Philadelphia Phillies: Spring Training Information

By: Doc Goyne
Location: Brighthouse Networks Field - Clearwater, FLA
Pitchers and Catchers Report: Feb. 14th
First Game: Feb. 27th
Schedule

Projected Opening Day Lineup

1. Jimmy Rollins (SS)
2. Shane Victorino (CF)
3. Chase Utley (2B)
4. Ryan Howard (1B)
5. Pat Burrell (LF)
6. Geoff Jenkins/Jayson Werth (RF)
7. Pedro Feliz (3B)
8. Carlos Ruiz (C)
9. Cole Hamels (P)

Projected Rotation

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

Projected Bullpen
Long: Chad Durbin/J.D. Durbin
Situational: Fabio Castro, Travis Blackley, Scott Mathieson, Mike Zagurski
7th & 8th Inning: Tom Gordon/JC Romero/Ryan Madson
Closer: Brad Lidge

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Key Battles: When the Phillies arrive in Clearwater, their everyday lineup for the regular season will already be pretty much determined.  The Phillies scored the most runs of any National League team in 2007 and center-fielder Aaron Rowand was the only member of the starting lineup to leave the team.  In addition to the team's core of Rollins, Utley, Howard and Burrell, the Phillies look to score even more runs with the off-season additions of Geoff Jenkins, who will likely platoon with Jayson Werth in right-field and Pedro Feliz, who replaces the NL's worst offensive combination of third basemen.

The real struggles for playing time will occur in the pitching staff.  Brett Myers returns to the rotation after serving a one-year stint as closer, and will combine with Cole Hamels for an excellent 1-2 punch.  With any luck, Kyle Kendrick can build on his surprise performance in 2007 -- the Phillies don't make the playoffs without his where-did-that-come-from 121 innings, 3.87 ERA -- and Jamie Moyer can keep his ERA south of 5.00 as his age heads farther north of 40.  The fifth spot, however, is up for grabs.  Adam Eaton turned in an absolutely horrific season last year after the Phillies awarded him a 3-year, $24 million contract, and the pressure will be on reluctant manager Charlie Manuel to keep him in the rotation because of it.  But, the Phillies are in a win-now mode, so if one of the Durbins or Travis Blackley or J.A. Happ or even you can clearly outperform Eaton, there's a good chance of getting the nod when the team breaks for Philadelphia.

As for the bullpen, Brad Lidge was brought in from the Astros in the trade that freed up Myers for the rotation.  Assuming Lidge's recent problems are truly physical as he says they are, and his psyche is up to the task of closing games in the microscope that is the NL East, then Tom Gordon, JC Romero and Ryan Madson will fall in behind him, bridging the gap between the starters.  Any other relievers will be avoided by Charlie Manuel the way politicians avoid talking about social security.

What To Expect: A lot of talk and speculation about who is better in the NL East -- the Phillies, Mets, or Braves.  All three are built to win now and all three have several good young players that make up the heart of the team.  If the trio of teams can stay healthy through spring training and the majority of the season, you can expect one heckuva fight for the division title.

Doc is the author of Balls, Sticks & Stuff ("Phillies, Eagles, golf and other matters of great importance"), a contributor to MLBTradeRumors.com, and the creator of Baseboogle, a site devoted to searching the web for baseball research and analysis.

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