Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Greenback mountain

Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies is the latest organizational example where developed talent is retained. How much room do the Halos and Dodgers have left before crossing the competitive-balance-tax threshold?

TAL’S HANDY CAPS

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Check out: Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Expectations for Cholley and Rube

CAP-SIZE HINDSIGHT: 3-2 Triumph

TYPE	PLAYER	REASON
The Crystal Champagne Toast	Chooch Ruiz	Five-Star Performance
The Penthouse	Chase Utley Chooch Ruiz Nate Schierholtz Cole Hamels	* Hit A Sac-Fly RBI For A 1-0 Advantage In The 1st * Smacked An RBI Double To Take A 1st-Inning Lead Of 2-0 During His 3 For 4 Day * Produced An RBI Single, Increasing The 1st-Inning Score To 3-0 During His 2 For 4 Afternoon Escaped Runner-At-3rd 1-Out Jams In The 5th & The 6th Fired 7 Solid 5-Hit Innings
The Fun House Of Mirrors	Juan Pierre Chooch Ruiz	* Avoided A Hand Tag At 2nd In The 1st * Escaped A Line-Drive DP During The 1st
Rally Tal & Cap	5 Players & 3 Runs	* A BB (J-Roll), A Single (Pierre), A Sac-Fly RBI (Utley), An RBI Double (Chooch) & An RBI Hit (Schierholtz) In The 1st
The Workhouse	Home SP	* A 37-Pitch 1st Inning
The Animal House	Cole Hamels	Punched Out The 1st 3 Batters In The 1st
The Leather Warehouse	2 Starters	A Runner Gunned Down At Home By Brown (Throw) & Chooch (Plate Dive & Tag) In The 4th
The Kangaroo Court House	Cole Hamels	Had Throwing Errors In The 4th & The 6th
The Outhouse	3B Ump	Missed The Tag On The Over-Slide SB In The 6th

Above Asterisks ( *) = Corresponding Plays And/Or Events

J-Roll Swipes 2nd In The 6th, But Cholley Still Removed Him

NITECAP INSIGHT

Parity For 2013:

This is the peak for all major-league franchises: $178M. I have always been amused when the Yankees and pre-trade Red Sox were considered landing spots for any free agent with no regard to cost. The reason is that New York has been virtually invisible except for the rumors during the last 2 campaigns. Boston just dumped an unhappy star and 2 bad contracts to press the reset button. The new CBA has a 50% luxury tax, increasing it incrementally to that over 4 years. That means a $20M ace will cost $30M, which is why even the Bronx Bombers lack interest after being penalized over $200M for the last 9 seasons.

The Only Flaw In Pap’s Save Was The HBP On The Batter’s Helmet

This is only a rough estimate because there are so many moving parts. However, it does show where the clubs are with only slight maneuvering ability, which will affect their decisions for ‘13. These computations do not include low-ticket inventory, like Juan Pierre ($800K) or Nate Schierholtz ($1.3M) who are unsigned for 2013. The red pinstripes set aside $5M for the trading deadline and $3M to cover achieved incentives. That means $19.5M for 2 veteran relievers, 1 right-handed power bat and 2 inexpensive players, like Pierre.

Keys:

	DESCRIPTION		DESCRIPTION
Deals	Players & Dollars Under Contract	Buyouts	Players & Owed Dollars To Not Re-Up
Min. $	Players @ Approx. $500K MLB Minimum	Bal. & Bal. $	# Of Players To Reach 25 & Dollars To Hit $178M
Arb. $	Players & Arbitration Dollars Estimate	Dec. $	Players & Dollars Needing A Decision

Part 2: Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Coin-loaded GM’s

$178M Range Teams:

NOTE: Click entries button to open more than the visible 10.


TEAM	DEALS	MIN. $	ARB. $	BUYOUTS	TOTAL	BAL	BAL. $	DEC. $
Phillies	11 @ $145.50M	09 @ $4.5M	-----	1 @ $0.50M	20 @ $150.50M	5	$027.50M	-----
Dodgers	17 @ $169.90M	06 @ $3.0M	-----	3 @ $0.95M	23 @ $173.85M	3	$004.15M	-----
Angels	08 @ $101.63M	09 @ $4.5M	3 @ $18.0M	2 @ $4.50M	20 @ $128.63M	5	$049.37M	3 @ $37.50M *
Yankees	07 @ $131.07M	08 @ $4.0M	5 @ $21.0M	-----	20 @ $156.07M	5	$021.93M	4 @ $42.75M *
Tigers	09 @ $092.42M	04 @ $2.0M	3 @ $15.5M	-----	16 @ $111.92M	9	$066.08M	3 @ $23.75M *
Rangers	09 @ $084.31M	08 @ $4.0M	3 @ $17.0M	1 @ $0.60M	20 @ $105.91M	5	$072.09M	5 @ $38.40M *
Marlins	09 @ $087.50M	11 @ $5.5M	1 @ $03.5M	-----	21 @ $096.50M	4	$081.50M	-----
Cubs	05 @ $039.88M	16 @ $8.0M	1 @ $11.0M	-----	22 @ $058.88M	3	$119.12M	-----
Red Sox	05 @ $038.81M	04 @ $2.0M	7 @ $32.0M	-----	16 @ $080.81M	9	$097.19M	2 @ $17.58M *
Mets	06 @ $071.52M	09 @ $4.5M	2 @ $09.0M	-----	17 @ $085.02M	8	$092.98M	1 @ $03.50M *
White Sox	11 @ $122.44M	09 @ $4.5M	-----	1 @ $2.0M	20 @ $128.94M	5	$049.06M	3 @ $14.00M *

