Projected 2008 Opening Day Roster (6th Edition)

SP Cole Hamels (Left-Handed)
SP Brett Myers
SP Kyle Kendrick
SP Jamie Moyer (L)
SP Adam Eaton
LRP Chad Durbin
LRP Francisco Rosario
SU Ryan Madson
MRP Clay Condrey
MRP J.C. Romero (L)
CP Tom Gordon
-- Brad Lidge*
1B Ryan Howard
2B Chase Utley
SS Jimmy Rollins
SS Eric Bruntlett
3B Greg Dobbs
3B Pedro Feliz
LF Pat Burrell
OF Geoff Jenkins
OF Shane Victorino
OF Jayson Werth
OF So Taguchi
C Carlos Ruiz
C Chris Coste

*Injured, but not on Disabled List

Notes:

• It remains to be seem whether Greg Dobbs or Wes Helms will be on the Opening Day roster. Having both is a very unlikely proposition, and would likely only happen if either of them are traded, or if Eric Bruntlett was sent down to AAA. The Phillies are unlikely to opt to have more than five bench players (five are shown here). At the moment, it looks like a toss-up between the two.
• Brad Lidge will probably not be fully ready for opening day (although it's looking like he might rush himself out of excitement), meaning that Tom Gordon will move from set-up man to interim closer.
• I wouldn't say Fransico Rosario is anywhere close to a definite; there will be a lot of competition for a bullpen spot or two, and there are a lot of contenders
• Adam Eaton will probably be on a short leash. Expect Kris Benson (once he's healthy) and Chad Durbin to be next in line for that rotation spot. Shane Youman and Travis Blackley are also options.
• I like what I've seen from Joe Savery during Spring Training. A bit further down the road this season, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Phillies give him a shot in the rotation, a la Kyle Kendrick.
• Kyle Lohse would be a huge boost, and his value has decreased from about 4 years $40 Million to 1 year $4 Million (another player screwed by agent Scott Boras). Still, the Phillies don't want to spend any more money. Lohse would be a huge boost to the rotation, and I fail to see why they won't take such an incredible bargain.

Power Rankings- Week of 2/25

It's been a while since the last rankings, coming later than usual in the week, as I've been very busy. Here are my official, pre-spring training power-rankings...

National League:

1 (1) Mets- Lost their first Spring Training game yesterday, while the Phillies won. Frivolous, maybe, but it's not a great start for the Mets, coming off their collapse.
2 (3) Dodgers
3 (4) Padres
4 (2) Phillies- It's no surprise that an overexcited, oft-injured closer Brad Lidge hurt his knee pitching during Spring Training a few days back. In his absence, which could extend past opening day, the Phillies will likely have to move Tom Gordon to closer. Lidge's injury also raises the question of whether he can remain healthy this season which is key as Lidge is the keystone of the Phillies pitching staff. He has blamed his lackluster 2006 and 2007 campaigns on lingering injuries (rather than the Albert Pujols home run in the 2005 NLCS), making one wonder if 2008 will be any different.
5 ) Rockies
6) Diamondbacks
7) Braves
8) Cubs
9) Brewers
10) Cardinals
11) Astros
12) Giants
13) Nationals
14) Reds
15) Pirates
16) Marlins- Signing OF Luis Gonzalez gives them veteran leadership, but I doubt Gonzo will have much of a short-term effect.


