For the complete list and explanation of criteria and scoring, check out the Philly Fifty page

Longevity – 4

Gola is one of a couple athletes on here who had stints in Philly with multiple teams. Gola spent 10 years playing in Philly, 4 with LaSalle (’51-’54) and 6 with the Warriors (’55-’61).

Peak – 4

In the college game, Gola was arguably the best player in the country over a period of several years. In 1953-54,  he led LaSalle to the title game and won the Final Four’s most outstanding player. In 1955 he was the UPI Player of the Year. In the NBA, he was a high level all-star, best suited as the 2nd or 3rd best option on a championship caliber team.

Popularity – 2

Big-5 fans and older fans will likely know Gola, but I’d wager many casual fans couldn’t tell you who he is. He does have a court named after him at LaSalle though.

Team Success – 5

Let’s start with LaSalle. In his 4 seasons, the Explorers went 98-22. They won the NIT tournament in 1952 and then the NCAA title in 1955. In addition to bringing an NCAA title to the city, Gola was a vital cog in bringing an NBA championship as well when the Warriors won it all in all in 1956. So in the span of two seasons he won an NCAA and NBA title in the same city. I wonder if that has been done before or since… During his full stint with the Warriors, they went 295-227 and also made the Finals in 1959.

Awards – 4

Once again we’ll start with college, where Gola was a first-team AA for three straight seasons. The year LaSalle won it all he swept the awards, winning National POY and tournament POY. He was a little less decorated in the NBA, but still went to 5 all-star games, and was named 2nd-team all NBA once.

Stats – 4

Gola holds one big college record that has stood since he graduated and will probably stand for a long, long time. 2,201 rebounds. The closest anyone has got recently is Kenneth Faried, who is 12th all time, and only stands at 1,673, and played in 18 fewer games. For his career, Gola averaged 18.6 boards per game. He wasn’t a one-trick pony though, averaging 20.9 points per game as well.

In the NBA, he didn’t fill the stat sheet quite as much, but was a very solid contributor. He averaged a double-double in 3 of his first 4 seasons while also dishing out 4-5 assists and playing great defense. For his career in Philly (400 games) he averaged 13.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 5 assists per game.

Historical Standing – 3

Gola is in the Naismith HOF primary for his college accomplishments.

Excitement – 2

Gola was a guy you absolutely wanted on your team, but rebounding and defense isn’t always sexy.

Total: 28

For the complete list and explanation of criteria and scoring, check out the Philly Fifty page

Without Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, the offense has been inconsistent (yet, still 7th in the NL in R/G).

The starters, for the most part, have been excellent, with a combined 2.90 ERA in 260.2 IP.

The bullpen, which was a question mark after Papelbon, has been flat out bad. With non-Papelbon relievers sporting a whopping 5.97 ERA with 8 losses. For all the focus on the offense, it’s the bullpen that has us where we are today.

Since I’ve not posted on the Phillies since the season started, I’m going to do a full rundown of the team, ranked by WAR, and any comments I have on the player…

1. Carlos Ruiz, C, 1.9 WAR

Ruiz has been MVP-worthy through the first quarter of the year. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the way he is playing. His 1.024 OPS is outrageous, his 7 HR are already 2 away from a career high and the only players in the NL with higher WAR’s at the moment are David Wright, Joey Votto and Michael Bourn. Truly an amazing start.

2. Cole Hamels, SP, 1.6 WAR

He’s going to get some contract, huh? Despite our hitting problems, I would still give him a 6 year, $120 million deal. He would be younger than Roy Halladay is now at the end of that deal and his left-handed-ness and incredible change-up give him a great chance of being elite for several more years. I will be devastated if we don’t re-sign him while watching Howard earn $25 million and Papelbon earn $13 million.

3. Cliff Lee, SP, 1.5 WAR

Would be higher if he hadn’t missed a couple stars. 1.95 ERA and 0.76 WHIP and 0 wins. It’s almost like that is a dumb statistic.

4. Roy Halladay, SP, 1.1 WAR

Thus far, he’s still a top-10 pitcher in the league, but it looks like he may have taken a step back from his “best” in the league title. Velocity is a little down, as is his K/9 rate, but he has enough movement to overcome that. Still on pace for 250+ innings.

5. Juan Pierre, OF, 0.9 WAR

Not going to lie. I wanted no part of Juan Pierre in the starting line-up. He’s a singles hitter who gets thrown out on the base-paths a ton and has the worst outfield arm in baseball. All that being said, if he hits .343 the whole year and gets on-base almost 40% of the time, that doesn’t matter. Considering he’s had one season over .300 in the last 7 years, and that was .308, I think he’s due for a fall back to earth at some point.

6. Joe Blanton, SP, 0.7 WAR

Somebody wants a contract, huh? I thought Blanton could return to form this year, but “form” was a 4.20 ERA, not sub-3. Blanton is walking less hitters and giving up fewer HR’s than he has in his entire career. Hopefully he can keep it up. You wonder if he could be moved for a bat at some point this season.

7. Vance Worley, SP, 0.7 WAR

The most pleasant surprise of the year for me. His 45 K’s in 44 IP are amazing to me. He was never a strike out guy in the minors, but seems to have perfected the backwards K. Hopefully his arm soreness isn’t serious.

8. Placido Polanco, 3B, 0.5 WAR

This  number is helped by his still-excellent defense and his .347 BA in his last 19 games.

9. Antonio Bastardo, RP, 0.5 WAR

Not throwing as hard or well as last year, but still sporting a 1.50 ERA and 10.5 K/9.

10. Shane Victorino, OF, 0.5 WAR

Very disappointing with the bat so far, but I think he will pull it together. Love the 12 early steals though.

11. Laynce Nix, OF, 0.4 WAR

Our hottest hitter when he went down. Has a .979 OPS on the season.

12. Jonathan Papelbon, RP, 0.4 WAR

Overpaid or not, he’s done his job. 18 K’s in 15.1 IP despite a noticeable drop in velocity from last year.

13. Brian Schneider, C, 0.1 WAR

Getting into the “don’t play that much, so we’ll be around 0.0″ group here.

14. Hector Luna, Util, 0.1 WAR

Spring training hero hit a grand slam in his first Phillies AB.

15. Mike Fontenot, Util 0.1 WAR

He’s 2 for 3. He’s still not very good, sorry…

16. Raul Valdes, RP, 0.0 WAR

Showed off his 88mph heater, but still struck out 2 in his one appearance. I don’t see him as a bullpen answer.

17. Hunter Pence, OF, 0.0 WAR

History told us Pence would come down to earth a little, but maybe not THIS much. He’s gotten some clutch hits, but his fielding has been horrendous and his OBP hovering around .300. The Phillies might have an interesting decision with him next year as he could make upwards of $12 million in arbitration.

