Balls, Sticks, & Stuff | Phillies, Eagles, golf and other matters of great importance...

Reasons to Watch Baseball

Phillies phans are feeling depressed, embarrassed, and even abused. They are wondering what happened, how did it go so wrong, and when they should turn their attention entirely to football. We'll have several months to decide upon the first two, but as for me, the answer to the last issue is "not just yet", for several reasons:

Ichiro - While playing on a horrible Seattle Mariners team, Ichiro Suzuki is chasing one of the longest standing records in baseball, George Sisler's most hits in a season (257 hits in 1920, hitting .407 that year). Ichiro has a great shot at it, he hits leadoff so he gets a lot of plate appearances. And, he doesn't walk much, putting a ball in play on just about every at-bat, often using his speed to turn outs into infield hits. I've seen many of today's best players - Greg Maddux, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey, Jr., Tony Gwynn, Pedro Martinez - but one player I have not seen, and would love to, is Ichiro. In the era of the longball, Ichiro is an entirely different player who uses an extraordinary combination of eye-hand coordination and speed to get on base.

Gavin Floyd - If the Phillies were in the hunt for a playoff spot, or if injuries have not continued to mount in the starting rotation, Gavin Floyd probably wouldn't see any action in the big leagues this year. The general consensus on this Untouchable is that he has been inconsistent at times this year, showing flashes of both brilliance and mediocrity while splitting time between AA Reading and AAA Scranton/WB. At the tender age of 21, he is quite young to be at the AAA level, much less the Bigs, and probably could use some more "seasoning". However, for those of us that have not seen him pitch this year, we can get a preview of the things in Floyd we have been hearing and reading so much about - intenstinal fortitude, a dazzling fastball, presence and poise - things that we will hopefully see for years to come.

AL West Crown and AL Wild Card - The A's, Angels, Rangers, and Red Sox will all face each other and compete with each other for two playoff spots during September, with all four teams entering the month on a high. The A's are doing it with pitching, the Rangers are doing it with the longball, the Red Sox are doing it with chemistry, and the Angels are doing it with a rejuvenated college punter. It's hard to root against any of these teams and its a shame that two of them will be sitting at home in October.

The Well-Oiled Machines A.K.A. Braves and Cardinals - Sure, phans wish the Phillies were the best team in the National League (instead of the Cardinals) and if not, we would settle for the best team in the NL East (instead of the Braves). But you have to admire the teams that actually do hold those positions. Both teams have used combinations of great hitting and pitching to achieve such lofty status this season, but probably the most interesting thing about the teams is that no one expected such performances from them. The Cardinals were expected to score a lot of runs, but were also expected to give up a lot of runs and finish third in the NL Central behind what we all thought would be the pitching rich Cubs and Astros. Instead, the Cubs and Astros have both faltered due to injuries, but is there anyone that can say they would have been able to keep pace with the Cardinals even without the injuries? As for the Braves, most pundits and bloggers and experts and everyone else picked them to finish second or third in the NL East, and the way the first two months of the season went, no one thought they had underestimated the Braves. But since then, particularly since the All-Star break the Braves have been a juggernaut with Bobby Cox and Leo Mazzone turning in one of their best coaching performances yet.

My fantasy football draft is Wednesday night and I'm starting to look forward to the West Coast offense - ala Andy Reid, the budding romance between Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens, and the emergence of Chris Leak as a star, but I'm not about to cancel my subscription to MLB.tv. Stay tuned.

The Pathology of Phailure

On Sunday, by defeating the Brewers 10-0, the Phillies swept the Brewers for the second weekend in a row, six games in all. It took most of the season, but the Phillies have finally found a team they can treat the same way the Dave Matthews Band treats river tour boats. Which is coincidental because that is the same way the Marlins and Braves have treated the Phillies all year.

Despite having a less than 5% chance of making the playoffs, the Phillies recent hot streak has players very upbeat. Almost too much. During Sunday's rout of the Brewers, Marlon Byrd flipped his bat and showboated after hitting a grand slam, only his thirteenth career homerun. News that there will probably be more players coming off of the disabled list than going onto it could also be a source of inspiration for the players. While Randy Wolf's season is most likely over due to injury, the Phillies got very encouraging news on the rehabilitations of Pat Burrell (originally thought to be out for the year), Kevin Millwood, Ryan Madson, and Billy Wagner. Additional help could also come in the form of Gavin Floyd, one of the organization's Untouchables, who will get a chance in September to help the team finish the season.

