So, you just won the World Series. Your team is one of baseball’s oldest (since 1883) and is located in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the entire country. Your fan base has a reputation for being rabid about its sports teams and demands nothing but the best. After all, they paid for a good portion of the bill for the new stadium and make it possible — by buying tickets and consuming merchandise and concessions — to have the financial flexibility to pay Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Brad Lidge’s salaries.

Your rival becomes glassy-eyed and nauseous once September rolls around and that hasn’t gone over well with that fan base, located in the largest metropolitan area in the country. A new stadium is on the way and they have consistently had money to spend thanks to a similarly rabid fan base that shows up to games in droves.

Who do you think should have the better, more productive off-season? The World F’in Champions, or the September Choke Artists?

It should be the WFC’s. And why not? They just won a World F’in Championship. But the WFC’s have had an embarrassingly low-key, settle-for-less kind of off-season under new GM Ruben Amaro.

Amaro declined to offer arbitration to Pat Burrell, a Type A free agent, because he believed he would accept the offer. Thus, the Phillies would have been forced to pay Burrell a 2009 salary likely in the $16-18 million range, more than they believed him to be worth. Instead, they went out and signed another Type A free agent, Raul Ibanez, for $31.5 million for three years including $6.5 million in 2009. At the cost of two first round draft picks* the Phillies saved about $10 million. But 25% (and potentially 50% given incentives) of that then went to free agent Chan Ho Park, whose 2008 season was the first in which he finished with an ERA+ over 93 since 2001. And $6.5 million went into re-signing Jamie Moyer who is much more likely to put up Adam Eaton-type numbers than Cole Hamels-type numbers.

* On the Phillies’ roster, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Brad Lidge, and Jayson Werth are all former first-round picks. Lidge and Werth were drafted by the Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles, respectively. The Phillies drafted the rest.

In signing Ibanez, Amaro essentially set the market for good-hitting, poor-defending outfielders like Burrell and Adam Dunn. However, if one is going to set the market by making the first splash, one usually wants to get the best player. Among the free agent corner outfielders, Ibanez is arguably out of the top-five. Considering that Adam Dunn is a Type A free agent who was not offered arbitration by the Arizona Diamondbacks, is consistently more productive offensively and comparably poor defensively, it makes no sense to sign Ibanez when you have Dunn available.

What’s often overlooked is that the Phillies are almost never in the mix to acquire a top-tier player, be it in a trade or via free agency.* Sure, the Charlie Manuel/Manny Ramirez connection made some headlines around the trading deadline last season, but there were never any serious talks about Man-Ram wearing Phillies red. How about trading away Ryan Howard for pitching, and promptly signing free agent Mark Teixeira? Not in the wildest dreams of the Phillies’ GM. Derek Lowe a Phillie? You saw what happened to Kevin Millwood, right?

*Brad Lidge doesn’t count since most were disparaging the trade when it happened, considering Lidge to be completely and utterly mentally-wracked as a result of the home run Albert Pujols hit off of him in the 2005 NLCS.

Coming off a WFC, one would figure the Phillies could utilize their clout as WFC’s and the idolization of the players by the fans as a bargaining chip to attract free agents. Granted, the Phillies’ purse strings are a bit tight because so many players are arbitration eligible: Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Jayson Werth, Ryan Madson, Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs, Chad Durbin, and Joe Blanton.

The Phillies are also paying a lot of money in ‘09 to Geoff Jenkins and Adam Eaton, two players who are highly likely to be unproductive. Why not send Jenkins ($6.75 million) or Eaton ($8.75 million) to another desperate team for a handshake, provided they take on a generous portion of their salaries? Right there, that’s between $10 and $15.5 million cleared up. Add in the wasted $6.5 million on Ibanez and $2.5-5 million on Park, and you have between $20-27 million. With that space, they can sign anyone.

Instead, Jenkins’ and Eaton’s salaries will remain wholly on the books, their bodies filling up roster slots that could be taken by more productive players. Amaro is content paying $6.5 million for a downgrade in left field, $6.5 million for a 46-year-old starter in Jamie Moyer, and $2.5-5 million for a flaky, typically unproductive SP/RP hybrid in Park.

WFC’s and they’re scavenging the free agent market. WFC’s and they’re hoping some food falls off the table.

Mets GM Omar Minaya, despite his team’s embarrassingly pathetic play at the end of each of the last two seasons, is eating at the table. He’s at the back end of a three-course meal. With Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz stains on his bib, he may as well get some Derek Lowe on there, too.

