OT: Philadelphia Phillies (MLB): Offseason edition

[Hurricane28]

disappointed that the braves have out tanked the Phillies and rebuilt their farm system quicker. That was supposed to be our thing and they just dismantled their team and made some nice moves. Hate the braves although was a huge greg maddux and loved going to games at the vet when he pitched as you could pay 5 bucks and sit where ever you wanted and drink your face off while watching such an outstanding pitcher.

tbf other than Cole Hamels, their assets were worth a lot more than ours since they were younger and still in their prime

 

[FLYguy3911]

I miss the Vet.

 

[Halladay]

I think they win 70 games.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

I miss the Vet.

I miss the atmosphere at the vet (and the prices), but CBP is a thousand times better overall.

 

[CHIP72]

I miss the atmosphere at the vet (and the prices), but CBP is a thousand times better overall.

I agree with the bolded parts.

If the Phillies (and Eagles) still played at the Vet, most Phillies/Eagles fans would be *****ing endlessly about the facility.

 

[Hurricane28]

I wouldn't be opposed to signing Rollins to a one year deal with second year team option. He would be the perfect mentor to Crawford. Phillies know what they have in Galvis and it isn't much. Makes sense from a team standpoint and a marketing standpoint as well

 

[Hurricane28]

Everything about Jake Thompson reminds me of Joe Blanton. His stature and delivery are very similar. Plus they did an interview with him today and his face reminds me of him too. Hoping he's better than Big Joe

 

[WastedTalent]

I saw the other day the over/under wins for the Phillies in Vegas is 66.5. Seems a tad low

 

[Hurricane28]

I saw the other day the over/under wins for the Phillies in Vegas is 66.5. Seems a tad low

Agreed, they can't be as bad as last year unless Franco, Nola, and Eickoff have sophomore slumps. Ive always liked Eickoff, people laughed at me when I said he had value and wasn't a throw in. He might be old for a prospect, but he has good stuff. His numbers were only bad cause the Texas league is a very hitter friendly league

 

[Broad Street Elite]

Agreed, they can't be as bad as last year unless Franco, Nola, and Eickoff have sophomore slumps. Ive always liked Eickoff, people laughed at me when I said he had value and wasn't a throw in. He might be old for a prospect, but he has good stuff. His numbers were only bad cause the Texas league is a very hitter friendly league

Got to remember that we also had Hamels for half of last season as well. Also, the Phillies will likely miss Utley's leadership and Howard/Chooch are another year older. I don't think the Phillies will necessarily be worse than last year, but I don't think they'll get to 70 wins either.

 

[zarley zelepukin]

Everything about Jake Thompson reminds me of Joe Blanton. His stature and delivery are very similar. Plus they did an interview with him today and his face reminds me of him too. Hoping he's better than Big Joe

If Thompson's slider is as advertised, it's a much better pitch than anything Blanton had.

Got to remember that we also had Hamels for half of last season as well. Also, the Phillies will likely miss Utley's leadership and Howard/Chooch are another year older. I don't think the Phillies will necessarily be worse than last year, but I don't think they'll get to 70 wins either.

I think they can get 70-72. They had over 100 starts last year from guys like Harang, Williams, Buchanan, O'Sullivan, Correia, etc., with a cumulative ERA over 6. Even Hamels had something of a down year. If they can get about 60 mediocre starts from Hellickson and Morton, their starting pitching should be much better.

 

[Hurricane28]

If Thompson's slider is as advertised, it's a much better pitch than anything Blanton had.



I think they can get 70-72. They had over 100 starts last year from guys like Harang, Williams, Buchanan, O'Sullivan, Correia, etc., with a cumulative ERA over 6. Even Hamels had something of a down year. If they can get about 60 mediocre starts from Hellickson and Morton, their starting pitching should be much better.

Yes Ive seen him live three times. All three games that was his best pitch

 

[Hiesenberg]

Phillies won a good amount of games in the 2nd half of the season.

