The Philadelphia Phillies and Pat Burrell are parting ways. As we passed along yesterday, the champs coveted Mariners slugger Raul Ibanez as the replacement in left-field and the middle of the batting order.Today they landed him, pending the all-important physical, of course.
Conventional wisdom would state that the Phils needed a right-handed hitter to break up Chase Utley and Ryan Howard -- both lefties -- but instead Ibanez will likely follow Howard in the order, meaning they'll have three straight lefties through the middle once Utley returns from his hip injury. Opposing managers can easily just insert a left-handed reliever to face all three in the late innings.
Howard is much, much worse against lefties historically, as is Ibanez. Utley's just a slight bit worse against lefties.
Here's the caveat, though. Ibanez made strides against left-handers last year. In fact, he had better numbers. He hit .305 against lefties and .288 against righties. His OPS splits were similar, but it was a touch higher against left-handers (.866 to .824).
Considering the league switch, the ballpark change, and the better lineup, you can expect an improvement in Ibanez's offense next season. This is a fine signing for the Phillies.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-12-2008 @ 8:02PM
Ben said...
Ibanez will hit, no problem. Waiting to see the experts comments re his fielding.
Burrell hit, his lack of range was his problem. Ask the Mets, he killed them with the long ball.
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12-12-2008 @ 10:07PM
jeff said...
I think the Phillies made a mistake in not signing Pat the Bat....we in Philly are gonna miss him
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12-12-2008 @ 11:27PM
lvphilly said...
We took him out in 7-9 innings last yr. His lack of speed is too much of a liability. His arm for a LF was above average but again he didn't get to balls 90% LF's do.
I will miss him as well. Over hyped but had a decent career here AND HE HELPED US WIN THE %^&*( ing) World Series.
Ibanez - 23 HR, 109 RBI.... we'll see
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12-13-2008 @ 8:47AM
dhsj said...
Good luck to Pat B. He will fit well into a DH situation in the AL somewhere. Well liked in Philly but Ibanez stacks up much better overall and should do better in Philly's ballpark. "Pat the Bat" will move on and "Raul the Jewel" will take over.
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12-14-2008 @ 12:26PM
mzero said...
pat the bat ends his time here as one of the best hitters in phillies history.i think the phillies made a big mistake in not signing him.he helped give us the championship weve been waiting for.whoever signs him is getting one of the best players in baseball
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12-14-2008 @ 6:05PM
bruceb said...
hope the red sox sign pat the bat he would be a good fit in that line up and a lot cheaper than texeria i am sure he could learn to play first and then youk could go to third, leaving open a trade for lowell for what ever the sox need to fill a gap
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12-16-2008 @ 2:23PM
nick said...
pat already played first, when he first came to the big leagues but after so many errors, was moved. he was a third baseman in college also.
12-14-2008 @ 7:20PM
JOE GRUSSENMEYER said...
I THINK IBANEZ IS A GOOD BALLPLAYER. BURRELL IS YOUNGER AND HAS MORE YEARS LEFT THAN IBANEZ. I PERSONALLY WOULD HAVE RESIGNED BURRELL AND TRADED VICTORINO FOR BRAD HAWP (OUTFIELDER WITH THE COLORADO ROCKIES).
THIS WOULD HAVE IMPROVED THE OUTFIELD IN PHILLY AND STRENGTHENED THEM. I WOULD ALSO MAKE A MOVE TO AQUIRE PEAVEY (PITCHER) FROM SAN DIEGO. PHILLY COULD TRADE K. KENDRICK, BRET MEYERS (BOTH PITCHERS), AND GIVE SAN DIEGO, RUIZE A CATCHER. THIS DEAL WOULD HELP BOTH CLUBS. SAN DIEGO HAS LIMITED MONIES TO SIGN PEAVEY. PHILLY COULD MAKE A RUN AT BEN SHEETS OR D LOWE, BOTH PITCHERS AND FREE AGENTS. AQUIRING THESE BALLPLAYERS WOULD MAKE PHILLY A BETTER TEAM WITH ONE OF THE BEST PITCHING STAFFS IB MLB
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