So the deadline came and went without arbitration offers to any Phillies free agents. Most bloggers (what a whiny bunch) have predictably gone off the deep end, but as beat writer Todd Zolecki points out in today's Inquirer, only 24 of 171 players eligible were offered arbitration.
It would have been more of a surprise had the Phillies offered it to Burrell. Not offering it to Moyer, though, is something of a surprise. My feeling is that if Jamie Moyer wants to stay in Philadelphia--and I certainly hope he does--- , he will. If he and the Phillies don't come to an agreement that will be as much up to Moyer as it is to Ruben Amaro. This team should concentrate on getting younger. Yeah, there's the question of draft picks lost but that's another issue. I agree with Amaro that the Phillies will not repeat next year with the same group of guys. Change is what it's always about. That and running a business. Sentiment is something for fans, not for players or management. It could be that Philadelphia's last memory of Pat Burrell was his leading the parade down Broad Street on that Clydesdale-drawn beer wagon. If so, it's one to savor.
