Look Out Braves, Phillies Gettin' Healthy

The Phillies activated Shane 'the Flyin Hawaiian' Victorino today from the 15-day DL, optioning lefty reliever Antonio Bastardo back to AAA Lehigh Valley. It's a good news-bad news deal for the Phils, who really could use that 2nd lefty out of the pen to complement J.C. Romero. Bastardo has done well in his opportunities, has a nice arm, and will undoubtedly be back no later than September 1st for the stretch run. His demotion is the bad news.

The good news is that Victorino is back. He will be ready to go tonight vs. the Dodgers, though it is unclear as to whether Charlie Manuel will have him back in the starting lineup right away. I can't see why he wouldn't be manning centerfield and hitting either leadoff or in the #6 slot, however, because he proved in a pair of pretty strong rehab outings the last two nights that he was just fine.

Shane's return to the club continues the Phillies' return to overall health. Primary setup reliever Ryan Madson returned in early July after missing two months of the season. Starting shortstop Jimmy Rollins returned in mid-June and is still working his way back to full health after missing nearly two months worth of the season. Starting 3rd baseman Placido Polanco returned in mid-July after missing over three weeks, and starting catcher Carlos Ruiz returned in mid-July after missing nearly a month.

With the return of Victorino and his 15 homers and 20 steals production to the lineup, the Phillies have just two more big pieces left before they can call themselves truly, fully healthy. Those two missing pieces may be the two biggest pieces, and when they return it will be akin to the club signing two major free agents and adding them to the lineup.

Starting 1st baseman and cleanup hitter Ryan Howard has missed the last ten days with a sprained ankle, and he will likely be out another week. Starting 2nd baseman and #3-hole hitter Chase Utley has missed a month and a half, and was just cleared to begin hitting again. He is due to return in about two weeks.

Somehow through all of these injuries (none of this has even mentioned the loss for the season, possibly his career, of veteran lefty Jamie Moyer) the Phillies have managed to fight back into the East Division race and the NL Wildcard race. The club currently stands just 2 1/2 games back of the Braves in the division, and Atlanta is just now learning that it has lost veteran 3rd baseman and leader Chipper Jones for the season due to injury.

With the trade deadline acquisition of righthander Roy Oswalt from Houston, the Phillies rotation big three of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Oswalt should make them virtually slump-proof for the rest of the season, no matter what the offense does. But that offense should now begin to get significantly better with the return of the starting lineup. Not only will that everyday lineup be better, but the bench will then be deeper and even more ready with everyone having received increased playing time.

It looks like the Atlanta Braves and the rest of the National League are going to have a healthy and confident defending champion stomping around in September. The fans who have continued to fill Citizens Bank Park all summer long and kept the carnival atmosphere around the team going strong through the dog days should finally be rewarded as the season rolls into it's most exciting final few weeks.

Happy Halladay

Just six weeks have passed since the New York Yankees extended their baseball dynasty with a 27th World Series championship by dethroning our own Phillies in six games. With the change from fall to winter have also come changes to the Fightin' Phils roster.

In the last few weeks, and as the Christmas holiday fast approaches, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and his management team have shown that they are not at all satisfied having won the 2008 title and nearly won a second.

Early this week the Phillies successfully concluded what was a 4-month pursuit of the acknowledged top pitcher in baseball when they completed a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays that brought Roy Halladay to town.

The cost for Halladay was significant. He gets a 3-year deal that likely flips to 4 years at a salary of about $20 million per year. The cost also includes the package of prospects sent to the Jays led by pitcher Kyle Drabek and outfielder Michael Taylor. Both are considered future major league regulars by most baseball observers, with Drabek a potential future rotation ace.

Also dealt to Toronto was catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud, meaning that the Phils have now dealt away their top two catching prospects in the last few months. The other was Lou Marson, sent away to Cleveland back at the 2009 trade deadline as part of the Cliff Lee deal which also included pitching prospects Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp.

Perhaps the one annoying part of the deal for some Phillies fans was the linked trade of Lee to Seattle in exchange for prospects. Some of the fan base thought the Phils could have kept both Halladay and Lee, giving them one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball next year with Halladay, Lee, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, and J.A. Happ.

However, Amaro knows his business. With the boatload of prospects lost by the Phillies minor league system in the two deals with Cleveland and Toronto over the past few months, that system was seriously depleted of top level talent. When Seattle was willing to part with a former #1 draft pick and highly regarded prospect arm in Phillipe Aumont, the Phils jumped to send Lee back to the American League.

Looking at the overall totality of the deals, the Phils got 3+ strong pitching months from Lee, performances without which the team likely doesn't return to the World Series, all for marginal or far-off prospects from Cleveland. Then they basically recouped the talent level on those prospects in flipping Lee to Seattle this week.

While the club theoretically could have kept both Halladay and Lee for this coming year, there was little likelihood that they could have met Lee's salary demands beyond 2010. So they jumped on a deal being offered right now that included strong prospects coming back to them.

