In these uncertain times, the Phillies have been a ray of light through the clouds.

After the unforgettable World Series Championship run, personnel changes and injury concerns have cast some uncertainty on the prospect of a return to the World Series.  However, a few recent developments have me thinking that the Phillies are going to have every opportunity to succeed next season:

• Chase Utley hits a pre-season homerun- When Utley had hip surgery in late November, I really wasn’t expecting that he would be back to full strength at the start of the ‘09 season.  Yesterday’s home run and three RBIs in a 7-6 win over the Blue Jays showed that Utley can at least move around a little bit.  Chase is an incredibly consistent player, and it now appears clear that he will be able to work himself into a groove throughout the season (*cough*MVP).
• Cole Hamels pickes 3 innings of shut-out baseball - In the minors.  But who cares, no pain/swelling/tightness in the elbow can’t be a bad thing.  Hamels threw 48 pitches, although his fastball was only reaching 82-86 mph per Ruben Amaro Jr.  The health of his elbow is directly linked to the Phillies success in ‘09, so this story will not go away any time soon.  Pitching coach Rich Dubee said it best:  “[Wednesday] will be the tell-tale story, how he responds after pitching today. but today was definitely a positive.”
• J.A. Happ steps up his bid for the 5th starter spot- Happ was the consensus SOB nation pick for the Phillies 5th starter spot, grabbing 41% of the vote.  J.A. had a strong outing in a 8-3 routing of the Yankees on Sunday, giving up only two runs in five innings.  The contest for the job is still very much up in the air, and yesterday Chan Ho Park threw four innings of mediocre baseball in his first game back since tweaking his hammy.  I’m rooting for Happ to win the spot, but Park as well as recently minored Kyle Kendrick may end up playing a role in ‘09.

Yesterday was a good day for the Phillies two best players, both of which returning from worrisome injury.  As it now stands they look poised to start the season off strong, something the Phillies don’t often do.

Baseball’s preseason means absolutely nothing, and has no bearing on how a team performs over the neverending baseball season.  Health is the only thing that matters, and they seem to be improving in that regard.  The Phillies found lightning in a bottle last year, and for everything to fall into place like it did then again this year may be asking too much.  However, the Phils still have to be looked at as one of the more talented teams in the NL, and the recent improvements in health have the sun shining on their outlook in ‘09.

(World Phucking Champions)

Former 1st round draft pick Mayberry could end up making an impact on the 2009 Phillies roster

One of the biggest stories to come out of Clearwater thus far has been the play of 25 year old John Mayberry Jr.   Though the Phillies are only six games into the ‘09 pre-season, Mayberry has already flashed potential both at the plate (HR in today’s game) and in the field (amazing diving catch).  But who is this kid?

Check out the preliminary findings on one of the Phillies’ rising prospects

We haven’t been giving our World Champion Phillies enough love here at SportsOnBroad these days so I figured it was about time I stop watching NFL Network’s coverage of the Combine and talk a little about our Phills. The biggest question mark on the team heading into the upcoming 2009 season is who will get the 5th sport in the rotation.  There’s 4 candidates for the job - Kyle Kendrick, Chan Ho Park, JA Happ, and Carlos Carrasco - and here’s my very unofficial odds for each of them locking down the spot. Read the rest of this entry »

We may not have gotten a Wheaties box for the World Champion Phillies just yet, but our ace Cole Hamels finds himself on the cover of Sports llustrated this week.

Hot wife? Check. World Series MVP? Check. Sports Illustrated Cover? Check.... Well done Mr. Hamels, well done.

With pitchers and catchers reporting to Clearwater today for the official beginning of the defense of their World Series championship, here’s a look at how the 2009 Opening Day Phillies will differ from the 2008 Opening Day Phills.

The 2009 Opening Day roster obviously isn’t set in stone yet, but the lineup close to what we’ll see.  If this is indeed the Opening Day lineup, I can’t help but think the Phills will have a stronger lineup and rotation to start the season this year as opposed to last year.

• Adam Eaton won’t be anywhere neat the starting rotation.  He’ll get his $9 or whatever and the bullpen which will be a little short due to JC’s suspension should get a lot more rest since they won’t have to start warming up in the 3rd inning every 5th game.
• Utley could be back for Opening Day, but will probably miss some time as the Phillies will want to be cautious with him.
• Raul Ibanez for Pat Burrell should be a wash.  Ibanez is better in the field and should be a lot more consistent than Burrell was.  He won’t have the hot streaks that Pat the Bat had, but he also won’t experience the ridiculous slumps either.  Ibanez also had 24 more RBI’s than Burrell did in 2008 while hitting in a lineup that provided him with less opportunity for RBIs.
• Jayson Werth should be an upgrade over Jenkins.  Werth has more range and is on the cusp of becoming a very good everyday player.  If Werth can improve his hitting against left handers this spring, he’ll have  abreakout season.
• The rotation in general is stronger.  Cole Hamels took a major step forward last year by tossing 200+ innings for the first time in his career.  Myers has showed up to Clearwater 20 lbs lighter and is in a contract year.  Jamie Moyer apparently sold his soul to the devil in order to continue pitching effectively well into his 40’s.  Boom Boom Blanton still hasn’t lost a game as a Phillie.  The 5th spot is still a major question mark, but can anyone who wins the spot be any worse than Eaton?
• In the setup role, Madson is an upgrade over Gordon and could be our closer of the future if he continues to be the bridge to Lidge.