But perhaps the piece of news that has the Phillies players seeing the glass half-full the most is the latest developments in the never-ending storyline regarding the cognitive behavioral experiment that is Larry Bowa. On Sunday, Randy Miller of the Bucks County Courier-Times/Burlington County Times/The Intelligencer/Calkins Media/PhillyBurbs.com reported that Larry Bowa will be fired in the offseason. Citing "team sources", Miller states that after several interviews with veteran players regarding Bowa and the coaching staff, Ed Wade has reached the conclusion that the time is almost now to fire the manager in the offseason as well as pitching coach Joe Kerrigan, hitting coach Greg Gross, and bench coach John Vukovich.

The anonymous team sources also confided in Miller that Larry Bowa was not Ed Wade's first choice as manager and that not only has Wade had to discipline Bowa, but so have the players:

According to one veteran, players became so frustrated at his behavior this season that a few occasionally put a stop to it by shouting at Bowa to quiet down during games. Others say Bowa finally became a changed man in July, which is around the time sources say he was ordered by Wade to control his emotions at all times.

The article does not state when such exchanges in the dugout occurred, but once they did, Bowa should not have lasted a second longer. When the head of any team loses control of his clubhouse, he needs to be fired, end of story. If the manager has lost control of the clubhouse he has lost the respect of the players, and if he has lost their respect it is impossible to inspire good play from them.

After being swept by the Marlins in July, Bowa stated he was embarrassed and that the players should be embarrassed as well. The argument could be made he was correct, but at this point everyone should be embarrassed, from the owners down to management down to the players and even the trainers, bat boys. Bowa may have a large hand in this year's failures, but well-run organizations do not have the history this team has amassed. The 2004 season is only a symptom of a chronic syndrome of mismanagement resulting in one failure after another.

Embarrassing indeed.

Mezza Morta

The Chicago Tribune previews the fall prime time TV schedule on the major networks. Some of it may end up being entertaining to watch, but in the end isn't everyone's interest in non-sports television 'mezza morta' until The Sopranos returns?

Dave's DNA

When you have a videotape, why is DNA needed? "Well Mrs. Wilson, we have been able to positively identify the fecal matter that hit you in the head, and it was from Boyd Tinsley and not Dave Matthews."

Tony K on the Olympics and Old School

...Tony Kornheiser is reminded of scenes from Old School while watching Olympic gymanstics. I can't believe I didn't think of that, Paul Hamm sucking on a Marlboro while on the rings should have come to mind immediately. Maybe that humorous image will help me forget about the 47 hours of Olympic coverage residing on my Replay TV hard drive recorded by The Missus, leaving little room for Baseball Tonight and Decisive Battles.

GOP and the City

For those of you that are afraid of (or looking forward to) the Republican Convention in New York City turning into a car crash, you can crane your neck at GOP and the City, a blog written by a "Missouri-born, Tennessee-raised, New York-Republican" volunteering at the convention.

Al's Invention

Thirty-five years ago today, the Internet was created. However, this account makes no mention of Al Gore being there at the time.

BirdBlog

Michael Berquist of A Citizen's Blog fame is turning his attention to the Eagles, with an analysis of the Eagles defense. Long live Jim Johnson.

Automatic For the People

An interesting discussion has developed over a post at Shallow Center regarding the re-emergence of R.E.M. To this day, whenever I hear any song from R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People, I am automatically (of course) reminded of sophomore year of college.

Braves Dwindling Attendance

...The Pearly Gates points out a column on SI.com lamenting the shrinking attendance figures at Turner Field despite the Braves success this year (both an annual phenomenon) and ponders the root cause. It's something I have always wondered about as well. The best answer I can come up with is that the only thing Southerners even begin to approach fanatacism on is being Southerners. College football is a close second and third comes NASCAR. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy living in the South amongst Southerners, they are a good people, but I think they are just too laid back to perseverate over a team the way Northeasterners can.

Payne @ Pinehurst

The Story
Part of any golfer's summer reading list should be Payne At Pinehurst: The Greatest U.S. Open Ever by Bill Chastain. The book recounts the 1999 U.S. Open, a duel between two of my favorite golfers, Payne Stewart and Phil Mickelson. The tournament came down to the 72nd hole, with Payne Stewart holing a twenty-foot putt to win.

Added to the drama of the tight competition was the human interest story of Phil Mickelson, an expectant father with a wife due at any moment. Mickelson carried a beeper with him throughout the tournament and vowed he would withdraw the moment he found out his wife was going into labor, despite being in the hunt for his first major (at the time, Mickelson was still carrying the mantle of Best Player to Never Have Won a Major).

