The Phillies and the Deadline

Trade Deadline Focus
Cory Lidle

The trade deadline is less than a week away, so it seems like as good a time as any to examine the many players on the Phillies roster that could be dealt between now and July 31st. Should the Phillies deal steady starting pitcher and free agent to be Cory Lidle? Let's take a closer look:

Upside: Lidle is a little bit like the David Dellucci of the pitching world – he is at or near the top of the rather large group of second tier starting pitchers that come with a low price tag. Plus, Lidle has been hot as of late and has a well deserved reputation around the majors as a second half pitcher.

Downside: There isn’t much downside to dealing Lidle with regards to the Phillies immediate future (i.e. the 2006 season) assuming the Phillies dealing of him coincides with their unofficial concession of the ’06 season. The downside of dealing Lidle could potentially be felt come 2007 – do the Phillies dare risk going into 2007 with so many young question marks (Cole Hamels, Scott Mathieson, Ryan Madson, Gavin Floyd, etc.) in the rotation. Lidle is a free agent after the season, but the Phillies are in a position to offer him arbitration (again, much like Dellucci) and see how the situation plays out. Either he’d accept and return for a reasonable salary in ’07 or he’d sign elsewhere and net the Phillies a draft pick or two for their troubles.

One last thing to add to the 2007 rotation discussion…around this time last year I began having a weird suspicion that the Phillies big free agent addition to the pitching staff would end up being Tom Gordon. It made sense logically, there were quiet rumblings about it in the papers every now and then (mostly involving Gordon saying he’d only sign with a team with a vacancy at the closer spot), and, however unexplainable it may be, I just had a hunch. I’m beginning to have similar feelings about another pitcher who just so happens to currently call Yankee Stadium home. Time for my totally baseless, unfounded prediction of the season: next year’s Philadelphia Phillies opening day starter will be none other than Mike Mussina. Just a hunch.

Anyway…back to Cory Lidle.

Looking around big league rosters it seems that every team out there has a Cory Lidle-type or two currently in their rotation. It just so happens the Phillies currently have the original Cory and, like it or not, that isn’t so bad a thing in today’s baseball world. Lidle is a fine back of the rotation starter who still has another year or two of league average baseball in him.

Teams with Interest: Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays

Best Fits: Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox

Fair Value:

Toronto Blue Jays: IF Aaron Hill, C Curtis Thigpen, RHP Shaun Marcum

Hill and Marcum for Lidle might be an idea worth floating out there from a Phillies perspective, but any deal involving the Jays current starting second baseman would be contingent on Toronto pulling the trigger on the much discussed Julio Lugo trade. Thigpen may be wishful thinking on my end, but it never hurts to ask…

Los Angeles Dodgers: RHP Joel Hanrahan, OF Anthony Raglani, OF Xavier Paul, OF Sergio Pedroza, RHP John Meloan

Pick an outfielder and a pitcher out of this group and make something happen. The Dodgers system is loaded with talent (with an intriguing group of third basemen scattered from AAA to short season ball), but the aforementioned group of prospects are all second tier kind of players (with the exception of Meloan). The Phils won’t be landing a Andy LaRoche or Russell Martin for Cory Lidle…though they might have had a shot at Dioner Navarro awhile back.

Boston Red Sox: OF Yahmed Yema (.291/.334/.443 in Low-A) and 3B Chad Spann (.304/.370/.487 in AA)

The Red Sox system really underwhelms me as a whole…I think it is one of the most overrated group of minor leaguers in the game. Their pitching is strong, but is full of “untouchable” players (i.e. Jon Papelbon, Jon Lester, Craig Hansen, and to a lesser extent Clay Bucholz and Mike Bowden). Their hitting is suspect, but more attainable for the Phillies - I doubt Jacoby Ellsbury or Dustin Pedroia will be any package for Lidle, so I went with an intriguing young outfielder in Yema and a third baseman having a rebound year in Spann.

My Deal: The Yema/Spann package intrigues me for some reason and I honestly can’t explain why…just a hunch about the two players, I suppose. It also could be that I couldn’t really find a good match with the Blue Jays or the Dodgers…I have no idea what kind of young players Cory Lidle will fetch, so I’m doing my best to stay conservative in my prognostications (i.e. no Dustin McGowan or Adam Lind for the Jays nor any LaRoche, Martin, Blake DeWitt, Joel Guzman, Scott Elbert, etc. for the Dodgers).

Final Verdict: I’m not sure exactly if any of the players or teams I mentioned here will be involved in any deal for Lidle, but I am fairly certain that Cory Lidle will no longer be a Phillie as of August 1^st.

The Phillies and the Deadline

Trade Deadline Focus
David Dellucci

The trade deadline is less than a week away, so it seems like as good a time as any to examine the many players on the Phillies roster that could be dealt between now and July 31st. Should the Phillies deal backup corner outfielder David Dellucci? Let's take a closer look:

Upside: Dellucci has established himself as the top second tier outfielder of this year’s trade market and in doing so has set the Phillies up in a situation where they can fetch a future contributor or two from a team in need of a short-term, low salary fix in the outfield.

Downside: There are plenty of reasons for the Phils to not trade Dellucci: he is cheap ($950,000), he is great insurance against a larger trade involving either Pat Burrell or Bobby Abreu, he will be arbitration eligible next season (meaning he’ll have the choice to accept an offer to stay with the Phillies and be relatively cheap again or he can decline and net the Phillies a draft pick or two for losing him)

Teams with Interest (both reported in the papers and reasonable guesses): Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals

Best Fits (in order): St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers…the Detroit Tigers are also hot on the Dellucci trail

Fair Value:

St. Louis

C Bryan Anderson
OF Cody Haerther
3B Travis Hanson
OF/1B John Gall – From this year’s Baseball Prospectus: “An added benefit to having Gall on the roster: frequent broadcast references to Alfred Kinsey, who got his start in biology by cataloguing the wasps that share the outfielder’s surname.” He also has killed lefties so far this year thus making him a fine potential platoon player at the big league level (at the very least).
LHP Tyler Johnson
C/IF/OF Randy Roth
OF Nick Stavinoha
LHP Eric Haberer
RHP Mark McCormick
RHP Brad Thompson
RHP Mark Worrell

New York Yankees

RHP Jeff Marquez
RHP Matt DeSalvo
RHP Tyler Clippard
RHP Colter Bean
RHP T.J. Beam
RHP Joshua Schmidt
RHP Jason Stephens
OF Kevin Thompson
OF Kevin Reese

Texas Rangers

C Gerald Laird
RHP Joaquin Benoit
RHP John Hudgins
3B Travis Metcalf
C Mike Nickeas
IF Tug Hulett
SS Joaquin Arias
RHP Wes Littleton
RHP Omar Beltre
OF Brandon Boggs
RHP Nathan Fogle
C/3B Emerson Frostad

My Deal: If I had to make a deal involving Dellucci, I’d see if I could pick two guys from each team out of the lists provided above and see who bites. When compiling those lists I was shocked how underrated the Texas Rangers farm system is. The Rangers continue to be a logical option for any Phillies trade in the next week as it appears Pat Gillick is very comfortable trading with Texas.

