Wednesday: Despite loss, Eaton good bet to stick

After walking the bases loaded, Phillies starter Adam Eaton committed the unforgivable sin of walking Randy Johnson, the pitcher, to plate a run and trigger a five-run Arizona rally, capped by a three-run Stephen Drew home run. The Phils fell 6-4.

In the world of weather, meteorologists issue “watches” when conditions are favorable for certain weather to occur. Eaton probably has another shot to prove himself before a “watch” is issued and the storm chasers of fantasy baseball can begin tracking his potential replacement. If the minor league picture wasn’t so cloudy, a fifth-starter watch might have already been issued. Remember, a "watch" wouldn't necessarily facilitate a change, not like a "warning" would. A "warning" means Eaton is in the eye of the storm. In other words, right now, conditions are favorable for conditions to be favorable for something to happen. Got that?

Nevertheless, don't underestimate the team's frustration with Eaton. The team made offers to several free agents this off-season aimed at replacing the beleaguered right-hander, who pitched himself out of the rotation and onto the imaginary DL at season's end. In the past, Pat Gillick, who was the one who courted Eaton out West, has demonstrated a willingness to play the hot hand, and reportedly made a special trip to scout rising Double-A right-hander Antonio Bastardo. J.A. Happ has also pitched well at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Comments

[Jimmie J.]

>>Eaton probably has another shot to prove himself before a “watch” is issued and the storm chasers of fantasy baseball can begin tracking his potential replacement.<<

I don't think we're that close to Eaton being replaced yet.

>>The team made offers to several free agents aimed at replacing the beleaguered right-hander<<

For some reason, Kyle Lohse keeps popping up in my head.

[J. Weitzel]

Jimmie: Remember that a "watch" isn't as bad as a "warning." I went back and made that clearer in the header. Basically, Eaton is in no immediate danger, but conditions are right for a "watch."

[johnnysanz3]

Well really I think Moyer can be an average 4, and Kendrick a 5, so I think we need someone that is a legitimate 3. But I guess we all have thought that really the whole offseason.

[bay_area_phan]

I'd say we're already in "warning" territory right now. Frankly, the only reason he wasn't there sooner was because Kendrick was pitching so badly that no one was really sure which of the two was the first in line to be replaced. Now that Kendrick has started to pitch better, while Eaton has pitched worse, there's no longer any ambiguity. It's not like this can be written off as a slump or a bump in the road. It's just a continuation of last year.

One more bad start & it's time for Eaton to gather his wife & kids and head to the storm cellar.

[Andy]

Listen to this quote:

"We were still in the game - I've got to leave him there," Manuel said. "I've got to leave him there. We'll see if he can pitch out of some jams. He's got to do the job there. That's his job. That's who he is. He's in our rotation and he has to do the job there. I've got to leave him in there."

He says he's got to leave Eaton in three times, like he's trying to convince himself; like he's desparate for any other option, but forced into a corner.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

I would have liked to have heard Manuel's comments. Reading them, I got the impression that he is about fed up with Eaton and has told him so. The implication of his comments is that when he does decide he has to go get him in that situation, he will yank him from the rotation.

[UD Hens]

Off topic, but they are staging a mutiny over at Metsblog right now. Look at their "what do the fans want" post. Summary, they want the Mets to play like the Phightins.

[McG]

When is Kris Benson ready?

[Lynsk]

Does anyone know why the phillies games always have the other team's announcers on the MLB extra innings package?

Listening to Dbacks announcer Mark Grace babble on and on about god knows what all game long was terrible. I really enjoyed the first game as he had no choice but to shut up as his beloved Dbacks were getting killed.

Eaton still has value at this point. Please trade him now for anything.

[johnnysanz3]

I think we would have to pay Eaton's contract to trade him.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

MG: You managed to convince me that Kris Benson not pitching for the Phillies would be a good thing at this point. It makes sense from all fronts. That can only mean that Kris Benson will, in fact, end up pitching significant innings for the Phillies. It would make too much sense, and would not be a prototypical Phillies move.

