The Phillies need a lot of help in every area of their game from their lineup to the bullpen, with starting pitching mixed somewhere in between. Could Ben Sheets be the answer to the Phils’ struggling rotation? Probably not, but he may be put into the situation anyway.
The righthander worked out for the Phillies, Braves, Yankees, and Angels Wednesday afternoon in the comfort of his hometown of Monroe, Louisiana. Out of those four teams the Phils are in the worst shape, and have the biggest hole in their rotation. Sheets could bring some stability if he is able to pitch at 100-percent, and fall back into the form he had during the best year of his career in 2008.
Regaining his prime form is a huge question mark because Sheets hasn’t been healthy since that 2008 season. The Oakland A’s gave him a one year $10-million contract after he missed the entirety of the ’09 season due to a partial tear in the flexor tendon of his right elbow. The chance they took blew up in their faces as he struggled with his velocity and command, earning the least amount of strikeouts in his career. His horrid season ended early when he was shut down in August because of a second flexor tendon that required surgery to be fixed.
Sheets sat out last season recovering from three procedures done to his elbow, including Tommy John surgery. The beat up 33-year-old has said he will only return to the baseball if he can pitch at the top of his game, but his last season resulted in an ERA over 4.5 and only four wins in 20 starts.
So what’s the top of his game right now?
Expecting him to transition back into the majors with ease is ridiculous. The Ben Sheets of 2008 is gone. If he signs with a team he will be no better than a glorified fifth starter.
The once well-known Brewer can bring some stability to the Phillies’ struggling rotation, but he could falter just easily. The later is more likely and unless his asking price is low don’t be surprised to see Amaro Jr. stick with what he’s got.
The 90-game winner can bring a fresh arm to the rotation, and take some of the pressure off Lee and Hamels, but really that’s about it. Signing Sheets is irrelevant because at best he is going to give Philly a .500 record with a sub five ERA and at worst another scapegoat for their lackluster season.
ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY NOOOT!!!! He’s had 4 arm surgeries & hasn’t been healthy, in 5 years.
Wow Ben SHeets… Haven’t heard of his name in a good few years.
You mean to tell me, the Phils can’t locate a Pitcher who has pitched in a competitve environment within the last year..
CAll Pedro MAtinez, Dontrelle Willis ?? To be totally honest, this 2012 Season is down the tubes, bring up some young players/pitchers and see how they look and go from there.. Nothing is going to happen over the next 2 months to save this lost season.. Phils are 11th out of 16 Teams and would have 6-7 Teams to leap frog over which isn’t going to happen…
Start looking to the Future now and get a good look at your Young talent sooner than later so you can develop a better off-season on who/what your needs are..
well it’s officially a baseball season, someone signed mark prior… and ben sheets is now trying for the 100th time.
where are you brandon webb? put us in full swing here
woo-hoo.
damn, I left off rich harden too… he is due for a surfacing
Bring jaime Moyer back,Chan-Ho-Park ,Scott Eyre and Rudy Saenez out of retirement..
Eric Gange,Kerry Wood, and Curt Schilling while your at it..
Schilling could use the $$$ too..
Goes to show you can’t have too much pitching… For all these teams to look under all these rocks. Phil’s for as terrible as its been are 4.5 back for the second wild card… Their trade deadline acquisitions will be Howard, Halliday and maybe just maybe utley
Get hot at the right time… It’s not a guearantee but they have shown the capability of a good second half
Oh and remember Pedro was a contributor?. So these GM,s will look for any help on the mound?.pedro was 5 and 1
You are correct about that Cigar..
They play some divisional games right after the Interleague and play some teams that have been struggling of late.. 21 Games until All-Star Break
3 at Toronto who has been struggling but always Play well versus the Phils
9 Home Game Stand versus Rockies who are struggling and have not fared too well at CBP, Tampa Rays and the surprising Pittsburgh Pirates
then 9 NL East Divisional Games just befor the All-Star Break
3 at Miami, 3 at the NY Mets and 3 Home versu the Braves..
