Free agent signings officially kicked off today and one of the top needs for the Phillies is a third baseman.  Although, do not expect them to jump too quickly; it will likely be a while before they settle on a player.  The front runner appears to be Mark DeRosa (Cardinals).  The Phils have courted him before and he should be within their price range.  Plus, DeRosa is from the area, growing up in Passaic, New Jersey and attending the University of Pennsylvania.

The big free agent name at third appears to be Chone Figgins.  However, Figgins also appears to be out of the Phillies price range.  Placido Polanco is an option, but the Phillies would have to give up a 1st round draft choice to sign him.  Adrian Beltre is another option, but he is defensively weaker than DeRosa.  So, odds are pretty good on DeRosa, but who knows.

As for bullpen help, the pickings are slim.  A few good options may be Mike Gonzalez (LHP) and Rafael Soriano (RHP), both from Atlanta.  Rafael Betancourt, Jose Valverde, Octavio Dotel and Bob Howry are all good right-handers, but each is getting up there in age.  Left-handed help is even scarcer, so let us hope Scott Eyre will return.

More Awards

You probably know by now that Charlie Manuel came in 6th place for the Manager of the Year voting.  That's right, 6th place for taking his team to back-to-back World Series.  But this is just one more revealing award that shows the idiocy of the voting process for these honors.  No shock there.  Jim Tracy of the Rockies took home the prize.

But if you would like to voice your opinion this awards season, log on at MLB.com and vote for the This Year in Baseball awards.  Candidates include Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, JA Happ, Jayson Werth and even Emily, the cute little girl who tossed the ball her Daddy caught back towards the field.  And of course, you can give props to Manuel for the TYIB manager award.

What would have been the perfect ending to an outstanding season for rookie pitcher JA Happ went instead to Chris Coghlan of the Marlins.  The Rookie of the Year award is voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America and this year, it looks like they may have gotten it wrong. 

While it is difficult to compare a hitter like Coghlan to a pitcher like Happ, perhaps the deciding factor should be which player had the greatest impact on their team?  Happ filled the void left by starters Brett Myers and Jamie Moyer; without him, the Phillies would not have made the playoffs.  Coghlan's resume is impressive, but his team did not go to the post-season.

To review, Happ went 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA, topping all rookies in innings pitched (166), strikeouts (119), complete game shut-outs (2) and 3 total shut-outs.  Coghlan hit .321 with 9 homers, 47 RBI, 162 hits and a .390 on-base percentage.  Again, difficult to compare, but clearly good pitching beats good hitting as has been demonstrated by years of baseball past.

So while myself and probably a lot of people feel that Happ was snubbed having come in 2nd place, these awards are seldom fair.  But the second place finish does not diminish what was an amazing season for Happ, who has more than proved his worth to this team.  As a consolation prize, I hereby dub JA Happ the "Fan Rookie of the Year"!  Yes, complete with a photo montage:

In other news, the Phillies have removed the following players from the 40-man roster, making them free agents:  Eric Bruntlett, Tyler Walker, Paul Hoover, Andy Tracy and John Ennis.  Tracy will likely be back next year with the Iron Pigs (AAA) in Allentown as well as Ennis.  Hoover may find himself serving as a back-up catcher if not one fills that spot right away.  But it does look like Bruntlett and Walker will probably be gone.

Free agent signings will begin on Friday.

If all that glitters is gold, Phillies Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino have enough bling to go around.  Both players were awarded the Rawlings Gold Glove Award in their respective positions yesterday.  For the shortstop Rollins, it is his third Gold Glove in a row; for centerfielder Victorino, this makes two in a row.  Rollins had only 6 errors all year, which was the best among all qualifying players.  Victorino had a .997 fielding percentage, 2nd best in the NL among outfielders, and 5 assists.

On the injury front, Brad Lidge had surgery yesterday to repair his right flexor tendon as well as remove loose bodies from his elbow.  It was not known before the surgery if the tendon was damaged, but it appears Lidge was worse off than anyone let on.  That fact has caused quite a stir among fans who are very disappointed about the whole situation.  Tell me again why Lidge was pitching with serious injuries, especially in the World Series?

But everyone must look forward now and it appears that Lidge will not be ready for the start of Spring Training.  As a result, the Phillies have been reportedly looking for another / back-up closer.  They need bullpen help anyway, so this is no surprise.

As for the Roy Halladay / Cole Hamels rumors, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. insists this will not happen.  Again, not much of a surprise as such a trade was a long shot at best.  In fact, the Jays demands are still very high, so it is possible that Halladay may not go anywhere.

Thank you everyone for the comments yesterday on this topic :O)  And to clarify, I have not given up on Hamels.  Odds are that he will rebound and have a better year.  However, the thought of a Cliff Lee - Roy Halladay combo, two proven veterans, is an exciting thought.  Think about it this way: The Phillies window to win another championship is closing.  We will probably have Lee only for 1 more year as he is going to command Yankees-type money, which the Phillies historically are unwilling to pay.  They may strike a deal with him, but do not hold your breath.  The core of the team is intact for a while, but the pitching overall has been shaky down the stretch.  If the Phillies can get a quality third baseman, improve the pen and add or develop a solid starter, they could be unstoppable in 2010.  In my humble opinion, they need to toss everything, including the kitchen sink, at this 2010 team.

