Comments on: And That Happened: Monday’s scores and highlights

By: seeingwhatsticks

seeingwhatsticks — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:58:17 +0000

So Beltre, who fills more needs, at 5 years $80 million is a bad deal compared to Cliff Lee, who is sort of redundant, at 5 years $120 million? Please explain that logic.

By: Chris Fiorentino

Chris Fiorentino — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:25:56 +0000

They weren’t going to put out all that money for Beltre when they are still planning for when Utley will come back. Beltre is a dog and there’s no way in hell I would have been happy with the Phillies giving him $80 million for the next 5 years. No way. Valdez/Orr is fine until Utley comes back. Francisco/Brown are OK in place of Werth…at least for the money. But nothing in the world will convince me that Cliff Lee in place of Kyle Kendrick is anything short of spectacular.

By: seeingwhatsticks

seeingwhatsticks — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:16:54 +0000

For one thing adding Beltre would have been less money, improved the defense, added a RH bat to replace Werth, and moved Polanco into a super-sub type of role where he could cover for Utley. There were a number of fringe starters available for cheap that could have been an improvement over Kendrick (Freddy Garcia has done well in NY thus far), and bullpen arms don’t have to be expensive to be quality. Plus, even if there are no good FA available the Phillies have some decent prospects in the lower levels that might have been good trade bait if you don’t like Beltre.

By: Chris Fiorentino

Chris Fiorentino — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:10:15 +0000

“I’ve said before and I will continue to say that the Phillies would have made themselves a better team by spreading the Lee money out over a couple of positions, notably a replacement for Werth, some depth around the infield in case 2 guys with extensive injury histories (Utley and Rollins) somehow can’t stay healthy, and at least 1 plus reliever (preferably 2-3). ”

Would you care to name the following players that the Phillies should have signed for the $11 million they are paying Cliff Lee this year and the $21.5 million they are paying him next year…

A replacement for Werth(they have Francisco and Brown is on the way)
Infield Depth(They have Vladez who is fine, and Orr has been pretty solid)
Preferably 2 or 3 plus bullpen arms(I would have liked Soriano, but not in the place of Lee)

Instead of laying out the foundation of what you would have done, enlighten me on who exactly you would have signed, and for how much and how long, in the place of Lee. because as far as I can remember, there wasn’t all that much out there.

By: seeingwhatsticks

seeingwhatsticks — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:03:09 +0000

No, my points about Lee have always been two-fold:

1. He will be an absolute Zito-esque anchor before that contract is over, and it will probably hasten the Phillies slide from contenders to pretenders.

2. Starting pitching wasn’t the weakness last year, and it wasn’t the reason they lost to the Giants. The bullpen was a much bigger issue (see Roy Oswalt entering a game as a reliever in the NLCS). I’ve said before and I will continue to say that the Phillies would have made themselves a better team by spreading the Lee money out over a couple of positions, notably a replacement for Werth, some depth around the infield in case 2 guys with extensive injury histories (Utley and Rollins) somehow can’t stay healthy, and at least 1 plus reliever (preferably 2-3).

I still stand by both of those points. Adding Lee might mean more regular season wins than the moves to add more depth but I don’t think adding Lee and losing Werth makes them a better postseason team.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:45:25 +0000

Futbol is like a religion just about everywhere but here in the States (and possibly Canadia, where they take a rock and slide it on ice that they sweep up in front of it for some reason). I like soccer. It happens to be my second favorite spectator sport.

By: Chris Fiorentino

Chris Fiorentino — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:37:27 +0000

I don’t even know what the hell you are talking about and how this is a response to my post…I wasn’t talking about the bullpen, I was talking about how much I hate Kyle Kendrick. Keeping Werth would not have helped the bullpen. I guess if Kendrick wasn’t pulling down the bullpen and instead was pulling down the starting staff, that would have helped the bullpen. So maybe that was what you meant?

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:34:41 +0000

Right, since they have just hit a rough patch over the last few games. Right…you were right on top of all that. Sure thing.

By: cur68

cur68 — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:57:32 +0000

He’s certainly got a gift for describing the players, even when he can’t keep track of how big some of them are or just what their tattoos are of. We’ve got a local DJ that does a great Vin Scully but he does it in a “I’d like to see this player naked” kind of way. I nearly crashed my car when i first heard that routine; thought Vin had finally lost his marbles and here it was just the DJ making fun of baseball announcers in general. I’ve never laughed so hard while driving…

Scully was great last calling Sand’s 1st at bat, hit, RBI and put out.

By: seeingwhatsticks

seeingwhatsticks — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:48:32 +0000

The HBT commenters like me, who said the Phillies bullpen would be a problem this year? Yeah, I was totally wrong about that.

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:45:29 +0000

I hate football too. Not United states Football. Real Football is terribly boring. How do those people get so damned riled up over it? 1 goal for an entire game in many cases. And the people riot….. WTH?

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:22:37 +0000

I think you’re criticizing what makes him fascinating.

By: kathybaseball

kathybaseball — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:22:26 +0000

I know that the venerable Vin Scully is supposed to be above being criticized, his voice is like baseball butter. And I really do like him, I just wish he’d stick to the play by play part of his job. My issue is that he never lets the GAME get in the way of all of his stories and tidbits and quotes! It’s like he’s afraid of dead air.

