we had the team to win.once again they failed to produce.the ony guy out of the big 3 that shows up is lee.we had the pitching and the hitting.like lou says in 6 postseason games they,ve scored 12 runs.is it the pressure????i dont know.having to win for 6 months to win a division is a lot of pressure.i dont know why they collapse in oct

They collapse because they are mentally weak and too streaky. The frustrating thing is that on paper, they look good every year. Top to down, their stats are good, and can’t be improved upon by adding new players. But their streakiness (what the numbers don’t tell you) sinks them every year, in 2004, in 2007, and now 2008. Tinker with it? For what?
I say blow it up, trade the vets, suck for a few years, and rebuild the farm system. This team will never win with Soriano, Ramirez, etc as the “team leaders.” Who cares. This team’s window of opportunity has shut.

DeRosa is the Every Day Right Fielder

No. I love his bat and attitude, but his defense last night showed that it is the wrong place for him. His lack of range and below average arm in RF make him a liability to the team that will be very evident after 162 games. It is fine to put him there for a game or two in a pinch, but 2B is his optimal spot. Unfortunately, the same can be said for Theriot and Fontenot (trade bait?).

Hendry has no choice but to start looking for a RF replacement again. Abreu seems to be the only guy with a minimal upside on the free agent list, but it is likely that he will re-sign with the Yankees. That means a trade of some sort. Let Edmonds go (he really is almost toast now), then let Reed, Felix, and Kosuke battle royale in March for the chance to play CF.

Wood should be brought back. I don’t know about Dempster right now as I fully question his mental makeup after Game 1. Everyone else can leave.

Don’t make Fukudome the 4th outfielder. Thing is, he hits like a center fielder, not a left fielder. He did well early then struggled. He’ll adjust. Install him in center, tell Edmonds thanks, if you want to come back for $1 million you can be our new Daryl Ward, otherwise goodbye. Keep Reed Johnson as the 4th outfielder.

Tell Soriano he’s hitting third.
Fontenot is the starting second baseman.
Install Marshall into the 5th starter spot.
I would go after Furcal to hit leadoff and play short.
Theriot, Marquis, Pie are all available in trade. Marquis actually has some positive value considering his contract is now reasonable comparable to guys like Silva and Lohse and he had a descent year this year.

I would seriously look at trading for Ryan Howard. Big left handed stick with a ton of power, we need that. I love DLee but he obviously isn’t a 30 homer guy anymore. You know what, that doesn’t disappoint me either because it speaks to his character. He’s 33 years old and is in what would be a normal pre-steroid decline phase. Essentially DLee has become a right-handed version of Mark Grace and we need better than that. Howard could be had, question is what do the Phils want in return. I would suspect DLee, Marquis and Pie would get it done, along with some salary relief to balance it out. Phils get a 1b, starter that they really need and a marginal prospect. I realize some people are going to scoff at this offer but when you do remember that DLee isn’t chopped liver himself, as I said before Marquis has some positive value and Pie isn’t buried yet. Unless Philadelphia is looking for prospect for Howard (and why would they be since they’re a perennial contender?) then this offers them a lot of value back.

Lineup would be:
Furcal
Fontenot/DeRosa
Soriano
Howard
Ramirez
Soto
DeRosa/Fontenot
Fukudome

Money would be needed to resign Dempster, sign Furcal, raises, plus what Howard will earn and salary relief to Philly. Can payroll take the hit, I don’t know.

Rotation would be: (in no particluar order)
Zambrano
Dempster
Harden
Lilly
Marshall/Gaudin/Hill??

Bullpen:
Wood
Marmol
Howry (1-yr, $1 million, take it or leave it)
Wuertz
Cotts
Another lefty (piggy? probably not, maybe someone outside the org.)
Samardzija
Hart

Who would be on the market this offseason:
Hill
DLee (very tough to say but i think we need a thumper here, lefty if possible)
Theriot
Marquis
Pie

Theriot is cheap and has some value. Hill is cheap and has some past success. Marquis has value. Pie still has upside and may attain it with a different organization. DLee can still hit and play great D. None of the above are overpaid unless you consider DLee overpaid, I don’t necessarily.

Sign Furcal, trade for Howard, resign Demp, trade what you can for what you need and/or prospect, restock the system quality over quantity. Don’t raise payroll too much but raise it enough to get a big left handed bat.

/end rambling……

…are the only two on this list worth looking at, and they need each type of player badly, but won’t be able to get both (IMO).

         Theriot to bench duty or trading him. He is only worth something offensively if he bats well over .300 and his defense is awful. He is so stiff and has a tough time ranging to either side. And his arm might be the worst of any big league SS. Moving him to second base would only magnify his offensive woes, as second base requires a better bat than SS. His slugging percentage was lower than his OBP. Getting on base is nice, but when you can’t steal bases efficiently or hit anything other than singles you are only so useful.
           Soriano is not going anywhere. Lou needs to do some damage control and move him down in the lineup. When I mean down, I mean in the six, seven or eight spot. He doesn’t have the stones to hit in a big time slot and going into the playoffs with a useless player like him in a huge run producing spot is not a good idea.
            We need a new OF, not necessarily a new CF. Fukudome, who’s bat is way too light for RF, could move to center. Trey Hillman, his manager in Japan, said he could play center, but thats the same guy that said he might be a number three hitter, so who knows? I for one would like to see Brian Giles in a Cubs uniform. He isn’t a huge name and probably won’t be too expensive. His numbers are pretty solid and would be better if he wasn’t hampered by Petco. DeRo isn’t a solid option in right field. That being said, if that is he route they decide to take, I would look to trade Fntenot and/or Theriot and see if bringing in Orlando Hudson is an option.
            I know that real baseball isn’t fantasy baseball and that some of these ideas might be a bit out there, but thats all these ideas are, ideas. The point is that after this year’s high expectations and colossal failure the pressure on Hendry will be greater than ever.