But sadly, the Phils do not have the payroll of many other teams; the Phillies rank 7th, which is very high, but still $88,445,143 less than the Yankees, as an example.  That equals almost 4 CC Sabathia's and nearly 8 Chase Utley's.  I don't know about you, but I would take 8 Chase Utley's anyday.  And no, I am not jumping on the "buying a Championship" bandwagon which I hear a lot about the Yankees.  I believe they still have to play the game, regardless of income. And this year, the Yanks played better than anyone else.  But would an additional $88 million be a BIG boost for the Phillies or any other team...obviously, the answer is "yes."

But that is just a dream and the Phillies will need to do the best with what they have.  Hopefully, that will include a few more quality pitchers.

Oh yes, here we go again...  It is only mid-November and the Roy Halladay rumor mill is already in full swing.  While the Phillies were unable to strike a deal with the Blue Jays in July for the star pitcher and instead wound up with Cliff Lee (and we are all ok with that, of course), the Jays may still be looking for a chance to get Halladay off their payroll.

If the Phillies can manage a deal for Halladay, odds are they will have to pay much less for him than they would have in July since now he is only good for one potential post-season instead of two.  But the Jays are probably still interested in the Phillies top prospect, Kyle Drabek, whom the Phillies are unlikely to part with.  In an interesting twist however, it has also been rumored that the Jays might be willing to take Cole Hamels.  Can I get a Hallelujah and an Amen to that possibility?!!

Although Hamels is six years younger than Halladay, he had a terrible season for the Phillies and most fans are sick of his emotional issues, media faux pas and lack of composure on the mound.  Odds are, not many people would be sad about such a trade.  Sadly, if this were rumored last season, there may have been riots in the street full of angry fans unwilling to let the World Series MVP go.  But now?  Not so much...

Besides upgrading the pitching staff, it appears the Phillies now need a third baseman as Pedro Feliz did not have his option picked up.  The Phillies can still sign him as agree agent if they come to an agreement, but it looks more likely that the Phils will look elsewhere.  Feliz had a decent season, but I think he really screwed himself in the playoffs where he hit only .167, made unproductive outs in crucial situations and hit into double plays that killed rallies.  Plus, he is 34 years old, which does not help his case.

The top prospects for third base right now are Chone Figgins, Adrian Beltre, Mark DeRosa and former Phillie, Placido Polanco.  Figgins would be the best choice, although fans loved Polanco when he was here and many were upset when Chase Utley took his job.  Hind sight, as they say, is 20/20. 

Back in 2005 when Polanco went to the Tigers, many Phillies fans felt he should have been moved to 3rd base to keep him on the team, myself included.  As it turns out, had the Phillies done so, Polanco would likely still be with us.  Up to that point, he had moved back and forth from 2nd to 3rd base for years.  But after going to the Tigers, it was 2nd base all the way.  The question then with Polanco is, could he transition back to 3rd after more than 4 years steady at 2nd?  That may be too big a question for the Phillies to consider taking him.

So, third base is wide open right now and several other Phillies have filed for free agency; Chan Ho Park, Matt Stairs, Paul Bako, Pedro Martinez and Miguel Cairo.  The Phillies will not likely sign Martinez again, as he will command too hefty a salary and they need a more consistent arm.  Park is a possibility, Cairo and Bako will probably not be back and Stairs I am not too sure about.  My feeling was that he might retire, but since he has filed, I now do not know what is on his mind.  But this leaves the Phillies with the need for a back-up catcher, a right handed bat off the bench and a variety of pitching needs.

As for our walking wounded, both Scott Eyre and Raul Ibanez had successful surgeries yesterday and are expected to make recoveries before Spring Training.  Eyre may or may not decide to retire so his future is uncertain.  Ibanez, we hope, will be back to 2009 first-half form.  Brad Lidge will have surgery tomorrow.  What exactly is wrong with him will be an interesting revelation.  We should have more information in the days to come.

Is there a doctor in the house?  Apparently, there are a few very busy doctors in the Phillies clubhouse since the season ended.  It had already been disclosed that Scott Eyre was pitching the latter half of the season with bone chips in his elbow, so the fact that he will have surgery tomorrow is no surprise.  Eyre performed admirably despite the injury and ended the regular season with a 1.50 ERA in 42 appearances and a 2.08 ERA in the post-season.  His future is uncertain though; the Phillies may offer him a spot if surgery goes well, but he also may simply choose to retire and be home with his family.  It will be a while before any decisions are made.

But the fact that Raul Ibanez was hurt the entire second half of the year was not disclosed until Sports Illustrated broke the story in late October that Ibanez was playing through both a sore groin and an abdominal tear.  Ibanez will have surgery Monday as well for a sports hernia.  But this begs the question, had the Phillies carried on without Ibanez and gave the playing time to a healthy Ben Francisco, would that have helped their chances to win the World Series?

