Odds and Ends: Romero, Aumont, Wang
Posted by Pat Gallen, Tue, February 16, 2010 04:37 PM | Comments: 76
Odds And Ends, Posts
-All the local Phillies beats are reporting that JC Romero believes he will be ready by opening day, and if not by then, definitely a week or so into the season.
This is a great sign that Romero has recovered from elbow surgery, because it’s imperative he find his 2008 form when he was one of the best situational lefties in baseball. With Antonio Bastardo and Sergio Escalona being the primary lefties with Romero out, the Phils could use that stabilizing force in the bullpen. I will say this; I am excited to see what both of the young lefties will bring to the table this spring. In winter ball, Bastardo was lights out, while Escalona struggled mightily.
-According to the twitter of Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, Phillippe Aumont had “great action on his fastball” today. That’s an important sign as Aumont is being groomed as a starter once again. The Seattle Mariners used him out of the bullpen to fast-track him to the majors, but the Phillies see him as part of the rotation down the line.
Unfortunately, there will be some pressure on Aumont to show his skill during Spring Training as a way of justifying the Cliff Lee deal. Right or wrong, that’s the way it goes, so lets see how Aumont deals with being a target during the early part of spring.
-Chien Ming Wang agreed to a deal with the Washington Nationals today. It’s for one-year and $2 million that includes $3 million is bonuses.
In swapping emails with our very own Amanda Orr, she believes the Nats could win 75 games this year. After all, they’ve been very active this offseason signing Wang, Matt Capps, Eddie Guardado, Adam Kennedy, Jason Marquis, Scott Olsen, Pudge Rodriguez, Tyler Walker (our old friend), and Miguel Batista. They’ve certainly done some maneuvering and are getting better slowly, so 75 wins is not out of the question. That just makes it even more difficult for the Phillies in a slightly-better (on paper) NL East.
Posts: 0 The Original Chuck P
Ed R… at first glance, I thought that you were being serious. Dukes batted .250 with 8 HR last year… he stole 3 bases and was caught 10 times. .965 fielding percentage… career .771 OPS in three seasons. Overrated ballplayer and a terrible person, to boot… but I guess he’s scary when you consider his rap sheet.
Posted: 11:36 AM on February 17, 2010
Posts: 0 The Original Chuck P
WFC… I agree with you 100%. That was the final point that I made (they’re far from “junk”). If Rube felt like he needed to replenish the farm, I think that he did a solid job of that. Could he have done better, maybe… but he got the deal done. If they could have kept Drabek, we all would have been happy… as it stands, we’ve got Aumont and he has great potential.
Posted: 11:46 AM on February 17, 2010
Posts: 0 Chuck
That’s what some of us were trying to say all along….that the Lee deal was not only necessary….but NOT a snap, reckless decision. No way did we get “junk” in return.
I, too, would have LOVED to have seen Drabek here…I was bummed, to say the least, to learn that he was included in the trade… BUT I got over it quickly knowing what we got….and how much BETTER our team is in the long-run.
Posted: 11:46 AM on February 17, 2010
Posts: 0 Don M
I got over it quickly, as I looked at it as: we got Roy Halladay.. while keeping Domonic Brown
Brown, who will now be very closely watched as a possible/probable successor to Jayson Werth (which makes me angry, but its a business, and so i understand)
Posted: 11:55 AM on February 17, 2010
Posts: 0 Chuck
Just looked at some of those Youtube videos of Aumont…he’s got some nasty stuff..
Posted: 12:00 PM on February 17, 2010
Posts: 0 Manny
Lee is a stud… and I was very pissed to see him go unexpectedly, but hopefully the deal will work out as Amaro and Co. have planned and at least one of those three prospects we got will contribute in the major leagues in the future. Actually, it could all work out VERY WELL if Lee has a “down” year after throwing so many innings last season and postseason (somewhat likely I’d say…)
Posted: 02:45 PM on February 17, 2010
Posts: 0 Andrew
I wonder if romero will ever be what he was in 2008. Minus whatever he was taking that got him suspended. I am not holding my breath. I would love to see him be good but I am not counting on it.
Will we ever stop the chirping about the lee trade? The GM cant deal 8 of his top ten farm hands in 6 months. He needs to replenish that some. Its his job and livelyhood to make this team competetive every year. Was a good deal coupled with the Halladay deal. I know they arent related I am saying getting prospects after trading some makes sense to me.
Posted: 02:59 PM on February 17, 2010
Posts: 0 The Second John
The Nationals offense was pretty good last year, but it was the pitching that let them down. They are probably not gonna be a 75 win team, but they’re definitely not gonna be terrible as they were last year.
Posted: 09:04 PM on February 17, 2010
Posts: 0 bfo_33
Heard on Mad Dog radio last night – over/under for wins from Vegas:
Nats – 65 1/2 (I’d take over)
Sea – 79-1/2 (Over also)
Mets – 89-1/2 (seems very high with all the ? – take under)
Phils – 89-12 (take over)
Atl – 82-1/2 (depends on whether JJ is injured,pick-em right now for me)
There were a few other interesting ones, but I don’t remember them all. Have to lookup the lines later today. Vegas is surprisingly optimisitc on the Mets. I know Vegas has a lot more resources than I do, and their earnings depend on getting it right, but I still don’t see it. I think they’ll be lucky to get 82 wins, put the over/under at 80-1/2.
Posted: 07:22 AM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 The Dipsy
So basically, Vegas thinks that the Mets and Phils are dead even. Interesting. The guys in Vegas are pretty sharp. Johan must be healthy. I just don’t see it though.
