Goodbye, Pat; Welcome, Raul

The blogs have written their goodbyes and the newspapers have done their farewells; with last week’s signing of Raul Ibanez (at right, missing a homer), Pat Burrell is officially done as a member of the Phillies.

It’s funny to remember how much people wanted Burrell out of here just a few years ago; the sting of his one really bad season (2003, when he hit .209) lasted ’til only very recently. But he was a good sport in Philadelphia, and got one base a ton. Somehow that’s still an underrated part of a baseball player’s game, and the Phillies will miss it.

Now that I’ve covered Burrell, let me commence with the bashing of the Raul Ibanez deal. He’s essentially the same player as Burrell, only several years older. He’ll be 39 at the end of this 3-year, $30 million deal. The Phillies could have had Pat Burrell for a one-year deal. A wise man once said: “I’d sign almost anyone to a one-year deal. I mean, shit, you signed Tom Gordon to a three-year deal worth almost $20 million, and he was a retired 53-year-old jazz saxophonist at the time.” Do we need to start calling the Phillies cheap again?

Keith Law (who says the deal is absurd) writes that Ibanez’s defense is even worse than Burrell’s, and the only year he hit lefthanders was 2008. Oh, yes, Ibanez is also a lefty, to go along with Howard and Utley. I see no reason to sign an older version of Burrell who has even more downside than Pat the Bat.

On the plus side, it’s good to know we’re all still able to complain about the Phillies again.

Update: CHAN HO PARK!!