Regarding Halladay...It's the Right Thing to Do

Since Roy Halladay surrendered the baseball in the first inning of his last start, some of the discussion in Philadelphia has been about what the future holds for “Doc” and the Phillies.

The answer is very simple.  You pay the man the respect he deserves and you give him another chance to make it happen.  And, if it doesn't work, you give each other a big teary hug and part ways.

It’s the right thing to do.

photo www.phielderschoice.com

The guy is the ultimate competitor.  He has a work ethic like no other.  If anybody can come back from an injury like this, it’s the future Hall of Famer.

Why take the chance?  Well, first of all, you owe it to him.  The guy gave his heart and soul to your team for the past 4 seasons.  In addition, you just don’t toss a future HOF’er to the trash heap like that, especially if you’re the Phillies.  It’s not their style (thankfully).

Halladay gets along so well with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels that it will be an easy decision for Roy as to whether he wants to return to Philly.  He feels partly in debt for not being able to perform at his maximum level, so his desire to return is already evident.

Here’s what you do….you structure a minor league contract (non-guaranteed) with a major league option at the end of spring training.  You make the pay amount somewhat minimal but build in all types of great incentives based on performance.  If he hasn't been able to prove he can return to a competitive form by the end of spring training, I’m pretty sure Roy will be the first one to tear up the deal.

I seriously doubt if teams are going to be lining up to sign Halladay based on his latest performance and recent serious medical problems.  I also seriously doubt Roy is really looking to join a new franchise and start over.

The Phillies are a class organization and I’m sure the last thing they want to do here is look like the “bad guy”.  They should do everything they can to give Roy one last chance to make it happen.

It's the right thing to do.

Bill Mattis, owner AllStarInc

(c) copyright 2013 Bill Mattis  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Oh, To Be Young...Again...

Michael Young at bat for the Texas Rangers,
already looking good in red and white

Ok,so the Phils have made another move this week and have FINALLY acquired Michael Young from Texas. 

Young is a player who has been talked about in trade winds for the past three off seasons.  The Rangers have always seemed to have one or two too many quality infielders, but something always happened in spring training and Young has gotten regular playing time each year.

He's now 36 years old and had a "down season" but it wasn't a disaster.  Young still hit .277 which would put him among the leaders of the Phillies regulars last year.

In Young, you get a professional hitter.  You get a guy who knows how to play the game. Ok, so he's not going to remind you of Brooks Robinson at third, but he's also not Ty Wigginton either.

What did you give up to get Young?  Well, that could be the problem in a couple of years. 

Lisalverto Bonilla is a guy with a huge arm who will likely start the season in AA after ending last year there.  But look for the Rangers to fast track him to possibly be their closer in a year or two.

Josh Lindblom was acquired last year in the Shane Victorino deal and apparently didn't overwhelm the Phillies' brass with his performance the second half of last season.  Still, Lindblom projects to be a very solid reliever....which is something that Phils have seemed to need a great deal.

With the pickings at third base slim, and the thought of another injury plagued year with Polanco (and Frandson filling in) making me ill, I'll take the chance with Young and see what happens.

There ya go....trade approved by me.

Phils' Trades Got You Down? There's Reason for Hope!

The smoke has cleared a day later and the Phillies look at themselves and see a ball club that really isn’t a whole lot different than before the trade deadline.

The experts will tell you that the team has traded two “front line players” and now the lineup is going to be significantly different; but I’m not so sure.

The trades were very good trades for multiple reasons.

Many times, teams deal players just to relieve themselves of salary.  The Phillies accomplished this by saving a probable $15 million on Hunter Pence next year.  They also have dealt Shane Victorino, who will probably get a 3 year deal worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million from somebody.

But here’s the best part…they got some very good players, too!  They have filled a couple of needs at the same time.  In addition to all of those positives, they have opened the door for Dominic Brown to prove whether he is the wonder child that he was touted as being as early as three years ago.

Josh Lindblom was the main ingredient the Dodgers sent back to Philly for Victorino.  The guy is exactly the type of middle reliever the Phillies have been aching for all year.  He’s young, cheap, contract tied up for about 3 years, and he actually gets batters out!  What a concept!

While (on the surface) Nate Schierholtz appears to be the main part of the Pence deal, the real key piece is the young catcher Tommy Joseph.  He’s a AA prospect who was a 2^nd round pick in 2009, who shows solid power, and could wind up being the Phils' catcher of the future.

