The latest on the Phillies, before they take on their intra-state rivals far from Pennsylvania…
- The Phillies' goal with Chase Utley is to avoid surgery at all costs, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- As Olney points out in a column at ESPN.com, this is the point in the spring where injuries have a good chance of impacting Opening Day rosters.
- The Phillies say they aren't worried about Placido Polanco, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The infielder, who is dealing with a hyperextended elbow, practiced yesterday and won't play in a game for at least two days.
- Former Phillies prospect Jason Knapp tells Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he was healthy when Philadelphia sent him to Cleveland as part of the summer 2009 Cliff Lee trade. Knapp, still just 20, has recovered from shoulder problems to re-establish himself as one of Cleveland's top prospects.
Avoiding surgery at all costs will just delay the inevitable. If he can’t run before the season starts, how is he going to be able to take the pounding of 162 games. Chase is starting to become riddled with injuries.
The age of the Phillies worries me a little bit. Its fine to gamble on 1 guy with huge money in their mid-30’s, but they locked up all these late 20/early 30 guys until their 35 or so years old. Thats a lot of risk exposure.
This is a big shot in the arm to the Phillies offense. Utley is clearly the best hitter in the team. With Werth gone and not knowing what to expect from Rollins this could spell trouble. This is why championships arent won on paper.
With Ibanez and Ben Francisco book-ending Ryan Howard, there is no reason for any pitcher to ever throw Howard another fastball ever again.
As a Phillies fan, this makes me slightly uneasy.
The pitching is going to be great if they all stay healthy. Don’t trust the
closer at all. And yes Howard will never see a fastball in any part of the
count. Ibanez is a year old and his numbers are falling every year.
Agreed, back in 2007 the pitching was suspect and the offense was potent. Now we have stellar pitching and a questionable offense.
I suppose if you can only have it one way, this is the way you would prefer it, but I am worried about where the runs are going to come from with this team.
As a Mets fan I think the Phils have the hearts of a lion. They have a great
manager. Just didn’t seem to understand the whole Lee situation when they
traded for him and let a ton of talent leave and then sign him as a FA. Im
not to high on Amaro
I’m pretty sure the decision to trade Lee was not Amaro’s but the ownership. That said, he could have gotten more for Lee.
I know hes not a typical 3 hole hitter but what do you think about Polanco in that spot? Puts speed back at the top of the lineup with Rollins and Victorino.
I think we’ve seen in the past that Charlie will use this as his lineup on occasion (especially against left-handed pitching). With his ability to put the ball in play regularly this could work well, particularly if Rollins and Victorino can get on base consistently.