To the Brewers. From mlbtraderumors.com: 

According to Tom Haudricourt, the Brewers signed southpaw reliever R.J. Swindle to a Major League deal. Swindle, 25, posted a 1.98 ERA in 36.1 Triple A innings this year.  Swindle has already bounced around in the Red Sox, Yankees, and Phillies organizations.

Some readers will recall that The Good Phight sort of adopted Swindle in early 2008, when he spoke with our own David Cohen. Though it didn't work out with the Phils, we wish him the best of luck. 

(The truth is, I don't regularly read Stark anymore, so it's very possible that he's published this and I simply missed it--but it seems like the sort of fact he'd use to fill some virtual column space. Anyway, here it is.)

Ryan Howard, as we know, led the National League in home runs this year with 48. It was remarked a few years back, I think by Baseball Prospectus, that it's actually unusual for the world champion to include the league home run leader (and that by implication, if I'm remembering it right, teams should be wary of breaking the bank for any one power hitter who might help put them over the top). This is actually true; it had been almost three decades since a world champion from the National League included the league's top slugger.

That team: the 1980 Phillies, led of course by MVP Mike Schmidt's 48 home runs. (The only other champ to include the league's top slugger was the 2004 Red Sox, which included Manny Ramirez and his league-best 43 bombs.) 

Okay, top-shelf analysis it ain't. But at least it took your mind off the misery that is the Eagles for a short while. 

It's actually kind of funny that the injury to our third baseman has been so totally overlooked in the Utley-related mishegas. Here's the relevant info on Happy Pete's date with the table: 

Feliz, 33, will have low back surgery today. He was on the disabled list during the 2008 season for 26 days in relation to a low back injury and had intermittent symptoms at the end of the season that deemed off-season follow-up necessary. Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles will perform the surgery, which is scheduled to be a lumbar discectomy. After surgery, Feliz will complete an eight-to-12 week rehabilitation program.

I guess in addition to the obvious point--Feliz is about one-one thousandth as important, or revered, as Utley--there's also the fact that between Dobbs and Bruntlett, we're more or less okay at the hot corner. 

While Phillie-land obsesses over Chase Utley's surgery, the Phils and Texas Rangers exchanged former first-round picks today. Scott Lauber reports: 

Ordinarily, I'd do a separate entry about this, but I don't want to distract from the Utley conversation. So, here goes: In a swap of former first-round picks, the Phillies have dealt outfield prospect Greg Golson to the Rangers for outfield prospect John Mayberry. Mayberry, 24, split the 2008 season between double-A Frisco and triple-A Oklahoma and hit a combined .264 with 38 doubles, 20 home runs, 71 RBIs and 10 steals in 135 games. Golson, 23, batted .282 with 13 home runs, 60 RBIs and 23 steals at double-A Reading. According to Amaro, the Phillies preferred Mayberry's power to Golson's speed.

Very interesting first trade for GM Ruben Amaro Jr. Golson always represented something of a lottery ticket, in that his prodigious physical gifts might or might not one day translate to on-field production. The Texas native did make some progress as he climbed the minor-league ladder, doing some of his best work at Reading this season before a September call-up to the Phils, but his pitch recognition never really improved, his walk rate remained lousy, and he looked painfully overmatched in his few big-league at-bats. 

I don't know much about Mayberry, other than that he's the son of a former big-leaguer. Here are his minor-league stats. One possibility is that he'll be the righty half of the left-field platoon that replaces Pat Burrell; in 2008 between AA and AAA, he put up a fairly rockin' .357/.398/.696 line in 115 at-bats against left-handed pitchers.

The Phillies announced today that they will fill one of their coaching vacancies with former Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo. Todd Zolecki: 

It's official. The Phillies have hired Perlozzo. In a news release, the Phillies said, "a specific coaching position has yet to be assigned." But Perlozzo, who will handle infield instruction, knows how to be a third-base coach. He held that role in 2008 with the Seattle Mariners. Before that he served as third base coach (1996-2000), bench coach (2001-2005) and manager (2005-07) for the Baltimore Orioles. He also coached third base for Seattle (1993-95), Cincinnati (1990-92) and the New York Mets (1987-89).

“I’ve known Sammy for a long time and I couldn’t be happier to add someone with his experience to our coaching staff,” Charlie Manuel said in a statement.

All I know about Perlozzo is that the legendary pitching coach Leo Mazzone is his childhood best friend. We already owe him for luring Mazzone away from the Braves a few years back; Atlanta has yet to recover. Welcome aboard, Sam. 