The Mickelsons gave birth several days after the U.S. Open ended, but unfortunately the story did not have the same type of ending for the Stewart family. Later in the year, the story truly ended, tragically with Stewart dying in a plane crash.

Certain events in life are so strong in your memory that you remember exactly where you were when they transpired. They could be events that changed the world, events that changed your life, or events that simply meant a lot to you because of enjoyment or sadness. I remember exactly where I was when I watched the 1999 U.S. Open and I remember exactly where I was when I learned of Payne Stewart's death.

What Tiger Woods Could Learn From Payne Stewart
Most modern golf professionals have had swing coaches. Stewart was no different, mostly employing Chuck Cook. At one point in the 1990's, Stewart and Cook had a falling out and stopped working together. Eventually, Stewart realized he was at least partially to blame and called Cook to make peace and reunite. Stewart went on to win the 1999 U.S. Open. Similarly, Tiger Woods has had a much publicized feud with the swing coach that worked with him through his best play, Butch Harmon. Many have speculated that if Tiger Woods would simply make piece and reunite with Harmon, he would return to the play that made him the clear cut best player in the world.

Cook made very few changes to Stewart's swing during the years they worked together, but one change he did make was to have Stewart fade the ball. Cook did some research into the great players in history and determined that 90% of them faded the ball (a slight left to right curve in mid-air), rather than draw the ball (the opposite, a slight right to left curve in mid-air). Tiger Woods insists on drawing the ball. It's possible that if Woods were to begin hitting a fade, which often sacrifices a few yards for better control, his accuracy would greatly improve (Woods ranks 175th on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy, hitting just over 50% of his fairways).

My Threesome Can Beat Your Threesome
One of the reasons I followed Payne Stewart's career was the fact that as a student athlete at Southern Methodist, he belonged to the same fraternity I did at James Madison. Certain members of my chapter were impressed that Scott Bakula, Deane Smith, John Ritter, "Skip" Caray, and Bobby Rahal were "Fijis". For me, the fact that Hale Irwin, Jack Nicklaus, and Payne Stewart were Fijis was much more impressive. These things are very impressive when you are 20, are they not?

A Non-Phan's Take on the Phillies

Last night I had a lengthy phone conversation with one of my best friends, an ardent sports fan, particularly of the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Atlanta Braves. We discussed his wedding and honeymoon from a month ago, and he was rather amused to hear about how the deck lanterns he gave to me for being a groomsman were mistaken for bombs by the O'Hare airport security (seriously though, they look exactly like something Wile E. Coyote would have purchased from Acme Grenade Company). The conversation then turned to the NL East and then I was rather amused (and depressed) by his take on the Phillies:

"You know you are in trouble when your manager is your clubhouse cancer."

Bonds (Not Barry)

Off Wing Opinion reports on the latest reports regarding the Expos reportedly imminent move to the Washington DC/Northern Virginia metro area.

Placating Peter Angelos is just one of the issues Major League Baseball has to address before the move can become possible. It appears that the Virginia General Assembly (the first representative legislature in America) may not be willing to issue the bonds necessary to finance the Northern Virginia option, which is also the option Angelos would probably put up less of a fight over. Governor Mark Warner (D) is a supporter of public financing for baseball, which should help if the issue ever comes to public attention outside of Northern Virginia, but there is no telling how the Assembly will act. After all this is a Republican controlled legislature that recently voted to raise taxes at a time when the state is experiencing budget surpluses.

Blueprint for the Rest of 2004 and 2005

Many of the Phillies pundits are beginning to turn their attention to next year, and hopefully the Phillies Brain Trust is doing the same. While I think improvements in certain areas are imperative, I do not think wiping the slate clean and starting all over again is necessary. The following is not a season review (it is only August 25th), but it is my recommendations to Ed Wade and David Montgomery from August 2004 to March 2005 in four parts: Everyday players, pitchers, minors/bench, and coaching.

Everyday Players
Though the offense has been maddeningly inconsistent at times - scoring 10 runs one night and getting shut out the next - overall it has been good, ranking 4th in the league as a whole. Taking Citizen's Bank Park out of the equation, the Phils rank 5th on the road in runs scored. Much of the inconsistency is due to a high strike out total (which may not make a difference in the end) and poor performance with runners on base - and even worse when they are in scoring position. On the bright side, the Phillies batting average with runners in scoring position has to regress (or in this case, progress) to the mean, and high strikeout totals reduces the number of double plays. How is that for optimism?

