Spring Training Phillies Report: Position Players

Fresh off my annual trip to Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training in Clearwater, Florida, I have returned with some observations that the baseball public might like to be made aware of. I am not a baseball scout, nor am I always separate from my obvious Phillies fandom so take these for what you will. Remember a few things as you read...

1. I only saw 3 games in person.
2. I, just like the rest of you, put a lot of my knowledge and opinion on what the public feeds me. I have tried to abandon these perceptions for this article.
3. I will try my hardest to give you what I believe to be the 100% truth, no fabrications.

Here is my offensive preview based on what I have learned at Spring Training and over the years as a die-hard Phillies fan.

Starting Lineup
Leadoff: Jimmy Rollins - Jimmy's defense appears to be as strong as ever. With a proclamation that he intends on stealing 50 bases this year, it would certainly help if the catalyst took some more pitches. Having a more prototypical two-hole batsman behind him (we will touch on this in a moment) should give Jimmy the confidence to take some pressure off of himself. A leadoff single is as good as a walk, just as a screaming liner that is snared by a glove is still an out. Keeping in mind that spring training games are for getting swings back, we can only wait until the 2010 campaign commences to see if Jimmy changes his approach at the plate. For one thing though, there is no way Jimmy repeats that horrendous first half of 2009.

Two-Hole: Placido Polanco - Lake Placido returns to Citizens Bank Park after a 4 and-a-half year absence. Polanco doesn't need time to adjust to the raucous and demanding atmosphere at The Bank, seeing as he spent parts of 3 years here. Offensively, the Phils need Polanco to keep doing what he has been doing since he became a regular for the Cardinals back in 2000; make contact, don't strike out, move the runner over, come up with some timely hits. All in all - keep the lineup moving. Polanco doesn't need to be an all-star for this team to consistently win. While Polly may not launch as many homers as his predecessor, Pedro Feliz did, his ability to "give himself up" will help the Phillies with something that they have consistently struggled with over the past few years; the old baseball colloquium known as, "small ball." With mashers at the plate up and down the order, the Phils sometimes get a little too happy. This sort of happy isn't necessarily a good thing. Pull happy, home run happy, power happy - they all add up to the same thing - all or nothing. Runs or strikeouts. With Polanco, expect more runners being moved from first to third and across home plate.

Defensively, I have my concerns with Placido. As anyone who has watched the Phillies over the past couple of years has seen, Pedo Feliz has been as defensively sound as they come. Polanco has been as good as you can be at second base, winning 2 Gold Glove awards in the past 3 years. The move to third, however, comes with less reaction time, more balls hit your way, and a longer throw to do it all in. Now it's not like Polanco hasn't played third before, but he was never a gold-glover at the position. On the surface there will be no statistical changes between Feliz and Polanco - Polanco's glove will be just as consistent. The throw is where the newbie may encounter some problems. I'd expect a few more infield singles attributed to our new third baseman.

My predicted verdict? Good signing. Polanco will pick it all up eventually and the textbook precision with which he approaches every at bat will help the Phils atop the National League Runs Scored.

Three-Hole: Chase Utley - The greatest second baseman in baseball shouldn't experience any setbacks. If there is anyone who can be expected to bounce back or fix a mistake, it is Chase Cameron Utley. After some ugly defensive mishaps in the NLCS last year, Chase was able to move on quicker than anybody as evidenced by his record-tying World Series performance. His 5 homers in one World Series tied him with Mr. October himself, Reggie Jackson. With a more reliable bench and with a team favored to win basically every game they play, Utley should see a few more days off this summer. Charlie Manuel has stated that he knows the special team he has and he doesn't want to put it in jeopardy by overusing anyone. That said, it's hard to sit down a competitor like Chase because with it go a chance for another amazing hit or perfectly demonstrated base running. Also, the Phillies don't have the most able middle-infielder to back him up. Barring injury, Chase should expect to sit just a handful more games than he has in the past. I'd also expect Chase to cut down on the right field bombs as he makes an effort to spread the field with his bat, thus making the infield play him normally and without the popular as ever shift.

Cleanup: Ryan Howard - If there ever was an unappreciated athlete in Philadelphia, it's Ryan Howard, not Donovan McNabb. We Philadelphians sometimes take for granted that we have the single most powerful hitter in the game. Heck, he may be the most powerful hitter of the past few decades if not for performance enhancing drugs. The questions with Howard as always: Will he cut down on his strikeouts? Will he erase all talk of slow starts with another impressive April? Will he ever come close to his mammoth sophomore season again (.313 average, 58 homers, 149 RBI)? The answer to the last question - it doesn't matter. The Phils don't need Howard to set records year after year, so long as he continues to do what he has done. It is not a question of MVPs, but rather a question of seizing the moment as Ryan showed us so often last October.