My ideal deal in the case of David Dellucci would be no deal at all. The prospect of hanging on to Dellucci for the remainder of 2006 is appealing in and of itself, but it gets even better when factoring in the benefit of draft pick compensation if he decided to leave after the season. Does anybody out there trust the Phillies to acquire prospects in a trade of Dellucci of equal value to players that they could potential grab with additional draft picks in the first two rounds of the ’07 draft? Hold on to Dellucci, maybe he plays a lot if Abreu or Burrell are deal, maybe he doesn’t – either way, he is ultimately worth more to the club in the long run if he leaves as a free agent than if they deal him now. Holding on to him also leaves open the possibility that he’ll opt to resign with the club after the season is over. Many fans have already decided that Dellucci hates it in Philly and can’t wait to get out of town, but a nice raise in salary plus the promise of more playing time has a way of convincing many a disgruntled athlete into sticking around.

Final Verdict: Keep Dellucci unless blown away by an offer.

Minor League Update 7/17 - 7/23

AAA Scranton-WB

• Michael Bourn: 7-28, 2B, 6 R, 5 BB, 2 SB (8), 7 K, OF assist
• Carlos Ruiz: 10-24, 2 HR (9), 3 2B, 10 RBI, 7 R, 7 BB, 2 HBP, 4 K, CS (3), PB (4)
• Chris Roberson: 7-29, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 4 SB (19), 2 CS (9), 5 K, OF assist, E (7)
• Josh Kroeger: 2-22, 3B, 2B, RBI, 2 R, 6 K, OF assist
• Danny Sandoval: 5-28, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K, E (14)
• Brennan King: 6-30, 2 HR (11), 4 RBI, 4 R, BB, 7 K, 2 E (13)

First off, superb week for Carlos Ruiz, decent week for Mike Bourn, and dismal week for Josh Kroeger...

Scranton had a mid-week series against the Durham Bulls, a team loaded with potential big leaguers. Check out some of the players in the starting lineup: B.J. Upton 3B,Ben Zobrist SS, Delmon Young RF, Elijah Dukes LF, Shawn Riggans C, and Wes Bankston 1B. Upton, Young, and Dukes all look like potential impact players, Bankston should be an above average regular, and Riggans and Zobrist ought to hold major league jobs for a long time. That's quite a minor league team...Scranton also played the Charlotte Knights this week...the Knights are the White Sox AAA affiliate. Their lineup includes familiar names such as former Yankee wonder kid Ruben Rivera in rightfield and former Astros pitching prospect Tim Redding on the mound. As far as prospects go, Charlotte is thing - the player that most Phillies fans have on their radar is Josh Fields, one of the top third base prospects in baseball. He went 2-5 with a run scored in the series...

• Gavin Floyd (W, 4-1): 7 IP 8 H 4 ER 2 BB 7 K
• Scott Mathieson (W, 2-0): 7.2 IP 7 H 5 ER 3 BB 9 K
• Eude Brito (L, 8-6): 6 IP 5 H 3 ER 3 BB 5 K
• Clay Condrey: 3 IP 6 H 3 ER 1 BB 2 K
• Brian Sanches (2 S, 16): 4 IP 2 H 0 ER 1 BB 4 K
• Travis Minix: 1 IP 2 H 1 ER 1 BB 0 K
• Ryan Cameron (S, 7): 3 IP 3 H 1 ER 1 BB 2 K

Call up Brian Sanches...

AA Reading

• Jason Jaramillo: 2-13, RBI, R, BB, K, E (6)
• Angel Chavez: 1-17, 2 RBI, 3 K, 2 E (12)
• Sal Fasano: 0-3
  

So long, Sal...

• Randy Wolf (W, 1-1): 5 IP 6 H 3 R 2 ER 2 BB 4 K
• Gio Gonzalez: 5 IP 3 H 4 ER 4 BB 6 K (3 HBP)
• Gio Gonzalez: 4.1 IP 5 H 4 ER 7 BB 2 K
• J.A. Happ (W, 4-1): 7 IP 3 H 0 ER 2 BB 9 K
• Zack Segovia (W, 8-4): 6 IP 3 H 0 ER 0 BB 3 K
• Nick Evangelista: 4.1 IP 5 H 4 ER 1 BB 3 K

I have no idea what's up with Gio Gonzalez...

High A Clearwater

• Mike Costanzo: 5-22, HR (8), 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K, E (17)
• Brad Harman: 3-15, 2 2B, 4 R, 4 BB, 2 K, 5 E (31)
• Bryan Hansen: 0-13, 3 R, 5 BB, 5 K
• Tuffy Gosewisch: 4-13, 2B, 2 RBI, R, HBP, E (5)
• Tim Moss: 7-23, 2B, RBI, R, 2 SB (13), BB, 6 K
• Sal Fasano: 0-5, K
  

31 errors for Harman is tough to swallow...so long, Sal...

• Julio De La Cruz: 7 IP 4 H 1 ER 2 BB 4 K
• Julio De La Cruz (L, 4-7): 4 IP 11 H 7 R 4 ER 2 BB 2 K
• Andrew Baldwin (W, 7-6): 7 IP 9 H 1 ER 0 BB 6 K
• Derek Griffith (L, 6-7): 4.1 IP 3 H 3 R 1 ER 3 BB 2 K
• Kyle Kendrick (W, 5-4): 7 IP 5 H 2 ER 1 BB 3 K
• Joe Bisenius: 4.2 IP 4 H 1 ER 1 BB 5 K
• Pat Overholt (W, 1-0): 2.1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K

Low A Lakewood

• Greg Golson: 7-29, HR, 2 RBI, 6 R, 2 SB (23), BB, HBP, CS (7), 13 K, OF assist
• Welinson Baez: 0-5, 2 K
• Lou Marson: 5-18, HR, RBI, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 3 K, PB (6)
• Jeremy Slayden: 6-21, 2 HR (7), 2 2B, 7 RBI, 5 R, 5 BB, 6 K
• Clay Harris: 11-23, 2 HR (12), 2 2B, 8 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K, E (7)
  

13 strikeouts in a week? Clearly it's time for Golson to be promoted...

