Game 1

The Phillies may be 1-0 after beating Pittsburgh, but I'm not happy. Halladay was great (8 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits). Unfortunately, the offense couldn't get anything done. The team's offense is not the offense from 2006-2008, but I think they can do much better than 1 run. Lee is going tonight vs. Pittsburgh, and I can only hope that the offense shows up.

Overview of Spring Training

The Phillies have a mediocre record this spring, but the pitching has carried them. Although it shouldn't be much to worry about, the Phillies have been shut-out a few times already. Pence will be fine, but injuries to Howard and now Utley will make runs hard to come by. Opening Day lineup could look something like this.

1 Jimmy Rollins, SS
2 Shane Victorino, CF
3 Placido Polanco, 3B
4 Hunter Pence, RF
5 Ty Wigginton, 1B
6 John Mayberry Jr, LF
7 Carlos Ruiz, C
8 Freddy Galvis, 2B
9 Roy Halladay, SP

It will be very interesting to see how Galvis does. He seems to be the future SS in Philadelphia, and a good start will certainly help his cause.

5 Questions for the 2012 Season

1: How will the losses of Ryan Madson and Roy Oswalt affect the team? The Phillies main move in the off-season was signing closer Jonathan Papelbon to a year 4 year $50 mil contract, with a 2016 option. Papelbon will be an upgrade over Ryan Madson, but Madson signed for 1 year $6 mil and a 2013 option ($2.5 mil 2012 buyout), so Papelbon needs to have a good season to be worth about twice as much as Madson. Losing Oswalt will hurt the rotation, but now that Vance Worley will be pitching the entire season, the rotation of Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Worley, and Blanton will be fine without him.

2: Can the Phillies replace Ryan Howard until he is back from injury? The last play of Philadelphia's 2012 season was a real double whammy. The Phillies lost in the first round of the playoffs after winning 102 regular season games, and lost one of their best hitters in Ryan Howard for a large chunk of the 2012 season. Surprisingly, Howard may not be that hard to replace. is 2.7 WAR in 2011 puts him in company with Carlos Ruiz (3.0), Carlos Pena (2.2), and Todd Helton (2.7). Hopefully Ty Wigginton, John Mayberry Jr., and Jim Thome can fill in for him until he can get back on the field.

3: What kind of production will the offense give? Let's face it. The Phillies are getting old, and the championship window will only be open for a few more years. We won't see 2006 Howard. 2007 Rollins and Utley are gone. The offense has gone from potentially the best in the MLB to slightly above average (13th in runs last season). Expect to see a lineup looking something like this: Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Pence, Polanco, Mayberry Jr., Wigginton, Ruiz, and the pitcher. Howard replaces Wigginton after injury and will hit in his usual clean-up spot, moving Pence up to 3rd, and everyone after Pence shifting down a spot. If the Phillies can do something similar to the performance that their offense gave last year, the pitching will hopefully take them to another NL East title.

4: Can the Phillies stay dominant in a division that is full of young teams on the rise? The Braves, Marlins, and Nationals are all on the rise. Atlanta has the best supply of great young pitchers in the MLB and a solid lineup to go with it, and with 2 wild-card teams in the new playoff format, there is no reason that they shouldn't be in the post-season this year. The Marlins went on a spending spree this off-season, acquiring Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Heath Bell, and a new stadium in Miami. They also have the potential to make the playoffs. The Nationals have Strasburg and Harper, along with other top spects. I don't think this is the year for the Nationals, but I think that in a year or two, they should be in the playoffs. The one team the Phillies don't have to worry about in the division is the Mets, but they have a solid farm system and are in the beginning of a long rebuilding phase.

5: Who is the future? The Phillies core is getting old, and they have traded away many of their best prospects for chances to win now. In 2011, getting Hunter Pence for prospects may seem great, but what about 2015? Unfortunately, Dominic Brown never performed like he was expected to, which is surprising because he was rated as highly as 3rd in some 2011 top prospect list. Trevor May and Jesse Biddle are the main guys to look forward to in the farm, but the Phillies success with prospects can be measured in the production Hunter Pence (Singleton/Cosart), Roy Halladay (Drabek), and a lot of the other stars formerly and currently on the team.