Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Things to Look for in Spring Training

Pitchers and catchers reported to Clearwater, Fla. earlier this week, and that means a new Philadelphia Phillies season is just around the corner.

For the first time since 2008, the Phillies are not the defending NL East champions. However, 2008 was the year the Phillies won their second World Championship in their club’s history. So will this be a season to remember or a season we hope soon to forget?

Here are five things as Phillies fans we should look for in spring training to tell if the Phils have a shot at the NL East title this year.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Moves They Must Make to Be Successful in 2013

The Philadelphia Phillies just finished the worst season they have had in the past decade, finishing 81-81. But next year could have the Phillies back in the World Series, if they make the right moves in the offseason. Here are five moves the Phillies must execute if they want to position themselves to have another parade on Broad Street.

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Philadelphia Phillies: This Weekend Makes or Breaks the Season

The Philadelphia Phillies are making history. The team is nine games under .500, 9.5 games out of a wild card birth and 14 games out of first place. And yet, they are making room for people to jump on their bandwagon. After winning eight of 12 after the All-Star break and three out of four series, including a sweep of the Brewers in which every win came in a dramatic fashion, playoff talk about the Phils is starting to appear again in a big way. Never in the history of baseball has a team nine games under .500 been considered to be able to make a serious run for a playoff spot. But regardless of what kind of optimism you may have, the Phillies’ season only goes as far as this weekend series with the Braves takes them.

            There are a few reasons why this weekend’s series with Atlanta is so important. The most obvious reason is Atlanta holds the final playoff spot in the NL. Sweeping the Braves is the easiest way to make up three games in the wildcard standings. And with Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, and an improved Joe Blanton who is 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA while pitching 8 innings his past two starts probable to pitch this weekend, a sweep is not out of the question. But winning two out of three is a necessity if the Phils have any shot of making a run at postseason play.

            This brings me to my second point. In order for the Phillies to have a realistic shot at making the playoffs, they would have to win at least 85 games. If they won two out of three games for the rest of the season, it would put them at 87 wins, and that might not even be enough for a playoff spot. The Phillies would have to play near-perfect baseball for the rest of the season in order to see October baseball in South Philly, and that would have to start this weekend

            But the biggest reason why this weekend series is so important is because the team has to prove to ownership they have what it takes to make a run this year. The trade deadline is this Tuesday and this series against the Braves is the last chance the team has to show Ruben Amaro and the rest of the Phillies brass that key pieces shouldn’t be traded for the future. I’m not saying that if they sweep the Braves a trade or two might not happen, but if they win the first two games against Atlanta, any trade Amaro makes will be to improve the team this season, not just in the years to come. There are a lot of people in the Philadelphia tri-state area catching Phillies Pheaver right now. The team looks like it has it swagger back. But all of that will mean nothing if the Philles don’t take care of business at Turner Field this weekend

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Philadelphia Phillies: Are They Capable of Making a Playoff Run This Year?

Since the All-Star break, the Phillies are 5-4 (and could easily be 7-2), and their latest win, which was of a walk-off variety compliments of Jimmy Rollins, might have convinced management to allow the team to try and make a playoff run as opposed to being sellers in the trade market.

If the Phillies sign Cole Hamels to a long-term deal before the trade deadline, it will be the biggest affirmation that the Phightins are ready to make another World Series run.The big question is, would the Phillies be making the right decision by not being sellers in the trade market?

If you look into the Phillies’ future, the youth on this team doesn’t look promising. John Mayberry is the youngest Phillies position player at 28 (and he turns 29 this year). The Phillies farm system is completely depleted, and the team still has issues in their bullpen ( ofpitchers who have appeared in 10 or more games, only Papelbon has an ERA under 3.5), Trading key pieces like Hamels and Victorino (and possibly Rollins and Cliff Lee) could bring some quality youth to our farm system and to the big league ball club.