First base - Some are calling for Jim Thome to be traded. Blasphemy. Thome is on pace for about 25 Win Shares, a total which usually equates to somewhere between an MVP-type year and a good year. Sure you can find holes in his numbers, but if you looked hard enough, you could find holes in Barry Bonds' numbers. Put Thome in the heart of the lineup and concentrate on real problems.

Second base - For the rest of 2004, I advocate playing Placido Polanco if it is possible for him to finish in the top 50% of his position, and then thank him for his yeoman service and let him walk in the offseason. If Polanco finishes the season in the top 50% of his position and then leaves in the offseason via free agency, the Phillies will get a compensatory draft pick. Several questions need to be answered for this strategy to be truly viable: What measure(s) constitutes the top 50%? What is considered Polanco's position? 2B? 3B? If it isn't possible for Polanco to finish in the top 50%, then the obvious stance to take is to make Chase Utley the starter now.

Third base - David Bell is what he is - an injury-prone player that plays well when not hobbled with injuries - and sometimes he even plays well in spite of that (Bell is on pace for 17-19 Win Shares, a good season's total in limited play). Is his contract too large and too long? Certainly and certainly, but trading him is not an option for those very reasons. My recommendation would be to stick with him and make sure you have a solid back-up.

Shortstop - Jimmy Rollins is another Phillie on track for a 17 to 19 Win Share season, which represents a rebound from his last two campaigns. He has cut down on his strikeout totals, increased his on-base percentage, and has played very good defense. Ideally, Rollins would not be batting in the leadoff position, but doing so is not the end of the world. My recommendation: Find a better leadoff hitter option (see Centerfield) so that Rollins can bat 2nd or in the lower third of the order. Also, begin to groom an heir from the minor leagues because 2004's improvement may be a fluke and if it isn't, Rollins will soon become too expensive.

Left Field - Before injury sidelined Pat Burrell, he was rebounding nicely from his nightmare 2003 season. He was still inconsistent at the plate, but if you had told anyone who follows the Phillies that Burrell would have accumulated 18 HR's and 68 RBI with a .833 OPS by August 3rd (his last game of the 2004 season), they would have gone down on bended knee and thanked their higher power. Recommendation: Pick up the tab on his surgery and put him in the heart of the lineup for 2005.

Centerfield - Significant upgrades need to be made here. Marlon Byrd was given the job in spring training, then lost the job and was sent back to Triple AAA Scranton/Wilkes Barre, and then finally brought back up in August and picked right up where he left off with a sub-.700 OPS. Some may say Byrd's crash was his own doing, some say Larry Bowa jerked him around, and some say he was never really a great prospect to begin with, but the truth is probably a combination of all those factors. Regardless, Marlon Byrd is no longer the Phillies centerfielder of the future and should now be viewed as either trade bait or a minor-league philler. Recommendation: If the price on potential free-agent Carlos Beltran is too high (which it almost certainly will be), package Byrd (with Brett Myers and Ryan Howard?) for a trade for a centerfielder that can bat in the one- or two-spot. After Beltran, the list of free agent centerfielders is mighty thin.

Right Field - Bobby Abreu ranks second only to Barry Bonds in terms of Win Shares among NL outfielders with 27, on pace for 33 or 34, a great season total. Many suggest that based on his abilities to get on base and then steal more, Abreu is better suited to the leadoff position. But, his .927 career OPS belongs in the three-spot. Recommendation: Get more baserunners in front of him to drive in.

Catcher - For much of the season I've stuck up for Mike Lieberthal, but even I can't deny that the Phillies need to begin to plan for the future. Lieberthal has had a career .787 OPS, but next year Lieberthal will be 33 years old and there are few, if any, catchers whose offense gets better the deeper they get into their 30's. Lieberthal's defense also draws criticism, but I guarantee that when Joe Kerrigan leaves town, Lieby's arm will resurface. Recommendation: Begin to plan for the future by grooming Carlos Ruiz and Jason Jaramillo (see Bench/Minors below).

Pitchers
Like centerfield, significant attention needs to be paid to this part of the team, probably more so than any other aspect. Entering the 2004 season, most people felt that the Phillies pitching staff would be one of the best in baseball with 5 good but not great starters and a bullpen with 4 million career saves. But, as the old saying goes, that's why they play the games. Through August 25, the Phillies rank 13th in the National League in team ERA (4.66). But before you blame Citizen's Bank Park for the inflated ERA, the Phillies have a 4.73 ERA on the road, still ranked 13th. The Phillies offense scores a lot of runs, so if the pitching were to perform even average, the Phillies would probably still be playing for something in September.

