A CITIZEN'S BLOG

I am still getting over gorging myself on turkey and Christmas Day's Cowboys-Eagles game, so today I am going to start by turning over my blog to Youtube and show everyone a fun video I found on their site: a digital rendering of Citizens Bank Ballpark narrated by Harry Kalas.



Back to baseball ... the Phillies have been mildly busy this Holiday Season:

-First the Phillies brought aboard Jayson Werth, who did not play in 2006 for the Dodgers, to solidify the outfield. Initially looking at Werth’s .338 OBP I wasn’t impressed, but I changed my mind when I saw how many pitches Werth took per plate appearance in 2004 & 2005: 4.3 & 4.6. He displayed some power in 2004 and can play all three outfield positions, so he’ll make a nice bat off the bench and insurance policy in case Aaron Rowand runs through another wall in 2007.

-With Werth on the roster and the Phillies fifth outfield position seemingly a battle between Chris Roberson and Michael Bourn, Jeff Conine became expendable, and thus was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds for Brad Key and Javon Moran, two minor leaguers. I can’t say what I think about Moran and Key’s prospects for making the Phillies, although I note that the Phillies are in need of some help with position players in their farm system these days.

-Finally, the Phillies brought aboard Rod Barajas to be their primary catcher in 2007, a deal that leaves me profoundly impressed. This guy’s OBP for the last three years has been .276, .306 and .289. He’s got some power in his stroke, but he’s about three-to-four times more likely to strikeout than to get a walk. Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste played well as a platoon in 2006, so let’s hope that Barajas doesn’t monopolize the playing time.

Alright, tomorrow I have a post and then I leave for the rest of the week for New Year’s.