 

[Tankadelphia]

I think that the phillies will still be the worst team in baseball again this year. Here's what I'm expecting

Starting Lineup:
1. Bourjos - .260, 10 hr, 30 SB
2. Herrera - .280, 14 hr, 15 SB
3. Franco - .270, 23 hr
4. Howard - .230, 25 hr
5. Altherr - .250, 20 hr
6. Hernandez - .285, 10 hr, 25 SB
7. Rupp - .245, 15 hr
8. Galvis - .250, 10 hr

Bench:
- Goeddel
- Blanco
- Lough
- Ruiz
- Asche
- Ruf

Starting Rotation
1. Nola - 10-10, 3.6 era
2. Eickhoff - 8-11, 3.8 era
3. Velasquez - 7-9, 3.9 era
4. Morton - 7-10, 4.3 era
5. Hellickson - 6-9, 4.4 era

Bullpen
- Oberholtzer
- Morgan
- Hernandez
- Russell
- Stumpf
- Mujica
- Bailey

 

[sobrien]

The idea of Rupp starting renders me ill, but I can see it happening.

I'm excited for baseball (despite working in it) and for this young team. For some reason, I've always been drawn to young teams that don't win a lot...like the early 00's Phils and the 07 Flyers (post-trade deadline)

 

[FLYguy3911]

If Cesar Hernandez hits 10 HRs, I hope he doesn't have to pee in a cup.

 

[JDinkalage Morgoone]

I don't see Bourjos hitting .260. I also think Altherr can do better than .250.

 

[whitstifier]

I think that the phillies will still be the worst team in baseball again this year. Here's what I'm expecting

Starting Lineup:
1. Bourjos - .260, 10 hr, 30 SB
2. Herrera - .280, 14 hr, 15 SB
3. Franco - .270, 23 hr
4. Howard - .230, 25 hr
5. Altherr - .250, 20 hr
6. Hernandez - .285, 10 hr, 25 SB
7. Rupp - .245, 15 hr
8. Galvis - .250, 10 hr

Bench:
- Goeddel
- Blanco
- Lough
- Ruiz
- Asche
- Ruf

Starting Rotation
1. Nola - 10-10, 3.6 era
2. Eickhoff - 8-11, 3.8 era
3. Velasquez - 7-9, 3.9 era
4. Morton - 7-10, 4.3 era
5. Hellickson - 6-9, 4.4 era

Bullpen
- Oberholtzer
- Morgan
- Hernandez
- Russell
- Stumpf
- Mujica
- Bailey

Oberholtzer is probably a safer bet than Velasquez to get around 20 starts. I think the Phillies will give Velasquez a look at AAA for part of the season. Also, Oberholtzer might be higher on depth chart than Morton and Hellickson.

I'm not sure if Asche will be on the team. If Howard plays, it'll be on a platoon with Ruf. The front office has made that public IIRC.

Williams, Velasquez, Crawford, Appel, and others could be callups come midseason. Should have roster moves galore next season! Exciting times.

On a separate note, I'm very interested in Strasburg's and Harper's plans. Strasburg apparently doesn't want to re-up with the Nats, a team edging toward mediocrity. He's had difficulty staying healthy as a starter, but he's incredible. Might be pretty valuable as a reliever. Harper is a couple years away. Can't imagine he'll stay with the Nats either, though.

 

[Hurricane28]

I read somewhere Morgan will most likely get the first look at the #5 starter

 

[Halladay]

Bourjos isn't hitting .260. Interesting to see how Nola and Eickhoff pitch. Going to be a fun season.

 

[Hurricane28]

Oberholtzer is probably a safer bet than Velasquez to get around 20 starts. I think the Phillies will give Velasquez a look at AAA for part of the season. Also, Oberholtzer might be higher on depth chart than Morton and Hellickson.

I'm not sure if Asche will be on the team. If Howard plays, it'll be on a platoon with Ruf. The front office has made that public IIRC.

Williams, Velasquez, Crawford, Appel, and others could be callups come midseason. Should have roster moves galore next season! Exciting times.

On a separate note, I'm very interested in Strasburg's and Harper's plans. Strasburg apparently doesn't want to re-up with the Nats, a team edging toward mediocrity. He's had difficulty staying healthy as a starter, but he's incredible. Might be pretty valuable as a reliever. Harper is a couple years away. Can't imagine he'll stay with the Nats either, though.

Remember that article where it said 2018 offseason is going to be historic? Well Phillies have no money committed to then and there won't be any big contracts on the books. If thats the case 2019 we should be serious contenders.

