Was Juan Pierre the right move?

The Phillies announced on Thursday that they added Juan Pierre to the roster and I'm not sure Pierre was a better choice than Scott Podsednick.  It makes sense in the regard that they needed to add Pierre to the roster by today or release him, while the Phillies have the option to send Podsednick down to the minors.  Pierre is also a veteran with speed, who can handle the bat well and is also a great bunter.  Simply put, he's a guy who want to have on your team.

However, at this point of his career, I don't think he is the better player.  Podsednick's average is higher over the last couple years and he hits for more power than Pierre.  More than anything, if Podsednick is healthy I think he gives you the better chance to win.  They are both similar in age (Pierre is actually a year younger) and offer similar qualities, so it's more or less a coin flip, but I would have sided with Pierre.

Not that I'm upset, because I think Pierre can have a really positive impact on this team, more in the clubhouse than anything.  The Phillies will struggle at times to score runs, and Pierre is the kind of guy who can show the team how to manufacture runs and make things happen.  That might be worth the 800 grand right there.

What exactly is Chase Utley's Chondromalacia?

What the heck is Chondromalacia?

Even after Chase Utley's press conference yesterday, just about all we know is that Utley claims he has Chondromalacia.  I am no doctor, but I did some snooping online and here is what I found.

Utley suffers from a knee condition called Chondromalacia patellae (or patella, not sure which), also called Patellofemoral Syndrome.  Chondromalacia is due to an irritation of the undersurface of the kneecap. The undersurface of the kneecap, or patella, is covered with a layer of smooth cartilage, which should glide effortlessly across the knee during bending of the joint. In Utley’s case, the kneecap tends to rub against one side of the knee joint, and the cartilage surface becomes irritated.  Chondromalacia patella is one of the most common causes of knee pain, especially in women.

As we’ve seen with Utley, there are a ton of treatment options including physical therapy and surgery.  Allowing the inflammation of chondromalacia to settle is the first step of treatment before gradually returning to physical activities.  It seems clear that was how the Phillies and Chase handled it from the beginning, but after that, there doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer on how to approach it.  Maybe over the next few weeks/ months, we can figure it out for ourselves.

How does Theriot or Fontenot sound?

Here is the best news I've heard all week.  According to Jayson Stark, the Giants are looking to get rid of either Ryan Theriot or Mike Fontenot.

Either one would be a welcome relief and a good fit on the Phillies as a utility infielder.  Both are seasoned veterans with decent track records.  Both are primarily second baseman who can also play shortstop.  Music to my ears!  That would be a strong answer to the problem the Phillies face because it gives a solid replacement for Utley and allows the Phillies to move Galvis to shortstop.

Here are the numbers on each of them:

Ryan Theriot is set to make $1.25 million and is a career .282/.344/.353 hitter.

Mike Fontenot is set to make $1.05 million and is a career .263/.304/.377, but hit just .227 last season.

There is one small caveat that might stop the Phils from trying to grab them right away.  As David Murphy from philly.com pointed out, if the Phillies want to acquire them now, they would need to pay their full salary and would also need to trade in order to take them.  But if the Giants release either player, the Phillies would avoid a trade and might get them cheaper.

Great news!

Top 25 Phillies Prospects

Here's a link to a philly.com article chronicling the Phillies 25 Prospects.  According to Bob Brookover, five of  Baseball America's top 100 prospects came from drafts conducted by Marti Wolever of the Phillies. Only the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers have produced more.

Of course, through some of the recent trades, the Phillies currently have only 1 of those 5 players and Baseball America ranks the Phillies 27th of 30 teams.

What Should We Expect From Freddy Galvis?

With Chase Utley out for the near future, Freddy Galvis will most likely be the Phillies starting second baseman.  Here's a link with what to expect from Galvis from Seedlings to Stars.

Phillies Day of Reckoning

Today is a day of reckoning for Phillies fans.  Today is the day we realize we might have seen the end of this current Phillies Dynasty.  The 2012 Phillies are an old, injured team, and it sure seems like their best days are in the rear view mirror.  Two of the biggest pieces of this magical run may not be on the field for quite some time.

Now there’s the realization that Chase Utley’s career might be essentially over.  It’s not supposed to be that way.  33-year-old players should be in the prime of their career, not the tail end.  Chase Utley is supposed to go to the Hall of Fame as one of the best second baseman ever.  In reality, we can just hope to salvage some worth out of the $15 million per year due to Utley.

The 5 time division champs have been a special group, but most of those players from are gone now.  The players that remain are shells of their former selves, at least physically.  We are reaching the end of the tunnel with only a dim light at the end.

But all is not as bleak as it seems.  The Phillies still are the best team in baseball according to Vegas.    Pitching and defense win championships, and the Phillies have both.  We still have Halladay, Lee, and Hamels.  Those three give any team the chance to win.  Hey, the Giants' pitching led them to a World Series despite their offense ranking dead last in the league.

The Phillies very well could win the World Series at least a couple more times, but now they will have to fight for it.  Since 2008, the Phillies have been by far the best team in the National League and it just a question of what they would do when they made the playoffs.  Now they must earn it.

We’re under a dark cloud at the moment.  Now we find out what is behind that cloud.

Phillies statement regarding Chase Utley

Not good.  Ruben Amaro told us what everyone knew already: everything is not alright with Chase Utley.  Here is the statement issued by the Phillies regarding Chase Utley:

"Chase's rehab process has come to a bit of a plateau.  He has made some strides but not enough to take the field.  He is headed out of town for a few days to be evaluated by a specialist that has helped athletes overcome his issue.  We anticipate that this trip will allow him to build on what he has already done with Scott Sheridan in order to get over the hump.  He wants more than anything to be on the field with his teammates and we believe that this is a step in that direction."