• Matt Maloney (W, 11-5): 7 IP 5 H 2 R 1 ER 1 BB 6 K
• Matt Maloney (W, 12-5): 7 IP 7 H 1 ER 3 BB 5 K
• Carlos Carrasco: 6 IP 4 H 2 ER 1 BB 1 K
• Josh Outman (W, 8-5): 7 IP 5 H 3 R 2 ER 2 BB 7 K
• Justin Blaine: 4.1 IP 6 H 4 ER 2 BB 2 K
• Will Savage (S, 1): 4 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 4 K
• Mike Zagurski: 3 IP 6 H 3 ER 1 BB 6 K
• Brett Harker (W, 1-3): 3 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 2 K
• Andy Barb (S, 14): 4 IP 2 H 2 ER 4 BB 6 K

The race for Phillies minor league pitcher of the year is now down to two official candidates: J.A. Happ and Matt Maloney...both guys have been outright dominant, Maloney absolutely deserves to be double jumped to AA Reading next season...J.A. Happ has been great, but I still like both Carlos Carrasco and Gio Gonzalez over him in the long run...Will Savage (a June draftee) has been near perfect since earning his promotion to Low-A...

Short Season: Batavia

• SS Jason Donald (3^rd Round): 5-26, 3B, 2B, RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 3 SB (6), 8 K, E (5)
• CF Quintin Berry (5^th Round): 5-25, 2 RBI, BB, 4 K, SB (7)
• 1B Charlie Yarbrough (7^th Round): 2-16, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, 6 K
• 2B/SS Zach Penprase (13^th Round): 3-20, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB, 2 SB (8), 7 K, 2 CS (3), E (3)
  
• OF Gus Milner (14^th Round): 9-22, HR, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, HBP, 3 K, OF assist
• 3B Cody Montgomery (16^th Round): 2-14, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 K
• OF Jay Miller (17^th Round): 1-19, RBI, 2 R, HBP, 2 SB (3), BB, 2 K
• 3B/OF Jacob Dempsey (21^st Round): 5-20, HR, RBI, 3 R, 8 K
• C Shawn McGill (23^rd Round): 2-6, K, SB (1)
• RF/1B Doug Morales: 4-17, 2 RBI, R, 2 K, E (1)
• C/1B/3B/LF Tim Kennelly: 1-5, RBI, BB, CS (1), PB (3)
• C Joel Naughton: 4-16, HR, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, K, PB (3)
  

Batavia hitter of the week: Gus Milner...and by a lot. The Muckdogs ran wild on the Orioles short season team earlier in the week - O's top catching prospect Brandon Snyder had a very hard time keeping up with the M-Dogs...they stole 6 stolen bases (including a Jason Donald steal of home) in one game...

• Edgar Garcia (L, 2-3): 4.1 IP 7 H 7 ER 3 BB 7 K
• Daniel Brauer (L, 1-1): 6 IP 7 H 2 ER 0 BB 10 K
• Michael Dubee: 4 IP 1 H 1 ER 4 BB 0 K
• Michael Dubee: 5 IP 4 H 1 ER 2 BB 2 K
• Andrew Cruse (W, 1-2): 6 IP 3 H 0 ER 1 BB 4 K
• Andrew Cruse (W, 2-2): 6 IP 2 H 0 ER 3 BB 3 K
• Ben Pfinsgraff (S, 1): 5.2 IP 3 H 1 ER 2 BB 6 K
• Sam Walls (L, 0-1): 3.1 IP 3 H 1 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K
• John Brownell: 5.1 IP 4 H 0 ER 1 BB 4 K

It is really hard not to like the 2006 pitching draft class...

Rookie: GCL Phillies

• SS Adrian Cardenas (1^st Round): 6-20, HR, 2B, 5 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 3 SB (6), 5 K, 2 E (9)
• CF D’Arby Myers (4^th Round): 10-19, HR, 3B, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 7 R, 2 SB (7), 2 BB, 5 K, 2 E (2)
• OF Terrance Warren (8^th Round): 0-7, RBI, R, BB, 3 K
  
• OF Darin McDonald (12^th Round): 4-15, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB (4), 5 K
• OF Dominic Brown (20^th Round): 4-10, 2B, RBI, R, BB, 2 K
• C Michael Fuentes (29^th Round): 2-8, 2B, RBI, 3 R, BB, E (1), 4 PB (5)
• 2B/3B Michael Deveaux (33^rd Round): 1-10, HR, 3 RBI, R, 3 K
• 2B/3B Herman Demmink (28^th Round): 1-3, SB (2), BB, K
• LF Jermaine Williams: 1-10, R, 3 K
• 1B Michael Durant: 3-9, 2 2B, BB, HBP, 2 K, SB (1), CS (1)
• SS/3B Derrick Mitchell: 2-15, 2B, 3 RBI, 4 R, BB, HBP, 4 K
  

D'Arby Myers is a player, definitely keep an eye on him... Michael Fuentes allowed 4 passed balls on Sunday - this is a huge problem for a player who's strength was supposedly his defense...

• Robert Roth: 3.2 IP 4 H 3 R 2 ER 4 BB 3 K
• Jarrod Freeman: 5 IP 2 H 2 ER 1 BB 3 K
• Matt Olson: 5 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
  

Jarrod Freeman with a 9-2 GO/FO ratio this week...Matt Olson with an even crazier 14-0 GO/FO ratio...gotta teach 'em all to throw groundballs while they are young, right?

Lakewood BlueClaws First Hand Report

My first contributing reader email:

Although I have only seen the Lakewood BlueClaws play once, I have to agree with jb’s comment from 7/10, "As a frequent guest of the Lakewood BlueClaws... I must say they stink". At the Sunday game I attended in Greensboro, home to the Grasshoppers, the BlueClaws were so bad I barely got to see their offense during the first half of the game. What bothered me most was how much the BlueClaws reminded me of the current Phillies. The whole game was painful to watch with a total of four errors and batting into three double plays. To add insult to injury in typical Phillies fashion winning the game was within their grasp and thrown away in the 9th. All my complaining would lead you to believe that the whole experience was negative, but this wasn’t so. The new stadium was beautiful and I was given a free loaf of the new Sara Lee whole grain white bread after the game as a promotion. Here are a few pictures of players and the stadium:

The Grasshopper's First Horizon Park framed the quaint Greensboro downtown on a beautiful 90 degree Sunday afternoon. The park also made decent BBQ sandwiches and an excellent cole slaw.

A view from the left field lawn seats

Mike Spidale: He may be a 24-year old minor league lifer, but you can't deny the coolness of this picture

Jeremy Slayden: Is it possible he is the best pure hitting prospect in the system? Maybe not, but his name is at least in the discussion. This is no knock against Slayden, who is a fine young hitter by all accounts, but there is no team in baseball that can afford to have an advanced college hitter hitting well in Low-A even in the discussion about best hitting prospect.

Lou Marson: For some inexplicable reason, I remain a huge believer in Lou Marson as this organization's catcher of the future. Wishful thinking probably...

Welinson Baez: At least when Baez is in the batter's box, there is little chance he'll make some kind of error...

