Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

The 2008 Philadelphia Phillies thrilled local sports fans with the city's first major sports championship in a quarter century. For that they were embraced and showered with love, and as Fred Shero once famously said of the 1970's-era champion Flyers, they will "walk together forever."

Eventually there will be reunions, old-timer's games if you will, alumni homerun derby nights at the ballpark. These heroes, some of whom are now temporarily booed because they moved on to opposition teams, will all be cheered again at the ballpark. 2008 will trump anything and everything else in the long run.

Nothing lasts forever, particularly the roster of a major sports team since the free agency era began, and especially in the 21st century when the money involved has become so huge. Keeping the core of a championship team intact for more than 3-4 years is nearly impossible. What Ruben Amaro has done at the helm of the Phillies has been magnificent, but the challenge becomes more and more difficult as each year passes, and as each new champion from 2008 gets a year further along in their contract and a year older in age.

The first major goodbye came almost immediately after the magic of 2008, while some loose confetti still blew down Broad Street and before championship rings had even been dispersed. Pat 'the Bat' Burrell, the slugging leftfielder who had bashed homeruns for 9 seasons at Veteran's Stadium and Citizens Bank Park and who had ridden in the honor position at the very front of the team title parade caravan, left via free agency for World Series opponent Tampa Bay.

Another year passed, the Phillies returned to the World Series and this time lost to the New York Yankees, and following the 2009 season another longtime franchise hero left when pitcher Brett Myers signed as a free agent with Houston. Myers had pitched 7 1/2 seasons for the Phillies, including a year when he saved their skins by moving successfully into the closer's role.

Some of the key role players for that 2008 title team had moved along as well. Outfielder Geoff Jenkins, whose booming double to centerfield had led-off the 2nd-half portion of the now legendary rain delayed Series clincher with Tampa, was released in spring of '09. Infielder Eric Bruntlett, who seemed to always be in the middle when a big run was scored in the Series, and who turned an unassisted triple play in 2009, was released following that season.

Matt Stairs, whose dramatic 8th inning homerun in the NLCS will remain legendary in team annals well into the future, and whose early 2009 homerun was the last ever called by legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas, left as a free agent. Pedro Feliz brought slick-fielding excellence to the hot corner, albeit with the price of a mostly weak bat, and also knocked in the Series winning run, and then took his airtight defense off to free agency following '09.

Now it is continuing, that process of saying goodbye to 2008 heroes. Lefty reliever J.C. Romero, such a key part of the bullpen for the better part of four seasons and particularly in '08, was not re-signed this off-season. Veteran hometown hero and ageless wonder Jamie Moyer is expected to either retire or move along as his contract has expired.

As varied as their individual departure stories have been, the cold, hard fact of the matter is that none of them, with the possible and arguable exception of Myers, were key losses on the field, none of them were really wanted any longer by the organization, and with the likely exception of Moyer, none has been especially missed by the fans.

That is all likely about to change. Rightfielder Jayson Werth is a free agent, and is widely considered as one of the top three names available this winter in all of baseball. Along with outfielder Carl Crawford and pitcher Cliff Lee, the bearded one is about to get rich beyond his wildest dreams. These opportunities come along seldom in a player's career, and particularly for Werth, who had so much of his early career derailed by injuries, this is his one shot at the big money.

Werth took the bold step during the 2010 season of hiring super agent Scott Boras to represent him in his coming contract negotiations. His services as a player would be welcomed by any organization in baseball, but will only be affordable to a handful. The likely landing places for the strong, speedy, clutch-hitting, colorful talent include the New York Yankees, the Texas Rangers, the Los Angeles Angels, the Detroit Tigers, and the Boston Red Sox.

These are only the most likely based on their ability to pay him the anticipated big bucks that Boras is currently demanding. Boras has begun his public posturing by putting out the 7-year, $120 million dollar deal signed by Matt Holliday with Saint Louis last off-season as the Werth benchmark. Some in baseball speculate that he may have to settle for something more like the 4-year, $66 million dollar deal signed by Jason Bay with the New York Mets. Splitting the difference means that you are likely looking at something like a 5-6 year deal worth approximately $90-100 million.

There are other teams who may be able to pay that type of contract. Both the Beltway franchises of Washington and Baltimore come to mind. The Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians should have money to spend. Perhaps the big-market Los Angeles Dodgers or Chicago Cubs or White Sox could get involved. And there is always the nightmare scenario of the rival Atlanta Braves or New York Mets getting involved.

