Philadelphia Phillies 2005 Season Preview

Here is a look at the season ahead for the Philadelphia Phillies.

STARTING ROTATION: What is bothersome about the starting rotation is the number of if's regarding the top guys. Former Yankee Jon Lieber was acquired in the off-season and is known as a solid number 3 or 4 guy. But he is expected to lead the Phillies rotation and that is a whole other story. He is also recovering from a season cut short by Tommy John surgery. For what it's worth, Lieber does not appear to be an easily affected man and when on the mound he is focused and steady. But does he have the ability to lead this rotation and be the top guy?

It has been said that the lack of maturity shown by Brett Myers would be remedied by a veteran pitcher who can give him much needed mentoring. Perhaps Lieber can show Myers the art of patience and focus that the 24-year-old desperately lacks. Myers finished 2004 with an abysmal 5.52 ERA and an 11-11 win/loss record.

Myers desire to be a power pitcher and an unwillingness to work on the problems he had in 2004 make him a shaky part of this already shaky rotation. While Randy Wolf is not a question mark in terms of his ability, he suffered with elbow tendonitis in the last half of 2004 and it cut his season short. He later admitted he played through it and that it had affected his performances. Wolf has been discussed as the other candidate to start the first game of the season, but the veteran Lieber seems to be the clear front runner. Last year's rotation was considered the best in the National League, with Kevin Millwood as the proposed Ace. But Millwood struggled for most of the season and signed with the Cleveland Indians this winter; everyone but Milton suffered an injury.

Cory Lidle is back in the rotation after a nice second half of the season, but already Vicente Padilla is unable to start in Spring Training due to elbow tendonitis. This leaves a spot in the rotation open for Gavin Floyd, who took Randy Wolf's place last season. Floyd is one bright spot, in both the present and future, that Phillies fans are excited about. He finished the season with a 3.49 ERA and gave up only one homerun in 28 innings pitched. Floyd's rapid maturation through the minor league system made him a hot topic in baseball and one of the "untouchables" on the Phillies when it came to off-season trades. The other was pitcher Cole Hamels, whose latest injury has now set him back further, making his future uncertain with the Phillies

If Floyd is in the rotation and his maturation continues, and if Myers settles, if Wolf stays healthy and if Lieber can be a number one guy... well you get the idea.

STARTING LINEUP: Last season the Phillies set an all-time record for homeruns in a single season, with 215 and their overall OBP of .345 ranking them second out of the sixteen teams in the National League. But the Phillies top hitters were unable to produce at the small ball level and get timely hits.

Phillies leader and homerun king, first baseman Jim Thome, reached a career milestone hitting 400 career homeruns last season. But he also struck out 144 times. Hitting for power works for him and hitters of his caliber strike out a lot, but this year new hitting coach Milt Thompson is stressing putting the ball in play above all else, with an emphasis on letting the ball get closer. Whether this applies to Jim Thome isn't clear, but it certainly applies to Leftfielder Pat Burrell and Catcher Mike Lieberthal. Lieberthal's aggressiveness at the plate got him into trouble all season long, and he finished the season with a batting average of .271. Pat Burrell came into 2004 with something to prove after his miserable 2003 season. While Burrell came out of the gate like a man reborn, he began to show signs of trouble again and began to slump. The report out of spring training is that he still appears afraid and confused at the plate. Pat Burrell's multi-million dollar contract could end up being a colossal mistake. The talented player seems to have reached a plateau and the fear is that he will never quite be the hitter we all had envisioned. His bad habits at the plate and difficulty staying confident will be under great scrutiny this year.

But the shining stars of 2004 are both new and old. Jimmy Rollins had a career year and was one of the most exciting players to watch last season. He may have started slow, but he began to relax as the weeks went on... the high quality lead-off hitter that the Phillies have needed since Lenny Dykstra's departure might be Rollins; still the Phillies brass were unable to sign him to a contract beyond a year once again. With veteran player and Kenny Lofton joining the team, and most likely hitting second, it will be an interesting combination.

The real excitement is of course all about Chase Utley becoming the everyday second baseman. Utley was another one of the "untouchables", and one of the players that the Diamondbacks apparently wanted in a deal for Curt Schilling in 2003. Utley has been a beacon of silent strength and patience, and continued to prove he is a productive, hard working, instinctive hitter at the plate; whether it was filling in for Placido Polanco at second base last year or pinch hit in 267 at bats he had 57 RBI, hit 13 homeruns and had an OBP of .308. Polanco accepted arbitration and cost the Phillies a first round draft pick, but ultimately it may prove helpful to the ball club; third baseman David Bell's back problems are already an issue in Clearwater and he will not play for three more weeks, after being diagnosed with a back sprain. Polanco could be very needed if Bell's health is a persistent issue.