Justin Blaine: Groundball machine, but that only gets you so far when you have fringe-average stuff (at best). Blaine better get used to those long minor league bus rides, I see many more in his future...

John Urick: Another Phillies' mercenary signed off the minor league free agent scrap heap...another swell picture though

Minor League Update: 7/10-7/16

Just a minor league update for now, but I may actually have some real content ready to put up shortly...the trade deadline is fast approaching and there is plenty to talk about...

AAA Scranton-WB

• Michael Bourn: 5-17, 2B, RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, K, 3 SB (6), CS (1), OF assist
• Josh Kroeger: 4-16, HR, 2 RBI, 4 R, SB (3), 4 K
• Danny Sandoval: 7-16, 3 2B, 6 RBI, 2 R, 3 K
• Brennan King: 8-16, 2 HR, 3B, 3 2B, 12 RBI, 5 R, BB, 2 E (11)
• Chris Roberson: 0-2, RBI, E (6)
  

King hit for the cycle with 8 RBI on Friday…not a bad day all in all. Bourn is now at .375/.444/.550 in 40 at bats for Scranton...he also has 36 steals in 41 chances on the season.

• Gavin Floyd (W, 3-1): 7 IP 4 H 0 ER 1 BB 6 K
• Scott Mathieson (W, 1-0): 6 IP 6 H 2 ER 1 BB 7 K
• Eude Brito: 5 IP 3 H 0 ER 3 BB 5 K
• Seung Lee: 2 IP 3 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K
• Brian Sanches (S, 14): 2 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 3 K
• Ryan Cameron: 2 IP 1 H 1 ER 1 BB 2 K
• Clay Condrey: 3 IP 4 H 0 ER 0 BB 3 K
• Travis Minix: 1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K
  

Very encouraging AAA debut for Scott Mathieson...Eude Brito continues to pitch well enough to warrant a September promotion...bipolar (in a baseball sense) young starter Gavin Floyd turned in a fine performance this week...call up Brian Sanches!

AA Reading

• Jason Jaramillo: 1-14, 2 R, 6 BB, 3 K
• Angel Chavez: 6-19, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 4 R, 4 BB, 4 K
  
  
• Randy Wolf: 3.1 IP 3 H 1 ER 3 BB 2 K
• Scott Mathieson (W, 7-2): 7 IP 6 H 4 ER 3 BB 4 K
• J.A. Happ (W, 2-1): 5.2 IP 7 H 3 ER 2 BB 10 K
• Zack Segovia (W, 7-4): 4.2 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 4 K
• Nick Evangelista: 3 IP 2 H 1 ER 1 BB 0 K

Few pitchers in the system have seen their stock skyrocket as much as J.A. Happ's...his future is as tough to predict as any young pitcher's in the system (is he good enough to be a big league starter or does he slot in best as a reliever?)...

High A Clearwater

• Mike Costanzo: 4-23, HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, HBP, SB (2), 6 K, 2 E (16)
• Brad Harman: 7-23, 3 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, HBP, 5 K, E (26)
• Bryan Hansen: 6-19, HR, 2B, 6 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K, E (7)
• Tuffy Gosewisch: 7-16, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, HBP
• Tim Moss: 8-20, 2B, RBI, 5 R, BB, HBP, K, SB (11), CS (3)
• Sal Fasano: 1-7, RBI
  

The Clearwater lineup had a very good week although Mike Costanzo sure did his part to keep it from being a great week...Sal Fasano's return to Philly should occur mid-week...

• Kyle Kendrick: 5.1 IP 8 H 6 ER 1 BB 3 K
• Kyle Kendrick (W, 4-4): 7 IP 7 H 4 R 2 ER 2 BB 2 K
• Julio De La Cruz: 4.2 IP 6 H 7 ER 4 BB 5 K
• Derek Griffith (W, 6-6): 7 IP 10 H 2 ER 0 BB 4 K
• Andrew Baldwin: 5 IP 13 H 4 R 3 ER 1 BB 0 K
• Pat Overholt: 3 IP 2 H 1 R 0 ER 0 BB 5 K

Nothing too special out of the Clearwater pitching staff this week...now that Happ and Segovia have been promoted to Reading, there isn't all that much on the staff to get excited about

Low A Lakewood

• Greg Golson: 4-23, 3B, 4 RBI, 3 R, BB, 3 SB (20), 5 K, 2 OF assists
• Welinson Baez: 2-13, 2B, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K, E (25)
• Lou Marson: 5-14, 3 R, 6 BB, K, PB (5)
• Jeremy Slayden: 9-21, HR, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 6 K, E (4)
• Clay Harris: 3-23, 2B, 3 RBI, HBP, 5 K
  

Great weeks for Slayden and Marson (6 BB/1 K is especially nice), but iffy weeks for Golson, Baez, and Harris. Doubts about Baez' ability to handle third base long-term are quietly creeping up...

• Randy Wolf: 3 IP 2 H 1 ER 2 BB 2 K
• Matt Maloney (W, 10-5): 7 IP 3 H 1 ER 3 BB 4 K
• Carlos Carrasco (W, 7-5): 6 IP 4 H 1 ER 3 BB 7 K
• Josh Outman: 3.2 IP 8 H 3 ER 3 BB 4 K
• Justin Blaine (W, 2-0): 4.2 IP 3 H 1 ER 0 BB 4 K
• Justin Blaine (L, 2-1): 5 IP 7 H 7 R 4 ER 4 BB 4 K
• Brett Harker (S, 11): 3.2 IP 4 H 1 ER 1 BB 2 K
• Andy Barb (S, 13): 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 2 BB 0 K
• Pat Overholt: 1 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K

Carrasco is a star...even though he is further away from the majors than Gio Gonzalez and less of a sure thing, I think he has now displaced him as the Phillies best minor league pitcher.

Short Season: Batavia

• SS Jason Donald (3^rd Round): 5-17, RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, SB (3), K, CS (1)
• CF Quintin Berry (5^th Round): 8-18, 2B, RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, SB (6), 4 K, CS (2), OF assist
• 1B Charlie Yarbrough (7^th Round): 3-17, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 5 K
• 2B/SS Zach Penprase (13^th Round): 1-4, 2 R, BB, SB (7), K, CS (2)
• OF Gus Milner (14^th Round): 2-13, 2B, 5 K, 2 OF assists
• 3B Cody Montgomery (16^th Round): 5-21, RBI, SB (2), 2 K
• OF Jay Miller (17^th Round): 4-14, 3 RBI, 2 BB, HBP, 3 K, OF assist
• 3B/OF Jacob Dempsey (21^st Round): 3-12, 3 2B, 2 RBI, R, 3 K
• C Shawn McGill (23^rd Round): 0-1, K
• RF/1B Doug Morales: 3-10, R, BB, SB (2), 3 K
• C/1B/3B/LF Tim Kennelly: 1-16, HBP, 8 K, 2 E (9)
• C Joel Naughton: 1-11, R, BB, 3 K, PB (2)
  