Lynsk: I don't know what value Eaton has at this point. The limited potential suitors would all be rich teams that play in big parks. At this point I can't think of any team that fits that mold. Most of the teams that have money and play in big parks have their rotations set, and look pretty good at this point. I would include only: Tigers (Probably the only team that would be possible), Seattle (No chance, don't need anyone), Yankees (They could do better), Padres (Bud Black, an ex pitcher, would lose what hair he has left dealing with Eaton. And they don't have any money), Dodgers (Don't need anybody. That pretty much covers the teams that might even possibly be interested in Eaton. And I use the term "interested" loosely, very loosely.

From my own scale of interest, on one end would be Jessica Biel, on the other end, a kick in the jewels. I think other teams interest would be closer to the latter, than the former.

[michael]

Lynsk: about Extra Innings, I would imagine you get the broadcast of whoever the home team is. Thats how they do it on XM as well, I was listening to the Dbacks radio broadcast last night on my drive home, talk about bad.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

I think we would have to pay Eaton's contract to trade him.

Posted by: johnnysanz3 | Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 12:25 PM

They're gonna pay that contract whether they play him, trade him or release him. A trade at least gives them a possibility of sharing the load. Maybe the Pirates will take him now that they dumped Matt MOrris? Seriously, I doubt there's much chance of finding a trading partner for Mr. Eaton.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

...and who the F would want him?

[clout]

I wish people would stop asking about Benson:

Kris Benson (groin) is playing long toss, but he's not ready to throw off a mound.

Benson was pulled from a start on April 26 after complaining of soreness in his groin. There's no timetable for his return.

[Andy]

Parker - I'm kinda hoping the Ironpigs have a strong interest in Eaton. He'd look so good in their uniform. Plus, being originally from the Valley, I might be able to have some female friends set him up with a stylist, you know, to get his highlights done whenever he needs it.

[bay_area_phan]

I didn't see MG's post, because I missed the game & didn't go back & read all 250+ posts. But I had a post of my own at the end of last thread, where I evidently expressed the same sentiment as MG. I'm reposting the relevant excerpt:

I think it's now clear that Benson will never pitch a game for the Phillies. In a way, I think this works to the Phillies' favor. Better to have him never pitch at all than to have the Phillies force-feed him into their rotation, only to have him pitch horribly for a few games, then go on the shelf again. I strongly suspect that that's the scenario that would have unfolded, if he had been healthy enough to be pitching right now.

The other thing is that I believe Benson was supposed to make some pretty decent money if he had met certain playing time incentives. So, now that the Phillies won't have to pay that money, maybe they'll be more willing to pay what it takes to bring in an experienced starter, who might be available on the trade market.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

michael: Extra Innings used the SF broadcast for teh last series at CBP, so the hypothesis isn't proved.

I just got teh package so I don't know what the answer is to Lynsk's question - have asked it myself, but I just got the package last week. My guess is there may be a Foxsports tie in, or that the local Philly stations don't have a deal with Comcast (although, isn't CN8 a Comcast affiliate/ station)?

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

BAP/MG: My appologies, I mixed up your posts.

Andy: I think the baseball gods would be pleased with that manuever. All would be stable in the baseball world.

[stuck in a craw]

strained groins are usually season ending injuries?

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Lynsk: Sometimes the games are Philly broadcasts. They only started airing Philly broadcasts late last season, and they seem to be somewhat infrequent. I'm not sure what the criteria is for determing whose broadcast is used.

Perhaps I'm biased, but the Philly broadcasts seem to be generally much better than opponents, save maybe the Dodgers (Vin Scully), or the Brewers (Bob Euker), which I consider at least close to the same quality.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

End of May timetable for Benson probably was a little too quick, in hindsight. Nobody should really count on anything from him, but if he's ever ready.

