Skip to main content

Charlie smells what the Ballz is cookin'!


Two days into the winter meetings in Las Vegas NV, and the Phillies' have made no additions.

On day #2, the Phils retained the services of their manager, Charlie Manuel, for an extra season. Charlie's club option for 2010 will be picked up, and Manuel was extended through 2011.

Manuel's 2009 salary will be $1.5 million, and just about double that by 2011.

Day 1 of the winter meetings was fairly uneventful in Vegas, at least as far as the team roster and staff goes. There was some fun had here at home though. 2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins attended the live World Wrestling Entertainment program Monday Night Raw at the Wachovia Center, where he was seated in the front row. A WWE star nicknamed "MVP", Montel Vontavious Porter, targeted Rollins with a Philadelphia diss-filled rant that saw Porter claim he was a real MVP, unlike the fluke J-Roll. Porter also claimed to be better than Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. It was a classic heel tirade. Insult the home crowd's sports teams to get some extra heat. It makes the fans that much more interested in "the good guy". "MVP" was jokingly pictured here on The Phoul Ballz last month in an post about the end of the Phillies' streak of most valuable player winners.

To view the segment featuring Rollins, check out the following link. Skip to the 0:58 mark. J-Roll is shown at 5:17, and is also seen celebrating the result of the match around the 6:17 mark. WWE star Charlie Haas, a former Seton Hall wrestling stand out, has an on-air gimmick where he mocks other wrestlers. His persona in this edition of Raw is "Most Valuable Charlie". I'm sorry, but Phillies phans know who the real MVC is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydNIour_ffk



From the Hot Stove rumor mill...There's a 3 or 4 team deal being talked about that might see the Phils giving up lefty "Jay" Happ or righty Kyle Kendrick for infielder/outfielder Mark DeRosa. The Phillies and Yankees are reportedly the two main teams targeting free agent starting pitcher Derek Lowe. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. confirmed that if the Phillies sign Lowe, then Jamie Moyer would no longer be persued by the Phillies. Amaro continues to state that the 5th starter role will be filled from within with guys like Happ, Kendrick, Joe Bisenius, Adam Eaton, and so on, competing for the job.

In rival news...the New York Mess signed some guy named Francisco. He's supposed to be the best closer from that other league. The Mess sure love signing guys who are supposed to be the best free agent(/player) at their respective positions to huge dollar contracts. Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana and now "K-Rod". I'm sure spending $37 million on a guy who plays in roughly 4.8% of your innings will prove to be money well spent.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

World Series Preview: Phillies vs. Astros

The Fall Classic is set to get underway on Friday with the Phillies opening on the road to take on the Astros in a best-of-seven series. This year marks 75 years since the first time a World Series was televised and this year each game will be broadcast on the FOX television network.  ESPN will have the radio broadcast and that feed can be streamed by using this link . Game 1 Friday, 8:03pm Eastern....in Houston.  RHP Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75 ERA).  In 16 road starts during the regular season this year, Nola notched a 5-9 record with a 3.00 ERA.  Nola has struck out 18 and walked three in 17 1/3 innings pitched this postseason.  Earlier this month, Nola tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings at Houston.  In 15 home starts during the regular season, Verlander sported a 10-1 record with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  Verlander has a 5.68 ERA and has not recorded a win in seven career World Series starts.  Verlander has...

PhoulBallz Interview: RHP Ben Brown talks TJ recovery, O'Hoppe, cancelled season

Image- MiLB.com Out of action since last May when it was determined he required Tommy John surgery, righty pitching prospect Ben Brown is using the downtime of the pandemic hiatus to continue his physical recovery.  A 33rd round draft selection of the Phillies back in 2017, Brown made his professional debut that same year, posting a 2.57 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in 10 appearances in the rookie level Gulf Coast League.  The following season, Brown began to make a name for himself in the GCL, striking out 16 batters in one July appearance.  He would post a 3.12 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 10 games (eight starts) before earning a promotion and finishing the season with a pair of outings with Class A short-season Williamsport. Brown, a Long Island, NY native, opened last year with Class A Lakewood.  In four appearances with the BlueClaws, he struck out 20, walked four and allowed no runs in 13 2/3 innings and looked well on his way to making an impact on betting odds and avai...

2019 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #7 LHP JoJo Romero

JoJo Romero, image- Jay Floyd With a growing crop of very talented pitching prospects in the Phillies organization, left-hander JoJo Romero is certainly among the standouts. The five-foot-11 200-pounder was the Phils’ 4th round draft selection in 2016. That year he helped Yavapai College, the same school that the Phillies drafted Kenny Giles from in 2011, clinch the JuCo World Series, leading the way with an 11-5 record, a 3.64 ERA and a 10.2 K/9 mark. He also tossed a complete game gem to earn the win in their title game. After signing with the Phillies, Romero made his professional debut as a member of the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters. There, he notched a 2-2 record with a 2.56 ERA while striking out 31 and walking 11 in 45 2/3 innings. In 2017, he got off to a terrific start with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. In 13 starts, Romero tallied a 5-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and a 9.3 K/9 mark and was honored as a South Atlantic League mid-season All-Star. R...