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Pedro Update, Coste, Ibanez

According to ESPN, Pedro Martinez threw a 3 inning simulated game for Ruben Amaro today, giving up 3 hits and striking out 3. A rumor had started yesterday in the Dominican Republic that the Phils and Martinez had agreed to a $4 million prorated deal, which would end up paying Pedro about $2 million. I'd expect to see that deal get done.

Raul Ibanez was also activated from the 15-day DL today. Chris Coste was designated for assignment today and claimed off waivers by the Astros. It was good knowing ya Costey, wish it was Bruntlett instead.

Phillies Interested in Wang

SI reporter Jon Heyman tweets that the Phillies are interested in acquiring Chien-Ming Wang from the Yankees. They reportedly offered the Yankees a prospect for him but were turned down. Wang, a 2-time 19-game winner is 1-6 with a 10.06 ERA this year but has not allowed more than 3 runs in his last four starts.

The Worst of the Blogs: The Effects of Poor Journalism

On June 8, a blogger at MidwestSportsFans.com, wrote an article. In that article, JRod, the handle under which the article was written, stated that the performance of Raul Ibanez this year should raise eyebrows and call into question whether or not he has been taking performance enhancing drugs. The article provided no facts, simply speculation and conjecture written by someone clearly in need of attention.

The following is an excerpt from the article: "Maybe the 37-year old Ibanez trained differently this offseason with the pressure of joining the Phillies’ great lineup and is in the best shape he’s ever been in. And maybe that training included… Well, you know where that one was going, but I’d prefer to leave it as unstated speculation."

That is irresponsible journalism at its finest. In response to these allegations, Raul Ibanez said that he wouldn't let just anyone harm his reputation--that he would fight back. I, for one, hope he does. I hope that Raul Ibanez sues "JRod" for libel and takes him to court. Will he win? Unlikely. It will be hard to him to prove malice on the part of MidwestSportsFans. However, he should make a statement to the world that there should be a higher level of journalistic ethics not just for the mainstream media, but for new media like MidwestSportsFans--as Ken Rosenthal called it today on ESPN's Outside The Lines, "a simple code of decency."

"JRod" should be ashamed of the slanderous article he wrote and should hope that he doesn't end up losing money in the process because I'm sure he's already lost a lot of respect.

Lidge to DL; Bako Purchased

The Phillies placed Brad Lidge on the DL today with what they are calling a "sprained knee." Yeah, ok. Lidge was placed on the DL today to give him time to work on his mechanics and clear his head so that hopefully he can come back and pitch like 2008. The move is retroactive to June 7.

In a somewhat surprising move, the Phils purchased the contract of Paul Bako from AAA to fill the roster spot. I'm not quite sure what the thinking was behind bringing up a third catcher, especially one that adds yet another left handed bat to the bench. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

Phillies Climbing Up the All-Star Ranks

With the 3rd set of All-Star voting updates released today, it is clear that Phillies fans are making a huge push. Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Raul Ibanez lead at their positions with Chase more than 1 million votes ahead of 2nd place Orlando Hudson.

Ibanez's vote tally keeps growing and growing since the first update was released where he sat in 6th place. Ryan Howard sits in 2nd place among first basemen behind Albert Pujols and a surprising name in Shane Victorino is not that far back in outfield voting. Victorino trails Carlos Beltran for a starting spot by only 240,000 votes, an amount that can easily be overcome. So get voting now and get your Phillies a secure spot in this year's Midsummer Classic. Click here to vote.

Rollins Hitting 6th

Jimmy Rollins is in the 6th spot tonight against the Dodgers. Charlie Manuel elected to move Jimmy lower to give him a new look at things and to try to get him going. When hitting in the leadoff spot this year, Rollins is batting .213, which ranks 39th out of the 41 leadoff hitters qualifying for the statistic. Hopefully the move down will get him going a little more.

Who To Trade

Jim Salisbury took a look in the Inquirer today at who the Phillies could be dealing as it gets closer to the deadline. Interesting look at what our minor league prospects could end up doing in the bigs from a scout's perspective.

Among the prospects he seemed likely to be dealt were Kyle Kendrick and Joe Savery, the former number 1 pick. I'm a little surprised at his take on Jason Donald as someone the Phillies would have no problem trading as long as it upgrades the MLB club. If the Phillies don't choose to try to retain Pedro Feliz after this season, he would likely step in as the 2010 third baseman.

What To Do With "Lights On" Lidge

Brad Lidge has been far from "Lights Out" so far this season and the most recent showing came Saturday evening as Lidge gave up a solo shot to Rafael Furcal to tie up the game in the bottom of the 9th. Saturday marked the second day in a row that Lidge was brought in to close out a one run lead and the second day in a row he walked away with a blown save--he now has 6.

So what do we do? Charlie Manuel has been adamant in keeping Lidge in the closer role and refusing to consider other options. Well, Charlie, maybe its time to do that. Lidge has shown that he doesn't have the stuff he had in 2008 and is no longer the reliable option you once had.

The most reasonable option seems to be move Lidge to the 8th inning role for a couple of weeks and give Ryan Madson a chance to close. Give him time to clear his head, but still be able to go out and pitch and build up his confidence--then give him one last chance after the All-Star break and hope he returns to form. If not, well let's just hope Madson can turn the lights back off.

Victorino Back, Jimmy Sits

Victorino is back in the lineup today, leading off in place of Jimmy Rollins. Rollins has the day off today to try to clear his head and get back on track. Rollins is 0-6 against Dodger starter Hiroki Kuroda in his career and has never reached base.

Phils Looking at Penny

Todd Zolecki is reporting that the Phillies are looking at Brad Penny of the Red Sox and that they have spoken with the Sox about him. According to Zolecki, the price for Penny is prospect Jason Donald, a pretty steep price for a pitcher who isn't throwing that well.