Id like to see improvement this year
2017: Contend for playoffs but not necessarily make them
2018: Make playoffs
2019: World Series contenders


Number one priority will be to get an ace in FA

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Bourjos isn't hitting .260. Interesting to see how Nola and Eickhoff pitch. Going to be a fun season.

Not sure if fun is the word I'd use to describe the season. Interesting I think would be more appropriate! The team is probably going to be about as entertaining and exciting as they were last year. Toward the end of the year I think we could see some combination of Crawford/Williams/Alfaro/Knapp in the bigs, but other than that I think it is going to be another ugly year of ugly baseball. Even when those guys do get here, assuming they actually do make it, I don't anticipate a whole lot, more like Franco's first time up. NEXT season is when I think it will be a fun team to watch.

 

[Hurricane28]

Not sure if fun is the word I'd use to describe the season. Interesting I think would be more appropriate! The team is probably going to be about as entertaining and exciting as they were last year. Toward the end of the year I think we could see some combination of Crawford/Williams/Alfaro/Knapp in the bigs, but other than that I think it is going to be another ugly year of ugly baseball. Even when those guys do get here, assuming they actually do make it, I don't anticipate a whole lot, more like Franco's first time up. NEXT season is when I think it will be a fun team to watch.

I mean I think it will be more fun. Last year I only really watched when Hamels pitched for the first half of the year, then watched Eickoff and Nola in second half of the year. We will see a bunch of call ups this year which will make it more fun.

 

[zarley zelepukin]

I think that the phillies will still be the worst team in baseball again this year. Here's what I'm expecting

Starting Lineup:
1. Bourjos - .260, 10 hr, 30 SB
2. Herrera - .280, 14 hr, 15 SB
3. Franco - .270, 23 hr
4. Howard - .230, 25 hr
5. Altherr - .250, 20 hr
6. Hernandez - .285, 10 hr, 25 SB
7. Rupp - .245, 15 hr
8. Galvis - .250, 10 hr

Bench:
- Goeddel
- Blanco
- Lough
- Ruiz
- Asche
- Ruf

Starting Rotation
1. Nola - 10-10, 3.6 era
2. Eickhoff - 8-11, 3.8 era
3. Velasquez - 7-9, 3.9 era
4. Morton - 7-10, 4.3 era
5. Hellickson - 6-9, 4.4 era

Bullpen
- Oberholtzer
- Morgan
- Hernandez
- Russell
- Stumpf
- Mujica
- Bailey

It's tough to determine impact with only BA and HRs, but if the team puts up those numbers there's almost no way they'll be the worst team in baseball. Compare to last year:

C- .222/.295/.327 (11 HR)
1B- .241/.299/.460 (33 HR)
2B- .246/.306/.337 (7 HR)
3B- .269/.332/.456 (23 HR)
SS- .268/.310/.365 (7 HR)
LF- .255/.310/.389 (12 HR)
CF- .296/.342/.408 (8 HR)
RF- .242/.286/.385 (18 HR)

SP- 5.23 ERA
RP- 3.81 ERA

 

[montreal]

I don't put much stock in win totals at this time of the year. Plus injuries to key players can throw a wrench into those numbers, or other times you get a big surprise where you don't expect one.

The big question mark to me is the pen, I hope that Elvis Araujo and Luis Garcia can do well. Araujo before the injury was having a good year when you consider that he never played above AA before last season. Garcia was so impressive at AAA but needs to show more. Jeanmar Gomez should be one of the arms in the pen as well, was surprised he did as well as he did, wasn't expecting anything from him.

On the farm I'm interested to see what Jimmy Cordero, Edubray Ramos and Reinier Roibal do as I have high hopes for Ramos and think he's going to turn some heads. Cordero is certainly very interesting and Roibal was a surprise with how well he did in AA.

The SP should be better as a full season of Nola should help matters and I was so impressed with Eickhoff at LV and what he showed in the majors. Haven't heard anything on Matt Harrison is he's healthy or going to retire. I can't wait to see Vincent Velasquez if it's in the majors or AAA. I assume Adam Morgan is back in AAA to work on things but could be one of the first call ups. Interested to see what Appel does as well.

I also hope they are careful with Crawford and don't rush him to sell more tickets.