Strained groins(Anna?) aren't season ending, but it's slowing his pitching rehab progress. I think that's what they're getting at. Of course, you're not allowed to ask about Kris Benson, for some reason.

[Lynsk]

I realize we are just going to have to outright release Eaton. Nobody would take a chance on him. I should have been more clear in my post that Eaton has shown "value" at this point in the season.

How can anyone really hold out hope that Benson will save us? It will be more of the same - replacing crap with crap.

Last year the other team's announcers called all the games on Extra Innings except for late in the season. We'd get the Phils when they played games in HD on Mojo (very weird). So far it's been the same except for an occasional weekday day game that I can't make. I really don't mind the other team's announcer's b/c they talk mainly about the Phillies to inform their audience. But when you get guys like Mark Grace and the White Sox's Hawk Harrelson (he gone!) you have to find the mute button on your remote. they suck.

[NCPhilly81]

Lieber is getting LIT UP. Four homeruns allowed in the second inning today.

[dajafi]

I think Jason has this right. Eaton gets at least one more start--in San Francisco, against a less than imposing Giants lineup. If he handles that, his status reverts to what it was before last night. If he screws the pooch again, then he's probably within one more stinker of losing the job.

The question is who replaces Eaton. I guess it's either Chad Durbin, J.A. Happ, or a reach with Bastardo, Carpenter or Carrasco. Durbin's needed in the bullpen, Happ still has control issues (though he'd probably be my choice), and the other guys are just too green.

[Will]

On EI: only thing I can guess is that Comcast Philadelphia charges more to EI for their broadcast that others do, so EI purchases less of their broadcasts. I think NESN had the same problem 3 years ago on EI, but now we get the NESN broadcast for every Boston home game, without fail.

(Wife's a Boston fan, but she's from the area, so I forgive her).

[Joe]

Lieber gives up homeruns?

[timr]

I hate to say it but Eaton is going to get much more than "one more start"--there's nobody to replace him and its a ton of salary to just eat. Plus, these are the Phils we're talking about. If Eaton's gone, I predict its not until after the All Star break at earliest.

[CJ]

It is ugly over at Metsblog today... always fun to read.

An interesting discussion over whether Mets fans are having fun watching their team this year.

Are you having fun watching the Phils this year?

I am. I know there are always going to be frustrations. I wish Howard would get out of his slump. I wish Feliz were an major league hitter. I wish Adam Eaton were the bat boy.

But despite it all, I really enjoy watching this team. Maybe it's Utley and Burrell. Maybe it's Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge.

It's probably the "we're never out of it" fight this team always shows.

Anyway... I'm enjoying this season. And I'm pretty sure I'll be enjoying it all the way to September.

[RSB]

I think you're right, Jason. Eaton's leash has got to be much shorter than it was last year, especially if he isn't holding leads or taking the team deep into games. There simply isn't much to lose. And there is no doubt that Manuel has all but had it with the guy. I talk about Myers not being sufficiently equipped in the head to be the kind of pitcher people think he ought to be, but then there's Eaton - one of the mentally weakest pitchers I've seen this side of Pat Combs.

Do you really think they'd target Bastardo ahead of Carrasco? Carrasco has some pretty solid numbers so far, and also was largely impressive while pitching to major-league hitters in ST.

[E]

if you have Directv, any game this year that is on comcastsportsnet (not CN8 or CW57) is on Extra Innings. that means a ton starting right now. there would have been more but they moved a bunch to CN8 because of the Sixers/Flyers playoffs. you'll start getting a lot of them now. not sure about cable though.

[zp]

Although the Phillies left seven men on base and committed two errors, Eaton took the blame for the loss. “You don’t mind losing if you’re beat, and when you beat yourself, that’s when you really mind,” he said. “I don’t think Arizona beat us today. I beat ourselves.”

---

i really need to start keeping a blog of eatonisms. this dude is a gold mine of great quotes.

"I beat ourselves".... that's some good wordsmithin' there, adam.

