Phils to sign Burnett; Hamels not ready for Opening Day

Spring training must be right around the corner, because we already have our first Phillies injury to report. Cole Hamels (left shoulder) revealed Wednesday that he won't be ready for Opening Day. To fortify the rotation, the Phils agreed to a one-year deal with A.J. Burnett, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.

Hamels told reporters including CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury that he has dealt with shoulder discomfort since November, which resulted in his offseason throwing program being delayed. Hamels has yet to toss a bullpen session and says he's 8-10 away from throwing one.

Hamels stated that neither nor the Phillies are alarmed. He expects to pitch sometime in April.

"I feel great now," he said.

Hamels consulted with Roy Halladay, who had his career derailed by shoulder issues. Halladay advised Hamels to take his time and not pitch until he's ready.

Adding Burnett gives the Phils early-season insurance, and could give them a formidable rotation when Hamels returns. It puts the Phillies' 1-2-3 right up against the Dodgers and Nationals for best in the NL. Burnett led the NL with 9.8 K/9 in 2013 and has the second-highest groundball rate in the majors since 2012.

Comments

[Kashmir]

I had the Phils down for a 70-75 win season before today. Assuming Hamels is back by the end of April (color me dubious on that), the Burnett signing could net them an extra 5 wins, figuring he's be taking a job from the Pettibone/MAG duo. If they can get up to an 80 win projection it's now possible that if enough things go right they can contend for a WC. I can't emphasize enough they still need relative good health and more than a dead cat bounce from some players.

[Bubba]

Just to counter Juums all out negative scenario, I will offer an all out positive version.

The Phils , learning from the Nats mistakes, have shrewdly delayed the start of Hamels season, so as to insure that he is fresh for the playoff and WS run in the fall.

Everybody on board with that?

[Meyer]

Unless they also limit his innings to 160 - FIRM.

[Kendrick Appreciation Society]

I'll start to worry about Hamels when the timeline he suggested blows up. Until then, I'll take him at his word.

[Dickie Thong]

>How far does this move the needle of Beerleaguer optimism for 2014?
>Posted by: Cyclic

Glass is now 1/64 full...or, rather, 63/64 empty.

[Phillibuster]

Dickie: So this move alone increases their win total by 2.53?

[Juums]

That's a little unfair, isn't it, Bubba? I just was throwing a little ice water on the predictions of, say, Kashmir's sort that Burnett's going to seriously move the needle (e.g. by five wins) one way or the other. "All-out negative" would be saying Burnett's last two seasons are solely the product of PNC Park and that he'll go back to being a mid-eighties ERA+ stiff.

And re: the question from further upthread about what's not to like, there is one thing: It's that Burnett's a dick-weasel for signing with the Phils after saying he would either play for the Pirates or retire. (Especially when, had the Pirates known Burnett would follow the money, tehy likely would have offered him a QO.) But that's a wholly irrational reason to not like the signing, which from the baseball operations side of things makes a good amount of baseball sense.

[bay_area_phan]

"And re: the question from further upthread about what's not to like, there is one thing. It's that Burnett's a dick-weasel for signing with the Phils after saying he would either play for the Pirates or retire."

You'll get no argument from me about that. But he's our dick-weasel now.

[Phillibuster]

Juums: I doubt the Pirates would have offered him a QO. There was nothing stopping them from doing so, then asking him to decline it and re-sign for less.

Simply put, I don't think the Pirates were ready to devote $14MM to a starter on top of their current payroll (which is now lower than last year's, as a result).

[The Perils of Thinking]

AK: I figure they'd just hold the chart upside-down.

Posted by: Phillibuster | Wednesday, February 12, 2014 at 02:37 PM

"You say it's your arm that's hurting? Because it looks here like you have a serious problem in your right knee and hip..."

[RAJ]

I just don't understand why anyone wouldn't protect the investment in Cole with more studies. Makes no sense even if they think there's little/no chance of putting him at risk. And with their track records, I wouldn't believe there's no chance.

