LuvSeason18 wrote:

thecarriebradshaw wrote:

LuvSeason18 wrote:

Okay. I don't know much about baseball, but WHY would they trade such a valuable player?  Usually, they trade trying to get "something better....right?  But he sounds like such a big asset, I just can't figure this out.   CARRIE, your thoughts please.

BTW......He IS cute !!!

Oh, and Carrie......I would love it if you would add to the story......you can take it anywhere you want....no restrictions......we go with the flow......and this goes for ANYONE.....because we need more posters over there. LOL

Hi Luv, you are right, and in the Phillies' long range plan, it is a way to get better "potentially."
Cole was drafted by the Phillies in 2002 when he was 18 and made it to the big leagues in 2006.  That year and 2007 they were like a growing team just starting to contend the post season.  They did go to the post season but got eliminated in the first round in 2007.  In 2008 they did go to the world series and won.  He was the MVP.  The Phillies only have 2 World series championships and he and Mike Schmidt are the only players in the Phillies 130 year history to be MVPs.  They went back in 2009 but lost to the Yankees.  They made the post season again with the acquistion of Roy Halladay one of the best pitchers in baseball and Roy Oswalt, another big game pitcher in 2010 but they lost in the NLCS to the giants.  In 2011, they signed Cliff Lee, another big game pitcher who pitched on the team in 2009 when they lost.  They made the post season again but got eliminated in the first round to the Cardinals even though the Phillies were expected to win because they had "the four aces"  Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, and Roy Oswalt.  Cole signed a 6 year extention with the Phillies in 2012 because it's where he wanted to be.  But injuries to Roy and Cliff started a downward spiral for the Phillies.  They didn't make the post season for the first time in 5 years in 2012.  2013-2014 they were really bad.  Cole wanted to pitch for a contender and because the Phillies weren't at the position to contend for the remainder of Cole's contract, they traded him to the Texas Rangers and were given 5 prospects and one major league pitcher.  So even though it really stinks for the fans, it's a win win for both.  Cole will be on a team that has the chance to go to the post season for the life of his contract and the Phillies acquired top prospects that they hope will help them get back to the post season in a few years.  They didn't feel they would be able to contend for Cole so that is why they traded him.  He will be 32 in December and he has 3 years with a 4th year option.  It's possible that if the Phillies do contend in 4 years when his contract is done, they could try to resign Cole when he hits free agency in 2020 unless the rangers extend his contract OR Cole retires from baseball because he will be 35 by the time his contract expires.  Unless he has major success with the Rangers, I am hopeful that when he does retire from baseball, he will retire as a Philly.  He and his wife have stated that they are going to keep his foundation going in Philly so it does make me happy that it looks like he has intentions of keeping ties with Philadelphia even though he no longer plays for the Phillies.

Sorry for the long speal.  I hope that answered your question LOL

But in summary - they traded Cole to get better for the future.  They have a few young talent already in the system and acquired a few more pieces.  I think they are hoping by 2017 or 2018 that they will be contenders again.

Thanks Carrie.  Your long post makes a lot of sense and I am glad you wrote it.   Hopefully, he can get back to Philly someday and by then maybe, they will have a good enough team to get to the post season and then to the WS. 

Oh good....thanks haha :o) :o)

Seems like I am missing everyone tonight. lol  Oh well, I hope everyone has a good evening.

This is for Castle fans......

Now you can add to the mix the return of the forever-nefarious William Bracken, to again played by Jack Coleman.  The disgraced senator, who pulled many puppet strings in orchestrating Johanna Beckett’s years-ago murder, will “be back in a surprising way,” new co-showrunner Terence Paul Winter tells TVLine.

Here is the link for the full article. I just copy and pasted what I thought was the most interesting. LOL  That Bracken is one bad dude. lol

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/s/castle-season-8-spoiler-return-130000109.html

Is this recent???


[quote888]

=1emmaksimc We’ve spent 36 years together today!
Well….they have spent them together and I ‘came into existence’ a little later Maybe that’s why I feel so strongly about those two and so proud of them. 
Happy anniversary to #myfavoritecouple[/quote888]

Hi, annie!!!  I'm home from a birthday Pizza Party.  I was going to add a couple of things, comment on carrie's post.

Thanks, carrie for that explanation.  It sound like he wanted to be traded, and the Phillies also got a decent deal.  So I hope it all turns out for the best in the end.   Stiff upper lip, girl.  At least you have lots of fans (and your mom) to share you sorrow with.  




   

So, Artem was in a Shania Twain concert?