Well then, today was a busy day, and I'm glad that my "NFL Lockout" rule is over on this blog. Yes, I wasn't posting anything major until the lockout ended, as per me. Today, however, makes things even better.
It's a bit late tonight, and I can't really comment on much, but I'll be here tomorrow for all kinds of responses on the moves made by both the Phillies and Eagles today.
Let me just say this....it's a good day.
Showing posts with label 2011 free agency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2011 free agency. Show all posts
Friday, July 29, 2011
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Cliff Lee is back
One year ago today, the Phillies made possibly the biggest trade in team history, sending Cliff Lee to Seattle as part of a deal that landed them Roy Halladay. Throughout the season, and even after trading for Roy Oswalt, fans still were talking about how they could have kept Cliff Lee around and paired him with Halladay and Cole Hamels to make one of the best rotations in baseball.
Well, those fans now have their wish. As of midnight today, Cliff Lee is once again a Phillie, having agreed to a five year, $120 million deal with an option for a sixth year that seems to have come in at the 11th hour. Now, not only do the Phillies have Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, but Cliff Lee as well. That's one scary rotation right there.
The best part about this deal might be the way that it got taken care of. For weeks, all people heard about were the Yankees and Rangers going after Lee, with no mention of any other team. Then, rumors of a third mystery team started to surface yesterday, and before people were going to bed out on the west coast, the Phillies had signed the biggest free agent pitcher on the market from under the noses of the Yankees and Rangers. While it's fun to really be able to stick it to New York this time, nothing has been decided yet for the 2011 baseball season. In fact, the year still has to be played.
For the moment, this is the biggest free agent signing in Phillies history. The Phillies now have the best rotation in major league baseball, with two Cy Young winners in Halladay and Lee, as well as Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. All four pitchers have playoff experience, and all four could be the ace for almost any other team in baseball. This isn't any other team any more, though. The Phillies have shown over the past three seasons that they want to be one of the big teams in baseball. They've gotten there now. Very few, if any, teams have actually beaten out the Yankees for a player that they had their sights on for months, but the Phillies did it. Cliff Lee chose a chance to pitch in the best staff in baseball in a city that he loved over an extra $30 million, and if there was any other way for him to be loved more by the fans in Philadelphia, that was it.
The Phillies aren't done making moves yet, either. While this signing certainly cements the rotation in place, there are still several questions that are lingering around. Ruben Amaro is likely looking at trading away Joe Blanton, Raul Ibanez or both of them to pay for Lee's new contract, and the Phillies still have some questions in the bullpen and a lack of a power right handed bat in their lineup. This team isn't perfect, but they're on their way. There's still plenty of time left in the offseason for more moves to be made, and after the Phillies just pulled off this stunner, I'm sure that they have something else up their sleeves.
There is a bit of a dark cloud to all of this, though. The Phillies have now officially joined the Yankees and the Red Sox on the "dark side" of the baseball fence. With their payroll now, fans in Philadelphia can't complain about the Yankees trying to buy a championship, or the Red Sox plundering from smaller market teams, because the Phillies are right there now, too. The funny thing is...I kind of like this feeling. It's a far cry from where the Phillies were just ten years ago, and if you had told me at the end of the 1999 season that the Phillies would have won four straight National League East pennants, gone to back to back World Series and won the 2008 World Series, I would have laughed at you. Now, the Phillies have truly become one of the elite teams in baseball. It certainly hasn't all been through homegrown talent, but that's how good teams stay at the top.
Welcome back to Philadelphia, Cliff. The city sure did miss you. Yes folks, it's only gonna get funner.
CSNPhilly.com: Cliff Lee is a Phillie again
Well, those fans now have their wish. As of midnight today, Cliff Lee is once again a Phillie, having agreed to a five year, $120 million deal with an option for a sixth year that seems to have come in at the 11th hour. Now, not only do the Phillies have Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, but Cliff Lee as well. That's one scary rotation right there.
The best part about this deal might be the way that it got taken care of. For weeks, all people heard about were the Yankees and Rangers going after Lee, with no mention of any other team. Then, rumors of a third mystery team started to surface yesterday, and before people were going to bed out on the west coast, the Phillies had signed the biggest free agent pitcher on the market from under the noses of the Yankees and Rangers. While it's fun to really be able to stick it to New York this time, nothing has been decided yet for the 2011 baseball season. In fact, the year still has to be played.