If the can go 13-8 and wins the 3 Series verus the NL East Opponents they have a real shot aof getting to wintihn 5 Games.. . If they continue to play up and down and lost to NL East Opponents, then I think any realistic chance wo leap over 3-4 Teams in the NL East becomes less and minimized.. The need to get on a roll..
Damn Ruiz with an OBLIQUE….it’s that kind of year. It sucks but it happens . I’m sure Ruben has been out there personally injuring his players… What a crappy GM. Horrible.
But even still, despite Ruben… They can get healthy and get into the tourney
Manny Ramirez released from the A’s upon his request. He was in the minors serving out that suspension, that doesnt make me forget about how good of a hitter he is. We need a bat bad and id bring him here as a spark plug to the line up and a 2nd half surge. He may be older but he can still hit. I’d take him over Thome. Its a long shot to even happen anyway.. He may end up in the bronx playing for the yanks
BEN SHEETS?!?!?…… MANNY RAMIREZ?!?!? Is this what has become of our beloved PHILS?!?!? GTFO, with these useless, washed up, has been, wastes of time & $$$! This season & era, IS OVER! Time to lop off some of the fat & get some lean meat, in return. Amaro, Manuel, his entire staff, need to be FIRED! Thome, Lee, Rollins, Victorino, Blanton, all need to be traded ASAP, for as good as packages, as we can get. This season is a wash. Between the combination of Amaro’s piss poor job, & the team being ancient & decimated by injuries, they are done. The need to start the rebuild now, is critical, if they want to salvage any sort of Championship quality contender, in the near future. Our minor leagues is devoid of quality position prospect, & we are in desperation of younger, talented, major leaguers. Make those moves, play the top players you get in return, bring up Brown, DeFratus, Aumont, May & Pettibone, & see what they can do, because what do we have to loose? WE ARE NOT making the playoffs, WE ARE ancient, stale, leadership-less, devoid of energy, powerless, & at the end of an era & cycle, in which the window has slammed shut! THE FAULT, ALL LAYS AT THE FEET OF THE WANNA-BE GOLDEN BOY, AMARO!
It’s always easiest to say we are doomed and then if by chance something good happens you can be a happy fan and if something bad happens you can say see I was right.
They are playing like crap…it is June 15
However another blow last night… Chooooooooooch. Snake bit
It’s tough to look at that line up card on face book, why do they even publish it, the phils have injuries, but the question is would this team be constructed as it is if Gillick were the gm ?
Eric freaking brunt left filled in for reigning mvp for 30 games..he played in 120
Geoff Jenkins was on the bench? You have to have role players and by definition they aren’t stars
However that year the guy you geniuses love to hate had 146 RBI….If we get him back and chooch isn’t too serious we can make a run at wc
Seems that the role players amaro has added are very similar to gillicks…as a matter of fact as special advisor I’m sure he was advising quite a bit
I like the addition of wiggling ton, nix … They aren’t stars but as mentioned neither was 2008 bench
Bruntlett …damn auto spell
The problem for 2012 hasn’t been the role/bench players.. It’s the core of aging,injured players who collectively are on the downside of their careers and this horrible Bullpen (outside of Papelbon) You can blame injuries which definitely has had an impact, but players like Rollins,Polanco,and even Howard and Utley when they do return are not the Players they were 2-3 years ago and to expect them to be is just wishful thinking as is the belief that Doc & Lee can continue to be dominant Pitchers in their mid-30’s with lots of Innings already pitched in their Careers…This Team’s Star’s are simply nnot Star’s anymore and herein lies the problem not only for 2012 but moving forward..
I stated in Feb/March that a real key tot the success of the 2012 Season would be the play of the 4 Players who came out of nowhere last Season and exceeding epxpectations and were big contributors for their 2011 success
PLayers like Mayberry, Worley, Stutes and Bastardo needed to be close toing what theey did last Season and outsdide of Worley, the other 3 have been up and down and mostly down.. I thought if 2 of the 4 played well from this group,they would have a chance (especially Mayberry since he was going to get a lot of pplaying time with Howard out and play LF.. he’s been what his career #’s suggest.. which is not an everyday player..Good guy off the bench, but the Phils needed him to step up and produce and he hasn’t.. Stutes and Bastardo were lights out for 90% of last Season, but I believe they were overworked last year and now this year we are seeing the results, Stutes with arm issues and Bastardo has lost some zipp and his control making the Bullpen a real concern/weak spot for the 7th & 8th innings bedfore getting to Closer Papelbon who has been a rock so far..
Phils willmost likely finish about .500 with 82-84 wins and miss the Playoffs for they simply are not that good nor do they deserve any post-season for the way they have played.. It is what it is..
You are right Paul signing halliday, lee, Howard who is 32 btw were terrible ?..papplebon is 31 and for now you seem to like that signing of an aging FA.Do you realize most quality free agents don’t reach the market till about 30?
They have tried to add younger contributors, you mentioned a few. It takes a mixture
Go Phil’s! Get your core back….hop on the big pieces back and make that run! I have 3 games in sept. and will purchase that playoff package and scalp them to you and car when you jump back on the wagon
thnx for offer Cigar.. but when have a poor bullpen (outside of Papelbon), little to now power and struggle toscore runs, your Starting Piptching can only win you so many games.. Most games are won-lost from the 7th to 9th Innings where the Phils have been awesome in over the past 5 years due to having a strong bullpen,guys who can hit HR’s to mke up for deficts with one swing of the bat and of course were a better defensive team.. Fast forward to 2012,they have very lttle of this, so therefore they squander small leads to weaker opponents and lose games that they used to win.. It’s happened all Season long like I projected it to be back in Off-Season and Spring Training
Right but they get theiece back and even tho you don’t like him you have to admit he can hit a hr for you and drive in runs. The bp is a problem for sure again decimated by injury…states and contrez etc.
And if utley can be 80% of his old self….
It’s easy to criticize after the fact or when things aren’t going in your favor
To count on anything from Utley and Howard for this 2012 Season was a mistake, I stated this in Feb/March and stand by it here in mid-June.
The make-up of the Bullpen I did not like either for Stutes/Bastardo were having velocity and control issues all Spring Trianing due to probably being overused last Season where they were having issues last late September/October so it was no surprise to me that besdies Papelbon, that the rest of the Bullpen was filled with nothing but ??? in my opinion (Herndon,Contreras,Qualls were not Pitchers I had much confidence in and this has proven true dwepsite their injuries and ineffectivemess)
Well getting anything better than what they got to replace Howard was impossible and has been discussed the utley thing was more severe than anyone knew….
Utley’s issues should have been expected, the same thing happened in 2011 and never really healed last Season so to expect him to bounce back a year later even if it’s 75%-80% was wishful thinking in my opinion..
We all knew that Howards situation was different, he will be fine by 2013 but we should have known that his 2012 Season was basically going to be at a loss with his Achilles tear in mid-October.. It takes a good 8 months to recover from under normal conditions and then he had infection setting himfurther back and then artophy set’s in so once he’s healed 100% he will still need 2-3 MOnths of getting in baseball shape since he’s unable to do much else as far as getting his strength,swing,hand-eye timing back..If he can make it back by August, i would be surprised and even if he does I am not so sure if’t the smart thing for him to do long-term.. I would think the Team and him will just bag 2012 and then be 100% for hopefully the next 4-5 Seasons..
It’s a different knee… Genius. How would anyone expect that except second guessing bloggers.
HAC, 1st off, you’re a f^#@ing idiot! 2nd, this team is atrocious & unwatchable! 3rd, they are DONE! Lastly, the window has slammed shut! BTW, is Lee ever going to win a f^#@ing game this year?!!!!!?
Fair weather fan… Always right. I’m sure that when they were winning 102 last year you were as MISERABLE as you are now. They are in a very rough stretch right now… I’m sure as the world class athlete you were that you or your teams never went thru struggles… I’ve coached at a pretty high level and supervised a bunch of coaches and know full well that in athletics things don’t always go as plan… Apparently you won championships every year of your stellar amateur career. Unfortunately it didn’t translate to a good pro career…. Your frustration with yourself is really clear… You have anger issues…good luck with that…
HAC is still stuck in 2011 with 102 Wins that went for naught when Lee couldn’t seal the Game #2 in the Series vs the Cardinals after having a 3 Run Lead….
and paul wouldn’t have signed lee or halliday to give us a chance… second guesser. never made a decision in your life… second guess everyone elses…
no lee, no halliday, no pence….sit complacent and loose… always 162 and 0
paul address the quote of yours that says ‘they should have known because it was like that in 11” when in fact it has been a different knee! you make crap up. you don’t know a thing and you were probably chosen last at sandlot games and are pissed about it! or maybe you were chosen first, a decent athlete but pissed you weren’t as good enough to make it…. one or the other–
lee is the first great pitcher EVER to give up a 3 run lead… oh and btw if he didn’t give up that lead take a look at the stats and see who was mvp of that series… it was a guy you call a mistake. you are a brilliant analyst AFTER THE FACT.
Perfect example last eveing on what the biggest issue is with this team..
Having a 5-2 lead and Manager Manuel obviously has little to no confidence in this worn down, rag-tag Bullpen, so he sends Lee out there for another inning and he cough’s up the lead.. Manuel has done this all season long with his Starters (even Joe Blanton) You keep push them to the limit when trying to get thru a line-up for the 3rd/4th time and squeeze 1 more Inning from your Starter.. This has happened quite a few times already this years where Phils have had a lead going into the 7th and have blown in by keeping a tired Starter in or lost by their crappy Bullpen, Bottom line, it’s a loss in a game that Phils would win 85% of the time over the last 3-4 Seasons and now they are the ones losing them most of the time.. This is the 2012 Season is a nutshell
(I can’t fully blame Manuel for I gue he rather take his chances with his Starters than with this Bullpen he currently has to work with..
Bullpen is a mess..no doubt. Gotta get it righted. Cards were 7.5 back last July. Get healthy someone from the bp needs to step up. Does anyone know how long states is out?
Brutal, just a brutal loss, can’t take too many more of these, Joe savery fights his way out of trouble , self inflicted, gives up 0-2 game winning hit, just fn brutal………
I think Stutes is expected back after the All-Star break in about 2-3 Weeks
Don’t know of too many availalbe Bullpen arms that are out there..
I think Phils should bring a young Starter and move Blanton to the Bullpen
who for 1 inning or so, could have a chance to be more effective than than he is as a Starter.. He generally has good control,goes right at hitters and think that would be his best role for the Club than a Starter at least during this critical stage, if they are not careful, Phils could see themselves 13-14 games out by All-Star Break
Cards made a great combeack last Sept/Oct to make the Playoffs so it can be done, biggest difference is they hadeAlbert Puljos who was hot down the stretch and only had 1 Team to catch which was the Brewers while the rest of the NL Central in 2011 was pretty bad (Reds,Pirates,Astros & Cubs) ..The Phils are the otherhand have 4 Teams in their own Division to catch who are playing pretty good ball (Nats/Braves and Mets) , Plus Cards had a much better game Manager in LaRussa than what Phils Manager Charlie Manuel is ..
