Roy Halladay: 10 Bold Predictions for 2012

It’s almost time for baseball again, so now is as good a time as any to look forward and make predictions about the upcoming year.

The biggest key to success in the last few years for the Philadelphia Phillies has been ace pitcher Roy Halladay, who has won a Cy Young Award, thrown a no-hitter and a perfect game and led his team into the playoffs in the last two years.

But just how dominant will Doc be in 2012? Here are my predictions for the ace of staff for this upcoming season.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 12 Biggest Missed Opportunities of the Offseason

The Phillies, looking at the current team compared to the 2011 team have had a good offseason as they now have a better team.

They’ve upgraded two spots on the roster, the only two spots they touched: Closer and the bench.

Having said that, there is reason to believe they could have done a better job.

I say that because there are some missed opportunities this offseason.

Here is a look at their biggest missed opportunities of the offseason, opportunities to make it an outstanding offseason.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Comparing Phillies’ Players to Baseball Movie Characters

The 2012 Philadelphia Phillies are the favorites to win the National League East division and even make a World Series run. Spring Training is right around the corner, and Phils fans a like couldn’t be happier.

But before the season gets into full swing, let’s have some for a little bit. 

Have you ever watched a baseball movie and thought what it would be like to have a particular character on your team? Do you ever wish some of these hot shot characters were on the Phillies?

Well here is a list of current members of the Phillies comparing them to baseball movie characters that you either love or hate. 

Enjoy.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Can Current Lineup Win World Series?

Is South Philly a good place to get a cheesesteak?

The Philadelphia Phillies won 102 ballgames last year.  They remain the only team in the National League that matters, spending sprees in the nation’s capital and the Sunshine State be damned. 

Clubhouse chemistry cannot be forced.  It is cultivated.  The Phillies render this evident.  With a core group in place, the team’s winning percentage in the regular season has steadily improved, from .525 in 2006 to .630 in 2011.  Can this trend continue?

Can Chubby Checker do the Twist?

Jimmy Rollins is back.  The Phils’ spark plug remains in place.  Of course, he is not the ideal leadoff man.  Rollins walks too little and swings too much.  This is hardly news. 

During his MVP season in 2007, Rollins walked only 49 times.  He went down swinging 85 times.  Last year Rollins had nine more walks and 21 fewer strikeouts.  His on-base percentage (.338) dipped little from 2007 (.344) and improved from 2010 (.320). 

Most importantly, Rollins reached base in the postseason nearly half the time he batted (.476).  Will Rollins get many playoff at bats in 2012?

Do soft pretzels and mustard go well together?

Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee combined for 36 wins last season.  Cole Hamels contributed 14 more.  Each of the “Big Three” started over 30 games, topped 200 innings and posted earned run averages below 2.80. 

Hamels is a World Series MVP (2008).  Halladay threw a (near) perfect game against the Cincinnati Reds in the 2010 NLDS.  Lee has won seven of 11 postseason starts since 2009.  This says nothing about Vance Worley, who gave the Phillies 11 wins as a rookie.  Will the Phillies get the chance to deal their aces come October?

Is the Liberty Bell cracked?    

Enter Jonathan Papelbon.  Newly free from the Beantown circus, he now anchors the best bullpen in baseball.  Phillies relievers surrendered only 169 runs last year, fewest in the big leagues.  Replacing the departed Ryan Madson with Boston’s former closer can only constitute a change for the even better. 

Papelbon has been there and done that—very well, thank you.  As the resident closer for the drama-laden Red Sox, Papelbon saved 219 games.  His postseason earned run average stands at 1.00.  For the World Series, it is 0.00.  Can the Phillies offense give Papelbon and Company a sufficient cushion?

Could the late, great Phillies announcer Harry Kalas call one that was “ouTTA HERE?”

If J-Roll sparks the Fightins, the Flying Hawaiian, Shane Victorino, is the piston that drives them.  He led the team in batting average last year and hit more home runs than any Phillie not named Ryan Howard or Raul Ibanez.  Victorino’s average jumped 20 points last year.  A repeat performance is likely; 2012 is a contract year for Victorino. 

His teammates are hungry as well.  Healthy, Chase Utley and Placido Polanco will return to form.  Hunter Pence, acquired from the Houston Astros last summer, will spend the entire season this year in Philadelphia. 

All of this will alleviate some of the pressure felt by the “Big Piece,” Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard.  As will the addition of power-hitting future Hall of Famer Jim Thome as a pinch-hitter.  In many ways, Citizens Bank Park is the house that Howard built.  Thome laid the park’s foundation, though, before the Phillies traded him to make room for Howard. 

The sluggers are together again.  Citizens Bank is unlikely to contain them.   Can these Phillies deliver?

Is making scrapple pretty?

No, but neither are manager Charlie Manuel’s press conferences.  Manuel is comfortable in the dugout, not in front of a microphone.  That is how it should be. 

