The Sports Brewery

Reasons to watch the Philadelphia Phillies in 2010

Posted on 29. Mar, 2010 at 1:00 pm by Meerkat in Baseball, MLB Baseball, Philadelphia Phillies

As part of our MLB preview rollout this week, we asked some friends to write up a homer post detailing why we should give their team a look in 2010.  So I hit my buddy Jayboy up for a Phillies post that he was more than willing to type out — dripping in true Fightins spirit.

Here now, Jayboy (avid Phillies fan):

1.       Brad Lidge/Cole Hamels/Jimmy Rollins

What do 2008’s most unhittable closer, the 2008 World Series MVP & the 2007 National League MVP have in common? They all had atrocious 2009 seasons for the Phillies. Brad Lidge’s troubles on the mound have been well documented last year (ERA over 7, 8 losses, 11 blown saves), and Cole Hamels posted an ERA of over 4 and was hit around every ballpark last season. Both pitchers have put in a great deal of work this offseason, either getting healthy or adding a pitch or two to their arsenal. It stands to reason that Hamels can and should return to his dominant self, especially now that the “staff ace” designation has been removed from his back. If Lidge can return to his 2008 form, watch out. Following up his filthy slider with a fastball in the 90s made several hitters look silly 2 years ago. Following up the year when the only thing that looked silly was Lidge walking off the mound after blowing 11 games, it will be fun to watch him plow his way through the 9^th inning again.

Rollins was an enigma last season, starting off horrendously, going through an 0-28 slump that saw him benched for 4 games. Rollins found his stroke somewhat in the 2^nd half of the year, especially the postseason, and remains an upbeat personality in the clubhouse. Look for him to improve on his below .300 OBP, and get back to doing what JRoll does best: driving base hits and stealing bases, all while showing off the skills that netted him 3 straight gold gloves.

2.       The best lineup in the National League

What else in this life do you need? The Phillies 1-7 is as good as any team in baseball, and clearly the biggest threat to mash out every game in the National League. The 3-4-5 of Utley, Howard & Werth by itself is worth the price of admission, but when the team has the electrifying Shane Victorino batting 7, and has guys like Raul Ibanez, Placido Polanco & jimmy Rollins rounding out the top 7, it’s sure-fire excitement when anyone is at the plate. And throw a bone to “Senor Octobre” Carlos Ruiz. He may be on the team for defensive purposes, but he came out of his shell in a big way in last years playoffs.

The Phillies play in a hitter friendly stadium, but this team of marauders would have no trouble lighting it up anywhere in the Majors. Throw that in with the fact that the Mets suck and the Phillies get to play them almost 20 times, and you really get to watch an exciting team beat up on a team of overpaid, underachieving New Yorkers. Why wouldn’t you want to watch these guys?

3.       Roy Halladay

He is the best pitcher in baseball. I hear you Tim Lincecum fans, but he is in San Francisco & who gives a great God damn about the Giants? Halladay has proven himself over & over again, dominating teams in the American league while playing for terrible Blue Jay teams. He is not a man, he’s a machine. Like Bo Jackson or Chuck Norris. When he starts, the offense of the opposition will be shut down. He never gets knocked around, & when he takes the hill you can almost hear the late great Harry Kalas saying “struck him right on outta there…”

Roy Halladay is finally on a winner, expect him to showcase why he was brought to Philadelphia. You have Halladay averaging almost a strikeout an inning last year, plus the fact that he goes deep into games so we don’t have to look at the piecemeal bullpen. The excitement level when he has the ball will be through the roof.

Tags: Baseball, MLB, nl east, philadelphia phillies