Spending money and acquiring star players doesn’t guarantee success by any means. The Phillies have enjoyed success thanks to a great series of draft picks and low-risk, high-reward moves. Mike Arbuckle, responsible for those draft picks, is no longer with the organization as a direct result of Amaro’s promotion. Pat Gillick, responsible for those low-risk, high-reward moves, stepped down as GM after the WFC and will not be able to provide the Phillies with this year’s version of Greg Dobbs or Chad Durbin.

Ruben Amaro is essentially all by himself. The draft isn’t for another half-year and likely won’t matter too much anyway because his arbitration refusal to Burrell and signing of Ibanez essentially cost the Phillies two first-rounders. Amaro has this off-season and the few weeks leading up to the July 31 trading deadline to keep this team ready, willing, and able to defend that World F’in Championship.

The New York Mets, pathetic disappointments the last two seasons, should have had to settle for Ibanez and Park. That Amaro, with his ineffective moves, willingly jumped out and screamed to the baseball world, “Hey, we’ll settle for less. I don’t mind!” shouldn’t settle well with the Philadelphia fan base. And no one should be surprised if the Mets are favorites to win the NL East — or, in more familiar terms, “the team to beat” — going into the season.

Apparently several teams and players felt the need to get deals done before the clock strikes midnight tonight! Here’s a quick rundown of today’s transactions…

- The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim signed reliever Brian Fuentes to a 2-year contract with a club option for a third year.

- The Chicago Cubs acquired right-handed pitcher Jeff Stevens, left-handed pitcher John Gaub and right-handed pitcher Chris Archer from the Cleveland Indians for infielder Mark DeRosa. 
 
The 25-year-old Stevens combined to go 5-4 with a 3.24 ERA (21 ER/58.1 IP), six saves and a .184 batting average against in 36 relief appearances between Cleveland’s Double-A Akron and Triple-A Buffalo affiliates.  He also pitched for the United States Olympic Baseball team that won the bronze medal in Beijing last summer. 

Gaub, 23, went 1-1 with two saves and a 3.38 ERA (24 ER/64.0 IP) in 34 relief appearances for Single-A Lake Country last season, his first full professional campaign.  He struck out 100 batters in 64.0 innings, an average of 14.1 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, and surrendered only three home runs, 0.4 home runs allowed per nine innings.  The six-foot-two, 200-pounder turned in a 3.1-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio (100/32).

Archer, 20, went 4-8 with a 4.29 ERA (55 ER/115.1 IP) in 27 starts for Single-A Lake County last year, tying for second in the South Atlantic League in games started.  He limited opponents to a .220 batting average, as righthanders batted .215 and lefthanders batted .225.  Archer struck out 106 batters in 115.1 innings pitched and surrendered only eight home runs. 

Derosa, who turns 34 in February, batted .289 with 31 home runs and 159 RBI in 298 games during his two seasons with the Cubs.  He originally signed a three-year contract with the club on November 14, 2006.

- The Chicago Cubs and infielder Aaron Miles today agreed to terms on a two-year contract. Miles, 32, batted .317 (120-for-379) with 15 doubles, four home runs, 31 RBI and a .355 on-base percentage in 134 games for the St. Louis Cardinals last season.

- The Orioles today announced that they have signed free agent LHP Mark Hendrickson to a one-year contract for the 2009 season. Hendrickson, 34, went 7-8 with a 5.45 ERA (133.2IP, 81ER) in 36 games (19 starts) for the Florida Marlins in 2008. In his seven major league seasons, Hendrickson is 50-63 with a 5.07 ERA (977.2IP, 551ER) in 215 games.

It’s become a tradition each New Year’s Eve (or thereabouts!) to review my personal favorite baseball web sites of the year. This is actually one of my more enjoyable articles to write. It’s nice to talk about the great work being done around the Web.

I use this list to generally focus on the independent sites and steer away from the old reliables like Baseball Reference, Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Think Factory, and Retrosheet. We all already know they’re among our favorites.  BDD and Baseball Prospectus are ineligible for consideration…you know, due to our little affiliation!

1 - Metsblog.com- Not only is this the best sports team blog on the Internet, the content has expanded this past year to cover baseball news and information beyond the Mets. And oh yeah, Matt Cerrone is one of the best guys you’ll ever meet in this business.

2 - The Blog on the Book - The more I read Tango & co., the more I like their work. Sometimes the content goes over my head, but I generally get the gist of what everyone is trying to say. MGL and Tango are just two great entertaining analysts.

3 - Shysterball (on The Hard Ball Times) - Craig Calcaterra is one of my favorite writers on the net, even when I don’t agree with him! He has a great handle on the game, understands the issues, and has a great sense of humor…even for an lawyer!

