Jim Konstanty played for the Cincinnati Reds (1944), Boston Braves (1946), Philadelphia Phillies (1948-1954), New York Yankees (1954-1956) and St. Louis Cardinals (1956). Konstanty batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Strykersville, New York. Konstanty started as a physical education teacher in St. Regis Falls, NY. Then, he had played for five major league teams between 1944 and 1956, but his outstanding seasons were with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1948 through 1953. During that period, he became a relief specialist who employed a slider and a change-up with great effectiveness. The son of a farmer, Konstanty starred in sports in high school and also at Syracuse University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree. He pitched briefly with the Cincinnati Reds in 1944 and Boston Braves in 1946, and spent three seasons in the minors until 1948, when the Phillies called him up. In 1950, when Whiz Kids won the National League pennant, Konstanty was named the Most Valuable Player. He appeared in 74 games (then a major league record), winning 16 games with an NL-high 22 saves. In that season, he made the NL All-Star team and received the AP Athlete of the Year and the TSN Pitcher of the Year awards. In a surprise move, he was named to start Game One of the 1950 World Series against the New York Yankees. Konstanty gave up only four hits in eight innings but lost 1-0, his efforts outdone by Vic Raschi's two-hit shutout. Konstanty is still the only National League relief pitcher ever to win the MVP Award. Konstanty seemed to lose his pitching sharpness after his spectacular 1950 season and was sent to the Yankees in the 1954 midseason. He played two seasons in New York and the half a season for the St. Louis Cardinals before retiring at end of 1956. In an 11-season career, Konstanty posted a 66-48 record with 74 saves and a 3.46 ERA in 433 games. Konstanty died of stomach cancer in Oneonta, New York at age 59.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Awards
1944	27	CIN	NL	6	4	.600	2.80	20	12	4	5	1	0	112.2	113	46	35	11	33		19	1	0	1	468	125	1.296	9.0	0.9	2.6	1.5	0.58
1946	29	BSN	NL	0	1	.000	5.28	10	1	3	0	0	0	15.1	17	9	9	2	7		9	0	0	2	67	65	1.565	10.0	1.2	4.1	5.3	1.29
1948	31	PHI	NL	1	0	1.000	0.93	6	0	5	0	0	2	9.2	7	1	1	0	2		7	0	0	0	33	425	0.931	6.5	0.0	1.9	6.5	3.50
1949	32	PHI	NL	9	5	.643	3.25	53	0	27	0	0	7	97.0	98	38	35	9	29		43	1	1	1	386	122	1.309	9.1	0.8	2.7	4.0	1.48
1950	33	PHI	NL	16	7	.696	2.66	74	0	62	0	0	22	152.0	108	51	45	11	50		56	0	3	1	593	152	1.039	6.4	0.7	3.0	3.3	1.12	AS,MVP-1
1951	34	PHI	NL	4	11	.267	4.05	58	1	45	0	0	9	115.2	127	58	52	9	31		27	0	2	0	494	95	1.366	9.9	0.7	2.4	2.1	0.87
1952	35	PHI	NL	5	3	.625	3.94	42	2	25	2	1	6	80.0	87	44	35	9	21		16	0	0	1	342	93	1.350	9.8	1.0	2.4	1.8	0.76
1953	36	PHI	NL	14	10	.583	4.43	48	19	20	7	0	5	170.2	198	90	84	18	42		45	3	0	1	735	95	1.406	10.4	0.9	2.2	2.4	1.07
1954	37	TOT	MLB	3	4	.429	3.01	42	1	25	0	0	5	68.2	73	29	23	7	18		14	0	0	1	285	128	1.325	9.6	0.9	2.4	1.8	0.78
1954	37	PHI	NL	2	3	.400	3.75	33	1	19	0	0	3	50.1	62	27	21	7	12		11	0	0	1	215	107	1.470	11.1	1.3	2.1	2.0	0.92
1954	37	NYY	AL	1	1	.500	0.98	9	0	6	0	0	2	18.1	11	2	2	0	6		3	0	0	0	70	349	0.927	5.4	0.0	2.9	1.5	0.50
1955	38	NYY	AL	7	2	.778	2.32	45	0	30	0	0	11	73.2	68	28	19	5	24	2	19	0	0	0	308	162	1.249	8.3	0.6	2.9	2.3	0.79
1956	39	TOT	MLB	1	1	.500	4.65	35	0	21	0	0	7	50.1	61	26	26	7	12	1	13	0	0	0	220	82	1.450	10.9	1.3	2.1	2.3	1.08
1956	39	NYY	AL	0	0		4.91	8	0	5	0	0	2	11.0	15	6	6	3	6	0	6	0	0	0	53	79	1.909	12.3	2.5	4.9	4.9	1.00
1956	39	STL	NL	1	1	.500	4.58	27	0	16	0	0	5	39.1	46	20	20	4	6	1	7	0	0	0	167	82	1.322	10.5	0.9	1.4	1.6	1.17
11 Seasons				66	48	.579	3.46	433	36	267	14	2	74	945.2	957	420	364	88	269	3	268	5	6	8	3931	112	1.296	9.1	0.8	2.6	2.6	1.00

