Running to Stand Still

Despite New Names, 2008 Phillies Look Much Like the 2007 Version

A power-hitting outfielder who whiffs a lot. A completely average middle reliever/spot starter. A closer with an iffy arm and questionable mental makeup.

Yes, the Phillies made some moves since getting quietly ushered out of the playoffs by the Rockies, but at this point the 2008 team feels an awful lot like the 2007 squad. I'm okay with letting Aaron Rowand get overpaid by the Giants -- Rowand's splendid '07 campaign was a career anomaly and one he's  unlikely to repeat -- but I can't see 33-year-old Geoff Jenkins as replicating his numbers. Chad Durbin? The number of Chad Durbins to churn through Citizens Bank Park since its opening is depressingly large.

The only potential difference-maker I see is the acquisition of Brad Lidge, and that's mostly because it returns Brett Myers to the starting rotation. If and when Myers ever screws his head on straight, he
will be a very successful pitcher, instead of his current profile as a good hurler prone to harmful tantrums on the mound. Lidge, meanwhile, is talking a good game regarding his change of scenery from Houston, but he has spent the last year-plus trying to recover the mojo that Albert Pujols pilfered from him, as well as getting his arm back in shape.

Pat Gillick and Co. shouldn't fool themselves. The Phillies were barely good enough for the playoffs last year, and once they got there their shortcomings were exposed in a hurry. In Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins, two MVPs and an MVP-in-waiting, the Phils have a core of players in the prime of their careers. The team owes it to them and to its fans to surround them with better players if it wants to maximize its chances at a World Series title. S|C

Comments

[Bill]

I just worry that they will leave these guys without a championship, like those Flyers teams with all of the talent and no titles and the Eagles. It would be a shame to waste it.

The moves are all fine and I agree with the Myers post but I wanted a blockbuster, something that showed the Phillies administration really wanted to win. instead we got more of the same, some fringe pitchers, an outfielder who is probably a year or two beyond their prime.

It would be great if Howard returns to form, Rollins plays like an MVP again and Utley continues to be Utley. The rotation is better but there are some maybes yet again.