More on Romero and Burrell.

Phil Sheridan's article on the J.C. Romero suspension will make you want to throw stones at the offices of the player's union and MLB. This really seems a little ridiculous now and it seems that there is really nothing Romero can do about it now. To the Phillies, sign Joe Beimel.

Either baseball believes Romero cheated and allowed him to compete in the World Series, or it believes he made an innocent mistake and is suspending him 50 games anyway.

Which would be worse?

Keith Law discusses the bargain that was Pat Burrell for Tampa Bay.

Compare this to the deal the Phillies, who let Burrell walk without offering him arbitration, gave Raul Ibañez: one extra year at a marginal cost of $14 million as well as the loss of their first-round draft pick, for a player four years older and worse defensively. It also resets the market for this type of player (all bat, little or no glove, no speed) to something more reflective of the supply (deep, with Adam Dunn and Jason Giambi still available) and demand (shallow), which would indicate that Ibanez's deal will continue to stand out as high in dollars and years for a player who was not the best in his class this winter.

That makes you feel real good, doesn't it? Hopefully Amaro, Jr got his touch from Gillick and not the Wade side of his mentoring. Hopefully Ibanez has taking fungos all year long because it really seems like we just may have signed another 7 inning guy once the team organization sees how poor he is at fielding a simple fly ball.

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Ruben Amaro Jr's First Fail.

Dear Ruben Amaro, Jr.,

Why the fuck would you not offer arbitration to Pat Burrell? You already know that he has not going to sign that shitty two year deal that you offered him. You know someone is going to giving him a multi-year deal near what he has already earned. Is arbitration really going to get hurt you that much if he accepts it, which is highly unlikely. By the grace of God, if he was stupid enough to accept a one year deal, it fixes your left-field problem before things become really rough.

However, you did not take that in to consideration or at least it does not seem that way. You know Pat Burrell is not going to make more than $14 million in arbitration and that is what Ryan Howard's number is going to be around. I understand that you have a lot of raises to deal with, but you just fucking won the World Series and you want to replace Burrell with someone who is even worst defensively in Raul Ibanez and someone who cannot play a full game because of his disability in Rocco Baldelli. Well, in reality, we know you're going to replace him with Geoff Jenkins and we're going to lose that much needed right-handed power bat. To make matters worse, Raul Ibanez WILL COST you a first round pick because Seattle managed the situation correctly.

It's one year of Burrell or two draft picks. Sounds like a win-win to me. The Phillies wanted to devote two years to him, in which they'd pay more of a total salary. Are you missing the picture inside that big head of yours. We need to re-build our farm system. Those two extra picks would have helped extremely. If he re-signed, well someone who hits 30+ home runs and reaches base 37% of the time is well...pretty damn good.

I can understand not offering arbitration to Jamie Moyer. It is highly unlikely that you let Moyer walk. Any starting to pitcher on the market will likely be vastly overpaid, so there is no point in giving arbitration to Moyer because it will pretty much be based off his previous season.

The thing is, you the odds of Moyer signing are far greater than Burrell. Why did you fuck this one up? Pat Burrell was a type-A free agent, not a type-B. We will receive a first or second round pick and a sandwich pick between the first and second round. You know that though, correct?

I am sorry, I know your team won the World Series and I know we doubted Pat Gillick, but you're not Gillick and Pat Burrell is not Kevin Milwood or Placido Polanco. You really jumped on the failboat with this one and by the rumors, it seems like talks between Moyer and yourself are getting cold as well.

Maintain success, please.

Sincerely,

Justin

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Manny to Philly?

Manny to Philly? Shut up. It's not going to happen. The Phillies have absolutely nothing to trade for a great talent, but awful team distraction type of player in Manny. The Phillies still need pitching and that should be their focus. The offense is slumping (will and has to return at some point) and Manny would fill a great hole, but it's hard to see the trade for Manny not involving Pat Burrell and some prospects.

Right now, I'll take the hit in average and keep Burrell over Manny. They're both slow, can't field great, but Pat has a better arm. Also, you have the conditions of Manny's contract. Will his options be picked up or will he just be a rental? Manny fills one need that the Phillies have, but as a replacement for possibly Burrell, it still leaves another hole in the lineup.

Oh and regardless of Manny being a cancer, when in a pennant race, it'd be absolutely fucking stupid for Boston to trade Manny right now. No one's going to want to give Boston what Manny's talent is probably worth.

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Say No to Fox!

