Looks Like The Philadelphia Phillies Blew It With Chan Ho Park

Last week's relatively quiet announcement that the New York Yankees had signed Chan Ho Park to a $1.2 million one-year contract raised some eyebrows. If Park was willing to sign for such a meager sum and accept a bullpen role, why didn't the Phillies lock him up?

Throughout the offseason, indications had been that the pitcher was seeking an opportunity to be a starter and bigger dollars than the Phillies were willing to offer. Perhaps that was true early on, but obviously neither of those desires were fulfilled with the Bronx Bombers.

Surely then, Park must have been unhappy in Philadelphia and/or preferred to play in Yankees pinstripes, right?

According to an article in today's Philadelphia Inquirer (Chan Ho Park wanted to stay with Phillies), however, the Korean right hander is very upset about trading in his red pinstripes. Park stated that his No. 1 choice was Philly, and that he loved the fans and his teammates.

Of course, there may be more to the story, but at this point—it sure looks like the Phillies blew it here.

The Park signing did not carry the fanfare of the Phillies deal with Placido Polanco, but it might have almost as much impact. After his early season failure as a starter, Park became a highly valuable and effective option out of the 'pen, posting a 2.52 ERA and striking out more than one batter per inning.

In fact, as the season wore on, Park probably evoked the most confidence of all the team's relievers when he was summoned into the game. At times, Ryan Madson looked dominating, but was also prone to some occasional meltdowns.

Scott Eyre enjoyed a fine season in a left handed specialist role, but he went deep into the count with most hitters and walked almost as many as he struck out. But, it was Park who went after hitters with nasty stuff.

On most nights, Park lit up the radar guns with a 95 mph fastball that also possessed great movement. He complimented that pitch with a hard breaking curveball that kept hitters guessing and at times was unhittable. And, he attacked the zone, yet worked both pitches on the edges.

The bottom line is that Park may be sorely missed in Philadelphia this season. Both free agent acquisitions, Danys Baez and Jose Contreras, come with question marks. The former is five years removed from his last good season and the latter looks to be a fanciful roll of the dice.

Additionally, both players also signed for more money, especially Baez at $5.25 million for two years. For a team that just unloaded Cliff Lee at least partially for budget reasons, it seems odd that they left the cheapest and most viable option on the table.

Perhaps there is some truth to the perception that Charlie Manuel was uncomfortable with Park's willingness to pitch when less than 100 percent. Many read between the lines that Manuel was taking a shot at Park when he recently said that his two new relievers would take the ball and not use injury as an excuse not to pitch.

So, again, maybe there is more to the story that only someone on the inner circle would know. But, it is also dangerous to try to get inside players' heads when it comes to injuries, especially considering that Park made a rapid return from what appeared to be a very severely pulled hamstring to pitch in the postseason.

Perhaps human emotion and stubbornness got in the way. It will not be the first time or the last that contentious negotiations result in a lose-lose scenario, but that does not excuse the foolishness.

Lastly, adding insult to it all is the fact that Park is now wearing a Yankees uniform. If the Phillies hope to regain the "World Champions" moniker in 2010, the majority of baseball experts believe that the team will have to go through New York.

Now, it will be Joe Girardi, not Manuel, who would have the opportunity to benefit from Park's nasty repertoire of pitches—possibly against the pitcher's former teammates. And, at a bargain basement price. It sure looks like the Phillies blew this one.

I'm just saying.....

I'm Just Saying......

A weekly collection of random thoughts and observations for you to consider.

