Lots of good story lines for the free agency period, which started at 12:01 this morning:

1. Jamie Moyer – Will he come back? Is he looking for 2 years, or would he be willing to come back on a 1 year deal given his, umm, advanced age? Would the Phillies give him 2 years?

2. Pat Burrell – what is the market for this guy right now? I don’t think anyone really knows. Will an AL team show him the money since he could DH for them? Burrell’s return to Philly would almost certainly happen only with a hometown discount – but how big of a discount would he give the Phils? Do the Phils even want him back, or are they just making a casual overture out of respect? Maybe they have a Plan B already.

3. Starting Pitching – How aggressive will the Phils be in terms of adding another arm to the Starting 5? Right now, we’ve got Hamels, Myers and Blanton locked in. Moyer should be back, which leaves 1 spot. You’ve got Happ, Kendrick, and Eaton who will all have a chance to impress in spring training. Will Ruben look to add a starting pitcher on top of Moyer to give the Phils some breathing room in the event of injury? I hear Freddy Garcia is available…..

4. Bobby Abreu – It will be interesting to see where he lands, and how his next contract compares to Burrell’s. Mets fans are dreading the possibility that Bobby could land there, and I don’t blame them. He is an atrocious fielder.

5. CC Sabathia – exactly how huge is the offer that the Yankees are going to make? Some think they’ll go right for the jugular and offer 6 years, $150 million. We could see the Yankees sign 3 of the top free agents this winter, luxury tax be damned. There is no way they are going to accept 3rd place in the AL East. That is a great division to watch, and is even more fun now that the Rays are legit.

This whole free agency period got me to thinking about the best and worst free agent signings of all time for the Phils.

Pete Rose has to be considered the greatest free agent signing ever for the Phils. It’s not even close, actually. Not only was it a big splash when it happened, but he was the difference maker in a team that couldn’t get over the hump in the NLCS and helped them win the World Series. Jim Thome was a big one, too, because it signaled that top flight players weren’t afraid to play in Philly, and that the team was on the cusp of being a force. But Thome < Rose.

As for the worst – many of the Phillies awful transactions are trade related (Freddy Garcia, Andy Ashby and many more), and some free agents never panned out the way we’d have liked (see Gregg Jefferies). But the worst has to have been Danny Tartabull. 3 Games, 7 ABs, 0 Hits, 4 Ks, and one sore foot. Jesus, what a disaster.