BY SCOTT LAUBERT-minus 23 hours until "Philled In" shifts to Clearwater, and as I pack my bags and make final preparations, there are several Phillies-related issues on my mind. We examined five, perhaps the top five questions facing the Phillies this spring, in today's News Journal.
1. Who will be the No. 5 starter?
2. Is the honeymoon over for Chris Coste (left)?
3. How much will J.C. Romero be missed?
4. Will Chase Utley be ready by Opening Night?
5. Will the Phils find another right-handed hitter for the bench?
A complete look at each question is provided in the story, which I hope you'll check out. So, what are you most looking forward to seeing from the Phillies in spring training?
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Everyone, even President Obama, has an opinion on the news that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, a story first reported Saturday by Sports Illustrated. A-Rod has subsequently admitted that he used PED from 2001 through 2003 when he was with the Rangers.
And during his news conference last night at the White House, President Obama, a diehard White Sox fan, was asked by a Washington Post reporter for his reaction to the A-Rod news. In case you missed it, here's what he said: "It's depressing news on top of what has been a flurry of depressing items when it comes to Major League Baseball. It tarnishes an entire era, to some degree. ... Our kids hopefully are watching and saying, you know what, there are no shortcuts. That when you try to take shortcuts you may end up tarnishing your entire career."
All of which leads me to ask y'all this: How much does the A-Rod bombshell tarnish the game? When you see a player put up eye-popping numbers, do you automatically wonder if he's clean?
4 comments:
To me its finding the help to replace Romero. While Eyre was serviceable in his role last year, he wasnt under any real pressure as the lefty-specialist ace since Romero was pitching so well. Now hes taken on that role, and compound that fact in that hes now the SOLE lefty in the pen, the expectations are doubly high.
And I think you are accurate in the Phils possibly targeting Coste to be that right handed bat off of the bench, esp since Aurilia signed and Nomar is still silent. However, if any of those other names pop into the picture, we may have seen the end of Coste. (Which is sad, in a way, because his is a great story)
My guess is that Carrasco wins the 5th spot, Utley is ready to go, and AROD goes down with as large an asterisk as Bonds whether or not he catches him.
Enjoy the Grouper -- look forward to the spring updates.
My response to A-Fraud is reverse Schilling-esque. I'd like to not only know the names of all 104 who tested positive, but the names of those who did NOT test positive. Then I'd like to know the average salary of those who tested positive as compared to the average who tested negative. I'd also like to know the average statistics of each group. This will give us some insight into the financial and athletic competitive edge steroids provided athletes.
Coste deserves the spot. I don't like Paulino at all.
Carrasco is a fantastic talent, and should win the final spot.
RutgersESQ: outside of any legal or ethical issues of revealing the test scores, the idea that if you looked at the stats of those who took steroids and those who didn't that you could magically tell the effect is fundamentally flawed. You're assuming that good and bad players are just as likely to take steroids, which is a ridiculous assumption.
Look at Jason Grimsley. Steroids don't always help you. In fact, unless you're already a good player, I doubt roids will elevate you to any noticeable level.
As talented as Carrasco is, I guarantee he will begin the season in AAA. I'd put money on the 5th spot going to either Happ or Park with more hope that it goes to the lefty Happ. Park will get a bullpen spot and maybe Kendrick too. Carrasco will be a midseason or injury callup. It would financially be in the Phillies favor to delay his callup to get one more year out of him in the longterm. Wouldn't be surprised to see Kendrick as tradebait along with Coste, either.
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