So, after all that talk of Curt Schilling possibly returning to the Phillies, he has reached a preliminary agreement with the Red Sox on a one-year, $8 million contract.He got his wish.
Schilling didn't even have to open his mouth yesterday at Green Valley Country Club for his first choice to be obvious. The blue Red Sox pullover with the World Series patch on the sleeve that he wore on the golf course was a dead giveaway. More than anything, Schilling wants to finish his career in Boston, and now, it appears he will. Somehow, even with Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield under contract, the Sox found room for Schilling for one more year.
So, where do the Phillies turn now? They never had a chance to negotiate with Schilling, who could deal only with the Sox until next Tuesday. And with Schilling never reaching the open market, the free-agent pickings are even slimmer. Carlos Silva, anyone?
I've talked about this with assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr., and he keeps saying the Phillies need to be "creative" about how they fill their pitching needs. But he also says they may have to live with the uncomfortable feeling that comes with signing someone like Adam Eaton to a mega-deal. Within the next month, Silva, Kyle Lohse and others will get offers that make the Phillies and other teams feel uncomfortable.
Check tomorrow's 50-center for more on where the Phils may turn to fill their pitching need. OK, your turn: With Schilling off the market, which pitchers top your list for the Phillies?
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As Pat Gillick predicted last week, GMs voted 25-5 today in favor of using instant replay on boundary calls. It will be interesting to see how commissioner Bud Selig reacts to this. Selig has been a longtime opponent of replay.
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Dave Huppert, who won championships at low-A Lakewood and single-A Clearwater in the past two seasons, has been named as the Phillies' manager at triple-A Lehigh Valley. Huppert replaces John Russell, who has been hired to manage the Pirates.
2 comments:
With Schilling now off the market our best move, even though I really like Myers as a closer,is sign F. Cordero and move Myers back to the rotation.I would not trade a player like Victorino or Bourn plus a prospect for a Jon Garland type starter who will only be here for one year, or sign a Carlos Silva type at $40M plus for 4 years. I also feel that Happ and Mathieson will make some kind of contribution during the '08 season but you can't start SP relying or expecting them to be anything more than bullpen insurance.
hankA: I couldn't agree with you more. In fact, I wrote that in a Sunday notebook back on Aug. 19. Instead of re-iterating my position, here's a copy of that article:
INSIDE THE MAJORS | SCOTT LAUBER
PITTSBURGH – So, after 10 days of careful deliberation (he even solicited input from fans via an online newspaper poll), Brett Myers has picked his intro music. It’ll be “Lights Out” by California rock band P.O.D.
Good for Myers.
Great for P.O.D.
For the Phillies, though, employing Myers as their closer beyond this season isn’t the best use of the 27-year-old right-hander. Not with their other in-house options for the starting rotation, and certainly not with the upcoming crop of free-agent starters.
When the Phillies shifted Myers to the bullpen April 18, it was a sage move. They had a surplus of starters and desperately needed to fortify a motley crew of relievers that included sore-shouldered closer Tom Gordon, who went on the disabled list two weeks later.
Myers has demonstrated an aptitude – and attitude – for closing, with 11 saves in 12 chances and a 2.67 ERA in 28 relief appearances through Friday night. Most encouraging, he thrives on the pressure of pitching the ninth inning, a role Gordon said last week is the toughest he’s encountered in a 20-year career as a starter, setup man and closer.
If the Phils want to leave Myers, 54-41 in his career as a starter, in this role, he likely will do fine work, maybe even emerging as one of baseball’s top closers.
But that surplus of starters has been wiped out by injuries and ineffectiveness. Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber are hurt, and as free agents, likely won’t be back next season. A three-year, $24.5 million contract all but guarantees Adam Eaton will, but with a National League-worst 6.36 ERA, he hasn’t been helpful.
That leaves 44-year-old lefty Jamie Moyer, surprising rookie Kyle Kendrick and still unproven J.D. Durbin behind ace Cole Hamels in the Phillies’ rotation. Recently acquired right-hander Kyle Lohse may be an attractive keeper, but he’s also a free agent and represented by hard-bargaining Scott Boras.
And, in a shallow market thinned further Friday when Carlos Zambrano re-signed with the Cubs for five years and $90 million, a sub-.500 starter like Lohse (61-74 in his career) may get big bucks. Bartolo Colon, who has been limited to 16 starts for the Angels because of an elbow injury, may be the top free-agent starter.
But Milwaukee’s Francisco Cordero, arguably the game’s best closer, will be a free agent. Mariano Rivera might be, too. So will Tampa Bay’s Al Reyes, if the Devil Rays don’t pick up his option. And the Phillies projected hard-throwing Scott Mathieson as a potential closer before he had elbow surgery last year, and he may be ready to return next month.
By then, Myers still will be entering in the ninth inning to the strains of P.O.D., and with the Phillies in a playoff race, that’s the best place for him.
Going forward, though, their pitching plans should start with Myers as a starter.
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