Michael Bourn has been with the Phillies all season, but, really, how much do the Phillies know about him?1. He's fast. Very fast.
2. He's a good defensive outfielder.
That's about it, folks. Bourn has appeared in 83 of the Phillies' 97 games, yet he's gotten only 91 at-bats. He's been used primarily as a pinch-runner and late-game defensive replacement, usually in left field for Pat Burrell. With Aaron Rowand bracing for free agency after the season, the Phils aren't much closer to knowing if Bourn can be the everyday answer in center field in 2008.
And so, in The News Journal's Sunday baseball notes, I suggested the Phillies trade Bourn, but ONLY if they can get a reliable pitcher in return. There aren't many of those, particularly starters, on a trade market that's nearly barren. But if the Phillies can lure a solid back-of-the-bullpen reliever, like Colorado's Brian Fuentes, Texas' Akinori Otsuka (even though he's hurt), Kansas City's Octavio Dotel or even Texas' Joaquin Benoit, they should seriously consider it. The NL East is there for the taking.
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Also in the Sunday notes, there's an item about hot-tempered Marlins lefty Scott Olsen. Looks like I jumped the gun (no pun intended) on Olsen, though. He's in trouble with the police, which is much worse than being in trouble with the Phillies or even his own teammates.
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Three hits, including two home runs, and five RBIs last night for Ryan Howard. Both homers came against Padres lefty David Wells. In fact, Howard has four homers on this road trip, all against lefties. He's batting only .231 against lefties, but 12 of his 27 homers have come against southpaws.
With last night's 12-4 win, the Phillies picked up a game on the division-leading Mets and guaranteed themselves no worse than a 3-4 road trip. That's important since today's pitching matchup -- J.D. Durbin vs. Jake Peavy -- is tilted in the Padres' favor. Also, more on Kyle Drabek's impending Tommy John surgery.
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A Phillies institution was demolished yesterday. Jack Russell Stadium, the Phillies' old home in Clearwater, is no more. Moment of silence, please.
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Looks like we'll be sharing The Blog over the next few days with intrepid colleague Buddy Hurlock, who is on the road (and on the bus) with the Blue Rocks. Be nice to Buddy. Riding buses in the minors isn't easy.
4 comments:
I don't understand why people continue to insist on trading Bourn or Victorino. What is the team then going to do when Aaron Rowand walks in the off season? He won't be back unless the Phillies overpay him and we all know they won't. Trading Bourn/Vic coupled with Rowand leaving leaves 2 holes in the outfield for the 08 season. It would be one thing to create this type of problem in order to acquire a good young pitcher, but not for the human rain delay or Kyle Lohse. I also don't see how trading Bourn/Vic for a single solid bullpen arm puts this team into the playoffs. This team needs a complete makeover in the pen, not just adding one solid player. Every time Bourn has been afforded an opportunity, he's excelled. I'm not saying he's a sure thing, but the guy has shown some serious ability. I'm not willing to trade him away for a single bullpen arm.
Matt In Philly: We agree that the Phillies shouldn't trade Bourn for Steve Trachsel or Kyle Lohse or a two-month rental who will be gone next year. But, if they can get a legitimate reliever (Otsuka?), they can move Myers back into the rotation next season. If they deal Bourn, they can always make a serious bid to re-sign Rowand. Or else, there will be plenty of center fielders on the market. Mike Cameron, anyone?
My point on Bourn, quite simply, is the Phillies have no idea how good he really is. And keeping him in the majors this season, instead of giving him regular at-bats in Ottawa, may have stunted his development, at least a bit. At best, I think he's Juan Pierre, and there's a good chance he isn't even that good. Why not trade him for something they need now and worry about the outfield in the offseason?
after a bunch of reading and looking over things it wouldn't really hurt the phillies to overpay for Rowand. before breaking his face last year he was hitting about this good. and now he's putting up another season of hitting good. so it may not be a mirage. and there are approximately 1 good starting pitcher on the market next year(zambrano). no one else is worth paying for. so if you're not going to spend on starting pitching, may as well overpay for a quality CF. even though he may like to kill his teammates(see today's last out)
Scott,
I don't disagree with you that Bourn is a question mark as an every day outfielder even though he's really been solid when given opportunities. If I believed the Phillies were one or even two pitchers away from a championship, I'd be totally on board with trading Bourn. But, the thing that stands out to me is that the Phillies pitching is not good enough to win a championship. Ultimately, that is what sports is all about - winning championships. I don't believe adding the 35 year old Otsuka makes the Phillies a World Series contender. Sure, a team can get blazing hot like the Cardinals did last year but they had the arms. We knew coming in that the Phillies bullpen would be bad, but I don't think anyone expected the rotation to fall apart. Durbin and Kendrick have done an admirable job but to expect the to carry the back end of the rotation much longer is too much to ask.
I hate to be a doomsayer and I've been a fan of the team my whole life and always will be. But, I still see all the issues with the team that they've had the last few years where they can't get over the hump. I'm hoping that Im wrong and that they will get in the playoffs and make some noise but realistically their pitching just isn't good enough. Kyle Loshe, The Human Rain Delay, Otsuka or Goose Gossage doesn't make this team a World Series caliber squad, in my humble opinion.
Sure, Mike Cameron would be nice, but the guy I'd love the Phillies to pursue after Rowand walks is Eric Byrnes. He can do it all and is a team player. I have read Byrnes is looking for about 9 million a season which maybe a stretch but I think the guy is totally worth that price tag.
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