NL balance of power shifts
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 22, 2007 
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The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed first baseman-catcher Josh Phelps off waivers from the New York Yankees on Friday.
Phelps was expected to join the Pirates on Saturday for their game against the Los Angeles Angels.
The 29-year-old Phelps was designated for assignment by the Yankees on Tuesday. He hit .263 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in 36 games for New York.
Here’s hoping Cash at least tried to work a deal for Ryan Doumit before letting the Pirates have Phelps for nothing. If not, that’s embarassing.
Yeah, it’s a real good thing we got rid of him so Andy Phillips could come up to the big leagues and show he still can’t hit major league pitching.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it everytime someone asks me about Phelps: he would’ve been awesome to have on the bench. His defense is suspect, no arguing, but you could always take him out of games late or use him to pinch hit.
Sorry Josh, least you’ll stay in the majors now. Thanks for your help, again sorry it didn’t work out here.
I also don’t understand why you constantly smeer Phelps. He seems like a nice kid. Why’re you seemingly dedicated to making him look awful?
Geez Pete, what are you going to do with yourself without Phelps to bash? Maybe you’ll have to notice how dreadful your man-crush Cairo truly is…
Nah, I mean, what with Henn not having pitched in 11 freaking days, Nieves and Basak sucking up roster spots, Damon rapidly turning into the ghost of the Ghost of Bernie Williams, and Farnsworth still pitching the 8th, there should be plenty to distract everyone from that and continue singing his praises..
I like your idea Cliff, Doumit would be a nice addition to our team. However, Nieves has worked really well with the pitchers this year, and Doumit can play 1B and the OF.
hey, any word yet on who will be sent down to make room for Igawa? Seems like it will be Henn, Villone, or Basak
and I’m going to plug my blog again:
http://pinstripespa.blogspot.com/
Buster Olney reports Yanks may pick up Milton Bradley if Damon goes on DL.
The Balance of Power Shifts!!
Heh, that’s funny. Not as funny as Miguel Cairo starting in a major league lineup. But still worth a chuckle. Oh. And Andy Phillips as your ninth inning pinch hit guy? Hilarious.
Milton Bradley is a trainwreck
Crack all the jokes you want, Damon should be on the DL, and the Yankees now have no DH.
Good luck to him. I hope he gets a chance out there.
I think I’ll remember Phelps most for knocking over that asian catcher.
that ruled.
score a run, assure getting to first in next at bat, and give proctor some rest (when he needed it most)
3 birds, 1 stone
phelps = class
Shift the balance of power – *trade for Carlos Zambrano*
12 Ks today, 6-1 on the road.
no way Cubs resign him. Cubs just can’t let him go, empty handed.
Cano will take him to the hottest Dominican clubs in town.
Too bad Phelps didn’t work out. Need a SWEEP in San Fran.
VEry curious? WHy does Peter insist on insulting Phelps…it’s very unprofessional
Guys, this is Pete’s blog, not the newspaper. He’s allowed to have his own personal opinion. It’s the same thing as most of you bashing Damon or Phillips, or whoever’s having a bad game or couple of games. It’d be unprofessional if he wrote this in the paper, but come on, give the guy a break. Doesn’t anyone remember when Phelps was playing first? Everyone was bashing him.
Let’s kind of hope that Phelps doesn’t turn into a Big Papi for the Pirates! Now wouldn’t that be a hoot!
I wasn’t, because I knew the alternative was Miguel Cairo.
Hey Morons, Pete wasn’t making a personal insult to Phelps, just making a joke. Lighten up Francis’s.
Pete, you really need to spend some time catching up on blocking IP addresses, it is getting a bit out of control here with ridiculousness.
Quick question do we still have to pay the O’s 25K since he wasnt on our 40 man roster for the year. I always get confused with the Rule 5 draft guys.
i dont get it, all the losers that have come and gone to this team everyone loves. we have a rod, arguably one of the best players of all time and we trash him all the time. embarrasing.
You mean the Pirates picked up someone who can hit decently (better than any of our “first basemen”) and play a mediocre first base for free? Yeah, awful move there. We remain the only team to start a backup middle infielder at first base.
