Blogs > Phollowing the Phillies

Insight, observations (and whatever else comes to mind) on the trails of the team that ended the quarter century-long parade drought in the City of Brotherly Love - the Philadelphia Phillies.



Monday, December 15, 2008

Phils re-sign Moyer

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced today that the Phils and free-agent left-hander Jamie Moyer have come to terms on a two-year guaranteed contract.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Moyer, who turned 46 last month, went 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA in 33 starts in 2008.

Phils sign Chan Ho Park..... as fifth starter?

The Phillies rumored interest in Chan Ho Park came to fruition today... the team reportedly has agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the 35-year-old right-hander.

"Five teams have contacted me so far, and the Phillies made the biggest efforts among them," Park told the Korea Times.

Park pitched 95 1/3 innings with a 3.40 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. He made five starts in 54 appearances and expects to get the chance to start with the Phillies.

"I was a little worried about the Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Phillies, which is hitter-friendly, but as they considered me as a starter, I signed with Philadelphia," he said.

This signing can't be well-received if your one of the Phillies young pitchers (J.A. Happ, Kyle Kendrick, Carlos Carrasco, etc.). Park would likely be the front-runner to take the 5th starter spot.

Then again, the Phils signed Ryan Franklin a few years ago to start, but he was beat out by Gavin Floyd and Ryan Madson in spring training.

(The Phils are still negotiating with Jamie Moyer, so don't think this signing effects his possible return to the team).

Friday, December 12, 2008

Phillies find their left fielder, sign Raul Ibanez

Pat Burrell's career with the Phillies is over.

According to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, the Phils have come to a three-year, $30 million agreement with long-time Seattle Mariners outfielder Raul Ibanez.

Ibanez, who will turn 37 in June, hit .293 with 23 home runs and 110 RBIs with the Mariners this season.

The signing of Ibanez officially ends any thought of bringing Burrell, a career Phillie, back. The 32-year-old Burrell is also a free agent, but is likely seeking a more lucrative, long-term deal than the Phillies are willing to pay.

The Phillies may have had an inside track on signing Ibanez with at least two strong ties to Seattle. Former general manager Pat Gillick came to Philadelphia from the Mariners, as did new assistant general manager Benny Looper.

The move is only curious because Ibanez, like most of the Phillies middle-of-the-order bats, hits left-handed. But his splits against right-handed and left-handed pitchers last year may alleviate any issues of balancing the batting order.

Ibanez hit .305 against left-handed pitching last year and .288 against righties.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Phils swap minor league catchers with Bucs

Just got this email from the Phils from Vegas:

Catcher Ronny Paulino was acquired by the Phillies from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for catcher Jason Jaramillo, Senior Vice President & General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. announced today.

Paulino, 27, split last season between Pittsburgh, triple-A Indianapolis and the Gulf Coast League Pirates. In 40 games (27 starts) for Pittsburgh last season, he hit .212 with two home runs and 18 RBI. With runners in scoring position, Paulino hit .387 (12-31) with 14 RBI.

Paulino threw out 26 percent (8 of 31) of potential basestealers this season for the Pirates and for his career has caught 24 percent (51 of 216).

With Indianapolis, Paulino hit .306 with four home runs and 18 RBI in 30 games. He spent time on the disabled list with a right ankle sprain which included a rehabilitation assignment with the GCL Pirates where he hit .286 with one home run and six RBI. Paulino combined to hit .302 (42-139) with five home runs and 24 RBI between both stops.

Originally signed by Pittsburgh as a non-drafted free agent, December 29, 1997, Paulino is hitting .278 with 19 home runs and 128 RBI in 304 career games.

Jaramillo, 26, hit .266 with eight home runs and 39 RBI in 115 games for triple-A Lehigh Valley this season. He was a second round-selection by the Phillies in the 2004 draft.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Phillies extend Charlie Manuel's contract

As expected, the Phillies rewarded their manager for leading the franchise to its first World Series title in 28 years.

The team announced Tuesday night it had come to terms on a contract extension with manager Charlie Manuel. The Phillies picked up a club option for 2010 and added a guaranteed year for 2011.

Manuel signed to a two-year, $3 million deal after the 2007 season, which included a club option for 2010. But after the Phils collected their second straight division title and went on to win the World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays two months ago, it was difficult to imagine they wouldn’t at the very least pick up that option.

Terms of the re-worked deal were not disclosed.

The 64-year-old Manuel is 574-484 in seven major league seasons as a manager between Cleveland and Philadelphia. The 2009 season will be his fifth with the Phillies.

Since taking over the role as the Phillies skipper in 2005, Manuel has guided the Phillies to an average of 88.5 wins per season.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Mickey Vernon falls four votes shy


Marcus Hook native Mickey Vernon came less than a handful of votes away from being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

When voting results of the Veterans Committee's pre-1943 ballot were released Monday afternoon at Major League Baseball's winter meetings in Las Vegas, Vernon was on the outside looking in.

Vernon appeared on five of 12 possible ballots, falling four votes shy. Players needed to appear on 75 percent of the ballots, and thus, receive nine votes.

Among the players on the pre-1943 and post-1942 ballots, only one player was voted in - nine-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion Joe Gordon.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Phils decline to offer arbitration to Moyer, Burrell


Monday night's midnight deadline came and went with the Phillies failing to file any paperwork.

The team declined to offer arbitration to any of their free agents - Pat Burrell, Jamie Moyer, Tom Gordon and Rudy Seanez - meaning the club will not receive compensation (draft choices) if/when the player signs elsewhere.

But that's not the only issue when it comes to offering (or not offering) your own free agent arbitration.

Here are a few other things to note:

-If the Phillies had offered, say, Pat Burrell arbitration, he could have accepted, meaning he'd be back with the team for another year. BUT, his contract would be decided by a third-party, arbitrator, and that wouldn't happen until mid-February.

-If the above scenario played out, the Phils might actually end up paying Burrell more than what he could command on the open market. Burrell made $14 million last year and would surely get a pay increase from an arbitrator. If the Phils haven't completely closed the door on bringing back Burrell, they'd much rather go the route of, say, two-years, $22 million in their own negotiating than an arbitrator's call of one-year at, say, $16 million.

-Just because the club didn't offer the player arbitration doesn't mean they won't be back. The Phils have been negotiating with Moyer and will likely continue to do so in order to come to an agreement.

The Phils weren't the only team to decline to offer arbitration to all of their free agents. The free-spending Yankees went the same route, and announced their intentions before midnight.

Yanks general manager Brian Cashman explains the decision-making process; his comments make some sense.