[Brian G]

This is the same Cole Hamels who demanded a chiropractor travel wth the team and has generally always been cautious when it comes to injury. The attitude which helped to earn him the "soft" label amongst some fans.

While the Phils medical staff has left themselves open to much doubt, I am going to trust Cole when he says this is no big deal. I think he is just being cautious. Which some think makes him soft. I think it makes him smart.

Had Roy Halladay played it similarly smart as opposed to stupidly stubborn, maybe he could have extended his career another year or two.

[Dr. Ciccotti]

We won't do an MRI until we first find out if the leech therapy or clyster treatment works.

[MG]

Is Hamels going to head to a sanatorium to get clean air and swim in the rejuvenating mineral water & hot springs?

[Phillibuster]

Our top phrenologists are on the case!

[Iceman]

One of the reasons I can't quit Beerleaguer- one of the first reactions to this signing was thinking, "How will DPat respond to this after he guaranteed it wouldn't happen?"

[Dragon]

Burnett signed/Hamels may be injured. This is like watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff - in your brand new Cadillac.

[Phillies Dude]

Well at least we still have Cliff Lee. There has been no better pitcher in all of baseball from 2008 to the present. When he takes the mound every five days, God will be in his heaven and the baseball world in Philadelphia will seem all right again!

[MG]

If Madson looked as good as good as reported (92-93 on the gun and a good changeup), I hope the Phils sign him on a decent moderate base (say $1.5-$2M) with decent incentive upside.

A hard throwing RHP reliever who can setup is still something this team lacks and even if Madson was 80-85% of what he was in '10-11 he would be a nice lift for this pen.

Anything they get out of Adams would be a bonus and I like Lincoln more in a middle relief role than a higher levarage setup role.

[Cyclic]

BELIEVE

[ColonelTom]

From Keith Law's ESPN Insider piece on the Burnett signing, of which he isn't a big fan:

If the Phillies signed Burnett to make 20 starts and then become trade bait in July, that's a much better plan, as they could use another high-level prospect or two to bridge the gap until the wave of teenage prospects in their system gets another two years closer to the majors. Burnett, however, was willing to sign with only a limited number of teams this winter -- Pittsburgh, Philly and Baltimore among them -- and I expect we'll hear the Phillies had to give Burnett at least limited no-trade protection to get him to sign a one-year deal. The more restrictive the no-trade clause, the worse it is for the Phillies."

I suspect Law's suspicions will be confirmed. Has anyone seen any other mention of a no-trade yet?

[cut_fastball]

aksmith - thanks for that update. My observation regarding tendonitis of the bicep or forearm was completely anecdotal; probably going back to the J.A. Happ days. He survived (the arm injury, anyway...).

[GBrettfan]

The bicep v. shoulder confusion begins with Cole Hamels himself.

Per Todd Zolecki:

"Cole Hamels revealed Wednesday morning at Bright House Field that he will open the season on the disabled list because of discomfort in his left shoulder. He later called the issue biceps tendinitis, but he insisted he is not worried, he is pain-free and he will be pitching for Philadelphia sometime in April."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/phi/phillies-pitcher-cole-hamels-wont-be-ready-for-opening-day?ymd=20140212&content_id=67689448&vkey=news_phi

[bay_area_phan]

I don't really follow Keith Law's logic. Even if there's a FNTC and Burnett vetoes a trade, how is the Phillies' near or long-term outlook any worse today than it was before the signing? There's really no downside to this move. Besides, if the Phillies are 15 games out of the WC in July, I'm gonna go out on a limb & guess that Burnett would waive his NTC.

[Iceman]

"how is the Phillies' near or long-term outlook any worse today than it was before the signing?"

Exactly. I've had a ton of co-worker Phillies fans up in arms today about the amount of money they paid him. Who cares? This affects nothing but the owners' wallets. It's about time they made a move like this.

[Bubba]

Juums- You used "ambivalent" to describe your post.

That is more accurate than my use of "all out negative".

[Fatalotti]

I'm not sure how pitching in PNC led to A.J. Burnett posting the best K/9 in the NL last year.

