Posts Tagged ‘Domonic Brown’

Following The 40: Off-season Primer

October 12th, 2015 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Following The 40: Off-season Primer | Filed in Baseball, General, MLB, Phillies

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As the Phillies off-season begins, the first order of business was to pair down the roster to 40 players including ones that would be coming off of injured status. Earlier last week, the Phillies outrighted Justin De Fratus (who recently elected free agency), Jonathan Pettibone, Adam Loewen, Ken Roberts, Erik Kratz, Jordan Danks, and Chase d’Arnaud. The roster currently stands at forty, but with a strong likelihood that Cliff Lee, Chad Billingsley, Aaron Harang, Jerome Williams, Brian Bogusevic, Jeff Francoeur, and Andres Blanco all head to free agency.

Francoeur and Blanco are expected to be asked to return, but will both certainly be given offers with other clubs. Domonic Brown may have seen his last inning as a Phillie as he has a very strong chance of being non-tendered a contract. Jesse Biddle and David Buchanan are both likely to be outrighted in the near future due to their respective injury statuses. That sets the Phillies at 30 players.

Whoever the next General Manager may be, while they have the resources, there probably won’t be any huge splashes for 2016. In fact, the Phillies acquisitions will most likely be role players and players coming off of injury looking to establish value. The rotation will most likely consist of Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, and Adam Morgan as pitchers three thru five with Alec Asher and Severino Gonzalez given opportunities.

Matt Harrison, whom the Phillies acquired at the trade deadline in the Cole Hamels deal, could also be an option if he is healthy enough to compete. The Phillies could also add from within with Zach Eflin and Ben Lively as potential candidates. My personal targets for the Phillies to add from free agency: Mat Latos or Doug Fister.

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Deconstructing The Phillies: Outfield

November 30th, 2014 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Deconstructing The Phillies: Outfield | Filed in Baseball, Phillies

Finally, we make our way to the outfield. Where hopes and dreams have gone to die. Ben Revere must be Juan Pierre’s illegitimate child, without the bunting skills. Marlon Byrd had one of the best offensive seasons at a discounted rate, but has very little value due to his age. Then there is Domonic Brown. I had a lot of hope for Brown. Five years ago, Brown was hitting .320 with 20+ home run power. His defense was a little suspect, but the offense more than made up for it. Heck we had dealt with Pat the Bat and Rauuuuuuuuul, so why not one more. Yeah, so his defense didn’t get any better and his offense has gotten significantly worse. If you look at the numbers, 25% of Brown’s CAREER home run total came in May of 2013. 12.5% of his CAREER runs batted in total are also from the same month. Yes, they are glimpses of what could be/have been, but I doubt anyone expects that to happen again in red pinstripes. Let’s put this baby to bed, so that we can have one last look at how this team would be different if I was calling the shots. (more…)

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Crucial Off-season Arrives For Amaro, Phils; Expect Some Major Changes for 2015

September 30th, 2014 by Jim Chesko | Comments Off on Crucial Off-season Arrives For Amaro, Phils; Expect Some Major Changes for 2015 | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

After a second-straight 73-89 season and the franchise’s first last-place finish since 2000, the Phillies now embark on a crucial off-season – for the future of the team as well as for Ruben Amaro Jr. The general manager, who has one year remaining on his contract, will need to make some drastic moves – and have those moves pay dividends – if he’s to hold onto that job beyond next year.

The good news is that Amaro finally seems to realize that it’s not 2010 or 2011 anymore and that the team’s aging core of veterans isn’t suddenly going to discover the fountain of youth. He admitted the other day that some “significant” changes are warranted, saying “I think we need it. What we have on our roster right now isn’t working.”

Who stays, and who goes? While a lot of fans would probably love to see Amaro channel his inner Sam Hinkie, blow up the roster and start over, that’s unlikely to happen. The guess is that Chase Utley will be the Opening Day second baseman in 2015 and Jimmy Rollins will once again man the fort at shortstop. Both of them will soon turn 36 years old. Utley’s production trailed off significantly in the second half of the 2014 season, but he stayed healthy the entire year and still finished with a .270 batting average. Although Rollins hit just .243, he put up some decent power numbers with 17 home runs and 55 runs batted in, and even managed 28 stolen bases. He’s still one of the top-fielding shortstops in the game. But the rest of starting eight could look quite a bit different next April.