Lou Piniella won NL Manager of the Year honors today with 103 total points, including 15 first place votes. Charlie got 8 first-place votes, 67 overall. Fredi Gonzalez, Joe Torre and Tony LaRussa rounded out the top five. 

The Cubs had the best record in the NL this season, and Lou did a nice job running his pitching staff--particularly the role swap of Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood, both of whom had great years. But he also had a ginormous payroll to work with and a team that was favored from when spring training began. I would have voted for Charlie, even before he pushed every right button in October.

Guess we'll have to content ourselves with that world championship, which is a pretty good tradeoff. 

Speaking of which, the adorable Tampa Bay genius Joe Maddon won in the AL with 27 of 28 first-place votes. WS-related pique at Joe aside, that's pretty much an inarguable choice; he did a masterful job. 

No, no, I kid, I kid. Most of these seem like solid picks, a good mix of continuity with the immediate glorious past and fresh blood to guard against stasis. Todd Zolecki has the details:

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has his men in place for the future.

From the Phillies:

Benny Looper is a new assistant general manager in charge of player personnel. Looper will oversee the scouting and player development areas. Looper, 60, had spent the previous 23 years with the Seattle Mariners in various capacities at the major and minor league levels, including most recently vice president of player personnel (2006-08), VP of player development & scouting (2003-06) and VP of player development (2002-03). Looper spent five seasons as a player in the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league system. He is the uncle of major league pitcher Braden Looper.

Chuck LaMar was promoted to assistant general manager, player development & scouting. While his main duty will be to manage the player development department, he will also cross-check at the amateur and professional levels. LaMar, 52, joined the Phillies in October of 2007 and spent the past year as the director of professional scouting. Prior to joining the Phillies, LaMar spent a year with the Washington Nationals as special assistant to the general manager and national cross-checker (2007) and 10 years as the general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays (1995-2006).

Mike Ondo has been promoted to pro scouting coordinator. Since joining the Phillies in 1998, Ondo, 33, has worked in the Baseball Operations department, primarily in scouting & player development. He spent the last two years as assistant director, minor leagues, while also assisting the major league coaching staff on scouting reports and statistical analysis.

Dallas Green (senior advisor to the GM), Charley Kerfeld (special assistant to the GM), Gordon Lakey (director, major league scouting), Steve Noworyta (director, minor league operations) and Marti Wolever (director, scouting) are all remaining with the organization.

As previously announced, former GM Pat Gillick will also remain with the club as an advisor to Amaro and club president David Montgomery.

The feared exodus of Mike Arbuckle loyalists seems to have been checked, though I guess it's possible that a herd of scouts might be lining up at the door. But LaMar and Looper presumably have their own networks to draw upon for replacements; I'm pretty optimistic that the Phillies won't see their system plunge as a result of brain drain, as happened more than a quarter-century ago when Dallas Green led a small army of baseball men from Philadelphia to Chicago.

The memories of October glory are all still fresh, from Cole Hamels’ three straight Game One gems to the epic Brett Myers-CC Sabathia battle and Shane Victorino’s grand slam; the moment Matt Stairs wrote his name into Phillies history and Jamie Moyer’s World Series brilliance; Joe Blanton’s improbable Fall Classic homer and Brad Lidge striking out Eric Hinske to secure the title. But let's not forget that it took the good work of April through September even to get the Phillies into the playoffs. A week and change after the team secured its second world championship, here are my top ten wins of the 2008 regular season.

April 15: Phillies 4, Astros 3

Barely two weeks into the season, the Phillies found themselves totally stifled against Houston starter Shawn Chacon, who allowed just four hits in eight scoreless innings as the Astros took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth. But the Phils stunned Houston closer Jose Valverde with a four-run comeback in the 9^th, starting with a Chris Snelling solo homer. Pat Burrell tied the game moments later with a two-run shot, and Pedro Feliz won it with an RBI double as Geoff Jenkins ran through a stop sign at third base and narrowly beat the throw to the plate.

May 2: Phillies 6, Giants 5 (10)

Giants centerfielder Aaron Rowand almost won his first game back at Citizens Bank Park when his solo homer in the top of the 10^th gave San Fran a 5-4 lead. But Pat Burrell won it with a two-run walkoff blast in the bottom of the inning, on a full-count pitch from flamethrowing Giants reliever Brian Wilson.