The two other pitchers the Phils acquired in these two deals are no losers either.  Both guys are big strong right handers who are pretty highly touted.  Ethan Martin acquired in the LA deal was a first round pick in the 2008 draft while Seth Rosin (from the Giants) was a 4^th round pick in 2010.

While Martin has been used as a starter lately, you may be seeing these two guys become key components from the bullpen of 2014 in these two deals.  Rosin has the make up of a closer.

Lastly, sometimes you just need a change of pace….a change of faces…to get things moving again.

While Shane and Hunter both made up a great deal of the team’s personality and were both fan favorites, they just seemed to be stuck in a rut and were having somewhat average years for what they are capable of doing.

Maybe the change of scenery will help them and also enable the Phils to inject new players to see what they can do. 

Maybe Dom Brown is a future star?  Maybe Juan Pierre does have another year in him?  Maybe Kevin Frandson needs a shot at third base?

There will be many more changes, but the Phillies will still be considered a top contender next year, especially if they can find a few things out about certain players in August and September.

And who knows?  The inner Phillies fan inside me wants to hold on to the “if they could just go on a nice winning streak, we can get back into this thing” philosophy! 

In the Dirt With...Matt Stairs

On October 13th in 2008, the Philadelphia Phillies baseball club found themselves at a potential crossroads.

With the game tied in the 8th inning 5-5, they were battling the LA Dodgers for the chance to advance to the World Series.  Lose this game and the series would head back to Philly tied at two games apiece.

History will show that a veteran journeyman will march to the plate and hit a Jonathan Broxton pitch into orbit sending the Phillies on to victory that night.  It was a huge assist in the team's march to eventually be World Champs in 2008, the franchise's first title since 1980.

The 2008 season brought many home runs to Phillies fans, but many believe THAT particular home run by Matt Stairs is one of the biggest moments in Phillies history.  In fact, many Phillies faithful believe the ball that Stairs hit is STILL circling the earth somewhere and it’s become a bit of a fun "old wives tale" in that respect.

Matt's career amazingly spanned from his rookie season in 1992 to when he finally announced his retirement this past off-season after spending the 2011 year with the Washington Nationals.  He played for an incredible 13 different teams over the 19 year career. 

Talk about a guy who gets around?

I actually feel partly responsible for getting him that last year with the Nationals.

I had booked Matt at a show in Valley Forge during the off-season following the 2010 year.  The Padres had just released Matt and it looked like his career might be over.

That day we had all heard the incredible news about Jayson Werth being signed to his mega-millions contract by the Nats.   Many people don't know this, but Werth used to regularly turn to Matt whenever his swing wasn't quite right, asking for advice as to what he was doing wrong.

Also attending the show that day was Nationals assistant to the GM and ex Phillies great, Bob Boone. 

I introduced myself to Bob and told him that Matt Stairs wanted to come over and say hello.  I also happened to mention how close Matt and Jayson have been over the years.

Boone looked up from signing autographs and said, "Oh really?  Matt's here?  I'd love to say hello."

A phone call by me to Bob Garber (Matt's agent at the time) telling him about the days' events, and the next thing you know, Matt's signed by the Washington Nationals!  How about that?

Well guess what?  Matt may be on the move again, and he MIGHT be headed back to Philadelphia.

Matt has done some work this season for the Boston Red Sox TV network helping out with postgame and pregame coverage.  He's also been appearing on the MLB radio network fairly regularly as a correspondent adding his expert opinion about the state of baseball today.

Next week, Stairs returns to Philly for a VERY busy weekend.  On Friday 5/18, he is tentatively scheduled to be sitting in for a couple of hours with Glen Macnow and Anthony Gargano on WIP radio from their Chickie’s and Pete's location in South Philly. 

Could this be an audition? How would the sports fans of the city feel about one of its 2008 championship baseball heroes back in town doing radio?

Obviously there would be lots needed to make that a reality, but you never know. 

On Saturday, May 19^th, Matt is headed to a return engagement at one of AllStarInc's favorite venues, Carl's Cards & Collectables, 22 West Eagle Rd. in Havertown PA.  Stairs appears at CCC from Noon to 1:30 P.M.   Long time Phillies player, Terry Harmon (2B/SS) will also be there from Noon to 2:00 P.M.  You can go to www.carlscards.com or call 610-789-4996 for more information and to order autograph tickets.

