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The Phillies’ Off-Season Gets Worse

January 6th, 2009 Posted in Media, Philadelphia Phillies, MLB | 1 Comment »

The Tampa Bay Rays have signed Pat Burrell to a two-year, $16 million deal. [Ken Rosenthal]

This is after Pat Burrell had declined a two-year, $22 million offer from the Phillies back in October. And after the Phillies wasted $31.5 million over three years for Raul Ibanez in mid-December.

Both Burrell and the Phillies screwed themselves. Burrell held out for more money and/or more years and instead lost (in the figurative sense) money and never got the three-year deal he was seeking.

The Phillies lowballed — it was lowballing at the time — Burrell with that $22 million offer, thinking that if he accepted, they would get him for just about at market value, if not less. If he declined, they could take him to arbitration unless their estimates put Burrell at a higher value. Those figures did indeed peg Burrell as a $15 million-ish player, so the Phillies declined arbitration, a defensible move at the time that would pay off only if the Phillies didn’t sign a player like Raul Ibanez.

They signed Raul Ibanez, not only setting the market — an indefensible decision given what was available (Adam Dunn) — but attaching themselves for three years to a player who will turn 37 in early June and is just as bad defensively as Burrell and a step down offensively.

You have to be steaming if you’re a Phillies fan.

But you still have to pull for Pat Burrell. The guy has been nothing short of awesome in his tenure in Philadelphia and I for one wish him all the luck and success in the world, as long as it doesn’t directly affect the Phillies’ chances of repeating as World F*cking Champions. On behalf of the Phillies’ front office, I formally apologize to him for getting screwed over by the team he busted his ass for since 1998.

More bad news: J.C. Romero to be suspended for the first 50 games of 2009. [Phillies.com]

There’s a good discussion at Baseball Think Factory regarding this issue, and the general consensus is that Romero got screwed. But the likelihood of this decision getting overturned is about as small as the Pirates reaching .500 within the next ten seasons. In other words, the decision is final. The Phillies will be without their best left-handed reliever, thus praying for the 2005-06 versions of Scott Eyre. Hey, Joe Beimel is available too.

To recap, here’s the Phillies’ off-season thus far:

- One of the best general managers in baseball history resigns and is replaced by Ruben Amaro, who has absolutely no G.M. experience.

- Utley’s bum hip requires surgery. He may miss the first 33 or 50% of the 2009 season. He will more than likely be replaced not by Jason Donald, but by Eric Bruntlett. Donald has to have an amazing spring training to win Utley’s job.

- Amaro declines to offer arbitration to Burrell and Jamie Moyer. Moyer, a 46-year-old (who I will wager will put up a 4.50 ERA or worse in ‘09) is given a two-year deal. The average annual value ($6.5 million) is only slightly cheaper than what Moyer likely would have been awarded in arbitration — a one-year only deal. Meanwhile, Burrell ends up signing elsewhere for relatively dirt cheap while the Phillies will be trotting out a left-handed Burrell Lite in ‘09 for twice the money over one extra year.

- The Mets address their glaring weakness by acquiring two Grade A+ relief pitchers in Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz.

- Romero, the Phillies’ #1 left-handed arm in the bullpen tests positive for a drug, the illegality of which is entirely ambiguous. Romero will miss the first 50 games, or 31% of the ‘09 season.

I know I should be relishing the Phillies’ WFC, but this is getting to be one of the more embarrassing off-seasons of a World Series winner, Florida Marlins aside.

Chipper Jones Has A Room Temperature IQ?

January 2nd, 2009 Posted in Media, Internet, Philadelphia Phillies, MLB | No Comments »

Larry “Chipper” Jones has been my favorite non-Phillie since he burst onto the scene with the Atlanta Braves in 1995. So it is with great remorse that I bring you news that Jones might, in fact, be a few watts short of a light bulb. Over at The Sporting News, Ken Bradley got Jones’ take on the goings-on in baseball, and a lot of Jones’ thoughts evoke this response:

You may recall Braves’ players and even their manager in need of the whaambulance back in August and September of ‘07. This is becoming a trend.

Without further ado, let’s read and respond to Larry.

Chipper on the Mets acquiring relievers Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz

The rich get richer. It’s becoming more and more apparent that the bigger markets are crushing the smaller markets with these signings.

Larry, you’ve averaged just about $13 million per season over the past eight seasons. You complaining about the rich is like Paris Hilton complaining about people with chlamydia (PH jokes are just too easy).

Only the signing of Rodriguez represented a market inequality, since Putz was acquired in a trade — almost any team could have jumped out and paid for his services with players. Further, Rodriguez can be considered to have been slightly underpaid at $37 million over the next three seasons. For instance, the Yankees signed Mariano Rivera to a three-year $45 million contract in December of ‘07. Joe Nathan and Brad Lidge have similar contracts to Rodriguez.

It’s not like the Mets just reached into their pockets, pulled out as much money as they could grab on to, and said to Rodriguez, “Here, just take this, we don’t need to bother counting.” The Mets offered a market-savvy contract to Rodriguez and he bit. There’s nothing unfair about that.

We won for 14 consecutive years, and you never, ever saw any bulletin board material. And now that these two teams are on top of the division, they can’t keep their mouths shut. Just go play baseball. It’s Cole Hamels now. It was Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Beltran the past couple of springs. These two teams are constantly going at each other verbally. You know, win with class, lose with class. Just keep your mouth shut and go play your game. 

