On his list of the top 50 free agents, he puts Paul Byrd (last three years, ERA+'s of 112, 110 and 132), a very reasonable middle-0f-the-rotation starter, at #49, three spots below #46, the corpse of Bernie Williams (OPS+ of 81 last year), a man who not only can no longer hit major league pitching, but was also so bad at playing center field his manager was forced to put Tony Womack out there.
Phillips on Williams:
He has been a big part of the great Yankee run over the last decade or so. Moving on, he would be a good fit on a younger team that is learning how to win where he can serve as a mentor and semi-regular player.
So a "mentor and semi-regular player" (read: bench guy) is more valuable than someone who can eat 200 innings with better-than-average results?
Phillips also believes Sammy Sosa (82 OPS+) and 4,823-year-old Jamie Moyer are better bets than Byrd. Byrd, apparently, is responsible for getting Alias cancelled, and that's, like, Steve Phillips' favorite show.
Labels: bernie willliams, steve phillips
