Comments on: Gameday: Phillies (11-11) At Brewers (13-8)

By: Geoff

Geoff — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:36:16 +0000

but yes, if you spend it well 100 mm is enough, but given gillicks periodic blunders id say 120mm is a safer number. well have to see if amaro is better within those limitations in the coming years.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:34:47 +0000

Thats what i usually do. if you have this set limit then you cant keep ryan howard. hes going to cripple your payroll beacuse hell be a dh in 3 years. you have to trade him for mlbready prospects (cost effective talent) that can step right in. you can get that for him when he gets out of his slump. id rather pay cole hamels than ryan howard. its pretty obvious actually. also, im not saying boost it up to yankees level. im just saying was it really too much for them to keep kyle lohse or add another steady bullpen arm or another steady hitter over what they already have? clearly not. thats cheap to me. theres no excuse for that. its too early to bury them for it completely but over the course of the season it couldve helped. see i believe in hoarding capable starters. i would use two bullpen slots for guys that can come in and be the 5th starter or string starts together if they need to during the season. whne theyre not doing that they can be long relievers. so 7 capable starters is the minimum to me. thats why i dont think they have enough. benson could be a big help if he comes back healthy. the bullpen allows you to sneak a few guys that can be starters in there if theyre needed. i want this team to win and i hate to see them comeup short because of failing to go the extra mile, which they can afford to do.

By: dan

dan — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:04:28 +0000

Geoff, I’m not sure you’re reading everyone’s posts right. The Phillies could spend a little more, but they set their cap pretty accurately based on the revenue the team collects. It has nothing to do with how much the owners make or have in their pockets. The Yankees don’t have that kind of money to spend because of their owners, they do because 1. they have a big time contract with YES, 2. they make the playoffs every year, 3. they have the highest ticket prices and second highest ticket sales and 4. they sell a ton of merchandise. So let’s leave the fact the Phils spend $100 MM alone and just criticize them on how they spend it.

By: typhoon

typhoon — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:37:55 +0000

I am more worried about Kendrick and Eaton reverting than I am about Moyer.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:13:13 +0000

ill acknowledge that moyer did what he did. thats good. anything he gives you is a bonus and is beyond my expectations. what frustrates me is that you have to rely on someone whos a gamble everytime like that. and he is a gamble and he is dependant on the umpires. this team will be in the hunt and if they make a few more moves and some players start to hit better theyll be strong at the end of the season. what annoys me is theyre so close, yet so far away at times. ok flyers time….

By: Geoff

Geoff — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:10:03 +0000

now, when i say spend more i mean spend it wisely on pitching. the yankees sort of dont always spend it that wisely. im not advicating wrecklessness. you only really need to spend about130-150mm if youre smart with it. i think the phillies are a few players away. i think they need a starter thats solid-dominant (who doesnt, right) that can replace moyer. i think they need another swing man in addition to durbin for depth – someone that can start and is normally a 5th starter type. moreover, they need a live arm in the bullpen to add to the mix there. they shouldnt have to use some of the guys that are in there as much as they do. i also believe in having more than one guy in the pen who has and can close at the drop of a hat. gordon is a decent guy in that spot as is romero when they are healthy and firing well. now when lidge is on like he has been, he is very very good and can dominate. that was a good move. they tend to get cheap when it comes to pitching depth. also, what i want the richest of the ownership group, who can afford it, to do is to buy out the rest of them and take over the majority shares so that theyre ALLOWED to throw more money around without being veteod by the cheapskates that do make up a portion of the owners. i understand the situation, i just want it to be resolved in that way to allow those who want to spend more to participate more dominantly in the payroll dept

By: Geoff

Geoff — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:01:51 +0000

YOu say they cant afford a 200 million payroll???? they are billionaires. they can afford it. dont believe me? look up the incomes of the owners, particularly the middletons

By: Gnomicide

Gnomicide — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:44:05 +0000

Good win today. I like this Mike T guy because every time he starts being ridiculous and calling losses in the second inning, we win.

