2/22/13
Ahh…do you feel the breeze? The sun beaming down on you? The
sound of bats hitting a ball? Yep; that’s the sound of baseball being back in
full swing.
The Phillies had a disappointing season in 2012. They went
81-81 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The excuses for
last year’s failures were injuries and a terrible bullpen. Chase Utley, Ryan
Howard, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Carlos Ruiz, Vance Worley, Placido Polanco, Jose
Contreras, and Freddy Galvis all were on the DL at some point during the
season. Most of them were on the DL at the same time. The Phillies traded away
fan favorite Shane Victorino to the Dodgers for Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin.
They also traded their only productive hitter Hunter Pence to the Giants for
Nate Schierholtz, Tommy Joseph, and another prospect. Pence won a World Series
ring last year with the Giants. At the end of the season we saw younger players
produce for the Phillies. These injuries and trades gave players such as Erik
Kratz, Philippe Aumont, Jeremy Horst, Kevin Frandsen a chance to shine with the
big club. After the season was over, the coaching staff had a major shakeup. Out
were first base coach Sam Perlozzo, hitting coach Greg Gross, and bench coach
Pete MacKanin. In were new hitting coach Steve Henderson, bullpen coach Rod
Nichols, assistant hitting coach Wally Joyner, and new third base coach Ryne
Sandberg. Rich Dubee was retained as pitching coach. Juan Samuel was also
retained, but switched from coaching third base to coaching first base. Mick
Billmeyer, also retained, went from bullpen coach to catching coach. The
Phillies will have no bench coach this year, but if Charlie Manuel were ever ejected
from a game, Sandberg would be the guy that takes over for Manuel. The Phillies
offseason positions they needed to address were the bullpen, third base, and
the outfield. Did they solidify their needs this offseason?
Here are the additions and subtractions the Phillies made
this offseason:
Additions: Michael
Young, Ben Revere, Delmon Young, John Laanan, Mike Adams, Chad Durbin
Subtractions: Juan
Pierre, Placido Polanco, Ty Wigginton, Nate Schierholtz, Brian Schneider, Jose
Contreras, Vance Worley, Josh Lindblom
The Phillies traded Lindblom and a prospect to the Texas
Rangers to obtain Michael Young. They also traded Worley and once highly touted
prospect Trevor May to the Minnesota Twins to acquire Revere. Michael Young
will be the new starting third baseman as he will replace Polanco. Revere will
fill the void that was in centerfield. I have compared Revere to Michael Bourn
and a younger Juan Pierre. Michael Young has always been a tremendous hitter
who puts the ball in play. The Phillies need hitters like that in order to
generate offense. Last year may have been an off year for Michael Young, but
we’ll find out if last year was a fluke or a bad sign of things to come. Delmon
Young has filled the void in right field and will be the starter. The thing that’s
being talked about a lot is the weight clause he has in his contract. He gets
incentives for meeting an ideal weight number. The Phillies had to sign Laanan
because they traded away Worley and needed another starting pitcher. Adams
brings the Phillies a veteran presence and a guy that can pitch the eighth
inning at ease. Durbin is another veteran body that can pitch the sixth or
seventh inning to form a solid back end of the bullpen.
Pierre and Polanco both ended up on the Miami Marlins.
Wigginton signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Schierholtz joined the Cubs and
Schneider retired.
The intriguing part about spring training is the position
battles. The position battles for the Phillies will be in left field, fifth
starter, and three players for the bullpen. Who will start in left field? Will
it be Darrin Ruf, John Mayberry Jr., or Domonic Brown? Whoever loses the battle
in left field could be the starter in right field because Delmon Young is still
recovering from microfracture surgery in his knee, and will miss the beginning
of the season. Who will be the fifth starter? Will it be John Laanan, Rodrigo
Lopez, or Aaron Cook? Who will round up the bullpen besides Jonathan Papelbon,
Adams, Durbin, and Antonio Bastardo? Will it be Jeremy Horst, Justin De Fratus,
Raul Valdes, Michael Stutes, B.J. Rosenberg, or Jake Diekman?
One final question I have is how the Phillies will handle
the first month of the season without starting catcher Carlos Ruiz? Ruiz has
been suspended for 25 games for using adderall, which is a banned substance in
the MLB unless given approval by MLB officials. Right now Erik Kratz is
penciled in as the starting catcher, but who will be his backup for the first
25 games of the season? Will it be Sebastian Valle or Humberto Quintero?
Stick around until
March 31 when I reCAP the Phillies Spring Training season.
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