2007 Hot Stove League Thread

[BERIGAN]

That's terrible news but I wouldn't assume "season over" until they know more about the extent of the injury. But that's a tough way to start the spring, right after the Mets add Santana.

Yeah, it should be an interesting battle to see which team will battle for second behind the Braves!

[Tim McG]

Um.

Don't hold your breath waiting, Berigan

[Dan Gould]

That's terrible news but I wouldn't assume "season over" until they know more about the extent of the injury. But that's a tough way to start the spring, right after the Mets add Santana.

Yeah, it should be an interesting battle to see which team will battle for second behind the Braves!

I tell you what, if Hampton really is healthy and stays that way, you've got starters that are as good or better than the Mets and Phils. If those teams don't batter each other too much, I think there's a good chance that two of the three will make it to the playoffs, unless Torre does a miracle job on the Dodgers (I think Colorado is unlikely to duplicate its run to the pennant).

[Tim McG]

That's terrible news but I wouldn't assume "season over" until they know more about the extent of the injury. But that's a tough way to start the spring, right after the Mets add Santana.

Yeah, it should be an interesting battle to see which team will battle for second behind the Braves!

I tell you what, if Hampton really is healthy and stays that way, you've got starters that are as good or better than the Mets and Phils. If those teams don't batter each other too much, I think there's a good chance that two of the three will make it to the playoffs, unless Torre does a miracle job on the Dodgers (I think Colorado is unlikely to duplicate its run to the pennant).

Joe Torre will be hard pressed with the bench he has to work with; not an A-Rod in the bunch.

Rockies will be tough to beat as will the Padres. My Giants will figure in as a spolier, er....for their fans, not the league.

Grrrrr!!!

[BERIGAN]

That's terrible news but I wouldn't assume "season over" until they know more about the extent of the injury. But that's a tough way to start the spring, right after the Mets add Santana.

Yeah, it should be an interesting battle to see which team will battle for second behind the Braves!

I tell you what, if Hampton really is healthy and stays that way, you've got starters that are as good or better than the Mets and Phils. If those teams don't batter each other too much, I think there's a good chance that two of the three will make it to the playoffs, unless Torre does a miracle job on the Dodgers (I think Colorado is unlikely to duplicate its run to the pennant).

Dan, it's funny....we were so completely lacking in starting pitching last year, Smoltz and Hudson and pray for rain(Doesn't rhyme I know!) now IF Hampton is healthy,(And for all his hard work, I hope he can at least pitch for awhile) there is Glavine, leaving as choices for #5, 22 year old Jair Jurrjens who we got from Detroit for Renteria, a nobody named Jeff Bennett who after a few years of arm trouble (And converting from reliever to starter midseason)really impressed last September...ad to that last year's 3rd starter Chuck James(Who has rotator cuff issues ) and Jo-Jo Reyes who after a terrible beginning to the year, had an ERA around 3 in September...and even if Hampton gets injured again, we have a fair number of options. In fact, I could be singing another tune at the end of the season, but I think we should have saved the money on Glavine. But, one can never have enough starting pitching, can one???

Now, if only Bobby Cox can find his brain again, we will stand a good chance.....

[Dan Gould]

But, one can never have enough starting pitching, can one???

Which is why I am glad the Sox have apparently signed Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal. I know a lot of people think he is toast, or else that he's simply still not physically right, but this is a no-cost insurance policy with only upside for the club. He can't be any worse than some of the remaining free agents like Lohse or Fogg, and none of them would accept a minor league deal in the first place.

[Dan Gould]

And also not a bad idea to lockup Terry Francona for a minimum of three more years beyond 2008. I like the fact that he's up around Joe Torre's salary because he deserves to be - I sometimes question a few of his in-game moves but I think Tito is extremely gifted in the area of managing personalities/egos as well as managing the media demands in Boston. And its hard to criticize someone who is 8-0 in World Series games, 22-9 overall in the postseason.

[Tim McG]

That's terrible news but I wouldn't assume "season over" until they know more about the extent of the injury. But that's a tough way to start the spring, right after the Mets add Santana.

Yeah, it should be an interesting battle to see which team will battle for second behind the Braves!

I tell you what, if Hampton really is healthy and stays that way, you've got starters that are as good or better than the Mets and Phils. If those teams don't batter each other too much, I think there's a good chance that two of the three will make it to the playoffs, unless Torre does a miracle job on the Dodgers (I think Colorado is unlikely to duplicate its run to the pennant).

