--just ask Shane Spencer and Benny Agbayani--but Jacobs could be a useful part for the Mets at catcher and/or first base in 2006, as they're unlikely to fill either position in a particularly exciting way this offseason.

2B: NL: .276/.338/.414
Mets: .251/.295/.338
Miguel Cairo: .254/.299/.334 (287)
Kazuo Matsui: .257/.305/.361 (249)

This did not work out quite like I hoped it would. Instead of adjusting to the major leagues and putting up a big second season like Hideki Matsui did, Japanese iron man Kazuo Matsui alternated between being injured and being awful in 2005. And Miguel Cairo provided Met fans with an example of the old adage about being careful what you wish for. Many called for Matsui to be benched in favor of Cairo, and Cairo eventually did take Matsui's spot even when Matsui was healthy. The only problem was that Cairo was even more useless with a bat in his hand than Matsui.

The Mets should approach the 2005 offseason as though they don't have a second baseman on the roster. Big contract or not, Matsui does not deserve anything more than a shot to compete for the starting spot in 2006, and even that would be generous. And Cairo should not be brought back under any circumstances, lest Willie Randolph decide it's a good idea for him to bat second for a couple more months. Both the free agent market and the Mets' minor league system are basically devoid of serious choices to play second base at the major league level next year, but this is a position where the team needs to upgrade. Finding a league average second baseman would put a significant number of runs on the board for the Mets in 2006.

3B: NL: .274/.344/.442
Mets: .307/.389/.520
David Wright: .306/.388/.523 (575)

At twenty-two years old, David Wright was one of the twenty best hitters in the major leagues in 2005. Only Morgan Ensberg even enters the conversation of who the most valuable third baseman in the National League was, and he's seven years older and had thirty-three fewer plate appearances. If it weren't for the guy who plays across town, Wright would be a legitimate choice for the best third baseman in the majors. He will show up at the bottom of some MVP ballots, and rightly so. He'll turn twenty-three in December.

This is the one position where the Mets have absolutely nothing to be concerned about aside from getting the man under contract for as long as possible. He could be a little more consistent defensively, but 24 errors certainly don't tell the whole story. The fact that 24 is the exact number of errors that a twenty-two year-old Scott Rolen made in his first full major league season is just an amusing coincidence. But while Wright could occasionally get sloppy on a routine play, he would also make the best play you've seen all year every once in a while. And then he'd top it.

Tom Seaver is the greatest home grown player in franchise history. Darryl Strawberry is the best hitter to come out of the Mets' farm system. Wright's got a long way to go to top the former, but I don't have much doubt that he's going to give the latter a run for his money before he's done. As long as he's got a uniform on, there will be at least one reason to watch the Mets.

SS: NL: .264/.313/.378
Mets: .273/.300/.385
Jose Reyes: .273/.299/.386 (696)

Of course, Wright isn't the only reason to watch. Jose Reyes is impossible to take your eyes off of when he's at the plate or on the bases, even if his stats don't look like those of a superstar. If you add in the sixty bases he stole (in seventy-five tries), things start looking a little better. But he still hasn't lived up to the promise of his rookie year, when he hit .307/.334/.434 in half a season.

That promise was derailed in large part by injuries, so perhaps Reyes's batting statistics aren't the most important numbers when describing his 2005. Six hundred and ninety-six at bats tell you more than just that he needs to draw more walks. They tell you that Reyes stayed healthy enough to play in all but one of his team's games this year. While he's still got a lot of work to do to solidify his place in the core of this team's future, staying on the field all year was a big step in the right direction.

LF: NL: .272/.348/.457
Mets: .272/.358/.497
Cliff Floyd: .279/.359/.507 (548)

Speaking of surprising bouts of health, here's Cliff Floyd. The Met left fielder played in more games than he has since 1998 and looked good with both the bat and the glove. He got off to an explosive start, posting OPSes over 1.000 in two of the season's first three months before settling into more pedestrian numbers in the second half. He also looked vastly improved with the glove. The difference between his defense this year and in his previous two years with the Mets looked to be night and day, and stats like those of Baseball Prospectus agree. All in all, Floyd was the second most valuable Met hitter.

Still, this is Cliff Floyd we're talking about. Expecting a repeat of this year's health at age thirty-three would be foolish. The outfield corners seem like the place the Mets are most likely to try to upgrade before the start of the season. With Brian Giles the premier free agent and Omar Minaya still dreaming of Manny, rumors are bound to swirl this offseason. Selling high on Cliff Floyd seems like the way to go. Hopefully the Mets trade wisely.

CF: NL: .275/.340/.437
Mets: .271/.334/.429
Carlos Beltran: .267/.331/.416 (580)

Seriously, what the hell? Beltran's OBP was twenty points lower than his career mark and his SLG was sixty-five points off. I don't want to make like a mindless New York beat writer and play the "big city pressure" card, but something unusual happened here. Maybe his early season leg injuries were more serious than we were led to believe, and certainly he deserves some slack for the period of the season after he and his right fielder cracked skulls in mid-air. But even taking into account those extenuating circumstances, this season has to rate as a colossal disappointment.

The only thing to do right now is expect him to bounce back. The only season comparable to this is 2000, when he hit .247/.309/.366 in 98 games after hitting .293/.337/.454 the previous year. After that, he started putting up the superstar numbers we've come to expect from him. We can't draw any conclusions about 2006 based on that. But we can't conclude that he's spending the offseason shopping for coats that will fit around the giant fork sticking out of his back based on one bad season either. Carlos Beltran will be one of the Mets' two best offensive players in 2006. Or they're in some serious trouble.

RF: NL: .269/.346/.456
Mets: .269/.338/.493
Mike Cameron: .261/.329/.456 (272)
Victor Diaz: .264/.333/.487 (261)

The Mets got decent production from right field, but this still seems like a position they're likely to try hard to upgrade in the offseason. Mike Cameron got off to a late hot start, but he cooled off considerably after May and then his season ended shockingly in August. Victor Diaz had a decent season in relief, but didn't really establish himself as an easy choice for a future starting role.