• The Eagles would be wise to break from normal practice and reward Sheldon Brown with a new contract. Brown has proven again that he is a very valuable player who is willing to play through injury. Besides securing a good player, this would send a very positive message that the team is willing to make a rare exception when someone clearly outplays their contract.
• Speaking of Eagles contracts, Winston Justice deserves a great deal of credit for transforming himself into a solid right tackle. Very few fans or experts would have predicted that Justice would become the offensive line's most consistently strong performer when he had to step into the starting role.
• With all the injuries on their offensive line and the poor play of Stacy Andrews, my gut says that the Eagles will be sorry that they let Jon Runyan get away to the Chargers.
• With public sentiment and Roger Goodell cracking down on the handling of concussions, teams are now being careful in using the term. For instance, four time concussion victim Ben Roethlisberger left Sunday's game when he was disoriented by a blow to the head, but his injury was described as being "concussion-like symptoms."
• What exactly is NBC thinking by including Kobe Bryant and Octomom in their "2009 People of the Year?"
• Although exceeding Eric Bruntlett's 2009 performance will be very easy, I am finding it hard to get too excited about the signing of Juan Castro.
• It is hard to argue with Albert Pujols being the unanimous MVP winner, but Hanley Ramirez finishing 2nd ahead of Ryan Howard is very questionable. Ramirez is an excellent hitter, but I don't even get the sense his own teammates would vote for him. And, without Howard's great season, the Phillies probably would not have been the National League Champions.
• Donovan McNabb is the best quarterback in franchise history and a future Hall of Famer. A Super Bowl win would be awesome, but an inordinate amount of emphasis is placed on that as a measure of his performance and not enough recognition that he has played mostly with a substandard cast of receivers. And, how does Freddy Mitchell have any credibility in trashing McNabb?
• Despite the 34-yard run against the Bears, the Eagles should refrain from getting too enamored with the Mike Vick Mildcat.
• Considering their 5-10 start, perhaps the Sixers need to add the "Princeton Weave" to their Ivy League offense to keep opponents off the board? Or, consider an NBA offense?
• I still believe the Phillies should resign Chan Ho Park, even if it means promising that the 5th starting pitcher slot is his to lose. He has the experience and stuff to be good in either a starting or relief role.
• Dodge has joined Levitra, Avodart, Cialis, Bud Light and Miller Lite as the most frequently run commercials during sporting events. I'm not sure that commercials featuring poems about pick-up trucks will appeal a whole lot to the target market and jack up their sales. I'm just saying...and my tank is full.

Pedro Pitches Brilliantly, But Phils Let Game 2 Slip Away

The Phillies let Game 2 of the National League Championship series slip away in somewhat improbable fashion. Their 2-1 loss came about due to a variety of occurrences that went against the odds on a day that the Dodgers did not have any hard hits. For most of the game, the Phillies road a sensational performance by Pedro Martinez to maintain a narrow 1-0 lead, but in the end they painfully let it get away.

Few would have predicted the type of performance turned in by Martinez yesterday, as he totally shut down the same Dodgers team that banged out 14 hits the night before, holding them to two weak singles and no runs over 7 innings. This is not to say that Pedro was incapable of such an outing as he proved in some of his other games this year, but it seemed unlikely considering that he was coming off a 16 day break after a mediocre outing in September.

Pedro demonstrated why he is a sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer, though, by dominating the Dodgers from beginning to end. He masterfully mixed all his pitches, moving them in and out, up and down. He changed speeds on all his pitches, at times reaching back to hit 92 on the radar gun, but it was his signature movement that really kept hitters off balance. Martinez was very effective running fastballs in on hands or to the outside part of the plate, while complementing that with diving change-ups and a slow curve.

Another somewhat improbable occurrence was the pitching performance of his Dodgers counterpart. Vicente Padillo was coming off a strong NLDS performance, but the Phillies have historically hit well against their former teammate. He had great velocity often throwing in the mid to high 90's, and like Martinez, mixed in off speed pitches such as a 55 mph curve ball to Shane Victorino. The only blemish on his day's work was a solo home run by Ryan Howard in the 4th inning.

Things unraveled in the 8th inning for the Phillies due to some uncharacteristic shaky fielding. Charlie Manuel elected to replace Martinez with Chan Ho Park to avoid risking overtaxing his arm since he had already thrown 87 pitches. First, LA lumberjack Casey Blake bounced a single to left that, if not for the heavy shadows and protecting the line, Pedro Feliz would have likely grabbed. Ronnie Belliard then hit such a poor sacrifice bunt that it turned into a base hit between Park and Howard. The normally athletic Park appeared to be slightly limited in his lateral movement by his hamstring, but regardless, the Dodgers suddenly had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs.

Next, Park induced Russell Martin to hit a chopper to Feliz that was a tailor made double play. Unfortunately, for the second consecutive game, Chase Utley had difficulty turning the relay and made a wide throw for an error. Rather than two outs with the runner still on 3rd base, the tying run scored and the go ahead run was on base with only one out. Scott Eyre came on to face pinch hitter Jim Thome, who lofted a single to right, sending Martin to third. Manuel summoned in Ryan Madson, who walked Rafael Furcal, but struck out Matt Kemp with the bases loaded.

With dangerous left-handed hitter Andre Ethier coming to the plate, Manuel made yet another move, bringing in lefty J.A. Happ. After getting ahead in the count, Happ eventually walked Ethier on two fastballs that were just low, forcing home Martin to make it 2-1.