Just yesterday the Phillies announced that they were excercising their 2011 contract option on shortstop and team leader Jimmy Rollins. This means that the club has contracts in place with 7 of their 8 position players through that season at least, with only Jayson Werth likely to test the free agent waters after the coming season.

The salary certainty with Halladay as an ace now in place, the Phillies can turn their attention to decisions and negotiations involving Werth next year and players like Rollins, Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson and others in the following year. The big Halladay deal was not the only move that the Phillies have made to improve this off-season.

Another key for management was rebuilding the team's bench, which seemed to become exposed as a bit of a liability in the post-season. To that end the club signed veteran Phillie-killer Brian Schneider to be the backup catcher, Juan Castro as a slick-fielding defensive infielder, and Ross Gload as a veteran pinch-hitter. Along with returnee Greg Dobbs, they will make up the majority of the Phils bench in the coming season.

Finally, the Phils have replaced the slick-fielding but offensively inconsistent and one-dimensional Pedro Feliz with returning veteran Placido Polanco at third base. There are not many better glovemen at the hot corner than Feliz, but Polanco is a vast improvement as a hitter who should bring greater flexibility and patience to a batting order that can use both at times. Although he won a Gold Glove as a 2nd baseman, he has the experience and athleticism to succeed at 3rd.

Amaro still has a little bit of work to do in finalizing the shape of the 2010 bullpen. Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, J.C. Romero, and Chad Durbin should continue to have prime roles there. The team will have decisions to make on possibly adding or bringing back 2-3 other bullpen arms. Veteran Jamey Moyer will likely battle young Kyle Kendrick for the 5th starter role.

Phillies fans can now relax and enjoy a team in both 2010 and 2011 that will include Halladay fronting a rotation with Hamels and J.A. Happ both years, and with a lineup including Howard, Utley, Rollins, Victorino, Polanco, Ibanez, and Ruiz both years. All the while, prospects will develop and players will come and go around them, but health-allowing, the team will be a contender both years.

With back to back World Series appearances, one world championship in the bank already, three consecutive N.L. East titles, one of the most beautiful ballparks in the game, and a mostly set and talented lineup and rotation, the Phillies and their fans can truly sit back now and enjoy a happy holiday season with a happy Halladay on hand. Merry Christmas, Phillies fans!

Bring Back Pat the Bat

I just wanted to take a brief moment to interject my baseball and Phillies-loving opinion into the Pat Burrell issue. There are two things that I feel are most important here. First, the 30 homeruns and 100 rbi that he provides every year do not grow on trees. Sure, the guy is a speed liability. But with Shane Victorino and his Gold Glove covering centerfield, Burrell does not need to cover a lot of ground out there. He has a sure glove most times, and he has a strong arm. The guy is a power hitting left fielder who can handle the fielding position just fine. Secondly, he is the senior Philly starting position player, and the longest-tenured player overall, but is not an old man. He is a leader in the clubhouse, and this team has one of the best chemistry mixes that I have seen in a long time. His value stretches beyond those on-field statistics all the way back into the locker room, where championships are often won and lost over the course of a long season when diverse individuals have to live and die with one another every single day. Personally, I think that the Philadelphia Phillies would be foolish to not bring back Pat Burrell, assuming that the price does not get ridiculous. What that 'ridiculous' would be is tough to say, but his return would be in the best interests of this team on a baseball level.

