Go Schu Yourself

Prepared to be Schu-ed, by the marvelous mustached one himself- Rick Schu of course...




There, now wasn't that fun? Hope you don't feel used like a bang bag from a 70's porno, because you know Rick will give you a call back for a return romp sometime.

~Carson

Phlashback Phriday - Andy Musser

Andy Musser was born in 1937 in Harrisburg, PA. As a teenager, he was batboy to the original Harrisburg Senators baseball team. After college in Syracuse, he worked in television with WHP in Harrisburg, radio in San Diego, and even did some Sixers and Eagles game. He then landed on the Phillies television broadcasts, where he stayed for 25 years, from 1976-2001. He also did some radio broadcasts for Villanova. I'll let that one slide though. For me, Musser was overshadowed by the dynamic duo of Harry and Whitey, but he was still very good...especially when you compare him to that hack Wheeler. I also give him props for his love of beer.

I bring up Musser today because the Phils announced earlier this week that Tom McCarthy will be returning from his New York hiatus to rejoin the Phils broadcast team. From the Phillies.com articles:

Tom McCarthy, who spent the last two seasons as a play-by-play announcer for the New York Mets on WFAN, is returning to his roots as a member of the Phillies broadcasting team, Rob Brooks, Manager, Broadcasting announced today.

"Tom is an exceptional announcer and a great person. We are thrilled that we can bring him back to work on our telecasts," said Brooks. "He will do play-by-play for three innings when Hall of Famer Harry Kalas is not on television. Harry will continue to provide play-by-play for six innings on TV while also doing the fourth inning on radio as he's done in years past."

"With Harry, Scott Franzke and Tom, we have some of the best play-by-play talent in baseball. We also have three solid color commentators in Larry Andersen, Chris Wheeler and Gary Matthews."

Although the entire TV/radio schedule is not set, it looks from this quote that Chris Wheeler will not be doing TV play-by-play. Woo-hooooooo!!!! Now if we can just get L.A. some innings on TV...

Corey

Thirsty Thursday

Eric Bruntlett - Bud Light

Bud Light is the number one selling beer in the United States of America. You can't go anywhere without seeing the King of [Light] Beers: bars, parties, tailgates, family reunions, wedding receptions. It's ubiquitous, kind of like utility infielders. Every team has one of these guys: Willie Harris, Alex Cintron, Tony Graffanino, Miguel Cairo, D'Angelo Jimenez, Matt Kata, Geoff Blum, Marco Scutaro. You have to have a utility infielder, just like you have to have light beer at a party so the chicks have something to drink. The Phils brought Abe Nunez (Coors Light)to the party last year and now they have Eric Bruntlett (Bud Light). Sure, it's a slight improvement, but it's nothing to get excited about, just another light beer that really should only be taken out of the cooler when there's nothing else left.

Corey

Rectum Award

Corey kicked off the WSBGM's award ceremony with the Barbaro Award, which was jubilantly handed out to Joe Table; and yesterday Manuel was slapped with the "Best Speech of the Year Award". Mesa and Charlie aren't the only Phillies receiving a GM-y this offseason, as Rod Barajas is next in line to be adorned.

Barajas will be graciously accepting the Rectum Award...I heard he got a 25k bonus negotiated into his contract for it. The Rectum Award is given to the Phillie that "Rect-um, damn near killed um". If you can all recall the supposed "defensively gifted" Barajas' display of nonchalantness during a few plays at the plate last season that lead to some dubious outcomes (i.e. Brett Myers prolonged stay on the DL and lost games). Before Rod even put on the Phillies uniform I was labeling him one of the most hated current Phillies, because his signing meant back to th minors for fan favorite Chris Coste. Turns out I was correct in my assessment of him all along, as he never really did anything useful with the stick or behind the plate. Therefore, Barajas was the only player nominated for the Rectum Award and was unanimously voted the poop-eatin' victor.

~Carson

Speech Of The Year

This years GM-y for "Speech Of The Year" goes to...



Flusterated!!! If that isn't award worthy, I don't know what is.

Actually, he gets two awards this year. Although there was no WSBGM's back in '05 when Charlie was hired, he would have won the award that year also for this speech given at the press conference for his hiring.

I think... I, I think that Jimmy... I think Jimmy, uh... he's been here two years now, and I think that he also has to, like, you gotta get to know him, and I think the more... the longer he's here and the fact that, you know, like, uh... once he feels like he's settled in and everything, I think that he will become more of a voice in our clubhouse... uh, do I?... uh, Jimmy is gonna be a... he's gonna be a leader, but he leads by example, by the way that, uh, the better he hits, the better leader he becomes, I, and, uh, and I think the more he hits, uh, of course you gonna write more about him, so, I think that Jimmy's, uh, he'll lead by example, really.

