Phillies solve their hot corner problem??

[Marcus Garvey]

Phillies, Feliz agree to two-year contract (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3219098)

I vote, "meh:"
Pedro Feliz's career stats (http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/felizpe01.shtml)

His fielding pct. at third base is pretty good. Here's hoping he doesn't become a liability batting 8th.

[ngineer]

Certainly looks like an upgrade defensiively, which was my main issue with third last year when Nunez wasn't playing. Helms is a butcher and Dobbs is mediocre, but a decent bat, and better in the OF.

[UNHWildCats]

Certainly looks like an upgrade defensiively, which was my main issue with third last year when Nunez wasn't playing. Helms is a butcher and Dobbs is mediocre, but a decent bat, and better in the OF.
he'll also give you a little more power there... but his AVG and OBP is pathetic.... .252 career batter ouch

[whitey]

Despite his pop, Feliz flat out sucks at the plate. He has a career OBP of .288. That is horrible. Actually it's beyond horrible. His defense, which is really good might just about make up for his lack of offense making him overall an average third baseman.

All that said, this is a slight upgrade over Dobbs/Helms at third. So it can't be all that bad for the Phillies.

[GannonFan]

Eh, it's better than what we had before - Helms was a huge disappointment as he was terrible at the plate, not even being able to generate much power in a hitter-friendly park like Citizens Bank, and he was a god awful fielder. Dobbs isn't an everyday guy to put at third. Feliz, on the other hand, at least can field the position. And he had some decent power numbers in a park where you wouldn't expect it. Maybe he gets a jolt from playing in a smaller park. Either way, it's at least better than what we have, this can move Dobbs make to a utility role, and we can say adios to Helms. It might be baby steps, but at least it's progress.

[whitey]

Eh, it's better than what we had before

Yep. And I'm not sure who else was even available. Morgan Ensberg? He's vven more blah than Feliz. It's a slight upgrade yeah, but at least it's an upgrade. The Phillies are going to have a pretty sick defensive infield.

[Marcus Garvey]

I hope he has a great glove. At least Ozzie Smith has a career OBP of .337. Not too shabby for a career 8 hole hitter.

Incidently, has anyone ever bothered to compare Ozzie Smith's career stats with Davey Concepcion's? They are so ridiculously similar that anyone who believes Smith deserves to be in the HoF cannot justify keeping Dave Concepcion out:

Ozzie Smith's career stats (http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/smithoz01.shtml)

Dave Concepcion's career stats (http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/conceda01.shtml)

[GannonFan]

I hope he has a great glove. At least Ozzie Smith has a career OBP of .337. Not too shabby for a career 8 hole hitter.

Incidently, has anyone ever bothered to compare Ozzie Smith's career stats with Davey Concepcion's? They are so ridiculously similar that anyone who believes Smith deserves to be in the HoF cannot justify keeping Dave Concepcion out:

Ozzie Smith's career stats (http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/smithoz01.shtml)

Dave Concepcion's career stats (http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/conceda01.shtml)

Ruiz may still bat 8th - this guy looks like a 6th or 7th spot hitter.

[bluehenbillk]

I'm all right with the move, Helms was brutal at 3rd last year. Big defensive upgrade & if you can hit 20 HR's in San Fran, that's high 20's in CBP.

[gmoney55]

Not a bad move, should be a good race between the Phils and Braves in the NL East this year.

[whitey]

Not a bad move, should be a good race between the Phils and Braves in the NL East this year.

LoL. So much Mets hate. That's fine, everyone write them off.

[Marcus Garvey]

LoL. So much Mets hate. That's fine, everyone write them off.


The Phillies should be the team to beat this year, but with Manuel in the dugout, they'll probably struggle (again) to win 11 games in April. They'll get in a hole and struggle to climb out of it.
As for the Met's... They weren't exactly inspiring all year long. After May, they were downright mediocre and the only reason the Phils didn't clinch 2 weeks early was because of their slow start.