Cameron will likely be dealt to a team that can play him in center field while Diaz reprises his role as fourth outfielder. The aforementioned Brian Giles will probably receive serious consideration from the Mets. He bounced back somewhat in 2005 after a rough 2004 in San Diego's new offense-dampening stadium. At thirty-five years old, he's not going to be the player to put the Mets over the top, but at the right price, getting a solidly above average player who gets on base a lot to play right field could be a good addition.

So the Mets' offense is far from complete heading into this offseason, but there is a lot to make one optimistic. The three most important guys are young enough to improve, as hard as that is to believe in Wright's case. And given the awful production the Mets got out of the right side of their infield, finding average major leaguers to staff those spots would be a big upgrade. The Mets' everyday lineup could undergo a serious transformation before opening day. But as long as its got Reyes, Wright and Beltran at the top of it, there's reason to be excited.

The Mets' pitching also improved significantly in 2005. They allowed the third fewest runs in the league, up from eighth in 2004. The cut more than half a run off the team ERA and walked 101 fewer batters. Unlike the offense, there was no youngster driving this resurgence who can be expected to keep it up for years to come. But they should at least have all the guys who contributed to the 2005 success back. And, also unlike the offense, there could be some reinforcements from the minors on the way.

Pedro Martinez: 15-8, 2.82, 217 IP, 8.6 K/9, 1.9 BB/9

Well, at least one of the Mets' big investments paid off in 2005. Pedro Martinez stayed healthy enough to pitch as many innings as he has in seven years--oddly enough, it's the third season since 1998 in which he's pitched exactly 217 innings--and those innings couldn't have been of a higher quality. While his numbers did not compare with those of his best seasons, he still ranked as one of the ten best pitchers in baseball. I think the Mets will settle for that.

There can never be certainty about a pitcher's future health, and Pedro's health is more uncertain than most. But 2001 was the last time he failed to make at least twenty-nine starts and the Mets were careful with him at the end of this season. The fourth year of his contract is still far in the future, but 2006 looks quite promising.

Tom Glavine: 13-13, 3.53, 211.1, 4.5, 2.6

I have to say I did not see that coming. In a season when Met fans everywhere were hoping Glavine wouldn't pitch enough innings to trigger the 2006 option in his contract, he surprised everyone with another solid season. Much like his ultimately adequate 2004, 2005 was a tale of two halves, one excellent and one excrement. The thirty-nine year-old southpaw spent the first half of the season confirming fans' worst fears, posting a 4.94 ERA with a 46:41 K:BB ratio in 102 innings before the All Star break. But in the second half, he rediscovered his 2004 first half form, posting a 2.22 ERA with a 59:20 K:BB ratio in 109.1 innings. As if to illustrate the uselessness of a pitcher's win-loss record in describing his effectiveness, he went 6-7 before the break and 7-6 after.

So what's next? Does Glavine at forty have another half of an great season in him? Probably not. But the Mets are stuck with him. He'd still make a pretty good fifth starter, I think. SO all the Mets have to do to improve their rotation is make sure they've got four guys better than Glavine. Well, Pedro certainly counts as one.

Jae Seo: 8-2, 2.59, 90.1, 5.9, 1.6

This guy would certainly count as number two, if they let him. Despite spending half the season in Norfolk so that Kazuhisa Ishii could make Victor Zambrano look like he had good control by comparison, Seo was the third most valuable starting pitcher the Mets had. He was sent down after just three starts with a 2.00 ERA and when he got called back up in August, he didn't miss a beat. He started eleven games and went 6-1 with a 2.74 ERA. He had the lowest walk rate of any Met pitcher, starter or reliever. One can only wonder where the Mets might have finished had he been in the majors all season.

As big a fan of Seo as I am, even I never expected this kind of season out of him. It's hard to believe he can keep it up much longer, but that's the sort of thing I often thought before his starts down the stretch this season. Maybe it is just as simple as his developing a couple of new pitches. If so, he just may be able to sustain it for a little while longer. Regardless of the improbability of his sudden success, there is no way his name shouldn't already be written in ink on the 2006 Mets' opening day roster.

Kris Benson: 10-8, 4.13, 174.1, 4.9, 2.5

No, really. He's about to break out and become an elite pitcher. I can just feel it. The man with all the potential had another in a long line of mediocre seasons, earning an ERA within a tenth of a run of league average (4.22). Rick Peterson's magic powers did not turn him into one of the best pitchers in the league or even one of the three best pitchers on his own team.

Benson seems capable of being a reliable guy at the back of a good rotation. But usually you can find those guys for less than $7.5 million per season. As he dives headlong into his thirties, Benson will probably continue to be better than most of the guys in the Mets' minor league system. At least if he feels guilty about taking their jobs, he can afford to buy them a nice lunch to apologize.

Victor Zambrano: 7-12, 4.17, 166.1, 6.1, 4.2

And then there's this guy. He got booted to the bullpen before the season ended. Meanwhile, further south...

Scott Kazmir: 10-9, 3.77, 186, 8.4, 4.8

*sigh*

Aside from those five and Ishii, Aaron Heilman and Steve Trachsel each made a handful of starts. Heilman was solid and had a couple of really dominant starts before getting sent to the bullpen, where he excelled. Trachsel returned from injury in August and was inconsistent.

Martinez, Glavine, Benson, Trachsel and Seo will probably be the rotation come opening day. It would be nice if Zambrano were in another uniform by then, but I won't get my hopes up. The Mets could always explore trading possibilities, but there aren't a lot of options on the free agent market. AJ Burnett seems to be the man most likely to be overpaid by a large market team. Hopefully it's not the Mets.

In spite of Willie Randolph's baffling bullpen management, the Mets did get some good performances from their relievers. In addition to Heilman, Roberto Hernandez was excellent all year and Juan Padilla pitched very well after a midseason callup. Expecting a repeat performance from a forty-one year-old Hernandez seems to be asking too much, but he at least deserves a chance to show that he can be useful again. The Mets have some young arms who could prove useful in 2006, but aside from Heilman, there isn't a lot to be confident about here.