  
• Will Savage (26^th Round): 1.1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
• Sam Walls (10^th Round): 3 IP 4 H 0 ER 0 BB 4 K
• Michael Dubee: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
• Andrew Cruse: 3.1 IP 5 H 4 ER 2 BB 4 K
• Ben Pfinsgraff: 2.1 IP 2 H 1 ER 3 BB 4 K
• Edgar Garcia (W, 2-2): 5 IP 7 H 2 ER 1 BB 2 K
• Daniel Brauer: 5 IP 4 H 0 ER 2 BB 4 K
• John Brownell: 4 IP 1 H 1 ER 1 BB 6 K

I need to start trimming down the short-season prospect lists, maybe next week I'll begin doing just that...Savage was promoted to Lakewood at the end of the week and made his debut: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K…

Rookie: GCL Phillies

• SS Adrian Cardenas (Supplemental 1^st Round): 5-15, 2 3B, 2B, RBI, 3 R, 2 K, SB (3), 2 E (7)
• CF D’Arby Myers (4^th Round): 3-16, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 K
• OF Terrance Warren (8^th Round): 6-18, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB, 7 K
• OF Darin McDonald (12^th Round): 5-13, 2 2B, 3 RBI, R, OF assist, 2 K, 3 E (5)
• OF Dominic Brown (20^th Round): 0-6, RBI, R, 2 BB, SB (4)
• C Michael Fuentes (29^th Round): 0-7, 3 K
• 2B/3B Michael Deveaux (33^rd Round): 2-4, 2B
• 2B/3B Herman Demmink (28^th Round): 0-4, K, E (4)
• LF Jermaine Williams: 0-3, K, E (1)
• 1B Michael Durant: 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K
• SS/3B Derrick Mitchell: 0-12, R, 2 BB, SB (1), 6 K, 4 E (6)
  
  
• Michael Dubee: 3 IP 5 H 1 ER 0 BB 0 K
• Robert Roth (19^th Round): 4 IP 2 H 1 ER 2 BB 3 K
• Jarrod Freeman: 5 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 3 K
• Matt Olson: 3 IP 4 H 4 R 2 ER 2 BB 3 K
• Kyle Drabek: 1 IP 4 H 3 ER 1 BB 1 K
  

The debut of Kyle Drabek did not go as planned...what else is new?...welcome to the Phillies, kid.

Whoa

Minor League Update (Week of 7/3 -7/9)

AAA Scranton-WB

• Michael Bourn: 10-23, 3 3B, 4 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, HBP, 3 SB (3), 5 K, E (1)
• Josh Kroeger: 7-26, HR, 3 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB, 3 K
• Danny Sandoval: 10-30, 2B, RBI, 4 R, BB, 2 K, CS (1)
• Brennan King: 9-28, 2 HR, 2B, 6 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 6 K, E (9)
• Carlos Ruiz: 1-6, RBI, R (PHILLIES)
  
• Chris Roberson: 3-6, 2 R, SB (15), 2 K, E (4) (PHILLIES)
  
• Mike Lieberthal: 4-6, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, HBP
  

Bourn is now hitting a robust .435/.500/.696 since his promotion to AAA...sure, he has only had 23 at bats so far, but it's still something...Mike Lieberthal performed quite well in his two rehab starts, he should be ready to return to the Phillies after the All-Star break...

• Gavin Floyd: 6 IP 10 H 7 ER 5 BB 1 K
• Gavin Floyd: 6 IP 4 H 3 R 1 ER 3 BB 5 K
• Eude Brito (W, 7-5): 7 IP 3 H 1 ER 0 BB 5 K
• Eude Brito (W, 8-5): 9 IP 5 H 0 ER 1 BB 7 K
• Seung Lee (2 W, L, 6-7): 4.1 IP 6 H 5 ER 5 BB 3 K
  
• Clay Condrey: 2.2 IP 6 H 2 ER 1 BB 2 K
• Brian Sanches (2 S, 13): 3.1 IP 2 H 0 ER 1 BB 5 K
• Ryan Cameron: 1 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 2 K
• Travis Minix: 3 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K

Gavin Floyd - one terrible start, one solid start...the pattern continues...Eude Brito - two fantastic starts...Brian Sanches continues to dominate out of the Red Baron bullpen (while Rick White continues to do something the Phillies like enough to keep him in the majors...)

AA Reading

• Michael Bourn: 1-5, RBI, 2 R, SB (30), K (SCRANTON)
  
• Jason Jaramillo: 6-25, HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 5 K, E (5)
• Angel Chavez: 6-24, 3B, 3 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, SB (6), 3 K, E (10)
  

This is the worst of times for Reading Phillies fans...only two "prospects" in the everyday lineup (and both guys profile best as big league backups at this point in time)

• Zack Segovia (W, 5-4): 9 IP 7 H 0 ER 3 BB 5 K
• Zack Segovia (W, 6-4): 5 IP 6 H 4 ER 3 BB 2 K
• J.A. Happ (W, 1-1): 6 IP 4 H 2 ER 6 BB 6 K
• Gio Gonzalez (L, 4-9): 5 IP 6 H 3 ER 2 BB 3 K
• Nick Evangelista (W, 3-0): 1.2 IP 2 H 1 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K

Mixed results this week out of the R-Phils starting staff...Nick Evangelista may soon get a well deserved promotion to Scranton (no inside info on my part, just pure speculation)...

High A Clearwater

• Mike Costanzo: 7-22, HR, 2B, 4 RBI, 4 R, 6 BB, 5 K, CS (1), 3 E (15)
• Brad Harman: 8-25, RBI, 4 R, 7 K
• Bryan Hansen: 7-19, 2 2B, 4 RBI, R, 2 BB, 2 K
• Tuffy Gosewisch: 3-14, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB, 3 K
• Tim Moss: 4-22, 5 RBI, 6 R, 6 BB, 3 SB (10), 7 K, CS (2), E (2)
  

Good weeks for Costanzo, Harman, and Hansen...I hope Tim Moss invested a good bit of that $440,000 signing bonus he received in 2003...

• Derek Griffith (W, 5-6): 7 IP 4 H 0 ER 2 BB 6 K
• Andrew Baldwin (W, 5-6): 8 IP 7 H 5 R 3 ER 1 BB 3 K
• Andrew Baldwin (W, 6-6): 7.1 IP 10 H 3 ER 1 BB 3 K
• Kyle Kendrick (W, 3-4): 7 IP 8 H 3 ER 3 BB 1 K
• Julio De La Cruz: 3.1 IP 2 H 4 R 2 ER 4 BB 6 K

Derek Griffith and Andrew Baldwin are two very under the radar pitchers in this system, but both guys have performed admirably when given the chance. There is little chance either guy ever becomes much more than a league average big league pitcher, but that's not quite the insult that it may come across as - the more Griffiths and Baldwins you have, the less of the Rick Whites of the world you need to spend money on...