[Jack]

The "ownership is cheap" meme is really stupid and countered by every available bit of evidence. They've given the front office whatever dollars they could possibly need. The front office has simply spent it poorly.

If you want to criticize ownership, it's not for being cheap, but for enabling the back-slapping, good-old boy, "Phillie for life" mentality that puts winning second behind just having a swell time, and results in Ruben Amaro and Ed Wade continuing to make the decisions for the franchise, seemingly in perpetuity.

[Iceman]

"I'm not sure how pitching in PNC led to A.J. Burnett posting the best K/9 in the NL last year."

It's a beautiful stadium. Maybe he liked the view.

[Iceman]

Has anyone ever called the ownership cheap?

What HAS been advanced by numerous posters is the "Payroll won't increase past $160 million due to the lack of revenue in 2013" meme, which was blown to bits today. It had pretty much become conventional wisdom on BL.

[Fatalotti]

It is a beautiful stadium. Of this, there is no doubt. Still, I'd venture that limiting walks and striking out batters are more park neutral than balls in plays resulting in triples instead of doubles, or homeruns instead of doubles, and so on.

Am I wrong in assuming this?

[Cyclic]

Seems like it would make the most sense to go with a 4 man rotation to start the year, since they won't really need a 5th starter until the 14th.

But with Hamels mentioning that he'll be on the DL, I doubt that's the way they'll go.

Is there precedent for the Phillies doing such a thing? Based on his "pitch in April" timetable, if they use a 4 man rotation, he'd really only have to miss 2-3 starts.

[RAJ]

Fatalotti:

"It is a beautiful stadium. Of this, there is no doubt. Still, I'd venture that limiting walks and striking out batters are more park neutral than balls in plays resulting in triples instead of doubles, or homeruns instead of doubles, and so on.

Am I wrong in assuming this?"

Perhaps psych-wise, it's easier to pitch more aggressively and nibble (and miss) less when you have confidence that it's not going out of the park very often.

[Unikruk]

I do think there is not insignificant sentiment among a large percentage of the phans that the owners are indeed cheap, and I find it hard to convince myself there's no merit in the idea. For decades and decades, it was demonstrably true.

Post-2004, I think most would point to skimping on draftees and international signings/scouting. And most significantly, the Halladay trade that saw Lee exit -- nobody buys that it was done to restock the farm.

I do suppose Ruben's had a few episodes of blowing his allowance on the first toy he saw. And the revenues the league has fallen into are enormous, even game-changers, especially in proportion to the soft cap. And the Phils may have seen the windfall possible only in continued success. It's very possible that we are in a new age of organizational thinking about spending, just not one that tosses around Dodger D8llers.

[awh™]

Hey, Fatti's back!

[awh™]

How I feel about the Burnett signing:

How I feel about the Hamels news:

[Pblunts]

All you need to know about Beerleaguer and its inherent negativity is that if any other team would have signed Burnett-and God forbid the Nats-this thread would have double the posts by now. I'm as critical of Amaro as the next guy-and while we'll never know if signing Burnett was truly his call or not- you have to at least give the team credit for trying. There's no way Hamel's issues fell out of the sky to the team today, so my guess is that this deal has been in place for a at least a little while now. It's too neat otherwise.

And as a media relations side note, (this is my field, so excuse the sopabox) how pi**ed are the Phillies beat guys to get beat on the Burnett story by a random Arkansas TV producer who looks like he got out of college two years ago? What the hell, have your PR staff throw someone a bone.

[Pblunts]

Now that I think about it, I guess the days of giving someone a story first at CSN are over. Sailsbury has zero credibility issues, but the next Phillies story he "breaks" will be looked at a bit differently for sure.

[Cyclic]

Good post, Pblunts.

Phillies 2014: Credit for Trying

[Pblunts]

Cyclic, that part is a defeatist attitude, I get it. And I wanted them to be a lot more "creative" (amaro's words) this off season outside of the garbage that's been executed until now. To me, signing Burmett was a PR move. Ticket sales have to be awful and even the causal fan knows a ton has to go right (of a lot to go wrong for the Nats and Braves)! to contend for a divosion or wild card spot. If nothing else this offers a glimmer of hope-at least I'm guessing that's what the front office hope this move conveys.

