Whose Making These Decisions? Show Them The Money!
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by user Phieagles022003
Every year, the Philadelphia Phillies find a way to disappoint us. Whether is be poor pitching, inconsistent hitting, or unbelievable blunders. Then winter time rolls around and every fan sits by the radio listening to WIP to hear of any big free agent signings. And what do we get....Wes Helms...Antonio Alfonseca...Jayson Werth! Meanwhile, you hear of the intense interest in big name players, only to hear that they went to other teams for more money. It always bewilders me when I hear that a player costs too much. Last I checked, MLB has no salary cap. So Mr. Montgomery, start spending away. So many free agents went and passed this past off-season and its time we start paying for the players we need.
Going into the offseason, there were 4 needs....pitching, left field, third base, and catcher. Gillick and Montgomery set their sights high on players such as Soriano and Lee, but both went elsewhere. We ended up with Alfonseca, Dobbs, Barajas, Werth, Rosario, Helms, Garcia, and Eaton. Out of these free agents, how many have actually played well? Alfonseca has been decent with a 3.93 ERA and a few saves and Dobbs has been a good utility player. Other than that, three are on the DL and all of them have not hit or pitched good. If you review all the moves that Gillick has made, not many have turned out to be great. Let me say that I like the man and think he has done well, but Im sorry to say that he hasnt done well enough. Is it upper management that is stopping Gillick from making these moves? Quite possibly. David Montgomery has always liked to keep the budget around $90 million. Yes, that is a lot for a budget, but it hasnt been spent on the correct players. Just look at the contracts of Burrell, Eaton, Lieberthal, Abreu, Gordon, and many others. Im not too upset about the money spent on them, but the number of years and no trade clauses is what upsets me.
Many relief pitchers, starters, and offensive players were passed by the Phillies this past offseason because of them costing too much money. But many they were really worth it after all? As far as outfield help, Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee have had amazing years. Soriano, batting 1st in the lineup, has a .310 AVG 15HR 31RBI 13SB. Just imagine what he would do behind Utley and Howard. Im sure he cant do any worse than Burrell. Then there's Carlos Lee, who in my opinion, is having an even better season than Soriano. Lee is posting a .296 AVG 16HR 72RBI season. Again, another great player to fill the void in left field. As for starters, well, lets put it this way. Eaton and Garcia arent making the cut. On the other hand, Ted Lilly is 7-4 with a 3.69ERA and Randy Wolf is pitching pretty well for the Dodgers too.
Bullpen is a major issue!!!! Rosario, Madson, Geary, Alfonseca, Romero, Sanches, and Zagurski arent making the cut. I would only keep about two or three if Im generous. Players like Chad Bradford and Justin Speier are having great seasons. Joe Borowski, who could have been a Phillie, has saved 25 out of 27 games for the Indians. Then theres the catcher position. Johnny Estrada expressed to the media how he would like to come back and play for Phillie. I guess the Phils didnt feel the same. It wouldve been nice to have a .295AVG 7HR 33RBI player htting 8th for us. And dont forget about the Phils we gave up on.Aaron Fultz is pitching lights out with the Indians. Justin Germano is playing well for Padres and remember Ryan Franklin? As a setup man he is 3-0 with a 1.29ERA in about 40 innings.
Granted, the Phillies arent going to get all of these players. But dont you think a few more bucks thrown in their face will make them want to wear a Phillies jersey???
