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?

Listen to Charlie

After a quickie meeting with Jimmy Rollins, here is what Charlie Manuel said about Rollins: "Jimmy can get in the count 2-1, 3-1 quite a bit. Then he'll chase a ball up out of the strike zone and hit a fly ball to center field. I talked to him about that - being a little more selective and getting a better ball to hit. Learn and practice that way."

Can you imagine if Jimmy actually followed Charlie's advice? Rollins is the face of the Phillies, played an enormous part in bring the city a championship, and is the best defensive shortstop in Phillies history.

But the guy drives me nuts at the plate.

Rollins still has a nice compact swing and enough speed to be an impact hitter if that's what he chooses. If he ever decided to get over his Napoleon complex and become a professional hitter, he could have a monster season.

But don't hold your breath....

Six Reasons why Joe Blanton will get traded

If I had to place a bet right now, my money is going on Joe Blanton pitching for someone not named the Phillies this season. There is plenty of evidence that suggests the Phillies want to trade Blanton.

1. The Phillies payroll is at the breaking point and Joe Blanton is due $8.5 million this season. Is anyone willing to take on all of that salary? Not a chance in hell. But Blanton might be worth two or three million to some team.


2. A two-year, $7.5 million contract for Kyle Kendrick. Ruben Amaro calls it "cost certainty." I call it your number five starter.


3. According to philly.com, the Phillies attempted a trade for AJ Burnett.


4. Ruben Amaro's comments leave some room for the possibility of Blanton going bye bye: "Right now, I think we're pretty comfortable with our rotation," Amaro said. "I like the way we set up. Vance had a very good year last year. Joe Blanton, if he's healthy, is going to be a good pitcher for us. That is still an 'if' because of the year he had."


5. Charlie Manuel: We have six starters. He's definitely one of those guys." One of those guys? Not exactly a ringing endorsement.


6. Rich Dubee: When asked if Kendrick could start 25 or 30 games he said "Very much so. I think there probably would be a lot of teams comfortable with Kyle Kendrick as a starter."

Joe Blanton will be gone after this season, so if they trade him now they can save a little cash which they can always use later on fifth starter if need-be. And Kyle Kendrick is perfectly capable of taking Blanton's starts.

Of course there isn't much behind Kendrick, and you never can have too much pitching....

MLB Free Agents

Mlb.com just posted the following list of free agents as of today. Players can't officially sign with a new team until Thursday.

Atlanta Braves
Gonzalez, Alex
Linebrink, Scott
McLouth, Nate
Sherrill, George
Wilson, Jack

Arizona Diamondbacks
Marquis, Jason
McDonald, John
Nady, Xavier
Overbay, Lyle

Baltimore Orioles
Guerrero, Vladimir
Izturis, Cesar

Boston Red Sox
Bedard, Erik
Drew, J.D.
Jackson, Conor
Miller, Trever
Ortiz, David
Papelbon, Jon
Varitek, Jason
Wakefield, Tim

Chicago Cubs
Grabow, John
Johnson, Reed
Lopez, Rodrigo
Ortiz, Ramon
Pena, Carlos
Wood, Kerry

Chicago White Sox
Buehrle, Mark
Castro, Ramon
Pierre, Juan
Vizquel, Omar

Cincinnati Reds
Hernandez, Ramon J.
Renteria, Edgar
Willis, Dontrelle

Cleveland Indians
Durbin, Chad
Fukudome, Kosuke
Sizemore, Grady
Thome, Jim

Colorado Rockies
Cook, Aaron
Ellis, Mark
Millwood, Kevin
Romero, J.C.

Detroit Tigers
Betemit, Wilson
Guillen, Carlos
Ordonez, Magglio
Penny, Brad
Santiago, Ramon
Zumaya, Joel

Florida Marlins
Dobbs, Greg
Lopez, Jose
Vazquez, Javier C.

