Posted 03-21-2009 at 08:51 PM by The Guru
The 2008 World Champions Phillies came into came with a purpose of being one of the few teams in recent memory to repeat. They only major difference between this club and last years is that normal Philly fixture Pat "The Bat" Burrell is no longer here as he moved on to the 2008 AL Champion Rays and will be replaced by Raul Ibanez who comes over as a free agent from the Mariners. There was only really a couple open spots on the roster coming into the beginning of Spring Training. They were for the 5th starters job and when camp began the front runners were believed to be: J.A. Happ who led the International League in strikeouts in 2008 and was on the World Series roster in the bullpen after being a September call-up. Another one was Chan Ho Park who was once a very reliable starter but was in the Dodgers bullden almost all season last year, he pitched in all the game in the NLCS against the Phils, he also turned down an invitation to play in the World Baseball Classic for South Korea. Then there was Kyle Kendrick who won 8 game for the Phillies before the All-Star break last year but sputtered out and was replaced in the rotation by Happ at the end of the season. He won 11 games in his rookie season 2 years ago in 2007. The final man jockeying for the spot is Top Prospect Carlos Carasco but the Phillies want him to be able to mature more as he is only 22 years old. As of now it looks as if this is how the race stands based on stats:
1)Chan Ho Park
1)J.A. Happ
3)Carlos carrasco
4)Kyle Kendrick
According to the Phillies this is how it stands:
1)Chan Ho Park
1)J.A. Happ
3)Kyle Kendrick
4)Carlos Carrasco
The other spot is how the bench will be figured out. At the end of lat year it was Bruntlett(OF, 3B, SS, 2B), Greg Dobbs(LF, RF, 3B, 1B), Matt Stairs(RF,LF,DH), Chris Coste(C,1B), Geoff Jenkins(LF,RF,DH), and So Taguchi(OF). Taguchi is now gone after being released over the offseason. So the guys competing for that job have been narrowed down to: Marcus Giles(2B,SS,3B), Pablo Ozuna(2B,SS,3B), Miguel Cairo(OF,INF), John Mayberry Jr.(OF), Jason Donald(INF), and Ronny Paulino(C). The Phils have said that they want a right handed power bat on the bench so the man in the lead right now is Mayberry Jr. although they want him to mature as well. There also has been talk of the Phillies trying to trade away Jenkins or Stairs. If they decide to keep Mayberry Jr. at Lehigh valley to start the season I think that Giles will win the bench spot. Just as insurance for Utley and Feliz who both had major surgey over the offseason. Utley on his hip and Feliz on his back. Both are back way ahead of schedule but have both said they will start Opening Day on April 5 vs the Braves. Another injury watch that is alarming fans is Cole Hamels. The injury-prone Ace had a shot in his elbow this past week due to inflammation. Although luckily there is no structural damage. All-in-all the Phillies have the pieces in place to defy history and repeat this year.
As of right now this is how their team looks like:
SS- #11- Jimmy Rollins
CF- #08- Shane Victorino/RF- #28- Jayson Werth
2B- #26- Chase Utley
1B- #06- Ryan Howard
LF- #29- Raul Ibanez
RF- #28- Jayson Werth/CF- #08- Shane Victorino
3B- #07- Pedro Feliz
C- #51- Carlos Ruiz
SP- #35- Cole Hamels
SP- #39- Brett Myers
SP- #50- Jamie Moyer
SP- #56- Joe Blanton
SP- #43- J.A. Happ/SP- #61- Chan Ho Park/ SP- #38- Kyle Kendrick/ SP- #62- Carlos Carrasco
RP- Scott Eyre
RP- Chad Durbin
RP- J.C. Romero(50 game suspension)
RP- Clay Condrey
SU- Ryan Madson
CL- Brad Lidge
A very potent offense and a solid pitching staff should lead to good things for the Phillies.
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The Guru