Corey

Ask The GM

Q: Which Pat Burrell will we get in 2008? The April/May Pat or the guy who caught fire the rest of the year? - John , Malvern
A: Both, at variable percentages and intervals. We should expect no less. And even though Burrell caught fire last year, he isn't flaming...

Q: Do u think the Phils will go after anyone of the 3 free agents Bonds, A-Rod, or El-duque? I think Bonds would do great in this park - steve C , newark
A: A-Rod's locked into NY. As for Bonds, now that HGH is readily attainable over the internet and can be shipped across the county, he should do fine in any park. However, he can't play in the field and although Manuel occasionally manages the team as if they are in the AL, they are not. Also, there is that small issue with him lying to the federal government about knowingly taking steroids and the high probability that he will be in jail soon. So forget about Bonds. Also forget about El Duque, there is no chance they sign him.

Q: I'm glad the Phillies didn't sign Schilling or Lowell.I would rather see them resign Rowand and Romero and possibly going after Atkins and Santana. - Penn State Man , Tallahassee
A: I'm guessing by your ridiculous statement, you were a Criminal Justice major at Penn State. Possibly communications. Either that or you were high when you sent the email. Anyways, exactly what would the Phils offer Minny for Santana? It is unknown whether they have enough to even get Atkins. I'm all for dreaming big, but c'mon....

Q: Hey GM, are the Phillies going to look east, as in Far East, for more pitching help?
A: I hope not. It's not that I would be absoulutely opposed to a Japanese League pitcher on the Phils, I'm just fearful of overpaying for a commodity unproven in American baseball. Or one that is proven to suck, as is the case with former crap reliever Marc Kroon, who was mentioned previously on mlbtraderumors.com. He holds the Japanese record for fastest pitch thrown at like 161 kilometers per hour or something. A Canadian told me that was fast. Great, he throws fast. Yippee. How's that working out for Kyle Farnsworth? [Okay, good for Farn$worth, but not so good for his teams...]

The fact is, Japanese pitchers for the most part have been substantially less than advertised. Dice-K cost the BoSox a gajillion dollars and posted a 4.40 ERA. Kei Igawa is back in short-season rookie ball. The Fat Toad was a flop. I shouldn't even mention Kuwata with the Buccos. Sure, there is some success - Nomo, Otsuka, Okajima - but for the price, it hasn't been worth it.

I don't think the Japanese pitchers, especially the starters, are prepared for facing the talented lineups in MLB. Japanese League lineups are weeeeeeak. Aaron Guiel was one homer from leading the league last year. That's right, MLB power machine Aaron Guiel, seen here during a Special Olympics shotput competition. He's out of the majors but tearing it up in Japan, hitting balls from Yokohama to Benihanas. So should we be impressed by pitchers who post great ERAs against lineups that have Aaron Guiel as there power threat? Over here, that is called AA. And you know who gets AA hitters out well? Gavin Floyd.

Corey

Minor Threats

The Phillies signed 7 players to minor league deals yesterday, essentially boosting their Triple A roster. The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs located in Allentown, Pennsylvania just got a litle more competitive with the addition of Michael Restovich, Andy Tracy, Brandon Watson, Casey Smith, Ron Chiavacci, Kris Wilson, and Matt Childers. I know many people will not get excited about the players we just signed, but I will. Having depth is crucial and signing guys for Triple A that have had past success in the minors and some experience in the majors is a good way to build depth. The real talent is in Reading and below, so let the Iron Pigs serve as our "injured reserve" roster. The best way to prepare for unexpected injuries is to expect them anytime anywhere (see Chase Utley 2007).

Collectively the group hasn't faired too well in the majors, check out these Hall-of-Fame credentials while toiling in the minors though: (batters) 3,804 hits, 2,112 runs, 406 homeruns, 1,933 rbi, and 357 stolen bases/(pitchers) 161 wins, 29 saves, and 2,333 strikeouts...together they're practically Babe Ruth! Added bonus- Restovich has the potential to become a member of the Phucco Phamily, as he spent time with the Buccos in '05.

We're not the first,
I hope we're not the last.
'Cause I know we're all heading,
For that adult crash.
The times is so little,
The time belongs to us.
Why is everybody,
In such a f%#king rush?
Make do with what you have,
Take what you can get.
Pay no mind to us,
We're just a minor threat!

~Carson

Phlashback Phriday +

In honor of one of my favorite television programs, Super Sunday +, I'm doing a double post today: Phlashback Phriday +.