Houston Astros
Barmes, Clint
Michaels, Jason

Kansas City Royals
Chen, Bruce
Francis, Jeff
Kendall, Jason

Los Angeles Angels
Branyan, Russ
Pineiro, Joel
Ramirez, Horacio
Rodney, Fernando

Los Angeles Dodgers
Barajas, Rod
Blake, Casey
Broxton, Jonathan
Carroll, Jamey
Garland, Jon
Kuroda, Hiroki
MacDougal, Mike
Miles, Aaron
Padilla, Vicente
Rivera, Juan

Milwaukee Brewers
Betancourt, Yuniesky
Counsell, Craig
Fielder, Prince
Hairston Jr, Jerry
Hawkins, LaTroy
Kotsay, Mark
S.Rodriguez, Francisco
Saito, Takashi

Minnesota Twins
Capps, Matt
Cuddyer, Mike
Kubel, Jason
Nathan, Joe

New York Mets
Batista, Miguel
Capuano, Chris
Hairston, Scott
Harris, Willie
Isringhausen, Jason
Reyes, Jose
Young, Chris

New York Yankees
Ayala, Luis
Chavez, Eric
Colon, Bartolo
Garcia, Freddy
AntonioJones, Andruw
Marte, Damaso
Mitre, Sergio
Posada, Jorge

Oakland Athletics
Crisp, Coco
DeJesus, David
Harden, Rich
Matsui, Hideki
Willingham, Josh

Philadelphia Phillies
Gload, RossI
banez, Raul J.
Lidge, Bradley
Madson, Ryan
Oswalt, Roy
Rollins, Jimmy
Schneider, Brian

Pittsburgh Pirates
Cedeno, Ronny
Doumit, Ryan
Lee, Derrek
Ludwick, Ryan
Maholm, Paul
Snyder, Chris

San Diego Padres
Bell, Heath
Harang, Aaron
Hawpe, Brad
Qualls, Chad

Seattle Mariners
Bard, Josh
Kennedy, Adam
Pena, Wily
Wright, Jamey

San Francisco Giants
Beltran, Carlos
Burrell, Pat
Cabrera, Orlando
De Rosa, Mark
Mota, Guillermo
Ross, Cody

St. Louis Cardinals
Jackson, Edwin
Laird, Gerald
Pujols, Albert
Punto, Nick
Rhodes, Arthur

Tampa Bay Rays
Cruz, Juan
Damon, Johnny
Kotchman, Casey

Texas Rangers
Chavez, Endy
Gonzalez, Mike
Oliver, Darren
Treanor, Matt
Webb, Brandon
Wilson, C.J.

Toronto Blue Jays
Camp, Shawn
Francisco, Frank
Johnson, Kelly
Molina, Jose

Washington Nationals
Ankiel, Rick
Coffey, Todd
Cora, Alex
Gomes, Jonny
Hernandez, Livan
Nix, Laynce
Rodriguez, Ivan
Wang, Chien-Ming

Phillies send 7 to Arizona Fall League

The Phillies recently sent seven players to the Arizona Fall League.  The biggest name to keep your eyes on is Tyson Gillies, an outfielder the Phillies acquired in the Cliff Lee deal.  You can see info on all the players on our Arizona Fall League page on the main site. 

Roster changes for Phillies

It doesn't take long after the season before you move one, and the Phillies announced a couple changes this week. Here's a look at some of the housekeeping changes the Phillies made and still need to make:

Pete Orr and Brandon Moss filed for free agency after the Phillies left them off the 40-man roster.

That leaves seven players eligible for free agency: Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Madson, Roy Oswalt, Brad Lidge, Raul Ibanez, Brian Schneider and Ross Gload.

The Phillies can choose the $16 million mutual option with Roy Oswalt, but they will likely buy him out for $2 million. The Phillies have until two days following the end of the World Series to notify Oswalt of their intentions and Oswalt has two more days to make his decision. If neither side picks up its half of the option, Oswalt receives a $2 million buyout and becomes a free agent.

They also have a $12.5 million club option with Brad Lidge or a buyout for $1.5 million. They have three days after the World Series to notify him.

The Phillies have five players eligible for salary arbitration: Cole Hamels, Hunter Pence, Kyle Kendrick, Ben Francisco, and Wilson Valdez.

Scott Mathieson is not eligible for arbitration for a bunch of complex reasons you don't need to worry about.

The Phillies also activated Jose Contreras off the 60-day disabled list and re-signed Drew Naylor to a Minor League contract.