2012 MLB Season Preview: Philadelphia Phillies

2012 Season Outlook

The division is better.  The Phillies are older.  But the playoffs are bigger!  But the Phillies are more injured-er.

The everlasting faith in the Phillies comes from their pitching.  Any day, an ace or capable back end can hand the ball off to a strong bullpen arm or a solid long reliever.  Then, there’s Jonathan Papelbon to seal the deal.  The Phils have built a solid wall between themselves and the opposing offense.

But we are years removed from the AL lineup in an NL division that won the World Series; and now we’re also years away from the first time we pointed out they had become a “pitching first” team.  The question is, can the Phillies survive going from a “pitching first” team to a “pitching only” team?

No.  Because no one could do that.  The 2011 NLDS may serve as an echoing reminder of the extremely simple notion, once screamed at me by a little league coach in front of my grandparents after a record-shattering sixth strikeout of the day:

“WE NEED RUNS TO WIN THE GAME.  Oh god my wife left me for the guy who delivered our refrigerator.”

–that coach I just mentioned

The runs had been dwindling already, and now we can subtract Ryan Howard and Chase Utley from the lineup for an amount of time that directly correlates to whatever lie is currently coming out of Ruben Amaro’s mouth.  Placido Polanco is now 36 and trotting off the field with an injury more and more frequently.

Hunter Pence will be called upon to have the April-May of his career, supported by amiable efforts from the thankfully re-signed Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino.  Other than that, the Phillies are depending on positive follow-ups from promising young players and continued pulses from veteran journeymen.

Does this translate into a sixth straight NL East division flag?  Yeah,possibly.  There are still good players on this team.  They are still competitive and they continue to cultivate an environment of winning.  People seem genuinely afraid to disappoint guys like Halladay and Utley, making guys taking on minor but critical roles thrive in ways they may not have elsewhere.  They relied heavily on pitching last year and won enough to set a franchise record.

There’s not quite the makeup for a similar performance, but the Phillies still have the talent and drive necessary to watch their city burn.

2012 Prospect to Watch

I’d like to say a wide variety of players, but they all play in the Astros’ farm system now.  So what I’ll say is Freddy Galvis, because you’re not going to have much choice but to watch him, as he’s the Opening Day second baseman.

Which is a scenario with the potential to start something special.  There are concerns about Galvis’ development not being quite “there” just yet, but he is coming off his best season yet.  His  .278/.324/.392 with 8 HR, 43 RBI, 78 Runs, and 23 SB in 137 games, in addition to his acrobatic defense, was enough to get him the 2011 Paul Owens Award for top position player in the farm system.

Obviously you want Chase Utley out there, and obviously you want him to stay in his prime forever.  But there is a spark of excitement in watching a young prospect get his shot, and it provides us with a youthful narrative thread dangling from this aging core.  That is still great.

Find your team’s 2012 season preview or when it will be published here.

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