Weekly Recap

Well, there's good news for Ryan Howard and decidedly bad news for the Philadelphia Phillies as Miguel Cabrera has reportedly signed an 8-year, $153 million deal with the Tigers. Despite being 4 years older, Howard will almost certainly demand that that deal be a starting point for any future long-term negotiations with the Phillies. What does this mean for the Phillies? Well, lilkely it means that the Phillies will end up having to choose between signing either Cole Hamels or Ryan Howard long term and they will go with Hamels. That means that Howard could be on the trading block after this year. Of course, they could also open up their wallets and admit that as a team in the 6th largest media market in the country with a new favorable stadium lease and 3 million plus in attendance they can afford to sign both to long-term deals. I personally doubt that will happen though.

In other news, the Phillies rotation and bullpen situation has become much clearer in the past couple of days. Francisco Rosario has been placed on the DL and will not open the season on the roster. Travis Blackley has likely pitched himself out of the rotation and Eaton has continued to be solid in his last couple of starts. As it stands now, this will likely be our starting rotation and bullpen:

Starters:

1. Brett Myers
2. Cole Hamels
3. Jamie Moyer
4. Kyle Kendrick
5. Adam Eaton

Bullpen:

RHP Clay Condrey
RHP Ryan Madson
RHP Chad Durbin
LHP JC Romero
RHP Tom Gordon
CP Brad Lidge

On paper, both are slightly better than the beginning of 2007. That is, assuming there are no injuries of course. The bullpen, if Lidge is solid, looks much better on paper.

In the field the Phillies will field an impressive lineup and a very solid bench and it will likely come down to staying healthy and performing up to the level that they are all capable of for the Phillies to repeat as NL East champs.

Closing Notes: CP B. Lidge pitched in another minor-league game and his velocity (without radar guns) was estimated around 91 MPH. Otherwise he was very solid. However, he needs to get his velocity back to the 95-97 range to be effective against major league hitters and to help make his slider more effective.

Prediction right now: 2008 Record: 90-72

Phils Look For Two In a Row

"We won a game today. We win one tomorrow that's two in a row. We win one that next day, that's what's known as a winning streak boys. It has happened before" -Manager Lou Brown, Major League 2

Its pretty sad that I'm desperately hoping for 2 wins in a row in the 3rd week of Spring Training, but I am. The Phillies really need to get moving or its gonna be a long season. Hopefully Myers' strong outing yesterday will energize the rest of the rotation and we'll actually see some respectable Major League pitching instead of the bush league crap the Phillies have been feeding us so far this spring. Chad Durbin (as if it matters which Durbin) will take the ball today and hopefully go several strong innings. Right now, Durbin is looking to be a solid lock for the 6 spot in the Bullpen behind Lidge, Gordon, Madson, Romero and Condrey. The other open spot will likely fall to LHP Travis Blackley or RHP Francisco Rosario. Blackley may have the edge as they are looking for a 2nd Lefty in the Bullpen and he is a Rule V draft pick who has to stay on the 25-man roster or be offered back to the Giants. Neither has exactly wowed the Phils staff so far this Spring.

A Closer Look At Francisco Rosario

Up until today, Francisco Rosario had be having an excellent spring and there were rumors out of Phillies camp that he had a strong shot at the starting rotation if he could keep up his excellent play. He is known for having a mid-90s fastball, a good changeup and a nasty slider. The biggest knock against him has always been his control. He walks too many batters and he has trouble hitting his spots. When he's on, he can dominate but more often than not he simply can't locate his pitches. Also, at 27, he can no longer be considered a prospect but more of a minor league journeyman. That being said, he was given the start this afternoon against the Atlanta Braves. As with most the Phillies candidates for the 5th starter slot, Rosario was absolutely hammered by the Braves lineup. His line for the game was as follows:

Francisco Rosario
IP - 2.0
H - 3
R - 6
ER - 6
BB - 2
SO - 0
HR - 1

This outing transformed what had been an excellent early spring (1.04 ERA) to a typical Phillies 5th Starter (5.94 ERA in 10 2/3 IP)

So where do the Phillies go from here? If everything stays the same the Phillies will go into the season with a Starting Rotation of:

1. Brett Myers
2. Cole Hamels
3. Jamie Moyer
4. Kyle Kendrick
5. Adam Eaton

Both Eaton and Kendrick have been atrocious so far this spring but hopefully at least one of them can turn it around. Eaton has always had good stuff but has never been able to either stay healthy or be consistent for an entire season. Kendrick's secondary numbers do not suggest that he will put up a repeat performance of his 2007 effort (10-4, ERA under 4 in 20 starts).

It is still very early in Spring Training, and the Phillies still have 2 full weeks for a 5th starter to emerge from the pile of 6th and 7th starters they currently have in camp. At least the hitting has been decent so far this spring.