Phlashback: Calvin Maduro
In 1996, the Phils traded my favorite Phillie, Pete Incaviglia, and Todd Zeile to the Baltimore Orioles for Garrett Stephenson and Calvin Maduro. Maduro's time in Philly was less than spectacular. He lasted two years, compiling a 3-8 record, with an ERA over 7 his last year. He was signed by Baltimore and pitched in parts of three seasons with the O's. He hasn't seen major league action since '02, but that hasn't stopped the live-armed Arubian. He went Independent League in '03. In '04, he played for Mr. Cocker Honkbalclub Allen Weerbaar in the Hoofdklasse Honkbal, the professional league of the Netherlands. Seriously, I am not making this shit up. Also that year he played for the Netherlands national team in the Olympics. I'm unsure if they play total baseball or regular, but I digress. He spent '05 in the Yankees minor leagues and '06 back as an Oriole farmhand. Again in '06 he threw on the orange and played in the WBC. He has since retired and was last seen as the pitching coach for the Aberdeen IronBirds, the NY-Penn team in the Orioles system.

[Warning, freaking sweet segway approaching...] Speaking of the Orioles...
----------------------------------------
Ridiculous Offseason Trade Proposal - I
For my first ludicrous trade proposal, I look south of the Mason-Dixon line for help for the Phightins. The deal:

Phils send: Carlos Carrasco, Kyle Drabek, Greg Golson
Orioles send: Erik Bedard, Melvin Mora

The Orioles had by some estimates the 10th highest payroll in 2007, at about $95 million dollars. And they don't have much to show for it. Mora is owed almost $18 million over the next two seasons and hasn't produced much in the last two. He's clocking in at .275-15-65. Certainly that is an upgrade in Philadelphia, but nowhere close to worth it for Baltimore. I think they would love to get rid of his salary.

As for Bedard, he is becoming one of the better pitchers in baseball and I realize it would be tough to get him from the O's. But with the Phils top pitching prospect in Carrasco, a raw, young first-round fireballer (albeit injured fireballer) in Drabek, and another young, raw, first-round OF in Golson, combined with clearing $18 million off of the books, it may be enough to get a foot in the door.

Corey

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all, even those weirdo vegetarians that refuse to partake in the bountiful amount of dead turkey...enjoy your tofu! Anyway, it is customary to say what you are thankful for on this blessed day of family and eating until your waistband expands. Therefore, I too will say some things I am appreciative of...

1. Baseball- I love this sport, and in my honest heartfelt opinion, it's the only sport that matters. Football is okay, Fishing is relaxing, and BeerPong is fun, but I don't know where I'd be in this world without baseball.

2. The Deportation of David Bell- loyal readers of this blog know of the extent of my hatred for David Bell. I say many cruel comments about him for a laugh, but make no mistake- I mean everything! Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs may suck at 3rd base in tandem, but I will never be as upset with them as I was when Bell was here manning the hot corner...Mike Schmidt spits in his generally direction. I still have a fear that Bell will return to this organization in some capacity and fairy-tize it from the inside out.

3. Ricky Ledee- I'm not really all that thankful for Ledee, I just came across this picture and found it amusing...smile Ricky- you made millions, but never came close to living up to your hype. He did get traded to the Giants for Felix Rodriguez, who in turn got traded to the Yankees for Kenny Lofton, so I suppose he was somewhat useful.

4. Superstar Phillies- of course I'm most thankful for the core of players on the Phillies that have the capability of leading us to the playoffs for the next few seasons as long as they have the proper supporting cast. Thanks Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Cole Hamels, and Brett Myers. I'd have included Rod Barajas or Rob Ducey, but unfortunately, they're no longer with us.

*Last year's list included the powder blue uniforms, the riddance of Ed "Nutsack Face" Wade, Ryan Howard, John Kruk, Mike Schmidt, and Larry Andersen. Gobble, Gobble, Hey! Gobble, Gobble, Hey...pleased to eat you!

~Carson

Who is Chris Snelling?

You may or may not agree with all the moves Pat Gillick has made this offseason, but you do need to recognize he is being active and not just standing pat. The turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes haven't even been plated yet and Patty G has already landed this club a new closer (Lidge), utility infielder (Bruntlett), starting pitcher (Myers), and retained a valuable left-handed reliever (Romero)...and now he has added some insurance in the outfield. The insurance's name- Chris Snelling. Who? Don't worry, he's Australian. Gillick purchased Snelling for cash consideration off of those cheap bastards in Tampa Bay, after they just claimed him off waivers on October 25th (remember last year when the Rays sold us Bobby Livingston after they claimed him off of waivers and then the deal was revoked by MLB...let's hope it doesn't happen again). Snelling was once a hyped prospect coming up through the minors with Seattle, that was until he suffered a brutal leg injury. Since his MLB debut in 2002, he's bounced back and forth between the minors and majors. Spanning parts of 4 seasons in the majors with Seattle, Oakland, and Washington, he's managed to only wiggle his way into 89 games, while posting a .240 avg. and .737 OPS. His minor league stats suggest if given a chance he could become a productive extra outfielder or perhaps more (he is only 25 years old). Over 9 minor league seasons he has a .311 avg. with a .857 OPS. I'll be pissed if this is the 4th outfielder to platoon with Werth in RF, but I'm happy if this move was to simply add depth to the organization in Triple A...the verdict is still out on this move.

