Special points of interest:
Key Fantasy Player: Chase Utley
Three Keys to Victory:
*Middle of the batting order continued production.
*Bull Pen Bounce Back
*Roy Halladay
The X-Factor: Cole Hamels
Over Rated: Jimmy Rollins
Seasons End: Another Divisional Title.
The loss of Jayson Werth in the off season.
End of the Phillies five year run going into 2011?
1. Jimmy Rollins SS
2. Placido Polanco 3B
3. Chase Utley 2B
4. Ryan Howard 1B
5. Jayson Werth RF
6. Raul Ibanez LF
7. Shane Victorino CF
8. Carlos Ruiz C
SP) Roy Halladay RH
SP) Cole Hamels LH
SP) Joe Blanton RH
SP) J.A. Happ LH
SP) Jamie Moyer RH
RP) Ryan Madson RH
RP) Brad Lidge RH
Roy Halladay
It’s going to be hard for me to make the case, but here I go! The Philadelphia Phillies made a terrible move by acquiring the best pitcher in baseball: Roy “Doc” Halladay…….Let me try to explain.
When I first heard of the news that the Phillies had traded for Roy Halladay, just before Christmas in 2009, I was elated! First and foremost, I was thrilled to get Roy out of the American League, and away from the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees had to face Halladay four painful times last year. Now, in the 2010 regular season, the most they will face Doc is once.
But the real reason for my excitement was the idea that Doc Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels would all be pitching on the same team that also harbors the best offense in the National League. Then my co-worker/informant filled me in on the details. The Phillies had lost Cliff Lee in the three way deal to the Seattle Mariners. There went the rotation depth, I thought. But that part still didn’t bother me. Trading an ace for an ace makes sense if one ace is remarkably better then the other. A straight up Lee for Halladay deal would have been a synch. But where the deal really went sour was the loss of both top prospect, Kyle Drabeck, and lefty ace, Cliff Lee form the Phillies.
Kyle Drabeck was Philadelphia’s highest regarded pitcher on the minor league level. He was selected 18th overall in the 2006 amateur draft by the Phillies. Kyle is also the son of former Pittsburgh Pirate Doug Drabeck. Most scouts and baseball minds believe Drabeck is a future ace, and will be Major League ready by the second half of this year. The simple math of acquiring one pitcher, while giving up an ace and a top prospect is just too steep a price to pay. What’s worse will be watching Kyle Drabeck possibly develop into the games next Roy Halladay.
Now don’t get me wrong, the Phillies got a dominate ace who is going to win a ton of games for them this year when the signed Halladay. But at the same time, they already had that with Cliff Lee. They upgraded for sure, but at what cost? Cliff Lee and Kyle Drabeck in a rotation would have been better then Roy Halladay all alone.
You can be sure that die hard Phillies fans will be watching the Toronto Blue Jays box scores out of the corner of their eyes for the next few years. (Maybe even longer.) It’s bad enough what Joe Carter and the Jays did to the Phillies in the 1993 World Series. Now Drabeck’s dominance may be the next chapter in the Philly agony from north of the border.
The bottom line is any combination of two starters would have been far better then just Roy Halladay alone. Weather it was, Halladay & Lee / Halladay & Drabeck / or Lee & Drabeck, the Phillies should have never settled for such a high trade demand.
Phillies got gypped, and only time will tell how badly.
Jayson Werth
2010 is going to be the biggest year of Jayson Werth’s life!
The Philadelphia right fielder is in the final year of his two year deal with the Phils. Before 2009 Jayson had never played in more then 134 games in any one season. He was mainly a platoon outfielder with raw power and limited production. But as the 2008 World Series push unfolded, Werth became a intrical part of the Phillies Championship. Last season he became the Phillies everyday right fielder, and went wild! Werth hit 36 homers with 99 Ribs in 2009. He made the All-star team, and became the perfect man to hit behind Ryan Howard in the batting order.
Over Werth’s short 7-year- career, he had made a combined 6.3 million dollars (excluding 2010’s totals). If Werth is as good this season, as he was in 2009, he could make double his total career earnings on the free agent market in 2011 alone.
The trouble for the Phillies is that if Werth is that good, his services will be signed to another team in 2011. The Phillies are not in a financial position to sign Werth to a lofty multi-year deal.
So with each big hit, and each towering homerun hit by Werth in 2010, it will be bitter sweet for Phillies fans. Sweet that they are getting so much production from their power right fielder, who came from obscurity. But bitter knowing that his production will lead to his services away from Philadelphia.
This year's Phillies
Overall this team is in the middle of one of the most remarkable runs in National League history. Excluding the Braves of the 1990’s, Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine of 1975 /1976 was the last NL franchise to appear in back to back World Series. The Phillies have a great chance this year to make it three in a row. That feat hasn't been accomplished since the St Louis Cardinals did it in the mid 1940’s. I like the Phillies to continue to dominate the NL East in 2010. I am projecting them to fall short of the Fall Classic. But they are sure to be right in the mix come October.
