Ryan Howard's Contract Extension: All what anyone could talk about yesterday in baseball was the five-year, 125$ Million dollar extension that Phillies 1st baseman Ryan Howard signed yesterday. There are a lot of people in the Sabermetrics community who hate this deal because projections show Howard isn't worth the money even if he stays healthy throughout the remainder of the deal.
It's a risk for the Phillies for sure, but JFein of Fire Andy Reid Now! brings up another issue that people are overlooking. How can the Phillies keep Jayson Werth and others now that Howard has tied up a lot of money.
"Will the Phillies still be able to extend Werth and Rollins? MLB is filled with power first basemen who can hit 25 to 30 HRs each year. Sure Howard is in the upper-tier of those and his defense is constantly improving, but the Werths of the league and the Rollinss of the league are much more difficult to find. While Domonic Brown is projected to be a complete beast coming out of the minors, there is no guarantee with minor league prospects. Why make Howard the priority and why do it now when there are rarer, more valuable players on this team than Ryan Howard.
And what happens when Jayson Werth goes? The right-handed hitting presence in the middle of the order disappears instantly. Truth be told, if the Phillies could only extend one, either Ryan Howard or Jayson Werth, the better person to extend would be Werth. A power hitting 1st baseman is replaceable, the awesome beard, defense, and right-handed hitting ability in a line-up of lefties is not. You ask about Domonic Brown again? Dom Brown is yet another leftie."
The Phillies have put all of their chips on the table, now is the time to hope they don't go bust.
Just Because Curt Schilling is Retired, Doesn't Mean He Doesn't Have An Opinion: Curt Schilling is certainly someone who doesn't mind opening his mouth and telling what he thinks angering people in the process. Before the beginning of the year, Schilling opened his mouth about the Cliff Lee-Roy Halladay angering one particular Phillies fan. Now the guy with ketchup on his sock opened up his mouth about Yankees pitcher Javier Vasquez.
"He's not a guy that I've ever felt was comfortable in the glow," Schilling said on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," according to ESPN.com. "You're seeing what you're gonna get from him consistently all year. Having said that, he could turn around next week and throw a one-hitter with his stuff. I just don't see him being a consistent winner in the American League."
How fitting for Schilling to express this opinion on Colin Cowherd's show. Both guys are full of hot air.
What Happened to the Astros?: Remember when the Houston Astros started the year 0-8 and there was talk that the Astros could be the worst team ever? Neither do the Astros. Since starting the year 0-8, the Astros have won 9 out of 11 games. So what's been the improvement? Of course, it's the return of the Big Puma Lance Berkman.
The Astros are 5-1 since Berkman's return. The lineup feels more comfortable with Berkman there and it has showed. The Astros have improved their team batting average, runs per game, on-base percentage, walks, and home runs. The Big Puma has rescued the Astros from futility.
And then This Happened: Danny Heatley should stick to hockey.
Nice of Ryane Clowe to point out the little girl threw a better pitch than Heatley.
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