Wow lots of Phelps fans coming out of the woodwork. He had his audition and he didn’t cut it. He was now redundant on this team. Nice guy, I wish him luck, but let’s not make him out to be that good, he was the worst 1B (no tnamed Sheffield) I ever saw, hell Giambi is better.
Phelps fans aren’t coming out of the woodwork. They just got tired of all the idiots who frequent this blog talking out of their rear ends. Phelps can’t field well but he can swing a productive bat. He’s fine if you consider him a role player.
I don’t get why the Yanks didn’t send Basak down to bring Phillips up? Cashman and Company knew that designating Phelps would mean losing him. Joe’s not using Basak, and I’m sure they could have found someone else to kick off the 40 man to make room for Phillips.
I have no issue with Phillips being here. However, everyone knew this weekend that Damon was hurting and might need to go on the DL. I understand not trusting Phelps in the field, but given that he was a decent bat, I had thought they would be better served keeping him for as long as possible.
Milton Bradley is not someone I want anywhere around this team. Good talent, but a terrible personality. There’s a reason he’s been with so many teams.
Well we can argue if he is a productive bat, I’m not convinced, but there is no point of keeping a guy who can’t field on the bench. Give me a guy like Ty Wigginton any day.
Whatever happens, Damon has to be put on the DL. To keep playing him right now is downright silly.
Well Bradley was traded to the Royals so all those that were worried can chill
Dukes put on the inactive list by Tampa Bay
Jeff NJ,
You are 100% right about Phelps defense. I would not want him anywhere near first and let’s face it, he is at best an average hitter. Still, the Yanks had options. If they dumped Basak or Henn they’d have had room for Phelps to be a bench player. And the fact is that as of right now, if Damon goes on the DL, Phelps would be the best option at DH.
In the end, this all goes back to Cashman constructing a team that had virtually no bench at the start of the season, and now it’s biting the team in the behind.
“In the end, this all goes back to Cashman constructing a team that had virtually no bench at the start of the season”
This is absolutely true. Whether you love Cashman or hate him, I’d say no one can argue that he put together a decent bench. In fact, with the non-bench we ended up with, I’d say he ignored it altogether (when he was putting together this team over the winter).
Phelps’ fielding woes are WAY overstated. He wasn’t good but he wasn’t as horrific as people make him out to be.
And even worse how bad does this make Bernie look by not coming to Tampa. He could have had the role this year he was meant to have last year. It doesnt solve the 1st base issue but he sure would be ok as a DH although not great as a pinch hitter.
Phelps is officially a Pirate now. Besides wishing him well, I say we forget about him and move on to discussing the guys that are still here (or could be here via trade in the near future).
hard to argue this bench is too good. They chose to cut corners there. All the big contracts coming back to bite us. Good news is bench and backups are easy to get, Cash will work the phones, don’t you worriers worry.
gayle – I have to disagree with you that Bernie would have been “productive” this year. He was a shell of his former self last year, and he certainly didn’t take well to not playing the field anymore. Bernie would not have been the answer to our current bench woes.
Phelps biggest problem on defense was he couldn’t pick the balls in the dirt, even Giambi did that pretty well. ManK and Phillips are exceptional defensive 1Bman.
We have Bernie already, he goes by the name Johnny Damon now.
As for our first base situation…Where’s Kevin Maas when you need him? (Just kidding, obviously!)
Phelps was better then what we have now.If Damon was DLed or could play some first Phelps couldve DHed.This was a bad move.Untill Phillips discovers Balco hes a AAAA player.
I wanted Bernie back, and I think his stats from last year, his first as a part-timer proved he could handle the job. .281, 12 HR, 61 RBI, 65 Runs scored is enough for a part time player. I would have even liked to see Pete’s fav Aaron Guiel back, as he was a grinder who did the little things right and had a decent stick.
However, the argument is over, it didn’t happen. I’m glad Bradley isn’t coming. Maybe you call up Shelley Duncan and see if he can hit for a bit at DH.
I don’t see the difference between Phillips and Minky, honestly. They’re both good with the glove but pretty weak with the bat. So, to me, with Phillips filling in, it’s like Minky never went on the DL!
Yes, Aaron Guiel!!! Now there’s a super-scrub that was worth his salt!