On Sunday, May 20^th and Monday, May 21st, Matt will be taking part in Ron Jaworski's Celebrity Golf Challenge in Atlantic City.  All the proceeds from this charity event benefit the Jaws Youth Playbook.  Their mission is to “improve the overall health and wellness of at-risk youth in the Philadelphia region.”  A big fan of charity, Matt helps a great deal with the SPCA of Canada.  Helping Jaws (another AllStarInc client, of course) raise money for kids was a "no brainer" AND he gets to play some golf, too!  For more information on Jaworski’s charity event, you can visit the website at www.jawscelebritygolf.com.

Since his retirement, Stairs has been bitten by the golfing bug and now plays whenever and wherever possible.  Between hitting the links and still playing ice hockey at 6 AM daily, one might wonder how he has time for anything else...or how he can even walk the next morning!

In a ceremony on June 9, Matt will be inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame.  When I heard about the honor, I told Matt that I didn't even know he was a bowler (Brunswick^® is one of the leading makers of bowling balls)! 

Matt replied "It's NEW Brunswick and it's a province in Canada, you dope."

I actually knew that, but I enjoy the chance to kid him whenever possible.  It's Matt's sense of humor that makes him a really fun guy to be around and it's that personality that I think will make him a very successful media personality.

I once asked Matt which team was his favorite to play for, and he surprisingly answered "It has to be the Oakland A's..... because that's when I was actually good."

He followed that with, "But the year or so in Philly was awesome!  You can't beat the feeling winning a championship gives you.  And, the fans have never let me forget how thankful they are.  Phillies fans are really great fans."

Remember that Matt only played two other post season series during the rest of his entire career; once in 1995 with the Red Sox, and then again in 2001 with the A's.  Both times his team was bounced immediately.

A year and three months in Philly and he got the chance to play in TWO World Series, including the winner in 2008.

If you get a chance to see Matt next weekend, please be sure say hello and let him know what that home run means to you.  I know he hears it all the time, but I also know he never gets tired of it.

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Reason to Be Concerned About the Phils? HECK YEAH!!

Those who know me know that I'm one of the most optimistic people around.  This is especially true when it comes to the prospects of Philadelphia sports teams (and the Pitt Panthers!).

So the question today..."Is there any reason to be scared by the Phillies recent performance?"

The answer is...YES, be VERY afraid!  It may not be something that can change any time soon.

It's definitely not time to panic and make vacation plans for October quite yet.  As long as the Phillies continue to have hope that Utley and Howard will indeed return, there is great hope. But, it might be a good idea to try to fix things now before it gets too out of hand!

There is good news.  Despite the horrific start and recent severe failures, the home town boys only find themselves 5 games back of first place.  The teams above them in the standings are not anything you might confuse with the 1927 Yankees, so it's not like this is an insurmountable deficit to recover from.

And you would THINK that with a starting pitching rotation featuring Halladay, Lee, and Hamels it would be very difficult to screw things up, right?  Yeah, you would think.  But, man, oh man, the guys in the red pinstripes are doing their best to give us concern!

Obviously, the bullpen has been a HUGE problem that needs to be fixed ASAP; but with Papelbon, Bastardo, Herndon, Qualls and the other cast of characters, you'd think it would be better than it has been.  I have a feeling you'll see better days from the bullpen as the season goes on and the pitchers have more than 10 innings under their belts.

The bigger issues to me are the other guys around the team who are not playing up to their abilities.

If you could morph Galvis and Orr together, you MIGHT get a second baseman than can hit AND field.  As of now, you have two guys that simply CANNOT do one or the other.

The Jim Thome experiment has been a pretty bad idea so far; it might be a good time to cut bait and make better use of that roster spot.  Like somebody who can do....ANYTHING?

Rollins, Victorino, and Mayberry are roughly hitting a combined .235.  To me, here lies the biggest problem.  With guys named Howard and Utley not in the lineup it's up to these 3 (among the others) to come through.

They have not.

Just hit .260 for goodness sake!  Unless you're Freddy Galvis, it's not THAT hard to do, is it?

Of the three named above, the guy I have the most confidence in rebounding is Mayberry.  He showed he can be clutch and fairly consistent last season down the stretch. 

With Rollins, I'm pretty much ok with him just catching the ball, which he is still one of the best at doing.  But, if he could contribute offensively at all, it would make a huge difference.  When you already have a second baseman who is a "glove only guy" you can't afford to have a second one in the lineup unless the rest of the team is cranking out runs like they're going out of style....and that ain't happening.