Offensively the Phillies may not have picked up a Beltran-type player, but we have what we have and now Phillies fans are waiting again for Burrell to "make a comeback", Lieberthal to remember he's not a homerun hitter and Utley to have the kind of year everyone is imagining.

And how about three inside-the-park homeruns this year for J-Roll? Two is cool, but let's really go for it in 2005!

BULLPEN: The strength of the Phillies bullpen last year was the talk of the National League; they added depth with set-up man Tim Worrell, there was great anticipation and excitement over rookie relief pitcher Ryan Madson and closer Billy Wagner with his ungodly fastballs were supposed to intimidate and shut down every team they played. Wagner and Madson would both be out for most of the season with injuries and the bullpen had to shift roles, which it could be said, led to about seven or eight more losses for the Phillies. The pitching for the Phillies in 2004 was nothing short of a disaster, a game of dominos, as each piece fell in line.

As 2005 begins there is some concern that Billy Wagner is having more and more trouble from throwing 100 mph for so many years, and that he is becoming more and more vulnerable to injury. But no one is really worried about the fireballer yet. Though he only pitched 45 innings, he had 21 saves. Each of his appearances was an event; Phillies fans were thrilled when the team brass signed Wagner in the winter of 2004, and are just hoping for a healthy full season from Wagner and a chance to watch him enter the game to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica for at least one more year and about 20 more saves than last season.

Ryan Madson's season was cut short also due to injury after pitching in 52 games maintaining a stellar 2.34 ERA. The rookie was spectacular in 77 innings pitched, and fans are just hoping to finally see what this bullpen was supposed to have been last season. If healthy they could have gotten at least five or six more wins, and in September that would have made all the difference. Perhaps then manager Larry Bowa could have made a few decisions differently with the bullpen also, but that is neither here nor there. Health was the major issue and now really is the time for the bullpen to shine.

MANAGER: Yes he is positive and easygoing, not to mention funny, friendly and oh-so quotable. But is he what these Phillies need? Larry Bowa was fired for being too tough on the team; originally he was hired to BE tough in contrast to the man he replaced, Terry Francona. Perhaps you've heard of him.

Bowa was as he has always been: emotional, passionate and high strung. They knew that when they hired him, and ultimately it is why they fired him, even considering he brought the team to its first back to back winning seasons since 1983.

If the Phillies don't do better this year than last year or if they fare worse it will reflect poorly on the manager, but even poorer on the team and General Manager Ed Wade. The Phillies were able to erase all their mistakes and poor production by pointing to the manager; the GM was able to escape blame for the 6th year in a row by pretending that the major downfall of the team was Bowa and his facial expressions and expressive nature. But few people believe that Manuel, a former Special Assistant to the GM, is really going to make this team a contender. Phillies brass has begun spinning that tale to get people to still spend their hard earned money on their new ballpark, and what is so unfortunate is they honestly don't respect the fans knowledge of the game. If the Phillies fall short once again, please do not blame Charlie Manuel. He will do his best and be himself and that is all we can ask.

His relationship with Jim Thome, after managing him with the Cleveland Indians, is of course looked upon as the deciding factor in how and why he was hired. The team is clearly being built around Thome and while that is not a bad thing, it is unclear whether Thome is the strong, vocal team leader the Phillies seem to need. If this is his team he has to step up and lead with a tougher voice.

The interesting thing about hiring a man so relaxed at this point is that after last season's unbearable finish, Phillies fans are angrier and more disgusted than ever. Manuel need not worry about that anger being directed at him; there is a reason there is a website dedicated to hating Ed Wade. But the issue at hand is whether or not Manuel can have such an affect on this team that they will magically perform better. The players on this team already speak glowingly of him; if what they need is a more laid back approach then so be it. He is also a man who knows his baseball and everyone who knows him thinks the world of him. These Phillies have a lot to prove and one thing is for sure: if this team falls short again Charlie Manuel cannot be used as the target.

The 2005 Phillies have their work cut out for them. They are coming off a year in which the expectations were much too high and everything that could go wrong did. A new manager often revitalizes a team (See the 2003 World Champion Florida Marlins), but health is still the major factor on this team and it's already threatening from Spring Training.

The 2005 baseball season is not garnering much excitement in Philadelphia and while the fans are sure they are right about what will happen in the new season, all they really want is to be proven wrong.