Philadelphia Phillies: Possible Chinks in the Perceived Armor

Much like the Miami Heat when they signed the triplets, many in the sports world had them winning it all, including 70 games.  Now, they will be lucky to get to 60 games on the season and winning it all doesn’t seem so likely anymore.  

When the Phillies signed their stellar rotation, most in the sports world had them winning the World Series.  People thought that they had it all sewn up—ready to hand them the trophy.  Not so fast my friends, not so fast.

Apparently, there are a few more chinks in the Phillies’ armor than one might have expected at first glance.

Starting with Chase Utley and his knee injury.  Utley and the team keep saying that he is progressing and on the right track, but taking ground balls while sitting in a chair is not progressing unless they mean he isn’t lying down to take them, so that’s progress.  

Utley will likely be out for months, not weeks.  The Phillies just signed veteran Luis Castillo to a minor league deal.  They also have several candidates who can play second on their own roster.  

But replacing Utley and his defense isn’t going to be that easy and also working into a new around-the-horn chemistry.  It is not as easy as people might think.

Next, the Phillies are going to miss Jayson Werth’s bat.  A lot of people like to dog on Werth and his attitude, but he provided the Phillies hits in key situations.  That will be gone this season and they do not have a solid replacement in the lineup for what he contributed.  

It’s all well and good if your pitchers can hold down the other team’s runs, but your team has to put some on the board to win.

On to the pitching, it is a great rotation, no doubt about it, but it is not invincible.  Over spring training, almost all the pitchers in the rotation have had bad outings and some of them have had more than one.

Hamels has not been particularly stellar.  Blanton has given up a lot of runs.  Even Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee have given up more runs than one would have thought.  

In total, the Phillies starting five have given up 41 runs over 73 innings of work.  They have given up 11 homers and 74 hits.  They have had 57 strikeouts.  The starting five have a win/loss record of 5-4.  Their average ERA is 3.89.  

Do I think the Phillies will make the playoffs?  They should.  Do I think they win their division?  Perhaps. Will they win the World Series? We will find out in about eight months.  

For now, it might be wise not to put all the World Series eggs in one basket. 

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Philadelphia Phillies Pitching Rotation: Domination or Failure?

As far as I can tell, there are only two options for the Phillies this season—domination or failure.  

Given the makeup of their pitching rotation, most observers are expecting domination. Total domination. Anything less would be seen as a failure by most.

The Phillies swooped in at the last moment in the Cliff Lee negotiations and scooped up the top-level pitcher for $120 million, making their pitching rotation at that moment one of the most dominant in all of professional baseball. Immediately, observers started to say words like “World Series” and “championship.”

With the addition of Lee, the Phillies rounded out a pitching rotation that many see as almost unbeatable. Those who are fans of other teams in the National League had to feel their heart sink to their stomach when it was announced that Lee would re-join the Phillies.  

It made it seem likely that they would dominate the National League for certain, and maybe all of baseball in the postseason to take home another World Series trophy.

The expectations for the Phillies are at the highest point you can reach before a season opens. Most observers expect them to dominate. Most observers expect them to take on all comers and come out on the winning end.  

Barring injury, most observers see the Phillies marching straight through the regular season and into the World Series.

But wait, what if it does not work out that way? What if they aren’t all that and a bag of chips? What if injuries happen? What if they come across teams that can hit them?  

What if their lineup that is now minus Jayson Werth doesn’t put up a lot of runs during games? If the Phillies rotation doesn’t completely dominate everyone, is “failure” the tag that becomes associated with them?

In my mind, it is only one or the other. With a rotation like the Phillies have, they have to be completely successful, or they are then considered a failure. If you have that kind of talent and they all stay healthy, the expectations must be met.  

Domination or failure—it is one or the other. There is no in between.

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