In that vein, I can’t imagine Hinske would cost any more than Gload (especially given that 3 teams were dumb enough to jump on the latter with 2- year offers this early in the offseason, whereas we’ve literally heard nothing about Hinske st this point).

I dunno, maybe there is something to the old school theory that a pinch hitter is up there to get a hit. I mean, that’s the only possible reason for liking Gload more than Hinske — either that, or something stupid like “familiarity with the NL East.”

And I feel like it’s deja vu, but was it really necessary to sign a mediocre bench player to a two-year deal?

It’s terrifying, but no more so than our situation for the last two years.

There just aren’t a whole lot of quality backup middle IF in MLB these days. The main problem I have with the Castro signing was that we gave him a million dollars. If we’d signed him for peanuts, I still wouldn’t have liked it but I wouldn’t have been all that bothered by it either.

What the Phils do with their pitching won’t impact the way the Castro and Gload signings are evaluated at all. The problem with those signings isn’t that the Phillies spent too little (which could be made-up-for if they’re saving money for other needs). It’s that they spent too much on two guys who aren’t very good. So if anything, it hurts the Phillies’ ability to get pitching later in the offseason. So it makes no sense to keep one’s “powder dry” – we already have all the information we need to know these moves were mistakes.

Wont be happy until it’s signed, sealed and delivered. But it’s a promising sign… I hope.

up until we get to read something catchy like, “Gload Unloads on Wagner as Phils Win in 10th, 7-6.” I could get used to that kind of dirty talk, statistics be damned.