Is it just me or do the Phillies consistently lose whenever they play a 3:55 game on Fox. I know as of right now, we're at least 0-4 in games on Fox this year and they weren't very good last year either. In day games alone, the Phillies are 12-18 this year. Over the past four seasons, they're well over .500 in day games, but not this year. Too hot? Who knows, but it continued yesterday as the Phillies lost 9-5 to the Florida Marlins.

Kyle Kendrick had nothing close to his best stuff as the Marlins pounded out 3 home runs. In a game that went back and forth early on, the Marlins stayed ahead for good when they put together a 3-run fifth on 2 of the 3 home runs allowed by Kendrick. Kendrick watched his season ERA jump nearly half a run in his outing.

The Phillies offense continued to struggle with RISP and they left 9 men on base. Pat Burrell was the lone positive for the Phillies as he hit two home runs to up his total to 25. The Phillies now have 3 players in the lineup with at least 25 home runs: Howard, Utley, and Burrell.

Today, another day game, the Phillies will have Cole Hamels facing off against Josh Johnson who just recently came off the 60-day DL. In the past, the Phillies have hit up Johnson. Let's hope it continues today. On the other side, Hamels has somewhat struggled against the Marlins in the past, at least for Cole's standards. The team has lost its last two starts against the Fish, but in his last start, he threw 8 innings and gave up 2 earned, while striking out 13.

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Why were so many people, so dumb?

Why is Pat Burrell not in the All-Star game? Seriously, why? Any fans, managers, players out there have a true response? Pat Burrell had four opportunities to be named to this year's all-star team.

First, by the fans to vote him as a starters. Second, by Clint Hurdle and the players to vote him in as a reserve. Third, in the final vote and lastly, to replace injured outfielder, Alfonso Soriano. Four opportunities and not one chance to make it. Not one!

All rankings are among only NL outfielders
First, lets look at his loss to Corey Hart.

Pat Burrell: .279 BA (16th), .410 OBP (2nd), .577 SLG (1st), .987 OPS (1st), 21 doubles (T12th), 2 triples (T14th), 22 HR (3rd), 54 RBIs (T8th), 48 Runs (T13th), 73.5 Runs Created (1st), 0.91 BB/K Ratio (5th)

-- So, Burrell is Top 5 in 6 categories and Top 10 in 7.

Corey Hart:
.292 BA (7th), .331 OBP (24th), .510 SLG (11th), .841 OPS (11th), 26 doubles (2nd), 3 triples (T5th), 15 HR (9th), 58 RBIs (6th), 48 Runs (T13th), 58.4 Runs Created (9th), 0.26 BB/K ratio (32nd), 13 SB (9th)

-- Hart is top 5 in 2 categories and Top 10 in 6. Also, Hart does not bat behind Ryan Howard who has been stealing RBI opportunities from Burrell lately.

To see the rest of the outfield comparisons, click below

Ryan Braun: .280 BA (9th), .326 OBP (27th), .558 SLG (4th), .887 OPS (9th), 24 Doubles (T5th), 3 Triples (T5th), 23 HR (2nd), 66 RBI (2nd), 51 R (T10th), 8 SB (T7th), 64.3 Runs Created (6th), 0.26 BB/K Ratio (32nd)

-- Braun is definitely a viable all-star candidate as he does produce runs. He is 6th among all outfielders in runs created, which should give him at least a reserve. He has good all-around numbers, except he doesn't walk much. Does he deserve to be in over Burrell? Maybe or maybe not, but he definitely deserve to be on the roster.

Kosuke Fukudome: .281 BA (T13th), .386 OBP (5th), .414 SLG (22nd), .800 OPS (17th), 17 Doubles (T21st), 2 Triples (T14th), 7 home runs (31st), 36 RBI (T25th), 59 R (T4th), 8 SB (T17th), 54.9 RC (12th), 0.81 K/BB (9th)

--Um, thanks for being stupid Chicago fans. When will these baseball towns ever begin to realize that All-star game distinguishes home-field advantage for the World Series. Why would you vote for Fukudome? What's in the water there? Same goes for the people who voted for Soriano. Don't you want to win? Vote for the best players.

Ryan Ludwick, Matt Holliday, and Nate McClouth (whether they needed a Pirate or not) are all deserving of all-star spots. The fact that Pat Burrell, the player who is 5th in the entire National League in OPS and leads all outfielders is not on the roster is just flat out stupid. As mentioned before, Ryan Braun is deserving as well, but how can you leave Pat Burrell off the team for the likes of Corey Hart, Kosuke Fukudome, and Alfonso Soriano? That's terrible. I guess he just isn't that liked by the players. At least Holliday will be in a hitter friendly park, so his pathetic road OPS will not be as exploited.

