OT: Phils Fire Wade
My disgust over the Eagles' loss yesterday has been more than overcome by my utter joy at the news that the Phillies have finally, mercifully, ended Ed Wade's tenure as the Phillies’ GM.
As 8 year terms of incompetence go, Wade can only be matched by George W. Bush (we’re just going to assume that Bush isn’t going to change over the next three years).
He will be best remembered for his two terrible mega-deals: trading all stars Scott Rolen and Curt Schilling for absolutely nothing (Vincente Padia being the only player remaining from those two deals). But he was also guilty of dooming the Phils’ postseason chances by adding “veteran bullpen arms” seemingly every year who excelled only at giving up big hits at the wrong time. Finally, he vastly overpaid for the less than mediocre David Bell, whose salary will likely mean Phillies fans will be forced to watch him hit .250 with 20 errors again next year.
What’s next for the Phils? Well the first question is who Wade’s replacement will be. If the Phils end up promoting Ruben Amaro that is a sign that nothing will change. Hopefully they will look for a top-notch GM with Gerry Hunsicker or Brian Cashman being the most likely options. Red Sox’ GM Theo Epstein’s contract is expiring as well; if the Red Sox let him walk the Phillies should jump at him.
As for the roster. A lot of changes need to be made but it will be hard. Jim Thome must be traded to make room for Howard, even if the Phillies have to pick up ½ of his $15 million salary. We should move him for whatever prospects we can get and try too free up as much salary as we can.
Bobby Abreu is another likely candidate to be moved because, of all the Phillies’ big salaries, he is the one who has enough value as a player to actually move. Shipping Abreu to the White Sox makes a ton of sense. They are an anemic offensive team (and may lose Paul Konerko to free agency) but have a glut of starting pitchers in Buehrle, Garland, Garcia, Contreras, Hernandez and good looking rookie Brandon McCarthy. The Phils wouldn’t be interested in Contreras or Hernandez but an Abreu for Garland swap makes a lot of sense to me.
If the Phillies can trade David Bell then they should move him for whatever they can get. If he cannot be move they should simply designate him for assignment and eat his $5 million salary. He is a liability and cannot be our starting 3B this year.
The Phillies should exercise their option to buyout Mike Liberthal and let Carlos Ruiz and a mid-level free agent (Brad Ausmus, Ramon Hernandez, Benji Molina) share the job.
That leaves holes in RF and at 3B, but with money freed up by moving Thome, Abreu and Lieberthal, the Phillies should fill them by signing 3B Bill Mueller, who is 34 but is good for a .370 OBP every year, and Brian Giles who is 35 but is still a great run producer, to two-year deals.
Shane Victorino and Jason Michaels will platoon in center.
In the bullpen, the Phils should offer both Wagner and Urbina arbitration and let them both walk if they chose. I love Wagner, but we can’t afford to give a 34 year old pitcher a 3-year, $27 million deal. If he takes arbitration I’m happy to have him back for one year at $9 or $10 million, if he doesn’t then I’m happy to take the two picks to help restore our depleted farm system.
To replace Wagner and Urbina I’d sign two very good but unheralded back-end relievers: BJ Ryan and Kyle Farnsworth. Ryan had an ERA of 2.43 and Farnsworth an ERA of 2.22 and both made less than $2.6 million last year and could be had for much less than Wagner or Urbina.
The Phils also need to sign a real situational lefty like Scott Eyre.
Phew, that’s a lot of talk for some things that will never happen, but here are my 2006 Phillies:
SS – Jimmy Rollins (he leads off if he starts the next year the way he ended this one)
3B – Bill Mueller
RF – Brian Giles
LF – Pat Burrell
1B – Ryan Howard
2B – Chase Utley
CF – Jason Michaels / Shane Victorino
C – Carlos Ruiz / ?
Potential starters:
John Garland
Brett Myers
John Lieber
Cory Lidle
Randy Wolf
Vincente Padilla*
Robinson Tejeda*
Gavin Floyd
Cole Hamels
Potential bullpen:
BJ Ryan
Kyle Farsworth
Vincente Padilla*
Ryan Madson
Scott Eyre
Robinson Tejeda*
Geoff Geary
As 8 year terms of incompetence go, Wade can only be matched by George W. Bush (we’re just going to assume that Bush isn’t going to change over the next three years).
