WHO Next

[Synyster89]

swisher to indians......inconsistant offense to the phillies

great job ruben. Pitching staff will have best era and offense will score fewer runs then most

You would really want the Phillies to sign Swisher to a 4yr/56M deal???

[11MVPPatBurrell]

You would really want the Phillies to sign Swisher to a 4yr/56M deal???

that and 5yr/$125M for Josh Hamilton. Gotta spend on offense, who cares if it's a terrible contract !!

[Philsforever]

Im not saying anything anymore since every contract given to offensive players are considered bad contracts on this site, yet every contract to starting pitchers is spot on. Yet as we discussed on a different thread batters are more valuable then pitchers according to WAR

[The A Team]

Generally speaking, most free agent contracts are bad. But we've talked about this. With both Halladay and Hamels, they signed sub-market rate contracts and represented the best available additions at the time given their price and talent level. With Lee, his contract is not good, yet again, he was the best available option given his price and talent level.

As far as Hamilton and Swisher go, the Phillies weren't in the market. Hamilton was too expensive and Swisher wasn't good enough.

[Philsforever]

Ok fair enough.

Except 1 thing. What makes Lee better then Hamilton, when Hamilton has been in the top 3 in MVP voting in 2 of the last 3 years and age is similar?

[The A Team]

In short? He's not an injury prone addict who has shown recent signs of sharp decline.

[Philsforever]

Wow, So a guy who made mistakes as an 18 yr old isnt worth giving a 2md chance. Hamilton has paid his debt to society and deserves a 2nd chance. he gets tested 3 times a week and has a wonderful support system. Has found god and has a wonderful family.

Of all the people on this site I never would have expect you to go there. I lost a ton of respect for you. Im sure your closet isnt empty of skeletons. And Im sure a lot of other players have done drugs or worse but werent caught and were able to kick the habit and earned another chance.

If you wont to rip a persons performance go right ahead, but to punish someone for actions done years ago is ridiculous. And this is coming for a person that never tried drugs but spends everyday of my life helping people turn their lives around after coming to grips with their addiction as a profession.

[11MVPPatBurrell]

Wow, So a guy who made mistakes as an 18 yr old isnt worth giving a 2md chance. Hamilton has paid his debt to society and deserves a 2nd chance. he gets tested 3 times a week and has a wonderful support system. Has found god and has a wonderful family.

If you wont to rip a persons performance go right ahead, but to punish someone for actions done years ago is ridiculous.

He has relapsed multiple times, most recently in February. He's already faced suspensions and will face quicker and harsher punishments than the regular player. All we would need is for him to relapse and fall back into that stuff after signing a $120M deal.

Doing body-shots with strange women in public bars behind your wife's back is definitely paying your debt to society !

[Philsforever]

Was unaware that it is against the law to drink. I know that its not ideal for a recovering addict to drink however it is also not the same. His addiction was drugs not alchohol. So lets not confuse the two. Thank you

[PhillyRocks]

Im not saying anything anymore since every contract given to offensive players are considered bad contracts on this site, yet every contract to starting pitchers is spot on. Yet as we discussed on a different thread batters are more valuable then pitchers according to WAR

Just because something was discussed doesn't mean its true.

In the NL

All 4 90 win teams were in the top 5 in pitching
All but 1 90 win team was NOT in the top 5 in offense.


In the AL

Only 2 of the highest scoring teams were in the playoffs.
Out of the top 7 teams with best ERA, all 5 were in playoffs and 1 who didn't make the playoffs still had 90 wins.

So deal with the reality, not with the fantasy.

[The A Team]

I mentioned the addiction because it adds to the risk profile. His overall health and recent performance are more concerning.

[IBleedRed(duh)]

Ok fair enough.

Except 1 thing. What makes Lee better then Hamilton, when Hamilton has been in the top 3 in MVP voting in 2 of the last 3 years and age is similar?

And again, these two aren't a fair comparison bc they weren't both available at the same time.

This is like beating my head against the wall. You ****** and moan but don't provide any suitable answer. What would you have wanted the phillies to do this offseason? Sign Hamilton to that same deal? Really??

[Philsforever]

Yes i wanted them to sign Hamilton. I would have rather them spend on Hamilton and letting Aumunt be setup instead of signing Adams and I would have allowed an open competition between Petittibone Clyod and Morgan for the 5 spot in rotation instead of signing Lanan. You say I dont give you any suitable answers, well your turn. Give me a suitable answer for the offense that has been on the decline and is relying on unproven players to come thru.

IM WAITING

[The A Team]

Passing on Adams and Lannan might have made Swisher a possibility and certainly Ross, but $9 million and $25 million are not comparable figures. So saying that you would have passed on Adams and Lannan to sign Hamilton is shaky logic.

I think I understand why we're butting heads. You think the offense is a MAJOR problem despite being thoroughly average the past couple seasons. I (and presumably others) think that given our internal options we can expect a (very) modest bounce back simply from more time with Utley, a healthier Howard, and improvement from Brown/Ruf. Even without that, I see no problem with having a 7-9 NL ranked offense.

In 2011, the team had the 7th ranked offense, poor defense, and the best record in baseball. Because they had excellent pitching.

In 2012, the pitching slipped from elite to average. Which is why the team slipped from elite to average. The lineup performed similarly to 2011.

I guess I don't see why an adequate lineup is a problem.

[The A Team]

What I do see as a problem is a rotation that features two replacement level pitchers. The only obviously MLB ready prospects are Cloyd (another replacement level guy) and Pettibone (who could use more seasoning). For a team that should expect to give 5 starts to at least 10 different pitchers, that's a MAJOR problem.