- It's looking like Brett Myers is going to need surgery on his hip, a procedure that could end his season. His absense would leave the Phillies with a rotation of Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer, J.A. Happ, and someone from the system. This is a rotation, by the way, that as of this writing has been 33.4 runs below average, with a tRA of 5.95. Jack Zduriencik needs to get on the horn and see what they'll give for Erik Bedard. The Phillies are a perfect match - they have a need, they have pieces to trade, and their front office is headed by some questionable intellect - and with the Mariners having faded from contention, now's the time to strike. Waiting only gives Bedard a chance to reduce his value, and the Phillies a chance to find someone else.
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Dave alluded to it this morning, but in case you haven't noticed, Michael Saunders has taken a big step forward in AAA this year. Not only has he bumped his OPS by 300 points, but he's improved his contact rate from 70% to 82%. It's the same kind of thing that makes me excited about Russell Branyan, and while Saunders has a smaller sample size of data, it still strikes me as being significant.
Saunders is never going to top the walk leaderboards, but with his improved contact, reasonable power, and defensive ability, he could be the new Randy Winn, and he doesn't turn 23 until November. Say hello to my new favorite prospect. If you weren't on the Saunders trolley before, you should probably think about getting on now before they run out of tickets.
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