Howard has been known to get hot down the stretch last 3 years his sept. obp is 400 and he averages 21 RBI per month in aug and sept. Puljos ave 21 RBI per month with a 426 obp. For the idiots I’m not comparing Howard to puljos in total…just saying he has been a savior down the stretch his entire career. I’m not a bandwagon fan, I’m pissed at the blown leads, the injuries etc. but I am not going to rip them , they have given me and my son about six years of incredible ball….we’ve been season ticket holders and this core has given us memories like I had with my dad in the 70’s and 80… I’ve been a fan during the Von Hayes era for crying out loud. I’m gonna stick this out till the piece gets back and doc
I just hate that people are so negative and then when they win claim to be a fan
That’s paulman no juice when phils win or lose, he’s just a passionless prognosticator whose usually wrong more than right, I’m with you on hoping they still turn it around, that’s what real fans do, hooe
I think that everyone in here enjoyed the last 5-6 years, but some of us see the glaring holes in this team and would like the front office to attempt to fix it. Do I hope that Utley and Howard come back and kill it? Of course, but you have to prepare in case they don’t By the time either of those guys come back, this team may be so far out that no one can save them. As sick as you are about negativity, I think that both of you confuse people point out issues with negativity and I am pretty sick of that. The starting staff is a mess, the bullpen is a mess, the lineup is inconsistent at best. Howard may take many months to be really effective or maybe not. Utley’s knees could go at any time. Hamels is probably gonna walk since they haven’t signed him yet. Do I want it all to work out? I hope it does, but I don’t think that it will.
That being said I am still going to watch every game on tv and go to about 5 games this year. (all I can afford now with 5 kids). So am I less of a fan than superfans Jakedog and Haveacigar. Sorry no.
This team is absolutely depressing! I can’t even waste my breath anymore! 0-27 when trailing after the 7th inning. There is ZERO hope for this team, this year. HAC, I’m not going to rip you, or call you names, because I feel sorry for you, because you are either delusional, or in denial. It kills me, of what has become of this team. If you honestly think, that Howard, who won’t give us much this year, & Utley, who is done, are going to save this sinking ship, you are a lost cause. Save your BS comments, back to me, because you are clueless. This entire organization, needs a complete overhaul. If you believe otherwise, you are going to be sorely disappointed. Deal with reality, THIS IS A TOTALLY, BAD TEAM, THAT HAS CASHED IT IN!!! BTW, just because I speak the truth, doesn’t make me less than a fan.
TO ALL OF THE OTHER GCOBB POPS, Paul, Navy, ETC, ETC,
HAPPY FATHERS DAY! Off to dinner & watching the championship game, with the boys.
Same to you DCar and all the other Fathers out there…
PHils lose anothre one.. on aside note NAtionals releaswd BRad Lidge Today.. WOnder if Phils are interested in picking him up.. HE probably can’t do any wrose that what they have..
I admit I am a critical fan and I expect more from good palyers and good teams and good coaches, when I see things go awry, I will call them out in it.. I’ve been critical of of some the Phils moves since I felt their core of aing players were on their downsideof the carrers and don’t believe in the hype of Local Media,Front Office and feel their opportunity of making another WS run is very unlikely in 2012 and anytime soon for that matter.. Their windowand time has passed, but from 2007 thru 2011 was a great 5 year run (albeit in a very weak NL East) but to come away with only 1 Championship (against the newbie Tampa Day Rays) just doesn’t seem like they played up to potential.. This Phils Team should have dominated and won 2-3 Championships..
What really Sucks is now Philly Fans know how the Braves fans feel.. They went 14 years in a row and just dominated the NL East with Smoltz,Glavin,Maddox,,C Jones , A Jones,etc,etc and only won 1 Championship during that time to show for it… I call it more of a wasted opportunity by the PHils Team,Players and Coaches as they all had their part in it,, I do believe many Phils Players became too comfortable with their long-tem deals, I think Manager Manuel Style allows for that happen more easily and he never was a good manager utilizing a full 25 Man Roster or the Bullpen and now that he has no superstars playing anymore for him, his faults get more exposed.. Start bringing up the kids and see what happens, This 2012 Team will finish in the basement it appears, Fire Manule and replace him wth Sanderg who will have a 2nd half of this season to find out who should be part of the future Phils ..
p-man , the phils are now 2-4 in the latest 23 game streak ! they r very consistent ! dcar ‘s word depressing is very accurate !