[Phillibuster]

PBlunts: I agree with most of that, but are you implying that the Burnett signing was as a result of Hamels' injury, or just the timing of the announcement?

If the latter, I guess it's possible, but it's pretty bad form for an agent to go stringing along other teams like that when the "mystery team" already has the guy locked up. If that's how things are, then he may have done his other players a disservice.

[MG]

People are pissed because the Phils spent money and signed Burnett to a 1-year deal? Que?

The only possible justification for that is if you think the Phils should have used that money differently instead ($16M) and spread it around on a couple of mid-tier FA who signed short-term deals (2 years or less).

[Phillibuster]

$16mm is an awful lot to spend on a PR move of the Burnett level. He isn't a big enough of a name to dramatically increase attendance on his reputation, so unless they actually win a fair number of games (say, 50-45 on the record sheet at the ASB) I doubt it pays off.

I guess you could say it improves confidence in management, but no more so than not signing him and going splashy on the IFA market, or signing another big name next year... Or, heck, signing Yoon to a 3-4-year deal in the $20MM AAV range that starts at around $16mm in 2014.

[Pblunts]

@phillibuster good point although depending who the agent's other clients are he may not care, and nobody may ever know anyway. And commission on $16.5M is some nice coin

[Phillibuster]

MG: I think the implication was not that people were pissed about the signing, but rather there aren't a bunch of posts giving Amaro credit for making it, while there would be tons decrying him if he hadn't done so (especially if he signed in the NLE).

[derekcarstairs]

Signing Burnett is good because it improves the on-field product in 2014.

It will be a really good move if Burnett can be converted into a good prospect with a mid-season trade. After all, the goal should be to accelerate the Phils' return to serious contention.

The Burnett signing makes a poor team better, but not enough to make a difference.

[Phillibuster]

Frontline has a bunch of mid-tier guys. Guys who, at some point in the near future, may be on the QO bubble (not good enough to get teams scrambling to lock them up, but not bad enough that they'd go unsigned even with compensation attached, and who might decline the 1-year payday to get long-term security).

Depends on if individual agents have to report back to management about their deals, though. If it's one agent in particular who gets the commission - rather than spreading it around - I can imagine seeing him/her being willing to get terminated for that kind of commission.

[MG]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaiSHcHM0PA

Do you think Burnett reenacted this seen with Amaro yesterday or today?

[Chris in VT]

LOVE Burnett for a 1 year deal. Greatly improves the teams chances at staying relevant through July in the WC race.

I'll worry about Hamels when he isn't ready to pitch sometime in April.

[MG]

AJ: Now to recap, I want to stay in Philly. I want a $16M contract. I like you, you're nice to my wife.

Rube: That's that's great. I'm really... happy.

AJ: Are you listenin'?

Rube: Yes!

AJ: This is what I'm gonna do for you: God bless you, Rube. But this is what you gonna do for me, Rube?

Rube: Yeah, what can I do for you, AJ? You just tell me what can I do for you?

AJ: It's something very personal, a very important thing. Hell! It's a family motto. Are you ready Rube? I wanna make sure you're ready, brother. Here it is: Show me the money. Show! Me! The! Money! Rube, it is such a pleasure to say that! Say it with me one time, Rube.

Rube: Show you the money.

AJ: No, no. You can do better than that! I want you to say it brother with meaning! Hey, I got Mike Rizzo on the other line I bet you he can say it!

Rube: Yeah, yeah, no, no, no. Show you the money.

AJ: No! Not show you! Show me the money!

Rube: Show me the money!

AJ: Yeah! Louder!

Rube: Show me the money!

AJ: I need to feel you Rube!

Rube: Show me the money! Show me the money!

AJ: I love red necks.

Rube: I love red necks!

AJ: Who's your motherfucker, Rube?

Rube: You're my motherfucker! Show me the money!

AJ: Uh! Congratulations, I'll see you at the press conference on Thurs.

