Doc Gets the Call to Cooperstown

The late, great, and I mean great Roy Halladay was announced as one of the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame today. Halladay's time with the Phils, and on Earth, was far too short, but he accomplished so much.

In his 4 seasons a Phillie, he threw a perfect game, a playoff no-hitter, and won a Cy Young Award, and finished second in the Cy Young voting the following year. He threw 18 complete games. In his Cy Young year, he struck out 219 and walked only 30. He truly deserves the call to the Hall of Fame. He received xx percent of the vote in his first year of eligibility.

His plaque in Cooperstown will probably have him wearing a Blue Jays cap, and that's absolutely the way it should be. But he will forever hold a place in the hearts of Phillies fans.

And it seems somewhat fitting that news of Halladay's enshrinement comes on the 40th birthday of his catcher, the beloved Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz. Happy birthday, Chooch. We love you.

*clears throat*

CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH! 🎂🎈🎉🎁 pic.twitter.com/lj3LpFtyET

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) January 22, 2019

Something Needs to Happen

We're allowed to dress down at work on Fridays. Way down. So today, I'm wearing a red Phillies hoodie. For two reasons. First, it's as cozy as a meat locker in my office. Second, I'm trying to summon some good juju from the baseball gods to get something moving on the Macharper Front.

Macharper is the ongoing, seemingly never-ending quest to sign Manny Machado or Bryce Harper. For weeks, we've been swimming in rumors and innuendo. So I'm doing what I can to help things out. Yeah, it's stupid. But I need to do something. Besides, it's freezing at my desk.

No Deal for Nola - Yet

You're probably preoccupied with the Eagles-Saints playoff game tomorrow. But I'm not, because there's lots of Phillies news to report.

Ace Aaron Nola exchanged arbitration numbers with the Phillies yesterday and the sides were pretty far apart. The Phillies offered $4.5 million while Nola requested $6.75 million. I'm actually surprised Nola's figure was as low as it was. Coming off a season when he finished third in Cy Young voting, second in ERA, third in WHIP and innings pitched and fifth in strikeouts, he absolutely deserves to be paid like an ace.

So it looks like they'll go to arbitration. Maybe the Phillies will try to sign Nola to a long-term contract, or they'll take their chances and sign him to a 1-year deal and try again next year. But there's a risk of animosity from Nola not getting what he feels he's worth.

The Phils did agree on 1-year contracts with Cesar Hernandez, Maikel Franco, Vince Velasquez, Adam Morgan, and Aaron Altherr.

And today, owner John Middleton, team president Andy McPhail, GM Matt Klentak, manager Gabe Kapler and maybe even the Phanatic are in Las Vegas to meet with free agent outfielder Bryce Harper and his agent, sith lord Scott Boras. It's pretty unlikely Middleton writes Harper a check today. I expect Harper and Boras to drag this out as long as possible, to try and squeeze as much money out of potential suitors.

Meanwhile, Manny Machado is still unsigned. The Yankees appear to be out of the running for him since they've signed infielders Troy Tulowitzki and DJ LeMahieu. The White Sox have signed two of Machado's best friends, John Jay and Yonder Alonzo. The Phillies countered this week by signing Bobby Dickerson as infield coach. Dickerson was Machado's mentor with the Orioles, and he's know the superstar since he was in high school in Miami.

I still think the Phils end up with Machado. I hope it happens soon. The waiting is brutal. And, and there's only 34 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in Clearwater.

Really, Philadelphia?

For years, I've been saying that listening to sports talk radio makes you dumber. This poll backs me up.

WIP hosts Jon Marks and Ike Reese asked listeners if they'd rather have an Eagles win on Sunday or the Phillies signing Mike Trout. Really?

People would prefer one playoff win, a year AFTER winning the Super Bowl, over the Phillies getting the best player of his generation?

People are idiots. Especially talk radio listeners.


Please vote in this poll and do the right thing. Vote Trout.

What would you rather have?

— Jon Marks & Ike Reese on 94WIP (@MarksReeseWIP) January 8, 2019

Solid Signing

I love, love, LOVE the David Robertson signing.

The hard-throwing right-handed reliever, who represented himself in talks with the Phillies, signed a 2-year $21 million contract with an option for a third year at $12 million.

He's 34 and has thrown at least 60 innings in each of the last 9 seasons, and has a career strikeout rate of 11.97 per 9 innings, the highest of any pitcher with at least 600 innings pitched.

He'll be a reliable option for manager Gabe Kapler in the late innings. The Phillies had been looking for a left-handed reliever, but Robertson held left-handed hitters to a .176 batting average in 132 plate appearances in 2018. According to Brooks Baseball, Robertson throws a knuckle curve (84 mph), cut fastball (93 mph), and a hard slider (87 mph). 

Robertson and his wife, Erin, also founded High Socks for Hope, a nonprofit that strives to create long-term relief for natural disaster survivors and homeless, disabled, or destitute veterans.

He's durable, consistent, and gives the Phillies a veteran, playoff-tested arm in the bullpen. This is a fantastic signing by GM Matt Klentak. 

Six Weeks

Phillies pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Clearwater, Fla., in 43 days. Gimme some baseball. And some Manny Machado. Oh yeah...Happy New Year.