I’m sure Milton Bradley is not the friendliest person. But really, who cares about things like that at this point. If you haven’t noticed, we are desperate.
We have probably lost Giambi for the season. That leaves us with no DH. Damon is not fit to play and should be put on the DL. That, again, leaves us with no DH. Bizarrely, while we can put together an outfield with Matsui, Melky, and Abreu, we don’t have a freaking DH.
You know who would have made a serviceable emergency DH while Damon went on the DL? The much-maligned Josh Phelps. Yes, the same lead-gloved churl who wasn’t fit to wear the pinstripes would have let Damon get the DL time he so desperately needs and save us from the horrors of a Nieves or Cairo DH – or a Melky DH, with Damon disintegrating in center.
Unfortunately, we sent Phelps packing so we could make room for the worldbeating Andy Phillips, who has accomplished exactly nothing in his major league career.
And now, even though he would provide exactly what we need right now, my fellow fans say no to Bradley because he’s a surly presence in the clubhouse. Who cares? We need another bat right now.
Seriously, what could Bradley do that would outweigh his usefulness as a decent hitter and outfielder, coming in at a time where we simply have to get a player with his exact skill set?
This kind of reaction confuses me. How can anyone think we can make the playoffs without Giambi, with a hobbled Damon, and with a ridiculously undperforming DH unless we pick up anyone we can find – even if it happens to be someone who lacks a charming personality?
This isn’t as bad as the day the Yankees sold Horace Clarke to the Padres but it is close. Now we can all enjoy the “many things Andy Phillips can do at the plate” that Joe Torre told us he could do.
“Seriously, what could Bradley do that would outweigh his usefulness as a decent hitter and outfielder…”
How about accusing everyone and their mother of being a racist pig, and then trying to attack fans that heckle him…that’s what could be worse…and Bradley’s done it all.
So don’t heckle him, unless you’re very far away.
I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Bradley start a fist fight in the dugout (or the clubhouse). Imagine this…Hughes in his first start back from the DL, with Bradley playing in right to give Abreu a rest. Bradley muffs a flyball, and he thinks he sees Hughes mutter something in his direction. Once the inning is over, Bradley goes over pops Hughes, causing him to fall back awkwardly and reinjure his ankle. Think that’s far-fetched? Just wait until Bradley gets here…
BTW I do believe that a player’s personality, if exceedingly negative, is an important factor. But by “exceedingly negative” I mean “bad enough to get suspended or jailed.” I don’t care how much of a jerk he is because without a player just like him, we don’t make the playoffs. Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that.
He wouldn’t be the face of the franchise, he’d be the DH (or LF, if Matsui DHs) that we simply don’t have right now. And while Bradley’s antics are bad, having no production at 1B and DH (shudder) is worse (unless he actually killed someone).
Believe me i agree with you Chicago Dave about Bernie in the field as well as off the bench but with Giambi out and Damon oft injurede Bernie in the role would be an upgrade and a role he could do well in I think. And yes I know it is a closed door but he just made the wrong move in my opinion.
Jeff is the only one allowed to call someone a moron.
The irony.
“Jeff is the only one allowed to call someone a moron.
The irony.”
First of all Whoa, if that is your real name. I never said you couldn’t call names, I just said Pete made a joke and too many of you are taking it too seriously. Guess you just have no sense of humor, not too much of a stretch looking at your extensive body of work on this site.
Second of all, you wouldn’t know Irony from ironing, but then again, your mommy probably does your ironing then tucks you in most nights when she’s not working the night shift. How’s that?
You’re real tough behind that keyboard, Cowboy.
Grow a dick.
Want a DH? There’s a 27-year old down in Scranton named Shelley Duncan who’s only putting up .296 .383 .584 for a .967 OPS. And yeah, he’s the brother of power-hitting Cardinal Chris Duncan. I get the feeling when Damon goes on the DL, up comes Duncan for a regular DH/1B spot. I think it will be sweet.
I mean, seriously. The guy has 19 homeruns and is slugging .584. Why the heck would you NOT bring him up?
Free Shelley Duncan!
When you pinch hit with Andy Phillips in the ninth with 2 outs and behind 4-3, there is a part of me that wishes it were Josh Phelps at the plate.