Report: Phils expressing an interest in catcher Ross

David Ross, 31, was hitting .231/.381/.366 with three homers in 173 plate appearances before he was released by the Reds. He’s played parts of seven seasons with four clubs and has been with Cincinnati for the last three.

Beerleaguer: The Phillies have a history of adding cheap catching depth after the non-waiver trade deadline. Remember they added Pete LaForest, a quad-A journeyman, at the end of last season. Although he wields a garden-variety bat for a backup, it would still be a good little move to upgrade the bench. Ross is a polished defender who could call a good game, keep base runners honest and pop the occasional home run. After Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste, Jason Jaramillo would be next in line in case of emergency, and the Phils appear in no rush to see what he can do in the majors.

Although it’s probably just a little too late to mix up the battery mates, especially with the pitching staff going this strong, they could still try to ease Ross into the fold. He’s only hitting .231, but Coste is hitting .172 in August following a .208 month of July, and Ruiz hasn’t hit consistently all season, although his numbers have improved lately. Ross could hang out in the minors until rosters expand next month. I would not anticipate a roster move to make room for him immediately should they sign him.

Ross, who’s two years removed from a 21-homer, 130 OPS+ season, signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract in the 2007 off-season that includes an option for 2009, so there’s a long-term benefit if they decide to go in a different direction behind the plate next season. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though. The immediate impact is help on the bench.

Comments

[GM-Carson]

Campaign Cheer is for real now, I just got off the phone with Scott Palmer Dir. of Public Affairs for the Phils, and it's going to likely get promoted by the team.

[Ryan]

Are you being serious Carson because im surprised CC has gotten this big already

[J. Weitzel]

Well done, Carson!

[THe DUde]

another who cares? Move! Nice I can't wait to have three catchers on the roster who will struggle to out hit the pitchers.

SEASON = OVER .....we should all just give up at this point but wait EastFallow The Eternal Optimist will point out that this team is only 1 game behind last year's pace and ahead of the 1980 team. Who cares?

[BobbyD]

The DUde: The fact that you're on this blog every day means you care.

[michael]

"SEASON = OVER .....we should all just give up at this point but wait EastFallow The Eternal Optimist will point out that this team is only 1 game behind last year's pace and ahead of the 1980 team. Who cares?"

you can give up fine, stop trying to get everyone else to join you. they're only 1.5 out of first place with more than a month left. so i won't say the season is over by any means.

[GM-Carson]

I'm not joking, ESPN has even contacted me, along with ABC and Comcast. Campaign Cheer is for real. Embrace it!

I know I'm usually a joker, but I'm dead seriour right now.

[reading phan]

Beware Carson... ESPN just wants to do another piece to bring up the Santa Clause & battery incidents..

[GM-Carson]

Santa being booed happened, but it's time for a change and that's what this is all about.

[joe l]

"We're #2" !! Huzzah!

[Greg S.]

Go Carson! WooHoo! USA USA!

[GM-Carson]

Who would have thought a negative nancy like myself could be transformed to try and promote such an event

[king myno]

If they put some runs together tonight, I'll blindly cheer every game for the rest of the season.

[GoPhilsGo]

THe DUde, see ya next year!

[NEPP]

Go Team!!!

On the potential Ross move...I like it alot.

[GM-Carson]

Click on Campaign Cheer for the details. I don't care about publicity (although it's nice), I just want to spread the word and promote this idea.

[Run Up The Score]

Wow, the Phils front office isn't equipped with a sarcasm detector, huh?

[NEPP]

In all seriousness, I think Carson has a great idea and we should support it. In Boston they don't boo the home team...they boo the opposing team...that's what tough and GOOD fans do...make it harder on the opponent.

[GM-Carson]

It's not about sarcasm any more. Yes, fans boo every where, but it doesn't help. Cheering on your team gives them a mental boost and that might be exactly what the Phils need to get the offense ignited. Booing them relentlessly has proven to be futile, so why not go the complete opposite and cheer them unconditionally.