Manuel is the most underrated manager in baseball.  His Phillies have yet to win fewer than 85 games.  They are National League East winners for five years running.  They came within a game of winning 200 ballgames over the last two years.  This is in spite of Manuel’s need to juggle an everyday lineup riddled by injuries. 

Since 2005, the year Manuel became the team’s manager, no team in the National League has won more games (646).  Yet, Manuel has never finished higher than second in voting for National League Manager of the Year (2007 and 2008).  No matter. 

If Manuel had won it, he would have had to make a speech anyway.  That is not his style.  Manuel wins ballgames, not awards, and that is just how the Phillies like it. 

Are the Phillies good enough to win the World Series this year?  Yeah, they are.  When they do, it will be because Charlie sent them. 

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Domonic Brown and 5 Young NL East Players Ready to Explode

The NL East is starting to look like their American League counterparts, as it is loaded with talent from top to bottom.

The Philadelphia Phillies will again be the odds-on favorite to win the World Series in 2012. The Miami Marlins added some of the top free agents available in Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle, and the Atlanta Braves have a great pitching staff and some of the top prospects in baseball. Don’t sleep on the Washington Nationals either, who will have a healthy Stephen Strasburg and have been linked to Prince Fielder.

Which prospects are ready to break out in 2012? Here are five NL East prospects who are ready to explode this season.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Stat Predictions for Each Player on the 25-Man Roster

On paper, the Philadelphia Phillies are the best team in the National League, and you can make a strong case for the argument that they are the best team in all of baseball.

However, I’ll use the same caveat that shortstop Jimmy Rollins made way back in the spring of 2007, when he made his famous, “We’re the team to beat,” prediction: That’s just on paper.

The Phillies have been the best team on paper for the last couple of seasons, but have yet to cash that paper in for a World Series trophy. Injuries, inconsistency, and a lack of timely hitting have plagued the Phillies when it matters most, and now, as the core of a talented roster ages, whether or not the Phillies can capture their third World Series title in franchise history is shrouded in doubt.

There should be little doubt that the Phillies have the talent to not only win the World Series in the near future, but fulfill those lofty expectations of being the best team in the game. If the Phillies are healthy, they have the offense to back their elite pitching, and that could mean trouble for the rest of the National League.

So before I dust off my crystal ball and predict each player’s slash line, I’d like to make a note. While I will consider the health of a player moving forward, I will not be predicting that they are injured at any point during the season, and their statistical totals will represent that. This means that the statistics of some players will have to be adjusted.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Amaro Changing and Following Gillick’s Championship Model

After serving as an assistant to Hall of Fame General Manager Pat Gillick for three seasons, you would like to think that Ruben Amaro Jr. learned a few things from him.

Being a three-time champion as an executive, Gillick has a lot from which to learn. Perhaps there was a blueprint model to take away from his work.

Amaro has actually acted as quite the opposite of a General Manager since taking on the position following Gillick’s retirement. The current Phillies executive has seemed to focus only on collecting the big-name players like Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence.

Big name players are nice, and obviously their big names indicate their ability to contribute, but they are not necessarily part of the Gillick model.

Gillick, aside from winning championships, was best known for two things as part of his blue print model: making the subtle move, and thinking outside the box.

Sometimes it was the subtle move that was a result of out-of-the-box thinking. And sometimes when he thought out of the box, it produced a move that ended up being quite subtle.

But always, the move, no matter how outside the box or how subtle it was, led to his primary claim to fame of being a champion. They were moves of a champion, covering all corners and thinking on all realms.

It was taking a chance on a frail outfielder from Japan who looked nothing more than a slap hitter in the United States. Or selecting a future MVP in the Rule 5 draft. More recently, it included trading a franchise’s cornerstone and most consistent player for a package that was centered around a person whose most notable accomplishment since the trade was tying for lead in scoring for the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm basketball team.

Each of those moves were with a purpose. They also produced a calculated result. Winning. Gillick’s most recent example of that was assembling the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies. That offseason his signings included Geoff Jenkins, Pedro Feliz, So Taguchi, Chad Durbin and Rudy Seanez.

Additionally, he resigned J.C. Romero and traded for Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett. Each move, though subtle, had a purpose. Geoff Jenkins was to provide veteran leadership and a hunger to win. Taguchi was going to bring the experience of a World Series champ and Eric Bruntlett was going to give Charlie Manuel flexibility to do things like double-switch and pinch run.

And while being subtle, he also thought outside the box. Brad Lidge was seen as being done as a competent closer, his confidence shaken after his infamous home run allowed to Albert Pujols in 2005. Gillick thought a change of scenery would do him well. Chad Durbin was primarily a starting pitcher before being brought in to Philadelphia, nothing more than a number five starting pitcher. Gillick thought sliding him full time to the bullpen would allow him to thrive with the movement on his pitches.

