Philliedelphia

Ryan Howard, Ricky Romero, and BAD Contracts.

Picture by Richard Wilkins Jr.

I hate getting in on the Ryan Howard contract-bashing of many other fans, because, well, it's stupid. Lots of it began almost instantly in 2010, and frankly has kind of proven right by luck. The argument, as I remember it at the time was that Howard wasn't worth $125 million. Let's play a game for a second though that freezes Howard in time at that point for a second and looks at all of the better first basemen. Pujols, Fielder, Gonzalez and Votto all got more guaranteed money than Ryan Howard. They all got more years too. Now play through 2010 and 2011 with Howard even, and you realize that if he hadn't blown out his achilles, he probably would have slowly declined sure, but not the way he has. If he was still hitting homers at a 30-35 homer pace this year in year two of his deal, he'd still be overpaid in reality, and he'd still not be this good of a player, but he'd look cheaper than the upgrades at least.

Now that is my weak, least effective defense of his deal. The reality? The deal sucks. Ruben made an incorrect call and signed a deal early with a player who then not only has declined as a hitter and seems unwilling to adjust, but who also blew out his ankle, can't run to save his life, and now seems to lack power. Howard hasn't been a $25 million a year player since 2009, and probably wasn't then, and honestly Ruben should have waited much longer than early 2010 to give him a payday that kicked in during 2012. Howard's shortfalls were always evident- his strikeouts, his lack of speed and defense, the possibility that he wouldn't age well, and his problems identifying the breaking ball. None of those are new, or even surprising. It's also not shocking that a power hitter in the post-steroids era sees declining power numbers in their 30s. That's how baseball is supposed to work.

Now I write this not knowing if Howard will have some 15 homer bounce-back month at some point, end up at 30 homers, and "justify" his deal to some people, but I'm pretty much ready to write it up as a bad contract. Howard's knees are joining his ankles as bad, and the player's one skill-set, power, is declining. The cake's baked here. The deal is bad. The deal also will continue to exist not just for the rest of 2013, but 2014, 2015, and even 2016. For that matter, his buy-out of $10 million will count against 2017. So what will happen with this?

Well, for some idea of what happens when everything goes wrong on a deal, we can look to Toronto, and one Ricky Romero. The former staff ace is a disaster, even in the minors right now. How bad is it? Romero was just outrighted off of the 40 man roster, and no one picked him up off of waivers because of his five year, $30.1 million deal. So what now? From MLB Trade Rumors:

Looking back one year after that deal was signed, both team and player seemed happy. Now, however, Romero's well-documented struggles make the remainder of the contract look like an unwelcome burden to the Jays. After an abysmal 2012 season and poor spring saw Romero begin the year in the low minors, he was called up for two ill-fated big league starts. The former staff ace allowed five walks, seven hits, and six earned runs over just 4 1/3 innings in those outings, and has continued to struggle since being demoted to Triple-A. With Romero no longer clogging up a roster spot, the team will have little incentive but toremain patient and allow him to try and work his way back to form.

Ouch. Now consider this- his whole deal is only $5.1 million more than one year of Howard's average-annual-value. Not a lot of teams will line up to take Howard off waivers, so forget that. Trading him? You'll be paying him, and possibly still getting no prospects. In other words, we're stuck with this, at least for now, and at least for a bit.

Which leaves one possible outcome for fans: hope for the best. Hope that Howard does whatever he necessarily needs to do for his health, to get himself up to at least being a productive player. Sure, we can get mad that he's well paid for it, but we're pretty much stuck with it right now. When I say I don't want to see this team agree to many more bad deals (hence, not re-sign old players), now you can see why. 

Chase Utley To DL, Michael Martinez Recalled From Triple-A Lehigh Valley

When it was reported that Chase Utley had suffered some discomfort and burning pains in his right rib cage during batting practice before Tuesday's game in Miami, we all knew that his MRI would discover an injury. The symptoms of which Utley had complained about - burning sensation, tightness, and difficulty breathing - only meant one thing: an oblique injury.

And that's what the diagnosis is. Chase Utley has a mildly-strained oblique. Utley's time frame is listed as 2-4 weeks, but Ruben Amaro Jr. hopes that Utley could be back in as little as 15 days. Utley is hitting .272 with 7 HR and 25 RBI in 44 games. His contract runs out after the season and this may potentially hurt his trade value should the Phillies consider moving him.