See all of the inductees in the Phightin' Phils Hall of Fame!

We look forward to an even bigger year in 2010 and hope you continue to read our posts every day and tell your friends about our sites!

May God bless you and those you love!

Twas the night before Christmas, when all over the field,
Not a player was stirring, as the 2009 season had been sealed.
The bats were stacked in the clubhouse with care,
In hopes that another Championship soon would be there.

The Phillies were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of trophies danced in their heads.
And Ruben with his new Halladay contract tucked under his cap,
Had just settled down for a long off-season nap.

When out in Charlie’s house, there arose such a clatter,
He sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window he stumbled, half asleep,
Having woke from a nightmare of his bullpen being taken deep.

The moonlight lit up the National League trophy, causing it to glow
And gave the illusion of a night game on the grass down below.
When, what to his wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh filled with ballplayers in good cheer.

With a year-old GM, ace pitcher in tow,
He knew in a moment it must be Ruben Amaro.
More rapid than the trade deadline, forward they all came,
And he grumbled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now, Utley! Now, Howard! Now, Rollins and Victorino!
On, Ruiz! On, Werth! On, Ibanez and Polanco!
To the top of the National League! To the top of them all!
Now run away! Run away! And play some baseball!"

And then, in a twinkling, Charlie heard, "You The Man!"
From the shouting and cheering of each happy fan.
As he drew in his head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney Roy Halladay came with a bound.

He was dressed all in pinstripes, from his head to his foot,
Having tossed his old Jays uniform, which was tarnished, with ashes and soot.
But he arrived with a smile and Charlie gave him a pat on his back,
Surely a new ace would put this team right back on track.

Roy spoke many words, but getting on with his job,
He showed off his great arm, getting praise from the mob.
And in their joy, the fans clapped their hands,
With Halladay in Philly, 2010 is sure to be grand!

Roy then sprang to the sleigh, and to his new team gave a call,
"You guys are the best ballplayers of all!"
But Charlie heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight,
"Happy Halladay’s to all and to all a good night!”

***Written by:  Jenn Zambri-Dickerson***

Have a safe and Happy Holiday everyone!

Baez does have closing experience but his 2009 mark with the Orioles was a pedestrian 4-6 with a 4.02 ERA. Hardly the numbers a team that won the pennant wants to add to their seventh or eighth inning set up squad. His career numbers are no better as he has a 35-49 record with a 4.04 ERA. Baez pitched for Charlie Manuel's Indians in 2001 and 2002. His best season came in 2005 when he pitched for Tampa Bay. He was 41 of 49 in save opportunities and in 67 games had a 2.86 ERA.

