The Eagletarian blog over on philly.com posted the Eagles 80 man roster today.  I have decided to take that one step further and begin to formulate the 53 man roster.  What I have done is taken whom I believe to be a definite to make the final roster, and broke down the 53 by position.  My list is as follows...

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     I ran across two interesting headlines as I was parusing the internet today.  First, it is a bit sad, but mostly just comical, that Jones is already aching down in Atlanta.  I respect Chipper Jones a lot, and never root for any ballplayer to get hurt, but I find it funny that the Braves continue to count on Jones year after year.  After a while, I just have to laugh at the Braves.  And, yes, I know that Chipper will be back in the lineup after about a week or two.  But does anybody really think this is his last injury of the season? 

     Secondly, something all Phillies fans already know, but it is always nice to get some reassurance, that Reyes is still a schmuck.  I guarantee that this gimmick has absolutely nothing to do with honoring one of the all time great players, and is all about the attention he will recieve from the media for even talking about it let alone doing it.  I just hope Reyes tries that against the Phils, in a meaningful game no less. 

     So, I know that MLB is still currently residing in the 2009 free agency period, but a blog posting by Todd Zolecki got me thinking about next year.  He listed all of the Phillie's salary requirments for this season, and I was amazed by how many players of very little importance are coming off of the books.  The list is as follows...

Pitchers

Clay Condrey ($650,000)

Adam Eaton ($9,000,000)

Scott Eyre ($2,000,000)

Brett Myers ($12,000,000)

Chan Ho Park ($2,500,000)

Infielders

Pedro Feliz ($5,000,000)

Outfielders

Geoff Jenkins ($8,000,000)

Matt Stairs ($1,000,000)

Old Friends

Jim Thome ($3,000,000)

     When totaled, that is an impressive $43,150,000 coming off of the books after this season.  Now, After factoring in raises for Hamels ($2.3M), Madson ($1.5M), Romero ($.25M), Dobbs ($.2M), Rollins ($-.5M), Ibanez ($5M), and Werth ($4M), the Phils come out ahead by $30,300,000.  Add in some minor arbitration awards to Blanton, Durbin, Bruntlett, Howard, and Victorino, and the Phillies should have approximately $20-$25 million dollars burning holes in their pockets. 

     What is even more exciting than having 20 million dollars to spend is the fact that their will be no significant vacancies left by the departing players.  Is anybody going to miss Condrey, Eaton, Eyre, Park, Feliz, Jenkins, Stairs, or, ummm, Thome?  Yeah, me neither.  The only loss that I feel is significant is Myers, but that brings me to my next point, cheap replacements from the Pharm!  Happ, Carrasco, and Carpenter should all be ready to assume SP/RP roles by the beginning of 2010.  Marson will have hopefully assumed the everyday catching responsibilities in '10 while Donald can man 3rd.  And, in the outfield, the Phils will have Taylor, Mayberry Jr., and to a lesser extent, Brown ready to fill the voids left by Stairs and Jenkins.   

     So, in my opinion, 2010 is looking pretty sweet.  Who should the Phillies spend the money on?  I have my eye on John Lackey or Rich Harden.  Also, one other interesting note.  The cream of the 2010 first baseman free agent crop is Carlos Delgado and Adam LaRoche.  Perhaps, next offseason might be a good time to move Ryan Howard, and say, pick up Holliday to replace some of Howard's production.  Who knows what will happen, but one thing is for sure, the Phillies can be players if they choose to be.

     So, the word that I have been hearing on the street is that the Phillies do not plan on offering arbitration to Pat Burrell.  To this, I say that the Phillies are absolute idiots.  Now, to be fair, this is only a rumor, and come tomorrow we may well find that the Phils offered arbitration to Burrell.  But, we may also wake up and discover that the Phillies gave a good kick in the balls to all of their fans who sold out game after game.

     One of three things will happen if the Phils offer arbitration to the type A free agent Burrell, he will decline and sign with another team, accept arbitration and come back on a one year pact, or he may end up just signing a contract with the Phils.  If he signs a contract with the Phillies, then the entire situation is moot.  But, lets take a look at the other two scenarios, both of which would be a win in my mind.

     If Burrell signs with another team, the Phils would recieve two picks, either a first or a second and a supplemental round pick.  Ughhh, that is pretty darn nice.  It would continue to give a rising farm system a nice boost, and we would have some free agent dough to spend on Burrell's replacement.  I am sure the Phillies also see this as a winning situation.