Jonathan Broxton came into the pitch the ninth in hope of getting the save. He primarily fired fastballs in the 97-99 mph range and retired the Phillies 1-2-3 to give the Dodgers a 1-1 split in the series.

It was a difficult loss in many ways, but especially so since Martinez had pitched so brilliantly, the Phillies usually stellar defense faltered and the Dodgers were able to emerge victorious without any hard hits. The Phillies players will rebound and look for another strong performance from their ace while they feed off the energy of the Citizens Bank Park fans in Game 3. Meanwhile, expect Utley, the consummate professional and one of the best all around players in the game, to put his difficulties behind him and be prepared to make some big contributions in Philly. A lesser team might let the frustration of this game linger, but not this mentally tough and resilient Phillies ball club.

Phillies Bang and Hang to Win Tense Game 1

If Game 1 of the National League Championship Series is an indicator of what to expect over the course of the series, we are in store for some dramatic, entertaining baseball. The Phillies and Dodgers kicked off the 2009 rematch of last year's NLCS in style as both teams punched and counter punched until the final out, with the Phillies ultimately walking off the field with an 8-6 victory. Dodgers manager Joe Torre reinforced that when he drew the analogy to a "prize fight" in his post game comments.

It goes without saying that it was a big win as all games are important in a short series, but certainly Game 1 on the road. Besides transferring home field advantage back to the Phillies, the 1-0 series lead gives them a little more comfort in sending Pedro Martinez to the mound in Game 2 after a long layoff. There were also several other subtle story lines or developments within last night's game that are noteworthy.

The Phillies landed a few big blows, while the Dodgers maintained persistent pressure throughout the game. This is surely in keeping with the personalities and make-up of each club. The foundation of the Phillies starts with their intimidating power and the ability to put runs on the board in bunches. Conversely, while the Dodgers have some power themselves as they demonstrated last night, they tend to rely more on balance throughout the line-up to scratch out runs. The Dodgers banged out 14 hits, while the Phillies total of 8 was augmented with 7 walks that are the direct by product of pitchers fearing the long ball.

The Dodgers did land the first blow when James Loney lined a home run into the right field bleachers to make it 1-0 in the second inning; otherwise, both Cole Hamels and Clayton Kersaw were in control through four innings. That changed in the 5th inning when Raul Ibanez lined a single to left and Pedro Feliz walked. With Kersaw now struggling to find the strike zone, Carlos Ruiz jumped on a high fastball and launched it into the left field stands to suddenly vault the Phillies to a 3-1 lead.

Kershaw appeared rattled and followed by walking Hamels. After recording two outs, but also throwing 3 wild pitches along the way, Chase Utley drew another walk. Ryan Howard stepped to the plate knowing that Kershaw was having trouble locating his curve and quickly pounced on a fastball, driving it the fence in right for a 2-run double.

To their credit, the Dodgers promptly responded to the 5-1 deficit with a little help from the Phillies usually superb defense. Russell Martin stroked a double to left and one out later, Rafael Furcal singled to put runners on the corners. Hamels induced a bouncer to short from the dangerous Andre Ethier that appeared like it would be an inning ending double play, but Jimmy Rollins and Utley both had trouble handling the ball. They salvaged an out, but Martin scored to make it 5-2, with Manny Ramirez coming to the plate.

With Hamels visibly upset, he proceeded to throw 3 consecutive change-ups to Ramirez despite the fact that age and other reasons make it hard for him now to catch up to fastballs. Ramirez golfed the third pitch into the bleachers and then pompously stood and stared into the Phillies dugout, reveling in his own glory. In the space of a few minutes, Hamels went from escaping the inning with no runs to a lead of 5-4.

When the Dodgers again threatened in the 6th inning, Hamels was pulled, but Chad Durbin and J.A. Happ eased out of the jam. The Dodgers were back on the attack again when Ethier doubled off Antonio Bastardo to start the bottom of the 7th. Chan Ho Park, returning from a month long injury break, shut the door, though, combining a 96 mph two seam fastball with a sharp slider.

Torre tapped lefty George Sherrill with a couple lefty sluggers coming to the plate in the 8th. Howard and Jayson Werth patiently worked walks as Sherrill wrestled with his command. Raul Ibanez made him pay by jacking a slider for a 3-run homer, temporarily giving the team some breathing room at 8-4.

That comfort did not last long, though, as Ryan Madson quickly ran into difficulty in the bottom half of the frame. Loney, Ronnie Belliard and Martin all singled to make it 8-5 with no outs. A ground ball and sacrifice fly cut the lead to two, before Ethier collected his 3rd hit of the game to put the tying runs on base for Ramirez. Manuel stuck with Madson, who was able to get the uber confident "Manny" to ground out weakly.

