Phinally Philly

“Don’t forget what we’ve done the past two years. Don’t throw in the towel. Get behind us.”

Those words came out of Shane Victorino’s mouth after a frustrating 7-5 loss to the Braves tonight. Atlanta takes this series 2-1, sending the Phils to six games out of first place, sitting in third place behind them and the Mets.

After the game, the 80th straight sellout crowd let the team hear it, erupting in boos as the players left the field.

The night began with Martin Prado stroking a solo homerun, allowing the Braves to jump to an early lead. The Phils would tie it up in the second inning and then take take a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 5th off of a two run blast from Ryan Howard.

Most importantly, after Jamie Moyer surrendered the early homer, he was locked in and cruised through the Atlanta lineup. It was easy to think that the Phils would stay on top since coming into the game Moyer had not allowed an earned run to the Braves over 15 innings pitched this season.

Moyer would finally hit a wall in the sixth inning. After allowing another solo shot to Prado, things unraveled way too quickly. After a single, double, and a walk, Brian McCann doubled to clear bases. Matt Diaz would follow that with a two run homerun, and just like that the Phillies were looking up at a 7-3 Braves lead.

While Moyer has been very good this season, tonight just wasn’t his night. With hindsight, it’s easy to say that he should have been yanked after the fifth inning as he had clearly run out of gas by the time he took the mount in the sixth.

The Phillies would add a run in the seventh off of a Shane Victorino solo blast and a Ben Francisco RBI single, but like many times in the last couple months, it was just not enough. Billy Wagner threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning to save the game, sealing the loss for the Phils.

Maybe it’s the heightened expectations we all have for a team that is quite good on paper, maybe even the best in the division, but paper doesn’t always translate to reality. And oddly enough, it’s not the bench players that are the most frustrating right now – it’s the guys that we expect the most from.

We all know the Phillies are a second half team, but watching them play right now is frustrating. It’s easy to point at one or two guys and say that’s who’s not pulling the weight, but in reality, it’s all across the board.

Utley, Polanco, and Ruiz are hurt. Shane Victorino is batting .252. Ryan Howard only has 15 homeruns. Raul Ibanez is the exact opposite of an offensive threat. Jimmy Rollins has been injured multiple times. Joe Blanton has been ineffective. The bullpen has been useless. The list goes on and on.

But most importantly, this is an old team. The only starting position player on the right side of 30 is Shane Victorino, who will be 29 for slightly less than five more months.

It’s not the time to panic or make drastic moves, but we’re getting close to it. The Phillies are by not out of the the division race, but while their competition has improved, they’ve stayed the same and in some ways have regressed.

When the Phils reconvene after the All-Star break, they could catch fire rendering this entire discussion moot. We know they have it in them, but with the injuries and performance issues, they seem like a lost team. They’re not quite in it, but they are by no means out of it.

Michael Vick’s tenure in Philadelphia has been spotless. While he’s worn the midnight green for less than a year, he’s taken his limited role with grace, understanding why he’s in Philly and what he has to do to prove himself once again to the NFL cognoscenti.

Whether it’s supplanting the few Wildcat plays or backing up McNabb and Kolb, he did the job he was given. Like many NFL players, I am sure he would have liked to play as much as possible, but he’s mostly kept the grumbling too himself because that’s the mature thing to do.

By now we all know about the shooting that occurred at Vick’s 30th birthday party. Although the exact chronology and exactly who was in involved in what is not 100% clear, we do know that there were some arguments, a scuffle, and a shooting. Vick did not pull the trigger, but he may or may not have been in the company of a convicted felon.

That’s where one of the problems may lie – according to the terms of his probation, he is strictly forbidden from fraternizing with convicted felons. That would likely be a release from the Eagles for that offense.

What I found the most troubling is Vick putting himself in this position to begin with. Sure, turning 30 is a momentous occasion for anyone, but a public party that anyone can attend is a huge problem waiting to happen. And it did. I am not faulting the guy for having a party, but perhaps he should have thought about the event’s parameters.

Considering his probation, it would have been best to have a private, strictly friends and family event. Rent a building or stake out a buddy’s backyard. Grill some steaks and crack open a few lagers, worry free.

While we’ll never be sure if that avenue was even considered, the fact of the matter is that there was a party, it was very public, and it took place in Virginia Beach. If you had the money, you were welcome to attend, no questions asked. For most NFL stars this is fine, but if you’re on probation, it’s a terrible idea.