David Montgomery's office next year:

Dallas: What is that idiot yelling at? I am trying to take my afternoon nap.

Monty: He is trying to close AJ.

Dallas: Oh that's all. Wake me up at 4:30 so we can get to the early bird special at Red Lobster.

David: Okay. See you at 4:30.

[bay_area_phan]

Who knew MG had fake dialogue in him?

[Phillibuster]

Well, here's hoping nobody loses power from (requiem in terra) Pax. I'mma head home, folks and folkettes.

Enjoy the 5-day weekend!

[NEPP]

Does anyone else find the whole "naming Winter Storms" thing a bit silly? Just call it a Nor'easter and be done with it.

[Will Schweitzer]

I like this signing for many reasons, among them is the bullpen.

I suspect that Fausto will be our 5th starter, and as such, he has arguably the highest upside of any 5th starter in the NL. This allows MAG to pitch out of the pen rather than to jump immediately into a starting role after a 2 year absence from the game. It also raises the possibility that Petibone serves as the long relief/spot starter. If Adams is able to come back healthy before the ASB, they'd have a pretty interesting 7-8-9 option in he, MAG/Bastardo and Pap. If they take a flier on Madison, it becomes even more interesting.

Dare I be optimistic and hope that we might have a strong bullpen to look forward to in 2014?

[Cyclic]

Crasnick tweets: A.J. Burnett's deal with #phillies could include a player option for 2015. The two sides are still hashing out details.

[Mike G]

Dare I be optimistic

Posted by: Will Schweitzer | Wednesday, February 12, 2014 at 08:00 PM

We'll have none of that here Will. If you want to be optimistic about anything pertaining to the Phillies, you need to go over the TGP.

[NEPP]

Please, for the love of God, do not have a damn player option.

[Cyclic]

Zolecki says mutual option, limited NTC

[bay_area_phan]

A player option would be a giant buzz kill, and would be a total RAJ thing to do. If Burnett's good, he leaves. If he pitches like a typical 37-year old, we're stuck with him for one more year.

[bay_area_phan]

A mutual option would be fine. A player option, no.

[Iceman]

Assuming the Hamels thing is as minor as they're making it out to be...

The big wild card on the roster is MAG. Burnett makes the rotation above average and gives the bullpen a few interesting options going into April.

If MAG's stuff is legit, he and Martin can really solidify the 7th/8th innings for this team. They certainly can't count on Adams or any other of the 'home-grown' options, but the mix of Lincoln-MAG-Martin gives the bullpen the potential to be...and I can't believe I'm saying this...average to slightly above average.

If MAG turns out to be a dud (I think that's unfortunately more likely), they have to hope Lincoln pans out, or they're thin again at the back end of the bullpen. Does anyone know for sure if they plan on stretching Martin out as a starter, or is that experiment over?

As much as people harp on the offense for sucking (and it did last year), the bullpen just bled runs and cost them countless amounts of games in 2013, especially in the early part of the year. Theoretically, the offense should be slightly better, and the addition of Burnett theoretically improves both the rotation and the bullpen.

They're still probably going to suck, but I'm at least intrigued going into spring training to see how the new additions/moving parts fit.

[Fatalotti]

I don't understand why we are trying to come up with possible reasons why this isn't simply a pretty good deal by RAJ. There's really no such thing as a bad 1 year deal, and along with MAG and Roberto Herndandez, it seems that the Phillies have taken some chances on high variance pitchers tha tdon't serve to hamper the future of the team.

This team is now positioned to at least be relevant going into the season, and since they couldn't unload the corpse of Ryan Howard and locked in with this aging core already, and since they have no major prospect banging down the door, short term deals that improve the team that might push them to relevance are better than trying to crap out. This again core is probably still too good to completely crap out, Astros style.

In all, I'm happy with what the Phillies have done this offseason.

[GBrettfan]

Yes, NEPP, I think it's ridiculous to name snowstorms.

And I still like the Burnett signing.

