Great Business Idea: Detox Clinic For Baseball Writers
After two failed attempts at making a blog post, I think I'm actually going to complete this one. It takes me a few weeks to decompress after the baseball season. And by decompress I mean, "muster the energy to say something interesting about baseball." And even with my time away from the QWERTY board I can't really guarantee this will be interesting.
The Phillies are wrapping up their organizational meetings as I write, and they have some serious decisions on the docket. I know there's a lot of bloviating taking place over the chances of A-Rod or Mike Lowell playing third base for the Phils, but just get that out of your head. Can we please admit to ourselves that 1) A-Rod will never, ever, ever be worth Scott Boras' price tag because it requires a team to dedicate way too high a percentage of the payroll to a single player. Baseball cannot be won by one player - as A-Rod's numerous truncated or nonexistent postseason appearances show; and 2) there is NO WAY IN HELL that Boston G.M. Theo Epstein will let the World Series MVP take a walk. Theo is actually good at his job, despite the fact that he lists playing Guitar Hero with uber-rock dork Peter Gammons among his hobbies.
There was a transaction this week that Gillick should circle in red ink and use as inspiration for his offseason list of tasks. The Braves traded SS Edgar Renteria to the Tigers for a pair of prospects, RHP Jair Jurrjens and OF Gorkys Hernandez.
Man, do I love this deal for Atlanta. Jurrjens, who turns 22 this winter, is a terrific young pitcher. He went 3-1, 4.70 in seven starts with the Tigers last season, and his numbers hint at a guy who will be very tough as he fills out and gains a little experience. I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a Kyle Kendrick-like season in 2008 for the Braves. Atlanta had to make a tough concession to get this kid, but new GM Frank Wren knows that young, talented pitching is a must-have these days.
I think Gillick has to take this approach this winter. I know how popular Shane Victorino is in this town, but the Phillies have to be willing to trade some of their offensive clout for pitching. Victorino is the best option because 1) he's cheap, which means other teams will want him; 2) he is a five-tool guy, which makes him desirable; 3) the Phillies still have the option of re-signing Aaron Rowand, which would give them the option of dealing Victorino and taking a Burrell-Rowand-Werth-Bourn (and Dobbs as a 3B/OF hybrid) into next season. Greg Golson also is getting to the point where the Phils need to decide whether he's going to be the next Mike Cameron or next Reggie Taylor.
So, which team would possibly have enough young pitching to unload it for an outfielder? Well, I'd give the Indians a call. They really could use some help in the outfield - they picked up Kenny Lofton during the season to help, but Kenny doesn't have that much left in the tank - and ex-Phils David Dellucci and Jason Michaels have been about as valuable out there as Abe Nunez and Wes Helms were at third for the Phils. You put Victorino alongside Grady Sizemore and Franklin Gutierrez, and you have a pretty impressive outfield.
What would the Phils want in return? Well, the Tribe has a left-hander named Aaron Laffey who is good enough to pitch in a big-league rotation, but not so good that the Indians would consider him untouchable (especially since C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona give them an awesome 1-2 punch, while Paul Byrd and Jake Westbrook are an admirable 3-4). Cleveland would like to deal southpaw Cliff Lee, but he was so awful last season that I can't imagine GM Mark Shapiro would be stupid enough to believe he could get a quality OF for that stiff.
This is just an example. Maybe it won't be Victorino. Maybe with Pat Burrell in the final year of his contract and a willingness to pay at least half of that $14M can create trade value for him. But that's about it for established players who the Phillies are capable of trading and have trade value.
Bottom line: There isn't enough on the free-agent market to count on that to upgrade the team. Gillick HAS to make a trade in order to keep the Phils moving in the right direction.
The Phillies are wrapping up their organizational meetings as I write, and they have some serious decisions on the docket. I know there's a lot of bloviating taking place over the chances of A-Rod or Mike Lowell playing third base for the Phils, but just get that out of your head. Can we please admit to ourselves that 1) A-Rod will never, ever, ever be worth Scott Boras' price tag because it requires a team to dedicate way too high a percentage of the payroll to a single player. Baseball cannot be won by one player - as A-Rod's numerous truncated or nonexistent postseason appearances show; and 2) there is NO WAY IN HELL that Boston G.M. Theo Epstein will let the World Series MVP take a walk. Theo is actually good at his job, despite the fact that he lists playing Guitar Hero with uber-rock dork Peter Gammons among his hobbies.
There was a transaction this week that Gillick should circle in red ink and use as inspiration for his offseason list of tasks. The Braves traded SS Edgar Renteria to the Tigers for a pair of prospects, RHP Jair Jurrjens and OF Gorkys Hernandez.
Man, do I love this deal for Atlanta. Jurrjens, who turns 22 this winter, is a terrific young pitcher. He went 3-1, 4.70 in seven starts with the Tigers last season, and his numbers hint at a guy who will be very tough as he fills out and gains a little experience. I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a Kyle Kendrick-like season in 2008 for the Braves. Atlanta had to make a tough concession to get this kid, but new GM Frank Wren knows that young, talented pitching is a must-have these days.
I think Gillick has to take this approach this winter. I know how popular Shane Victorino is in this town, but the Phillies have to be willing to trade some of their offensive clout for pitching. Victorino is the best option because 1) he's cheap, which means other teams will want him; 2) he is a five-tool guy, which makes him desirable; 3) the Phillies still have the option of re-signing Aaron Rowand, which would give them the option of dealing Victorino and taking a Burrell-Rowand-Werth-Bourn (and Dobbs as a 3B/OF hybrid) into next season. Greg Golson also is getting to the point where the Phils need to decide whether he's going to be the next Mike Cameron or next Reggie Taylor.
So, which team would possibly have enough young pitching to unload it for an outfielder? Well, I'd give the Indians a call. They really could use some help in the outfield - they picked up Kenny Lofton during the season to help, but Kenny doesn't have that much left in the tank - and ex-Phils David Dellucci and Jason Michaels have been about as valuable out there as Abe Nunez and Wes Helms were at third for the Phils. You put Victorino alongside Grady Sizemore and Franklin Gutierrez, and you have a pretty impressive outfield.
What would the Phils want in return? Well, the Tribe has a left-hander named Aaron Laffey who is good enough to pitch in a big-league rotation, but not so good that the Indians would consider him untouchable (especially since C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona give them an awesome 1-2 punch, while Paul Byrd and Jake Westbrook are an admirable 3-4). Cleveland would like to deal southpaw Cliff Lee, but he was so awful last season that I can't imagine GM Mark Shapiro would be stupid enough to believe he could get a quality OF for that stiff.
This is just an example. Maybe it won't be Victorino. Maybe with Pat Burrell in the final year of his contract and a willingness to pay at least half of that $14M can create trade value for him. But that's about it for established players who the Phillies are capable of trading and have trade value.
Bottom line: There isn't enough on the free-agent market to count on that to upgrade the team. Gillick HAS to make a trade in order to keep the Phils moving in the right direction.
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