This website has truly died. It's a shame, because it was always insightful and the comments were always good to give me some laughs. But wow. Nothing on the past 2 games. Wow.

I'm shaking with laughter right now. Thank you, Rosenberg, for making me feel a little bit better about myself by comparison.

My favorite JoeB moment was a presser w/ the four aces, and someone had a question directed at Hamels that included a sentence along the lines of "you're the only one with a ring, etc etc" and Blanton just slowly raised his hand.

BAP, you can't be serious that Hollands is worse than DeFratus! He and Diekman are the only two that don't make me cringe when I see them warming up.

Wow, I'm genuinely shocked. I fully expected the most recent article to be about Lee's struggles vs. the Brewers.

It's a general consensus that the sky is gonna absolutely open up today. The game will definitely be cancelled anyway. They're giving fans a chance to rearrange their schedules and not waste 3+ hours driving to a washout. Those evil bastards.

I felt a disturbance in the force last night...as if thousands of Phillies fans cried out in terror and were silenced...

Pap Smear's already blown a game 3 days into the season. Top-5 bullpen, my ass.

Another alarming thing is Howard's 3 strikeouts.

This article was atrocious. Poor spelling, heinous grammar, etc. The only positive is that there aren't multiple pages of comments to click through before I get to the most recent posts.

http://www.forums.mlb.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ml-phillies&tid=114389 List of where the prospects are headed. Franco is the most notable @ AAA. Looks like they're telling Asche to get it in gear or make way.

Perhaps this is Detroit's way of say "EFF YOU" to Scherzer after he declined the 6 year, 140 million deal? It'd be a bit spiteful though for anyone not named Ruben.

The problem with Abreu (besides defense) is that you almost certainly have to burn a pinch runner for him every time he gets on base. If he offered more pop, like a Stairs or Thome, it would be a lesser issue, but he didn't hit any homers this spring, so his power is suspect. And seeing how you only have one bench player whose speed is above average, you'd be screwed if you needed to pinch run for Howard AND Abreu in a single go.

Great, guess my handle's been hijacked as well. Time for a new one!

Cyclic- you should know like everyone else on here that it's the guys who have no business winning a start, that we turn into Cy Young candidates for a day.

Then to build on Iceman's post, you have to start Brignac at 1st. My only reservation would be making the lineup too lefty-heavy, but I guess there are worse problems that could be had.

"No, I'm saying that Gwynn's defense in the OF is so much better than Mayberry's at 1B. Since they both suckass vs RHP, you might as well add the better glove." First, Gwynn has a slight natural advantage as a left-handed hitter, and second, his splits have him as a better hitter against righties than JMJ. 20 points better. I still don't see how you're comparing the defensive capabilities of guys at two different positions, but whatever.

Ahh, I gotcha if you meant what Cyclic said. So you're saying that Brown's defense is poor enough where you would rather DH him over Howard? Amusing, but you could make a good argument. I'm just on the bandwagon that Howard has no business with a glove if it can be avoided. Despite his shortcomings, Brown is at least a little athletic. And it's a lesser strain on Ryan, physical and mental, if he only focuses on hitting for a night.

Here's what I see; Howard DH's against the righty. Do some shifting and put JMJ as your 8 or 9 hitter. Despite what we say about him, he'd be fine in either one of those spots. Here's my lineup: Revere CF Ruiz C Utley 2B Howard DH Byrd RF Brown LF Rollins SS Mayberry 1B Asche 3B

Lore I don't follow you on what Gwynn has to do with Howard DHing whenever possible.

I guess it's a bit late to give Jim Murphy a look in Spring Training? Hahah

In all seriousness, I don't see any reason why Howard would ever play 1st base in an AL ballpark. If he's playing, he almost has to be the DH. Don't forget that Sandberg has some stones, too; Howard doesn't even have to play, unlike the last regime when it was an unspoken rule. The unfortunate thing is our backup 1B is out for 5 weeks, and I can't think of any others besides...-shudder-..JMJ. Unless you want Brignac there. Which I'm iffy about.

Yes, Cyclic, but Mayberry has more lifetime home runs. Gotta play to win!

Cyclic, have you lost your mind?! Howard DH and Mayberry slugs at 1B. Come on, now. Use your head.

I understand where you're coming from, Phillibuster. I would also get annoyed when people judged Brown based on his first three seasons where he was reduced to a bench role. Still, this guy Peguero has never hit above the Mendoza line in the MLB. I just feel like there's nothing to gain by bringing him in as a project. Not that our hitting coaches could fix him anyway.