PHILLIES: Off-Season Questions

By now, you know the grim reality.

The Phillies we unable to make it to their 3rd straight Fall Classic. They were outplayed and beaten by a group of castoffs that compromised the San Francisco Giants roster, a team that eventually won the World Series against the Texas Rangers.

To sum up these chain of events, it’s actually quite easy. The Phillies did not deserve to have a chance to win there second World Series in 3 years. In addition to out-performing the undisputed most talented team in the National League, the most surprising element of the series was that the Giants were clearly more motivated than the Phillies.

What does the future hold for the Philadelphia Phillies?

It was almost like you were watching the 2008 Phillies when you saw the Giants and how they performed on the field. Opportunistic, clutch, always able to come up with the big play, manufacture that one run, or come up with that big pitch, a team who had not been to a World Series in eight years dismantled a Phillies team who was expected to roll to the World Series based on their overall talent and experience. In terms of comparing this Giants team to the ’08 Philadelphia team that won the title, their NLCS run was awfully remnicent, in regards to their play and their approach, to how the Phillies took apart the heavily favored Dodgers in 2008.

Well that, and both teams had one common link that helped carry them to victory.

The one, the only, Pat Burrell (and his .143 BA this postseason).

All jokes aside, while it still irks me that Burrell and Cody Ross (who was on the Marlins of all teams three months ago) are celebrating a World Series title while the city of Philadelphia is not, the show must go on.

The show, in this case, is the off-season.

Here are 3 questions the Phillies need to answer before Spring Training starts.

1. Will Jayson Werth be the starting RF for the Phillies on opening day?

Is Werth worth it? In this case, if his rumored asking price for a long-term deal is true (15-18 mil a year for 4-5 years), I am inclined to say no. I think the Phillies will echo that as well, especially with Domonic Brown, the #1 overall prospect in all of baseball in 2010, waiting in the wings. With letting Werth go, and implementing Brown as the starting RF imposes a clear lineup imbalance (over-abundance of LH hitters), a possible platoon for a year with Brown and another RH hitter (Ben Francisco, John Mayberry Jr., or a FA) seems to be economical move, and in my opinion, the right one. Unless Werth is willing to take a paycut (11-13 mil a year over 3-4 years), the most popular player (at least according to the female demographic) on the Phillies will no longer be able to call his home Philadelphia come the 2011 season.

2. Which members of the 2010 roster will no longer a member of the club come 2011?

If Werth goes, who else will join him? Just a couple days into the off-season, we likely know a couple of those names. The Phillies front office decided against exercizing the contract options SP Jamie Moyer, LHP J.C Romero, and UTIL Greg Dobbs, while the contract of 1B coach Davey Lopes was not renewed. With Lopes gone,  Moyer  likely headed towards the retirement home, and Dobbs to the minors,  the only one who even has a chance to come back is Romero, who would have to take at least a 50% paycut and and accept a 1-year deal. Don’t really see Romero as one who would make many concessions when it comes to something like that.

Outside of Romero, Moyer and Lopes, there are only a couple Phillies who are not locked up in long-term deals they could hit the highway. For all those that think SS Jimmy Rollins and OF Raul Ibanez may be on their way out, don’t. That’s not going to happen. Well, at least not this year. The starting lineup outside Werth is almost guaranteed to remain the same. The bench, predicting that the contracts of INF Wilson Valdez, 1B Mike Sweeney and 1B/OF Ross Gload will be renewed, should stay the same as well (although I think they will add an outfielder who specializes in hitting LHP pitching). As of right now, the pitching staff is where the most turnover could be. While the starting rotation seems to be set outside the 5th starter spot, there are four names that could potentially be on other teams at the start of the season.

RHP Chad Durbin (FA)

RHP Danys Baez (Outright release)

RHP David Herndon (Trade/Outright Release)

SP/RP Kyle Kendrick (Trade)

My prediction on this. Even though Baez under contract, I believe he has the highest chances out of the four of not being on the roster due to an extreme lack of productivity this year. And that’s putting it kindly. Outside of that, I think it’s likely that the Phillies bring back Herndon and Kendrick because they are as both under contract as well, and if Durbin is willing to take a one year deal, he should be back as well.

