Mike Mussina

According to Bob Matthews of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, the Phillies have mild interest in the Yankees' Mike Mussina. Currently, the Yankees depth chart of starting pictching is looking as follows:

1. Chien Ming Wang
2. Andy Pettite
3. Phillip Hughes
4. Joba Chamberlain
5. Mike Mussina
6. Ian Kennedy

There are a lot of things in play here. The Yanks could possibly go to a six-man rotation, in order to give their youngsters work as well as their experienced pitchers. Johan Santana ending up in New York is still slightly possible, but unlikely. It's also possible that Joba Chamberlain could remain in the bullpen (which is probably the weakest spot on the Yankees team), but at this point it seems more likely that he'll start. If the Phillies can put together a good deal for Mussina, an area native, the Yankees may be willing to deal.

And for your reading pleasure, I've offered some possible ideas for trades that could bring Mussina here (I didn't really explore possible minor league players up for trade, as that sort of a deal would be very hard to predict):

• Shane Victorino for Mike Mussina and Shelley Duncan
• Adam Eaton for Melky Cabrera and Mike Mussina
• Adam Eaton and Jayson Werth for Mike Mussina and Bobby Abreu
• Prospects for Mussina
• Adam Eaton for Mike Mussina and Kyle Farnsworth
• Pat Burrell for Johnny Damon and Mike Mussina
• Pat Burrell and Prospects for Bobby Abreu and Mike Mussina

Here are the team needs:

The Phillies could use Mussina in the back of the rotation if Eaton is out or if someone else goes down, and could also use another right-fielder, center-fielder, or third baseman. The Yankees could offer Melky Cabrera in a deal, or even gool ol' Bobby Abreu if the Phillies include fielders such as Jayson Werth or Shane Victorino, or the rehabbing Adam Eaton.

The Yankees, as if they needed anything, probably wouldn't mind trading one of their older players (similar to Mussina) for young or rehabbing fielders or relievers, as they have enough depth to gamble on those guys. If the Yankees lose an outfielder, Shane Victorino or Jayson Werth may look attractive to them. Any of the many young pitchers the Phillies have could be added on to a trade. Beyond this, I'd never rule out Pat Burrell, despite his no-trade clause, due to the fact that the Yankees have the money to pay him, and it's unlikely Burrell would be completely against being traded to the Yankees.

Both teams could use help in the bullpen, so pitching prospects may play a key role in possible trade talks. Hopefully something with pan out.

Some News to Start the Off-Season

As the first couple days of the off-season are now upon us, there is plenty in the news about trades, free agents, and speculation about who will go where- especially pertaining to the Phillies. Here’s the rundown:

• Aaron Rowand, Abraham Nunez, Antonio Alfonseca, J.C. Romero, Jon Lieber, and Jose Mesa all have filed for free-agency already.
• MLB.com reports that the other four eligible players, Kyle Lohse, Freddy Garcia, Rod Barajas, and Tadihito Iguchi to file by the November 8th Deadline, suggesting all 10 elgibile players will enter free-agency
• We can expect Romero, Rowand, and Lohse especially to test the market for a better deal than what the Phillies would offer them. My guess is that Rowand and Lohse will pretty easily find a deal the Phillies won’t be able to match. Romero is pretty likely going to remain a Phillie, seeing how he likes the Phillies, they like him, and the Phillies need relievers.
• Don’t expect to see Lieber, Garcia, Barajas, or Iguchi to be signed. Pat Gillick has made it clear he isn’t going to sign Lieber or Garcia after their bad 2007 season, and the Phillies are covered at catcher and second base.
• Nunez was overpaid and didn’t live up to the expectations the organization had for him. He may be re-signed at a reduced salary
• Alfonseca and Mesa didn’t have impressive years, but the Phillies have a pretty strong need for relievers at this point.
• According the new Astros’ General Manager, (and former Phillies GM) Ed Wade, the Astros are interested in signing Aaron Rowand and Torii Hunter.
• The general consensus among the Phillies and all journalists is that the Phillies have little or no interest in Alex Rodriguez.
• After writing goodbye letters to his teammates, and filing for free-agency, it’s now pretty certain that Curt Schlling will not be returning to the Red Sox.. Since he says that he’s looking for a one-year deal with a playoff-conteding team, and since a one-year deal is what the playoff-contending Phillies are looking for too, it seems even more likely that he will end up in Philadelphia for the 2008 season. Of all the possible acquisitions the Phillies could make, Schilling seems the most likely at the moment.
• Mariano Rivera filed for free-agency on Monday. Negotiations between him and the Yankees has started, but with Joe Torre gone Rivera’s heart might not be in New York. Rivera will probably test the market a bit, and hopefully will show interest in the Phillies. The Yankees are reportedly offering Rivera (as well as Jorge Posada) about $40 million over three years. Money will probably not be the biggest factor in Rivera’s decision of who to sign with.
• If you think Pat Burrell should be traded, keep dreaming; the $14 million dollar man has repeatedly expressed interest in staying in Philadelphia, and the no-trade clause in his contract means he’d have to approve any trade involving him.
  MLB.com recently released an article http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071030&content_id=2288203&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi about the Phillies’ pitching prospect Josh Outman, suggesting he may be ready to play for the Phillies in the near future.
• The Phillies recently hired former Devil Ray’s GM Chuck LaMar as their Director of Professional Scouting. It should be noted that LaMar was the one who traded Bobby Abreu to the Phillies for Kevin Stocker.
• In the first off-season trade, the Braves traded Edgar Renteria to the Tigers for two prospects, outfielder Gorkys Hernandez and pitcher Jair Jurrjens.
• Joe Torre will be the Dodger’s manager, after the Dodgers and manager Grady Little “parted ways” yesterday to make room for Torre. Joe Girardi, the 2006 Manager of the Year for the Marlins will take Torre’s place in the Yankees’ dugout.
• Barry Bonds is a free agent… talk about a possible way to bring in fans, and replace Aaron Rowand as a “veteran leader”. Okay, maybe these points are both useless, but there haven’t really been any rumors about where Barry will go…