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Phrustration

So, here is how my holiday weekend went:

Thursday - Work all night, hear Phillies pull of sweep of Braves. Incredibily excited.

Friday - Work all day and night, hear about Victorino's walk-off single, get extremely excited. I feel as if June has left us and July brings positive signs.

Saturday - Work all night, hear about how the bullpen blew a Phillies win. I have to hear it from Mets co-workers. It's alright to deal with. Bullpen was due for a let down.

Sunday - Watch the Phillies offense struggle again. Watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia during rain delay. Play wiffle ball until Phillies return to play. Watch Phillies offense struggle in extra innings. Watch Fernando Tatis homer and dance at home. Get Frustrated.

Monday - Drive to Philly to see the game live. Watch Adam Eaton give up 8 runs through 3 innings. Watch Phillies storm back to make it 10-9. Watch the symbolic season right before my eyes: So close, but oh so far.

Today - Drive back to Philly in hopes of seeing Hamels pitch a great game and the offense actually support him.

Is it me or does it seem like the offense needs to be down a few runs early to light a spark under their asses. It is a little bothersome, but what can we do about it? The team doesn't own a .300 currently and there has been very little of a model of consistency, outside of maybe Pat Burrell in the Phillies lineup. Sure he's not knocking in the runs like he was in April, but that is largely due to Ryan Howard's climb to the top of the RBI chart.

Vote for Burrell!

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Phillies Win Despite Santana's Dominant Performance

It was a wet and wild game at Citizens Bank Park. No offense and a lot of pitching. On a night where we, as a nation, honor the birth of our great country, the nation's first capitol overcame Johan Santana to win 3-2.

Shane Victorino provided the heroics with his RBI single in the 9th, driving in Pedro Feliz with 2 outs. Pitcher Duaner Sanchez struck out both Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell in the bottom of the 9th before Feliz doubled. Victorino hit a line drive to right to score in Feliz to win the game.

It was a very patriotic evening at CBP, with the 23rd sell out crowd of the year. Before the game, a small tribute was payed to the men of service, current and veterans. God Bless America was also sung during the 7th inning stretch.


I almost feel bad for Santana. He went 8 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 6. His only hiccup came in the 6th where he allowed 4 singles that scored both Jayson Werth and Chase Utley. They were driven in by Howard and Burrell respectively.

J.A. Happ took the mound for Philly and was sub par. He threw 90+ pitches in only 4.2 innings of work. He was taken out with the bases loaded and after 2 runs came in. Chad Durbin relieved him and struck out Carlos Beltran to stop the bleeding. Happ finished with 2 runs allowed on 3 hits, 4 walks, and 3 strike outs.

Durbin's time of relief was amazing. He saw 7 batters and struck out 6 in his 2.1 innings pitched. Ryan Madson pitched the 8th giving up a hit and Brad Lidge threw 4 pitches to earn the win in the 9th.

Jayson Werth was the lead off hitter for the Phillies and had 2 hits. Howard also had 2 hits and Feliz had the only extra base hit for Philadelphia.

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Phillies Earn 2nd Straight Sweep in Atlanta

As Justin would say: "Cole Hamels will win a Cy Young this year and 10 Cole Hamels in his career."

Hamels (9-5) was filthy in his outing versus Atlanta, pitching 8.2 innings, giving up 1 run in the 9th, a double by Brian McCann that scored Chipper Jones. He allowed 5 hits total and 1 walk, a .81 WHIP. He also struck out 7. King Cole's ERA improved to 3.22. Tom Gordon pitched the last out, earning his 2nd save.

Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pedro Feliz all had solo home runs. Utley leads the league with 24 and Howard has 22 on the season. Those were the only hits for Utley and Howard. Pat Burrell went 2-4 with a double. Feliz went 3-4 with a homer and 2 RBIs, driving in Burrell and himself. Jimmy Rollins had a triple in the 3rd.

The offense got an early run in the first with Utley's solo shot. In the fourth, Feliz singled to drive in Burrell. In the 6th, Howard homered and in the 7th, Feliz had his shot.

The Phillies (47-39) have won 3 straight since their dry spell in June. They start a 4 game series tomorrow night versus the Mets (41-43). They face 4 pitchers capable of shutting down this offense. Being back in the comfort of their own park should settle the offense back in. No Hamels in the series could be huge. Probables for the series are:

7/4: J. Santana (7-7, 3.01), J. Happ (0-0, -.--)
7/5: J. Maine (8-6, 3.86), J. Moyer (7-6, 4.13)
7/6: O. Perez (6-5, 4.98), K. Kendrick (8-3, 4.58)
7/7: P. Martinez (2-2, 7.39), A. Eaton (3-6, 4.79)

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Phillies Win a Series!!!