18. David Herndon, RP, 0.0 WAR

Did his thing where he gives up a ton of hits, then got hurt.

19. Pete Orr, Util, -0.1 WAR

Getting into worse-than-replacement territory here. And Pete Orr more-or-less defines “replacement player.”

20. Freddy Galvis, 2B, -0.1 WAR

A defensive prodigy, Galvis really needs to only hit about .250 to be valuable. Right now he’s hitting .233 with a .270 OBP, but has delivered some timely hits. Watching his glove has been one of the highlights of the season for me.

21. Chad Qualls, RP, -0.1 WAR

Looked great early on, then fell off a cliff. I feel like his arm is in decent shape, but his location is not. I think he’s fixable, but right now it’s looks like Bastardo is back in the 8th and we could really use someone to step up in the 7th.

22. Erik Kratz, C, -0.1 WAR

0-3.

23. Jim Thome, 1B, -0.1 WAR

Big time disappointment before going down with injury. Looks done, but I’m not counting him out yet. Just give me ONE more HR in a Phillies’ uni!

24. Joe Savery, RP, -0.1 WAR

Gotten hurt by the HR. A 1.00 WHIP in 8 IP, but 2 HR given up. Doesn’t seem to throw quite hard enough or have quite enough movement on pitches to be successful. I’m not completely writing him off though.

25. John Mayberry, OF, -0.2 WAR

Sorry, but I was expecting this one. Thousands of minor league ABs said last year was a fluke, and it certainly looks that way. His .574 OPS is the worst on the team among qualified hitters.

26. Brian Sanches, RP, -0.3 WAR

Part of the parade of mediocre relievers that had Twitter losing it’s mind. Allowed 11 base-runners in 4 innings. Hopefully we’ve seen the last of him this year.

27. Michael Stutes, RP, -0.3 WAR

Was he just another flash in the pan last year? Could his arm only handle one MLB season? 11 base-runners in 5.2 IP before injury.

28. Ty Wigginton, 3B, -0.4 WAR

On his bat alone, he be up a little bit, but his advanced defensive metrics aren’t very friendly. 2nd worst on the team to Pence.

29. Mike Schwimer, RP, -0.4 WAR

Despite his great minor league numbers, he has not looked good in the majors. I feel like if he settled in, he would improve, but I’m not sure he will get that chance.

30. Jimmy Rollins, SS, -0.5 WAR

Not looking good Jimmy. Both hitting and fielding metrics are down. He’s really got to get on a hot streak. I think he will, but the question is whether he reverts back this after it’s over. Should probably be hitting 7th right now.

31. Jake Diekman, RP, -0.5 WAR

OMG DIEKMAN IS AWESOME! OMG HE ACTUALLY SUCKS! If this kid can ever learn to locate, he could be great. That’s a big IF though.

32. Jose Contreras, RP, -0.6 WAR

Seems done. 8 ER in 9 IP so far this year.

33. Kyle Kendrick, P, -0.7 WAR

He’s been as bad as the other pitchers, the only difference is that he’s been allowed to pitch 25.2 innings so far. Hopefully his last start will get him on track, but prior to that he’d given up 31 hits in 19.2 innings. It’s hard to explain how bad that is.

So there it is, the 33 players the Phillies have thrown out there. Let’s group it up a little bit…

Starting Pitching: 5.3 WAR
Relief Pitching: -2.1 WAR
Hitting: 3.1 WAR
Fielding: -0.2 WAR

Total: 6.1 WAR

So, essentially, without our starting pitching, we’d be in the neighborhood of 15-24.

With average relievers, we’d be in the neighborhood of 22-17.

I still think the Phillies are in good shape. The bats have lit up a little bit and I expect Rollins, Victorino and Pence to all hit a little better as we move forward. I think Utley and Howard will provide at least some upgrade when they return and I think someone in the bullpen will step up behind Paps and Bastardo.

Right now, my real concern is the future. Our farm system has exactly zero MLB ready position prospects, and it’s simply not possible to fill a championship roster with all large contracts. You need guys in those first 1-5 years of their MLB career’s to fill in the gaps, and that is looking like a problem right now. The hope is that Domonic Brown would be one of those guys, and I still think he can be, but he just can’t stay healthy. I’m not sure what the answer is for 2013 and beyond, but the Phils need to figure it out sooner rather than later. 

The Eagles hold the 15th pick in tonight’s NFL draft.

Almost everything, except the top-2 picks, is in play, and the Birds have stated, as they always do, that they will go with the best player available on their board.

Well, this is how I think their board should look, based on player talent and team needs. Hopefully they get someone in my top 15…

1. Robert Griffin III, QB – Yes, he’s not in play, and yes, Luck is atop most draft boards, but I think the Eagles would be one of the teams with RGIII ahead. Griffin seems to be the dream QB for Andy Reid’s system: A Michael Vick type athlete with great accuracy on his throws. I think the rumors that the Eagles looked into the #2 pick were 100% true.

2. Andrew Luck, QB – Should be a great QB, but in the games I saw him play, I didn’t see Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, etc…

3. Trent Richardson, RB – Yes, we have Shady, but Richardson is arguably the most talented player in the draft.

4. Luke Kuechly, LB – This is where need comes into play. I think Kuechly would be such a tremendous upgrade in our LB core that he’s worth reaching for. He’s my dream pick for this draft.

5. Morris Claiborne, CB – Appears to be the best CB in the draft, though some would say Stephon Gilmore is a better fit for our defense. With Asante gone and DRC in final year of deal, CB has become a need.

6. Fletcher Cox, DT – Would help greatly on run defense and with the pass rush. Many say he is our #1 target in the draft.

7. Stephon Gilmore, CB – Strikes me a very safe pick. Could allow us to let DRC walk and use money elsewhere.

8. Justin Blackmon, WR – We don’t have a huge need at WR, but we do have a need in the Red Zone. If he were to drop, he’d still be a great value, and it would be hard not to get crazy excited about the Jackson, Maclin, Blackmon trio.

9. Michael Floyd, WR – Just as good as Blackmon, IMO. Red Zone threat, and an excellent blocker in the run and pass game.

10. Matt Kalil, OT – Don’t want a offensive lineman but once again, you can’t take a talent this big off your board because he doesn’t fill a direct need.

11. Dont’a Hightower, LB – Ranked this high because I really, really want a LB.

12. Mark Barron, S – We’ve spent so many 2nd rounders on safeties recently that I’d be hesitant to use another high pick (esp. with the jury still out on Allen and Jarrett), but Barron is the only potentially great safety and it’s still a need.

