Results tagged ‘ Pat Gillick ’
The Phillies might have gotten veteran outfielder Matt Stairs for bench help.
The only thing missing is the official press release. Phillies general manager Pat Gillick said Friday that he couldn’t comment, though sources have confirmed the acquisition of Stairs for an unidentified Minor Leaguer.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that the Phillies would send left-hander Fabio Castro to Toronto. Castro, who is 8-4 with a 4.71 ERA this season at two Minor League levels, was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after Friday’s game.
Philadelphia didn’t make a corresponding roster move, with a team spokesman saying one would be made before Saturday’s game.
“If you’re guessing that it could be in the state of Pennsylvania,” Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi said, “I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong, but, I’m not going to tell you anything else.”
Ricciardi, speaking to reporters at Yankee Stadium before Friday’s Jays-Yankees game, adding that his club hoped to complete the trade by Saturday at the latest.
The Jays designated the 40-year-old Stairs for assignment Thursday to make room for top outfield prospect Travis Snider. The Phillies had been searching for a left-handed hitter off the bench, and intensified that search after potentially losing Geoff Jenkins for the season with a strained right hip flexor.
Stairs is hitting .250 this season with 11 homers and 44 RBIs, and is a career .279 pinch-hitter with 12 home runs. He could join the Phillies on Saturday.
One potential holdup could be money. Stairs signed a two-year deal for $3.25 million in November. He would earn what remains of his $2.25 million salary for this season and $1 million in 2009.
For Stairs to be eligible for Philadelphia’s postseason roster, he would have to be in the organization by midnight Aug. 31.
He would be the second player the Phillies plucked from another club’s waiver wire. Earlier this month, they landed lefty Scott Eyre from the Cubs for Minor Leaguer Brian Schlitter. In seven appearances for the Phils, Eyre has thrown eight scoreless innings. (H/T Phillies.com)
Well, all I can say is I hope this guy’s bat will help this team, since they need help badly right now as far as the offense is concerned, especially with Geoff Jenkins possibly gone for the rest of the season. As for whether they have sealed the deal or not, just eat as much of the money he is own by the Blue Jays and get his butt over here. You want to win this division or not? I’m talking to you you silent morons. Just get it nailed down. NOW!!!!
The Phillies return to Atlanta, trying to regain their former thunder.
The Phillies go to Atlanta to end their present three cities, nine games, road trip, as they return to the city where they have had their last good series. The first place Phillies (43-39) will face the fourth place Braves (40-43) for the first of three night games to be played at Turner Field. Tonight’s game will start at 7:00 pm Eastern. The floundering Phillies will send to the mound Kyle Kendrick (7-3, 4.59), who is coming off a dominating victory over the Athletics on June 25, where he pitched a career high eight innings, giving up only four hits, as he shut down the Athletics, in the Phillies’ 4-0 victory. He has already faced the Braves twice this year, pitching very well in both starts. His 2008 record against Atlanta is 1-0 with a no-decision, in a game which the Phillies would also win, as he pitched a combined eleven and a third innings, giving up only five earned runs on ten hits. Behind him, the Phillies are 12-4, the best record among all Phillies’ staters. He will be shooting for his eighth win of the year, while trying to set the tone as the Phillies hope to regain their winning ways before heading into the All-Star break. The Braves will counter with rookie Charlie Morton (1-1, 4.24), who is coming off a lost against the Brew crew on June 24, where he would pitch seven innings, giving up only two earned runs on seven hits in the Braves’ 4-1 lost. In his first three career starts, he has pitched seventeen innings, giving up only eight earned runs on seventeen scattered hits. He will be trying for his second win of his young career, while hoping to become yet another young pitcher who will be a future pain in the Phillies’ collective side.
The Phillies’ offense heads into Atlanta, hoping to forget what has gone wrong during their last six series, and try to regain what they were doing right when they swept the Braves here back in early June. Charlie Manuel’s explosive offense will see if a return to more familiar pitching will lead to a return to what the players know that they are very capable of, beating other teams’ pitchers into submission with their bats. Of course, to do that they will have to be more patient at the plate, staying away from first, second and third pitch swinging, and general bad batting selection while standing in the batter’s box, as well as staying aggressive on the basepaths once they do get on base, so that they can support the generally good starting pitching that they have been getting during their recent slide, good pitching that would most times be racking up wins if not for the team’s present general offensive slump. Jimmy Rollins especially needs to start thinking while he is in the batter’s box, and forgo swinging at the first pitch thrown at him, since they seems to be leading him into making mostly easy outs, and keeping him off the bases, so that he is unable to cause problems for the opposing team. If there is one silver lining coming out of what has just happened during the last six series, the Phillies should now know where the holes are, and have already started to decide what they will have to do to plug them up if they expect to get into the playoffs and beyond. Now, if Pat Gillick will be willing to pull the trigger on some trades by the end of the month, if they are not able to fill the holes up with some good players from within their minor league system.
