Phast Phive: Center Phielders

This week’s links are brought to you by the power of spitefulness.

Jovan Alford

I thought it was interesting that the Yankees would even entice the chance of trading all star CF Curtis Granderson for Phillies LF prospect Darin Ruf. I see why the Yankees would do it but for the Phillies it would be a bad move because of the large contract. The Phillies do not need to take on a huge contract and lose talent in my opinion.

Eric Hartline–US PRESSWIRE

Justin Klugh

First of all, don’t forget to get all worked up over the Sixers’ salvation of Philadelphia sports over the The Sixer Sense, where our newest writer Jovan–who you may remember further up on the page a second ago–is in charge.

Now, there’s something I want to talk about.  People have been watching ex-Phillies succeed all postseason, and then turning to us and expecting some brand of horrid reaction.  Then, when they don’t get one, they just assume that it must be really really hard to watch all these castoffs perform so well.  

And in a way, it was.  I mean, during Raul Ibanez’s streak of heroism, all I could think was that like 35-game offensive drought that got so bad players on the opposing team were congratulating him when finally got on base again.  But mostly, it’s been nice to see guys like Thome and Ibanez take so well to the playoffs and, at least temporarily, get their shot.  Shane might have been a little tough to watch, but thankfully, he was quarantined in the broadcast booth for TBS.

Then there’s Hunter.  And with Hunter, I’ve got to wonder a few things.  Like for instance, where was this impromptu, inspired leadership role when the Phillies were in last place, in desperate need of some key role-player to step up and inspire his team as a leader?  The Giants didn’t really need one, per se–they’ve got Posey and a few others.  We had nobody that wasn’t full of holes.  And Hunter, just, what… sat there?  Watched it happen?  Maybe thought about plotting his next twitvid?

But I digress.   In these teams of shifting alliances, it’s always curious to see how one fanbase views a player in the context of their situation, and CSN Philly gave us that chance with Hunter. So, you know.  Yaaayyy.

Ethan Seidel

One of the hotly debated topics surrounding the Phils off season is who the team should target as their new center fielder. The one thing that is unanimous is that John Mayberry Jr. should not start, but who should? Jason Amareld has endorsed Michael Bourn as his candidate to take over the job. He has a solid record, but can this country afford four years of a Michael Bourn as their leadoff man? Politics aside, money will be the big issue. He’s due for a big raise, but Ruben has never been afraid at shelling out the dough.

The most important factor for Ruben Amaro to have a successful offseason is to judge this roster honestly. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley just aren’t the players they used to be. But don’t dismay, says Bill Baer, at least Utley is still a productive offensive player. Don’t believe me? Just read this.

John Stolnis

Hey, have you guys heard that the Phillies have a bit of a hole at third base next year? Apparently, the Mets aren’t going to trade David Wright to us, and Chase Headley would require the Phils to give up 23 minor league players and a 50% stake in concession sales at Citizens Bank Park for the next 10 years. So, with those options off the table, the Phils are left turning over rocks and scouring the bargain bin for potential free agents to man the hot corner. Or, they can turn to in-house solutions like Kevin Frandsen or Arizona Fall League power hitter Freddy Galvis to take over. Either way, it’s not looking too promising.

Unless… there’s a guy in New York who makes a poop ton of money and had a bit of a rough postseason. It’s been in the papers. Alex Rodriguez is apparently on the trading block, and while every blog writer in America who writes for a Major League website has already speculated about whether their team should pursue the once-great third baseman (guilty!), an actual newspaper reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News is also asking the question. It’s at least a question worth asking.