For the moment, this is the biggest free agent signing in Phillies history. The Phillies now have the best rotation in major league baseball, with two Cy Young winners in Halladay and Lee, as well as Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. All four pitchers have playoff experience, and all four could be the ace for almost any other team in baseball. This isn't any other team any more, though. The Phillies have shown over the past three seasons that they want to be one of the big teams in baseball. They've gotten there now. Very few, if any, teams have actually beaten out the Yankees for a player that they had their sights on for months, but the Phillies did it. Cliff Lee chose a chance to pitch in the best staff in baseball in a city that he loved over an extra $30 million, and if there was any other way for him to be loved more by the fans in Philadelphia, that was it.
The Phillies aren't done making moves yet, either. While this signing certainly cements the rotation in place, there are still several questions that are lingering around. Ruben Amaro is likely looking at trading away Joe Blanton, Raul Ibanez or both of them to pay for Lee's new contract, and the Phillies still have some questions in the bullpen and a lack of a power right handed bat in their lineup. This team isn't perfect, but they're on their way. There's still plenty of time left in the offseason for more moves to be made, and after the Phillies just pulled off this stunner, I'm sure that they have something else up their sleeves.
There is a bit of a dark cloud to all of this, though. The Phillies have now officially joined the Yankees and the Red Sox on the "dark side" of the baseball fence. With their payroll now, fans in Philadelphia can't complain about the Yankees trying to buy a championship, or the Red Sox plundering from smaller market teams, because the Phillies are right there now, too. The funny thing is...I kind of like this feeling. It's a far cry from where the Phillies were just ten years ago, and if you had told me at the end of the 1999 season that the Phillies would have won four straight National League East pennants, gone to back to back World Series and won the 2008 World Series, I would have laughed at you. Now, the Phillies have truly become one of the elite teams in baseball. It certainly hasn't all been through homegrown talent, but that's how good teams stay at the top.
Welcome back to Philadelphia, Cliff. The city sure did miss you. Yes folks, it's only gonna get funner.
CSNPhilly.com: Cliff Lee is a Phillie again
Monday, December 6, 2010
Jayson Werth and Donovan McNabb have something in common.
Most Phillies fans knew that it was coming, but it's still never good to see it when it does. As per Todd Zolecki, Jayson Werth has left the Phillies for the Washington Nationals.
The team may seem like a surprise to some, but the deal is a bigger shock. Werth signed a seven year, $126 million deal, putting him in the nation's capital until he's 38, and at an average of $18 million per season at that. The Nationals have picked up a good right fielder, while the Phillies now have a hole in right.
When you look at the pure numbers of this deal, there was just no way that the Phillies were going to match it. The Nationals offered Werth seven years, and from what everyone had been hearing, there's just no way that the Phillies were going to offer more than five. The Nationals also have made Werth one of the highest paid outfielders in the game, and while Washington missed out on key free agents in Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia, they weren't going to miss out on Werth. The Nationals came on hard and fast, and to be honest with you, the Phillies didn't stand a chance. Not with what the Nationals were throwing out there. Not with seven years and $18 million per season.
It was almost certain that the Phillies were going to lose Werth during this offseason, but there was still hope that he would come back. After all, the Phillies were the only team to pick him up off the scrap heap back in 2007 and then they gave him a chance in 2008 after Geoff Jenkins didn't work out. Over the last two and a half years, Werth has been one of the keys to the middle of the Philadelphia lineup, and while part of that has to be due to having Chase Utley and Ryan Howard bat in front of him, some of it also has to do with Werth's natural talent. There's no doubt about it, Werth is a good right fielder, with a cannon for an arm and power to match, but when he's in a lineup with Ryan Zimmerman and himself, how much protection is he going to get? Plus, Nationals Park isn't nearly as forgiving as Citizens Bank Park, so his numbers might go down next year.
People have seen these deals for outfielders almost every year. They can work, but they don't always. Look back at Jason Bay last year, Carlos Lee a few years back and Vernon Wells in Toronto. Outfielders can have a few big seasons, sign big contracts and then become problems for the team that signed them. I'm not saying that's what going to happen to Werth, not at all. In fact, I hope Werth kills everyone but the Phillies in his time in Washington. What I am saying is that the contract that Werth signed makes him a problem for the Nationals if they ever have to get rid of him. Werth turns 32 next May, which is close to the end of the prime years for most baseball players. Say Werth's numbers start going downhill after two years. No one is going to want to trade for a 34 or 35 year old right fielder who is getting paid $18 million a season. That's why the Phillies wouldn't go further than four years with Werth, and that's the biggest problem that the Nationals are going to have.
