Phillies get Brad Lidge

[splitterpfj]

Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary and Mike Costanzo for Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett.

 

link

 

Thoughts?

[Fatter than Joey]

Wow -- Welcome home Scott Linebrink.

[AJAY]

I think the guy badly needed a change of scenery. But those Philly fans are amongst the toughest and will eat him alive the minute he blows a save. It might not be the best fit for him and his psyche.

[dadofandrew]

Bourn is a pretty good prospect, and Geary is a bullpen arm.

 

The bad thing is, this weakens HOU, I assume, because they will now move Pence to RF, when they could have added a mediocre corner OF who was better offensively.

 

I do not think Lidge and Philadelphia are a very good match.

[TheBrewer]

just initial thoughts, I wish the Brewers would've gone after him, it doesn't seem like the Phils paid alot to acquire him

[trwi7]

Phillies help themselves now and the Astros get someone who looks to be like a nice 3B prospect in Costanzo. Not sure what the need for Geary and Bourn is though. Maybe this makes Luke Scott expendable.

[DSFastball55]

But do you think Lidge would be a better fit here? Brewers fans seem to have pretty much destroyed Derrick Turnbow's confidence, and have been mentioned multiple times as being too hard on their own players (and I agree with this).

[trwi7]

But do you think Lidge would be a better fit here? Brewers fans seem to have pretty much destroyed Derrick Turnbow's confidence, and have been mentioned multiple times as being too hard on their own players (and I agree with this).

 

I don't really think you can compare Milwaukee to Philadelphia in this regard. Philadelphia is brutal, if Turnbow was pitching in Philly I mean wow you think we're bad when we boo I don't even what to think about what Turnbow would have to go through.

[brosto1]

I think it is a great deal for Houston. Bourn straight up for Lidge would have been decent. I think he will be a great fit in CF for Houston, very good defense with a good arm in CF and decent plate discipline with a ton of speed. I am quite surprised Philly got rid of him with Rowand being a free agent, would have loved to see the Brewers dangle Turnbow if all the Phillies wanted was a hard thrower with a fragile psyche. I do not think Philly and Lidge will be a match made in heaven.

[endaround]

Not sure how good a prospect Costanzo is. 23 in AA is hardly great and while he hit .270/.368/490 he had 157 strike outs in 137 games.

[Fatter than Joey]

Bourn is a pretty good prospect

 

Bourn seems like a different shade of TGJ to me.

 

Brewers fans seem to have pretty much destroyed Derrick Turnbow's confidence

 

Here's the thing -- Turnbow is a pitcher who had one good year (2005), I am not sure Tbow should ever

have had loads of confidence. -- That is to say, Turnbow was pretty suspect before he heard his first boo.

Turnbow has never been the leverage situations that Lidge has.

 

Houston signing Linebrink and/or Cordero makes a lot of sense now.

[twobrewers]

So does that mean that the Philly are moving Brett Myers back to the starting rotation?

If so, and he holds up well, this could be a huge move for them. They really needed starting pitching - and Myers could still be a very big piece of that puzzle.

I wish we had been in the Lidge sweepstakes - but I think we would have had to give a lot to get him.

[splitterpfj]

Yes, it says in the article that the intent is to move Myers back to the rotation.

[bullox]

Brewers fans seem to have pretty much destroyed Derrick Turnbow's confidence

 

Here's the thing -- Turnbow is a pitcher who had one good year (2005), I am not sure Tbow should ever

have had loads of confidence.

Dude pitches in Major League Baseball, and he shouldn't have confidence? Yikes.

 

[splitterpfj]

I can't post a link, because it's an ESPN Insider piece, but Keith Law is ripping Houston for giving Lidge away in this deal.

[ryne100]

Francisco Cordero, Houston on the line......

[pogokat]

if the stros' take one of our freee agents, and trade us luke scott for nothing, it would be awesome

[colbyjack]

Lidge is due for another big pay raise, as he made over $5M this past year entering his final year of arbitration. Still, they didn't seem to get much in return, as Constanzo has a lot of question marks as noted while Bourn (who went to the U. of Houston) definitely has a limited ceiling in the power dep't. despite having a very good patience/speed/defense package that should be a noticeable improvement from Wily Taveras (I realize Taveras was with the Rockies in '07) that allows them to move Pence to a more natural outfield position (RF), while also keeping Lee in LF and Berkman at 1B. It also allows Pence to bat a little lower in the order.

 

I'm curious if the Phillies are hopeful to re-sign Rowand, because they just traded away his most likely successor.

 

Geary is pretty solid. Bruntlett is very replaceable.

 

I would have thought that Lidge would have been dealt for more than this, but both Bourn and Constanzo have some upside.

[ILuvDaBush]

I thought Shane Victorino was slated for CF duties there. Or, perhaps, they are angling to sign Andruw Jones from a divisional rival and add even more power to that lineup.

[Scooter1027]

I can't post a link, because it's an ESPN Insider piece, but Keith Law is ripping Houston for giving Lidge away in this deal.

 

Yeah, and I agree with him. Law's argument is that Lidge was one of their better, if not their best, available trading chips. They get a slap and run CF in return, a prospect that Law calls something along the lines of a hacker that can only hit fastballs and hanging breaking balls (and can't play his position), and a 12th man type bullpen guy. For the most part, I agree. I feel they could have done better for Lidge. He also comments that this makes Luke Scott very available, and that somebody will now be in line to acquire a very solid strong half of an OF platoon, something I also agree with. I think Doug should be on the phone with Ed Wade ASAP, I would like to have Scott.

[homer]

My buddy is a Phillies phan and thinks the world of Bourn Identity. He considers him a real sleeper - I think Houston made out OK if Bourn can get on base at a decent clip.

[danzig6767]

I wonder if Melvin checked into Lidge?

 

I think Cordero is probably a goner and Lidge would have been a nice pickup if we didn't have to pay a heavy price in prospects. I know Lidge would get nice money in arby, but the bright side would be it's only one year while Cordero is likely going to want four years.

[Mass Haas]

Baseball Prospectus thinks the Phillies paid too much

 

Rotoworld likes it better from a Phillies' perspective

[endaround]

I really don't understand Silver's reasoning (Mass has an incorrect link, since fixed, thanks). Yes Bourn and Costanzo are cheap for years but they also are unlikely to be that good. Meaning you'd always be looking to replace them. Bourn is going to give you average CF play and many think Costanzo is going to struggle to have any type of career. And still Houston has no pitching.

[BrewCrewRising]

I can't post a link, because it's an ESPN Insider piece, but Keith Law is ripping Houston for giving Lidge away in this deal.

Also, I can't help but think how many times Lidge was in a rumor at the trade deadline. It's just too early in the "trading season" to trade away a guy like that when so many teams are trying to resolve bullpen issues. I think they could have gotten more had they waited.