3. Are the Phillies to old?

If the Phillies playoff roster happens to be the 2011 opening day roster, with Brown supplanting Werth and the addition of John Mayberry Jr. as a utility OF who hits right-handed, they will still only have seven players (out of 25) under the age of 30. That will make them the undisputed oldest team in baseball. Now with that, they aren’t THAT old.  There are 3 players who will be 30, and Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins will all be 32 years of age or under, which means that they should be still within the prime of their respective careers.

The point I’m trying to make is that while the Phillies aren’t a kernel of puppies by any stretch of the imagination, they aren’t a softball team at an old age home either. With the way the contracts lay out though, there are not many ways they will get any younger throughout the season. A large majority of the current big league team is, as I said before, under contract, and even if the organization wants to get younger, the Phillies traded away a good majority of their pro-ready prospects in deals to acquire Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Roy Oswalt in the past year and a half.

So to answer this question, I don’t think the Phillies are too old right now, but it’s also clear that they aren’t in any position to get any younger.

As long as they win, age won’t be an issue.

PHILLIES: NLDS Schedule and Roster Set

While the Phillies do not need to send in their 25-man roster until 10 AM on Wed., after their most recent workout at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday afternoon, the details surrounding the divisional series against the Reds are now officially finalized. Here is the schedule and NLDS roster (information via “The Phillies Zone” writer Matt Gelb).

SCHEDULE (With Probable Starting Pitchers)

Game 1 (Wednesday at 5:07 PM at Citizens Bank Park): Phillies (Roy Halladay) vs. Reds (Edison Volquez)

Game 2 (Friday at 6:07 PM at Citizens Bank Park): Phillies (Roy Oswalt) vs. Reds (Bronson Arroyo)

Game 3: (Sunday at 7:07 PM or 8:07 PM at Great American Ballpark): Reds (Johnny Cueto) vs. Phillies (Cole Hamels)

Game 4: (Monday at 5:07 PM or 7:37 PM at Great American Ballpark if needed) Reds (TBD) vs. Phillies (Roy Halladay)

Game 5: (Wednesday at 6:07 PM or 8:07 PM at Citizens Bank Park if needed): Phillies (Roy Halladay) vs. Reds (TBD)

ROSTER

PITCHERS (10)

SP Roy Halladay, SP Roy Oswalt, SP Cole Hamels, SP/RHP Joe Blanton, RHP Chad Durbin, RHP Jose Contreras, LHP J.C Romero, LHP Antonio Bastardo, RHP Ryan Madson, RHP Brad Lidge

Those who were left off the roster: SP Kyle Kendrick, SP Vance Worley, RHP David Herndon, RHP Danys Baez, LHP Mike Zagurski

INFIELDERS (8)

1B Ryan Howard, 2B Chase Utley, SS Jimmy Rollins, 3B Placido Polanco, 1B Mike Sweeney, 1B/OF Ross Gload, UTIL Wilson Valdez, UTIL Greg Dobbs

Those who were left off the roster: SS Brian Bocock, 3B Cody Ransom

OUTFIELDERS (5)

LF Raul Ibanez, CF Shane Victorino, RF Jayson Werth, OF Ben Francisco, OF Domonic Brown

Those who were left off the roster: OF John Mayberry Jr.

CATCHERS (2)

C Carlos Ruiz, C Brian Schneider

Those who were left off the roster: C Paul Hoover, C Dane Sardinha

PHILLIES: Projecting The NLDS Roster

Now that the Phillies have not only clinched a playoff birth, but have also locked up yet another NL East crown and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, it’s time to erase the next week of meaningless baseball from our memory and actually focus on what’s important.

Yes folks, would be the Phillies fourth straight appearance in the postseason.

As I said in my last post, I would break down the potential playoff roster once everything was clinched. Well, I am a man of my word, and since the Phillies 2010 playoffopener will officially be played Wed, October 7th with an opponent that will TBD, it looks like it is about time to see how the current 33-man roster will dwindle down to 25 once the NLDS starts.

PITCHERS (11): In this breakdown, I have the Phillies keeping four starters and eight relievers. In reality, with the way the schedule looks as of right now (Games on Wed, Fri, Sun, Mon, Wed.), they will most likely use three starters, in which Doc should be ready to go if a fourth game is needed on 4-days rest. With that said, Joe Blanton will most likely be on the playoff roster as a possible 4th game starter, and if not, a middle-reliever if need be.  With Blanton on the roster, along with Danys Baez, who was signed to a deal in the off-season basically to give this team another veteran hard-throwing RHP for the month of October, that means both David Herndon and Kyle Kendrick will be left off, as their normal spot on the 25-man roster should be fulfilled by a second LHP as you will see below. I also project Cole Hamels to start game 2, so he will have the opportunity to pitch at Citizens Bank Park in front of a home crowd, something that worked quite well with him in the last two previous postseasons.