American League

1) Red Sox- Signed SP Bartolo Colon, the 2005 AL Cy Young winner, to a minor-league deal. Sounds like the ideal sleeper pick to me...
2) Yankees- Added 3B/IF Morgan Ensberg earlier in the month. He could make a run at their First Base position currently looking to be filled by Shelley Duncan or Jason Giambi
3) Angels- CP Francisco Rodriguez, aka K-Rod, wants out of Anaheim- ehem, Los Angeles- after this year, due to some sour contract talks and an arbitration hearing. He's making $10 Million this year.
4) Indians
5 (6) Mariners- Their addition of SP Erik Bedard pushes them past the Tigers. Look for the Mariners, along with the Tigers and Indians, to be pretty much the only teams that will give a real challenge to the Red Sox or Yankees (whoever is in second in the AL East) in the Wild Card race
6 (5) Tigers- Ticket sales have been extremely successful for the club, probably due to the excitement over their acquisition of 3B Miguel Cabrera and SP Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins.
7) Blue Jays- Apparently new Blue Jay 3B Scott Rolen would have been open to being traded to the Phillies. The reality here is that the fans hate him; and it seems to be an awful coincidence that his interest in returning rises during the off-season after we won the division crown.
8) White Sox- The White Sox are stuck in the AL cellar that has proven almost as inescapable as a black hole, but they're poking their head out. Things look to be on the rise for the Sox, who two years after winning a world series, finished 72-90 last year.
9) Twins- Johan Santana is gone, but the Twins still have are in what I like to call AL Purgatory. They still have some falling to do before they drop into the fiery abyss below them.
10) Athletics- Signed semi-retired closer Keith Foulke to a one-year deal. Foulke signed with the Indians last year, but retired before opening day. You may remember him as the pitcher who pitched the last out in the 2004 World Series for the Red Sox.
11) Rangers
12 (13) Rays- Barry Bonds could be on his way to Tampa Bay. Bonds would likely be a distraction during the season, but then again, what is there to distract them from?
13 (12) Orioles- Trading away SP Erik Bedard moves the Orioles even deeper into the AL cellar. With so many washed up has-beens on the team, however, I think the O's could make some splashes if they play their cards right
13 (14) Royals

Lidge Out, Myers Moves to the Pen

Brad Lidge sustained an injury when he caught a spike in the pitcher's mound over the weekend. It has now been discovered that he damaged his meniscus, and will miss 3-6 weeks. Mitch Williams said on Comcast Sports Net that 6 weeks seems very unlikely, so that's good news.

This leaves the Phillies with a Brett Myers dilemna. It is unclear whether Myers will return to his closer role, or if Tom Gordon or another reliever will take over. Williams recommends the latter, and I agree with that. Let Myers stay in the rotation, so he can have some stability this year. I think Gordon will close, with Ryan Madson and J.C. Romero doing set-up.

Maybe the Phillies will be smart and try to get Kyle Lohse. Due to Scott Boras trying to oversell him, the demand for Lohse has dropped so greatly, that some think he may only get a minor-league deal. Quite a far cry from four years, $30 Million.

Lidge's injury is the sports gods just kicking Philly while it's down. The Flyers losing streak and loss of Simon Gagne for the season and Mike Richards for three weeks was already unbearable.

When it rains at the sports complex, it pours...

Lidge Trade

Let me preface by saying I have never been a big fan of the concept of a closing pitcher. To get a genuine closer- one that has the lights-out pitches that they use to shut teams down in the ninth inning- such as Mariano Rivera, Troy Percival, Francisco Rodriguez, or Eric Gagne you generally need to spend a lot of money. Using another pitcher as a closer (i.e. Brett Myers), one who can't deliver those killer pitches, sort of defeats the purpose of the role.


That role, in my opinion, is very often not worth the $7-8 Million dollars a year Gagne and Percival got this off-season, or the $15 Million a year Rivera is getting. To me, one upgraded inning over maybe a third of your games isn't worth it. Closers are posterboys; a closer is the guy who the catcher picks up and bear hugs when a championship is one. Their blazing fastballs draw the awe of fans and make a team look strong when they win the game. However, it's just one inning (albeit in almost a third of your games), and there's a lot you could do for your rotation or your lineup with that kind of money.



Brad Lidge is ranked 13th in MLB.com's current fantasy rankings for closers, despite coming off a mediocre, injury-plagued 2007 season. Until giving up the game-winning home run to Albert Pujols in game 5 of the 2005 NLCS, Lidge was one of the top closers in baseball. Since then, he hasn't been so great, but the Phillies are hoping that Lidge's new start in Philadelphia will help him move on. If he does so, he can regain his confidence and hopefully begin to dominate batters in the 9th inning just as well as he once did, back in 2004 and 2005.



