It says in this article that they'll make a serious pitch to sign him when he's a free agent after the season...but he may not wish to leave the Indians.

All I say is, anyone but Travis Lee!

I was kinda surprised when this story broke. I thought there was a consensus that next season, Jim Thome either would still be an Indian, or he would sign with the first baseman-deprived Red Sox.

Do the Phillies need Thome for the $14-15 million a season it'll take to sign him? It'll kill their salary structure as they try to lock up an extremely talented young team. Jimmy Rollins certainly isn't going to making only $355,000 a season much longer. Right now the Phils are about in the middle in total payroll. How high is ownership willing to allow payroll to rise? Even though Philadelphia is one if the biggest markets in baseball, they've run this franchise like a small-to-mid market team ever since that distinction mattered.

The Phils look to me like they go into the off-season with three major holes to fill: first, third and centerfield. Other than those three slots, the rest of the team is a combination of All-Stars and All-Star calibre stars (SS Rollins, RF Bobby Abreu) or the perfectly adequate (2B Marlon Anderson, C Mike Lieberthal).

As for centerfield: Doug Glanville, whether gay or str8, hasn't been getting the job done for quite awhile. Apparently, Marlon Byrd is no longer just the centerfielder-of-the-future, so that hole looks like it's been filled.

As for third: I understand the Phils had two very good third basemen in the minors. Chase Utley (?) played at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. I can't think of the name of the kid who's supposed to be even better who played at AA Reading this season. That hole is probably filled from within too.

That leaves first. I thought the long term plan was to get Pat Burrell out of left and back to the infield. This would seem like a good time to make that move. That would leave a hole in leftfield, but a leftfield hole has got to be the easiest one to fill on a baseball team (even if the Mariners went the whole season unable to find a leftfielder).

I know the Phillies are loaded with minor league talent. Do they have another outfielder close to as good as Marlon Byrd, who could free them up to move Burrell to first? Of course, three rookies may be too many to start on a team that should compete for a pennant next year. But Travis Lee is killing this team far more than Glanville is in center.

Utley was just moved to third this year because they figured they'd lose Rolen. There was some speculation in the paper at the time that he might not be as adept in the field at third, especially if they rush him to the big leagues too soon. The third baseman at Reading was Travis Chapman. He was in the AA All-Star game this year. (I had to look that up--I can hardly keep up with the MAJOR leagues, let alone the minors.) I'm not sure if that impacts on what they do with Utley.

As for first base and the outfield, I think they're inclined to keep Burrell in left for awhile since he turned out better than expected defensively. If they don't sign Thome, first base depends on whether or not they decide to get rid of Lee. There was an article yesterday about how Lee and Bowa had a meeting and cleared the air, and Bowa said he wouldn't have a problem if Lee is here next year. The one thing Bowa absolutely loves about Lee is his fielding.

If they do the right thing and Travis Lee-ves, however, the next question is whether or not they risk putting Jeremy Giambi at first full-time. He'll hit but they don't know if he can be at least adequate in the field.

Regarding the payroll: Rolen is gone, and a few other veteran players such as Person and Glanville are free agents and aren't expected to return, so that frees up a good chunk of money for next year. If they do sign Thome, they'll have to get rid of Lee so that'll be another few million to play with. (Plus they'll get a few million more from revenue sharing. )

And with the prevailing wisdom being that the fans aren't buying tickets because the team won't spend money, and the new stadium opening in 2004, it seems that they've GOT to spend money this off-season or risk having an empty new stadium like in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee.

[ September 20, 2002: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

[quote]Originally posted by Joe in Philly:
The one thing Bowa absolutely loves about Lee is his fielding.

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Anytime the best thing you can say about a first baseman is his fielding, man, you know you got a stinker. (See, e.g., Brogna, Rico.)

Hmmm....getting Thome sounds kind of chancey for the Phillies. He just turned 32, so he's going to enter the twilight of his career in a few years. If the Phils think that they're ready to contend and he's the final piece in the puzzle, it could work. There's always the going-to-a-different-league thing as well; some players really struggle in a new league.

I suspect The Anaconda will stay in Cleveland. Wherever he plays though, I wish he'd be forced to wear tighter pants. Those tents he wears now disappoint me to no end.

[QUOTE]

Right now the Phils are about in the middle in total payroll. How high is ownership willing to allow payroll to rise? Even though Philadelphia is one if the biggest markets in baseball, they've run this franchise like a small-to-mid market team ever since that distinction mattered.

Isn't this exactly what Scott Rolen said about the Phils that he got criticized for saying? You have to spend money to make money.

[quote]Originally posted by scottie:
[QUOTE]Isn't this exactly what Scott Rolen said about the Phils that he got criticized for saying? You have to spend money to make money.

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Hey, I'm the last one who'll criticize Scottie Rolen on the Board.

Also heard that the Phils are going to try to make a run at Jeff Kent with the hope of putting him on first, figuring the Giants don't have the bucks for all their stars. Jeff Kent + Larry Bowa? That'd be interesting. It'd be either the perfect marriage or a total meltdown: no in-between.