2007 Philadelphia Phillies Thread - DIVISION CHAMPS MOTHER fargER!!!!

[Rome]

Over.  Not by much, though.  He'll go at least five before Cholly waddles out there to pull him.

[SunMo]

king was 5.0

he's no Kendrick though

[ice grillin you]

kyle drabek took all of one year of pro ball before his elbow started breaking down....awesome

[Rome]

"It's a mild setback," assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said. "Probably, in hindsight, we should've gotten him games in extended spring training or the Gulf Coast League before bringing him up (and off the disabled list). That's what we do with most guys in this situation. We just hurried him up. The course of action is to back off to square one. But we're not really worried or concerned."

The mind reels after reading comments like that.

[BigEd76]

although everything worked out for Borowski, he remains miffed at the Phillies, accusing them of publicizing the confidential results of an exam he never thought he failed in order to low-ball him for a lesser contract.

"The physical was just the doctor pretty much hanging off of my arms and not moving me whatsoever," Borowski said Monday before the Indians played host to the Phillies. "He said I did 'so-so' on my physical. What else does he want me to do? Jump through hoops?

"It worked out for the best. You don't want to be involved in stuff like that."

Borowski has pitched with a torn muscle that helps comprise his rotator cuff since 2004. But he never required surgery, and after missing part of the 2004 season, he strengthened the muscles around the tear enough that he's able to pitch.

Borowski said his agent informed him of the Phillies' decision to withdraw the two-year offer. Later that day, he said the news broke that he failed his physical, and shortly thereafter, the Phillies countered with multiple one-year contract offers, one more lucrative than the last.

Asked if there was any shot he was going to sign with the Phillies, Borowski said, "None." Ultimately, he settled for a one-year, $4 million contract from the Indians with a $4 million team option for 2008.

"It left a bad taste in my mouth," he said. "It all could be innocent and coincidental, but I had a choice and I didn't want to go there."

Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Monday the team is "confident" in Ciccotti's diagnosis and refuted Borowski's charge that the Phillies leaked the MRI results.

"I will take exception with how he's describing it to you," Amaro said. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We still wanted the guy. We just wanted a little more protection [against injury]."

With the Indians, Borowski shares a clubhouse with former Phillies pitchers Paul Byrd, Roberto Hernandez and Aaron Fultz and outfielders David Dellucci and Jason Michaels.

"Some of them came up to me and said, 'You should be happy,' " Borowski said. "When I'm all done, I'm going to get my MRI framed, and I'm going to hang it up in my room."

[ice grillin you]

lolol @ mri'ing a guy who would be your closer right now and is 22 for 24 in saves

and not mri'ing a guy who has left a gaping hole in your rotation by being out for the year

[Rome]

I wonder which player who didn't do a thing in Philly came up and talked shtein about the Phillies?

My guess would be Pat Burrell's caddy but it could be Bloberto or Dellucci.  Dellucci is the only one on that list who has a case of not being treated fairly by the Phillies.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

over under on kyle kendrick innings pitched tonight

3.2

9IP, 1ER, 6 hits, 9Ks. Troof.


My guess on Stanfords line.

[SD_Eagle5]

yeah Borowski's getting it done, but his ERA is 6.33 -  not exactly great numbers for a closer. The past offseason was a disgrace.

[SunMo]

When seeing Placido Polanco oppose his old team this weekend at Citizens Bank Park, spend a moment to think about how the Tigers second baseman still could be in a Phillies uniform had former GM Ed Wade done some homework.

When dealing Polanco to Detroit in June 2005, the Phils were desperate to add a setup reliever for closer Billy Wagner, and they got one when landing former closer Ugueth Urbina and utility infielder Ramon Martinez from the Tigers.

Looking back, that deal turned out to be about as big a disaster as last winter's Freddy Garcia's trade. Polanco still is with Detroit and third in American League batting race with a .343 average, while Urbina is in a Venezuelan prison serving 14 years for attempted murder.

Why trade Polanco? At the time, Wade moved him because needed to open up a full-time starting job at second base for Chase Utley and they had David Bell at third.

But here's what a good Phillies source says could have happened: The Phils could have made the same deal, but substituted Polanco for Bell.

The source says he's sure of it because he'd heard the Tigers were ready to release Urbina, who had just been in a fight with a teammate on a plane prior to the trade. The source insists the Tigers would have done this even though Urbina was headed for free agency and Bell had another year at $4.7 million on his contract.

The Phillies source added that Wade promised Bell a starting job for the length of his four-year, $17 million. By keeping Bell, Wade felt he was being loyal, the source said.

If true, and I believe the source, then this was a bad mistake because Polanco instead of Bell at third base probably would have meant a playoff spot for the Phils in 2005. They missed the wild card that season by a game.

Instead, Polanco went on to Detroit, which probably was the best move for him. After all, he's way-above average defensively at second base and just solid at third base. Polanco later re-signed with the Tigers and last season helped lead them to their first World Series since 1984.

I prefer Polanco at second base, but I also prefer him at third over anyone the Phillies have had there since trading Scott Rolen in July 2002 (to St. Louis for a package that included Polanco). This year, the Phils are using a three-headed monster at third in Greg Dobbs, Abe Nunez and Wes Helms. All three have their strengths, but Polanco brings more to the table. His career batting average is .302, plus he's the perfect No. 2 hitter, very good defensively and one of most unselfish players in baseball. Heck, he even had fun and did a decent job during his final days with the Phils playing some outfield for the first time in his life.

The Phillies could use a guy like Polanco. Too bad Wade let him get away when it appears dealing Bell indeed was an option.

Posted by Randy Miller at 2:18 pm |

that's enough to make you cry

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Are the Phillies the taterskins of MLB? If not, who is?


I would say the Yankees, but only because of  somewhat recent trends.

[MDS]

this is infuriating to read. i hate this organization.

[Rome]

The Yankees are the taterskins of MLB.   

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Battle royale tonight of one pitcher fighting to stay off waivers and another filling in from double-A.

Baseball fever.  Catch it!

[rjs246]

No, Rome. The Yankees make the playoffs.