Phillies Weekly Minor League Report

AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre Red Barons

Standouts

• IF Angel Chavez: .333/.417/.714 (1.131 OPS) – 4 doubles
• C Carlos Ruiz: .350/.435/.650 (1.085 OPS) – 2 homeruns

• RHP Clay Condrey: 3.1 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K
• LHP Eude Brito: 4 IP 1 H 0 ER 2 BB 6 K

Either Chavez or Brito could be an Oriole by the end of the week...I can't wait until September 1st when the Phillies finally recall Carlos Ruiz...any catcher who puts up an OPS of .898 in AAA (even a 27-year old repeating the league) and is a plus receiver behind the plate is more than qualified to handle the backup catching job of any team in baseball...period.

Other Notables

• RHP Scott Mathieson: 6.2 IP 5 H 5 ER 2 BB 7 K
• RHP Gavin Floyd: 5.2 IP 9 H 5 ER 3 BB 2 K
• RHP Justin Germano: 5 IP 11 H 5 ER 0 BB 5 K

Three young righthanders angling for a shot to start one of those doubleheader games next weekend, three guys giving up 5 earned runs in their most recent starts...funny how that works...by the way...Scranton is close to clinching a postseason spot...so now you know

AA Reading Phillies

Standouts

• RHP Joe Bisenius: 2 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K

Other Notables

• C Jason Jaramillo: .269/.296/.423 (719 OPS) – 4 doubles, 2 errors, 2 runners picked off

• LHP Gio Gonzalez: 6 IP 4 H 4 ER 5 BB 6 K
  
• LHP J.A. Happ: 7 IP 6 H 4 ER 2 BB 8 K

Two young lefthanders, two guys giving up 4 earned runs in their most recent starts...weird stuff going on down on the farm this past week...

High A Clearwater Threshers

Standouts

• 2B Tim Moss: .385/.429/.462 (890 OPS)
  
• 3B Mike Costanzo: .273/.448/.364 (812 OPS)

• RHP Kyle Kendrick: 7 IP 5 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K
  
• RHP Pat Overholt: 5 IP 3 H 2 R 0 ER 0 BB 6 K

Pat Overholt vs. Joe Bisenius in the battle for the best Phillies minor league relief prospect...I'll go with the guy closer to the majors (Bisenius) although I admit it is more of a toss of a coin than anything else...

Other Notables

• OF Greg Golson: .259/.355/.407 (762 OPS) – HR, 8 runs scored, 12 strikeouts in 31 plate appearances
  
• SS/2B Brad Harman: .278/.316/.278 (594 OPS)

12 strikeouts in a week for Golson? Yikes...

Low A Lakewood BlueClaws

Standouts

• C Louis Marson: .316/.381/.474 (855 OPS) – 3 doubles
  
• OF Jeremy Slayden: .250/.379/.458 (838 OPS)
  
• 1B Clay Harris: .313/.450/.375 (825 OPS) – 4 walks, 0 strikeouts

• LHP Josh Outman: 12 IP 8 H 1 ER 4 BB 15 K (0.75 ERA, 1.00 WHIP)
  
• LHP Matt Maloney: 7 IP 4 H 3 R 1 ER 4 BB 10 K
  
• RHP Carlos Carrasco: 5.1 IP 8 H 2 ER 4 BB 1 K
  
• RHP Mike Zagurski: 4.2 IP 4 H 0 ER 2 BB 7 K
  
• RHP Will Savage: 4.2 IP 5 H 2 ER 0 BB 4 K
  
• RHP Brett Harker: 3 IP 3 H 1 ER 1 BB 3 K

It is easy to see why the BlueClaws have already clinched a birth in the postseason...this team should be dangerous come playoff time now that they have time to set the rotation...a 1-2-3 punch of Carrasco, Outman, and Maloney (in any order) should make Lakewood the South Atlantic League champs...

Other Notables

• 3B Welinson Baez: .250/.375/.300 (675 OPS)
  
• SS C.J. Henry: .188/.235/.438 (673 OPS) – 2 triples, 2 errors

• LHP Daniel Brauer: 4 IP 3 H 4 R 3 ER 2 BB 4 K
  
• RHP Ben Pfinsgraff: 5 IP 6 H 3 ER 0 BB 5 K

Seeing 2006 draft picks Brauer and Pfinsgraff pitch for a full season club less than three months after becoming professionals is a beautiful sight for those worried about pitching depth in the organization...I actually had a chance to see Pfinsgraff pitch while he was with the University of Maryland, but passed it up to watch Northeastern University's Adam Ottavino instead...it would have been nice to see a future Phil in action, but I think it was a good decision on my part (Ottavino went on to be a first round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals)...

Short Season Batavia Muckdogs

Standouts

• OF Jake Dempsey: .485/.500/.879 (1.379 OPS) – 3 homeruns, 4 doubles, 12 RBI, 11 runs scored
  
• C/1B/3B/OF Tim Kennelly: .438/.471/.625 (1.096 OPS)
  
• OF Jay Miller: .355/.412/.452 (863 OPS) – 9 runs scored
  
• 1B Charlie Yarbrough: .214/.389/.429 (817 OPS)

• RHP Andrew Cruse: 13 IP 14 H 4 R 3 ER 1 BB 6 K (2.08 ERA, 1.15 WHIP)
  
• RHP Andrew Carpenter: 7.2 IP 5 H 0 ER 2 BB 11 K
  
• RHP Edgar Garcia: 6 IP 3 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
  
• RHP Reymond Cruz: 5 IP 5 H 0 ER 0 BB 8 K
  
• RHP Michael Dubee: 5 IP 6 H 2 R 1 ER 2 BB 4 K

Dempsey's week has to rank up their with the very best of any Phillies minor leaguer this season...great to see Andrew Carpenter, the Phillies second round pick this past year, pitch so effectively...on the season he has pitched 10.2 innings with 15 strikeouts, 2 walks, and no earned runs allowed...

Other Notables

• OF Quintin Berry: .200/.368/.200 (568 OPS) – 4 walks
  
• SS Jason Donald: .235/.368/.294 (663 OPS) – 2 stolen bases
  
• C Joel Naughton: .278/.300/.278 (578 OPS) – 4 RBI, 2 errors
  
• OF Gus Milner: .290/.290/.290 (581 OPS) – 9 hits in 31 at bats…all 9 were singles
  
• 2B/SS Zach Penprase: .040/.040/.040 (080 OPS) – one for twenty five…six strikeouts
  
  
• RHP Alexander Concepcion: 9 IP 8 H 5 ER 2 BB 9 K

Penprase with a week to forget...1 for 25...I really liked him as a sleeper prospect from the 2006 draft, but this dreadful week has really put a hurt on his '06 numbers (.225/.288/.264)...fear not Zach, your numbers may be bad but you are in the right organization...don't believe me? Compare his numbers with the Phils current starting third baseman...