Starters - The primary starters for the Phillies in 2004 have been Kevin Millwood (free agent), Randy Wolf, Eric Milton (free agent), Vicente Padilla, Brett Myers, Paul Abbot, and Corey Lidle, all of which have increased their career ERA's (except Milton, who is right at his career ERA despite switching to a more pitching-friendly league) and many have been injured. Recommendations: Fire Joe Kerrigan and Larry Bowa. Let Millwood and Lidle walk; don't let Paul Abbot come back; offer Eric Milton 4th-starter-type money and not 1st- or 2nd-starter money, and if he won't take it, find someone who will and can put up a 4.75 ERA; take Ryan Madson out of the bullpen and place him in the rotation; take Millwood's money and sign Carl Pavano, even if you have to overpay him because it will strengthen the Phils while weakening the Fish; if Myers can't be packaged in a trade for a centerfielder, then move him to the 'pen.

Bullpen - Like the starting rotation, the bullpen has not lived up to expectations, much of it due to injuries to key players forcing other pitchers into roles for which they are unsuited. Fortunately, a bullpen is an area of a team where you can save money and improve it at the same time (many teams do it every year). Recommendations: Fire Joe Kerrigan and Larry Bowa; let Roberto Horrendez, Rheal Cormier (French for "over-priced gas can"), Todd Jones, and Felix Rodriguez (the 3.15 million he is due for next year is just too much) walk; pick up the option on Billy Wagner; Insert Gavin Floyd into the bullpen - I like the idea of easing pitching prospects into the rotation (first-year quarterbacks are rarely expected to start, why should we expect young pitchers?) - using him as a starter only after the All-Star break if someone goes down with an injury; as I stated earlier, move Brett Myers to the pen where he can hopefully manage to focus for just one inning; fill in the rest of the pen with cheap help the way other successful teams do, no more 3 million dollar incendiary devices thank you very much; groundball specialists or high percentage strikeout pitchers would be preferable in order to negate CBP's short porches.

Bench/Minors
The only glaring problem with the Phillies bench in 2004 is that they have been used too often due to poor play and injuries by starters. Tomas Perez, Todd Pratt, and Doug Glanville are free agents. Given the expected departure of Placido Polanco, Chase Utley's expected role as a starter, and David Bell's fragile constitution, signing Perez or someone like him his important. Perez does not have numbers or skills that overly impress, but one skill and talent he does have - he can play every infield position - is something every team needs, especially the Phillies. Todd Pratt's role is also important, backing up an aging starter. However, does it make sense to back up an aging starter with an aging backup? Perhaps the Phillies should let Pratt go and try to use someone else who can start more often (little known fact: Lieberthal has a $7.5m option for 2006, it vests with 1300PA in 2003-5 or 850PA 2004-5 or 475PA in 2005...in 2006 Lieberthal will be 35 years old, at which point his knees may not even bend anymore). And then there is Douggie...I think Doug Glanville would be a great guy to grab a beer and hang out with, he seems like a sharp and witty guy, but unfortunately, Glanville's skills just don't warrant a major league roster spot. My recommendation: sign Glanville as the engineer in charge of moving the Citizens Bank Park outfield walls back 10 feet. Additionally, re-acquire Rickey Ledee as a free agent, he makes for a good left-handed bat of the bench and for some reason he likes playing for the Phillies.

Manager/Coaches
Fire them all. It's too late to make any difference for 2004, but for Mr. Montgomery or Mr. Wade to wait one minute longer than the last out of the season would just be prolonging the inevitable. Over a month ago, I first speculated that Larry Bowa was no match for the Braves manager and if Walt Weiss's recent comments in the Rocky Mountain News are any indication, my speculation was more of a prediction. When an entire team underperforms, the managers and coaching staff have to be held accountable. So do the players and owners, but the owners aren't going to fire themselves and you can't replace all of the players. Suggestions on a new manager? Davey Johnson. He is an ex-Phillie with an appreciation for statistics/long-ball and is rather even keeled. Many of us have noticed that the coaching pendulum in sports swings from "easy going players coach" to "tough disciplinarian"...I think we know which way this pendulum is swinging.

Any questions Messrs. Wade and Montgomery?