The Phillies are now leading the Marlins by a half-game as the fish defeated the Nationals in the first game of their three games set at home. The Mets are now trailing the Phillies by three and a half games, as they lost the first of their four games with the Redbirds in St. Louis. The Braves trail the Phillies by four games as they prepare for their three games series with the first place Phillies in Atlanta. The Phillies will be trying to hold onto first place, hoping to recatch the lightening that had lead to their sweep of the Braves, while hoping that the Braves won’t be able to get revenge for that early June sweep.
Brett Myers has been sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to straighten himself out.
“I can’t say enough about Brett’s willingness to accept this assignment,” Gillick said. “He understood and is eager to get back on track again. He’s struggling right now, but he is a quality Major League pitcher who we are going to need in the second half of the season.”
Myers accepted the assignment, and because he has five-plus years in the Majors, he had the option to reject the demotion. Myers will start on Wednesday night against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Triple-A affiliate of the Yankees.
“How many starts he will make there is something we’ll monitor,” Gillick said.
Myers, transitioning back to the starting rotation this season after making 48 appearances out of the Phillies’ bullpen last year, is 3-9 with a 5.84 ERA in 17 starts, having allowed 115 hits — including 24 home runs — in 101 2/3 innings. (H/T Phillies.com)
Okay, that answers at least the question of what they’re to do with Myers. And, I’ll say this, at least he had enough sense to accept the temporary demotion to Triple-A so that he can find out what is his problem. Not they Phillies have to answer the second part of the equation, what are going to do about Myers’ spot in the rotation? I’d been hearing that the Phillies plan to move Cole Hamels up a day. That may work for this week, but what are they going to do between now and the All-Star break? I hope whatever they supply as an answer will be a good one, else the Phillies are going to be toast before the break.
Versatile Durbin a key to Phils’ early success.
Durbin’s long and winding road to Philadelphia began in Spring Valley, Ill., where he grew up. A gifted athlete, he claims that no one person pushed him into the game of baseball. His parents, Deb and Joe Pearson, were both very athletic and excelled in other sports in their youth, just not baseball. So what got Durbin into America’s pastime?
“Cubs baseball on WGN,” recalled Durbin. “I loved watching Ryne Sandberg play. I learned a lot of baseball by watching the Cubs play and I was a fan until I started to play pro ball.”
When his family moved down south to Baton Rouge, La., a then 12-year-old Durbin maintained his allegiance to the Cubs. Since the southern climate allowed baseball to be played year-round, Durbin began to pitch in addition to playing shortstop. He starred in baseball and basketball at Woodlawn High School and was named the Louisiana Class 4-A High School Most Valuable Player as a shortstop his senior year.
Despite receiving a few offers to play basketball at local colleges (he was an excellent ball handler) and signing a letter of intent to play baseball at Louisiana State University, Durbin ended his tenure as a Cubs fan when the Kansas City Royals selected him in the third round of the 1996 First-Year Player Draft right out of high school.
After spending three years in the Royals’ farm system between stops in Michigan, Delaware, Kansas and Nebraska, Durbin finally got his first taste of the Majors when he made his debut in relief for Kansas City in 1999 at the age of 21.
“I made my debut in old Tiger Stadium in the last series ever there. That was pretty cool and something I’ll never forget.”
After stints with KC, Cleveland and Arizona and a year in the Nationals organization, Durbin found himself back in Detroit, this time pitching for the team he debuted against. Although he only appeared in three games for the 2006 American League champion Tigers, Durbin played a large role in the team’s Triple-A championship that year as the Toledo Mud Hens won the International League crown. In that season, Durbin pitched as a starter and led the league in strikeouts, while ranking fifth in ERA and tied for fifth in wins.
Durbin began the 2007 season in Detroit’s starting rotation before being moved to the bullpen in June. Overall, he made 47 starts in 67 total appearances during his two years in the Tigers’ organization. When he became available in the free-agent market, he caught the eye of several teams, but the Phillies, who needed pitching depth, were especially interested because of Durbin’s versatility.
Heading into this season, Gillick was asked about Durbin’s role. “Chad is going to fit in real well with our club. He gives Charlie [Manuel] and [pitching coach Rich] Dubee the option of starting or middle relief, and he’s a competitor.”
Durbin, who has taken a blue-collar approach to his role with the club, finds his situation with the Phillies similar to his time with Detroit.
“I feel like I can help wherever,” Durbin said. “If it’s starting, if it’s middle relief, if it’s the seventh inning or if it’s long relief, I don’t care. I want to help this team win. I’ll go out there and do what they tell me to do. If everybody is healthy and pitching well, then we’re in pretty good shape. That’s better for the team.”