The likelihood is that Werth will play only for a team that he believes can contend for a World Series title. Anyone who has watched him play with fire and passion here in the post-season for the past four seasons in Philly knows that he will not be satisfied to collect a huge paycheck for an also-ran ball team. And the fact is, he will not have to do so. His suitors will include some of the most serious contenders.

This all brings us back around to one serious contender who also will have some money to spend this off-season. That team is his now former team, the hometown Philadelphia Phillies. Will Amaro and the Phillies ownership be willing to go that many years at that dollar amount to bring one of it's most popular core players back into the fold? Should they even think about it? Would the money be better spent elsewhere, such as the bullpen and bench, allowing young Domonic Brown the playing time opportunity?

Ruben Amaro has claimed that the team has enough money to bring Werth back, but will they? The odds seem to be leaning towards yet another goodbye for a 2008 Phillies hero, a process that is inevitable. It did not end with Burrell, or Myers, or Romero, and it will not end with Moyer or Werth. Jimmy Rollins, the leader of this entire era of Phillies players, will see his contract expire a year from now if no extension is forthcoming.

Like Schmidt and Carlton, Bowa and Boone, Luzinski and McGraw, Daulton and Dykstra, Kruk and Williams, Rolen and Schilling, and hundreds more before them, every one of the 2008 Phillies will be moving along eventually, either into free agency, or retirement, or via trade to another chapter in their career. It will happen with Charlie Manuel, with Chase, with Lidge, with Chooch, with the Flyin Hawaiian, even eventually with Hamels and Howard. Parting is such sweet sorrow, but we will always, always have 2008 together.

No Price is Too High For This Guy

Davey Johnson loves talking about Stephen Strasburg. He gets excited talking about Stephen Strasburg.

Johnson is a baseball manager who has seen great pitching and knows great pitching.

That's why he loves talking about Strasburg - because he gets to use the word "great" so many times.

"He has a great arm, great poise, great command, great stuff. ... He is special, no doubt about it," said Johnson, who managed Strasburg, selected Tuesday by the Washington Nationals as the first pick in baseball's amateur draft, during the 2008 Olympics.

You've already read so many accolades about Strasburg that it can make you skeptical about whether he can live up to the hype. Strasburg has been so deified that if and when the Nationals do sign Strasburg, it will never rain again at Nationals Park, as it did Tuesday night. The ballpark clock will suddenly work. The sausages will shoot out of the sausage gun intact and be the best-tasting sausages you have ever had.

Nothing will ever go wrong for the Nationals again.

He may not have supernatural powers to change curses, but the natural powers he has certainly could help change the fortunes of this woeful franchise.

Stephen Strasburg may indeed live up to the hype.

"He is the real deal, baby," Johnson said.

Johnson, skipper of the 1986 World Series champion New York Mets and a winner everywhere he has been, was one of the top managers of his time and particularly good at managing pitching. As a player, he was part of those Orioles teams with Jim Palmer and Dave McNally. As a manager, he nurtured Dwight Gooden with the Mets.

Johnson knows pitching, and he is not a man who is easily impressed. He is effusive in his praise of the 20-year-old Strasburg, who went 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA in 15 starts as a junior for San Diego State, also striking out 195 in 109 innings. He did not issue more than two walks in any game this season and walked one or fewer batter in 10 of 15 starts.

"Great makeup and a great competitor," Johnson said. "He was the only college kid on what was basically a professional team for me in the Olympics, and a lot of the guys used to get on him about it. But it didn't faze him a bit.

"The first game he pitched for me was against the Netherlands in China, and it made me nervous because he had a no-hitter going for about five innings," Johnson said. "He ended up with a one-hitter through seven. He threw about 90 pitches. He was overpowering. Great command. He is a power pitcher with control. ... He doesn't overthrow. He has a nice, easy delivery, and he locates real good.

"You couldn't ask for anything better," Johnson said. "He goes about his business and knows what he has to do to get prepared. He's outstanding."

Sounds like a $50 million pitcher to me.

That reportedly is the price that Strasburg's uber-agent, Scott Boras, is seeking for his client, only nearly $40 million more than the highest number any No. 1 pick has gotten in the past. I can't fathom the Nationals paying that amount, and consensus has been that while Strasburg will sign for a record-setting figure, it will be closer to $15 million to $20 million. Then again, I also can't fathom under any circumstances how the Nationals could not sign Strasburg, no matter what his price - particularly after not signing their No. 1 pick, Aaron Crow, last year and how damaged the organization's credibility is in and out of baseball after a series of mistakes and mishaps.

