Ben's Phantasy GM: Phixin' the Phils
May 24 , 2007
| By Ben Whitman
| 
Discuss
"The old saying goes..." You hear that prelude to a plethora of baseball quotes and nuggets of wisdom but there's only one an aspiring General Manager should buy into – "pitching and defense wins championships."
The Phillies are tied for 4th in the National League in fielding, but they're also currently 14th in the National League in ERA at 4.59. League average is 4.06. They've blown 6 saves, only 4 NL teams have more. Trust me, converting your #1 starter to a set up man is not the answer.
The Phillies also have a strong young core, but unfortunately, the future is now. Baseball America ranks the Phillies minor league system #21 this season.
You don't slug your way to championships, even if your ballpark was designed for a Babe Ruth league. You can slug your way to the playoffs, but not through them. Ask the Yankees about that. This is why my solution to fixing yet another disappointing Phillies squad is simple – trade Ryan Howard for young pitching.
No, I do not sniff glue, I'm not intoxicated and I'm not even a little bi-curious. Trade Ryan Howard – now.
Howard will never have more value. He's 27 (entering his baseball prime) and is the reigning NL MVP. Even before getting injured this season, he was showing that he is still susceptible to left-handed pitch hitting safely only 5 times in 41 at bats (.122). Most importantly, his injury makes him even more valuable. I know, makes no sense, now follow me…
Ryan Howard, coming off a 58 home run, MVP season received just $900,000 from the stingy Phillies for 2007. So, after an injury plagued '07 (hitting just .204 with 6 homers thus far) he certainly can't expect a much bigger raise. Think back to the Bobby Abreu joke… I mean trade, last season. The Phils dumped a damn good hitter for a bag of balls simply for salary relief. Only the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox or the handful of other big market clubs could acquire a player with an Abreu-type contract. In this case, Howard would be attractive to everyone because he is coming off what is sure to be a subpar 2007 and is still not arbitration eligible. This opens up the vaults of young pitching in places like…
1. Tampa Bay- The Devils Rays could put together a package including either of their minor league stud hitters Evan Longoria or Reid Brignac coupled with a couple arms like Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis or Jason Hammel. Sure, they'd have to move him once the arbitration years come, but he sure would be a boon for a horribly run organization.
2. Milwaukee – The Brewers already have a young slugging 1st baseman in Prince Fielder, but have a bunch of young arms that may become available for 50 home run power. Yovani Galardo, Will Inman, Jeremy Jeffress and Mark Rogers would all be welcome in the Phillies' system.
3. Los Angeles (NL) – The Dodgers may be the best fit as they are as desperate for a big bat as the Phillies are for pitching. Clayton Kershaw and Scott Elbert are a pair of lefties that would look nice in red pinstripes and James Loney could come along to fill the void at 1st.
4. Los Angeles (A) – The Angels probably have more "almost Major League ready" talent than anyone and would love a big bat to pair with Vladimir Guerrero. Ervin Santana and Jared Weaver are already major league tested and Nick Adenhart, Young-Il Jung and Stephen Marek are in the wings. SS Brandon Wood and Cs Hank Conger and Jeff Mathis may also be available in an expanded deal.
5. New York (AL) – The Yankees are desperate. The last thing they need is another hitter, but there won't be any proven major league ace pitchers available between now and this year's trading deadline and Jason Giambi, Doug Mxyzptlk and Josh Phelps aren’t getting it done. Phil Hughes won't be available but Humberto Sanchez, Dellin Betances and Joba Chamberlain may be.
Contact Ben Whitman at phillypurge@verizon.net