[Lake Fred]

At first, I was watching baseball when the Olympics were on. Now, I find I'm watching stupid 12 year old Chinese girls on the uneven bars, female beach volleyball (how this is a serious Olympic prime time sport, while they're dropping baseball is ridiculous), and Soviet female pole vaulters instead. The Phillies laying a big brown turd shaped egg on the West Coast will do that to a guy!

[MPN]

Wow, an empirical test of the Costanza "do the opposite" theory...

[B-Mac]

Carson, I'm with you. Booing the team relentlessly, especially from the onset of the game, destroys the home team advantage. So what if a player is slumping, every game is a chance for a player to break out, so why not give them a chance before booing them. I remember going to the opening series against the braves last year, sitting in left field, and being appalled that people were booing Pat that early in the season. This is the lowest common denominator of Philadelphia fans and they need to be shut out. I'm all for Philly fans being tough, but I'm hoping it can be an environment where we reserve most of our hatred and booing for our opponents, not our own players.

[BB]

Hey man, if CC works, if that's what the players want, give it to 'em.
I have only booed loudly at the Birds a couple of times ( I think the last time was Torrance Small) so I never got the whole booing thing anyway. Way to go Carson.

[Deutsche Phan]

Count me in as a full-fledged Campaign Cheer supporter. To be completely honest, this is the first thing that has gotten me excited about watching this homestand. This feels like the sort of outlandish thing that just might catch on...

[Andy]

LF - I have no problem with female beach volleyball, you know, except that the uniforms are a little too conservative.

Congrats, Carson. It's a great idea. (Though I was wondering what a "dead seriour" is. Wikipedia didn't have an entry...)

THe DUde. Um...I thought the season was over when they put Eaton in the rotation. Or was it when they traded for Feliz. Maybe it was when Lidge got a bad shoulder or when Jimmy messed up his calf. It coulda been the last time the Mets ripped off ten straight and knocked the Phils into second. Help me out here. I know the season must have been over before this...

Oh. Wait. That's right. We've been telling all those Metsblog trolls that you have to actually play the games. My bad. I forgot that there are 162 games and you can be 7 back with 17 to go and still win the division. Really. I forgot that.

[Andy]

Ross. Yikes.

[Highlander]

GM-Carson - I have to be honest, I like CC.
I am from the U.K. and in big football/soccer games, when the home team goes down a goal in big games, the fan response typically is a stunned silence for about 30 seconds, followed by a prolonged period of home support to lift the team.

During the European Cup Final of 2005, down 3-0 at half time, Liverpool fans dominated the stadium by singing their club anthem. The team responded, scored three goals in 45 minutes against an unbelievably good Italian defense, and won the game after extra time.

I will readily admit that I have booed mightily at Phils game in the past, and indeed that I do not have the requisite lifetime of suffering as required by all true Philly phans, but I would endorse CC on two grounds:

i) J-Stroll is too self-confident and assured in his views that booing him will achieve nothing.
ii) that cheering at opportune times - such as when the team has just surrendered a narrow lead, may, on some occasions, lead to an improved performance.

I say, why not give it a go and just see where it takes us. Maybe we'll like it.

[GM-Carson]

If people have read my comments or my blog in the past they know why I'm negative, but I decided to change. So happens I'm trying to change the Philly Phans too, I'm just hoping I get support at the ball park tonight.

[Colin_K]

Should we cheer the next time Myers and Manual get in another arguement when the banter between them includes talk of fellacio (sic)?

[Deutsche Phan]

To paraphrase Carson's outlook:

"If I can change... and you can change... EVERYBODY CAN CHANGE!"

[CY]

Its an easy cause to support when playing the nationals.

Good time to get it going. Timing is everything.

[TK]

Billy the Rat still feeling pain.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spmside175804680aug17,0,7897741.story

[mike cunningham]

@Carson -- Congrats.

Your sarcastic turn to optimism may have given you motivation. But don't forget to give Mr. Mack proper credit for the Campaign Cheer. He was the first to mention the idea.

