Kuzul

Ranking the greatest anything of all time is not a simple task.

There are so many variables that must be taken into consideration when ranking an item over the course of time, that often, and in this case, teams that are probably deserving of a spot in the rankings are left out. When ranking MLB’s greatest pitching staffs of all time, the first thing that must be questioned is, what is a pitching staff?

Baseball’s pitching staff has changed so much over the course of time that it is extremely difficult to rank such great teams on an even keeled scale.

The first question you must consider is what constitutes a pitching staff? In today’s game, a pitching staff is like an outline: five starting pitchers that rotate throughout the season, a corps of middle relievers usually limited to one inning, and the team’s two best relievers stocked in the back of the bullpen as the eighth inning set-up man and closer in the ninth inning.

Twenty to 30 years ago, the game was a bit different. Starters were relied on deeper into the game, middle relievers were used more frequently, and closers were less important, but equally as vital.

Now, when you travel back 50 to 60 years, it was unusual for a good starter to not throw a complete game every time he took the mound.

So how is a pitching staff calculated in these rankings?

Firstly, the only time that a pitching staff in these rankings should be considered is the year in which they are listed. For example, a team like the Atlanta Braves had many different variations of that great staff in the ’90s, but only the listed year is the one garnering the ranking.

One thing that hasn’t changed over the course of baseball’s illustrious history is the value of a pitcher. How valuable was a pitcher to the team’s overall success, and how vital was a team’s group of pitchers (the staff) to their overall success?

Sure, any number of SABRmetrics like WAR and FIP are okay barometers of a staff’s value, but how valuable was that group of pitchers to their team in a select time period with completely different circumstances, to that of another time period? For that reason, a team’s ranking will be defined by a number of things:

– Staff’s overall talent.
– Staff’s success.
– Depth of a staff.

With those factors in mind, where do the Philadelphia Phillies’ “Four Horsemen” rank among the greatest staffs of all time?

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Consider this piece more of a memoir than anything else.  My childhood with the Phillies was always adventurous but often ugly.  The Phillies were constantly a losing team and never broke the bank to go out and sign any big-name free agents.  At the time, we knew they weren’t the New York Yankees, nor were we asking them to be.  We just wanted to know that they had a desire to someday win.

This all changed in 2003 when they signed Jim Thome and closed out the Vet.  Then, in the following off-season, they added Billy Wagner to fill the void of closer and open Citizens Bank Park.  This told the fans that the Phillies wanted to win and apparently now had the funds to do so.  

A lot has changed since those “dog days.”  Philadelphia is now the place to play and you can somewhat thank Thome for helping put Philly on the map.  During the Phillies’ period of misery while at the Vet, you’d be lucky to see 20,000 people down at the ballpark.  My father and I would venture out to the 700 level of rightfield with our $7.00 General Admission tickets.  Those days were enjoyable but also bitter and painful.  Someday though, we knew that the Phillies would turn it around. 

Well, today that period of misery is long gone.  The Phillies are now a marquee team in baseball and have made the playoffs four years running.  They sell out just about every game as tickets are nearly impossible to come by.

They now have (on paper) one of the best rotations of all time.  Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels will be a formidable foursome for the Fightin’ Phils in 2011.  

Through their minor league system, they were able to develop loads of young talent.  This is a pool that includes Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Hamels, Jimmy Rollins and Dominic Brown among others.

Those sad days weren’t that long ago, but are now in the rear-view mirror.  Misery has been turned into all positives for the Phillies.  They bumped the Yankees off of a “Cliff” and are now looking to return to the World Series in 2011.  Ruben Amaro Jr. deserves a bulk of the praise for such moves as this may be the deepest Phils team ever.

For 14 years, Philadelphia suffered without a playoff appearance.  Now, they’re aiming for a fifth straight playoff appearance and third World Series berth.  What a turnaround for a team that was in the basement for so long.  

In four seasons, they’ve doubled the payroll of this team.  During that time, look at the success that they’ve enjoyed.  

They can actually compete financially with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.  That’s something I never thought we could say.     

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    As I was getting ready for bed last night, I headed over to B/R to see what type of articles I could come up with for my nightly reading. I browsed through the NFL section and found nothing so I headed over to the MLB section and found a gem of sarcasm that I couldn’t help but scoff at. 

It appears that after the San Francisco Giants won the World Series by what most sports fans would say was a miracle run of good luck (and it was, make no mistake about it), Giants fans began to overvalue Matt Cain, and indeed, the entire rotation that pitched them through that World Series vs. Texas. 

Now, most fans rarely, if ever, will so openly discuss their blatant over-valuations of any one player. However, one Giants fan did just that by writing this article about what he thinks the Giants should receive if they decided to trade Matt Cain in the coming months. That fan’s name: Andrew Brining.

