In 2006, the Phillies traded away Bobby Abreu, Cory Lidle, David Bell, Rheal Cormier, Ryan Franklin and Sal Fasano between July 26 and Aug. 7. They were 46-54 on July 28, 2006 -- the day that Bell was shipped out to Milwaukee. The rest of the way, they went 39-23 to finish just out of the playoffs. It was considered addition by subtraction to a large extent, and the team clearly proved to be better without those six players. (For... Continue reading

Jimmy Rollins will lead off and play shortstop for the Phillies tonight, giving him 1,731 games at SS for the organization, breaking Larry Bowa's franchise record. Rollins will be facing Josh Johnson (7-8, 3.88), while the Phillies will counter with Kyle Kendrick (4-9, 4.86). Kendrick is 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA in two starts since replacing Joe Blanton in the rotation. Not only is he potentially pitching for his job in the rotation, but he also is trying to lead... Continue reading

With the Phillies' playoff hopes all but dashed and the potential for a Red October appearing like a virtual impossibility, it's a fair question to ask: If it can't be the Phillies, who are you rooting for to win the World Series? -Is it the Dodgers, a nemesis of the Phillies in years past, though a team that now sports former Phils in Shane Victorino and Joe Blanton? -Is it a 2012 overachiever and World Series longshot, like the Pirates,... Continue reading

The Phillies hit Matt Garza when it mattered most - in Game 3 of the 2008 World Series. But in regular-season play, the Phils have had no answers for the talented right-hander. Garza (2-1, 2.56 this season) owns a 2-1 record with a 0.96 ERA in four career regular-season starts against the Phillies. Just to point out a few names, Jimmy Rollins (2-for-14), Placido Polanco (2-for-14) and Shane Victorino (1-for-11) have struggled against him in the past. The Phillies, winners... Continue reading

In case you missed it over the weekend, Mike Costanzo is officially a Major League Baseball player. C ostanzo, one of three players shipped to the Astros in the November 2007 trade for Brad Lidge, made his ML debut on Sunday. He came on as a pinch-hitter for the Reds and lifted a sacrifice fly in his first career at-bat. Not only was Costanzo originally chosen by the Phils in the second round of the '05 draft, but he's also... Continue reading

If there's one thing I've learned in three decades of watching baseball, it's this: Some days you just have to give the ball to Joe Blanton and get the hell out of the way. Blanton, the architect of zero complete games with the Phillies and just two career shutouts entering today's matinee, was as good as we've ever seen him. The numbers: 9 IP, 3 H (all singles), 0 R, 6 K, 0 BB. Perhaps the most impressive number: 88... Continue reading

The Phillies are 5-7, in last place in the NL East. And the pessimists are taking over the world, one post at a time. But we want the optimists to have their say too. And we want it to be now, since a 1-3 weekend in San Diego could send the "Season = over" t-shirts into mass production. Here are a few Phillies hitters that have struggled through the first dozen games of the season. Some are worth panicking about,... Continue reading

Stop me if you've heard this one: Jamie Moyer is old. And he's still pretty good. And he's really old. And still a good pitcher. And really, really old. A couple of items of note on the ex-Phils lefty: -Last night he became the oldest pitcher in baseball history to win a game, when he led the Rockies over the Padres, 5-3. Moyer, who allowed two unearned runs over seven innings, was 49 years, 150 days, edging out Jack Quinn... Continue reading

Deadspin had a solid post yesterday detailing the large number of young left-handed pitchers that have received extensions over the last several months. You'll notice that Cole Hamels' name is not on the list - and a lengthy list it is. From Deadspin... Since the end of last season, we've had extensions for Matt Moore, John Danks, Gio Gonzalez, Derek Holland, Cory Luebke, Jon Niese, and now Bumgarner, young lefties all. (Clayton Kershaw bought out two of his arbitration years,... Continue reading

Veteran infielder Mike Fontenot will reportedly decide between the Phillies and Braves in the not-so-distant future. Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Phils and their NL East rival are the last two options for Fontenot, who was released by the Giants late in spring training. The 32-year-old second baseman - he also has played third and short in his career - batted .227/.304/.377 in 85 games for San Fran last season. His career line sits at .263/.332/.406 and while he doesn't... Continue reading

For all the talk about Freddy Galvis, the lack of home runs, and who should be leading off, a big offensive issue so far has been the Phillies' first basemen. Through the first week of the season, John Mayberry Jr., Ty Wigginton, Laynce Nix and Jim Thome are a combined 5-for-34 (.147) with nine strikeouts and one extra-base hit. In terms of those guys strictly as first basemen, they are 3-for-20 (.150) with zero extra-base hits on the season. And... Continue reading

With all due respect to Erik Bedard, who started for the Pirates on Opening Day last Thursday, this is the first true ace-ace matchup of the season for the Phillies. Roy Halladay will take the mound against Marlins righty Josh Johnson tonight in South Philly. Over the last two seasons, these two pitchers have matched up against each other three previous times. And let's just say that runs were hard to come by: May 29, 2010 - Phillies 1, Marlins... Continue reading