Stun everyone with a rousing ovation for the Boys of Summer when they take the field, no matter how the road trip ends up, letting them know that we are behind them from here on out through thick & thin.

I hope in a little way, our little argument earlier in the season and my "sanctimonious" optimism in some way has shaped your campaign. My Dad and I were talking about it this weekend and he noted how players in the past have discussed the negativity. But what was unique here, was that a player would admit that it actually hurt them.

I was nailed for claiming that perhaps the lack of championships was somehow our fault. As fans, we are the ONE constant, players, owners, coaches come and go. But we stay here. If our attitude changes, maybe the players attitude changes. And the local media changes. And players want to come to Philadelphia, not for money, but because Philadelphia becomes baseball heaven.

If Campaign Cheer works and I hope it does, the Phillies should give you a ring. If it doesn't you have free reign to go back to old Carson. However, I prefer the new one, personally. Glad to have you aboard. Look at that, this glass IS half full.

Good luck.

[GM-Carson]

The glass is half full and I'm about to chug!

[michael]

I fully support this movement Carson. I was reading the metro in my break room this morning and Cataldi wrote some stupid article about how great its going to be how bad Rollins is going to be booed tonight. nothing would please me more than for everyone to cheer the entire game tonight and only boo the gnats.

[NEPP]

Go Phillies!

[GM-Carson]

I'm trying to initiate a standing ovation for Rollins. The frontrunner comment irked me, but he had a point about the booing.

[BobbyD]

Imagine what a story it would be if this Campaign Cheer thing took off, and then the Phils started winning, and then they made the playoffs, and then they won the World Series!

[jobbers]

Highlander - woo hooo another UK Phillie fan. You in scotland per chance?

folks - everything Highlander said about soccer supporters is correct, even the worst team in the lower leagues has fanatical support that will cheer their team in all weatehrs and all results. Boo-ing is for opposition players only.
There again a player who is playing badly is dropped and a reserve plays instead. The difference though is that the reserve players are not usually much worse than the first team players

[GM-Carson]

Jenkins has hit Bergmann well in the past, hopefully he gets the start tonight. This could be the beginging of a great rest of the season for Geoff starting tonight.

[GM-Carson]

If Campaign Cheer becomes an official thing by the Phils and they win the World Series, I better get a ring.

[chris]

Jobbers - I am actually an ex-pat Scot in Philly, so have moved the other way from yourself. Where you based in the UK right now?

[Lake Fred]

Maybe the fans can sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" when we want a player to work the pitcher and draw a walk. It works for Liverpool!

[baxter]

We all know who's to blame here, and its not Jimmy Rollins. Its the Phanatic's job to get the crowd pumped up, and he's obviously not doing his job. I say its time to replace this bum with a real mascot. Now that I think about it, he does get a little creepy with the bumping.

[Deutsche Phan]

Out of curiosity, has anyone else googled "Campaign Cheer" today? Just about every Phils blog comes up, a solid page and a half of hits. Well done Carson.

[michael]

Maybe the fans can sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" when we want a player to work the pitcher and draw a walk. It works for Liverpool!

!!! that would be awesome. just continuous throughout the at bat.

[phanatic's brother]

nice work Carson! Totally in support of this.

I hope when this comes out of those media sources it has a positive spin.

Sometimes I wonder, do Phils fans boo the players themselves or do they boo the lack of committment made by FO to the team? Maybe its all lumped together but unfortunatly the players feel the brunt of it.

Just to start fresh with a clean slate,
I think we also need a "boo the FO Campaign" so they can get some of their's too and we can release years of frustrations.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Maybe CBP will turn into this tonight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awositUJYLM

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

GM Carson: Are you sure ESPN didn't contact you to see if Brett Favre really is playing RF for the Phillies. I heard they were trying to do a dual sport piece on Favre, like Deion Sanders. They will have to look past the fact that he can't hit, but his defense has been good this season.

Congrats on the Campaign Cheer, but does a "typed" Boo count as a violation of International Campaign Cheer regulations?

[GM-Carson]

Just got off doing a phone interview with ESPN 950 radio promoting Campaign Cheer.