Praying for a World Series Win

I don't think it's wrong at all, to ask God for a Phillies victory, do you? After all, the Phillies had blown a 4-1 lead in the crucial 3rd game of the 2008 World Series, which was tied at a game apiece. The young, talented, and resilient Tampa Bay Rays used a blown call by the 1st base umpire, their speed, and a throwing error by Phils catcher Carlos Ruiz in fashioning 3 runs over the last couple of innings to get even. Now in the bottom of the 9th, super sub Eric Bruntlett is hit by a pitch to leadoff the inning. Rays reliever Grant Balfour then unleashes a fastball tracer right at the legs of Shane Victorino. As Victorino reflexively dances out of the way, the ball flies past Rays' catcher Dioner Navarro and heads towards the back wall behind home plate. Bruntlett takes off for 2nd base, which he would normally make easily. But this time the wild pitch was so hard and fast that it caromed directly off the brick and back to Navarro, who spun and tried to nail Bruntlett at 2nd base. His throw was wild and slid into centerfield, and Bruntlett moved on to 3rd base, moving the winning run into position just 90 feet away with nobody out. As the fans in the stands at Citizen's Bank Park went nuts, twirling their white & red 'Rally Towels' above their heads like 45,000 helicopter blades whirling madly through the late-night South Philly air, the Phils appeared to be in great position for the win. The 'late night' part was a story unto itself. The game, the first World Series game here in Philly in 15 years, was delayed at the start by an hour and a half thanks to the end-stretch of a daylong rain spell. So here we all were at 1:30 in the morning, the Phils with the winning run and a 2-1 lead in the Series now tantalizingly close with no outs. What for some teams might be an automatic win was far from it for our Phils. These Phillies have been setting a new record for futility, constantly failing to drive in runners from scoring position during the Series. Rays manager Joe Maddon decided that he was going to walk both Victorino and pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs, loading the bases and setting up a force-out situation at home plate. There is not a Phillies fan around who is being honest with themselves if they didn't fear the very real possibility of the slow-footed hitter Ruiz grounding into a doubleplay, and then the Rays incredibly getting out of the jam and taking it into extra-innings where nothing good would surely happen for the hometown nine. It was here that I closed my eyes, put my head down, and said a little prayer: "God, I know there are a billion things more important going on in the world right now, but if there is anyway that it doesn't affect some bigger plan that you have going, could you please, please give me and all the rest of these fans this gift?" I don't know what some think about asking God, bothering Him with these relatively trivial matters in our prayers. But it is my opinion that God has time for anything that we want to share with Him. I have never been afraid to pray for things like sporting victories. I just make sure to toss in the caveat and allow for the possibility that God might have some bigger plan involved in a different outcome than that for which I am praying. And we also have to remember that there is probably more than one person on the other side praying for the exact opposite outcome. In those cases, I have no problem putting the answer in His hands. Pray to God. Pray that your families stay healthy, that He stays close to you. Pray that you get that job that you just interviewed for last week. Pray that the car loan comes through approved. Pray for world peace, pray for justice in a court trial, pray that your candidate wins the Presidency. And also feel free to pray that your hometown team wins the World Series. God is never too busy to listen. The answer will not always be what you wanted, but it will be so much more than if you never prayed at all. Carlos Ruiz did hit a weak grounder, but it was not for a doubleplay. His slow dribbler rolled down the 3rd base line as Rays's third sack phenom Evan Longoria charged. Bruntlett charged home and slid in ahead of Lonogoria's shuttle, and the Phillies had won 5-4 to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series. Sometimes the answer to our prayers is exactly what we asked for. Thank you, Lord. Go Phillies!

Tampa Bay's Red-Hot Rays Are Cole'd

The tall, lanky, mega-talented Phillies lefthander, one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, took the mound for his first-ever appearance in the World Series. He seemed in complete command as his team staked him to a 2-0 lead. Cole Hamels in last night's opener of the 2008 World Series between the Phils and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field? Well, yes actually. But the same exact scenario could have been written about Steve Carlton in Game #2 of the 1980 World Series against the Kansas City Royals at Veteran's Stadium, spotlighted in a story at this blog just two days ago. Though there are differences, there are also many similarities shared by the two most talented left-handed starting pitchers to ever don Phillies pinstripes. Carlton mixed in a moving fastball and a solid curveball with his devastating signature slider. Hamels mixes in that same fastball-curveball combo with his own devastating changeup. Both have led the Phillies as the staff pitching ace into the World Series. And now both can say that the team won their start, albeit after overcoming a few bumps in the road during the game. 'Super Steve' mowed down those Royals through 5 shutout innings, but KC got to him for 3 runs in the 7th. He ultimately went 8 innings, allowing 10 hits and 6 walks, but the Phils won the game 6-4 thanks to their own 4-run 8th inning rally. Hamels had to endure his own rough stretch, but was ultimately in far greater control than Carlton had been. The young lefty mowed through the first two innings without a scratch, usually a sign that the other team is in for a long night. But the Rays loaded the bases in the 3rd before Hamels induced young Rays' star outfielder B.J. Upton to hit into a doubleplay to end the inning. In the Phils 4th, Carlos Ruiz knocked in Shane Victorino with a groundout and Hamels had a 3-0 lead. Carl Crawford then reached him for a two-out solo homerun in the bottom of the inning and cut that lead to 3-1. The Rays then rallied again in the 5th, but Hamels induced another doubleplay to get out of the jam, this time thanks to a nice play by 3rd base glove whiz Pedro Feliz. Hamels then settled down and went through the 7th inning without being challenged further. He turned the ball over to the bullpen combo of setup man Ryan Madson and closer Brad Lidge, and what that has meant for the Phillies has been an automatic victory. Madson and Lidge would close it out without incident, and the Phillies had a key victory in this pivotal opening matchup. Hamels had yet another strong outing to pad his already bulging playoff resume. He won the NLCS MVP award as a pair of his strong starts led the Phils into the Series. He had previously been strong in last season's NLDS loss to Colorado, and in this year's NLDS victory over Milwaukee. Cole Hamels is proving that he may be Carlton's talent equal, though he still has many years to go before he can think of joining 'Lefty' in the Hall of Fame. But his performance last night has the Phils up in this Series. Now it is Brett Myers turn. Myers, who plays the 'emotions on his sleeves' ying to Hamels' 'calm and cool' yang, needs to harness his talent and control those emotions. If he does, he can take the Rays bats that Cole made go cold and put them on some seriously thin ice in this World Series.