June 6: Phillies 4, Braves 3 (10)

The Phillies dominated Atlanta this season, winning 14 of 18 matchups. None was more improbable than this victory: in the 9^th, Braves second baseman Kelly Johnson dropped a Chris Coste popup that would have ended the game as Eric Bruntlett scored from second. Shane Victorino was the hero, driving in the go-ahead run and scoring the eventual winning run, in the top of the 10^th then ending the game by gunning down the would-be tying run at the plate in the bottom of the inning. 

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In addition to the powerful offense and surprisingly excellent pitching that helped propel the 2008 Phillies to the world championship, the team benefitted from outstanding defense. Two of those defenders were honored today by National League managers and coaches with Gold Glove Awards: 

One of the standard methods of constructing a winning baseball team is to secure adept defenders up the middle, typically at catcher, second base, shortstop and center field.

At the latter two of those spots, the World Series champion Phillies have two Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners in shortstop Jimmy Rollins and outfielder Shane Victorino. The teammates secured the hardware Wednesday, with Rollins winning his second consecutive award and Victorino his first.

I think both awards were deserved, insomuch as one can say that about anything as entirely subjective as the Gold Gloves. Rollins might not be a better defender than Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki, but given Tulo's injury absences this season and the respective fortunes of the Phillies and Rockies, I'm glad to see Jimmy--whose glovework never suffered even when his bat disappeared for stretches--take home the hardware. As for Victorino, his great speed, powerful arm and good routes to fly balls render him a worthy choice.

It does sting a bit that second baseman Chase Utley was not also recognized. Utley's defensive brilliance was on display throughout the postseason, and was vital in both NLCS Game Four, when he snared a line drive that might have scored two runs and lunged to the second-base bag to complete a double play, and World Series Game Five, when he threw out Jason Bartlett at the plate to preserve a 3-3 tie a half-inning before the Phils plated the winning run. Perhaps with those examples now in mind--as well as Utley's excellence in some of the emerging defensive metrics--he'll have a better shot at winning the award in future seasons. 

As the calendar flips past Halloween and marches on toward Thanksgiving, it's worth taking a moment to realize that, like all champions--and I'm still adding a mental !!! every time I type that word--the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies were quite lucky as well as very, very good. 

It starts, as poster char6587 wrote the other day, with health. The Phils had fewer players on the Disabled List than any other team but the Brewers, whom they tied with nine. The only regular who missed significant time was Jimmy Rollins, out for the better part of a month early in the season; otherwise, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz were all out for the minimum 15 days or barely more. Perhaps most staggering, NO PHILLIES STARTING PITCHER WENT ON THE DISABLED LIST THIS YEAR--despite the rotation including a 45 year-old, Jamie Moyer, and two players with extensive previous injury histories in Cole Hamels and Adam Eaton. (Eaton eventually pitched himself out of the rotation anyway, of course.) For that matter, the only reliever who missed extensive time was Tom Gordon, whose injury was widely foreseen and whose absence in the 8th inning only stung until Ryan Madson asserted himself as the team's setup man. 

But the Phils were favored by timing as well as health. Pedro Feliz didn't have a great year at the plate, but his contributions always seemed to come at the right time: the single that plated the Game Five game-winner was only the last of a series of huge hits the third baseman delivered. In 80 "close and late" at-bats, Feliz hit .313/.368/.575, including five home runs. Feliz's full-season numbers were .249/.302/.402. Without getting into the larger debate about whether "clutch hitting" exists, suffice it to say that Feliz's close and late numbers in 2007 were .238/.284/.396; for 2006, they were .228/.282/.376. 

Finally, from the last weekend of September through the clincher, things set up perfectly in terms of the starting rotation. If the Phils hadn't managed to hold on for that division-clinching 4-3 win over the Nationals on the last Saturday of the regular season, Cole Hamels would have had to start the regular season finale on Sunday--probably rendering him unavailable to pitch in the Division Series until Game Three in Milwaukee. If you don't think this is important, consider how much more formidable the Brewers might have been with CC Sabathia set to pitch twice in that series, on full rest. Then by closing out the Brewers in four games, the Phils were able to keep Hamels on track to begin the NLCS against the Dodgers--and, given the long lag between the end of that round and the start of the World Series, to work back-to-back games a week apart when he won Game One of the Series to seize home-field advantage for the Phils. 

None of this is to take anything away from the performance of the guys in uniform. Hamels' excellence is independent of his availability, of course. And his good work might have gone for naught if it weren't for the great performances of non-superstars like Shane Victorino and Ryan Madson. But no team wins it all without a smile from the baseball gods; as you're sitting down to turkey in a few weeks' time, that's probably worth a silent thank-you.