So far this season, Durbin has proven to be a valuable offseason acquisition. Entering Thursday, he had allowed seven earned runs in 41 2/3 innings pitched to post a 1.51 ERA over 28 appearances.
“I’m just finding a role among guys that have big roles not only on this team but in the league. I’m just trying to find my niche and play my part.”
In addition to playing his part on the diamond, Durbin has taken on some new roles off the field.
First, he became a father when he and his wife Crystal welcomed their first child, son Cade, into the world nine months ago. “I always anticipated being a good dad, and when Cade finally arrived, it just felt like I was always meant to be one,” said Durbin.
Then last month, with the help of his business partner, Jake Chapman, he launched his own business, an online recruiting community called Showcase U (www.showcaseu.com). According to Durbin, the site is designed to take athletes to the next level by letting them showcase themselves in an online community. High school and college athletes can post video of themselves on the site, plus they can find equipment and workout camp information and verify their statistics.
“We’ve put three years into this,” Durbin explained. “Showcase U is a way for coaches, student-athletes, parents and facilities to interact. Coaches can search through their database. Kids can post video. It’s going to be really easy for smaller colleges to recruit kids. It’s the next level. The idea is, showcase yourself.”
A pitcher, father and an entrepreneur, Durbin plans to showcase his versatility to Phillies fans all season long. (H/T Phillies.com)
Looks like Gillick hit the bulleyes when he went to get Durbin during the past off-season, along with Brad ‘Auto-Save’ Lidge. Hopefully he’ll be able to continue what he is presently doing for the club as middle relief. Might be a good move on Charlie Manuel’s part if he allows Durbin to start a game or two so that Brett Myers will be allowed to get his act together.
Live Journal: Baseball Season will be here before you know it…
Originally posted January 31, 2007:
Well, tomorrow will be February 1, and a few weeks later, Spring will be upon us. No, no, not Spring Spring, Spring Training. Soon the players will be reporting to Florida and Arizona and once again, we’ll all be anticipating to see which one of the 30 teams in the two leagues will be declared this year’s champs. Will it be the present champs, the St. Louis Cardinals, doing a repeat, or will it be one of the other 29, like my home town team, the Phillies? Yeah, yeah, I can hear you all out there laughing your ***** off. The Phillies? Give me a break.
Well, as they say, hope springs eternal, and I really do like their chances this year. I mean, this time they have 6 good starters coming into spring training. It has been a real long time since I’d heard that said about a Phils team heading into Spring Training. Plus, the guy who runs the show now is willing to pull the trigger to make a trade. We certainly can’t say that about the previous incombant, whose shall forever be nameless. And then there’s the ex-Rookie of the Year and present NL MVP, Ryan Howard. Can you say someone who make opposing pitchers wet their pants? I know you can. 
Yeah, yeah, I know what happened at the end of last season. Howard suddenly couldn’t hit home runs. But, what I’m sure most of you don’t realize is that at the end of the season the opposing teams were pitching around him. Instead of letting him kill them when they had men on base, they would intentionally walk him and take their chances with the guy following him, Pat (Can’t Hit Right Now) Burrell. I mean, dammit, I actually saw one team walk him with the bases loaded so that his big bat wouldn’t kill them. Of course, if the Phils last year had someone who was just as dangerous following him in the batting order, that would never have happen. I’m just hoping that the Phils will have that guy this year, whether it’ll be Pat Burrell getting his stroke back, or someone else, so that the opposing team will in the home stretch (September) take their chances facing Howard instead of once again pitching around his mean bat.
Now, last year’s team. To quote Maxwell Smart, they missed the playoffs by that much. Sigh. Starting pitching started off a wreck, the relief core’s not home, bats asleep or just not there. I’ll be honest, when Pat Gillick finally made some trades when he needed to at the deadline, I was one of those who’d thought the season was over and that maybe 2007 would be better. Then, a funny thing happen on the way to the funeral. The Phils pulled off a Lazarus and came back from the dead, led by Howard, the now departed Randy Wolf and the rest of the team and put themselves back in contention for a possible playoff spot. Oh, to say I was a happy camper is an understatement. But come late September, it fizzles, mainly because Ryan’s bat got muzzled. Oh, he got his hits and his RBIs, but, when he went to the plate with runners in scoring position, the opposing team usually gave him a free pass to first. Now, it wouldn’t have been a bother, but the usual result was that the guy after him didn’t pick up the runners. Not every time, of course, but just enough times that the team was once again on the outside looking in, and watching the playoffs on TV.
Sigh. Anyway, enough of that. I really, really think this will be their year. Knock on wood. Don’t make me wrong guys. This town needs a champ like nobody’s business!
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