It has come to my attention that most San Francisco Giants fans have become disillusioned following the dream run through the postseason, but I had never thought that any of them had fallen this far, this fast. 

Now, I don’t want to be taken the wrong way. Matt Cain is a good pitcher, possibly even a great pitcher, but he is by no means worth what the majority of Giants fans seem to think. As I read over this article (and it’s rather well written) I couldn’t help thinking to myself “What are they drinking over there in San Francisco?” 

Let me begin by saying that if you haven’t read the article, you should. You’ll see what I’m talking about when you get to the first slide proposing a trade with the Orioles. Throughout the comment section, the author was kind enough to explain his position repeatedly to many people who were also kind enough to inform him that he was out of his mind. The problem with him repeating his position is that his position is incorrect. 

Mr. Brining repeatedly states that because the Giants won the World Series, they are the top team in the league. I don’t think that after the offseason they’ve had, or lack thereof, that the Giants (or their fans) should be touting themselves as top dog. Their offense is bad, their pitching is good. Problem is, several teams have tried the “Pitching Wins Championships” approach, and most of them fail. 

It’s true. Pitching does win championships. Pitching is top dog in the playoffs. If you have two pitchers who could be aces on most of the staffs in the league, and a serviceable 3rd starter, you can probably pitch your way through the postseason and through the world series. But make no mistake, offense (and defense) scoring, (and holding your opponent to fewer runs) are what get you to the postseason. 

Take a look at the 2009 Seattle Mariners. Their pitching was FANTASTIC. Felix Hernandez would have been the AL Cy Young winner in ’09 had there not been a masterpiece of a season by Zack Grienke. Their defense was the best in the league by every measurable statistic. Where were they in October? Sitting at home with the regular folk watching the playoffs on tv. Why? because their offense couldn’t get more runs over the plate than the opponent. Had they reached the playoffs, they probably could have won a series or two, possibly even made it to the World Series. 

Now take a look at the 2011 San Francisco Giants. They’ve got the pitching. They don’t have the offense or the defense. It’s going to be very tough for them to repeat. 

Which brings me back to the aforementioned article. Mr. Brining would like you to believe that, should the Giants get an offer on Matt Cain, and should they need to trade him (which they don’t…he’s young, he’s cheap, and he’s good), they can hold out until they get a trade that is absolutely lopsided in their favor. He’s thinking Cain for Hanley Ramirez or Miguel Cabrera here folks. 

Any rational baseball fan would look at these proposed “trades” and tell you they’re all fantasy. There’s absolutely no way any of the teams mentioned would trade the stars mentioned straight across for Matt Cain. Brining has an answer for that too: look at Cain’s body of work in the playoffs. 20 innings of scoreless baseball. That’s fantastic. That’s two and 2/9ths of a game. When you factor in the fact that the Giants had to play 15 games to win the world series, that’s not even 1/5th of the team’s games in the playoffs. 

Giants fans have become so disillusioned that they believe Matt Cain is worth more in a trade than 2010 Cy Young winners Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez, more than 2008 Cy Young winner Cliff Lee was (in both 2010 trades combined) and Lee’s body of work in the 2009 postseason was even more impressive than Cain’s. 

If Texas were to offer the Seattle Mariners Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler in a trade for Felix Hernandez, I think the Mariners would think about it. If they threw in Neftali Feliz to sweeten the deal, Jack Zduriencek would pick King Felix up, twirl him around his head and throw him in the general direction of Texas. 

Brining says that the Giants wouldn’t even consider trading Cain for Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler. I hate to break it to you bud, but Felix Hernandez has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball for the last two years, and even he could be had for that type of deal. Cain isn’t as valuable as King Felix, not by a long shot. Felix Hernandez is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Cain isn’t even top 10, probably not even top 15. 

The whole point of this article was to say this: Stop thinking a player is God simply because he played well during short run in the Playoffs. If San Fran was to be offered any of the deals mentioned in Mr. Brining’s article, they’d jump on those deals in a heartbeat. 

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Before the times of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Roy Oswalt, there used to be an ace in Philadelphia that went by the name of Cole Hamels.

After the 2008 season, World Series MVP trophy and championship ring in tow, Hamels signed a three-year, $20.5 million extension with the Philadelphia Phillies that would keep him in red pinstripes through 2011.

A couple of years and three aces later, Hamels now finds himself set to begin the 2011 season as the fourth best starter on a loaded pitching staff that is expected to catapult the team into an automatic spot in the World Series.

Alright, it’s not that easy. What also won’t be easy will be re-signing Hamels to another new contract sometime soon that will keep him with the Phillies for the foreseeable future.

After the 2008 season, with Hamels set to go to arbitration, the Phillies structured a new contract that worked for both sides. The three-year deal did not touch his final year of arbitration or any of his free agent years. The deal was unique, however, in the sense that it provided Hamels with the biggest AAV (average annual value) ever on a multi-year deal for a pitcher in his first year of arbitration. 