     However, Burrell could also accept the arbitration offer, which would apparently be a knife in the Phillies side.  I do not understand why.  Burrell would then come back on a one year deal, for a slight raise from the 14 million he earned last year.  Now, is Burrell worth over 14 million a year in a long term contract?  No.  Is Burrell worth over 14 million a year on a one year deal immediately after winning the world series, where teams historically see a huge balloon in revenues?  Ugh, yes.  Let's not forget, that Burrell was a very good player last year, one that, with Utley, carried the team when Howard was flailing, Victorino was average, Rollins was injured, and Jenkins was still getting the majority of the playing time in right field.  The only reason not to want Burrell back is because it would increase payroll.  I am usually rather frugal, and defend the ownership group when it comes to payroll, but a one year increase in payroll should not be avoided when you are trying to defend the cities first championship in 25 years.  I say shame on the Phils if they do not offer arbitration to Burrell, as they would essentially be deconstructing all of the good will and love that was built between this franchise and its knowledgable fans last year.

The Phillies have agreed to terms with Brad Lidge on a three year extension worth 37.5 million dollars.  There is also a club option for 2012, and performance incentives for Lidge sprinkled throughout the deal.  The most recent example of a top-notch closer signing is Cordero with the Reds.  He got 4 years and 46 million.  That is a ton of money, but does seem to be the going rate.  I am positive that Rodriquez of the Angels will command an even larger contract in free agency.

     Isn't that big of a deal, however, if we were ever to trade for Bedard, Bavasi would have to be gone and now he is.  I really want this to happen.  

     Now, I am being yelled at because my post is not long enough.  So, what else?  Hmmm.  Who would you guys rather have, Bedard or Sabathia?  Would you prefer to trade prospects or a big leaguer like Victorino or Werth?  Who are you more surprised hit a triple, Burrell or Howard?  I wonder what the odds were that both Howard and Burrell would hit a triple in the same game.  Spooky.  This has to be long enough now...

    So, I was driving home from the Phillies game yesterday listening to some 610.  I got a few chuckles listening to Ike Reese talk at length about nothing, then got some good sports talk from Reuben Frank.  Anyway, Frank brought up the subject of whether or not this Phillies team is merely good, or if it is/can be great.  I am not sure where I lie.  I know the offense is great.  I know the bullpen has been great up to this point.  And, I know the starting rotation is bad.  I don't think that necessarily adds up to be a great team.  If the bullpen continues to pitch the way it has (I actually have nightmares about the bullpen coming apart at the seems by the all-star break), and if Myers returns to his career line of a number two starting pitcher, and if the Phillies pick up an additional number two starter, then this is a great team in my opinion.  However, that is a lot of ifs.  Talk back, post some ideas, this site has become more of a game blog than anything else so I was hoping we could get back to doing some discussion.  One last thing to think about.  I know it won't happen, but, would you trade Howard for C.C. with a contract?  I think I would in a heartbeat. 

    I meant to write this after the tenth game of the season, however, couldn't bring myself to do it after the way that met's game ended.  So, this is post on the state of the union of your Philadelphia Phillies, after eleven games.  This isn’t about me talking as much as it is a community project to get people’s thoughts relative to opening day expectations.  I will give my random thoughts on the offense, defense, starting rotation, and bullpen.  Hopefully, everybody else will chime in as well.  Without further ado, I present the State of the Phillies.

    The offense has been a bit, well, offensive in my opinion.  Through eleven games, the Phils have put 47 runs on the board, or 4.27 per game.  However, in ’07, the Phils only put up 53 runs through eleven games, and we all now how many runs were scored by the end of the season.  This season, we have seen a good Rollins before being injured, frustrating Victorino, typical Utley, flailing Howard (but that is usual), smokin’ hot Burrell, nice Jenkins/Werth platoon, horrible but sadly typical Feliz, and a slow start by Ruiz.  All in all, I am still confident in the offense.  We have several slow starters on the team which is causing our offense to sputter a bit, however, the bats should heat up with the weather.  I know I am still confident, and I think many of you agree, that Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, Burrell, Jenkins/Werth, and Ruiz constitute the best offense in the NL.  The offense is playing the usual LOB game, which in my opinion is the one negative of a lot of strikeouts.  But, I don’t see this team cutting down on strikeouts anytime soon, and we all knew that would be an issue at the beginning of the year.

