News Item: Phillies sign Raul Ibanez for 3 years, $30 million.
The deal marks the end of Pat Burrell's time in Philly, which was pretty inevitable. The good parts are that Ibanez is a slugger who's gotten better with age and should dominate in Citizen's Bank Park, and isn't as slump-prone as Burrell. Also, 3/30 isn't bad for someone who produces that many runs. Not to mention, it's not a trade and they didn't have to give up anyone.
The bad? He's 36, which is older than Burrell, isn't that great a fielder, and bats left. As do the team's two best players (Howard and Utley) and their top three pinch-hitters (Dobbs, Jenkins, Stairs.) Against righties, with all their switch hitters, that leaves just Jayson Werth, Pedro Feliz and whoever the catcher is as right-handed hitters.