SP: Roy Halladay (Game 1 Starter)

SP: Cole Hamels (Game 2/3 Starter)

SP: Roy Oswalt (Game 2/3 Starter)

SP: Joe Blanton (Game 4 Starter/Middle Reliever)

RHP: Chad Durbin

RHP: Danys Baez

RHP: Jose Contreras

LHP: J.C Romero

LHP: Antonio Bastardo

Setup: Ryan Madson

Closer: Brad Lidge

CATCHERS (2)

This is pretty simple. In a 5-game series, barring injury concerns, there is no need to have three catchers on the roster. With Carlos “Chooch” Ruiz and primary backup Brian Schneider, fortunately, there aren’t any of those concerns. With that said, look for the Phillies to keep a veteran backstop, that being Paul Hoover, in the bullpen as a nice little security blanket close by if the injury bug bites in the NLDS.

C: Carlos Ruiz

C: Brian Schneider

INFIELDERS (7): Aside from the normal starters and Wilson Valdez, Phillies management has some tough decisions to make on this end. Do they keep an extra outfielder with speed such as Domonic Brown or John Mayberry Jr.  instead of Greg Dobbs, who would usually be a shoe-in to play in the postseason if not for his struggles this season? At this point, in a NLDS 5-game series, I think yes. Also, the mid-season addition of Mike Sweeney limits the need for Dobbs as the combination of he, Vladez, Ross Gload have proven that they are able to play the positions that Dobbs can at an even higher level.

1B: Ryan Howard

2B: Chase Utley

SS: Jimmy Rollins

3B: Placido Polanco

UTIL: Ross Gload

UTIL: Mike Sweeney

UTIL: Wilson Valdez

OUTFIELDERS (5): Another tough one here. Aside from the everyday starters and Ben Francisco, the final outfield spot comes down to three guys. Domonic Brown, John Mayberry Jr., and yet again, Greg Dobbs. As a stated before, Dobbs’s lackluster performance this year really leaves him in a difficult position to make the postseason roster in any capacity. When it comes down to Dobbs and Mayberry, the biggest thing here is need. If the Phillies take Mayberry, that leaves only one possible LH situational hitter (Gload) on the bench. While it does depend on who they play in the NLDS, I don’t see Charlie Manuel and company feeling comfortable with that regardless of the opponent. I just don’t. Along with that rationale, taking Brown along for the postseason ride would go a long way towards giving him the proper experience that would allow him to properly implant Jayson Werth in the Phillies outfield once Werth bolts for the allure of dollar signs come the offseason.

RF: Jayson Werth

CF: Shane Victorino

LF: Raul Ibanez

OF: Ben Francisco

OF: Domonic Brown

Well, that was my stab at it. The two toughest calls here are obviously the battle of the last utility spot between Brown, Mayberry, and Dobbs and the decision of who’s going to be the 11th pitcher between Baez, Kendrick, and Durbin.

While I know the anticipation is killing all of you, the good news is that you only have to wait until next Wed. to find out.

PHILLIES: A Reality Check

At 32-29 overall and currently sitting in third place in the NL East, the Phillies can be summed up (just by looking at the standings and the stats) in words that are a bit unfamiliar to those linked with Philadelphia baseball in recent years.

Mediocre. Middle of the pack. Ok.

While those certainly aren’t adjectives that have been, or are expected to be associated with the current talent residing on the Philadelphia Phillies roster, it could certainly be worse. After all, a team who has produced less than three runs a game on average for virtually an entire month, and has had injuries to the top of the order, middle of the rotation, and back end of the bullpen since day one of the season shouldn’t even be near the top of the divisional race. In fact, considering the NL East division is arguably the most talented top-t0-bottom in all of baseball (my apologizes to those who support teams in the AL East, but the record of the Baltimore Orioles ruins your case), they shouldn’t even be close.

The fact of the matter is, for some odd reason (parity is the likely option),  the Phillies are right there in the thick of things, a striking distance 3.5 games back of the 1st place Atlanta Braves. However, unlike the New York Mets and the Florida Marlins, the two teams that Phillies are sandwiched between in the standings, those who have played their home games in Philadelphia for parts of the last four seasons are in quite a familiar position (a thanks goes out to an article by Philadelphia Inquirer writer Paul Hagen for helping me come to this realization).