One position that the Mets will almost surely attempt to upgrade via free agent signing is that of closer. After a very good 2004, Braden Looper fell to earth hard. He pitched twenty-four fewer innings yet walked six more batters. And his strikeout total was less than half of what it was the year before. His ERA jumped more than a point. He will not be back.

The Mets will likely pursue Billy Wagner to fill this role, which doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. Like any big name closer, he'll get money out of proportion to his real value. But that doesn't mean he won't be one of the best closers money can buy. He still strikes out more than a batter per inning with a fairly low walk rate. At thirty-four with some recent injuries, his durability is a concern, but, aside from perhaps BJ Ryan, there isn't a comparable talent available to fill this position. And as ridiculous as either man's salary might turn out to be, it's not going to financially cripple the New York Mets.

The Mets' pitching success seems a bit more fragile than that of their offense, and not just due to the inherent unpredictability of pitchers. They're counting on some guys in their thirties and one guy with half a great season to maintain their performance or get better. Not being exceedingly patient with guys like Ishii and Zambrano could improve the bottom line a bit, but it doesn't look like the Mets will make any huge strides here. Yusmeiro Petit getting off to a hot start in AAA could be a big help later in the season.

Altogether, the Mets look like a solid team moving in the right direction. Another offseason full of big moves could always backfire, and Omar Minaya isn't one to shy away from headlines. The next few months will likely be sprinkled with tense moments when it seems like Minaya is about to trade away the whole farm system for Danys Baez. But until that happens, I remain cautiously optimistic.

Good news, bad news

On the bright side, Ryan Howard was voted NL Rookie of the Year. Howard hit .288 with 22 HR and 63 RBI in 312 AB after taking over 1B for injured Jim Thome. Those are some nice numbers, especially if you work them out over a full season. One word of caution, though. Howard struck out 100 times. That's a big number, too.

Scott Rolen was the last Phillie to win ROY, in 1997. Many on the list of recent winners have all gone on to further success, like Jason Bay, Dontrelle Willis, and Albert Pujols. So, hopefully, Howard will, too. If he remains with the Phils.

On the down side, Ugie Urbina will be charged with attempted murder for the bizarre incident at his home in Venzuela that involved a group of men allegedly attacking several people using machetes and trying to set them on fire. Urbina said he was sleeping at the time and not involved.

Polanco earns his stripes

Placido Polanco, acquired from the Phillies for Ugie Urbina and Ramon Martinez, was voted the Tiger of the Year by Detroit's media. Polanco hit .338 with 36 RBI in 86 games for the Tigers and batted .331 between Philly and Detroit combined, the second highest average in the majors.

He also led all second basemen with a .995 fielding average and was the toughest hitter in the majors to strike out, with one whiff every 22 at-bats.

In September, Polanco became the first Tiger since Ray Boone in 1957 to get four hits in back-to-back games. Ray, of course, was the father of former Phillies standout catcher Bob Boone.

The rumor mill

The Minnesota Twins reportedly have contacted the Phillies about Jim Thome. But the Phils would have to eat a lot of the remaining $$$ on Thome's contract. From what I've read, new Phils GM Pat Gillick might be more willing to trade Ryan Howard because of his greater value.

I don't know if the Phils will be able to improve their starting pitching much through free agency (Matt Morris, anyone?), but there are a few relievers that could help the squad. Bobby Howry made just $900,000 for the White Sox last year and would be great for the back end, as might Octavio Dotel, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, but is willing to play for an incentive-laden contract.

If the Phils lose Wagner and Urbina, B.J. Ryan ($2.6 million in 2005) and Kyle Farnsworth ($2 million) might be worthwhile, and cost-effective, solutions.

I think the Nationals made a great trade dealing 3B Vinny Castilla to SD for P Brian Lawrence. I think Lawrence should benefit greatly from pitching at RFK Stadium, and he's only 29.

When I think defense, I think Abreu

My wife always said that Bobby Abreu looked kind of like one of those troll dolls, and I’m starting to think there might be a reason why. I’m starting to think Bobby has magic powers that none of us know about, and he used those powers to somehow win his first Gold Glove award.

Was the NL outfield really that weak out there? Maybe we’ve all under-valued the ability to let fly balls bounce in front of you?

I know Bobby has a great arm and he can cover a lot of ground out there, but this is a guy that uses his reputation as a bad fielder to try and trick people to think he can’t find a fly ball so he can try to throw them out.

When you think Gold Glove you think of guys who would provide web gem after web gem, like 8 time winners Andruw Jones and Jim Edmonds. I don’t know if I have ever seen Bobby make more than one or two plays that I would have thought to be a web gem that didn't involve him throwing someone out, thought he did dive for once or twice this year for a fly ball, which I pretty sure was a career high for him and that's worth mentioning.

Either way congratulations to Bobby.

Gillick takes over

Well, it became clear over the past few days that Pat Gillick was the Phils' man for the GM job and now it's officially his. While the media and others might have preferred Gerry Hunsicker, it's hard to argue with Gillick's record with success.

Let's face it, Gillick produced winners in Toronto, Baltimore and Seattle. He won back-to-back World Series titles with the Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993 (who could forget?), built the Orioles' last playoff teams in 1996 and 1997, and constructed a 116-game winner for the Mariners in 2001.

Hard to argue with that record. The man wins everywhere he goes. Of course, he's never been to Philly.

Still a Two Horse Race?

Even with Theo Epstein quitting his post as GM of the Boston Red Sox it still looks like the Phillies are picking between Pat Gillick or Gerry Hunsicker. Both are proven winners but would mean different things to the Phillies. Now it’s just up to Phillies president David Montgomery to pick which direction to go.

