Bleacher Report - Articles by John Ferriola

Open Mic: All Time Philadelphia Phillies Team

John Ferriola — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:44:38 -0400

Today I'm going to choose my all-time Phillies team. Let's get right to it

Catcher

Possibilities - Mike Lieberthal , Darren Daulton and Bob Boone

The Pick - Mike Lieberthal

Reason- Lieberthal is the career leader in HR's , RBI's ,Runs, Hits, Doubles, Total bases and Avg. He was very undervalued during his time in Philadelphia but he actually was a very good ballplayer.

First Base

Possibilities - Ryan Howard , John Kruk and Jim Thome

The Pick - John Kruk

Reason - When it is all said and done I have no doubt that Ryan Howard will be the best first basemen in Phillies history. As of right now though my selection would be Kruk. Kruk had a career .309 avg. , .400 on base percentage and far less strikeouts than Howard. Also Kruk looked like the guy that would hang out at the local bowling alley's bar and yet he still was one of the best. Also he overcame cancer in a region that only men can relate to. He was one of the main contributors to the 93' Phils World Series run.

Second Base

Possibilities - Chase Utley , Juan Samuel and Manny Trillo

The Pick - Chase Utley

Reason - If Utley stays on track he could be one of the best, if not, The BEST second baseman in MLB history. He already is the Phillies career leader for HR's , RBI's, Walks, SLG % and doubles.

Shortstop

Possibilities - Jimmy Rollins and Larry Bowa

The Pick - Jimmy Rollins

Reason- Larry Bowa has that fiery edge that everyone wants on their team but his numbers aren't all that great. So For that reason J-Roll is the pick. Last years MVP will go down as the greatest shortstop in Phillies history. He already is the leader in HR's, doubles, triples, total bases, Runs and SLG%. In time he will also be the leader in RBI's, steals and hits.

Third Base

Possibilities - Mike Schmidt , Scott Rolen and Dave Hollins

The Pick - Mike Schmidt

Reason - This one isn't even close. Mike Schmidt is one of the greatest third baseman in MLB history. How could anyone not love that clip where he's running down to first pumping his fists and knees after belting a home run!

Outfield

Possibilities - Pat Burrell , Lenny Dykstra, Greg Luzinski,Bobby Abreu, Richie Ashburn, Gary Maddux, Gary Matthews ,Del Ennis and Chuck Klein

The Picks- Chuck Klein , Bobby Abreu and Richie Ashburn

Reason - Chuck Klein batted .326 with 243 HR's and 983 RBI's , Abreu had a .416 on base percentage and was always a threat swipe a bag and go 30/30. Richie Ashburn had 2217, batted .311 and had 97 triples.

Starting Pitcher

Possibilities - Steve Carlton,Cole Hamels,Curt Shilling,Jim Bunning,Grover Cleveland, Robin Roberts

The Pick - Steve Carlton

Reason - Lefty has the most career wins and strikeouts. He had 185 complete games and 39 shutouts.

Relief Pitcher

Possibilities - Brad Lidge , Steve Bedrosian ,Tug Mcgraw, Jose Mesa and Mitch Williams

The Pick - Brad Lidge

Reason - Brad Lidge has 28 saves so far and by the end of his new contract he will be the Phillies all time career leader in saves. His ERA is best among these pitchers and should stay relatively under the 3.00 mark. As for the others Tug Mcgraw has a soft spot in every ones heart and on the complete opposite Mitch Williams is probably still hated by many.

Well there you go folks theres my list. Please leave me feedback and tell me what you think.

A "Pinch" of Love For Philadelphia Phillie Greg Dobbs

John Ferriola — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:16:55 -0400

I think it's time that one of the Philadelphia Phillies unsung heroes gets some love.

Greg Dobbs leads the majors with 20 pinch hits, and is only nine pinch hits shy of breaking John Vander Wal's record for pinch hits in a season.

He is batting an insane .417 (20 for 48) with 14 RBI's (also leading the majors in pinch hit RBI's). He puts in countless hours of batting practice and video watching. So it goes to show that the studying and practice pays off.

Just thought it was about time that he starts to get some love, because without him the Phillies wouldn't be atop the National League East.

MLB: Aug. 5 Best Bets

John Ferriola — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:26:05 -0400

Last night wasn't so good as I went 1-2, so we look to get back to the positive side of things today. Here's the picks:

Mets Runline(+135)—This is only Chris Young's second start since being annihilated with an Albert Pujols line drive to the nose. Mets are 3-1 in Pelfrey's last four starts and he sports a 3.00 ERA.

Tampa ML (-130)—Fausto Carmona's ERA in his last five is 6.00 while Edwin Jackson has a 3.77 ERA and the Rays are 3-1 in his last four starts and they are also 28-12 in their current situation.

A's ML (+110)—The A's have lost seven in a row and I look for them to stop the bleeding tonight. Greg Smith hasn't pitched very well in his last five, but his overall ERA is still a full run lower than the pitcher he faces off with tonight.

Trade Effects on Fantasy Baseball

John Ferriola — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 05:13:20 -0400

Let’s take a look back at all the trades and how they will effect fantasy and who gains value and who losses it.

Let’s start:

Manny Ramirez - He leaves one of the best teams in baseball to head to Dodgertown. Manny is a great hitter regardless of where he is. He might need to adjust to national league pitching at first, but his value should remain pretty much the same. I look for his RBIs to drop slightly, but his home runs to stay on par.

Jason Bay - Bay leaves a so so Pirates team for beantown. This one is a bit tricky to analyze because we have to see how he reacts to being put in the spot light. In Pit, he was kind of a back burner star that was known in fantasy circles but didn't get to much exposure. Over at Boston he will be the talk of the town and constantly compared to what Manny is doing. I think his value takes a bump up with more RBI chances and his homers staying where they are.

Kyle Farnsworth - For those of you speculating for saves, I think Mr. Farnsworth is as good a bet as anyone to get some down the stretch. Fernando Rodney has been shaky in the closer role and one more slip up, and Jim Leyland will probably pull the plug. Farnsworth throws gas and has a little closing experience. His value takes a slight bump as of right now but will take a big bump if he is named the closer.

Pudge Rodriguez - Pudge leaves one stacked lineup and heads to another one. Yanks and Tigers have very similar lineups, so I don't think much will change with Pudge. His value stays the same.

Demaso Marte - He left Pitt as the closer and comes over to the Yanks to be a setup man for arguably the best closer ever. As of right now, his value takes a huge hit, but if something were to happen to Mo, his value would take a nice spike up.

Xavier Nady - Nady is having a nice year, and his stats should increase now that he is playing for the Yanks.

Mark Teixeira - Big Tex leaves a depleted Braves team and heads across the U.S to the best team in baseball. Tex was originally from the AL, so the adjustment period might not be as big. I think this is a nice move for him, and his value is increased.

Ken Griffey Jr - Junior waived his no trade clause to go to the first place White Sox. Griffey did play in the AL before but that was many years ago, and I think he will have to readjust and get acclimated again. Griffey could provide a nice little spark to this White Sox team, and his value is boosted slightly.

CC Sabathia and Rich Harden - Both players value go way up as they are dealt from decent teams to really good ones. Both guys have been lights out so far, and if you could acquire them, I would try.

Joe Blanton - Blanton leaves a pitchers park with a ton of foul ball room to come to a complete hitter’s ball park. Already having a bad year, I think his value goes down even more with the Phillies even though they will give him a ton of run support/