Dan, it's funny....we were so completely lacking in starting pitching last year, Smoltz and Hudson and pray for rain(Doesn't rhyme I know!) now IF Hampton is healthy,(And for all his hard work, I hope he can at least pitch for awhile) there is Glavine, leaving as choices for #5, 22 year old Jair Jurrjens who we got from Detroit for Renteria, a nobody named Jeff Bennett who after a few years of arm trouble (And converting from reliever to starter midseason)really impressed last September...ad to that last year's 3rd starter Chuck James(Who has rotator cuff issues ) and Jo-Jo Reyes who after a terrible beginning to the year, had an ERA around 3 in September...and even if Hampton gets injured again, we have a fair number of options. In fact, I could be singing another tune at the end of the season, but I think we should have saved the money on Glavine. But, one can never have enough starting pitching, can one???

Now, if only Bobby Cox can find his brain again, we will stand a good chance.....

Um.

I don't think Bobby Cox is the problem.

[Chalupa]

Uh-oh.....

Cole Hamels upset with $500,000 salary

By Todd Zolecki

Inquirer Staff Writer

TAMPA, Fla. - This could be the 1-2 contract punch that Phillies fans have feared.

Cole Hamels expressed his utter frustration yesterday that he could not come to an agreement with the team on his 2008 contract. Yesterday, the Phillies renewed his contract for $500,000, which is about $200,000 less than what Hamels had sought.

"It was a low blow," Hamels said in the visitors' clubhouse at Legends Field, where he allowed four runs and two home runs in two innings of a 7-7 exhibition tie with the New York Yankees.

The 24-year-old lefthander finds himself in a situation similar to that of Ryan Howard last year. He feels underpaid and a little unappreciated.

The Phillies feel otherwise.

"I think the one thing about us is that we treat people as fairly as possible," Phillies general manager Pat Gillick said. "We think he's been treated very fairly. That's basically all we can do - try to do our responsibility to the player. And the figure we renewed him at, we think it's appropriate."

Before a player is eligible for salary arbitration - eligible players have between three and six years of major-league service time, although a "Super Two" player like Howard had more than two but less than three - teams can pay that player whatever they want. No player in baseball history has received more than $900,000 in a season before he has become eligible for arbitration. (Howard was paid that amount by the Phillies in 2007, and Albert Pujols received that amount from the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003.)

The Phillies are "very business-savvy," said Hamels, who is expected to be a "Super Two" player after this season. "When you know you can have a guy for a certain amount, why go up? I mean, truly. If you're running a successful business, I don't know why you really would."

But in the next breath, Hamels said he would remember this.

"That will affect down the line certain things that come up," he said. "You can't just all of a sudden throw everything out at [a player] at the last second and think that's really going to make him happy, because you still have checkmarks for what [the team] didn't do in the years before."

"Let him do it," Gillick said.

Of course, Gillick will not be involved in future negotiations. He's leaving the organization after this season.

A player not eligible for arbitration can agree to terms, or the team can renew his contract on its own. Hamels said the figure he would have agreed to was only slightly higher than the $500,000.

Howard had the Phillies renew his contract in each of the previous two years before he went to an arbitration hearing with the Phillies last month.

He won a record $10 million.

Hamels was paid $400,000 in 2007, but he believed he deserved a bigger raise after he went 15-5 with a 3.39 ERA and made the National League all-star team.

For comparison's sake, New York Yankees righthander Chien-Ming Wang went 19-6 with a 3.63 ERA in 2006. The Yankees renewed him for $489,500 last year, his last year before becoming arbitration-eligible.

Tampa Bay lefthander Scott Kazmir, a pitcher whom Hamels compared himself to yesterday, went 10-8 with a 3.24 ERA in 2006. The Rays paid him $424,300 last year, also his final season before arbitration eligibility.

"I know what I want to do, and I know what I can do," Hamels said. "When it gets in my favor, it will be nice. I did [renew] just because I felt like I wasn't equally compensated. For all the efforts I go out and do, you want to have that sort of respect. And I feel like it wasn't there."

The Phillies could open the season with a team-record payroll of more than $106 million that could escalate to more than $110 million if players attain certain performance bonuses. Hamels acknowledged that he could be with a franchise like the Florida Marlins, which trades players instead of paying them big salaries.