The front runner seems to be Gillick, with one rumor out there already that Montgomery has already made an offer, and that an announcement could come as soon as today. One line of thinking is that Gillick, who is 68, would only be on for a few years and then step aside for Ruben Amaro Jr., who some think is who Montgomery would have hired if it wouldn’t of caused a huge media and fan backlash. Under Gillick, Amaro’s duties would increase more with Gillick doing the job mostly from his home in Toronto. Given Montgomery’s loyalty to the members of the Phillies organization that seems to be the safe bet, but would it turn out to be more businesses as usual for the Phillies than the change in the organization’s approach that many want?

With Hunsicker it would be a different story. He lives in the area which in my book would be a plus since he would have a better feel for the fan base. Hunsicker would more likely provide the shake up and changes the Phillies the fans and media seem to crave. He’s a bit more aggressive in his style and wants things done his way, as seen in Houston. With Philly being his dream job as well you would think he wouldn’t just want to be a bridge to Amaro and he would want to stay around for a while.

I for one am still hoping for Hunsicker but unless the Dodgers some how swoop in for Gillick I think it’s only a matter of time before he’s named GM

Phils talk to Hunsicker

Team president David Montgomery and Hunsicker met in Philly to discuss the Phillies' vacant GM post, and Hunsicker told reporters that the meeting was "productive."

When I worked for the paper in Williamsport, one year the minor league team there was a Mets affiliate and Hunsicker was the director of minor league operations for NY at the time. He seemed like a good guy. I will use whatever influence I have with him to try to draw him to Philly.

Pat Gillick, the former Blue Jays, Orioles and Mariners GM, also is considered a top candidate.

Also, the Philadelphia Inquirer said Montgomery is committed to changing the Zen's tiny leftfield dimensions in the offseason. That crashing sound you just heard was Pat Burrell's stock dropping.

Wagner files for free agency

Billy Wagner has filed for free agencey yesterday. Peter Gammons said on Sports Center that he thinks Wagner will be back, while Jason Stark, on ESPN 920 yesterday, said he thinks Wagner is a good as gone. I guess only time will tell.

Stark had another intresting nugget on the GM search. According to Stark the top two canidates for the opening were Cashman, who stayed with the Yankees, and Jim Duquette who the Phillies never contacted and headed off to the Orioles. Good to see that the Phillies two top choise was never even given the option to consider the job. Not much that you could tdo about Cashman but it still not the best first step. Still I’d rather have Hunsicker anyway so it just fine with me how how it’s worked out so far.

Markus Hayes had this to add another fun note on Ryan Howard.
Howard has said he would like to try to play the outfield despite a brief, aborted leftfield experiment in spring training
If Howard can play out in left it would open up the possability of keeping Thome, but that would mean some shuffling would have to happen in the out field, whether it’s by trades or by shifting Bobby to center and Pat to right.
I’m just happy to see the Phillies are aware that the off season has begun. I was getting worried there.

More on the GM search

Actually, I don't know that it can be called a search. The word "search" implies activity, and there seems to be little of that here. Maybe it wasn't all Ed's fault after all?

Dennis Deitch tossed out another name for the GM job -- Philly native Joe McIlvaine, who worked for the Mets when they won the 1986 World Series and was the mentor of Gerry Hunsicker, another candidate(?) for the Phillies job. McIlvaine currently is a special assistant to Minnesota GM Terry Ryan.

The closest blowout of the last 55 years

The poor Astros (yes, I know Philly fans are taking delight). There have been 18 sweeps in the World Series and only one has been more closely contested than the White Sox-Houston series this year.

So far, Chicago has outscored the Astro by 5 runs in three games – winning once in extra innings and once in the bottom of the ninth.

The only series in which the run differential was less than five at this point in a sweep came in 1950, when the Yankees swept the Phillies. It’s probably no surprise to Phils’ fans they would have been involved in such a unique occurance.

New York won 1-0, 2-1 in 10 innings and 3-2 in the first three games. Joe DiMaggio’s homer gave the Yankees the victory in Game 2 and NY rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the eighth inning of Game 3. The Yanks completed the sweep with a 5-2 triumph.

Cahman out. Epstein in?

Marcus Hayes and Todd Zolecki are both reporting that Cashman is staying with the Yankees taking another big name off the GM list, but one might be added on.

Reports out of Boston are saying Theo Epstein has turned down the latest offer from the Red Sox.

Epstein would make things interesting, but I can’t think there is anyway that Boston lets Theo walk in 5 days when his contract is up or that Theo would really want to leave.. More likely as long as there is high profile opening like the Phillies Theo will use that as leverage for a better deal from the Sox. So I’m going to think that it’s a pipe dream that Young Epstein will be in Philly for an interview in a few days.

Gerry Hunsicker is still out there but there’s this from Marcus Hayes’s latest.

“Meanwhile, former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker, who built the team that took the wild-card berth the last two seasons and played in Game 3 of the World Series last night, met in Houston with Tampa Bay baseball development director Andrew Friedman, league sources said. It is the second meeting between Hunsicker and the Devil Rays, who seek an experienced voice to guide Friedman, who is 24.”

One has to think if the Rays offer him a job and he hasn’t been contacted by the Phillies yet, which is what has been reported, than he’ll be off the list soon as well.

It looks like the first wave of interviews won’t start till next week if we’re lucky, starting with Wade’s assistants Ruben Amaro Jr. and Mike Arbuckle.

Amaro Jr. is running the show in the mean time, and doing a pretty bad job so far with the latest news being that Vicente Padilla might be playing some winter ball in Valenzuela which over last two years the Phillies have kept him from throwing in the winter due to his injury problems. The reason I say might be playing winter ball is these two quotes first from Amaro Jr. after hearing that Padilla has already thrown one 6 inning game.

"I'm not surprised he's pitching. We don't have any problem with him throwing,"

Are you telling me the acting GM of the team doesn’t even know what’s going on with one of his pitchers? On top of that the team has no problem with him throwing? So one might guess the Phillies will let Vicente walk off into free agency then, right? Armaro Jr. says… "We do not foresee that happening."

