The Phillies claimed RHP Tim Lahey off waivers from the Chicago Cubs today. Lahey is a Rule V draft pick that failed to make the Cubs lineup and he must therefore be kept on the Phillies 25 man roster all season or be offered back to the Minnesota Twins. Lahey was originally drafted out of Princeton as a catcher but was quickly converted to a pitcher after one season in the Twins minor-league system. He is a prototypical power pitcher; He stands 6'5" tall, weighs 250 lbs and throws 3 pitches. His fastball stays in the 90-95 MPH range hovering around 93 most of the time. He throws a good slider and a decent changeup according to scouting reports. He has struggled with control so far in his career but his strikeout rate is above average.
2007 Stats in AA New Britain:
ERA W L GP GS CG ShO SV IP H R ER HR BB K
3.45 8 4 50 0 0 0 13 78.1 78 42 30 8 33 56
As you can see he was good in AA posting a decent K/9 ratio of 6.45 however his BB/9 ratio of 3.80 needs to drop if he is to be successful in the Majors. Also his WHIP of 1.42 needs to improve but its not horrible. The bottom line is that he can't possibly be worse than J.D. Durbin.
Closing notes: The Phillies are also hoping to add another pitcher off waivers before 3pm tomorrow when rosters need to be set.
Showing posts with label J.D. Durbin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J.D. Durbin. Show all posts
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Adam Eaton Sucks and Other Phillies Thoughts
Adam Eaton sucks. He is perhaps the worst signing in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Sadly, barring an unforseen move by the Front Office to cut its losses with him, we have another 2 long seasons of watching him attempt to pitch to MLB hitters. Perhaps the Phillies could hold a raffle every fifth day where a lucky fan is named starting pitcher for that night's start. It couldn't possibly be any worse than trotting Eaton out there to pitch.
The biggest issue with Eaton isn't that he plays poorly, its that he's stupid. He has the ability to pitch in the Majors, he simply doesn't perform. His pitches are good enough, but his selection and poise at key moments always allows 1 run innings to turn into those game killing 5 run innings he is so famous for. Eaton can literally throw 95 pitches in a game and only miss on 5 of them but still lose by 10 runs because he truly is a moron with his pitch selection. He buckles under pressure like a belt. He is absolutely worthless and every time he starts a game this year, it will be another brick in the wall between the Phillies and a post-season berth.
In other news, JD "Real Deal" Durbin was put on waivers. Likely he will stay with the club anyway as I expect that no one in their right mind will be willing to take him off the Phillies hands. This means he will probably start the season in Allentown along with Travis Blackley (who also cleared waivers) playing for the IronPigs. This means that the Phillies could start the season with only 10 pitchers on the 25 man roster and go up to 11 when Lidge is activated from the 15-day DL after the first week of the season. It also means that the Phillies will be able to keep both Chris Snelling and Wes Helms on the 25 man roster at least in the short-term. This will be helpful in efforts to trade Helms instead of outright releasing him and being on the hook for around $3 million in future salary. However, it also means the Phillies are likely expecting to be able to pick up another pitcher off the waivers scrap heap between now and Sunday afternoon when rosters need to be set for Opening Day. This could mean that borderline players like LHP Steve Kline (who was mentioned in earlier trade rumors) may be available on waivers in the next few days, alleviating the need for the Phillies to give anything up for another arm.