Phillie Killer Jeff Conine Joins the Good Guys

The Phillies completed a long rumored deal today as they officially announced their acquisition of Baltimore Orioles corner OF/corner IF/ultimate gritty veteran Jeff Conine. In return, the Phillies will send the Orioles a player to be named later...a player believed to be currently a part of the Phils 40-man roster. The Baltimore Sun reports:

However, it is believed that the Orioles will get one of the following Triple-A players: infielder Angel Chavez, left-handed starter Eude Brito or right-handed reliever Brian Sanches. Chavez, 25, is hitting .271 with five home runs and 26 RBIs. Brito, 28, is 10-8 with a 3.30 ERA this season, and Sanches, 28, is 3-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 17 saves.

The Orioles also are expected to send $550,000 to the Phillies to help offset Conine's $2 million option next season.

Mr. Marlin turned 40 years old this past June and is a veteran of 15 big league seasons. A deal like this is a confusing one (to me anyway) to properly analyze - there are plenty of pros and cons to pick apart for such a relatively small roster move. As far as a solid righthanded hitting bat off the bench (792 OPS against lefties from 2002-2005, 795 OPS against them so far this year) that ought to be an upgrade for a bench stretched thin as currently composed. It is unclear at the time of this posting as to which player currently on the 25-man roster will be sent down to make room for Conine. Ideally, the Phils will send IF Danny Sandoval back to Scranton and go with a bench of Jose Hernandez, Joe Thurston, Chris Roberson, Jeff Conine, and Chris Coste/Mike Lieberthal down the stretch. When looked at it that way, a straight Sandoval for Conine swap, the trade is a winner.

Now time for what I do best...the downside (NOTE: I tried to be negative here, but I had a much harder time than I expected...I don't love the trade or anything, but it seems like such a low risk move, both in cost of players and financial resources, that it isn't all that much to get worked up about either way). Well, first things first...Jeff Conine's .265/.325/.401 2006 line (good for an OPS of 726) falls below that of former Phils Marlon Anderson and David Bell, not to mention star utility infielders such as Jamey Carroll and Hector Luna. Though to be completely fair, Conine has a higher OPS than Jason Michaels, Geoff Jenkins, Juan Pierre, and Mark Kotsay - none of them stars, but all guys most fans (well, at least me) would have thought had better '06 numbers. Anyway, the point is that Jeff Conine is a nice bench option and not much else at this point. Not a problem, right? Right...except for the pesky $2 million owed Conine come 2007. Ah, but Baltimore is already on the hook for $550,000 of that $2 million owed next season. Problem solved? Maybe not to all, but I'll take it. The going rate for bench help these days isn't cheap, so it really isn't all that unreasonable to dish out roughly $1.5 million for an old man at the end of the bench...for better or worse.

As far as the player dealt away by the Phillies...hopefully it's Eude Brito. I've never been a Brito backer, but perhaps a change of scenary could help him succeed somewhere, someday. Giving up IF Angel Chavez would be alright as well (though he has really hit well since earning his promotion to AAA and is already a better player than Danny Sandoval in my mind), but I would resist moving Brian Sanches if at all possible...there is just something about him that I like (great statistical analysis, no?).

BOTTOM LINE

Time to come up with my bottom line opinion of this trade (because I could think of no other way to conclude this)...this trade will be okay by me, so long as Jeff Conine is used by the Phillies properly (pinch hit against tough lefty relievers in late game situations, occasional spot start in right to give Dellucci a blow against tough lefty starters) and not cast in a role where his diminished skills will be exposed (if he starts over Pat Burrell in left at any point, and deep down I know he will, I will not be a happy Phillies fan).

Because I like to end on a negative note...the Phillies roster, from one to twenty-five, is worse today than it was at the beginning of this season. I hate to harp on the Abreu/Lidle trade, but that deal should absolutely be reconsidered now that the Phils have added Jamie Moyer and Jeff Conine over the past few weeks. Dellucci off the bench (with Abreu in right) and Lidle in the rotation makes for a much better combo of veteran starter/veteran bench bat than Moyer and Conine. Dellucci + Lidle > Conine and Moyer...it had to be said.

Finally .500

62-62. Sixty-two and Sixty-two. It's good to be a fan of a .500 team once again. I was hoping that the Phillies would take care of the Cubs last night in a rather uneventful ballgame so that I could post about the significance of the Phils playing .500 ball once again, but, unfortunately for all involved, last night's game was anything but uneventful. In fact, you could say that it was quite eventful - last night's game was chock full of events. Events were going on left and right. Some of the events were good, some of the events were bad, but ultimately all of the events were...eventful. I'm not a very good writer, I apologize.

Anyway, the "big" story from last night's 6-5 win over Chicago was the Aaron Rowand/Chase Utley collision in shallow centerfield. If you haven't seen it yet, I advise you to check it out at Phillies.com. The fallout of said collision is rather large - Rowand has a broken ankle and will miss the rest of the regular season, Utley will be held out of the lineup tonight (precautionary reasons mostly...hopefully), and, in a completely unrelated incident that I decided to throw in here to see if you were paying attention, Phils closer Tom Gordon is now on the 15-day disabled list. To replace Rowand and Gordon, the Phillies promoted OF Michael Bourn and IF Joe Thurston (UPDATE: Thurston's stay with the big club may be a short one now that the Phillies have traded for utility player Jose Hernandez). In other words, the days of a 13-man pitching staff are finally over! See how I think positive in the face of all of this negativity?

Anyway, (I do believe that "anyway" is the only transition word I know) I don't know how any other Phillies fan felt as they watched Aaron Rowand limp off the field, but my emotions were all over the place. First, I felt a sense of joy and excitement. Then, disappointment and anger. Finally, peace and acceptance. Why did I feel all of this emotions so soon after seeing two grown men almost kill themselves in front of tens of thousands of people? Two words - Doug Glanville. Joy and excitement? Hey, doesn't Dougie Fresh live in Chicago now? Maybe his apartment is near Wrigley and he can make it to the park in time to man center by the bottom of the ninth. Disappointment and anger? Oh man, Ed Wade isn't the GM anymore. If only he was here instead of this new old guy in charge then maybe my dream of Doug Glanville being a Phil for the third time could be fulfilled. Peace and acceptance? Well, I'm sure the Phillies will think of a good in-house option to fill the outfield void and there is no doubt in my mind that Doug Glanville's life will be just fine without getting a call from the Phils - he has his degree from Penn, millions of dollars, and an unbeatable EverQuest character named BingBong (well, maybe he wasn't so unbeatable after all). Anyway (see? there it is again!), I forget what my original point was...if I had one at all.

Oh and by the way, for anybody out there that cares, I haven't read or heard a single news report that has accurately nailed down the order of the Phillies who assisted Aaron Rowand as he limped off the field. The correct combos (in order) were: Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, Howard and Charlie Manuel, Howard and Rick White (from out of nowhere!), White and Ryan Madson, and then finally, as Rowand was being helped down the dugout steps, Madson and Brett Myers. So there you have it - the complete lineup of Aaron Rowand's helpers. Pointless...yes. Interesting...probably not. Newsworthy in my eyes...you'd better believe it!