To add a little more analysis to the deal, assume that Baez will replace Chan Ho Park in the Phillies bullpen. Does a guy with an ERA over 4 really make them a better team? No. It keeps them the same at best. And I question that. The Phillies need to do better than this filling out the rest of the pen if they hope to go deep into October in 2010.

For full coverage of the hot stove, check out MLBComplete.com!

The Braves sent, in my opinion, their best starting pitcher Javier Vazquez along with Boone Logan to the New York Yankees for outfielder Melky Cabrera and pitching prospects Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino. While the thought of trading a pitcher of Vazquez's caliber may not make sense on the surface, the Braves feel they have more than enough pitching and wanted to add to their lineup. Cabrera brings World Series experience and will give them a top of the order guy while improving the defense in their outfield. 

General Manager Frank Wren said the team was still looking to add power to the lineup and was waiting for the right deal to come along. In the meantime, the Glaus signing adds a guy, if he can stay healthy, that can add 30 homeruns to the lineup. With Chipper Jones already at third, it will be interesting to see where Troy plays. If he is healthy, I am sure they will find him at least 450 at bats.

The Braves have made themselves a much improved team. While on paper the Phillies are still better, the Braves are now a solid favorite to finish second and be right in contention for the Wild Card. It is a nice roster that Wren has put together for Bobby Cox's final season.

When I was a kid, the Phillies needed pitching help when Steve Carlton's era passed and the team brought in Shane Rawley. Now Rawley was a nice pitcher, if he was the third guy in your rotation. But the Phillies touted him as our number 1. He was to match up against Dwight Gooden, John Tudor, Orel Hershiser. You get the picture.

Then there was Chad Ogea. Ogea never had a really good season in the big leagues but had one great World Series appearance against the Marlins in 1997 ensuring him (at least in the Phillies front office) to be a lock for the top of the Phillies rotation. Of course the Phillies also never took into consideration that his knee was battered from the tragic boating accident that took the lives of Tim Crews and Steve Olin and left he and Bob Ojeda injured.

More recently there was the signing of Jon Leiber. Leiber was another pitcher brought in to be an ace despite having had Tommy John surgery. Leiber was a nice pitcher if he was your fourth guy, but the Phillies brought him in as the ace. How did that turn out?

You get my point. The Phillies have finally realized that when it comes to pitching, you have to get a sure thing. Roy Halladay is as close to a sure thing as you can get. And just think, had the Phillies followed their old ways, we would be sitting here half excited about the Phillies signing John Smoltz to a three year deal to be the teams ace. In the press conference, the Phillies would try to sell us on how they think he can return to his form of the mid 90's and lead the team to victory.

Aren't you glad the Phillies organization has changed? I know I am!

The two young lefties they used a bit last year who may fill some holes are Antonio Bastardo and Sergio Escalona.  Bastardo appeared in only 6 games before being put on the DL with a shoulder injury.  He was very wild in the zone and oddly enough, pitched better to right-handed batters than lefties.  Bastardo shows potential, but there is still a big question mark as to whether he can cut it in the Majors.  Escalona pitched in 14 games and ended with a 4.61 ERA.  Lefties hit only .200 off him.  But at 25 years of age and lacking experience, how much he can help out as a lefty specialist is unknown. 

The bottom line is, the Phillies need bullpen arms.  And the ones they have need to get and stay healthy.  IF GM Ruben Amaro Jr. cannot pull off a decent trade and are forced to rely on youngsters like Bastardo and Escalona, it is going to be another rocky year for the pen.

As for the rest of the team, the Phillies have guaranteed a solid infield for at least the next 2 years as they have picked up the option on Jimmy Rollins’ contract. The 8.5 million dollar option ensures Rollins will stay with the club at least through 2011. 
This move was a no-brainer; Rollins is an integral part of the nucleus of this team.  He is also the best dancer on the team, which in terms of sheer entertainment value, is totally worth the 8.5 million.

