What to do with Brandon Phillips

[edabbs44]

Originally Posted by lollipopcurve

Milton Bradley, anyone?

[bucksfan2]

Originally Posted by reds44

You don't trade him. That hurts the team more than what he is doing.

It's pretty simple, everytime he does something like tonight, you fine him. The more he does it, the more you fine him. Hit him where it hurts.

Im not so sure it hurts the team. I am just assuming that Todd Frazier could come up here and replicate his minor league offensive numbers. He definitely would be a defensive downgrade but I think he would be an overall offensive upgrade.

I truly think that if you swap Frazier for Phillips you get a net return of 0 while also giving some payroll flexibility.

[membengal]

Demoted all the way to clean-up today, so I am sure... lesson. learned.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by membengal

Demoted all the way to clean-up today, so I am sure... lesson. learned.

He was dropped in the batting order. What more do you want?

[OnBaseMachine]

From C. Trent:

As for the third-inning double, Baker said he's adressed it with Phillips.

"He's been talked to," Baker said. "About this -- and.. we talk to Brandon quite often. I guess he's better than he used to be, but we're still trying to get him to the point where he can be a big difference maker every day because he certainly has the skill and the ability."

Is it tough to watch as a manager?

"What's tough as a manager is when you have an A student who is getting Bs," Baker said. "Now let's change the subject."

http://cnati.com/cincinnati-reds/an-...ing-bs-001907/

[flyer85]

Originally Posted by GAC

Sometimes it's the run that didn't score but could have, or should have.

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/...=.jsp&c_id=cin

Next batter Joey Votto hit a deep fly to left field. Had Phillips been on third base, he likely would have scored on the sacrifice fly. Although the Reds didn't know it then, it would be the one run they wished they had scored.

Gary Parrish wrote an article about "knuckleheads" the other day. He theory was if you are one you will always be one. I think this applies to hot dogs like Phillips. He is who he is and it isn't going to change.

BTW, I did notice how Rolen, on his HR, busted it out of the box the moment he hit it.

Not sure I would trade Phillips. The biggest issue is that he is miscast as a top half of the order hitter with the Reds. He is a 6/7 type hitter, of course the Reds have a lineup full of those type of guys.

[Eric_the_Red]

"What's tough as a manager is when you have an A student who is getting Bs," Baker said. "Now let's change the subject."

Ouch.

If BP continues to get B's, I would be in favor of trading him. I'd rather pay less for a B student that gives B results than paying an A student more for the same results.

[TheNext44]

Originally Posted by lollipopcurve

Phillips will be very difficult to trade. He makes 11M next year and 12M in 2012 (a trade triggers a mutual option on that 12M). The only way the Reds can deal will be to eat salary and/or to take on a similar contract the other team is anxious to unload.

Milton Bradley, anyone?

But he's been worth more than that each of the last three years, if you agree with the way that WAR is calculated. And he's been mostly injury free for his career.

I actually have no problem with his contract and would love for the Reds to keep him, if he didn't have other issues.

His problem is different than Bradley's in that it's more to do with on the field problems than off, and that this is Phillip's second team to have these issues, not his umpteenth. I think some team is more likely to think that they can change Phillips with a change of scenery than with Bradley. But both are similar in that their behavior hurts their team.

[TheNext44]

Originally Posted by Ltlabner

Opening day there was a play in one of the early innings (whatever was the first run scoring inning for the Cards) where it *appeared* that Brandon could have gotten to the ball, or at the very least, kept it from the outfield. My father and I both noticed it. Maybe there was no chance in the world of him getting to it but it sure looked like a dog of a play.

One play, that means nothing in the grand scheme of things but something is different about Brandon this year and frankly I think it's between his ears more than between the lines.

I think the problem is that nothing is different with Phillips this year, and it's beginning to look like it never will be.

[fearofpopvol1]

He majorly hustled to 1B in the 1st inning today and slid into 1B to get an infield single, FWIW.

[klw]

The Reds could always hire that Philly cop to stand near the on deck circle with his taser in case the mob decides Phillips has not gotten our of the batter's box fast enough.

[bucksfan2]

Originally Posted by fearofpopvol1

He majorly hustled to 1B in the 1st inning today and slid into 1B to get an infield single, FWIW.

Did you expect him to do anything less? The issue isn't right now because it is front and center in BP's mind. Once its about a month removed I think we will see BP's hot dogging cost him again

[mdccclxix]

I honestly can't believe the reaction to Phillips. My lord. If you keep track of all the "hot dogging" that goes on with the Reds and you'll see it's not just Phillips. But by god, if Phillips slips ONCE it's because he's "stylin'" or some such reference. I think Dusty is over-reacting as well because he's red-assed from that loss. I watched the replay and what some of you holier than thou people call hot dogging is amazing. I have little doubt he would have been caught at 3rd if he was busting it like Rosales x 4.

As I write this Phillips just hit an opposite field HR, the Met's broadcast made note during the replay of Phillips tapping his head and raising his arms in celebration: "There's some styling that goes on today that I'm not a fan of". "Styling" Why is Phillips "styling" and others are "enthusiastic" or "pumped up"?

Also as I speak, Gomes goes deep and I want all you holier than thou baseball purists tell me Gomes was bustin his butt to make Momma Rosales proud on a fly ball to the same area as "THE PHILLIPS INCIDENT" last night?

[flyer85]

The only player in recent memory besides BP who made a habit of going into a HR trot on what turned out to be a ball that stayed in the park was Jr.

[CTA513]

Originally Posted by mdccclxix

I honestly can't believe the reaction to Phillips. My lord. If you keep track of all the "hot dogging" that goes on with the Reds and you'll see it's not just Phillips. But by god, if Phillips slips ONCE it's because he's "stylin'" or some such reference. I think Dusty is over-reacting as well because he's red-assed from that loss. I watched the replay and what some of you holier than thou people call hot dogging is amazing. I have little doubt he would have been caught at 3rd if he was busting it like Rosales x 4.

As I write this Phillips just hit an opposite field HR, the Met's broadcast made note during the replay of Phillips tapping his head and raising his arms in celebration: "There's some styling that goes on today that I'm not a fan of". "Styling" Why is Phillips "styling" and others are "enthusiastic" or "pumped up"?

Also as I speak, Gomes goes deep and I want all you holier than thou baseball purists tell me Gomes was bustin his butt to make Momma Rosales proud on a fly ball to the same area as "THE PHILLIPS INCIDENT" last night?

I think Baker is tried of seeing Phillips do some of the things he does.


More from that article from last season:

"We should have gotten some more in that first inning, big time," Baker fumed. "You have to hustle on that ball there or it's a totally different inning. That was a rally killer for us.

"We've repeated it many, many times. You have to play hard all the time. That was big, real big. We had them on the ropes and we killed the rally."

This wasn't the first time this season Baker has been unhappy with Phillips. In June at Kansas City, he ignored a take sign on a 3-0 and swung. It resulted in a rally-ending fly out.

"We've all talked to him until we're blue in the face," Baker said. "Evidently, this must have started long before I got here."


http://marksheldon.mlblogs.com/archi..._phillips.html