The Protection: Jayson Werth - The beard, yeah, I know. Don't say I didn't acknowledge it. As for the contract situation, we will cross that bridge when we get to it. For the moment, expect an even better season out of this athlete. Near the top of the pack in every power category, with speed and excellent fielding in right. The only thing that can slow Werth down is injuries, something he has had plenty of in the past. Barring injuries, Werth has the power to improve upon the 36 homers and 99 ribbies he blasted last year.

Sixth: Raul Ibanez - I would not expect a first half like Ibanez put up last year. If we are treated to half of that we will be lucky. Not only is Raul 37 years old, but he is coming off the longest season of his career. Not to mention, he practically carried the Phillies on his back for a month or so last year. With a full year of Ben Francisco and other bench additions, I would expect Rauuuuuuul to play in about the same number of games as last year, with no injuries. He probably won't match the excitement that he created in his MVP-caliber first half last year, but he will still be more consistent than Pat Burrell. Also, remember this: we counted on Pat the Bat to protect Ryan Howard. Ibanez, his replacement, is protecting the guy that is protecting Ryan Howard. Just some food for thought.

Seventh Heaven: Shane Victorino - Well my grandmother will be a little unhappy when she doesn't get to see Shane's excitable personality in the first inning every single game, but she will experience the continued happiness of Phillies winning. Shane's "demotion" to the seventh spot in the order is anything but that. As one of Major League Baseballs most beloved players, Shane's off-the-wall playing style did him well hitting right behind JImmy Rollins. In pure baseball terms though, Shane is much more suited to be somewhat out of the way. As a free swinger and free spirit, Shane's playing style sometimes didn't take the Phillies exactly where they needed to go. Because of Shane's penchant for swinging the bat and doing everything he can as fast as he can, he wasn't the best player in situational baseball. Sure, he has been a clutch hitter, as we have seen in the playoffs for the past two years. Shane will breathe life into the bottom third of a batting order that pretty much lacked anything unexpected for the past two years. With Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz, teams knew exactly what they were going to get. Not much power, no speed, not a lot of opposite field hitting. Replace Feliz with Victorino and you have a singles hitter that can hit for the same, if not more, power, steal bases and create some excitement while the team waits for Jimmy to start things off again.

Eighth: Carlos Ruiz - Last October, America was treated to a small slice of knowledge that even very few Philadelphians know: Carlos Ruiz is a winner. Ruiz has a knack for getting that big hit when the other team thinks it has the next two batters off. With catalyst number 2 hitting in front of him (Victorino), Ruiz will be granted a lot more chances to showcase his abilities. One question that everyone should be asking themselves is how often Ruiz will be spelled of his catching duties. Will new backup, Brian Schneider, handle an individual pitcher such as Roy Halladay, or will the Ruiz-Schneider tandem be able to work with any pitcher on the Phillies Roster?

Bench: Brian Schneider - Veteren on his third NL East team. Should be an improvement over Coste/Bako.
Ross Gload - a 33 year old with barely any mileage on him. Solid starter for the Royals in '08. Should be another Greg Dobbs of '08 (although asking Gload to lead the league in pinch hitting in back-to-back years is a lot to ask for).
Greg Dobbs - Based on what I've seen in Florida, Dobbs is looking healthy. I saw him hit three balls hard, all went for extra bases, all were to the opposite field. It's unclear if Dobbs will be prone to overuse because of his injuries last year, but expect a bounce back season.
Juan Castro - I would have personally kept Eric Bruntlett over this 37-year-old journeyman, but I guess it's hard to justify keeping a .171 hitter, even if he DID score the winning run of the 2008 World Series. Just sayin'. Castro should be the last option off the bench to pinch hit (other than the second catcher). If an infielder goes down for an extended period of time, it would probably be unwise to use Castro and expect to keep the same production up. I'm not expecting a lot out of him.
Ben Francisco - Ben could start for just about half the teams in baseball, so it is essential that he stays productive with the Phils. As the most important man off the bench, keeping Francisco in game-shape and prepared will be key for the Phils if they expect some consistency out of their 4th outfielder. He will be given more starts in left this year to give Raul Ibanez a break.


Overall, expect a banner year from the boys of summer both on the offensive and defensive side. The bench should be better, which can only help an aging Raul Ibanez. That is all for now my friends, check back in soon for my Pitching Report. Also, check the new poll and feel free to leave comments on facebook, email, or the blog itself.