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:21:57 +0000

I was at Wrigley last night. I couldn’t feel my hands or toes.

By: kathybaseball

kathybaseball — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:21:42 +0000

I know that the venerable Vin Scully is supposed to be being criticisized, his voice is like baseball butter. And I really do like him, I just wish he’d stick to the play by play part of his job. My issue is that he never lets the game get in the way of all of his stories and tidbits and quotes! It’s like he’s afraid of dead air.

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:19:18 +0000

I don’t think disco’s exist anymore in 2011 so I think you’re safe, sir.

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:17:59 +0000

Leave it to Craig. He’s like the Dennis Miller of baseball blogging. Cha cha!

By: frankvzappa

frankvzappa — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:47:06 +0000

consider yourself lucky your girl is ambivalent, Calcaterra…i cant even put on a single Frank Zappa song without my girl flying into an insane rage…

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:22:08 +0000

True. But JDub was showered with boos when he was catching fly balls last week. Who knows until it happens? I just want to know if he ever found that chick from the New York subway.

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:11:26 +0000

Well the playoffs are different for sure, and they gave Larry Bowa a standing O. I guess we’ll see.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:50:43 +0000

Phans weren’t too enthralled when he showed up here with the Dodgers in the NLCS—ya know, after he said he’d be cheered when he pitched here. The stands showered him with boos. Now, whether those boos were hubris-based or not is the question.

By: Ari Collins

Ari Collins — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:41:44 +0000

The real Boston story isn’t Dice-K, it’s Lowrie. He now has a bit over 600 PAs in the majors, and he’s hit .268/.348/.445 with 15 HRs and above-average defense at shortstop, which is immensely valuable. What’s more, he’s been way better than even that since he came up partway through last year: .310/.396/.543.

Of course, he’s probably not as good as he’s been in his 230 2010-2011 PAs, partly because it’s a small sample and partly because he’s gotten to face a lot of lefties. But he looks like somewhere between a 3-win and 5-win player, which is fantastic, and at an extremely shallow position (especially in the AL).

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:38:38 +0000

I wonder if anyone will whip out their old wolfpack gear for the game?? Wolfy is still loved by most Philly fans. A round of applause for sure when he’s announced. This is going to be a cool game to be at.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:29:00 +0000

I'm delighted to discover that Uggla means Owl. He even looks like one - thoroughly plucked, of course. But is there a major leaguer whose name translates into Da Duva?

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:23:52 +0000

Against Doc? That’s a mighty big order for Wolfy. I have a feeling about the Phightins bats popping tonight. Wolfy’s been kinda hot and cold recently, and he had a decent start last time out, so….

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:17:02 +0000

My wife came with Cricket knowledge, her father having served on the board of directors of Lords. She talks funny, too. However, she also came with a love of disco, which appeals to me quite a bit less than the cacaphony of all the male Danton's Toads (Bufo decadantus) in our backyard pond in the spring. At least disco doesn't keep me awake. In any event if I had tried to educate my lovely English flower about baseball, she would have insisted on playing more disco or even...>gul< - taking me to one. No thanks. We compromised on Cricket, though. I agreed to be educated and she agreed not to insist on my taking her to backandforthandbackandforthandbackandforthball games when we're in London. Fair enough.

By: wurst2first

wurst2first — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:04:05 +0000

Haha, no, Fielder and Braun aren’t chopped liver and neither are Rickie Weeks or (to a much, much lesser extent) Casey McGehee and Jonathan Lucroy. But having those three guys in the lineup is just a vacuum of suck for the Brewers right now.

Good on Blanton for having a good start, maybe Randy Wolf can pull another rabbit out of his hat tonight (right? maybe?!?).

By: Chris Fiorentino

Chris Fiorentino — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:55:17 +0000

For all the HBT commenters who posited the question of whether the Phillies should have kept Werth over signing Cliff Lee, last night should have shown why EVERYONE who watched the Phillies daily picked Lee. Not only because we love Lee. Not because we don’t like Werth(we do…we really, really do). No, it is because WE F’ING HATE HATE HATE HATE Kyle Kendrick. And he made 33 FREAKING STARTS last year. 33!!!!!!!!

He is good for one purpose, and one purpose alone…if the Phillies are trailing 6-0 in the 3rd inning, he can throw 3 or 4 great innings and trick Uncle Cholly into thinking he is a good pitcher. He’s not. He has always sucked. He sucks now. And he always will suck. Amen.

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:50:29 +0000

Fielder and Braun are chopped liver? LOL! Trust me, it’s a nice improvement for Blanton from what he’s done so far this season. It shows he’s not changed much and we should see the Joe Blanton we like pretty soon.

By: wonkypenguin

wonkypenguin — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:56:03 +0000

Colvin doubled in Geovany Soto who scored from FIRST BASE. It was essentially a “It’s freezing freaking cold and we’re sending anyone who comes near third” type of play. Honestly, I watched the game, and I swear to you the players were like little leaguers being told to “Hustle up” to their positions – they ran quite quickly on and off the field. Still – fun game overall.