{"id":342,"date":"2009-07-15T10:35:20","date_gmt":"2009-07-15T15:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=342"},"modified":"2009-07-15T10:37:28","modified_gmt":"2009-07-15T15:37:28","slug":"why-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=342","title":{"rendered":"Why Not?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Now that it is <a href=\"http:\/\/sports.espn.go.com\/mlb\/news\/story?id=4328568\">official<\/a>, I guess it is time to weigh in on whether or not this makes sense for the Phillies.\u00a0 My take:\u00a0 sure, why not?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" align=\"right\" width=\"429\" src=\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/16\/Pedro_Mart%C3%ADnez_Peace.jpg\/429px-Pedro_Mart%C3%ADnez_Peace.jpg\" height=\"599\" \/>As a professional <em>budget analyst<\/em>,\u00a0I tend to look at everything as costs and benefits, so let us do that now for this signing.\u00a0 First the potential &#8220;costs,&#8221; or negatives, associated with this signing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Money<\/strong>\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>The contract is a base of $1 million, with incentive clauses that could make it as high as $1.5 million.\u00a0 The $1 million is pretty much the cost we should look out for, though,\u00a0because if they end up paying $1.5 million that would mean that Pedro hit all his incentive clauses, and that would mean it was a great signing.<\/li>\n<li>As long as this money doesn&#8217;t alter their shot at Halladay, which has been emphasized over and over again that it will not, who cares?\u00a0 They are making money hand-over-fist because of the 37 sellouts and the merchadise sales that came from the title.\u00a0 Granted, they probably assumed this increased income when they upped the payroll to $135 million in the offseason, but still, a million here or there should not affect this all-of-a-sudden big market club.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clubhouse morale<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>I have heard this argument several times&#8211;that Pedro is not the type of guy who would fit into this hard-nosed, hard-working, quiet clubhouse because of his <em>diva<\/em>-ish personality.\u00a0 I do not buy this one AT ALL.\u00a0 Since when has a fifth-starter ever affected a clubhouse?\u00a0 You have to have some on-field presence to have any impact on a clubhouse, so I think this is a non-issue.\u00a0 Furthermore, if it seems like he is upsetting the morale, you cut him loose&#8211;no harm done, except a million bucks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Relief innings<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>This is the one concern that I think is legitimate and ought to be taken into consideration.\u00a0 He is probably not going to pitch more than 5 or 6 innings (on a good day), so every time he goes out there, the bullpen is going to take a beating.\u00a0 And, as we have seen time and time again in this sport, exhausted bullpens often show up in September and October and they often sink entire seasons (see:\u00a0 &#8217;08 Mets, &#8217;07 Mets, &#8217;93 Phillies).<\/li>\n<li>Then again, the 5-inning Pedro notion is based on last September after he had pitched for an entire season.\u00a0 Who knows if this Pedro is rested and ready to go 7 strong innings every fifth day?\u00a0 I am not saying I expect it or even that it wouldn&#8217;t shock me, all I&#8217;m saying is that it is a possibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" align=\"left\" width=\"360\" src=\"http:\/\/cache.boston.com\/bonzai-fba\/Globe_Photo\/2005\/10\/27\/1130439217_0429.jpg\" height=\"450\" \/>So, the costs are rather small, if you think about it.\u00a0 What about the benefits?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>An experienced fifth-starter<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In June and July, and maybe even August, it is perfectly fine to run out the Rodrigo Lopez&#8217;s and Antonio Bastardo&#8217;s of the world for spot starts or even temporary spots in the rotation.\u00a0 But, when the games start to mean more than just random Major League Debuts, it is a very scary proposition to send these kids out there.\u00a0 In Turner Field in mid-September, I would much rather see an experienced pitcher at the end of his career than an inexperienced one and the beginning of his.\u00a0 If this signing has dividends, they will be realized in September and, dare I say it, October.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lightning in\u00a0a bottle<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Who knows?\u00a0 Maybe Pedro has his old stuff back.\u00a0 He did look dominant in the WBC&#8211;albeit in relief appearances against The Netherlands.\u00a0 He is a former Cy Young winner who will probably be enshrined in Cooperstown one day.\u00a0 Maybe there is just enough left in the tank for 2 months (hell, even 2 starts) of shades of the old Pedro.\u00a0 It may be far-fetched, but there it has to be considered a possibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>His motivation<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Pedro, for all of his flaws, has never lacked confidence and, certainly, never lacked <em>pride<\/em>.\u00a0 In fact, I would argue that his over-developed sense of pride has actually been a detriment to him, at various points in his career.\u00a0 But, right now, I love it.\u00a0 I welcome it.\u00a0 Be prideful, Pedro.\u00a0 Show the other 29 teams that they are stupid for not signing you earlier.\u00a0 Give the Pedro fans one last thrill.\u00a0 But, specifically, and even more importantly&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Stick it to the Mets.\u00a0 I have heard from various sources that Pedro was standing firm on his $5 million demand for every team out there&#8230;<em>except the Phillies?\u00a0 <\/em>Why?\u00a0 Because he is overcome with a desire to spurn the Mets for not resigning him.\u00a0 Is it <em>rational<\/em>?\u00a0 Of course not.\u00a0 It is <em>possible<\/em>?\u00a0 Of course it is&#8211;it is, after all, Pedro Martinez.\u00a0 Would it surprise anyone\u00a0if this were true?\u00a0 Now, this, alone, is not going to get outs.\u00a0 Honestly, my hatred for the Mets is probably right on par with Pedro&#8217;s, but I&#8217;m not out there striking out David Wright.\u00a0 But, every little bit helps.\u00a0 And, if Pedro just needs a little extra to fire him up and get us three September wins, then it was all worth it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So, all in all, I say:\u00a0 WHY NOT?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now that it is official, I guess it is time to weigh in on whether or not this makes sense for the Phillies.\u00a0 My take:\u00a0 sure, why not?\u00a0 As a professional budget analyst,\u00a0I tend to look at everything as costs &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=342\">Continue reading <span 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