The Phillies won a franchise-record 102 games last season, but were denied a World Series berth by the now-champion Cardinals. This offseason, they re-signed Jimmy Rollins, extended Kyle Kendrick, and added Jonathan Papelbon, Jim Thome, Laynce Nix, and Dontrelle Willis to bolster their bench and bullpen. Here's the latest on the defending NL East Champions…
- GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and assistant GM Benny Looper are well aware that trades they've made to acquire Roy Halladay, Hunter Pence, and others will eventually be painful, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Amaro and Looper both discuss how difficult it was to part ways with players like Travis d'Arnaud and Anthony Gose. Amaro didn't deny the November report that he attempted to re-acquire D'Arnaud.
- The Phillies are the only team who reached out to Juan Pierre this offseason, the outfielder told the Miami Herald's Manny Navarro. Pierre inked a minor league deal back in January.
- In the same piece, Navarro writes that Willis and Pierre are happy to be in camp together. The pair won a World Series together with the Marlins in 2003, and have remained very close friends since. Pierre is the godfather of all three of Willis' daughters, and the two refer to each other as "brothers." Willis also noted that the Marlins have shown interest in him again since trading him.
- Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Halladay isn't a big fan of the extended playoffs. Halladay doesn't like the concept of opening a five-game series with two road games, nor does he like the thought of a 162-game season coming down to one game.
- Freddy Galvis is working out at second base and third base with the hopes of making the big league team as a utility infielder now that Rollins has re-signed, according to the Inquirer's Matt Gelb.
Easy Roy, make sure the Phils are the lower seed and you don’t got to play on the road first 😛
But it’s only for 2012 anyway, and it’s because of the TV contracts with Fox and TBS, they already have their dates locked in.
The issue with “only 2012” is that there’s only one chance for the 2012 teams to get to the World Series, you know? Â So if something like this happens to ruin a deserving 2012 team in favor of a relatively undeserving 2012 one, it’ll be a shame.
Amaro tried to get d’Arnaud back? Seriously? Just what exactly does he have to offer one of the best farm systems in baseball right now?
Roy Halladay , I’ll take him back for D’arnaud in a second.
Come on at least be realistic about this. That’s not happening ever.
 well it already happened once did it not?
It’s a completely different situation. Phils are still built to compete right now. No way they trade Halladay any time soon
Soon? No, but eventually? Who knows.Â
This crop of players has about 2-3 years to seal the deal before a serious retooling will have to take place.
At which point I duobt the Jays will pony up a prospect like d’Arnaud for a 37 year old Halladay. Guy may still have it but no way they give up prospect of his caliber for a pitcher that old, no matter how durable he’s proven to be
yeah, because Halladay will be a free agent when he’s 37 and the jays can get him with only money.Â
Hamels please.
The 162 game season doesn’t come down to one game if you win the division Roy, that should be your entire goal for games 1-162.Â
you have to agree though…for those teams not lucky enough to win their division their entire season comes down to one game..this can work in football and to some extent basket ball because no matter what those teams dont change…in baseball the team can differ depending on who is on the mound. Also teams in the 1 game play off will have to mess up their rotation towards then end of the season to get their ace to pitch that one game play off thus taking them out of the next series…if anything the two wild cards should do a 3 game series…I know the season is long and extends much further into fall than it should so either start the season a week earlier or god for bid take a few games out of the schedule to make up for this…I’m all for extra teams in the play offs..it works awesomely for the NLH, NBA and NFL but the MLB is something that should never come down to one game..
The team that wouldn’t have won the wild card anyway would feel great. If that team wins, their fans would be ecstatic. If the team that would normally have won the wild card loses, their fans will be asking for heads to roll. That’s how it will turn out.
You cant have back.
-Jays fan
I have less of a problem with what was given up for Halladay and Oswalt, than I do with what was given up for Pence.
I like Pence, his all out playing style is fun to watch. Â Was he worth three top prospects in Singleton, Santana, and Cosart? Â Probably not. Â That is the trade that I believe will come back to haunt us the most. Â
a young cost controlled outfielder who is not only proven to compete at an all star level but is also good at everything and not bad at anything(not great but good) for 3 unknowns in prospects….I would say it was a smart deal for the Phillies..they actually have some youth in their starting lineup……weird!
I never understood the “cost controlled” argument. Pence is already making over $10 million, with one more year of arbitration to go, and then free agency. Â He is the most expensive outfielder on the team right now. Â That is “cost control”?
And he is going to be turning 29 in a month. Â That is not old, but its not like we are talking about Matt Kemp or Justin Upton here. Â
Again, I like Hunter, but as you said, he is good not great, and I think if you are going to trade away your top three prospects for one guy, he better be great.
the Phillies didn’t need Pence to make the playoffs, that was known at the time, and once you get into the playoffs, anyone can make the World Series (which is why 119 win teams didn’t make the WS and 86 win teams did)
also: pence is not that young or that cost controlled.