In what may seem comparable to the shot heard around the world in Philly, the Fightin' Phillies have finally won a series after losing six in a row. Tonight, the Phillies beat the Braves 7-3 after a bottom of the ninth inning scare aided by not one, but two Ryan Howard errors. The Phillies improved to 5-0 in Atlanta and 7-1 in the season series.

Tonight's offense came from an impressive home run by "Big Brown" as he hit a 68 mph breaking ball deep out of the park into left center for a 3-run home run. Pat Burrell also added a solo home run. Pedro Feliz, Chris Coste, and Chase Utley each had two hits, while Jimmy Rollins went 3-4 with a triple. Shane Victorino was the only starter (including Eaton) not to reach base with a hit.

Eaton pitched well enough to earn the win, but he did struggle a little in the 6th inning. In 5 innings of work, he gave up 2 earned on 5 hits and 5 walks. He did get squeezed on a few pitches, but overall he pitched well and helped the Phils maintain their lead. Eaton improves to 3-6 on the year.

Up north in Allentown, PA, Brett Myers threw 5 innings of work for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. He threw 100 pitches with a 60/40 strike-to-ball ratio. He was cruising through the first four innings, but he allowed 3 earned runs on 3 hits in the 5th inning. He finished the game with 6 strike outs. He will make another start likely next Monday.
And here is the rest of it.

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Q&A - What do with Pat Burrell?

Should the Phillies keep Pat Burrell until the end of the season, sign him to an extension during the season, or should they trade him before the trading deadline? - Frank Troise, Jr.

Pat Burrell is in the final year of his contract and he is having himself quite the "contract year" -- though I still believe his success is solely based on his eye sight, the change of his stance, and him being more aggressive at the plate.

Coming into tonight's game Pat's Burrell's stats are as follows:
.289 BA, .433 OBP, .614 SLG, 1.047 OPS, 18 HR, 47 RBI, 40 R, 58/53 BB/K

His projections if is numbers were spanned out over a 162 game season:
Same averages, 41 HR, 107 RBI, 91 R, 133/121 BB/K

His career averages over 162 games:
.260 BA, .361 OBP, .489 SLG, .860 OPS, 31 HR, 105 RBI, 98 BB/158 BB/K

His numbers are pretty damn good and is worthy of a big contract in today's market, but he turns 32 in October and it seems as if he is getting slower by the game. He is somewhat of a defensive liability, but he still has a great arm, which can usually hold runners from getting that extra base. However, the prime for a major league player is about 28-32. It's hard to imagine him to continue to build off this year's success.

If you look at his career stats, there seems to be a distinct coincidence. During 2000 and 2001 he did not hit as well, but then in 2002 he exploded for the best season of his then young career -- the same season that rewarded him a big multi-year deal. So what happened next? Burrell had a poor 2003 and 2004, but rebounded with a great season in 2005 that resembled his 2002 season. It didn't happen again did it? You're damn right it is happening as we speak. After subpar 2006 and 2007 seasons, Pat Burrell is again hitting over .280 and is likely having the best season of his career, in the final year of his contract.

This year, Pat Burrell's pay checks will total a sum of $14.25 million. It's hard to believe that Burrell will accept much if anything less as a hometown discount, but he has noted that he enjoys playing here and he does not want to leave. I cannot see the Phillies looking to give him anything more than three years and I'd be surprised if they even offered him more than two years and because of that, I'm not sure if he will be around next year. His future likely consists of first base or an AL DH, but his outfield ability is still tolerable with the speed in the rest of the outfield.

So what should the Phillies do? First, they could attempt to try and move Burrell at the trade deadline, but Pat has a full no-trade-clause and last year, he emphasized that he'd only accept a trade to the Yankees or Red Sox. He clearly wants to win a World Series and those two teams generally have the best opportunities year in and year out. If David Ortiz is injured for longer than it seems, the Red Sox might try and make a move for Burrell. This time though, the Phillies cannot just give away a good player for nothing like they did with Abreu. There is almost no one left in the organization from that trade. If they decide to trade Burrell, the Phillies have the emphasize his ability to get on base, even if he isn't making contact. Even with his poor seasons, he has a career rate of reaching base at around 37%. In a Red Sox order where he could possibly bat sixth, that kind of ability is even more valuable.

Second, the Phillies could just let him play out the year and deal with him in the offseason. It is not worth trading Burrell if he is not going to warrant any players that could provide significant contribution in the near future. He's too valuable to the lineup, especially behind Ryan Howard. Pat Burrell is the Phillies only true right-handed power bat and because he bats behind Howard, it forces the opposing manager to work with his bullpen a little more.