4 - Baseball Musings - David Pinto continues to fill a tremendous niche with constant updates from around the world of baseball. Whenever I’m away from my PC for a prolonged period of time, Baseball Musings is one of the first sites I check upon my return.

5 - MLB Trade Rumors - I generally don’t like endorsing portals, and I think the site was better when Tim gave more of his take on transactions, but MLB Trade Rumors still is very useful in aggregating rumors, signings, trades, and arbitration activity.

6 - Seamheads.com- I know, I know, we’re affiliated with Seamheads…I can’t help but endorse these guys though. Michael Lynch and his staff have done tremendous things this year, and the writing is fantastic. This is a real up and coming site that you should check out everyday.

7 - Brew Crew Ball- Our friend Jeff Sackmann isn’t as involved as he once was, but there are still plenty of reasons to visit this (mostly) Brewers blog. My favorite is the Frosty Mug! It’s a great way to catch up on all the important information around baseball.

8 - Heater Magazine - Great site, great writers, great content and they’re always adding more information. You get stats, graphs, articles, and of course, The Rundown!

9 - The College Baseball Blog - For those of you who love the ping game like me, CBB is the place to be. From recruiting and schedules to recaps and scouting reports, CBB has the college game covered. Brian Foley’s team provides a constant flow of news and updates to keep every NCAA fan satisfied.

10 - River Avenue Blues - It’s hard to believe this blog made my list considering how much I dislike the Yankees! Seriously though, this site is second to none when it comes to the Bronx Bombers. Ben, Mike, and Joseph cover the Yankees in more detail, and with more insight, than any of their NYY blogging counterparts…so much so that I even enjoy reading about the Yankees.

Other great sites worth noting…Detroit Tigers Weblog, Rain-Delay, Crashburn Alley, Talking Chop, The Newberg Report, Baseball Analysts, Gotham Baseball, It Might Be Dangerous…You Go First

Happy New Year everybody!

…The Rays officially announced the signing of reliever Joe Nelson yesterday. It’s a 1 year deal for $1.3 million. Here’s what Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman had to say about signing Nelson. [Heater]

“We feel like Joe can really help our bullpen,” Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said in a statement. “He had a tremendous season in 2008 and has been very effective against both lefthanded and right-handed hitters. Our bullpen was a large part of our success in 2008 and our quest is to have one of the top bullpens in the American League on an annual basis. Adding Joe certainly helps on that front.”

…According to the Denver Post the Colorado Rockies have signed utility man Luis A. Gonzalez to a minor league deal. This will be his second stint with the Rockies, he played three years with the Rockies before his contract was sold to the Yomiuri Giants. In may he was suspended for a year by Japanese baseball for testing positive for amphetamines. [Denver Post]

…The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed reliever Claudio Vargas to a one year deal worth about $400,000. But the contract is laden with incentives and he could end up making an additional $1.4 million. [LA Times]

…According to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun the Orioles are looking at former Mariner and Yankee first baseman Richie Sexson as an option at first base. [Baltimore Sun]

…The Toronto Blue Jays have signed south paw Mike Maroth to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. [Sports Net CA]

…According to the New York Post the Mets have offered free agent pitcher Derek Lowe a 3 year off worth a reported $36 million. This isn’t quite the offer that Lowe’s agent (Boras) was looking for. He’s the Mets first choice to fill in part of the rotation, though they were also looking at Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf. [NY Post]

…A report on ESPN.com is saying that the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies are close to finalizing a trade that would send pitcher Jason Marquis to the Rockies for right handed reliever Jose Vizcaino. As part of the deal the Cubs would pay $1 million of Marquis contract. [ESPN]

…Two top Cuban players pitcher Yadel Marti and outfielder Yasser Gomez have fled Cuba in pursuit of Major League careers. This according to a report by Enrique Gomez of ESPN. Marti was Cuba’s top pitcher in the first World Baseball Classic. [ESPN]

…The Boston Red Sox have signed pitcher Brad Penny and catcher Josh Bard to contracts. Penny’s deal is for 1 year and $8 million dollars. This will be Bards second stint with the Red Sox, his first stint didn’t last long as he had trouble with the knuckleball. [Yahoo]

…Pitcher Daniel Cabrera finalized his 1 year $2.6 million dollar deal with the Washington Nationals after passing his physical. [USA Today]

…Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder agreed to a three year contract extension worth a reported $14.25 million - this according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. This extension effectively buys out two years of arbitration. The contract also has a option for a fourth year, which could bring the overall price tag to $20 million. [ESPN]

…The Toronto Blue Jays have signed catcher Micheal Barrett to a minor league deal. Barrett spent most of last year on the disabled list for the San Diego Padres. This deal also includes a non-roster invite to Spring Training. [ESPN]

The prospects spreadsheet was updated tonight with the work of Matthew Whipps at The Diamond Cutter, KG at Baseball Prospectus, and John Sickels from Minor League Ball. You can download the file here.