Now that Bobby Abreu is gone, Pat Burrell has become public enemy number one in the eyes of Phillies fans. Bobby Abreu was my favorite Phillie, so I was always up for defending him whenever the typical Philadelphia sports fan brought up either his supposed laziness in the field, inability to hit in the clutch, or cancerous clubhouse attitude. Now that Abreu is gone, I have taken it upon myself to defend him whenever possible. I'd like to think his .890 OPS is argument enough, but in a city like Philadelphia, it never is. Burrell's great diving catch in leftfield last night ought to quiet down those who think his playing with the foot injury is hurting the team as a whole. Burrell's steamrolling of Henry Blanco at home plate ought to quiet down those who cling to the notion that he is a pretty boy, former bonus baby who deserves to be booed by his home crowd because he hasn't lived up to the ridiculous expectations that they have placed on his shoulders. Pat Burrell is overpaid, yes, I can handle that argument. But to boo Pat Burrell and argue that he should spend more time on the bench than in leftfield...that's just silly.

And one last thing...because I can't go a whole post without ranting about the Bobby Abreu trade, here is another comment from oper33 and my response to it (oper33's comment is small, my response is in larger font below it...don't worry, the small vs. big font thing is not a power trip or ego thing, I just thought it would be an easy way to distinguish between the two different opinions):

I believe the Phillies HAD to trade Abreu, because I think Gillick knew that he would have to free up some money if he was going to go out and get any pitching this off-season. So the two big paychecks to dump are Abreu and Burrell, Abreu just had better trade value, meaning that anyone would be willing to take on his salary. My hunch is that the only reason Gillick made the trade was to have the cash should a deal for pitching come up.

"Pitching is absolutely important, but you still need to score to win…" Couldn't be more true, but I think you over look a very good player in Dellucci, who in about half the at bats has 4 more homers than Phillies Abreu (3 more than Yankees Abreu). Homeruns are not everything but he has about half the numbers of Abreu in everything else with a decent OBP. So there has not been much drop off if any.

And you are certainly right that baseball is much too complicated a game to say one player is holding a team back. You site some really great examples and support that comment with logic that I cannot refute with my brain, so it is in these gray areas I sometimes turn to my gut and my gut tells me, it’s not always the guy with the best numbers who wins. I think the best guys that lead teams to championships are the guys who bring the team up with them, they may not have gaudy individual numbers, but they have something else something more elusive that you can't put down as a stat. I think guys like Utley and Howard have that and guys like Bonds don't. Bonds might have been the greatest hitter of the last 20 years but it’s was Bonds versus his own stat sheet. I hate to say this but my gut also tells me Abreu was a lot like Bonds in this respect.

Either way the Phils are playing some fun baseball right now, key words being right now.

I agree with your two main points here, especially the first one…the more I read about the way the Abreu trade went down, the clearer the fingerprints of ownership come through. Maybe I’m just a fool who sincerely believed a player of Abreu’s caliber, high salary and no-trade clauses be damned, could fetch a higher return than four nobodies. Maybe I got too caught up in the some of the rumored proposed deals circulating the days leading up to the deadline - the hot rumor for awhile was an Abreu/Lidle package to the Yanks for four youngish players…the only difference between the real deal and the rumored deal was that in this case, the players offered were current Yankees Melky Cabrera and Scott Proctor along with minor leaguers Eric Duncan and Tyler Clippard. Oh well, no use getting upset over a rumor in the first place… back to the point on hand. I agree with you that it was very likely Pat Gillick was indeed given orders from upper management to slash salary. I’ll take it a step further and say that I believe these orders from David Montgomery and company are of the long-term variety and there won’t be that big pitching acquisition that the freed up money from the Abreu trade would pay for this offseason after all. I’ll weasel my way out of this prediction by giving myself a potential out – IF the Phillies continue to see favorable attendance figures in the next six weeks, or heaven forbid, the Phils squeak their way into the playoffs and add the revenues that they bring, then ownership would be significantly less likely to slash payroll for next year.

So there you have it...my first "real" post in a long while...enjoy Jamie Moyer's Phillies debut tonight as the Phils try to do the unthinkable and, dare I say it, go back over the .500 mark.

Who's Hot...Phillies Minor League Hitters of the Past Week

Who's Hot...Infield Edition

• SS Angel Chavez (AAA): .360/.360/.840 (1.200 OPS) - 3 homeruns
  
• SS Adrian Cardenas (Rookie): .500/.500/.667 (1.167 OPS)
• SS C.J. Henry (Low A): .333/.400/.556 (956 OPS)
• 3B Welinson Baez (Low A): .300/.481/.400 (881 OPS)
• SS Jason Donald (Short Season): .364/.417/.455 (871 OPS)
• 2B Tim Moss (High A): .269/.296/.500 (796 OPS) - 5 runs batted in
  
• IF Clay Harris (Low A): .217/.400/.391 (791 OPS) - 7 walks

Danny Sandoval is a nice enough player I suppose, but the Phillies would be better off with Angel Chavez in the role as utility infielder both right now and in the future. Chavez is a better hitter (he's hitting .264/.302/.444), better runner (six steals in six AAA chances), and, quite possibly, a better fielder (the 2004 Baseball America Prospect Handbook said this about him: "He has the physical ability to play shortstop, with good hands, solid range, and a plus arm that ranks as his best tool." Adding Chavez to the 25-man roster wouldn't even be too difficult as the Phillies already think enough of him to have him on the 40-man roster...make it happen, Pat.

Who's Hot...Outfield Edition

• OF Darin McDonald (Rookie): .700/.750/.800 (1.550 OPS)
• OF D’Arby Myers (Rookie): .615/.615/.846 (1.462 OPS)
• OF Jeremy Slayden (Low A): .500/.550/.889 (1.439 OPS) - 5 doubles
  
• OF Josh Kroeger (AAA): .308/.308/.577 (885 OPS) - 3 outfield assists

Slayden is quietly putting up a sensational season with the bat at Lakewood: he's currently leading the league in hitting (.311 batting average) and third in the league in slugging percentage (.562). His 40 doubles are five more than anybody else in the league...although his BlueClaw teammates Welinson Baez (32 doubles) and Clay Harris (31) may make a play for the doubles crown if they can get really, really, really hot.

Who's Hot...Catcher Edition

• C Louis Marson (Low A): .429/.600/.714 (1.314 OPS)
• C Carlos Ruiz (AAA): .333/.357/.630 (987 OPS)
• C Jason Jaramillo (AA): .318/.375/.409 (784 OPS)

Marson has long been a personal favorite of mine and a very important piece of the organization's future. On the year Marson is hitting .233/.341/.337, but is doing it all at the tender age of 20 years old. The lack of power is alarming, but the advanced plate awareness is a great sign...this hasn't been the best of years for Marson by any means, but there is enough about his game to like that I still believe in his long-term future.

Breaking News

Phils acquire LHSP Jamie Moyer from the Seattle Mariners for two minor leaguers...details to come...

EDIT #1: The minor leaguers are reportedly RHSP Andrew Baldwin and RHRP Andy Barb...this is unconfirmed for the time being...