* 2012 Dollars

Cinco Ocho Secures His 30th Save

Los Angeles (NL) is virtually done spending after they took on big salaries, which means that pickups Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton, Brandon League, Randy Choate and some of their own won’t be returning. The Angels have 3 to decide on, and they are hurlers: Zack Greinke, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana. The 4 Yanks in that column are: Mariano Rivera, Hiroki Kuroda, Russell Martin and Nick Swisher. Mo ($15M) and Kuroda ($10M) are the keepers with the starter expected to get a big raise. The Motor City crew includes their closer Jose Valverde, rotation arm Anibal Sanchez, and Delmon Young. Expect all to return with pay increases, which should leave $36M for 6 other roster slots.

These GM’s will have limited flexibility without a swap. Tomorrow, I will cover deep-pocketed and big city teams with some talking money. New York has the Mets, Chicago has 2 organizations, Texas, Miami and Red Sox Nation are the rest. When these other 6 franchises hit their ceiling, there will be stars who play their entire career for 1 club, like Mike Schmidt.

The Doctor Sedates The Nats With A 4-Seam Fastball On August 25 At The Bank

PRECAP PITCH

Doc Halladay:

He is 4-1 with a 2.75 August ERA in his last 5 efforts, going at least 7 full every time. Against the Braves for 2 at that Ted, his ledger reads: 0-1, a 8.74 ERA, 11.1 innings, 18 hits, 11 all-earned runs, 1 walked and 12 fanned. That stated, he has only been healthy and ready for action this month.

	STARTER	RECORD	TM	STARTER	RECORD	DAY & TIME
3	LHP Cliff Lee	06-08, 3.12 ERA	@ Nats	RHP Edwin Jackson	09-11, 4.13 ERA	Wednesday, Day

Mike Minor Reaches Back In The 2nd On August 25 In San Francisco

Mike Minor:

He is 4-4 with a 3.72 home ERA, which is 2.01 lower at the Ted. He has toiled 6.1 frames or more in 10 of 24 showings with 9 clunkers. However, in July and August for 9 appearances, he is 3-4 with a 2.50 ERA. In both parks (1 each) against the Phils, his line is: 1-1, a 2.25 ERA, 15 total, 11 hits, 4 all-earned runs, 2 BB and 14 whiffs.

DELIVERY = PITCHER’S 2012	DEFINITION OF SEASON
Over The Top	Excellent
3-Quarter Sidearm	Good
Sidearm	Above Average
Short Arm	Approximately Average
Submarine	Below Average

Starters’ photos, not described otherwise, are in the 1st inning.

Quality number of the pitcher: 1 – 5

Slot on his club: 1 – 5

Ranking is 1 to 5 & 15 for the less adventurous.

*** = Approximately equal to after plus-and-minus computation

HURLER	Doc Halladay	Ricky Nolasco
NUMBER	A One	A Five
CLUB SLOT	One	Three
FOR 2012	Short Arm	Short Arm
'12 RANKING	4th of 5 Categories	4th of 5 Categories
LAST START	Eephus Pitch	Split Finger
LAST HIGH OR LOW	13th of 15 Categories	4th of 15 Categories

	PITCH	INN	ER - R- H		PITCH	INN	ER
1	Gyroball	9 (CG)	0 - 0 - 3	10	Screwball	6	4
2	Fastball	9 (CG)	0 - 0	11	Knuckleball	5	3
3	Cutter	9 (CG)	3	12	Forkball	0 - 4.2	Monstrosity
4	Split Finger	7	2	13	Eephus Pitch	0 - 2.2	Disaster
5	Curveball	7	3	14	*Palm Ball	Ejected
6	Sinker	6.1	3	15	*Spit Ball	**Ejected+
7	Slider	6	2		*Breaking Ball	Injured
8	Changeup	6	3		*Fosh	Rain Interrupted
9	Slurve	5	2		*Knuckle Curve	Pitch Count
	** = Suspended				* = A 2nd Pitch Also

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Tal’s Handy Stats is daily coverage. I am alternating the 2012 ERA For The NL East and the 2012 ERA For The MLB 5. Thank you, to all who bookmarked my page.