On December 15, 2010, Ruban Amaro Jr. made the 2011 season one of the most anticipated seasons in history when he signed top free agent pitcher Cliff Lee to a 5 year contract. Not only was Lee a fan favorite here, but he solidified one of the best rotations of all time by joining Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, and Joe Blanton. With a rotation like that, expectations soared, and many began to predict 2011 to be an historic year...
Almost four months later, we are just a few hours away from the first pitch, and the expectations, while still high, and...err not quite what they were. How could that be? All it took was a few gloom Florida showers to rain on the Phightin's parade...by that of course I mean a costly Spring Training.
Entering Spring Training, the Phillies already had a hole to fill in Right Field after they "parted" ways with Jayson Werth. One of the competitors for that spot was phenom Dominic Brown, but he quickly encountered a hand injury. Chase Utley has been battling knee problems that potentially put his season, and possibly his career, in jeopardy. Closer Brad Lidge also found himself on the DL to start the season, and could take a while to get back. Placido Polanco, while still expected to play today, also had injury concerns in his elbow. So not only are there big shoes to fill in RF, but 2B and the back of the bullpen remain a question as well. More importantly, the 3rd and 5th spot in the line up.
Feeling nervous? You should be concerned, but not that concerned. While many media outlets in the city have hit the panic button, and others have the Braves winning the division, this is still an historic team and on paper is the probably the best in the NL.
A lot has been made of this starting rotation, and with good reason. After all, while some teams struggle to have an Ace pitcher to put out there once every 5 days, the Phillies will have one going 4 out of 5 days...and Joe Blanton is not a wash either. Jose Contreras is going to begin the season as our closer, with Madson pitching the 8th. This might be interesting, but we will just have to see how it plays out.
The key players in the offense are obvious...Rollins and Ibanez are both in contract years which tends to serve as extra motivation for players, and it will be hard for Victorino not to improve after last year...and you still have your MVP first baseman Ryan Howard. There also could be a few pleasant surprises this year...Ben Fransisco had a phenomenal Spring and has won the RF job for now...he has the potential to produce. With their pitching staff, the Phils will likely only need 2-3 runs to win on most nights, which is not asking a lot. One thing the Phillies might need to do for real this year however is play the dreaded small ball...meaning when a runner is on 3rd with less than 2 outs, they need to get him home, they've struggled with this in the past.
Overall, I see the Phillies winning the division and probably winning around 98 games. Not historic, but an exciting season none the less. There will be ups and downs for sure, but overall I think we will see another Red October. And just think, every team wants to add a star player at the trade deadline...for us that might be a healthy Chase Utley off of the DL...scary thought ;).
-Brian
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