At this point it looks as though Vick is in the clear, and as much as I don’t like the guy or what he did (although he has been rehabilitated in the eyes of the law), he serves an important role on this Eagles team and his athletic ability cannot be denied.

An investigation is pending into exactly what happened at the party because there have been discrepancies in stories from the attendees. The Eagles released a second statement on the situation that rebutted a report from the Associated Press that said they were strongly considering cutting Vick.

Straight from the horse’s (Eagle’s) mouth:

“Furthermore, any report or speculation that suggests the Eagles are considering releasing Vick are not true. We will continue to gather information and monitor the situation and we will not have any further comment until that process is complete.”

Having this distraction now is better than during training camp, or worse, during the season. While it would have been best for Vick and crew to keep this party private, the damage is done and we’re going to have to wait for all of the facts to come to light.

If Vick erred, than he should punished accordingly. This has nothing to do with my feelings about him previously as no man is bigger than the team. He has a lot of offer, but if he’s going to a distraction and violate the terms of his probation, than it’s time to send him packing from South Philly. Let the Raiders deal with him.

The Answer Is Always More Depth

You might want to get a good look at defenseman Andrej Meszaros. After all, he will be helping to anchor the Philadelphia blueline for the next four years at a cool $4.00m per year in cap hit.

The Flyers’ gave up their 2nd rounder in 2012, which normally has just about the same value as a 3rd rounder in 2011. That 3rd round pick is ironically what the Flyers’ got for shipping the rights of recently acquired Dan Hamhuis off to the division rival Pittsburgh Penguins. So in the end it looks roughly like we gave up Ryan Parent for Andrej Meszaros. That’s not too shabby right?

Well, Meszaros was the great two-way defenseman that the Flyers were after two years ago. That was before we acquired Matt Carle and eventually Chris Pronger of course. At that point, Meszaros was a 22-year-old who had three incredible seasons with the Ottawa Senators under his belt. When things looked like they were turning downward, Ottawa sent him to Tampa Bay for San Jose’s 1st round pick in 2009, former Flyer Alexandre Picard, and veteran defenseman Filip Kuba.

So how did we get him two years later for a distant 2nd rounder when he would have cost us an arm and a leg as a restricted free-agent?

As fate would have it, right after the Czech-born stud defenseman signed a lucrative contract totaling 6 years at a cap hit of $4.00m per, he found out that it was not so easy to anchor a defense, particularly on a weak team like Tampa Bay, all by himself. He dropped from a guaranteed 35 points to a weak 16 followed by another season where he notched only 17. For a puck-moving defenseman getting loads of powerplay time, this disaster was akin to a total meltdown.

It is still hard to blame Meszaros entirely. His plus/minus rating all those years in Ottawa was respectable enough. The former first round pick from 2004 could certainly play his part defensively and work physically along the boards. In Tampa, he dropped quietly to a minus 4 in his first year but plummeted to a minus 14 last year.

In 2008-09, his top defensive partners were a respectable top four defenseman named Paul Ranger, our throw-away in the Matt Carle trade Steve Eminger, and Lukas Krajicek, who we just picked off waivers only to drop this offseason for his poor performances. This year, he split time with veteran Mattias Ohlund, second overall selection Victor Hedman, and Mike Lundin. Neither defense is spectacular. In fact, those defenses make the Washington Capitals’ defense look NHL-caliber and credible.

At such a young age, it’s almost impossible to expect that Meszaros anchor a terrible blueline. That said, he won’t have to do the anchoring in Philadelphia.

All things out of Holmgren seem to imply that the Flyers are keeping Pronger, Timonen, Carle, Coburn, and the newly added Meszaros to fill out the top 5 despite various rumors that one will be shipped out. If that wasn’t enough, Holmgren went out and got Sean O’Donnell, a rough shut-down defenseman who won a cup with Pronger in Anaheim, to play as the 6th for $1.00m on a one-year deal. That puts Bartulis as the 7th, likely earning only call-up duty.

Pronger -- Carle
Timonen -- Coburn
Meszaros -- O’Donnell
Bartulis

That’s probably fairly easily the best defense in the NHL. We were arguably the best before the Meszaros trade, but now we’re spectacular on the blueline.

Holmgren consistently noted that it was our inability to play our third pairing in the playoffs, which consisted as some disastrous combination of Ryan Parent, Lukas Krajicak, and rookie Oskars Bartulis, that cost us the Stanley Cup. Many people will say it was goaltending due to the weak goals Leighton let in against the Blackhawks. It’s hard to argue that Leighton didn’t appear too sharp, but you could not hope to keep playing four defensemen for entire games at a time with almost no relief. That certainly isn’t any way to prolong the careers of Pronger and Timonen, who as aging veterans are counted on to lead our defense.

