2017-18 Phillies Off-Season News/Notes/Discussion

[nycphils]

that's where Seattle has a competitive advantage as a second tier city (it's also beautiful, and multi-millionaires may value quality of life).

And no income tax, just like FL and TX

I do think Philly can outbid and get Harper or a Machado etc, but my concern is that the overpay needs to be substantial to attract people away from the LA or NY, Bos or Chicago (NL) because they are not only high end cities but also recent, consistent winners with respected management teams to keep them that way. While I do believe that The Phils FO is committed to spend, I don’t know if they will agree to pay, say, $35m per year for 10years to draw those guys away from a $30m/yr over 10 years with the Yanks, Cubs, Dodgers, etc.

I hope I’m wrong on all counts.

[zambonir]

That income tax thing is very important of course. But you can also buy that out, the Yankees and Dodgers manage.

Seattle's great, I live in the NW. But do you think Robinson Cano cared about that? No, he got paid, and the two crazy mansions he bought with the $ are both in the DR, not Bellevue.

Despite its problems Philadelphia has been in the midst of a revival, especially for young people. Pat Burrell and those Flyers guys had partying in Old Town; today's similar young baseball player might be more interested in eating at Zahav. And Hamels, Utley and Lee all enjoyed having a family life in a city - and in a way that is much more manageable (and cheaper) than NY. Many Phillies also find the team to be a fit because they live in Tampa or Orlando.

And Yu Darvish loves Arlington.

[Austinfan]

One reason it's easier to retain is that once players have roots in the area, hitting free agency (especially if they're married with kids) is less attractive if you can match the money or pay them early.

And retaining your own builds a team identity around a core group of guys.

Which is why I like renting older pitchers in trades, but developing and retaining position players.

No matter how much money you spend, odds are your pitching staff will be constantly changing as pitchers break down, including most of your free agents after a few years. But extend your best starting players in their mid-20s and you can keep a core on the field for 5-6 years. And with that core, like SF did, you just need a couple young pitchers to step up for a couple years.

[Philsmania]

Neris switches agents, for whatever that's worth. Now has the same agent as Santana, Hernandez and Rupp.

Hector Neris Switches Agencies

[julio]

Neris switches agents, for whatever that's worth. Now has the same agent as Santana, Hernandez and Rupp.

Hector Neris Switches Agencies

Realistically, should mean just about nothing, as far as the Phils are concerned. Neris is a year from arbitration, four years from free agency. It would be silly to even think about a multi-year contract at this point. Statistically, he's more likely to suffer some debilitating arm injury, or just lose some effectiveness, over the next four years than to become a contract-negotiation challenge. He's a relief pitcher.

Then too, Neris' contract could easily become the property of some other organization at some point; if he's effective, he's tradable - and not so valuable that they shouldn't listen to offers.

[California_Dreamin]

The demise of the Sporting News in my lifetime is one of the 5 saddest sports stories that I could name...not quite ranking with the collapse of the '64 Phillies or Black Friday in '77 but worth mentioning in my next breath.

[Philsmania]

The demise of the Sporting News in my lifetime is one of the 5 saddest sports stories that I could name...not quite ranking with the collapse of the '64 Phillies or Black Friday in '77 but worth mentioning in my next breath.

I don't know why but that makes me think back to the sudden rise and fall of The National Sports Daily in 1990-91. Went big early and hired a host of big name sports writers, including the Inquirer's Phillies beat writer Peter Pasquarelli. But, nonetheless, it was bankrupt after only eighteen months.

The National Sports Daily

[andyb]

This is actually my hope for the Athletic. They are doing some similar things and maybe the model works better without the physical cost of printing a paper. Of course they could have signed all these former ESPN writers for a discount since they were all unemployed with severance packages, so it might take a couple of years to see if they can bring in enough subscribers to work. Right now I like the site, but am unsure it is really worth it.

[phillychuck]

I'm subscribing to the Athletic, and I honestly think it's the best bargain in sports. I get better stories on the Phils, Sixers, Eagles, and Flyers than I ever did in a newspaper. With their discount offers you can pay less than $4 or $5 per month to read all those articles.

