After a disappointing playoff performance in 2007, the Phillies came into 2008 with optimism. While they had a bit of an up-and-down year, a late September winning streak and another Mets collapse catapulted the Fightin' Phils into the playoffs for the second straight year. Philadelphia cruised through the playoffs and defeated the Tampa Bay Rays for the World Series.
Projected Lineup:
C - Carlos Ruiz
1B - Ryan Howard
2B - Chase Utley
SS - Jimmy Rollins
3B - Pedro Feliz
LF - Raul Ibanez
CF - Shane Victorino
RF - Jayson Werth
Projected Rotation:
#1 - Cole Hamels
#2 - Brett Myers
#3 - Joe Blanton
#4 - Jamie Moyer
#5 - J.A. Happ
Closer - Brad Lidge
Position Battles:
#5 Starter - Coming into spring training, Manager Charlie Manuel said the battle would be between Happ, Chan Ho Park, Kyle Kendrick, and Carlos Carrasco. Over the last few weeks the Phillies have said that both Kendrick and Carrasco will start 2008 in the minors, leaving just Park and Happ. With set-up man JC Romero suspended for the first 50 games of 2009 for violating the substance abuse policy, Manuel might be tempted to use Happ in Romero's place as a reliever.
2009 Outlook: The Phillies will have one of the most potent offenses in the NL yet again. Raul Ibanez comes of from Seattle to fill the void left by the departure of Pat Burrell. He, Utley, Howard, and Rollins will anchor the lineup. Outfielders Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth have proven to be spark plugs, and should once again use their speed to help get themselves into scoring position.
The rotation has a lot of question marks, Cole Hamels pitched close to 250 innings including the playoffs in 2008; he is having trouble with elbow soreness this spring. Brett Myers has said that he wants to be a closer, he had a terrible first half of last year, but appears to be back on track. Jaime Moyer will be 46 this year, which means there is almost no chance of him coming close to his 3,71 2008 ERA. Blanton has shown flashes of dominance in the past, but his lack of strikeouts coupled with a high walk rate does not bode well for the future. The Phillies had the best bullpen in 2008, and should be among the league leaders again this year, Brad Lidge was a perfect 41 for 41 in save opportunities and it looks like his troubles in Houston are behind him.
Projected Finish: 2nd Place, NL East.
mets should be here!
ReplyDeleteI think the Mets improved bullpen gives them the edge. The Mets blew 29 saves last year, the NL average was 23. If you gave them those 6 wins to regress them to the NL average, they would have won the division by 3 games.
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