First of all, from all of us at Philly Sports Port...Happy New Year and all that good stuff. The new year brings new excitment to the sports world of Philly fans, believe it or not. Sure, the Eagles disappointed the city with a first-round playoff exit but spring training is on the horizon and the Flyers and Sixers are well into their seasons. Everyone makes new years resolutions so I thought I would make three for each of the major teams in Philadelphia. It is the beginning of the year so there are short and long term goals for the teams, for sure. Most teams have made some moves recently but I believe more needs to be done. Obviously some teams probably have more than three resolutions, but there are some major ones for each. Also, we all know a resolution is to win a championship but that is a given. Let's get started with those Fightin Phils...
1. Re-sign Chad Durbin/Trade Joe Blanton - The Phillies relief corps doesn't grab the attention of many fans at this point because the four aces are likely to work deep into games on numerous occasions. The pen currently consists of Romero, Contreras, Madson, Lidge, Bastardo, Baez and Worley/Kendrick. This leaves open a couple of spots for young relievers to possibly make the cut. Justin De Fratus, Michael Schwimer, Michael Stutes and Chris Kissock, all righties in the Phils farm system, attended a two-day seminar at CItizens Bank Park to teach them about life in the big leagues and how they can get there. With these guys in the wings, bringing back Durbin for another year would be big. Contreras is great but with Madson handling setup, he is the only veteran righty to pitch in tight situations before the eighth inning. Sure there is Danys Baez, but I am pretty sure fans didn't really see what they wanted from him in 2010. Ruben Amaro and Durbin's agent have had ongoing discussions and have exchanged numbers but no deal seems imminet. As of now, it looks like the bullpen may have a few new faces in 2011.
I know this seems like two resolutions into one, and I guess it is. The trading of Joe Blanton will free up salary to sign Durbin for a year or two and is definitely a necessity with $17 million remaining on his contract for 2011 and 2012. He has played a huge part in the Phillies success and always gives the team a chance to win. Fact is, it would be awesome to have him as the five starter, but he is just not affordable.
2. Give Francisco a Chance - For those who didn't follow Ben before he was shipped to Philly with Cliff Lee, he was an everyday starter. In all of 2008 and half of '09, he hit a combine .260 with 25 homers and 87 RBIs. Sure, these numbers are not Werth-like, but Francisco was improving towards his prime before being demoted to utility outfielder in the trade. 2009 was only his second full year in the bigs and his best days could be in front of him. Spring Training last year was all about the #5 starter...Moyer or Kendrick. This year, everyone will have their eyes on the battle for the starting spot in right field between Francisco and highly-touted prospect, Domonic Brown. Brown struggled against breaking balls and left-handed pitching during his stint in the bigs and still needs some more work on aspects of his game. Also, Francisco is following in the path of many Phillies outfielders. In 2006, Shane Victorino earned a starting role when the Phillies sent Bobby Abreu to the Yankees. Jayson Werth took the starting job away from Geoff Jenkins in 2008 and now signed a $126 million deal as a free agent. Before they got their chance to shine, they were in the same position as Francisco. Who knows, could Francisco be the next Shane Victorino or Jayson Werth? Hopefully he proves himself in the spring and we all get to see what he is truly capable of as an everyday player. Like Chris Sherman proved in his Werth/Francisco comparison, the stats are very similar between Ben and Jayson before Werth became a big name player in 2008.
"We don't need him to be Jayson Werth," GM Ruben Amaro said. "We just need him to be Francisco. That'll be plenty good enough."
3. Replenish the System - The Phillies have taken full advantage of the "win now" attitude but has left a fan like me thinking...where is this team going to be years from now? With a majority of the starters in their early thirties, this team has been known for having a strong farm system. It has definitely shown with Utley, Howard, Rollins, Ruiz and Hamels, to name a few, all coming through the minors with the Phils. Domonic Brown will hopefully emerge as another great outfielder from the Phillies system. The questions rests though, what happens when these guys start a big decline into their mid thirties. The farm system, for those of you who do not know, are filled with many talented pitchers and outfielders. The issue here is that there is a lack of positional player potential down in the minors. The Phillies made a small move to acquire a young second basemen from the Astros and have prospect Freddy Galvis (SS), who they hope will be the guy to take over Rollins' job in the coming years. He has the speed and the fielding ability but not the offensive production. They have a couple of first basemen as well, most noably Matt Rizzotti. He spend time in Clearwater, Reading and Lehigh Valley in 2010, compiling an impressive average above .340 and more than 70 RBIs. He faces the same road block that Ryan Howard faced when Jim Thome was in town. You can never have too much pitching and the Phillies pitching prospects at each level show alot of potential to become great big league pitchers. A lot of these guys are years away from the bigs. The bottom line here is that we have gotten rid of a lot of our farm system to acquire big names like Cliff Lee and the farm is hurting. The trade of Joe Blanton should bring in some new talent to the minor league system.
A lot of fans are embracing this year with the four aces and everything and so am I. The issue is, I am still worried about four or five years down the road, when we do not have much talent at the infield positions from our farm system. This season needs to be a crucial one for all levels of the minor leagues for the Phillies because if not, we may witness another championship drought.
Make sure to check for Part II of Philly Sports New Year Resolutions coming soon!
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