In correspondence to Utley being put on the DL, the Phillies have called up infielder Michael Martinez. In 31 games with Triple-A Lehigh, Martinez is hitting .226 (24-for-106) with 12 RBI and 10 stolen bases. With Michael Stutes being called up in place of the struggling Phillippe Aumount, both Martinez and Stutes intend to aid the big league club as much as they can.

For now, Utley's injury isn't serious, but rushing him back could only make it worse than it already is. Oblique injuries are very easy to irritate and re-injure if not healed properly. Hopefully the Phillies can keep it rolling without Utley in the lineup.

Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.

Former Phillies, Minnesota Twins RHP Vance Worley Sent To Minors

A tough season for former Phillies starter Vance Worley just got tougher.  Today, the Minnesota Twins demoted Worley to AAA, reports Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.   After making nine starts with the Twins, Worley is 1-4 with a 6.20 ERA.

A fan favorite, the Phillies traded Worley to the Twins along with pitching prospect Trevor May for centerfielder Ben Revere.  Revere had a tough April but is having a productive May.  Revere is hitting .390 and has a .907 OPS.

One More Stop Before Cooperstown For Jim Thome?

Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr.

Jim Thome doesn't want to quit baseball. Yes, he's a big 42 year old man who has a bad back, so there's no reason to think there are teams who are lining up to get him. Here's the flip side- He's hit 612 home runs, and is on his way to Cooperstown, and has shown some ability to play as a DH recently. Last year, he was traded from the Phillies to the Orioles, where he promptly got injured, and didn't play a lot there.

Thome is working out and hopes to get one more deal. I would think that some team will want this guy when the weather gets hot again, and he can hit them some long-balls. I would think there are some American League teams that would benefit from his services.

I do look forward to his Hall induction, some day.

Roy Oswalt on Roy Halladay: Don't Count Him Out After Two Starts

So last night, Roy Oswalt was sitting at home bored and figured he would jump back on Twitter. We all went crazy and begged him to return to Philly, to which he replied "I would love to come back to Philly,". 

Today, some few 15 hours after Roy Halladay's terrible start against the Mets, Roy Oswalt took to Twitter to go to bat for Halladay.

 

Halladay has lost his first two starts while allowing 12 earned runs over 7 1/3 innings. He has struck out 12 and walked six batters over these two starts. It's not looking good for Halladay right now, but like Roy O said - don't count Doc out after two starts.

Erik Seybold is the Blog Master of Journalistic Activities at Philliedelphia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @ErikSeyboldPHI.

 

 

Roy Oswalt: I Would Love To Come Back to Philly

 

As the Phillies are currently getting their rear ends handed to them by the Mets, most of us are on Twitter. Whether it be lollygagging, tweeting about beer, or even Monday Night Raw, those of us who are on Twitter caught this tweet in our feed a little bit ago.

Roy Oswalt is apparently back on Twitter. The account, usually managed by a PR person of Roy O's, remained dormant since August. It wasn't long before we caught on and started pleading for Roy to return to Philly.

And moments later, this happened.

And we all responded like this.

So what does this all mean?

Either someone is trolling us all, or Roy Oswalt would like to come back to Philly. I would enjoy the latter. Oswalt, 35, pitched for the Rangers last season, coming aboard in June while posting a 4-3 record and a 5.80 ERA.

In a season and a half here in Philly, Oswalt went 16-11 with a 2.97 ERA (73 ER in 221 2/3 IP).

So it's all up to Ruben. Hopefully he is on Twitter too and sees this.

Nats Pitcher Gio Gonzalez: 'I Felt Like I Was Making Love To My Hand'

Parents, hide your kid's eyes from this post...it's  a little over the edge of PG.

 

Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez had a fantastic season against Miami debut on Wednesday. While allowing two hits over six innings of scoreless ball, striking out five and walking two, Gonzalez also added a home run himself in the 3-0 win over the Marlins. Although he had a great game, it was what he said after the game that is the reason for this post.

After the game, Gonzalez spoke with Nationals broadcaster Bob Carpenter regarding his outing. It was what Gonzalez said that made everything go from awesome to awkward. 

Carpenter: "How were you feeling with the hook on a night when it's tough to have a touch pitch like that?"

