Scott Linebrink

Ken Rosenthal was a guest on 610 WIP’s morning show and reiterated that Scott Linebrink was now probably available for a trade.  While Rosenthal said a few days ago that Kevin Towers would like to find the Padres center fielder of the future, this morning he said that the Pods are interested in a left fielder that can hit a bit.  In addition, he mentioned that the Phillies and Padres may revisit the Aaron Rowand/Linebrink talks of the early spring.

The Phillies outfield corps has several redundancies at this point.  Pat Burrell provides power in left, but Michael Bourn, Shane Victorino and Aaron Rowand are all light-hitting center fielders.  If the Padres are interested in a centerfielder for the future and would prefer to do it on the cheap, perhaps the Phillies are should be willing to part with Bourn or Victorino instead of Rowand.

At this point, with Matt Smith floundering, a big need for the Phillies is a left-handed reliever.  But still, Linebrink would look awfully nice in red pinstripes.

Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere".

Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News continues to run wild with misinformation regarding the Phillies’ offer of Aaron Rowand for Scott Linebrink.  I’ve been watching this one from the start; it’s just strange.  Hagen insists on belittling this particular Buster Olney rumor and Internet reporting in general; he already took a shot on February 1st.

Today, he leads with these unflattering remarks:

"Rumors are cheap and plentiful during the offseason. Anybody with a vivid imagination and access to a computer can launch a blind item that will circle the globe in seconds and circulate for weeks.  At first glance, then, the Internet whisper that the Phillies had offered centerfielder Aaron Rowand to the Padres for righthanded setup reliever Scott Linebrink seemed far-fetched."

To which Olney responded today:

"To clarify, it was not an Internet rumor, ever. It was written, originally, as something that was discussed between the two teams."

When is Hagen going to print a correction?  I think he owes Olney an apology, though Buster is handling it with class.

Internet rumor, eh?  If there’s one term I’d like to retire, it’s "Internet rumor."  It discredits the many legitimate Internet-based sources and generalizes the entire medium.  Many rumors broke via the Internet this year (blogs included).  In fact, most of them came via the Internet, courtsey of Ken Rosenthal.  I’ve seen a lot of garbage in print, but don’t refer to them all as "newspaper rumors." 

In this case, Paul Hagen doubts the legitimacy of a Buster Olney rumor that first appeared in Olney’s blog on January 26th.  Olney reported that the Padres and Phillies were kicking around an Aaron Rowand for a reliever trade. 

Anyway, Hagen creates a newspaper rumor, speculating that the Phils might entertain trading Rowand because they think they can acquire an outfielder for Jon Lieber.  He also speculates that the Phils would send both Lieber and Rowand to San Diego for Mike Cameron or Terrmel Sledge.  Now that’s one that "appears to make little sense."

Internet rumor, eh?  If there’s one term I’d like to retire, it’s "Internet rumor."  It discredits the many legitimate Internet-based sources and generalizes the entire medium.  Many rumors broke via the Internet this year (blogs included).  In fact, most of them came via the Internet, courtsey of Ken Rosenthal.  I’ve seen a lot of garbage in print, but don’t refer to them all as "newspaper rumors." 

In this case, Paul Hagen doubts the legitimacy of a Buster Olney rumor that first appeared in Olney’s blog on January 26th.  Olney reported that the Padres and Phillies were kicking around an Aaron Rowand for a reliever trade. 

Anyway, Hagen creates a newspaper rumor, speculating that the Phils might entertain trading Rowand because they think they can acquire an outfielder for Jon Lieber.  He also speculates that the Phils would send both Lieber and Rowand to San Diego for Mike Cameron or Terrmel Sledge.  Now that’s one that "appears to make little sense."

Buster Olney mentioned a possible trade of Aaron Rowand to the Padres for a reliever back on January 26th.  Turns out the targeted reliever for the Phils was indeed Scott Linebrink.  However, any such deal is on hold until springtime.  Kevin Towers would like to see how Terrmel Sledge looks in left and how the loss of Linebrink would affect San Diego’s bullpen.

I say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  I think a Sledge/Cruz platoon could outhit Rowand for a lesser cost.  And is the difference in defense in left field that crucial?  David Wells and Chris Young typically don’t go six innings; I’d rather retain one of the league’s better eighth-inning guys.