EDIT #2: Baldwin and Barb confirmed

One Last Bit of Bobby Abreu Talk...and Minor League Weekly Update

I hope occasional commenter "oper33" doesn't mind me pulling their argument in favor of the Bobby Abreu trade from the comments section to the big stage here...it was a very well thought out argument that really made me rethink the entire trade. In the end, I tried my best to better explain where I was coming from and address some of the points mentioned in the original comment. The beautiful part about a baseball discussion such as this: there is no such thing as right or wrong...it's all opinion. Without further ado, here is the original comment from oper33 (and again, I oper33 doesn't mind me using this):

I had almost the exact opposite reaction to the trade. It was the most blatant salary dump I have ever seen but yet it made me hopeful for the future, I will try to back my faith with facts.

1) Abreu is a really good player and people can argue back and forth about the specifics of clutch not clutch or whatever but to me the bottom line is they were not winning with him. Do the same thing get the same result. A change was needed.

2) We have not seen Gillick in action when he was not handcuffed by the former GM's deals. Going into this off season there was only so much he could do and he did what he could. People can argue that alot of the deals he made did not work out but again he was limited by the constraits laid down by the former regime. I see most of his moves to this point as him dumping Wade's guys so that in the fututre he can get his guys.

3)Pitching, pitching, pitching. If this team is ever going to get any real starting pitching they had to free up some real money. There is not a lot out there in the way of #1 startersthis off season but if the right deal comes up Gillick is now in a position to make it happen IMHO.
I wish they could have gotten more than they did for Bobby, but they Yankees really had ‘em by the balls.

(My Turn...)

1) I agree that the Phillies were clearly not winning with this core group of players, but I just don’t see how trading away your three-hole hitter is a good first step towards building a winning club. The Phillies may not have won anything with Abreu here, but baseball isn’t a simple enough game to say those two factors are necessarily related. Take this year’s team for example: were they underperforming because of Abreu’s VORP (a fairly good indicator of player value although I will readily point out that it doesn’t take financials into the equation) of 24.9 (a number trailing only Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Brett Myers on the ballclub) or rather the fact the Phillies have the sixth worse team ERA in baseball (trailing only non-contenders such as the Royals, Orioles, Devil Rays, Brewers, and Nationals). Trading away a good player still performing at a high level just because you haven’t been winning with him just doesn’t make sense to me – was it Ted Williams fault the Sox never won it all? Was it Ernie Banks who was holding back the Cubs all those years? Has Barry Bonds, the greatest hitter of this generation (by far), been the reason why his teams can’t get over the hump in postseason play or is he a big part of the reason why his team is so often in the playoff chase in the first place?

2) Gillick went out and got “his guys” this past offseason…with disastrous results. I can sympathize with the difficulties of having to deal with Ed Wade’s bad decisions (a point I won’t argue with), but it seems to me that this is quickly becoming a crutch for Pat Gillick and a built-in excuse for whenever he makes a bad move. If Pat Gillick was so concerned about cleaning up Ed Wade’s mess to the point he has begun making public comments about his attempts to undo Wade’s bad moves, then he never should have taken the job in the first place.

3) Pitching is absolutely important, but you still need to score to win…the Phils, in my opinion, only have four above average regulars that they can count on going forward in their everyday lineup (Utley, Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Pat Burrell). I guess the argument about pitching is one all about having faith in Pat Gillick to acquire the right guys. I’m not just being polite when I say I am happy for those who are optimistic about Pat Gillick’s direction for the Phillies – I am 100% genuinely serious when I say I am jealous of those who can be so optimistic. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see on this point.

The Yankees may have had all of the power in negotiating with the Phillies, but I have no idea why…I honesty can not stress this next point enough…the Phillies DID NOT HAVE to trade Bobby Abreu. It was a choice. It seems they entered in negotiations with the Yankees believing that they had to move Abreu no matter what they got back. This makes no sense to me.

I realize this is a baseball argument, so it really isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things, but a deal of this magnitude (a deal capable of shifting the fortunes of the franchise for years to come) is plenty complex and elicits opinions of all kinds. That's what makes baseball fun to talk about...there are rarely any absolutes, rarely any kind of definite right or wrong answers. On to the minors...

AAA Scranton-WB

• Carlos Ruiz: 809 OPS (.318/.400/.409)
• Michael Bourn: 690 OPS (.214/.333/.357) - 7 runs scored, 2 triples, 5 walks
  
• Angel Chavez: 594 OPS (.217/.333/.261)
• Josh Kroeger: 465 OPS (.188/.278/.188)
  
  
• Gavin Floyd: 7 IP 1.29 ERA 1.14 WHIP 0.43 K/IP - 4/14 GB/FB ratio
  
• Eude Brito: 5.2 IP 1.59 ERA 1.06 WHIP 1.06 K/IP
• Justin Germano: 5 IP 7.20 ERA 1.80 WHIP 0.80 K/IP - 10/1 GB/FB ratio
  
• Clay Condrey: 3.2 IP 2.46 ERA 1.37 WHIP 0.27 K/IP
• Ryan Cameron: 3.1 IP 5.41 ERA 0.90 WHIP 0.30 K/IP
• Seung Lee: 3.1 IP 2.70 ERA 0.60 WHIP 1.20 K/IP
• Matt Smith: 3 IP 0.00 ERA 1.00 WHIP 0.67 K/IP
• Travis Minix: 2.1 IP 0.00 ERA 0.43 WHIP 0.43 K/IP

AA Reading

• Jason Jaramillo: 728 OPS (.235/.316/.412) - 3 doubles
  
  
• Gio Gonzalez: 12 IP 3.00 ERA 0.92 WHIP 0.83 K/IP
• J.A. Happ: 7 IP 5.14 ERA 1.43 WHIP 0.00 K/IP
• Zack Segovia: 7 IP 0.00 ERA 0.57 WHIP 1.00 K/IP
• Joe Bisenius: 4 IP 0.00 ERA 0.25 WHIP 1.50 K/IP

High A Clearwater

• Greg Golson: 713 OPS (.208/.296/.417)
• Mike Costanzo: 1.351 (.391/.481/.870) - 3 homeruns, 7 RBI
  
• Brad Harman: 670 OPS (.214/.313/.357)
• Bryan Hansen: 685 OPS (.200/.385/.300) - 5 walks
  
• Tuffy Gosewisch: 838 OPS (.400/.438/.400)
• Tim Moss: 492 OPS (.235/.316/.176)
• Hector Made: 000 OPS (.000/.000/.000)
  
  
• Julio De la Cruz: 12.1 IP 4.38 ERA 1.22 WHIP 0.41 K/IP
• Kyle Kendrick: 7 IP 1.29 ERA 0.57 WHIP 1.14 K/IP - 8 strikeouts, 0 walks
  
• Derek Griffith: 7 IP 1.29 ERA 1.14 WHIP 0.43 K/IP
• Andrew Baldwin: 6.1 IP 4.27 ERA 1.42 WHIP 0.47 K/IP
• Nate Johnson: 1.2 IP 0.00 ERA 1.20 WHIP 0.00 K/IP
• Pat Overholt: 1 IP 18.00 ERA 2.00 WHIP 0.00 K/IP
• Zac Stott: 1 IP 0.00 ERA 2.00 WHIP 0.00 K/IP
  
  

