a700hitter

He sounds as befuddled as he looked last night. Luckily, he doesn't manage in the NL or he would strain his brain.

He had such a confused look on his face when they were intentionally walking Ortiz. It was almost comical. He couldn't figure out where he'd gone wrong.

And he should be in AAA with the other 21 year olds.

He's brain dead. The minute that Napoli's ball went into the corner, Farrell should have called Ortiz back to the dugout. He completely wasted his bat in that situation. Nava should have batted for himself and then possibly pinch hit Ortiz for XB or Vasquez.

What a waste of an AB by Middlebrooks. I don't agree with the bunt in that situation.

Holt earned the playing time.

LOL!! Sarcasm I hope. Plenty of patience buried us in last place. I would have kept Sizemore and sent Bradley to the minors. I also would have kep AJ who can hit a little and DFA'd Ross who in 2 seasons with us can't make it to the Mendoza line, plus he has had Panter Fasciatis (sp) all season long. But the problem hasn't been a lack patience.

LOL!! An aberration!

I could see taking Ruiz and Burnett. They would fill holes, but we probably wouldn't take Papelbon if we are re-signing Koji. If we take two of them and some second tier prospects, I could see it. We are not getting Hamels straight up for second tier prospects.

He's the most valuable piece that they have, and without him, they have no rotation. He will stay a Phillie unless he can fleece some team.

Then Amaro will keep him. That is how it will work if he doesn't get a major haul.

When Craig turned his ankle in his first game, my first thought was that he might miss significant time. Afterward, I thought about whether the Sox had checked out the ankle. Our medical staff seems to miss a lot of obvious conditions. The more that I think about it I am more convinced that his down performance is directly related to the condition of his ankle. Ankle injuries can be devastating. Fred and Spud and maybe a couple of others remember Tommy Davis. He was a big prospect for the Brooklyn Dodgers who hit the majors with a splash in LA. He was a fleet footed OFer with all the tools. One season in the early 1960's, hit .340 or 350 and knocked in something like 150 runs. The next season he broke his ankle. He played for about 10 more seasons, but he never again approached being the player he had been before the injury. He could hit enough to keep a job, but he became a liability in the field. He became a journeyman playing for the White Sox, Mets, Orioles and A's and maybe some others. Prior to his injury Craig did not have the gifts that Tommy Davis had. 2014 may not be an off year for Craig. It may be his new norm.

The Phillies have COdy Asche and another MLB ready prospect to play 3B if Asche can't hold down the position. They have no need for a third base project. I agree that the Phils can't get a lot of talent in return for Hamels, but their asking price has been very high. It may be that if they can't get a major haul that they will keep him.

I don't think they have enough prospects to get 2 stud pitchers via trade. It would clean out the organization.

Losing Victorino this season has been a major contributing factor to the team's downfall.

But Marlon Byrd is giving big league production this season and he did so last year too. Middlebrooks blew up. He will fetch nothing until he shows an ability to stay healthy and produce at some level in the bigs.

If Webster gets to the point where he washes out completely as a starter, he probably gets dropped from the 40 man roster and some team grabs him in the rule V draft.

Or maybe they are regrouping for another run at last place in 2016.

This is good inside information. Get to your bookies and make some money on this!!

The kid clearly needs some help, and he is not getting it at this level. If they are going to keep him here, they need to bring in a special instructor to work with him every day. This kid is getting ruined. I saw him in Spring Training in 2013, and he looked completely different. All of his ABs were good ABs, even the outs. They are not doing him any favor at this point. He is languishing.

While managers may know more about the game and their players than we do, often times in the moment they freeze or they just can't see what others are seeing because they are the ones on the spot. That explains poor game decisions, but I can't explain the lack of good judgment in making out the lineup. There is no time pressure with that.

He may be those things, but it also appears to me that his confidence is completely shattered. It is getting reminiscent of the Bard situation.

This is a great point. Some organizations are very good at hyping their prospects and then trading them. The Dodgers and Yankees had been great at that. Once you bring the prospects up to the big club, you run the risk of exposing them and ruining their value. This is what has happened to Bradley and Middlebrooks. We couldn't get a bucket of warm spit for either of them. After Middlebrooks successful debut in 2012, the FO should have traded him and maximized that asset. They are supposed to know a guy's ceiling. The signs of being helpless against breaking pitches must have been present in the minors.

I agree, and it does irritate me that Betts is sitting on the bench so often. Let's see what he has and let him get acclimated to the big leagues. He has a very quick bat and good bat control. He deserves the chance.

Handle it yourself. It was just some advice. I don't know if you realize it, but you step into defend UN? all the time. Keep that in mind ,and don't be a hypocrite. I have no problem with you or any of the others. Our team sucks, and there is a lot to complain about, so there will be plenty of broken records from now until we see meaningful baseball again in 8 more months. You chose not to answer my question about playing Betts vs. Bradley. Do you have a preference?