David Pinto had a great response to this nugget:

For 14 years, Atlanta was the most boring champion around. When I was at the World Series in 1999, the Yankees fans at Turner Field, greatly outnumbered, still managed to be louder than the Braves fans. Let the Mets and Phillies talk trash, and let them go down to the wire every year. Fans love this.

I’d hate to see the MLB turn into the No Fun League, or the NFL, especially if it’s driven by the players.

Chipper on the Braves pulling out of the Jake Peavy trade talks

[The Atlanta Braves are] not going to give any player who comes through here a no-trade clause. I don’t care if it’s Hank Aaron. I don’t care if it’s Mickey Mantle.

Then Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle will head to New York where they’re at least going to get paid better without a no-trade clause. The NTC actually helps teams, believe it or not, by finding another method through which to attract players. If you’re not going to offer a lot of money, and you’re not making the playoffs, AND you’re not going to provide other incentives, then why would anyone play for your team?

Chipper on the Yankees’ offseason spending

The downside to trading is that it weakens your minor league system. But the only way that we are going to win now is through trades. We just don’t have enough money to compete with the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago teams.

While the poorer teams are supposed to have an advantage when it comes to prospects — with the draft order based on how bad a team’s record is — if it exists, it is small. But regardless, almost any team — including the Braves — can trade for a star player. It just requires loosening the grip on your prized prospects. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too. That’s why the Brewers parted with Matt LaPorta for C.C. Sabathia last year.

Bad example (if you take that analogy literally).

To look at it from another perpsective, take a glance at the Braves’ total payroll by year, with their MLB rank…

2008: $102,365,683; 10th
2007: $87,290,833; 15th
2006: $90,156,876; 9th
2005: $86,457,302; 10th
2004: $90,182,500; 8th
2003: $106,243,667; 3rd
2002: $93,470,367; 7th
2001: $91,936,166; 6th

Only once since 2001 were the Braves not in the top-third of the league in total payroll. Seems to me like the Braves had more than enough enough money to compete for free agents.

Peer at Jones’ salary in each of those years, and how much of the Braves’ payroll it takes up:

2008: $12,333,333, 10%
2007: $12,333,333, 13%
2006: $12,333,333, 15%
2005: $16,061,802, 18%
2004: $15,333,333, 18%
2003: $13,333,333, 12%
2002: $11,333,333, 12%
2001: $10,333,333, 13%

Gee, Larry… if you wanted the Braves to have more money to compete for better players, why didn’t you ever volunteer to take a pay cut? Did it ever cross your mind when you’re whining about your team’s lack of finances, “Oh yeah, I am responsible for one-fifth of it all. Oops!”

You have fun counting your money when your team is mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in mid-August, while the Phillies and Mets will continue to play meaningful games into late September.

BDD: Amaro is Phils’ Weakest Link

December 31st, 2008 Posted in Baseball Digest Daily, Blogs, Philadelphia Phillies, MLB | 4 Comments »

At Baseball Digest Daily, I rip Amaro a new one for his utter lack of logic and complete refusal to use the Phils’ WFC as leverage in the free agent market.

Instead, Jenkins’ and Eaton’s salaries will remain wholly on the books, their bodies filling up roster slots that could be taken by more productive players. Amaro is content paying $6.5 million for a downgrade in left field, $6.5 million for a 46-year-old starter in Jamie Moyer, and $2.5-5 million for a flaky, typically unproductive SP/RP hybrid in Park.

WFC’s and they’re scavenging the free agent market. WFC’s and they’re hoping some food falls off the table.

Mets GM Omar Minaya, despite his team’s embarrassingly pathetic play at the end of each of the last two seasons, is eating at the table. He’s at the back end of a three-course meal. With Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz stains on his bib, he may as well get some Derek Lowe on there, too.

Crashburn Contest: Win Collector’s Edition DVD Set!

December 25th, 2008 Posted in Media, Contests, Blogs, Internet, Philadelphia Phillies, MLB | 2 Comments »

It’s the season of giving, and give I shall in this, the first contest ever run at Crashburn Alley. Thanks to A&E Home Video, the Phillies collectors edition DVD set pictured to the right could be yours if you take a picture (in JPEG format in any size, but the bigger the better) of yourself with a celebrity holding a sign with “Crashburn Alley” hand-written.

Send the e-mail to crashburncontest [at] gmail [dot] com, along with the subject header “Crashburn Contest Entry” and both yourself and the celebrity identified in the e-mail body. Make sure that you provide a valid shipping address in the event that you do win. One entry per shipping address.

I will select five finalists (assuming there are a decent amount of entries), and put them up for a popular vote with the readers of Crashburn Alley. One will win.

Click here to see the flier in PDF format with all of the pertinent information.

Click here to read the rules and regulations in a Word 2007 (.docx) file. If you don’t have Word 2007, click here to read it on Googledocs.

By submitting an entry, you agree that you have read and agree to everything in the rules and regulations document.

Now, go out and hunt down some celebs!

BDD: Rant on Bonds

December 24th, 2008 Posted in MLB | 1 Comment »

At Baseball Digest Daily, you’ll be pleased to know that I have ranted yet again on the subject of Barry Bonds. Do enjoy.

There is no definitive answer to the question “Is the use of steroids or HGH immoral?” We understand too little about the subject and pretend to know too much. Instead of knee-jerk legislation and figurehead demonization, let’s admit that we’re still dipping our toes in the pool on this issue. To pretend that outlawing steroids and HGH, and keeping Barry Bonds out of baseball will rid not just Major League Baseball but the United States of America of its drug problems is nothing if not naive.