Lidge is up for salary arbitration. In 2007 he earned $5.35 Million, part of a one-year deal, and I suspect his earnings will be around that after arbitration. Lidge is a risk, but he's going to be a free agent after this season, meaning if he fails to meet expectations we can be done with him after one year. If he has a stellar year, though, it's possible he won't re-sign with the Phillies, and go where the best contract offer is (similarly to Aaron Rowand).



Now, despite my skepticism over the importance of a closer, I think adding Lidge was a great move for Pat Gillick to make (although I wish more moves had followed). We gave up little to get Lidge. Michael Bourn's speed and contributions to outfield depth were easily replaced with So Taguchi and Chris Snelling. Geoff Geary did fill a long-relief mode that was huge to the Phillies in September, but it's unclear if he'll continue be that good in 2008.



The reason Lidge is so vital to the Phillies is the simple fact that our bullpen is absolutely terrible. We need a strong closer to shave off that ninth inning in key games, because our bullpen is thin on talent. As a result, that one inning- given our bullpen's ERA- will more often then not cost us a run. With Lidge hopefully giving us solid 9th inning outings when needed, and Tom Gordon working at set-up man in the 8th , we’re left with fewer innings where we’re stuck with our weaker relievers. Meanwhile, Brett Myers can fill a major hole in the rotation, where hopefully he’ll be effective despite having to re-adjust after a season in the bullpen.


Is this an improvement over last year’s pitching staff? Possibly. I’m not sure if I’d rather have Myers starting and Lidge closing than Kyle Lohse starting, Geary relieving, and Myers closing, but given the amount Lohse would cost us if we re-signed him, I don’t think pursuing him is really an option. Lohse also has a career losing record, and he also had a losing record in 2007, despite his good run with the Phillies. Signing another free-agent starter was also a possibility, but this move is a higher-risk, potentially more rewarding move.

Lidge and Madson Sign, Avoiding Arbitration

Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson both signed one-year deals with the Phillies yesterday, avoiding arbitration. Lidge will get $6.35 million, and Madson $1.4 million. These figures are about what both of these guys would have gotten through arbitration, but it's always healthy to avoid the arbitration process.

The only players left on the arbitration list are Ryan Howard and Eric Bruntlett. The Phillies' current payroll is about $85 million, and after these two arbitration hearings my guess is that the payroll will jump to about $100 million- about $5 million more than last season- if not more. That would likely mean that the Phillies have room for one more big free-agent signing. At this point, it looks like the top candidates 3B Pedro Feliz, SP Kris Benson, and SP Kyle Lohse. Expect the Phillies to wait until right before spring training before making an offer, in an effort to be able to give a lower offer than they would now. Lohse would be the best candidate, especially if the Mets sign Johan Santana, but Scott Boras can be tough to deal with.

NOTE: Sorry, my math was terribly mistaken. The payroll shouldn't go any higher tht $95 million, last years mark, so possibly two notable signings will be made

The Bullpen in '08

The Phillies search for a free-agent starter ended with the signing of journeyman free-agent, former Tigers pitcher Chad Durbin. The signing of Durbin has made it clear that the Phillies intend for the fifth spot in the starting rotation, indefinitely vacated by Adam Eaton’s injury, with one of many unlikely candidates, including Durbin, from within the organization- at least until we are sure if Eaton will be our fifth man in the rotation down the stretch. With the lineup more than adequate, the one place the Phillies have yet to focus on this off-season is the bullpen.
As the Phillies displayed last season in their search for a starter to fill an ailing rotation, they are willing to throw prospect after prospect on the mound until they find the right guy. They eventually settled in with Kyle Kendrick, and what they got was a 10-4 Rookie of the Year candidate who saved the rotation from certain doom. During the first few weeks of the season, and later if an injury occurs to a starter, expect the Phillies to throw guy after guy out there again.