    Sadly, and unexpectedly, our defense has been offensive as well.  I really did not see this team committing a comedy of errors.  Our starting outfield has been solid, Burrell catches what he can, and will hold runners; Victorino has been amazing, and far, far, far better than Rowand ever was; while Jenkins/Werth provide solid if unspectacular defense.  This is what I assumed out of the trio, and it is what I have gotten.  Sadly, I also assumed Taguchi could catch a ball, while Ruiz, Feliz, Rollins, and Utley could field and throw.  This has not been the case.  I don’t know why, but this team is committing an unsightly number of errors.  Errors from players I felt were quality with the glove.  Fortunately, all of the trouble spots in our defense have proven track records defensively, and so, should rebound nicely.  I hope so, because if it doesn’t, our pitching will not be what dooms us this season.

    Speaking of pitching, I am feeling giddy, especially after I choose to wait until the eleventh game of the season to write this, so that I can talk positively about Myers.  Now, our staff as a whole has given up 55 runs in 11 games, or 5 runs per game, or 810 runs over the course of a 162 game season.  Not great.  But, there is a lot to feel really good about.  Hamels is continuing to establish himself among the best in the game.  Myers, while concerning (especially the fastball) in his first two starts, put together the complete package in last night’s win.  He was much more aggressive with his fastball, plus it had some giddy-up and life.  He pitched like the number two starter I envisioned him to be in ST.  I am also really happy with both Moyer and Eaton.  The concern with Moyer was that he might have finally reached the end of the road in professional baseball, however, he looks like his old self.  I never expected great stuff from Moyer and I doubt anybody else did either.  In two starts, both Phillies wins mind you, Moyer has a 4.66 ERA.  4.66 isn’t great, but it isn’t bad either, plus Moyer looks like the same pitcher he has been for the past two seasons.  I know the concern with his age might not show up until the second half of the season, but what will he lose?  Might his fastball drop a tick or two in velocity.  Oh no, not that.  Even though Hamels is proving to be a stud, Myers looked great last night, and Moyer is his old deceiving self, I am most pleased with Eaton.  I grant you, two starts, make a season, do not (or something like that).  But, Eaton has looked more like the average pitcher he has been over the course of his career, rather than the train wreck the Philadelphia fans were subjected to last season.  Some people might say that it is a telling statement of our staff that I am so thrilled two of our pitchers our league average.  Well, what did you expect?  Moyer and Eaton were not going to transform into top of the rotation starters, so lets be happy they are pitching to the best of their abilities, even if that isn’t sky high.  Finally, we have Byle Bendrick.  It is a shame, but I think most of us saw this coming.  Luckily, Benson continues to rehab in Florida and our young guns are pitching away in Reading and Lehigh Valley. 

    I am similarly happy with the bullpen.  The results have not been their for Condrey, but the tag team of him with Durbin (very good so far, as long as Charlie remembers he is not a late game reliever) provides the Phils with some nice options for multiple innings of relief duty.  Meanwhile, it looks like the Tommy Gun is still loaded with a few bullets, Romero has picked up where he left off the ’07 season (I think that is with runners on first and third with two outs), Seanez is a nice veteran addition that is pitching well, and Lidge has been very effective, even though he has suffered from a terrible STG.  Madson is a bit of a worry.  I expected better things that what I have seen thus far.  Also, he continues to be bothered by injuries.  All in all, I like our bullpen.  It has been a long time since I felt confident in the Phils when a game is a battle of the ‘pens.

    Well, there you have it.  Those are my thoughts on the Phils through the first eleven games.  The defense has been a disappointment, the pitching has been a pleasant surprise, while the offense is somewhere in between.    

        I just got done writing about Pedro Martinez's injury, and now I get to write about Mike Hampton's injury.  Anybody surprised?  Hampton felt something "pull" during pregame warm ups, warm ups for what would have been his first mlb pitch since 2005.  However, reality set in, much like it did for Pedro.  Is anybody going to be surprised when El Duque goes down?  Smoltz?  Delgado?  Beltran?  Chipper?  Also, as a bit of a side note, I feel the Phillies win yesterday was very important.  Not just as a game in the win column, but to escape what could have been the demoralizing pressure of a another sweep and "slow start" to begin the season.  Well done, Phillies, even if you are playing like amateurs.  Finally, one last thought that just popped into my mind; our new closer will miss the first four games of the season.  Seems innocent enough.  However, who would have thought that the score differential in every game thus far would have been less than or equal to one going into the ninth inning?  Crazy.  Here is to being .500 after tonight.

Pedro popped a hammy in his first start of the season.  It almost makes me forget all about opening day.