Ibanez was hitting .312 before the All-Star break; afterwards, he hit only .232.  And in the post-season, he managed only a .259 average and a .481 slugging percentage.  Whether or not Francisco could have been a bigger producer if he was given the playing time prior to the post-season, we will never know.  But the Phillies had other options and instead left Ibanez in; it appears that may have hurt the team's chances.  We all admire Ibanez for his determination, but the decision is questionable based on the results.

And then the big X-Factor, Brad Lidge.  The decision to keep Lidge on as the closer for the post-season may have single handedly destroyed the Phillies repeat hopes.  Because as it turns out, Lidge also had serious injuries for most of the year.  He will have surgery on Wednesday to remove loose bodies from his elbow and may also have damage to his right flexor tendon.  Whether or not the Phillies were aware of this before or during the playoffs has not been announced.  But it does raise eyebrows.

The Phillies were on the verge of a huge comeback in Game 4 of the World Series when Pedro Feliz knocked a game-tying homer in the 8th inning.  Had they won the game, the Phillies would have been tied 2-2 with the Yankees and momentum would have been on their side, especially with Cliff Lee pitching the next day.  But Lidge blew any chance of that happening when he allowed 3 runs in the 9th and dashed the Phillies hopes.  I strongly believe that was the turning point that handed the series over to the Yankees.

So the question then is, with such injuries plus his entire 2009 history, why was Lidge allowed to pitch?  Obviously, Lidge knew something was wrong.  If he did not tell, then shame on him.  If he did and the Phillies choose to let him go out there anyway, shame on the management.  Either way, the Lidge experiment, along with the Cole Hamels experiment and other injuries, took down the Phillies this year. 

And the real shame here is that there were other pitchers who could have filled in; JA Happ for Hamels, Ryan Madson or Chan Ho Park for Lidge.  You know the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?"  Well, what is it IS broke?  That is a question the Phillies will be asking themselves all off-season.

In other news, Brett Myers was told he will not be with the Phillies next year.  He is currently a free agent.  Pedro Feliz is still in limbo with the status of his contract option.

Disappointment:  The feeling of dissatisfaction that follows the failure of expectations to manifest.  It is a source of psychological stress.  Synonyms: failure, defeat, frustration (courtesy of Wikipedia).

And disappointment is what Philadelphia is left with after their failure to repeat as World Champions.  Instead, with a 3-7 Phillies loss tonight, the Yankees brought home their 27th World Series title.  The Phillies are left with the consolation prize as National League Champs.

After winning Game 1, the Phillies looked poised for a repeat.  Game 2 went to the Yankees in a relatively fair battle.  Game 3 was the real turning point as Cole Hamels did not perform well and the offense could not bail him out.  But things got much worse in Game 4 where Brad Lidge gave up 3 runs in the 9th after the Phillies had battled to tie up the game prior to that.  The Hamels and Lidge killer combo made for two gut-wrenching losses and a serious turn in the tide.

Cliff Lee won his second game of the series in Game 5 and kept the Phillies alive for one more day, along with the bat of Chase Utley which appeared unstoppable.  But back in New York for Game 6, Utley and the Phillies were stopped.  

Pitching wins ball games and the Yankees had better pitching.  Andy Pettitte was spectacular on only 3 days rest.  Pedro Martinez, on the other hand, had a full 5 days rest and still gave up 4 runs in 4 innings.  All 4 of those runs, plus 2 more later in the game, came off the bat of Hideki Matsui.  After hitting a homer off Martinez in Game 2 and then again tonight in the 2nd inning, why Martinez was left in the game to pitch to Matsui again in the 3rd is a mystery.  JA Happ was up and ready in the bullpen, but Charlie Manuel left Martinez in to pitch to a guy who clearly had his number.  That mistake was the back-breaker as Matsui  hit a 2-run single.

The bullpen gave up 3 more runs and the 7-1 deficit looked to be near impossible to erase for the Phillies.  The offense attempted to battle back; Ryan Howard knocked a 2-run homer in the 6th but then Pedro Feliz left his 5th base runner of the night stranded as he grounded out to third base.  In the 7th, the previously clutch Chase Utley struck out with 2 outs and 2 men on base.  That put the nail in the coffin.

So the Phillies came up short, which just plain sucks.  But they put up a good fight and overall, the season was a great success.  To have made it back to the World Series two years in a row is quite an accomplishment.  And while that does not make us feel any better right now, remember you will not be suffering alone.  It's me, you, a bottle of Vodka and a tiny dancing bear wearing a pink tutu...oh sorry, I digress...  Just find your happy place, go there and do not come out until Spring Training.  At least that is what the voices in my head keep telling me...

Congratulations to the Yankees and their fans, especially my Yankee friends here in the MLBlogs community.  Enjoy the moment.

By the way, as luck would have it, there was an article printed about me in the local newspaper today about my Phillies-fandom.  So, not only do the Phillies lose today, but the reporter totally spelt my name wrong.  What does this mean?  Tomorrow, total strangers who recognize me from the paper will either console or harass me over this loss.  If you see me wandering about with that target on my back, please be kind ;O)  Thank you in advance...