Last bit of news both Burrell and Lofton has some surgery over the weekend. Pat had a bone spur and a “loose body” in his right foot removed. While Lofton cartilage removed from his left knee. Both are expected to ready for spring training, but I doubt Lofton will be wearing a Phillies uniform. What am I saying? I have no idea what to expect from the Phillies at this point.

Thanks for coming, good night!

Scott Podsednik became the 14th player to end a World Series game with a home run, lifting the White Sox to a 7-6 win over the Astros last night. Of the other walkoff homers, many are memorable -- Bill Mazeroski (1960), Carlton Fisk (1975), Kirk Gibson (1988), Kirby Puckett (1991), Joe Carter (1993) and Derek Jeter (2001) quickly come to mind.

What about the rest?

Tommy Henrich hit the first game-ending World Series homer in 1949 to give the Yankees a 1-0 win over the Dodgers in the opening contest of the series. Henrich's homer came off Don Newcombe, who entering the ninth had given up four hits, no walks and struck out 11, and made a winner of Allie Reynolds.

Game 1 of the 1954 World Series between the Giants and Indians is best remembered for Willie Mays' over-the-shouder catch. But it was a three-run homer by pinch-hitter Dusty Rhodes in the 10th inning that gave NY a 5-2 win.

The rest of the list is Eddie Mathews (1957), Mickey Mantle (1964), Mark McGwire (1988), Chad Curtis (1999) and Alex Gonzalez (2003). As you see, the 1988 Series with Gibson and McGwire is the only one in history to have two walkoff dingers.

Grounded

It looks like the Phils might have a tough time coming up with a groundball specialist to pitch in the homer-friendly Zen.

The best in the game, not surprisingly, is Arizona sinkerballer Brandon Webb. He recorded 388 groundball outs compared to 116 in the air. No one else even comes close to that ratio. The D-backs have got him locked up and would seem unlikely to trade him. If they did trade him, he wouldn't come cheaply.

Other top guys are Derek Lowe, Jake Westbrook, Mark Mulder, Chris Carpenter, Tim Hudson, A.J. Burnett and Kirk Saarloos.

Westbrook is an intriguing talent, but Cleveland's got him signed through 2006 with an option for 2007. And they're too close to being a post-season team to give up pitching. Burnett is the top free agent hurler on the market, and it's unlikely the Phils will have deep enough pockets.

The best pitcher the Phils could most likely sign is Matt Morris, who probably has the right makeup to pitch in the Zen. Jeff Weaver and Kevin Millwood, as we already know, do not. Another option might be Jason Johnson, who pitched for the Tigers. He can go out and throw a 1-hit shutout, then come back and give up seven runs in his next start. A very frustrating talent. He certainly wouldn't be a splashy sign.

If the Phils decide to return Ryan Madson to a starting role, bring up Gavin Floyd for the whole season and get Randy Wolf back, then they might not need to sign a starter, anyway.

In different camps

My brother and I are clearly divided on Abreu and Burrell. He will defend Pat, pretty much no matter what, and I will step up for Bobby.

It's amazing how a misconception can become truth if it's repeated often enough. This is a frequent political tactic, and also one in dissing Abreu. The myth: Abreu chokes. The truth follows.

In 2003, Abreu hit .361 with 7 HR and 83 RBI with RISP. He batted .362-2-25 with RISP and 2 outs. He hit .250 with 9 HR with the bases empty.

In 2004, Abreu was .322-9-77 with RISP and .396-4-30 with RISP with 2 outs. Not to mention he struck out about once every 10 ABs in that situation. He hit .276 with 17 HR with the bases empty.

Last year, Abreu hit .303-7-76 with RISP. He did struggle with RISP and 2 outs, batting .238-2-27 -- so this is where the "Abreu gags" group gathered its ammo. On the bright side, he had 25 AB with a man on third and less than 2 outs, and had 25 RBI. He hit .267 with 10 HR with the bases empty.

If anything, the last 3 seasons demonstrate Abreu is historically a failure with the bases empty, not with men on base. I really think Abreu was hurt down the stretch. There were time when he was clearly limping. He isn't great defensively, but I would only trade him for a proven No. 1 starter, a No. 2 at worse.

Abreu is more valuable in trade offers because so much of Burrell's success has come in the Zen. Burrell hit .286 at home in 2004 and .293 last year. His slugging was .519 and .557 respectively. On the road, he was .231 and .269 for BA and .399 and .447 for SLG. He's hit 34 of his 56 HR the past two seasons at home.

Bowa to the Yankees?

Larry Bowa is talking to the Yankees about becoming a coach.

There are a few openings there including, pitching coach (no way), bench coach, (maybe but doubtful) and third base coach (smart money). Bowa being the bad cop to Torre’s good cop could be just what the Yankees need. One would think that Bowa hasn’t given up being a manager and being a coach on the Yankees seems to be just as good of a place to start if not better than others.

ESPN radio last night said he was contacted by Cashman, which is very interesting if true.

Lieberthal has minor knee surgery.

He should be back by the time pitchers and catchers report. Libby is having the surgery in hope to regain some of his old form. I’m pretty sure he’s one of the Phillies we can count on coming back next year. The team shopped him last year with few interested, but when you throw in he has a no trade clause, and he seems to not to want to go anywhere, we can only hope for a speedy recovery and that the surgery works out well.

Marcus Hayes is my boy with the Phillies info. This came from his article yesterday about the Phillies latest offer to Wagner.

League sources indicate that the Phillies plan to move Madson from the bullpen, where he has spent his first two seasons, and make him a starter, most likely to replace enigmatic talent Vicente Padilla. The Phillies are not expected to offer arbitration to Padilla. Madson probably would join 2001 first-round pick Gavin Floyd in the back of the rotation.

I really like Madson and have thought he could be given the shot to close if Wagner isn't back. But I wouldn't mind if he was the 5th guy in the rotation. With Floyd I would love to see what really could do, but I'd much rather they find at lest one pitcher we know can start and if that meant including Floyd in a trade with another player and keep Lidel as the 4th starter and not move him up to the 3 I'd be all for it. Which brings me too...