Howard & Co. Look Mystified at the Plate

Howard & Co. Look Mystified at the Plate

The big question for many Phils’ fans: Will Ryan Howard be back at first base? The funny thing is, a lot of fans said last spring they’d be quite happy if Howard could stay healthy and hit about 25 homers with 100 RBIs. Well, he got into 153 games and he belted 23 homers and knocked in 95. Not bad, right? Well, it’s not so good when you also realize he hit just .223, he led the majors in strikeouts with 190, and his .690 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging average) ranked near the bottom among major-league first basemen. Amaro will try hard to trade Howard, probably to an American League team, but the Phils will have to pay a significant chunk of cash to get a deal done; Howard, who soon turns 35, is owed $50 million in salary over the next two years, along with a $10 buyout clause for 2017. Ouch.

The Phillies will also look to upgrade the outfield. Any or all of the mainstays from 2014 – Domonic Brown, Ben Revere and Marlon Byrd – could end up elsewhere next season. A 2013 All-Star, Brown was the Phils’ biggest disappointment in the just-concluded season. He hit just .235 with 10 home runs and frequently looked lost or unsure of himself in left field. Center fielder Revere hit .306 – good for fifth in the National League – and finished tied for the lead in hits with 184, and he swiped 49 bases. But his defense was average at best, and his throwing arm is among the worst in the majors. In right, Byrd was pretty solid, and he put up better numbers than almost anyone could have expected – 25 homers, 85 RBIs and a .264 average. He could be attractive for a team looking for some pop from a corner outfielder or designated hitter.

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How I would fix the Phillies if I were GM

July 3rd, 2014 by Kyle Lutz | Comments Off on How I would fix the Phillies if I were GM | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

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As the losing commences, let the fire sale begin.

The Phillies are in a logjam this season, to say the least. They own baseball’s third-highest payroll at $180 million, behind the Dodgers’ $235 million and the Yankees’ $203, and yet they’re on pace at the halfway mark for just 72 victories. The only reason they were even close to being a contender in the NL East in June was due to the pitiful nature of the division this year. Prior to sweeping Philadelphia in a four-game series from June 27th-29th, division-leading Atlanta had a win-loss record of only 40-38. Now Atlanta’s pulled away from the last-place Phillies, who are 38-51 and 11 games back of first-place Atlanta (49-40). The Phillies have now lost nine out of their last 11 games, dating back to June 27th.

Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. has run the team down the sewage pipe. Pat Gillick constructed a championship-caliber team a half-decade ago as Amaro’s predecessor, and yet Gillick’s successor — who took over for him in 2009 — tore the team’s inner talent apart. Amaro did this by keeping around over the hill players, players past their peak/prime, overpaying for talent, and much more; mainly the first part. Amaro’s line of thinking= I’ll keep around the lovable, talented five-years ago type of players, even if they’re 30+ and/or with serious physical ailments.

E.g. Ryan Howard, first off, by paying him $125 million over five years. Howard in his prime perhaps was worth that amount of cash, but not when he was on the downside of his career and over 30-years old, at 32, to boot. Yes, you can make the point that, for the most part, it all evens out, as Howard was only making $355k in ’06 when he hit 58 home runs and won league MVP, but he’s way overpaid now. Since that MVP season, Howard’s broken (later broken again by multiple players) the single-season record for strikeouts too at 199 in 2007.

In his career, per 162 games, he’s averaged 193 strikeouts. He’s also averaged 42 home runs and 131 RBIs/year as well. But regardless of Howard’s past accomplishments, facts are facts. The Phillies’ management, in order to have a lower payroll and acquire free-agency talent, should have taken advantage of Howard; sports are a business, for both sides.

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2014 Phillies Need Good Health, Good Luck (and a Fountain of Youth?) to Succeed

March 30th, 2014 by Jim Chesko | Comments Off on 2014 Phillies Need Good Health, Good Luck (and a Fountain of Youth?) to Succeed | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

For baseball fans, it’s one of the best days of the year. Opening Day is Monday for the Phillies – the first of the games that count is an interleague matchup against the Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas – but there isn’t a whole lot of optimism about the 2014 Phils. And that’s understandable: There is very little margin of error for this club if it’s going to compete.

phillies1It seems like an eternity now, but it was just three years ago that the Phillies set a franchise record with 102 regular-season wins. However that 2011 postseason ended with slugger Ryan Howard crawling to first base in a disappointing first-round loss to the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, having ruptured an Achilles tendon in that final at-bat. And neither Howard nor the Phils have been the same since: They won just 81 games in 2012 and 73 last year, costing the franchise’s winningest manager, Charlie Manuel, his job last August.