Now the Phillies will have to work something out all over again, or take Hamels to arbitration after next season. It’s likely not something they want to have to do, but it is certainly possible. He can become a free agent after the 2012 season.

General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. has locked key pieces in, including Lee, Halladay, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley, through at least 2013. Besides Hamels, Amaro will have to make crucial decisions on numerous other players.

Jimmy Rollins is slated to be a free agent after next season. Brad Lidge has a hefty club option lined up for 2012, but the Phillies could buy him out after 2011 for just $1.5 million, which seems likely. Ryan Madson, who could be in line to close in 2012, is a free agent after 2011. Raul Ibanez will also become a free agent after 2011, but that won’t be as tough a decision as the others.

There is no question the Phillies will have money to play with, but they’ll have to use it wisely. Regarding the rotation, Halladay is signed through 2013 with a club option for 2014. Lee, with his new contract, will be here through 2015, potentially 2016, if his option vests.

Oswalt will make $16 million in 2011. The Phillies hold a club option for 2012 at the same number, but can buy Oswalt out for $2 million. Right now, it would seem like a relatively safe bet that the Phillies would do such a thing, leaving Hamels as the only truly undecided member of the 2012 rotation.

Hamels will make $9.5 million in 2011, a far cry from any of the numbers Lee, Halladay, or Oswalt will rake in. It’s pretty safe to assume that had Hamels been on the open market this offseason, he could have gotten a deal very similar to Lee’s, maybe for slightly less on the dollar side.

The Phillies’ philosophy since Pat Gillick joined the organization has been to go no longer than three guaranteed years on a contract with a starting pitcher. They have, for the most part, held to that. Lee was a special case that required the Phillies to open up the checkbook for a deal longer than they might have completed in the past. It did show a bit of a change in philosophy, but it was a special occasion.

Could Hamels be another special occasion? While many players have lauded Philadelphia as a great place to play, and Hamels has embraced the area, he’s going to be looking for money. The Phillies can’t expect to be able to go short-term with Hamels.

After a disappointing 2009, Hamels rebounded nicely in 2010. It wasn’t really a surprise. He threw a lot of innings in 2008, and ran into some bad luck in 2009. It was a bad combination for him to succeed. Last year was different, as Hamels posted a 3.06 ERA. The 12-11 record can be discarded; he received some of the worst run support in the league.

The Phillies will have to decide how to fit Hamels in to the future. It’s likely that a five-year contract could be offered. Three probably won’t be enough to keep him here. There is also no way the Phillies will get close to the same AAV that they got on Hamels’ original extension.

A three-year deal for Hamels in today’s market would, conservatively, cost the Phillies somewhere around $50-52 million. If I were Ruben Amaro, I would offer Hamels a new contract sometime next season, and structure it like so:

2012: $15 million

2013: $16.5 million

2014: $17 million

2015: $17.5 million

2016: $18 million

There, of course, would be various add-ons like Cy Young finishes, All-Star appearances, and the like. But that would be the structure, and it would be fair for both sides. It’s a five-year, $84 million deal in total, without bonuses and such. Hamels would be 33 at the end of the deal.

That deal averages out to $16.8 million in AAV, which doesn’t quite put Hamels in the upper-echelon with guys such as C.C. Sabathia, Lee, and Halladay. Something like this might not even be enough to get it done, which is why the Phillies should communicate early and often with Hamels. The Phillies, realistically, should be willing to go up to about $90 million over five years with Hamels.

If talks break down, there is always the option of trading Hamels next off-season, or even in-season, for a package built around youth. That’s something that should be off in the distance, though. The Phillies need Hamels, and Hamels needs the Philllies.

All signs would point to Hamels sticking around for a long time to come. While the super-rotation may only be in action for one season, the true ace of the Phillies’ future is Hamels.

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In today’s age of professional sports, it’s not too often that you find superstar-caliber players that truly value winning championships over the biggest, most lucrative contract one can get his hands on when testing the free agent waters.

Every pro athlete in every sport claims that their No. 1 goal is to win a championship. They claim that it’s what they come to the ball park every day for, why they practice, why they play the game, however in most cases, it’s not really why they’re in the game.

It’s all about money in today’s generation.

With money taking over as the top priority of all in both sports and reality, it’s rare to find a player or the average folk who would take less money to ensure happiness for their family. Nine times out of 10, the player is going to go where the money is at.

Not Cliff Lee.

Lee turned down about $20 million from the New York Yankees to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies because he loved his short time in Philly, and felt that they gave him the best chance to win a World Series over New York and Texas.

