Howard's deal is one of the smarter ones the Phillies have made

Written by Alex Young | 28 April 2010

We could argue all day and night about the contract extension that the Phillies just gave to slugger Ryan Howard a few days ago. It’s the richest in the club’s history, $125 million over five years. Questions arise about if that is an appropriate amount to give to such a large a player who is on the wrong side of 30 and strikes out way too much. We Phillies fans kind of take the Big Piece’s production for granted. All he’s done in his career is go out and consistently hit 40-50 home runs and more than 130 RBIs every year. He’s been in the top 5 of the NL MVP voting in each of his four full years and of course won the award in 2006. There is little evidence that Ryan will slow down any time soon, but even if he does, it would be hard for him to fall to the level of some other players that the Phillies have made deals for in the past. These are the ones that make you scratch your head; some will make you scratch until your scalp bleeds. These are the worst deals (trades and contracts) the Phillies have made in the last 15 years.

Adam Eaton- 3 yrs $24 mil- For some reason, the Phillies thought it would be smart to give a guy who never won more than 11 games and never had an ERA lower than 4.00 $8 million a year in starting in 2007. Eaton was Pat Gillick’s biggest flop. Over two years he posted a record of 14-18 with a 6.10. He was not invited to the World Series Parade in 08 and was mercilessly booed during the ring ceremony the next year. In 2009, the Phillies cut him but still had to pay his $8 mil salary to play for the Orioles. He went 8-8 with an ERA over 8.

Freddy Garcia- Trade- I remember being really excited about Freddy Garcia. He was at times a dominant pitcher for the Mariners in the early 00s and was at least solid for the White Sox in the season before the Phillies traded for him. In 2007 he made 11 starts, had one win, five losses and a 5.90 ERA. The Phillies paid him $10 million that year. His one W is now known as “The $10,000,000 Win.”

Ugueth Urbina- Trade- The Phils made a mid-season trade with Detroit that sent Placido Polanco to the Tigers and got Urbina in return. He pitched 52 innings in 2005 and had an ERA of 4.13. It ended up being his only season for the Phils as he is currently in a Venezuelan prison for attempting to light several of his farm workers on fire in November of 2005. Since then, Polanco has hit .314, won a gold glove and made an all-star appearance for Detroit before the Phillies gave him a three year, $18 million contract to bring him back in 2010.

Danny Tartabull- 1 year $2.5 mil- “The Bull” hit 27 homeruns and had 101 RBIs for the White Sox in 1996, the year before the Phillies signed him as a free agent. He was already 34 years old when he played his first games for the Phils but the club was probably hoping for a little more then they got out of Tartabull before a foul ball off the foot ended his season and career. The grand total of games he played in red and white, three.

Brad Lidge- 3 yrs $37 mil extension. Three months into the 08 season, the Phillies gave Lidge an extension that nearly doubled his salary. It looked like it was a smart move as Lidge was perfect in 08 and was a major reason why the Phillies won the World Series. It hasn’t looked so good since. Poor performances and injuries have turned the lights out on Lidge. He posted a 7.21 ERA and blew 11 saves in 09, and took the loss for game four of the World Series when he gave up three runs in the bottom of the ninth. He still has time to rebound but Lidge began the 2010 season on the DL and he is due $12.5 million a year through the 2012 season. That is a lot of money to pay a guy when you can't be sure of what you are going to get from him.