Hi, Tamar,

Yeah, Duckworth flopped, big-time. In 2001, people were saying, "he will win a Cy Young in 3 years" HAHAHA!!!

Myers has good stuff - and would probably have a better record on a better team.

I think Wolf was quite good, but I honestly don't know if we'll see him return to his form in 2002-2003, when he was quite dominant.

True, Padilla didn't come from Philly, he was a throw-in on the Schilling-Travis Lee deal, but he had spent very little time in the majors.

Yes, Floyd is 23. The scouting report on him has essentially been the same as Duckworth - questionable mechanics. Good enough stuff to win their first few games in the big leagues, but not enough to fool hitters the 2nd time around.

Myers and Hamels have great mechanics and great stuff. You're right, if the former can keep his head together and the latter can stay healthy, they're going to be good.

Yes, the T.J. surgery has been known to increase velocity in the 2nd year. At this point, they should bring him back in slowly, given that this season is a wash.

I agree, there are questions about the training regimen.

In the meantime, what a joy to watch Utley and Howard play, and we're even enjoying Bell's current hot streak.

I love Utley and Howard. David Bell can be a solid hitter, but he just runs into too many streaks of bad luck. I really thought at the time it was a bone-head move to trade Polanco to Detroit for Urbina last year. They need more players like Polanco, and less players like Pat Burrell, whose avg with RISP is dreadful.

As much as I hate to say this....this team really needs to hit rock bottom before it can start over again. Players like Utley, Howard, Rowand, Myers, and Hamels are the nucleus of a good team, but they really just need to blow it up and start over. It's gonna take a long time to undo the mess that Ed Wade created.

Kevin