The Strasburg hype is so great that if you announced that Stephen Strasburg was simply going to make an appearance at Nationals Park - sing with Cliff, race with Teddy, whatever - it would outdraw the paying crowd of about 20,000 that the Nationals have supposedly averaged so far this year. So if indeed Strasburg is the real deal, he will be worth whatever the Lerner family has to pay at least to stop the bleeding of this wounded franchise.

The hoopla is already driving Nationals management crazy, and the negotiations are just about to begin. On Tuesday night, when acting general manager Mike Rizzo was asked in a press conference about Strasburg being a "once-in-a-generation" pitcher, Rizzo responded, "I don't know why he is called that."

Because he is, until proved otherwise, and the Nationals better hope is turns out to be just that.

WRITTEN by Thom Loverro at The Washington Times on June 10th, 2009

Baseball's Stove Heating Up

For baseball fans the winter can be particularly cold, dark, and long. From the end of the final game of the World Series until Spring Training gets going, there are four months without the game that we must endure. For the most hard core of us, the game never really goes away fully, and this week will find our National Pastime once again in the headlines. This is the week that Major League Baseball holds its 'Winter Meetings' at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Front-office executives from each of the MLB teams will be present, along with players, their agents, vendors, job-seekers, fans, and media. There will be numerous presentations, meetings, discussions, and social engagements. The biggest function of the Winter Meetings is always the full opening of the 'Hot Stove League', the name coined for the frenzied discussion of player movement via trades and free agent signings. Since the end of the World Series, which this year has made the off-season much more endurable for we Phillies fans thanks to the still-warm glow of our world championship, players and teams have been prepping for this week. The Phils have a pair of key free agent players, outfielder Pat Burrell and starting pitcher Jamie Moyer. The prevailing wisdom is that Burrell's decade-long career with the Fightin's has come to an end, and that the club will not make a big effort to re-sign the slugging left fielder, at least not unless it becomes a last-choice type scenario. Burrell turned 32 years old during the playoffs in October, and is viewed as a player severely limited defensively, a situation that will only worsen as he moves through his 30's. He will be seeking a multi-year contract for a lot of money, and the Phils just don't see him as a prudent investment. They may be right, depending on his actual price, but it will still be sad to see the Series hero leave town. Moyer is another story. The club wants him back for next season, but again age and cost are two considerations. Moyer turned 46 years old just a few weeks ago, and it is very possible that the Phillies squeezed one final productive turn from the seasoned lefty this past year. There are some huge names available as free agents this year including starting pitchers C.C. Sabathia (pictured), Derek Lowe, A.J. Burnett, and a number of intriguing names such as Brad Penny, Ben Sheets, Oliver Perez, Jon Garland, and future Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine. At the back of the bullpen, closers Francisco 'KRod' Rodriguez broke the single-season Saves record this year just in time to hit the free agent market. He leads a group of closers that includes all-time Save leader Trevor Hoffman, Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, and Brandon Lyon. Need a hitter? MLB clubs have many here to choose from as well. The two biggest prizes are 1st baseman Mark Teixeira and outfielder Manny Ramirez. Tex is just entering his prime, and is one of the top hitters in the game as well as perhaps the best defensive 1st sacker around. Ramirez is older, but proved last season that he is in great shape and still capable of carrying a team for months at a time. The Phillies found out all about that in the NLCS, when it often seemed like it was their team against Manny alone. The other bats include Burrell, 3rd baseman Casey Blake, shortstop Rafael Furcal, and two of the game's most underrated players in 2nd baseman Orlando Hudson and outfielder Raul Ibanez. The Phillies reportedly have interest in Ibanez, and have also reportedly put a formal offer on the table for Lowe. Whether they will make any deals is questionable. There is much talk that the local nine will be satisfied perhaps with going after a complimentary bat to add outfield depth, and instead will concentrate on signing both Jayson Werth and Ryan Madson to long term deals. They also are rumored to be shopping for one more strong arm to add to what is already one of baseball's best bullpens. Baseball's 'super-agent', Scott Boras, will be highly visible as he and his group represent a number of the top free agents. The dominoes are likely to begin falling with the signing of Sabathia. As soon as this highest rated hurler signs, watch the other deals, both free agent signings and trades, begin to come fast and furious. Of course we could leave the Winter Meetings with just a few signings and deals, but the groundwork will have been laid for others that will come within a week or two, definitely before Christmas. So the next week or so is an important time for baseball teams to improve their rosters. You can catch all of the important Winter Meetings news on ESPN's outstanding program 'Baseball Tonight', which will air special editions from Monday through Thursday at 5pm. The 'Hot Stove' is heating up, warming all baseball fans just as winter's cold begins to set in across the nation.