Charlie is in panic mode

The Phillies are 1-3 offense looks terrible right now and the end of the world appears near.  But the Phils have only played 2% of the games this season and still have 158 to go.  It's not panic time and the players understand.

But I don't get that impression from Charlie Manuel.  Some of his quotes sound like a manager who is already in panic mode.  Here's a few of them:

"We don't hit the ball hard enough to score runs."

"I don't want our guys to think we can't score."

"When I look at it, I still come up with the same names."
"I don't care what we've got. Give them to me, and we'll work with them."

Durbin steals spot from former Phils minor leaguer

Here’s an interesting story involving two former Phils: according to hardballtalk.com, long-time Phillies minor leaguer Yohan Flande finally had his chance to pitch in the big leagues.  That is until another former Phil, Chad Durbin showed up. 

As of yesterday, Flande made the final cut as the Braves the 25^th man on the roster.  However, when he Nationals released Durbin, the Braves picked him up and it was back to the minors for Flande. 

Funny how things work out sometimes…

Matt Cain deal means big money for Hamels

Matt Cain just signed a five-year, $112.5 million deal yesterday.  As a good comparable for Hamels, Cain's deal will be the absolute minimum Hamels will possibly get.

$112.5 million works out to 22.5 million per season.  Cain apparently was desperate to get a deal done before the season started, meaning Hamels has more leverage and will probably get WAY more than that if he tests free agency.

Cain's career ERA (3.35) is a smidgen lower than Hamels (3.39), but Cain's career record is 69-73, while Hamels' is 74-54.  Hamels is clearly the better pitcher and much better than his 3.39 career ERA now that he added a cutter.  Hamels is also coming off his best season, going 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA.

Cain's deal is not good news for the Phillies, because they are now probably looking at an offer of six years for at least $22.5 million per year and as high as $25 million per year.  Yikes.

Scott Boras did no favors for Ryan Madson

Don't make a deal with the Devil. Ryan Madson discovered that the hard way when he chose Scott Boras as his agent.

Madson was oh so close to signing his first "big" contract with the Phillies, but ended up settling on a 1-year deal. With this injury, he probably won't get a multi-year contract next year, either. Things most certainly did not work out for Mr. Madson.

But...

Madson is not a helpless victim. He knew exactly what he was getting into when he hired Scott Boras as his agent. Scott Boras is who you choose when your only goal is to sign for the biggest money possible, and Boras is willing to take big risks to get there. Sometimes it works like a charm. J.D. Drew sat out a season before signing a big contract. Matt Holliday signed a $120 million contract. Madson was hoping for the same outcome.

But sometime is backfires. It’s hard to tell what exactly happened during Madson’s negotiations with the Phillies, but I would imagine the Phillies were spooked by Boras. Maybe Boras verbally agreed to a contract and the Phillies didn’t trust him. Maybe Ruben Amaro just watched the scene in Moneyball where “Scott” screws over Billy Beane, who also thought he had agreed on a deal (Brad Pitt gives a great quote, too).

Boras has the reputation of playing a great game of chicken and waiting as long as it takes to get the deal he wants. The Phillies didn’t have the luxury to wait. They couldn’t afford to let Madson walk while someone grabbed Papelbon, so they made their move before it was too late.

Regardless of how it went down, Madson is left with no long-term contract, an injury, and a major surgery forthcoming. I feel bad for him personally, but it was his choice that put him in this position.

All I can say is I sure am glad we have Papelbon...

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!