Low A Lakewood

• Welinson Baez: 1.259 OPS (.350/.409/.850) - 3 homeruns, 5 RBI, 6 runs scored
  
• Lou Marson: 611 OPS (.222/.222/.389)
• Jeremy Slayden: 679 OPS (.308/.333/.346)
• Clay Harris: 633 OPS (.200/.333/.300)
• C.J. Henry: 423 OPS (.188/.235/.188)
  
  
• Carlos Carrasco: 14.1 IP 1.88 ERA 0.56 WHIP 1.40 K/IP - 20 strikeouts, 6 walks
  
• Matt Maloney: 10.2 IP 6.75 ERA 1.97 WHIP 1.03 K/IP
• Josh Outman: 7 IP 0.00 ERA 0.43 WHIP 1.14 K/IP - 8 strikeouts, 1 walk
  
• Brett Harker: 3.1 IP 2.70 ERA 1.20 WHIP 0.60 K/IP
• Andy Barb: 3 IP 0.00 ERA 0.00 WHIP 1.33 K/IP
• Wilfredo Laureano: 2 IP 0.00 ERA 0.00 WHIP 0.50 K/IP
• Will Savage: 0.2 IP 13.64 ERA 6.06 WHIP 0.00 K/IP

Short Season: Batavia

• SS Jason Donald (3^rd Round): 612 OPS (.214/.290/.321)
• CF Quintin Berry (5^th Round): 667 OPS (.333/.333/.333) - 3 stolen bases
  
• 1B Charlie Yarbrough (7^th Round): 655 OPS (.250/.280/.375)
• 2B/SS Zach Penprase (13^th Round): 859 OPS (.370/.452/.407)
• OF Gus Milner (14^th Round): 1.042 OPS (.357/.471/.571) - 6 RBI, 5 runs scored
  
• 3B Cody Montgomery (16^th Round): 552 OPS (.214/.267/.286)
• OF Jay Miller (17^th Round): 745 (.333/.364/.381)
• 3B/OF Jacob Dempsey (21^st Round): 433 OPS (.167/.211/.222)
• C Shawn McGill (23^rd Round): 350 OPS (.100/.250/.100)
• RF/1B Doug Morales: 825 OPS (.364/.462/.364)
• C/1B/3B/LF Tim Kennelly: 697 OPS (.222/.364/.333)
• C Joel Naughton: 550 OPS (.250/.250/.300)
  
  
• Michael Dubee: 10 IP 7.20 ERA 1.90 WHIP 0.90 K/IP
• Ben Pfinsgraff: 8 IP 0.00 ERA 0.63 WHIP 0.63 K/IP
• Andrew Cruse: 6.2 IP 1.35 ERA 0.60 WHIP 1.20 K/IP
• Daniel Brauer: 6 IP 0.00 ERA 0.83 WHIP 1.83 K/IP - 11 strikeouts, 2 walks
  
• Alexander Concepcion: 6 IP 0.00 ERA 0.33 WHIP 0.67 K/IP
• Edgar Garcia: 3 IP 0.00 ERA 0.67 WHIP 1.00 K/IP

Rookie: GCL Phillies

• Kyle Drabek: 667 OPS (.333/.333/.333)
• C Jesus Sanchez: 889 OPS (.333/.333/.556)
• SS Adrian Cardenas (1^st Round): 286 OPS (.143/.143/.143)
• CF D’Arby Myers (4^th Round): 250 OPS (.125/.125/.125) - 9 strikeouts
  
• OF Terrance Warren (8^th Round): 375 OPS (.188/.188/.188)
• OF Darin McDonald (12^th Round): 444 OPS (.222/.222/.222)
• OF Dominic Brown (20^th Round): 606 OPS (.273/.333/.273)
• 2B/3B Michael Deveaux (33^rd Round): 400 OPS (.200/.200/.200)
• 2B/3B Herman Demmink (28^th Round): 364 OPS (.182/.182/.182)
• LF Jermaine Williams: 111 OPS (.000/.111/.000)
• SS/3B Derrick Mitchell: 400 OPS (.200/.200/.200)
  
  
• Kyle Drabek: 8.1 IP 8.64 ERA 1.92 WHIP 0.84 K/IP - 12 strikeouts, 5 walks
  
• Carlos Monasterios: 5 IP 1.80 ERA 1.00 WHIP 0.80 K/IP
• Antonio Bastardo: 4.2 IP 1.93 ERA 1.29 WHIP 0.86 K/IP
• Robert Roth: 4 IP 6.75 ERA 1.50 WHIP 1.25 K/IP
  

Phillies Minor League Update

Now that my trip to New York to see the Phillies play the Mets at Shea and some minor league baseball is behind me, I figure it is as good a time as any to combine the two baseball related aspects of my trip (Phils and minors) and do an update on the...you guessed it, Phillies minor league system. Stats are from a two week period ending with the games last Sunday (as you can see I'm a little behind). I did my best to make up some fun categories to group the prospects in the system to spice things up a bit...

Current Phillies

• AAA - Danny Sandoval: 4-19, 3 R, HBP
• AAA - Chris Roberson: 6-29, 4 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 SB (25), 7 K
• AAA - Scott Mathieson (W, 3-0): 8 IP 3 H 1 ER 2 BB 7 K
• AAA - Brian Sanches (S, 17): 4 IP 3 H 2 ER 3 BB 4 K
• A - Randy Wolf: 5 IP 0 H 0 ER 1 BB 5 K

With the recent purge of big league talent from the roster, Sandoval, Roberson, Mathieson, and Sanches have each been given a chance to clock some major league service time - all are well-suited for their current respective roles with the big club and should be prime candidates to win jobs with the Phils out of spring training come 2007. Wolf showing up on this list just shows how long I've gone without updating this thing...he's already had three starts with the Phillies since his last rehab start in the minors.

Former Phillies

• AAA - Carlos Ruiz: 11-45, 2 HR (11), 3 2B, 9 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, HBP, 10 K, PB (5)
• AAA - Gavin Floyd: 21 IP 21 H 10 ER 8 BB 13 K
• Floyd (L, 4-2): 6 IP 7 H 5 ER 2 BB 5 K
• Floyd (W, 5-2): 8 IP 5 H 0 ER 2 BB 5 K
• Floyd (L, 5-3): 7 IP 9 H 5 ER 4 BB 3 K
• AAA - Eude Brito: 19 IP 17 H 6 ER 6 BB 10 K
• Brito: (W, 9-6): 7 IP 5 H 0 ER 3 BB 2 K
• Brito: 7 IP 4 H 1 ER 2 BB 5 K
• Brito (L, 9-7): 5 IP 8 H 5 ER 1 BB 3 K
• AAA - Clay Condrey (L, 2-1, S, 2): 3.1 IP 2 H 1 ER 0 BB 3 K

Ruiz, Floyd, Brito, and Condrey all have made appearances in South Philly this season and all four should make return appearances come September. For those of you interested in finding a pattern in Gavin Floyd's AAA journey, here is his start to start progression: Good, Good, Bad, Bad, Good, Bad, Good, Good, Bad, Bad, Good, Bad...and his most recent start (yesterday) qualifies as a Good. If anybody knows how to make sense of any of that, let me (and Gavin for that matter) know...