The Dipsy
Posted: 07:33 AM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 Chuck
I’m surprised by the Seattle prediction. 79 is low….with all the changes they’ve made.
Posted: 08:06 AM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 psujoe
I don’t think the line indicates the Mets an the Phillies are dead even. I think the Mets number is high because a gazillion Mets fans would skew the over if the number was realistic. It’s all about getting even money on both sides of the number.
Posted: 10:30 AM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 Don M
I dont think Seattle is that good. .. still lacks offense
I like the Rangers, and the Angels still out there, and I kinda think they’ll all be packed tightly, all around .500
and whoever is the healthiest wins the AL WEST
..
I wouldn’t touch the NATIONALS at 65 . .
I would go UNDER METS
OVER PHILLIES
OVER BRAVES
Mets are still a nasty team.. they have talented pitchers who had down years last year (or are they just not good pitchers?) .. but they still have Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Jason Bay . .Chris Coste . . I dont think they’ll win 90 games, but they should be at-or-over 81
Posted: 12:50 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 WFC010
Apparently even Vegas has a New York bias!
No matter how many awful moves the Mets make, they are still favorites to win the division?
Posted: 01:10 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 Chuck
I’ll go out on a limb and predict (I really hate predictions) that Seattle will win the AL West….in SPITE of Cliff Lee…but , yeah, you’re probably right…84-85 wins tops. They’re hardly a juggernaut.
Nationals 63-99
Mets 79-83
Marlins 84-78
Braves 87-75
Phillies 95-67
(What an idiot…I just realized I put the NL standings in REVERSE order!!)
Posted: 02:24 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 Don M
the more I think about it … No chance the Mets are under .500
We are really, really, really thinking low on them . . . they have All-Stars at numerous positions
Posted: 02:48 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 WFC010
I expect the Mets to finish at .500 or over, but anything more than that…
Posted: 02:57 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 Chuck
So then the real drama in the NL East is who finishes SECOND…Mets Braves and Marlins could all be bunched within a few games of each other…low to mid-80′s in wins.
I guess after last year…and the two collapses down the stretch the previous two years…it’s easy to get lulled into the thinking that the Mets really suck..
When in reality they DO have potential to wins games and be a pain in the ass.
Posted: 03:04 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 WFC010
The Mets have potential, but their pitching rotation is awful besides Santana. Unless they do incredible offensively, it’s hard to imagine them winning the division.
Posted: 03:11 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 Don M
I still think the Marlins suck . . .
Josh Johnson is the Cole Hamels of 2009 . . the increased innings, and financial security will throw him for a loop this season
the rest of their guys are always injured (Sanchez).. or remind me of Brett Myers, where they are just as likely to walk 10, as they are to Strikeout 10 (Ricky Nolasco)
I think the Braves are VERY good. . . and I think the Mets will in fact be a pain all year long
Posted: 03:20 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 bfo_33
The Mets right now remind me of the Phils in early 2000s – talent, but so many ifs. If Beltran, and more importantly, Reyes are healthy, Bay flourishes at the plate and plays adequte D, Wright gets some confidence back at the plate, Perez, Pelfry, et al pitch decent (not CY Young like, but Blanton like, which is a tall task for a group that can’t find the plate), Castillo gets his legsback, they find an mlb catcher, Murphy/Tatis play decent defense, get on base, Francouer hits the whole year like it is April,…., they could battle for the division. They need an awful lot to break right, though. It seems like the Braves and Marlins only need a few things to improve (Braves need a healthy Chipper, Marlins need a pen and defensive improvement) to be in the picture. I think the Mets, Braves, and Marlins will flip flop through the year, but will probably finish per Chuck’s rank above.
Posted: 03:31 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 Vernon Dozier
Beyond Santana, the Mets have an awful starting rotation. They have a revolving collection of chuckleheads at 1B, C, and 2B. There’s no guarantee that Beltran will ever play another game or that Reyes will remain healthy. David Wright is fresh off one of the most amazing power outages (at least one that can’t be tied to injury or PEDs) in recent memory. I’ll refrain from pronouncing that Francoeur is over his 2008 tailspin solely on the basis of two good months in 2009. Let’s be realistic, the Braves and Marlins are both better than the New York Mets.
Posted: 03:40 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 Don M
Johan Santana is nasty..
John Maine has a career 4.22 ERA .. 28 years old
Mike Pelfrey has a career 4.58 ERA (thanks to last year’s 5.03) .. but in 2008 he had an ERA 3.72 … so which pitcher is he? The way he’s dominated the Phillies bats in the past, I think he’s legit. And he just turned 26 so he’s yet to enter his prime
Jon Neise is 23, really unproven, but has potential
that’s 4 pretty legit guys that are all capable of winning 12-15 games .. obviously more for Santana
But with every team, staying healthy will be key for them . . . I dont think they make the playoffs, but I think that they are far from TERRIBLE like they were last year
Posted: 04:27 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 Vernon Dozier
The Mets are a fourth place team.
Posted: 09:14 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 Andrew
Vegas makes odds on trying to get people to bet it is nto a reflection of how good a team is. Teams like the mets and cowboys and yankees always take more action than they deserve so you can actually make money betting against them.
Posted: 11:04 PM on February 18, 2010
Posts: 0 Gregg Zaneski
Your RSS feed doesn’t work in my browser (Opera 9) how can I fix it? I would love to subscribe to your feed :-)
Posted: 04:04 PM on June 20, 2010