Low A Lakewood

• Greg Golson: 6-25, HR, 2B, RBI, 4 R, HBP, 2 BB, 3 SB (17), 6 K, OF assist
• Welinson Baez: 11-24, 6 2B, 5 RBI, 3 R, BB, HBP, SB (2), 9 K, E (23)
• Lou Marson: 5-16, HR, 3 B, 4 RBI, 4 R, 6 BB, SB (2), 4 K, E (9)
• Jeremy Slayden: 8-27, HR, 5 2B, 15 RBI, 4 R, HBP, 4 K, OF assist
• Clay Harris: 7-21, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 7 R, 8 BB, HBP, 4 K, CS (1)
  

Golson took a tiny step back this week after his impressive Minor League Player of the Month performance of June...great weeks for Welinson Baez and Clay Harris...

• Josh Outman (W, 6-5): 7 IP 3 H 2 ER 3 BB 7 K
• Josh Outman (W, 7-5): 5 IP 3 H 3 ER 5 BB 6 K
• Justin Blaine: 5 IP 6 H 2 ER 4 BB 2 K
• Carlos Carrasco (L, 5-6): 4 IP 4 H 3 ER 3 BB 2 K
• Matt Maloney (W, 9-5): 8 IP 3 H 0 ER 4 BB 6 K
• Pat Overholt: 3 IP 4 H 3 ER 1 BB 5 K
• Andy Barb (W, 4-2): 4 IP 6 H 4 R 3 ER 4 BB 5 K
• Brett Harker (S, 10): 2 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 1 K

Short Season: Batavia

• SS Jason Donald (3^rd Round): 7-21, HR, 3 2B, 8 RBI, 6 R, 4 BB, SB (2), 5 K
• CF Quintin Berry (5^th Round): 7-23, 3B, 4 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, HBP, 2 SB (5), CS (1), 4 K
• 1B Charlie Yarbrough (7^th Round): 3-18, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB, 9 K
• 2B/SS Zach Penprase (13^th Round): 5-15, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, SB (6), 4 K, E (2)
• OF Gus Milner (14^th Round): 4-20, 2 RBI, 5 R, BB, HBP, SB (2), 8 K
• 3B Cody Montgomery (16^th Round): 1-16, RBI, BB, HBP, 5 K, CS (1), 4 E (5)
• OF Jay Miller (17^th Round): 2-26, RBI, 2 R, HBP, 6 K, OF assist
• OF Jacob Dempsey (21^st Round): 4-15, HR, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 3 K, BB
• C Shawn McGill (23^rd Round): 2-7, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, 2 K, E (1)
• RF/1B Doug Morales: 2-6, 2 R, 3 BB, CS (1)
• C/1B/3B Tim Kennelly: 6-17, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, SB (1), 2 K, PB (1), 2 E (7)
• C Joel Naughton: 1-7
  

Tons of names and numbers to sort through here...Jason Donald had a smashing week, I'm wasn't thrilled with his selection in the draft this year but am very hopeful that he'll continue to prove me wrong...Nice week for Tim Kennelly as well...

• Daniel Brauer (6^th Round): 4 IP 2 H 1 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K
• Daniel Brauer: 5 IP 3 H 2 R 1 ER 2 BB 3 K
• Andrew Cruse (9^th Round): 4 IP 3 H 3 R 0 ER 2 BB 1 K
• Sam Walls (10^th Round): 3 IP 4 H 1 R 0 ER 0 BB 0 K
• Ben Pfinsgraff (22^nd Round): 5.1 IP 3 H 1 ER 1 BB 8 K
• Will Savage (26^th Round): 2.2 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K
• Edgar Garcia: 9 IP 6 H 1 ER 0 BB 7 K

Daniel Brauer and rising star Edgar Garcia are beginning to establish themselves as the cream of the Muckdog rotation...

Rookie: GCL Phillies

• SS Adrian Cardenas (Supplemental 1^st Round): 4-20, RBI, R, 3 K, 2 E (5)
• CF D’Arby Myers (4^th Round): 0-8, 2 K
• OF Terrance Warren (8^th Round): 4-18, 2B, RBI, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K, E (2), OF assist
• OF Darin McDonald (12^th Round): 1-12, R, SB (3), BB, 3 K, E (2), 2 OF assist
• OF Dominic Brown (20^th Round): 0-13, 2 RBI, SB (3), 3 BB, 6 K, CS (1)
• C Michael Fuentes (29^th Round): 1-3, PB (1)
• 2B/3B Michael Deveaux (33^rd Round): 4-13, R, 3 BB, 2 K
• 2B/3B Herman Demmink (28^th Round): 3-15, RBI, 3 R, BB, 2 K, 3 E (3)
• LF Jermaine Williams: 1-13, 2B, R, K
• 1B Michael Durant: 1-6, R, 4 K
• SS/3B Derrick Mitchell: 2-10, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 3 E (3)
  

Awful week for the GCL Phils bats...

• Matt Olson: 5 IP 4 H 1 ER 2 BB 2 K
• Matt Olson: 3.1 IP 9 H 6 R 5 ER 2 BB 2 K
• Michael Dubee (18th Round): 4 IP 4 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
• Robert Roth (19^th Round): 4 IP 2 H 1 R 0 ER 4 BB 2 K
• Antonio Bastardo: 4.1 IP 3 H 4 ER 5 BB 8 K
• Jarrod Freeman (11^th Round): 3.2 IP 3 H 2 R 0 ER 0 BB 4 K

Dubee, Roth, and Freeman were all later round selections, but should not be taken lightly as prospects...any one of the aforementioned arms could have been taken 5 rounds earlier if all had broken right for them...

Vote For Bobby

Vote for Bobby

Minor League Weekly Update

AAA Scranton-WB

• Josh Kroeger: 6-22, 3 2B, 2 R, 4 BB, 2 K, OF assist
• Danny Sandoval: 7-26, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 K, 3 E (13)
• Brennan King: 2-9, 2B, R, 3 K
• Carlos Ruiz: 10-27, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 2 R, 5 K, PB (3), E (2, catcher interference)
• Chris Roberson: 10-25, 2B, 6 R, 3 BB, 8 K, SB (14)
  

The Red Barons lackluster lineup continues to plod along...at least Carlos Ruiz and Chris Roberson keep hitting...