Meanwhile, also similarly to last season, these two-dozen-or-so mediocre pitchers, prospects and journeymen alike, will make up a large part of the Phillies bullpen. Expect the Phillies AAA Pitching staff, relievers, and the fifth spot in the rotation, to be one giant mixing pot.


We know that the Phillies core group of relievers is as follows:

• MRP J.C. Romero (Left-Handed Pitcher)
• SU Tom Gordon
• CP Brad Lidge
  

Here is the Phillies "Official" Bullpen Depth Chart (from their website):
B. Lidge (CL), T. Gordon, J. Romero, R. Madson, S. Mathieson, C. Condrey, M. Zagurski, F. Rosario, C. Durbin

Here is CBS Sportsline's Depth Chart for Starters:

C. Hamels, B. Myers, J. Moyer, A. Eaton, K. Kendrick, C. Carrasco, J Durbin, C. Durbin, S. Mathieson, T. Blackley, J. Outman, J. Savery

Here is CBS Sportsline's Bullpen Depth Chart:
B. Lidge, T. Gordon, R. Madson, J. Romero, F. A. Rosario, C. Condrey, F. Castro, J. Ennis, M. Zagurski, S. Youman, L. Holdzkom, Y. Hernandez, V. Darensbourg, K. Wilson, J. Anderson, M. Childers, J. Pope, R. Swindle, R. Chiavacci, G. Knotts, B. Mazone

Seem like a lot to take in? I'm going to assume the answer is yes, considering I haven't heard of nearly a third of those guys. It's interesting how the CBS Sportsline one puts Eaton before Kendrick, and Chad Durbin is seventh. It's a reminder of how weak our bullpen is when we see Brad Lidge, who was mediocre in 2007 at best, as our top guy in the pen. Undoubtedly we'll be relying a lot on starters like the Durbins.

While everything except the top four spots in the rotation, the set-up man, and closer is very unclear at this point, I've compiled my own bullpen depth chart. I'm not going to make one for starting pitching, since who can and may start beyond Hamels, Myers, Moyer, and Kendrick is very unclear at this point. Here is my organization depth chart for the bullpen (although it doesn't go that deep into the organization), which for all intents and purposes counts everyone except those four, Eaton (who is unlikely to pitch out of the bullpen at all at least for the first couple months of the season) Lidge, and Gordon, as long-or-middle-relievers, not starters or closers.

1. J.C. Romero
2. Ryan Madson
3. J.D. Durbin
4. Clay Condrey
5. Chad Durbin
6. Shane Youman
7. Scott Mathieson
8. Fabio Castro
9. Francisco Rosario
10. Travis Blackley
11. Carlos Carrasco
12. Lincoln Holdzkom
13. John Ennis
14. Matt Zagurski
15. Josh Outman
16. Joe Savery
    

Granted this list may have a slight shortage of veterans or any sort of potential rookie-of-the-year candidates, but this list contains the guys the Phillies are hoping at least one of which will step up and follow in the footsteps of Kyle Kendrick. Now, it may take a heck of a lot of scouting, and maybe 3-10 games down the drain to find the right guy- that is, if we ever find the right guy.

A lot of the young guys in here may get a chance on the 40-man roster, especially down the stretch. Otherwise, expect maybe 6 or 7 of the above guys in the pen.

These guys definitely create one of the most makeshift bullpens we've seen for a long time. Maybe this roll of the dice will result in a bullpen better that last year, or maybe it will be even worse- something this fan doesn't even want to think about.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ROTATION??? / Pat Gillick Makes Brett Myers Cry at Night

In the last installment of the "What Happened to The Phillies" / "%#(@ You Pat Gillick" we examined the Phillies' new closer, Brad Lidge. Now, we will follow our former closer, Brett Myers, along his exile back to the rotation. Since the Phillies failed to sign any sort of reliable starter, Brett Myers is forced to become the #2 man in the rotation, which he is very unhappy with...