Cream of the Crop

• AAA - Michael Bourn: 11-47, 2 3B, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 10 R, 6 BB, 5 SB (13), 13 K
• AA – Gio Gonzalez: 11.1 IP 13 H 6 ER 5 BB 13 K
• Gonzalez (L, 4-10): 5.1 IP 9 H 6 ER 2 BB 5 K
• Gonzalez (W, 5-10): 6 IP 4 H 0 ER 3 BB 8 K
• A – Carlos Carrasco: 19 IP 8 H 1 ER 12 BB 20 K
• Carrasco: 6 IP 2 H 0 ER 5 BB 7 K
• Carrasco: 7 IP 3 H 2 R 1 ER 3 BB 7 K
• Carrasco (W, 8-5): 6 IP 3 H 0 ER 4 BB 6 K

Bourn, Gonzalez, and Carrasco...these three names ought to top any list of top Phillies prospects heading into 2007...the order of the three is to be determined...

Solid Bets

• AA – J.A. Happ: 13.1 IP 6 H 5 ER 6 BB 12 K
• Happ (W, 5-1): 7 IP 2 H 1 ER 3 BB 5 K
• Happ (L, 5-2): 6.1 IP 4 H 4 ER 3 BB 7 K
• (A +) - Mike Costanzo: 11-39, HR (9), 2 2B, 8 RBI, 8 R, 11 BB, HBP, 6 K, E (18), CS (2)
• A - Matt Maloney: 11.1 IP 11 H 4 ER 5 BB 15 K
• Maloney (W, 13-5): 6 IP 5 H 1 ER 2 BB 8 K
• Maloney (L, 13-6): 5.1 IP 6 H 4 R 3 ER 3 BB 7 K

Costanzo may be the biggest surprise on a list of "solid bets", but I really think there is little to no chance that the Phillies opt not to promote Costanzo to the majors at some point in his career. Whether or not he has a future as a starting third baseman in the bigs is anybody's guess, but he has enough positives about his game to profile as a big leaguer in some capacity.

Newest Members to the Organization

• AAA - Matt Smith: 1 IP 2 H 2 ER 0 BB 0 K
• AAA - Justin Germano: 6 IP 3 H 1 ER 0 BB 3 K
• (A+) - Hector Made: 10-35, HR, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, 6 K, 2 E (11)
• A - C.J. Henry: 3-15, HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, BB, SB (15), 4 K, E (26)
• A - Wilfredo Laureano: 3 IP 2 H 0 ER 1 BB 1 K
• R - Jesus Sanchez: 1-12, SB (4), 5 K, E (5)
• R - Carlos Monasterios: 6 IP 8 H 2 ER 1 BB 5 K
• Monasterios: 2 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
• Monasterios (L, 1-3): 4 IP 6 H 3 R 2 ER 1 BB 4 K

Seven new players added to the system...and nary a one to get excited about. Cynics like to claim that Justin Germano, the player acquired in the Rheal Cormier trade, is a better prospect than any of the four guys the Phils took on in the Abreu/Lidle Yankees swap; there is nothing I like more than being a raging cynic (it just comes naturally to me...see the previous post for evidence), but I just can not agree with that sentiment.

For all of his warts (and man, oh, man there are plenty), C.J. Henry is the top dog of the septet of new minor leaguers infiltrating the Phils minor league system. Germano and Smith seem like good bets to contribute to the 2007 Phillies (and perhaps the September 2006 Phils), but both have limited upside as professionals. By all accounts, Hector Made (acquired for Fasano) is a ballplayer with the potential to someday become a useful utility infielder in the pros...for comparison's sake, Danny Sandoval had an OPS of .702 in 199 at bats in High A as a 21-year old; Hector Made had a .709 OPS in 315 at bats for the High A Tampa Yankees as a 21-year old. Laureano and Monasterios are two minor league arms that are so far away from the majors that it would be incredibly difficult to make any meaningful prediction on their future...and Jesus Sanchez could have very well slotted into the upcoming "Good Glove, No Bat Catchers" group based on everything the Phillies said after adding him.

But back to Henry...he is the only guy listed out of the seven with any kind of star potential. He is a heck of a long way of ever fulfilling that potential, but enough scouts have seen enough in his abilities to throw out the possibility that he can be an above average major league player. I am not encouraged at all by any of his minor league numbers to this point, but will do my best to give a 20-year old former first round pick a break for now.

And in case anybody was wondering, I had to look up what a group of seven was called...though I had a feeling it was "septet" from the start.

AAAA Guys…for the moment

• AAA - Josh Kroeger: 6-37, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 4 R, BB, 9 K, E (3)
• AAA - Brennan King: 6-26, HR (12), 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, BB, 4 K, E (14)
• AAA - Angel Chavez: 7-25, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB, 6 K
• AA - Angel Chavez: 2-14, 2B, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 E (14)
  
• AAA - Ryan Cameron (2 W, 5-2): 7.1 IP 2 H 0 ER 1 BB 3 K
• AAA - Seung Lee (W, 7-7): 5.1 IP 6 H 2 ER 1 BB 5 K
• AAA - Travis Minix: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K

With a couple lucky breaks, any of these players could find themselves on a big league roster someday. Some quick news on these "4A" kind of players: Cameron had an excellent week out of the Red Baron bullpen...King has been on the DL for over a week now...Chavez and Kroeger are the only two players listed above who are currently on the Phillies 40-man roster...

High Risk, High Reward Projects

• (A+) - Greg Golson: 16-47, 3 HR, 3B, 2 2B, 9 RBI, 13 R, 3 SB (4), 2 BB, HBP, 11 K, 2 CS (2), 2 OF assists
• A - Welinson Baez: 12-38, 3B, 4 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, SB (3), 3 BB, 15 K, 2 E (27)
• A - Lou Marson: 5-35, 3B, 2B, RBI, 2 R, 8 BB, 6 K, 2 E (11), PB (7)

C.J. Henry would also qualify for this list...Golson, Baez, and Marson are three players Phillies fans can dream on as each has the potential to be anywhere from a solid contributor to a well above average regular at important positions (CF, 3B, and C respectively) on the Phils someday. Golson has been fantastic since "earning" his promotion to Clearwater, a very encouraging sign for those who had begun doubting his future (guilty as charged).

Good Glove, No Bat Catchers

• AA - Jason Jaramillo: 10-30, 2 HR (6), 3 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 HBP, 2 K, E (8)
• (A+) - Tuffy Gosewisch: 5-26, 2 HR (8), 2B, 5 RBI, 3 R, BB, 6 K, PB (5)

Best week for Jaramillo in a good long time...many Phillies fans still consider him a top prospect and I know for a fact the organization remains high on him, but after watching him with my own two eyes at various points this season, I must admit that I am thoroughly unimpressed with his game...hopefully this impressive week is a springboard for a good stretch to close his season out as I'd like nothing more to be proven wrong about Jaramillo...

Major League Relievers?

