A collection of Phillies links…
- An oblique strain will knock out Phillies starter Joe Blanton for three to six weeks, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Phils are now looking for pitching. However, Rosenthal's source says there's not much out there. For now, Kyle Kendrick will replace Blanton.
- GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News that the Phillies have maintained contact with Pedro Martinez but have not talked to Scott Boras about Jarrod Washburn. He says the two free agents are not options as a response to the Blanton injury, though Murphy believes another injury to the staff might change things.
- Ashley Fox of the Philadelphia Inquirer talked to Curt Schilling, who says trading Cliff Lee was a "stupid, stupid move." I wasn't a fan either, but I don't agree with Schilling's implication that Amaro was concerned with the public perception of the team's minor league system. Amaro actually took the unpopular route in trading Lee.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a Nikkan Sports report saying the Hanshin Tigers will acquire pitcher Jason Standridge. The Phillies had signed the former first-round pick to a minor league deal in January.
Curt Schilling needs to go away.
Just thinking the same thing but my question is where’s Chad Gaudin when you need him?
Curt Schilling is absolutely right…as usual.
Not sure I found anything flawed in his reasoning.
If the Phillies fail to make it to the WS you can bet the very first thing people will point to is the Lee trade. Bad enough that you trade him – even worse considering what the Phillies got in return. A rotation that starts with Halladay, Lee, and Hamels is devastating.
I also agree with Schillings take on the emphasis on the farm system. Teams have grown too much in love with their farm system. Snatching up good young talent used to be a market inefficiency. Today, everybody is wise to the game. The protection of prospects is made even worse when you consider that veteran FA talent is costing a fraction of what it did 5 years ago. How many teams are going to regret passing on a guy like Dye at $3m just so they can play a younger, worse player at $500k?
With as many teams that need 4-5 starters, I’m very surprised Pedro dosen’t have a job yet.
Pedro has stated that he won’t pitch for less than 5 mil. That’s why he’s unemployed.
Prediction for 2011: Cliff lee will be pitching for either the Yankees or Red Sox next year.
that was bold
Ha ha ha. Sorry bro. Can’t you see the Yankees throwing a ton of money at him to replace Pettite though? They always do. My screen name should speak for itself in that I am not a fan of them, by any means.