Gio: "It was definitely difficult, especially with this cold weather. It was tough to get a grip. I felt like I was making love to my hand. Just one of those things where I was constantly trying to find some grip some how, some way — the rosin bag, whatever, licking the fingers, but it felt good after that."

Uhh....

I would be a little cautious if I were making any sort of physical contact with Gonzalez, but that's just me. The part that makes this even funnier is that Nationals Park simulcast the interview over the ballpark loudspeakers, allowing fans (those who stuck around) to hear how Gio and his "mate" conspire. 

Awkwarddddddd.

What's even funnier is that neither of the Nats broadcasters caught the comment. It would have been funny if either responded, but then again maybe it's a good thing that they didn't.

Gio Gonzalez is scheduled to pitch against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. Until then, we should give him and his left hand some alone time. Hey - maybe we can all pitch in and get them a room. 

Erik Seybold is The Senior Bloglord of Journalistic Activities at Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter.

 

 

Former-Phillie Vance Worley Named Twins' Opening Day Starter

So...the Phillies traded away an ace?

Well, the Minnesota Twins have officially named right-hander Vance Worley as their Opening Day starter this afternoon. Despite Worley having a 6.35 ERA (12 ER in 17 IP) in five starts, the Twins still see Worley the best choice for their rotation (I'll have what they're having, please).

Worley, who began his career with the Phillies, was traded to Minnesota along with RHP Trevor May in return for CF Ben Revere on December 6th.

Worley had a poor 2012 season after being plagued with bone chips in his throwing elbow. He finished the season on the DL after posting a 6-9 record and a 4.20 ERA in 23 starts.  Worley shined in his rookie year (2011), attaining an 11-3 record with a 3.01 ERA. The Phillies won 14 straight games started by Worley, despite Worley not receiving a decision every time. 

The Twins will open up the 2013 season at home against the Detroit Tigers on Monday. Worley will go toe-to-toe with Tigers ace Justin Verlander and will most likely be the Twins' number one guy in the rotation. 

Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.

Kyle Lohse Signs With Milwaukee Brewers

LHP Kyle Lohse has finally found a home for 2013. The former-Phillie and former-St. Louis Cardinal starting pitcher has signed a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, as first reported by CBS' Jon Heyman.

The 34-year-old spent the last five seasons of his career with the Cardinals, where he won a World Series (2010). Lohse posted a 16-3 (.842 W-L%) record last season while maintaining a 2.86 ERA. He also held opposing batters to a .239/.274/.368 line in 33 starts. 

The length of the deal at the moment is not known, but we will keep you updated. Buster Olney reported yesterday that Lohse was asking $14-15MM annualy from clubs.

Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.

Loaded With All-Stars, The Dominican Republic Wins World Baseball Classic Title

Photo: Philliedelphia/Frank Klose

We have not covered the World Baseball Classic too much except a mention here or there about Phillies players that were active in the tournament, but there was some amazing baseball played over the last few weeks.   The Phillies' one glimpse into the class was an exhibition game between the Phillies and the Dominican Republic national team on March 6.  That powerhouse team went on to win the World Baseball Classic tonight with a 3-0 defeat of Puerto Rico.

Take a look at Erik's preview from March 6.  This lineup featured a current or ex-All-Star in positions 1-7 in the batting order.  And Alejandro De Aza just may join them soon.  The Phillies half-minor league lineup had no chance.   One thing I observed that day beyond the fact they pummeled the Phillies 15-2 was that the team was full of national pride and on a mission.  The big salaries and fame in the United States were not enough: they wanted to represent their home country.

 The lone Phillies representative on the Dominican team is former second baseman and current first base coach Juan Samuel.   Just traded to the Angels Michael Cisco and Lehigh Valley Iron Pig Tom Cochran, and minor league inventory Juan Sosa were extras off of the roster, but no major leaguers played in this classic.

Robinson Cano took home the MVP honors for the tournament.  He was hitless during the final but hit over .500 the rest of the way and had some highlight-reel defensive plays.  Also probably a close runner-up would be closer Fernando Rodney.   He had seven saves en route to the Dominican title.

It will not be until 2017 that we have another World Baseball Classic.  Already there is much talk of changing it for the better.  I'll have a few thoughts about that and how the United States can field a more competitive team.  However, in 2013 the Dominican Republic certainly put on quite the showing and they will be the reigning World Baseball Classic champions for the next four years.