Or maybe it’s just because he says this every single game and I only remember the wins. Either / or.

By: ryan

ryan — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:43:59 +0000

taking the road trip to pittsburgh tomorrow. can’t wait. gonna be with a big group of phils fans. should be a helluva weekend.

By: Jeff M

Jeff M — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:35:37 +0000

On Ryan Howard… I don’t think we should trade him. The guy does frustrate me though. Everone and their mother can see that he is pulling off of the ball. He tries to hit everything to right field. When he was productive, he hit the ball to left field. I can’t seem to understand when he doesn’t go with this approach while he is batting. Also, why isn’t this being corrected by hitting coaches. It is so evident that he isn’t waiting on the ball that when he lets a pitch go by, he still pulls his body toward right field. Maybe they should make him do 20 pushups everytime he pulls the ball. Does anyone else have any ideas?

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:26:04 +0000

EDIT : in my book

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:25:01 +0000

Yeah, nice win. You are right Tim. The Phils won today in similar fashion to how the Brewers won last night.

3-1 on the road @ Denver & Milwaukee is pretty good in book.

By: Tim Malcolm

Tim Malcolm — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:56:35 +0000

Fine win – good pitching by Moyer and especially the bullpen; big hit by Burrell. The Brewers beat themselves here.

By: MS

MS — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:26:43 +0000

Don M- on your comment –
But is the reason heâ€™s is hitting so well because heâ€™s healthy and only plays 7 innings a night??? What do you guys think about that?

i have actually thought of that. and i’m not against the sub if this is the case. as someone pointed out yday, Burrell’s struggles historically have been impacted by nagging injuries. if only playing 7 innings will allow him to play well for 150 games – then i’m ok with the sub.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:17:05 +0000

HAHA. We still won despite the grumbling malcontents. Go Moyer! Go Gordon!

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:16:46 +0000

Pat “The Bat” comes through again. The Phillies back over .500 mark. Not to count too early, but I’m looking for 15-11 by Sunday!

By: Bruce

Bruce — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:48:20 +0000

Oh Geoff-ff….. no “acknowledgement” that the ageless wonder, Jamie Moyer had another nice outing to keep the Phillies in the game?

By: Vernon Dozier

Vernon Dozier — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:41:00 +0000

Their revenue stream does not support your comment that the Phillies could “easily spend $200 million”. The Phillies payroll is pretty much in line with their revenue stream. Rich Hoffman does a column on this almost every season to refute those who recite the mantra that “the Phillies are cheap”. Whether you believe it or not, George Steinbrenner and other owners do not take money out of their other business ventures to support their baseball team. The Yankees have their own television network which brings in money that the Phillies can only dream of.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:34:24 +0000

How can you guys be so down on Moyer? He pitches six + against a dangerous Brewers club and gave up only 2 to the Mets. He works his way in and out of trouble. He is nowhere near done, I mean Myers gives up 6 to the Rockies and we can’t wait for him to pitch again. I have full confidence in Moyer, just because he doesn’t have a 90mph fastball doesn’t mean he isn’t effective. Look at Greg Maddux, albeit Maddux is a better pitcher, they come from the same school. The posters definitely need to relax the expectations on Moyer. I mean he kept Fielder hitless and Hamels was touched twice by him.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:24:59 +0000

I enjoyed last season. Its part of being a fan. some fans in this city take it to the point where they almost want them to lose so that they can rip them. i dont take it that far and most of us dont. but ripping the team for their mistakes is part of being a fan for sure. Ill acknowledge when they do well, but if i see something that doesnt meet the standards of acceptability, it iwll be noted. I lived in pittsburgh for 6 years and, although i got to see what its like to be in a city that wins the superbowl, i had to suffer through the pirates as the local team. im from here so the phillies are always my team but the pirates werent watchable and still arent. were lucky this team spends what it does on payroll because although they could easily spend 200 million and go all out (which makes me upset too), at least theyre not spending 40, 50 million. ive been there before and its not fun. this team is more than watcheable and theres several teams in mlb and pro sports that arent at all.