FanHouse GregDobbs

The World Champions -- I write that in every Phillies post just to pander to the Philly Phanatics, is it working? -- have gone about their business this offseason without really altering their payroll. Sure, they signed Raul Ibanez, but that was teamed with the departure of Pat Burrell. Ibanez is going to make less per season than Burrell was making. They also re-upped with Jamie Moyer for two years in a moderate, at most, deal.

With arbitration season beginning today, they are about to take on a significant payroll increase. Players can now file for arbitration, and I'm guessing Cole Hamels -- who only made $400,000 last season -- will be filing. You know Ryan Howard, again, will. All told, the Phillies are likely to have eight players file.

Whether they decide to sign the players before arbitration hearings or not, the World Champs' front office better get that checkbook out, because they are going to pay for these guys. Let's look at each, briefly.

In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot October topic.

Things move fast in the Internet Age. That's the nature of a 24-hour news cycle or maybe just the short attention span of Americans. Either way, before you know it we're going to be talking about CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira (And Jake Peavy and Manny Ramirez and maybe even Prince Fielder).

So let's take the chance, while we still can, to pay tribute to the 2008 champions. With a cheesesteak in one hand and a Yuengling in the other, here's to you Philadelphia.

- Here's to the Phillies fans, first and foremost. You're not always the easiest folks to understand. You've booed just about everyone including many of your own players. Even among East Coast baseball fans you can seem like a cynical, sour bunch. But your passion and loyalty is undeniable.

In frigid temperatures and pouring rain on Monday night, Citizens Bank Park was packed to the hilt. In more than 100 years of existence, you've been rewarded for your devotion with a title only twice. It hardly seems like enough.

- Here's to Cole Hamels, who at just 24 has established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball, and just maybe its greatest changeup artist.

Until his magical October run, Hamels wasn't widely recognized by casual fans for his dominance. He wasn't even an All-Star this year. Hope you enjoyed the relative anonymity while it lasted, Cole.

The Phillies came into Tampa Bay and got what they wanted in Game 1, so losing Game 2 isn't going to affect them all that much. They're going back home for three games (which should make Greg Dobbs extremely happy since he could barely see the ball at the plate in Tampa), and even if they lose Game 3 they always have the option of coming back with Cole Hamels in Game 4 if they so choose (and if there's a rainout in Game 3 as speculated, he'll definitely come back for Game 4). So no panic in Philadelphia.

What the Phillies have to avoid is to let the strange calls by Kerwin Danley get to them: The weird "almost" punch out of Rocco Baldelli that turned into an appeal that gave Baldelli new life (after which he singled), and the hit by pitch that wasn't of Jimmy Rollins (ticked his jersey) and turned into a fly out to left. The problem is that Rollins had four other chances to do some damage and he didn't. He's 0-for-10 and that has to worry the Phillies, along with the fact that they had the leadoff man on base in six of the nine innings, and still could only muster a home run by Eric Bruntlett and a late run in the ninth inning. (Jayson Werth also had a terrible night with an error in the first that cost the Phils a run, and getting doubled off first base by Baldelli in the fifth, though he did throw out Baldelli at the plate in the third.)

The good news is that they got a home run by Eric Bruntlett, which came off wunderkind David Price, and now they know he can be hit (although Price was extremely good on Thursday). Also, Ryan Howard is finally getting warm ... he went 2-for-5 including a long double to center. Other than that, there are some things to worry about for the Phillies. But again, with Hamels a possibility for Game 4 and a split on the road, things don't look bad for the Phils.

In '07, "Who's on Third, I Don't Know" was more than just an Abbott and Costello routine in Philadelphia, but a way of life as Greg Dobbs, Wes Helms, and Abraham Nunez manned third base for the Phillies. Today, they hope that former Giant Pedro Feliz will provide the answer to the age old question, as the Phillies have signed him to a two-year, $8.5 million dollar deal.

Feliz batted .253 with 20 homers and 72 RBIs for San Francisco last season. He's an upgrade over the trio of Greg Dobbs, Wes Helms and Abraham Nunez. Philadelphia's third basemen batted .255 with 11 homers and 76 RBIs last year. Dobbs and Helms remain on the roster.

