Posts Tagged ‘Jimmy Rollins’

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2015 Phillies Offseason Preview: Free Agent Pitchers

November 9th, 2015 by Ryan Waterman | Comments Off on 2015 Phillies Offseason Preview: Free Agent Pitchers | Filed in Baseball, General, MLB, Phillies, Sports

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An interesting off-season lies ahead…..

After one of the worst seasons in Phillies history, there has been a major overhaul in the front office. Andy McPhail has taken over as team president, Ruben Amaro is out as General Manager, and Matt Klentak is in. It’s a new era in Phillies baseball and there is a sudden buzz of excitement swarming over the Philadelphia baseball community.

Arguably the biggest buzz is surrounding the roster overhaul. This season saw the departures of two of the biggest stars that the Phillies have ever had, in Chase Utley and Cole Hamels. Both deals brought back a fair amount of talent, but that’s only part of the battle. There’s also the development of that talent, in addition to other youngsters, and any possible free agent additions that are brought in.

As demonstrated in other sports, not all free agent “splashes” turn out to be good ones. Hell, that’s even been prominent in baseball as of late (Hello, Pablo Sandoval!). So, while many fans are eager for the team to win sooner rather than later….they also need to understand that the Phils have to spend their money wisely. One wrong investment can set an organization back upwards of five years.

This off-season is arguably one of the more pivotal ones in this team’s history. Cole Hamels, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins are gone and off of the payroll. Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz are the two lone Phillies originals from the ’08 World Series team left. The key to this off-season, is for the team to spend their money wisely, while focusing on the development of their prospects.

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Blowing It

February 9th, 2015 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Blowing It | Filed in Baseball, Phillies

blowingit

We finally got to the point where the Phillies saw what everyone else had known for years: it’s over. A rebuild was the only course of action. They finally realized they couldn’t buy their way out of the mess GM Ruben Amaro Jr had created. Long time Phillies Jimmy Rollins, Marlon Byrd, and Antonio Bastardo were shipped off for the best returns imaginable (obviously team president Pat Gillick was heavily involved, if not solely responsible for these moves), but the Phillies best trade chip was staff ace Cole Hamels. The Red Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, Padres, Dodgers, and Rangers were all publicly known to be interested in Hamels, but the Phillies asking price was reportedly astronomical. The Cardinals and Dodgers were looking for a luxury not a necessity and have apparently moved on. The Red Sox, Cubs, and Rangers all acquired pitching and now the Padres and James Shields have reportedly agreed to terms. While the Red Sox have kept in contact, they continue to shoot down all offers that include catching prospect Blake Swihart.

So where does that leave the Phillies? In the same place the Minnesota Twins were when they were in the process of moving staff ace Johan Santana. With suitors dropping left and right, the Phillies return gets worse and worse. Pitchers and catchers report in ten days and if the Phillies think they can just hold out until the trade deadline to move him, they’re setting themselves up for an even bigger let down. Other ace caliber pitchers David Price, Johnny Cueto, and Jordan Zimmermann could all be available at the deadline and will most likely be free agents next winter. God forbid Hamels gets bit by the injury bug in 2015, as that would completely derail the team rebuild. With each passing day, Amaro is risking not only his future, but the team’s as well. At some point Gillick needs to blow out Amaro before Amaro blows his opportunity to cash in his only chip.

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Minor League Mondays: Offseason Acquisition Edition

January 6th, 2015 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Minor League Mondays: Offseason Acquisition Edition | Filed in Baseball, Phillies

It’s been a couple of weeks since MLM, but I’d like to to take some time to take a look at the guys the Phillies have added to their organization so far. Obviously, if Cole Hamels is traded between now and February 19th, there will be some new blood to talk about. Before I go any further, I must give thanks to the players departing for their services provided: Antonio Bastardo, Marlon Byrd (again), and Jimmy Rollins. Instead of long summary of anything and everything they’ve done, I’ll just say Thanks and Good Luck going forward. I mean it from the heart.

So let’s look at the acquisitions in the order they were received. (more…)

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Deconstructing The Phillies: Middle Infield

November 20th, 2014 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Deconstructing The Phillies: Middle Infield | Filed in Baseball, Phillies

Ah, the Hot Stove is in full swing. Hot Stove is back on MLB Network. MLB rumors are blowing up on Twitter. Record/stupid contracts are being tossed at players like they are Cracker Jacks. You gotta love the MLB offseason. Not even just as a Phillies fan, but as a fan of the game. Some moves have WOW-ed, while others make you go, “What?”. It’s been a bit, but let’s push forward with wheels and deals. I am including the catcher position in the middle infield category as it is in the infield, and considered “up the middle”. Plus, I didn’t think it warranted its own post. Plus, I’m going to be updating my thoughts on a previous trade in the summary section. (more…)

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One Upping The Phillies

October 6th, 2014 by Mike H. | Comments Off on One Upping The Phillies | Filed in Baseball

Have the Detroit Tigers outdone the Phillies in regards to franchise set backs? After four division championships, two national league pennants, and one world championship, the Phillies headed into what would be the franchise’s best regular season. The Tigers, who were recently eliminated from the playoffs by the Baltimore Orioles, are also coming off their fourth division title with just one Fall Classic appearance.

Financially, the Tigers are heading into 2015 with roughly $125M tied up to Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, Ian Kinsler, Joe Nathan, Joakim Soria, Anibal Sanchez, Rajai Davis, and David Price. That also assumes that Victor Martinez heads elsewhere after a superb season. The Phillies went into 2011, the season AFTER their fourth division title, with roughly $115M committed to 15 players. That’s $10M less for almost twice as many players.

Is it possible that Ruben Amaro Jr had finally jumped from 30th all the way to 29th in GM competency? While 2015 should be an “all out” for the Phillies. The Tigers may finally need to go “all in” before they become the most expensive team to not make the playoffs. Remember all the rumors about Rollins, Bastardo, and Papelbon all being fits for a trade to Detroit? I wonder how their season would have ended had they acquired some or all of those “fits”.

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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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Minor League Mondays: J.P. Crawford

September 16th, 2014 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Minor League Mondays: J.P. Crawford | Filed in Baseball, Phillies, Sports

With the 2014 minor league season over for the Phillies affiliates, I thought I’d highlight some of the prospects that stood out. Who better to start with than the 2014 Paul Owens Award winner for best organizational position player, J.P. Crawford. Crawford, the youngest player to receive the award other than Jimmy Rollins, followed up an impressive 2013 season with an even better 2014 season.

  • 2013 (GCL/Lakewood): .308/.405/.400 with 13 XBHs and 35:32 K:BB ratio
  • 2014 (Lakewood/Clearwater): .285/.375/.406 with 34 XBHs and 74:65 K:BB ratio

While his batting average and on base percentage dipped slightly, his slugging rose significantly. In 2013, Crawford’s isolated power, or ISO, was .092. In 2014, that number jumped to .121. While they aren’t Ruthian numbers, close to a thirty point increase, and more than doubling the total at bats is still impressive.

Crawford also improved his approach at the plate. In 2013, Crawford had a strikeout rate of 15.4% and a walk rate of 14.0%. In 2014, his strikeout rate dropped to 13.8%. While his walk rate slipped to 12.1%, one has to wonder how much the increase in plate appearances effected him. One thing definitely impacted was his aggressiveness on the base path. While he did successfully swipe 24 bases, he was also caught 14 times. As he moves along through the system, hopefully he’ll improve his ability to read pitchers as to when to advance.

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