If you haven’t heard by now I’m fully on the trade Bobby Abreu for starting pitching train.

There’s been some speculation that the Phillies would trade either Abreu or Burrell and I think you have to go with Bobby as the trade bait for a few reasons.

1) Pat is clearly the better defender.

2) Pat is also the only right handed bat in the lineup teams have to fear. After him it’s Bell and Libby. Not very scary. If you move Pat and don’t replace him with another strong right handed slugger we’ll have to get use to teams bring in lefties to mow down Utley, Howard and Abreu all season long.

3) Pat is younger cheaper and Bobby may even have more trade value.

4) Pat is an RBI machine when healthy, coming off his best season in the bigs, and entering his prime years as a hitter. No matter what my brother says about his swing.

5) Pat actually comes through when you need him two from time to time.

Now I've been all for trading Bobby in the past, and I'll admit that in the past I haven’t fully appreciated how good Bobby really is. But you know it’s become a lot more then a trend that Bobby vanishes when the games really start to count and that’s what frustrates me the most about him. Maybe a change of scenery would help him break out of that.

More thoughts on Wagner

Over the last five years, the only closer with at least 100 saves to appear in more games than Billy Wagner is Braden Looper, with 354. Ugie Urbina and Wagner are next with 332. However, Wagner has far more saves and finished more games than either Looper or Urbina. Only Mariano Rivera, with 214, and Jose Mesa, with 181, have more saves than Wagner’s 177 during that span.

You have to wonder, though, about how much Wagner has left in the tank. He will turn 35 next season. He seemed to have dropped 3-4 mph on his fastball this year, or the Phillies got a slower radar gun. He ranks 11th in saves, with 59, over the last two seasons.

I would prefer to see Wagner go if the Phils can get a solid starter; one who throws groundballs. I’m going to have to research best groundball pitchers and see if any are free agents.

Quick Phillies Notes

First the Phillies made another offer to Wagner.

I’ve seen the theory that Wagner is just using the Phillies to drive up his price on the free agent market. I’m starting to think he is. Right now the Phillies are bidding against themselves to get Wagner. First they say he’s over valuing himself when they gave him the first offer and when he scoffs at it the Phillies with no GM in place blink right away and make a counter offer. Nice.

Urbina might be in a load of trouble.

This is terrible news either way since something like this should never of happened in the first place and from a Phillies point of view it could make a mess of everything if things with Wagner if things fall though. Urbina has said he wants to be a closer next year so it might not matter if Wagner does sign. Of course I wanted to keep Urbina and let Wagner walk. I guess we’ll have to wait this one out.

Leo Mazzone goes to the Orioles in a thank goodness moment for Phillies fans.

And while the Orioles are at it, hired Jim Duquette as vice president for baseball operations.

Jim Duquette was on the Phillies list of possible GM candidates, one I didn’t really care for but one all the same. As of now the Phillies haven’t talked to anyone about the opening and seem to be moving in slow motion waiting to see if Cashman becomes available. If they keep going slow though they could end up on the outside looking in because other teams are being active in their searches to fill front office positions.

Can you just see the one by one the top guys taking other jobs and in the end Cashman stays with the Yankees? I can...

What I don’t understand is why the Phillies haven’t brought in Gerry Hunsicker yet. Jason Stark has reported this is Hunsicker’s dream job and his track record is proven. The Astro’s team he built came one game from the World Series last year and is in the Series this year. While Cashman trade Kenny Lofton to us and had center field issues all year and traded Jose Contreras to the White Sox and he’s been amazing helping lead the Sox to the Series this year while the Yankees struggled with their pitching all year. Is that really the guy we are waiting on?

On top of all this the sooner we have a competent GM the more time they’ll have to plan for the rapidly approaching free agent period.

Pack yer Bags for the Windy City

It was 1990 when I first met Jeff Bagwell. He set the New Britain Red Sox franchise record for hits in a season, and he did it in Williamsport, Pa., where I was a sportswriter on the minor league beat. I knew he was a good-hitting third baseman, and he had nowhere to go in Boston because of another pretty good hitter at third -- Wade Boggs. So in August 1990, the Sox traded Bagwell to the Houston Astros for reliever Larry Anderson, routinely considered as one of the most lopsided deals in history.

Anyway, Bags has always been one of my favorite players. Always had to have him on any fantasy team. So I'm glad he will finally get to the World Series, even if he didn't have much to do with the Astros success this season. He's more than paid his dues and, like teammate Craig Biggio and the White Sox's Frank Thomas, deserves it.

It's easy to forget what an awesome all-around offensive force Bagwell was during his prime. From 1996 through 2003, there were only 3 players to accumulate more than 900 R, 875 RBI, 300 HR, 135 SB and hit at least .297. They were A-Rod, Barry Bonds and Bags.

Bags was ages 28-35 for those seasons, usually a hitter's prime years. He averaged .297 with 38 HR, 119 RBI, 121 R and 17 SB during that eight-year span. He was twice a 30-30 guy, which seems ridiculous given his stocky shape.

Enjoy the big show, Bags.

Is Wagner worth it?

Joe pointed out to me a great little blurb by Baseball Prospectus about the whole Wagner situation that I agree with 100%. Basically saying it would be better to use the money needed to sign Wags on some starting pitching and let Ryan Madson close.

I have been on the fence about the whole Wagner thing for a while now and I had thought Madson would be a good guy to give the first shot at closing to. I got scared off a little towards the end of the season when Madson started to stink it up, but I didn’t realize how much Madson had pitched. You have to think he would pitch a few less innings if he were the closer. If nothing else the Phillies could also resign Urbina and have him as a back up if Madson fails. anyway you look at it the team needs to upgrade the starting pitching if they want do more than just make the playoffs.

Either way I think it shows how stupid it would be to sign Wagner before a GM is in place.