He will be best remembered for his two terrible mega-deals: trading all stars Scott Rolen and Curt Schilling for absolutely nothing (Vincente Padia being the only player remaining from those two deals). But he was also guilty of dooming the Phils’ postseason chances by adding “veteran bullpen arms” seemingly every year who excelled only at giving up big hits at the wrong time. Finally, he vastly overpaid for the less than mediocre David Bell, whose salary will likely mean Phillies fans will be forced to watch him hit .250 with 20 errors again next year.
What’s next for the Phils? Well the first question is who Wade’s replacement will be. If the Phils end up promoting Ruben Amaro that is a sign that nothing will change. Hopefully they will look for a top-notch GM with Gerry Hunsicker or Brian Cashman being the most likely options. Red Sox’ GM Theo Epstein’s contract is expiring as well; if the Red Sox let him walk the Phillies should jump at him.
As for the roster. A lot of changes need to be made but it will be hard. Jim Thome must be traded to make room for Howard, even if the Phillies have to pick up ½ of his $15 million salary. We should move him for whatever prospects we can get and try too free up as much salary as we can.
Bobby Abreu is another likely candidate to be moved because, of all the Phillies’ big salaries, he is the one who has enough value as a player to actually move. Shipping Abreu to the White Sox makes a ton of sense. They are an anemic offensive team (and may lose Paul Konerko to free agency) but have a glut of starting pitchers in Buehrle, Garland, Garcia, Contreras, Hernandez and good looking rookie Brandon McCarthy. The Phils wouldn’t be interested in Contreras or Hernandez but an Abreu for Garland swap makes a lot of sense to me.
If the Phillies can trade David Bell then they should move him for whatever they can get. If he cannot be move they should simply designate him for assignment and eat his $5 million salary. He is a liability and cannot be our starting 3B this year.
The Phillies should exercise their option to buyout Mike Liberthal and let Carlos Ruiz and a mid-level free agent (Brad Ausmus, Ramon Hernandez, Benji Molina) share the job.
That leaves holes in RF and at 3B, but with money freed up by moving Thome, Abreu and Lieberthal, the Phillies should fill them by signing 3B Bill Mueller, who is 34 but is good for a .370 OBP every year, and Brian Giles who is 35 but is still a great run producer, to two-year deals.
Shane Victorino and Jason Michaels will platoon in center.
In the bullpen, the Phils should offer both Wagner and Urbina arbitration and let them both walk if they chose. I love Wagner, but we can’t afford to give a 34 year old pitcher a 3-year, $27 million deal. If he takes arbitration I’m happy to have him back for one year at $9 or $10 million, if he doesn’t then I’m happy to take the two picks to help restore our depleted farm system.
To replace Wagner and Urbina I’d sign two very good but unheralded back-end relievers: BJ Ryan and Kyle Farnsworth. Ryan had an ERA of 2.43 and Farnsworth an ERA of 2.22 and both made less than $2.6 million last year and could be had for much less than Wagner or Urbina.
The Phils also need to sign a real situational lefty like Scott Eyre.
Phew, that’s a lot of talk for some things that will never happen, but here are my 2006 Phillies:
SS – Jimmy Rollins (he leads off if he starts the next year the way he ended this one)
3B – Bill Mueller
RF – Brian Giles
LF – Pat Burrell
1B – Ryan Howard
2B – Chase Utley
CF – Jason Michaels / Shane Victorino
C – Carlos Ruiz / ?
Potential starters:
John Garland
Brett Myers
John Lieber
Cory Lidle
Randy Wolf
Vincente Padilla*
Robinson Tejeda*
Gavin Floyd
Cole Hamels
Potential bullpen:
BJ Ryan
Kyle Farsworth
Vincente Padilla*
Ryan Madson
Scott Eyre
Robinson Tejeda*
Geoff Geary
posted by ahb at 10:15 PM
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