13. Michael Brockers, DT – A massive DT prospect who is a step behind Cox

14. Dre Kirkpatrick, CB – Would be perfectly happy with the Birds sticking at 15 and grabbing Dre.

To me, ironically since it’s right before the Eagles pick, there is a drop-off here. I would very much prefer the Eagles end up with one of the 14 players listed above. If they stay at 15, one will most certainly be available. 

15. Chandler Jones, DE – A high upside DE who has also been productive in college.

16. Dontari Poe, DT – Combine freak who came up small on game tape. Could Eagles motivate him to tap into his full potential?

17. Melvin Ingram, DE – Seems like more of a 3/4 OLB/DE type, but could still be a player in 4/3

18. Courtney Upshaw, OLB – Linebacker!

19. Janoris Jenkins, CB – Would be interesting to see the Eagles trade down and get Jenkins, a top-5 talent but potential personality problem. They passed on Jimmy Smith for similar reasons last year, and he’s looking pretty good in Baltimore.

Anyone below this line, I would be annoyed if we drafted in the first round without trading down and picking up substantial picks

20. Whitney Mercilus, DE – One year wonder in college, but it was quite a year.

21. Lavonte David, LB – Probably a 2nd round target, but LINEBACKER!

22. Quinton Coples, DE – High upside, low motivation.

23. Jerel Worthy, DT – Solid, not spectacular DT

24. Kendall Wright, WR – First offensive player on here since Kalil. Can you tell how I think the Birds should draft?

25. Ryan Tannehill, QB – If they think he can really be a great QB, we do need a back-up to Vick.

The rest I will just list, with comments if I feel necessary…

26. Shea McClellin, LB
27. Andre Branch, DE
28. Riley Reiff, OT
29. Brandon Weeden, QB – I would like to see the Birds grab him in the 2nd. Can come in and be a quality back-up right away. And back-up for the Eagles means starting at least 7 games.
30. Alameda Ta’amu, DT
31. Stephen Hill, WR
32. David DeCastro, OG
33. Vinny Curry, DE
34. Jonathan Martin, OT
35. Harrison Smith, S – As someone who has watched every game of his career, I don’t think he’s a 1st round talent…
36.  Mike Adams, OT
37. Alshon Jeffrey, WR
38. Bobbie Massie, OT
39. Coby Fleener, TE
40.  Casey Hayward, CB

So, based on this, here are the scenarios as I see them:

A+: Stick at 15 and get someone like Cox, Barron and Kuechly dropping while keeping our 2 2nd rounders
A: Stick at 15 and get someone in my top-14 while keeping our 2 2nd rounders
B+: Trading down and getting someone in my top-19 while getting other picks
B+: Trading up to get someone in my top-14 w/o sacrificing 2 2nd rounders
B: Trading up to get someone in my top-14, but giving up significant picks to do so
C-F: Basically anything else…

So what do you guys and gals think? What should the Eagles plan be tonight?

The Eagles have had tons of scapegoats over the years. Reid and Donovan McNabb have obviously been the most popular, Juan Castillo the most recent and it probably won’t be long before it’s Michael Vick either for his inability to stay on the field or his inability to be Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers.

But to me, the reason the Eagles haven’t found themselves hoisting the Lombardi trophy in February has been very, very simple.

The Eagles are completely incapable of drafting, and developing, young defensive players.

Since 2003 (9 drafts) the Eagles have drafted 44 defensive players. Only 1 (Trent Cole) has made a Pro Bowl. Even worse, only 3 others (Patterson, Bunkley, Gocong) spent more than 2 seasons a full-time starter. Think about that. In 9 drafts, only 4 defensive players have become long-term starters and two of them (Bunkley and Gocong) were unceremoniously dumped.

There has not been a similar problem on the offensive side of the ball, and that’s the only thing that has kept us going these last couple years. DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, LeSean McCoy, Brent Celek, Todd Herremens, Kevin Kolb, potentially Jason Kelce and Danny Watkins – all above average starters or even stars drafted by the Eagles and their scouting department.

So why can’t we draft defensive talent? Let’s take a look, by round, at the Eagles’ defensive draft picks over the last 9 drafts. And try not to think about Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyura (all Giants’ draft picks in the last 9 years) taking down Tom Brady (again) and lifting the Lombardi.

Before we get into it – here are my basic expectations for players based on round picked…

1st round: Above average starter to pro bowler
2nd-3rd round: Starter to above average starter
4th-5th round: Rotation player to starter
6th-7th round: Practice squad to rotation player

First Round

Pick 13 (2010): Brandon Graham, DE – The highest defensive player drafted by the Eagles since Corey Simon in 2000. So far – injured and undersized. 16 games, 3 sacks in 2 years. Drafted ahead of Earl Thomas and Jason Pierre-Paul.

Pick 14 (2006): Broderick Bunkley, DT – Showed flashes and spent 4 years as a starter. Probably only had one season as an above average starter.

Pick 15 (2003): Jerome MacDougle, DE – Bust. Hardly a rotation player. Drafted one spot ahead of Troy Polamalu.

Pick 31 (2005): Mike Patterson, DT – Solid to above average starter for 6 seasons now. The only 1st round defensive pick to meet expectations.

Summary: One meets expectations, one doesn’t suck, the other two are busts w/ Graham still having some time to prove that wrong

Second Round

Pick 37 (2010): Nate Allen, S – Seemed on his way to meeting expectations before injury shortened his rookie season. Didn’t regain form in 2011, but isn’t a lost cause. Not being a “lost cause” makes him one of the better player on this list

Pick 42 (2008): Trevor Laws, DT -  Never was more than a rotational player. Only one good season. Signed with the Rams this off-season.

Pick 54 (2011): Jaiquawn Jarrett, S – Picked 2 rounds too early because they thought he was game-ready. He wasn’t.

Pick 57 (2009): Victor Abiamiri, DE – Drafted too high to begin with. Was never healthy. Will likely never be healthy.

Pick 63 (2005): Matt McCoy, LB – Laughably bad pick, 83 career tackles. Projected as an undrafted free agent by SI prior to draft.

Summary: Two busts, two rotation guys, and one TBD with little promise. Nate Allen was the only player who wasn’t considered a “reach” of some kind. 

Third Round

Pick 71 (2006): Chris Gocong, LB – A solid pick for a 3rd rounder. Started 3 seasons for the Eagles before being traded to the Browns where he’s had his two best seasons and got a contract extension. He will not be the last on the list to improve after leaving.

Pick 80 (2008): Bryan Smith, LB – The only explanation I have for this pick is that there was no one they wanted here, couldn’t trade the pick and wanted to draft someone they knew sucked and wouldn’t make the team. Like McCoy, SI had him as an undrafted FA.