[bay_area_phan]

timr: I'm as cynical as anyone when it comes to the Phillies, but Gillick's past actions (i.e., trading for Lohse, signing Benson) are a pretty good indicator that, salary notwithstanding, he's not willing to stand idly by while Adam Eaton keeps stinking things up. I also disagree with the notion that we don't have options. We have several options. We could let Durbin start (not my choice, but it's a viable option). We could call on Happ, who has plenty of minor league seasoning and is pitching well. We could bring in some unsigned veteran like Wade Miller, Ramon or Russ Ortiz, or Pedro Astacio (again, not my choice, but it's an option). Or we could call on one of the two young phenoms, Bastardo or Carrasco. Some or all of these options might turn out to be failures, but we know for a fact that sticking with Eaton is going to be a failure.

[Andy]

On who they'd bring up...I'd suggest consider it from the options viewpoint. On the one hand they definitely want someone they can send back down (if he stanks it up); OTOH they do not want to bring up someone way too soon and use up an option year before they have to.
I think they will not bring up Bastardo for this reason PLUS he's probably not ready. That plus he has not shown a tendency to pitch deep into games. (Let's see how he does at the next level before we think he's a killah.)
My guess is that, God forbid, Eaton came down with an undisclosed injury *gasps* that the replacement would be Happ. Or they'll bring up Fabio to relieve and start Durbin (which would be a terrible mistake because Durbin is pitching better now out of the bullpen than he ever has in his career).

[Andy]

zp - thank you.

I ourself is grateful for them quotes.

[timr]

BAP--I wouldn't mind seeing Carrasco or Happ. I think starting Durbin would be a huge mistake though, as he seems to have found his niche in long relief.

Still, I feel like Eaton is likely to have a decent start here or there, enough to keep him hanging around (and create the impression that he is a serviceable major league pitcher) until the break.

I think Benson will be Eaton's replacement if he's back in shape by then.

[J. Weitzel]

RSB: They could play the hottest hand, which is any number of guys.

The difference between this season and last is getting to the playoffs, building a winning culture and getting away from this mentality of being a second-class club, overly reliant on castoffs and third-rate journeymen. The Phils are a contending team now, one that probably doesn't have the same threshold for failure as they did last season with Eaton, Durbin and the like. You're starting to see it a little bit with Madson getting pushed aside. I see the same thing happening with Eaton. You can either step up like Burrell, or stay behind.

[bay_area_phan]

timr: I agree about Durbin, and that seems to be the prevailing sentiment here. Besides the fact that he has found his niche in the pen, we also have no bullpen depth in the minors. If you moved Durbin to the starting rotation, it would have a very bad trickle-down effect on the quality of our pen as a whole.

[Brian G]

I think Jason's got this situation nailed. And I think the Phils are right to do it this way. Eaton showed himself to be a complete mental marshmallow(which we already knew) last night when he walked Randy Johnson (one of the most inexplicable things I've ever seen, but I digress). However, other than that his actually pitching would have been good enough to have gotten us a 6 inning 3 or 4 run game from him, which is all we want. His stuff seemed solid.
So the physical side was there. Let's find out if he can rebound mentally. If he can't, I think the first option has to be Happ, assuming he keeps pitching like he has the last few starts (and we'll have at least 2 more starts of his to find out). Durbin has been too incredible in the pen to risk moving him out of that zone, and Carrasco and Bastardo are better served developing and proving their chops at the minor league level for now.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

If they're really serious about showing they're a contender and not just looking for road kill/stop gap pitching, it might time they see what kind of value Cardenas/pitcher have...

[Crazy Jon]

Need to hold Cardenas for when Howard gets unloaded and Utley gets moved to 1B (2010).
I'd be willing to try someone from AA or AAA in the meantime for a 2-3 start audition.

[Lewisauce]

<>

That is frakkin' awesome. (No surprise it was spotted by a fellow Blue Hen.)