The Yankees reportedly offered the 32-year-old lefty a seven-year, $148 million contract to play in the Bronx. New York’s contract would have guaranteed Lee $132 million. He signed a five-year, $120 million deal with the Phillies.

Another major factor in Lee signing in Philly was that’s where his family would be the most happy. The Phillies fan base embraced Lee, and he became an instant favorite when they acquired him from Cleveland at the trade deadline in 2009.

Lee was 7-4 with a 3.39 earned run average in 12 starts with three complete games for the Phils. He wrote his legacy in Philly during the postseason when he was 4-0 in five games with a 1.56 ERA. He threw 40.1 innings with two complete games.

The name Cliff Lee reached legendary status in the city of brotherly love.

For the Phillies, it’s not the first time a superstar turned down more money to come to Philadelphia. In fact, it’s the second straight winter the top prize took considerably less money to play for the Phightens.

Last offseason, Roy Halladay agreed to waive his no-trade clause to come to Philly and signed a three-year, $60 million extension. It’s a little bit of a different animal in Halladay’s case because he was acquire in a trade, but it’s still the same principal.

Halladay made a name for himself as the game’s top pitcher for more than half a decade. Had he reached free agency, he would have been heavily rewarded with a huge contract. Let’s just say, he would have made at least $60 more million than he did when he signed his extension with Philadelphia.

Doc cited that the reason he wanted to play in Philly was that he made enough money in his career, and at this point in his career, it was more important for him to have an opportunity to win a World Series.

The irony here is that Ruben Amaro Jr. traded Lee to Seattle when he acquired Halladay to replenish the farm system that lost seven players in obtaining Halladay and Lee at the deadline. It was not fully about the money.

That enraged Phillies fans even though they were getting the league’s best arm. The reason was if it wasn’t broke, why fix it?

Lee is the game’s best southpaw, no question. His dominance the last couple years proves the point, and his play in the last two playoffs makes it even stronger. When you had a chance to go into a season with Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee atop your rotation, you’re going to be the favorites.

Amaro opted not to do that because he didn’t think he could resign Lee last winter, and wanted to get more prospects lost in getting both pitchers.

In trading Lee, Amaro acquired Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee.

Sounds like one heck of a master plan.

Visit the Broad Street Scoop for more of Tom’s coverage of the Philadelphia Flyers, Phillies, and the NHL and MLB. Follow Tom on Twitter: @Tom_Dougherty. E-mail him at: todougherty@gmail.com

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The New Year is quickly approaching and as baseball fans pour over the latest Hot Stove news, now is as good a time as any to look back at the 2010 season.

From a bevy of great pitching performances, to an unlikely home run king, to the Giants improbable World Series run, the 2010 season was a memorable one.

So here are the top 50 players from the 2010 season, from the subjective view of one sports writer. I welcome you to inform me where you disagree with my rankings, as this is certainly up for debate.

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The Milwaukee Brewers pulled the trigger on a big-time trade Sunday, and no it wasn’t the much talked-about Prince Fielder move, as they acquired disgruntled Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke.

That begs the question, where does Greinke fall in amongst the best of the National League? Between the St. Louis Cardinals duo of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, the Philadelphia Phillies “Big Four” and the San Francisco Giants duo of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, among others, the NL is not short on great starting pitching.

So here is the list of the NL’s ten best pitchers for 2011 and where Greinke falls into the mix now that he has joined Milwaukee.

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Zack Greinke was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers around 9:30 Sunday morning.  Does this announcement make him an automatic favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award?  After all, he did win the award in the American League in 2009.  Here are 10 pitchers who will compete with Greinke for the award in 2011.  

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Zack Greinke is finally on the move. The Kansas City Royals ace was traded today to the Milwaukee Brewers for a collection of top prospects, including shortstop Alcides Escobar, center fielder Lorenzo Cain and pitchers Jeffrey Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi. The Brewers will also receive shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and $2 million in cash.

After two months of debate and speculation, Royals GM Dayton Moore pulled the trigger and sent Greinke to as far away from the AL Central as possible. It’s the second major trade for the Brewers this offseason, who acquired Toronto Blue Jays ace Shawn Marcum for top prospect Brett Lawrie.

But does the combination of Greinke and Marcum suddenly give the Brewers one of the best rotations in the National League? Let’s take a look at where they rank among the top five rotations in the league.

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December 15th is a historical date.  In 1794, the United States Bill of Rights became law.  In 1933, the 21st Amendment went into effect, legalizing alcohol.  Russians landed on Venus in 1970. And now, in the year 2010, Cliff Lee re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The signing will obviously not impact our society in such way as the Bill of Rights or the 21st Amendment once did.  And it is doubtful that December 15th will be named a national holiday.  However, this is still a historic occasion for the City of Philadelphia.

The following is a list of five ways in which the Cliff Lee deal has made a positive impact on the team, the city and the fans.

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