The other part of the equation was certainly the Coburn re-signing. After so many rumors involving his apparent desire to get paid handsomely for his troubles, the two sides finally agreed on a two-year deal at $3.20m per season. Eventually, between Coburn, Carle, and Meszaros, the Flyers will push to replace Timonen and Pronger down the road as their contracts expire. It is always good news to have your future lined up and in place before it arrives.

Still No Goalie In Sight

Unless you count Michael Leighton as a goalie, the Flyers are still in a bit of a pickle at the goaltending position. They signed Leighton an expensive deal for someone of his background just before the opening of free agency at two years for $1.55m per season.

It became a little problematic when more talented goaltenders began coming off the boards at bargain prices. Dan Ellis, who would have likely been a better option than Leighton, signed in Tampa Bay at $1.50m a year for two years. Former Flyer Antero Niittymaki, who also would have been a better option than Leighton, signed in San Jose for $2.00m a year on a two-year deal. Our other former goalie, Martin Biron, who would have been a far better option, signed in New York with the Rangers as a back-up for two years and $0.88m a year. The last goalie to come off the boards was Chris Mason, another who many Flyers’ fans were hoping would save their team. He signed for two years at $1.85m each.

Of the respectable starters still available, that leaves only Evgeni Nabokov and Marty Turco. Both were offered minuscule contracts by the Flyers’ organization, and both respectfully declined. Now, with almost no possible starting jobs left on the market but Philadelphia, they may have wished that had accepted Holmgren’s offer.

Unfortunately now for the Flyers, if they want to get one of the goalies, they either have to sign them to an absolute bargain at around Michael Leighton money or be forced to move another piece to sign one of them. It is possible that, if the Flyers manage to get Nabokov or Turco cheap, Boucher could be waived to clear up room.

There are rumors that we are still sifting through the market, but there is also a wide belief that Leighton, Boucher, recently signed young KHL star Sergei Bobrovsky, and veteran Johan Backlund will battle it out for an NHL job.

Even though our team is now pressed up tight against the salary cap, it is important to remember that we are only one day in. There is still an entire summer to toy with things. Still, comments now say Holmgren is pretty much done.

Overall our team is better and deeper than it was before. Our goaltending, however, remains a severe issue. What else is new?

Are the 2010 Phillies turning into the 2009 Mets? It sure seems that way as this year has already seem multiple injuries to Jimmy Rollins and disabled list stints for J.A. Happ, Placido Polanco, Carlos Ruiz, and Chase Utley. To make matters worse, it came out today that the thumb Utley injured while sliding into second base on Monday would require surgery.

According to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, the procedure will happen today and the All-Star second baseman’s timetable is unknown, although Peter Gammons says it’s four to six weeks. (UPDATE: Various sources now report he will be out at least 8 weeks)

This is a huge hole to have in the infield, especially with the intangibles that Utley brings to the team. Although Polanco will be back before the All-Star break, there’s still damage control that needs to be handled.

Despite being in third place, the team is one short hot streak away from reclaiming the top spot. Although bench players like Brian Schneider Wilson Valdez, and Dane Sardinha have been playing very well as of late, that performance is by no means sustainable for these AAAA players. Although Utley hasn’t played as well as expected this season, he has picked it up as of late by hitting .367 with one home run and 11 RBIs in the last 13 games.

While Phillies fans have been told not to panic at each roadblock this season, things may be getting dire. The severely below average bench will surely show their true face sooner than later, and the team can not afford to fall further out of first place.

Options may not exist in-house, but there are a few guys who are on other teams or are free agents that would do just the trick. MLB Trade Rumors’s Ben Nicholson-Smith recently looked at some of the options that might work for the Philles, and while a few of them are obviously out of the team’s price range, like Dan Uggla and Kelly Johnson, names like Adam Everett and Akinori Iwamura would make sense.

Everett and Iwamura could both reasonably play every day, and when Utley returns in August, either one would be an upgrade on the bench.

Utley has been excellent when coming off of injuries in the past, such as after his broken wrist in July 2007 and his hip surgery after the WFC season. Both times he returned ahead of schedule and ready to play, so we can likely expect the same speedy recovery this time around.

It’s not time to hit the panic button yet. The Phillies are within striking distance and are still a very good ball club, but things just got a lot tougher. The braintrust has options out there, and this is the perfect time for them to do a bit of tinkering.