Sure, people will point to Moyer’s team high 16 wins last season, and team leading 10 wins this campaign, as a reason why he has been “successful” as a Phillie.  Dude has an ERA of 5.47 and a WHIP of 1.508 this season to go along with those 10 wins.  His RS/9 (Run Support/9 Innings) is currently sitting at 6.42, which is 2nd in the NL and 5th in the entire Major Leagues.  Now he will be working from the bully, and his effectiveness in that role will play out quickly, but here at The Sports Idiot we are of the opinion that he will not perform well in a bullpen role.

Moving on to Pedro, he was spectacular in his last “rehab” start and will get the nod tomorrow at Wrigley Field.  This is a high reward/low risk move on the Phillies, as all Pedro needs to be is better than Moyer to be an upgrade.  That means he will have to do better than the NL’s worst ERA.  From a fantasy perspective, Pedro is an interesting target.  He could get blown right the hell up and crush your ERA and WHIP.  Or he could pitch well and provide a boost at every starting pitcher stat in your league.  He could get 8+ starts from here out, so he may be worth a gamble if you are in a deep league and can risk the hits to ERA and WHIP if he fails. 

This story is pretty funny from a few different angles.  When reading the story, it makes it sound like Victorino came barreling in at full speed to get to home plate umpire Ed Rapuano.  Victorino even says he “never ran so fast from center field to home plate”.  He also “violently shoved catcher Paul Bako”, according to David Gurian-Peck of MLB.com.  Upon watching the video, however, Victorino jogged in from center, and I really hope that is not the fastest he can run (here at The Sports Idiot we have it on good authority that Victorino can run really, really fast).  Violently shoved Bako?  Really?  I think violent may mean something different to Gurian-Peck than it does to me.

Then there are the dismissals of Victorino by Rapuano altogether.  Granted, Victorino should not have responded to the pitch like he did (see Jimmy Rollins’ reaction in the video?), but there is no way he should have been ejected for it.  The real dismissal comes when Victorino finishes his 100 yard dash to get in Rapuano’s face, however.  It looks like he may have gotten half a sentence in before being corralled by Bako (how did he recover from such a blatant act of violence so quickly?  Steroids?) and Ryan Howard, and then having Rapuano just turn and walk away.  When looking at it from a distance it sure makes Victorino look silly.  Anyway, watch the video and form your own opinion.

If you own Sherrill, look at Jim Johnson.  No, Johnson is not setting the world on fire, but he is next in line for saves and does get a few strikeouts over time.

Downs?  You obviously need to have him backed up with Jason Frasor.  Frasor has bee a bit disappointing in the saves department, as he only has three on the season.  Hell, he only has seven since the start of 2005 after nabbing 17 for the Blue Jays in 2004, but this season he is helping out in ERA and WHIP too.

Qualls?  Jon Rauch is there for a reason, and that reason will become apparent if they move Qualls.  Remember last year, when Rauch was the closer in DC before getting shipped out to Arizona?  Yeah, he racked up 17 saves for the Nationals, and will rack up some for ‘Zona if they trade Qualls.

If Cordero gets moved things could be interesting.  Dave Weathers is still there, and he is performing well once more.  Also pitching well is Arthur Rhodes.  Which of these old heads will get the nod?  My bet is Weathers, but do not be shocked if Rhodes gets a look or they do a bullpen by committee.

Brett Wallace

Clayton Mortensen

Shane Peterson

Due to time constraints, we can not give you insight into the dudes getting moved for Holliday.

Howard: 111
Hamels:  90

While certain Philly fans will see this as “more Philly bashing” from me, it really is not.  I find it a fascinating question, but yet one that holds no bearing on anything.  My stance on strikeouts, which are wasted at-bats (for the most part) but no worse than grounding out of popping out (when you do not advance any runners), has evolved into one of annoyed acceptance at this point.