Speaking of that whole no GM thing, Marcus Hayes has this to offer.

"The top candidates for one of the most attractive jobs in baseball will be big names with pedigrees such as: former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker (who will interview for a front-office positing in Tampa next week), former Indians and Rangers GM John Hart, also a candidate in Tampa Bay, former Mets GMs Steve Phillips and Jim Duquette, former Red Sox GM Dan Duquette and, if he becomes available, Yankees GM Brian Cashman."

Why is it that Phillips is not the only name that scares me on the list?

As only the Phillies can

With the firing of Ed Wade one would think that the Phillies #1 priority would be to find his replacement. One would think, but in true Phillies fashion the Phills have started what is probably the most important off season in Philadelphia baseball in recent history by undercutting the new GM before he even set foot in the door.

Yesterday Dave Montgomery with Ruben Amaro, Jr and Mike Arbuckle flew down to Virginia to resume negotiations with free agent closer Billy Wagner. While Wagner may have been the most important Phillies pitcher this last year one would think as Rich Hofmann of the Philadelphia Daily News has pointed out maybe the signing of Wagner should be left to the new GM since he may think of other ways to spend the 8-10 million dollars it would take to bring Wagner back.

If that wasn’t enough at Mondays press conference where it was announced that Wade was “being relived” of his duties as general manager, Montgomery gave manager Charlie Manuel and his staff an endorsement for a job well done but in his very next statement said the new GM would have the final say in the manager and coaching staff decisions. Nothing like telling all would be candidates that they have a say but you’d sure prefer if they didn’t touch Charlie and his gang just yet.

So how long before www.firedavemontgomrey.com is taken?


Steven (terrible) A. Smith strikes again with this gem of writing. Could somebody please just smack him when he turns in anything that doesn’t pertain to his “expertise” the NBA? While we’re at it could someone explain to him that Brian Cashman, who is in Smith’s terms a “real” GM, might not be all that real? Sure over the last 8 years Cashman’s reign over the New York Yankees has resulted in 8 strait division crowns and 3 world titles, but there are 3 things that have to jump right out at you when talking about Cashman’s tenure as the Yankees GM.

1st Most of the core Yankees that won the 3 world titles were already there when he started.

2nd The Yankee pay roll is about 110 million dollars more than the Phillies. Cashman won’t have the luxury of covering up his mistakes by just eating salaries nor will he have the luxury to get the biggest names on the market just because he can. On top of that since his 3 World Series victories the Yankees have become increasingly more and more disappointing and vulnerable despite the pay roll increasing every year.

3rd Cahsman works for the most hands on “Boss” in MLB and during his time the Yankees have made some horrible personnel decisions. It would be foolish to give Cashman full credit for every good to great moves the Yankees have made while it would also be just as foolish to put all the blame on Steinbrenner for all the questionable to horrible moves that were made at the same time.

That’s not to say Cashman wouldn’t be an improvement or that he’s not a great GM, but it shows that there really isn’t any way of knowing until he’s away from the Yankees, and at the cost he will come at is that a chance the Phillies can afford to be taking right now?

Either way the Phillies have to find a way to excite the fan base again. Hiring Cashman would help do that as would Philly area native Gerry Hunsicker, who is the man responsible for the current Houston Astros team.

Weather the Phillies hire Cashman, Hunsicker, one of the other big names or a relative unknown we Phillies fans have come to expect that if there is a way to screw things up the Phillies will find that way. As Joe said to me in an email, “You just know Steve Phillips is available.”

Yep, that pretty much explains the knot in my stomach whenever I start think about this stuff.

Be careful what you ask for…

The rumblings started at the end of last season. A very vocal group of Phillies fans wanted Ed Wade out as the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. Now at the end of this season those fans have gotten their wish as Ed Wade was fired yesterday.

Many of them were upset with the firing of manager Larry Bowa thinking he didn’t have the players to win. Many were frustrated by the under performing Kevin Millwood while watching Johnny Estrada blossom in Atlanta. (Even though at the time it seemed like a slam dunk trade for the Phillies) Some were upset that he never made the “big” trade to put the team over the top, (I wouldn’t call the Billy Wagner deal a small trade though) but Wade continued to do his best to put the best team on the field.

Wade never seemed worried about what the fans wanted and maybe that was part of his undoing, but over the last season and a half, many times it seems he was right. If Dave Montgomery kept a score card over the last two seasons it might look like this.

Last season many fans wanted Wade to trade for pitchers Kris Benson or Victor Zambrano. Getting either would have resulted in giving up Chase Utley. Instead of giving up Utley, Wade made a deal a few weeks latter for Cory Lidle giving up much less then the Mets did for either Benson of Zambrano and over that time Lidle has out pitched both of them, at a fraction of the cost. While Utley was voted by the players co-MVP and looks to be a perennial All Star 2nd basemen.

Ed Wade- 1, The Fans – 0

During the last off season many fans wanted Wade to go after one of the top free agent pitchers, namely Carl Pavano. Instead Wade quickly signed John Lieber who has out performed all off the big name free agent pitchers with the exception of Pedro Martinez and showed his ace like ability this pass September, while also coming a lot cheaper.

Ed Wade – 2, The Fans- 0

Fan wanted Carlos Beltran in center, but instead Wade brought in Kenny Lofton, who ended up making almost 15 million dollars less a season and along with Jason Michaels made up the most productive center field in baseball, while Beltran slumped in New York.

Ed Wade – 3, The Fans- 0

Before the start of the season fans called for Wade to move Ryan Howard while his trade value would be at it’s highest. Wade elected to hold on the Howard and when Thome went down to injury, Howard emerged as a rookie of the year candidate with a David Ortiz like flare for late inning heroics and majestic home runs.