~Carson

MVP?

Will Jimmy Rollins follow in Ryan Howard's footsteps and win the 2007 NL MVP award? Tune back in after 2 pm Eastern time to find out.

~Carson

WSBGM's Nicknames

Here at WSBGM's we like to have some fun at the expense of our favorite team, the Phillies. Over the past 2 years we've been calling players names that their mamma's didn't intend for them, but that isn't going to stop us. Some nicknames are obvious like anything resembling a R-Tard for Charlie Manuel, Model Dictator for Fabio Castro, or 6-Finger-Ant for Antonio Alfonseca. Other monikers were just made up for a laugh and have stuck to some extent. Here are some of my favorites...

Jon Lieber as Donut Eater







Aaron Rowand as Fence Face






Abraham Nunez as No-Hit

Chris Roberson as Crackhead



Geoff Geary as Gas Can









Danny Sandoval as No-Talent Ass-Clown

~Carson

Platoon

Assuming Fence-Face Rowand is all but gone, that pushes the Flyin' Hawaiian Shane Victorino to CF and leaves Jayson Werth all by himself in RF...unless you consider that crackhead Chris Roberson an option. Werth came on strong over the last 2 months of the season, but let's not forget he hadn't played in the Majors the previous 1.5 seasons due to a nasty wrist injury and he doesn't exactly light the world on fire against righties either (.724 OPS over the last 3 years). Since I'm a wannabe GM, I have come up with a list of candidates to be a platoon partner with Werth.

Expensive:
Geoff Jenkins- the Phillies started their "green" project this offseason and traded away our resident Geoff- Gas Can Geary. Therefore, it is safe to assume the city of Philly cannot survive without a Geoff in town. Solution- sign Jenkins to a 1 year 6 million dollar contract to be Werth's left-handed buddy in RF. Problem is, that's a lot of cheese to be throwing at a part-time mouse, and doesn't fit into the Phils offseason spending allocation of funds directed towards improving pitching. Jenkins pounds righties though (.869 OPS over the past 3 season), but not in the same way David Bell pounds men.

Shawn Green- doubtful he's a full-time player anymore, but he has the name and will likely want bigger bucks and more playing time than we can offer. However, he'd be a nice platoon partner with an .841 OPS against righties over the past 3 seasons. I have heard complaints about his deteriorating defense, and with Burrell in LF this may not be ideal.

Luis Gonzalez- believe it or not, Gonzo has an outside chance at making the Hall-of-Fame should he collect roughly 500 more hits. At the ripe age of 40 this seems unlikely and even more unlikely should he accept a platoon situation, so he really isn't an option at all, but he would actually be my choice if he could be had (.816 OPS vs. righties).

Kenny Lofton- like Gonzo, Lofton too is on the verge of becoming a potential Hall-of-Famer, but if signed I think there's a stipulation in his contract that he must be traded before the end of August, so unfortunately he would not be around for the 2008 Phillies drive to the playoffs. He did a tremendous job for the Phils in '05, and still makes things happen on the diamond (.822 OPS vs. righties).

Middle-Class:
Brad Wilkerson- it seems the Phils have been rumored to be interested in Wilk for the past 13 seasons. Seriously, this guy's name gets thrown around during and after the season almost every year as potentially Philly bound. His star has dimmed since going to Texas, but the man can still get on base and put the ball over the fence...strikes out a ton too, and he's actually better against lefties than righties.

Trot Nixon- horrible season with Cleveland in '07, but is another name that has floated in the Philly atmosphere for the past few seasons, and he does have a respectable .789 OPS against righties over the past 3 years.

Cliff Floyd- huge injury risk, in fact I don't even think he has cartilage remaining in his knees, I think they had to transplant excess butt flab to prevent severe grinding. He's a liability on defense as well, but the man can rake against righties- .840 OPS.

Corey Patterson- he was supposed to be a permanent fixture roaming CF for the Cubs, but then they quickly found out he has horrible strikezone judgement. Corey would probably endorse this signing because he drafts Patterson in seemingly every fantasy league he's part of. Bottom line- he has speed and not much else.