[whitey]

The Phillies should be the team to beat this year

Agreed. Myers back in the rotation + Lidge Closing (as long as he doesn't become a head case again) + Feliz at 3rd should offset the loss of Rowand.


but with Manuel in the dugout...

Agreed. Ha. But it's not like Randolph or Cox are great in game Managers either. This is a wash.


As for the Met's... They weren't exactly inspiring all year long.

Once again I agree, but that was last year and the Mets have improved. Even with the "loss" of Glavine the likely substitutes are going to be 3 years of Lohse or 1 of Livan which should equal or surpass Glavine's production from last year. You add to that a healthy Pedro + an upgrade in RF (Church) + a slight upgrade behind the plate (Schneider) + the return of Duaner Sanchez in the bullpen the Mets certainly aren't looking bad either.

I guess my point is that no one in the NL East has improved drastically from last season. The Phillies, Mets and Braves have all improved equally, IMO. So declaring it a two horse race at this point is pretty uninformed and completely wrong.


...now the wild card in all of this is obviously the Mets trading for Santana.

[Marcus Garvey]

Feliz at 3rd should offset the loss of Rowand.



Excellent points all around except.... how does a new third baseman who bats worse than Randy Ready (http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/readyra01.shtml)help offset the loss of a Center Fielder who batted .309/.374/.515?

[GannonFan]

Excellent points all around except.... how does a new third baseman who bats worse than Randy Ready (http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/readyra01.shtml)help offset the loss of a Center Fielder who batted .309/.374/.515?

I don't think he's trying to say Feliz straight up is better than Rowand - in truth, you need to throw Geoff Jenkins also into the mix - they're a little worse in the outfield and now a little better at 3rd.

[whitey]

MG,

I was just saying the the combination of Myers in the rotation, Lidge closing and the improvement at 3B provided by Feliz should offset the loss of Rowand. Adding that to the Werth/Jenkins platoon in right should make the Phillies an improved team over last year's squad.

[spelunker64]

Real Men of Genius - Philadelphia Sports Fan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX7MnGIW0to&feature=related

[whitey]

And just like that, the Mets and Twins have come to an agreement. The Mets will receive Santana. The Twins will receive Gomez, Humber, Guerra and Mulvey in exchange.

The Mets now have 48-72 hours to complete a long term extension with Santana plus have him pass a physical. Once that is complete then Santana will lift his no trade clause and you'll see him in Queens.

[gmoney55]

Is that really it? The Mets pulled that off without giving up Martinez, Pelfrey or any major leaguer? Wow...those prospects aren't bad, but without giving up those two it's stunning.

[whitey]

According to USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-01-29-twins-mets-santana_N.htm) that is the deal.

[Marcus Garvey]

Is that really it? The Mets pulled that off without giving up Martinez, Pelfrey or any major leaguer? Wow...those prospects aren't bad, but without giving up those two it's stunning.

I don't know about Pelfrey, but the warranty has expired on Pedro. I don't see him being very attractive to many teams with his injuries and high salary. Except maybe an AL East team so he can pile drive Zims the next time he faces the Rays.

[gmoney55]

Not Pedro, Fernando Martinez, the outfielder...sorry I didn't clarify. He's the No. 1 prospect in their system according to most outlets, and top 10-15 in baseball.

[AZGrizFan]

I would expect his numbers to increase in the bandbox known as Philly Stadium....the death valleys at San Francisco's park (particularly center and right center) were killers to hitters....

[Go...gate]

Not a bad move, should be a good race between the Phils and Braves in the NL East this year.

....and Mets, as of 5:30 EST today.

Feliz a good pick-up by Phils.

[Marcus Garvey]

I would expect his numbers to increase in the bandbox known as Philly Stadium....the death valleys at San Francisco's park (particularly center and right center) were killers to hitters....

Philly helps sluggers almost exclusively. A guy with Feliz's batting average and slugging percentage may as well be playing in the Astrodome.