"I'm upset," Myers said Thursday, "not with the Phillies, because I understand the situation. I'm upset because I think I really found myself and my role this year as a closer. I know, because I've been told that I'm best suited to be a closer."

"I understand what's going on, and I understand that for this team, me going back to being a starter is the move to make," Myers said. "I definitely like closing more. I like having the ball in my hands four or five days [a week]. The only thing I don't like in starting is, I may go nuts those four days in between getting the ball."
...
Said Myers: "There are positives in this. I think I've proven myself as a closer and as a starter. If the time comes and I'm on the market as a free agent, instead of two teams needing a starter and two needing a closer, I can make myself available as both to 30 teams.
"This doesn't mean I'm unhappy in Philly. I love the team. I love the fans. But from a personal standpoint, this certainly can help me in the long run."

Source: The News Journal









Needless to say, Brett Myers looks like a very unhappy man :(


Moving Myers to the starting rotation was a Plan-C type move that Gillick, despite him and Charlie Manuel continuously denying any chance of Myers moving out of the closer role. Now, Myers cries himself to sleep at night over Pat Gillick, while Brad Lidge does the same over Albert Pujols. It's okay Brett, Gillick doesn't only lie to you. He told us that he was going to spend big bucks on pitching a day before he offered over $35 Million to Mike Lowell.

It also worries me that the only positive Myers now sees in this move is that it will be easier for him to get out of Philadelphia, given that as recently as a few months ago it looked like Myers could have a great, happy future with the Phils.

All this results in the following rotation:

1. Cole Hamels
2. Brett Myers
3. Kyle Kendrick
4. Jamie Moyer
5. Peter Forsberg

As you can clearly see, I have absolutely no idea who will be filling the fifth spot in the rotation. Here are some candidates...

Adam Eaton: Eaton had a terrible 2007 due to a shoulder injury, and likely will not be 100% by opening day. When he's back to full strength, he will likely be back in the rotation.

Travis Blackley: The Rule 5 Draft pick is unlikely to have the stuff needed to start in 2008, and will likely be stuck in the back end of the bullpen or in the minors, but given the hole Pat Gillick has dug us into, I wouldn't be suprised to see him squeeze into the rotation.

Chad Durbin: His $900,000 contract is all he deserves. He is a journeyman pitcher who is unlikely to do much better than J.D. Durbin did last season, and a couple months ago there were hopes the Phillies would sign a bigger-name pitcher. At one point, it even looked like instead of Durbin we would sign Kyle Lohse and Curt Schilling. So much for that.

Beyond that, it is very unclear as to who will get that fifth spot. There are over a dozen candidates, prospect and journeyman alike, but nobody with stuff anywhere close to what Kyle Lohse brought.

I don't want to even imagine what happens if one of our solid starters goes down. We got lucky with Kyle Kendrick, but that's unlikely to happen again.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BULLPEN??? / The Sad Story of Brad Lidge

In part one of our potentially infinitely-parted series "What Happened to the Phillies" (aka "!$%# You Pat Gillick") we'll examine the ways the Phillies have gone from being poised to build a championship team back in November, to actually making the team worse this off-season despite a reported cap increase of $10-$15 Million. And of course, we will start with the greatest weakness our team had in 2007- pitching.

If you're a Phillies fan, and you think back to what you were doing last summer, you'll probably remember screaming at the image of Adam Eaton on your television screen, as he looked over his shoulder at another long ball he just dished out. Oh, you don't? My mistake, it could have also been Jose Mesa, Antonia Alfonseca, J.D. Durbin, Freddy Garcia, or pretty much any of the Phillies' pitchers. Alas, despite our generally abysmal bullpen, there was one true gem in there- Brett Myers. Everyone, including the coaches, Pat Gillick, and Myers himself, was very pleased with his performance as closer.