That leaves us Vic.  I'm sorry, but maybe it's time to part with our beloved Hawaiian.  He is a commodity the Phillies could dangle for trade bait and possibly sure up the bullpen a little bit.  Given he will be a free agent soon, you probably won't get a ton for him; but you might get something, and then you can use Juan Pierre in CF every day.

When Chase and Ryan come back, the team can hit the pavement running instead of flat on their face.

And let's give some credit where credit is due....Kudos to dudes named Pence, Ruiz, Polanco, and "The Three Aces" for carrying the team so far.  Without them, things could be MUCH worse.

My guess is that the Phils will sit tight and try to correct from within and they will probably be able to make that happen.  But…is there a reason to be concerned?  Uhhhh yeah, there is....even I admit that.

Did We Just Say That Out Loud??

While the Boston Red Sox have banned beer in the clubhouse after games this season, it's pretty apparent that SOMETHING is in the Gatorade in other dugouts.  Players around the league are opening their mouths and some pretty incredible things are coming out of them.

Cole Hamels drills rookie stud Bryce Harper and then openly admits that it was definitely intentional?  What was he thinking?

Repeat after me Cole..."The pitch got away from me.  It was meant to be inside, but it kinda ran a little further than I expected."  Is that really so hard to say? 

Ehhh...the consequences aren't as dire as some think when they hear about a "five game suspension.”  With a five man rotation, Cole rests four days as it is.  To give a guy an extra day off in May isn't necessarily a bad thing...so...thanks MLB!

Maybe Cole is just trying to shake off the pretty boy image and seem tougher?  Ehhhhhh, it aint workin', but nice try Cole!

Jamie Moyer is accusing Chipper Jones of stealing signs?  SO WHAT!?!  In addition to drinking the wacky fluids, Moyer may also be suffering from old age.  The stealing of signs in baseball has happened for ohhhhhh, let's see...maybe 140 years?  That was right around when Jamie was a rookie, wasn't it?   

In the old days, it was considered an art.  When I played in high school, our coach would tell the bench players to study the third base coach and see if they could figure out what the bunt and steal signs were.  Jamie needs to stop being a baby and blaming getting rocked on signs being stolen.  You're flippin’ it up there at 76 miles an hour, Jamie...it's going to get hit!

Of course, Chipper is obviously sipping the crazy juice, too.  He responded to Moyer's accusations by challenging Moyer to a fight!?  Come to think about it...I'd really like to see Jamie Moyer fight Chipper Jones.  I smell Pay-Per-View!  I'll take Chipper in round 3 with a TKO!

Lastly, Jayson Werth gets the crown for drinking wild berry liquids. 

After breaking his wrist and being berated by Phillies fans as he struggled off the field, Werth was obviously under the influence of SOMETHING when he said, "I'm going to do everything I can to keep those guys from another parade down Broad Street."

Ok, so here's an open note to all Nationals players and fans....THE PHILLIES DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU!  Nope, not at all.  Not one bit.  ZIP. ZERO.  Sorry, but you are NOT the Phillies’ rival.  The Mets and Braves both can lay a much better claim to that. 

A reporter asked Phils closer, Jon Papelbon, about the "so-called rivalry" that is developing.  Pap is definitely the wrong guy to ask about rivalries since he just came from a land where the Red Sox battle the Yankees on a regular basis.  Now THAT'S a rivalry!

Nationals Park just allows for a very convenient place for Phillies fans to easily get cheap lower-level box seats that's not too far away from home.  If the Orioles were in the NL East, Phillies fans would be flocking to Camden Yards instead.  It would save everybody an extra hour of driving if we could somehow make that happen.

The Nats are vastly improved and their future is extremely bright, but their start this season does not automatically make them an elite franchise....like ummmmmm.....the PHILLIES!?!

And while I'm still talking about the Nats, can somebody take their GM, Mike Rizzo, aside and explain to him that he sounded like a whining, crying female dog when he reacted to Cole Hamels’ remarks about hitting Bryce Harper.  Waaaaaaaahhhhh!

Maybe Rizzo and Werth can sit together in the stands for the next 12 weeks and try to figure out a way to be more like the Phillies organization instead of crying and yapping to the press?!?

Commissioner Selig!  Check those water coolers, please!  Something crazy is happening and it's not even June yet!  It must be in the water!