Pitchers and Catchers Report: Phillies Spring Questions
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As pitchers and catchers report to open spring training, the Phillies have a number of questions to answer.
Sports writer Todd Zolecki, now writing for MLB.com, poses 3 early Phillies training camp questions which I comment on, one-by-one plus I have a 4th one. Zolecki’s questions:
1. Can Chase Utley be ready by Opening Day?
Utley thinks he can, but the Phillies will be careful because there is no reason to rush him back. Utley had surgery on his right hip Nov. 24. The Phillies said the recovery would take four to six months. Four months would have him ready to play March 24 — 13 days before Opening Day on April 5. Six months would be May 24, which means he would miss 43 games. Utley is optimistic he won’t need that long, and so far the Phillies seem to agree with him. But nothing is guaranteed, so everybody will be watching him closely.
Should Utley’s rehab go deep into April or May, the Phils have 23 year old righthanded hitting 2nd base prospect Brad Harman available to give it a go and veteran utility man Eric Bruntlett is also available to fill in. (But Man, I wish that we still had Tadahito Iguchi.)
2. Who is going to be the fifth starter?
It’s a four-man competition among left-hander J.A. Happ and right-handers Chan Ho Park, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco. Happ might be considered a slight favorite. He started four games for the Phillies last season, and the Phils won all four. He made the postseason roster. He showed poise on the mound. He showed promise. But Park wants the job badly. He is not pitching for South Korea in the World Baseball Classic because he wants to focus on the starter’s job here. Kendrick needs to prove he has recovered from last season’s tailspin, which bounced him from the rotation. Carrasco is the dark horse. He has loads of potential, but is young.
Personally, while Happ showed poise, I’m rooting for Kendrick. I’d like to see him straightened around. Remembering last season’s Japan trade scam, I hope that it didn’t mess up Kendrick’s psyche. The fifth starter competition will be interesting to watch.
3. How is Charlie Manuel going to set up his lineup?
Three of Manuel’s best run producers — Utley, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez — are left-handed, so that could create a logjam in the middle of the lineup. And if you listen to Manuel, you know how important balance in the lineup is. There doesn’t seem to be much balance with three run-producing left-handed hitters in the heart of the order, so expect Manuel to do quite a bit of tinkering this spring. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Jayson Werth or switch-hitter Shane Victorino hit fifth to separate the left-handers.
I happen to like a concept of Victorino batting 2nd with Jayson Werth, off of his performance in 2008, in the 5 spot protecting Howard and batting Ibanez number 6. This too will be interesting to watch.
As noted above, I have a 4th question; In steroids-suspended J.C. Romero’s absence; who will be the lefthanded set-up man for last season’s perfect closer Brad Lidge, for the season’s first 50 games? The Phils do have an answer in Scott Eyre who pitched decently in 18 games, in 14 1/3 innings during the stretch run. They have young lefthander Mike Zagurski who is still rehabbing from elbow surgery and suffers from other physical ills and will likely not be ready-for-prime-time for some time. Since the Phils have come up with no viable alternatives. The weight of set-up seems have fallen to Eyre. The question then is, can he produce?
In closing, I try to keep this blog baseball-purist. I don’t deny that the steroids problem is huge and it distorts and unfairly enhances a player’s true ability. I just try to keep discussion about it, and the sensationalism surrounding it visa vi Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds or, as we have only found out recently, Alex Rodriguez’s positive test in 2003, to a minimum. I see all of the preoccupation with steroids as detracting from the genius and greatness of the game and choose not to get into the thick of it. That having been said, I have not seen sufficient proof put forth as to Romero’s guilt or innocence in the situation. So, I will just wait out his suspension with a non-judgemental attitude either one way or another.
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