Broke:
Ryan Klesko- didn't really play the outfield last season, but he can still hit and be had cheap. Probably not a solution though.

Darin Erstad- always injured and not really all that productive at the plate, but since Rowand won't be around to crash into the outfield wall I thought Erstad could fill the void. He could double as the backup punter for the Eagles too, as he did so at the University of Nebraska.

Who should be Werth's platoon partner?
	Geoff Jenkins
	Shawn Green
	Luis Gonzalez
	Kenny Lofton
	Brad Wilkerson
	Trot Nixon
	Cliff Floyd
	Corey Patterson
	Other
pollcode.com free polls

~Carson

Check Your Head: Tom G of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff

Two weeks ago I kicked off the offseason interview caravan with Jason Weitzel of BeerLeaguer. Next stop is with the man who created Phloggers Pheeds for all Philadelphia sports blogs and is the adminstrator of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff...Tom G- time to check your heard!


1. Statistics aside, who is your favorite Phillies non-superstar of the past?
Superstar-wise it was always Mike Schmidt. Non-superstar-wise... I might have to say Kevin Stocker. I've always had a weakness for scrappy little white guys, as anyone who has ever met me can probably surmise pretty quickly.

2. Why in the hell are you a Phillies fan anyway?
The same reason the rest of us root for the teams we root for: because that's who our fathers rooted for. I grew up about 100 miles northwest of Philly, so it was logical for us to be Phillies fans.

*3. We are both new to the fathering fraternity, be honest, what is more important- Phils or baby?
Sleep would rank higher than anything right now. Obviously the baby comes first, but don't think that I haven't been perusing line drive rates and hot stove news while trying to rock a certain someone to sleep.

4. Discuss the evolution of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff as well as Phloggers Pheeds.
In hindsight "Balls, Sticks, & Stuff" might not be the best name, but I'm stuck with it now. It was actually the name of the folder I had various websites bookmarked in that dealt with golf, baseball, football, and other interesting (to me) things. I started the site in the summer in 2004, and if you had told me then that in three years hundreds of people would read it every day and that I would have close to 1500 posts, I'd have told you that you were crazy. The Phlogger's Pheeds page came about when it seemed like there was a new Philly sports blog being created every day and we needed a way to keep track of all of them. Again, I never would have thought it would be such a hit. And by the way, if anyone has a site or knows of a site they'd like to have included, just get in touch with me.

5. What is your honest opinion of our Special Olympics manager, Uncle R-Tard?
For the most part, I think that when it comes to people, what you see is what you get, but in the case of Charlie, I think he is easily misunderestimated. There's been times I've screamed at him through my television set and in a perfect world, he'd be the Phils hitting coach. But in the end, he got half a team to the playoffs, and that should certainly stand for something.

6. What is your favorite aspect of baseball- pitching, offense, or defense?
I've always thought there was something mesmerizing about watching a golf ball or baseball or football arc through the air, so offense has always been interesting to me. But more and more, defense is catching my eye, and I think the creative statistics that are coming to light are very interesting. Plus, what's not to like about watching J-Roll and Chase dance around second base on a double play?

7. Describe your overall impression/opinion of the Phillies fanbase.
People say it's not a baseball town anymore, that it is a football town, but I would contend that in the end, Philly fans are perfectly content to get behind whichever one they think has the best chance of winning a championship. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I think to a certain extent, years of bleeding Eagle green has caused them to sometimes forget how baseball works. Baseball isn't a sport where you can act like Brian Dawkins, one of the best safeties of all time and a borderline maniac on Sundays, does and be successful. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

8. Give Patty G a rating on a 1-10 scale (11 being the highest) of the job you think he's done thus far.
I might have a different answer in a month or two, but lets say if Branch Rickey is a 10 and Harry Frazee, the Boston GM who sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees is a 1, I would give Pat Gillick a 6, or slightly above average. I think if he was younger, and could be here for the long-haul, I think the Phillies would eventually become a bit of a juggernaut. But, it takes time to turn an entire organization around, and if he is only going to be here for a total of 3 years, well then really his grade should be an "incomplete".

9. What are your other favorite Phillies related sites to frequent?
Over the last year, I've really liked what the mainstream media beat reporters are doing on their blogs. If you read Todd Zolecki's, Scott Lauber's, Mike Radano's and John Finger's sites closely, with the willingness to read between the lines a bit, I think you can get a good sense of whats going on in the heads of the Phillies.

* = My baby and family comes first and foremost, but my other phamily comes a close second.

~Carson