Pick 86 (2010): Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, DE – Another laughable pick, DTN could have probably been had in the 6th round. 2 career tackles before his predictable release.

Pick 87 (2007): Stewart Bradley, LB – Quality starter for a couple years before injuries took him down. Decent value in 3rd round.

Pick 89 (2004): Matt Ware, CB – Two years on the team as a special teams player.

Summary: Two decent picks, two mind-bogglingly horrible picks, one bust

Fourth Round

Pick 102 (2005): Sean Considine, S – Made 17 starts for the Eagles, but never better than an average starter.

Pick 105 (2010): Trevard Lindley, CB – Coming off injury when drafted, something that usually doesn’t turn out well. Will have to see if he gets in the mix in 2012, but seemed to be buried.

Pick 116 (2011): Casey Matthews, LB – Unlikely to ever be more than rotation player unless he borrows his brother’s PEDs.

Pick 117 (2008): Quintin Demps, S – 25 games in two seasons, never started. Rotation player for the Texans last year, who re-signed him.

Pick 121 (2010): Keenan Clayton, LB – Another reach, Clayton has gotten some rotation play and one start in the horrible Eagles’ LB core.

Pick 129 (2004): J.R. Reed, DB – Drafted as a KR. Wasn’t very good.

Pick 131 (2003): Jamaal Green, DE – Played 8 games. The write-ups are going to start getting a lot shorter from here on out.

Pick 131 (2008): Jack Ikegwuonu, CB – Another injured player. Didn’t work out. At all. 1 game played.

Summary: Only one starter out of this bunch, and not a particularly good one. 

Fifth Round

Pick 134 (2010): Ricky Sapp, DE/LB – Another injured player who did nothing.

Pick 146 (2005): Trent Cole, DE – God bless you Trent.

Pick 157 (2009): Macho Harris, DB – Started a couple games because there were no better options. Didn’t even make it to his 2nd season with the team.

Pick 159 (2007): C.J. Gaddis, DB – Don’t believe he ever made the team. Certainly never played.

Pick 168 (2006): Omar Gaither, LB – Good value down here. Made 36 starts for the Eagles. Average starter.

Summary: One gem, one starter, and three non-players

Note: For 6th and 7th round, I will only comment on players who did something, as you don’t really expect these guys to have an impact (though for the Eagles, they often do…)

Sixth Round

Pick 192 (2004): Dexter Wynn, DB
Pick 193 (2011): Brian Rolle, LB – Undersized, but looks like a decent rotational LB.
Pick 200 (2008): Joe Mays, LB – Released by Eagles, started 13 games for the excellent Denver defense this year
Pick 201 (2007): Rashad Barksdale, DB
Pick 203 (2008): Andy Studebaker, LB
Pick 204 (2006): LaJuan Ramsey, DT

Summary: Rolle could be a nice find

Seventh Round

Pick 220 (2010): Jamar Chaney, LB – Potential starter, but was disappointing (misused?) last season. 
Pick 230 (2009): Moise Fokou, LB - Has made 22 starts, another good value down here.
Pick 237 (2011): Greg Lloyd, LB
Pick 243 (2010): Jeff Owens, DT
Pick 244 (2010): Kurt Coleman, S – Like others on this list, made some starts, but only because there were no better options. I personally don’t get why people think he’s good…
Pick 244 (2003): Norman LeJeune, DB
Pick 247 (2005): Kenyonta Marshall, DT
Pick 252 (2005): David Bergeron, LB 

Summary: Sadly, this is probably their most effective round based on expectations

So how does this happen? How does a team that is so good at drafting offensive players become so bad at drafting defensive players? Based on what I’m seeing above, here are a couple theories.

1. They whiff on the early picks

It’s not a huge failure to not draft great players past the 2nd round, but it doesn’t help when you aren’t getting much before that. When you look at the 9 players the Eagles picked in the first 2 rounds, the only one you would re-draft is Mike Patterson. Take a look at the defensive picks in the same round/ time period (in the years leading up to their SB wins) for the teams that have won Super Bowls recently and it tells a different story…

NY Giants: Jason Pierre-Paul (1-2010), Linval Joseph (2-2010), Kenny Phillips (1-2008), Terrell Thomas (2-2008), Aaron Ross (1-2007), Mathias Kiwanuka (1-2006), Corey Webster (2-2005), Osi Umenyura (2-2003)
Green Bay: BJ Raji (1-2009), Clay Matthews (1-2009), AJ Hawk (1-2006), Nick Collins (2-2005), Nick Barnett (1-2003)
New Orleans: Malcolm Jenkins (1-2009), Sedrick Ellis (1-2008), Tracy Porter (2-2008), Roman Harper (2-2006), Will Smith (1-2004), Charles Grant (1-2002)
Pittsburgh: Lawrence Timmons (1-2007), LaMar Woodley (2-2007), Bryant McFadden (2-2005), Troy Polamalu (1-2003), Casey Hampton (1-2001)

Do any of those lists look anything like our 9 guys we’ve gotten?  Even the offensive-minded teams like New Orleans had their defense stocked with quality recent high-draft picks on the defensive side.

2. They concentrate too much on “scheme”

You will hear them say this a lot – most recently in regard to the decision to pick Brandon Graham over Jason Pierre-Paul. Picking based on “scheme” would be great if you had a great “scheme” to begin with. We aren’t the Steelers. We aren’t the Ravens. If a player as talented as JPP doesn’t fit your “scheme” – it’s time to re-evaluate your scheme.

3. They tend to draft undersized players with “high motors”

A running joke – but a true one. Motor only gets your so far in the NFL and the Eagles overdraft players based on it. Graham, Laws, Te’o-Nesheim all come to mind.

4. They don’t pay attention to the perceived value of a player

This just means that they might pick someone in the 2nd or 3rd round that it seems very likely would be available in the 4th or 5th. And a lot of the 2nd and 3rd round picks fall into this category.

5. They have bad defensive scouts

Really – this has to be the main reason, right? I guess it plays into #1 on this list as well. Andy Reid is probably confident with the picks on the offensive side of the ball, but he’s no defensive coach. Who is in charge of defensive scouting for the draft? And whoever it is, can it be somebody else please?

6. They don’t learn from mistakes

We see the same thing over and over from the Eagles, making mistakes 2/3/4 on this list and not adjusting. Once they do (and history shows they are stubborn people – but the did finally get us some WR’s, no?) we might start to see an improvement.

So, with the 15th, 46th and 51st picks in this year’s draft, can the Eagles reverse this trend? If Andy Reid wants to finally bring a Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia, he better hope so.