I believe we’re now caught up with all the published lists, but as always, if you see something we’re missing, please email us at info@baseballdigestdaily.com. Thanks

As we close out the year, here were some games in 2008 memorable for no other reason than their oddities:

1. On May 7 and July 10, Cubs pitchers gave up 7 home runs. On September 19, the Brewers pitchers did so as well. In each case the homer-happy team was the Cincinnati Reds. Other than those three games the most Reds homers in a game was four.
2. New York is a rough place. On April 8th at Shea, Chase Utley was hit by three pitches. On July 5th at Yankee Stadium, the same thing happened to Manny Ramirez.
3. On April 17, San Diego pitchers struck out 20 Rockies but lost, 2-1, in 22 innings. On July 26, Cub pitchers struck out 20 Marlins but lost, 3-2, in 12 innings.
4. On July 6 and July 19 the Braves and the Yanks left 21 runners on base, yet each won their games.
5. On May 17, the Twins, behind Livan Hernandez and Brian Bass, lost to the Colorado Rockies, 3-2. Neither Hernandez or Bass recorded a strikeout or a walk.
6. On April 17, the M’s topped the A’s, 8-1. Seattle had nine hits, none for extra bases.
7. On April 2, the Toronto Blue Jays hit into five double plays and were caught stealing twice, yet still topped the Yankees, 5-2.
8. On September 24, the Brewers were only able to muster two singles against the Pirates – they still won, 4-2 with help from the nine walks given up by the Buccos.
9. On April 15, Jose Lopez had one hit and four RBI. A grand slam? Guess again, a single and three sac flies.
10. On August 22, the Cards topped the Braves 18-3; they had 21 singles and five doubles, but no triples or homers.
11. On July 7, Skip Schumaker went 6 for 7 with a sac bunt and on June 7th, Johnny Damon went 6 for 6 with 4 RBI and a stolen base; they were the one-game hit leaders in 2008. Schumaker and Damon were their respective team’s leadoff batter and left fielder.
12. On July 30, Alex Gordon played against the A’s but you can’t tell much by the box score; in five plate appearances, he drew five walks.
13. On August 9th, Clayton Kershaw laid down three successful sac bunts.
14. On June 13, Gavin Floyd threw 6.1 innings against the Rockies giving up four runs on four hits. All four hits were solo homers.
15. On July 13, Jeremy Sowers started against the Rays and faced 22 batters but only allowed contact to seven of them; he walked seven and struck out eight.
16. On August 27, Tim Lincecum threw 132 pitches. On September 13, he topped that by throwing 138 pitches, the most in the majors in one game last year. He won both games, giving up one run in 16.2 innings.
17. On July 30, Kelly Shoppach had 14 total bases against Detroit. Shoppach had three doubles, two homers and one intentional walk. He also struck out once.
18. Omar Vizquel was a .222 hitter this past season, but on May 11 the Phillies issued him three intentional walks.
19. Manny Ramirez does not hit many triples; he has 18 in 16 seasons. This year’s triple came on April 8 against the Tigers and thanks to an error by Placido Polanco, he came all the way around to score.
20. He had a bad day….On May 25, Corey Patterson laid down a sac bunt, the rest of the game he went oh for 8.

Bill Chuck is the creator of Billy-Ball.com (www.Billy-Ball.com) and, with Jim Kaplan, is the author of the book, “Walk-Offs, Last Licks, and Final Outs – Baseball’s Grand (and not so Grand) Finales,” with a Foreword by Jon Miller, published by ACTA Sports, and available worldwide.

Bill Chuck is available for radio appearances, and writing for print or the web. Please contact me at Bill@billy-ball.com or by calling 617-566-2784.

