04/25/24
December 02, 2005
Phillies replace Wagner with Gordon: Tom Gordon and the Phillies reached a preliminary agreement Thursday night on an $18 million, three-year contract.
Let's see....Wagner's gone....Hmmm, who can we throw 18K at to stop the bleeding? Hey....Hi Tom Gordon! That was easy wasn't it! Philadopia.
posted by OldSchoolBall at 08:04 AM on December 02, 2005
'Replace' is hardly the word I'd use. Tough go for the Phil phans out there. I have doubts Gordon or the Phils will see the third year of that contract.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:05 AM on December 02, 2005
Sorry Phils you guys just took two steps back after Rowand got to town-and three years yet-hope the tums supply doesn't run out
posted by fetty 929 at 08:31 AM on December 02, 2005
I can't believe they guaranteed the third year of that deal. Phils phans gotta be shaking their heads this morning.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 08:33 AM on December 02, 2005
Replacing Billy Wagner with Tom Gordon is like replacing Mick Jagger with John Tesh.
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:49 AM on December 02, 2005
I don't get how that analogy works. Replacing one Fireman of the Year with another is like what now? I understand Wagner has a larger corpus of work, but it's not like Flash is for shit.
posted by yerfatma at 08:57 AM on December 02, 2005
Well as long a Tesh doesnt do any vocals... :-)
posted by daddisamm at 09:15 AM on December 02, 2005
Gordon will be 39 in February. Just thought I'd throw that out there. That being said, I'll miss him on the Yanks (but I'm glad he didn't go to another AL team).
posted by dyams at 09:25 AM on December 02, 2005
Replacing Billy Wagner with Tom Gordon is like replacing Mick Jagger with John Tesh. I still miss the NBA on NBC theme song.
posted by HATER 187 at 09:26 AM on December 02, 2005
Philly fans don't have much to complain about. Tom Gordon is a good pitcher. I wish he was still with the Yankees. I would complain however about the length of the contract at his age but it's not like he's a chump.
posted by jtrluva at 09:39 AM on December 02, 2005
OK, the anaolgy sucked, but this is still a tremendous drop-off for the Phillies. The one year Gordon was an effective closer, he was incredible. Of course, that year was 1998. The following year he was absolutely atrocious and was mediocre at best for the Cubs a couple of seasons later. For the past two years he's been a good set-up man for the best in baseball. He'll be 39 years old before spring training this season, missed nearly two seasons with major elbow surgery and he has a guaranteed three-year contract. How exactly does this make him a wise choice to follow one of the top three closers in the game?
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:29 PM on December 02, 2005
Wagner's had his share of health problems, and even when he's on, he's not sure money. He might dominate the first two hitters, then give up a walk or a hit to the gap. His '05 stats are fantastic, but as a Phillies fan who watched him serve up a game winning homer to Biggio in September (Wagner's second loss of that series, and completing Houston's season sweep) somehow I think he's not quite as good as they make him look. He's not one of the top 3, maybe not even top 5 closers today, IMO. It's also worth noting that he got real unpopular real quick here when he began publicly calling out the team's character. He was right, but a lot of his fans didn't appreciate it and started calling for his departure. He really should have been flipped at the deadline last year. The Phils certainly could have come away with more than one (or two?) draft picks from the Mets, which is what they've ended up with. I don't expect Flash Gordon to outpitch Wags next year, but with the money saved with Urbina and Wagner gone, I'm not too worried about Gordon's contract. It would be wise to have a plan D though (Gordon himself is plan C).
posted by cl at 02:13 PM on December 02, 2005
The Phils certainly could have come away with more than one (or two?) draft picks from the Mets, which is what they've ended up with. Well, that and a new GM. :-)
posted by cl at 02:15 PM on December 02, 2005
On paper, this looks like a poor plan(referring to 3yrs). As the Yankees can attest, the answers will be found out on the field. If they get a solid starter(minors or otherwise), then I don't think they'll but hurt at all. If they fill in the other team needs, then every one will be fine.
posted by injury-prone at 10:08 PM on December 03, 2005
Here is a question I'd like explained to me. What is the difference between being a fastball curveball set up man that goes two innings on occasion that makes you not qualified to be a closer? Just curious.
posted by Fade222 at 11:13 PM on December 03, 2005
Other hot stove news: Giles remains a Padre.