Coming Soon... Projected 2008 25-Man Roster

Season Awards

NL co-MVPs: Jimmy Rollins and Matt Holliday
Reasoning: Holliday’s offensive stats are simply more impressive, but J-Roll’s amazing defensive play and speed make him more well-rounded than Holliday. Both teams are already offensive powerhouses, so both players offense matters less than their play in other departments. Rollins has clearly had a bigger effect on the Phillies’ success than Holliday on the Rockies’ success, although Holliday’s team is the one who won the pennant. Personally, I’d give them co-MVP, even though that is difficult to do in reality. If I had to rank my top 3, it would be Holliday in 1st, Rollins in 2nd, and out of a lot of candidates for 3rd, David Wright (even with the Mets demise; Howard and Utley both have impressive numbers for players who were injured for a while; Prince Fielder is probably the fourth best).

NL Rookie of the Year: Ryan Braun
Ryan Braun barely beats out Troy Tulowitzki. Not much to say here.

NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy
Peavy is the clear-cut winner, after posting incredible stats. 2nd is Brandon Webb, and a close race for 3rd is won by Cole Hamels, despite missing part of the season. Any lefty with a 3.50 ERA at Citizen’s Bank Park is an incredible pitcher, and I don’t know what the Phillies would do without him.

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez
A-Rod, who will end up hitting 800 homers in his career, destroys an otherwise close pack.

AL Rookie of the Year: Dustin Pedroia
Even more of a clear-cut winner than A-Rod. What he’s done for the Red Sox is above and beyond what would be expected of a Rookie.

AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett
Yet another clear-cut winner. Many pitchers have pitched well this season, but if you saw Beckett’s stuff in his playoff appearances, you know this is the best pitcher in baseball right now.


Phillies Awards

MVP: Jimmy Rollins
He wins for the same reasons mentioned before. Utley and Howard share a close 2nd/3rd, putting up impressive stats given the amount of time they missed. Aaron Rowand is definitely close to these top three, an all-around great player, team leader, and fan-favorite. Cole Hamels would be my final candidate.

Rookie of the Year: Kyle Kendrick
This guy was in AA last year? If only Garcia and Lieber had been injured sooner- he’d probably be the NL rookie of the year in that case.

Comeback Player of the Year: Pat Burrell
Burrell’s mid-season offensive turnaround was unbelievable. He could probably have been the NL MVP if he had made this turnaround sooner.

The “Jim Thome” Overrated co-Players of the Year Award: Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber
Goes to the almost distant memories. Wasted money; these players may win 15 games for another team next year, but their lackluster play while they were playing hurt the Phillies greatly in the beginning of the season.

The “Ryan Howard”* Underrated Player of the Year Award: Geoff Geary
Geary may have had a rocky start to the season, but down the stretch he was absolutely incredible, with an ERA below 2.75, and yet we hear so little praise for this guy.
*Called up in 2004 as a pinch-hitter, wins Rookie of the Year the following year, MVP the next

Co-10th Man/Pinch Hitters of the Year: Tadihito Iguchi and Greg Dobbs
Both these backups have numbers that could easily land them a starting job on most other teams, and have come through with many big clutch hits this season. Iguchi took Utley’s place well, as he batted .304, and Dobbs had 10 HR and 55 RBI in only 324 at-bats. If he had started the whole season, he’d have close to 20 HR and 100 RBI.

The “Anyone but Freddy Garcia” Player to Watch Next Year Award: Cole Hamels
Expect Hamels to only get better, along with the Phillies in general next year. Hamels should win at least 15 games, if not 20, and the Phillies as a whole should do even better than this year.