OK – so obviously new jobs/responsibilities/life events have killed off Dannie (blog-speaking) and have severely limited me. But the reason for this blog was never to make money, it was as a creative outlet for reasonable sports discourse, and the start of baseball season still gets me very fired-up and in need of that outlet…

I only got to one part of my Phillies preview, the now-doomed infield. So I’ll summarize that here and shoot through the rest of the team, based on how I think they will perform compared to 2011.

In-fact, let’s just shoot through the 25-man roster…

C- Carlos Ruiz: No reason to expect much different output from last year. Even.
1B- Ty Wigginton: Who knows how long Ryan Howard will be out and it’s not the Achillies will have him back at 100% when he gets there. But I do think he will be back this year. Minus 1 win (factors in that Howard will return). 
2B- Freddy Galvis: Think Rey Ordonez. Wizard with the glove, should probably be hitting behind the pitcher with the bat. I don’t expect Utley back until June at the earliest. Minus 2.5 wins (factors in that Utley will return).
3B – Placido Polanco: Has actually looked good in spring training. If he can stay healthy, he could improve on his 1.8 WAR from last year, but I would never, ever, bet on him staying healthy. Even.
SS – Jimmy Rollins: Played a little above his average last year at 3.7 WAR. I’m going to drop him down just a tad. Minus 0.7 wins.
RF – Hunter Pence: Pence’s WAR last year between Houston and Philly was 5.2. His previous high was 3.3 (his rookie year) and the prior two seasons he averaged a measly 1.5. So where do we put him in 2012? I think that he does have the ability to be closer to the 5.2 than the 1.5, but I don’t think he’ll be quite as good again, primarily because of his very high BABIP last year. I’ll put him at 4 for now. He had a 2.5 of his WAR with the Phils last year, so by being here the whole year, he’ll be plus 1.5 wins.
CF – Shane Victorino: Vic had a 5.0 WAR last year, his best of his career. His prior 3 years were 3.5, 2.4 and 3.7. I’ll put him ahead of those, but don’t think he’ll match last year. Minus 1 win.
LF – Juan Pierre: Wait, what? I could write a long diatribe about why I think Juan Pierre shouldn’t be anywhere near our starting line-up, especially over Scott Podsednik, Domonic Brown and John Mayberry, but I’ll save time for now. Pierre was exactly a replacement player last year (0.0 WAR) and averaged 0.7 WAR per season over the prior 4.  I highly, highly doubt he’ll be the starting LF for the entire season, and I also highly doubt he’ll be any good (would be thrilled to be wrong). However, the bright side is our starting LF last year, Raul Ibanez, was worse than a replacement player (-0.4 WAR) so anything from LF is a positive. Plus 0.5 wins. 

Overall line-up vs. 2011: Minus 3.2 wins

SP1 – Roy Halladay: Had a little velocity “scare” in the spring, but it’s unlikely he’s about to fall apart. His 7.4 WAR last year was the 2nd best of his career, and I don’t expect him to be quite that good this year. Minus 0.5 wins
SP2 – Cliff Lee: Also notched the 2nd best WAR of his career and I also expect a slightly “worse” year this season. Minus 0.5 wins.
SP3 – Cole Hamels:  Pitching for a massive contract, 28 years old, and coming off his career year. I expect him to be very, very good. Plus 0.6 wins.
SP4- Vance Worley: Sorry, I’m selling on Vance. His  stuff and minor league numbers tell me he’s not nearly as good as showed last year. He’ll be serviceable, but not near his 2.8 WAR. Minus 1.8 wins.
SP5 – Joe Blanton: Has looked good in spring, and is pitching for another contract. However, for the purposes of this, he’s being compared to Roy Oswalt and his 1.7 WAR. I expect Blanton to be in that range. Even. 

Overall rotation vs. 2011: Minus 2.2 wins

CL – Jonathan Papelbon: Madson had a 2.2 WAR last year and Papelbon 2.0. I do think Paps will pitch well, but Madson was really, really good last year. Even.
SU – Antonio Bastardo: I think his stuff is nasty enough to repeat his 2011 campaign. And it seems like his spring troubles have been resolved. Even.
The Rest – This is a little difficult because so many guys filter through the bullpen each year. Last year, aside from Bastardo and Madson, the Phillies bullpen (Contreras, Stutes, Lidge, Herndon, Romero, Mathieson, Perez, De Fratus, Zagurski, Schwimer, Baez and Carpenter) had a 1.2 WAR, brought down considerably by Danys Baez and his -0.9 mark. This year, you are looking at Qualls (0.5), Herndon (0.3), Stutes (0.0), Contreras (0.0), Kendrick (0.5) and then a mix of Joe Savery and the minor league brigade. When the dust settles, it’s likely the bullpen will be very similar in terms of production to last season. Even. 

Overall bullpen vs. 2011: Even

C – Brian Schneider: -0.9 WAR last year, and not getting better. Even.
1B – Jim Thome: A potential big upgrade (as bench players go) over Ross Gload (-0.3 WAR last year). Plus 0.5 wins.
Inf – Hector Luna: The darling of the spring – I’m hopeful he gets the spot over Pete Orr. Would be an upgrade over Mini-Mart, but playing time limits the impact. Plus 0.2 wins.
OF – John Mayberry: Even though he had a lot of starts last year, I still need to compare him to himself. His 2.5 WAR was an aberration, in my opinion (based on his stats from 3,000+ minor league ABs), and I don’t expect him to be the next Jayson Werth. Still a very solid 4th OF. Minus 1.5 wins.
OF – Laynce Nix: All he has to do is beat Ben Francisco’s horrible -0.9 WAR to be considered an upgrade here. Sadly, I think Nix is horrible as well (2 years, really?), but will still be a modest upgrade. Plus 0.5 wins. 

Overall bench vs. 2011: Minus 0.3 wins. 

So, all of these put together gives us a total of the Phillies being just about 5.7 wins worse than 2011 based solely on our own personnel. Our expected W/L record in 2011 based on runs scored and allowed was 103-59 so that puts us at 97-65.

However, we obviously have to bring into play how our division changed. Our 38 games against the Marlins and Nats should be tougher than last year, while our 19 against the Mets should actually be easier (with the Braves staying the same). I’ll drop us 3 more wins for the increased difficulty in schedule, and put us at 94-68 on the season. That should be enough to win the division by a couple games, and would DEFINITELY be enough to make the stupid new playoff format. Vegas seems to be in line with this prediction, as they have the O/U for Phillies wins at 93.5. Utley and Howard not coming back at all might drop us into the 90-91 range, but that should still be good enough.

We’ll see how the season plays out. There are (obviously) always a lot of surprises, good and bad.

