Yawn... sorry for the lack of material lately, but even Incredibly amateurish bloggers need to go on a vacation every now and then. Special thanks to the many of you who pointed out just how "incredibly amateurish" I am when it comes to this! With the Phillies rolling right along winning everything except their B squad game against the Mets this past weekend, there isn't much to complain about... so on with the Links!
- The MLB draft is just a few days away and while it's nothing like the NFL version (and usually quite boring to watch), there are a handful of familiar names sitting out there. Rivals did an article on Bobby Bonilla's son, Brandon, but I'm just as interested seeing Dante Bichette Jr play at the next level. You may remember him as the star of the Little League World Series from a few years back, but the kid can play. As a High School Senior, he hits the ball hard, has plus speed, doesn't miss a lot, and plays a solid SS and 3B. Every mock draft I read through shows him going in the early rounds, but he's still not among the best overall. That title goes to either college players Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon. Cole projects as a rock solid front line starter, and Rendon projects as a top tier third baseman. Either are a safe choice for the Pirates, who get top billing this year, but I'm more intrigued to see where the children of Pudge Rodgigurez, Sid Bream, Shawon Dunston, and Steve Garvey land.
- Another story from last week is Barry Bonds offering to pay for college for the children of Bryan Stow, the Giants fan who was beaten within inches of his life at Dodger Stadium over Opening Weekend. The way I see this story, it's a completely selfless act on the part of Bonds. At no point did he make a media circus out of the situation, nor did he take advantage of the circumstances. In fact, we may never have even known about the gesture had it not been for the Stow family lawyer who mentioned Bonds' generosity during a press conference about their lawsuit against the Dodgers organization. Bonds isn't exactly hard up for cash, as Baseball-Reference notes his career earnings push the $200M mark, plus countless dollars worth of endorsements. And he's not the only player with Giants ties to reach out to the family, as Tim Lincecum dipped into his piggy bank for $25K as well. But... for a guy who has a terrible reputation as a people-person, and who has more than his own share of personal problems to deal with right now, spending more than an hour in a hospital room with a fan over a month ago and with no public campaign is a classy move. It won't be the final straw that gets him into the HoF without controversy, but it's certainly a fine gesture.
- Jayson Werth is already showing signs of aggravation in Washington. At 9 games under .500, 11.5 back from the lead, and in the midst of a 2-8 stretch, who could really blame him. But Werth hasn't really held up his end of the bargain either. There aren't many .255 hitters that are worthy of an $18M/year average salary, and I can assure you Werth isn't one of them. He's even gone as far as suggesting that the Nationals led Teddy win a race! Blasphemy! The Nationals are losing ballgames because they create almost no offense. Their pitching has been league average and they maintain some power despite being without Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Laroche, but a .230 team BA and the 2nd fewest hits in all of baseball isn't exactly a recipe for winning baseball. You made your $126M bed, enjoy sleeping in it Jayson!
- I really liked David Murphy's piece last week on the evaluation of the base coaches, and particularly, Juan Samuel's job at third so far this year. The eye test tells me that Samuel has been less than aggressive at sending runners home from third and that some of his gambles have been outright terrible. The numbers have, surprisingly, been very similar to years past. But seeing Jimmy Rollins thrown out by about six feet last week was pretty terrible. The Phillies stolen base numbers 8th in the NL, but their runs scored from 1st or 2nd numbers rank a handful of spots lower. That, to me suggests that the runners aren't significantly slower, so much as they really aren't getting the job done coming around 3rd. Though, the sample size is still small and Samuel may still be getting a feel for his players.
- Someone with a far better understanding of the luxury cap system, a far better grasp on the English language, and far more free time than myself, Eric Seidman of BrotherlyGlove.com goes in depth regarding the Phillies ability to add payroll in the coming months as the trade deadline approaches. Two weeks ago, people in town were going nuts over finding another bat to add to the lineup, but that talk has mostly cooled down with this current stretch. But should the need arise once again, there are more than a handful of viable options out there to target and as Eric points out, there are a number of creative solutions for keeping the Phillies total tax number below the luxury tax threshold. Ruben Amaro has said recently that the Phillies could potentially add payroll if they need to, but you can pretty much rest assured that the luxury tax number is as high as you'll ever see this team go. Nevertheless, it begs the question... how would you feel about the likes of Carlos Beltran, Hunter Pence, or Carlos Quentin playing in this outfield?
Yeaaa, Bonds says hell pay it cause he needs the good publicity considering his pending perjury charges. Who is going to do the follow up that the tuition bill is actually paid?
ReplyDelete-oneyed larry