Still feeling the effects of all that “egg nog”? Waste a little more time before getting down to bid-ness with some baseball brain-busters. Answers are “hidden” in white text after each question.  
1. Who was Colorado’s first opening-day starter? David Nied
2. The Rockies have never picked first overall in the amateur draft, but they had the second pick in 2006. Who’d they take? Greg Reynolds (the Devil Rays took Evan Longoria with the next pick)
3. Who holds the single-season team record for homers? Todd Helton and Larry Walker (49 — interesting that the Rox have never had a hitter with 50 bombs)
4. Who holds the single-season team record for outs made? Neifi Perez (519 in 1999 — in fact, he owns the “top” three seasons in this regard)
5. Which Rockies manager tops the franchise list in winning percentage? Don Baylor (.484)
6. Which batter made the last out in the Rockies’ 2007 World Series loss to the Boston Red Sox? Seth Smith
7. Who is the all-time franchise leader in times grounded into a double play? Todd Helton (145)
8. In 1995, Dante Bichette became the first Rockies hitter to reach the 40-homer plateau. How many of his 40 homers did he hit at home? 31
9. Two current MLB managers were selected by the Rockies in the 1992 expansion draft. Name them. Joe Girardi and Eric Wedge
10. Alphabetically, who comes last in the Rockies all-time pitching register? Todd Zeile … he pitched one inning in 2002, allowing no runs on one hit — and striking out one

…Free agent outfielder Willy Taveras and the Cincinnati Reds have agreed to a two year deal on Saturday, filling their need for a center fielder and lead off hitter. [Yahoo]

“Willy Taveras fills two significant needs for our ballclub, a speed base-stealing threat at the top of the order and superior defense in center field,” Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said in a statement.

…With the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes done and over with the Los Angeles Angles have decided it’s not worth the time and money to pursue free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez.  According to Angels General Manager Tony Reagins, the Angels are “going to give the kids a chance to play”. This means, unless another first baseman is brought in that Kendry Morales will be given the everyday job of manning first base. [USA Today]

…As we’ve all heard by now it looks as though the San Diego Padres will be keeping staff  ace Jake Peavy (Am I the only one that is tired of hearing his name?) that they’ve been trying to shop all winter. But don’t think the Padres wont entertain and listen to offers from other clubs concerning the former Cy Young winner. [SD Union-Tribune]

…It looks at though the Baltimore Orioles are looking into catcher Pudge Rodriquez, this according to Peter Schumck of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles have approached Pudge’s agent Scott Boras. The deal will hinge on the fact Rodriquez would have to warm the pine if/when catching prospect Matt Wieters is ready to take over behind the dish. [Baltimore Sun]

…Now that the Giants have brought The Big Unit to the Bay, it looks as though they may entertain offers for Jonathan Sanchez now that Johnson is a Giant. [Giants]

“We’re going to have to be open-minded,” Sabean said, although he repeated that he wouldn’t obtain a player who’s eligible for free agency after 2009.

…The Rogers Clemens Institute for Sports Medicine located in Houston Texas, is about go under go a name change. The Memorial Hermann Hospital Health Care System has decided to drop his name from the sports medicine wing to try and distance themselves from Clemens and the controversy surrounding him. [MLB]

…With the World Baseball Classic only a few months away, we’re starting to see more and more names surface of player who will be taking part. You can add Kevin “The Greek God of Walks” Youkilis to that list. He joins names like Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, David Wright, John Lackey, Grady Sizemore and Derek Jeter on the Team USA roster. Davey Johnson will be managing team USA and rosters will be finalized after the first of the year. [ESPN]

…You’d think the Chicago Cubs would be a bit shy when it comes to Japanese players after Kosuke Fukudome’s interesting first year in the Majors. But alas, they’re ready (according to the Chicago Tribune) to invite two more Japanese players to Spring Training. Both pitchers, right hander Ken Kadokura and southpaw Shigeki Noguchi. [Chicago Tribune]

…The Oakland A’s major free agent target seems to be Jason Giambi, but they’re already working out a plan “B” if Giambi up and asks for way too much cash. According to Susan Slusser of the San Fransisco Chronicle, the A’s have started discussions with both Bobby Abreu and Garret Anderson. [SF Chronicle]

…According to Tracy Ringolsby of the Rockie Mountain News the Colorado Rockies could be eying Chicago Cubs right hander Jason Marquis. This would almost a plan “B” as they don’t want to get tied up into a bidding war for Tim Redding (seriously? A bidding war for Tim Redding?). [Rocky Mountain News]

…The New York Times company is looking to sell it’s stake in the Boston Red Sox. Honestly I had to read that twice to make sure I was reading correctly. But yes, the New York Times is looking to sell off it’s part of the Red Sox as a money venture to save the company from taking a nose dive. [New York Times]

…According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Even Longoria has been extended an invite by Team Mexico to play in the World Baseball Classic, he hasn’t been asked to take part in the WBC as a member of Team USA. [NY Post]