There's Always Next Year

The following post is by guest columnist, my brother, Geoff G.:

The Phillies have a lot of work to do for 2005. Most notably, the Phillies need a centerfielder to hit at the top of the order and a couple of starting pitchers.

I tracked down a list of potential free agents here.

We'll assume the Phightins bring back Eric Milton and let Kevin Millwood go. We'll also assume that Billy Wagner is coming back in the bullpen. With lefties Eric Milton and Randy Wolf, the Phillies most likely would want to target a right-handed starter or two. Pedro Martinez will be available, but one would guess that there will be a bidding war between the Red Sox, his current team, and the Yankees.

One pitcher of note is Carl Pavano of the Marlins. He currently sits at 14-5 with a 2.97 ERA. He has established himself as the ace of the staff, when he was only supposed to be their fourth or fifth best starter at this point, behind Josh Beckett, AJ Burnett, Brad Penny (who was traded to the Dodgers and promptly went on the DL) and Dontrelle Willis. Adding him to the rotation would not only improve the Phillies, but hurt the Marlins, a chief divisional rival. Matt Clement of the Cubs, Matt Morris and Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals and the Twins' Brad Radke will be looking for new deals, as well.

Carlos Beltran is the obvious choice in centerfield. Steve Finley isn't getting any younger and is likely to return to Arizona this winter. The man Beltran replaced, Craig Biggio, is also getting up there in age. Marquis Grissom? Wow, other than Beltran, this sounds like a list of candidates to replace Rafael Palmeiro in the Viagra ads.

The Phillies can sign at least one high-profile free agent this winter without significantly raising payroll. Millwood comes off the books along with his $11 million. Placido Polanco ($3.95 million) has his contract expire, as well, and Chase Utley is ready to step into his starting role. Rheal Cormier ($3 million) is the only other player making significant money with an expiring deal.

These are just some of the moves the Phillies might consider. Hopefully, whatever the braintrust is after this season can put their heads together and fix this team.

Myers as a Closer

The following post is by guest columnist, my brother, Geoff G.:

An interesting article on Phillies.com noted that Brett Myers may be better suited for closer role.

While he may seem to have a make-up for that, most of his troubles have come from an inability to locate his pitches. A simple move to the bullpen would not necessarily fix that.

Statistically, however, most of his trouble comes in innings 4-6, but he doesn't exactly light the world on fire in the first inning, either. Batters hit him to the tune of .273 the first inning.

Myers' 2004 has not - as can be said for the entire rotation - gone according to plan. Coming into the season, he was thought of by many as perhaps the best fifth starter not named Clement.

You have to give him credit, he's been consistent. Consistently bad. Other than May, when he posted a 2.96 ERA, he has not had a month in which he had lower than a 5.01 mark. Horrendous. And, that 5.01 ERA is in the current month of August. Tonight, he squares off with the equally combustible Carlos Hernandez in Houston.

Just as bad, Myers is actually second among the Phillies starters in ERA this month. Only Vicente Padilla and his 4.76 August mark rate better. Milton is at 5.11, Wolf 5.29 and Lidle (7.08) must be gunning to match his shoe size.

Contraptions

Balls Sticks & Stuff has mostly defended Ed Wade, but we are not drinking the Kool-Aid so much as to think Ed Wade is the best general manager in baseball, far from it. But if you would like to read a bit about one of the best - if not the best - general manager in baseball, direct yourself to Athletics Nation's three part interview with Billy Beane. If only the Phillies had such creative and forward thinking as this:

Blez: Are you concerned about injury problems with Huddy with that recurring oblique?

BB: That thing has popped up two different years. When it happened again, especially around that time of the season, it really raised everybody’s eyebrows and Timmy’s included. It’s strange to have everything else be healthy and then the hip be such an issue. The reason it has injuries is because he is so powerful. He’s so strong with his hip rotation and his drive. Rick Peterson measured it at the institute and he has the most powerful hip rotation in the league and because of that, that hip breaks down. We actually ordered a machine. It’s probably going to be named the Hudson Machine now. It’s a machine that specifically targets that area of the body. We realized that it’s like Achilles, to be so good and so powerful and have one small area of the body break down. And with this most recent injury, we were really conservative. That’s why we were slow to have him return. We were very concerned and that’s why we went out and ordered a big contraption to have it taken care of it for the rest of his career. We’ll cross our fingers.

Of course, if the Phillies were to acquire a contraption to manage the careers of their pitchers, it would be a Lobotomy Machine.