Santana?
He was a PTBNL, not a ‘top’ prospect.
top prospects can be PTBNL.Â
He’s high risk, high reward. His ceiling is as high as anyone else’s.Â
meh, only thing higher than his ceiling is his K%.
Domingo Santana. He just turned 19 and has shown impressive power in High A class. Very raw, but most guys do not really develop their power stroke until their 20’s. His ceiling is very high at this point.
The NL East is going to be a tough division but I don’t think the Phils will run away with the division. The Braves will be right there and either the Marlins/Nationals will make things a little more interesting. I don’t feel both will.Â
The Braves were “right there” last season, but their collapse was inevitable with Fredi Gonzalez as manager. Just ask any Marlins fans, how their post-season hopes often dried up late in the season due to Fredi mismanaging game after game and shrugging it off saying, “hey, it happens.”
I think Halladay has resentment because it would’ve plenty helpful for him and the Jays back in the day if they had that playoff format.
That or the fact that it hurts him now… (potentially)
No team is better prepared for a 1 game playoff than the phils
not only can they throw out roy freakin halladay in the playoff, but if they win that they can go to hamels or lee in game 1 of the 1st round
of course this is moot as they win the division.Â
Oh absolutely.
What hurts him is the possibility that a club like the Cardinals who gets hot down the stretch now has an easier chance at making the playoffs and upsetting.
which is awesome isn’t it?Â
The 2007 Rockies couldn’t agree more.
and 2009.
(after trading their best player)
That makes no sense…….
How doesn’t it make sense? I was just giving an example of a team getting into the playoffs at the last moment.
What he really doesn’t like is that this year, he could have the best team in the game and start on the road against that buzzsaw-type team. “If you’re down 0-2, it’s not really a homefield advantage.”
It doesn’t make sense because the Cardinals DID make the playoffs. The new system would actually give the Phillies a BETTER chance against the Cards in the first round.Â
IF the Cards won the WC game Carpenter would have only been able to start once in the NLDS. Thus improving their chances. The starting on the road thing is dumb, but that’s only one year.Â
Just a funny thing here. Can you imagine the outrage from some people on here if these quotes came from Halladay’s good friend Chris Carpenter?Â
Agreed. Remembering all too well Game 5 of the NLDS, I do not see how any rational Phillies fan could say that, and I am a Phillies fan.
Its hard to win a one game playoff when you can not score runs. Halladay was fantastic, that night, Carpenter was too, but our offense went over like a fart in church.Â
if you want to be completely accurate why dont you add Ty Wiggington into that paragraph
Funny how D’arnaud was the worst prospect sent in the Doc deal and now has surpassed both Taylor and Drabek in rankings, by a long shot .
He was only in A ball at the time he was traded…you couldn’t really judge his true potential yet, and ultimately we can’t judge until he plays in the majors. Â I still wouldn’t close the book on Drabek either.
It’s d’Arnaud, not D’Arnaud or D’Arnaud
“nor does he like the thought of a 162-game season coming down to one game.”
Why is that Roy? Because it came down to one game for the Phillies in Game 5 of the NLDS last year and you lost that game?
no
8 innings of 1 run ball, yeah he really blew that one
Yeah totally his fault.
It came down to one game…after they played 4 others. Â Big difference.
The starting pitching is the Phils strength, we all know that. The problem is the offense and the team is getting older. Just look at the drop in run production. I like Pence, but with Howard out the Phils are not good offensively. If the other teams throw good pitchers at them in the playoffs they are still vulnerable. Cards and Giants come to mind. They have to win the series this year, I still can’t believe that Halliday and Lee haven’t won a series yet.
The drop in run production has to do with health. They were one of the best offenses in the league when Chase Utley was healthy.
One week makes people forget a lot of things.
The WC team starts with 2 AT HOME, not on the road. And it’s only for this season because Selig shoved through the expanded playoffs after the schedule had already been finalized. That is why Halladay is upset. The best team in the NL and the best team in the AL could potentially open on the road after winning their divisions this season. That is BS.
I think you are mistaking “top prospect” as being a top prospect in all of baseball. I use the term realative to the team in question.Â
For instance, coming into 2011, Singleton was ranked #2 in the Phillies system, Cosart #4, and Santana #9, by Baseball America.Â
Was Santana a top prospect in all of baseball last year? No, but Pence was not traded to “all of baseball”, he was traded to the Phillies. That being the case, I believe it is better to look at the top prospects interms of what the team trading the prospects has to offer.
In this case, Houston got three of the Phillies top 10 minor leaguers. That is quite a haul for a good/not great corner OF, who is also already making 8 figures, and is thisclose to 30 years old.