Bold Prediction for the year: Pat Burrell will have a huge contract year in 2008. Pat will be looking to sign one final long term deal after this season and he will need to come up huge to make it happen. Likely, the Phillies will not be resigning him for a couple of reasons. First off, he is dreadful defensively in LF and he has never recovered from the series of ankle and foot injuries he has dealt with in the past few years. Secondly, they are leary of long-term deals for 30+ players like Burrell. Finally, it would make sense for Pat to go for a DH role on an AL club which would lengthen his career considerably with far less wear and tear on his already fragile legs. I could easily see him ending up somewhere like Toronto where Frank Thomas's contract will be up or the Yankees who have around $60 million coming off the books next year as well. Burrell has been very underrated as a Phillie and he has provided a very solid right-handed bat for them for the past 7 years. He will be missed in the middle of the lineup. Left field is a different story though. Predicted line for Pat Burrell this season:
G: 151
AB: 525
Avg: .279
OBP: .415
HR: 35
RBI: 109
BB: 110
K: 120
The biggest issue with Eaton isn't that he plays poorly, its that he's stupid. He has the ability to pitch in the Majors, he simply doesn't perform. His pitches are good enough, but his selection and poise at key moments always allows 1 run innings to turn into those game killing 5 run innings he is so famous for. Eaton can literally throw 95 pitches in a game and only miss on 5 of them but still lose by 10 runs because he truly is a moron with his pitch selection. He buckles under pressure like a belt. He is absolutely worthless and every time he starts a game this year, it will be another brick in the wall between the Phillies and a post-season berth.
In other news, JD "Real Deal" Durbin was put on waivers. Likely he will stay with the club anyway as I expect that no one in their right mind will be willing to take him off the Phillies hands. This means he will probably start the season in Allentown along with Travis Blackley (who also cleared waivers) playing for the IronPigs. This means that the Phillies could start the season with only 10 pitchers on the 25 man roster and go up to 11 when Lidge is activated from the 15-day DL after the first week of the season. It also means that the Phillies will be able to keep both Chris Snelling and Wes Helms on the 25 man roster at least in the short-term. This will be helpful in efforts to trade Helms instead of outright releasing him and being on the hook for around $3 million in future salary. However, it also means the Phillies are likely expecting to be able to pick up another pitcher off the waivers scrap heap between now and Sunday afternoon when rosters need to be set for Opening Day. This could mean that borderline players like LHP Steve Kline (who was mentioned in earlier trade rumors) may be available on waivers in the next few days, alleviating the need for the Phillies to give anything up for another arm.
Bold Prediction for the year: Pat Burrell will have a huge contract year in 2008. Pat will be looking to sign one final long term deal after this season and he will need to come up huge to make it happen. Likely, the Phillies will not be resigning him for a couple of reasons. First off, he is dreadful defensively in LF and he has never recovered from the series of ankle and foot injuries he has dealt with in the past few years. Secondly, they are leary of long-term deals for 30+ players like Burrell. Finally, it would make sense for Pat to go for a DH role on an AL club which would lengthen his career considerably with far less wear and tear on his already fragile legs. I could easily see him ending up somewhere like Toronto where Frank Thomas's contract will be up or the Yankees who have around $60 million coming off the books next year as well. Burrell has been very underrated as a Phillie and he has provided a very solid right-handed bat for them for the past 7 years. He will be missed in the middle of the lineup. Left field is a different story though. Predicted line for Pat Burrell this season:
G: 151
AB: 525
Avg: .279
OBP: .415
HR: 35
RBI: 109
BB: 110
K: 120
Thursday, March 27, 2008
And Then there were 11...
Travis Blackley, the Rule V draft pick from San Fran, has been sent packing. It is no guarantee that he won't end up back in Allentown with the IronPigs but for now he has been placed on waivers. Once, and if, he clears waivers he will be offered back to the Giants who may or may not take him. If they decide to not reclaim him, he will have the choice of taking a minor league deal from the Phillies or becoming an outright free agent. That being said I hope he somehow makes it through all of that and ends of in Allentown because he has the talent to pitch in the big leagues even if the control is not quite there.
With his departure, the Phillies are down to 11 "healthy" pitchers in camp. One of these is J.D. Durbin who has no business being in a major league uniform with the Spring he has had. Once a good possibility for the 5th starter position or even a bullpen slot, he quickly pitched his way out of either. Only an injury to Lidge and horrid springs by several other pitchers in camp have prevented his departure.
Right now it looks as if the Phillies may begin the season with only 11 pitchers on the 25 man roster. This will allow them to hang on to either Wes Helms or Chris Snelling. Neither player can be sent down without being exposed to waivers and it is likely that they would be snagged by other clubs that have issues in their infield such as SF or the LA Dodgers. Hopefully the Phillies will bite the bullet and end the Wes Helms experiment and hang onto Snelling who has shown glimpses that he can be a solid utility player and pinch-hitter on this club.
