My feeling heading into this season was that Ben Francisco would win the opportunity to play right field for the Philadelphia Phillies in a fierce Spring Training battle with the youngster Dominic Brown.

I guess being half right isn't all bad. Actually, I guess it's half bad. Or half good, I suppose, depending upon your outlook.

But I digress.

Brown broke his right hand Saturday in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and effectively ended a preseason battle that, for all intents and purposes, was over anyway. Brown broke his hand on a single hit up the middle of infield, but it was his first hit in Spring Training and broke an 0-for-16 stretch.

Add that to the fact that Francisco is currently hitting .421 with two home runs and Francisco becomes the obvious choice to replace the money-hungry Jayson Werth.


Continue Reading...

With the Flyers and Sixers still playing and the Eagles' search for a defensive coordinator dominating the headlines in Philadelphia, we seem to be forgetting about the Phillies and their search to find a replacement for Jayson Werth, who took the money and ran to the Washington Nationals this offseason.

Once Jeff Francoeur was off the market, there weren't a ton of free agents that excited the team or the fanbase, so the Phils stayed the course and avoided free agent outfielders.

With the drafts in the rearview mirror as well, the only option left is finding someone via trade. Aaron Rowand, who played in Philly for two years in 2006 and 2007, has been a popular name throughout this entire process, but I'm not sure the chances of him coming back to Philly even hit double digits.

The only way that trade happens is if the San Francisco Giants are willing to eat most of the $24 million he's owed over the next two seasons, and I don't see them being willing to do so. If they're going to pay him, they might as well keep him. And after trades for Roy Halladay and Oswalt, the Phillies' farm system doesn't have a whole lot to offer.


Continue Reading...

Brown certainly lived up to the hype in his first game.


After suffering an injury that most thought would keep him out a few days put Shane Victorino on the DL, the Phillies' top prospect, Domonic Brown, made his presence felt immediately.

In his first major league at-bat, Brown nearly went deep with a man on base. Instead, he knocked one off the right center field wall, legging out a double and plating Jayson Werth. Later in the inning, a Wilson Valdez groundout allowed Brown to cross home plate for his first career run.

Brown later showed that he can also run the bases and isn't just a power bat as he scored from first on a Carlos Ruiz double in the sixth inning.

Overall, Brown went two for three, with two runs and two RBIs. Brown batted sixth in the lineup and played right field, while Werth was kicked over to center in Victorino's absence.

But for as exciting as it was for everyone to finally see what Brown could do in the majors, the news on Victorino has to take some of the wind of the sail.

"I'll say about two weeks, but it may be at least three weeks (before Victorino returns to the lineup)," manager Charlie Manuel said.

Victorino was placed on the 15-day DL, so it's possible he returns once his stint is up, but no one sounds too optimistic -- including Victorino.

"I'm hoping (to be out only) 15 (days)," Victorino said. "It's sore today."

With Victorino gone, and Jimmy Rollins currently riding the bench with a foot bruise, the Phillies are short on contact-hitting base-runners. So unless Rollins is able to return soon, Brown's play could be overshadowed by the fact the lineup is now dominated by power-hitting lefties.

But, for now, the Phils are riding a seven-game win streak and look as good as they have all season long. Whether or not they can overcome the constant stream of injuries to the All-Star players and overtake the Braves has yet to be seen, but it's now safe to say they're out of their slump.

However, as we've seen with this team, they can fall back in at any time.
Continue Reading...

Either way, Werth won't be a Phillie for much longer.


As much as it hurts to say, it's looking like the Phillies' season is going to be a wash. They keep falling further and further behind the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets in the NL East race and are just as behind for a Wild Card spot.

In fact, short of charging back and winning the division, there's likely no chance the Phils are able to make it back to the postseason, much less to a third straight World Series.

So it's time now to start looking toward 2011 and beyond. And the best way to do that it to move Jayson Werth, the Phillies best piece to play with right now, and restock the farm system that Ruben Amaro, Jr. has left relatively bare in trades for Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay.

Within the next few years, the Phillies are going to need help in left field, right field (which obviously becomes more of a priority by trading Werth), third base, catcher, and pitching. Not only in the bullpen, but starters as well.