The Phillies have their share of problems, but they're far from alone. Despite the Phils' issues at the plate and on the mound, it's possible that the Marlins, Nationals and Braves would trade their problems for the Phillies' in an instant. Marlins: Ozzie Guillen opened his big mouth again, and this time it was an opinion that many experts are calling "the worst thing you can say" in Miami. Guillen has since apologized for his comments about Fidel Castro, but... Continue reading

Now that you’ve all made your official predictions for the Phillies’ 2012 win total, let’s take a stab at some Phillies players' over/unders, courtesy of Bovada Sports Book in Las Vegas. Obviously the numbers are just for the regular season. They’re all listed as -115 (so you’d have to wager $115 to win $100). Any of these props catch your eye, one way or the other? Jimmy Rollins – over/under .265 batting average … over/under 29 ½ stolen bases Hunter... Continue reading

Joe Savery certainly hasn't taken a direct route to get to this point, but the former first-round pick has landed on the Phillies' opening day roster. The Phils announced the 25-man roster late Tuesday night. Savery earned the final spot in the bullpen, while MIchael Stutes (who has had some injury issues this spring) also will be one of the relief options. Pete Orr secured the final bench spot as a backup infielder. Here's what you need to know: Starters... Continue reading

After two months, I'm starting to get more on board with the idea of Dontrelle Willis as a lefty specialist out of the Phillies' bullpen. I just took a glance at his situational stats, because those are the kind of things that I do when nobody is in the office to talk baseball with. I'm going to focus on 2010 and 2011, because I feel like that sample is most indicative of the Dontrelle Willis we're getting. Here are Willis'... Continue reading

Years from now, the answer might be different. But today, on January 30, 2012, when I think back to Pat Burrell's career, here are the 3 things that come to mind first. Thought #1: It has to be that seventh-inning double in Game 5 of the 2008 World Series. I'll never forget that split-second when I thought the ball was gone, those 30 seconds spent celebrating with my friends, and those 2 minutes of arguing whether he could have had... Continue reading

Cole Hamels and the Phillies avoided arbitration on Tuesday by agreeing to a one-year, $15 million deal. The team also avoided arbitration with fellow stud pitcher Wilson Valdez (terms not disclosed). Hamels, entering his age 28 season, is obviously looking for a long-term deal at this point. In terms of parameters, there's no way he'll accept a penny less than what C.J. Wilson got from the Angels (5 years, $77.5 million). And it's hard to make an argument that he... Continue reading

Kyle Kendrick was ultimately overmatched back in 2007 when he entered the playoffs as the Phillies' No. 2 starter. But over the last couple of seasons, the right-hander has found his niche. As a swingman, he's become a very important piece of a Phillies team that is gunning for its sixth straight division title in 2012. And now he'll earn a nice raise from his 2010 salary, as Kendrick and the Phillies avoided arbitration with a one-year, $3.585 million deal.... Continue reading

The free agent market never developed the way Ryan Madson had hoped, but it appears that the former Phils reliever has found a new home. Jon Heyman tweeted late Tuesday night that Madson has reached an agreement to join the Reds. No financial terms were disclosed, but Heyman later tweeted that it is a one-year deal. Madson, 31, went 4-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 62 relief appearances for the Phillies last season. He saved 32 games in 34 appearances.... Continue reading

Barry Larkin is the newest member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. But a quick glance at his career splits offers a reminder that he didn't do too much damage (relatively speaking) against the Phillies. Larkin's career batting average against the Phils was .270 - his lowest against any National League opponent. The only teams that held him to a worse average were the Indians and Athletics, obviously in a very small sample size. That said, his on-base percentage of... Continue reading

The Phillies' statement began this way: "The Phillies have released right-hander Scott Mathieson to allow him to pursue an opportunity with a professional team in Asia." Kind of sounds like Ruben Amaro Jr. just rented a plane, dropped him off in the middle of Russia, held out his right hand and said, "Good luck to you, son." In actuality, Asia might be a good place for Mathieson. He certainly had worn out his welcome in North America. Over parts of... Continue reading

Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw won the NL Cy Young Award today. Ian Kennedy of the Diamondbacks finished fourth. In more important news... -Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35) finished second in the voting, Cliff Lee (17-8, 2.40) was third, and Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.79) came in fifth. -It's the first time since 2009 that a team had two of the top three finishers. That was Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainright. The Cardinals righties finished second and third behind Giants ace Tim Lincecum... Continue reading

A hot-off-the-presses look at the pros and cons of signing Jonathan Papelbon over Ryan Madson: Pros: Papelbon is much more experienced than Madson, as the former Red Sox closer has more than four times as many saves as Madson over his career. ... Madson's 2011 season was his "breakout season" with 32 saves, but Papelbon already has seasons with 35, 37, 37, 38 and 41 saves, not to mention 31 this past year. ... Papelbon turns 31 later this month,... Continue reading

The Phillies are bringing back Pete Orr, giving the veteran infielder an invitation to spring training. Orr, 32, batted .219/.279/.250 in 46 games for the Phils last season. Orr was outrighted off the Phils' 40-man roster back on Oct. 19. Continue reading