Staff Blog
YOU MAKE THE CALL: Philadelphia Phillies 2010 season preview/predictatron
Friday, March 26th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
posted by Brian Howard
categories Sporting Life, The Phightin Phils
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- This will be the Phillies first season with opening-day starter/bona-fide ace Roy Halladay. Do you remember who the Phils' OD starter was the last three years? Yup, Brett F. Myers. Barring injury (knocks on wood), this'll be the first time since the Schilling years that the Phils have had a hands-down No. 1 starter. And he'll be followed by a guy in Cole Hamels with the potential to be a No. 1a.
- Legit contact hitter Placido Polanco will be batting second and will ostensibly add "productive outs" to the lineup's repertoire.
- Moving Shane Victorino to the bottom of the order provides something like a secondary lead-off hitter to the bottom of the lineup.
- The additions of Danys Baez and Jose Contreras to the bullpen provide depth and experience (though quality is not a given).
- The competition for the fifth spot in the rotation is between a 47-year-old who spent much of the offseason in the hospital and a 25-year-old with a high hit rate and a low strike-out rate
- The first lefty out of the bullpen until/if J.C. Romero is healthy (other than Moyer if he doesn't win the fifth starter job) is Antonio Bastardo, who is talented and has an awesome name, but is very very raw.
- Brad Lidge remains the biggest X factor on the team.
- Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins are all a 365 days further into their "peak" years than they were last spring.
- Ruben Amaro's propensity lock up with guaranteed contracts players he doesn't need to lock up and for more money than the market's calling for (Brian Schneider, Juan Castro, Ross Gload, Ibáñez, Polanco) may have cost the Phillies the opportunity to go into 2010 with Hallady, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels in the top three spots in the rotation.
- The Mets remain a mess, or, if you'd rather, the Mets remain the Mets.
- The Braves will start 20-year-old super prospect Jason Heyward in their outfield this season and have added former Phillie/Phillies punching bag Billy Wagner to close
- The Marlins young pitching is always terrifying.
- The Cardinals inked mid-season aquisition Matt Holliday and... Brad Penny
- The Yankees have bolstered their 2009 juggernaut by adding OBP machine/walking injury Nick Johnson, 20/20 threat Curtis Granderson and starting pitcher Javier Vazquez (who, it should be noted, has already flamed out as a Yankee once).
- The Red Sox have added perpetual enigma Adrian Beltre, Mike Cameron and Marco Scutaro to their lineup and Angels ace John Lackey to hold down the No. 3 spot in the rotation
- The Mariners now have what could be the best 1-2 pitching punch in baseball with Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee in addition to adding Chone Figgins, Milton Bradley and Casey Kotchman.
I say 93
This just in from
Brian Hickey:
94-68.
They lose in the NLCS to the Cubs, in seven. D. Lee over Hamels.
And the Cubs go on to get swept by the fucking Yankees.
[...] into its crystal Rawlings ball and offers up its forecast. CP’s head honcho Brian Howard also has some predictions of his own. Tags: Amy Orr, apple, Ben Woodward, Jason Hsu, Leah Mackin, mac store, space 1026 THE CURATOR: [...]