Needlessly Twisted Knickers

January 27, 2010

If you recall my last post, I had gotten…shall we say…my undergarments into a state of disarray over the salary figures that had been exchanged by the Phillies and Joe Blanton.

And all for naught, as it turns out.

The Phillies and Blanton had reached an agreement on a three-year, $24 million contract extension on Monday, but because Blanton had not yet passed a physical, the arbitration figures had to be filed on Tuesday. So it seems it was more a formality than anything else.

I wish that little part of the story could have been included in the initial reports, so Phillies fans, myself included, could have avoided getting our collective panties in a bunch. Said panties will now need to be carefully extricated, with surgical precision, as demonstrated here:

[Nah, that’s not actually me. It’s Hillary Duff, thanks to eonline.com, but I don’t think she was upset about Joe Blanton.]

Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz have also signed three-year deals. Hmm, a trio of three-year deals. According to Schoolhouse Rock, three “is a magic number.” That’s got to mean something for the coming season. I hope.

In addition to those three, the Phillies and Chad Durbin had previously come to agreement on a one-year deal. That means all four arbitration-eligible Phillies have now signed contracts.

“You say goodbye, and I say hello”

Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer had a handy summary of the comings and goings on the Phillies roster since the end of last season. Here’s a recap, not including minor leaguers:

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye…

Pedro Feliz: has signed with Houston – I’ll miss his great glove;
Cliff Lee: yes, I’m still upset about his trade to Seattle;
Eric Bruntlett: signed with Washington – sorry, Eric, I won’t miss your abysmal .171 BA;
Clay Condrey: signed with Minnesota;
Brett Myers: also signed with Houston;
Matt Stairs: signed with San Diego – Matt, your .194 wasn’t much to be proud of, either;
Scott Eyre: decided to retire.

Howdy, partner!

Brian Schneider: a capable backup to Carlos Ruiz;
Placido Polanco: welcome back!
Juan Castro: will help solidify the bench;
Ross Gload: an excellent pinch hitter;
Roy Halladay: Woo hoo! What more can I say than that?
Danys Baez: some bullpen help with closing experience;
Jose Contreras: expected to be a long reliever, with the occasional spot start.

Sitting in limbo…

Chan Ho Park, Pedro Martinez and Paul Bako all remain unsigned free agents.

Speaking of Brett Myers (which I wasn’t really, but I did mention him in the list of departures), does anyone remember when he was young, thin, and had hair? In case you don’t recall, here’s a scan of a photo I recently came across in my albums, from an appearance back in January 2003.

Yep, a lot can change in seven years.

Written by Rants, Raves, etc. Posted in Dailies Tagged with arbitration, Brett Myers, Carlos Ruiz, Chad Durbin, Joe Blanton, knickers in a twist, panties in a bunch, Shane Victorino