Eaton: I think Charlie's comments (i.e. "I have to leave him out there ... that's his job" etc.) are a pretty clear indication that Charlie is fed up to the brim with Eaton. And who can blame him? We all knew that Eaton sucks, that eventually (whether he has a decent start now and then or not), he was going to melt down and the turds were gonna hit the turbines.

It is time for Gillick and Co. to simply conclude that Eaton blows and throw him to the wolves.

I know Howard's trade value is in the gutter at the moment, but he still has a lot of upside. What about packaging Howard and Eaton (with the proviso that we pay part of Eaton's salary this year and next) for a middle-of-the-rotation starter? I don't mean another Kendrick type. I mean a solid big-league pitcher, maybe even a No.2-type.

The Padres come to mind. They have pitching, but no one on the roster can hit. Maybe they'd want Howard, an MVP slugger who could use a change of scenery, and maybe they'd take Eaton to plug him into the spot left vacant by whoever they'd send our way?

Maybe Oakland?

Just thoughts.

[Lewisauce]

Sorry. The thing that was frakkin' awesome was the reference to the mutiny on Metsblog.

[CJ]

Lewisauce:

Yes... let's trade Ryan Howard. That's a fantastic idea.

[CJ]

And, yes... let's deal him for a middle of the rotation starter.

Let's deal one of the game's great young power hitters... a league MVP... for a middle of the rotation starter because he's had a bad month.

Pure genius.

[Bob]

Eaton seems so mentally weak. His first few starts this year show that he can physically pitch well enough to be a 5th starter.

[mike cunningham]

This will not be a popular post, but there is zero reason to move Eaton out of the rotation here are some stats:

1.) He's our fifth starter.
2.) You have to ignore how much money he's getting paid. If you release him, you will have actually PAY MORE and probably get WORSE results.

Why worse?

Here are some stats:

-- Eaton has pitched into the 6th inning in 4 out of 7 starts.
-- Each of those starts are quality starts.
-- The Phillies have won 4 out of 7 of his starts.
-- 2 of his losses were 1 RUN games. Both when the Phillies offense was struggling.
-- The Phillies bullpen has been very good this year.
-- Again he's the 5th starter. So you can't compare his performances to Hamels or Myers. You really have to compare him to other 5th starters and AAAA starters. He is that much worse? Probably not.

Do you really think that a minor league call up with get to the 6th or 7th inning in more than once in a 7 starts?

We saw a PHENOM the other night from the DBacks and he was handled by the phillies offense. And Scherzer is probably a much more ready to be in the majors than any call up we have.

With our offense and our bullpen, you can live with Eaton in the rotation. If his numbers skew where he can't get out of the 4th or 5th for 3 or 4 more starts, than maybe you can start the Eaton pulling the plug.

But the Phillies were able to survive with Eaton last year and will be okay with him this year.

If you think you 5th starter should be a better than .500 pitcher and the team should win MORE than 50 per cent of the starts and he shouldn't lose to the best team in the National League right now, your expectations ARE WAY TOO HIGH.

[bay_area_phan]

Brian: That's too many IFs for me. Eaton's ERA was 6.29 last year. It's 5.63 this year, and it could easily be worse. He was extraordinarily lucky in his last game, as every ball was hard hit for the first 3 innings.

Eaton long ago forfeited the right to any benefit of the doubt. There's really no compelling reason to even give him 1 more start. We already know his act and there's nothing to be learned from another start. The only reason I can think of for letting him start one more game is that it will also allow Happ to have another start at AAA, giving us a better feel for his major league readiness. For that reason, and that reason only, I'm on board with it.

[king myno]

I usually don't like being a dick to random posters who stop by and throw out their fairly outlandish plans to improve the Phillies, but the idea of "packaging" Howard and Eaton together (read: using Ryan Howard, former NL MVP, just to move Eaton's contract) is laughable to the point of disgust. ANY trade for Ryan Howard would have to be for a young pitcher who is Tim Lincecum-esque at best, Matt Cain/Jered Weaver at worst, and several other high level prospects. And that won't happen for at least two years, so we're all wasting precious finger usage by typing about it.