[cut_fastball]

Yea, Fatalotti! Good to see you back - the Sabermetrics bar has just risen another 5 feet by your arrival.

BTW, Sabermetrics aside, do you think Marlon Byrd will be a full-time player come August (dodging injury)? It's my guess that will be a bit of a struggle... Regardless, if AJ can still pitch and if Kendrick holds up and remembers that change up, who knows?

Philadelphia fans really, really deserve an '83-style pennant, with us winning the WS this time in 5. If only.

[aksmith]

With the Burnett signing, RAJ has had at least a fair offseason. He didn't do much for the pen, but designating Adams may actually get them under the luxury tax threshold. I think someone mentioned that there is a way to do that. So, they could actually cut Mayberry, possibly Frandsen, and Adams, and be enough under the luxury tax to fix the final frontier, the bullpen. If Madson looked good, I'd like to see them take a chance. He was money for years in that setup role.

[bay_area_phan]

The Burnett signing is an excellent move and I agree with Will and Iceman about the potential trickle-down benefit to the bullpen. But I can't quite go as far as Fatalotti (whose return heartens me, by the way) and declare myself happy with the Phillies' off-season.

I didn't like the Byrd signing. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong but, for reasons discussed here ad nauseam, I think he's a bad bet to come anywhere close to his 2013 numbers.

I understood the Chooch signing, but didn't like giving 3 years to a 35-year old catcher coming off, by far, his worst season (for the record, I would have taken my chances with the younger, and admittedly risky, Dioner Navarro).

I liked the Brad Lincoln trade because he has a live arm and Kratz, to my chagrin, had no place on the 2014 roster. But Lincoln has stunk for all but a half season of his big league career. And, until today, he represented RAJ's best move of the off-season.

The rest of their off-season moves ranged from inconsequential (Fausto Carmona, Chad Gaudin, Tony Gwynn, Jr.) to bizarre (Bobby Abreu, Jeff Manship, Barry Enright, a zillion utility infielders, a guaranteed contract to Wil Nieves, etc.)

I'm certainly pleased that they didn't make any more expensive long-term commitments but I can't really bring myself to celebrate the absence of something as if it were an affirmative positive achievement. And I find it nauseating that they made no attempt at all to bring in even a single young everyday player with upside. Quite the opposite: they took an aging team and added a bunch of other guys over 35.

They were a bad team last year. Assuming no further decline from their ancient core (a dubious premise), they'll be only a slightly less bad team this year. But at least with the Burnett signing, there's a little room for a phan to dream. Between that, and Comcast's decision to can Wheels & Sarge for Moyer & Stairs, my interest has at least been piqued enough to renew my MLB.tv subscription. As of a week ago, I was inclined not to.

[Iceman]

I think if you're looking at a 5-year plan (or in this case, more like a 3-year plan), this has been a good off-season. And in terms of a last-ditch Hail Mary effort to win with this core, while still keeping that 3-year plan in tact, this is as good a job as RAJ could've done.

But it certainly doesn't turn back time and re-create the best opportunity the front office had to exchange some of the aging assets on the roster for younger talent (last year's trade deadline). In my mind, that's the moment Ruben really blew it and sentenced this team to at least 2-3 years of being a poor baseball team. And I don't think a 3-year plan exists, despite what's happened this off-season. I hope I'm wrong.

[Fatalotti]

Iceman, exactly right. Thinking that RAJ has done a fair job this offseason is not to say that everything he did which led to this offseason were good. They were, in fact, mostly awful.

But that stuff was in the past, and I think the Phillies went about this offseason in a fairly sane fashion, not hurting the future, and at least giving the team a puncher's chance of competing. We'll see how it works.

[bay_area_phan]

I admit to having difficulty untangling the past moves from the more recent ones. They're all sort of interrelated in my mind.

Anyway, my opinion of the off-season is still incomplete until I see the opening day roster. If some combination of Abreu, Mayberry, Frandsen, and/or Cedeno are on it, and Ruf is at AAA, that is going to weigh heavily in my opinion. Because that would be so moronic as to cancel out a lot of good.