The Rest of the League

So how would the Phils 94 wins stack up against the rest of baseball? I did a similar (but quicker) process as I did above for the other 29 teams and this is how I see the year unfolding…

NL East

1. Phillies 94-68
2. Marlins 88-74 (wild card)
3. Braves 85-77
4. Nats 82-80
5. Mets 71-91

NL Central

1. Reds 88-74
2. Brewers 86-76 (stupid wild card)
3. Cardinals 83-79
4. Pirates 75-87
5. Cubs 69-93
6. Astros 67-95

NL West

1. Diamondbacks 89-73
2. Giants 83-79
3. Rockies  80-82
4. Dodgers 78-84
5. Padres 74-88

AL East

1. Yankees 95-67
2. Red Sox 91-71 (wild card)
3. Rays 89-73
4. Blue Jays 77-85
5. Orioles 73-89

AL Central

1. Tigers 89-73
2. Indians 80-82
3. Royals 74-88
4. Twins 72-90
5. White Sox 70-92

AL West

1. Angels 94-68
2. Rangers 90-72 (stupid wild card)
3. Mariners 74-88
4. A’s 70-92

Playoffs

Stupid wild card games: TEX over BOS, MIL over MIA

Division Series: PHI over MIL, ARI over CIN, NYY over TEX, LAA over DET

Championship Series: ARI over PHI, LAA over NYY

World Series: LAA over ARI

There really isn’t an NL team I love, which is also good news for the Phillies. I picked the Diamondbacks because I liked their additions of Cahill and Kubel and think that Justin Upton could make the leap to MVP this year. But I could make arguments for plenty of teams. As for the Angels, I think the Pujols acquisition overshadowed the fact that they now have the 2nd best “big-3″ to us in the majors with Weaver, Haren and Wilson. I think they will get enough offense around Pujols and will have similar year to the Phillies last year, though with more luck in the playoffs.

So that’s how I see things playing out, both for the Phillies and the rest of the league.

What are your predictions for 2012?

Instead of doing a write-up for each, I’m going to recap how the experts (read: folks who know more about scouting prospects than myself) rank the top guys in the Phillies system and then give a cumulative top-20 with my comments.

For the purposes of this chart…

BA = Baseball America
BP = Baseball Prospectus
KL = Keith Law
FG = FanGraphs
PP = Phuture Phillies
PP (Fan) = Phuture Phillies fan vote
MLB = MLB.com

1. Trevor May, RHP, 22

Was 3rd in the minors last year in K’s (208) and led all the minors in K/9 (12.4) for pitchers with 100+ IP. The key to his future control. He dropped his BB/9 rate from 5.4 to 4.0 last year, but it’s go to go lower for him to reach his full potential.  A potential that for me puts him as a #2 starter in the majors. Reading and AA ball will be a real challenge for him. That’s usually where you find out who is for real and who isn’t.

2. Jesse Biddle, LHP, 20

Big, strong lefty who got better as the year went on. Like May, needs to cut down on walks. At age 20, he could still improve his fastball velocity, which currently sits around 90-91mph.

3. Sebastian Valle, C, 21

Here’s a guy many are high on that I would trade in a heartbeat. He has some of the worst plate discipline you’ll ever see (13 walks last year in 91 games) and though he’s shown decent power, he had a big drop off last year (5 HR, .394 SLG%). Unless he’s an elite defensive catcher, I just don’t see it, and everything I’ve read has him around average behind the plate.

4. Jonathan Pettibone, RHP, 21

Breakout player from last year, Pettibone saw his velocity go up along with his strikeout rate, but also showed great control, with a BB/9 rate under 2. He is a big,  ground ball type pitcher who like May, will be challenged at Reading.

5. Brody Colvin, RHP, 21

Considering all the problems he had, I’m surprised he’s this high. Colvin’s 2011 was disastrous as he allowed over 10 H/9 and saw his K/9 rate drop and BB/9 rate rise. Phils will hope he returns to 2010 form.

6. Freddy Galvis, SS, 21

Galvis had a breakout season with the bat in 2011, if you can call a .716 OPS “breakout,” but if you consider he was never higher than .588 in his minor league career, that’s a big jump. Also considering his defense has been at an above-average MLB level for several years, that’s all he’ll need to do to make the league. The Phillies are teaching him 2B and 3B in the hopes of making him a utility infielder with Rollins’ signed.

7. Maikel Franco, 3B, 19

This one is all scouting and projection, as Franco didn’t really do much of anything with the bat in the low level minors last year.

8. Phillippe Aumont, RHP, 23

Has really impressed in spring training. If he can reign in control, he could make the squad. Has the potential to be a closer or at least team with Bastardo in the late innings.

9. Justin De Fratus, RHP, 24

An injury has set him back in spring training, but like Aumont, has potential to be solid reliever for Phillies. Both he and Aumont are better prospects than Mike Stutes, in my opinion.

10. Larry Greene, OF, 19

Top draft pick from last year. We know he has a lot of power, something that is seriously lacking in our system. That’s about all we know at this point.

11. Julio Rodriguez, RHP, 21

Still only 21, and coming off 2 straight excellent seasons. 358 strikeouts in 307 innings and a 2.87 ERA. Clearly the scouts are seeing something in his stuff that is good enough to get minor leaguers out, but not major leaguers, otherwise he’d be much higher.

12. Jiwan James, OF, 22

Not holding my breath for this super-athlete to have his baseball gene kick in.

13. Roman Quinn, SS, 18

Another pick from last year’s draft. Potentially already the fastest guy in the system. Phuture Phillies compares him to a Michael Bourn or Juan Pierre in that his speed is so good, he might only have to hit a little bit to make it in the pros.

14. Lisalberto Bonilla, RHP, 21

Broke onto the scene last year. Has good K/9, BB/9 rates behind a solid fastball. He’s listed at only 165 lbs (!), so you wonder if he can gain some weight and additional velocity. Worth keeping an eye on this year – I’d put him higher than this.

15. Perci Garner, RHP, 23

Hard throwing reliever with only 34 innings in short-season Williamsport. Again, the scouts see something that the numbers don’t yet show.

16. Aaron Altherr, OF, 21

Sell, sell, sell. Toolsy outfielder who has shown very little signs of converted them into production with the bat.

17. Cesar Hernandez, 2B, 21

After a very good 2010 in Williamsport, he struggled in Clearwater. Not a whole lot of upside, but since he’s a middle-infielder he’s worth watching. Singles hitter who can steal some bases.

18. Mitchell Walding, 3B, 19

The third member of the 2011 draft class on here. Very little to go on here, but like most Phillies’ draft picks he’s a great athlete with lots of potential but is very raw.

19. Carlos Tocci, OF, 16

Uh, yes, that says “16″. And we paid him nearly $800k to sign back in August. Obviously given the age and the money they invested (that’s about the max the Phillies pay for international signings) the Phillies think a great deal of him. However, it’s going to be at least 3 years before we have an idea about what we have with him. Initial scouting says he’s more speed than power.

