It was a tough loss for the Phillies and their fans on Wednesday. It left a bad taste in all of our mouths. We expected a repeat, but we’re not worrying about the World Series loss.
First of all, almost all of the Phils lineup is coming back. They were the National League leaders in RBI, runs scored and home runs. Expect a repeat of that next year, as nobody is a queston mark to come back.
The team has some of the best hitters in baseball batting 1-5. Jimmy Rollins, who didn’t have a great year but he is still an MVP caliber leadoff hitter; Shane Victorino, the Flyin’ Hawaiian; Chase Utley, who tied Reggie Jackson’s record of most home runs in a World Series (5); Ryan Howard, who is a lock for at least 45 homers a year; and Jason Werth, who has been breaking out since his arrival in Philly.
There’s also one of the best pitching rotations in the majors. There’s Cole Hamels, who didn’t have a great year (like Rollins), but can still pitch and is fairly young. Cliff Lee is a complete beast. Joe Blanton always seems to let up 3-4 runs but keeps the Phils in the game. And then there’s J.A. Happ, probably the best rookie pitcher in the National League last year. The number 5 spot in the rotation seems to be a toss up.
Brett Myers is back from surgery, Chan-Ho Park showed that he can still pitch in game 6 (even though he is probably better suited for the bullpen), and Kyle Drabek, a prospect who put minor league hitters to shame last year, can all fight for that fifth position in the rotation next year.
No matter which way we go, there should be a quality pitcher at the back end of the rotation.
The bullpen is a HUGE question mark. Jamie Moyer is probably done forever, so don’t expect him to be there for long relief. Brad Lidge was a huge disappointment this year, blowing the most saves in the league. Ryan Madson is not a real closer. Chad Durbin… what can I say, he is horrible. Scott Eyre is old and could retire. Management needs to bring in some free agent pitchers.
Other than the bullpen, the Phils have a great team that is still young and can only get better.
Philadelphia has talent and *COUGH* didn’t buy their way into the World Series *COUGH*.
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