Once again, Brad Lidge was called upon to nail down the victory in a tight playoff game on the road. He pumped two 95 mph fastballs for strikes, but then Matt Kemp guessed right on a slider and lined a single to left. Lidge battled Casey Blake before getting him to hit a one hopper to Utley for a tailor made double play. The Dodgers still had some fight left and Loney worked a walk. Lidge secured the save, though, by getting Belliard to pop out to end the game.

A few of the subplots from the game include reinforcement that the Phillies sluggers appear to be in a groove, the strong return of Park bodes well for the bullpen, the confidence of having Sherrill to shut down the Phils is a little eroded and Lidge's role as closer seems to be solidified. On a less positive note, two pitchers important to the club's success struggled. Madson did not have good command or miss many bats. Hamels had good stuff, but continued the 2009 pattern of letting unfortunate events break his poise. The team needs both of them to rebound if they want to repeat their trip down Broad Street.

Both teams go back at it with a day game today. Martinez takes the ball for the Phillies, returning to the big stage where he has prospered throughout his career, but with the uncertainty created by a long lay off. The Dodgers counter with former Phil and recent addition Vicente Padilla, who is coming off a strong performance in the NLDS. Based on last night's events and previous games this season, today's game should be another entertaining battle.

A Bullpen By Committee Can Work for the Phillies

Little did Major League Baseball or the Phillies know when they taped "The Pen" that one of last year's strengths and most reliable contributor would take the opposite turn. As the season heads down the stretch, the team faces uncertainty and is now scrambling to find the right formula. Last season, the bullpen hurlers fell neatly into defined roles and executed with precision.

This does not mean to suggest that they do not have the potential to be a strength or the possibility of getting the situation righted before it is too late, though. Amongst the current negatives and uncertainties, there are also positives and some light at the end of the tunnel.

Obviously, the continuing struggles and resurgence of Brad Lidge is the linchpin. Most everything begins and ends with that topic as it creates a ripple effect through the entire bullpen. The health of JC Romero will be important, particularly with the other key left-hander Scott Eyre attempting to pitch through elbow pain. Chad Durbin does not appear to be 100% healthy and has not been the same dependable middle reliever. And, although Ryan Madson appears to be the preferred option to close currently, his recent biceps tendinitis bears watching. His velocity had been touching 96-97 mph, but has dropped into the 92-94 range.

On the positive side, Brett Myers provides a big boost to the bullpen. Now that he has gotten re-immersed and has been a successful closer in the past, Myers represents a strong option in those pressure situations. Although he has performed well after rehabbing from hip surgery, the Phillies would be wise to not allow him to do too much, too soon in order to avoid a breakdown.

After some previous mixed results, Madson appears to be getting more comfortable in the closer role, but still totes some uncertainty with him to the mound. If Romero comes back and regains his form, he will provide a much needed weapon against lefty hitters, especially with runners in scoring position. Although he faltered the other night, Chan Ho Park has been a force in the pen. He throws hard with good movement and has the type of breaking ball to get big strikeouts in key situations. It would also be remiss to not recognize the consistently good job done by Tyler Walker.

Manuel seems determined to find a way to get Lidge back on track. He correctly understands that what is required to make that happen is mostly in Lidge's mind and psyche. Manuel also sees that this would ultimately put the Phillies in the best position to defend their World Series title and will work hard to nurse Lidge's confidence back.

A closer by committee approach is workable. Myers and Romero have both demonstrated the mental toughness in the past to handle the role. Myers is throwing harder with better command since his return. Madson will need to continue to develop a closer mentality, but may be on the path. Park has the strikeout "stuff" to close. Perhaps if Lidge can string some good set-up outings together and he sees others having success as a closer, he will take some pressure off himself and find the "Lights Out" guy within?

It would also help for Manuel to not be locked into conventional wisdom of the closer role. For instance, last night would have been a perfect opportunity to leave Myers in after a 6-pitch, 1-2-3 8th inning, with Madson in the wings if he encountered trouble. With an expanded bullpen and if Romero is back, he could go with same side match-ups as the hitters dictate. Another option would be to give Lidge opportunities to close a 2 or 3-run lead, but call on Madson or Myers with a more precarious 1-run lead.

The situation is certainly not what the team envisioned or would want, but the good news is that the bullpen has depth. With a little creativity and players stepping up, it has a chance to have a happy ending.