However, there are several reasons to believe the Phillies could make a run at the playoffs. Although the Phillies are 11 games back in the standings for a wild card berth, stranger things have happened. If you just look at one year ago, the Rays and Cardinals were 8.5 games behind a playoff spot going into September and both made it (and every Phillies fan knows how the Cardinals story ended).

In 2007, the Mets had a seven-game lead with 17 left to play against the Phils, and the Phils won the division. So being back 11 in the loss column on July 22 and making the playoffs is not an impossible task. There also is the fact the projected starting lineup has only played in a handful of games this year. With Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Roy Halladay all healthy, the Phils have been playing a lot better.

The other thing to look at is the Phils’ schedule. They play the Braves another 11 times, the Nationals another nine times and have series left against the Reds, Brewers, Cardinals Diamondbacks, Astros and two series against the Mets and Marlins. Basically, the Phillies control their own destiny. If they continue to compete and win series, making up 11 games doesn’t seem out of the question.

Which way will the Phillies decide to go? The coming week should be a huge indication if they are sellers in this trading market.  One thing is certain: The RBI single Jimmy Rollings had in the 12th inning made the decision a lot more difficult and could have possibly saved the season, even if it is just for a day.

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MLB Trade Rumors: Which Trade Is Best for the Philadelphia Phillies?

Before I begin let me just say that I was one of the people who believed the Philadelphia Phillies didn’t have to make a move in order to win a World Series this year.

But after watching Philadelphia face San Francisco Giants starters Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum, against whom the Phillies only put up 2 runs combined, I’m ready to say I was wrong.

With Carlos Beltran in a Giants uniform, the chances of getting a bat for this line up seem to be down to two choices.

Choice number one is Hunter Pence.

If this trade is to go through, it seems as though it would have to involve top Phillies prospects Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, and Domonic Brown AND another team.

That seems like a lot of trouble, but if you have to give up Domonic Brown, I would like for it to be for Hunter Pence. Plus, you get to keep Vance Worley and are getting a 28-year-old, .300 hitter.

However, there is another likely option out there.

Choice number two is to trade those same players to San Diego for Mike Adams, Heath Bell, and Ryan Ludwick. Ludwick, like Pence, has 11 home runs and 62 RBI.

But there are two major differences: One, Ludwick is five years older than Pence, and two, he is batting only .238 this year.

However, it is hard to ignore the idea of having Bastado, Madson, Bell, Adams, and possibly Jose Contreras and Brad Lidge in our bullpen. If the Astros are not willing to part with Pence, this is a great choice.

The other choices that seemed to be out there (such as Carlos Quentin) don’t seem to be possibilities anymore.

But the question is, which is the better trade?

We are in an age in which the Phillies are about right now. There isn’t a need to prepare for the future, and that bat out of right field is what we are missing.

But at the same time, adding two quality relievers to your bullpen is something you can’t sneeze at.

Regardless, it has become obvious that if the Phillies do not want to waste the great pitching performances they have gotten out of Hamels, Lee, Halladay, and Worley, they have to make a move before the deadline.

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Philadelphia Phillies Beat Reds in 19-Inning Marathon, Wildest Game of the Year

It was supposed to be a game between a good pitcher and a great pitcher, a game that might be done in just over two hours. Six hours and 11 minutes later, we were treated to one of the wildest, most unpredictable games in recent memory.

It looked innocent enough, with Roy Halladay having a three-run lead after two innings. Any baseball fan would assume that they could turn off the TV because this game is over!

But Halladay, who last faced the Reds during the postseason when he pitched a no-hitter, gave up 3 runs and 11 hits. Who knew that was the start of the wackiness?

The Phillies had men on second and third with one out in the ninth and Charlie Manuel decided to pull Ben Francisco, who had already homered in the game for Domonic Brown, who promptly popped out.

Polanco then hit a sharp ground ball to short to end the threat. When Jay Bruce hit a home run in the 10th, it looked like it was going to be another game that the Phillies offense went cold and that they would lose. Who knew we still had nine more innings of baseball to go?

