Phillies Interested In Cameron, Benson

Personally, I rather have Jenkins than Cameron. I think Victorino can potentially be a better fit at CF than Cameron, who reportedly has lost a step. Plus, I think we can get Jenkins a little cheaper and Gillick can use that money on another bullpen arm.

As far as Benson, I really want no part of him. I rather trade some prospects for a more impact arm (though not sure who's available in trade). I'm still holding out hope that Kyle Lohse will resign. He might not be great, but he's a better option than Benson.

My vote for Cameron: another suspension when he gets caught again.

I agree. Cameron could end up being one of the steals of free agency if he can be gotten for a discount. With Hunter getting 5/90, Rowand getting 5/60, and Guillen getting 3/36, If someone could get Cameron at 2/18 or 2/20 then that'd be a very good move

scribble, exactly right. Cameron is a marginally worse (if that) player than those guys.

They would want Geoff Jenkins to platoon in RF with Jayson Werth. Werth is a much better hitter against lefties, while Jenkins is much better against righties.

Victorino and Rollins are switch-hitters and they also have Pat Burrell (who *did* hit 30 HRs this past year), so it's not like they are total deficient from the right-hand side of the plate.

*makes a fat joke about Ponson* but yeah, the Phillies used to be a team with a lot of hope, but a team cant be considered good with so many good bats but so little good pitching. sure, the Lidge deal gave them some help, but still not enough. Adam Eaton's 31 and has only had over 30 starts twice in his career, Jamie Moyer isnt getting any younger, he's 45, Cole Hamels is good but he may've only had a fluke year, brett myers has proven himself, and they have a slew of young starters in: shane youman, scott mathieson, kyle kendrick, j.a happ, jd durbin, and travis blackley. they have pitching. just not matured

futureprospect3 you're right, i haven't seen the phillies play. i was just looking as stats, and he was 9-8 in 2006, and he was amazing last year. so i wasnt sure on how he was. i'll try to make sure i see a Phillies game in '08

hamels is great but he is also fragile. the problems really haven't reared up in the majors as much. last year he had a fatigue issue and they sat him and he came back fine. but he is too young to be relied on as an ace innings eater. he is on many peoples danger lists because of the rapid progression of his pitch counts and innings as well as his minor league injury history.

"i was just looking as stats, and he was 9-8 in 2006, and he was amazing last year. so i wasnt sure on how he was. "

Never use W-L to judge the quality of a pitcher, or else you would think Matt Cain sucks and Adam Eaton is half decent. With Hamels, even though his W-L and ERA shot up, his peripherals were actually pretty similar. His WHIP and BAA were similarly good in both 2006 and 2007, and oddly actually, his K/9 went down in 2007, and his BB/9 went up in 2007. Regardless though, Hamels' stuff is nasty and he has the control to use it to dominate. Hamels is a legitimate ace who if healthy should stay atop the Phillies rotation for years.

The rotation of Hamels-Myers-Moyer-Kendrick-Eaton is pretty good. Hamels and Myers make up a good 1-2 at the top of the rotation, but they are in desperate need of a 3 starter. Kendrick and Moyer are just back of the rotation guys at this point, and Eaton has no business being on a major league roster. The major issue is that there aren't any decent options in free agency, and the Phillies farm system is pretty much worthless right now so they're probably stuck with that rotation.

You don't need a good fourth or fifth starter to win a title. You need a good third starter to do that. If 4 and 5 win half the games they pitch during the regular season, you're probably going to the playoffs as long as the top does their job. And when you're in the playoffs, the 4 and 5 are long relief/spot starters. (The Phillies were 18-15 in Moyer starts last year during the regular season and 13-7 with Kendrick...not that I expect those to be that good this year, but close).

There's no way that Silva improves this pitching rotation enough to make a difference, let alone add 10 million to the budget for four years. If the Phils are lucky enough to sign Cameron cheaply and pick up an inexpensive starter like Josh Towers to push Eaton out of the rotation, I'd be happy. If they somehow traded for a Cliff Lee or someone who resembles a middle of the rotation guy, I'd put money down now for my playoff tickets.

Affedlt would make sense for the Phil's pen. Affedlt/Gordon, Lidge. Silva (ouch) makes most sense for #3. Jenkins/Werth RF, Dobbs 3B