Friday, February 27, 2009

Running Down the Dream: Phils Offseason Moves

In this first installment, we'll look at who came and who left. We'll save all the contract extensions for another post. Moves rated as "Boo," "Eh," or "High Five!"

Who left:

Pat Burrell: Verdict: Eh. Tough to get excited about this one. Pat takes his .250 batting average and robust walkability down to Tampa, where the DH role suits his physical abilities better than left field. Of course, a lot of things suit Pat the Bat better than playing the field; try anything that doesn't involve running.

Adam Eaton. Verdict: High Five! He was a mistake when the Phils drafted him in 1996, and he was a mistake ten years later when they signed him to a three year, 25 million dollar contract. The Phils released him today, but are still on the hook for his approx. 8.5 million dollar salary, plus a $500,000 buyout of a club option next year. Interesting how that world championship absolves Gillick of this atrocious signing.

Who's New:

Raul Ibanez. Verdict: Eh. Signing Ibanez as Burrell's replacement in Left would be a wash - if Ibanez batted righty. Since he bats lefty, that puts 3 lefthanded bats in a row in the middle of our lineup. Amaro pointed out that Ibanez batted over .300 against lefties last year. What Amaro fails to mention is that from 2006-2008, Ibanez batted .269 against lefties. And he strikes out 100 times a year, like everyone else on this team. And the man's 37, so we signed him to a three year, 31 million dollar deal. This is not going to end well. But the name "Raul" is kinda fun.

Manny Ramirez: Verdict: high five! locking up the most dangerous line drive hitter of his generation with a relatively meager two year, $47 million dollar deal could be the move that puts this group over the top in their bid to repeat. Batting between Utley and Howard, Ramirez protects both lefties, and is poised to...what's that? we signed the guy from the Mariners instead, even though he's just as old? Crap.