Ryan Howard proceeded to homer in the bottom of the 10th and JC Romero picked off Brandon Phillips from second base in the 11th. This is a 11th inning where the Reds had 4 people on base yet didn’t get any runs across.

Danys Baez proceeds to pitch five innings of shutout ball which is a far cry from the guy in  early April that Charlie Manuel seemed to be so reluctant to call on to come to the mound.

And Jimmy Rollins made three amazing plays at shortstop in the 17th and 18th innings to keep the game scoreless. But the best was yet to come.

Wilson Valdez, a journeyman infielder, who has never pitched in a professional baseball game, headed to the mound to pitch the 19th inning. The only thing more shocking then to see him on the mound was to see his first pitch clock in at 88 miles per hour!

He retired Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and the Reds pitcher, Carlos Fisher. Who would think you’d see Wilson Valdez pitching to Carlos Fisher when the night started?

Finally, Raul Ibanez hit a walk-off sacrifice fly that brought Jimmy Rollins home in the bottom of the 19th inning to give Wilson Valdez his first (and most likely last) big league win.

One of my fondest memories as a kid was watching the Phillies-Padres game on July 4, 1993, that went 20 innings and ended at 4:40 a.m. I knew that then that that 1993 season was going to be something special.

Watching this 19-inning game, seeing the Phillies battle to get the win, gave me the same type of feeling. Let’s hope this time around, we don’t see Joe Carter in the World Series.

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Why Vance Worley Should Remain the 5th Starter for the Philadelphia Phillies

For anyone who watched the Phillies-Nationals game last night, they saw 23-year-old Vance Worley pitch another great game, going six innings and only giving up one run.

Vance has pitched six innings in each of his two starts, with an ERA of 0.75 and 12 strikeouts. Although fans may be quick to point out that Vance did start against the Mets and Nationals, let’s compare him to the two other people who were competing for the Phillies’ last spot in the rotation.

Joe Blanton, who is the current fifth starter, is 0-1 in four starts with a 5.92 ERA. But what is even bigger is against those very same Nationals and Mets he is 0-1 with a 10.45 ERA and has only 10 strikeouts. Add in the fact that he is 30 years old and doesn’t seem to be good trade bait for any team and it adds up to Blanton possibly having a longer stay on the disabled list than expected.

Going into the season, the other person expected to compete for the fifth spot was Kyle Kendrick. He’s pitched eight games this year out of the bullpen and has a 2.08 ERA but is 1-2 in those 13 innings pitched.

Also, manager Charlie Manuel seems to lack confidence in Kendrick, which would explain why guys like Danys Baez, Antonio Bastardo and David Herndon have made more appearances than Kendrick. With a bullpen that is in need of as many reliable arms as it can get, you would think Charlie would be able to call on someone who has been with the ballclub for five years to get three outs for him.

One of the biggest reasons why Vance Worley should at least stay on the major league team—either as the fifth starter or the bullpen—is for trade value.

It is no secret that the Phillies need a bat to help the team out (unless you believe Raul Ibanez will continue the tear he has gone on the last two games for the rest of the year). A lot of teams with available bats could use a 23-year-old starter in their rotation.

If Vance has another great game on Monday in Florida against the Marlins, I think Vance will have secured his spot in the majors for the rest of the year—either with the Phillies or another team.

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MLB Trade Rumors: Who the Phillies Might Trade for to Help the Offense

Although the Phillies have the best record in the National League and are only one game back from having the best record in baseball, Phillie Phandom still has a lot of worry—especially about the offense. A team that was once known for its amazing hitting ability has now been known to do a disappearing act for games at a time. So, many Phillies fans are now calling on GM Ruben Amaro Jr. to make a trade to help the team.

Although the farm system isn’t as rich as it was two years ago, and the payroll is very high, I’ve been able to come up with five possible players the Phillies might be able to acquire.

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