The one area where we won’t be as strong is in the bullpen because of JC’s suspension.  We had one of, if not THE best bullpen in baseball last year, but the loss of Romero really hurts.  Romero was one of the better left handed bullpen arms in baseball last year and the Phills will need to find someone to replace him at the beginning of the season.

If Utley gets back in the lineup without missing much/any time, we should have a chance to get off to a better start in 2009.  With the Mets improving their bullpen significantly this off-season, we can’t afford to fall behind early in the season.

Can I Buy You A Drank?

I love it.  And so does Ryan Howard:

I’m happy to have this done and to know that I’ll be in Philadelphia for at least another three years.  Both sides are happy, and now I’m just focused on getting the season started and having fun.

In my post the other day, I expressed some of my reservation toward sign Ryan Howard to a long-term deal.  Ruben Amaro Jr. must have felt similarly, and avoided the long-term deal as well as any future arbitration hearings for Howard; a win-win for the Phillies GM.

Howard is a beast at the plate, and we need him in our quest for repeat World Series wins (there are no “defending” champions, as that implies you are guaranteed another shot in the title fight).  The contract locks Howard down for the short-term, but does not leave the team handcuffed like the 10-year, $180 million+ deal I’m sure Howard was looking for.

Everyone walks away happy here.  Howard gets his money now, which he deserves (don’t hate the player, hate the game).  The Phillies retain Howard for three more years in his prime, removing the black cloud of arbitration, and most importantly, the flexibility to either trade, re-sign, or let Howard walk based on his performance and maturation of the next three years.

Maybe Amaro learned the move from Vic Mackey  while playing Captain Acevada on the set of The Shield.  I’m on to you, Ruben.

Who's

Who?

The Phillies avoided arbitration for Ryan Howard for the next three years Sunday by locking him up for the next three seasons with a contract worth reportedly $54 million.  Howard will get $15 million i 2009, $19 million in 2010, and $20 million in 2011.  Since Howard was asking for $18 million in arbitration, the Phillies saved themselves $3 million this year and probably about that much the next two years as well if Howard continues at his current pace.

I have some mixed feelings on this.  Howard’s power numbers can’t be discounted, but was it really a good idea to give a guy who barely hit .250 this year a $54 million contract?  Some suggested that the arbitration process last year affect Howard in the early part of the season and contributed to his awful start to 2008.  Will having peace of mind all spring training allow Howard to completely focus on improving his swing and cutting down on his gaudy strikeout totals?  Possibly.

Of course, the Phillies could have also signed Howard to the three year deal so that he’d be easier to move in a trade should they decide Howard isn’t a long term solution for them.  It’s a lot easier to deal a guy who is locked into a deal and not facing the unpredictable process of arbitration.  Howard’s new deal, however, does inclue a $1 million trade provision so the Phills would owe Howard that much if they trade him before this deal expires.

The best part of this happening now is that there will be NO contract distractions this spring.  The Phillies have locked up all of their arbitration eligible players before pitchers and catcher report so everyone can focus on defending their World Series crown.

Ryan Howard is seeking $18 million dollars in arbitration for 2009 booze money.

Ryan Howard is currently asking for $18 million in MLB salary arbitration for the 2009 season.  The Phillies in turn are offering a paultry $14 mill for the one year services of the pictured slugger.

To place how ridiculous these numbers are, Howard’s arbitration request is the 3rd largest since the inception of the program in 1974.  The two larger requests came from Roger Clements ($22 million) in 2005 and Derek Jeter ($18.5 million) in 2001 immediately following a Yankees World Series loss to Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling of the Arizona Diamondback’s.  The Jeter offer can be looked at as a more comparable situation, as Jeter was coming off three straight strong seasons and a World Series MVP in 2000.

However, Derek Jeter is no Ryan Howard.  The two are polar opposites at the plate, though both amazing at what they do, and Jeter can anchor an infield for a decade while many consider Howard to be a has-been (never was) in the field at 29.  Jeter’s situation was resolved when the two sides came to agree on a 10-year, $189 million long term deal.

I’m not sure that the Phillies are committed to Howard for the long term.

I’m not sure that they should be.  Howard’s power is one in a million, but the prolonged slumps, record strikeout totals and ineptitude in the field are hard to overlook.  Although the long-ball erases all wrongdoing in the eyes of the casual fan, Howard sure is looking like a AL-only DH in the making.  If Howard does sign a long-term deal, the Phillies may end up handcuffed to an aging slugger who forgets his stroke and can’t work the field.

If a deal is not struck and Howard does reach an arbitration hearing, there is no middle ground.   Howard will either receive $14 million or $18 million.  My guess is the Phillies win this time around and Howard gets a $4 million raise - not too shabby coming off of his $10 million arbitration win last year.

Although the actual date of specific player arbitration hearings is kept secret, hearings begin Feb. 2 and conclude Feb. 22, so expect resolution shortly.

As the “Big Game” is only minutes from kickoff, this would be when the entire Philadelphia region stopped and Eagles fans world-wide gather to watch an all Pennsylvania Super Bowl.

But it wasn’t meant to be.  Or something.

Anyway, this is a friendly reminder to the SOB nation:

WE ARE STILL WORLD PHUCKING CHAMPIONS

Thanks Again 2008 Phillies!