Raul Ibanez only has one more season left on his deal, Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz aren't getting any younger, the bullpen has been a mess for years, and the three, four, and five starters are always question marks.

Joe Blanton is inconsistent (to say the least), Jamie Moyer is just a guy at this point, and the fifth spot is always up in the air. Kyle Kendrick's recent demotion most likely means the Phillies have given up on him as a starter, and J.A. Happ might have blown his chance to become a full-time starter by getting injured early in the season.

Happ is a guy who has the tools to be a guy the Phils can count on, but they're going to need to see a lot more out of him before they're comfortable penciling him in as a starter year in and year out.

But, right now, trading for a top-of-the-line starter is not necessary, nor is it wise. Roy Oswalt and Dan Haren are two names being kicked out, but both guys are very pricey and would likely be the only thing the Phils can get if they trade Werth.

It would be great having another starter, but at this point I would rather have three or four very good prospects as opposed to one very good pitcher. Blanton, Moyer, and Happ can carry the load for another season or two as guys develop and, hopefully, one of the guys they pick up in the Werth trade can develop into an Oswalt/Haren type of player.

And the best thing about all of this is that the Phillies could probably trade Werth, call up Dominic Brown, have him platoon with Ben Francisco for a while, and still be good enough to make a late push and win the division if everyone can figure out what's causing their funks.

But, with or without Werth, it seems as though that would take a miracle.

So instead of treading water for the rest of the season with a guy like Werth in right field simply collecting a check until he can jump ship in free agency, why not move him while they can and get some quality guys for the future?
Continue Reading...

Every home run Werth hits this season is bittersweet.


According to Howard Eskin and his brand new Twitter feed, the Phillies are seriously considering trading Shane Victorino in order to free up some money and resign Jayson Werth.

It makes sense on the surface as finding a way to keep Werth has to be on top of Ruben Amaro's to-do list, and trading Victorino would free up $7.5 million next year. The Phils would then just insert Dominic Brown to play either center or right field, depending on where they feel he's best suited, and move on from there.

However, trading Victorino seems to create more problems than it solves. Sure, they probably free up enough money to keep Werth, but what do they do once Ibañez moves on and they're forced to replace him in left field?

And even more importantly, how do you replicate Victorino's fantastic defense? Brown is probably a much better hitter than the Flyin' Hawaiian, but Victorino is one of the best defensive center-fielders in all of baseball.

He often helps cover the fact that Ibañez can't cover as much ground as he once could and is routinely making difficult plays look, well, routine.

Then add in the fact that he's crushing the ball better than he ever has and you've got a guy who is very difficult to get rid of. Since becoming a starter in 2006, Victorino has never hit more than 14 home runs in a season; This year, however, he's gone yard seven times and we're only getting into May.

And for all the hype Brown gets as a hitter, he's still got two less than Victorino playing Double-A ball in Reading.

It's obvious the Phillies need to keep Werth around to protect Ryan Howard and to be the power righty in the lineup, but moving Victorino is not the way to do that. It solves one problem but creates a lot more in the long run. The problem here is that Amaro overpaid for Ibañez and now it's catching up to the team.

Speaking purely out of instinct, I think Amaro will find a way to keep Werth around. Paying Howard all that money doesn't make much sense if you're not going to have someone worthy of the fifth spot, so I would have to believe Amaro already has a plan in place.

The most likely scenario (other than simply letting Werth walk and trying to groom someone else) is that the Phils move Ibañez and eat up some of his contract. Then with the money they'll save in the long-run they can pay Werth the $15-18 million per season he's going to demand and have a natural fit for Brown in the lineup behind Werth at six.

This would also mean getting rid of Jamie Moyer's inflated contract and giving Kyle Kendrick a cemented spot in the lineup. A move that, despite Moyer's wonderfully flukey two-hitter, is long overdue.

Then in 2011 the outfield would be Werth in left, Victorino at center, and Brown in right, with Werth batting fifth, Brown batting sixth, and Victorino batting seventh.

In a perfect world, that's how everything would fall. However, as the Yankees showed us all last October, it's certainly far from a perfect world.
Continue Reading...