So, before y'all start hollering about why the Phillies couldn't get CC (no periods between the Cs) Sabathia, there's something you need to know.They tried.
Pat Gillick told me last week that, in his view, there was only one "frontline starter" available on the trade market. He was talking about Sabathia, and in addition to dispatching scouts to many of Sabathia's recent starts, he placed several calls to the Indians to let them know of the Phillies' interest. In the end, though, the Phillies were unable to match the package of prospects that the Brewers shipped to Cleveland to lure the big lefty. In particular, the Phils lack a position player with the advanced skills of Class AA outfielder Matt LaPorta, the key to the trade from Cleveland's standpoint. It never got to this point, but if the Indians had to choose between LaPorta and Greg Golson or Adrian Cardenas or even up-and-coming catcher Lou Marson, they'd pick LaPorta every time. And, according to Kevin Tresolini in today's News Journal, the Brewers' willingness to include Rob Bryson, a touted pitching prospect from William Penn High, was more incentive for Cleveland to make the deal.
So, Sabathia is headed to the Brew City. What's next for Gillick's gang?
Well, as we reported in Monday's News Journal, Gillick said he's optimistic that the Phils will land a pitcher, likely a B-list guy (this year's Kyle Lohse). I can hear you groaning. B-list guys don't get people to rush out and buy playoff tickets. But if Gillick thought Sabathia was the only A-lister, I think he puts people like Erik Bedard and A.J. Burnett on the B-list. Either would look good in the No. 2 starter spot behind Cole Hamels, wouldn't they?
OK, once again, I'll ask you to be the GM. Which pitcher would you pursue? And who would you give up?
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Is pitching even the Phillies' biggest problem? Sure, Adam Eaton laid an egg last night, looking alarmingly like Eaton Version 2007. And, sure, the Phillies rallied from an 8-0 deficit in their 10-9 loss to the Mets. But, as we've talked about before, the Phillies' offense is almost entirely dependent on home runs, and thus, prone to inconsistency. They hit four last night and lost.
"The biggest problem we have is situational hitting," Charlie Manuel said before the game. "Moving runners or knocking in a guy from second with no outs or from third with one out. We definitely have to have more of that."
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Caryn Grant spent the evening watching Brett Myers pitch in Allentown and reported that he believes he's making progress.
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Within the notebook, there's more on Chase Utley's out-of-character decision to compete in the Home Run Derby next Monday night at Yankee Stadium, Manuel's thoughts on Sabathia, and an explanation for why Rudy Seanez couldn't pitch last night.
More later from the Bank, including a preview of the series against St. Louis and an update on Tom Gordon's elbow.
2 comments:
Consistency is not a problem unique to the Phillies. As maddening as it is for us, it's important to remember that teams more reliant on homeruns are LESS likely to have inconsistent offenses. The Phillies inconsistency on offense this year is in spite of being a homerun-reliant team-- not because of it.
I dug up the following old article which studied this problem. Have a look.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/avoiding-the-famine/
Yeah for the most part home run hitting teams are consistent. Manuel mentions "situational" hitting is a problem. Well Charlie I suggest you start bunting more, try some more hit and running. Home run hitting teams dont do much of this basic baseball. They tend to sit back and wait. Getting runners in scoring position early in games changes alot of things.
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