Lastly, the Phillies could sign him to an extension sooner than later and hope the new contract leads him to continue his current success over the span of the rest of the contract. Is that likely, I don't think so. I think Burrell is currently having a career year and the season needs to at least reach the All-Star break and preferably later if the Phillies are going to consider signing him to a new deal.

It is well known that Burrell wants to remain in Philadelphia, so it is not as if he will be running to leave the organization or has his free agency papers just about completed. I think the best scenario for the Phillies would be to let Pat Burrell play out the season with the Phillies and waiting until the season ends to make a decision. The Phillies really have something good working right now and I think moving Burrell would damage the clubhouse more than help it. However, I cannot see Gillick passing up on a move that would improve the team overall significantly. There is no black and white answer to this topic.

We'll re-evaluate this question on July 31st.

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Adam Eaton Pitches Phils to a Victory

Dear Adam Eaton,

You deserved every bit of that standing ovation tonight. You have pitched very well lately. Thank you for "finding yourself" or whatever you want to call it.

-Justin

Anyway, Adam Eaton pitched great for 6.2 innings allowing 3 hits, 1 earned run, and struck out 5. For the second start in a row, Eaton went deep into a game and maintained a very good K:BB ratio. He has also earned wins in his last two outings to improve his record to 2-3.

Offensively, two streaks ended tonight. Shane Victorino failed to get a hit and Chase Utley failed to hit a home-run. However, Utley did go 2-3 with an RBI single and an intentional walk. Utley's single tied the game at one apiece. In the 6th inning, Pat Burrell broke the tie for good after hitting a 2-run home run off Aaron Harang. It was his 14th of the year. Jimmy Rollins went back over .300 by going 3-for-4 and scoring a run. Greg Dobbs also notched himself another pinch-hit on the year.

J.C. Romero, Tom Gordon, and Brad Lidge completed the game for the Phils, allowing 1 run (Gordon) on a sac fly. All three of them looked a little shaky with rust, but they sealed the win. Brad Lidge notched his 15th save of the year. The fans showed up again to sell out another game.

If the game happens tomorrow, Brett Myers will face off against the National League's best pitcher currently, Edinson Volquez. He struck out 8 Phillies in his last outing. We might see a double header on Thursday because the Phillies have an off-day Monday and it would not mess with their rotation. Hopefully Hamels still pitches the day game because I will be in attendance.

Burrel's Home Run

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Pat = Machine

The question has been answered. Pat is no man, he is a machine. The machine continued his hot hitting when he broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the 8th by ripping a 2-run double down the line to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead and win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Pat, however was not the MVP of today's game. That player was Tom Gordon who came into the game in the bottom of the seventh inheriting runners on first and third with no outs. Tom Gordon struck out two batters and got Gabe Kapler to ground out to end the inning. J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge pitched scoreless 8th and 9th innings to notch a hold and a save respectively.

Next up for the Phillies are the 9-12 Pittsburgh Pirates.
Friday: Adam Eaton (0-0) vs Zach Duke (0-1)
Saturday: Kyle Kendrick (1-2) vs Matt Morris (0-3)
Sunday: Brett Myers (2-1) vs Paul Maholm (1-2)

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Pat the Bat

The Phillies are over .500 in April for the first time since 2005. All thanks to Pat Burrell's heroic three-run double in the top of the ninth. Brad Lidge was lights out in the bottom of the 9th to record the save. Ryan Madson earned his first win on the season. The Phillies swept the two game series and goto Milwaukee for another two-game series.

Chase Utley failed to hit a home run for the sixth straight game, but he did have two hits and 2 rbis.

Phils had 8 runs on 11 hits.

2B: Bruntlett, Utley, Feliz, Burrell
HR: Werth
RBI: Utley 2(20), Taguchi (2), Werth (8), Dobbs (6), Burrell 3 (22)

Myers through 7 innings allowing 6 earned runs on 11 hits and 2 home runs. His ERA rose to 4.78.

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Pat the Bat Takes Time to Chat

Pat Burrell took part in a chat with Phillies fans online.

On continuing with the Phillies:

I'd love to sign back with the Phillies. Whether or not it works out, I've been very happy with the time I've had here. Like I said, though, I'd love to re-sign.

On playing in Philly:

I'd have to say the ballpark and the fans. The whole last series down the stretch, when we were fighting and the Mets were choking, the city was just awesome and rallied around us. It was exciting to be a part of.

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