So long, Randy

by WholeCamels on Nov 27, 2006 12:49 PM EST in News

Long-time Phillies starter Randy Wolf appears poised to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Phillies Pravda reports.

It's hard to blame a guy for wanting to go home to Southern California, and while I like Wolf as a person and thought he had a chance to be a valuable contributor over the next couple of seasons, I don't blame him or the Phillies and I wish Randy the best of luck.

Wolf was never the same pitcher after the 135 pitch monstrosity he was allowed to throw on July 23, 2003. In my opinion, this was the worst single event from the Larry Bowa Years. For probably a solid calender year, Wolf was the second or third best left-handed starter in the National League.

Shed a tear for the Wolf Pack, the original (and probably only decent) fan group that sprung from Veterans Stadium in the early 2000s.

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I blame the Phillies

He got a one year deal. If the Phillies truly wanted to keep him... that's pathetic.

If they made the evaluation that he won't ever be an effective pitcher again, then fine... However if they wanted to keep and couldn't top a one year deal, that's a joke.

Bleeding Green Nation Philadelphia Eagles Blog

by JasonB on Nov 27, 2006 1:18 PM EST reply actions

actually

according to the linked story in this post, the phils offered more money and more years, but wolf is still opting to go with the SoCal address. going home, going to a payoff team, and going to a slightly more forgiving park could be the factors here.

by gr on Nov 27, 2006 2:02 PM EST up reply actions

I only hope

That they've got a better deal in the works, like Schmidt.

by fredex1 on Nov 27, 2006 1:27 PM EST reply actions

hello league avg starter

i wouldn't count on it. i can't picture gillick spending $100 mil and committing six years to a pitcher, espeically one in his 30s. that's almost certainly what its going to take -- you know the demand is going to drive the price up for one of the only two top flight chuckers on the market. SOMEBODY will pay that level of dough.

by gr on Nov 27, 2006 2:05 PM EST reply actions

Wolf's '07 Projections

the Bill James Handbook predicts: 4.31 ERA, 142 IP, 2.1 K/BB ratio. There's no question the Phillies need to sign a 5th starter. They can't afford to give innings to the likes of Floyd, Brito, Madson, etc. the way they did last year.

by enterpsmith on Nov 27, 2006 2:08 PM EST reply actions

ok last post

off topic: look at the lineup from that fateful 135 pitch dayin '03 -- seems like ancient history (lieby 5th!). only 1 guy is still here.

M Byrd CF
P Polanco 2B
J Thome 1B
B Abreu RF
M Lieberthal C
T Houston 3B
J Rollins SS
R Ledee LF
R Wolf P

by gr on Nov 27, 2006 2:09 PM EST reply actions

Bloody hell

Tyler Houston ! Didn't he hit for the cycle with the Mets a couple of years ago ?

by fredex1 on Nov 27, 2006 3:10 PM EST reply actions

EV

I think you're thinking of Eric Valent.

by WholeCamels on Dec 1, 2006 12:07 PM EST up reply actions

No big deal...

It would have been cool to keep him, but you can't make a guy stay where he doesn't want to. I think it's legitimate for a player like Wolf to want to find out if he might pitch better in a different system. I'm curious if the one year gamble will payoff. If he does "become" this year, he's going to be huge in the market - if he stays the same, he might just look to come back here once the experiment is over (assuming he really does feel some kind of attachment to the Phillies).

If that is part of the gamble, though - he'll probably lose. We shouldn't (operative world - shouldn't) need pitchers in the coming years. Ideally, Eaton is the last FA starter we obtain for the next three or four years (or longer).

by VoxOrion on Nov 27, 2006 9:59 PM EST reply actions