"I'm lucky enough to be an organization where they do pay their players," he said. "But there's a lot of ups and downs in the business."

Hamels' agent, John Boggs, tempered his client's frustration.

"You never like to anticipate what future negotiations are going to hold," Boggs said. "It's a situation where we would like to have a salary that is deserving, but I realize that he's under control. I would have liked for them to give us the increase that we're looking for, but it's a situation where there's not a whole lot we can do about it. . . . His job is to continue to put up the numbers he put up last year and continue to make strides."

In the end, money typically talks. And if the money is there, Hamels likely will listen. He will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season.

"I love playing here," Hamels said. "And I don't want to ever have to play against Chase Utley or Ryan Howard. I'd rather be teammates with them as long as possible. I don't think the organization wants to separate us. I like knowing that."

------

On one hand he has a point. Adam Eaton who had the highest ERA of any starting pitcher and was left off the post season roster last season got $7 million last year. But as the article says no one, not even ROY, MVP, Ryan Howard got more than $900K in a season before he has become eligible for arbitration. But were talking $200K here which in the baseball world is a drop in the bucket.

Message to tightwad Phils' owners - PAY UP!

[Dan Gould]

------

On one hand he has a point. Adam Eaton who had the highest ERA of any starting pitcher and was left off the post season roster last season got $7 million last year. But as the article says no one, not even ROY, MVP, Ryan Howard got more than $900K in a season before he has become eligible for arbitration. But were talking $200K here which in the baseball world is a drop in the bucket.

Message to tightwad Phils' owners - PAY UP!

I disagree, for several reasons:

Wit the high cost of mediocrities with service time, teams should hold the line wherever they can. That means not signing mediocre free agents when cost-controlled players can provide the same level of performance, and that means holding the line to what you think is fair for guys with three or fewer years service time.

There's always a risk of injury, especially to pitchers, and that is something that both a player and the ownership should never lose sight of ... which leads me to the third point:

if and when the Phils decide to lock this kid up and give him a guaranteed salary that will make him a millionaire many times over and at the same time "buy out" one or two years of free agency, all of this will be forgotten, unless Hamels is a fool. If he wants to continue to hold their feet to the fire, he can go through arbitration every year, and continually run the risk of a 'bad' season hurting his salary, in addition to the risk of that career-altering injury.

Much ado about nothing, in my opinion. Young star players gripe and moan and act like babies, yet they know the situation they signed up for. Three years at a far lower than average salary, then a rapid escalation in arbitration and if they are decent, a bigger jump at free agency or a contract that goes into their free agency years. If Hamels had any brains at all, he'd say "cool, I'm just going to go out and do my job and if I do it like I am capable of doing, I'll get paid what I'm worth here or somewhere else."

[Dan Gould]

Here's a Philly columnist who is right on the money on this "issue":

Jim Salisbury: Cole Hamels is out of line

By Jim Salisbury

Inquirer Baseball Columnist

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Cry no tears for Cole Hamels.

This isn't Ryan Howard all over again.

Not even close.

Hamels is bent out of shape over having his contract renewed yesterday. Howard was in a similar mood after having his deal renewed a year ago.

The only difference is that Howard, with his extraordinary credentials, should have been upset.

Hamels? Please.

When Howard wouldn't agree with the Phillies on a salary for 2007, the team exercised its right and renewed his deal at $900,000. Although that was a historic salary for a player with less than two years of service time on a one-year deal, the Phillies fumbled a chance to tell the world how great they thought Howard was.

For symbolic value, for PR and good-will points, the Phils should have given Howard $1 million, even if the player stubbornly refused to sign for something closer to that amount. After all, he was coming off two spectacular seasons in which he was the National League's rookie of the year, most valuable player and home-run and RBI king.

The Phillies did not disrespect Hamels by renewing his contract at $500,000. The number (a $100,000 raise) is entirely comparable with what other top pitchers in Hamels' service class have received.

For proof, the 24-year-old lefty needed only to look across the field in Tampa yesterday. Last year, the Yankees renewed Chien-Ming Wang's contract for $489,500. He was in the same service class as Hamels is now. And he was coming off a season in which he went 19-6, had a 3.63 ERA, made 33 starts, and pitched 218 innings.

