“What’s there to be mad about? I picked a great year to be here. I wish it worked out better and I could be with them, but I don’t regret one minute. I wouldn’t change a thing being with these guys going through what we went through last year.”

Todd Zolecki has more on Geoff Jenkins’ release as the Phillies purge another player with a bloated contract from the team.

The Jenkins deal won’t go down as one of Pat Gillick’s finer moments, but he’s another bit player in the 2008 soap opera that we’ll never forget. His unerring support of his teammates while riding the pine was trumped only by his double against Grant Balfour during Game 5.2 of the World Series. My lasting memory of Mr. Jenkins will be his euphoric fist pumping after delivering the big hit. I hope he finds a good home.

There has been talk today about Gary Sheffield being a fit for the Phils given his right handed power bat. Luckily, Andy Martino of the Inquirer says it’s unlikely that Sheffield will don red pinstripes.

Getting more power from the right side would be nice, but I don’t see Sheffield helping this team, even at a bargain basement price. He is an American League hitter if ever there was one. Sheffield played 6 games in LF last year. If the Tigers couldn’t find room for him WITH the DH, what makes us think he’ll help us without it?

And character matters. Chemistry matters.

Matt Stairs seems to be in a better place with the Phils today than he was yesterday with the departure of Jenkins.

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Chan Ho Park won the 5th starter’s spot over J.A. Happ, which shows you that the Phillies were wanted the best arm (right now) in the 5th starter’s spot instead of creating a little more flexibility in the bullpen. Had Happ won the job, newcomer Jack Taschner could have been the second southpaw under Ashburn Alley while Park provided a reliable arm to eat innings. Instead, the Phils will need to decide on Happ vs. Taschner. Kudos to the Phils for having the balls to go with the guy who pitched the best. Tim at Phillies Nation covered Park’s credentials pretty well.

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Marcus Giles, we hardly knew ya. In the end, Giles wants to be an everyday second baseman, and we kinda have one of those already. He’s not gonna hit for power, and there were better bench options from the right side than Giles. John Mayberry Jr. and Carlos Carrasco also went down. Their time will come.

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Beerleaguer put out a call for their commenters to opine on projections for the Phillies win total and playoff prospects. If the Phillies were a stock, there are far more buyers than sellers. I will issue my own projection for the 2009 Phils later on this week, but I don’t see the local 9 improving on their win total from last year in an improved NL East.

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After some lackluster play over the last week and change, the Phils are starting to put it together. 22 runs in the last 2 games against Houston and Toronto is pretty good when you consider that it took the previous 6 games to accumulate 22 runs. Is the team finally getting their act together, or did Charlie’s recent comments motivate the team to wake from their offensive slumber?