Thursday, June 4, 2009

Phillies Transformation 2005 to 2008 Part 3

Part 3 of a series. How did the 2005 Phillies become the 2008 World Champion Phillies?

2005 Topps Total Jason Michaels #564
Jason Michaels was the Phillies #4 draft pick in 1998. He broke into the majors in 2001. From 2002-2005 he was a part time outfielder for the Phils. In 2005 he hit .304 in 289 AB. In January 2006 he was traded to the Indians for pitcher Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes was 0-5 for the Phillies in 2006 and then was a free agent. So Mr. Michaels didn't have any direct on the 2008 Phillies.

2005 Topps Cracker Jack Brett Myers #159
Myers was the Phillies 1st round draft pick in 1999. He came up to the majors in 2002 and by 2005 was an established pitcher, going 13-8 that year. In 2007, the Phillies made him a reliever and he got 21 saves. But with the acquisition of Brad Lidge after the 2007 season, he was again a starter in 2008. His 2008 record was an unimpressive 10-13. Most of the losses were in the 1st half of the season when he was 3 and 9. He accepted a temporary demotion to the minors in mid-season, and came back a much better pitcher. He was 7 and 4 in the 2nd half of the season.

2005 Topps Opening Day Vincent Padilla #151
In July 2000, the Phillies traded Curt Schilling to the Diamondbacks for Padilla, Omar Daal, Nelson Figueroa and Travis Lee. Of the 4, only Padilla was still with the Phillies in 2005. Padilla was a middle reliever when the Phillies got him but was made a starter in 2002. He was 14-11 in '02 and 14-12 in '03. But he started slipping, going 9-12 in 2005. In December 2005 the Phillies traded him to the Rangers for Ricardo Rodriguez. As near as I can tell, Rodriguez never played for the Phillies at any level and is currently in the Mexican League. No impact of the 2008 Phillies by Vincente Padilla.

2005 Topps Total Tomas Perez #81
Since I live in Texas I can't follow the Phillies in great detail. Perez is one of those players who I only know because they have a baseball card. He was a free agent signing in December 1999 and released in April 2006. During that time he appeared in 504 games with a .250 average. He played center field, right field, shortstop, 2nd base, 3rd base and 1st base. He even pitched a third of an inning 2002. The definition of a utility player. No impact on the 2008 Phillies.

2005 Topps Total Placido Polanco #25
With a name that makes him sound more like a opera singer than a baseball player, Polanco was a free agent middle IF utility guy in 2002 and traded to the Tigers in 2005. The Phillies got Ramon Martinez (not the pitcher but another infielder) who was released after the 2005 season, and Ugueth Urtain Urbina, a pitcher who was 4-3 in 2005 and released. Urbina surely must be the only baseball player whose initials are UUU. His nickname was Oogie.

2005 Topps Total Todd Pratt #217
Pratt was a career long back-up catcher who had two stints with the Phillies, 1992-1994 and 2002-2005. No impact on the 2008 Phillies.

2005 Topps Opening Day MLB Game Worn Jersey Collection Jimmy Rollins
I was lucky enough to pull this card from a blaster box, exclusive to Target, of Topps Opening Day. Rollins was the Phillies #2 draft pick in 1996 and made the big club in 2000. He's been the starting short stop since 2001. He is one of the key Phillies, one of the players who makes the team go. In 2005 he hit .290 with 47 SB and 115 runs scored. His best year was 2007 when he won the NL MVP. 2008 wasn't as good as 2007 but he was still a key player. He's gotten off to a slow start this year but his average has been rising lately.

2006 Topps Danny Sandoval #306

Sandoval played 3 games for the Phillies in 2004 and 28 in 2005 and that was it. No impact on much of anything.

2 comments:

Dan said...

It's amazing how much a team changes in 3 short years. The moves you've described so far have really had no impact in the long run. Boy, there were a lot of bad trades there in that time period which netted nothing in return.

As for Tomas Perez, think Eric Bruntlett with less power. He also specialized in throwing pies in people's faces during post-game interviews.

Jim said...

Good stuff. Ricardo Rodriguez was released towards the end of Spring Training 2006. The Padilla trade was new GM Pat Gillick's 2nd trade with the Phils, following the Aaron Roward/Jim Thome deal in November '05. I remember the local sports radio stations going nuts because we had essentially given up Padilla for nothing . . . Funny how things turn out.