Skip to main content

Still Sizzlin' Stove in NL East

The offseason Stove continues to stay Hot. The competition made some moves this weekend. The Metropolitans signed Tim Redding this weekend to a one year $2.25 million deal. This signing by the Metropolitans bothered me more than the Mets getting JJ Putz and Francisco Rodriguez. Redding, the former DC Nats pitcher, really owned the Phillies early last season. The Phillies did really get to Redding in one of his 4 starts against them last year, but in April and May Redding made two starts and in those starts, Redding threw 13 1/2 scoreless innings. Tim Redding is one of those pitchers that baffles the Phillies offense. Take away the 5th inning against the Phillies on July 30th, and Redding has a 1.14 ERA against Philadelphia last season.

Our Phillies should expect to see Redding four times in 2009 and, at 6-7 innings per outting, that's likely more innings than they'd face Franny and the putz.


Also cookin' on the stove this weekend were the Braves, who were craving Asian food. Atlanta signed a big addition for their pitching staff this weekend, inking former Chunichi Dragon big gun, Kenshin Kawakami to a contract. No details on the terms of the contract yet, and the deal is pending a physical examination. "KK" was the Central League's rookie of the year in 1998.


In home land news, our Phillies are reported to be interested in adding a right handed bat for the bench. The bench is normally reserved to 5 spots, and the Phillies, with the recent addition of former Brave Marcus Giles, will have plenty more than 5 players, battling for those 5 spots. Keep in mind that Chase Utley may not be ready for opening day and that perhaps Eric Bruntlett or Giles would be starting in his spot. Considering that point, the following men would be competing for 5 rosters spots: Ronny Paulino, Geoff Jenkins, Chris Coste, Matt Stairs, Greg Dobbs, Bruntlett or Giles. Then there are minor leaguers Brad Harman, Lou Marson and Jason Donald who will definitely be hungry in spring training.

According to the Inquirer, the two righty bats that the Phils are interested in are Nomar Garciaparra and Gabe Kapler. With the already full bench, the Phils would need to get rid of an existing contract, if they did sign another righty hitter. Stairs and his $1 million contract might be the easiest to unload, as Dobbs is rather appealing to the Phils due to his low salary and position versatility, and Geoff Jenkins is owed $8 million minimally ($6.75 for 2009 and at least a $1.25 million buyout in 2010), so it would be tough to get another team to take Jenkins' contract on.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Diekman a Late Addition to Mesa AFL Roster

On Wednesday, Phillies lefty pitching prospect Jacob Diekman made his Arizona Fall League debut. Diekman, who was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 amateur draft, was assigned to Mesa late, in order to increase his 2010 innings total, according to Mesa hitting coach Mark Parent, who managed Diekman in Lakewood this past season. Diekman, 23, posted a 2-0 record with 1.90 ERA in 21 games with Class A Lakewood before being promoted to High-A Clearwater on June 24th. In 24 games with the Threshers, Diekman went 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA. Combined, Diekman tossed 55 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average against at two levels in 2010. However, after not pitching in an official game since he threw a shutout inning to wrap up the Clearwater season on September 5th, Diekman was unable to record an out as all seven batters he faced reached base, six with hits, one on an error. Diekman was charged with 5 earned runs in the outing. Diekman had spent time at instructional ball from

2022 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #24 RHP Cristian Hernandez

Venezuelan born right-hander Cristian Hernandez has begun to earn recognition as one of the Phillies most promising pitching prospects. Signed as a 16-year-old in 2017 for a reported $120,000, Hernandez got his professional career started the following summer as a starter for the Phillies' Red Dominican Summer League club.  There, in 13 starts, Hernandez tallied a 2-3 record with 2.57 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP as well as a 7.0 K/9 mark. An injury sidelined Hernandez in 2019 and the 2020 season was cancelled due to the global pandemic. In 2021, Hernandez saw his first regular season action in the United States, starting his season in Florida Complex League.  After two appearances there, the six-foot-three 185-pounder was promoted to the Class A Clearwater Threshers.  In 20 combined outings (17 starts), Hernandez notched a 2-7 record with a 3.57 ERA, a .228 batting average against and an 11.2 K/9 mark. Projectability is something that baseball folks like about Hernandez.  His size, consistent

Who is Your Favorite Willie 'Mays' Hayes?

PhoulBallz.com is wondering which individual who has portrayed Willie "Mays" Hayes is the favorite of the public. Hayes, of course, is the character made famous in the Major League motion picture series. In Major League , Willie "Mays" Hayes was portrayed by budding Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes, who would go on to action movie superstardom. Snipes has starred in major motion pictures like the Blade trilogy, Passenger 57 , Undisputed and many more. Snipes remains an impact Hollywood actor, despite legal troubles related to income tax evasion. Snipes was replaced for the sequel, Major League II when his busy career, and possibly the film's budget, would not allow him to return, by Omar Epps. Another budding actor, Epps had previously worked with director David S. Ward, on the film The Program , and landed the role of Hayes, who had become a Hollywood action star over the off-season that occured between the two films. Epps' career portraying athletes rolle