midday update

here's what i have heard today:

the loss of burnett means that cards may have to consider trading some prospects they would prefer not to have traded. these include lambert, stu pomeranz, and wainwright; brad thompson may also have to be moved. the cards have interest in acquiring vazquez, possibly in a deal that includes carlos quentin; no word on how we pry that coveted prospect free.

re 2b, there is still interest in signing bill mueller to play 2b. i think it's a bad idea, and my reasoning's here. no interest apparently in d'angelo jimenez, which is a shame (see below). there may be some however in willie harris.

they definitely are considering jacque jones; tino II.

while i've got a few minutes, here's one quick prescription. unfortunately it includes the jimenez non-starter, but you can just mentally substitute some other cheap gloveman (pokey reese; bret boone) into that slot:

1. marquis stays for now; possible trade bait at midseason.
2. sign todd jones. best remaining pitcher on the market, imo. cost ~$5.5m (gordon / farnsworth money).
3. sign d'angelo jimenez to play 2d / bat 8th. good glove, good on-base ability; further musings here. cost ~$900k.
4. see if matt lawton will bite on a one-yr deal with incentives; good obp, could hit play left / hit 2d or 6th (discussion at same link as jimenez above). if dave roberts gets nontendered, he might be an alternative (discussion in last night's post. cost $3m-$4m. goodbye and sincere thanks to reggie.
5. the phillies need relief pitching and have too many outfielders. start with brad thompson and ray king for jason michaels, then mix-match wainwright, cali, and ty johnson until you've balanced the package. michaels plays rf / bats 2d or 6th. cost ~$2m.
6. the bench is now set: bennett or hernandez c, cruz and luna if, taguchi and j-rod of. they could always add another left-handed bat (eg sweeney, palmeiro) and let luna ripen a bit more down at memphis.
7. looper's in at ~$1m; discussion.
8. the back of the bullpen gets cobbled together from whoever doesn't go in the j michaels trade.

eck'n ss
lawton lf
pu 1b
jed cf
rolen 3b
michaels rf
molina c
jimenez 2b

against lhp, michaels hits 2d and gooch plays right and hits 6th.

the pen: izzy closes, jones sets up, looper and wainwright pitch middle relief, king and flores are the LOOGYs, and a replacement player takes the 7th spot.

i could live with that team. it would score runs, it would defend; it would get bounced from the playoffs in the nlcs. but we'd all have fun anyway, right? payroll matrix:

2006 ROSTER MATRIX
SCENARIO #7: POST AJ APOCALYPSE