Bodner and Kapadia alone are worth more than that. Way more.

[Philsmania]

This is actually my hope for the Athletic. They are doing some similar things and maybe the model works better without the physical cost of printing a paper. Of course they could have signed all these former ESPN writers for a discount since they were all unemployed with severance packages, so it might take a couple of years to see if they can bring in enough subscribers to work. Right now I like the site, but am unsure it is really worth it.

Ironically, I got the sense that ESPN built its online content with a good deal of talent that once wrote for The National.

[tom81]

Phillies getting serious about stressing OBA this Spring by bringing Bobby Abreu back!

Bobby Abreu among guest instructors for Phillies spring training

[andyb]

I'm subscribing to the Athletic, and I honestly think it's the best bargain in sports. I get better stories on the Phils, Sixers, Eagles, and Flyers than I ever did in a newspaper. With their discount offers you can pay less than $4 or $5 per month to read all those articles.

I like it as I said and I did get a $30 holiday special for the year. It would help me if they added DC as a city but even when I look at the Phillies it seems they have an article every other day. I am sure it will be more in the season but it is thin at the moment. Their national baseball writing also is sort of half staffed at the moment. Rosenthal is good and it is interesting that they talked Gammons back. But they have much less in terms of national prospect writing or analytics. Good quality in general but less depth (though I am guessing that varies city to city and sport to sport).

[zambonir]

I really like the Athletic though I probably wouldn't be getting it if it was just the Philadelphia and baseball content. I am a huge Stuart Mandel (college football) fan and their national hockey coverage is great (and all I really need to read, whereas Philly.com still does a good job covering the Eagles, Phillies and Sixers). They have hired Gelb to cover the Phillies going forward, and also, the site has pretty much only existed in the off-season so far.

Eventually, whatever it is we want to read, we're gonna have to pay for.

[Lawman]

Eventually, whatever it is we want to read, we're gonna have to pay for.

Which, when you think about it, does make sense and is quite fair. You, the reader and consumer, will have to decide where you want to spend your dollar. The Athletic? ESPN Insider? Philly.com? Just to name a few. Ultimately, I think all newspapers are moving towards the firewall model, with most granting readers 5 articles per month free, which I do note that The Athletic and ESPN Insider do not offer.

NY Times, Washington Post, Philly.com, Lohud.com (my local paper), all have pay firewalls.

[allentown]

Or you can come here and get most of the info you need for free. I did subscribe to the Athletic.

[Lawman]

Ken Rosenthal (Ken_Rosenthal)

[zambonir]

I mean, the info here is free when people post links and excerpts, or when MLB Trade Rumors does the same. But none of us (MLBTR included) have primary source information, and ultimately somebody has to pay for that. Advertising doesn't do it anymore, even when there is still a print product, and the decline of ESPN means even that TV revenue isn't subsidizing people anymore. Still waiting to see where Jayson Stark lands. And with Gelb's departure it will be interesting to see if Philly.com replaces him or if they will just have one beat writer between the site and the two print newspapers. As it is I'm not even sure who was even writing for the Inquirer vs. the DN at this point (except for the general columnists). Or if there are even two Eagles beat writers.

I subscribe to NYT and WaPo and use my family's Philly.com, plus the Athletic (which does often put stuff outside the paywall). I still get SI but stopped getting ESPN (which came with Insider). A lot of places you can still get around the paywall by clicking the right social media link.

[Austinfan]

This suggests to me that Klentak has established a price point for each FA, how much money, how many years.
And he'll just wait and see if the market dries up and a player is willing to accept his terms.

[LoneStarPhan]

5 clubs that could still 'win the offseason'

Phil Rogers at MLB.com puts the Phillies #2 on his list. He suggests that the Santana signing does not put the Phillies at the contender level by itself, but he thinks the move will significantly improve the team. He does suggests that a top line free agent pitcher might move the team to that new level.

[Philsmania]

Phillies sign Billy Joel...to an honorary contract.

The Phillies are signing Billy Joel to a 'contract' to commemorate his next...