[Carney]

Don't think trading Howard is a good idea.He's in a bad slump, agreed. But he will come out of it. Hit a lot of "outta heres" and carry this team at some point.

[mike cunningham]

And as we've seen with Gavin Floyd, if you bring up a minor leaguer who is NOT ready for the show and force him into contributing and he gets LIT up worse than Eaton a day before his roots start showing, any progress with the player gets halted and in 2 years he's taking no hitters deep into games.

If we can live without the MVP in the lineup every day. We can live with Eaton pitching EVERY 5th day.

[Dave X]

At this point, the time when he put up OK peripherals in San Diego is getting significantly farther into the past. Even besides the park-explained HR effect, he's striking out less and walking more in than he did in SD. If the home runs go back up, look for a "Eaton Warning" in no time.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Mike Cunningham,

I'll give you credit for trying, but if you can call a guy up like Happ and MAYBE get average pitching out of him, instead of the terrible pitching from Eaton, you do it. Contenders don't just settle on throwing garbage like Eaton out there, every 5 days, and expect to stay in 1st place.

I don't necessarily think he's a savior or anything, but Happ isn't some 20-21 year old stud prospect who you'd be rushing, he's going on 26. It's now/soon or never for him.

[RSB]

The problem with your argument, Mike, is that you are using highly selective examples of young pitchers who have come up early and gotten shelled. That isn't what happens in all cases, and it's easy enough to present a counter-example - Kyle Kendrick, 2007. No one really knows what they'll get from a young pitcher without major-league experience, but that doesn't mean you shy away from taking a chance, or chances if need be, if you have a stiff on the current roster who isn't getting it done. It's a question of measuring risk vs. upside. The Phillies stand to gain very little by sticking indefinitely with Adam Eaton. They *could* suffer some even poorer outings if they went to an unknown (though how much poorer than 5.83 could be anticipated is a good enough question) - or they could find themselves with a significant upgrade.

[bay_area_phan]

mike: You make about as good a case as can be made for leaving Eaton be. But I'm still not convinced. I just don't view 4 quality starts in 7 outings as terribly impressive, considering that the criteria for a quality start are pretty much the absolute floor for what constitutes an acceptable performance.

Happ has had plenty of minor league seasoning. He has pitched at every level of the minor leagues, after pitching 3 full years in a major college conference. He is now in his second full year at AAA. In short, if he's not ready to make the leap to the majors, he probably never will be. There isn't much more learning that's going to take place by pitching at AAA.

Last year there was a great deal of hand-wringing when we brought up the "unprepared" rookie Kyle Kendrick -- and he did much better than any of the experienced veterans we had tried up to that point. Asking Happ to out-perform Adam Eaton is not asking a great deal.

[Bob]

CJ,

I'm really enjoying the season so far. The team is actually panning out better than I had thought, grinding through a couple of unexpected setbacks and slumps. They don't have much quit in them, so I'm expecting a roller coaster ride the rest of the way. We'll all yell at the TV and vent on Beerleaguer as things fall apart from time to time, but we'll never be bored, and it could be great in the end.

But that's a different kind of "fun" than following a team that really has the talent to dominate and does so regularly. I'm talking about the Sixers back in the Julius Erving years for a Philly example. What is frustrating is that I believe this team is not all that far from being the kind of dominant club that other teams absolutely hate to play. And I don't see concrete steps being taken to bridge that gap or even a vision in place to try to make it happen. But that's a discussion for another day, and one we've hashed and rehashed many times and will do so again.

[Shawnboy]

I think the major issue here with Eaton is that the Phillies don't really have a whole lot of wiggle room here to put up with his shenanigans on the mound. It took a once in a lifetime collapse by the Mets for the Phillies to reach the postseason last year. Though the Mets are not playing that well now, I don't think they are going to stay down for long.