Taking all that into account, Pat Gillick and Charlie Manuel said repeatedly that Myers would remain the closer. Apparently they were just kidding, because Gillick went ahead and traded for a replacement for Myers, Brad Lidge. In the process, they gave up young outfielder Michael Bourn, prospect Mike Constanzo, and reliever Geoff Geary. Geary had a great September and was part of the core of strong relievers that led the Phillies down the stretch, so Lidge must have been worth more than him, right? I mean, we gave up a couple young guns, and a decent middle reliever so we could replace our newfound closer.

Brad Lidge came to pitch for the Astros in 2002 as a middle-reliever (and even started a game where he batted 2 for 2 with 2 RBI's). With Billy Wagner and Octavio Dotel traded by mid-2004, he became their closer. When that season ended, Lidge, his up-to-102 mph meatball, and his 29 saves were voted 8th in the Cy Young voting, and he set a new NL record for strikeouts by a reliever with a whopping 157. In 2005, Lidge was an all-star (in the all-star game he struck out the side and nobody even made contact on his pitches) and 30th in MVP voting with 42 saves and a 2.29 ERA, undoubtedly playing a big role in helping the Astros edge out the Phillies by one game in the wild card race. In that postseason, he helped lead the Astros to the NLCS in 2005, where they faced the Cardinals. In Game 5 in Houston, Lidge faced Albert Pujols with the Astros up by two. There were two runners on, and Albert Pujols was batting as the go-ahead run- and Pujols jacked him up, hitting the ball pretty much the farthest it could possibly go in a roofed stadium.

The Astros survived and later won game 6, sending them to the World Series. In game 2, Lidge gave up a walk-off homer to the White Sox' Scott Podsednik. Needless to say, Albert Pujols' shot hit Lidge right in the heart, and since that incident, Lidge has been nothing more than a mediocre closer- or at least a lesser one than Brett Myers. Lidge even lost his role periodically in 2007, before tossing 10+ scoreless innings to regain the role, finishing the season 19 of 27 in save attempts.

Lidge is excited about his new role with the Phillies, and Phillies fans are hoping that Lidge can overcome his emotional trauma and reclaim his role as one of the top closers in baseball. If he does so, trading for him will have been a great move. If he doesn't, and Pat Gillick doesn't have a backup plan for Lidge, the Phillies will be in deep trouble, because the only other remotely-solid relievers they have left behind Lidge are Tom Gordon, Ryan Madson, and J.C. Romero.

Otherwise, Pat Gillick is rolling the dice on a dozen or so prospects, as he was forced to do last season when the great injury plague hit the Phillies. Needless to say that this is extremely dicey, and very likely to fully compensate for the bullpen's shortfalls, especially if Lidge doesn't produce.

The bottom line right now is that the Phillies' bullpen's future is very unclear. Pat Gillick is just praying that some of the young pitchers step up. It's unlikely to work, and at this point, it looks like the bullpen has thrown out it's up-and-coming, delighted new closer Brett Myers, forcing him angrily into his old job as a #1 or #2 starter, and replaced him with a broken man rehabbing from getting owned by Albert Pujols.

Phillies Sign So Taguchi

The Phillies signed outfielder So Taguchi to a one year deal valued around $1 million, with a team option for 2009.

The Phillies have done a lot of replacing of their players this off-season. Here's a simple rundown of the big replacements...

• Tadahito Iguchi > So Taguchi
• Geoff Geary & Brett Myers > Brad Lidge
• Mike Costanzo & Michael Bourn > Eric Bruntlett
• Kyle Lohse > Chad Durbin & Brett Myers
• Aaron Rowand > Geoff Jenkins

Worrisome? Yes, considering the fact that we presumably had more cap room to work with this season than last season, we should have a better roster, not a worse one. Hopefully this squad will manage to improve on last year's; this greatly depends on the contributions of Brad Lidge, Geoff Jenkins, the bullpen, whoever the fifth starter is, and last but not least, avoiding any major injuries to starting pitchers- unless we have another surprise rookie sensation such as Kyle Kendrick come along again.