Feliz had spent his entire eight-year career with the Giants. He's been a full-time starter since 2004, averaging 21 homers and 84 RBIs. Feliz, who turns 33 on April 27, is a career .252 hitter with a .288 on-base percentage.

How much of an upgrade is this? The Phillies can hope that the change in home parks from 3-Com in San Francisco to the shoebox known as Citizens Bank will help those power numbers along. And Feliz, with only 11 errors last season should provide an upgrade in the field from the trip of Helms, Dobbs, and Nunez (25 errors between them in '07). But a .288 career on-base percentage tells me that if he can't work a walk in San Francisco, he can't take a walk in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, or the North Pole.

Tadahito Iguchi officially hit the open market yesterday after being released by the Phillies. Of course, the Phillies more or less had their hands forced; under the terms of the contract Iguchi signed with the White Sox three years ago, the Phillies weren't allowed to offer Iguchi arbitration, which means that not only is Iguchi free and clear, but the team that signs him won't have to give Philadelphia any draft picks as compensation. From the Philadelphia Daily News:

"[Iguchi] thinks he can get a job playing second every day somewhere. I think he and his agent are correct in that assumption," said Gillick, who added the Phillies asked him whether he would be willing to play third base.

So who plays third for the Phillies next year? Probably some combination of Wes Helms, Greg Dobbs and Eric Bruntlett, considering Pat Gillick shot down any rumors of Philadelphia's interest in Mike Lowell.

As for Iguchi, he will be competing with a handful of prominent second basemen on the market -- Luis Castillo and Kaz Matsui, for instance, as well as Marcus Giles and Mark Loretta -- though he has to be considered one of the most desirable.

Greg Dobbs, for now, is on the hook.

Brett Myers, who strained his shoulder on his 27th pitch on Wednesday night, has had his MRI ... and while it only revealed nothing more than a strain, Myers still landed himself on the 15 day DL.

But let's face it, is Dobbs really to blame? His bonehead play did mean that Myers had to last longer than he should have. But while it's true that Myers wouldn't have strained his shoulder that night, you had to figure that at some point, he would have had to throw 27 pitches some night, right? And with Myers making an in-season adjustment from starter to reliever, one would think that would have had something to do with it. So rest easy, Greg Dobbs.

The good news is that Myers' spot will be filled by the return of Ryan Howard from his own DL sting. The bad news is that Howard is still hitting .204. The worse news is that the Phillies still need a closer, and Charlie Manuel has already thrown out the names of Antonio Alfonseca, Ryan Madson, and Geoff Geary in terms of save opportunities. You know what that means ... the dreaded bullpen by committee. See: Sox, Red 2003 for reasons why this would not work.

Previously on The Fanhouse:
Greg Dobbs causes Brett Myers' Injury indirectly
Charlie Manuel sends Brett Myers to Bullpen
Ryan Howard DL'd

When Charlie Manuel announced that he was sending Brett Myers to the bullpen, pretty much all of Philadelphia thought he was out of his mind. But after Tom Gordon got hurt, Myers moved to the closer role and Manuel came out smelling like a rose as the Phillies worked their way back to the .500 mark.

But for the next few hours, Phillie fans will be holding their breath as, after Myers was forced to leave Wednesday night's game after straining his shoulder on a wild pitch in the ninth inning in which four runs scored to tie the game for the Marlins ... Myers may have to fly back to Philly for an MRI if his shoulder still feels strained when he wakes up this morning.

"I'll find out how it feels [Thursday]," Myers said. "I don't know anything about it right now. When I came in here, it started spazzing a little bit. I don't know what that means."

It might mean that the Phillies are screwed. And it might mean that Greg Dobbs is going to have a lot of sleepless nights. You see, Myers would have been out of the inning with a Phillies victory if Dobbs had only tagged Hanley Ramirez or stepped on the bag for the easy out with the Phillies up by two runs. Instead, he threw home to try to get Dan Uggla at the plate. Bad move, as Myers retired the next two batters which should have been outs two and three. Instead, they were one and two, and the Phillies would not only lose the lead after that (on a play where Ramirez scored on a throw home that beat him by 15 feet but somehow he slid under Rod Barajas' tag), but they would lose Myers to an injury. How different would life be if Dobbs had only made the prudent play? Dobbs tells you after the jump: