No More Moves?

According to the Wilmington News Journal, the Phillies have no plans to make a roster move between now and Spring Training. As of right now, don't plan on seeing Pedro Feliz or Kyle Lohse. I don't blame the Phils either, Feliz and Lohse had some wild demands.

So, lets take a look at what the Phillies lineups will look like [including 162 game seasonal averages]

Vs. RHP

01 - Jimmy Rollins [.277/.331/.772 112 R, 17 HR, 71 RBI, 36 SB, 93 Ks]
02 - Shane Victorino [.274/.336/.741 76 R, 10 HR, 49 RBI, 23 SB, 65 Ks]
03 - Chase Utley [.300/.374/.897 106 R, 27 HR, 109 RBI, 13 SB, 100 Ks]
04 - Ryan Howard [.291/.397/1.007, 101 R, 51 HR, 139 RBI, 195 Ks]
05 - Pat Burrell [.258/.367/.849, 82 R, 31 HR, 104 RBI, 160 Ks]
06 - Geoff Jenkins [.277/.342/.843, 87 R, 28 HR, 92 RBI, 147 Ks]
07 - Greg Dobbs [.266/.314/.724, 41 R, 8 HR, 58 RBI, 3 SB, 74 Ks]
08 - Carlos Ruiz [.260/.336/.738, 54 R, 10 HR, 73 RBI, 7 SB, 65 Ks]
09 - Pitcher

Vs. LHP

01 - Rollins
02 - Victorino
03 - Utley
04 - Howard
05 - Burrell
06 - Werth [.259, .352, .782, 78 R, 16 HR, 77 RBI, 152 Ks, 12 SB]
07 - Ruiz
08 - Helms [.265, .326, .761, 42 R, 13 HR, 56 RBI, 96 Ks]
09 - Pitcher

Bench
Chris Coste [.301, .351, .822, 57 R, 17 HR, 71 RBI, 73 Ks]
So Taguchi [.283, .336, .727, 50 R, 5 HR, 43 RBI, 50 Ks, 10 SBs]
Eric Bruntlett [.250, .323, .687, 32 R, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 49 Ks, 10 SBs]

I would not mind the lineup going like this: Rollins, Utley, Burrell, Howard, Werth, Victorino, Ruiz, Helms against lefties. The problem with both lineups is there a hell of a lot of strike-outs to go with their explosiveness. Expect similar games like last season where they'll follow a streak of 6-8 run games with 1-2 run games and 10+ Ks.

Now onto the rotation. We thankfully have a nice 1-2 punch, but after that it looks a little scary as we rely on a youngster, an old man, and a never was.

01 - Cole Hamels [210 innings, 16-8, 3.68 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 214 Ks, 60 BBs, 29 HRs]
02 - Brett Myers [187 innings, 11-9, 4.34 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 156 Ks, 65 BBs, 26 HRs] Of course his stats are skewed a little because of his role last year.
03 - Kyle Kendrick [only 1 season. It'll be interesting to see how he pitches without an out pitch. If he maintains similar control you should expect a similar to a little worse season than last year. Do not expect his numbers to improve at all]
04 - Jamie Moyer [209 innings, 13-10, 4.21 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 125 Ks, 59 BBs, 26 HRs]
05 - Adam Eaton [198.7 innings, 12-10, 4.70 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 148 Ks, 73 BBs, 27 HRs]

The bullpen looks alright in the back end, but the middle of the rotation is questionable.

Closer - Brad Lidge [123 career saves, 27 career blown, 23-20 career record. Averages: 3.30 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 100 Ks, 30 BBs, 6 HRs]

Set-Up Men
LHP - JC Romero [71.3 innings, 3-3, 4.64 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 56 Ks, 38 BBs, 6 HRs]
RHP - Tom Gordon [numbers distorted by his 89' - 96' starts. 8-7, 3.93 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 122 Ks, 61 BBs, 11 HR]

Middle-Relief
RHP - Ryan Madson [102 innings, 8-5, 4.14 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 79 Ks, 33 BBs, 12 HRs]
LHP - Mike Zagurski [small sample size, only 1 season]

Long-Relief
RHP - Chad Durbin [167 innings, 8-13, 5.75 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 95 Ks, 69 BBs, 28 HRs]
LHP - Shane Youman [167 innings, 6-14, 5.13 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 72 Ks, 70 BBs, 12 HRs]

There you have it. 13 batters and 12 pitchers. Below are a few guys that could challenge for a spot in the bullpen:

RHP Scott Mathieson
LHP Travis Blackley [Rule 5, has to remain on the 25 man roster or the Giants can buy him off us]
RHP Lincoln Holdzkom [Rule 5, Boston Red Sox]
RHP Joe Bisenius
RHP Clay Condrey
RHP Francisco Rosario

As sad as it may sound, the lineup and rotation have improved over last season. Defensively, our outfield is even better with Victorino in center and either Werth or Jenkins in right. The one big problem is third base, both offensively and defensively, but maybe Dobbs or Helms will just have a great year out of nowhere. Lets hope. We should be expect similar numbers out of Rollins, Utley, Howard, and Burrell which usually spells a lot of runs again.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming season?

Pitchers and Catchers report February 13.