Penny is 5-1 this year in 10 starts but holds a 5.63 ERA--he is being helped by a strong Red Sox offense (minus David Ortiz.)

Zolecki feels that it would be in the Phillies best interest to hold on to Donald who could be a contributor as soon as next year. I tend to agree. He is currently hitting .235 with 1 home run and 16 RBI for Lehigh.

Return of the Padilla Flotilla?

According to an NL Executive, the Phillies are set to acquire Vicente Padilla or Tom Glavine before the week ends. Padilla was just placed on outright waivers by Texas and Glavine was released by the Braves. On the outside, this would make no sense but if you look at it deeper, it would be a brilliant move.

The Phillies, by signing one of these two pitchers, would acquire a veteran pitcher who they could roll with for about a month. If it turns out well, they save their prospects and don't need to acquire a pitcher like Jake Peavy. If it doesn't, there is nothing lost and the Phillies could wait on a major deal. We'll keep you updated as information develops.

Draft Outlook

Thought we'd touch base with a couple of the Phillies most recent first round draft picks and see what they've been up to on the farm.

2008: Anthony Hewitt- Batted .197 with 1 home run and 9 RBI in 129 plate appearances (33 games) in 2008

2008: Zachary Collier- Batting .233 with 0 home runs and 13 RBI in 47 games for Class A Lakewood. He does have 11 stolen bases.

2007: Joe Savery- Savery is 5-1 with a 3.83 ERA in 10 starts for Reading. He seems to have some command problems having walked 28 and striking out only 37. Look for him to develop more for a couple years before anyone even thinks of calling him up.

2006: Kyle Drabek- You will see Kyle Drabek pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies by 2011. He has excelled at every level. He was 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA for Clearwater before being promoted last week to Reading. In his one start for Reading he threw 7 innings giving up 3 hits, no runs, and striking out 4.

The most recent first round pick before Drabek that is still in the Phillies system is a man by the name of Cole Hamels. He was just the World Series MVP a few months ago.

Victorino Update

Shane Victorino exited last night's game with what has been classified as a left hip strain. His back has been said to have been bothering him mildly and now the hip is beginning to hurt as well.

Victorino will be re-evaluated today and we'll know more later. If a trip to the DL is necessary, one option I'm hearing is moving Jayson Werth to centerfield and recalling Mayberry Jr. More on this to come later.

Likely Trade Candidates

With the Phils looking for a trade partner, several candidates have emerged as potential Phillies. Let's take a look and see who is feasible and who is more a figment of the fan imagination. Thanks goes out to Cot's Baseball Contracts for some of the contract information.

One name floating around is Jake Peavy. The Phillies payroll sits at around $128 million in 2009 and Peavy is owed about $8 million over the rest of the season. The Phils payroll increased by $30 million after last year. Basically, when its all said and done, the Phillies would need to be really creative with their payroll or send some major league talent to the Padres to clear up some space. The Padres wouldn't be inclined to make that deal as it is likely they would want prospects. Peavy also has a full no-trade clause and has expressed interest in teams that fit three characteristics: NL, contender, close to home. The Phils are in the NL, are a contender, but are only 3 or so thousand miles away from home. We'll see if that affects Peavy's decision. So for now, Jake Peavy: Figment

Let's take a look at another name--Erik Bedard. Bedard is also set to be a free agent after this year and therefore would cost significantly less than Peavy. Bedard has somewhat of a reputation as being a clubhouse "cancer" so to speak--the type of player Phillies try to shy away from. Nevertheless, the Phillies can't afford to be picky about what they can get. Erik Bedard--Feasible

The third candidate is Roy Oswalt. Oswalt is set to make $14 million this year, $15 million next year, and $16 million in 2011, with a $16 million dollar option in 2012. He also has a full no trade clause, like Peavy. Its up in the air whether or not Oswalt would accept a trade here, but one thing to keep in mind is a relationship with Brad Lidge, former Astro. Lidge was a great Astro and then had a bad year, was traded, and flourished in Philly. Oswalt isn't having a great year so far in Houston and may choose to honor a potential trade to follow in Lidge's footsteps. Regardless, Oswalt may be a little out of the Phils' price range. For now though, it's somewhat Feasible

Let's take a look at one dark horse that has been thrown around--Roy Halladay Halladay is set to make a lot of money and it is very highly unlikely that he is on the block right now...he's someone Toronto wants to hold on to. It is 100% figment

More Than Just a Call Up?

Antonio Bastardo is set to take the mound tonight against the Padres and Jake Peavy. When Brett Myers went down for the year, the Phillies knew they had to make some type of move to fill out the starting rotation, even temporarily. That move was to send John Mayberry Jr. back down to make room for Bastardo. Was this just a routine call up to replace Myers or was it a little more than that?

Its no secret that the Phillies will look to and have discussions with the San Diego Padres regarding ace Jake Peavy wearing Phillies pinstripes. Its also no secret that the Padres will be looking for some form of pitching in return.

Tuesday night is a great opportunity for the Phillies to showcase the young Bastardo right in front of the Padres. You can bet that the Padres brass will be watching Antonio Bastardo very closely tonight and may even exchange some brief words with Ruben Amaro Jr. too.

Heyman Examines Some Pitching Options

SI Writer Jon Heyman took a look at some options the Phillies could look at the fill out some rotation holes.

Heyman said that Peavy remains an option but might not accept a trade to Philadelphia. The most likely option seems to be Erik Bedard of the Mariners. Bedard has a 2.48 ERA in 9 starts so far for the M's and is set to make $7.75 million this season.

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