20. Tyson Gillies, OF, 23

Seemed to be the safest prospect we got back in the Cliff Lee deal but has not been healthy at all during his time with the Phils. If he’s finally healthy, he could have a resurgence, and seems to be impressing a bit in Spring Training this year.

——-

So while the system isn’t what it once was, there are still a couple players here to get excited about. Hopefully as we move through this current window of opportunity at the major league level, the Phillies will pump money into the draft and international markets so we have reinforcements on the way, and more pieces to use in trades.

For the complete list and explanation of criteria and scoring, check out the Philly Fifty page

Longevity – 2

Even though he’s damn near an icon in the city, he only played for the Sixers for 5 seasons. 4 during his prime, and 1 return engagement on his way out.

Peak – 5

The best player in the league in 1982-83, his first with the team, and darn near the best for his other 3 prime seasons. In his MVP year, he went for 24.5 points, 15.3 boards and 2.0 blocks per game. The next three years he averaged 23.7/12.7/1.3.

Popularity – 5

Fo’ fo’ fo’

Team Success – 4

229-99 during his first tenure, with one championship (1983) and 6 playoff series victories. That’s an average single-season record of 57-25.

Awards – 3

MVP in 1982-83, Finals MVP in same year, 1st team All-NBA twice, 2nd team once, and an all-star each of his first four seasons with the team.

Stats – 2

Because he was only around 5 seasons, you won’t see him at the top of many leaderboards. However, even though he is 27th in minutes as a Sixer, he is 3rd in offensive rebounds, 7th in FT made, 10th in blocks, 12th in total rebounds and 16th in points. On a per game average (at least 100 games played), he’s 6th in ppg, and 3rd in rpg – and would be higher in both had he not come back for that last season.

Historical Standing – 4

29,580 career points (NBA/ABA), 17,834 rebounds. Among the greatest centers to ever play the game, but not quite in that top category with Kareem, Wilt, Russell, etc…

Excitement – 3

Not exactly a high flyer, but was fun to watch his ability on the boards, particularly at the offense end. He was an amazing talent, coming in out of high school when no one else really did. And in his first season, at age 19, he averaged 18 and 14 for ABA’s Utah Stars.

Total: 28

For the complete list and explanation of criteria and scoring, check out the Philly Fifty page

For the complete list and explanation of criteria and scoring, check out the Philly Fifty page

Longevity – 3

It seems like longer, but Brian Westbrook spent 8 seasons with the Eagles, only 5 of which he was a full-time, and healthy, starter.

Peak – 4

At his peak, Westbrook was one of the top 2 or 3 offensive weapons the league. 2007 was his best season, when he led the NFL with 2,104 yards from scrimmage. He ran for over 1,300 yards that year and was only the 7th RB in history to catch over 90 balls.

Popularity – 4

Westbrook’s exciting game and unselfish attitude made him a fan favorite in Philly.

Team Success – 4

Westbrook was an integral part of the most successful period in Eagles history. During his 8 seasons, the team went 81-46, including 6 playoff victories, 3 conference championships and one Super Bowl appearance.

Awards – 2

Westbrook wasn’t really one to compile huge numbers, as Andy Reid avoided really pounding him as RB. As a result, he only made 2 pro bowls (2004, 2007) and 2 all-pro teams (2003, 2007).

Stats – 4

Westrbook is 2nd all-time in Eagles history in rushing yards (5,995), with the highest Yards/Attempt (4.6) of any RB in the top-10 (Cunningham and McNabb are higher). He is also 3rd in rushing TDs (37). Equally impressive are his numbers as a receiver. He is 3rd in team history in catches (426), 11th in yards (3,790) and 10th in receiving TDs (29). He also had 39 punt returns with a 12.8 yard average and 2 TD’s.

Historical Standing – 2

Westbrook probably isn’t a Hall of Famer as his style of play didn’t really lend itself to piling up stats. As with many running backs, the road to the hall is more about durability than elite-level play, and B-West was more the latter.

Excitement – 5

One of the most exciting, if not the most exciting, players in franchise history, Westbrook had a knack for making people miss and would often break off long runs without being touched. His quickness and big play ability made him stand out among his peers. This helped too.

Total: 28

For the complete list and explanation of criteria and scoring, check out the Philly Fifty page

The entire group is on the downside of their careers but are all still productive players for their positions.

Catcher: Carlos Ruiz

2011 refresher: Ruiz followed up his career year in 2010 with a solid 2011. His specialty remains getting on base, and had a team best .371 OBP, down from his career best .400 in 2010. Ruiz set a personal best in PA with 472 PA and hopefully he can match, or increase that in 2012. One concern about Ruiz was that he showed almost no power at all, with only 29 extra-base hits and a .383 SLG% (down from .447 in 2010). His ISO (isolated power), dropped for the 2nd straight year.

Fun with FanGraphs: Probably the most frustrating out in baseball, aside from a called strike 3, is the infield fly ball. Strangely, Ruiz nearly doubled the amount of IFFB’s he had in 2011. In 2010, his IFFB% was 7.2%, but in 2011 it jumped all the way up to 13.3%, the highest among regulars on the team.

2012 expectations: Ruiz predictably dropped down a little bit in 2011, and I would expect him to stabilize in 2012 and have  a very similar season. He’s at an age (33) where you aren’t going to see a lot of change in a player and his style of play (walks, singles) doesn’t tend to be volatile from year to year. He will only make $3.7 million in 2012, despite being 2nd in MLB catchers in WAR over the last two season (Mauer) and is an absolutely bargain on a team full of $20+ million players. He has a team option for $5 million in 2013 that they will most certainly pick up, if not extend.

First Baseman: Ryan Howard

2011 refresher: Howard’s power continued to drop in 2010 as finished with a career low .488 SLG%, good for 38th in baseball. For a man paid to be in the top-5 of that list, that’s not a good sign. After averaging 49.5 HR over his first four full seasons, Howard has averaged 32 in his last two. On the bright side, his plate discipline improved, and his walk rate went from 9.5% in 2010 to 11.6%, his highest since 2008. He continues to drive in runs for the Phillies, knocking in over 100 for the 6th straight year.

Fun with FanGraphs: No one saw a smaller % of fastballs in 2011 than Ryan Howard. Pitchers only threw the pitch to him 45% of the time, which was smart as he was still among the best at hitting a fastball.

2012 expectations: We all know that Howard’s 2012 is a big question mark after his Achilles injury on the last play of the season. My personal guess is that Howard comes back in early May, but is really only a league-average player. Achilles injuries take a long, long time to fully recover from (ask Elton Brand) and I think that even when he’s back, he won’t be at 100%, much like Chase Utley last year. Howard is a tremendously hard worker, so I’m sure he will be in as good of shape as he can be.