• Gavin Floyd (W, 2-1): 7 IP 5 H 2 ER 0 BB 6 K
• Eude Brito (W, 6-5): 6 IP 6 H 2 ER 1 BB 7 K
• Seung Lee (L, 5-5): 4 IP 2 H 1 ER 0 BB 5 K
• Ryan Cameron: 4.1 IP 5 H 2 ER 4 BB 3 K
• Brian Sanches (2 S, 11): 2 IP 0 H 0 ER 1 BB 4 K
• Travis Minix (L, 0-3): 3.2 IP 6 H 6 R 3 ER 1 BB 5 K
• Clay Condrey: 2 IP 2 H 1 ER 2 BB 0 K

Gavin Floyd rebounded from back to back awful starts with an impressive seven innings of work earlier this week. He now has five AAA starts under his belt this season - 2 bad, 3 good. Eude Brito has pitched better of late, perhaps even positioning himself for a second chance promotion later on in the season. How in the world can anybody say Rick White is a better option for the 2006 Phillies bullpen than Brian Sanches? The Rick White pick up reminds me of the Ed Wade days...

AA Reading

• Michael Bourn: 5-19, 3B, 2B, RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 SB (29), 4 K
• Jason Jaramillo: 5-16, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, 3 K, 2 PB (7)
• Angel Chavez: 5-17, HR, 5 RBI, 3 R, BB, SB (5), 2 K, 2 E (8)
  

Apparently Reading batters were not allowed to go over the 5 hit limit this week...after seeing this team in person, I'm less convinced than ever that Jason Jaramillo is any kind of answer to the Phillies question of catcher of the future - his subpar bat makes his defense all the more important, but my eyes haven't seen the plus defensive backstop that everybody keeps raving about...hopefully I'm wrong on this one...

• Zack Segovia (W, 4-4): 5 IP 3 H 3 ER 4 BB 4 K
• J.A. Happ (L, 0-1): 4.2 IP 7 H 5 R 2 ER 1 BB 8 K
• Gio Gonzalez (L, 4-8): 4.2 IP 8 H 7 ER 3 BB 7 K
• Nick Evangelista (S, 1): 3 IP 1 H 0 ER 2 BB 3 K

J.A. Happ's first AA start wasn't all we had hoped for, but it wasn't nearly as bad as his line suggests (giving up 5 runs is ugly, but only 2 were earned...plus check out that 8/1 K/BB ratio)...if the Phillies make big changes to their bullpen between now and the trade deadline, it wouldn't shock me to see Nick Evangelista make the jump from AA to South Philly...

High A Clearwater

• Mike Costanzo: 5-26, 3 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R, BB, 5 K, 2 E (12)
• Brad Harman: 4-10, RBI, 2B, 3 R, 2 K
• Bryan Hansen: 10-23, 2B, 4 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB, K
• Tuffy Gosewisch: 4-16, 3 RBI, 2 K
• Tim Moss: 9-29, 2 HR, 3B, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 6 R, 7 K, 4 SB (6), E (1)
  

Tim Moss is doing everything he can to reclaim prospect status, but it may be a lost cause at this point. He is now a 24-year old playing in High A ball where he has shown a nice speed and power blend (6 steals in 7 chances plus 5 of his 15 hits have gone for extra bases), but a total lack of plate discipline (14 strikeouts to only 1 walk in 12 High A games)...

• Derek Griffith (L, 4-6): 4.1 IP 6 H 7 ER 1 BB 6 K
• Jon Lieber (L, 0-1): 5 IP 7 H 4 ER 0 BB 3 K
• Jon Lieber (L, 0-2): 6.1 IP 12 H 6 R 5 ER 0 BB 3 K
• Andrew Baldwin (W, 4-6): 8 IP 9 H 3 ER 1 BB 5 K
• Julio De La Cruz (W, 4-5): 8 IP 4 H 0 ER 1 BB 3 K
• Kyle Kendrick: 7 IP 5 H 1 ER 4 BB 3 K

After these two dismal High A starts (plus a decent three innings in the GCL), Jon Lieber has declared himself fit and ready to go. He'll join the big team's rotation at some point on the upcoming home stand. For some reason I have a rather uneasy feeling about this...

Low A Lakewood

• Greg Golson: 8-28, HR, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 5 R, BB, 8 K, 2 SB (14), CS (6), E (3)
• Welinson Baez: 4-23, HR, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 4 E (22) (all one game)
• Lou Marson: 2-19, BB, HBP, 5 K, E (8)
• Jeremy Slayden: 2-17, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 5 K
• Clay Harris: 4-29, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, 4 BB, 2 K (1 game at third)

Most important thing going on with the Lakewood lineup: Greg Golson is beginning to hit.

• Carlos Carrasco (W, 5-4): 7 IP 3 H 0 ER 1 BB 6 K
• Carlos Carrasco (W, 6-4): 7 IP 8 H 5 R 4 ER 2 BB 4 K
• Matt Maloney (W, 8-4): 6.2 IP 5 H 1 R 0 ER 6 BB 6 K
• Matt Maloney (L, 8-5): 5.1 IP 7 H 6 R 4 ER 4 BB 5 K
• Josh Outman (L, 5-5): 5 IP 9 H 6 ER 4 BB 4 K
• Maximino De La Cruz (W, 5-2): 7 IP 7 H 4 ER 0 BB 2 K
• Justin Blaine: 4.1 IP 2 H 1 ER 3 BB 5 K
• Andy Barb (2 S, 12): 2 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 3 K
• Pat Overholt: 3.1 IP 1 H 0 ER 2 BB 6 K
• Brett Harker (L, 0-2 - S, 9): 2.1 IP 2 H 1 ER 2 BB 2 K

So many pitchers, so little time. The best BlueClaw arm belongs to Carlos Carrasco and he showed it off with his two plus performances this past week. There is no reason for Matt Maloney to still be in Low A...promote that man already...

Short Season: Batavia

• SS Jason Donald (3^rd Round): 4-13, 3 R, 3 BB, HBP, 3 K, E (2)
• CF Quintin Berry (5^th Round): 4-15, 2B, 3 R, 3 BB, SB (2), 5 K, E (1)
• 1B Charlie Yarbrough (7^th Round): 3-17, 2 RBI, R, 3 BB, 4 K
• 2B/SS Zach Penprase (13^th Round): 4-14, 3B, RBI, R, BB, SB (5), CS (1), K
• OF Gus Milner (14^th Round): 3-19, 3B, 2 2B, 7 RBI, R, HBP, 3 K
• 3B Cody Montgomery (16^th Round): 0-8, R, BB, 2 K
• OF Jay Miller (17^th Round): 11-17, HR, 4 2B, 3 RBI, 5 R, 3 K
• OF Jacob Dempsey (21^st Round): 1-11, 2B, HBP, 6 K
• Shawn McGill (23^rd Round): 0-4, K
• RF Doug Morales: 1-7, K
• C/1B/3B Tim Kennelly: 3-17, RBI, R, BB, 2 K, 4 E (5, first as catcher – 3, catcher interference – 4, third base, 5 third base = two at catcher so far)
  
• C Joel Naughton: 0-9, R, 2 BB, 3 K, PB (1)
  

Allow me to explain the notes besides Tim Kennelly's name - Kennelly is in the middle of a conversion to catcher, but is still seeing time at third base and first base while he makes the switch. He made 4 errors this week: two of them while he was behind the plate, two while playing third. On the season he has made 5 errors: 2 behind the plate, 3 while at third. In other Muckdog news...how about that Jay Miller? So far so good for the college draftee...