• AA – Zack Segovia: 18.2 IP 18 H 7 ER 4 BB 15 BB
• Segovia (L, 8-5): 3.2 IP 8 H 7 R 5 ER 2 BB 3 K
• Segovia (W, 9-5): 7 IP 6 H 2 R 1 ER 2 BB 6 K
• Segovia (W, 10-5): 8 IP 4 H 2 R 1 ER 0 BB 6 K
• (A +) - Derek Griffith: 19.1 IP 16 H 5 ER 5 BB 11 K
• Griffith (W, 7-7): 5 IP 7 H 3 ER 2 BB 2 K
• Griffith (W, 8-7): 8 IP 4 H 0 ER 1 BB 6 K
• Griffith: 6.1 IP 5 H 2 ER 2 BB 3 K
• (A +) - Andrew Baldwin: 17 IP 21 H 9 ER 3 BB 10 K
• Baldwin (L, 7-7): 2.1 IP 10 H 6 R 5 ER 0 BB 1 K
• Baldwin: 6.2 IP 6 H 2 ER 3 BB 3 K
• Baldwin (W, 8-7): 8 IP 5 H 2 ER 0 BB 6 K
• A - Josh Outman: 19.1 IP 8 H 4 ER 7 BB 22 K
• Outman (L, 8-6): 5.1 IP 6 H 4 ER 3 BB 4 K
• Outman (W, 9-6): 7 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 9 K
• Outman (W, 10-6): 7 IP 1 H 0 ER 3 BB 9 K

Okay, I'll admit that this grouping of players is a bit of a stretch on my part, but I'll do my best to explain. The four guys listed as potential big league relievers are all included because they all have solid arms, but aren't quite good enough to rise ahead of some of the other, more talented arms in the Phillies system. I saw Segovia in person at Reading and came away believing that a switch to the bullpen would do wonders for him long-term. Outman is the best prospect on the list and should be given the opportunity to start throughout his minor league career, but I see a conversion to the bullpen down the line nonetheless...call it a hunch.

Minor League Relievers

• AA - Joe Bisenius (W, L, 1-1, S, 1): 8.1 IP 5 H 4 ER 3 BB 10 K
• AA - Nick Evangelista: 6 IP 6 H 4 R 3 ER 2 BB 5 K
• (A+) - Pat Overholt (W, 2 L, 3-2): 3.2 IP 4 H 8 R 4 ER 3 BB 8 K
• A - Brett Harker (S, 13): 5 IP 2 H 1 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
• A - Will Savage (L, 0-1): 9 IP 10 H 3 ER 2 BB 5 K
• A - Pat Zagurski: 2.1 IP 4 H 2 ER 0 BB 0 K
• A - Andy Barb (2 W, 6-2, 2 S, 16): 7.2 IP 3 H 0 ER 1 BB 7 K

This group is all about Phillies minor league pitchers currently pitching exclusively out of the bullpen for their minor league squad. I like Bisenius, Evangelista, and Harker a lot although it should be noted the sucess rate of minor league relievers reaching the majors isn't especially high. Nate Johnson also deserves a mention and should find a spot on the list next week...

Below the Radar

• A - Jeremy Slayden: 16-48, 2 HR (9), 7 2B, 11 RBI, 9 R, 3 BB, 2 SB (3), 16 K, E (5)
• A - Justin Blaine (L, 2-2): 6.1 IP 5 H 5 R 2 ER 5 BB 2 K

This is another grouping that is a bit of a stretch...I really had no other place for Slayden or Blaine, so here they are. Slayden is a good hitter who has a future as a pinch hitter/reserve corner outfielder/fill-in first baseman if he can fine tune his shoddy defense. Justin Blaine is not a player I would normally advocate as a sleeper (no strikeouts, too many walks), but he is such an extreme groundball pitcher that he may find a home in a big league bullpen someday.

Make or Break Season: 2007

• (A +) - Bryan Hansen: 15-38, 2 HR (4), 2 2B, 9 RBI, 5 R, 7 BB, 5 K, 2 E (9)
• (A +) - Kyle Kendrick: 19 IP 15 H 8 ER 7 BB 8 K
• Kendrick (W, 6-4): 6 IP 4 H 6 R 5 ER 2 BB 3 K
• Kendrick: 7 IP 7 H 2 ER 2 BB 2 K
• Kendrick (L, 6-5): 6 IP 4 H 1 ER 3 BB 3 K
• A - Clay Harris: 7-42, 2B, 6 RBI, 5 R, 7 BB, 2 HBP, 10 K

Hansen will get another shot at AA Reading next season...he'll need to do a bit better than the .146/.186/.183 he put up in 82 at bats to start this year off. Kendrick was dominant in Low A, but has only been ordinary thus far in High A...will the real Kyle Kendrick please stand up? Harris is a good hitter, versatile in the field, but too old to be putting up less than amazing numbers for Lakewood. I'd love to see him challenged by being double jumped to AA Reading next season...if he performs well there, then maybe the Phillies have found something...if not, then no big loss.

The Forgotten Men

• (A +) - Brad Harman: 2-15, 2B, R, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 E (34)
• (A +) - Tim Moss: 11-43, HR, 3 3B, 2 2B, 8 RBI, 6 R, 4 BB, 2 HBP, SB (14), 10 K, CS (4), 3 E (6)
• (A +) - Julio De la Cruz (W, 5-8): 6 IP 5 H 2 ER 2 BB 4 K
• A - Max De La Cruz: 2.1 IP 3 H 6 ER 4 BB 0 K

These players have been "forgotten" in the sense that they have underperformed so dramatically this season, they are no longer considered prospects by fans of the team. That being said, I am still a big fan of Brad Harman's game.