Hamels is coming off a season is which he went 15-5, had a 3.39 ERA, made 28 starts and pitched 1831/3 innings.

There's nothing unfair about this deal. It's not a "low blow," as Hamels so foolishly and naively called it. It is completely in line with the way the system works for players not yet eligible for salary arbitration, and, lest we forget, the players sign off on this system every time they OK a new labor agreement.

Hamels, frankly, sounds spoiled and out of touch when he talks of being slighted by the deal, when he hints that he'll hold it against the club in the future. What does that mean? He's going to walk when he becomes a free agent after the 2012 season?

Come on, the only concern a guy with Hamels' health record should have about the future is that there is a future! In case he hasn't noticed, he's had some problems staying on the field throughout his professional career.

None of this is meant to demean Hamels. He's a good guy, a good competitor, and one hell of a talent. He wants to be one of the all-time greats and could be if, again, he stays healthy.

It's just that he was not disrespected by this deal.

Howard should have been upset last year. Hamels shouldn't be.

Hamels needs to take a deep breath and do his history homework. He needs to learn from what Howard went through last year.

After his contract was renewed, Howard got off to a slow start during the regular season. There's no doubt he was bothered by a sore left quadriceps. But his discontent with his contract didn't help. Howard let a team decision, albeit a poor one, affect him. Thankfully for everyone involved, he was strong enough mentally to clear his head during a stint on the disabled list in May and come back and have another huge season in which he had 47 homers and 136 RBIs.

That season, that ability to rebound from legitimate disappointment, was the reason Howard changed the baseball industry last month with his $10 million salary-arbitration award.

If Hamels is looking for another history lesson, he again could look to the Yankees' Wang, who followed up his 19 wins in 2006 and his contract renewal with 19 more wins. This season, he will make $4 million. That's no low blow.

This contract renewal shouldn't be getting Hamels down. But if he wakes up this morning still feeling slighted, he needs to get over it quickly.

Like Howard, Hamels likely will be eligible for arbitration next winter. There's a lot of money out there for him to make, but to get it, he will have to stay healthy and produce the way he did last season.

Pretty soon, the system will favor Hamels and he will have his say.

In the meantime, he's being treated fairly this season. Go pitch.

[Chalupa]

Thanks for posting that article.

Yeah, I definitely see Salisbury's point and I do agree w/ it to a degree. Like I said Howard had a ROY and an MVP trophy sitting on the shelf before the Phils gave him the $900k. But the Philles' owners have a long history of being cheap. Look at it this way if the Phils had given him the $200K he was looking for do you think Salisbury would have wrote an article about how the Phils should have held the line at $500K?? People would say Salisbury is nuts.

I don't know maybe my being a long suffering Phils' fan is clouding my take on this matter.

[Dan Gould]

Thanks for posting that article.

Yeah, I definitely see Salisbury's point and I do agree w/ it to a degree. Like I said Howard had a ROY and an MVP trophy sitting on the shelf before the Phils gave him the $900k. But the Philles' owners have a long history of being cheap. Look at it this way if the Phils had given him the $200K he was looking for do you think Salisbury would have wrote an article about how the Phils should have held the line at $500K?? People would say Salisbury is nuts.

I don't know maybe my being a long suffering Phils' fan is clouding my take on this matter.

I definitely understand if a long-suffering Phils fan is taking to heart his implied threats about walking away when he gets the chance. But assuming that the Phils come across with the $$ when the time comes, all will be forgotten. Plus, regardless of their history, its not like the Phils are the Rays, Marlins, or A's, always letting good young players walk when they reach free agency. They'd deserve all the abuse that Phils fans will give them if Hamels stays healthy and becomes the star that he should be and they don't do what is necessary to keep him.

It is kind of sad though that he is bitching about this treatment. Just wait until he goes to arbitration next year, and because of the way its set up, the Phils have to act as if he's a terrible, terrible pitcher. There was a cute piece on ESPN about two weeks ago:

What transpired at Ryan Howard's arbitration hearing?

Gallo

By DJ Gallo

Page 2

(Archive | Contact)

Updated: February 21, 2008, 4:55 PM ET

Ryan Howard won his arbitration case against the Phillies on Thursday, earning an arbitration-record $10 million salary for 2008. Page 2 has always wondered how those arbitration hearings go, when a team is forced to argue against the talents of its own player:

Arbitrator: "OK, let's get started. Mr. Howard, you begin."

