Phillies Nation

It doesn’t do anybody any good to trying to develop players on a AAA club that can only win 55 games a season. I thought it was embarassing to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs when Jimmy Rollins was hurt, they passed over the IronPigs (Chris Woodward, Casey Smith) and took Brad Harman from AA Reading. They were right to do that, Woodward was soon cut and Smith batted a not so mighty .170 on the year. It’s obvious the Phillies are trying to avoid a repeat of last season in the International League and we here in the Lehigh Valley are glad about that!

It really is a positive move when it comes to camp bodies, there so much competition for positions and last years support guys are looking behind them and seeing guys with a genuine shot to make the team.

Lets see what else Amaro picks up.

Amaro and the phrase “read the market well” made me chuckle.

Not about Marcus Giles specifically, but I have a question bout free agent signings in general (and couldn’t find a recent post that was more on-topic :-).

I’m wondering why I never hear of contracts where the length is performance based? Some have per year performance bonuses. Some have club or player options where either gets to decide at the end of the contract’s term whether to extend another year. But I’ve never heard of an ‘n’-year contract that gets extended to n+1 years depending on performance over the first period.

Am I just not paying close enough attention, or is there some rule against that or am I missing something that makes either teams or players not interested in something like that?

Obviously, players would have the incentive to make the performance metrics as low as possible, and the team to have them higher, but that’s what negotiation is for. Especially for really expensive, aging, players (eg Manny) where a team’s biggest worry is an injury leaving them with a huge payroll gap for years. I’d think at least some of those players would be agreeable to something that basically says, “3 years, or 4 if you’re still healthy, starting, and keep up a reasonable batting average.”

Hope this isn’t considered thread hijacking… If so, then I propose we do the above with Marcus Giles, how about that? Just kidding..

sick move!!

anyone see the daily show last night and the stab at the mets. great stuff

29 and almost out of baseball? He used to be really good – I remember he always killed us when he was with the Braves. Was he on steroids, or did he get hurt, or what?

But then again, I said that Werth was washed up too. Good things happen when I’m wrong. Those last two years of declining OPS+ happened when a) he didn’t want to bat leadoff with Atlanta and b) he had to bat at Petco Park with the Padres. And he had no one else to hit with him then. Really interesting blog that highlights this stuff at http://mopupduty.com/index.php/marcus-giles-released-what-happened/

So a turnaround is possible. But if not, it’s not like we’re stuck with him all season – I hope. Basically, a classic scrap-heap move that we’d see from Pat Gillick that could yet band us a much-needed right-handed bat off the bench.

This guy will be a great addition…to the Iron Pigs. I doubt hell make the phillies to start the year.

GREAT PICKUP GUYS……..AWSOME AWSOME PICKUP. 229 IN 07, AND THEN LOST A JOB IN COLORADO, A HITTERS BALLPARK BY THE WAY…I LOVE THIS DEAL ; )

phills these nutz… (yea, that’s right, with a “z” at the end). Is a Mets fan I guess??

Shame we couldn’t get the great LUIS CASTILLO as a 2b, he’s a hell of player, and hardly steals any money at all

you know what Don, you absolutly right, as a Met fan i can truely say….Luis Castillo sucks, but at least he bats 249…lol…oh wait, i cant compare 2008 stats cuz giles wasnt even playing in 08…sorry, 07 castillo batted 296, while giles batted 229…but seriously, Giles days are behind him, and you guys just signed him to a minor league contract so i wouldnt even get your panties to wet on that one, he’s just a rental till Utley gets back..so i wouldnt sweat that signing..
and yes i am a Met fan!!! and a GIANTS FAN TOO…..; )

Giambi signs for one year 4.5 million. Amaro really misread the corner outfield/DH market when he signed Ibanez.

giambi cant play corner outfield….he would be utterly useless here. he would be the flat out worst signing they could possibly make.

I know this is totally off topic, and it may have been posted already, but I heard that today on 610 Phillies fans were calling saying they hope the Eagles lose on Sunday, then were saying how they think Eagles fans are so obnoxious and arrogant, and how the Eagles don’t deserve a championship. They are also concerned about if the Eagles win they’d go back to being the teams city and the Phillies championship will be in the shadow of the Eagles superbowl win. I agree. I thought I was the only Phillies fan that hates the Eagles and their fans. Not like the avg fan that likes all Philly sports teams, but their “fans.” I’m sure you all know exactly what I’m talking about. I also hate the teams front office and management. I have nothing against the players and would be happy for them if they won, but that’s about it.

Eagles Fans are the worse man….lol

let me clarify something…Eagles fans are thworse, but the eagles are a good team playing good football right now, and trust me, the Giants know this, and the Giants will be ready….

Im not going to root against the Eagles…it would be nice if they won. However. they do EVERYTHING the complete opposite than the way youre normally supposed to do it. They pass when you should run, run when you should pass, go for it when you should punt and vice versa. they act like they won the superbowl. and their loyal contingent of the citys fans keeps selling out games even though they havent come close to winning in years. since 2004 they havent even looked like they have a prayer of winning it all. and i cant really support a team that behaves like that. if they win tahts great.

their fans, many of them, actively root against other philadelphia teams and only support the eagles. thats disgraceful. they are by far the dumbest, worst fans in sports. not the “philadelphia” fan, but the “die hard eagles-only” fan.

they complain and complain and complain but keep pouring their paychecks into that team year in and year out with no respect from the front office in return and no parades to show for it.

as distant as the phillies front office may seem at times, they rewarded their fans with a championship parade and they keep ticket prices at a somewhat reasonable level.

Oh, and I hate Marcus Giles too but it is a solid signing for insurance reasons.

manny hasnt signed because any team that gives him the deal hes looking for is flat out stupid.

Phil, I consider myself an Eagles, Flyers and Phillies fan, I don’t see why you can’t follow all of them and wish them all well. There’s always going to be that contingent of fans that are unruly and obnoxious, espcially in football (maybe too many guys in one place taking 60-oxo-extreme). But the Eagles players themselves have worked hard to get this far without much, if any, help from Andy and the FO. Donovan practically BEGGED for some offensive pieces this past offseason, to no avail. I hope the Eagles kick the Giants’ butts on Sunday, I would love to see Brian Dawkins in particular win a Superbowl before he retires.

Giles is a huge pickup as a legitimate bench guy. I like what Amaro has done so far.

On a serious note, we over at http://www.hotstovephilly.com have started an online petition to get JC Romero reinstated. We urge every Phillies fan, as well as every sports fan, to head over to http://www.hotstovephilly.com/2009/01/06/reinstate-romero/ and follow the link to the petition.

We have to stand up for Romero, the Games 3 and 5 winner of last year’s World Series, and the best reliever in that bullpen outside of Lidge. Lets show him what the PhilliesNation is made of!

No, Ibanez will play a crappy leftfield for the Phillies and hit 5th in the lineup after Utley and Howard, ensuring that Howard will never face a RHP in the late innings.
Burrell signing a two year deal and Giambi signing a one year deal make the Ibanez signing look worse and worse.

I’m not saying Phillies fans shouldn’t cheer for the Eagles, when I say Eagles fans I mean those psycho path die-hard birds fans that chant E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES everywhere they go and call 610 in the middle of May to talk about the Eagles. They are all insane and are part of the reason Philadelphia sports fans are so hated on.

Ibanez received an extra $25 million guaranteed than Giambi did. Giambi’s contract is good value, whereas Ibanez’s contract is not.

on a side note, Don M, are these the 09 MLB.Com Fantasy rankings?