I think the Phillies are going to have to act soon. They will probably end up putting Eaton in the bullpen as a long relief or even a mop up guy if they have a roster spot and try using the Pitcher du jour to solve their problems. In this case, it will probably be Happ. Then hopefully, we'll see one of Gillick's trade deadline moves bring in a so-so guy who decides to put it together for two months of above so-so pitching.

All I keep thinking about is Paul Abbott. Scary.

[mike cunningham]

There is a much smaller sample of pitchers who get called up that do well than don't. I don't think I'm being selective. I think we can all agree that Kendrick's performance last year was the exception and not the norm.

And those who care about peripherals considered his performance lucky and helped by the incredible run support.

And while I think that Happ is being groomed to be on this staff in '09 and deserves a look-see. I don't know how much better he will be...

but Eaton's ERA has been skewed by 2 starts really. in the other 5, he's had 4 quality starts and one where he gave up 4 runs in 5, which is a Jamie Moyer Quality Start.

Adam Eaton is not Paul Abbot no matter how much you want to spin it.

[strange]

Bastardo, Swindle, Outman... with names like these on our minor league rosters, what's not to love?

[Wayne]

You could bring up Mazone from AAA, he is a clone of Moyer.

[GM-Carson]

Six feet and ten inches may seem like an imposing size for a batter at the plate, but certainly not when it's the elderly pitcher Randy Johnson. However, to feeble minded Adam Eaton he must have made him quiver with fear because Eaton gave Johnson the Barry Bonds treatment by walking him with the bases loaded. C'mon, dude's strikezone is as big as a Volkswagen Beetle for crying out loud (red Punch Buggy, no hit backs)! For Eaton the game was a return to form, bad form that is, that we came to know all too well last season.

[mm]

IN regards to all the questions about the Extra Innings/MLB Packages, etc... I am willing to bet that essientially, the carry whatever broadcast isn't Comcast Sportsnet. I don't have the package myself, but anytime i go to a bar in chicago, i always make them put on the phillies game if they have the MLB package, and i never ever see, a CSN broadcast.

[Andy]

strange -
Now all we need is for Gillick to make sure he draft and -- pays more than slot if he has to and -- signs: Eightyhomerguy. I hear he can really hit.

[clout]

Wayne: Mazone would get lit up like a marshmallow at a Girl Scout Jamboree. He's not a prospect.

[pblunts]

lewisauce-
a change of scenery for howard,kind of like gavin floyd? he couldn't get out a little league team when he was in our system and now he flirts with two no-nos. un-fuhreaking beleivable.

[Joey]

The Phillies have one #1, no 2 or 3, one #4 (Meyers) and two #5's (Moyer and Kendrick). Eaton blew it with me in Arizona. He's a #6.

Looking at Meyers' numbers in 2002-3 and then with the Phillies in 2004-6, you can see other than 2006, he really isn't much better than a solid #4. Whatever, he isn't a #2.

The Phillies have some kids worth watching. Bastardo, Carrasco, Monasterios, Savery (maybe), Brummett and Naylor. Drew Carpenter has been a disappointment at Reading although he did pitch well his last out. Outman puts too many men on base for my taste. That's why he's now in the bullpen. Garcia is a work in progress. We have to see how he does the next two months at Clearwater. Maybe he will earn a promotion to Reading.

The most ready to move to Philly is JA Happ. He had three nice games in a row, leads his league is K's (which can be over valued), has a nice ERA and a nice WHIP and he has control.

I( say bring him up tonight. 5/09/08. I think he can be a big help. He's better than most of what we have on the staff.

And stop pushing Meyers. The only reason he looked better in the pen is its hard to get into too much trouble in one inning. His ERA and his WHIP have historically been too high. Same with Kendrick.

Jamie Moyer still pitches well when well placed. Jamie could be a #4 for a while if we had a solid #2.

Happ will buy us time for Benson to show up in mid-June. That could make a big difference.

Assuming Ryna Howard rediscovers home plate.

Joey