Rollins represents one of the Phillies core four players including Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Cole Hamels and is one of if not the leader of the team. Despite declining numbers, there is no question that Rollins contract should be picked up if not extended. With that in mind, why execute the option now? Ruben Amaro could have renegotiated with Rollins and used 2011 as a bargaining chip to try to lock him up longer for perhaps a little less money. Not that they can not still rework the 2011 deal as part of an extension, but what is up with the timing of this?

Again, Rollins is a core player and there is no doubt that they were going to pick up the option. What does announcing it today do for the team, the player, the fans, or anyone else involved? I find no logic in it. If you told me he got a three year extension, I would get it. But he did not. I would love to share some witty insight as to why this move makes sense. But I can not. Can someone please explain the rationale?

 The price for Halladay went down. While the team still gave up Drabek and Taylor, they did not have to include J.A. Happ. While I am not sold that Happ will be anywhere near as good as he was in 2009 ever again, I think he can be a serviceable number 4 or 5 pitcher that can eat innings. The Phillies also received $6 million to meet their precious budget and the ability to ensure that Halladay would be in Philadelphia long term. There is no way that a contract extension could have been done midseason. 

The other thing that I and many other fans thought was about the seven prospects that were traded in the deal. And were the prospects that the Phillies received from the Mariners for Cliff Lee really as good as Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor? But wait, they do not replace Drabek and Taylor. They replace the players traded for Lee; Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Jason Donald, and Jason Knapp. Donald had surgery and hit only .239 at Triple A. Knapp is scheduled to have surgery making his future uncertain. Carrasco had an 8.87 ERA going 0-4 with the Indians after a sub par year in Triple A. Marson only hit .243 at Triple A after being traded and is probably the only prospect that could stick at the major league level at least in the foreseeable future making Phillippe Aumont, J.C. Ramirez, and Tyson Gillies look like they upgraded the farm system. 

When you look at it this way, the Phillies received Halladay for less then they would have in July, are sure to have him longer, and now have upgraded their farm system. Not too bad when you look at it that way. While we can only wonder what the Phillies could have done had they kept Lee for 2010, restocking the farm system gives the Phillies a brighter future while giving them more chips should they have a mid season need in 2010. A day after and I am feeling much better about this deal. Are you?

As for the fans, we are all very excited to see Roy Halladay in a Phillies uniform!  But many wish the ultimate pitching dream of Halladay & Lee could have been a reality.  Here is a synopsis of how it all went down for the Lee fans:

5 Stages of Grief In Losing Cliff Lee:

- Denial:  This cannot be happening!  Lee was the only pitcher to win a game for us in the World Series!

- Anger:   Noooooo!  Ruben Amaro Jr., you stink!

- Bargaining:   Hey Ruben, how about we keep both Halladay AND Lee?  Come on….please?  I’ll be your best friend :O)

- Depression:  I am going to crawl in a hole; wake me in the Spring.

- Acceptance:  Oh, ok.  I guess it was a good business decision.  I still love you Ruben :O)  Thank you for a Happy Halladay!

Mr. Amaro may be the happiest person on the planet right now; he has wanted Halladay for a very long time and finally got his wish.  During the press conference, Amaro referred to the acquisition of Halladay as “intoxicating.”  Well, that does explain a lot about the trade I suppose.  Clearly, he was drunk on Halladay Juice and made some very creative decisions.  I’ll give him an A+ on getting Halladay.  As for letting Lee go in exchange for the prospects, the jury is out until we see how he handles the hangover. ;o)

Well, it is the Halladay Season, so drink up Mr. Amaro!  Just sober up in time for Spring Training.

By the way, the This Year In Baseball awards are in and some Phillies, plus a few of their fans, won awards.  Ruben Amaro Jr. was voted Best Executive; J.A. Happ, who should have gotten the Rookie of the Year award will have to settle for the TYIB Best Rookie prize; Jayson Werth won Best Unsung Star; and the father-daughter pair who were shown all over TV after Dad caught a ball and his daughter tossed it back, were named the season's Best Oddity.

Congrats to all!