A few days ago, I had a chance to talk to University of Miami baseball coach Jim Morris. In nearly 25 years at Miami and Georgia Tech, Morris has won more than 1,100 games and seen plenty of great players. But Morris didn't hesitate when I asked him to name the greatest college hitter he's ever seen.Pat Burrell.
No joke.
Stop laughing.
I'm serious.
Once upon a time, Burrell batted .442 in three seasons at Miami, the seventh-highest career average in NCAA history. He had such a sparkling collegiate career that the Phillies drafted him No. 1 overall in 1998 and pegged him as a middle-of-the-order threat in their lineup for years to come.
Burrell's fall has been precipitous. He's batting .205 overall, the lowest his average has been this late in the season since he was batting .204 on Sept. 3, 2003. You know what happened that season. Burrell finished at .208. He's batting .146 since April 25 and hasn't started four of the last seven games.
But Burrell's problems are particularly thorny for the Phillies, who can't seem to win with him and can't trade him. Burrell is making $13 million this season and $14 million next season. Even if ownership allowed GM Pat Gillick to swallow some of that prohibitive salary (which probably won't happen), I haven't heard that there's a team out there willing to pay the rest. And, while Charlie Manuel knows the only way for Burrell to snap out of his two-month funk is by playing everyday, he also knows a manager on the last year of his contract can't afford to play a .205 hitter. Manuel, who will keep his job only if the Phillies make the playoffs, stands to get better production out of left field by platooning Greg Dobbs, Michael Bourn and Jayson Werth.
So, if you're Gillick and Manuel, what do you do with Burrell?
* Should know something more definitive by tomorrow, but Jon Lieber most likely will need surgery on the ruptured tendon in his right foot. If that's the case, his season -- and probably his Phillies career -- are over.
1 comment:
You can't do anything with him, aside from demote him and hope he skips town. Is there a non-payment clause in his contract if he refuses to report?
In any event, a sad story. Although if it weren't for his lack of production, we might not be seeing the likes of Dobbs and Bourn, who can at the very least, contribute.
Though Kendrick looked good enough last night, which is a positive because it looks like he's now going to play a huge role in the rotation. His promotion, along with Zagurski and Durbin, doesn't say much for Ottawa, does it?
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