For the Phillies, the biggest question now is how will they fill the hole left by Werth. Ben Francisco or Domonic Brown seem like the most likely options, but Francisco has never started full time in Philadelphia, and Brown struggled during the season with the Phillies, and then came home after a poor winter league in the Dominican. Apparently, the Phillies are looking at other options, such as Matt Diaz or Jeff Francoeur, but those can't possibly be long term ideas. The Phillies need another right handed bat in their lineup, and if they put Brown in there, it's just going to be another left hander in the mix of things. It's not going to work for an everyday solution. The Phillies need that right handed bat, and ideas aren't exactly flying in.
Jayson Werth was a good player for the Phillies. He was a key part of the team over the last two years, but to be honest with everyone, he was too old to sign to such a long term deal. The Nationals have more money to make a move like this, so it makes more sense. That doesn't mean that it's a good deal, though.
So long, Werth. It was fun while it lasted.
The Zo Zone: Werth signs with Nationals
The team may seem like a surprise to some, but the deal is a bigger shock. Werth signed a seven year, $126 million deal, putting him in the nation's capital until he's 38, and at an average of $18 million per season at that. The Nationals have picked up a good right fielder, while the Phillies now have a hole in right.
When you look at the pure numbers of this deal, there was just no way that the Phillies were going to match it. The Nationals offered Werth seven years, and from what everyone had been hearing, there's just no way that the Phillies were going to offer more than five. The Nationals also have made Werth one of the highest paid outfielders in the game, and while Washington missed out on key free agents in Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia, they weren't going to miss out on Werth. The Nationals came on hard and fast, and to be honest with you, the Phillies didn't stand a chance. Not with what the Nationals were throwing out there. Not with seven years and $18 million per season.
It was almost certain that the Phillies were going to lose Werth during this offseason, but there was still hope that he would come back. After all, the Phillies were the only team to pick him up off the scrap heap back in 2007 and then they gave him a chance in 2008 after Geoff Jenkins didn't work out. Over the last two and a half years, Werth has been one of the keys to the middle of the Philadelphia lineup, and while part of that has to be due to having Chase Utley and Ryan Howard bat in front of him, some of it also has to do with Werth's natural talent. There's no doubt about it, Werth is a good right fielder, with a cannon for an arm and power to match, but when he's in a lineup with Ryan Zimmerman and himself, how much protection is he going to get? Plus, Nationals Park isn't nearly as forgiving as Citizens Bank Park, so his numbers might go down next year.
People have seen these deals for outfielders almost every year. They can work, but they don't always. Look back at Jason Bay last year, Carlos Lee a few years back and Vernon Wells in Toronto. Outfielders can have a few big seasons, sign big contracts and then become problems for the team that signed them. I'm not saying that's what going to happen to Werth, not at all. In fact, I hope Werth kills everyone but the Phillies in his time in Washington. What I am saying is that the contract that Werth signed makes him a problem for the Nationals if they ever have to get rid of him. Werth turns 32 next May, which is close to the end of the prime years for most baseball players. Say Werth's numbers start going downhill after two years. No one is going to want to trade for a 34 or 35 year old right fielder who is getting paid $18 million a season. That's why the Phillies wouldn't go further than four years with Werth, and that's the biggest problem that the Nationals are going to have.
For the Phillies, the biggest question now is how will they fill the hole left by Werth. Ben Francisco or Domonic Brown seem like the most likely options, but Francisco has never started full time in Philadelphia, and Brown struggled during the season with the Phillies, and then came home after a poor winter league in the Dominican. Apparently, the Phillies are looking at other options, such as Matt Diaz or Jeff Francoeur, but those can't possibly be long term ideas. The Phillies need another right handed bat in their lineup, and if they put Brown in there, it's just going to be another left hander in the mix of things. It's not going to work for an everyday solution. The Phillies need that right handed bat, and ideas aren't exactly flying in.
Jayson Werth was a good player for the Phillies. He was a key part of the team over the last two years, but to be honest with everyone, he was too old to sign to such a long term deal. The Nationals have more money to make a move like this, so it makes more sense. That doesn't mean that it's a good deal, though.
So long, Werth. It was fun while it lasted.
The Zo Zone: Werth signs with Nationals
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