Projected 2008 Roster, 3rd Edition

SP Cole Hamels (Left-Handed)
SP Brett Myers
SP Kris Benson*
SP Kyle Kendrick
SP Jamie Moyer (L)
LRP/SP Adam Eaton
LRP J.D. Durbin
LRP Ryan Madson
MRP Fabrio Castro
MRP Clay Condrey
RP J.C. Romero (L)
SU Tom Gordon
CP Brad Lidge
1B Ryan Howard
2B Chase Utley
SS Jimmy Rollins
SS Eric Bruntlett
3B Wes Helms
3B Greg Dobbs
LF Pat Burrell
OF Mike Cameron*
OF Shane Victorino
OF Jayson Werth
C Carlos Ruiz
C Chris Coste

Notes:

• Pat Gillick raised the possibility of trading prospects for pitching a couple weeks back. This could bring Mike Mussina or another older pitcher to the Phillies.
• If Mike Cameron isn't signed, Geoff Jenkins
• It's unlikely that Adam Eaton will start the year in the rotation, as he is still rehabbing his arm. When he is back to full strength he will hopefully and probably pitch a lot better than he did in 2007. The Phillies will meanwhile try to obtain another pitcher to help fill his spot, many who are coming off injuries. Free-Agent Kris Benson is the front-runner, but an offer has reportedly been made to Kyle Lohse, who would be a better option . Fabrio Castro and J.D. Durbin seem to be the front-runners for replacing Eaton if a new player doesn't, or taking over if a starter goes down. Rule 5 draft-pick Travis Blackley is also an option. In general, at this point, it looks like the more probable alternative is looking at a bunch of guys during Spring Training and hoping that one of them looks good enough to enter the rotation.
• If Eaton goes to the minors, or to the disabled list, a reliever will probably come up to take his place on the roster (not in the rotation).
• The Phillies have a very large amount of pitching talent down in the minors, and it's probable that with or without an injury, some new faces will show up in the bullpen. It's anyone's guess who that will be.
• The bullpen looks to be a bit dicey, as the Phillies have a lot of prospects and journeymen lined up to vie for a spot in the bullpen, and besides closer Brad Lidge, Set-Up man Tom Gordon, and J.C Romero, talent in the pen is sparse.
• It's not probable that Kris Benson will join the team, but there is still a good chance that he will. The Phillies are hoping for support in the outfield as well as at third.

Huge Deal to Start the Off-Season

The Phillies traded RP Geoff Geary, OF Michael Bourn, and minor league 3rd Baseman Mike Costanzo to the Astros for RP/CP Brad Lidge and IF Eric Bruntlett.

I will be frank, my reaction to this trade is not that good- it's a bit of a risky one. Geary had a great end to the 2007 season (although otherwise was quite below par), and Bourn likely has a great future ahead of him. Lidge only converted on 19/27 save opportunities, posting 3.36 ERA, although his pitching improved near the end of the season. I really hope the Phillies saw something in Lidge that I'm missing, because 19/27 save attempts is maybe not what I'd look for in a closer specifically. That being said, he could also be a set-up man to Myers if the Phillies so wish. However, according to MLB.com, Lidge will be the closer for the Phillies.

I would have probably shopped a bit more before making this trade. I know I said the Phillies shouldn't automatically make Myers their closer, but replacing him this fast seems a bit extreme on the other end of the spectrum. I think, though, that the Phillies haven't set Lidge being the closer in stone yet either- he could end up working out of the pen with Myers staying as the closer. If we're lucky here, Lidge may put up stats like he was a few years ago. Or, he could continue to have a bad save percentage, and put up an ERA of over 4.

With this trade the outfield has lost depth, but the infield has gained some.

Now, the Starting Rotation is looking like this:
Hamels, Myers, ???, Kendrick, Moyer

??? Could be anyone from Mark Prior to Matt Clement to Hideki Kuroda.


Next Move: Re-Sign J.C. Romero, go after a free-agent starter, and go after another free-agent reliever