Howard: "I'm good. I feel I deserve $10 million."

Phillies: "Meh. You're OK, I guess. We think $7 million is more than a fair offer."

Howard: "I won the MVP in 2006."

Phillies: "That was 2006. What have you done for us lately?"

Howard: "I hit 47 home runs and had 136 RBIs last season."

Phillies: "What's that? Did I hear you say you didn't win the MVP last season? Exactly."

Howard: "But I'm one of the best young players in baseball."

Phillies: "Hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But we'll meet you halfway on your opinion -- you are a player in baseball."

Howard: "I am a building block of this franchise."

Phillies: "This is a team sport. There are 25 guys on the roster. Your ego is clearly out of control. No wonder you are asking for more than you are worth."

Howard: "But you are paying Chase Utley an average of more than $12 million a season."

Phillies: "Why don't you worry about your own salary?"

Howard: "I am. I want $10 million."

Phillies: "Why don't you worry about your performance on the field and let the money take care of itself?"

Howard: "I have done that."

Phillies: "And you've earned $7 million. Well done."

Howard: "No, I've earned $10 million."

Phillies: "Mike Schmidt never made as much as $3 million in a season. Are you implying you are more than three times better than Mike Schmidt? Your mouth is writing checks your body can't cash."

Howard: "I would like you to write checks. Specifically, enough checks that, over the course of an entire season, equal $10 million and are written out to me."

Phillies: "Again with the money."

Howard: "But that's why we're here."

Phillies: "No, we're here to convince the arbiter that you stink so we don't have to pay you $10 million."

Howard: "But I don't stink. I'm very good."

Phillies: "You are not being cooperative. Is there a bailiff in these kinds of hearings? If so, I request you be subdued and thrown in jail. And you might want to take our $7 million offer right now before you are arrested by the bailiff. There's no way we're paying even half that to a convicted felon. The fans won't support it."

Howard: "This is ridiculous. I'm definitely worth $10 million. Pat Burrell is getting paid $14 million this year. Pat Burrell!"

Phillies. "Now you're just angering us."

Howard: "Pay me! I'm good."

Phillies: "What? What's that you said? The huge breeze from your strikeouts blew out my eardrums. I'm deaf. I'm deaf, mister arbiter! Please rule that Ryan Howard owes me $10 million for pain and suffering."

Howard: "Oh, shut up. I'm a power hitter. I'm allowed to strike out. I'm not perfect. But I am very good."

Phillies: "No you're not."

Howard: "Yes I am."

Phillies: "No you're not."

Howard: "Yes I am."

Phillies: "No you're not."

Howard: "I'm good."

Phillies: "Bad."

Howard: "Good."

Phillies: "Terrible."

Howard: "Good."

Phillies: "Horrendous."

Howard: "Good."

Phillies: "Worst player who has ever put on a pair of baseball spikes."

Arbitrator: "OK. OK. I've heard enough. I'm ready with my ruling. Ryan Howard wins and will receive a salary of $10 million."

Howard: "Yes!"

[outside the hearing room]

Phillies: "Hey, Ryan … don't forget we have that photo shoot scheduled for you tomorrow. We're putting you on the cover of our 2008 yearbook and all of our ticket advertising. You are the man! A young, fun-loving slugger who hits in the clutch? You are marketing gold! We love you!"

Howard: "Thanks."

Phillies: "Well, have a great season. And we'll see you back here next year -- same time, same place, same offer."

[Chalupa]

Thanks for that.

[zen archer]

Now Paplebon is unhappy with the way talks are going

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...n_his_cont.html

[BERIGAN]

Here's yet other opinion on the Cole Hamel's situation....man, all this Phillie talk. Just you wait til the season get's rolling, and it's all Red Sox, all the time!

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/2008...ith_Hamels.html

Bob Ford: Bob Ford: Phillies blew it with Hamels

By Bob Ford

Inquirer Sports Columnist

Here we are, eight years into the new millennium, more than 125 years since the Phillies began operating a professional baseball team, and the organization still can't tell the difference between what is smart and what it can get away with.

The Phils have bungled the handling of Cole Hamels' contract, and there's no other way to look at it. They have upset a valuable part of their roster, apparently because they had the right to do so.

"We think he's been treated very fairly," general manager Pat Gillick said, failing to understand that it doesn't matter what the team thinks. What matters, ultimately, is what the player thinks.

