Phillies Offseason Thread

[ice grillin you]

they make a lot of moves that arent necessary, but ultimately dont matter. like this one.

who were they going to sign with the 'few remaining dollars' they have under the luxury tax? the roster is set. they are who they are.

they arent going to sign anyone but they will need every dollar they can muster to possibly trade for a bat at the deadline

[MDS]

what part of ty wiggerton and the corpse jim thome dont you understand

[ice grillin you]

well yeah if it is what it is then the season is over before it starts and it doesnt matter what they spend now

i suppose its possible they also bust thru the lux tax ceiling...they have never publically stated they wouldnt but if we are to believe everythign weve heard then that is something they arent willing to do

[Munson]

They've got like 7-8 million left in space...any bat they would get that would cost moer then that would probably include them giving up some salary in a proven player anyway

[Geowhizzer]

My understanding of the luxury tax is that they'd only pay tax on the excess - the amount over the threshold, not the entire salary. If they go over by 5 million or so, the amount of actual tax would be negligible.

EDIT:  The tax for the first offender is 20% for every dollar over.  So for $5M over, the tax would be $1M.  Maybe not negligible, but doable for a big market club.

That said, I'm with Igy in that I'll believe they'll go over the threshold when they actually do.  All indications are that they plan on staying under that limit.

[Munson]

They may have to go over next year if they want to sign all 3 of Hamels, Pence, and Victorino, AND still have some money invested in the bench and bullpen. If they go with extremely cheap guys tehre though then they should be able to pull it off.

If they were to sign Hamels to a deal before the year starts, could they put some of the salary of it onto this years contract so they could maybe pay him a little less next year to give them a little wiggle room? I'm not sure how mlb contract rules work

[charlie]

you have hamels, pence and victorino... pick 2 to come back. i don't see them signing all three for 2013.

personally, i would put the priority on hamels and pence and let victorino walk.

[Rome]

If Pence racks up a great year they might give him a nutty extension but guys like him aren't that tough to find.   They have mondy to do whatever they want anyway, so...

[Munson]

you have hamels, pence and victorino... pick 2 to come back. i don't see them signing all three for 2013.

personally, i would put the priority on hamels and pence and let victorino walk.

if they signed them all at 22 mil, 15 mil, and 12 mil per (just rough estimates...probably under on pence and over on Vic?), they'd be at 157 million, with decisions to be made on Chooch's option and 3rd base. They could get chooch back cheap and go cheap at 3rd base and the rest of the guys...it would just be another year like this, where the pitching's going to have to win it.

After next year though, Utley comes off the books and the tax goes up to 189 million...so they should have wiggle room again. Wonder what they'll offer Halladay if he doesn't vest his option

[ice grillin you]

pick 2 to come back. i don't see them signing all three for 2013.

pence really doesnt factor in the equation as they control him thru the 2013 season....so theoretically they could lock up heidi and braindead long term and have all three thru 2013 after agreeing with pence on a one year deal

id trade heidi before the season starts...carrying three pitchers two of whom are on the back end of their careers at 60+ million dollars a year is not smart...heidi is no doubt looking at cc sabathias deal and thinking 150 million dollars...whether he gets that or not who knows but the phils arent going anywhere close to that number...so rather than lose him for two draft picks at the end of the year deal him now for a bucketload of prospects that will help you rebuild in a couple years when their roster is going to be old and fugly

otherwise you want to sign him after the season starts to save on your 2012 calcuable payroll since you are up against the lux tax

as far as pence i use up his controllable years and then let him walk....what good will a long term deal for him do for you in 2014 when you are going to be rebuilding

if i can get victorino for three years at a fair price then i might extend him next year but other wise bye bye...hes a speed guy whos aging so you have to be careful what you give him

[SunMo]

IGY Batsignal:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ehmQ_blog.html


Visits from the Phillies in recent years have meant quotes from the home clubhouse about getting booed at home — "You wish they were cheering for you," Michael Morse said last August. They've meant disgusted asides from media members — "It's a good thing (for me) that I'm not 18 again and going to ballgames with three of my old D.C. street-ball buddies," Thomas Boswell once wrote — and unsightly photographs of row after row filled with Philadelphia t-shirts and jerseys.