Short Season/Rookie Ball Guys I Like

• SS - CF Quintin Berry (5^th Round): 4-34, 4 R, 4 BB, HBP, 6 K
• SS - 2B/SS Zach Penprase (13^th Round): 9-39, 3 RBI, 6 R, 5 SB (13), 3 BB, 4 K, CS (4), E (4)
• SS - OF Jay Miller (17^th Round): 10-36, 3B, 6 RBI, 5 R, SB (4), 2 BB, HBP, 8 K, CS (1), OF assist
• SS - OF Gus Milner (14^th Round): 12-42, 3B, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, HBP, 11 K, 3 CS (3), 3 E (4)
• SS - RF/1B Doug Morales: 0-11, R, BB, HBP, 3 K, 2 E (3)
• SS - C/1B/3B/LF Tim Kennelly: 0-10, R, BB, HBP, 4 K
• SS - C Joel Naughton: 7-17, 2 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K
• SS - Edgar Garcia (L, 2-4): 5 IP 8 H 3 R 2 ER 0 BB 3 K
• SS – Daniel Brauer: 18 IP 14 H 6 ER 5 BB 23 K
• Brauer (L, 1-2): 5 IP 7 H 3 ER 3 BB 7 K
• Brauer (L, 1-3): 6 IP 5 H 2 ER 2 BB 6 K
• Brauer (W, 2-3): 7 IP 2 H 1 ER 0 BB 10 K
• SS - Sam Walls: 3.2 IP 10 H 5 ER 0 BB 2 K
• SS – Michael Dubee: 6.2 IP 13 H 8 ER 4 BB 7 K
• Dubee: 4.1 IP 6 H 4 ER 3 BB 6 K
• Dubee (L, 0-1): 2.1 IP 7 H 5 R 4 ER 1 BB 1 K
• SS – Andrew Cruse: 12 IP 12 H 2 ER 4 BB 11 K
• Cruse (L, 2-3): 6 IP 5 H 2 R 1 ER 2 BB 5 K
• Cruse (L, 2-4): 6 IP 7 H 4 R 1 ER 2 BB 6 K
• R - SS Adrian Cardenas (1^st Round): 15-36, 8 RBI, 2 R, 6 SB (12), 6 BB, 4 K, CS (2), 6 E (14)
• R - CF D’Arby Myers (4^th Round): 14-38, HR (2), 4 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, HBP, 3 SB (10), 6 K, E (3), OF assist
• R - 1B Michael Durant: 0-2, 2 K
• R - LF Jermaine Williams: 2-22, 2 R, HBP, SB (2), 8 K
• R - OF Dominic Brown (20^th Round): 9-31, HR (1), 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R, 4 SB (8), 8 K, OF assist
• R – Kyle Drabek: 9 IP 11 H 9 ER 4 BB 4 K
• Drabek: 0-2, R, 2 BB, E (1)
• Drabek: 4 IP 4 H 6 R 5 ER 4 BB 2 K
• Drabek: 5 IP 7 H 5 R 4 ER 0 BB 2 K
• R – Jarrod Freeman: 6.2 IP 8 H 5 ER 2 BB 5 K
• Freeman: 5 IP 5 H 3 ER 0 BB 3 K
• Freeman: 1.2 IP 3 H 6 R 2 ER 2 BB 2 K
• R – Robert Roth: 11.1 IP 4 ER 12 BB 6 K
• Roth: 4 IP 1 H 4 ER 6 BB 2 K
• Roth (W, 1-1): 5 IP 3 H 0 ER 2 BB 3 K
• Roth (L, 1-2): 2.1 IP 3 H 2 R 0 ER 4 BB 1 K

Gotta love how the Phillies have allowed Drabek to DH on some days he isn't pitching...Cardenas, Myers, and Brauer have all been awesome...

Short Season/Rookie Ball Guys I’m Not Yet Sold On

• SS - SS Jason Donald (3^rd Round): 11-44, 5 2B, 6 RBI, 6 R, SB (8), BB, 9 K, E (6)
• SS - 1B Charlie Yarbrough (7^th Round): 6-35, 2 HR (4), 6 RBI, 4 R, BB, HBP, 6 K, E (3)
• SS - 3B Cody Montgomery (16^th Round): 1-19, 2 BB, 6 K, SB (3), 2 CS (3)
• SS - 3B/OF Jacob Dempsey (21^st Round): 11-36, 2 HR, 2 2B, 8 RBI, 7 R, 5 BB, HBP, 10 K
• SS - C Shawn McGill (23^rd Round): 6-17, 2B, 2 R, SB (2), 2 BB, 5 K
• SS - John Brownell (W, 1-0): 7.1 IP 8 H 1 ER 3 BB 8 K
• SS – Ben Pfinsgraff: 12 IP 9 H 2 ER 1 BB 15 K
• Pfinsgraff (L, 3-3): 6 IP 5 H 4 R 2 ER 0 BB 7 K
• Pfinsgraff (W, 4-3): 6 IP 4 H 0 ER 1 BB 8 K
• R - OF Terrance Warren (8^th Round): 6-29, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 11 K, OF assist
• R - OF Darin McDonald (12^th Round): 5-26, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 HBP, 3 K, CS (3)
• R - C Michael Fuentes (29^th Round): 2-10, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 K
• R - 2B/3B Michael Deveaux (33^rd Round): 6-17, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K, E (3)
• R - 2B/3B Herman Demmink (28^th Round): 4-9, 2 2B, RBI, 3 R, BB, 2 SB (4)
• R - SS/3B Derrick Mitchell: 11-37, 2 HR (2), 2 2B, 3 RBI, 6 R, 4 SB (5), BB, 4 K, 4 E (11), 2 CS (3)
• R - Matt Olson: 12 IP 9 H 5 ER 3 BB 6 K
• Matt Olson (L, 2-3): 6 IP 5 H 2 ER 1 BB 2 K
• Matt Olson (L, 2-4): 4 IP 3 H 2 ER 2 BB 2 K
• Matt Olson: 2 IP 1 H 1 ER 0 BB 2 K
• R - Antonio Bastardo: 1 IP 2 H 1 ER 0 BB 0 K

Not a very inspiring list, but you never know...

The Bobby Abreu Trade

Faith must be enforced by reason. When faith becomes blind it dies. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

The only justification I have heard in the days following the Bobby Abreu/Cory Lidle trade to New York has been a line of reasoning heavy on the idea of maintaining faith in the Phillies’ front office. People point to all that money freed up by dealing these two players (in addition to dumping David Bell, Sal Fasano, and Rheal Cormier) and the fiscal flexibility that the Phillies will enjoy in their attempt to build a team capable of winning the pennant by 2008. Abreu may be gone, but at least Pat Gillick will be able to use the $4.4 million saved on his contract in 2006, $15 million saved in 2007, and $2 million that would inevitably be spent on his 2008 buyout in such a way that the Phillies will ultimately come out ahead in this deal from a purely baseball (and not economical) standpoint, right? Trading Abreu saved the Phillies roughly 21.4 million dollars ($21,475,409 to be exact). Trading Lidle saved the Phillies another 1.1 million dollars ($1,136,065…again, to be exact). If you have faith in the Phillies organization to spend that $22.6 million in savings wisely and make a concerted effort to improve the product on the field, then the argument in favor of this trade works for you…blind faith works for you.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe that the Phillies organization – from David Montgomery and the rest of the ownership group all the way down to Pat Gillick, Ruben Amaro, and the whole front office gang – have it in them to A) make the financial commitment to a winner that the fans of Philadelphia have waited so long for (i.e. slashing the 2007 budget for players expenses down to the $70 million range as has been speculated by some conspiracy theorists out there), or, in the unlikely event that payroll remains at $90+ million for the foreseeable future despite the ensuing attendance fallout and subsequent loss of revenues, B) obtain the right players (NO Pedro Feliz and Mark Redman in 2007!) with the freed up money to make up the difference between the second division club the team currently is and the year-in-year-out contender for the pennant that a team in a market as big as Philly ought to be.

This is about all I can muster on this deal for now…I needed a few days after the trade went down to reflect on it properly without being overly emotional (Abreu is my all-time favorite Phillie and the best hitter of my generation). More on the players the Phillies acquired for Abreu and Lidle, plus prospect profiles on the players brought in after the Rheal Cormier, David Bell, and Sal Fasano trades to come…

By the way, the Phillies are just 3.5 games out of a playoff spot right now and are playing some of their best baseball of the season of late…how sweet would a sweep of the hated Cardinals in “Baseball Heaven” be? It would definitely give the Phils a touch of momentum as they head to Shea Stadium for a weekend series against the hated Mets (as you can see, I hate a lot of teams)…