And fair? Forget fair. There is no fair in a world in which throwing a hide-covered ball of yarn is worth millions of dollars. Fair has nothing to do with anything. All that should matter to the Phillies as they consider each move that crosses the desk is what will make the team more likely to win baseball games.

In the case of Hamels, now and in the future, the Phillies have made winning less likely. Cole Hamels has the potential to be a great pitcher for a long time, but it is now less likely that he will be happy here, less likely that he will pitch through his annual collection of tics, spasms and strains, and less likely that he will stay with the organization once escape is possible.

But, congratulations, Pat, you saved $200,000.

To recap, the team and Hamels failed to agree on what the pitcher should be paid this season. Hamels wanted $700,000, but the Phillies thought that was too much. Because he doesn't have enough service time to qualify for arbitration or free agency, Hamels must take the number they put on the contract - or find another profession. The Phillies renewed him for $500,000, repeating the mistake they made last season with Ryan Howard. Penny-wise, roster-foolish.

Hamels, committing the sin of speaking honestly, called the renewal a "low blow," and said the memory of it would stick like peanut butter in his frontal lobes.

Now, let's dispense with the obligatory, beside-the-point observations:

$500,000 is a lot of money.

We all wish we could be treated so badly.

Cole Hamels, let's face it, is a bit of a sensitive Californian.

I mean, the whole traveling chiropractor thing, give us a break.

Shut up and pitch, already.

All true, but completely irrelevant. What matters is what the player sees when he looks around. Hamels, who won 15 games last season (making him the modern-day pitching equivalent of a superhero), looks around and sees an organization that paid Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber a combined $17.5 million last season for their combined four wins. He sees an organization so savvy with money that it will pay more than $8 million this season to continue the thrill ride that has been The Adam Eaton Experience.

The system worked to the benefit of those players, not to the benefit of the team. That same system is not yet working to the benefit of Hamels, but - assuming his arm bone remains connected to his shoulder bone - it will soon enough. Next off-season, he should be eligible for arbitration. Beyond that, he will get in line for one of those contracts that helps ease the pain for Garcia, Lieber, Eaton and many others.

And what will Hamels be thinking about when his day arrives? Perhaps things will change, but it appears he will be thinking of the season in which his happiness wasn't worth $200,000 to the Phillies. What idiots.

Here's a quick history lesson about another very talented, very sensitive player who was handled terribly by the organization, albeit during a previous front-office administration. When Scott Rolen won the rookie of the year award in 1997, the Phillies wouldn't pay to fly his parents into town for the ceremony. Rolen never forgot that - all right, he never forgets anything - and the relationship between the player and the team deteriorated from there.

Could Rolen have easily paid for the trip? Of course. Was he being petulant? Naturally. But that doesn't matter. For the price of two plane tickets and a ride from the airport, the Phillies began a process that eventually cost them the services of a great third baseman. A brilliant strategy.

The Hamels situation isn't the same thing, but it is the same principle. Just because you don't have to spend some money, just because there isn't a rule book somewhere forcing you to spend it, doesn't mean that spending it anyway isn't a good idea.

The Phillies are technically right about how they handled Hamels' contract. They followed the rules, doing what they were required to do and little more.

Being right isn't the same thing as being smart, though. All these years and they still don't get that.

[Chalupa]

Smoltz's advice to Hamels: Settle down

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Like Cole Hamels, pitcher John Smoltz was upset when his contract was unilaterally renewed by his team, the Braves, in 1991.

His advice to Hamels?

"It happens to everybody," Smoltz said yesterday. "Just pitch. It's hard enough to get hitters out" without being upset.

Smoltz said his 2-11 start in 1991 was a result of his not handling the renewal well. He got his head together at midseason and went 12-2 after the all-star break.

"It was the greatest life lesson I ever learned," he said. "I let it affect me in an adverse way. Never again. When you look back over the years, you see it as part of the process. So be it."

Smoltz had more than two years of service time entering 1991 and made $355,000. His salary jumped to $1.6 million the next season. He will make $14 million this season, which will push his career earnings over $130 million.

Hamels has less than two years of service time. The Phillies renewed his contract for $500,000. He likely will be eligible for salary arbitration next winter and could see his paycheck rise substantially.

[Chalupa]

Not again.....