• Edgar Garcia (L, 0-2): 7.2 IP 7 H 4 R 2 ER 0 BB 6 K
• Daniel Brauer (6^th Round): 4 IP 1 H 0 ER 3 BB 3 K
• Andrew Cruse (9^th Round): 3 IP 6 H 5 R 4 ER 2 BB 1 K
• Sam Walls (10^th Round): 3.2 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 6 K
• Ben Pfinsgraff (22^nd Round): 4 IP 5 H 1 ER 0 BB 5 K
  
• Garet Hill (25^th Round): 3 IP 6 H 4 R 2 ER 0 BB 1 K
  
• Will Savage (26^th Round): 2 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 3 K
  

Sam Walls has been dominant since signing...plus he is one of three players the Phillies drafted that I saw play while they were in college (Shawn McGill and Herman Demmink being the other two)...

Short Season: GCL Phillies

• SS Adrian Cardenas (Supplemental 1^st Round): 3-18, 3B, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, SB (2), CS (1), 3 K
• CF D’Arby Myers (4^th Round): 2-13, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 SB (4), CS (1), 5 K
• OF Terrance Warren (8^th Round): 4-16, 4 RBI, R, BB, SB (2), 6 K, OF assist
• OF Darin McDonald (12^th Round): 4-16, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SB (2), CS (2), 7 K, E (1), OF assist
• OF Dominic Brown (20^th Round): 4-16, 2B, RBI, R, 2 BB, HBP, SB (2), 3 K, E (1), OF assist
• C Michael Fuentes (29^th Round): 1-3, 2B, BB
• 3B Michael Deveaux (33^rd Round): 0-4, K, E (2)
• 3B Herman Demmink (28^th Round): 5-10, 3B, 3 RBI, 4 R, SB (1)
  

Rough starts for the young outfield in the GCL...Demmink has been carrying the offense since joining the team after Clemson was knocked out of the College World Series...

• Antonio Bastardo (1 W, 1 L, 1-1): 6 IP 2 H 3 R 2 ER 4 BB 5 K
• Jarrod Freeman (11^th Round): 3 IP 3 H 0 ER 1 BB 1 K
• Jarrod Freeman: 4 IP 7 H 2 ER 0 BB 2 K
• Robert Roth (19^th Round): 1 IP 2 H 5 R 4 ER 3 BB 1 K

This pitching staff could get a major shot in the arm if/when newly signed Kyle Drabek joins the squad in the coming days...

Two Missed Opportunities

The Phillies are now officially sellers. It’s time to let go of any hope we once had in the 2006 season and turn our attention to the future. It may be a bit early to completely jump ship, but there is now less than a month until the July 31 trade deadline and time to decide on the course of the rest of the season is running short. So while it may be sad to have to admit failure even before the Fourth of July holiday, this baseball team, as currently composed, has no chance to reach any of the preseason goals fans had wished possible. It’s time to look to the future…

Two lopsided trades went down in the past week that could very easily have been different if the Phillies had taken a more proactive approach to rebuilding their ballclub. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays traded pitcher Mark Hendrickson, catcher Toby Hall, and $1 million to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Jae Seo, catcher Dioner Navarro, and a player to be named later. The Cleveland Indians traded platoon first baseman Eduardo Perez to the Seattle Mariners for AAA middle infielder Asdrubal Cabrera.

Getting a deal done with the Dodgers might have been tricky, but there is no reason the Phillies couldn’t have come up with at least a comparable package of players to the group Tampa offered. Mark Hendrickson may be having a better season than Cory Lidle thus far, but he has been the better pitcher throughout the time span of their careers. Hendrickson is two years younger, makes less money, and is under club control through the 2006 season (something Lidle is not). Even with those positives, Hendrickson simply isn’t the pitcher that Cory Lidle is – Lidle is a league average arm and has been for a while, Mark Hendrickson has yet to prove he can perform on that average level over the long haul.

I think a package of Cory Lidle, Sal Fasano, and (if the Dodgers bite) one of the Phillies three veteran lefthanded relievers (Arthur Rhodes, Rheal Cormier, or Aaron Fultz) at least equals the offer the Dodgers accepted. Lidle is a better bet to pitch well for the Dodgers down the stretch, Fasano is a capable backup catcher that knows his role on a team (similar to Toby Hall but way cheaper), and any of the lefties would be a deal sweetener for L.A (though they may be reluctant since they have three lefties in their pen already). Lidle and Fasano are owed roughly 1.8625 million over the rest of the season (prorated amounts); Hendrickson and Hall are owed 2.1 million. Tampa threw in $1 million to even out salaries (Navarro and Seo together are only owed $341,000 the rest of ’06). The difference in money could have been worked out between the Phillies and the Dodgers. In a dream world, the Phillies would offer Mike Lieberthal instead of Fasano and only have to chip in about a million bucks to make it work.

Getting a deal done with Seattle would have been a heck of a lot less work. The Mariners reportedly had interest in David Dellucci at some point down the line. David Dellucci, a very useful bat that can hit against righties in a platoon, would have been undoubtedly more desirable to the Mariners than Eduardo Perez, a guy who can only hit lefties. The Phillies should have offered Dellucci for Cabrera and one of these minor leaguers: RHP Francisco Cruceta, C Guillermo Quiroz, OF T.J. Bohn, RHP Clint Nageotte, or C Rob Johnson. Dellucci for Cabrera and Cruceta seems extremely reasonable for both sides – Seattle gets their man while the Phillies get a 20-year old shortstop of the future (who is already in AAA) and an arm that could slide right into the big league bullpen.

Cory Lidle, David Dellucci, Sal Fasano, Arthur Rhodes, Rheal Cormier…these players are not part of the Phillies future. A 2007 catching duo of Dioner Navarro and Carlos Ruiz – now you are getting somewhere. A special defensive middle infielder like Cabrera with enough pop in his bat to someday hold down an everyday spot at a position in dire need of an influx of talent (outside of Jimmy Rollins in Philly, there are no shortstops worth a damn in this organization) seems like a good addition. Throw in an adequate pitcher in Seo who, at the very least, can help prevent situations like the “bullpen pitches all day game!” and the dreadful Adam Bernero experience. On top of that, add a major league ready reliever with a bright future ahead in Cruceta. Bottom line: it’s time to start looking ahead and building towards the future if for no other reason than the bleakness and hopelessness of the present.