[cut_fastball]

I just took a stroll through TGP. I'm not sure if Dramamine® or insulin is the best remedy.

Go88ammit, I just hope that Stairs and Moyer squelch the phony-baloney T-Mac. We need baseball to be fun again. MLB teams all play 162; the bad ones suffer. By the end of May.

[Bubba]

BAP-
I agree, if Ruf starts at AAA , it will be a bad sign.
But with the number of > 35 year old players competing for roster spots I think that's not real likely.
The DL will be an active place I'm afraid.

[Bonehead]

nice pun

[NEPP]

If absolutely everything falls right, this could be a WC team. Not likely but now possible.

Great job by Rube to give us something to at least look forward to.

[NEPP]

If I were grading this offseason, I'd give Rube a solid B. there's still time to dump RFD and sign another reliever like Madson to really solidify the bullpen. As it is, pushing MAG and Martin to the BP along with Lincoln means we should have a solid BP already....even if Adams doesn't pitch an inning.

[Meyer]

If Aumont stays on the roster for the full season this will be a playoff team.

The addition of Burnett is bumping someone off the roster predictors. Who will it be?

[derekcarstairs]

Becoming a .500 ball club is the best that the Phillies could have done this off-season without jeopardizing the future.

Making the offense much better would have been prohibitively expensive and myopic.

Pitching and defense are the areas where the focus should have been. Burnett represents a nice improvement to the rotation, but the Phils have done far too little to improve the defense, which again should be one of the worst in the sport.

[I think so]

Are the Kaiser Chiefs England's Counting Crows?

[derekcarstairs]

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

Just a reminder that the seasons are passing. This is the third consecutive season that the Phils will not make the playoffs. The most optimistic Phillies' fan doesn't believe the Phils will become contenders before 2016. More realistically, it will be '17 or '18 before that happens.

Four to six years between playoff appearances is not acceptable. That's my beef with the Phillies FO, and signals a return to also-ran status.

[Dragon]

Agree with Nepp, the Burnett signing gives us something to look forward to. For that I am grateful. After all, why bother following a team if there is absolutely nothing to look forward to.

[derekcarstairs]

During periods like this, my interest in baseball does not wane, but my interest in the Phillies does.

What I will do over the next few seasons is focus on the individual players like Hamels, Lee, Utley, Rollins and Howard and hope for individual success. I will also root for young guys like Franco, Biddle, Crawford and other prospects.

At the team level, I will probably choose another team to root for, maybe the Pirates. I'll also probably watch the Angels and Mike Trout more than the Phillies (Since I live outside the US, I don't go to the games.).

I'll be back rooting for the Phils again in 2018, after they sign Trout and make other moves to become an elite team again.

[bay_area_phan]

"The addition of Burnett is bumping someone off the roster predictors. Who will it be?"

Do you mean the 40-man or the opening day 25-man? If it's the 40-man, my bet would be Zack Collier. He has been with us for 6 minor league seasons and shown absolutely nothing.

[Meyer]

25 man roster.

[Meyer]

I believe 1 of the ZilUtilitions makes the 40.

[Meyer]

I just see Burnett squeezing someone out who thought he had a possibility of making the 25 man team. He won't. They signed a new addition the day before pitchers report.

[bay_area_phan]

The 25-man roster stuff is complicated by the fact that Cole sounds like he's going to start the year on the DL. Once he gets back, Pettibone is probably going to be the odd man out. The Phillies could move him to the pen, in which case the roster casualty would be someone like MAG, Munson, Rosenberg, or Martin. But if their recent history is any guide, they will probably want Pettibone to stay stretched out by starting at AAA.

[Dragon]

Kudos to Amaro (never thought I'd hear myself say that) for his signing of Burnett on a one year deal. Why? Because, if it all works out health-wise, it at least puts the Phillies in the conversation for a postseason spot. If not, then they have yet one more trading chip at the trade deadline.

[Meyer]

Spring Training will be interesting. MAG is the wildcard, Marson can't be rolling back balls to the mound. Gertrude Stein would have trouble repeating Rosenberg 3 seasons in a row. Hard to say.

