Posted on 12/16/2004 6:54:55 PM PST by alydar
It was Felix Rodriguez. He came to the Phils late last year in a trade. I didn't get to see him too much, but I'm sure they got rid of him because he makes 3.3 mil/year. Lofton makes about the same, but they got the Yanks to give them 1.5 mil in cash as part of the trade. I don't recall Heredia being involved, but it is possible.
The Phils are blowing a lot of smoke about their off season moves, but every one of them has resulted in a reduced payroll, so it is obvious that's the goal of the moves, not to better the team.
I grew up outside of Philly and still yearn for the days of Richie Ashburn doing the games. It looked like the Phils were going to play with the Big Boys when they moved into the new stadium last year and picked up guys like Thome and Millwood and Wagner, but they seem to be reverting to seeing themselves as a small to mid market team. That should not be the case. The Phils are still my team in the NL, and I wish them well. Getting rid of Bowa was a step in the right direction. Of course, I said that about Francona too.
That sounds like Red Sox spin/sour grapes. Pedro had the extensive physical, including an MRI, before he was signed. Besides, if Pedro were in such bad physical shape as the Sox are insinuating now, why did they offer him $40 million?
Actually, Steinbrenner had nothing to do with most of the biggest contracts in baseball. Manny Ramirez and A-Rod, to name the two biggest contracts, got those deals from other teams.
True, but Steinbrenner started it off with Reggie, and with a $200 million plus payroll you can't tell me that he didn't overpay some on the team.
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