Phillies' Eaton shelled; says he has bad back

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Adam Eaton remains the front-runner for the fifth spot in the Phillies' rotation.

But his hold is slipping.

Eaton allowed five hits, four runs and one home run in two innings during yesterday's rain-shortened 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Bright House Field. In two starts this spring, Eaton is 0-2 with a 15.75 ERA. His shaky start follows a miserable 2007, when he went 10-10 with a 6.29 ERA in 30 starts - an effort so poor that manager Charlie Manuel removed him and his three-year, $24.5 million contract from the postseason roster.

More...

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/200803...s_bad_back.html

[Chalupa]

I'm starting to think that Atlanta might be my pick in NL East this season. Sigh.

[Dan Gould]

Its still early though ... look how the Phils looked early in 2007 after the games started to count.

At least the Sox reached a deal with Paps - south of the $900,000 he wanted (there's no way in hell he deserves what Ryan Howard got after two years service) but north of the $550,000 Bobby Jenks got (who had more saves after two years, no major injury history, but lower peripherals. $750,000 sounds reasonable to me, and you don't risk the potential damage to the relationship.

Meanwhile, the Sox are on ESPN yesterday, 5-2 lead in the ninth, they've gotten fine pitching - and the ninth inning features a three run bomb and a grand slam by the Dodgers. 9-6 the final. I'm keeping the fingers crossed that the rain will hold off this afternoon for the game at Fort Lauderdale. Me and the wife will be in the right field bleachers.

[BERIGAN]

I'm starting to think that Atlanta might be my pick in NL East this season. Sigh.

Well, only if we avoid the injury bug...have you seen what's happened to the Mets this year????

This is from a Braves blog, no link, and he isn't prone to lying....

Jose Reyes (SS) …….. healthy

Luis Castillo (2B) …….. OUT — knees

David Wright (3B) ……..healthy

Carlos Beltran (CF) ….. OUT — knees

Carlos Delgado (1B) …. OUT — hip

Moises Alou (LF) ………OUT — groin

Ryan Church (RF) ……..OUT– concussion

Brian Schneider © ……OUT — hamstring

Johan Santana (LHP) … pitching today, so presumably OK

Now let’s look at the projected bench, too:

Ramon Castro © ……….. healthy

Ruben Gotay (SS) ………. OUT — ankle

Damion Easley (INF/OF) .. OUT — ankle

Endy Chavez (OF) ……….. OUT — hamstring/ankle

Marlon Anderson …………. OUT — bruised chest

I figured before spring training, they might be the team to beat...but with Alou likely out til May, and Degado having a hip problem before even playing...I just don't see it right now....

Edited March 7, 2008 by BERIGAN

[Soulstation1]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2008/n...tory?id=3284967

i might check out the big unit pitch on monday.....

[BERIGAN]

Just read a few articles on Dodger Phenom Clayton Kershaw....wow! 19 years old, and making quite the impression! Dodgers catcher Russell Martin said he has the best curveball he has ever caught....and mention of Koufax even came up!!! No pressure there! Dan, was the Sox-Dodgers game televised??? Did you see him??? Has anyone seen a clip of him yet?

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...sp&c_id=mlb

http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition...1,1547902.story

[Dan Gould]

Unfortunately some problems at home prevented me from seeing as much of the ESPN broadcast as I had intended to watch. I did see though that we had a 5-2 lead in the ninth and two different scrubs gave up a three run homer and a grand slam to lose. In fact, we've lost six straight while scoring four runs. Of course it doesn't "matter" but anyway you slice it that's not good. And now Beckett may miss the trip to Japan with a back injury. The reports the day after were encouraging but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they erred on the side of caution and decided that a seventeen hour plane ride isn't a good idea for a guy nursing a lower back strain.

[Dan Gould]

Bloody hell. Now Beckett says that his back worsened over night, he isn't as encouraged as he was yesterday, and while he won't say it, I think its a given that he will not make the trip to Japan. And on top of that, Dice-K's wife is pregnant, her due date is the day that the team is supposed to leave for Japan. They are planning to have the baby in the States and he will be present for the birth. They say that he could still make the trip (and obviously the Red Sox were asked to play in Japan because of him) but who really knows? Right now it looks like Tim Wakefield and Jon Lester to open the season. That's just fucking great.

Y'all should be thankful that I haven't had a drink today or that post might have been a lot more vitriolic.