And look how those seasons turned out..

2007: 47-48 on July 17th (won the NL East pennant)

2008: 48-43 on July 8th (won the World Series)

2009: 39-37 on July 2nd (made it to the World Series)

By the looks of the weather, moments of daylight, and most calenders, it’s still the middle of June. So, after taking a gander at the schedule and doing some hardcore addition, it’s easy to see that the season isn’t over. It’s not August or September. There are still 100 games left until the divisional winner is crowned and the playoffs are set. ONE HUNDRED. That’s more games than the NBA and NFL has combined.

While there is obviously plenty of time to jump two inconsistent and in-experienced teams for another chance at a World Series ring, it is impossible to deny the obvious nature of baseball logic.

You can’t win games if you don’t score runs.

With that said, If the Phillies recent, but lengthy bout with offensive futility continues and becomes their identity instead of a prolonged slump, it’s obviously going to be difficult for the Phillies to be sitting pretty on top of the division for the fourth straight year when it is all said and done.

Will that happen?

I guess we will find out.

But without having any sort of bias, whether that is being a Negative Nancy, a Homer, or anything in between, look at some of the qualities of this team before coming to the recently popular conclusion of conceding the division when baseball is not even halfway through the season.

Ace? Check. (Halladay, Say no more.)

MVP Candidate? Check. (Compare Ryan Howard’s stats with other NL players who play for a contender, and you’ll see that he’s right there.)

Playoff Experience? Check. (22 out of 25 players have been a part of a World Series bound team. David Herndon, Ross Gload, Halladay are the only ones who haven’t.)

Funny, those are the same qualities that usually separate the teams that participate in the postseason, and teams that don’t.

Don’t jump off the wagon just yet fans..

PHILLIES: Happ to DL, Romero Activated

A couple Phillies notes in a weekend where the Flyers and the Eagles took the sports spotlight in Philadelphia.

J.A Happ, as expected, was placed on the 15-day DL with some inflammation in his pitching elbow. While the concern as of this point is minimal, note that Happ has now had a stint on the DL because of some sort of problem in his pitching arm in each of the first three years in the big leagues. Happ’s absence will make it two starters now on the disabled list. The other, Joe Blanton, has been on the DL since the start of the season, but is making progress to the point where he may be back by the beginning of May (May 3rd would be his spot in the rotation). With now Happ and Blanton out of action, Kyle Kendrick’s role will remain as a starter, and the Phillies will use a combination of converted-starter Nelson Figueroa, last year’s ultimate spot starter Antonio Bastardo, and possibly Andrew Carpenter to fill out the rotation.

Just wondering, where is Pedro Martinez right now?

A welcoming addition to the Phillies pen'

As another player bites the dust when it comes to the injury bug, the Phillies actually got a player back in the big league mix this weekend, as J.C Romero was activated to the 25-man roster. Although he has been injury plagued (and allegedly steroid-plagued, although I’m not buying it) for the past two seasons, getting Romero back is still obviously a HUGE upgrade for the Phillies bullpen, as he has been the best left-handed reliever for the Phillies in recent memory. As it stands now, Romero will now join Antonio Bastardo as the second lefty in the bullpen, and will also get his fair share of opportunities as an eighth inning guy, joining Danys Baez and Jose Contreras in that role.

One other note in regards to the roster, Romero coming back right means nothing in regards to a player being sent down (because of the whole injury situation). However, to look into the future a bit, when Blanton or Happ end up coming back, or whoever comes back first, look for David Herndon to be the one who possibly gets the proverbial ax from the big league roster.

PHILLIES: J-Roll to the DL, Other Injury Updates, Pitching Struggles

As stated in the last post, it wasn’t a question of if Jimmy Rollins was going to be placed on the 15-day D.L with a strained calf. It was when it was going to happen.

The answer?

Rollins will spend at least 15 days on the bench due to a strained right calf

The Phillies placed Rollins in the disabled list retroactive to April 13th, making him eligible to on April 30th against, who else, but the Mets. While he is only slated for a two week D.L stint, it has been rumored that this calf injury may take closer to a month to heal, so don’t expect J-Roll to come back until at least the first week in May. In the mean time, utility infielder Juan Castro will start in his place, and the Phillies have already called up Wilson Valdez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley for insurance.

Rollins’s injury just adds to the list of injured Phillies players just two weeks into the season. While Rollins and Jayson Werth have battled the injury bug when it comes to position players, the majority of the damage has been done to the pitching staff. Brad Lidge, Joe Blanton and J.C Romero have all been on the D.L since the start of the season, and it appears that J.A Happ now may miss his next start due to forearm soreness, an injury that bothered him at point of his rookie season last year.  If Happ does end up missing his next star, my guess is that the Phillies will go with a four man rotation, or have Andrew Carpenter brought up from Lehigh Valley to fill that void. In terms of the return of the walking wounded, a return for Blanton is nowhere in sight, while Lidge and Romero are each “progressing” when it comes to their respective rehab processes.

I put “progressing” in quotes because it depends what you call progress. While Romero is already up at Lehigh Valley and may be back by the end of the week, Lidge has been inconsistent in his first two rehab appearances, showing a live arm (fastball clocked at 91 mph and a slider in the mid-high 80′s) but also a lack of production (gave up four runs in an innings work last week while rehabbing at Single-A Clearwater). It may be a week or two, but when Lidge is back in a Phillies uniform, he will most likely take the closers spot from Ryan Madson, who is a perfect 3 for 3 in save opportunities.

But that’s a discussion for another day.

Even if Lidge comes back nowhere close to his 2008 form, I still have to say that it will be a boost to the Phillies pitching staff when he joins the active roster.  Outside of Happ, Madson, Jose Contreras, Chad Durbin, Cole Hamels of sorts (2-0, 5.06 ERA), and of course Roy Halladay, the pitching has been suspect to say the least. While Nelson Figueroa and Danys Baez have been inconsistent (7.71 ERA for Baez) and Antonio Bastardo has been productive but has had some issues with his control (1 BB per inning), both David Herndon and Kyle Kendrick struggled mightily adjusting to life in the big leagues, and Jamie Moyer has had difficulty regaining his strength after an off-season of surgeries to repair a torn groin. Whether Lidge will succeed or not is another question, but just getting that familiar, veteran face in the bullpen, someone who has saved 41 straight games at one point of his career, will undoubtably send some sort of positive shockwaves through the clubhouse, especially for those who have been struggling.

One last note.

If the Happ injury lingers, and the status of Joe Blanton remains to be unknown, look for the Pedro Martinez rumors to heat up.

Remember, it wasn’t so long ago that Pedro when the Phillies names Martinez the #2 starter for the 2009 World Series.

PHILLIES: 1 Down, 161 To Go..

It may be just one game into the season, but you can almost already see the smile developing on the face of Phillies GM Ruben Amaro.

That is because on the day that President Barack Obama threw the first pitch (in a White Sox hat) in front of the Phillies (and the overwhelming majority of Phillies fans) at Nationals Park to mark the start of the 2010 Baseball Season, all the pieces to puzzle that defined the Phillies offseason moves have already seemed to come into place.

Case and point.

Obviously, the Roy Halladay deal is first and foremost on the minds of those linked to the Phillies organization when it comes to this past off-season. 7 innings, 1 run, and 9 strikeouts later, you can say that Halladay passed his first test as ace of the Philadelphia Phillies. It may have been against the Nationals (so that makes it sort of like a third grade spelling test), but after seeing fellow aces C.C Sabathia and Josh Beckett struggle on Sunday Night Baseball the night before, there has to be a calm and soothing feeling among Phillies fans when looking the highlights of Halladay’s start against the Nationals, in addition to his stat line.

Not as obvious, the move to bring back Placido Polanco for his second stint in Philadelphia seems to be a brilliant one after one game. One game you say, but the fact of the matter is that Polanco’s 6 RBI’s in Monday’s contest puts him on pace for a mere 972 runs batted in this year. Ok, all joking aside, with 3 hits and grand slam to boot, you could not have asked for a return debut for Polanco, as it looks like he will fit in quite nicely in the second hole in the order right in front of the likes of Utley, Howard, Werth, Ibanez, and Victorino, the five all-stars of the Phillies 2009 roster.

Take Polanco and Halladay out of the equation, and the Phillies still probably would have beaten the Nationals on Monday. Ryan Howard’s 2-run blast and Jimmy Rollins’s RBI triple off Nats starter John Lannan definitely showed that at least some of the Phillies veterans have their swinging stroke going early on, which is obviously also a good sign, especially against the Nationals.

Also, good to see David Herndon and Antonio Bastardo pitch a couple scoreless frames. With Brad Lidge, J.C Romero, and Joe Blanton on the D.L to start off the season, seeing guys like Bastardo and Herndon come in and show a certain amount of confidence must allow Charlie Manuel, Rich Dubee and company to take a deep breath of sorts, as that had to be the primary concern coming out of Spring Training.

If only the other 161 games could be against the Nationals..

PHILLIES: Howard for Pujols Swap, Final Roster Thoughts, Countdown

IT’S OFFICIAL!

The Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols swap that Buster Olney reported last week is..never going to happen.

This is not a personal attack on Olney’s reporting skills, because I’m sure he was correct by saying it was talked about in the Phillies clubhouse, because I’m sure it was. However, the concept, or dream for that matter, of obtaining the best player in baseball (Pujols) is something that undeniably comes up in every clubhouse, the Phillies not being any different.

On the surface, it may make sense. Ryan Howard, a two-time MLB All-Star in the prime of his career returns to his hometown of St. Louis as part of a trade that sends the player who may go down as the best player in Major League Baseball history packing for the City of Brotherly Love.

Wow, would that make some headlines or what!

A Pujols for Howard swap is unlikely to say the least.

In all seriousness though, the possibility that this deal may happen before both players become free agents at the end of the 2011 season  is just as likely as the Washington Nationals winning a World Series by that time. While the Phillies seem like the perfect trade partner, due to the fact that they have more money than the Cardinals to satisfy Pujols’s demands of his next contract (should be the largest in MLB history) along with having Howard on their roster, who would possibly take a hometown discount for his next contract to play in his hometown for the rest of his career, it’s just to complicated of a deal to actually have a chance to go down.

Here’s the case that I am making against this deal for the Phillies..

First of all, the deal has flawed logistics on both sides. As it stands right now, Ryan Howard is making more money than Albert Pujols. Crazy, I know. I’m sure that won’t be the case come 2011, but for the Cardinals to think that they can’t afford Pujols but CAN afford Howard is extremely far-fetched, hometown discount and all.

Minus the financial hoopla, for the Phillies, the main question is why. Why would they make this deal? Sure, the allure of having the best player of baseball on both sides of the diamond is tempting to say the least, but this deal would surely have the capability to disrupt the chemistry of a team who has already gone to the last two Fall Classics, without Pujols.

Lastly, let it be known that Ryan Howard is not just a role player that you can replace. Yes, the critics say that he  may strike out an inordinate amount, or make an error in the field that leaves you dumbfounded at times, and to that they are right. But, to them, I say this.  At the end of the day, when the schedule reads “Game 162″,  Howard’s 40+ HR’s and 120+ RBI’s have been among the leagues best every year since he became a full-time starter in 2005. Along with his production, his presence both on field and in the community and strong chemistry with Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and company has been vital to allowing the Phillies to reach the status of a potential dynasty.

You can’t expect anything more out of your cleanup hitter.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE

The Phillies are a little over a week from solidifying there 25-player roster to start off the season, and pretty much everything is working out the way it should. Minus the decision on the final spot in the starting rotation, everybody’s position on the team is pretty much set in stone. For everyone who thought that Dominic Brown had a shot to make the opening day roster, I think his demotion to the minors after a 2 HR performance earlier this week shows that those within the organization feel that their 20 year-old #1 overall prospect needs a bit more seasoning.

Herndon will mostly likely be the most surprising addition to the Phillies 25-man roster

While Brown’s demotion made the headlines, the real surprise of this projected list was not who was left off the roster, but who will most likely be on it.

If you didn’t know who David Herndon was at the start of this month, I wouldn’t have blamed you. The Rule 5 pick and 2006 5th round pick of the Los Angeles Angels, who most people inside baseball circles will tell you did not figure into the Phillies plans at the start of spring training, has pitched himself into a envious position, as he will most likely make the opening day roster as a situational reliever in the bullpen. While his stay in the big leagues may be shortlived, as Brad Lidge and J.C Romero are due to come back from their injuries around the time of opening day, Herndon will most for all intents and purposes join the loser of the Kyle Kendrick/Jamie Moyer battle for the 5th starter’s spot, Jose Contreras, Chad Durbin, Antonio Bastardo, Danys Baez, and Ryan Madson in the bullpen for at least the start of the season.

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS

12 Days until Opening Day..