On another note, thankfully Spring Training is almost over. The Phillies Spring started off in a dreadful fashion as they went 5-11-1. After that dreadful start, Manager Charlie Manuel essentially ripped the clubhouse a new one and they began to play much better ball. The starting pitching turned it around and they have struggled back up to a 12-15 record with 4 games left to play. Hopefully the Phillies regular season will not have a similar start as the Phils cannot afford to have another sub-.500 April with two other strong teams in the division this year in the Mets and Braves. More so than ever, the Phillies need to get off to a strong start if they are to repeat as NL East Champs.
Closing Thoughts: Brett Myers had another very strong start against the Yankees yesterday, giving up no runs in 5 IPs. SP Andrew Carpenter of Single-A Clearwater fame had a strong outing as well and he may well have opened up some eyes in the Front Office in doing so. Carpenter will start the season in Double-A Reading and is a real possibility for a 2nd Half call up if two things happen. First the Phillies need to have a spot in the rotation or bullpen for him which means either ineffective or injured starters on their part. Second, he has to perform in Reading much like Kendrick did last year. Both are real possibilities. It is almost a guarantee that the Phillies will get a major contribution from one of their pitching prospects this season. Between LHP Joe Savery, RHP Carlos Carrasco, LHP Josh Outman, and RHP Andrew Carpenter, the Phillies have several good mid-level pitching prospects in their system and all 4 are almost ready for Major League action. The door is wide open for any of the 4 to prove themselves. Opening Day is 4 days away!!!
With his departure, the Phillies are down to 11 "healthy" pitchers in camp. One of these is J.D. Durbin who has no business being in a major league uniform with the Spring he has had. Once a good possibility for the 5th starter position or even a bullpen slot, he quickly pitched his way out of either. Only an injury to Lidge and horrid springs by several other pitchers in camp have prevented his departure.
Right now it looks as if the Phillies may begin the season with only 11 pitchers on the 25 man roster. This will allow them to hang on to either Wes Helms or Chris Snelling. Neither player can be sent down without being exposed to waivers and it is likely that they would be snagged by other clubs that have issues in their infield such as SF or the LA Dodgers. Hopefully the Phillies will bite the bullet and end the Wes Helms experiment and hang onto Snelling who has shown glimpses that he can be a solid utility player and pinch-hitter on this club.
On another note, thankfully Spring Training is almost over. The Phillies Spring started off in a dreadful fashion as they went 5-11-1. After that dreadful start, Manager Charlie Manuel essentially ripped the clubhouse a new one and they began to play much better ball. The starting pitching turned it around and they have struggled back up to a 12-15 record with 4 games left to play. Hopefully the Phillies regular season will not have a similar start as the Phils cannot afford to have another sub-.500 April with two other strong teams in the division this year in the Mets and Braves. More so than ever, the Phillies need to get off to a strong start if they are to repeat as NL East Champs.
Closing Thoughts: Brett Myers had another very strong start against the Yankees yesterday, giving up no runs in 5 IPs. SP Andrew Carpenter of Single-A Clearwater fame had a strong outing as well and he may well have opened up some eyes in the Front Office in doing so. Carpenter will start the season in Double-A Reading and is a real possibility for a 2nd Half call up if two things happen. First the Phillies need to have a spot in the rotation or bullpen for him which means either ineffective or injured starters on their part. Second, he has to perform in Reading much like Kendrick did last year. Both are real possibilities. It is almost a guarantee that the Phillies will get a major contribution from one of their pitching prospects this season. Between LHP Joe Savery, RHP Carlos Carrasco, LHP Josh Outman, and RHP Andrew Carpenter, the Phillies have several good mid-level pitching prospects in their system and all 4 are almost ready for Major League action. The door is wide open for any of the 4 to prove themselves. Opening Day is 4 days away!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