Well, Howard is 34 now, and – over the past two injury-shortened seasons – knee and calf issues followed that Achilles tear, along with a drop in his power numbers. Middle infielders Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins and catcher Carlos Ruiz are all 35, while newly reacquired outfielder Marlon Byrd is 36. And pitchers Cliff Lee, A.J. Burnett, Mike Adams and Jonathan Papelbon are no kids, either.

So, for the Phillies to compete in 2014, they’ll definitely need some good fortune. Heck, if this aging group of core players can stay healthy, it’ll be something of a minor miracle. And those key veterans may also need to somehow shave a few years off their biological clocks if fans are to party like it’s 2008 again. Here are some “musts” if the Phillies are to make a return to the postseason this fall.

Ryan Howard needs to rediscover his power. The “Big Piece” seems to be healthy again for the first time since 2011, and he’ll have to again be a 30 home-run guy for the Phillies to have any hope of contending. A healthy Howard is probably the biggest key to the Phils’ prospects for success in 2014. Nearly as important will be the health of Chase Utley. The second baseman’s knees held up better than expected in 2013, and his offensive numbers weren’t bad; he’ll need to be at least as good this season.

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As Spring Training Begins, Phils Fans Wonder What the Summer Will Bring

February 12th, 2014 by Jim Chesko | Comments Off on As Spring Training Begins, Phils Fans Wonder What the Summer Will Bring | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

In Philadelphia and South Jersey, we’re still dealing with freezing temperatures and bracing for yet another winter storm. In Florida, afternoon temps are in the 60s and 70s.

Here, Flyers fans are eager for the Olympic break to end to see if the guys in orange and black can continue their recent surge over the final quarter of the season, while Sixers fans – having seen Brett Brown’s club drop seven straight games, the last two of them by 40-plus points – are just waiting for the NBA’s draft lottery. Down in the Sunshine State, meanwhile, Phillies fans are making their annual migration to Clearwater to watch their favorite team get ready for a 2014 season that will start with even more questions than usual. Among them:

philliesAre they too old and will they stay healthy? It’s not true that the ballpark in South Philly has been renamed Senior Citizens Bank Park, but most of the questions about the Phils’ roster are related to the fact that many of the players being counted on are in their mid-30s, which is twilight time for the majority of Major League ballplayers. Only the New York Yankees are expected to have an older opening-day starting lineup.

First baseman Ryan Howard is 34 and hasn’t been completely healthy since the end of the 2011 season, when he suffered an Achilles tear in the at-bat that ended the Phils’ last trip to the post-season. Knee and calf issues followed, along with a drop in Howard’s power numbers. Middle infielders Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins are both 35; Utley’s knees held up better than expected in 2013, but can he be counted on again this year? Rollins hit just .252 last season, with a mere six home runs and 39 runs batted in. (Maybe new bench coach Larry Bowa will light a fire under Rollins.) Catcher Carlos Ruiz is 35, newly reacquired outfielder Marlon Byrd is 36 and non-roster spring-training invitee Bobby Abreu will be 40 in March. Pitchers Cliff Lee and Mike Adams are no kids, either. More on them later.

How will Domonic Brown perform in 2014? The 26-year-old Brown was the National League Player of the Month last May, when he slugged 12 homers, and was named an NL All-Star in July. He cooled off in the second half of the season and had trouble staying healthy, but still put up some pretty decent numbers for the year: 27 HRs, 83 RBI, .272. He’ll have to do at least that well – maybe better – for the Phillies to have a shot at contending in 2014.

Is Cody Asche ready to be the everyday third baseman? After veteran Michael Young was sent packing last summer, the job was handed to the 23-year-old Asche for the remainder of the season, and – though inconsistent – he showed he has some talent. In 50 games, Asche hit .235 with five home runs and 22 runs batted in, but had a rough September. Still, the job is his to lose.

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The Best & Worst of Ruben Amaro Jr (Part 2: The Worst)

November 5th, 2013 by Mike H. | Comments Off on The Best & Worst of Ruben Amaro Jr (Part 2: The Worst) | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

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Although I’ve obviously had this portion of the two-part series done for a while now, I figured I’d better get it out of the way before Amaro makes a significant move of stupidity before Christmas (because we all know Rube likes to get his shopping done early). I think that it is important to note prior to revealing this list, that they are not in order of financial pain, even though the majority of Ruben’s self-inflicted problems are monetary ones. (more…)

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