[Meyer]

ball's back with Marson. If his arm isn't right he is useless and Ruben better have another catcher from the Indy league alerted.

[Cyclic]

I love sucking cocks

[Fatalotti]

derek, I'm going to do whatever I can this year to watch as much Mike Trout as possible. In fact, when the Phillies schedule came out this year, the first thing I did was ask my boss if I could have our company's box seats (which are located along the third base line, near left field) to the night game where the Phillies are hosting the Angels, simply so I could be that close to Trout's outfield assignment.

Unfortunately, since then, the Angels went and traded Bourjos, which means that Trout will now be in CF. Still, I can't wait to see him live again. When I saw him in LA last year, it was awesome.

[Fatalotti]

Good quote from a comment at TGP, that encapsulates my feelings:

"RAJ’s offseason goal seems to have been to turn the ‘14 squad from a team that would need a miracle to contend to a team that merely needs to get very lucky to contend, while not hobbling the team for ’15 and beyond. That’s a reasonable goal at this point, and I think he’s been pretty successful at it."

[NEPP]

***Unfortunately, since then, the Angels went and traded Bourjos, which means that Trout will now be in CF***

I have zero interest in him then...we already have Ben Revere covering CF...thus, Trout has no where to play.

[MG]

Devil's Advocate

I am 100% positive that Montgomery gave the green light to spend the extra $16M to sign Burnett and it was likely influenced by a couple of things (Burnett's willingness to take a 1-year deal with no vesting option, Hamels' health uncertainty).

Yeah Amaro got the deal done but if you want to give credit it has to be to Montgomery. Burnett didn't take a pay cut and adding $16M is a large sum even for a single year.

[NEPP]

Really...ownership had to sign off on a major expenditure? That's like so different than how every other team in baseball and all of sports operates.

[MG]

From David Schoenfield at ESPN

"The Pirates' payroll in 2013 was an estimated $79 million, according to the PBT (about $66 million on Opening Day). Baseball Reference projects a Pirates payroll of $70 million; Cot's Baseball Contracts estimates $66 million. So despite a large increase in ticket prices, a likely jump in attendance and a $25 million increase in national TV money, the Pirates' payroll will apparently remain stagnant, even allowing for in-season trades."

Pittsburgh Gazette had a somewhat similiar article today with Bob Nutting taking his share of well-earned criticism.

Problem in MLB for years hasn't been the large payroll teams like the Yanks. It is the scumbag owners like Loria, Pohlad (Twins' owner), Pirates' owners, etc who cried wolf about competitiveness while ensured they made $$$ even before the season started.

[NEPP]

Weak move by the Pirates but not stunning given their historic cheapness...especially when they probably turn a pretty nice profit just from the television, MLB.tv and revenue sharing money.

All ticket sale money for them is likely gravy.

[Pblunts]

Kudos to Amaro (never thought I'd hear myself say that) for his signing of Burnett on a one year deal. Why? Because, if it all works out health-wise, it at least puts the Phillies in the conversation for a postseason spot. If not, then they have yet one more trading chip at the trade deadline.

Posted by: Dragon | Thursday, February 13, 2014 at 01:48 AM

100% correct, could not have said it better. This team at least now has a puncher's chance, which given the current state of affairs, is about all you can ask for. To me, the most interesting ramification of the Burnett move roster-wise will be to see what this means for Gonzalez. If they think he's a starter and he pitches just OK, is he sent to Allentown? (And does he have a split contract like most players, thus saving $- not that I really care). Or do they think his stuff plays better out of the pen and immediately get him in the mix for the 7th/8th inning role? Should be interesting, but unless Hamels's injury is very serious or some other key player goes down, I'm glad to now be genuinely looking forward to ST and potentially a competitive summer of baseball.

[Corn]

Matt Gelb ‏@magelb 2m
Chad Gaudin failed his physical and was released.

[NEPP]

He wont be missed.

[NEPP]

Was there any word on why he failed the physical? Did he get sidetracked in the waiting room with another patient or was it some sort of injury?