What the Phils have to look forward to on the Hot and Cold Stoves

by Goose

Yeah, I’m as surprised as you. But when the Phillies came out of the darkest depths of Mordor to shock the NL East and beat the Mets this year to make the playoffs for the first time in 14 years (and let’s not talk about that just now), the hot stove got fired up in this part of the country. So I decided to take a quick look at some of the free-agent rumors I’ve heard in the past few weeks and see if they would help (or hurt) the 2008 Phillies campaign.

Curt Schilling, P
It’s a moot point, since he resigned with the Red Sox, but for a while there it seemed a possibility. And personally, I thought this would have been a good move for both parties. We get an established veteran pitcher looking for one more shot at glory, and Schilling gets a chance to lead the losingest professional sports team in the history of everything to the World Series. Never mind our starting rotation would have been the perfect cast for the “Golden Girls go back to the prom” episode I’ve written in my head. What other free agent pitcher do you like the looks of – Randy Wolf?

Mariano Rivera, closer
The Phils missed out on this one too. Rivera accepted the Yankees deal of three years, $45 million. Not sure I would have liked it anyway. Yeah, in October he’s the Terminator, but during the regular season he looked like Terminator 3. And the only thing I want from that sequel is the awesome villain chick – without the never-ending quest to kill me of course.

Andruw Jones, CF
While intriguing, I suspect Mr. Jones might be one of those players lying about his age. I’m guessing he’s only slightly younger than Danny Almonte. And in 2007 he certainly looked as though old age had caught up with him. Pretty sure he used a wheelchair a couple times to get to the batter’s box.

Mike Lowell, 3B
Another missed opportunity for the Phils. Before resigning with the Red Sox, he mentioned he would like to come play for the Phillies. When was the last time anyone seriously said something like that, unprovoked? But maybe this is a good thing that he ended up back with Boston though. Coming off a World Series MVP, his price tag was very hefty. But just for mentioning he would’ve liked playing in Philly, the Phils should’ve put out a nice offer for him – which they did, but apparently not enough to woo him from the reigning champs.

Scott Rolen, 3B
Ok, when I heard this one, I thought it was a joke. But the pieces almost add up. It seems Rolen hates LaRussa more than Chris Wheeler’s awkward advances, and the Cardinals are looking to shave some payroll. Would I want Rolen back though? No. Just for the fact that we’ll have to revisit those asinine, “Whose better, Schmidt or Rolen?” debates yet again.

Randy Wolf, P
Oh God, please no. Look, he was great those four times he pitched for us, but to say he’s injury prone is like saying Ed Wade likes veteran relievers.

Looking at this list, it’s a little underwhelming. While the nucleus is there for the Phillies already, let’s hope Gillick decides to make something happen for his swan song, before he hands over the reins to the emergency catcher for 2009. Because I have no faith in him.