Ed Wade 4, The Fans- 0

Wade fired Larry Bowa at the end of last season to a large outcry despite the fact that the players had quite on Bowa for the second strait year. Fans believed that Bowa was a good manager despite young players never developing well under him as well the manager malting down when the pressure of the races became too much for him and the team. Bowa’s in your face attitude even helped chase Scott Rolen away despite being offered more money from the Phillies then he would eventually take from the Cardinals. In Bowa’s place Wade hired Charlie Manuel and though while many of Charlie’s in game decisions left many scratching their heads, the team learned to be resilient (something they never were under Bowa) and they never quit even thought the fans had quit on them. Many wanted Jim Leyland as the new manager but as my brother pointed out, Leyland hasn’t managed since 1999 and his own in your face style may have hurt the Phillies more then help coming down the stretch. At worst you can call this a push at best it was another right call for Wade.

Along the way during this pass season Wade traded Marlon Byrd who would still be sitting in triple A if he was still with the organization and acquired Endy Chavez a player that helped the team all year with his defense and speed a clear improvement. Also when Tim Worrell under performed and then left the team leaving the bull pen in shambles Wade made probably the best deal of the whole season by bringing in Ugueth Urbina while clearing 2nd base full time for Chase Utley by sending Placido Polanco to the Tigers. A move that actually saved the Phillies about 2 million dollars over the course of the season, but Wade was not fired because of all he’s done right over the last two seasons. Wade was fired for his sins in the pass.

Wade paid the price for over paying Mike Lieberthal and David Bell. Wade is being punished for not getting more for Rolen and Schilling despite have his hand forced in both situations and not knowing Kevin Millwood would fold under the pressure of pitching in Philadelphia. Ed Wade may not have been a great general manager (even though the The Hardball Times ranked Wade as the 5th best in the league at the season's start) but Wade was a very good general manager. He made mistakes, but all GMs do, and he made some outstanding moves as well. For the most part he made good moves that made the team better than the year before.

Back to Dave Montgomery’s score card there is one thing I left out. The Fans did have one big thing on their side. They had their money and the fact they were not willing to give to the Phillies any longer. With attendance down close to 600,000 the fans scored big on Dave Montgomery’s score card.

The Fans – 25 Million Dollars, Ed Wade – 4

Now the fans got what they wanted. Wade is gone and the search for a new GM is on, but there in no guarantee that a new GM will solve the Phillies problems or be better than Ed Wade. There is no guarantee that the next GM won’t destroy the young nucleus of Burrell, Rollins, Utley, Howard and Myers to put “his” stamp on the team for the better. So the fans might have gotten what they asked for, but there is a chance that they might end up not liking it.

Motown becomes Iron City

Detroit will look more like Pittsburgh when the Tigers take the field next year.

New manager Jim Leyland is bringing over a slew of former players from his days with the Pirates. From what the Detroit Free Press reports, Andy Van Slyke, Lloyd McClendon, Rafael Belliard and Don "Sluggo" Slaught could all be members of Leyland's coaching staff. Plus Gene Lamont, who followed Leyland as manager in Pittsburgh.

Van Slyke, who has never coached, is being asked to be the Tigers' outfield and baserunning coach. Leyland believes Slick is the ideal candidate to teach youngsters Curtis Granderson and Nook Logan how to play in spacious Comerica Park.

If Slick does join the Tiger, it would be funny -- at least for me. Way back during spring training of 1984, I got my picture taken with Van Slyke, who was getting ready to start his second season with the Cardinals. I was in high school at the time. I recall Van Slyke giving me a hard time because I was wearing a Tigers cap. Hopefully, I can find that picture.

Larry Rothschild, who spent seven years in the Tigers organization, is being sought to be the pitching coach. He worked with Leyland with the 1997 world champion Florida Marlins.

California dreaming

Alan Trammell, freshly fired by the Tigers, will be interviewed by the Dodgers for their managerial job. Other candidates include Torey Lovullo -- another former Tiger -- former Astros and Angels skipper Terry Collins, and Jerry Royster.

Lovullo, some might recall, played briefly with Trammell and was highly touted by Sparky Anderson (but, then again, who wasn't?). ''I'll die before he comes out of the lineup," Sparky said of Lovullo. Fortunately for Sparky, that wasn't the case. Lovullo got 108 at-bats over two seasons, batting .168 with 2 HR and 6 RBI, before being traded at the age of 23 to the Yankees for Mark Leiter.

Trammell is a California native who lives in San Diego.

Tigers hire Leyland

I hated to see Alan Trammell take the Tigers job several years ago because I knew this would be how it ended. Next up, Jim Leyland. He managed the 1997 Marlins to the title while working with current Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski.

Here's what Tony LaRussa says about Leyland: "He is the best manager I have ever been around."

At least he was. He hasn't managed since 1999 when he burned out in Colorado. Hopefully, he can recapture the magic he had in Pittsburgh and Florida.

Fightin' Phils

I will second my brother's post. I write this prior to the final game of the season. The Phillies have taken us this far. You can't ask for anything more. (Other than rhythm and music). If this Phillies team makes the playoffs, it will rival Lazarus. We've kicked dirt on this team numerous times, only to have them come back. You can name any number of games, particularly the collapse against the Astros in the ninth inning on September 7, but the Phils are 14-7 since then. Since the two 1-run losses to the Mets? They are 3-0.

It's mindboggling that this team hasn't generated love for its ability to fight back. This is a team that doesn't have a regular hitting above .290, and only 1 year-long starter with an ERA under 4. Yet they are alive on the final day of the season.

Many people have bashed Charlie Manuel. I must admit, some of his moves are head-scratchers. But I don't think this team would continue to bounce back without him. Can you blame him when the bullpen fails? Madson to Urbina to Wagner is what any manager would do. It is what he was given. If it doesn't work out, what else is there?

If I would have told you the Phils would play the majority of the season without Thome and Wolf and still be alive right now, would it have been believable? C'mon, this is a team that has David Bell -- yes, David Bell -- as its fourth-best RBI man.

The fans of Philadelphia should be embarrassed for not getting behind this team. It represents everything Philly fans ask for, most particularly grit. The Eagles continually disappoint them, yet they love them. The Phils give them a team to rally behind, and they blow it.