tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610014.post214276949796596564..comments2024-01-31T17:51:12.213-05:00Comments on Swing and a Miss: Beginning of The EndTom Goodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00816668232837298444noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610014.post-19459060272260352532007-10-23T14:35:00.000-04:002007-10-23T14:35:00.000-04:00Your blog today reads like a 'notes' column, which...Your blog today reads like a 'notes' column, which I always enjoy reading in the papers more than anything. <BR/><BR/>I agree with most of your prognostications, though I don't know about the Rockies winning the Series. Agreed on Girardi, Rowand, Rollins. Girardi has obviously been targeted since the day he left Miami. I tend not to believe Boston will push hard to re-sign an old and injury-prone Schilling.<BR/><BR/>As far as Howard, I've made my opinion well known on another blog, but I'll restate it here. I think power without any additional assets is highly over-rated, and I think Howard is over-rated. The raise he'll get in arbitration will be more than fair, as he has made a lot of money for the Phillies already and was somewhat short-changed last season. However, at this point I would need to see considerable improvements to his overall game in order to advocate a long-term contract for him. The Phillies have been burned too often by allowing players who lack in dimension to commandeer too large a portion of the payroll. The Howard of '06 was one thing, but I don't believe he'll ever approach those numbers again, and I don't think the 45-homer, 200-strikeout, 260-pound version of Howard is something worth building around. Besides that, the Phils have a young second baseman (perhaps ready for AA next season) named Adrian Cardenas who is thought to be of major league caliber - someone who would cost far less, obviously, and who could send Utley over to first base. I believe the plights of Howard and Cardenas in 2008 are something worth keeping a very attentive eye on in considering the future of this team. Locking Howard in makes more sense for marketing purposes but I don't believe it makes sense for baseball purposes. Is there anyone in the Phillies organization who will stand up and recognize this, or are they just as deluded as the public at large that homeruns are more important than pitching? I do take your point about the Padres, but the Phillies have other capable bats as it is. A large and long contract for Howard is a virtual guarantee that the imbalance that defined the 2007 team will perpetuate for years to come.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com