![\"rowand\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.phillynews.com\/inquirer\/zozone\/rowand.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThere are\u00a0a lot of rumors circulating, as there always\u00a0are this time of year,\u00a0about who the Phillies will bring in to try to defend their NL East title in 2008.\u00a0 Mike Lowell and Miguel Cabrera have been mentioned as possibilities to fill the void at third base.\u00a0 There’s been much speculation about Aaron Rowand and whether or not the Phillies will bring him back.\u00a0 Here’s my prediction:\u00a0the Phillies won’t be bringing in any thirdbaseman or centerfielder this offseason.\u00a0 On Opening Day 2008, Shane Victorino will be the centerfielder and Greg Dobbs will be platooning with Wes Helms at third.<\/p>\n
That’s not really what Phillie fans want, but I think that’s the reality right now.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Well, the Phillies ownership, via David Montgomery, has said that the player payroll in ’08 will be in the $100-105 million range, and right now it is about $90 million.\u00a0 Pat Gillick has said consistently since the Brad Lidge trade that pitching continues to be the priority.\u00a0 It’s very hard to\u00a0imagine the Phillies still having enough in their budget to sign a high-priced free agent like Rowand if they’ve already shelled out for another pitcher.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As hard as it is for me to say, I agree with Gillick if his ultimate decision is, in fact, to let Rowand walk and not pursue a thirdbaseman, in order to focus on upgrading the pitching.\u00a0 If there’s any blame to placed here, it would be on the Phillies ownership.\u00a0 After the success of the team last season and the recent announcement by commissioner Bud Selig that baseball posted record profits this year, you would really hope to see the team commit to raising the payroll.\u00a0 But assuming that that isn’t going to happen, Gillick has to make some tough decisions and some concessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Put yourself in Gillick’s shoes and take a look at the spots on the team that could use an upgrade.\u00a0 You have Victorino in\u00a0centerfield and Jayson Werth\u00a0in rightfield.\u00a0 You have Dobbs and Helms at third.\u00a0 You have Adam Eaton in your starting rotation.\u00a0 Which of those spots would you choose to address?\u00a0 I think the obvious answer is the starting pitching.\u00a0 The ![\"gillick\"](\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/gfx\/topstory\/sports\/gillick_pat_cp011024.jpg\")
Phillies went into last season with six starting pitchers and we all saw how that turned out.\u00a0 Right now, they have five and one of them is Eaton.\u00a0 They need another starter and chances are it won’t come cheap.\u00a0 It will be interesting to see how Gillick chooses to go about getting this pitcher.\u00a0 Will he make another trade?\u00a0 Or will he choose from free-agent pool that includes options like Randy Wolf, Kris Benson, Bartolo Colon, Kyle Lohse,\u00a0Hiroki Kuroda,\u00a0and Carlos Silva?\u00a0 I’m sure Gillick isn’t too interested in making another Eaton-like signing, but he may feel forced to roll the dice once again on a free-agent pitcher.<\/p>\n
The Phils will have to replace Rowand and Tad Iguchi on the roster, but they’ll probably do it with low-priced backups, not big name stars, and they’ll probably bring in an over-priced pitcher.\u00a0 For every team that’s not the Yankees or Red Sox, those are the trade-offs that have to be made.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are\u00a0a lot of rumors circulating, as there always\u00a0are this time of year,\u00a0about who the Phillies will bring in to try to defend their NL East title in 2008.\u00a0 Mike Lowell and Miguel Cabrera have been mentioned as possibilities to … Continue reading