A few months of 162 games and three postseason rounds later, he had himself a World Series championship group. After three years of failing to build a champion like his mentor, Amaro has operated to a different tune this offseason. He has been following the Gillick model; thinking out of the box and making subtle moves.

Along with bringing back leader and franchise icon Jimmy Rollins, his moves this season have included adding Jonathan Papelbon, Jim Thome, Dontrelle Willis, Laynce Nix, Ty Wigginton and Brian Schneider to the 2012 roster.

He’s following the Gillick model: subtle and out-of-the-box moves with a purpose.

Jim Thome was given a little over a million dollars to provide that hunger for a championship, missing a ring from his Hall of Fame resume. Jonathan Papelbon will provide an edge to a clubhouse and bullpen that can sometimes be dual and lacking characters.

Ty Wigginton will be able to slide both around the lineup and around the field. Brian Schneider will continue to work with Vance Worley to ensure he is the real deal. Laynce Nix will provide insurance should Ryan Howard take a while recovering from injury or John Mayberry Jr. struggles.

Thinking out of the box, Amaro sees Willis as a failed starter who has a chance to thrive being a left-handed specialist out of the bullpen.

Each move has a calculated, anticipated product. The plan is that the sum of each of those part’s contribution results in a championship.

This is different from his previous three offseasons. They each have featured a big-splash move, but not many of his have been the small ones needed to make a successful championship run. The only time you could possibly point to Amaro doing this was before 2010, but in reality he was just plugging roles. Juan Castro was a downgrade from Bruntlett’s speed and versatility.

Ross Gload was not the threat off the bench that Matt Stairs was, and Danys Baez nor Jose Contreras were nearly as dominant or versatile out of the bullpen that Chan Ho Park was. In most of those cases, he was replacing Gillick’s guys. None of which seemed to have an apparent purpose aside from just filling in holes.

Last season, aside from adding Cliff Lee, his only other notable move was selecting Michael Martinez from the Rule 5 draft. Martinez essentially replaced Greg Dobbs, which resulted in a downgrade.

This offseason, the purpose seems to be there. He’s not just filling in holes but he’s improving the team by bringing in role players that have a purpose. Incredibly, he upgraded a 102-win team with moves that can further strengthen their ability to compete for a marathon championship run. They have all been subtle moves, some of which have been out of the box.

But it’s the purpose that brings more promise to the team. The model now says it is time to watch, enjoy and compete through the same 162 schedule plus playoff rounds Gillick had to go through. It just part of the Gillick model to a championship, a model updated and proven successful as recently as his final season.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: 25 Most Spellbinding Teams in Franchise History

You don’t have to be a fan of baseball to know what a spellbinding team is. Sports fans around the world know what it means to fall in love with their team; to feel as though the players on the field are an extension of themselves.

When the team wins, you feel jubilation. When the team loses, you get that bitter taste of defeat. When your team, that you’ve followed through thick and thin, wins it all, the feeling is of pure ecstasy.

Fans of the Philadelphia Phillies know that range of emotions quite well, because you don’t reach 10,000 losses without having to endure the lowest of lows. The Phillies have had their share of losing seasons, and the fan base slept, dormant until the franchise returned to it’s winning ways.

Now that it has, there is no doubt that the city of Philadelphia is a baseball town, and there are few things that fans of the Phillies wouldn’t do to support their teams.

So the question must be asked: Which teams in the history of this franchise were the clubs that we simply couldn’t do without? This isn’t a slideshow ranking the greatest teams, but instead, the clubs that had the will to win, a storybook finish, or the teams that we couldn’t pry our eyes away from.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 3 Ways Amaro Could Have Spent Phillies’ Money More Wisely

There is no doubt that Ruben Amaro has done what he could to get the best talent for his money. We have seen him bring in Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee twice, Roy Oswalt, Hunter Pence and Raul Ibanez, as well as allow Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard to remain icons of the franchise. The talent he has brought in is unprecedented in Phillies history.

Having said that, he could have spent it more wisely to maximize the talent he brought into the organization. This would have ultimately allowed him to of course bring in even more talent.

Here is a look at three key philosophy changes that would allow him to have spent more wisely.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Craziest Rumors of the Offseason

The Philadelphia Phillies have had an interesting offseason thus far, acquiring the top closer on the market in Jonathan Papelbon, power bats in Laynce Nix, Jim Thome and Ty Wigginton, and re-signing Jimmy Rollins.

We have seen teams like the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels spend with reckless abandon on some of the top free agents available.

The Phillies had the most wins in team history (and MLB) in 2011 with 102, but were shocked by the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs. Has GM Ruben Amaro done enough tinkering with this still-powerhouse team to prevent such a heartbreak in 2012?

It’s great to play GM with your buddies and family and toss around the idea of acquiring certain players, but you have to realize when the talk goes from fun to ridiculous.

Rumors are a big part of the game, but we have heard some crazy ones this offseason.

Here are the best of the best thus far.

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