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2005 Regular Season Record: 88-74
2nd in the NL East: 2 games behind the Atlanta Braves
2nd in the NL WC: 1 game behind Houston Astros
Home Ballpark: Citizen's Bank Park (moderate hitter's park)
New Faces:
- CF - Aaron Rowand (Traded by White Sox)
- SP - Dan Haigwood (Traded by White Sox)
- SP - Giovany Gonzalez (Traded by White Sox)
- RP - Chris Booker (Traded by Tigers)
- OF - Abraham Nunez (Cardinals Free Agent Signed Minor League Deal)
- RP - Julio Santana (Brewers Free Agent Signed 1-year $0.7 M deal)
- C - Sal Fasano (Orioles FA Signed 1-year Deal)
- CL - Tom Gordon (Yankees FA Signed to 3-year $6M per year deal)
- SP - Ricardo Rodriguez (Traded by Rangers)
- OF - Josh Broeger (Diamondbacks Waiver Claimed)
- SP - Ryan Franklin (Mariners FA Signed to 1-year $2M Contract)
- RP - Tom Cochrane (Independent League Buyout)
- RP - Arthur Rhodes (Traded by Indians)
- IF - Alex S. Gonzalez (Devil Rays FA signed to 1-year 1.5M Deal)
Staying Put:
- RP - Aaron Fultz (Signed 1-year Contract)
- SP - Brett Myers (Signed 1-year Extension)
Looking For Greener Pastures:
- 1B - Jim Thome (Traded to White Sox along with cash)
- SP - Pedro Liriano (Released)
- SP - Franklin Perez (Released)
- SP - Vicente Padilla (Traded to Rangers)
- OF - Jason Michaels (Traded to Indians)
The Skinny:
It came down to the wire last year as the Phillies made a fight out of the wildcard race with the Houston Astros, who would eventually go on to lose to the White Sox in the world series. The team was highly flawed last year, critically short on pitching and defense and overloaded with big contracts that made trades and free agent acquisitions hard to come by. They entered the off-season feeling like they were a key pitcher or two away from being serious championship contenders, but they had a big problem. With the rise of rookie slugger Ryan Howard, and the increasing swarms of back problems consuming Jim Thome's once potent swing, they needed to trade Thome but his huge contract was making it look unlikely. God bless Kenny Williams and his desire for overpriced sluggers (see: Thomas Frank, and Belle, Albert), because new General Manager Pat Gillick suckered the Chisox into giving up a quality player (Aaron Rowand) for the fading star - one who actually filled one of Philly's greatest needs (a defensively gifted CF who could hit a bit). The Phillies enter the 2006 season with a more balanced line-up, but still that key pitcher or three away from serious championship contention.
Strengths:
Let's not mince words here... this team can hit! A couple of good solid table setters with speed at the top of the order, some young solid sluggers in the middle, and nary a significant hole. That having been said, I don't think I'm quite as sold on Ryan Howard as the Phillies are. He strikes me as the kind of hitter who will have prolonged slumps, strike out way too much, not walk enough, and struggle to hit more than .240 or .250 much of the time. Even so, when you combine Howard's performance and Thome's abysmal showing in 2005, you get a line similar to the one I expect from Howard given the full time starting spot this year, so I don't think any ground will be lost there. The only minor complaint one might have about this team is relatively shallow bench, but if they're in contention at the AS break and sense that they need to address that, it's pretty easy to acquire bench depth at the deadline.
Weaknesses:
The Phillies, as an organization, seem to be suffering from a long-running blind-spot that prevents them from realizing that they haven't fielded a team defense that was so much as average since 1983 - more than 20 years ago! That doesn't figure to change even with the addition of Rowand. He'll help, but he's flanked by a pair of outfielders who are among the worst fielders at their respective positions trying to help out a predominantly flyball-heavy pitching staff (Myers excepted) and that's not a recipe for success.
Meanwhile, if it's possible, their pitching has actually gotten worse than last season. Not only did they lose their flame throwing relief ace Billy Wagner to a division rival (the Mets), but they filled the back end of their rotation with annually horrific cancer spot Ryan Franklin, who pitched his way to a sterling 5.00+ ERA in the last two season for Seattle - while abusing steroids! They're going to have to out-slug everyone they face because aside from when promising youngster Brett Myers and his assortment of moving fastballs and heavy off-speed pitches takes the hill, they've got a collection of unhelpful, defense dependent misfits pitching to a porous outfield defense yet again. Phillies fans might not regard the injury of Randy Wolf as much of a setback given his lackluster performance thus far, but forcing Ryan Madson out of the set-up role leaves the Phillies’ bullpen in dire straits, particularly if the aging Tom Gordon takes a step back in production.
Probable Starting Line-up:
- SS - Jimmy Rollins
- CF - Aaron Rowand
- RF - Bobby Abreu
- 2B - Chase Utley
- LF - Pat Burrell
- 1B - Ryan Howard
- C - Mike Lieberthal
- 3B - David Bell/Alex Gonzalez
Probable Bench:
- IF - Bell/Gonzalez
- OF - Shane Victoriano
- C - Sal Fasano
- UT - Abraham Nunez
- 1B/PH - Tomas Perez
Probable Starting Rotation:
- Jon Lieber
- Brett Myers
- Cory Lidle
- Ryan Franklin
- Ryan Madson
Probable Bullpen:
Prediction:
At one point last season, the Phillies had all of two full time starters in their intended rotation healthy enough to pitch (Myers and Lidle), and they fought a constant battle with the bullpen outside of ace closer Billy Wagner in a vain attempt to hold leads late in games. They were almost among the worst defensive ballclubs in the NL, and yet managed to go 88-74 and make a serious run at the post-season for the first time in a while. They bring the same high powered offense, actually slightly improved with the addition of a better offensive center fielder. Their fielding also figures to improve with Rowand roaming center field and Jim Thome and his bad back gone for good from first, but they now play in a much tougher NL East and their pitching, if this is possible, has actually gotten worse! As such I'm projecting a step backwards this year. They'll be fun to watch, but they'll struggle to stay above .500 and finish the year 84-78.
Comments or questions? E-mail the author at m_souders@yahoo.com - Thanks for reading!