Second Basemen: Chase Utley

2011 refresher: 2010 was the worst of Utley’s career, until 2011… Utley came into 2011 with a very cryptic knee problem that had some questioning whether or not his career was done. But, he returned on May 23rd and despite not being 100%, provided us with a boost at 2B. When the dust settled on the season, the main concern with Utley (much like Howard and Ruiz, if you are following here) was his power. His .425 SLG% was the lowest of his career, and as the season went on, his power went completely out, with a .342 SLG% in August and September to go along with a horrible .306 OBP.

Fun with FanGraphs: Despite missing time and having his worst season, Utley was still 7th in the MLB in WAR for 2nd basemen, in part because his baserunning and fielding did not decline with his bat.

2012 expectations: Utley says he feels a lot better this year than he did at this point last year. He says his legs are a lot stronger and that should help with the power outage and stability through the season. It’s tough to imagine him ever getting back to his prime years when his OPS was over .900, but I think we would all take less production, but a fully healthy season. I do think that Utley will bounce back, but I also think that Charlie HAS to (but won’t) sit Utley at least once a week to avoid him breaking down at the end of the year, as he has each of the last several seasons.

Short Stop: Jimmy Rollins

2011 refresher: After a sub-par two seasons, Rollins had a bit of a bounceback in 2011, raising his OBP 18 points and his SLG 25 points from the prior season while playing the majority of the year. He also swiped 30 bags again and continued to display his above-average defense and elite base-running. He isn’t what he once was, but still ranked 9th among MLB short-stops in WAR.

Fun with FanGraphs: FanGraphs has Rollins as the 3rd best baserunner in the majors since they started keeping metrics in 2002. #1 on the list is also currently on the Phillies (for now) in Juan Pierre.

2012 expectations: The Phillies and Rollins agreed on a fair deal that will keep Rollins in red pinstripes at least through 2014 and likely 2015. Like pretty much everyone else in this infield, the hope is that he can stay healthy and perform at an above-average level. The days of him being an all-star level talent are likely behind him – but that doesn’t mean he can’t still be a very productive player.

Third Baseman: Placido Polanco

2011 refresher: Really, really, not very good — with the bat at least. Polanco had only 19 (19!) extra-base hits on the season in 523 PA. That’s only 3.6% of his AB. By comparison, Cliff Lee had an XBH in 5.3% of his AB and Mini-Mart and Brian Schneider in 4.4%. Polanco did increase his walks (which isn’t saying much) and his 8% BB rate was the highest of his career. He was still stellar with the glove at 3B though. His .674 OPS was 19th out 22 3B with at least 400 PA.

Fun with FanGraphs: Despite walking more, Polanco swung at more pitches outside the strike zone (27.7%) than he ever has in his career.

2012 expectations: Polanco, now 36, is in his “Ruben Year” – or – the extra year no one but RAJ would have given a player. Ibanez was pretty bad in his Ruben Year last year and I expect the same out of Polanco. Of course this spring training he is saying he will stay healthy for the entire season, but it is extremely unlikely that will happen. Polanco plays through injuries a lot, but not very well. Much like we saw John Mayberry taking time from Ibanez last year, I suspect we will see the same with Ty Wigginton and Polanco this year.

WAR Round-Up

The chart below is sorted by 2011 PA for the Phillies, and shows how the 2011 infield contributed to the Phillies win total. On the right is my rough estimate on the WAR of that player for 2012 and then the final tally at the bottom. I’ll do this for each area and then use it to predict the Phillies 2012 win total.

Basically – I expect the infield to have slightly less overall production than last year (about 1.3 wins) primarily based on the uncertainly surrounding Ryan Howard’s injury, return date, and performance level once he returns. Not on here is John Mayberry Jr., who may see some time at 1B in Howard’s absence. I added the “other” field for the inevitability that folks like Pete Orr and Dane Sardinha are called on for a couple games. Our infield depth in the minors is not very good. As you can also see, I’m not a Mini-Mart believer, but more on that (and Wigginton and Thome) in the bench section.

For the complete list and explanation of criteria and scoring, check out the Philly Fifty page

Longevity – 4

Schilling was traded twice (Red Sox to Orioles, Orioles to Astros) before he landed with the Phillies in 1992 for Jason Grimsley. That trade started an 8 1/2 year career with the Phillies, more than twice his time with any other franchise.

Peak – 4

Schilling’s career peaked in Arizona, but for the Phillies, he peaked in 1997 and 1998, when he pitched a combined 523 innings, with a 3.11 ERA and a ridiculous 619 strikeouts. Only 14 pitchers have had 300+ K’s in a season and only Koufax, Ryan, Randy Johnson, Rube Waddell, J.P. Richard and Schilling did it in back-to-back years. Schilling finished behind in the Cy Voting due in-part to the Phillies’ horribleness, and in-part due to the existence of Greg Maddux and Pedro Martinez.

Popularity – 4

Schilling was popular because he was outspoken about the ownership on the things that were frustrating to fans as well. Usually when a player forces a trade out of a city, he is hated. In Schilling’s case, we wanted to go with him.

Team Success – 2

The Phillies were 642-751 with Schilling. If you take out the magical 1993 season, our average 162-game record during his tenure was 72-90. The Phillies went 124-102 in games he started, 518-649 in games he did not.

Awards – 3

His best finish for the Cy Young in a Phillies’ uni was 4th in 1997. He made the all-star team 3 times as a Phillie. In 1993, he was NLCS MVP.

Stats – 4

He is 4th in team history in K and WHIP, 5th in WAR, IP and W and 14th in ERA. He holds the team single-season record for strikeouts (319) and K/9 for a starter (11.29). Only Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Pedro Martinez have had a higher single-season K/9 as a starter. In 1993, he made 4 post-season starts, going 1-1 with a 2.58 ERA in 31.1 IP.

Historical Standing – 3

I expect Schilling will be in the HOF pretty easily, though maybe not first ballot. Every single pitcher with over 3,000 strikeouts is in and Schilling sits at 3,261 for his career.  I wrote a post on this shortly after he retired, making the case that he should be the first person in the HOF with a Diamondback hat on.

Excitement – 4

No matter how badly the Phillies played or how horrible the Vet was for baseball, the house was usually packed for a Curt Schilling start. A strike-out is the most exciting thing a pitcher can do, and he did it more often than almost every starting pitcher in baseball history. It’s unfortunate the Phillies only made it to one playoffs with him, as we know he had a knack for the dramatic there as well.

Total: 28

For the complete list and explanation of criteria and scoring, check out the Philly Fifty page