Ruben Amaro Jr.
Senior Vice President & General Manager

Analyzing Vance Worley

Will Vance Worley avoid the "sophomore jinx" in 2012?  Worley pitched four perfect innings against Pittsburgh yesterday - not a bad way to answer the question, Vance.  But this is still just Spring Training, so here are a few things to pay attention to with Worley:

1. Are hitters swinging and missing? 
Worley went an entire game last season without a single swing-and-a-miss.  Pitching to contact is not a terrible thing because it keeps your pitch count down, but too much contact is awfully dangerous.  Yesterday, Worley watched a lot of whiffs.  As he put it, "Of course, I'd rather pitch to contact because it helps you get deeper into games, but if they're going to swing at them and miss, I'll take them."

2. How many called third strikes?
Worley had huge success last season with a cut fastball that tailed back over the plate to left-handed hitters.  But that won't last forever.  Players watch tape and will not get fooled on that pitch much longer.  If and when that percentage drops is when we will see what Worley can really offer.

3. Is he throwing the fabled "split-finger changeup" that Dubee taught him?  If Worley wants positive answers to questions 1 and 2, he needs to develop a pitch with some bite on it.  Worley demonstrated good command and great poise, but he didn't have a devastating pitch to put a hitter away. 

Think of Worley as a better version of Kyle Kendrick.  When players figured Kendrick out, he started to really get hit around, at which point the Phillies basically told him to find a new pitch or go away.  When Kendrick finally mastered that new pitch (cutter) he became valuable enough for two years and around 3 million bucks. 

Worley is probably on a similar path.  If he stays exactly the same, he may be pitching for Lehigh Valley in a couple of months.  But if he can find the nasty pitch he needs, he could do special things this season.

4. Does his attitude change?  Worley is different, and I like it.  Worley said yesterday regarding his first outing, "I know you're not supposed to sit and think about stuff that happened, but I did and I wasn't happy about it for four days."  Yep, still the same.  Comments like those tell me he is the same quirky guy we saw last year. 

That is your homework for Spring Training.  With nothing else that interesting going on with the Phillies, your only assignment is to keep your eyes on Worley.

Enough Utley Conspiracy Theories

Quit it with all the Chase Utley conspiracy theories. 

Just because Utley is going to miss half of Spring Training does not mean there is this huge cover up.  It is certainly possible, because Ruben Amaro would lie to his grandmother if she asked him about the health of one of his players.  But calm the heck down already!

What has changed since last October that has everyone in a frenzy?  I'll tell you what.  Nothing.

There have been no indications from watching Utley to suggest he's any worse than before.  It is a little weird that without any hesitation, Charlie Manuel said Utley wouldn't play spring ball for at least ten days.  It's not often that superstars with no official injury sit out Grapefruit League games, but would you handle it any differently?

Utley has a chronic knee condition which doesn't exactly get better by playing baseball games.  The Phillies are already missing Ryan Howard.  They can't afford to lose Utley, too.  Before you go all JFK on me, can you give one good reason why the Phillies should play Utley?  To sell tickets in Clearwater?  To sell more Utley jerseys?  To give him more practice?

Forget about what the Phillies say, just use your own eyes and logic.  Utley has the same patellar tendinitis and chondromalacia that we knew about already.  Especially for a hard-nosed player like Utley, the best medicine is rest, and that is exactly what the Phillies are giving him.

How did the new guys do?

One of the best parts of Spring Training is that we get a look at some of the future Phils.  Here's how the major league hopefuls did in the Phillies first game on Saturday.

Freddy Galvis 0-for-3, 0 RBI
Scott Podsednick 1-for-2 0 RBI, BB, R
Tyson Gillies 2-for-3 1 RBI
Cesar Hernandez 0-for-2 0 RBI
Hector Luna 1-for-1 0 RBI, BB
Domonic Brown 0-for-2 0 RBI
Juan Pierre 1-for-1 0 RBI, R
Sebastian Valle 0-for-1 0 RBI, BB

While we're at it, here's how ALL the pitchers did:

Cole Hamels 2 IP, 1 ER
Dave Bush 2 IP, 1ER
Jonathan Papelbon 1 IP, 0 ER
Dontrelle Willis 1 IP, 1 ER
Chad Qualls 1 IP, 3 ER
Raul Valdez 1 IP, 0 ER
Mike Stutes 1 IP, 2 ER

Implications of new playoff format on Phillies

Major League Baseball officially announced the addition of one Wild Card team in each league.  At first glance, the baseball traditionalist in me hated the idea of adding yet another team to line the pockets of the owners and render division titles virtually useless.

But, believe it or not, an extra Wild Card team actually gives more meaning to winning your division.  Under the new format, the two Wild Cards must face off in a one game playoff where they need to use their best available arms. 

Now the Wild Card team can't save their best pitcher for game 1 of the NLDS.  That's a huge advantage to the Phillies if they win the NL East again because it may eliminate the Wild Card's staff ace and nearly guarantees the Phils see their fourth or fifth starter.

However...

MLB also announced that due to scheduling conflicts, for the 2012 season only the top seed with play the first two games of the NLDS on the road and the last three at home.  Huh?  Doesn't that penalize the top seed?  That means that if this was in place last season, the Phillies would have won 102 regular season games only to play in St. Louis for the first two games.

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but if the Phillies can split the first two games they are in a great position.  Just win the first two and it's not a problem.  Still, why not let the top seed choose and end the controversy all together?