The visits have brought e-mails and phone calls from D.C. fans who say they now avoid going to Nats games when the Phillies are in town, and self-congratulatory gloating from Philadelphia fans about Citizens Bank Park South. And above all, they're brought laments about Stan Kasten's long-ago radio homage to Washington's rivals, in which he invited those fans to fill up Nationals Park.

I hated it. You hated it. Boswell hated it. Jayson Werth hated it. And now, the people who run the Nationals are trying to make a change.

"Frankly, I was tired of seeing it," Nats COO Andy Feffer told me this week. "Forget you, Philly. This is our park, this is our town, these are our fans, and it's our time right now."

Which is why, starting Friday morning at 8 a.m., the club will begin selling single-game tickets for just a single weekend series: May 4-6, against the Phillies. These tickets will remain on sale for a full month before the rest of single-game tickets go on sale. And they'll be available only to buyers with a credit card tied to an address in Maryland, the District or Virginia.

"We've heard it enough, we've seen it enough, and I don't like it any more than anyone else," Feffer said. "We're trying to build a team here, and nothing irks me personally or the people here more than to see another team's fans — particularly Philly fans — in our ballpark, holding up signs. That's not the way it should be. And I think we've got an opportunity here to do something different."

(To register for the offer, go to nationals.com/ourpark; once your address is verified, the team will send you a one-time password to complete your purchase.)


The team is also sending out a notice to season-ticket holders, alerting them about the pre-sale and encouraging them to make sure their tickets remain in the hands of Nats fans when the Phillies visit. "Take Back the Park," the Nats are calling it, and they want the whole community to rally behind this effort.

Now, this obviously isn't a perfect solution. There are thousands of Phillies fans who do live in the D.C. area, and won't be affected by the restrictions on home addresses. Tickets will always find their way to the secondary market, and the series — which includes a nationally televised Sunday night game — is unlikely to sell out before March.

Still, for all of us who have hammered the team for its embrace of rival fans, this is no small gesture, which is why I'll be happy to buy some tickets of my own to this series. And you should, too. Yes, I'll drop my cynicism and advocate for what's good and noble in the world.

"We've got some other things planned for the Phillies," Feffer also said. "Don't expect their buses to be hanging out and dropping off their fans right around the ballpark here. I'm gonna stick 'em across the river if I can, make 'em swim across."

This was a joke, of course. And neither he nor I would like you to be overtly rude to any out-of-town visitors who find their way inside.

"Seriously, for those fans who do come, we treat all guests with respect and courtesy," Feffer said. "But look, we're not gonna make it easy for group sales, for buses coming from Philly. I will not make it easy for those guys to buy tickets or get into this ballpark. Once they're here, obviously we treat all our guests as patrons, with respect."

I did wonder whether making this effort public could backfire. Whether asking Nats fans to lock Phillies fans out and suggesting out-of-towners "have a cheesesteak and watch it on TV," as Feffer joked, would just encourage them to make an extra effort to find tickets.

"Look, this is what a rivalry's about," Feffer said. "The Phillies and Nationals should be that rivalry that people get fired up about, and that's ok. I want Phillies fans to acknowledge that we're a legitimate contender and that we're for real. And you know what? If Phillies fans are a little bit irked, that means they're paying attention."

So buy some tickets for that first weekend of May, good citizens of D.C. Take advantage of your local credit card. Back your local baseball team up.

"There's a huge fan base here, and they're excitable, and they're ready," Feffer said. "What we really hope is that by creating and igniting a rivalry here, it'll be just as raucous here as they get up in Philly, and that we'll own our own ballpark."

[Sgt PSN]

IGY should dip into his gold supply and buy every ticket.

[Rome]

That might be the most pathetic story I've ever read sports-wise.

[MDS]

if he think its bad just wait until the o's weekender this year

i may be even partaking in that bodymore takeover

[Don Ho]

So the bums should throw a hissy fit over Red Sox Nation and Werth's favorite group the Mets fans taking over CBP.  farg you DC Nots.